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Paine College Library 1235 15th St. Augusta, GA 30901 Man Beats Woman With His Fists POLICE REPORT - Page 2 New Black Declaration - Page 4 Vol. 6 SCLC Delegates Condemn Death Penalty At 19th Annual Convention The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), concluding its 19th annual convention in Biloxi, Mississippi, condemned capital punishment as an inequity of “a racist justice system” and urged Congress to pass a constitutional amendment against the death penalty. The national civil rights organization’s position was part of a “social-economic Former Augustan Completes Work In Africa By Audrey Frazier Former Augustan, Maiy Ida Gardner, recently completed a one year assignment in Africa for the National Young ' lIE ; 1? - .24 1 A JI Mary Ida Gardner Women’s Christian Association. Miss Gardner served as an advisor and consultant for the YMCA in the countries of Tanzania and Botswana. According to Miss Gardner, “Our policy (YMCA) is to help the people do what they want to do. I helped them write up projects and made suggestions for improving the procedure. While in Africa, Miss Gardner met with 45 different club groups of the YMCA once a week During these meetings the women organized and started nursery and elementary schools, built bus stop shelters and constructed crafts. “I was trying to help them become better leaders. People from ail over the country came in for a whole day’s session of learning how to become better North Augustan Receives High Acclaim For ETV Special Nat Irvin Jr., son of the Rev. & Mrs. Nathaniel Irvin of North Augusta, received high acclaim for his televised version of “Sister Sarah’s Diary”. The play was first shown on ETV June 23, and again August 30. The following is one of the many critic’s reviews of Irvin’s work: With television nightly coughing up blood and with the theatre gasping and pleading in the semi-darkness for new life, it would be remarkable if their union produced anything more than a stillborn atrocity. Although Nat Irvin Jr.’s first ETV special “Excerpts from Sister Sarah’s Diary” is far from an atrocity, his production does up the limitations of television theatre. A USC student from North Augusta, Irvin is working on his M.A. degree in the newly organized Department of Media Arts. To complete his degree requirements, Irvin (with the help of Saur.dra Bowie and Tommy Young) wrote the “Sister Sarah” script based on a short story by Dr. Ralph Phelps and submitted it to TV to gain their assistance in his thesis project. Impressed by the script, ETV decided to produce the show themselves but still left most of die control to Irvin. P.O. Box 953 agenda” it developed to focus attention on the plight of Black and poor Americans. SCLC President Ralph Abernathy has said the document will be presented to the Democratic and Republican candidates for president to increase their awareness of the problems of the disadvantaged. SCLC renewed its long-standing opposition to the 1 ■ I *1 ■ so * xHW aII YWCA members in Botswana listen to lecture. leaders, how to plan programs, work with young people; things like this that they could go back into their village and do a more orderly job of getting themselves together.” Out of 10,000 elementary school graduates, only 2,000 can attend secondary school. Miss Gardner helped to organize a domestic science program for those girls who could not get into secondary schools because there is no space for them. “I helped to start a training program for girls so that they may become f” - w W /F"*” • '» A Wk---.. sJ&vSKr BB|B ■ I| . ~x • * * £'' '■ 6 -A ./ s>t f ■: a L. Nathaniel Irvin, Jr. “Sister Sarah’s Diary” is a humorous update version of the Biblical tale of Noah and his ark - this time Noah being a fanatical Black reverend desperately preaching to warn his congregation and city God’s death penalty in a unanimously adopted report from its resolutions committee at Pete Fountain’s Buena Vista. Black leaders, noting that the majority of persons on death row in the nation’s penitentiaries are Black and poor, have contended that capital punishment constitutes a form of genocide. Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 7-2 to uphold the self supporting. They learned skills to help improve themselves in whatever way is necessary.” Miss Gardner worked with 65 women from throughout Tanzania and Botswana. “This was a very interesting experience,” stated Miss Gardner. “1 would like to go back one day just to see if they have accomplished any of the projects.” Miss Gardner, who resides in New York, is a member of the national staff of the YWCA. Presently she is plan for the imminent destruction of the world. As such, the story becomes a vehicle for the rather obvious satire of various community elements. The main blows fall on the pettiness and AN OPEN FORUM FOR PEOPLE WHO CARE 'SUS' * ’ v ■ ■ ledciVM Augusta, Georgia death penalty, ruling that it does not violate the Constitution’s restrictions against “cruel and unusual punishment.” The SCLC position paper resolved that the Rev. Abernathy send letters to all members of Congress urging a constitutional ban against capital punishment and that the organization's 300 chapters and affiliates across the nation director of the YWCA’s Job Corp Training Center. She has worked with the YWCA for 15 years. She served as executive director of the YWCA in California for