Newspaper Page Text
Robert Threatt, Merit panelist Hank Aaron to 11 Acquitted judge
Morris Brown against concessions be intervir”"*'’ r ‘ rr ‘bed for
president, resigns to sheriff commissic iehavior
Pagel Pagel Page 1 1
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Augusta News-Heutm
Volume 13 Number 15
Laney-Walker residents oppose
proposed appartment construction
by Wanda Johnson
A request to rezone Laney-
Walker Boulevard and Augusta
Avenue for multiple family units
drew an angry response from the
Laney-Walker Neighborhood
Association at Monday’s city
council meeting.
William A. Brown, president of
the Laney-Walker Neighborhood
Association, said, “It took us 50
years to become a neighborhood
and now you’re going to tear it
down in two. You’re going to turn
it into a mutiple-family area,
which will turn it into a ghetto. We
don’t have any problems in that
Morris Brown president resigns
Morris Brown College President
Robert Threatt resigned Saturday,
saying that after nine years on the
job, it was time, for him to move Oil.
Threatt, 53, said that he will re
main as president of the school un
til his successor is named. Beyond
that, he has no definite plans, he
said.
“I will (remain) in education.
I’m a professional educator ... and
I don’t plan on getting out of
teaching,” he said.
Threatt said that he had felt no
pressure from faculty and alumni
to step down. “This was my
decision to resign,” Threatt said.
“I feel that I have met my chall
enges here ar Morris Brown
College...”
Bishop Frederick Talbot, chair
man of the school’s board of
trustees, agreed “The board has
high regard for Dr. Threatt,” Tal
bot said. “That point ought to be
made very clear.”
Talbot said that Threatt an
nounced his resignation during a
Merit panelist opposed to
more concessions to sheriff
A member of the Merit Com
mission said in an interview Thur
sday that the panel will make no
further concessions to Sheriff J.B.
Dykes.
Earthie Powell D’Antignac said
that the sheriff asked for the Merit
Commission, but he doesn’t want
to be governed by it. She said that
the commission has agreed with
the sheriff that he is entitled to hire
and fire, “and that’s all we’re
giving up.”
The commission, she said, will
Judge Alcee Hastings being
probed for ‘odious ’ behavior
A" panel of federal judges probing
allegations of misconduct in
volving U.S. District Judge Alcee
Hastings has gained access to most
of the court documents it needs to
determine if the charges are viable.
The documents were ordered
unsealed for the first time by U.S.
Judge Edward Gignoux of Maine,
who presided over the bribery-con
spiracy trial of Hastings, the first
federal judge to be tried for a crim
inal offense while in office.
Gignoux, however, said that he
“very possibly” would keep sealed
at least two other documents
sought by the five-judge panel in-
area and don’t want any.”
Brown also said that $200,000
was raised some years ago for a
senior citizens’ park in the same
area, but the owner went un on the
price.
“The man that wants to build
the 40-unit project doesn’t live in
the area; he’s not going to be there
when trouble breaks out,” Brown
said.
“I’m opposed to the projects,
because of what I’ve seen in similar
projects near us. Those projects
were beautiful for two years, but
now people are afraid to come out
of their homes.”
Councilman Mays said that
board of trustees meeting Friday.
Talbot said that he was surprised
by the revelation.
But the head of one local alumni
group said that there has been con
cern among Morris Brown alumni
over how the school was being run.
Norris Long, president of the
TAY Club, an alumni athletic
booster organization, said that he
helped draft a letter to the board
last summer that was critical of
school policies, but not specifically
of Threatt.
Long said that he signed the let
ter because “I was concerned
about the school, the direction of
the administration and student
concerns.” He said that the letter
he signed was “more or less critical
of things that were going on
businesswise.” He gave no
specifics.
Similar letters were written to
the board by Morris Brown alumni
groups around the country, Long
said. He said that as far as he
knew, those letters did not criticize
handle promotions, grievances and
transfers. However, she said that
there is no provision for dealing
with cases when the sheriff fails to
discipline his personnel, even if the
commission feels that he should.
The sheriff advocated the
establishment of a Merit Com
mission during his campaign for
sheriff, but has complained recen
tly that it undermined his authority
and that the members of the com
mission were stacked against him.
vestigating the complaints against
Hastings.
But Hastings, Florida’s first
Black federal judge, has asked that
all the file pertaining to his case be
made public or not released at all.
His counsel, Terence Anderson,
said “the public has the right to
know” and that Hastings “doesn’t
believe the committee has the auth
ority to seek access” to the files on
a sealed basis.
Hastings was acquitted Feb. 4 of
charges that he conspired with
longtime friend and Washington,
D.C. attorney William Borders Jr.
to solicit bribes in return for reduc-
residents of Laney-Walker
Boulevard have a misconception of
the project. “In as much with the
number of residents opposed to the
40-unit project, I suggest that the
developer and residents of the
Laney-Walker Boulevard area
have a meeting and discuss with
the developer the concept of his
project.”
Council voted to continue the
ordinance through the next
meeting.
