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AN OPEN FORUM FOR PEOPLE WHO CARE
Vol. 5
Foul Play Not Ruled Out
Hancock County Leader Dies In Mysterious Plane Crash
JOHN McCOWN
John McCown, the powerful
Black leader who achieved
Black control of Hancock
County government, was killed
in a plane crash approximately
8:30 p.m. Friday.
Witnesses told Federal
Aviation Administration
(FAA) investigators that the
plane lifted off the runway and
lost power soon after gaining
altitude, yet the plane was not
found until 5:30' a.m.
Saturday, a full nine hours
later.
Tom Watson, National
Laney Teacher Wins
Job Plus Back Pay
A federal judge has ruled
that the Richmond County
Board of Education
discriminated against a Black
substitute teacher by hiring a
white replacement and ordered
that she be given a full-time job
and back pay.
U.S. District Court Judge
Anthony A. Alaimo ruled that
hiring the white teacher “was
discriminatory in result and
violated the equal protection
clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment.”
The Black teacher, Mrs. Ann
Johnson, had been hired Sept.
9 to substitute for a business
education teacher at Lucy
Laney School who was taking
maternity leave. On Oct. 3, the
teacher resigned and Mrs.
Johnson asked to have the job
on a full-time basis. On Nov.
14, the board of education
hired a white teacher for the
job.
“In this case, it is clear that
the Richmond County School
Board did not act in bad faith
in denying Mrs. Johnson the
business education position;
however, it is equally clear that
she was denied the position
because of her race,” Judge
Alaimo declared in his
decision.
Judge Alaimo took note of
the facts that the board of
education believed it could not
violate Department of Health,
Education and Welfare (HEW)
guidelines on faculty racial
ratios and that the board
Statue Os Dr. King
Planned For Capitol
The U.S. House of
Representatives recently passed
legislation co-sponsored by
Cong. Dante Fascell (D-Fla.)
which authorizes a bust or
statue of Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr., to be placed in the
U.S. Capitol
The measure provides that
$25,000 from the contingent
fund of the House be made
available for this purpose.
“There are several hundred
works of art in the Capitol
commemorating and honoring
great Americans,” Fascell said.
“Not one of them, to date, is
of a Black America.
P. O. Box 953
Transportation Safety Board
investigator, told the
News-Review that after a
thorough examination of the
plane’s engine, he could find
no evidence of engine failure.
He further stated that the
flight control panel checked
out okay and that the planes
body structure was sound.
Watson would not speculate
on whether foul play was the
cause of the accident but did
say that the investigation was
not complete, and that the
next step would be to check on
McCown’s credentials as a
pilot. .
Killed with McCown were
Leon R. Simmons, 20, and
another man named Allen
Collier. The lone survivor of
the crash, Grady Collier, 20,
Route 1, Box 224, Sparta,
remains in fair condition at
University Hospital.
McCown, as executive
director of the East Central
Committee for Opportunity
(ECCO) Inc., built a power
base which led to Black control
of the county government and
millions of dollars in public
offered Mrs. Johnson a
position teaching mathematics.
HEW guidelines specify that
faculty racial ratios can be only
10 per cent out of line with
student racial ratios, Supt.
William G. Oellerich said when
the case first came up. School
officials believed that hiring
any more Black teachers at
Laney would push the school
dangerously close to the upper
limit of Black faculty.
At the time Mrs. Johnson
requested the full-time
position, Personnel Director
Raymond Duford was
attempting to consolidate the
position with other teaching
jobs and eliminate it entirely.
That attempt at consolidation
failed, and Jane Bowens, a
white teacher, was hired.
Mrs. Bowens had not taught
in the public school system for
several years, and is only
“conditionally certified” now,
the court also noted.
In ordering the school board
to give Mrs. Johnson back pay,
Judge Alaimo said her salary as
a substitute after she requested
the full-time position should be
subtracted from the total
reimbursement. The back pay
should amount to
approximately 2'/z months’
wages.
