Newspaper Page Text
FEBRUARY 13-19,1997 VOL. XVINO. 790
N'ISE:TRQA.UGUST‘A'S T NEW‘S'P'APE.R
Wescott fired for tarnishing
image of Augusta museum
BB Inclusion of African Americans will
be one of first priorities of new museum
director, trustee chairman says.
By Rhonda Jones
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
“We planned this going-away party months ago,”
gaid Dr. Raymond Rufo, chairman of the board of
trustees for the Augusta-Richmond County Mu-
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Richard Wescott: His
priorities were never
the same as the
governing board.
that illustrate life in Aug\ista for African Americans.
The way it used to be. Its purpose, he said, is to
“[record] the fact that there was such a thing as
See MUSEUM, page 7A
Support grows
for fired worker
B More commissioners show interest
in plight of former county worker.
By Rhonda Jones
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
Augusta-Richmond
County Commissioner
Henry Brigham says
James Perkins — tossed
aside by the county when
.
e G
-i k X Y
ERE E
Poitier portrays Mandela
in new movie
See Page 1C
B World/National News........cccoervererens 2A
B Local/Regional News ...........c.ccoonsne eSA
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BB CRMDEAE ..l o nsis v sismssinmmibibaieiaas i
I Church News .........ccoconviiisnisinssiansnns: 4C
B Classifieds/Employment ............. BC-7C
‘seum. He was speaking of
the former executive di
rector, Richard Wescott,
who was fired by the board
on Feb. 8 for statements
Dr. Rufo said muddied the
museum’s image and for
refusing on several occa
sions to include exhibits
theboard voted toinclude.
At least one of those ex
hibits depicts black Au
gustans’ contributions to
Augusta’s history.
Dr. Rufo said the Afri
can-American exhibit,
which has finally been
erected, is a collection of
documents and clippings
his department became
privatised two years ago
— has “a good shot at”
becoming a county em
ployee again, but that his
case will have to “pick up
some support” in the
See PERKINS, page 3A
Black neighborhoods last
in line for new trash bins
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On February 1, many Augustans received brand new trash bins as part of the city of
Augusta’s privatizing residential garbage collection in the urban service zone. Most
inner-city blacks, however, have yet to receive the 96-galion bins. Photo by Tawana Lee
By Tawana Lee
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
While some neighborhoods
have been supplied with brand
new 96-gallon trash bins, most
of the inner-city neighborhoods
are being asked to wait a couple
of weeks. Riding through the
mostly black historic Laney-
Walker district, not asingle new
trash bin is to be found.
RACE MATTERS
Lawmaker reveals existence of tax
payer-funded Ebonics lesson plans
[ The California
Dept. of Education
instructs teachers te
use slang in classroom.
By Frederidk Benjamin Sr.
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
What most anti-Ebonics educa
tors, politicians and community
activists feared most — taxpayer
funded Ebonics instruction mate
rial — is apparently a reality in
California. In afaxed report distrib
uted to the media on Wednesday,
California state senator Raymond
N. Haynes and African-American
Oakland community activists
Thordie Ashley and Deborah
Wright revealed the existence of
Ebonics lesson plans produced by
the California State Department of
sistently decried the use of public
funds for the teaching of black En
would hold a news conference on
Thursday, Feb. 13 to “reveal to the
public the existence of taxpayer
l BLACK HISTORY SUPPLEMENT INCLUDED |
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The bins are being distributed
as part of the new trash collection
system implemented by private
haulers. As of February 1, 1997,
the City of Augusta has turned
trash collection in the urban ser
vice zone over to private trash
hauling firms
While some local haulers have
provided bins to all customers in
their service area--and have extra
bins remaining-- others have cho
sen to wait. The reason appears to
“These documents
demonstrate that
teachers will in fact
be encouraged to
use slang in the
classroom if Ebonics
instruction takes
place in California’s
schools.”
— California state
Senator Raymond Haynes
funded Ebonics lessons ... that ex
plicitly instruct teachers touse slang
in the classroom.”
According to the report, a little
known “Proficiency in Standard En
glish for Speakersof Black Language”
program recommends that teachers
produce audio tapes of themselves
American students, speak specific
Mwmudm@u
indmg‘onmubmdmm
head transparencies for their Afri
can-American students.
Senator Haynes provided sample
be financial.
CSRA Waste Disposal, the only
minority company to receive a
direct contract with the city,
working in conjunction with
Berry Smith Sanitation, the old
est hauling businessin Augusta,
has almost completely supplied
his zone with trash bins. This
team services over 1,700 resi
dents. The companies ordered
See TRASH BINS, page 3A
pages from a document entitled
“Lesson Plan Handbook” for Profi
ciency in Standard English for
Speakers of Black Language.” On
page two of the handbook is the
heading, “Kill These Myths.” One
of the myths suggested is “Stan
dard English is the correct way to
speak at all times”; another is “In
order to teach standard English,
the teacher must eradicate the
student’s home language.”
