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T HE PEOPLE’S PAPER r
VoL 4
Carrie Mays Says Mayor Has Broken
His Campaign Promises To Blacks
City Councilwoman Carrie J.
Mays lashed Mayor Lewis A.
Newman for failing to live up
to campaign promises to the
Black community.
Mrs. Mays made her remarks
after the mayor passed up an
opportunity Monday to name a
Black to fill a vacancy on the
Civil Service Commission. “I
am tired of seeing tokenism
and window dressing for us
(Blacks). We get our quota as
far as they’re concerned. Our
Judge’s Court Order Will Not Equalize Black;
And Whites In Police Dent - Hansel Johnson
Last October Federal Judge
Anthony Alaimo ordered the
Augusta Police Department to
hire one Black for every white
until the Augusta Police
Department reflects the
approximate 50-50 racial
composition of the city of
Augusta.
But at the current pace, this
process will take forever,
according to Black Affirmative
Action Officer Hansel Johnson.
“It’s impossible. I don’t think
it will ever work out.”
Johnson told the
News-Review that he thinks
Jones Honored For 50 Yea
Os Service At Hospital
Edward M. Gillespie,
administrator of University
Hospital, proclaimed Thursday,
Dec. 19, as Walter Jones Day.
Jones, head, chef at
University, has been employed
iat the hospital since 1924,
'making this year his 50th year.
Gillespie presented a framed
proclamation to Mr. Jones at
the annual Employes’
Christmas banquet Wednesday
evening in the hospital
cafeteria. The proclamation
commends him for his
devotion to duty and valuable
services to the Department of
Dietetics. Miss Roggie Fuller,
director of dietetics also
extended her congratulations
at the ceremony with a gift
certificate and scrapbook.
An exhibit has been set up
in the hospital lobby
commenting “Walter Jones
Day” displaying news clippings
and photographs of Mr. Jones.
Copies of the proclamation
have been posted throughout
the hospital.
Jones was bom at home in
Mayfield, Ga. in 1911, the first
of eight children and only son
of a Methodist minister. He
remembers his father as being
strict and ambitious.
He had to get up at 4 aan. to
feed pigs and mflk cows and
leave at 6 to walk the eight
miles to school which began at
8:00. Home by 6, he would cut
wood and do other chores ‘til
supper. Then it was study time
*ta 9.
His father worked as a
quota is one - on anything. I
don’t care if they are fifty
members, ONE is our quota.
They feel that as long as they
dress the window with one,
then that’s enough of us.”
Mrs. Mays said that the
Mayor has passed up three
opportunities this year to
appoint a Black to city council
(three council men died during
the past year). There are only
three Black city councilmen
out of 16 although the city is
that the judge “perhaps
erred” in the wording of the
court order. “We started out
with this imbalance,” he
explained, “and we have
continued by compliance with
this court order to keep an
inbalance in the Black-white
ratio because the Civil Service
Commission has done what the
court said and hired one for
one.
“And here we find ourselves
a year later with a great
imbalance in the Black to
white ratio, although there has
bricklayer on the old
University Hospital.
At 13 Jones began helping
his uncle, Carlton Kendrick,
(still alive and in Warrenton,
Ga.) wash dishes at University
Hospital. Instead of going to
play during slack times, young
Walter would watch the
German chef prepare food. He
remembers that in those days
coal stoves were still used, and
a fireman had to keep the
stoves hot all night to be
dready for breakfast in the
morning.
In 1942, Miss Gladys
Stoddard, chief dietitian, sent
him to the Tuskeegee Institute
cooking schooling in Alabama.
He staying for 18 months and
by the time he left he was
teaching a pastry class. Mias
Stoddard left University that
year. When Walter returned he
was Head Chef again. (He was
never terminated. His time at
school was as a leave of
absence). Walter also travelled
to New York and Florida
during Miss Stoddard’s yean,
picking up ideas for food for
the hospital.
In 1952, Dwight D.
Eisenhower became President,
and in March came to Augusta
to the Masters. Jones was
chosen as cook for the
Eisenhowers and continued for
them for four years. (The
hospital excused him whenever
the Eisenhowers came to town
See “JONES” Page 2
P.O. Box 953
over 50 per cent Black.
“We are the majority and no
longer the minority and we
ought to have equal
representation on these
commissions and all
committees. The county and
the city were asked to appoint
persons to the Georgia Hall of
Fame Commission. We put one
(Black) on from the county
and one from the city. Why
couldn’t we have had equal
representation. It’s the ONE
been a seven per cent increase
in minority employment over
the past year.
Figures supplied by the
police department last year as
to the percentage of Blacks
hired were misleading Johnson
revealed. The police
department said the percentage
of Blacks hired was between 18
and 21 per cent. What they
didn’t say was that maids,
janitors and other maintenance
help were including in that 18
per cent.
Johnson said he feels that
“preferential” or “percentage”
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WALTER JONES
Augusta, Georgia
thing that just tears me up. We
can just get one all the time,
just one.”
The mayor will have another
chance to fill a Civil Service
Commission vacancy in
January. Mrs. Mays said to the
Mayor Monday that she hopes
that he will give consideration
to a Black as the next Civil
Service Commission
She told the city council that
she hopes that it will confirm
hiring may be the solution.
A judge in Chicago, he said,
recently ordered the city of
Chicago to hire 300 Black
officers to every 100 white.
Newark, N.J. has gone to
preferential hiring, and for the
next 12 months only Blacks
and Spanish surnamed persons
will be hired. “This is one way
of achieving desired
representation of minorities,”
Johnson said.
