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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 C a ' ; i ■’ • B. M.m i W M 1 j. , S! O i 3.-—-J I la Ji •' < i # 9 Jf ts . II > , r \ t W 1 , - „.*.■ 1 “ i ■' I > r 1 -u 1 Cw I / z g \ jRf r|w i ■ 1 I <-« 9 S '< < ' • "' ■*\ X F iSBKiBII » 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 ■,yz '* II I iHl’ ® kl HI 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.