Augusta focus. ([Augusta, Ga.) 198?-current, March 21, 1996, Image 1

Augusta focus., March 21, 1996, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextWD, e PHAROAH The Rev. Al Sharpton pens autobhiography seePs @& @ @ Bills die in Senate Attempt to reorganize Coliseum Authority and disrupt School-Board racial balance falls flat. By Frederick Benjamin Sr. AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer AUGUSTA The Augusta Chronicle backed right-wing lobby was handed a pair of de feats this week when legis lation they backed failed to obtain passage in the state Senate. The Chronicie used heavy-handed tactics to push through a reorganiza tion bill for the Augusta- Richmond Coliseum Au thority and pushed for the passage of a bill adding an 11th member to the Rich mond County School Board. Many in the black commu nity felt both bills were de signed to undercut black pe litical influence. But a key black member of the Rich mond County legislative delegation denies that his support for both pieces of legislation would have hurt the black community. “I would never do any thing to hurt the black com munity,” said Rep. Ben Allen (D-117). Mr. Allen was the loneblack supporter ofabill toincrease the num ber of members on the Rich mond County School Board from 10 to 11. While many observers feel an extra member elected at-large would tip theracial balance in favor of whites, Mr. Allen disagrees. “Who’stosaythatthe 11th member would be white?” Mr. Allen said. The voting is by 45 percent plurality and that could favor minor ity candidatesin certain cir cumstances, he said. Some members of the School Board, however, were not reassured by that remote possibility. “l was sorry when Mr. Allen signed that bill,” said ¢, = | p ‘ —, i p ) Augusta Symphony presents Jazz Violinist Joe Kennedy Jr. See Artbeat * Page 6 M World/National New5.............ccceeu.... 2 WMIBCAINGWS i 1 i sinibiiiiio it WPI vl i e WARIOUAL, e s BEGONRL .o vt iili iaintis s s ibes B WAL Lotk i i i 8 WIAVING ... ik aniatieriiiniig 10 BCalendar ... .l i nih. 18 & Sports 13 B Chuirch News ..o avsiiiiiiinii 4 B Classifieds .o 1811 Rep. Allen: “I would never do anything to hurt the black commu nity.” School Board trustee Adna Stein. Mr. Stein reported he had received calls from Augusta Chronicle editorial writer Phil Kent urging him to support the School-Board legislation, but he refused. “I'm standing up for what’s right. If that will cause me not to be re elected, then I just have to deal with that,” he said. Most of the black School Board members have re ceived a similar call since the Board deadlocked on the appointment of a perma nent school superintendent. Kent’s agents were active in Atlanta as well. Black School Board membersY.N. Myers and Andrew Jefferson report-being ap proached by Rep. Robin Wil liams and being offered a deal in return for their sup port for the 11th-member legislation. If they sup ported the legislation, Mr. Myers said, an accompany ing bill giving the School Board members each an SB,OOO raise would be intro duced. Neither trustee would offer their support. Later, when the story be came public, it was made to appear as if the black mem bers thought up the scheme to line their own pockets. Mr. Allen said he sup ported the School-Board leg islation because the time was right. “I did not do anything See BILLS, page 3 AT R L R RIS eet L R T R e st e e SR e e iRt RN ERRR BV e SRR mrﬂ.ﬁdﬁ"’ﬁ%h R Xﬁ’é\x fae R S R R gﬁ;'fg‘ R e g&%m\ur el ‘:'E){“?‘m-“‘“\ &'C‘t”‘“q Ll R | g ARSI PRSI gl “‘;_' ST T SRI e= e e A ; LA SR R apes O SRR RERG RR S ST SRR S R B S T R e SRR SR L ke s{:{‘rx ’lx“ﬁ“";)bf’:’ﬁ%("&‘.‘,\W‘:’«. : ;e B W e i T P | i Sl “w‘w’”’““‘\‘ BERAEEEE e SusRRER R Rel R TR 5 : B e : PR G e Ptan : 2 g Spatoa SRR GRt S 1 G ; ; g SiatE s =‘%’«‘=‘.~\"T‘T:"z€‘.«’?£:x"::2:‘l;:.4‘»:,’: SasER R ' A SRR e e L . ::22i ; > Rl R . e ' eT e e § » ; ' f.".’é.ff: 3@ SRR Bk ) b R R e 3 . SRR e : i B | M § 1 ' AR S i A SRR R s R e . : sil T 7 Rl o " 3 A s ‘ ‘ 3 T e SRR e e S % ’ - g TR RRe MR B .;‘_.\»A,.