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Mitchell, Caucus clash
over snub of Carter
WASHINGTON - Politics
and foreign policy dominated
the ninth an nual
Congressgional Black Caucus
weekend with 6,000
participants in the activities.
But it was the “absence” of
President Carter who pointedly
was not invited this year that
led to a sharp rebuke of the
snub from veteran civil rights
leader Clarence Mitchell Jr.,
and a clash with
Congresswoman Cardiss
Collins, chair of the caucus,
who charged the
Administration with failure to
deliver on a variety of issues
concerning blacks.
Mitchell, the retired chief of
the Washington Bureau of the
NAACP, was an honorary
co-chairman of the caucus
event along with Mrs. Jean
Young, wife of departing U.N.
Ambassador Andrew Young.
When it came his turn to
address the throng, Mitchell
said, “I want you to know that
when I accepted this post, I
was not a party to the decision
to exclude the President of the
United States. I would not
have done that. He is the
president of this country. He is
its chief executive officer. We
have fought to get presidential
recognition in the past.”
Mitchell said it was a
mistake to deny Carter the
right to come to the dinner. In
reply to the boos and hisses
that were heard during his
remarks, Mitchell referred to
this as similar to the behavior
of a lynch mob. As the boos
grew louder, Mitchell became,
combative, inviting the
belligerent to meet him in the
alley to settle the score.
Earlier, Rep. Parren
Mitchell, brother of Clarence, a
former chairman of the caucus
and one of its most vocal
members, was reported to have
called the White House on
Friday to disassociate himself
from the snub. However, the
congressman has been among
the many strong critics of the
President’s domestic policy as
this relates to black concerns.
Rep. Shirley Chisholm of N.Y.
was also among the dissenters
on the decision to not invite
the President.
But Cong. William Clay of
Missouri, chairman of this
year’s dinner, said the action
was based on the opinion, that
no presidential candidates,
declared or potential, should
be given the opportunity to use
the occasion as a campaign
advantage. Sen. Edward
Kennedy, a favorite in the
possible handicap, was not
present, although many of his
supporters were there at tables
purchased in his name. Nor was
Calif. Gov. Edmund Brown Jr.,
*Mrs. Anna Marie “Anne”
Parsons, formerly with the
Richmond County Civil and
State courts, is interested in
revitalization of the Old Towne
area and wants to see
downtown Augusta become as
busy as it once was. She is a
senior administrative secretary
at the Medical College of
Georgia, School of Dentistry.
Seeking the sth Ward Seat
are:
♦Albert Washington, 63, is
the building superintendent for
the First Baptist Church. No
newcomer to politics, he ran
for city council twice before.
He said he wants to revitalize
downtown Augusta and wants
to give property owners in the
area a tax incentive. He also
favors consolidation of the city
and county governments.
♦James P. Tarver, a cab
driver, has a multi-faceted
platform which includes
revitalization and
beautification, improvements
in traffic problems, sidewalks
and street fights and programs
to fight inflation. He favors
consolidation of city and
county governments, ward
voting, and better city
employee pay.
♦Jimmy Murray, at 23, the
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who is eyeing black votes.
Sitting on the sidelines but
watching with interest from
the outside were such GOP
jousters as former governors
Ronald Reagan of Calif, and
John Connally of Texas.
Andrew Young was the
undisputed star of Saturday
evening dinner. He was treated
as a conquering hero by the
crowd which gave him several
standing ovations.
While still declaring his
loyalty to Carter with praise
for his record on appointments
of more black federal judges
than any other chief executive.
Young strongly reiterated his
insistence that the Palestine
Liberation Organization should
be recognized as a legitimate
voice of the aspirations of
Palestinal people.
In his acceptance of the
award for international peace
and justice by the caucus,
Young said that Israel
continued refusal to deal with
the PLO was blind folly. The
loudest applause came when
Young referred to Israeli
support of South Africa and
defended the right of the Rev.
Jesse Jackson, head of PUSH,
and the Rev. Joseph Lowery,
president of SCLC, to hold
talks with PLO leader Yassir
Arafat.
Jackson left Sunday on a
trip to the Middle East where
he will meet with Arafat and
other Arab leaders, as well as
visit Israel. The Rev. Lowery
has just returned from a visit to
Lebanon. Young said it was
regrettable that Israeli Prime
Minister Menachem Begin had
refused to see either Jackson or
Lowery.
During his journey, Jackson
will also meet with President
Anwar Sadat of Egypt. This
meeting was arranged
personally by President Carter
who unofficially gave Jackson
his blessing for the “mission
possible.” Carter and Jackson
held an informal discussion on
Jackson’s upcoming trip during
a reception last Friday at the
White House honoring women
attending the caucus.
When Jackson and his
attractive wife, Jackie, came
through the line at the
reception, President Carter
greeted her with a warm kiss. A
few minutes later, Carter took
Jackson aside in the privacy of
the state dining room where
they conversed for 20 minutes.
An interesting footnote to
the weekend of politicing was
provided by comedian, Dick
Gregory, who predicted that
within 10 days Yassir Arafat
would lay down his arms and
say that he was persuaded by
his black brothers in America.
Candidates
Continued from Page 1
youngest of those seeking
a council seat, is the retail
coordinator for International
Formal Wear, Inc. He is against
consolidation of city and
county governments as it has
been done in the past. He is
also against merging the police
and sheriffs departments, but
he favors ward voting.
Seeking the 3rd Ward seat
are:
♦Y.N. Myers, the
incumbent, who is seeking his
second term on city council.
He previously defeated Neal in
a race for the seat. He is
interested in revitalization of
downtown Augusta.
♦Joseph Neal, an Augusta
attorney, favors more business
contracts for small
businessmen, ward voting and
consolidation only if
consolidation meant a totally
new government with the
county reapportioned and no
dilution of the black vote.
Seeking the 4th Ward seat
are:
♦lncumbent Sebron Butler,
a 69-year-old retired service
station owner, is seeking
re-election because of his
record on the job. He was
appointed to council in 1975
after the resignation of Aaron
■ J-r® I J
E rT Er
8.8. King
8.8. King
going to China
Blues great 8.8. King is the
current favorite goodwill
ambassador of the U.S. State
Department. Officials are
negotiating with the Peoples
Republic of China to send King
on a goodwill tour of the
Chinese mainland. This would
make the Mississippi born artist
the first American performer
to tour China since the
Communist takeover over three
decades ago.
This information was
revealed in an exclusive
interview with King appearing
in the current issue of Players
Magazine. He recently returned
four a tour of Russia, again on
behalf of the State
Department.
In Russia, King played to
audiences as large as 100,000
people and was invited to visit
a collective farm. “The farm,”
said King, “was actually like
the plantation which I grew up
on in Mississippi. We had a
chance to meet some of the
workers there and learned
quite a bit from them because
they are a very proud people -
proud of whatever they are
doing.”
King told Players that he
saw only 13 blacks in all of
Russia but the all-white
audiences proved an easy
chore. Like Louis Armstrong
said, ‘Music is an universal
langauge,”’ King told
interviewer Stan West. “Blues
is the past, present and the
future with people who have
problems. The Soviets have had
Tappan and was elected
without opposition in 1976.
♦Challenger Joe Jones favors
ward voting, city and county
consolidation if blacks are
fairly represented, and more
incentive for businesses to
locate in the area.
♦K.Z. Johnson, a former
city councilman, said he
decided to run again for city
council because of his past
experience as an elected
official. Born in Alma, Ga.,
Johnson is a graduate of
Augusta College and has lived
in Augusta most of his life.
♦Charles A. Bussey Sr., a
security guard at Doctors
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