Newspaper Page Text
4 &
k. Mg
. ' 5
ver the past 42 years that
I've written this column,
the dog days of summer
have been used once or
twice during the warm period for
special action research. It takes
place via conversations and inter
views with individuals who talk
about current events and social
issues. In this process, a wide
variety of different settings are
used.
What are the themes this
summer?
1) Now that the Riverfront Cen
ter matter has been favorably re
solved (largely by the private-busi
ness sector) what will happen with
economic development out in the
Laney-Walker sector?
2) Will minorities and women
get opportunities to participatein
the fast growing Riverfront com
plex?
3) What will eventually happen
out at the Gracewood hospital
school complex?
4) Will our children be safe in
the recently discovered contami
nated sites adjacent to W.S.
Hornsby and Clara E. Jenkins
public schools? Will the residents
in those areas?
5) How will the consolidation
Major anti-affirmative action case thrown out
United States District Court
Judge B. Avant Edenfield in Sa
vannah, Georgia recently closed
the book on alawsuit which threat
ened to undermine access for Af
rican%fineficans to the State’s
pußd ighe educatich Btan
Three of the plaintiffs in the
lawsuit originally known as
Wooden, et. Al v. Board of Regents
had claimed that they were de
nied admission tothe University
of Georgia (UGA) because of its
affirmative action admission poli
cies. Nine others attached three
of Georgia’s historically black
state institutions (Albany State,
Fort Valley State, and Savannah
State Universities), alleging that
they accepted too many African
American students through the
mere existence of remedial edu
cation programs. It was also
Clark Atlanta University Art Galleries, 233 James P. Brawley Dr., S.W,,
Trevor Arnett Building. Take bus 13 from MARTA'’s Five Points Station.
“To Conserve a Legacy: American Art at Historically Black Colleges
and Universities” will be exhibited from now through Septembér 25.
The permanent collection, “From Rearguard to Vanguard: Selections
from the Clark Atlanta University Collection of African-American Art,”
shows how the university acquired the core of its collection.
Includes the famous “Art of the Negro” murals by Hale Woodruff.
For more info, call (404) 880-6644.
§m§%wf\/
DA o
MR
W \" :\\'
R
Wl
y m////fl;/‘/g é\\%‘ —"
o /;’f’—a‘/fik\xs
Y
N
e A o
b L f—— 3
N 2 »}/\"?%g )
4 f'@?gfl%
AN =
) ,«::'j': ’i\fié,
=~ f,\gmfi
@‘%/////// M e ”«“{//‘:
J. Philip Waring © suing Flaces
Memorial Column
Informative days of summer
issue, defeated by the U.S. De
partment of Justice, be resolved?
Our salutes go out to:
— Dr. Justine Washington, on
her recent selection as one of the
CSRA’s Women of Excellence for
her more than 40 years of service
and leadership.
— Dr. Louise Rice, outstanding
Augusta College educator and
long-time helper in the Delta
Sigma Theta Sorority, who was
reelected regional chairperson at
the group’s recent regional meet
ing in Texas. ;
— A.C. athletic director Clint
Bryant for helping expand the
summer anti-drug program at
Sunset Homes.
And, finally, my personal thanks
and good wishes to out to Chet
Fuller, who has been promoted to
the post of assistant managing
editor of administration for the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Chet, as you know, was an as
sistant editor of the editorial page
on the Constitution (and also an
award-winning correspondent).
Now, he will no longer have time
to write his splendid Monday
morning column.
His many years of high level
service have also been ‘aspart of
charged that the colleges discrimi
nated against white faculty mem
bers.
During the course of this case,
which was closed July 6, the claims
‘'of dlf but oné bf the origimal plain
'tiffs, Kirby Tracy, wetedismissed.
Judge Edenfield, a critic of affir
mative action, awarded Tracy $1
for applying to UGA under an
admissions policy no longer in ef
fect.
The NAACP Legal Defense and
Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF)rep
resented a group of interveners
that included African American
students and civil rights organiza
tions. LDF was the only party to
present expert testimony, evi
dence that proved to be pivotal in
the case’s dismissal.
