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The Augusta News-Review - June 7,1980 -
JJefns-MeVtefn
(USPS 887 820)
Mallory K. Millender ..Editor-Publisher
Paul D. Walker Special Assistant to the Publisher
Frank Bowman Director of Special Projects
Ms. Fannie FlonoNews-Editor
Rev. R.E. Donaldsonßeligion Editor
Henrietta Langford Advertising Manager
Harvey Harrison Sales Representative
Mrs. Rhonda Brown. Administrative Assistant
Mrs. Mary Gordon Administrative Assistant
Mrs. Geneva Y. Gibson Church Coordinator
Mrs. Fannie Johnson Aiken County Correspondent
Mrs. Clara WestMcDuffie County Correspondent
David DupreeSports Editor
Mrs. Deen Buchanan Fashion & Beauty Editor
Roosevelt Green Columnist
Al IrbyColumnist
Mrs. Marian Waring Columnist
Philip Waring Columnist
Sterling Wimberly'Photographer
Roscoe Williams Photographer
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The corridors of the Capitol are
running with the blood of programs
visciously slashed in the name of
balancing the budget. But this symbolic
exercise of bringing federal revenues and
expenses into balance bears a tremendous
cost for America’s poor people.
That cost is made even more
unbearable by the knowledge that a
balanced budget will not do what its
supporters claim - slow the inflation rate.
Even President Carter, who submitted
a revised budget, admitted at a news
conference:
“It is true that by itself, in direct
effect, a sls billion reduction in federal
expenditures, compared to a more than
$2 trillion economy, would involve less
than a half of one percent [cut in the
inflation rate].”
The cuts are justified by the supposed
“confidence” they would instill in people
that the government is serious about
controlling inflation. But no one suggests
the obvious - that “confidence” can be
achieved through means other than
brutalizing the poor, and that substance,
not symbolism, is the way to deal with
inflation.
Even if a balanced budget is necessary
- and there are no convincing arguments
that it is - there are other ways to go
about it. Taxes could be increased to
balance expenditures. Federal spending
could be slashed in areas that don’t hurt
the poor. New military initiatives such as
the costly MX missile system could be
scrapped or delayed.
Instead, the cuts fall heaviest on those
too poor and powerless to prevent them.
The Administration’s proposed budget
cuts are unfortunate, but even worse is
Congress’ hit list.
Foot stamps have become a prime
target. The Senate Budget Committee
proposed chopping $1.4 billion out of the
food stamp program, a move that would
push many to the brink of hunger.
Food stamps are under attack because
the cost of the program has risen sharply.
But why blame the poor who depend on
food stamps? The rise in food prices is
responsible for the program’s higher
costs. And that rise makes the program
even more crucial to America’s poor.
Any realtor will tell you that the
three most important factors concerning
the value of a house are: “Location,
Location, and Location.” Unfortunately,
most home buyers ignore this important
advice.
Location is especially vital when
buying a house for maximum resale value.
Statistics say that you will be reselling
your home long before the final mortgage
payment is in the mail. Therefore, take a
long, hard look, not only at the present,
but the future prospects for the
The Morris chair was designed, not by William Morris but by Philip Webb, and made
by Morris and Company.
To be equal
Balanced budget
has high cost
By Vernon Jordan
Current benefits are based on a
low-diet plan that provides the bare
minimum of nutritional adequacy.
Cutting benefits or excluding some who
are now eligible won’t balance the budget
or cut inflation, but it would increase the
numbers of America’s hungry.
Public service jobs are another target of
the budget cutters. The Administration,
which has done so much to make public
service jobs available to more of the
jobless, proposed cutting CETA job slots.
But the Senate Budget Committee wants
to end the anti-recession jobs program
entirely.
Just as the nation enters what many
economists believe will be a severe
recession, those Congressmen want to kill
the only program that provides federal
job support for recession’s victims.
Other proposed budget cuts target
education, health, urban aid, and mass
transit programs for heavy slashes.
Welfare reform in scrapped at a time
when the purchasing power of already
inadequate benefits has been cut through
escalating prices for basics like food,
energy, rent, and health costs.
The fundamental cornerstones of a
national anti-inflation program must be:
first, an effective attack on price rises in
the basic expenses that take up the bulk
of most family budgets, and, two, an
equitable sharing of the burdens involved.
No such anti-inflation plan exists
today. Instead, we are offered the purely
cosmetic and ineffective device of cutting
an already austere budget, and
concentration of the negative effect of
such cuts on the poorest and most
vulnerable among us.
