Newspaper Page Text
ommentary
As ’ '
ew things
that we would
-
like to address:
|
*1 would like to congratulate the white community on pick
ing a candidate 1o represent us in our community. Ed Tarver,
won the election for the 22nd Senatorial District, with the help
of West Augusta, and the usual crew of Republicans. Mr. Tarv
er was able to walk away with over 60 percent of the vote. We
need to stop letting A certain segment in our community control
what we do, and how we do it. Ben Allen, was the better man
for the job and a better man o represent us. 1 truly believe tha,
M. Tarver will totally torget about us in our community and, it
wont belong betore he is carmving the flag for the GOP
*Dr. Charles Smith, has once again stepped out on a limb
and gone where no other president has gone before. The
NAACT was sponsoring a candidate forum right before the
election, that was mediated by the (NAACP president). Before
the event he was approached and asked, “How could he put
on an event like this and be a mediator if he was strongly sup
porting one of the candidates in particular?” He began to stut
ter and made a comment to the attect of, “He never said who he
was supporting.” Yet Colonel Charles Smith aka Dr. Charles
Smith aka Mr. Charles Smiths, name was in an advertisement
that Mr. Tarver put out saying please support me these people
are. As the president of the NAACP he needs to know his role,
and stay in his zone, or maybe the NAACP should consider ask
ing for his resignation. 1 am going to sit back, wait, and see if
they come out and put their support behind Robert Howard
as he runs tor the school board.
*Mr. Handy is on the move, cach week | get more and more
impressed at Commissioner Handy and his awareness of what is
going on in the ane. He seems to not have lost his touch, and
is becoming an ever so prevalent hand in making things hap
pen down at the marble palace. He is also working very hard
to gather support where he needs it. He is going back “home”,
where it all begins, and he is going 1o need that to win this dis
nct.
A WORD 10 the wise is not necessary- it is the stupid
ones that need advice.
WHY IN history books when it was the Calvary against
the Indians, when the Calvary won it was a “great victo
ry". However when the Indians win, it is a “Massacre”.
THE REASON why it is hard to win an election in
Augusta is because we have this voting thing all wrong,
We go to the polls to vote for someone. | never go to the
polls to vote for anyone, I go to vote against.
LAUGHTER IS the key to everything in life.
THE PUBLIC (ransportation system here in Augusta is
awful. The reason why, because the bus only runs in certain
areas ot Augusta and then they take hours to come. Buses
also quit running too, so it anyone misses the bus, they are
out of luck. Augusta bus service doesnt even run on Sunday.
What type of city is that, not to have public transportation
on Sunday. Maybe, it’s just me used to living up North.
|
THE GOVERNMENT complains that they have no
money but, yet they have billions of dollars to give to vic
tims of disaster. Where is the money for our children to get
a proper education? Where are the funds for schools to be
fixed and teachers to be teaching? Where are the programs
to keep our children out harm'’s way?
TAKE THE two preachers off the commissioner’s seat
and send them back to the pulpit. Politics is for the crook
and not for preachers; they should stay in the Word.
If you have an issue your on mind. Express it right
here in our “SOUND OFF” column. Your thoughts
can be emailed to ads@augustafocus.com or fax it
to (706) 724-8432 or you can call (706)722-4222
Ext. 222 and leave your SOUND OFF with the
messaging system. No name is required. Sound Off
features the opinions of our readers and does not
necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.
BLACKONOMICS By James Clingman
Crying for New Orleans - part two
Black people in New Orleans
and elsewhere, for years now,
have been in control of the pol
itics in their aues, and | use
“control” lighdy. We are good
at “getan’ out the vote” and
fi)infl to the polls. In Adanta, in
.C., in Detroit, in Balumore,
in Gary, Indiana, o name a
few, we are runnin’ stuff in the
political arena. But nowhere in
this country are we runnin’
anything economically to the
extent [h;lt when our folks are
in dire straits we can move
swiftly o get them out of
harms way or at least rescue
them after a hurricane.
Because we own and control
very littde in this country, with
out help we cannot feed our
people; we cannot give them
water to dnnk; and we cannort
clothe our children. All we can
do is wait for someone else o
do it, and watch our people die
in the process. Yes, everyone
clse should help us, especially
the government and private
sectors, whom we have
enriched with our taxes and
labor; but we must be our own
first line of defense.