‘“‘ S B e B i X e i LR BARRAT R R L R e R et AR ERR IR Gy | METRO AUGUSTA'S FINEST WEEKLY NEWSPAPER | SCHOOL-BQARD CONTROVERSY Oglesby takes heat for superintendent vote B Right-wing lobby rails against motion that awards superin tendency to black candidate. By Rhonda Jones and Frederick Benjamin Sr. AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writers AUGUSTA Richmond County School Board trustee Mary Oglesby finds herselfin the center of a controversy prompted by a negative editorial appearingin last Maczyk miffed at way new changes were handled By Rhonda Jones AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer AUGUSTA Associate Superintendent Willie Maczyk was not in volved in the negotiations that led to the hiring of a permanent superintendent and a possible modification of his duties. “They didn’t discuss any thing with me,” Dr. Maczyk said. He had no idea trustee RACE MATTERS ‘Redneck Shop’ must go, Jackson tells S.C. town By Kim Curtis Associated Press Writer LAURENS, S.C. Alocal store that sells Ku Klux Klan material shows that racism continues to infect our country, the Rev. Jesse Jackson says, warning that if people do not fight back, it will destroy society. Jackson came here Monday to condemn the Redneck Shop and to encourage people of all races to continue trying to close it and run its owner out of town. “Only by standing together, black and white ... can we move together from disgrace to amaz ing grace,” Jackson told a crowd at the New Beginning Mission ary Baptist Church. He wants a Justice Department investigation of the shop and its owner, John Howard, for pos sible civil rights violations. Howard, a self-described KKK member, opened the store March 1 with its display of Klan robes and flags, pictures of cross burnings, Klan meetings and Klan founders. Nearly 300 people attended a protest rally Saturday. Laurens [T T PN 5 b ¥ “’ 2 ‘2: 5 e St :: ‘ w # i »z 1 »"3:;1,' :‘;? i i Dr. Charles Larke becomes the first black superintendent in Richmond County’s history. Sunday’s Augusta Chronicle denouncing her role in the recent surprise Mary Oglesby would spring a motion Thursday to cre ate positions for a deputy superintendent and an as sistant superintendent, or that it would pass, and is still reeling from the shock. He has yet to be “given the courtesy” of an explanation, he says, even upon ap proaching the new superin tendent after Thursday’s meeting. When asked about his position in the central office hierarchy, he replied, “We have marched too long and bled too much and worked too hard and died too young to allow the resurrection of the Kian in the midst of our struggle to resist and fight back.” — The Rev. Jesse Jackson County, with about 58,000 people,is about 28 percent black, according to census figures. Jackson said the mission of the KKK is violence and intimi dation and its presence should not be tolerated. “We have marched too long and bled too much and worked too hard and died too young to allow the resurrection of the Klanin the midst of our struggle decision to hire Dr. Charles Larke as the per manent superintendent of schools. The editorial referred derisively to Oglesby’s “rainbow coalition” — a reference to the multira cial nature of the support ers of the motion. For merly, the School Board had been evenly divided along racial lines on the matter. Ms. Oglesby is white and Dr. Larke is black. He will become the system’s first African- American superinten dent. See OGLESBY, page 2 “Well, I'm just sitting here waiting ... continuing my work ...” Dr. Larke insists Dr. Maczyk’s job, at least, is se cure. “Dr. Maczyk is a ten ured professional,” he said, hesitant to go further. “I wouldn’t want to do any thing to cause him concern. The media’s been so unfair tohim already. ... He will be associate superintendent See MACZYK, page 3 to resist and fight back,” he said. “It will notjust go away. People must stand together and remove this cancer.” Jackson did not visit the store on Monday, Howard said. The Rev. David Kennedy of the New Beginning church organized Saturday’s rally and Jackson’s visit to this community about 65 miles north of Columbia. Kennedy, who is black, said the shop is a blight on the community. Howard, whosays he does not support the KKK’s vio lent past, said he wants to educate people about the his tory of the Klan and hopes to use money from the store to open a KKK museum in an other part of the old theater building. He encourages the Justice Department investigation because, he said, “I feel like my civil rights