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The Augusta News-Review - September 22,1977 -
Mallory K. Millender Editor-Publisher
Frank Bowman General & Advertising Manager
Mary Gordon C.rculat.on
Sharon C. Caldwell Reporter
Mailing Address
Box 953 - Augusta, Ga. - Phone 722-4555
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The recent attempts to belittle the
examination given by the Augusta Police
Department should be watched very
carefully.
Police in Augusta and other cities have
for centuries been selected on any and
every basis except intellect. Now there is
criticism that the exam is too easy. While
some of the questions on the exam are so
simple that they lend themselves to
ridicule if taken in isolation, so do certain
questions on almost any test. And it
would not surprise us if many of the
veterans on the force would also fail the
present exam. It is safe to say test words
uke “precipice”, “electrode”, and
“decanter” are not part of the
vocabularies of too many of Augusta’s
finest.
Our complaint with this exam, as with
most exams of its kind, is that it doesn’t
test what it is supposed to test - whether
Support crucial
We are pleased to see the Carter
administration supporting affirmative
action in its brief to the Supreme Court
which is preparing a ruling in the Bakke
case.
Most importantly the brief said, “It is
appropriate to take race into account to
adjust for differences in credentials that
may have been caused by discrimination
but do not reflect differences in ability to
succeed or in ability to contribute ”
While the administration did not go as
far as we would have liked, it did take the
crucial step of recognizing that
discrimination based on race will never be
effectively dealt| with until we recognize
race as the operative force in
discrimination and in its solution where
Blacks are concerned.
Going places
E Caucus dinner
attracts 2000
The Congressional Black Caucus will
hold its seventh annual legislative
workshop and dinner in Washington,
D.C., on Sept. 23-24. Several thousand
elected Black officials from around the
nation are expected to attend the
legislative workshops scheduled for
Friday.
The workshops will focus on the aged,
communications, voter participation,
crime and the criminal justice system,
education, health and welfare, housing,
international affairs, jobs and full
employment. They will include a briefing
by Administration representatives on
issues important to minority citizens,
legislative updates on key issues,
development of strategies for reaching
these goals.
The annual dinner on Saturday usually
brings in over 2,000 attendants at the
Washington Hilton. Speaker will be Alex
Haley with President Carter, his Cabinet,
key members of Congress, captains of
American business and industry (who are
helping in part of its sponsorship) and
civic leaders from around the nation;
McINTYRE REPRESENTS AUGUSTA
We understand that Commissioner Ed
Mclntyre will be a vital part of this
program. We also hope that other
members of Augusta’s Black political
team will make the weekend flight to
Washington.
**********
We learn that the legal suit brought
against the Augusta Black Festival and
Mr. Mclntyre by the District Attorney
has been thrown out of court, And well it
should because thousands of fair-minded
Augustans, of both races, felt it unfair
and weakly based indeed. Now, let the
Aack Festival go forward with its
valuable educational, recreational and
cultural-uplift programs which will
benefit all Augusta.
CONGRATULATIONS TO S.B. GANDY
It is good to note that S.B. Gandy is
moving forward as the new Executive
Director of historic Bethlehem Center.
That agency is fortunate in securing his
services as he brings many years of top
Idiot tests?
The administration again failed to
endorse quotas, which we think are
essential to remove the effects of past
and present discrimination. Instead it
chose to play with words by endorsing
“reasonably selected numerical targets.”
We recognize that the term quota has
come to be hated by many Americans in
the same way they hate the term busing
or any other word that holds potential
for bringing about social equality.
The President is elected through the
political process, and as long as that is
true he must sometimes play politics.
However, no President will make a real
contribution until he has the courage to
provide moral leadership. Carter s
support of affirmative actions provides
such leadership.
By Philip Waring
Page 4
tne applicant has the ability to become a
good police officer.
The complaints that we now hear are
intended to discredit the increasing
number of minority officers on the
Augusta police force as well as Judge
Anthony Alaimo who ordered the
increased hiring of minorities.
We believe that policemen have the
most challenging job in this society. At a
given moment, they may have to decide
whether a man shall live or die. These
kinds of decisions cannot be made by the
least competent individuals in our
society.
