Newspaper Page Text
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‘_ Minority-Owned
| Banks Struggle For
SURVIVAL
| See Focus on Business
: See Page 9
High Court declines to consider emergency appeal challenging
newly drawn U.S. districts that slash black representation
By David Pace,
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON
Georgia’s three-year
battle over congressional
redistricting neared an end
Tuesday as the Supreme
Court refused to block
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JAMES BROWN, The Godfather of Soul greets
students from Richmond County. The photo, shot by
AUGUSTA FOCUS photographer Jimmy Carter, was
among several featured in a TV documentary
about the legendary entertainer.
Focus “shooter”
gets national ride
On Monday, February 5,
the world premiere of the
biography <James Brown,
“The Godfather of Soul” was
released on cable onthe Arts
& Entertainment (A&E)
Network. If you thought
some of the photos of Mr.
Brown looked familiar, that
was because some of the pho
tos used in the bio had been
taken byAugusta Focus pho
tographer Jimmy Carter and
published over the years in
the newspaper.
Hilary Spiegelman, co-pro
ducer and writer with
Goodmarc Productions, Inc.
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implementation of a court
drawn map that reduces the
number of majority-black
districts from three to one.
The ruling makes it all
but certain that the map
drawn last year by a three
judge federal panel will be
used in Georgia’s congres
which produced the biogra
phy, contacted Mr. Carter
for permission to use the
photos of Mr. Brown.
Among the photos tele-,
vised was a photograph of
the old Lenox Theatre taken
by Mr. Carter’s uncle, Albert.
Carter. Goodmarc had been
told that no photos remained
of the landmark theatre.
“Out of 150 photos that
they took, 17 were used in
the show. When you take a
photo, younever know where
it will end up,” Mr. Carter
noted. The show received a
good rating of 3.0.
& L R MR EEE;
Augusta
Metropolitan Augusta’s F'inest Weekly Newspaper
sional elections this year,
forcing two of the state’s
three black congressmen
torunin majority white dis
tricts.
In a one-sentence order,
thejustices denied an emer
gency appeal from voters
who supported the map
RESTRAINT
By Rhonda Y. Maree
Last year, 7,051 women
called SAFE Homes of Au
gusta Inc. in a desperate
attempt to save their lives
— not from some unknown
would-be killers, but from
men they’ve long called hus
band and friend.
This was a dramatic in
crease from years past, in
which the shelter for bat
tered spouses usually
fielded an average of 2,000
calls a year. But with in
creased publicity, havens
such as SAFE Homes have
become better known, and
battered women have be
come more fearful that their
next beating could be
deadly.
According to SAFE
Homes Director Nancy
Nelson, the beatings have
become more vicious over
the years.
“I'm almost longing for the
days when we would see a
hand print on the face or a
blackened eye,” Ms. Nelson
said. “Batterersused tobeat
their victims in places that
Augusta’s first family’ of the
stage to present tour de force
B Judith Simon-
Butler and Tyrone
Butler team up to
present an ambitious
evening of theatre.
She will act in his
latest offering as a
playwright.
By Rhonda Jones
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
The founder and management
consultant of the Augusta Mini
Theatre, Inc. has done it again.
Tyrone Butler’s new play, The
Johnny Williams Story, is going
to be a one-woman show, with
the director of the Mini The
atre, Judith Simon-Butler, play
ing the women in Johnny Will
iams’ life. But, though he will
not appear physically, the audi
ence will hear Johnny’s recorded
voice, which will no doubt lend
the play a surrealistic flavor.
Mr. Butler says the play is
based on someone he actually
with three majority-black
districts that was enacted
in 1992 by the Georgia Leg
islature, under pressure
from the Justice Depart
ment.
The voters had asked Jus
tice Anthony M. Kennedy,
who handles emergency
Restraining
orders are one
of the most
misunderstood
tools in the
fight against
domestic
violence. By
themselves they
cannot deter
violence, nor
can they deter
a determined
stalker.
didn’t show, but now they
don’t care. I'm seeing a lot
of stabbings and a lot of
shootings and a lot of bro
ken bones.”
0000 00OGOCDBONOGNOONOEONONODS
The Johnny Williams Story
When: Feb. 22, 1996
Where: The Bell Auditorium
Times: 10:30 a.m., 12:00 p.m.
(schools)
7:30 p.m. (general)
Tickets: $4.00 Students
$8.50 Adults
M ALSO:
Silent Hero written
by Evelyn Etheridge and
Dr. Roy DelLamotte will be
staged Feb. 14 at the Impe
rial Theatre. Story on page 6.
knew, wholived in Augusta and
grew up in the Gilbert Manor
housing project in the 19505. It
is a story of a young man en
dowed with the dream of mak
ing something of himself, de
spite the self-hatred he learned
as a child, and the lack of en
couragement from others.
Johnny was one of five chil
dren whose mother had only a
10th-grade education. Hewas a
matters from Georgia for
the high court, to shelve the
court- drawn map until the
full court could consider a
formal challenge to the
plan. Kennedy referred the
request to the full court.
