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March ‘
afterglow still
burning for
local black men
B Marchers ready to roll up sleeves,
seek answers to violence, poverty,
powerlessness in black community.
Light fantastic
B Dozens gather for
an evening of prayer
sponsored by Whole
Villiage Concepts for
unity and strength for
students, teachers,
parents and school
board members.
Rhonda Jones
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
At first, when it was still light
out, only a few people waited on
the lawn of the Richmond Coun
ty' Board of Education building.
They waited with curious glanc
es at whomever might chance to
show up for the prayer vigil, one
of a series of events planned by
the social-awareness group
Whole Village Concept. James
Pigler caught my eye first, and
explained the purpose of the
meeting.
“We are kind of trying to show
... I want to say the school board
... there are people out here who
are concerned about the direc
tion the school system is going.”
Asamemberofthelocal NAACP,
Mr. Pigler said, he is indirectly
involved in organizing the prayer
vigil, and that the meeting the
night before had focused on get
ting the members to attend the
vigil.
“If we can’t do anything else,
we can pray,” he said.
Minutes later, the lawn had
filled with milling bodies. School
board president Kenny Echols
was among them. “We want to
bring unity to our school sys
tem,” he said, emphasizing the
need to bridge the gaps that ex
ist among the board members
and throughout the school sys
tem. He was glad to see such
community involvement.
Somewhere in the crowd stood
a man in a black tee-shirt. On
the back, red lettering pro
claimed, Together we can make a
difference. Asthe sun continued
its retreat, Pam Wilkins of the
Whole Village Concept commit
tee asked everyone to squeeze
Civie center battle continues
From page one
they had no knowledge of Ms.
Oglesby’s quitting, and those
who did learned from the media.
“I thought we came here to
talk about wrong-doings at the
civic center, but we only talked
about her resignation,” said Au
thority member Joe Scott. “No
one asked her to resign. She’s
resigning because she wants to
resign. We came down here try
ing to save her.”
In an Oct. 23 four-page letter
addressed to Mr. Bowman, Ms.
Oglesby wrote that her resigna
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CANDLELIGHT AND PRAYER FOR UNITY:
7 by Derick Wells
.
¢ ra Photo by
“If we can’t do anything else, we can pray.
together on the grass, and the
program began.
A founder of the Whole Village
Concept, the Reverend Larry
Fryer proceeded with opening
remarks. The evening vigil, he
said, was planned so that Rich
mond County could “link togeth
erasa people to better our schools
... 2nd our community.” He then
suggested everyone turn and
welcome someone to the gather
ing, and the crowd began sway
ing and chittering as people ac
knowledged each other.
“We will leave here with the
greatest goal of all,” Rev. Fryer
said, “our children.” He said it
twice, and ended with the poi
gnant remark, “Where there is
no vision, the people will perish.”
Four of the 10 school board
members were there, though
tion wasn’t voluntary, but
“brought about by the constant
stress of the hostile work envi
ronment created by certain mem
bers of the Authority.”
Ms. Oglesby accused Mr. Bow
man and certain other Authori
ty members of racial discrimina
tion. -
According to Ms. Oglesby, Mr.
Bowman’s appointment of a com
mittee to address her complaints
about operations at the civiccen
ter was insincere because none
of her “recognized supporters”
were on the committee.
The Authority voted not to ac
cept Ms. Oglesby’s resignation.
LLocalNews
By Rhonda Y. Maree
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
: AUGUSTA
An agenda marked no bounds
for conversation at a Monday
meeting full of men and women
still positively charged by the re
cent Million Man March in Wash
ington.
Nearly 40 people freely aired
their concerns, expressed their
fears and shared their hopes for
their community and future gen
erations at the Mary Utley Cen
ter in Hyde Park.
“The day ofthe March has come
and gone, and now it’s time to get
to work,” said Arthur Smith, one
ofthe 225 Augusta men whomade
the bus pilgrimage to the nation’s
capital for black men’s day of
trustee Jeff Annis did not speak.
Cherie Foster read a poem, re
peating the line “We thank you,
Father,” giving thanks for the
subjects taught to the students.
When it was her turn, Kingsley
Riley gripped the microphone
stand and her prayer became an
impassioned speech. Sheremem
bered a time when it wouldn’t
have been possible for an inte
grated crowd to gather in public.
She’ spoke to retired teachers
who also remembered those
times, and she spoke for those
same teachers when giving
thanks that she had the chance
to grow old and to pass‘dn her
wisdom. Her rising- voice
drowned out the grumble of a
passing motorcycle and, when
she finished, the crowd cheered.
Ms. Wilkins said, “I think if we
Mr. Nicholson said he is un
sure of how the issue will legally
be resolved.
