Newspaper Page Text
NAACP voices
outrage over
Geter case
Page 1
Augusta New-Hteirim
VOLUME 15 NUMBER 44
Supreme Court outlaws
Edgefield at-large voting
The U.S. Supreme Court
Tuesday threw out the at-large
voting system in Edgefield County.
Dr. Thomas McCain, a Paine
College professor and chairman of
the Edgefield County Democratic
Party, filed a class action suit in
1974 charging that the at-large
voting system in Edgefield County
diluted Black voting strength.
Blacks make up a majority of
the population in Edgefield Coun
ty and 44 percent of the registered
voters, but no Black has been elec
ted to county council since Recon
struction.
McCain has run three times.
Each time he has won in his
district, by a comfortable margin,
but lost because “the voters in
other districts voted for my op
ponent.”
Legislature knocks down
at-large voting in county
The Richmond County
Legislative Delegation Tuesday
approved a district voting plan
which, if approved as expected by
the full House and Senate, would
eliminate at-large voting in Rich
mond County. Representatives to
the board of commissioners would
be elected by House districts and
Dr. Floyd highest ranking
Black woman in system
ATLANTA—Viiginia Floyd,
M.D., has been appointed director
of Family Health in the Depar
tment of Human Resources’
Division of Public Health. The ap
pointment makes Dr. Floyd the
highest ranking Black female
physician in the state’s public
health system, according to James
Alley, M.D., director of Public
Health.
Dr. Floyd is the daughter-in-law
of Mr. and Mrs. John G. Floyd of
1620 12th St. in Augusta.
Her husband, Dr. Joseph Ber
nard Floyd is a former Augustan.
He is now an anesthisiologist at
Gwinnet Community Hospital in
Gwinnett County.
As Family Health director, Dr.
Floyd will oversee eight programs,
including those in immunizations,
maternal and infant health, family
planning, child adolescent health,
nutrition, nursing, pharmacy, and
dental health.
She said recently, “I’m really
excited about working with
programs that affect the lives of so
Webster elected sheriff
Charles B. Webster was elected
Sheriff of Richmond County in a
runoff election Tuesday. He
garnered 52.3 percent of the vote
to Johnny Beard’s 47.6 percent.
Webster will serve the remainder
of former Sheriff J.B. Dykes’ term
which expires at the end of the
year.
McCain said that he filed the
suit along with William Spencer, at
the time a Paine College student,
after having run for office and
“seeing how the at-large voting
method dilutes the Black vote.
That’s what prompted me to file
the suit,” he added.
McCain told the News-Review
Wednesday, “I am elated about
the decision. I still believe in the
American system. However, it
takes a long time to work your way
through the different levels of the
courts to get a decision. It just
proves one thing—you have to
more determined than your op
position to get results.”
McCain said the U.S. Justice
Department “argued on our side
for ten minutes” .when the case
went before the Supreme Court
this fall.
the chairperson would be elected
by the commissioners.
However, the city of Augusta is
not affected by the House action.
U.S. District Judge Dudley H.
Bowen Jr. issued an order Feb. 1
asking that Augusta and Rich
mond County reach agreement
with plaintiffs who have filed
many Georgians. If we can help
people change the way they take
care of themselves we can help im
prove the quality of their lives.”
For the past two and a half
years, Dr. Floyd has been assistant
professor in the Department of
Community Medicine and Family
Practice at Morehouse School of
Medicine. She is also Acting Direc
tor of the Family Practice Residen
cy Program at Morehouse.
“Through her key role in
developing Morehouse Medical
School, Dr. Floyd has demon
strated an impressive ability to
work with a variety of health care
institutions,” commented Dr.
Alley.
“She has also had a number of
unique experiences at the local
level, enabling her to develop a
keen understanding of problems of
providing health services to
mothers and infants.”
Prior to joining the Morehouse
faculty, Dr. FJoyd was medical
director of a rural health initiative
medical clinic in Palmetto. Ga.
Dykes resigned after an FBI in
vestigation led to his being indicted
in a ticket-fixing scheme. He is
now serving a four-year term for
obstruction of justice.
Beard, who indicated’ that he
does not plan to run for election in
November, said the people of
Richmond County “haven’t lear-
Commissioners
to be elected
by district voting
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Assessing the impact of the
decision, McCain expressed
caution. “We’re not out of the
woods yet, but we see the light at
the top of the hill and we know we
are headed in the right direction.
“If you look at the long history
of depriving Blacks of access to the
political process in Edgefield
County, we don’t expect them
(district voting opponents) to just
accept the plan.
“It’s a continual struggle even
after Blacks are elected. We will
have to fight to correct some of
those conditions that have existed
for a long time.”
McCain said that Blacks have a
good chance of winning two of the
five seats on the county council but
he has not decided whether he will
run.
voting rights suits against them by
May 1, or he would set a trial date.
Under the district plan Blacks
stand a chance of gaining at least
two of the six seats on the new
commission.
Mayor Edward M. Mclntyre is
the only Black who has ever served
on the county commission.
Dr. Virginia Floyd
The clinic is still open and now ser
ves 10,000 people. •
As a medical officer for the Cen
ters for Disease Control, Dr. Floyd
served in the Republic of
Cameroon, Africa. There
studied polio and other vaccine
preventable diseases.
Dr. Floyd, 32, graduated from
the Howard University College of
Medicine in Washington, D.C.,
and did her residency at Emory
University. She is presently
enrolled in Emory’s Masters of
Public Health Program.
ned the first thing (from seeing two
of the last three sheriffs go to jail).
“They’re still voting for the big
money and the dirty politics.”
