Newspaper Page Text
The Champion, Thursday, December 24 - 30,2015
LOCAL
Page 8A
A Section 12-24-15.indd 8
12/22/15 3:44 PM
JUBILEE
Continued From Page 2A
wide. One is the reading of
the Emancipation Proclama
tion. The other is the singing
of Lift Every Voice and Sing,
an anthem written in 1901 by
brothers James Weldon John
son and J. Rosamond John
son for an emancipation cel
ebration in Jacksonville, Fla.
Typically, a keynote
speaker brings inspiration and
historical information.
The speaker at this year’s
NAACP program, Hank
Thomas, was one of the origi
nal Freedom Riders, a group
of seven Black and six White
bus passengers who traveled
through the South in 1961
to challenge segregation of
buses and bus terminals. The
Supreme Court in a 1960 de
cision had ruled that segrega
tion in interstate transporta
tion facilities, including bus
terminals, is unconstitutional.
Despite the ruling, many cit
ies in the South continued to
maintain separate restrooms,
waiting areas and lunch coun
ters for Black passengers who
also were allowed to sit only in
the rear of buses.
John Lewis, who is now
Georgias 5th District repre
sentative in Congress, also was
among the original Freedom
Riders, who were subjected to
violence in some cities.
“Many of our young peo
ple may not know about this
important event in our histo
ry. In fact, we have to educate
some of our older people who
may not know about it,” Evans
said.
Evans added that Thomas
is now a businessman and an
expert in economic develop
ment. “He’s not just qualified
to talk about history. He’s
qualified to give us economic
information that we very
much need today.”
In addition to honor
ing history and informing
the community, the Jubilee
Day program spotlights the
NAACP and reminds people
that it still seeks support and
membership, Evans said.
“We’re the biggest civil rights
umbrella in the country. We’ve
been around for 107 years so
we must be doing something
good.”
The NAACP DeKalb
County Branch will hold its
2016 Jubilee Day program
Friday, Jan. 1, at Rainbow Park
Baptist Church, 2941 Colum
bia Drive, Decatur. For more
information, visit www.dekal-
bnaacp.org.
After 36 years working for DeKalb County, Tax Commissioner Claudia Lawson will retire on Dec. 31. Photos provided
Retiring tax commissioner honored
by Andrew Cauthen
andre w@dekalb champ, com
DeKalb County Tax
Commissioner Claudia
Lawson thought she was
to attend a budget meeting
Dec. 15. Instead, the Board
of Commissioners surprised
her by recognizing her
36 years of service to the
county.
“I never had any inten
tion of being your tax com
missioner, just a good public
servant,” Lawson told the
audience at the commis
sioners’ meeting. “I say to
all elected officials, that’s
who we are. We are public
servants and I have truly
enjoyed the awesome jour
ney I have had with DeKalb
County. I’m humbled by the
experience.”
A Florida native who
earned her bachelor’s degree
at Florida State University,
Lawson moved to Georgia
in 1977 when her husband’s
job transferred him to met
ro Atlanta.
Lawson, who will retire
Dec. 31, began her career
with DeKalb County in
1979, working in the vehicle
registrations division and
as deputy tax commissioner
and chief deputy tax com
missioner before becoming
the county’s first female and
Black tax commissioner in
2006.
Under her leadership,
the county’s tax office be
came the first in the state to
have implement an imaging
system for property tax and
Tax Commissioner Claudia Lawson, center, was recognized Dec. 15 for her service to the county.
motor vehicle records, and
computer storage for per
manent records.
Commissioners had
much praise for Lawson.
“You have always been
so available to everyone, not
just to the commissioners,
but the public as well,” said
Commissioner Kathie Gan
non.
Gannon said Lawson,
who replaced long-serving
Tax Commissioner Tom
Scott after his death, “took
over a position with some
pretty big shoes to fill and
made those shoes even big
ger for the next person that
comes along.”
Commissioner Mereda
Johnson said Lawson is
her “friend who is not only
good at her job, but...she’s a
good-hearted person and I
think that we all can learn
from her.”
“She is my shero and
I’m going to miss her and I
hope that her successor has
learned a lot from her. I love
you, Claudia, and I’m going
to miss you,” Johnson said.
“You can’t say enough
good things about Claudia
and her wisdom,” said Com
missioner Sharon Barnes
Sutton. “I found myself
talking to her a lot. She’s al
ways there for you with kind
words, with sage advice and
she just tells it like it is.
“Thank you for being
you, Claudia,” Sutton said.
Commissioner Jeff
Rader said the difficulty of
being a commissioner “is
nothing compared to the
job of a tax commissioner
because it has been Mrs.
Lawson’s job...to separate
people from their tax obli
gation with a smile on her
face. And she succeeded in
doing that.”
Additionally, Lawson
“has had the success of be
ing able to collect almost
100 percent of the taxes that
are owed to the county and
to not engage in some of the
practices that have become
popular of selling liens and
disrupting peoples’ lives in
that way,” Rader said.
“Thank you...for setting
such a high standard,” Rader
said.
Lawson said, “I’ve seen
tremendous changes in this
great county. Even though
we have a hiccup here and
there, we are still...the great
est county in the state of
Georgia.
“Thank you for allowing
me to be your public ser
vant,” Lawson said.