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The Augusta News-Review (USPS 887 820) - June 9, 1979 - Mallory K. Millender Editor-Publisher J. Philip Waring Vice President for Research and Development Paul D. Walker Special Assistant to the Publisher Frank Bowman Acting Advertising Manager Harvey Harrison Sales Representative Mrs. Kathleen Collins Administrative Assistant Mrs. Mary Gordon Administrative Assistant Mrs. Geneva Y. Gibson Church Coordinator Ms. Barbara Gordonßurke County Correspondent Mrs. Clara West McDuffie County Correspondent Davis DupreeSports Editor Mrs. Been Buchanan Fashion & Beauty Editor Roosevelt GreenColuimist Al IrbyColumnist Mrs. Marian Waring Columnist Michael Carr Chief Photographer Sterling Wimberly Photographer Roscoe Williams.’TV..Photographer We cannot be responsible for unsolicited photos, manuscripts and other materials. Mailing Address Box 953 - Augusta, Ga. - Phone 722-4555 llLl ft /V AMAUMMIUSW® Pa ' d AugUSta Ga I]L jfc -fr PUBUSNCM, INC. M ii no t i — a—— l •HBW VQNK • CMCMO Paine College 7 helped bring about social change 1 ;ist week it was all about Dr. Lucy C. Laney anil how hei lot thrightncss on lacial equality helped to properly motivate many generations of Haines students. Hits week as graduation appioaches. it is all about Paine Collcgc-a short highlight on how sonic of its graduates and students helped bring about first class citizenship here and around the nation. Dining my freshman year at Paine, 1936-37. there was an excellent NAACP college chapter which afforded my lust contact which has continued lor 42 years with the association. One thrust of this column is to examine some of the race relations accomplished of a lew Paine students and graduates since the Biown decisions. First anil foremost is elder statesman Dr. Channing 11. Tobias, Paine graduate, teachei, and long-time trustee. A Spingharn recipient, he was national NAACP chairperson during the immediate Brown decision era. He worked very hard with various proposals to Southern governors and school boards for high-level planning and action to avoid violence in school integration. Unfortunately. Gov. George Wallace and others of his ilk skuttled Dr. Tobias’ constructive proposals. Till SAGA OF “BROTHE R LUCIOUS’’ Let’s not forget former Paine graduate and president, the late Dr. Lucious Pitts. “Brother Lucious" was the hard-driving executive secretary of the black Georgia Teacher and Educational Association during 1956-61. Despite many racial barriers his skill and courage helped get many new and belter deals for black teachers throughout the state (this was prior to integration of the two associations). Paine students Sylvia Ryce, William Didley and others gave splendid direct leadership to a well-planned and non-violent campaign to integrate eating places, public transit, public library, etc. Needless to say, they were arrested and taken to jail. Liter, the NAACP and SCLC entered the case and it eventually was resolved with public places being opened. Let’s not forget this direct leadership. It was in the early 19605. Although an extremely modest person, the Augusta community is in wide agreement of the solid worth of Mallory Millender and the Augusta News-Review since 1971. The paper has been the real cutting edge for democracy and racial equality. DAN COLLINS OUT FRONT Dr. Dan Collins, current Paine trustee chairman, has been president of both the San Francisco NAACP and Urban League. As member of the California State Board of Education he used leadership to help bring about change in this multi-populated state. As a long-time senior officer of the National Urban League he helped it expand with many useful programs in employment, housing, education and race relations. Nub of the this column, however, is about Paine graduate Dr. Charles G. Gomillion. This is an excerpt from the Lee County (Tuskeegee, Ala.) daily Bulletin written when he was honored in that community where he worked for many years. GOMILLION INSPIRING EXAMPLE By Neil 0. Davis The insights of history will be required to access adequately the contributions of Dr. Charles G. Gomillion to democratizing Alabama political, social and economic institutions and practices. An inadequate but impressive effort at stating what the retired Tuskegee educator has accom n lished was contained in speeches honoring him last Sunday when a community building in the Macon County town was named for him. Probably no person in Alabama was as maligned in those early days of the civil Going places h Phil Waring rights movement as was Charles Gomillion. Because he chose not to take humiliation and abuse of his fellow black citizens without protest and resistance, he was painted as a dangerous, left-wing firebrand. No portrait of the man could have been further from (ruth. He was and is wise, tolerant and composed. In the lace of taunts and threats he kept his head and plowed on ahead. He was determined, and it was that quality, plus