Newspaper Page Text
4A
June 21, 2007
Upinion
Battling a
Gangs are not just coming to town; some are
entrenched and have been in the area for a while. The
gang members are not just in transition through our
vicinity, but our very own neighbors. The evidence is
becoming apparent with the graffiti sprayed on our
buildings in the form of symbols, key words, and just
plain ‘tagging’ of turf.
Gangs have come into full force in our lovely city.
We learned not long ago that many of Augusta’s neigh
borhoods have separated themselves into gangs. The
more wealthy and affluent neighborhoods in the sub
urbs are not immune. Many of citizens have rightful
ly attributed the various shootings and drug busts to
gang activity.
Several shooting deaths this year have occurred in
our area, and they are allegedly gang-related due to the
nature of the shootings.
Nationally, the murder rate for the first half of the
year has dropped. However, our little city has almost
doubled its homicide rate in six months with what
would have transpired in a couple of years combined.
Moreover, one would definitely point to the creation
of drug and turf boundaries in contributing to the
boost in murder statistics for the CSRA.
Nevertheless, we can start now to fight this scourge.
The recent ‘tagging’ of historical buildings located on
Laney-Walker Blvd. to include the old bank, the Pil
grim Civic Room, and law offices, to name a few,
have opened our eyes. We are situated in the middle of
detectable turf. Most cities are without the tools and
mechanisms in place to combat this encroachment.
Even so, as citizens, we must combat by asking and
demanding help. With our very limited weapons, we
must develop strategies; garner federally funded law
enforcement, close-circuit monitoring crime preven
tion tools, stricter juvenile laws, and anti-gang ordi
nances.
The gang presence has directly influenced us. The
Augusta Focus earnestly solicits more funding to study
and provide resolution to our gang dilemma. We also
call for more immediate action by our community
leaders to provide guidance and measurable steps to
overcome the problem. The ball is in the court of our
local government. Other cities have develop successful
campaigns to manage and/or eradicate the graffiti.
Our elected officials and civic leaders must stop their
attention-secking antics and search for clear-cut
answers to keep our city from becoming a place
emblazoned by visual dishonor.
We will continue to draw attention to the gang
problem in up coming issues to assist parents and oth
ers to recognize potential threats.
Editorial Correction
Last week's edition inadvertently placed the wrong cap
tion under Commissioner Marion William's photo. We
apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
EDITORIAL POLICY
The Augusta Focus encourages shors, conceltters to he editor
and zimon amr/:sdfi';;n the public. Letters and opinion articles
will be used at the editor's discretion and are subject to editing. We
will not guarantee publication of material received. We cannot
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Charles W. Walker
Publisher
Chardes “Champ” Walker i
M General Manager
Since 1981 Michael Meyers
A Walker Group Publication Editor-in-Chics
1143 Laney Walker Blvd.
James Wilkins Circulation Manager
Jessica Bapriste Contribuor
Reneé Norris Gaphic Designer / Community Service
Eric Samuels Graphic Designer / Photographer
Deborah W. Moody Copy Editor / Writer
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Black journalists fill ‘Missing Pages
One of the reasons |
became a. journalist is
because I always felt there
was something missing in
The Tuscaloosa News, my
hometown newspaper in
Alabama. And there was.
The only time African-
Americans were written
about was if they were
entertainers, athletes or
suspected of committing a
crime.
A new book, Missing
Pages (Carroll & Graf), an
oral history undertaken by
the late Wallace Terry, is a
compilation of stories by
early Black pioneers in
journalism. And reading
the book is similar to the
swapping of stories in the
headquarters hotel lobby
of a National Association
of Black Journalists con
vention. The difference is
that these stories are about
the times when there were
few African-American
journalists. And those
journalists are brought
together on the pages to
Why black
Despite what many bigots
and ignorant minds would like
to think, Black neighborhoods
are blighted for a reason other
than a biological one. The rea
son or reasons are calculated
schemes by sinister and greedy
minds that conspire to exploit
naive entities to quench their
thirst of money and power. For
every exploited Black family or
household there are these con
spirators profiting and solidify
ing their grip on a disparity that
benefits (Enem at the cost of oth
ers.
We learned this early in
forming the National Black
Chamber of Commerce in
Indianapolis. Prompted by a
complaint from a E)cal gylack
contracting group we began to
investigate a particular Com
munity Devcf:;r.;\cc‘nfl? Corpo
ration, CDC, in a particular all
Black neighborhood. This
CDC was managed by Whites
who did not live in the neigh
borhood. They were adding
new homes into the communi
ty but were blocking Black con
tractors who lived in this neigh
borhood from working,
We learned that they were
building homes for three times
the actual costs. Why would'd&
they such high bids?
They m‘mfl db:rn‘gh at thar
price and that would cause the
existing homes to increase in
comparable price. Property
taxes and rents were beginning
to skyrocket and, thus, forcing
existing residents to flee or be
forced out. The beginning of
“gentrification” wmm in
another Black community.
White Yuppies were beginning
AUGUSTA FOCUS
‘
3y |
Gflflr&E curry
fill in some of the missing
pages of history.
