Newspaper Page Text
VOLUME 20 NUMBER 1020
Did Charlie Norwood sell out to big money?
See Brad Owen’s 0-pinion ~ 34
The campaign for reparations gains support
Commentary by Dr. Maniing Marahle ~ 8A
Community invited to twentieth
birthday bash for Augusta Focus
BSpecial guests at the newspaper’s
anniversary gala include broad
caster Tony Brown and Frederick
Douglass IV, a descendent of the
legendary human rights activist.
By Lillian Wan
FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
Augusta Focus will cel
ebrate 20 years of pub
lishing with a week-long
slate of activities culmi
natingin a galabanquet
featuring one of
America’s foremost jour
nalism educators and
practitioners. Syndi
cated newspaper colum
nist and broadcaster
Tony Brown will be the
keynote speaker for the
event on Thursday, Au
gust 23. Sharing the
spotlight. with Mr.
Brown will be Frederick
Douglass IV, the great
great-grandson of
Frederick Douglass, the
famed abolitionist, ora
tor, editor, statesman
and publisher of one of
the country’s first Afri
can-American newspa
pers. Mr. Douglass will
be presenting Mr. Brown
with a special media
award in the name of his
famousrelative. Theban
quet is by invitation
only.
The celebration will
kick-off on Saturday,
August 18 with the First
Annual Historic Laney-
® " I
Commissioners left
scratching their heads
atlatestwaterproposal
By Rhonda Jones ‘
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer /
——-————-—-——-————————-f—-—
AUGUSTA
There comes a time in county government when
-even veteran administrators can’t prete;:i\éo know
what the heck is going on. Such a time ¢ during
the Aug. 7meetingofthe Richmond County Commis
sion.
“Mr. Kolb, I must honestly say that the chair still
doesn’t quite understand what we’re trying to do,”
Mayor Bob Young told Administrator George Kolb.
“And if I had to vote today — and I don’t get to vote
— but if I had to vote today, I wouldn’t know what
I was voting for. And I don’t know how the other
commissioners feel but we might want to sit on this
-for another two weeks and let the administration get
some information to us and some specific examples to
show us what we’re being asked to vote for.”
The issue was what to require in terms of payment
from the people who request that water construction
projectsin their area be accelerated to accommodate
their growing businesses or organizations. This is
" notat all unheard of. In fact, as explained by county
fipmmiuioner Ulmer Bridges, who chairs the Engi
eering Services Committee, “We continually have
people, organizations, groups that want to extend
_themselves, and we find that there isn’t sufficient
Dn%m%, page 2A.
ey %
Serving Metropolifan gll\ulgusm, South Caroling and the Central Savannah River Areg
Walker Street Festival and
on Monday, August 20, the
First Annual Urban
Pro Media Conference and
workshop will present some
of the communication
industry’s most talented
trainers. The street festi
valwillbeinthe 1000-1100
blocks of Laney-Waliier
Boulevard and th¢
Pro Media Conference wiil
be on the Paine College
campus. Admission toboth
the street festival and the
media conference is free.
For the past 15 years,
Tony Brown has worked
asaninvestigativereporter
and as a journalist. His
syndicated newspaper col
umn publishes in over 100
newspapers. The Tony
Brown Journal is broad
cast every week on over
240 television stations to
over five million viewers.
Among his many achieve
ments, hismost important
work is noted as being the
founder and dean of
Howard University’s
School of Communica
tions.
Brown’s first feature;
film, The White Girl, em-'
ployed a crew of actors,
technicians, and stages
hands that was almost all
black. Brown says, “Just
’ o
s
f S
Tony Brown
as Roots established that
there were hundreds of
competent and talented
yrtors opd acirosßesin th
Qusil <~ ehulae pery
forim if given the chance,
The White Girl demon
stratesthat thereare hun
dredsoftalented and com
petent film technicians
waiting in the wings as
well.”
Brown believes that self
hatred is the essence of
most of our social ills. “I’ve
run into an army of un
happy, frustrated black
students who are not psy
chologically equipped to
deal with white institu
tions. They’ve never had
the experience of the civil
rights struggle. They're
lost.”
Street Festival willbe
day of music and fun
Local performers will
get two opportunities to
struttheir stuffduringthe
street festival. Performers
interested in enteringthe
CSRA Classic Talent
. . . Shining brightly in song
L
Singer Erykah Badu performs in concert at the
Central Park Summer Stage in New York Mon
day, Augue 6, 2001. AP Photo/Shawn Baldwin
AUGUST 9 - 15, 2001
Showcase 2001 should
contact Cher Best, hot
radio personality for
Power 107, at (803) 279-
1977.
