Newspaper Page Text
VOLUME 17 No. 874
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I:-HE ART OF CHARLOTTE WEBB - 1B
Protest
march
planned
By Frederick Bonjomin
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
\ AUGUSTA
~ Some three weeks after the con
troversial switching of the princi
pals at A.R. Johnson and T.W.
Josey high schools, student lead
ers and their supporters are plan
nihg to take their case before the
school board.
Student leaders at the two
schools have planned a march on
the board of education at their
October 8 meeting.
Alittle over two weeks ago hun
dreds of parents and students
protested the reassignment of
former Josey principal Vivian
Pennamon and A.R. Johnson prin
cipal Horace Lamback at two bois
terous public forums. Pennamon
is now the chief administrator at
Johnson and Lamback isin charge
of Josey.’
Superintendent Dr. Charles
Larke received the lion’s share of
the criticism and most students
and parents who have been vocal
about the change believe that Dr.
Larke is chiefly responsible for
‘the move.
* Protesters will gather on Walton
Way at the site of the old Sears
parking lot (across from
McDonalds) at 5 p.m. on October
-See SCHOOL PROTEST, page 3A
Minority income rises,
but leaders urge caution
mDespite positive trend,
millions of African
Americans remain
mired in poverty.
Experts worry that an
economic downturn will
add millions more to the
ranks of the poor.
By Paul Shepard
ASSOCIATED PRESS Writer
WASHINGTON
A continued decline in poverty
rates among blacks and Hispan
ics cheered minority economic ex
perts, but they worried about what
could happen if and when the
nation’s healthy economy catches
a cold.
+ “Any decline in poverty rates is
good news, but what happens
when things slow down?” said
Robert B. Hill, director of the In
stityte of Urban Research at Mor
rn State University. “Too many
lacks are in poverty now in these
good economic times, so it makes
you wonder how bad things will
il and pther hiack
: r economic
experts fear mirorities will be
m«%y hurt when the
national employment pool begins
todry.
“We haven’t done enough to
raise ml_e’s skill level for the
jobs that will be produced in the
M’ddlbxus;mm-,m
» economist and vice guaid&nt at
the Joint Center for Political and
‘Economic Studiesin Washington.
BN e AV nbmammvi.m’
Commentary: Wall Street targets affluent blacks Page 9A
Serving Me'mpolflung Augusta, South Carolina and the Central Savannah River Area
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Wading to safety
Residents of Orange Grove Project in Mobile, Ala., carry their
children out of floodwaters on Monday, Sept. 28, 1998. The
Mobile River flooded when Hurricane Georges made landfall
along the Mississippi Coast, causing extensive damage and
.flooding in four states. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
City finds buyer for
Old Towne properties
Mayor Larry Sconyers an
nounced this week that an out-of
town firm has purchased 121 city
owned units in the Old Towne
neighborhood.
The sale bails the city out of a
real estate deal that, up until the
time of the sale, was costing the
city hundreds of thousands of dol
Black men who work
full time are narrow
ing the gap between
their incomes and
those of white males.
Black home ownership
has been sharply in
creasing. And black
high school gradua
tion rates, which long
lagged behind those
of white students, are
now nearly equal to
white rates.
I don’t see anything on the hori
zon that will prop up these posi
tive changes in the poverty rate.”
Propelled by the seven-year eco
nomic surge, the poverty rate
dipped from 13.7 percent to 13.3
percent last year, according to the
Census Bureau annual income
and poverty report. In 1997, the
poverty rate meant an annual
income of $16,400 for a family of
four.
Georgia’s poverty rate was esti
mated at 14.7 percent in 1996-97,
up 1.2 percent from the 1995-96
estimate of 13.5 percent. The
three-year average poverty rate
* for the state, 95-97, was 13.8 per
cent. :
But the real news came in the
huge drops in minority poverty
rates. i ]
The number of poor blacks
dropped by 600,000 to 9.1 million
as the poverty rate plunged from
28,4 percent to 26.5 gerantinthe
lact stnnw Tu 1000 # / ?
R AL
lars each year.
White Oak Development Corpo
ration from West Palm Beach,
Florida has paid $1.73 million for
the 50 properties.
The purchase amount will allow
the city to erase the debt incurred
whileit had been managing the
properties, Mr. Sconyers said.
erty rate was 35.7 percent.
For Hispanics, who can be of
any race, the number in poverty
fell from 8.7 million to 8.3 million
as the poverty rate tumbled from
29.4 percent t 0.27.1 percent.
While the brighter economic
picture has extended to minori
ties, it wasn't always the case
that minorities shared in good
fiscal times nationally, said Will
iam Spriggs, director of Research
and Public Policy for the National
Urban League.
When the economy grew from
1983 to 1988, minority poverty
rates stayed flat or nudged slightly
lower, he said.
Spriggs credited an increase in
the minimum wage, the earned
income tax credit and better en
forcement of federal laws barring
discrimination in hiring as rea
sons why “the Clinton recovery
has done more for minorities than
the Reagan recovery.”