Theodore M. Shaw, Associate
Director-Counsel or LDF, stated
\re Inyj
i gm <
| N
! Augusta State University
|
} Do you need help preparing for your future? At Augusta State, we
- offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
- Attend our Returning Adult Program to learn more about what
~ Augusta State has to offer. University representatives will be
i available to answer your questions.
L Informal Drop-In '
' BTy T T m———— .
| Thursday, July 22
l 5 to 6:30 p.m.
I' Benet House, on'the campus of Augusta State University
RSVP: Office of Admissions, (706) 737-1632
Residents of Aiken and Edgefield counties pay Georgia in-state tuition,
A Closer Look
The followingmemorial column by the late J. Philip Waring was first published for
Augusta Focus on June 29, 1989. We are republishing it so that Mr. Waring's
admirers can reminisce and those who missed his columns can geta glimpse of
recentblackhistory.
the growth of Atlanta into a great
international city. Your readers
and friends down in Augusta join
with mein saying, “Thanks again,
Chet.”
Gov. Harris and Georgia
Black judges
As we continue to “bird dog”
publicopinion about variouskinds
of publicmeetings, itis amazingto
discover the sudden upsurge of
surprise on Gov. Joe Frank Har
ris’ idea about Black judges in
Georgia. :
Following is an editorial which
appeared recently in the Atlanta
Constitution:
“Gov. Harris’ idea of out
standing progress”
Nowonder Gov. Joe Frank Har
ris endorses an obstructionist
stance in the face of a challenge to
Georgia’s at-large elections for
Superior Court judges. Anyone
who believes the state is making
“outstanding progress” in bring
ingblackjudgestothe bench would
have a dickens of a time figuring
out what all the fuss is about.
The governor says he’s 100 per
cent behind Attorney General
Michael J. Bower’s refusal to pro
vide the Justice Department in-
that the case demonstrated the
potentifil danger in the anti-affir
mative action fervor advanced by
some conservative groups.
“The only coherent premise be
hind this lawsuit was the insidi
ous miotion that every black stu
dent’ddmitted came at’'the ex
pense of a more deserving and
better academically qualified
white student,” said Shaw. “This
case demonstrates that this is
just plain wrong. Fortunately, the
judge was compelled to rule on
the complete lack of merit in this
case. Unfortunately, many other
lawsuits are filed that are equally
unworthy, using race as a conve
nientscapegoat. The danger these
casesisthatthey canresultinthe
type of sweeping ruling that de
nies thousands of deserving Afri
can American students a fair
chance to an education.”
formation foritsreview of whether
Georgia’sjudicial-election system
dilutes black voting strength in
violation ofthe Voting Rights Act.
The attorney general is fighting a
lawsuit that seeks an end to the
at-large elections in order to in
crease the number of black Supe
rior Court judges.
So where has the “outstanding
progress” Mr. Harris citesin back
ing Mr. Bowers brought us? Six of
the state’s 137 Superior Court
judges are black (and four of the
six sit in Fulton County). There
are no black judges in 42 of the
state’s4sjudicial circuits. Blacks
make up one-third or more of the
registered votersin some 40 Geor
gia counties, but blacks serve as
judgesinonly three of those coun
ties.
Mr. Harris has his own statis
tics to show what “outstanding
progress” is being made. The
state’s pool of lawyers, from which
judges must come, is three per
cent black, yet four percent of the
e
. R e
& s G e B S Rl
e - e 8
e e A S ¥ R . ...
e e e
G &’f o : R
o ' e
ei i A
s ; s 3% :
e SRR 5 i
% o R
eie e E
; e e % i 3
o i - i
s g '5"5'55??:'5?‘5:‘5??5 e i o - s b e san
.Beoo i B . p
P e Be e oo amo i
et pooeo oo R 0
% e 2 > jzii:é;’g;g_o % ; B bt
e ol e o 0 i . Mk )
o o gaie TR ; e 4 :
i 4 g 0 e
G - A = gy . B £ N @
SGgsL T 0 TR ;
i AR LA S »
£ B i P T i i KW A
B G f A s o -
oRe e -
Ne% e v
| o Lo A e i
£ : -~ e | | L
v; i e g g
P SRR i i i 4 A %
: T T N e f
: i e L Rl e %
: e TR - %
. i f B Wew /A L g g A
- e i. -
3 S s e e oo g
Curd . am A # io 8 1 B i b
Wi w R § 7T i o o e
§ BT % P A e g E g
e * S 3 TN £% i d 1
E 3% B s FERRR £ o omo 4
E 18 SR 1 oo L I « B
ot e 3 R R i P g ] e e
I BRAR i” “ j £ e @OOO &
Fa sTR R o S ;3 o b pam g st o
f s E Gad i ;
e. i g
so o Gl -
o -
e . o
S Paglit 0 e . Ak 4
e e r b e S Y 2 aßc Joes
i s SR b g S 5
SRS B % & 3 SRR
,;’ G f i o :
i e aaim e i e o k. N
. rF. i G. RN LD ARG PR Ll
s, R e 55 b 2o Y
WITH FREE UNLIMITED INCOMING CALLS,
WE’VE TAKEN THE FEAR OUT OF GOING MOBILE.
