Newspaper Page Text
Augusta News-Reuiew
A
Vol. 4
Shooting, Burnings, Boycott And Demonstrations
In Sparta Following McCown’s Arrest
(SPARTA) Governor Jimmy
Carter ordered state troopers
into Hancock county this week
following heightened racial
tensions following the arrest
last week of civil rights leader
John McCown. McCown’s
arrest led to street
demonstrations and a boycott
against downtown stores.
Following demonstrations on I
Saturday, three homes were
burned. Monday night shots were
fired into a home and a grocery
store . There were no injuries.
Before McCown came to
Sparta in 1966, Hancock
County was a very ordinary
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L-R standing Principal Henry Brigham, Mrs. Carlene Brown, Mrs. Sylvia Lyman
and Albert James. Seated are Mrs. Lunette Brigham, Superintendent and Mrs.
Harvey duncan.
Henry Brigham, principal of the Terrace Manor School was installed Tuesday
night as president of the Richmond County Association of Educators. Other
officers installed were President-elect, Mrs. Carlene Brown; Secretary, Mrs. Sylvia
Lyman and Treasurer Albert James.
Consolidation
Fails
The consolidation
referendum to consolidate the
governments of Augusta and
Richmond County failed
Tuesday.
The new government bill
carried the City of Augusta,
4,833-2,928. It failed in the
county, 5,715-6,846. These are
unofficial results posted by the
Richmond County Board of
Elections.
The measure had to be
approved by a majority of
voters in both areas to create a
unified government.
Total vote was 10,634 votes
for the new government as
opposed to 10,034 ballots
against, a majority of 600
county wide.
A second question on
Tuesday’s referendum ballot
was the manner in which the
local law enforcement agencies
were to be combined. The new
government measure had to be
approved for the law
enforcement measure to be
binding.
The law enforcement
question was tallied
countywide. Voters chose an
elected sheriff rather than an
appointed lawman under a
Board of Public Safety,
11,431-6,667.
City residents favored the
appointed lawman by a margin
of 3314-3,191; county voters
opted for the elected sheriff by
a margin of 8,025-3,293.
The city area has 16
precincts; the county 32.
NATIONAL BLACK NEW* SERVICE
MEMBER
rural Georgia community with
little if any Black participation
in politics and economic
affairs. But McCown changed
all that.
Hancock County is 78%
Black and now has two Black
commissioners on a three-man
board, a Black school
superintendent, four out of
five members of the board of
education are Black, and the
white serving on the board
works for the Black operated
ECCO (East Central
Committee for Opportunity),
of which McCown is the
president. The judge of the
l I
EDWARD M. McINTYRE
Re-elected Head Os Georgia
Black Officials Association
The Georgia Association for
Black Elected Officials held a
two-day seminar in Atlanta last
week at Atlanta University.
During the business sessions of
the two day meeting
Commissioner Ed Mclntyre
was re-elected president of the
association by unanimous vote.
Others elected were: Judge
Horace Ward of Atlanta, vice
president; Commissioner Willie
Brown of Savannah, treasurer;
State Representative Ben
Brown of Atlanta, secretary
and State Representative James
Dean of Decatur, assistant
P.O. Box 953
Court of the Ordinary is Black,
the clerk of Superior Court is
Black, and the tax assessor is
Black.
In order to provide more
jobs for Blacks, McCown
founded ECCO. A non-profit
organization , ECCO owns and
operates a catfish farm, a
concrete plant, and a block
plant that makes pallets and
air-conditioning parts. ECCO is
presently working on a
comprehensive health care
program to guarantee medical
care to people who ordinarily
wouldn’t have it. It has already
brought to Hancock County
secretary.
The seminar, sponsored by
the Voter Education Project,
Inc., and the Southern Center
for Studies in Public Policy,
was designed to acquaint
elected officials of their duties,
powers and responsibilities in
their elected positions and to
provide them with additional
techniques on how to be more
effective as elected officials.
The Black elected officials
were also brought up to date
on a variety of available
programs by various
representatives of federal and
state governments and from
various other service agencies.
THE PEOPLE’S PAPER
three Black doctors, two of
whom are specialists -a heart
specialist and a psyschiatrist.
According to Judge of the
Ordinary Edith Ingram,
“Everything this community is
is because of McCown. When
he came here in 1966, that was
the first time we had ever had
leadership to put a spark in us
to get up and do anything. He
organized voter registration
drives, a housing project, FHA
loans, just about everything
that has appened, happened as
a result of the efforts of
McCown.