The Affirmative Action
Officer, whose job was created
by Judge Alaimo after 11
the Mayor’s nominee.
The time has come now for
Blacks to make more demands
on all elected officials, she said
Mrs. Mavs said she has heard
that the mayor feels that it
would be political suicide for
him to appoint a Black to fill
one of those council seats, “I
feel like it may be political
slaughter to do otherwise. He
still has the Black community
to contend with and 1975 is an
election year for the Mayor.”
Black officers filed a
discrimination suit against the
department last year, said he
would hate to see Augusta have
to resort to preferrential hiring.
“It would be just another
excuse for the whites to come
back and say that we’ve got
discrimination in reverse.” But
Johnson disagrees with this
position. Preferrential hiring is
“affirmative action”, he
asserted, “it’s taking positive
action to rectify a bad
situation.
“Do it once and for all, and
Herry|hristmas
The first Black woman
elected to city council in the
state and the first Black to
hold office in the state
Democratic party, Mrs. Mays
said that she feels that Blacks
will not support Newman in
1975 if there is another
candidate who is acceptable to
Blacks.
During his campaign, the
Mayor promised to consider
Blacks for every appointment
to be made. He said he would
get it over with, but there must
be other ways.
“I don’t think we have done
everything that we should have
been doing to really push
affirmative action.” By “we”,
Johnson said he referred to
himself, the Civil Service
Commission and everyone
concerned.
The problem could have
largely been solved, he said,
“had every one put their nose
to the wheel, and went on with
the business of trying to create
a greater Black representation
down here.”
Dent Is First
Black Chairman
Os A House
Committee
State Rep. R.A. Dent of
Augusta Sunday was appointed
chairman of the Georgia House
of Representatives Human
Relations and Aging
Committee, marking the first
time in recent history that a
Black has been appointed to a
chairmanship in the House.
Speaker Tom Murphy also
appointed Rep. Albert W.
Thompson, a Black from
Columbus, Ga., as chairman of
the Special Judiciary
Committee in Athens Sunday.
When contacted early
Sunday night, Dent said that
he had not been officially
informed of the appointment.
“If I have been appointed, then
it is quite a distinct honor for
me to serve as chairman of a
committee in the House of
Representatives.
“I’ll give it all that I have
and try to be a credit to the
committee and to the citizens
of Georgia,” Dent said. “I’m
Eateful to Speaker Tom
urphy for the honor.”
Dent said, that Rep.
Thompson “will do a
tremendous job.”
Dent was elected to the state
House of Representatives in
1966, and was the first Black
ever elected to the House from
Richmond County.
Active in the Democratic
Party, he was a delegate to the
1968 Democratic National
See “DENT” page 2
0/ft.wis£
December 19, 1974 No. 39
converse with Black leaders on
people available for these
positions. He has named one or
two, but it has not been an
“overall” thing, she said.
“The same Blacks get
appointed over and over. We
have more than four or five
competent Black people in the
community who would be
willing to serve on
committees.”
;! Editorial <;
| Have A Thinking Christmas |
As we enter the Christmas season we would urge our
readers to do one thing -- think. Think before you spend
your money, think about what Christmas means to you
in relation to what it should mean. And think about
yourselves in terms of what you are trying to do to
make this a better world.
We fully realize that in the remaining days before
Christmas, most of us will spend nearly every dollar
we’ve got, if we haven’t done so already. We would ask
only that you think and recognize the power of that
dollar before you spend it.
We hope that you will recognize that your dollar is
not only buying goods whose prices are inflated two and
three times beyond their actual value, but your dollars
also make richer racists and bigots who have never done
anything for Black people and who don’t intend to see
Blacks progress as a people.
But on the other hand, your dollars can help to
support merchants who are making a sincere effort to
hire large numbers of Blacks at all levels of their
businesses, and who have meaningful programs for
returning a proportionate share of the Black dollar to
the Black community. In this regard, the only Augusta
department store that we can recommend is Sears.
Watch the number of Blacks working at Sears in
comparison with the other stores and the way Sears
advertises for your dollar through Black owned news
media.
You’re going to spend a lot of money on food during
the holidays and the only super markets that lave any
kind of advertising programs with Blacks in Augusta are
A&P, Pantry Pride and to lesser degree Piggly Wiggly,
although Piggly Wiggly is not spending any money with
local Black newspapers.
We live in difficult times. And the one positive result
of hard times is that it forces man to get closer to his
God. We won’t preach here, but we do hope that you
will think on the implications of that. We are mighty sad
creatures if we think about God only when times are
hard. We owe Him our entire existence.
Finally, we ask you to think about yourselves. You
are not helpless. You are not insignificant You are
God’s greatest miracle. And He can change the world
with you. Think about that.
Dr. Richardson Named To
Hall Os Fame Commission
Dr. Canute M. Richardson,
acting president of Paine
College, this week was named
to the Georgia Hall of Fame
Commission. He was one of
five persons appointed by the
city council Monday.
He joins Mallory K.
Millender, also an instructor at
Paine College and
editor-publisher of the
News-Review as the only
Blacks thus far named to the
Hall of Fame Commission.
Millender was appointed by the
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Richmond County Board of
Commissioners after being
nominated by County
Commissioner Ed Mclntyre.
The Governor will make five
additional appointments to the
Hall of Fame Commission
which wffl be located in
Augusta, and will recognize
Georgias who have
distinguished themselves
through their contributions in
See APPOINTMENT Page 3
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