Newspaper Page Text
SCLC pushes 3 .
unemployment
before President
Pagel
VoLB,No. 46
Community leaders
plan black agenda
A leadership group, which
recently held a conference to
develop a “black agenda,”
announced this week that it
plans to urge the public to “use
caution” before supporting
candidates, issues or projects
that do not embrace
affirmative action and minority
set-aside policies.
The black agenda also
proposes an on-going voter
registration campaign, financial
support of the suit to eliminate
at-large voting, the monitoring
of all governmental meetings,
and the placement of blacks on
all boards and commissions,
and a war on unemployment
and crime in the black
community.
The conference was
sponsored by tne. Citizens Ad
Hoc Committee as a
first-of-its-kind session where
black leaders and agency heads
came together to discuss their
problems and propose
solutions. The two-day meeting
was held at Paine College and
the St. Maty’s Parish House,
respectively.
The black agenda calls for
“the full backing” of the
CSRA Business League in its
efforts to get public funding to
extend minority economic
development. It urges that
blacks make investments and
purchases from business firms
Harvey Johnson
Citizen of the Year
Harvey Johnson, executive
director of the CSRA Business
League, has been named The
News-Review Citizen of the
Year, Editor-Publisher Mallory
K. Millender announced this
week.
Since the Business League
was organized in 1970 to assist
small and minority businesses,
it has acquired more than 7
million in loans for small
businesses, another 3 million in
farm disaster loans, and close
to a million dollars in bid
performance payment bonds.
Prior to the existence of the
CSRA Business League
bonding for minority
contractors was non-existant.
The League has gotten 88
contracts assigned by the Small
Business Administration for
local league members.
For the last two years the
Business League has received
national recognition for
outstanding achievement oh
the local level. In 1978 it
received the National Business
League’s highest award, the
Berkeley G. Burrell Award, for
chapter achievement. In 1977
the CSRA Business League
increased membership and
local activities relating to
business development.
The league has 250 business
and individual memberships. It
has opened satelite offices in
Millen and Greensboro.
When the league started out
in 1970 it had only one
Augusta jew
Eld ward Mclntyre
Dr. Julius S. Scott
1 '
y
employee. It now has 13,
including CETA workers.
Daily, they work to lobby for
ordinances affecting small
businesses, assist in
apprenticeship training, loan
and contract procurement and
Williams ___
r?n Ave.
\A 30906
Paine land
over 50 years old
Pagel
P.O. Box 953
Conference discussants
Harvey Johnson
general business development.
The News Review
commends Mr. Johnson for the
contribution that he has made
to the economic growth and
development of the Central
Savannah River Area.
; ‘Mr (
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•• • -Mr ' »1
A
R.A. Dent
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Dr. C.S. Hamilton
SCLC spotlights
black unemployment
on Dr. King memorial
ATLANTA - Southern
Christian Leadership
Conference (SCLC) president
Dr. Joseph E. Lowery is urging
“every community in the
country to raise the issue of
unemployment among black
youth” during the entire week
encompassing the April 4
eleventh anniversary of Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s death.
Citing recently published
figures which indicate that
100,000 blacks joined the
jobless ranks in January-Feb
ruary and that black
unemployment is now 243
percent greater than that for
whites, Dr. Lowery said, “This
issue threatens the future of all
black Americans, as well as the
very social-economic fabric of
this nation.”
The SCLC president called
upon black and white ministers
in every community to lead
activities that would address
unemployment as away of
remembering SCLC’s founding
president. “Some of Dr. King’s
most memorable drives were
characterized by the issues of
racism and unemployment,” he
said.
“But despite the success of
the movement Dr. King
spearheaded, studies show that
we may see a generation of
young black men who have
never had a steady job. There is
no way to end the despair,
dope peddling, alcoholism, and
broken homes in the black
community unless this nation
takes a positive stance on
youth unemployment.”
SCLC is stressing five
Adult Society
to present
1979 Debutantes
Page 6
March 31,1979
which employ blacks and
advertise with black-owned
media.
J. Philip Waring, chairman of
the Ad Hoc Committee and the
prime organizer of the
conference, said there will be a
community-wide evaluation
and discussion of the projected
“magnate school” concept and
that the NAACP Education
Committee will monitor the
program, personnel
promotions, and activities of
die public school system.
Neighborhood associations
will monitor city zoning,
housing and health ordinance
enforcement, as well as the
urban renewal project, Waring
said.
The group called the rate of
black unemployment and
underemployment
“unconscionable,” and said it
would seek a meeting with city
officials to discuss this matter
’’(.well as the high crime rate.
Waring said there would be
new “thrusts” to help cultural
and community agencies such
as the Black Festival, The Mini
Theatre, the Laney-Walker
Museum and the Economic
Opportunity Authority. The
Ad Hoc Committee will
monitor the activities of the
Augusta-Richmond County
Museum, he said.
specific activities for April 1-8,
said M.L. King Jr. Memorial
Week coordinator, the Rev.
C.T. Vivian. The Rev. Vivian is
an SCLC board member and
former executive of Dr. King’s
staff.
According to the Rev.
Vivian, all churches are being
asked to focus on Dr. King’s
dream, particularly equal
employment opportunity,
during their April 1 and April 8
services. Special collections
taken in on these Sundays
should be earmarked for
keeping Dr. King’s dream alive
and sent to SCLC national
headquarters in Atlanta.
Church groups are asked to
distribute and secure signatures
on a petition urging the
government to do more for
black youth employment.
They are also asked to collect
the names and addresses of
unemployed black youth in
their areas who desire to work.