But the police department has never
been known for academic excellence, and
it should not be required to be such only
because more minorities are being hired.
These who now call for more rigid testing
are really calling for an exam that would
eliminate more minorities.
experience, training and leadership. May I
say “Well Done!” to Verlyn Bell who
brought about new programs and much
physical expansion. The Bethlehem
Center is vital in the current and future
development and training of thousands of
needy and disadvantaged youth. There
are many complex and vital problems
facing Augusta, and Bethlehem Center is
an important resource. While many
outside sources - Methodist Global
Ministry, etc.-have long given important
financial aid, there must be some
financial support from Augustans and the
local United Way. This should be an
immediate topic for discussion among all
Augusta area residents of both races. I
received my start in Social Work there
many years ago under Lonnie Hamilton,
and will always remember and appreciate
same.
LANCE HEARING MOST IMPORTANT
The opportunity last week for Burt
Lance to get “His Day in Court” was
most significant. First it was unfair media
“overkill” on ANdy Young - connecting
him to communistic causes and calling
him “motor mouth”, and so on And
next was Burt Lance who was treated
most unfairly, picturing him as a crook.
Mr. Lance most effectively told his side
of the story which resulted in an entirely
different image of this Georgia civic and
business leader. Last month when we
interviewed one of his staff workers,
Augusta’s Raymone Bain, she told us of
many of his fine qualities.
WELCOME HOME TO THE RUSSELS
When 1 was home last month we
missed the Emory Russels, then visiting
friends in Macon. The wonderful thing,
however, is they have returned from the
West Coast- This is good because they
have many dear friends in Augusta. Both
are graduates of Paine College but have
lived in New York for many years. He
was a top U.S. Postal supervisor and Mae
worked at the National Methodist
Headquarters under Deaconess Thelma
Stevens, formerly of Bethlehem Center.
Emory, one of the most resourceful
persons, has given solid aid to Paine and
the Paine Alumni in Augusta and New
York. Welcome home again!
CARE HOW
MUCH YOU'VE
GROWN...YOU'RE
not READY
YET/
A BB
©I<VH BLACK MEDIA
RHODESIAN RHETORIC _
Speaking Out
I I
ut JirV Justice on trial
f1 F I
HR.
By Roosevelt Green Jr.
Justice is always on trial in America.
Justice has never found a real home in
this country. Examples too numerous to
cite can always be given to document this
assertion.
The violation of civil and human rights
by federal law enforcement agencies, the
legal lynching of five Black males in
Dawson, Ga., the persecution of ten
activists in Wilmington, the Wanton
police brutality in Philadelphia and the
mayor of flood ravaged Johnstown, Pa.
ordering police to shoot to kill looters,
are situations that will upset any
concerned individual. The illegal and
unjust conduct of some members of the
CIA and FBI is ironic and tragic.
It is anger producing to consider how
the FBI sought to destroy the reputation
of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. We will probably never know what
part the FBI and the CIA played in the
death of Dr. King, and in the damaging of
the civil rights movement. Also we will
never learn the truth about the deaths of
John and Robert Kennedy.
The Watergate hoodlums are getting
rich writing books, tv shows, and
Cersonal appearances to tell what and
ow they nearly destroyed America. The
Watergate clowns who did go to jail went
to prison country clubs while Blacks and
low income whites serve most of their
lives in jail for similar offenses.
The American economy was developed
on the backs of Black slaves and
freedmen. Centuries of uncompensated
toil was obtained from Blacks and their
children suffer because powerful whites
say they do not believe in so-called
reverse discrimination. They may profess
unbelief in reverse discrimination but
they worship at the feet of “forward”
discrimination.
Culturally dispossessed and
disadvantaged Blacks can not expect any
special assistance on the scale that is
needed in order for them to gain
equality. The mighty Department of
Justice has just shown it is eager to fight
any special programs for Blacks by
getting involved on the side of the white
applicant in California who brought up
the reverse discrimination nonsense.