Ethel Payne, who
worked as a reporter and
columnist for the Chicago
Defender, recounts a
famous press conference
exchange with President
Dwight Eisenhower.
“Mr. President,” I said,
“the Interstate Commerce
Commission has issued an
opinion saying it is time to
end segregation in inter
state travel. When can we
expect you to sign an exec
utive order to that effect?”
Payne did not anticipate
Eisenhower’s response.
“President FEisenhower
neighborhoods have high unemployment
| Harry Alford | l
to arrive and bust up a stable
historical Black community.
It was time to go on the offen
sive. We teamed with the Con
cerned Clergy and demanded
the board of directors of this
CDC be solely made up of
long time residents of the
neighborhood it was serving,
All contractors working there
would be local residents. Any
workers with cars having
license plates not from that or
neighboring communities
would be subject to tire slashing
and sugar in the gas tanks.
Appraisers and realtors were
warned not to consider the lat
est home prices as they were
instruments of price fixing and
guging. Home prices would
monitored and the residents
will appreciate their properties
consistent with normal mar
kets. We saved this neighbor
hood and created vast -
ment for the local m
What are your local CDCs
doieg?
Housing Authorities are
authorized to train and hire
pubhchomri residents for 30
percent of jobs created
got so furious!” she
recalled. “His face became
flushed. He drew himself
up. He became the five
star general again. And he
chewed me out in front of
the White House press
corps.
‘What makes you think
I'm going to do anything
for any special interest?’ he
said. “I'm the president of
all the people. I'm going to
do what I think is right for
all the people.”
Tom Johnson was wait
ing for someone to do
right by him as he wrote a
column for the New York
edition of the Pittsburgh
Courier. He received a call
from Louis Lomax, then
one of the best known
journalists in the country.
“Louie called me one night
at two in the morning, and
said, ‘Hey, man, I want
you to get your resume
over to Newsday. They're
looking for one.’
“This was 1962 and of
course | knew what he
through HUD monies. This is
Section 3 of the HUD Act
which became law in 1968.
The problem is no more than
10 percent of cities and housing
authorities offer this. They
want the residents to remain
poor and unemployed so that
their litde futures are guaran
teed. You cant service poverty if
there is no poverty.
Please consider your local
Housing Authority corrupt
and noncompliant with Sec
tion 3. Section 3 complaints are
supposed to be rtsofi!ed in 6
months. Our complaint
against the City of Jacksonville
has been kicked around for 12
years and counting. It is proba
bly going to take civil disobedi
ence to get the City to move.
Remember it was the Watts
Riot that caused Section 3 tw
get on the books.
Banks in DC were touting
their Community Reinvest
ment Acat, CRA, activity by
offering 2-3 percent mortgages
to first time home owners in
the Shaw District. The only
Emblcm was that the first time
ome owners were Yuppies
making 150-200 hun(rmd
thousand dollars per year and
they were buying new homes
and converted condos at exag
not afford. Today, the Shaw
District is about completely
trified with the old estab-
E:I":ad Black families pushed
out. At the same time, the
Washington Housing Authori
ty has been offering section 8
rental vouchers to residents so
ey o Vg,
. Some have been di
meant when he said, ‘look
ing for one.” He gave me
the name of the editor to
see. | made the appoint
ment. When | went to his
office, 1 found a short
muscular man sitting with
his feet on the desk and a
Confederate flag on the
wall behind him.
“He said, ‘Tom, we talk
about integration around
here, but we ain't got a sin
gle nigra in cthis place.
We've been reading your
stuff, and we want to talk
to you about coming over
here.”
It wouldn’t be the last
time Johnson would hear
the n-word.
He was in Philadelphia,
Miss., where three civil
rights workers were
abducted and slain, when a
White, college-educated
local prosecutor boasted,
“We treat niggers here as
good as we treat niggers
anywhere else.”
Earl Caldwell, the New
Scc Pages next page SA
as far as Hagerstown, 70 miles
away. | understand that Chica
go has been transplanting peo
ple as far as Danville, IL hun
dreds of miles from the south
side of Chicago.
A CDC in downtown Indi
anapolis built the Madame CJ
Wialker building with a grant
from the US Department of
Health and Human Services.
The grant was to provide full
time employment to people liv
ing on welfare and under the
poverty level. The building
ended up providing low rent
for the Indiana University
School of Optometry and a
large law firm friendly to the
Governor. Not one job went to
anyone living under the pover
ty level. I asked the federal gov
ernment for a copy of the grant
specifications and application
from that CDC. [ pressed and
pressed and eventually they
proclaimed
“The file is lost. We cannot
give it 1o you because we don't
know where it is". Yes, they
were in on the scheme too.
These are just a few of the
games played on us. They are
harmful and, in fact, lethal in
more ways than one. If we had
jobs there would be no need to
sell crack and rip off. As long as
they block us, high unemploy
ment will continue. Let's begin
to fight it
Harry Alford is the co-founder,
DPresident/CEO of the National
Black Chamber of Commenrce.
Website: www.nationalbcc.org,