tremendous moral courage and conviction, that finally brought victory to his cause. In retrospect what Dr. Gomillion sought was modest. He insisted that the franchise be extended to all qualified citizens. The board of voter registrars in Macon County refused to register blacks, even including Ph.D and M.D. degree holders at Tuskegee Institute and Veterans Administration Hospital there. But it was not just those privileged voter applicants he worked to get on the poll lists; he claimed, and rightly so, that every literate person who met the qualifications that applied to white citizens applied in like manner to black citizens. Then, after Dr. Gomillion’s efforts in the courts brought the voting privilege to his people, came the infamous gerrymandering of black districts. In the now historic Gomillion vs. Lightfoot federal court decision the gerrymandering was struck down and blacks became a party to political decision-making in Tuskegee and Macon County. He never countenanced violence although the temptation to strike back with physical force must at times have been almost consuming. Rejecting the urging of those less dedicated to peaceful change. Dr. Gomillion kept plugging away through the established courts system, saying all the* while that was the American way. I had admired him and had swapped letters with him over a period of years, starting when he was trying to scrape together enough money to get started in Ph. D. studies, but I did not really know him until after The Bulletin bought The Tuskegee News. In the 11 years 1 went back and forth to Tuskegee to oversee The News operation I often sought him out as a source of background and understanding of events that were transpiring. I found him approachable, although I’d been told he was not, and always helpful. What impressed me most was the spirit of the man. He never exhibited bitterness although I knew he had cause aplenty to be bitter. Nor was he carping or complaining. 1 was continually amazed at his forebearance and patience. Perhaps the secret of Dr. Gomillion’s character and philosophy is contained in brief remarks he made at the i ceremony honoring him. He said, in part, “...the best is yet to be. It cannot come by itself alone. It can be ahead of us only if we work diligently and unselfishly to make the future better." Then he added that people should strive to give more than they consume, and reminded that “from him who hath much, much is expected.” Dr. Gomillion does not wear his faith on his sleeve but he is a deeply religious man. It was interesting in the days when he worked through the Tuskegee Civic Association, which he and a small but hardy band of fellow blacks organized, that meetings to discuss court moves and to rally flagging spirits always were held in a religious context. I can see him now-this fine-looking, gray-maned man-arising in front of a church sanctuary to start a meeting with arms raised to lead in singing “Amazing Grace.” He has been honored in many places for his significant contributions in education (he is a brilliant sociologist), civil rights and political affairs but one can guess that none of the honors means more to him that that accorded him Sunday by fellow Tuskegeeans both black and white. Although he now lives in retirement in Washington, D.C., unless 1 miss my guess Charles Gomillion’s heart still is in Tuskegee. Even in the days when Page 2 IB T- ©1979 BLACX- Resources (fie. THE MAGIC CARPET Walking with dignity Black and white women had different hopes, frustrations and concerns. One ot the most often cited failures of the feminist movement is its inability to involve black women in meaningful numbers. But this lailure has at least shown that racism makes the concerns ot black women different from those of white women. The most telling proof is the overt disdain of many black women for feminism. Michele Wallace, in her book “Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman" (Dial Press $7.95), sums up the crux of the difference. Ms. Wallace's book is a decade ahead of white thought concerning black women. “Before black women or white women said a word there was a basic communication gap between them on this subject of work. When the middle-class white woman said. ‘1 want to work, in her head was a desk in the executive suite, while the black woman saw a bin of dirty clothes, someone else’s dirty clothes.” She adds, “When the white woman said “Work” The black woman said no thanks. I’ve already got more of that than 1 can use.” Miss Wallace’s book, which was excerpted in the January issue of Ms. Magazine, is being heralded as the first major manifesto of black feminism. Ms. editor Gloria Steinem praised it with this observation: “What ‘Sexual Politics' was to the seventies, Michele Wallace's book could be to the eighties. She crosses the sex/race barrier to make every reader understand the political and intimate truths of growing up black and female in America." AN INTELLECTUAL