Richmond County Commis
sioner Jerry Brigham asked the
Authority how they would run
the two-building complex in Ms.
Oglesby’s absence.
“We’ve managed to operate for
15-20 years, and I think we’ll
manage to do so in the future,”
Mr. Calhoun said.
Other loczl government offi
cials attended the meeting ex
pecting to get some answers to
allegations of improper activi
ties at the civic center.
Augusta City Councilwomen
atonement.
They bounced around ideas for
increasing voterregistration, bet
tering inner-city students’ educa
tion and boosting economic condi
tions.
The dominant theme of the
evening, however, was reducing
the staggering number of black
on-black crimes.
Barbara Thurmond, founder of
the victims right organization
Blacks Against Black Crime, said
her group wants to do more than
Jjust prosecute young black males.
“We will look into his life, and
we will try to understand what
produced him,” she said, refer
ring to poverty, illiteracy, racism
and the absence of a positive male
role model.
Mr. Smith agreed that positive
figures are crucial to shaping boys’
stopped the program now we
would all have what we came
here for.”
Later, Mr. Echols prayed,
“Dear Lord, I especially ask your
blessings upon this Board. ... Give
us strength to stand together. ...
Help us all toremember that you
do not see us as children of color
but see us all as children of God.”
“That’s all right!” declared a
voice from the crowd.
Murphey Middle School teach
er Roy Frierson said a prayer for
children who are missing, or who
have died, including Melanie
Ritchie. And one for Diana Jones,
who had been missing and was
safely found. ‘
Second Vice President of the
local chapter of the NAACP
‘Térrence Dicksclésed hiseyes at '
themicrophone :and asked that’
the administration and the poli
cymakersofthe Richmond Coun
ty school system be uplifted.
“Lord,” he said, “we were chil
dren once.” |
But, perhaps the students in
the crowd said it best. Tammatha
Robinson — who heads the peer
counseling group at her middle
school, Murphey Mavericks
Against Destruction — simply
gave thanks for the teachers,
administrators and policy-mak
ers of the school system, includ
ing “the superintendent” Dr.
Charles Larke.
Chris Wilkins, also a student,
read his prayer. “I pray that you
will help us realize that children
are our future,” he said, fore
shadowing a sing-along of
Whitney Houston’s “The Great
est Love of All,” which would
close the program. When he
prayed that other students would .
learn that class is not a place for ‘
violence and socializing, a mum
ble of approval issued from the |
crowd, and someone said a ro- |
bust “amen.”
After the prayers and the po
ems and the songs, flame passed
from candle to candle until all
faces wereilluminated, and voic
es rose to the “we are the world” {
chorus. Then Rev. Fryer told |
everyone to hug at least two peo- ’
ple they had never met. The
crowd complied with surprising
ease as nervous giggles gave way
to enthusiasm and the warmth
of human contact.
Amen.
Colis Ivey and Kathleen Beasley
appeared to be disgusted with
the meeting’s outcome.
“I don’t understand what’s go
ing on here. It seems to boil
down to a black and white issue
just like everything else in Au
gusta,” Ms. Ivey said. “I hope I
am totally wrong, but it seems
that Mr. Frank and Ms. Ruben
are very antagonistic and are
makingit appear thateverything
is wrongbecause Mr. Bowman is
black.”
Ms. Ivey added that Ms.
Oglesby walked into existing
hostile and divisive conditions
on the Authority.
AUGUSTA FOCUS October 26, 1995
lives, and he said the March pro
duced a million such figures.
“When I came back from the
March, the impact was already
there. The guys standing out on
the corner were impressed and
proud to see us in the true light.
Not disrespectful. Not cruel,” Mr.
Smith said.
“Some of them never had role
models. They don’t know how to
do things the right way. The
average young man on the streets
— nobody’s telling him anything,
so he picks his gun up and he calls
himself a gangster,” Mr. Smith
said. ;
To tackle the seemingly insur
mountable challenges, March par
ticipants are urged to join organi
zations such as Ms. Thurmond’s
and the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored Peo
Bus union sought
From page one
weeks after they occurred.
“I can’t do anything about
something that happened three
weeks ago and they can’t even
prove it happened,” he said. :
After months of being denied
a spot on city council’s agenda,
the workers’ only response from
Mayor Charles A. DeVaney and
city attorney Paul Dunbaris that
city council is prohibited by state
law from recognizing a union.
Labor organizer Moses Dunn
said Mr. DeVaney and Mr.
Dunbar are misleading city coun
cil about the legalities of union
relationships.
At a press conference called by
bus drivers Monday at the Olive
Road union hall, Richmond Coun
ty Commissioner Moses Todd
also said local government offi
cials are interpreting the law to
their advantage.