have been vio lated.” Howard’s bank has refused to continue his ac count and he said rocks have See KKK, page 2 MR. 808 HENNEBERGER GEORGIA NEWSPAPER UNIVERSITY OF GA ATHENS GA 30602 12/31/99 B R B e L S eB S E o i ERN - ; ‘ P *: 4 A 4 "/ Shrenko leads fight to upgrade vocational training - See P. 4 Bowers hands Justice objection to federal courts M Civil-rights groups decry move by Attorney Gen eral Bowers to side step the Voting Rights Act and let the federal courts draw district lines. By David Pace Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON Georgia’s congressional and state legislative dis- tricts are in limbo until federal judges decide how many black-major ity districts arenecessary to comply with a land mark Su preme Court ruling. With the qualifying time for can didates just over a month away, Attor ney General “1t is absolutely despicable, of fensive, racially divisive and polarizing to even imagine that the leaders of this state would join this white resistance movement.” — Rep. Tyrone Brooks, D-Atlanta. Mike Bowers asked a three judge panel in Augusta Monday to approve legisla tive district lines that were enacted by the Legislature last year but rejected by the Justice Department on Fri day. The department, exercis ing its authority under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, said the black voting strength in two Senate and nine House districts had been unnecessarily re duced. Bowers described the Jus tice Department objection Motive sought in rash of arsons at black churches KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Southern black churches are under attack, and it’s not clear who is be hind it or whether the pat tern of arsons is organized. Arsonists have burned over 20 churches in nine states since 1989; 18 attacks happened within the past 14 months. Tennessee is among the hardest hit, with seven churches destroyed since 1995. Also plagued have been Alabama, Georgia, Louisi ana, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. Joe Roy of Klanwatch, a group that monitors hate groups, says his group is seeking a com monthreadintheincidents. “The possibility is very high that these crimes rep resent an organized, racially motivated effort to intimi date blacks,” Roy said. Atleast three churchesin South Carolina have been attacked. Two white men, Gary Christopher Cox and Timothy Adron Welch were | | BULKRATE | U.S. POSTAGE g PAID ; NO. 302 / AUGUSTA,GA as “patently unconstitu tional” in light of llast year’s Supreme Court ruling that race cannot be the predomi nant factor in the drawing of election districts. The three-judge panel is the same court that drew a new Georgia congressional district map last year, re ducing the number of ma jority-black districts from three to one. But that court-drawn congressional map also is being challenged. The Jus tice Department last week asked the Supreme Court to overturn the map and order the panel to draw a new one that has two majority black districts. Even if the high court ex pedites its rul ing, as the ad ministration requested, it will be mid- April before a decision comes down. And if the justices side with the administra tion, candidate qualifying, now set for April 22-29, would have to be postponed while the panel draws a new map. In both redistricting cases, the legal dispute re volves around the issue of when majority-black dis tricts are required by the Voting Rights Actin light of last year’s Supreme Court ruling. In their appeal of the congressional map, federal lawyers argued that the voting law, because of See DISTRICTS, page 2 Feds say no racial motive found in church burnings. B See Page 14 arrested in connection with fires at Macedonia Baptist Church in Bloomville, S.C., and the Mount Zion AM.E. ChurchinGreeleyville, S.C. Authorities say both men had connections to Ku Klux Klan groups. Roy said there have been eight arrests so far, in just four ofthe 32 arsons. All the accused are white men. The Justice Department has been asked to investi gate the fires as civil rights violations by The National Association for the Ad vancement of Colored People. “What we do know is that a disproportionate number have been African- American churches in iso lated areas and enough in stances to cause us great See BURNING, page 14