BLACK FAMILY The 27-year-old author comes from a third generation Harlem family. Her mother is the well-known painter. Faith Ringgold and her late father. Earl Wallace, was a classical and jazz pianist. Miss Wallace studied at Howard University and at the City College of New York, taught Journalism at New York University, and worked tor Newsweek Magazine. She has been researching her book for the past 10 years. In her book Miss Wallace analyzes the myths about black men and black women. The idea of the black macho male grew out of racism, she explained. RACISM RESULT OF ‘ECONOMIC NEED’ “Racism developed out of an economic need for blacks to perform most of the he was a national figure he focused his chief attention and efforts on improving life in Tuskegee and Macon County. As white banker J. Allan Parker said at the Sunday cererqpny. Dr. Gomillion became great “by*' blazing trails to freedom, by building opportunities for his people. He was not content with the Jfc-, -jwKy Broccoli is one of the best sources of vitamins, iron, potassium and riboflavin and it has very few calories. Has black feminism failed? Bv Al Irbv low-paid labor in this country,” she said, adding that whites couldn’t get rid of the blacks after slavery, so they perpetuated the myth of inferiority. Behind the black macho stereotype was the white man s fear of the black man’s sexuality, according to Miss Wallace. “Both white and black men can create families and armies, and this is the nature of patriarchal competition,” she maintained, adding that sexual fear is also a result of slavery times when blacks were used as breeders. The black man has reacted by using his sexuality as a weapon, according to Miss Wallace, and by rejecting the black woman in favor of the ultimate status symbol, the white ‘chick’. “Black Macho and the myth of the white Superwoman” suggests that perhaps the single most important reason the Black Movement did not work was that black men did not realize they could not wage struggle without the lull involvement of his black women.” SUPERWOMAN MYTH DEBUNKED And what of the women? In the second half of the book Miss Wallace debunks the myth of the so-called white superwoman, the stereotypical black woman who has emasculated the runaway black man by taking his job and running his household. The fallacy, as Miss Wallace sees it. is that the black woman is neither a superwoman nor the source of the black man's problem. She, like him, is a victim of the distorted images generated by white racism. Miss Wallace berates the black man tor “opportunism” that seduced him into rejecting the black woman. She urges the black woman to “get the tools to provide for the family and put an end to weeping and whining about not being capable. "The world is becoming a place where men can’t provide for and protect women anyway." she vvrites. She adds, “give the black women the self-respect to do the job that needs to be done and out of that will come respect for matriarchy. Out ot respect comes love, and so does power.’ Miss Wallace maintains that the salvation of black people lies in their commitment to black culture and the black race, which will make the black man’s return to the family inevitable and provide the impetus for the long-awaited black feminist movement. Black men should read Miss Wallace’s book, because 1 believe the little lady has a complex. darkness but went about lighting candles.” I am indebted to him for inspiring example and for helping me to understand our region’s and our nation’s most vexing and challenging problem in human relations. The blackside of Washington X Although President Carter has set a record in the appointment and promotion of black federal judges, he may fail in his own state of Georgia. There able, highly respected John H. Ruffin, Jr., a Howard University law school graduate, is on the list of prospective nominees for a district judgeship, but black Georgians are saying he may be bypassed in favor of the son of a rich contributor to Sen. Sam Nunn's campaigns. Here’s Carter's promising record: From the South, he has appointed Joseph Hatchett of Florida to the Circuit Court of Appeals, and Gabriel McDonald of Texas and Robert Collins of Louisiana to the Federal District Court. From legal talent from outside the South, he has elevated A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., and Damon J. Keith to the Circuit Court of Appeals; named Theodore McMillian and Antalya Kearse of New York to that body, and announced his intentions to appoint Nathaniel Jones of the NAACP also to the second level judiciary. To the Federal District Court, the President has named the following non-Southerners; Julian Cook and Ms. Anna Diggs Taylor of Michigan, Ms. Mary Johnson Lowe of New York, David Nelson of Massachusetts, John Penn of D.C., Paul Simmons of Pennsylvania, and Jack Tanner of Washington state. It would be sad to see campaign funds for Senator Nunn subvert President Carter’s efforts