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Georgia civil rights leaders unite behind Nuwaubian Moors
By Malik Russell
Special to NNPA
Independent Blacks in Georgia
have garnered the support of the
local NAACP, Rainbow Push Coa
lition, the SCLC and various Afri
can American elected officials in
their attempt to end the alleged
harassment by county law enforce
ment officials.
According to Rene McDade, na
tional spokesperson for the
Nuwaubian Moors, Sheriff How
ard Sills of Putnam County has
used questionable building code
violations to prevent the group
from continuing to develop its
nearly 500 acre estate located
about an hour from Atlanta.
“He has portrayed us as a cult,
our land as a compound. He has
portrayed us as a potential
threat...He has spread the rumors
that we were stockpiling weap
ons. That’s why when he came out
and searched everything he
wanted to search, the bottom fell
out because he didn’t find any
weapons,” said McDade. “The
judge up until that point and the
county commissioners let him
have his way, but based on what
he had been putting out about us
Profiling travelers
From page one
so-called racial profiling cases, said
Clinton’sorderwould have“adomino
effect” at the state and local levels,
and would alleviate the problem in
federal jurisdictions wherever it
arises.
“Wherever you have a predomi
nantly white environment and there
are people of color, they’regoing tobe
scrutinized beyond what is neces
sary. So if it’s in a park, yes, it could
saalpapeninmeParkSewioe,”Shufofl
Shuford said the order’s impact
will befelt at airports, whereincreas
ing numbers of minorities are com
plaining that they were selected for
Customs searches based on their
race or ethnicity.
“Alot of people travel for vacation.
Alot of people take trips as a regular
part of their jobs. Many people will
come across federal officials in that
process,” Shuford said. “In that re
spect, I think it can be really signifi
cant.”
Clinton’s order covers federal offic
ers such as the police who patrol
national parks, aswell as agentswith
thelmmigration and Naturalization
Service and the Customs Service,
whichisfacinga class-actionlawsuit
by nearly 100 black women who say
they were singled out for searches
when re-entering the country.
The Greater Augusta Arts council
holds 31st annual award dinner
The Greater Augusta Arts Coun
cil held it’s annual arts recogni
tion awards dinner Tuesday, June
15, at The Clubhouse on Washing
ton Road. The 31* annual meet
ing consisted of a fine dinner ac
companied by entertainment pro
vided by violinist Arthur Ross and
pianist Jacqueline Heider. .
Awards were presented tothose
who have helped to promote arts
in Augusta the past year in six
different categories. Patti Ann
Smith of the Augusta Ballet re
ceived the volunteer award. Alan
Cooke of Peach State Radio won
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he was going to have to deliver he
didn’t deliver. He came up empty
handed [on his allegations].”
The group’s plight has sparked
the support of numerous civil rights
veterans due to what some con
sider underlying voting rights is
sues. Nuwaubians believe that
their mass influx into Eatonton,
Ga., could disrupt the delicate bal
ance of White and Black majority
voting districts.
“I think the county should re
think what they are doing, because
if they continue down the path
they are going, I think the county
is asking for, begging for a confron
tation that could be quite embar
rassing to Putnam county, the state
of Georgia and the nation,” said
Georgia State Representative
Tyrone Brooks. “I just don’t see
any need to keep up the harass
ment, the tension and knit-picking
that they are doing. I just think
theyneed torethink their approach
to this and be cooperative and try
to assist in the development of the
Nuwaubian community.”
Rep. Brooks, a 20-year veteran
of the state house and president of
the Georgia Association of Black
elected officials, said he met with
Sheriff Sills and noted that Sills
“It’s part of this whole thing of
traveling while black, driving while
black, or brown or red,” said Rep.
John Lewis, D-Ga. He is crafting
legislation that would require that
detained travelers have access to a
lawyer within 24 hours, and that a
magistrate approve any detention
that lasts longer than 12 hours.
Lewissaid legislation is necessary
because Clinton’s order does not ad
dress the civil liberties issues behind
Customs detentions. He said he is
responding to media reports that
showed blacks madeup 90 percent of
passengers X-rayed for drugs at
Hartsfield Atlanta International Air
port, while only 20 percent of de
tained blacks were found tobe carry
ingdrugs.
“The position taken by the presi
dent is long overdue. We need to get
to the bottom of this,” Lewis said.
Customs officials said 50,892 of
71.5 million international air travel
“erswere sub;ectedtobodys&mhg,
Black and Hispanictravelerswere
subjected to 43 percent of body
searches last year, according to an
analysis of Customs data presented
to Congress earlier this year by a
Cornell University law professor.
Customs Commissioner Raymond
W. Kelly has appointed a panel to
review policies and procedures used
by Customs inspectors; a report is
expected in mid-July.
the award in the media category.
Linda Bradberry of the Augusta
Children’s Chorale was the recipi
entofthe arts professional award.
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church was
awarded the corporate award. Dr.
Rudy Volkmann, musical director
of the Augusta Jazz Project, was
selected the winner of the indi
vidual artistaward. The evening’s
top President’s Award was pre
sented to Barbara Feldman, chair
of the Greater Augusta Arts
Council’s hugely attended fall fes
tival, The Arts in the Heart of
Augusta Festival.
informed him that he was “con
ducting a criminal investigation”
of the Moors.
“Wesaid tothesheriffthatwe're
concerned that these people’s civil
rights may be violated here,” said
Rep. Brooks “and we’re concerned
that they may be facing the ha
rassment of the county and sher
iff department because of their
religion. He, Sills said, ‘no, I'm
not concerned about their reli
gion or what they may believein.”
Rep. Brooks also feels that the
county“hasdiscriminated against
them by refusing to grant them
the proper permits so that they
canbuild and develop theirland.”
“The bottom line, what I wanted
to say to the sheriff and what we
conveyed clearly is that we'’re
watching very closely how county
officials are treating the
Nuwaubins. We will insist and
demand that their constitutional
rights be protected,” said Joe
Beasley, regional director of Rain
bow/Push.
According to Beasley, the sher
iff is attempting to marginalize
this group of people and make
them acult...andin factifthey are
able to marginalize them and
make them a cult, then you can
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destroy them with a good clear
conscious. I said to the Sheriff
that we are not going to allow
them to be marginalized.
In a recent court case, the
Nuwaubians were given two
weeks toreapply for all their build
ing and zoning permits, whichisa
victory of sorts. “What the lawyer
was trying to do was to stop our
family reunion June 24 through
July 4* and that ain’t happening.
We're expecting 40,000 people and
they’re coming,” said McDade.
“Last year, when we were pre
paring for our family reunion, we
were not having as much opposi
tion from the sheriffand the county
commissioners. This year we are
and we've got three times asmuch
done. It’s unreal,” she added.
This year’s celebration, “The
Yamasee Native American
Nuwaubian Moors Family Re
union,” will include such noted
performers asreggae artist Jimmy
Cliff and the hip hop group De La
Soul. “It will also include Osiris
Procession and the Isis Proces
sion, ceremonies of ancient Egypt
(Kemit) that have not been per
formed in 2,500 years prior to our
reenactment of them as of two
years ago,” said McDade.
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