Newspaper Page Text
Augusta News-Review - December 29, 1979
®je Augusta JMeftn-JRibidn
Mallory K. Millender Editor-Publisher
J. Philip Waring Vice President for Research and Development
Paul D. Walker Special Assistant to the Publisher
Ms, Fannie Flono Reporter
Ms. Mary Boynton Advertising Manager
Harvev Harrison Sales Representative
Mrs. Rhonda Brown Administrative Assistant
Mrs. Mary Gordon 7Administrative Assistant
Mrs. Geneva Y. Gibson Church Coordinator
Mrs. Fannie Johnson Aiken County Correspondent
Mrs. Clara WestMcDuffie County Correspondent
David DupreeSports Editor
Mrs. Been Buchanan Fashion & Beauty Editor
Roosevelt Green. Columnist
Al IrbyColumnist
Mrs. Marian Waring Columnist
Sterling WimberlyPhotographer
Roscoe Williams Photographer
We cannot be responsible for unsolicited photos, manuscripts and other materials.
Mailing Address
Box 953 (USPS 887 820) - Augusta, Ga.
Phone 722-4555
y- Second Class Postage Paid Augusta, Ga. 30903
jfcjk AIAUAMAWk /WLmIJiV
PUBLMMMt MIC.
mb *oscmo sßh ••.waaoaee . w
SCLC: Release hostages
I condemn the holding of the hostages
as illegal, immoral and in the long run self
defeating. It violates international law as
well as any reasonable standards of
decency. President Carter is commended
for his calm attempt to resolve the crisis
through non-military channels.
I welcomed the release of any of the
hostages regardless of their sex or color. I
hope and pray that tomorrow they will
release others who may be long-legged,
and the next day the bow-legged (if any)
and so on until all the hostageshave been
released -- unharmed. It seems to me that
the release of the blacks and women was
an attempt to identify with the powerless
and oppressed. Blacks and women do
represent the least powerful in this
country and white males represent power.
The Iranians perceive the U.S. and the
U.S. supported Shah as the ruling class
which is powerful and oppressive.
However, such an attempt to idemify
with the oppressed is rendered
meaningless as long as the human rights
of the hostages are being violated. The
Ayatollah and the Council are utilizing
the tools of the oppressor... and lose the
support of those who otherwise might
sympathize with their claims against the
Shah.
Meanwhile, the United States should
petition the World Court at the Hague to
assume responsibility for the Shah and
conduct hearings that would provide
X? ..
ISK
1979 began with a stunned nation
trying to understand the mass suicides in
Jonestown and it ended with an angry
nation concerned with Americans held
hostage by Iran, in gross violation of
international law and any standards of
accepted diplomatic practice.
In between came twelve months of
continued hardship for poor people, some
important gains for minorities, and some
setbacks as well.
Perhaps the most important plus in
1979 was the Supreme Court’s Weber
decision. Especially after the
disappointing result of the Bakke case the
previous year, Weber brought fresh hope
to millions.
In its decision the Supreme Court
upheld an affirmative action plan
condemned by some as an
unconstitutional quota system. The
Court’s action gave a big boost to
affirmative action just when it looked as
if it might be swept away by the
rightward tide.
The Court also laid down some ground
rules on what makes an affirmative action
program acceptable. Since those rules are
consistent with every such program I’ve
ever heard of, the outlook for progress on
this front is bright.
The Weber case takes on greater
importance since it came against the
backdrop of continued high black
unemployment and a predicted recession
that may yet inflict heavy damage on
black workers.
That recession, now starting, was
deliberately engineered to curb inflation.
It’s the old story - you beat inflation by
damping down the whole economy. If
people lose their jobs, why it’s only a
temporary inconvenience. They’ll be back
at work when the recession ends, and
inflation will be under control then. It’s a
small price to pay for controlling
inflation.
Well, that kind of thinking is all wrong.