The kicker is that these futile gestures
will just nudge the economy deeper into a
recession. The resultant falloff in federal
tax receipts and higher unemployment
and welfare costs will unbalance the
budget and produce a large deficit. And
some cities and businesses will be forced
into bankruptcy or extreme hardship.
The disproportionate burden placed on
the poor - and the many near-poor who
will be forced into poverty -- will increase
social strains.
What a miserable formula has been
chosen for the future!
Tax Tips
Location is
vital in real estate
community and immediate
neighborhood.
Select a location where raw land and
house values have an increasing price
trend. Especially check into the zoning
laws for any unfavorable change which
could cause a depreciation in the value of
the neighborhood and the resale price of
your home in the future.
Remember ~ you can remove,, replace
or remodel a house, but you can never
change the location. So choose carefully.
Page 4
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During the past seven years of the 33
years that I’ve been writing Going Places,
the former period has featured an annual
highlight on Paine College activities, as 1
see it.
Scores of complex social, economic
and race relations problems face all of us.
They must be solved. There are over one
million blacks living in Georgia. Paine
College, however, is the only private
institution of its kind outside of Atlanta.
Its mission is most important. It serves
young people who are largely
economically deprived. Fortunately for
Paine it has had over the years a
dedicated and hard-working interracial
and international faculty, staff and
trustee board. The splendid advice and
guidance of Dr. B.E. Mays continues.
Federal grants, gifts and donations
continue. An all-time $50,000 UNCF goal
has been set for 1980. Alumni and others
have raised their ante. Close cooperation
continues with the United Methodist and
CME churches, the Chamber of
Commerce, business community and
others. And the Paine five-million-dollar
budget also makes its own contribution
to the CSRA economy. That unfortunate
fiscal situation is behind us with new and
modern controls now in place. President
Julius Scott has given excellent overall
professional leadership.
ACTIVITIES OUT FRONT
The college had a banner year in
athletics with its basketball team reaching
new heights. Breakfast induction of
members into the Paine Athletic Hall of
Fame was a real successful measuring rod
as to the interest and loyalty of alumni
from around the nation. The tennis
courts’ were finally built and have proven
quite a success. Good music is
everywhere. There’s been a significant
expansion of the choral groups while the
Drama Club continued spreading its
wings. The Jazz Band and dance group
have been out front showing their wares.
On the academic sides, the ascendancy of
brilliant Dean Vivian Robinson to the
Calloway Chair is a source of much pride
and prestige for all of Paine College.
STORY WELL TOLD
The Public Relations Department,
headed by Ms. Nancy Timmerman, has
moved forward with a well-rounded
program of “P.R.” both in the print and
electronic media. A good job has been
done here. A unique all-day college
exhibit at the big Augusta Mall did lots to
bring the public a real story of Paine. It
involved students and faculty,
Greek-letter units and others. Special
praise to Ms. Patricia Brown whose
Sociology exhibit featured “Blades Who
Helped Build Augusta,” and several
stories from the Augusta News-Review.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
During past years this column has
featured alumni leaders of the present
and past. They’ve included “Brother
Lucius,” “Dapper Dan Collins,” “Uncle
Channing Tobias,” and last year, Dr.
Charles Gomillion, the great Tuskegee
civil rights leader.
This year spotlight is on Edward D.
Davis, Paine 1928 graduate, and great
baseball star, and current trustee. Past
president and staff officer of the Central
life Insurance Company at Tampa,
Florida, he is also a former president of
the National Insurance Association.
Going Places
Great year for
Paine College
By Philip Waring
Currently (since retirement) vice
president of the Community Federal
Savings and Loan Association, he is one
of Florida’s outstanding business and
civic leaders. Story-behind-the-story,
however, is his civil rights contribution to
the state of Florida. Back in the 19505,
he was dismissed as principal of a high
school where he had served for 15 years.
What happend? The officials at the board
of education claimed that “he was too
aggressive” in pushing three legal suits to
bring about long overdue equality in
Florida’s educational systems. An
organizer and a quiet but effective
activist, he won fame as president of the
Florida State Conference of NAACP
branches. His is an excellent example of a
Paine graduate who kept the faith as a
business executive, civic leader and
NAACP officer. Ed’s been a long-time
staunch leader and supporter for Paine
College and the UNCF. Won’t you join
with my salute to Ed Davis during
graduation-alumni week?
