Newspaper Page Text
VOLUME 16 N 0.802
Africa Report: Rebels close in on Zaire’s capit@fi?‘; =
Sports: Bryant steps down as ASU head baskethall coach
Augusta Focus
Police tactics questionable
in arrest of Muslim hawker
B The arrest of a N. 0.1. member for selling his
mosque’s publication demonstrates the need for
increased police training and sensitivity. National
accreditation might be needed to hold local police
to recognized professional standards.
ARTICLE OF ANALYSIS
AND INTERPRETATION
By Tawana Lee
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
On Tuesday, Augusta police ar
rested Shawn Muhammad (a.k.a.
Shawn Kenneth) for pedestrian
soliciting. Mr. Muhammad, amem-
ber of the Na
tion of Islam,
had been selling
The Final Call,
the religious
organization’s
publication,
along Barton
Chapel Road. In
the past there
have been nu
merous inci
dents involving
the police anfi
members of the
N. 0.1,, but
through knowl-
Shawn
Muhammad:
Arrested and
harassed by
police.
edge of the law Photo by Tawana Lee
and the use of intelligence on the
part of police officers, there have
been no serious problems lately.
That is not to say that the police
don’t take opportunities to harass
the peaceful, disciplined young
Black men engaged in that lawful
activity. When the young men are
cited or have to appear before a
judge, the case is usually thrown
out of court.
In most cases, the Muslims know
as much or more about the law and
their rights than the police offic
ers who delight in obstructing
them. This may have been such a
case. While the report of the inci
dent appeared in the Augusta
Chronicle which will always give
the “official account” of what tran
spired, the truth can often be found
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The Godfather of Soul James Brown displays his
showmanshp at his birthday bash. Photo by Jimmy Carter
among the members of the black
community.
What followsis the account from
the point of view of the principals
and not the lies told by the police.
Mr. Muhammad was not selling
newspapers at the time he was
arrested, and he did not injure a
police officer.
Mr. Muhammad charges the
police with arresting him for no
good reason and then adding an
additional charge of obstructing a
police officer because of the goon
tactics used by the police once Mr.
Muhammad was in police custody.
The offending officer in this case
is Deputy Jack Rackliff. Members
of the organization complain that
Deputy Rackliff is constantly ha
rassing them for exercising their
rights. The harassment appears
to be racist because when mem
bers of the Nation were soliciting
donations at the same location
several weeks agoalong with mem
bers of the Shriners organization,
who were walking in the middle of
the street, there was no police ha
rassment whatsoever. The
Shriners are a predominantly
white civic organization.
According to Mr.' Muhammad,
he was in the process of crossing
the street when Officer Rackliff
began shouting to him through
his bull-horn that he was “not
supposed to be on the street.”
As Mr. Muhammad approached
the road’s median, the approach
ingdeputy againyelled, “You can’t
sell from thereeither.” At the time
Mr. Muhammad was simply cross
ingthe street. There was very little
traffic at the time and Mr.
Muhammad was not attempting
to make any sales. The police of
ficer.continued toyell at him about
selling the paper. When Mr.
Muhammad attempted to explain
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OUTSPOKEN CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER and black nationalist Audley “Queen
Mother” Moore, seen in this April 18, 1996, file photo in New York, died
Friday in New York. A native of New Iberia, La., Queen Mother Moore was a
street orator: in Harlem where she launched her drive to improve the lifes of
African-Americans. She was 98 years old. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, right,
and Kwame Toure, center, the activist formerly known as Stokely Carmichael,
attend at a tribute so Moore in this photo. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
to the policeman that he wasn’t trying to
make any sales, the deputy called for addi
tional patrol cars.
The6'3"l6s-pound Mr. Muhammad, who
was unarmed, told Augusta Focus that
three additional officers arrived to assist
Officer Rackliff.
Godfather’s
64th hirthday
bash a hit
But the Godfather might
consider moving the
celebration toanothertown
By Timothy Cox
SPECIAL TO AUGUSTA FOCUS
AUGUSTA
The Godfather of Soul celebrated his birth
day with a bash that mounted to nothing
but a big Bell Auditorium party. Colored
balloons, confetti, it was all there.