It is interesting to see how the white
Things You Should Know
Panted //ate
WILLIAMS 1 fW
1858-1931 - ’
Born in Hollidaysburg,pa.,he I fi
MOVED TO JANESVILLE,WISCONSIN. HIS FATHER V
DIED LEAVING A LARGE FAMILY, N POVERTY. \ ’ /Jkl
WILLIAMS ENTERED MEDICAL SCHOOL AT NORTH- WB. 4/ JBBk
WESTERN UNIV.-HE GRADUATED IN 1883, BUT / ’’L. jvjfm
STAYED THERE AS AN ANATOMY INSTRUCTOR./ _
IN 1891 HE FOUNDED PROVIDENT HOSPITAL IN
CHICAGO,HELPING TO SEI UP THE FIRST TRAIN-
ING SCHOOL FOR NEGRO NURSES/LATER,PRESIDENT
GROVER CLEVELAND APPOINTED HIM TO HEAD '
freedman's hospital in Washington, dc.Z r
American press is calling for the
resignation of Bert Lance before he has
his “day in court”. The post Watergate
political purity syndrome frees the
non-Southem press to pounce on Bert
Lance. Lance deserved his day in court
before the crucifixon of his career.
The anti-South prejudice is very strong
in Pennsylvania and the rest of this
Northeastern region. It is amazing that
both Blacks and non-Blacks share this
prejudice in varying degrees. I just
wonder what part this kind of prejudice
played in the rejection of Bert Lance
since he is a Southerner.
Justice is not only blind but also deaf
and prejudiced. The scales of American
justice are balanced in the favor of the
rich, the super-rich and upper income
whites. Low income whites face justice
difficulties similar to that of Blacks and
other minority groups.
The most cruel part of the criminal
justice system is the prison system. To
place a human being in a cage and call it
punishment is inhuman. Aside from that,
it is disgraceful and evil for prison
systems to treat humans as they are
presently doing. 1 believe all prisons
should be torn down and more humane
methods of dealing with criminal
offenders be developed and implemented.
The hue and cry for capital
punishment are made without the
supporters of the death penalty
acknowledging that this form of
punishment is reserved for the Black and
Coor. Justice is never served when a
uman life is taken for punishment
reasons.
In the finaj analysis, it is good that
ours is a nation guided by laws rather
than men per se. We would be in a sad
state indeed if the Anita Bryants
prevailed with referendums on civil rights
and there being no recourse to laws.
Justice has to struggle but the struggle
itself is important. Rays of sunshine
come through the clouds of injustice
from time to time. Justice must always
be tempered with mercy and love as well
as freedom.
HARAMBEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To be equal
Justice
denied
Wilmington 10
While the United States government
maintains pressure on foreign countries
that violate human rights and imprison
people on politically-inspired,
trumped-up charges, the Wilmington 10
are still behind bars.
Their continued presence in North
Carolina’s jails makes a mockery of our
human rights pretensions. Our country
has been forced onto the defensive by
penny ante dictators who justify their
own repressions by pointing to the fact
that the Wilmington 10 have been
sentenced to nearly 300 years’
imprisonment under circumstances that
smell of rigged trials and racial vengeance.
The story of the Wilmington 10 goes
back to 1970, when court-ordered
desegregation of New Hanover County’s
school system led to escalating racial
tensions generated by die-hards fighting
the entrance of blacks into all-white
schools.
The mounting troubles led to black
boycotts and demonstrations and
culminated in a full-scale riot in
Wilmington in which two people died and
millions of dollars of property was
damaged. In March, 1972, about a year
after the riot, the police arrested a
number of people, including Reverend
Benjamin Chavis, a civil rights worker
sent to the area at the request of local
blacks by the Commission for Racial
Justice of the United Church of Christ.
Reverend Chavis came as a
peacemaker, trying to cool a potentially
dangerous situation, but local
segregationists tagged him a troublemaker
and decided to get him. Chavis and his
co-defendents were charged with burning
a store and conspiring to assault officers
during the riots.
Their trial was shot full of errors -
defense lawyers appealed on the basis of
some 2,800 trial errors that were found.
Some were quite important - errors in
the jury seletion process that resulted in a
racially- unbalanced jury, cover-ups of
evidence, hiding facts from both defense
and jurors, and concealing favors to
prosecution witnesses.
