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ZEBRA SALUTES
i
Unsung Heroes: Rev. Lewis Logan
Rev. Lewis Logan, II. The man car
ries himself in a manner that makes you
take notice. Unlike many men who hold
the title, Reverend - Lewis Logan, II is
a man of action and does not limit his
action from the safety of the pulpit. He
has qualities that those who oppose pro
gress in the black Community hate to see
in Black Leadership. He’s intelligent, ar
ticulate and he has both types of educa
tion — the knowledge to complete the
task as well as the degree that much of
America must see before you’re taken
seriously. Just as important as having the
right goals, he’s connected to the com
munity and he knows how to com
municate with those at the grassroots.
He’s a devoted family man. His wife -
Denise Logan — is one of his biggest sup
porters, Rev. Logan states, “I’m able to
be the man that I am because of the sup
port and strength that I receive from my
better half.”
The first time I had the pleasure of
meeting Rev. Logan was in 1990 when
there were reports of misconduct by a
school administrator against an African-
American student. After learning that the
administrator, who ‘allegedly’ choked a
student would not be disciplined, Rev.
Lewis Logan and others organized a pro
test. The first day approximately forty
parents picketed in front of the school,
after about two weeks the numbers
dwindled to seven, later there were only
two. (You’ll meet the other one in com
ing months in this column.) Uncle Toms
and Aunt Tammies were at full force try
ing to lessen the ‘degree of seriousness’
of the alleged abuse and even went as far
as to try to discredit Rev. Logan. Their
hopes were that summer break and
rezoning would make the problems and
Rev. Logan disappear. Little did they
know — rain, sleet, nor a six pack of Un
cle Toms could stop Rev. Logan from
finishing that which he had started. In
the author’s opinion, the Clarke Coun
ty School District is a safer place thanks
to the perseverance of Rev. Logan and
his ability to expose to the community
what everybody on the inside already
about. Logan, has found himself on the
front lines of other battles - the Athens
Regional Medical Center, - employees re
questing equal and fair treatment on the
job, the Winn-Dixie reported hostile
treatment of Americans of African Des
cent, UGA students appeal for their
voices to be heard and the list goes on.
Many of the problems that Rev. Logan
faces are problems that much of Athens
would like to pretend do not exist. Just
as Martin Luther King, Marcus Garvey
and others who have taken a stand to
lead their people to a brighter day, Rev.
Logan has sometimes been labeled as a
radical, trouble maker, and uppity nig
ger. I recognize the gifts that God has
given me. To not use them would make
me less than a man. To dedicate my life
as a minister and back down or change
my beliefs just because it makes someone
unhappy is not what true leaders of God
do.” Reverend Logan offered this for
mula for the Athens community especial
ly the Black community to reach it’s
potential, “Contrary to what many may
believe, the Black Community in Athens
is not dead and waiting to be buried.
There are a lot of positive things that
take place on a daily basis in our various
organizations, groups and
neighborhoods. Because we do not have
a positive way of communicating with
the masses, we often believe the negative
things that are written about us. 1 need
not mention where you find this infor
mation. But in order for us to reach our
full potential we must have a way for us
to communicate. We need our success
stories on the front page and the only
way that will happen is for us to be in
control of our own information network.
Our biggest challenge is to develop a
common conscious and a program to
control our economic, political, and
social direction. While we are working on
those three important areas we must also
focus on restoring the spiritual and moral
foundations that God, our parents and
ancestors wanted us to live by.” I asked
Rev. Logan to give me an example of one
thing that he would address if given the
opportunity. “One of our biggest con
cerns should be how our youth spend
their leisure time, he said, “When I came
to Athens, I presented a program to the
Athens City Council; that program was
the mind set of many concerned people
from the Black community. I have to
give credit to then Councilman Linny
Bailey for making sure that the program
got a start. The summer recreation pro
ject - Grand Slam is what it looked like
after the city council’s sub committee
finished dissecting it. Many people from
the Athens community, especially the
Black Community gave of their time and
talents, by volunteering in order for the
program to be carried out. I think it is
a very successful program in its mission
and a lot of positive things go on there.
However, I hope that in the near future
the focus will turn back to its original
platform of one for cultural and value
training seven days a week and not an
entertainment and containment (keeping
an eye on them during high crime hours)
program two or three days a week. It
leaves our kids in the same position. It
pacifies them when it could be teaching
them values and skills that could help
them in life.”
Just as Malcom X talked about the
strength of his father, Lewis 111 (6), Jilli-
que (4) and Asa (2) will be able to say
our daddy lived up to his name — Lewis
— famous .warrior.
By William Breeding, Jr.
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ZEBRA VOL. 2 ISSUE 8