Because we tailed 1o heed the
GUEST COMMENTARY By John F. Sugg
Indict Ku Klux killers it's the only way for Monroe to heal old wounds
So, there lam folded up like
a pretzel in the back of a big
SUV, speeding at 90 mph 1o a
nondescript patch of dirt in east
Georgia. At the wheel is state
Rep. Tyrone Brooks. When
you have a solons plates you
dont worry about cops. Brooks
is talking as fast as he's driving,
Its a story of horror, torture,
murder and guilty men who
have escaped justice. I'll come
back to that. First, I need to
mention the man rding shot
gun. He hardly speaks, but
when he does its with the
authority of someone who's
overcome great tragedy. Ben
Chaney’s brother, James, was
one of three civil rights workers
kidnapped in June 1964 by ter
rorists every bit as evil as Osama
bin laden. Those loathsome
people are alled the Ku Klux
Klan. They brutlized James
Chaney, Mickey Schwerner
{1 N t I in’
0 room to complain
KARLTON CLAY
I look in the mirror
And what do | see?
I can see clearly
‘ How the Lord is blessing me
| e gave me two legs and two arms
| And two cars to hear
A mouth, nose, hands, and feet
And two eyes in order to see clear
As | ?('x)k over my life,
I know I have favor and am blessed
Leukemia or any other discase
sould have had me in a coffin neadly dressed
When I look back over my life,
see where the love of God has brought me from
His mercy and his im is what is sustaining me
ey will even until the Lord Jesus’ return w:fi come -
As I looked on the news day after day,
I saw how New Orleans was covered with water
People lost their homes, jobs, and cars
Some even lost a parent, son, and/or daughter
I have some good days
And some bad ones, bu‘; who d:ixsn't?
That could've been my oating down a river
- &l by the g};\m God,‘l?%ram't’ B a
mbfl you or | have ar:j urge
To whine about a Qf a pour may gain
Just mmcm%g:kd’\é wci:l%fi m)&‘?“_; &,
casualties of Hurricane Katrina
And you'll realize you have no room to complain
AUGUSTA FOCUS
warnings and, 40 years ago,
abandoned our own economic
base, we have dedined to a
shametul level of impotence, an
embarrassing level of timidity,
and a state of unparalleled
paralysis. Our once-vibrant,
valuable, and valued commu
nities have all but t:rrcuul
and have been replaced by bas
tions of crime, irresponsibility,
and economic despair and dep
ravation.
We suffer from a dearth of
real economic leadership and
seem only interested in #mvin
pandering politicians an§
;x)l.uiu'ng preachers lead us
down pnmrose paths o Prole
tariat poverty. Our leaders have
become p?cadcr.s. and our
resolve to make things better
tor our children has been laid o
waste by a rampage of gf;n'cd.
excess, and possession of toys
and trinkets made and distrib
uted by everyone except black
people.
So how does this relate o
New Orleans? To reiterate,
nothing men could have done
would levc prevented or held
oft Katrina, but | submit; Were
there genuine black communi-
and Andrew Goodman before
shooting them and burying
them under an carthen dam
near Philadelphia, Miss.
Three months ago, the mas
termind of the murders was
finally tried and convicted -
atter four decades of Mississippi
officials turning a blind eye to
the crime. | met Ben Chaney
dunng Killen's trial. He's devor
ed his life 1 solving the many
unsolved murders in the South
that occurred during the civil
rights era. “It’s all that I do,” he
wld me. “Its my life.” Each
summer he brings young peo
ple south from his Harlem
home. They register poor
southerners, mainly blacks, to
vote. Thats what Chaney’s
brother was doing when the
Klan in its perversion of Chris
tianity and patriotism mur
dered the three men in
Philadelphia. So, why this fran-
tes in New Orleans more black
people would have had the
means (o get out.
I assert: Black people must
take cconomic empowerment
seriously, especially where we
are the majority population,
and carve out niches in indus
tries to create jobs for our peo
ple rather than subject ourselves
to “minority” programs and
dependence upon “systems”
that do not worf( on our behalf.
I contend: If black folks in
New Orleans had taken a col
lective stake in their city’s billion
dollar tourism industry, by cre
atng an entity that captured a
significant share of the black
dollars spent at events like the
Essence Music Festval, there
would have been more accom
modation and transportation
resources available l{?r those
who had no place 1 go and no
way to get there.