“Blacks are now benefiting the
way they should have but didn’t
in the mid 1980’5,” Spriggs said.
“Under Reagan, the minimum
wage didn’t keep pace with infla
tion and tax relief came for people
at the top.” '
“The tax credit has brought
some relief to people at the middle
and the bottom,” he said.
The lower black poverty rate is
part of a package of positive re
cent indicators for blacks, said
National Urban League President
H“fifiw
Black men who work full time
are narrowing the gap between
their incomes and those of white
males. Black home ownership has
Powell, UNCF board
in Augusta for meeting
#Gen. Colin Powell
joins William H. Gray
111 and others at the
annual meeting of the
United Negro College
Fund. The UNCF is
the major fundraising
source for the 39 His
torically Black Univer
sities and Colleges
that are members.
AUGUSTA
Augusta and Paine College are
playing host to an annual meeting
of the United Negro College Fund.
General Colin Powell, William H.
Gray 111, CEO of the UNCF, ascore
of college presidents and UNCF
board members began arriving in
Augusta at mid-week for the strat
egy sessions. It is the first time
that Paine, a UNCF member since
1945, has hosted the organization’s
meeting.
The College Fund/UNCF holds
two of its three annual meetings
in the cities of its member institu
tions,in order to bring about first
hand intetactions between UNCF
officials and neighboring eommu
nities. The vigit will afford Paine
Collegestudents, faculty and staff
with the opportunity to become
acquainted with individuals who
play a vital role in the productiv
ity of the college.
The United Negro College Fund
was formed on April 25, 1944, by
Inside
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A 1998 7
It’s coming! The
Sixth Annual CSRA
Classic is coming
October 24, 1998.
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Retired General Colin Powell shown at a 1996 education speech
is in Augusta aftending the UNCF annual meeting. Hasbro Inc.,
the maker of G.l. Joe, plans to introduce an action figure of the
retired general as part of its Historic Commanders Assortment,
Time magazine reported this week. (AP Photo/Greg Gibson, file)
Dr. Frederick Patterson, as a way
of garnering consistent financial
support for the private Histori
cally Black Colleges and Univer
sities (HBCUs). Paine became a
member in 1945. Since its found
ing, UNCF has grown to become
the major fundraising source for
39 member institutions which
enroll over 54,000 students annu
ally. The UNCF has attained
national recognition as the larg
est of all education fundraising
groups and among the largest non
profit organizations in America.
Last year, the Paine College
UNCF campaign raised
$135,367.00 for the local cam
paign, with 75% of the monies
Lewis to headline
political meeting
®Civil rights era
pioneer will make
to Augusta-area
appearances.
U.S. Congressman
John Lewis will be in
Augusta this week on
behalf of 10th District
Congressional candidate
Denise Freeman.
Mr. Lewis, a noted civil
rights pioneer and au
thor of the recently pub
lished Walking With The
Wind: A Memoir of the
Movement will be the
guest speaker at the
Freeman fundraiser on
Sunday, October 4, at the
Julian Smith Barbeque
Pit at 1:30 p.m.
Lewis led one of the
most dramatice nonvio
lent protests of the Civil
Rights Movement on
March 7, 19656 when he,
along with fellow activ
ist Hosea Williams, led
525 marchers across the
Edmund Pettus Bridge
in Selma, Alabama. Ala
bama State troopers at
tacked the marchersina
confrontation that be
came known as “Bloody
Monday.” That march
and subsequent march
between Selma and
Montgomery, Alabama
led to the Voting Rights
Act of 1965.
Congressman Lewis
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50 CENTS
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NO. 302 AUGUSTA, GA _
remaining at the college. Twenty
five percent of the funds were
sent to the national office. When
combined with nationally raised
funds, Paine received over
$900,000.00 which is distributed
in quarterly distributions. Presi
dent Dr. Shirley A. R, Lewis re
ported that inrecent years, Pgine
College has received UNCF sup
port for environmental studies
projects, faculty dissertation sup
port, student undergraduate fel
lowships and construction. She
stated, “The College Fund/UNCF
isaninvaluable resource for Paine
College. It helps to assure that
we continue our achievement
legacy.”
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The Hon. John Lewis
served until 1986 when
he ran for the sth Con
gressional District — he
currently holds that
seat. Since joining Con
gress he has received
several influential com
mittee assignments and
currently is a member of
the House Ways and
Means Committee,
where he serves on the
Health Subcommittee.
- Denise Freeman, a
-gniner, is attempting
“unseat incumbent
Charlie Norwood in No
vember. She is a former
school board member
from Lincolnton.
Congressman Lewis
will also with Ms.
Freeman fiur that day
at the White Rock Bap
tist Churchin Lincolnton.
That meeting will begin
at 3:30 p.m.
Lewis will also be on
tha hallat in \anvomhnr'