to appoint a black federal judge from Georgia. COMING HERE TO LIVE? If you are coming to Washington to live, here are a few suggestions: Be sure to fold your house up and put it in your pocket along with your job and a taxi cab. You see a rented apartment is hard to A On Tuesday, May 8, I stopped by Dawson’s Funderal Home in Atlanta to pay tribute to Bill Lucas. The crowd was so great at six o’clock in the afternoon that I had to wait 40 minutes before I could get in to view the body. Os course, some of this time was due to the fact that we had to wait on the family of Mr. Lucas to go in and view the body first. Even at that, Mrs. Dawson had to lead me in the back way so that 1 and a friend of mine could see the body, which made it possible for us to make another engagement. 1 thought about it during the night and could not help but remark to myself that here is a man who is bringing to Atlanta representatives of the entire baseball world - all coming to Atlanta and to a small Georgia town were he will he buried, giving distinction to that little corner of Georgia which nobody else has ever given to that town. But the most remarkabe thing about all of this grief over Bill Lucus is the suggestion that we raise a scholarship fund in memory of Bill Lucas at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. If I had the money, I would give a minimum of SIOOO, but I have to settle for SIOO which I am sending to help kick off this campaign. I hope the fans and the baseball clubs will give not as little as they can but as much as they can. If we are going to honor this man, let us do it in a big way, away commensurate with the greatness of the man. The people are mourning the death of Bill Lucas not judgeship fail? Bv Sherman Briscoe. NNPA My View By Benjamin E. Mays SUBSCRIBE TODAY THE news-review SUBCRIBER ADDRESS CITY One Year in County W-00 One Year Out of County .... 19.00 Will Carter’s come by, since owners are converting their buildings into condominia and selling them at highly inflated prices. It takes $6,000 to SIO,OOO to make the downpayment. And with redlining prevalent, finding a bank or a building loan to pick up your mortgage will not be easy. Now about your job. If you are a man without top skills, forget it. But if you are a woman, skilled or not, there’s a chance you’ll run into a high Federal or District official who is looking for a playmate. You and he might make a deal (a job in exchange for sex) if the price is right. Regarding the taxi cab, if you plan to ride in one, you’d better bring it with you. This is especially true at night, since so many black cabbies have been killed and robbed by their own folks. Almost forgot about the front door. If you want one of those, you’d better put yours in your suitcase. The housing they are building now has no front doors, only back doors opening on to a court or an alley. Remember the old days in the South when white folks’ homes had no front doors for Colored? 25 YEARS AFTER 1954 To mark the 25th anniversary of the 1954 school desegregation decision (Brown v. Topeka Board of Education), President Carter held a reception in the White House on May 17th. More than 400 blacks and about 100 whites heard the President review the old days and discuss the promise of tire future. But for the Washington Post, this important gathering and celebration meant practically NOTHING. The paper, in effect, IGNORED it. This would seem to mean that the Post is either against Carter, or it is unwilling to promote the full achievement of school desegregation. In memory of Bill Lucas because he died young, in his early 40 s, but because he was a good man and the people loved him. 1 saw people coming out of Dawson’s - men and women - crying. It was sad to see this but 1 was thrilled to see it. 1 have another observation to make about Bill Lucas. When old men die, 1 feel that they have had the chance to make their contribution to the world... But when Bill Lucas dies, 1 feel that he has been cheated and the world has been cheated. And yet, I remember my own philosophy on this: It is not how long one lives but how well. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated at 39, very close to Bill Lucas’s age; Jesus Christ was crucified at 33 and the world will never be the same because Jesus lived. And life in America will never be the same because Martin Luther King Jr. lived. Let us rally to this great cause. We have the Hall of Fame for artists and baseball players; we have the Hall of Fame for great Americans; we have the Nobel Peace Prize for men who give their lives in the interest of peace, and Nobel Prizes for men of Science; we have a Rhodes Scholar program; we spend millions and billions of dollars perpetuating the lives of great men in history. All governments and all universities immortalize their heroes. Let us immortalize the name of Bill Lucas so that he will live in the hearts of every youth who graduates from Florida A&M University.