Unfortunately, only about 1,000 people
came out to celebrate Augusta’s most fa
mous citizen during the May 5 concert. Still,
for those privileged enough to attend, the
show was an unforgettable experience. It’s
widely known that James Brownisa legend
ary musician/bandleader and he continues
to display a brilliant piece of musicality
that, based on his many years in the busi
ness, is remarkable that he can still perform
atthelevel that he does. He is in his 60s; and
mmkn&:u that much.
of Brown’s birthday bash s per:
See JAMES BROWN, page 7A
MAY 8 - 14, 1997
When the two were face to face, Mr.
Muhammad went on to explain to Deputy
Rackliff about Georgia law. The assisting
officers — obviously not appreciating the
law lesson — advised the deputy to simply
See POLICE, page 3A
INSIDE
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B Classifieds/Employment .................. 68-8 B
Tedesco:
Diversity
is important
By Tawana Lee
AUGUSTAFOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
Statewide concern is
growing about African—
American student enroll
ment at the Medical Col
lege of Georgia (MCG) asa
result of the trend at
America’s medical schools
reporting a marked de
cline.
MCG President, Dr.
Francis Tedesco, thisweek
affirmed his position that
maintaining diversity at
the state’s only public
medical school is impor
tant. Dr. Tedesco, how
ever, stopped short of sug
gesting that there is any
thing directly he can do to
affect the level of enroll
ment ofunder-represented
minorities.
“We would always like
to be sure the class is di
verse.. That has always
been ourgoal,” theadmin
istrator said. “Although I
don’t getdirectly involved
with it, I think admissions
isadynamicprocess.lcan’t
tell [if minority enrollment
willbedown] until the class
is chosen.”
Minority enrollment has
been falling in medical
schools across the nation.
It remains to be seen if
MCG will be negatively
impacted by the trend. Dr.
Tedesco reaffirmed his
commitment to special
programs currently pro
moted at the medical col
lege designed to enhance
the representation of
underrepresented minori
ties. Underrepresented
minoritiesinclude African
Americans, Native Ameri-
Bryant steps
down as ASU
basketball coach
Clint Bryant, director of
athletics and head basket
ball coach of Augusta State
University announced to
day in ajoint press confer
ence that he is stepping
down as coach to devote
more time to running the
university’sentireathletic
program. Mr. Bryant’s
statement follows:
“Nine years ago when I
accepted the job as ath
letic director and head
men’s basketball coach at
then Augusta College, one
of the most attractive fea
tures was the opportunity
to be involved in athletic
administration at the in
tercollegiate level.
- “I now find myself as-.
forded a tremendous op
portunity at Augusta State
University to reachalong
time career goal on strictly
an administrative level.
The new responsibilities
of being administrative
associate to the president
and my current duties as
director of athletics offer
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AUGUSTA, GA
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Dr. Fran Tedesco
cans, Mexican Americans
and mainland Puerto
Ricans.
“We have ongoing pro
grams to get students ex
cited about science. I
strongly believe that to be
the key. If we increase stu
dent interest in science at
the high school level, as
we do with some of our
special programming, we
willincrease the pipeline,”
Dr. Tedesco said.' “Stu
dents need to understand
what academic édlirses are
needed toget involved with
the health professions pro
gram. Ifeel strongly about
that.”
Rev. Alfred Walker of
the NAACP said MCG
should be more diligent in
their outreach efforts of
minority — specifically
African-American — stu
dents. Rev. Walker said
his discussions with stu
dents leads him to believe
they make their decisions
to attend medical school
based on considerations
other than academics.
“Ultimately students,
like everyone else, are go
ing where they feel their
presence is desired and
where they feel comfort
able. The students are all
See MCG, page 3A
tremendous challenges.
“This new responsibil
ity will give me an oppor
tunity to better serve the
university and to focus on
our entire athletic pro
gram, comprising 11
sports, 150 student ath
letes, and support stafY. [
believe this will also en
able the men’s basketball
to grow under
mofacommme
hiring a new basketball
coach,” :