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B MS.JEANNIE LEDFORD GA NEWSPAP ; PROJ CHIPS DEPT,MAIN LI UGA ATHENS, GA 30602-1641 Serving Metro Augusta, South Carolina and The CSRA - Qctober 14-21, 2004 = ' y ) L. B : A "_“i,i N Maathai makes history Environmental activist, Wangari Maathai has become the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Page 2A Insurance industry under fire A more than cen tury long practice of overcharging black people for life insurance is catch ing up with the insurance industry in the form of class action lawsuits. Page 2A OPINION Sweet Dreams? Rev. Ralph Warkins blasts media pollsters who are trying to sway voters ahead of the presidential election in Bush’s favor Page 8A ARTBEAT Fiesta Buena : Augusta welcomes the 12th annual His panic Festival to the Augusta Common. Arts, crafts, ‘and authentic ~ Spanish food accent the event with a touch of cul ture, Latino style. Page 1B GOOD NEWS Rock the vote A young woman goes more than the extra yard to cast her vote, she crosses the ocean. * Page 4A ; INDEX ARTbheat ..........1B 8u5ine55..........6A City/Regi0n......3A Classifieds ......6B Good New5......4A Happenings ....2B Living cccceconnnnc 14A Nation/World ..2A oplfllfill u-;..énu-u | 'P'm lllllllll'l!l!!l" Vol. 23, No. 1180 Walker forces Perdue’s hand By THERESA MINOR Augusta Focus Staff Wrriter Earlier this year, Governor Sonny Perdue deferred a near ly $900,000 allocation for Fort Discovery. Now as the campaign season is heading into the home stretch, Perdue is loosening the purse strings in an apparent attempt to swing voter support behind Republican candidates in hotly contested senate races. The governor announced on Tuesday, October 12, that he has approved payment of $222,778 in deferred funds for the National Science Cen ter (NSC) which runs Fort Discovery. The deferred fund ing has become a heated issue on the campaign trail, particu larly in the race for state Senate District 22 pitting Republican NAACP conference rips rebel flag, Bush administration By THERESA MINOR Augusta Focus Staff Writer There’'s no love lost between the NAACP and President Bush. That point was made abun dantly clear when Bush, in July, refused to address the National Convention of the NAACP meeting in Philadelphia. The civil rights organization is one of the president’s most ardent critics. So it didn’t come as a surprise that the presi dent would be ripped by speakers during the South Carolina NAACP State Conference held in Augusta, October 8-10. Bishop John Hurst Adams, the fiery keynote speaker for the NAACP Faith Summit Luncheon, wasted no time in bash ing Bush on his “intellec tual limitations” as com pared to his opponent in the presidential race, Sen. John Kerry. “It angers me that a man with the capacity to hold more than one thought in his head is a flip-flop and the one who can’t even hold one thought, much less speak Augusta mourns the loss of Henry Brigham Veteran educator and long time public servant, Henry H. Brigham, Sr. passed away on Monday, October 11 follow ing an extended illness. Brigham became widely known during his career as an educator, serving as principal at several Richmond County public schools before retiring and entering the political arena. He served as commissioner " """X‘ * Charles Walker Sen. Don Cheeks against the Democratic challenger, Charles Walker. Wialker has repeatedly called Cheeks leadership into ques tion pointing to the failure of the Republican to save fund ing of local projects from the governor’s budget ax. Fort Dis covery was forced to cut hours and staff as a result of the halt s ’rw‘ .’:'*» ‘&, o ‘A"g- sy N ™ NG * oA iy t'r";‘ s’!'\ ‘9‘;’_: e - ’ A , Sabs . gl g . - : - Yy i HY :..‘ ; : R 1A . P ik :5 b O s T A A &‘1 - . § .vx g i /i 3 ¥ IR R TR s %*},‘ls ‘ T '-l '.""‘ 100 % b %/, | ..‘ BV A o 7".:. s ; 2 - ' [~ FC¥ Y i 3 T y "\ & '-‘f \ \:‘f 8 ! e 2 * : e : v Qfii ’ g oe g ; HE R | 1 i } Photo by Theresa Minor Stanley Lott (left) admits that he attracts alot of attention being a black man supporting the con federate flag. Lott stands with Carl Miller who along with Lott is a member of the Sons of the Con federacy. Lott was among the protestors demonstrating against the South Carolina NAACP during its state conference held in Augusta. it, is considered strong,” said the bishop to the laughter and applause of nearly 300 NAACP members attending the conference. “I don’t want a man with the intellec R e ] | i Ry = | e U L e b T } i it S | b o 3’ g . T { il é& e | - - T B e ' ko &5 R T Lo e Henry Brigham ~ Subscribe to the Augusta Focus, Call (706) 722-4222, extension 225 o AL e T P ,»-_‘ ““\—?:i\'fi'“,.