The court also awarded
attorney’s fees to John H.
Ruffin Jr., Mrs. Johnson’s
attorney. Ruffin and the board
of education have yet to settle
on his fees.
“I can think of several Black
Americans who more than
deserve this distinction and,
certainly, Dr. King would lead
the list. His life and martyrdom
in behalf of not only blacks,
but of all freedom-loving
individuals, have earned him
this place in our history. He
was truly a great American and
his likeness should be included
among the works of art in our
nation’s capital as a perpetual
monument and testimony to
his outstanding efforts in
behalf of all of us,” Fascell
concluded.
and private funding for his
organization. Eighty percent of
Hancock County’s population
is Black.
The political leader had been
accused of misusing funds.
Gov. Jimmie Carter had
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DR. VIVIAN HENDERSON.
NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED ECONOMIST
Roy Wilkins To Retire As Head Os NAACP
By William Raspberry The
Washington Post
I don t wish to sound like an
obituary: Roy Wilkins is a long
way from dead. He has only
announced his intention to
step down, by the end of the
year, as executive secretary of
the National Association of
Colored People.
But the announcement
signals the end of an era for the
nation’s foremost civil rights
organization, and that is the
reason for the obituary-like
assessments of the Wilkins
regime-that and the fact that
half of the American people
under age 30 has no memory
of a Wilkins-less NAACP.
The Wilkins tenure embraces
the most dramatic and
dynamic period of the entire
civil rights movement: school
desegregation, the opening up
of places of public
accommodation, the removal
of racial barriers to voting, and
so on. And even when the
NAACP was not directly
involved-as in the freedom
rides and sit-ins of the 1950 s
and i96os~it was the NAACP
that was the major source of
legal assistance for the activists
of that period, even when it
disapproved of their tactics.
That was the Wilkins era,
and it is an era of which the
74-year-old patriarch of the
movement can be deeply
proud.
And yet I am glad that he is
stepping down, voluntarily and
with good grace.
The fear--which in these
obituary-like days, will seldom
be expressed-was that Wilkins
would stay on too long and
that, finally, there would
develop within the
organization a movement to
force him gracelessly to
pasture.
Just as Wilkins, who was
considered a “young Turk” in
the 1930 s when he moved into
the NAACP leadership ranks,
saw the need for fresh
leadership, there have been
Augusta, Georgia
withheld $300,000 in grant
funds for ECCO because he
had feared the funds were
being misused. But in 1974, an
investigation led by him
revealed nothing illegal about
McCown’s operation.
other “young Turks” who have
been trying to sell Wilkins on
the idea that his time had come
and gone.
As matter of fact, Wilkins
himself has been saying for the
past several years that he did
not expect to stay forever in
office, that he would not let
his pride keep him from
knowing when it was time to
move on.
But even those who granted
that Wilkins would probably be
the first to know when he had
lost a step to his years doubted
that he would be prepared to
Muslims Rename Temple For Malcolm X
The Black Muslims’ Temple
No. 7 in Harlem, which was
destroyed 11 years ago after the
assassination of Malcolm X and
was later rebuilt, has been
renamed in honor of the
dissident Muslim who broke
with the Nation of Islam in an
acrimonious dispute that many
felt ultimately led to his death.
The dramatic move was
confirmed yesterday by
Minister Abdul Farrakhan,
national spokesman for Wallace
D. Muhammad, the
organization’s leader, in a
taping of “Black Journal”, to
be telecast nationally on the
Public Broadcasting System on
Feb. 15.
In response to a question
from Tony Brown, the show’s
host, Mr. Farrakhan said that
the temple was being renamed
Malcolm Shabazz Temple No.
7 “in recognition of the great
work that Malcolm X did when
he was among the Nation of
Islam.”
