Newspaper Page Text
Mclntyre plans
50 new houses for
Laney-Walker
Page 1
Sfetus-ffieuteiu
Volume 12 Number 40
School board president
Hasan tells what his victory
will mean for black community
Aqeel Khatib Hasan did the im
possible Saturday. He got elected
president of the Richmond County
Board of Education, the first black
ever to hold that position.
But what makes his election so
unlikely is that he has been on the
board for only one year, and at 27,
he is the youngest person ever elec
ted president of the Richmond
County Board of Education. He is
a Muslim, and was elected by a
coalition of blacks and mainly
conservative, white Republicans.
There are only four blacks on
the 16-member board, and one of
them, Dr. Justine Washington, ran
against Hasan for the board
presidency.
How did Hasan pull it off? He
said the board was split among
those who wanted to fire school
Superintendent William G.
Oellerich and those who wanted to
keep Oellerich. The three blacks
held the balance of power, and
bargained for the presidency of the
board in exchange for their votes.
“It’s no secret,” Hasan told The
News-Review, “that it was a highly
Mclntyre plans
homes in Laney-
Mayor Edward M. Mclntyre
said this week he feels that City
Council will vote in favor of con
structing 50 houses in the Laney-
Walker community. “I see it as an
excellent opportunity for better
housing that is affordable for a
person of average income,” he
said.
The proposal is to build 50
houses bound on the west by Ninth
Street, on the southeast by Twiggs
Street and on the north by the
M.M. Scott Complex. The cost for
each two to three-bedroom home
with central heat and air conditioning ’
will be approximately $33,000.
However, the city will be the
developer and the city would con
tract realtors to sell the houses by
using a competitive bidding
process. But the mayor also poin
ted out “this could change.”
When this project is completed,
the property owners will be
responsible for the upkeep of the
houses in the subdivision.
“We are also making plans for a
kiddie park and possible tennis
courts,” Mclntyre added.
During the Newman Ad
ministration, former Mayor Lewis
A. Newman allocated $500,000 for
Community Development Block
Grant funds, and the money was
lever used to support minorities,
Mclntyre said.
During his first year in office,
Mclntyre has taken $160,000 of
he allocated grant funds and used
t to support the economic
Woman is shot about a quarter
An Augusta woman was
eriously wounded Monday when
he was shot during an argument
nth a man over a quarter.
Johnny Mae Lyons, 1439 12th
it., said she was shooting pool
nth Edward Dyers, 21,1408 Holly
Woman shot
during argument
over a quarter
Page 1
political situation. We (Kingsley
Riley, Thales Elliott and himself)
felt that it was best to find which
group we could vote with while still
safeguarding the interest of the
children and minorities.
“My commitment is to quality
education and the best way to
achieve that is to be in a position to
implement it.”
Asked how it was that the only
two candidates for the presidency
were black, Hasan said that it was
known that he had the votes to
win, and the only hope for splitting
the black vote was to put up two
black candidates.
Board member Jesse Carroll
criticized Hasan for approaching
both sides for their votes and said
Hasan was looking out “for num
ber one.” Carroll was also quoted
as saying he did not feel that it was
in the best interest of the students
of Richmond County to have a
black Muslim as president of the
board.
Responding, Hasan said, “There
is no doubt that I have personal
development of downtown
Augusta. But now he says he feels
strongly that the $360,000 (left
from the $500,000) will be used to
support the construction of new
single-family dwellings within the
Laney-Walker community.
Mclntyre feels this project will
work because the land will be gran
ted to the property owners.
“I will also propose to have a
community association to set
guidelines for property owners.
These rules should deal with the
upkeep and appreciation for the
property in this area.”
A marketing survey was taken
by Plantec, Inc. of Jacksonville,
Fla. The survey indicates that this
is a viable project and Augusta is a
good market to build such a
project. Locally, a city consultant
has met with ministers and leaders
of the Laney-Walker community.
Mclntyre said they endorsed the
project.
Some interested members of the
community have suggested that
apartments be developed in this
area. “But I feel single-family
dwellings are much more needed in
the inner city,” Mclntyre said.
The plan also calls for a special
counseling program for first-time
home buyers. Mclntyre recalled
the federal government project,
FHA 235-Federal Home Pro
gram, wherein the government
payed money to build special
housing areas for single-family
living. But many times the areas
St., at Anderson’s Bar and Grill
when they began arguing over a
quarter. She said Dyers pulled a
pistol and shot her in the left side
of the according to police
reports.
The bullet exited on the right
Aqeel Khatib Hasan
aspirations, and my prdfession is
politics. But the record will in
dicate that I have always acted for
what was best, not just for blacks,
but for the Richmond County
school system. There is no reason
to believe that I would not have the
same interest at heart as
50 new
Walker
were not well taken care of. Mcln
tyre said he feels the project failed,
because proper counseling was not
made available to these new home
owners. “No one was there to tell
them how to meet their financial
obligations and how to keep up
their homes.”
A model home will be built first
with the hope of getting advanced
commitments from prospective
buyers. This will also be a key in
getting local lenders to participate
in this project. “The City of
Augusta still has a depressed
housing market, and we need to
improve the quality of life for old
and new residents of our city,”
Mclntyre said.