Dentistry and you
| Tooth painting
prevents cavities
■ By Dr. W.J. Walker
Within the past few years dental
researchers have added new techniques to
the field of preventive dentistry that can
make teeth much more resistant to decay
than ever before. Children in particular
are reaping great benefits.
In case you haven’t taken a child to
the dentist for a while, you might be
surprised to see the doctor painting teeth
with a fluoride solution and applying a
plastic sealant to the biting surfaces, both
can help teeth fight decay.
Studies have shown that certain
fluoride liquids and gels applied directly
to the teeth by the dentist can bring
about a substantial reduction of dental
decay. The reduction can be as much as
30 or 40 per cent - impressive but still
not the 60 to 65 per cent that can be
achieved by water fluoridation.
Dentists particularly recommend the
application of fluorides about age three
to protect children’s primary teeth and
again about ages seven, 11 and 13 when
permanent teeth are erupting.
The job of the fluoride applications is
to help the enamel of the teeth become
more resistant to decay. The sealants, on
the other hand, are designed to seal the
tiny cracks and pits in the biting surfaces
of the teeth so that food and bacteria
cannot collect there.
One of the first questions asked about
pit and fissure sealants is often, “What
are pits and fissures and why should they
be sealed?” The answer lies with an
understanding of how teeth grow.
As teeth develop, enamel usually forms
smoothly on the surfaces of front teeth.
Support our advertisers
By Vernon E. Jordan Jr.
The jurors never knew that key
witnesses were under criminal charges
themselves, a major point since
knowledge of that fact would have led
jurors to consider whether they may be
perjuring themselves to save their own
necks.
After the conviction of the Wilmington
10, North Carolina courts knocked down
their appeals. But in the meantime the
prosecution’s star witnesses came
forward with stores about how their
testimonies had been bought.
One key witness admitted he lied. He
said the prosecutors tricked him into
giving false testimony. Another witness,
who was only 13 at the time, admits he
lied too, and had been promised a bike
by the prosecutor. Still another, also a
teenager at the time, said he was
pressured into lying and had been
coached by the prosecution.
So the original trial stands revealed as a
farce that violated the constitutional
rights of Chavis and his co-defendants.
Appeals in the state courts have proven
fruitless, so now there are two basic ways
in which the wrongs may be redressed.
One way is for North Carolina’s
governor to use his powers to free the
defendents. The injustice of wrongful
convictions would stand but at least the
revolting state of continued
imprisonment would be ended.
Another is for the federal courts to
overturn the convictions. Appeals have
been filed, but the federal government
should intervene in the process by
revealing the results of its investigation of
the trial and filing a brief to overturn the
convictions.
The Wilmington 10 case, along with
the case of the Dawson 5 and similar
apparent miscarriages of justice reveal the
stain of the past on today’s South. All
the rhetoric about a New South will
sound hollow so long as the region’s jails
house people railroaded for political and
racial reasons.
This is not just a down-home affair; it’s
something that concerns national
integrity and the international drive for
human rights.
The teeth in the back of the mouth,
however, have irregularities on their
chewing or “occlusal” surfaces. These
irregularities are in the form of tiny
indentations and grooves called pits and
fissures. They are actually defects in the
teeth which are common to normal teeth.
The pits and fissures are the sites of
much of the dental decay that occurs
particularly in children and adolescents.
The bristles of a toothbrush cannot reach
effectively into the minute depressions.
A sealant, then, is a material that is
applied as a coating to the grinding
surfaces to seal off the pits and fissures.
The product is sold as a professional
product only to dentists. The material is
a liquid that is brushed on the grinding
surfaces of the teeth. In one procedure, it
hardens to a transparent coating under
ultra- violet light. A small hand-held
ultra-violet lamp is focused on the teeth
for less than a minute. The material is not
applied to the sides of teeth.
Since pit and fissure sealants are
designed to coat only the biting surfaces,
they have no value for other areas that
are particularly susceptible to decay -for
instance, the surface between teeth and
near the gumline.
The pit and fissure sealants and
fluorides applied in the dental office are
not designed as an alternative to regula
oral hygiene. Instead, they are intendeu
to augment other proven preventive
practices including brushing with an
accepted toothpaste, daily use of dental
floss, fluoridation of drinking water and
regular professional care. ,