Newspaper Page Text
VOLUME 17 No. 834~
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Norman among
presidential honorees.
J. Philip Waring remembered:
A tireless reporter of local
African-American history
By Frederick Benjamin Sr.
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AYGUSTA
It was a cool crisp afternoon
when friends and family gath
ered at Paine Collége’s Gilbert
Lambuth Chapel to bid a final
farewell tod. Philip Waring. There
was a strange irony in the fact
that although this was clearly one
of the most important events in
recent memory, Phil would not
be available to cover it. Philip
Waring would not have missed
such animportant funeral as this.
‘The ceremony began at pre
cisely 2:00 p.m. with the Rever
end Canon Lewis BohlerJr. open
ingthe event by leadinga proces
sion of the brothers of Alpha
Kappa Alpha, the honorary pall
bearers, into the chapel as Mrs.
‘Hettie Copeland played the pre
lude.
The Rev. Nathaniel Irvin gave
the invocation and after reug.:gn
of the Scripture, Mrs. Audrey Tho
‘mas delivered a beautiful rendi
tion of “Isl Can Help Somebody.”
- Then speaker after speaker re
called the truly great qualities of
ove, friendship, and dedication
hat were so characteristic of Phil
aring.
: Amongthose who eulogized Mr.
Waring were the Rev. Jerry Poole,
Dr. LE. Washington, Robert W.
Hopson, Quincy Robertson, Mark
Maund, Tracy Williams, the Hon
orable Charles W, Walker, Joseph
‘Goudy and Chaplain A.C. Redd.
INSIDE
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Augustan Jessye
Norman was
among the
Kennedy Center
award recipients
honored recently
at the State
Department.
Norman wili
perform at Paine
Coliege on
Feb. 13, 1998.
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(AP Photo/Brian K. Diggs)
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3. Philip Waring died on Friday, Dec. 12. He wds 85 years old.
Photo by Jimmy Carter :
Lisa Brodie Norwood addressed
the guests on behalf of the Waring
family.
Mr. Waring was represented only
by a photo on a pedestal. Report
edly his remains have been be
queathed to medical science. After
Films: Why isn’t Amistad playing in Augusta?- Page 9
Augusta Focus
Serving Metropolitan Augusta, South Carolina and the Central Savannah River Areo
the memorial service, people gath
ered to fellowship at St. Mary’s
Episcopal Church on 12th Street
just off of Laney-Walker Boule
vard in the neighborhood where
Phil grew up. It was the church
where he was christened as a child.
No Amistad here
BMovie goers want to
see Amistad but for
now they will have to
drive to Atlanta. Local
theater owners say
they are not entirely
at fault.
By Christy Allen
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
RAUGUSTA
Many Augusta residents are
angry and bewildered that they
will not get an opportunity to see
Amistad, Steven Spielberg’s epic
feature film about an 18th cen
tury slave rebellion. The film
opened on December 12 to rave
reviews in Atlanta and other cit
ies, but Augustans showing up at
local theatres were surprised that
the heavily promoted film was not
showing on opening weekend and
will not be showing this weekend.
One woman was 80 upset she be
gan crying. Others protested that
the media would hear of their dis
tress.
Most local theater operators,
however, said either the decision
to pass on the movie was not their
own or that the possibility re
mained that they would get the
movie. Only one cinema could as
sure Augusta Focus that the movie
would be shown in Augusta. The
Regency Exchange Cinemaon Gor
don Highway will feature a Christ
mas Day opening.
Chris Tucker, manager of the
Masters 7 Cinema on Washington
Road, said his theater may yet get
- DECEMBER 18 - 24, 1997
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The Steven Spielberg produc
tion of Amistad is getting
critical acclaim, but Augusta
movie goers must reserve
their opinion. The film will
not be available here until
Christmas day.
an opportunity to show the movie.
“Weare hopingto get it next week
end, but I don’t know right now,
The Regal Cinema near Bobby
Jones Expressway said they will
notbeshowingthe film. According
to a spokesman for the theater,
“This was not our decision. It was
totally up to our corporate office
booking company.” Representa
tives from the corporate office in
Atlanta would say only that a lim
ited number of showings would
happen at specially selected loca
tions, but could not say where or
when those showings would be.
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“My profession is the
helping profession.
I enjoy each and every
day of my life in helping
people, whether it’s
individual or a group,
and I'm especially
anxious over the
achievements and
accomplishments of our
people — Black people.”