Webster said of his victory,
“I’m as tickled to death as
anybody can be.”
Webster and Bear were the top
candidates in a Jan. 31 primary
which narrowed the five-man field.
Jesse Jackson
to hold n
at civic cei
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February 25,1984
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Jesse Jackson hoists hand of Dr. Thomas McCain;
Allgood is half good
' Editorial
We are very disappointed that
Senator Thomas Allgood is not
sure that Blacks are un
derrepresented on the City
Council of Augusta and is reluc
tant to support district voting
for the city as a result.
Allgood has in the past said
that he would support district
voting, even going to the point
of saying the city wide voting
system presently used is illegal.
However, now that the chips are
down, the senator is backing
up.
How can he be unsure that
Blacks are not underrepresented
when Blacks make up a
majority of the city’s
population, but have only 25
percent representation on city
council? At no point have
Blacks constituted more than 5
of the 16 councilmembers.
And for some 229 years of
this city’s history, there has
been no Black representation on
the city council.
We have never had equal
representation and there can be
no question that we are un-
NAA CP outraged
over Geter case
NEW YORK—NAACP Executive
Director Benjamin L. Hooks
charged in Dallas that the case
against Denmark, SC native Lenell
Geter, who had been sentenced to
life imprisonment in Texas for ar
med robbery, was “a grave
miscarriage of justice.” Hooks, a
lawyer and former judge in Mem
phis, Tenn., said Geter was im
prisoned “on the flimsiest set of
evidence I have ever seen.”
Because of the intense anger
throughout the Association over
this case, he said, the NAACP
might reconsider its plans to hold
its 1985 convention in Dallas based
on the final outcome of the case.
Geter, a Black E-Systems engineer,
was released pending a new trial
after spending 17 months of a life
sentence in prison.
Hooks attended the pre-trial
hearing that was held for Geter on
Jan. 30. Afterward, he expressed
his outrage over the case at news
conferences and church appearan
ces that were sponsored by the
Dallas NAACP branch.
Less than 75 percent Advertising
derrepresented now.
To his credit, Senator
Allgood was very instrumen
talin getting SIOO,OOO approved
by the Senate Continuation
Committee for the planning and
development of a performing
arts center at Paine College.
And that could lead to a total
appropriation of $3 million to
$5 million.
Paine and the community
need that center. However, the
senator must recognize that the
real drama is the inability of
Blacks to meet our needs due
the citywide voting system.
We need the performing arts
as they reflect our culture and
our aspirations. And we ap
preciate that support.
But no matter how great,
theatre is still theatre—a play.
In the real drama of our sur
vival in this town, the senator
reveals a tragic flaw. He is
unable to see that we don’t have
equal representation. If he can’t
see that, he can’t see at all.
Geter welcomed the support ex
pressed by the many people who
attended the hearing. But he did
not relish the prospect of having to
stand trial again. “I’m anxious to
get married and get on with my life
in a relaxed way,” he said after the
hearing. “I’m confident” of being
acquitted “because I know I am
innocent and I just want to get this
over with.” As of this publication
date, pre-trial hearings on the case
were continuing.
Geter was convicted in October
1982 for robbing a Balch Springs
restaurant. Although five wit
nesses identified him as the robber,
several of his E-Systems co
workers testified that he was at
work when the robbery occurred.
Additionally, during the fifth
day of pre-trial hearings, a teenage
employee of the restaurant
testified that she got a good look at
the bandit and he was not Geter.
She said that she was not called in
to identify Geter in a police line
up.
Webster
04/24/83 1
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Jesse Jackson
to speak here
Presidential candidate Jesse
Jackson will speak during a rally at
the Augusta-Richmond County
Civic Center Feb. 28 at 7 p.m.
City councilwoman Margaret
Armstrong, convenor of the rally,
said Wednesday that the rally is
free and open to the public.
City councilwoman Margaret
Armstrong, convenor of the rally,
said Wednesday that it will be free
and open to the public.
She also said that the rally is to
boost Jackson’s presidential bid
and not to raise money for the Ed
Mclntyre—Joseph Jones Defense
Fund.
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Sheila Ingram
Sheila Ingram
succumbs to
sickle cell
On Saturday adn Sunday, 17-
year old Sheila Michelle Ingram
modeled at Belk’s Department
store where she was a member of
the Belk’s Teen Board. Tuesday
she died of sickle cell anemia.
She served as mistress of
ceremonies at the last youth
program of Miles Memorial CME
Church where she was a member
of the Christian Youth Fellowship.
She was a member of the
Debutantes Adult Society and was
said to have been “unusually hap
py” when her mother presented
her with a red rose at the
organization’s last activity.
A senior at the Academy of
Richmond County, she was a
member of the executive Student
Council.
Her survivors include Mr. and
Mrs. Silas Ingram; a sister, Phyllis
Ingram, Atlanta; a brother, Bruce,
Frankfurt, Germany; and her
grandmother, Verbena Perry,
Batesburg.S.C.
in an apparent attempt to rule out
the possibility of mistaken iden
tity, prosecutors are interviewing a
Texas inmate about the robbery.
That inmate is said to resemble
Geter.
Following his conviction, me
NAACP developed additional
evidence which it maintains con
firms Geter’s innocence. He was
released from prison last Decem
ber upon motions filed not just by
his attorneys but also by the
prosecutor, which was highly
unusual. His chief defense attor
ney is George Hairston, NAACP
assistant general counsel, who
developed the strategy that
resulted in his release. Hairston
charged that Geter’s conviction
was based on “sloppy police
work.” and “racism.”
Meanwhile, Geter has returned
to his job in nearby Greenville.
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