The Housing and Urban
Development Department in
Washington indicated that this
project does qualify for the
$360,000 of community block
grants which Mclntyre has
recommended to be provided for
this project. His hope is to start
within 90 days after the project is
approved. As long as there are no
problems “We should have one
house under construction soon,”
Mclntyre said.
An announcement will be made
soon as to when and how prospec
tive home buyers can apply for a
newly built house in the new
Lanev-Walker subdivision. Mcln
tyre said, “the streets are paved and
the water and sewer system is
developed. We just need the people
to apply.”
side of her stomach. Ms. Lyons
was admitted and treated at
University Hospital.
Witnesses said Dyers fled the
scene. However, he was arrested
about a half hour later at the cor-
See Woman shot, page 7
Marvin C
of losses ’
IRS, bankruptcy I
Page 3 I
January 15,1983
president.”
Hasan said that Elliott and Mrs.
Riley were “courageous” in their
stand because they received a lot of
pressure to “vote the other way.”
But, he continued, “we all feel to
this day that we made the right
decision. And it’s only because of
their suDDort that we were suc
cessful, especially after a lot of
people had said it was not possible
for a black to become president at
this time.”
Hasan said he is not a black
Muslim, but a member of the
“American Muslim Mission.” The
Muslim Mission, he explained,
believes in America and in the
American Constitution.
“Muslim is an arabic word that
means: one who submits to the will
of God.
‘ “I’m a inember of a race they
categorize as black and I’m also a
Muslim. It’s unfortunate that a
person looks at my race and my
religion and combine the two. He
would not say that I was a black
Christian.”
Asked if his presidency will
mean anything qualitatively for
black people, Hasan said he
believes it will. He noted that he
will have a close relationship with
the superintendent, and by the
president having the power to ap
point committees, “I’ll be able to
select people who are more
qualified to deal with problems of
blacks.”
He said that blacks will probably
feel more at ease in expressing their
needs, and that his presidency may
bring to the board a “more
equitable practice in hiring.” He
said that the Richmond County
schools are now about 53 percent
black and he feels that at least 50
percent of those employed should
be black.
Finally, he said he hopes that his
presidency will give “blacks in
leadership positions and those who
aspire” a chance to see that there is
a chance for victory in an almost
impossible situation.
“I hope that I’ll be able to bring
leadership that minorities can iden
tify with and appreciate,” he said.
Some blacks believe that
Oellerich was responsible for the
appointment of a large number of
blacks to influential positions in
the school system and that blacks
will suffer from his ouster. Hasan
does not share that view.
“I live with a community of
people who say, ‘I don’t care what
Ronald Reagan does, I’m going to
survive. I don’t care what
Congress does, I’m going to sur
vive.’
“But I perceive a great sense of
dependency where the superinten
dent is concerned, as if they would
not survive. They are dependent
upon him.
“That’s why I describe him as a
walking welfare department. He
couldn’t possibly give everybody
all the things he’s been
promising.” He said he believes
that when a new superintendent is
chosen, he will be as good or better
for blacks.
“I’ve heard that Oellerich has
done more for blacks than any
other superintendent. But he was
at a different time and the times
could have dictated his actions,
rather, than his personal desires.”
V 4 ACP signs
nillion
I . n Bi-Lo
I Page 7
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Ebony Fashion Fair here
The 25th annual Ebony Fashion
Fair will appear in Augusta at the
Hilton Convention Center Feb. 16
at 8 p.m.
The show is sponsored by the
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Well done!
Irrespective of one’s
views on the firing of
school superintendent
William G. Oellerich, one
has to applaud A.K.
Hasan, Thales Elliott and
Kingsley Riley for their
unity and foresight in
parlaying their small num
bers into the power to
choose a black president
of the Richmond County
Board of Education. It
was a classic example of
what the black awareness
efforts of the 60s tried to
teach.
It should be noted,
however, this was not just
a case of going with the
highest bidder. Mrs. Riley,
for instance, said publicly
in a talk at Paine College
months ago that she op
posed rehiring Oellerich.
It is very inspiring that
in Augusta, Georgia we
now have a black mayor
and a black school board
president.
The progress has not
been just in politics. We all
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Barton’s Music Emporium, 1553
Laney-Walker Blvd., Supreme
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six months to Jet.
Editorial
felt a sense of pride last
week in learning that for
mer Lucy Laney High
School football star Chip
Banks was named defen
sive rookie of the year in
the National Football
League, and that Leroy Ir
vin, former standout at
Glenn Hills High School
and now with the Los
Angeles Rams, was named
to the All-Pro team in his
second season. And it was
equally thrilling to see Ed
die Lee Ivery of Thomson
running over defenders
again as the Green Bay
Packers march toward the
Super Bowl, especially sin
ce his career was nearly
ended by knee surgery
each of his two years in the
NFL.
Martin Luther King Jr.
said in his last speech that
in spite of the difficult
days ahead, we would get
to the Promise Land. We
sometimes question that,
but we have seen enough
to keep the faith.
25C