Py Going mobile doesn't have to mean living in fear anymore. If you sign
B 4
\%\' . up- with Bell South Mobility DCS right now you can take advantage of
3 ( DA S free* unlimited incoming local calls through June, 2000. All it takes is
S g
- )
P, ‘p\' an eleven-month service commitment and you're covered by one of
the largest all-digital networks in the South. Thus, Bell South Mobility
DCS has ‘proven there's nothing to fear, but fear itself.
age 6 Digital phones as |ov) as
| @ BELLSOUTH Mobility 47 $ t
0 DS
[
www.bellsouthdcs.com
FOR SALES AND INFORMATION, VISIT YOUR LOCAL BELLSOUTH MOBILITY DCS RETAILER OR CALL TOLL-FREE 1-888-327-2001)
: Visit us at
3435 Wrightsboro Road in Augusta across from Augusta Mall
or 1024 Pinelog in Aiken behind Blockbuster Video
or call 1-888-327-2001
for free delivery to your home or office.
*Free incoming minutes valid through 11:59 p.m. on June 30, 2000; thereafter, all inbound minutes will be charged. Does not to calls received when outside the
Bell South Mobaltv DCS service nmot ovo&bh on all rate plans. Toll charges, if any, and airtime v;horgfih:rflvmto cohmdd from the DCS 3
rok:o m?‘mm lnclu'g:d ”:'khcon'm pbomh?fhr rhooquirn cov‘nr:v:’uo':: :"l"z‘nmng urlvl:‘:o comv;\itmont. ;nonth'lv' r.;l "01. and is IW&
imited offer ustomers; sel e requi ment by existing customers, Sul 0 ¢ ufwd WE
Conditions, and certain other restrictions. mcv:mco J& o':%mm 9520 model ot ponicrpoofing retailers. m supplies last. See stores . © Bell South,
state’s Superior Court judges are
black. The governor’slogicmisses
the crux of the matter. It is not
how many blacks are eligible tobe
elected but how many stand a
chance of being elected. Under
the present system, the answer
has been, and continues to be,
very few.
Throughout much of Georgia,
blacks seek justice in courtrooms
where noblack hasever presided.
Legacy of excellence
From page 8A
herself has been an encourage
ment.
Anencouragement 44 years ago
‘as she sat on that bus, refusingto
give up her seat to a white man
and anchored to that seat by “the
accumulated indignities of days
gone by the countless aspirations
of generations yet unborn,” inthe
words of Dr. Martin Luther King,
dJr., that young, inexperienced
minister who became the spokes
AUGUSTAFOCUS ___ JULY 22, 1999
Their prospects of being repre
sented above the bottom rung of
thejudicial ladder areslim. That'’s
‘what all the fuss is about, Mr.
Governor. That’s why many black
Georgians will hear your talk of
“outstanding progress” as a cruel
joke.
This column was originally pub
lishedintheJune29, 1989issueof"
Augusta Focus, pages 10-11.
person for the civil rights move
ment and echoed by President
Clinton in the Capitol rotunda.
And anencouragement today as
wearereminded that might does
not make right and that the
moral arc of the universe does
bend toward justice as Dr. King
used to say.
Nelson Mandela and Rosa
Parks. Two extraordinary hu
man beings wholeave usalegacy
of greatness and justice and dig
nity. Thanks be to God for them
both.
Call (706)724-7855 to subscribe
9A