several years. She has also worked in Korea for the United States government as a program director. Upon Miss Gardner’s arrival to Augusta, she was greeted by Augusta’s executive director of the YWCA, members of Springfield Baptist Church, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and The LaMademoiselle Club. A reception followed at the home of her mother, Mrs. Christine Gardner of 2016 Grand Blvd. The reception was given by friends and well wishers of Miss < Gardner. Approximately 60 people attended the affair. faithlessness of the congregation and tlie obnoxiousness of the local authorities with their trival regulations. Besides these traditional recipients of criticism in the story, Irvin includes jabs at labor unions, gossipy women, TV news reporters (as Woody Allen did to sportscasters in “Bananas”), etc. for their basic callousness and disbelief. Whether Noah is right or wrong is not so much the issue here as the fact that the townspeople have degraded themselves in their intolerant harassment of him. This degradation is most evident in the washeteria scene in which several very vocal women delight in telling their recently returned friend about what hey consider the ridiculous nd embarrassing behavior of heir pastor. Their song 1 the event leads into wicked pagan ritual of sorts, accompanied by dissonant voices and music, multi-colored flashes of light, and dance-like movement, ended by an ominous roar of thunder. Altnough we hear a great deal of Noah's religious rhetoric (perhaps too much), the story retains the community perspective. Only Sarah, tom between family loyalty and her write the individual congressmen in their districts. Tire document also called for a “reinvestigation” of the 1975 conviction of Christopher Moore, a 23-year-old Pascagoula Black found guilty of capital murder in the knife slaying of Mrs. Irene Hoffman, a 29-year-old school teacher. The SCLC, which has maintained Moore’s innocence, also voted to send a letter to Gov. Cliff Finch, “requesting his direct intervention in this case.” Turning to other domestic problems, the 16-page agenda called for passage of the Humphrey-Hawkins full-employment bill, pending before Congress. It said the percentage of unemployed Black Americans is “nearly double the unemployment rate of white Americans” and cited a 40 per cent national unemployment rate among Black youth. The SCLC said “Black-on-Black” crime-in which Blacks are the victims of other Blacks-continues “to have an adverse impact on the economic development of Black and poor people in this country” and voted to launch a nationwide program designed to “minimize” the problem. Declaring that the Democrats have taken Black voters for granted “far too long” and that the Republicans have “ignored” the Black and the poor, the organization said ootn political parties will be asked to support a “meaningful national health insurance program and full employment for every American qualified to work.” The Rev. Rainh Abernathy was re-elect' 1 ': national president of the SCLC. Abernathy has headed the group since the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee, April 4, 1968. own doubt, is singled out to give us any insight into her fanatical brother’s behavior. Basing his show on a novelty idea and using stereotyped characters, however, Irvin runs the risk of being merely “cute” or creating a show for children only. The dangers of this type of script are evident in the strike scene in which beer-gutted white construction workers singing “We Shall Overcome” picket Noah for violating wage and hour laws. Such a scene is too deliberately contrived to be funny. The real problem of the production is the problem that plagues most television plays that I have seen - stage acting. In the theatre, obviously, a certain degree of exaggeration of voice and gesture is acceptable, indeed necessary, to communicate emotions and actions over the expanse of the audience. But the very nature of film precludes the necessity of such exaggeration - the camera can capture the faintest expression of motion with clarity, and the audio equipment can accurately register the slightest sign. Irvin’s leading actors are stage actors. Saundra Bowie (Sister Sarah) has performed in may SCORE productions, and Tommy Young (Noah) is the See “IRVIN” on Page 5 Correction In the story, “Barton Village Shootout”, August 19, the News-Review reported that the deceased, Ida Lassiter was the sister of Bonnie Lassiter and Brenda Lassiter. She was their sister-in-law. We regret the error. w 1 K 1 JI ■1 h I f ■ I 1 » V I / w /> jf s 4'4- > 4.:'-W *-408 Jr ’ "Bi \ Dr. Ralph David Abernathy beams with joy after being unanimously reelected SCLC’s National President by delegates at 19th Annual Convention. X 1 J I 'Wi ■ SMILING CONTEST? Betty Sharpe, a member of Congressman Andrew Young’s staff in Washington,' seems to be having a smiling contest with Democratic Presidential nominee Jimmy Carter. The Atlanta Congressman, a strong supporter of the Carter-Mondale ticket, was host to Governor Carter when the Presidential candidate recently visited Congress. Dr. Scott, A Bricklayer? Dr. Julius S. Scott, Jr., president of Paine College, placed four bricks from the old Haygood Hall to the new building on campus. The old building was destroyed bv fire eight years ago. With Dr. Scott are Richard Ingram and Jerry Berger. September 9, 1976 No. 23 i Ibl .. |r|W|||M| l '’Ww 25$