Already established
performers who want to
perform on the main
stageshould contact Dot
Ealy at (706) 724-7867
ext. 212. Vendors who
wish to feature their
foods, beveragesor other
products at this four
block event should also
contact Ms. Ealy for the
purchase of booths.
Povnter Institute
r-,i.“‘?-'""f“:!'-ube:‘ toarts
freeworishop v
The Urban Promedia
Conference and Work
shop will be held at the
Paine College Candler
Librarybuilding. Kenny
Irby, a member of the
renowned Poynter Insti
tute for Media Studies,
will be conducting the
Visual Journalist Work
shop.
“The Black Press: A
new mission for a new
millennium” will feature
local media participants
including Raphael
James, WJBF
NewsCHANNEL 6; Bar
bara Gordon, publisher
of the Metro Courier;
Mallory Millender, pro
fessor of Paine College
and former publisher of
the Augusta News-Re
view; Jamie Eatmon,
publisher of The Rise;
See CELEBRATION, 2A
Reparations, racial profiling
focus of SCLC conference
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Former Southern Christian Lead
ership Conierence President -Jo~
seph Lowery, left, talks with Otis
Moss Jr. during the SCLC’s 43rd
annual convention Monday, Aug.
6,2001, in Montgomery, Ala.. Moss,
By MARK NIESSE
Associated Press Writer
MONTGOMERY, Ala.
Civil rights leaders expressed to
getherness and solidarity Monday in
the face of questions surrounding Mar
tin Luther King I[ll'’s leadership.
Board members of the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference said
they support King, the son of the
Martin Luther King Jr., who founded
the group at the threshold of the
modern civil rights movement.
“Everything’sallright,” said SCLC
treasurer Henry Silva. “The press is
looking for a problem, but we’re about
God’s business.”
The 43rd national SCLC conven
tion gave Kingan opportunity to fight
off dissenters, who have reportedly
called him an absent, ineffective leader.
Republicans who sided
with Dems on flag vote
may be protected in remap
By RUSS BYNUM
Associated Press Writer
: ATLANTA
Rep. Austin Scott has one big strike
against him in the brutally partisan
task of legislative redistricting_he’sa
Republican in a Capitol controlled by
Democrats.
But the 31-year-old lawmaker from
Tifton could have an edge over his GOP
colleagues. He wasthesole Republican
ineither the House or Senatetosignon
early to Gov. Roy Barnes’ plan to
change the Georgia flag.
That has some Democrats saying
Scottand other Republicans who voted
to shrink the flag’s Confederate em
blem should be spared from having
theirdistricts hacked into hostile terri
tory.
“Austin Scott should receive special
attention, and I think we can help him
without hurting Democrats ground
him,” said Rep. Tyrone Brooks, D-
Atlanta, one of the lawmakers who led
the flag change. “He took a bold step
forward in the process that helped us
get mfiitional Republican votes. ¥
PRSRT STD
US POSTAGE PAID
AUGUSTA GA
PERLIIT NO 302
paster vt Glivet institutianol Rup
tist. Chorch, one of Cievelund's
largest black churches, was the
keynote speaker at the Monday
morning session. AP Photo/Montgomery
Advertiser, Mickey Welsh
Board Chairman Claud Young sent
King a letter in May criticizing his
inability to raise money, lack of com
munication, unexplained stints away.
from the Atlanta office and failure to
set a clear agenda for the organiza
tion, according to published reports.
Young has since said that the matter
has been resolved. :
The national board met Monday
night behind closed doors, but mem
bers came out tosay there would be no
changesinleadership. Alabama SCLC
President Charles Steele said the meet
inglacked controversy and was “kissy
kissy.”
Board members wouldn’t say what
was discussed in the meeting.
“There was no motion to get rid of
nobody or nothing, and that’s God's
See SCLC, page 2A
" Two days after opening their special
session last week, legislators broke for
a long weekend still lacking maps with
therequired votes needed in the House
and Senate.
Barnes and fellow Democrats want a
map for each chamber that will maxi
mizethe party’shold on the Legislature
until the next round of redistricting in
2011. And some legislative leaders sa
they owe no favors to Republicans, lg
inthe House and sixin the Senate, whe
voted with Democrats on the flag. =
“It has not entered the equation, the
flag — pro or con,” said House Rules
Chairman Calvin Smyre, D-Columbus.
“I'm very thankful and appreciative of
Austin Scott’s vote. But it would be
easier for all of us if he’d just switch
parties.” B
Last winter’s flag fight did have oné
distinct impact on redistricting — it’s.
helped keepblack Democrats from ally
ing with Republicans as they did to
stunt white Democrats’ controlin 1995,
the last redistricting session. e
Solidifying their ranks gives Demo-
See REPUBI.ICAN%puge 9A x
b