The renaming of the temple,
part of a complex of Muslim
enterprises at 116th Street and
Lenox Avenue is one of a
number of major changes
instituted by Mr. Muhammad
McCown, 37, a native of
Loris, S.C. came to Hancock
County in 1966 as a civil rights
worker with the aim of giving
Blacks their political powers
and fighting poverty. He found
strong support among Blacks
Dr. Vivian Henderson Dies; Clark College President
Dr. Vivian W.
Henderson, one of Atlanta’s
most respected educators and a
nationally recognized
economist, died last
Wednesday afternoon at St.
Joseph’s Infirmary in-Atlanta
during heart surgery.
Dr. Henderson had been the
president of Clark College, one
of the six units of the Atlanta
University Center, since 1965.
He had served on numerous
federal education and
economics task forces.
According to E.L. Simon,
chairman of the Board of
Trustees of Clark College, the
52-year-old Dr. Henderson
checked into Northside
Hospital Sunday complaining
of chest pains.
He had undergone
open-heart surgery five years
ago for the implantation of a
plastic heart valve, and doctors
determined the valve was
leaking.
Dr. Henderson was
transferred to St. Joseph’s
Tuesday night and entered
surgery at 9 a.m. Wednesday
morning. He died on the
operating table shortly after 2
p.m., a school spokesman said.
acknowledge that some
younger person could do a
better job.
The fear was that he would
continue to assert his
willingness to step down at the
proper time and continue to
see the proper time as: not yet.
The worry was that he
would subscribe in perpetuity
to the Geoige Allen dictum
that even a slower-footed
veteran is to be preferred to a
promising rookie, stronger and
quicker, to be sure, but also
inexperienced and mistake
prone.
since he succeeded his father,
Elijah Muhammad, who died
last February after serving as
spiritual leader of the
Chicago-based organization for
41 years.
Caucus Elects Rep. Burke As Chairperson
Rep. Yvonne B. Burke
(D-Calif.) has been elected
Chairperson of the
Congressional Black Caucus for
the 2nd Session of the 94th
Congress. Rep. Burke is the
first female member to head
the caucus. She has served in
Congress since 1972,
representing the 28th
Congressional District in Los
Angeles. At the 1972
Democratic National
Convention, Rep. Burke played
a prominent role as the
convention’s permanent vice
chairperson.
The other Caucus officers
elected to serve during the 1976
Congressional Session are: Rep.
of Hancock County..
When the Sparta Police
Department b egan ordering
sub-machine guns, McCown
and his group began to do the
same. Then Gov. Carter averted
the arms race by having the
Dr. Henderson spent
January' 10 and 11 on the Paine
College campus. He and his
wife were the guests of Dr. and
Mrs. Julius S. Scott Jr.
Commenting on Dr.
Henderson’s death, the Paine
College president said Dr.
Henderson was a “brilliant and
versatile economic analyst, an
extraordinarily perceptive
counselor and administrator,
and a person deeply dedicated
to creative social change.
“His death is a tragic loss to
me personally, to Black higher
education, and to higher
learning in general He will be
sorely missed.”
SCLC President, Dr. Ralph
D. Abernathy, said, “In the
passing of Dr. Vivian
Henderson, we have truly lost a
great American; outstanding
educator; one of the world s
greatest economists, and one of
humanities most sensitive,
dearest friends and champions
of the cause of the
downtrodden and disinherited.
His outstanding career began
long before he became
President of Clark College, one
of the leading and most
Wilkins’ announcement this
week tells us we needn’t have
worried.
Two big decisions remain.
The first-and in some ways,
the easier-one is to choose a
successor for the man who has
led the organization for the
past two decades.
The second is to decide on a
new direction for the
organization to take. The
Wilkins era saw the NAACP
chalk up its greatest successes
in moving the American system
to rid itself of official barriers
to Black progress, principally
The renaming of the temple
also comes at a time when
several of the changes Malcolm
X had urged on Elijah
Muhammad and which led in
part to his break with the
Walter E. Fauntroy (D-DC),
vice chairperson, Rep. Cardiss
Collins (D-Ill.), secretary and
Rep. Andrew Young (D-Ga.),
treasurer. During this past year,
Rep. Fauntroy held the
position of caucus secretary
and Rep. Young held the same
position of caucus treasurer.