According to Mr. Todd, discrep
anciesin the law should be taken
to the state’s attorney general
for clarification.
“They don’t want to go to the
state for an opinion. They want
to keep it local where politics
play a role as usual,” Mr. Todd
From page one
ter would make Dr. Maczyk per
manent superintendent or sim
ply instate him temporarily
while the search continues.
Board attorney Pete Fletcher
could not be reached for clarifi
cation.
But Mrs. Padgett doesn’t like
that idea. She wants someone
“from the outside” to take the
helm, someone who doesn’t know
the trustees. “It’s human nature
to want to look out for your
friends,” she said. “That’s not to
say we do not have excellent staff
... we do. But it’s hard on them
and it’s hard on the people work
ing for them.”
When asked what exactly she
thought should happen at this
point, she paused. “I think all
ten of the board members should
... Ideally?” She chuckled. “I
think ideally the ten of us should
sit down, reason, and reach a
consensus.
“Right now,” shesaid, “We need
some cooling-off time.”
And, for that purpose, they
have been discussing the idea of
spending a day in a hotel room
Student transfers
From page one
ly removed. He said he had never
heard about the spray-painting
incident but it was possible.
But the Brents say they fear the
school system is sweeping its ra
cial problems under the carpet.
“I think instead of dealing with
these problems head on, they’re
just pushing it away,” Mrs. Brent
said.
“I'm worried about my 8-year
olddaughter,” said Bernard Brent,
who is also a teacher in Loudon
County, Va. “I don’t want her to
have to confront this kind of igno
rance.”
Mrs. Brent has contacted the
West Virginia Human Rights
Commission. Herman Jones, the
commission’s executive director,
ple. Ifexisting groups don’t meet
their needs, March organizers
suggested they create new ones.
According to Mr. Smith, the
problem is big, but their newly
formed coalition of black men is
bigger.
“We havelawyers working with
us. We have businessmen work
ing with us. We have common
people working with us. For our
problem to be as serious as it is,
the government can never moni
tor our neighborhoods like we can,”
he said.
Just as they began the meeting
hand-in-hand with prayer, meet
ing participants ended the same
way, adding a vow to carry out the
mission of the March.
Post-March meetings will con
tinuetobeheld Mondays at 5 p.m.
at the Mary Utley Center.
said.
According to Mr. Dunn, he and
the workers are prepared to take
legal action if city officials con
tinue to put them off.
Meantime, drivers still com
plain about long hours.
According to Mr. Kemp, eight
hours on the road without a break
is a typical work day, often re
sulting in fatigue.
“I'm not one to slack off on the
job, but if you keep going like
they have us going, the sleepi
ness is going to catch up with
you,” said Mr. Kemp, who re
cently fell asleep at the wheel.
Benny Evans, who has worked
for the Boston, Mass. transit
system said his experience with
APT has been a “nightmare” in
comparison.
“Management doesn’t act re
sponsibly and they don’t keep
promises about promotions and
salaries,” Mr. Evans said.
Drivers hope a union will put
an end to their problems.
“A union will come in and set
some ground rules. Promotions
will be done as scheduled. Pay
raises will be given as scheduled.
Everything will have a set pat
tern,” Ms. Cofer said.
with a “facilitator” (i.e. paid “ref
eree”) to hash out their personal
differences once and for all. But,
according to trustee Andrew
Jefferson, that may not happen.
“It’s been a couple of media
personalities who refuse” to give
up, he said, reiterating the
Board’s determination to have
this retreat only if they could do
so without the hassle of media
scrutiny. He insists, however,
that the ability to make a deci
sion on the superintendent issue
is not contingent upon having
the retreat.
“You can’t confuse the two,” he
said. “We'’re there to do a job ...
To stake everything on the re
treat would be ludicrous. ... We
will come together on someone,
It's hard to predict who that per
son will be ...”
Mr. Annis is skeptical, and
doesn’t want to meet if all 10
board members can’t be there at
one time, even though, he says,
there are only “two or three” who
have problems with each other.
“As far as I can tell,” he said,
“nothing’s going to happen.”
Mr. Echols, however, is ever
optimistic. “I don’t think we've
had any setbacks,” he said.
said the agency could become for
mally involved after it investi
gates the incident. '
Bernard Brent said his son has
been in some trouble at school
and has even spent time in a
Pennsylvania school for youths
with discipline problems. K
“If it’s going to happen to my
son, it’s going to happen to some
one else,” he said.
Berkeley County Schools Su
perintendent James Bennett has
refused to comment, except to
say, “There’s racial problems
throughout the world, and school
systems reflect that world.”
Aliveto said he has talked to
the parents of the white students.
“I told the parents of the white
students that their behavior was
pot appropriate,” he said. “They
agreed.”
3