CIVIL RIGHTS WITNESS
Last October there was a collective
howl of protest throughout Georgia and
the Southeast when the Southern
Regional Council released its report
showing Attorney Jack Ruffin far, far
ahead in qualifications above Attorney
Dudley Bowen as candidates for a local
Federal judgeship. That group, the
NAACP and many religious and civic
organizations joined in the protest.
History was made when a delegation left
Georgia to appear before the U.S.'Senate
Judiciary Committee to protest Mr.
Bowen’s nomination. Three persons who
testified before the Senate Committee
happened to be Paine College educators.
They were: Dr. Roy Delamotte, Dr.
Marcus Clayton, and Mallory K.
Millender. The first two are white men,
highly educated but who have given the
better part of their careers to the
education of black youth at Paine
College. Both are Southern born. They
exhibited courage and devotion to truth
and fairness. While both of these men are
modest, low key and unassuming, let’s
use the occasion of the graduation-alumni
week to say “thanks” to them. And let’s
not forget Dr. Evelyn Berry, a former
Paine faculty member and current
trustee. Her loyal support and financial
contribution is the real making of
interracial cooperation. And that’s what
Paine College is about.
Space constraints today won’t permit
full comment on the Paine outreach
program. While I was chair of the Ad Hoc
Committee, President Scott graciously
consented for the college to be a
co-sponsor of: (1) The Black Leadership
Conference which brought out the Black
Agenda, (2) the autumn Black-on-Black
anti-crime all-day meeting. Paine was
probably the first UNCF unit to program
in this area. And thanks to Librarian
Millie Parker, bibliographical data on this
subject was prepared, as well as (3) the
all-day seminar, Black Business
Projections for the 1980 s. The
co-sponsoring units for this project were
the CSRA Business League and the
Augusta-Richmond County Human
Relations Commission. The college also
took splendid leadership on the January
salute to Dr. M.L. King Jr. It is also good
to note the many churches and ministers
who are working closely with the college.
This is a “first.” The Black Festival
parades and other cultural projects also
utilize some of the college’s facilities.
And this is the way it should be.
The view from my house
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For those who hear an echo of a not so
distant past in the rioting in Miami, the
attempt on Vernon Jordan’s life and the
racial unrest in Wrightsville, Ga., listen
well.
The echo is becoming a loud rumble.
The media is calling the Miami violence
the worst outbreak in 13 years.
Is this the return of the turmoil of the
60s, they ask?
Though such a question may be hard
to answer, it is clear that as black
Americans we are not satisfied with the
lot left us.
The recession, growing unemployment
and cutbacks in services all signal to us
that times have not changed very much
since those tumultous 60s.
In Miami, the ignition to the racial
conflict was the acquittal by an all-white
jury of four white policemen accused of
the bludgeoning death of Arthur
McDuffie, an ex-Marine turned insurance
man.
Even the coroner said McDuffie looked
like he had been dropped from a 10-story
building.
Two policemen (under immunity from
prosecution) admitted beating McDuffie
and then becoming involved in a
cover-up.
That these man were found guilty of
nothing was simply a slap in the face to
black Americans.
With unemployment among blacks
languishing around 13.5 percent, almost
double that of whites and teenage
unemployment even higher at 32.6
percent, the total disregard for a black
person’s life seemed one straw too many.
Although black families have made
substantial gains during the 19705, our
incomes have failed to keep pace with
that of whites. In fact, our median
income has fallen from 61 percent to 59
percent of that of white families.
The number of whites with a yearly
Walking with dignity
Petite Roberta Flack, the black girl
with a viola in her voice sashayed into a
room wearing, to take it from the top, a
gold lame skull cap over dozens of tiny
braids like black rain falling on her
slender shoulders. Ms. Flack wore a violet
silk blouse that tucked into a purpose
jersey skirt that slapped a little against
snuff brown suede boots.
This little cutie was wearing violet arcs
of eyeshadow, ruby lipstick, three
diamond rings on her right hand a huge,
oval ivory ring on her left. A friend and I
were sitting in Paschal’s Lounge in
Atlanta when the fine lady of song
floated in.
As soon as I found out who she was, I
went over and introduced myself as a
columnist of the Augusta News-Review.
Miss Flack was most gracious and said
some day she would visit Augusta, and he
famed Augusta National Golf
Tournament.
GROUPED IN SOUL CATEGORY
“Black women were wearing com rows
long before Bo Derek braided her hair so
famously in the movie ‘lo,’” she said. My
friend asked were those com rows that
she was wearing? “No,” she said, “com
row is braiding of hair close to the scalp.