Council also approved a petition
from Dr. Mary Ann Fornev. on
for the purpose of establishing a
day care center on Laney-Walker
Boulevard.
Threatt specifically. “There was
never a concerted effort to oust
Dr. Threatt; there was no definite
push to eliminate him,” Long said.
Last fall, school faculty and
administrators expressed concern
after freshman enrollment drop
ped 23 percent at Morris Brown,
one of six undergraduate schools
in the Atlanta University Center.
Talbot downplayed the
significance of the letters. “Alum
ni are always asking questions.
That’s common,” Talbot said.
“That’s in the past. All the con
cerns... were addressed.
“Morris Brown is a Black
college, and I don’t know of any
Black colleges that don’t have
some financial difficulty. We have
had to hold a tight rein (on expens
es),” Talbot said.
Talbot said that a search com
mittee would be appointed to find
a new president. The process could
take several months, he said.
Threatt’s salary is about $35,000 a
year, Talbot said.
Earthie D’Antignac
ing the sentences of two Florida
racketeers.
Borders was convicted in March
1982 of soliciting bribes from the
racketeers, who were defendants in
Hastings’ court. He is now serving
time in jail.
Following a four-week trial at
which the government sought
Hastings’ conviction on circum
stantial evidence linking him to the
bribery scheme, a jury of seven
women and five men found Hast
ings innocent of the charges.
Before his trial, Hastings
Page 3
July 23.1983
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REP. TYRONE BROOKS (center) receives award from James Reed of the Georgia
Association of Social Service Welfare Organizations as Rep. Hosea Williams (Right) obser
ves.
Rep. Tyrone Brooks is
honored for advocacy
State Representative Tyrone
Brooks, D-Atlanta, has been
awarded the Legislative Advocacy
Award by the Georgia Conference
on Social Welfare.
Brooks is national President of
The Martin Luther King Jr.
movement.
A conference spokesman praised
Brook’s outstanding advocacy of
human and social service
programs. “He has done the most
and continues today to serve the
poor and the needy. He represents
Augustan to help create
international hymn for peace
K. Tyrone Jefferson will par
ticipate in the “International
Musical Workshop for the
Creation of a Hymn for Peace” in
Guadeloupe, French Antilles
during August 1-7 of 1983 (for the
preparatory seminar) and July 30-
August 19 1984 (for the actual
workshop) as one of six guest
composer and musicians.
The workshop is designed to
allow musicians from around the
world to live and create together a
piece of music for World Peace.
This piece of music will be com
posed by six composers from
Japan, Brazil, Germany, Italy,
France and the United States (Jef
ferson). Each composer has been
commissioned by the Office
Municipal De La Culture of
Guadeloupe to create a movement
to the hymn lasting about 15
minutes and will conduct an or
chestra of approximately 300
musicians for the premiere per
formance.
The composers will explore
various musical styles during the
workshop, jazz, classical contem
porary, ethnic, etc. Jetterson win
compose music in the jazz idiom
with heavy emphasis on impor
visation.
Following the preparatory
seminar, a booklet will be
published by the Municipal Office
Less than 75 percent Advertising
all of the people of all the time.
According to James Reed Jr.,
GCSW legislative chairperson,
Brooks’ involvement with ad
vocacy against the workfare
program, work to increase AFDC
benefits and expand the program
indicates a “supreme advocacy
capacity.”
Brooks also sponsored the newly
enacted Anti-Terrorism Act (Anti
K.K.K.) passed by the Georgia
General Assembly and signed into
law by Gov. Joe Frank Harris
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Keith Tyrone Jefferson
of Culture in Guadeloupe to be
distributed worldwide. This
booklet will contain the goals and
purposes of the International
Musical Workshop along with a
project summary of each com
poser’s musical concepts. Through
this booklet, musicians from dis-
earlier this year.
Brooks has announced that he
will introduce legislation in the
next session of the Assembly to
prevent any state monies from
being placed in any institution or
corporation that operates in or
does business with the government
of South Africa.
The award is presented annuallv
to a legislator recognized for out
standing work in the General
Assembly to help the needy.
ferent countries will be able to par
ticipate in the workshop by contac
ting the Municipal Office of
Culture in Guadeloupe.
Jefferson, born in New York
City in 1953 and raised in Charlot
te, N.C., comes from a musical
family. His father played drums,
his mother plays the piano, his
sister plays the violin, viola and
double bass violin and his wife is a
vocalist.
He has a B.S. degree in electrical
engineering from North Carolina
A. and T. State University, served
for four years as a U.S. Army of
ficer, and received a two-year cer
tificate from Berklee of Music in
Boston and attended Harvard
University.
After a brief stint as volunteer
instructor at the Jazzmobile in
New York City, Jefferson
relocated to Augusta, where he, his
wife and their son reside.
Presently, he is teaching data
processing and systems analysis at
Phillips College and may continue
as artist-in-residence at Paine
College (jazz studies) if enough
people are interested in registering
for his course “The History of
Jazz.” He has performed with
James Brown, Slide Hampton,
Pony Poindexter, Clifford Jordan,
Sam and Dave, Phil Wilson and
Gary Burton.
30C