—J. Philip Waring
A full life lived for others
Phil was born on January 15,
1912. He was taught by Lucy Craft
Laney at Haines Normal and In
dustrial Institute and attended
See WARING, page 9A
“We may get it sometime in Janu
ary,” arepresentative told Augusta
Focus.
Evans 12 Cinema confirmed that
the movie will not be showing at
any time at its facility. “The book
ing company denied them the
movie,” said Scott Bagwell, the
ater manager. He went on to say
that only a few locations were
granted the movie.
Stephanie Watson, a spokesper
son for Dream World Studios,
Spielberg’s production company,
confirmed that not all markets
were supposed to get the film on
the December 12 opening day.
“It was merely a business deci
sion. The initial plan was to limit
the showings and branch out to
other markets. Thisisa very heavy
movie.” According to Ms. Watson,
the larger cities were the test mar
ket and by all accounts the movie
passed the test with flying colors.
“The movie is doing extremely
well, it is number five at the box
office after showing on only 500
screens nationwide,” she said. She
confirmed that the film will be
available in other theaters on or
after Christmas day.
Theater goers in Columbia, S.C.
have fared no better than their Au
gusta counterparts. Only the Dutch
Square Cinema on Broad River Road
will be showing the movie on Christ
mas day in Columbia.
Housing plan
WAffordable-housing initiatives
stall as city struggles to get its act
together. Laney-Walker Super Block
plan is mired in bureaucratic
regulations.
By Frederick Benjamin St.
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
Augusta commissioners failed to act on a proposal
which would have jump-started an affordable hous
ing program for the inner city. The inaction ensures
that 1997 will be a disappointment for inner-city
development. The earligst the commission will ad
dress the proposal submitted by the Laney-Walker
Development Corporation will be at its December 30
meeting. At stake is nearly $1 million of federal
money. At least $400,000 of that money will have to
be diverted to other uses.
At the beginning of the month, it was felt that the
proposal was on the fast track for approval. But
when the proposal got a lukewarm endorsement
from Community and Neighborhood Development
director Keven Mack at a Dec. 8 Administrative
Services committee meeting, jittery commissioners
decided to take a wait-and-see attitude and passed
the matter on to the full commission without a
recommendation. The item was yanked from the
Dec. 16 commission meeting so that H.U.D. regula
tions could be further clarified.
The act has cast a cloud over the Laney-Walker
development corporation, frustrating its president
Cedric Johnson and board members.
LWDC members have bristled at the suggestion
that its books are not in order. Last week, Mr. Mack
suggested that the organization has had a less than
favorable audit. In a Dec. 11 edition of Augusta
Focus, Mr. Mack said, “The audit done on Laney-
Walker was negative, so they must comply with
regulations.” AR
In fact, a copy of an audit dene on the corporation
revealed no problems and, according to LWDC
boardmembers, a recent Dec. 1 audit yas all positive.
Phil Waring’s
"GO'I\Q
Piaces”
column
appears on
Page 9A
vying for the
academic stars
GRAMBLING, La.
(AP) Grambling State recruiters are on theroad in
force — not for the university’s well-known band or
football team, but for brains.
Grambling and the rest of the nation’s 103 histori
cally black schools could die out unless they can fight
off predominantly white colleges’ offers for top black
students, says acting president Leonard Haynes.
“We have to change the
idea that these colleges
become a student’schoice
when they have nowhere
else to go,” he said.
It’s not a crisis, he said,
but all black colleges must
rebuild their images.
“That’s a non-negotiable
mission that we will face
as we enter the 21st cen
tury,” he said.
Black colleges want to
fill classrooms with stu
dents like C.E. Byrd se
nior Terri Jackson of
Shreveport, whohasa 3.8
grade point average and
22onthe ACT. She’sbeen
offered full scholarships
from colleges like New
York Universjty and the
University of Miami, but
wants to attend a black college for its heritage and
culture.
“I don’t look at these schools as just black colleges,
but real colleges with as much or more educational
opportunities as anywhere else,” said Jackson. How
ever, she said, black colleges aren’t recruiting her
hard because they can’t compete with her offers
from other schools.
See BLACK COLLEGES, page 2A .
Low operating
budgets, ever
changing admin
istrations, pro
gramcuts and -
financial prob
lems already
have shut down
10 black colleges
since 1977. But
keeping their
doors open
throughout the
next century will
force many
schools to hurdle
several obstacles.