Judge Ingram told the
Faculty Supports Stand Against
White President For Paine
Dr. C.M. Richardson
The faculty of Paine College
in a meeting last week
unanimously endorsed a
resolution supporting
Acting - president Dr.C.M.
Richardson’s opposition to a
statement by Black City
Councilman B.L. Dent.
The faculty statement said,
“We strongly approve your
response to Mr. B.L. Dent’s
recent statement concerning
the presidency of Paine
College. At this particular time,
the college is under
considerable stress and it is
encouraging to know that we
are led by one who has
confidence in the abilities of
Black people.”
Dent had said in a published
statement that he felt the next
president of the college should
be white if the college is to
survive.
Richardson said,“To say
that this college must have a
white president to survive is
Paine
Alumni
Schedule
Paine College will observe
National Alumni Weekend May
17-19, 1974. Class reunions
will include all classes with
years ending in the numbers 4
or 9. The weekend will
culminate with Baccalaureate
Sunday, May 19, at 10:00 a.m.
in the Gilbert-Lambuth Chapel
and graduation at 3:00 p.m. in
the Chapel. The schedule is as
follows:
FRIDAY, MAY 17, -1 - 5
p.m.: Registration in the
Lobby of the Campus Center;
7- 9 p.m.: Paine College
Hostess Room - Thunderbird
Inn; 10 p.m.- 2 a.m. Presidents’
Dance at the Embassy Room -
Executive House Augusta “The
Monaco’s” Attire
Semi-formal.
SATURDAY, MAY 18-9
a.m. - 5 p.m.: Registration
See SCHEDULE Page 5
Augusta, Georgia
News-Review Saturday that the
recent trouble resulted from a
white meter maid who “has a
habit of giving tickets only to
Black people.” Parking tickets
cost 525.
A Black woman, Beatrice
Thomas, who had received
three such tickets, was arrested
and her license taken.
McCown, the Black judge
said, tried to arrange bond on
the telephone but the chief of
police “became arrogant and
got an attitude” and just
decided that they would not
let the woman sign her own
bond. When police refused to
rather far-fetched. I think the
three years Dr. Lucius Pitts was
president should have been a
good indication to the
community at large that here
was a Black man who could
have moved this college out of
its R esent financi?) crisis if he
had been given sufficient
time.”
He further noted that
Paine’s financial problem is not
just a local concern, but one
that both white and black
private colleges throughout the
nation are facing.
Dr. Richardson became
acting president of the
Methodist-supported private
college shortly after the death
of Paine’s first Black president
Dr. Pitts, a few months ago. He
stressed that his advocacy of a
Black president to suceed Dr.
Pitts does not apply to himself.
He noted that this is his
second time as acting president
of the college, and that he
doesn’t feel a man his age
should become president.
“I think this college needs a
younger, more vigorous person
who can give four or five good
years to the colllege. It will
take at least two or three years
for him to get a following of
the student and faculty, and
then it will take more years to
provide real leadership. The
person who becomes president
of this college must first
convince the students and
faculty of his sincerity.”
Dent said he feels that a
white president of Paine would
be able to attract funding that
a Black man may not be able to
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Pennamon 10th In Nation
With Insurance Company
Robert Pennamon,
representative of Mutual and
United of Omaha, is shown
receiving an award from
Southern Regional Sales
Manager Denny Dillingham for
being tenth in the nation for
sales in the month of March for
Mutual of Omaha.
Pennamon is one of the top
* May 16, 1974 No 9.
release the woman, “some
people were driving by and
their cars just happened to stall
in the middle of the streets and
blocked traffic for about three
hours.”
By the time the State Patrol
was called in, city police had
decided to let Ms. Thomas sign
her own bond.
On Friday McCown was
arrested for unlawful assembly,
inciting a riot, and obstruction
of an officer and failure to
disperse. A boycott was started
Friday which Judge Ingram
said could last indefinitely. The
tone of the demonstrations
attract. He stressed that he
does believe morally that the
president of a predominantly
Black college should be Black,
but that he also feels a white
president is needed at this
point in Paine’s history.
He notes that of the seven
private Biack colleges in the
state of Georgia, Paine is the
only one not located at
Atlanta. Besides the seven
private Black colleges,
state supported Black colleges
are Savannah State, Albany
State and Ft. Valley.
“Paine is double the size it
used to be, and the cost of
operating the college has
doubled and tripled,” Dent
said, “The students are
basically poor. I bet you won’t
find 10 students at Paine who
pay all their fees...most are on
grants. And, the alumni is also
poor for the most part. Paine,
until recently, graduated only
preachers and teachers during
the past 90 or so years. Most
preachers and teachers don’t
have any money.”