Following her election, Rep.
Burke stated that “I am proud
to have the opportunity to
serve the Caucus in this office.
1976 is a crucial year in the
development of Black political
influence and in the
development of the
Congressional Black Caucus
program. 1 believe that the
caucus has grown
February 5, 1976 No. 44
police turn their weapons over
to the state. McCown’s group
then canceled their orders.
While executive director of
the anti-poverty program, he
established several enterprises,
outstanding Black institutions
in our country today.
“As chairman of the
Economic Task Force of the
Southern Christian Leadership
Conference, i Dr. Henderson
mapped out a program to deal
effectively with the servere
economic crisis facing Black
and poor Americans. He was a
scholar who demanded respect
across all racial lines, and he
was a Brother who dedicated
his total life and resources for
the enrichment of his fellow
man.”
Atlanta Mayor Maynard
Jackson characterized Dr.
Henderson as a man “never too
busy to accept the call to
service,” who “shared the
vision of our city’s future while
acknowledging the problems of
our past and laboring within
the sturggles of our present.”
“1 personally am indebted to
Dr. Henderson for his help and
guidance during the first two
years of my administration. I
always knew I could call upon
him for advice, for guidance
and for strength,” Jackson
added.
Atlanta University Center
Chancellor Lisle C. Carter
through litigation and
mass-movement appeals to
conscience.
In such an era, it was
possible to produce a piece of
legislation or a judicial decree
and close the book on one
more problem.
But will there ever be
enough progress in Black
employment, integration,
income and general well-being
to permit the closing of the
book on that? And is a
mass-membership organization
the best vehicle for dealing
with these problems, once the
organization, are being
promulgated by Wallace D
Muhammad as policy.
Since Malcolm X, 39 years
old, was assassinated in Harlem
immeasurably in stature and
influence since its formation in
1971.”
Representative Burke
continued that “At the same
time, non-Black candidates for
the presidency, the congress
and other elected offices are
becoming increasingly sensitive
to the Black vote and are
asking for guidance on issues
affecting minorities and the
poor.”
Outgoing chairperson Rep.
Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) will
serve along with Rep. Charles
C. Diggs, Jr. (D-Mich.) and
Rep. Louis Stokes (D-Ohio) as
es officio members of the
caucus’ executive committee
including a large catfish farm, a
cement block factory and a
low income housing
development. He also obtained
funds for a building known as
the Academy Lounge and a
private air transport company.
called Dr. Henderson's death
“a deep loss.”
“Dr. Henderson was a
national leader in education
and a recognized authority on
manpower economics. He
made important contributions
to the civil rights movement
and was a consistent advocate
of equal employment and,
more recently, full
employment for Americans,”
Carter said.
“At Tiark Co'lege, as
president, his presence has
been felt through innovations,
advancement and expansion
over the last decade,” Carter
added.
Atlanta Chamber of
Commerce President Joel
Goldberg said that Dr.
Henderson’s “pride in Atlanta
and his contributions to her
progress will be sorely missed.”
Goldberg cited Dr.
Henderson’s efforts “in
assuring the orderly
desegregation of the Atlanta
public schools in 1972” as an
important contribution to
Atlanta.
Dr. Albert Manley, retiring
See “DR. HENDERSON”
Page 2
legal groundwork has been
laid?
Or will there be a time when
members of the NAACP will be
unable to devote their energies
to solving the problems of
poverty, joblessness and
miseducation, not as Black
people but as concerned
Americans?
These are among the
questions the NAACP will have
to answer in the post-Wilkins
days ahead. And it will be a
blessing if Roy Wilkins is
around for many more years to
help work out the answers.
in 1965 by three men said to be
Black Muslims, he has grown in
stature among Blacks and
See “MUSLIMS”
Page 5
comprised of all officers of the
caucus.
Deadline
Mondays
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