Not only does it make the poorest people
pay the greatest price for controlling
inflation, but it won’t work. Tn the
seventies, we’ve had both high inflation
and high unemployment, qnd there’s no
By Joseph E. Lowery
opportunity for the Iranians to air their
charges against the Shah... and for the
Shah to offer his defense. The Shah
should accept Egypt’s invitation to visit
that country in the meantime. While my
head in inclined to send the Shah back to
Iran, my heart will not concur. The Shah
should not, however, be granted
permanent asylum in this country.
Further, Americans should not adopt
the methods of the Iranians by harassing
and violating the rights of Iranian
students in this country. Rather, we
should set an example of how human
rights ought be respected, and hopefully
influence their behavior and attitude
toward this country when they return to
Iran. This is one way we can begin the
process of reversing the intense feelings of
hostility directed against America because
of our support of the ruthless, oppressive
regime of the Shah.
Finally, this crisis underscores the need
for an American foreign policy that is
more sensitive to the hopes and
aspirations of the oppressed in their
struggles for liberty. For too often, we
have been supportive of despots and
dictators and oppressive systems, and
therefore we have reaped the hatred of
the oppressed. More blacks in positions of
■leadership in the State Department and
more black involvement in shaping
foreign policy are obvious needs. Let us
pray for the safety of the hostages and
for a peaceful solution to this crisis.
To be equal
a mixed year
By Vernon E. Jordan
reason to expect conventional economic
policies to work now.
The nation’s economic problems may
be a factor behind the withdrawal from
support for minority rights and for the
rise of fringe groups like the Klan. When
the economy is expanding, the majority
isn’t worried about competition from
minorities. But in hard times, everyone
takes a “me-first” attitude and sees
justice for others as a personal threat. .
That’s also part of the reason for the
disarray of the old civil rights coalition in
the seventies. The last and most
devastating blow to the coalition came in
the summer, when Andy Young’s
resignation from his post as UN
Ambassador led directly to increased
tensions between Jews and blacks.
Young’s departure from the
Administration set off shock waves of
anger in the black community. It has still
not been fully explained to most people’s
satisfaction.
But the immediate effect was to
intensify friction between blacks and
Jews, since Young’s resignation came in
the wake of his meeting with a
representative of the Palestine Liberation
Organization.
Long-smoldering resentments about
numerous issues broke to the surface and
the groups are now engaged in dialogues
to try to re-establish their past
partnership on behalf of civil rights.
In away, the break may have been
healthy in that it provides a basis for
realistic coalitions based on each group
being completely aware of the other’s
position. Sometimes a fractured bone,
when it heals, is stronger than it had been
before. Both blacks and Jews will benefit
from a healed, reconstituted creative
alliance.
For most minorities, 1979 continued
as a year of hardship, high
unemployment, high prices, eroding
conditions. Discrimination continues to
be an integral part of our society, and
there were few signs of any renewed
national commitment to the ideals of
equality that once were so important to
so many Americans.
Page 4
1979
*Clara West, retired
McDuffie County School
teacher and Fort Valley
College professor, won seat on
McDuffie County School
Board.
1975
•Wallace Branch Library
almost closed because of poor
book circulation.
•Herman P. Stone, former
advertising executive with
Ebony magazine, was named
new vicar at St. Mary’s Church.
•Connie Blakeney,
Augusta’s first black TV
co-anchorman, was later fired
by WRDW.
•Paine dean Dr. W. Coye
Williams Jr. was named to
newly created post of assistant
vice-chancellor for academics
of the Board of Regents of the
University System of Georgia.
•Presented We Want Our
Share to mayor Augusta, calling
for improved conditions in
Augusta.
1976
•Black coaches charged
discrimination in county
recreation department.
♦Yewston N. Myers elected
to city council.
•Black Festival started.
1977
•Three black youths were
shot at the Augusta National
by a security guard. The boys
had entered to fish.
•CSRA Business League was
named No. 1 in the nation.
•Gloria Butler was named
head of the Opportunities
Industrialization Center in
Augusta.