“ T R S T e s 5 S R & T e S bl , ; _ Sonny Perdue ed funds. “Sonny Perdue did exactly what he should have done. We forced his hand,” said Walker. With the release of these funds, NSC will receive sl.l million in state funds for fiscal year 2005 according to the governor’s prepared statement. Both Cheeks and Sen. Randy tual capacity of George Bush setting my priori ties.” Bishop Adams went on to say that the blame for what the U.S. is experi encing now in Iraq must for District 5 and continued to embrace the community even after he left public office through a number of public service organizations, including Project Success, an after-school and mentoring program. The southside district that he represented returned their respects in naming a commu nity center after Brigham two years ago in the Belle-Terrace neighborhood. The H. H. www.augustafocus.com Hall (R-23) eagerly took cred it for the wrnabout during a news conference the same day as the governor's announce ment. The Augusta Focus was not invited to attend to inquire about a $50,000 approptiation for the Augusta Mini Theatre, which was also deferred by the governor. The Augusta Mini Theatre is the city’s first per forming arts school and serves a mostly black clientele. It too has struggled to keep its doors open. “Its funny how he (Perdue) can find money for Fort Dis covery and not the Mini The atre. We're going to keep the pressure on until he comes through for the Mini Theatre and reinstates YDC workers,” said Walker. However, Tyrone Butler, Founder and Executive Direc- be shared by the black church who he criticized for remaining silent. “I have been disap pointed in the silence of the church about issues. See NAACP , page 12A Brigham Community Center houses a full range of senior and youth services. Funeral services are being held on Friday, October 15, 2 p.m. at the Gilbert Lambuth Chapel, Paine College. Brigham is survived by his wife, Lunette Miller Brigham; one son, Henry H. Brigham II; daughter, Deborrah (Davis) Wilcox and three grandchil dren. PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID AUGUSTA GA PERMIT NO 302 FIFTY CENTS tor for the Augusta Mini The atre, is less than optimistic that the governor will reconsider the veto of his organization’s funds. “When he (Perdue) vetoed the Augusta Mini Theatre he sent a signal that he did not feel it was important enough. And it's a sad thing because so many kids have come through here. Some of our leadership just accepted the veto and it died. African- Americans need to get off the sideline because obvi ously we (Mini Theatre) are not going to get the support from the state. If this commu nity wants the Mini Theatre to survive, we are going to have to protest the veto,” said Butler. “We're on the out list and I dont think that’s going to change with the present leader ship.” Protest gets | b ; backing from “black confederate’ By THERESA MINOR Augusta Focus Staff Writer Waving mammoth size rebel flags, dressed in confederate uniforms and antebellum South hoop skirts and eliciting shouts of “white power” from passing motorists, a group known as the League of the South was not likely to go unno ‘ticed as they protested the three-day South Car olina NAACP state con ference in Augusta. But what had many doing a double take was | not- the . cincus :-like 'atmosphere created by protesters, but rather the | solo presence of an ' African-American man also waving the contest ' ed emblem. Stanley Lott describes himself as a ' son of the Confederacy. . “Sometimes 1 get i strange. looks and ' shocked looks when peo ' ple see a black man car ‘\ rying the confederate flag,” he said. | While Lott shares the ' sentiments of the organ ized protest, he does not ' share the same sidewalk 'as his white counter ' parts, strangely segregat ' ed from the group a half block away. He insists that it was purely coinci dental, that he wanted to stay near his car and that } it was not an overt act by ' white protesters to dis ' tance themselves from l See Confederate, page 12A