Dr. Richardson discussed his
feelings saying, “To make this
college survive takes not just a
white man per se, but a man
who has certain kinds of
relationships with different
people in different fields. He
certainly must be an
educator.”
He continued, “We know
there are not a great number of
Dr. Pitts in the world, but
Blacks at this college need a
Black president as an identity
and as a symbol. They need
identity with the achievements
producers with the A.S. Quinn
Agency of Mutual of Omaha in
Augusta, Georgia, and has been
associated with Mutual and
United of Omaha for
approximately a year and a
half. Pennamon sold $282,500
in life volume sales, placing
him number 5 among all first
year producers.
reflects the new confidence
of Blacks in Sparta. Instead of
the usual chanting of “I ain’t
gonna let nobody turn me
‘round.” They shouted, “1 ain’t
gonna let no CRACKERS turn
me ‘round.”
And when asked what they
wanted they shouted, “We
want John and we want him
now!” One muscular woman
with a pistol on her hip said,
“And we ain’t bull ing.”
Many of the Blacks among
the 600 hundred
demonstrators wore pistols. A
sheriff s deputy said the
persons with guns were
deputized to “keep things from
of a Black president... When
you say that it takes a white
man for the job, you elminiate
ail the Black men who have
achieved some eminence. It
would be hard to tell our
students that there’s not
another Black man who can
help this college achieve its
rightful place.”
The acting president gave his
own views of what type of
president the college needs
saying, “Whoever comes here
must determine what the
EDITORIAL |
1954 School Decision In Jeopardy
It is ironic that as we mark the 20th anniversary of
the 1954 Supreme Court school desegregation decision,
there is a determined move in Congress to set the clock
back to the segregated status of 1953.
On March 26 of this year the House passed the Esch
Amendment by a vote of 293 to 117. It proposes that
Congress find as a fact that transportation of students
creates serious risks to their health and safety.
2. It holds that assignment of children to public
schools on a neighborhood basis is NOT a denial of
equal educational opportunity.
3. It would forbid the imple ition of any
desegregation plans that ~ild iequire the
transportation of any student to a school other than the
closest to his residence.
4. It proposes the modification of Title VI of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 which authorizes civil actions
in Federal Courts for denial of equal educational
opportunity.
Another amendment offered by Rep. John M.
Ashbrook (R. Ohio) would forbid the expenditure of
Federal funds for busing to achieve desegregation.
Comparable amendments are being offered in the
Senate. Ont of them, submitted by Sen. Edward J.
Gurney (R. Fla.), would prohibit busing, reopen all
court-ordered desegregation plans submitted by the
Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and
forbid new desegregation orders. The Gurney provision
would be substituted for Title VIII of S. 1539 -- the
Education Amendment Act of 1974.
This being an election year, when the W atergate cloud
hanging over the landscape sends politicians scurrying
for issues to divert the voters’ attention from their own
credibility problems, busing and school desegreation are
sure-fire issues to seize upon and delude the electorate.
It is demagoguery at its worst. Not only is it immoral,
it is further damaging to Black and brown children
already handicapped by years of being disadvantaged.
It is an intolerable situation that calls for collective
action. The member papers of the National Newspaper
Publishers Association hereby go on record to say to the
Congress of the United States, “Stop playing politics
with our children’s lives and their welfare.”
Those who support such reactionary legislation as the
Esch Amendment must be regarded as the enemies of
Black and brown children and, indeed, of all children
and America itself.
Their actions must be remembered at the polls in
November, 1974. Respect for law r is just as incumbent
upon lawmakers as it is upon ordinary citizens.
NOTICE:
NEW
DEADLINE
The news
deadline
will be
Mondays
at 5 p.m.
starting
June Ist.
getting out of hand.”
Released from jail, Monday,
McCown said the boycott
would continue until Mayor
T.M. Patterson resigns. He
charged the mayor with
conducting a ‘gestapo force.”
Efforts were made to set
negotiations but they fell
through when the mayor
became upset with McCown’s
alleged statement that he
“didn’t care what happened to
the people of Sparta.”
McCown was also quoted as
having said of the mayor “the
only way you can deal with a
man like that is with baseball
bats and bullets.”
college has done, where is
presently is, and what its
future will be... This is not a
new college... it’s more than 90
years old. I don’t have any
hang-ups about the area he
comes from, becuase 1 believe
that qualifications are most
important. Our geographical
lines and boundaries started
disappearing long ago.”
The “Search Committee” to
find a new president will hold
its second meeting on May
20th at the college.