•Ed Mclntyre appreciation
banquet held; Ku Klux Klan
picketted the banquet.
•Mclntyre accused of using
Black Festival funds for own
benefit.
•William James, former
Augustan, was appointed
director of the University of
Kentucky Law Library.
•Deputy Edwin Sherrod ran
unsuccessfully for sheriff.
•Andrew Chisom, former
Augustan, was named U.S.
Marshal and later special
assistant to the president of the
University of South Carolina.
♦Rev. C.S. Hamilton ran for
mayor.
•Walter S Hornsby was the
first black elected president of
the United Way campaign.
•Atty. John Ruffin Jr. was
elected president of the
Georgia Association of Defense
Lawyers.
•Dr. Sharon R. Tolbert was
hired as Paine College’s first
woman vice president.
•Black citizens filed three
suits to strike down at-large
voting.
1978
♦Ann Daniel was the first
woman elected to the city
council in Thomson.
•Carrie Mays was elected
secretary of the Democratic
Party of Georgia.
•An Aiken man hanged in a
chinaberry tree was thought to
have been lynched and
castrated. Coroner ruled
suicide.
1979
•James Dunn was named
second black assistant
superintendent in the
Richmond County School
system.
♦Laney-Walker museum, a
teaching museum for
Afro-Americans, was kicked
off.
Asks Laney alumni support
Dear Editor:
The Lucy C. Laney Alumni
Association takes great pleasure in
informing you that the many attempts by
the Richmond County Board of
Education to close Laney failed.
At the close of the 1978-79 school
term, the enrollment at Laney was less
than 600. Now the enrollment is
approximately 800. The Haines Alumni
Association, along with the Laney
Association submitted a rezoning
proposal to the Board of Education
which was accepted. This accounted for
the increased enrollment.
The Lucy C. Laney Alumni
Association is involved in many other
activities, such as teacher-parent
relationships, community awareness,
awarding scholarships, establishing alunni
“HIGHLIGHTS”
Continued from Page 3
♦The Augusta Area
Technical School was found to
discriminate against blacks,
women and the handicapped.
•Willie Mays elected to city
council.
•Banker Joe Jones elected
to city council.
•Georgene Hatcher-Sea
brook named first woman
president of the local NAACP.
♦Ann Brown was named
president of League of Woman
Voters in Augusta area. She is
first black woman to bold the
title.
♦R.A. Dent, state
representative, elected
chairman of legislative
delegation.
Nationally, the decade
found the U.S. still embroiled
in the Vietnam conflict.
5,711 BLACKS DIED
When the war finally ended
in 1975, 5,711 blacks had died
in Vietnam.
It was little consolation that
the unpopular stance Dr.
Martin Luther King took
opposing the war was in the
end the stance many
Americans took.
Economically, the 70s ended
much like the decade began
with a dismal mix of recession
and inflation. Unemployment
soared.
Also highlighting the 70s
were:
•The conviction of the
Chicago Seven, which included
Bobby Seale for crossing state
lines to incite rioting at the
1968 Democratic National
Convention.
•Muhammad Ali, who had
spent 43 months outside the
boxing ring for refusing
military service for religious
reasons, came back and won,
lost, won, lost and won again
the heavyweight boxing crown
before he retired this year.
•A former North Augustan,
security guard Frank Wills,
discovered the Watergate
break-in. Five intruders were
caught trying to bug
Democratic National
Committee headquarters.
President Richard Nixon
resigned. Gerald Ford,
appointed vice-president,
became president
•In 1975, the country
witnessed the highest
unemployment rate since
1941.
•In Africa, Rhodesian black
guerrillas began a new fight
against white minority rule.
•A band of Hanafi Muslims
held 134 hostages in
Washington until ambassadors
for three Muslim nations
persuaded them to surrender.
•South African nationalist
leader Steve Biko died from
police beatings. The action
kindled days of rioting
following Biko’s funeral.