These are braids or plaits. This takes 12
hours... I took issue that they made such
a big thing about Bo Derek and com
rows. I told Miss Flack that I can see this
Bo Derek doll going all out with braids.
And Bo Derek & Co. made a zillion
dollars off it. At Atlantic Records,
Roberta Flack is grouped in the soul
music category along with other black
singers like Aretha Franklin and Sister
Sledge.
Speaking of her music she says, “I
want it to be visual, to live, and you can
do that easily with black music, especially
if it is of the tragic nature we expect it to
be of the difficulty of carrying our
burdens and our crosses and struggling
from the womb to the tomb. That, you
know, is easy. But to sing a song that is
universal, that has no ethnic stamp on it
is much more difficult.”
THE HURT OF RACIAL SEGREGATION
She feels she’s done that with her
Grammy Award winners. “The First Time
Ever I Saw Your Face” and “Killing Me
Softly,” and with a song “You Are My
Heaven,” which she recorded with her
More discontent
signaled for ’Bos
By Fannie Flono
income of between SIO,OOO to $14,95
declined from 12,710,000 in 1970 1
7,655,000 this year. The number <
blacks in that category increased fro
784,000 in 1970 to 955,000 this year.
In the $25,000 or more categor
2,299,000 whites earned that much
1970 while 17,880,000 are expected 1
earn that much this year. The number <
blacks in that category went from 49,0 C
to 995,000.
For blacks, the statistics and the
realities only serve to heighten or
frustration.
And blacks such as National Urba
League president Vernon Jordan hav
been talking loudly about this frustratio
and the possible consequences.
So when we see Jordan gunned dowi
we are disheartened, not only forth
possible implications about the cause c
the shooting, but because effective blac
voices are few and far between.
What we all should be learning fro
these happenings is that like Langstc
Hughes, the poet, one said in a poem
dream deferred sometimes may explod
Black America is tired of being put <
everybody’s back burner.
It seems America, the land of the fr
has a hard time learning from its past.
Important lessons should have be<
gleaned from the troubled 60s.
Unfortunately, most of those lesso
have been too easily forgotten ar
solutions to problems pushed under tl
ring.
In the 10 years that preceded th
decade, it seems that Americans still f;
to heed their on advice about “equali
and justice for all.”
Tne color of the skin is still the maj<
ticket to good jobs and thus grasp of tl
“American dream.”
Bigotry, it seems, dies hard.
Hopefully, it won’t be necessary to s<
it killed in a blaze of bullets.
‘Killing Me
Softly’
By Al Irby
collaborator, the late Donny Hathawa
who died tragically. “Heaven” is on h
album, to be released real soon, titl<
“Roberta Flack Featuring Doni
Hathaway.”
Still there’s always the black echo
her music, as there must be for someo
who grew up in the shadow of a natioi
segregated capital. Roberta Flack rais
in nearby Arlington, Va., must find
certain bittersweet pleasure in checki
into a plush suite in the L’Enfant Pla
Hotel. As a black child, she wasn’t ev
allowed in the bathroom of the five a
dime store in this mighty nation’s capit
VIEWING PREJUDICE TODAY?
“Well, it was understood, you kno
and grudgingly accepted. And there we
certain places you didn’t go - to t
movies and first-class restaurants. But y
could go in the five and ten cent sto:
but not to the bathroom.
“The first real incident I had wi
prejudice was when I started practi
teaching (as the firt black teacher) at
school in Washington near Chevy Cha!
This was long after the civil rig!
movement and schools had be
integrated, long after that.”
She was bom in Black Mountian, N.I
but a four moved with her family
Arlington, where the family of nir
shared a two-bedroom baseme
apartment.
THE GIRL WITH A VIOLA
Her mother worked as a domestic, h
father doing any job he could gi
Roberta’s mother was organist at t
AME-Zion Church in Arlington, and t
family spotted Roberta’s talent at t
piano early. By the time die was nine, s
was taking that bus to Washington f
piano lessons that launched her in
Scarlatti sonatas and resulted in h
winning a full music scholarship
Howard University at 15 as a piai
major.
It was after a six-year stint teachi
high school back in Washington that s
got her first break in the professior
music world. She went from pty
accompaniment in a local club to a fain
spot in a Capitol Hill night spot. The litt
lady with a viola in her voice was on h
way to bigger and better things.