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10A August 26, 2004 Budget : Continued from page 3A should be complete in three weeks, he said. Housing needs have grown with the universi ty’s enrollment. This year’s freshman class has 300 more students than last year’s, Smalls said. The university will have Civil Rights : SCLC not considered a ‘critical player Continued from page 3A group’s work has been sig nificantly scaled down since its heyday. “I don’t think the SCLC is viewed as a critical play er like it was in the past,” said Charles E. Jones, chair of the African American Studies department ar Georgia State University. “When you ask what they hang their hat on these last few years, I'm kind of ar a loss to identify the major activities and programs.” While its members seem | C& A PHONE SERVICE | ’ » Now Offering (? : __.,// “DIALTONE - “‘ In Your An | $29.93 ¢ Tan:d & Toagg Mogoa s | 1-877 - 434 -7293 I PRINTING, SIGNS, BANNERS RUBBER STAMPS & MORE! f@fi ORDER BY PHONE o '“ Time o Money! & _ . + Copying Service Why dn?le across Fown and wait . Business Cards for service? 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Washington said the university is not request ing any money from the state for the project to to agree on its goals — many cite the need to attract more young people to the aging organization and better address poverty, health care and education al issues —they clearly dif fer on what problems need fixing. The SCLC would not disclose how many mem bers it has, but Brooks put the number at about 100,000, down from the 500,000 at its peak. Fundraising has been a major challenge for a group that advocates for Hope to see you there! construct apartment-style housing for 750 students. The university plans to use a U.S. Department of Education program that lends money to histori cally black colleges and universities for dorms and other needs. Student housing fees would repay the poor, Shuttlesworth said. He believes more people would contribute “if they realized the value SCLC had to the country” in terms of its historic achievements. But Abernathy, whose father, Ralph David Aber nathy Sr., co-founded the group with King in 1957, said its leaders have grown complacent and have done little to push it into the 21st century. He stressed the need to redefine the group’s role in a post-civil rights era in which racism is more subtle and the minority population s more diverse. “Until those persons decide to allow a progres sive change of the guard, the organization will con tinue to be stagnant and out of touch with the issues,” he said. Many of the SCLC’s best-known supporters Voter Black males among apet groupof dienfranchised ot L i 5551 ol ] i Continued from page 8A Vermont) and the Dis trict of Columbia, pris oners cannot vote, in 35 states felons on probation or parole are disenfran chised, and in 14 states a felony conviction can result in a lifetime ban long after the completion of a sentence.” According to the Wash ington-based policy insti tute, 1.4 million African- American men -13 per cent of all black men - AUGUSTA FOCUS the loan, Washington said. Eckstrom said the uni versity cannot guarantee it will be able to repay initial borrowing of $25 million. Washington said the university’s finance department has worked have distanced themselves from the group, including King’s widow and former board member, Corerta Scott King, and former United Nations ambassa dor and SCLC executive director Andrew Young, who has publicly criticized the board leadership. Brooks and others focus much of the blame on board chairman Claud Young, who often clashed with former president Martin Luther King 111 - eventually leading to King’s resignation last November — and has led the board in suing another past president and co founder, Joseph Lowery, over a financial dispute. Lowery said such public battles have distracted the group’s leaders from doing any real work and “called to question their judg ment, their priorities.” “The world’s on fire, and are disfranchised, a rate that is seven times the national average. In six states, one of every four black men is permanently disenfranchised. Alabama, Florida, lowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nevada, Tennessee (prior to 1986), Virginia, Wash ington (prior to 1984), and Wyoming perma nently disenfranchise felons unless they are granted clemency. Ari zona and Maryland per manently bar only certain felons. Rard since 2002 to clean up past problems. He thinks housing revenue will be adequate to pay off the debt, provided the university continues to grow its enrollment. “Our debt to income ratio is very, very strong,” Washington said. “We they're engaged in internal fighting,” he said. Brooks said “the best thing that could to happen to the SCLC would be for Dr. Claud Young to resign.” Young simply dismissed his critics as “outsiders” who have contributed little to the organization in recent years. “No one can tell anyone that the board has stopped them from doing anything,” said Young, adding that he would step down if the board asked him to. Shuttlesworth, whose work in Birmingham, Ala., in the 1950 s and ‘6os was crucial to the movement, said Abernathy and his sup porters simply were trying to orchestrate a takeover that would only end up destroy ing the organization. “I have no problem with having zeal to become presi dent of the SCLC, bur there is a right way and a wrong The Democratic Party is in a quandary on this issue. It realizes that it is the likely beneficiary of the ex-felon vote yert fear being attacked by Repub licans for being soft on crime. Those fears are not being raised in Nashville. The NAACP is being joined by the League of Women Voters, the Inter denominational Minis ters Fellowship, 100 Black Women of Nashville, the National of Islam local mosque, have v‘e'rly moderate amount of debt outstand ing. It’s only about $8 million, which is pretty darn good for a universi ty of our size. We're not in default on a penny of the outstanding debt.” way to do it,” he said. Still, Abernathy said he hasn't given up on the presi dency, which he called his “birthright.” “Some believe it's dead, others believe it’s on life sup port ... I believe the organi zation can be reborn again and be a viable organization to address the issues of today,” said Abernathy, who was released from prison last October after a 1999 convic tion for filing false expense reports as a Georgia state senator and a subsequent parole violation. Brooks agreed that the group still is relevant in today’s political and social landscape but urged its lead ers not to stray from King’s spirit of grassroots activism. “If SCLC is not going to hold true to its mission of organization, it should dis band,” he said. “We have a unique responsibility, and we have to live up to that responsibility or else.” Alpha Kappa Alpha, Phi Beta Sigma and the Nashville Peace and Jus tice Center. The Nashville coalition recognizes what everyone needs to understand: most people serving time in prison will get out at some point. And we have a better chance of turning them into productive cit izens if they are no longer barred from obtaining trade licenses, are not dis criminated against in employment and are not deprived of the right to vote. What’s unusual about the Nashville movement is that they've enlisted the help of the Davidson County Election Com mission to register the former felons. Conse quently, after the rally in Nashville, former felons will be able to go inside the NAACP office, where they will be met by regis trars from the Election Commission. These two simple steps — publicizing the name of non-voters and creating a local movement to regis ter former felons en masse — could mean the difference in who gets elected president in November. Who is will ing to take me up on these proposals? George E. Curry is edi tor-in-chief of the NNPA News Service and Black- PressUSA.com. His most recent book is “The Best of Emerge Magazine,” an anthology published by Ballantine Books. Currys weekly radio commentary is syndicated by Capitol Radio News Service (301/588-1993). He can be reached through his web site, georgecurry.com.