•Alex Haley’s book “Roots”
about his ancestors from
slavery to modern times, drew
the largest TV audience in
history when the material was
televised.
♦9OO followers of Jim Jones
of the People’s Temple in
Guyana committed suicide.
Most of them were black.
♦The Bakke case said there
was such a thing as reverse
discrimination, but the
Supreme Court held the race
could be a factor in
student-admissions policies.
•President for Life Idi
Amin, accused of various
atrocities, was ousted from
power in Uganda.
•U.N. Ambassador Andrew
Young resigned after having
contact with the Palestine
Liberation Organization against
U.S. policies.
Letter to the Editor
chapters throughout the United States,
and to register 1000 alumni in 1980.
The above goals can only be met with
the dedication and support of alumni like
you.
Our annual membership drive, now in
progress, will be highlighted January 25
with a banquet at the Augusta Hilton.
We are inviting you to join the alumni
association by returning your completed
application form along with the annual
membership fee of sl2 (it is tax
We also invite you to support us by
attending our meeting? each -fust and
third Sunday at 7 pjn. in the Music
Building at Laney.
Beauford Golphin, President
Lucy C. Laney Alumni Assoc.
Walking with dignify
UW* #-A > '
There has been so much idle and
baseless talk going around about
President Carter’s lack of leadership until
the unthinking person in the street has
joined in this senseless sophistry. Most
people really are lacking in the ability to
comprehend leadership in the complex
presidency.
President Carter entbraced the best
qualities of calm strong leadership in his
news conference. In the trying situation
of the continued captivity of American
citizens in Iran, he conveyed to the
American people a sense of composure,
dignity, and resoluteness. He did not say
“never” to the use of military force in the
Iranian situation, an option he could not
politically or diplomatically rule out.
RESPECTED IRANIAN HOLIDAYS
But, this column is happy to say the
president chose to put the nation’s weight
in the scale of restraint and peaceful
diplomacy. No doubt he sought to
persuade Americans of the continuing
need to keep their own tempers in check.
The next few days, as the Iranian people
emotionally celebrated a religious holiday
and voted for a new Islamic constitution,
especially called for public calm in the
United States.
What struck me as particularly
significant in the President’s remarks,
however, had less to do with Iran per se
than with America’s place in the world
generally. Mr. Carter warmed most to a
question many Americans have on their
minds these davs: namely, is Iran but the
latest in a succession of events proving
that American power has declined? And
what does this mean for US foreign
policy in the 1980 s?
PRESIDENT IS PEACEFUL
Mr. Carter, rejecting the idea that the
United States has lost its superior
military, economic, or moral strength,
nonetheless made this forceful point:
“The United States has neither the ability
nor the will to dominate the world, to
... ... -S w
Millions have moved to the sun belt
during the past decade. This era has also
witnessed die return of a number of
former Augustans living elsewhere.
They’ve come home largely for
retirement, and a few to pursue their
careers.
Augusta should be especially proud of
these solid and talented sons and
daughters. Virtually all of them could
have easily remained “Up North.” My
Augusta hometown -- which has its faults
and shortcomings just like any other city
or town - nevertheless has a unique
quality of warmth and hospitality. It
often embodies in people a deep
remembrance of their heritage and past.
A sense of roots. I first noticed this social
process during our annual Augusta-Aiken
reunions held in Newark, N.J. during the
early 19705. And also last June at the
national Haines Alumni reunion.
OUTSTANDING EPISCOPAL PRIEST
Who are some of these returnees? A
start is now on with its completion in a
subsequent column. There’s Father
Richard Horton, member of a pioneer
family on the Sand Hill. He’s had
successful priestly assignments in
Episcopal churches in Detroit, Los
Angeles and Boston. He most graciously
accepted our invitation to come from
Boston to St. Mary’s. And this little
church has not been the same since. Then
there’s Dr. Marguerite S. Frieson, holder
of an outstanding college and university
teaching record in North Carolina.
Ex-soldier James Young decided on his
Augusta hometown after military service.