See VOTING, page 15
But more victims of abuse
are deciding that being bro
ken and bruised isn’t their
lot in life, and they’re find
ing the courage to leave
their abusers, Ms. Nelson
said.
Unfortunately, by the
time these women call
SAFE Homes, they've al
yready suffcved umerous
hits and kicks, and their
last hope for protection lies
with a piece of paper — a
restraining order.
In 1995, SAFE Homes
helped 127 women to get
restraining orders against
abusive mates. In prior
years, they helped with only
30.
Through SAFE Homes,
women can avoid the cost of
a private attorney, whose
fees range from SSOO to
SI,OOO, to assist them in
getting a restraining order.
After petitioning the Geor
gia Superior Court and sign
ing a sworn statement that
they’re victims of violence
See RESTRAINT, page 15
bed-wetter who, as early as 3
years old, got a whipping ev
ery morning from his father
for messing up his sheets,
and developed problems with
going to sleep. Mr. Butler
thinks that contributed to
other problems the boy had
as well.
Johnny stuttered, and
didn’t like the way he looked.
He hated being black, Mr.
Butler said, and was highly
sensitive. He got into a lot of
fights. His parents couldn’t
afford to buy his lunch and
there was no free or reduced
lunch program. And, to top it
all off, he suffered from poor
eyesight.
Johnny was a tough guy,
Mr. Butler said, very physi
cal. “Don’t laugh at him,” he
said, “don’t ever do that.”
Toappear even more tough,
he satinthe back of the room,
where he could not even see
theboard well enough to take
tests. But he could bluff his
way through, because his
teachers had students hand
their papers to the front of
See THEATRE, page 18
MR. 808 HENNEBERGER
GEORGIA NEWSPAPER \
UNIVERSITY OF GA !
ATHENS GA 30602 12/31/99 J
Lenora Fulani On
Sanctions are needed
See Page 9
Delta House Exhibit
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SAVANNAH ARTIST Napoleon Wilkerson has
works on display at the Lucy Craft Laney
Museum of Black History. For complete listing
of area Black History events see page 4.
African-American History
Author unfolds saga
of Amanda Dickson
Born in 1849 in Sparta,
Ga., to a slave owner and
his slave, Amanda America
Dickson
emerged
from one of
t h e
country’s
most trying
times for
blacks as a
P Tl
Leslie
wealthy woman.
Kent Leslie, Oglethorpe
College professor and au
thor of Woman of Color,
Daughter of Privilege:
Amanda America Dickson,
recently presented Ms.
Dickson’s rare story as an
other perspective on black
women in history at Paine
College’s two-day confer
ence on the black experi
ence.
Although born a slave to
Julia Francis Louise
Georgia House
legislation calls for
use of chain gangs
By Russ Bynum,
Associated Press Staff Writer
ATLANTA
The Georgia House voted
Friday to allow prison offi
cials toshackle inmate work
crews with leg chains, which
could putsome of the state’s
more dangerous prisoners
on roadside work details.
“We have created ware
houses of humans. Reha
bilitation does not mean
staying in your cell,” said
Rep. Alan Powell, D-
Hartwell, the bill's main
Sponsor.
The bill, which now goes
to the Senate, passed the
House by hand vote, mean
ingindividual votes weren’t
recorded.
Supporters of the mea
sure argued that leg chains
would enable prison work
crews to include inmates
currently considered too
dangerous to leave confine
ment.
Currently, 20 percent of
Georgia’s 34,200 prisoners
5 DR QR
BULK RATE
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
NO. 302
AUGUSTA,GA
Dickson, Ms. Dickson’s
white father, David
Dickson, left her a sl/2-mil
lion estate, including 17,000
acres of land when he died
in 1885. Challenged by the
courts-and Mr. Dickson’s
family, who tried to prove
him insane for leaving his
estate to hisbiracial daugh
ter, the will was upheld af
ter Ms. Dickson offered to
forgive all debts to the es
tate if she were awarded it.
Many of the sitting jurors
were indebted to her.
Still bent on snatching
Ms. Dickson’s inheritance,
herfather’s family appealed
to the Georgia Supreme
Court, which also upheld
the ruling in 1886.
Well-to-doin a time when
most blacks knew only hard
See AMANDA, page 9
are considered too much of
an escape risk for roadside
work. The House bill would
bar only maximum security
inmates, who make up 3
percent of the prison popu
lation, from the work crews.
Opponents of the bill in
sisted that potentially dan
gerous inmates should re
main locked up and chains
would be unnecessary for
prisoners who currently
work outside. They said the
measure may win points
with crime-fearing voters
better than it prevents es
capes.
“This has the smack of
something else,” said Rep.
David Lucas, D-Macon. “We
don’t put people out on work
gangs who have the pro
pensity to escape.”
If the bill becomes law,
Georgia would join Ala
bama, Florida and Arizona
in reviving chain gangs
amid a national climate that
favors harsher prison con-
See PRISONERS, page 2