According to the faxed material,
“The State Department of Educa
tion also suggests that African-
Americanchildren brainstorm with
their teachers to think of the situa
tionsin which ‘School Language’ or
English, should be used, and situa
tions in which ‘Playground Lan
guage,’ or Ebonics, should beused.”
According to the Ebonics lesson
plan, appropriate times to use
Ebonics is when “talking to good
friends, ploving with a family mem
ber, runnig in.the park, or cheer
ing at a sports event.”
English include when “talking to
the principal, making a report, or
dering at a restaurant, and asking
directions of a stranger.”
Loce.
youth
enjoy
fun and
frolic
aboard
float
during
Paine
College
Home
coming
Parade.
C. Jones
SCHOOLS
Uniforms in
classrooms
receive A+
B Parents and
school principals
in Richmond
County pilot
schools are high
on the voluntary
experiment.
By Tawana Lee
' AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
So far, school uniforms
are receiving high praises.
If the initial positive re
ports from the test schools
areany indication, all Rich
mond County schools may
adopt the practice.
As a result of the Rich
mond County School Sys
tem uniform incentive pro
gram, principals are re
porting a lower incident
rate of disciplinary prob
lems and theftsamongstu
dents. The three pilot
schools for the voluntary
uniform program are
Barton Chapel Elemen
tary, Merry A. Berry El
ementary, and Glenn Hills
Middle schools.
Although participation
in the program is volun
tary, there is widespread
acceptanceamongparents.
Principalsarereporting 85
to 95 percent student in
volvement with the young
est studentsbeingthe most
faithful.
To keep interest high,
special school spirit days
are used to challenge stu
dents.
In preliminary uniform
surveys, parents list get
ting children ready for
school in the morning
faster, and saving money
on school clothes as their
Jailed activist
seeking new trial
after 25 years
B Geronimo Pratt, former member
of the Black Panther Party, may
have been framed by L.A. police.
By Max Millard
Special to the NNPA
SAN FRANCISCO
Geronimo ji Jaga
(Pratt), the former Los
Angeles Black Panther
who has spent almost 25
years in prison for a mur
der conviction that was
obtained under highly
questionable legal proce
dures, now has his best
chance ever to get a new
trial, according to his sup
porters and attorneys.
Jaga, 49, who renamed
himselfin honor ofa West
African warrior who
fought against colonial
ism, was moved from his
cell at Mule Creek State
Prison in lone, Calif., to
Orange County Superior
Court, for a hearing held
from Dec. 16 to Jan. 10.
The hearing ended in an
wave of optimism among
aeanl ot O
Starr resigns
Timeout with Tony C
See Page 10A
Ages old bondage
reported in West
African shrines
See Page 2A
two favorite perks.
One Merry Berry
student’s mother com
mented in a letter to her
child’s principal, “Thank
you from a happy mom!
I'vecutdown preparation -
time in the mornings and
my child feels dressed for
success!”
In the “Uniforms Are
Us” survey conducted by
Barton Chapel, parents
suggested that studentin
centives are very effec
tive. Merry Berry stu
dents receive citizenship
rewards if they dress-out
Monday through Thurs
day. At Glenn Hillseighth
graders Jonathan
Johnson and Jonella
Wells were able to see
President Clinton as a
reward for wearing their
uniforms to school every
day.
Theuniformsappearto
affect student conduct.
Barton Chapel Principal
Missoura Ashe had eight
students sent to her of
ficeforinfractions—none
were in uniform.
“If you walk around in
the halls, there is a calm.
Look into classroomsand
see students learning.
Thereisn’t much off-task
behavior —the students
are working,” Mrs. Ashe
said.
Merry Berry Principal
Beverly Arnold also no
ticed positive results of
the uniform initiative.
“Children are different
now. They walk with
their shoulders back and
with their heads up high.
They belong instead of
being set aside,” she said.
Eighth graders from
See UNIFORMS, 5A
his supporters who be
lieve that this, his sixth
attempt to win a new
trial, would be success
ful.
Santa Ana Superior
Court Judge Everett W.
Dickey, who presided
over the hearing, has
ordered attorneys for
both sides to submit their
final arguments in writ
ing, by Feb. 14. Then
Dickey will make his de
cision on whether to al
low a retrial. ;
There is no physical
evidence to connect Ji
Jaga to the murder of
schoolteacher Caroline
Olsen, who was shot and
killed on a Southern Cali
fornia tennis court by
two assailants in 1968.
Her husband Kenneth
took five bullets but sur-
See GERONIMO, 5A
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