From this comes a dream for a
Laney-Walker Afro-American Museum.
Elbert “Spunkum” Blocker was
tagged as a Masonic leader by his New
York peers. You’ll note, if you he is
now the Imperial Potentate for our local
unit of the Shriners. His wife, the former
Bunice Pratt, often substitutes her
Washington, D.C. teaching experience
with students in our local school system.
Geneva Yancy Gibson had garnered a key
administrative position with the Detroit
public school prior to return. She’s the
church coordinator for your
r/zl 1/11 r J 1/ go, ‘s/'can '\L!< T /
GC, I y Z-X
_- ,<vQ - : 11
Lt-J
During the Middle Ages, baths were usually taken only on a doctor's request!
Mr. Carter: cool
and collected
By Al Irby
interfere in the internal affairs of other
nations, to impose our will on other
people whom we desire to be free to
make their own decisions - if anybody
thinks that we can dominate other people
with our strength or economic power -
they are wrong. That is not the purpose of
our country. Our inner strength, our
confidence in ourselves, is completely
adequate.” This new sober view offers
Americans food for thought. If is voiced
at a time when many people - in the
government, in the media, in academia -
seem obsessed with and depressed by
what they perceive to be a growing
United States weakness in the world.
‘HAS AMERICA LOST ITS CLOUT?’
The headline on a recent cover of
Newsweek asked that frightening
question, which is indicative of the mood
of the country. The magazine’s analysis
points to the political changes in Iran and
Nicaragua, the Soviet inroads in xfnea
and Afghanistan, the rise of OPEC, and
other “blows” to America’s pride and
prestige. Yet, the United States prospects
look much better than do those of its
chief rival, the Soviet Union with its
bankrupt ideology and indolent
economy.
This type of authoritarianism is not the
model the world looks to for its progress
and whose foreign policy “gains” could
be built on shifting sands. Our purpose is
not to weigh the relative geo-political
strengths of the United States and the
USSR but to make the point again that
both superpowers today function in a
world of rapid political change requiring
each side to moderate its actions. The
United States feels no need to
“dominate” the world. But it will
continue to influence others
constructively through the force of its
own economic, political, and moral
vitality. This policy should help all
Americans keep Iran in the right
perspective.
Going places
Welcome home
By Philip Waring
News-Review and holds a state-wide
position in our baptist church
community. Louise Pope Coke was an
administrator with the New York City
Transit System before looking back
towards her Georgia birth place. Albert
Horton, completed a U.S. Army
assignment and a business career in
Detroit after which he headed for the Sun
Belt.
TOP CLOTHING MERCHANT
Booker Mears, one of Augusta’s top
business executives, closed out a busy
clothing enterprise in the downtown
Brooklyn Bridge neighborhood of New
York. Today his two local Hi-View
cleaners and clothing stores are the “in”
places. One of my boyhood friends,
Joseph Gaudy, came in last month. He
had a twin assignment in Philadelphia, Pa.
He’s retired both from the U.S. Postal
Service and as a long-time
auditor-executive with a business firm
there. Wilhelmenia Bums Ivory was a top
administrator with the New York City
Department of Social Services
(Incidentially send a “get well” card to
her daughter, Leah, now recovering at
home from surgery). Addie Scott Powell
put in an outstanding stint in the New
York City Library Service .before
returning home. She’s now one of the
most valuable leaders in Augusta. And
let’s not forget Carrie Young Killenham
who as a teacher of special education and
NAACP leader in Queens, New York
prior to her welcomed trip back.
SOCIAL CHANGE FOR THE 1980 s
We’ll continue writings on our
returnees as well as several non-Augustans
who are now here and making rich
contributions. All of the aforementioned
are doing several things which are right,
and they include: (1) Reading and
subscribing to the News-Review, (2)
Membership in the NAACP, (3)
Registration and voting, and (4) Getting
ready to support our organization striving
to bring about racial change and
community betterment during the 1980 s.
A very Happy New Year!
retirees!