I dcctuv. Had black people
in New Orleans taken vertical
control of just a portion of that
arys seafood industry, “from
the boat to the throat,” as
Claud Anderson has implored,
tic rush from Brooks Auburmn
Avenue ofhice to the hamlet of
Monroe on the eastern outer
orbit of the Adanta sprawl? “I
had to see the bridge,” Chaney
said. He's speaking of Moore's
Ford Bridge, which on a hot
evening in July 1946 was the
scene of the last mass public
lynching in the South, a dubi
ous distinction. This being
Georgia, no one was prosecut
ed.
“In 1968, (civil rights leader)
Hosea Williams sent me to
Monroe,” Brooks recalled.
“And I met Dan Young, He
ran the funeral home here, and
he told me, ‘I got something for
you to sce.” He pulled out a
folder. There were pictures of
the bodies. I couldnt believe
people could do things like that
to other people.”
By this tme, Brooks was
braking at the bridge, which
spans the Apalachee River and
connects Walton and Oconee
counties. The old bridge is now
gone, replaced by a concrete
span about 50 feet from the
original crossing. Although
there is a historic marker about
two miles from the bridge,
nothing at the site memorial
izes the murders.
Except a roughly scrawled
“KKK” on a bridge piling. Two
young couples * Roger and
Dorothy Malcom, and George
and Mae Murray Dorsey * had
been waylaid by the Klan on
the bridge. “In those days,” said
Bobby Howard, a Monroe
SCLC leader, “we had no
rights. The white men would
come by and take privileges
with our women.” Roger Mal
com had suspected a white
farmer of “wking privileges”
com was released from jail, and
another prominent white
farmer offered him a ride - it
was a set-up.
The farmer also picked up
the other three soon-to-be-vic
tums. At the bridge, a noose was
placed around Malcom's neck.
The men struggled and were
beaten beyond recognition.
September 22, 2005
there would have been more
money available among black
folks to help other blacks in
need.
I mainain: Black people
must act upon basic economic
survival principles in order to
save more of our people from
the hurricanes of life. We must
do this o an even greater
degree because we have a presi
dent who is disconnected and a
black secretary of state who
defends his inaction by saying,
“Nobody, espedially the presi
dent, would have left people
unattended on the basis of
race.” Then why did he leave
them unatended, Condi? Is
there another reason, and if so,
should that make us feel better?
We must do more for ourselves
because we have a presidential
matriarch who, despite her
husband hugging and kissing
black children, stands by and
watches as if she is afraid of
them, and thinks living in the
Astrodome is a step up for
Sec New Orleans , page 9A
Dorothy Malcom called one of
the Klansmen by name. That
became the death sentence for
the women. Both women had
broken arms. There were so
many bullet wounds, the bod
ies were unrecognizable -
except, Howard said, “by their
lips.” The horror didnt end
there. Dorothy Malcom was
seven months pregnant. “They
cut that baby out of her stom
ach so people wouldn't know it
was a white mans child,”
Howard said. The story has
been known for decades - and
not known. “The old people
around here, theyre afraid,”
said Jerry Ansley, a cousin to
Mace Dorsey. Ansley pointed
down the old roadbed. “Thar’s
where it happened. Everyone
knows something happened
here. But people were afraid 1o
talk. I just heard the real story a
year or so ago. It was real brutal,
what those men did.” Fifty
nine years is a long tme, but a
several of the Klan mob are sull
alive. Two live near the bridge.
Brooks and other black leaders
are pushing for indictments.
Former Gov. Roy Barnes offi
dially reopened the case.
Several witnesses have named
names. Yet, the local district
atorney, Ken Wynne, daims
he cant make a case. “Like
hell,” Brooks said. “You look at
the street signs in Monroe. The
names are the families whose
men committed this crime.
These are the powerful people
here. City hall, the chamber of
commerce. Thats why there
have been no indictments.”
Prosecutions have been success
ful in other Klan terrorism
cases. It’s the first step in race
reconciliation. It’s called justice.
It needs to happen in Monroc,
Georgia
Follow more of Senior Edi
tor John Sugg’s at www.john
sugg.com. Contact him at
John.sugg@creativeloafing.co
m.
5A