Fourth, said Rev. Vivian,
each community is expected to
have an April 4 mass meeting
“focusing on unemployment
and the meaning of Dr. King’s
life and death for the present
crisis in American life.”
Finally, he continued, “We
must ensure that this drive
shall not end on April 8. We
are requesting interested clergy
to form committees which will
visit businesses on an on-going
basis to seek work and job
training for black youth who
See “SCLC”
Page 5
Our eighth anniversary
Survival is victory
Since the News-Review began
publishing, on March 25th 1971,
we give a sigh of relief almost every
time an issue comes off the press.
Many, many times, this year
included, we didn’t know for sure
that there would be another issue.
We don’t celebrate our
achievements, we celebrate our
survival.
Although we are still, after
years, struggling to survive from
week to week, there has been
substantial growth, much of it
coming within the past year.
A very big addition to the
News-Review came when J. Philip
Waring, retired executive of the
Urban I League moved
back to Augusta a year ago, and
made the development of the
News-Review his number one
project He has brought with him to
the staff his wife, Marian, Mrs.
Geneva Y. Gibson, Mrs. Clara West,
Mrs. Heen Buchanan and Mr. David
Dupree-all, outstanding in their
own right have brought their
talents and expertise to the
News-Review staff.
The News-Review has always
been blessed with talented people,
willing to volunteer there services.
Such is the case with Paul D.
Walker. After being interviewed one
day, he said: “You know, it galls
me to see errors in black
newspapers. I will volunteer to do
proofreading for you.’’
Since that time, for almost a year
now, he has come to the office
every week to proof read. Granted,
there are still mistakes. But they are
due largely to the fact that many of
the stories are typed late, after he
Paine land sought
for over 50 years
Editor’s note: For decades
there have been rumors of a
“master plan” to acquire land
occupied by Paine College.
Most recently it has been said
the land is needed by
expansion of the Medical
College of Georgia. More than
fifty years ago, there was a
plan to acquire the same
property for Richmond
Academy.
The following letter to the
Augusta Chronicle appeared in
the Paine College newspaper
“The Pameite” Jan. 15 1925.
Editor Chronicle:
To begin with the one
necessity for any cause or
condition is thoughtful
considerate co-operation. In
the forward march of Augusta
toward her future
developnent, of which every
worthy citizen should be
interested, there must be that
co-operation above stated, and
with reference to the Paine
College matter, I am thus
addressing myself to that
thought
First I am a negro with every
aspiration of true development
of country, state, county and
city. My parents and
grandparents were slaves and
Business League’s
Harvey Johnson
Citizen of the Year
Pagel
Lew than 75% Advertising
southerners to the manner
bom. This is also true of the
majority of negroes now
residing in Augusta. For more
than thirty years I have
proudly trodden southern soil.
I know no other, hence I will
state that it is not my intention
to live anywhere else, “I will
stay here and fight it out if it
takes all summer.”
Paine College is the pride of
every southern negro and is the
most sacred gift of southern
white Christian beneficence to
black humanity, it is the
vestibule between white and
black hearts, it is Jesus Christ
working in the hearts of
southern Christian men and
women under the golden rule -
‘As ye would that men do unto
you do ye even so to them.’ It
is a defence and a bulwark
against northern, eastern and
western accusations that the
south is opposed to the
education of the negro to any
appreciable extent.
You are perhaps of the
opinion that only white people
of these sections represent the
accusers of the southern
system of conduct of the white
people of the south towards his
less fortunate brother, but
there is an element of our own
has done the proofreading.
During the past year we have
seen our advertising increasing,
slowly but surely. And the
ground work has been laid for a
circulation program that we expect
to double our circulation.
Much of our survival is due to
people whose names don’t appear
in our staff box, and whose names
may never have appeared in our
news pages. Almost nobody on our
staff knows who Charles Jones is.
During our first year, Charles Jones
and his sons, Eric and Brian walked
many-a-mile, building circulation
for the News-Review. Jones’
automobile was totaled when it
landed in a ditch in Hyde Park
where he was delivering papers.
A similar, but less eventful story
could be told of Mrs. Alma White
who worked the Sparta-Mayfield
area, or Elijah Millsaps and his son,
Wayne, in Belle Meade and the
inner city of Augusta.
Luther Jackson, an Associate
Professor of Journalism at
Columbia University, reads every
word in every issue of the
News-Review, and mails it back
with scathing critiques! Churches
like Beulah Grove Baptist, without
being asked, took an ad in our
church directory, paid a year in
advance.
These are but a few examples of
the people who have given so much
of themselves to help us survive.
And although we hate to go out on
a limb when hard times are the
forecast for the years ahead, we
believe that we will survive. Too
many people are trying too hard,
and God has brought us too far for
us to do anything less.
people who daily through
letters and the press, are
urging, persuading, and
enticing our people to break up
and leave the southern farms
and cities and come to a clime
where the best educational
facilities are to be had. It is to
this argument that the
maintenance of this and
similiar institutions give a
complete refutation, and is a
mighty weapon in the hands of
those of us who desire to
remain here in the south and to
develop and grow in love,
respect and confidence of our
white neighbors. This is no
time for a division of negro and
white sentiment in Augusta,
Ga., along educational or any
other lines, when men like
Eastman, and Duke in other
sections are giving millions to
foster negro education in
Tuskegee, Alabama, Hampton,
Va., and in North Carolina. It
would be a sad spectacle, after
reading such glorious news of
such gracious gifts, for Augusta
to say that for the
See “PAINE”
Page 8