Newspaper Page Text
Republicans show
plan to weaken
Black leadership
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VOLUME 14 NUMBER 3 7
Gilbert Manor won’t be sold
if majority of residents object
Residents of the Gilbert Manor
Housing Project could halt the sale
of the property to the Medical
College of Georgia if they oppose
the sale, J. Madden Reid, director
of the Augusta Housing Adthority
said Tuesday.
“If we had 75 percent of the
residents to oppose, that would kill
(the proposed sale). If the majority
of them opposed it we would
honor their wishes, but they sup
port it.
“Our surveys show that they’re
pleased with this. I have yet to
receive the first complaint from a
resident.” He said he has asked the
names of residents opposed to the
sale, but has received none.
Reid made his comments in
response to a news conference held
about an hour earlier by the
Georgia Legal Services and
respresentatives of the NAACP,
who say the tenants have been
misled.
Republicans reveal plan to
weaken Black leadership
By Juan Williams
Washington Post Staff Writer
The Reagan White House is
moving on a new plan to blur its
differences with Blacks that in
volves assailing established Black
leaders as salesmen of failed
policies and appealing to the Black
middle class on grounds that it can
greatly benefit from the Reagan
agenda.
Early signs of the offensive were
visible when President Reagan met
with Black business people and
academics two weeks ago to
discuss possible government spurs
to investment in Black com
munities. Then he surprised even
his aides by saying in an interview
Jan. 18 that he sees no value in
talking to current Black leaders.
Their main interest, he said, is to
stir up their troops and hold onto
their “rather good positions” in
stead of hearing his proposals for
solving social problems.
“There are two ways to ap
proach Blacks after a victory of the
magnitude we had,” says a White
House adviser. “One is to say the
heck with them, and the other is
to say it’s an opportunity for a
cease fire.
“The Blacks took their best shot
at us, nine of 10 voted against us,
and we won easily....We can say
come join the winners now. Forget
leaders from another time who
don’t have any new ideas, who lost
this year and who are going to lose
Congress pushes for civil rights bill
WASHINGTON—LiberaI mem
bers of the House and Senate said
they would push for passage of the
Civil Rights Restoration Act of
1985 that would overturn last
year’s Supreme Court decision
restricting anti-discrimination law
to specific programs receiving
federal money.
“The clear message of the bill
we are introducing today is that
federal aid must not be used in any
way, shape or form to subsidize
discrimination,” said Sen. Edward
Kennedy, D-Mass., one of the key
sponsors.
The Supreme Court ruling at
issue involved Grove City College
in Pennsylvania and limited the
clout of the 1972 civil riehts law
Stye Augusta Neuis-Heuteui
Ozell Hudson Jr., managing at
torney for the Augusta Office of
the Georgia Legal services, said the
purpose of his news conference was
to bring attention to the fact that
the sale has not been approved
although some of the Gilbert
Manor Residents believe that it has
and they have moved out.
Hudson said that HUD officials
told him that the Augusta Housing
Authority “hasn’t even applied for
approval ” Tn for to
be completed. HUD must deter
mine that the sale is in the best in
terest of the tenants. He said that
the Housing Authority has talked
about the sale being in the best in
terest of the Medical College of
Georgia.
Hudson siad tenants are told the
42-year-old project cannot be
renovated yet Congress has allot
ted more than $1.5 billion for
modernization which the Housing
Authority could use for
in 1988.”
The administration plan, accor
ding to White House officials, is to
portray Black leaders as a group
without muscle in either party at a
time when many Democrats are
saying that their party needs to
play down connections with Blacks
and appeal to whites. Meanwhile,
the officials say, the ad
ministration plans to emphasize
the “common ground” where
Republicanism can benefit Blacks.
A secondary reason, some of
ficials say, is to play down Blacks
as the central symbol in the “fair
ness” argument—concern over the
impact of budget cuts on the poor.
According to a memo prepared
for Reagan by James W. Cicconi,
a special assistant to the president,
the administratoin could send its
message to Blacks through
proposals such as lower minimum
wages for youths to help decrease
Black unemplyment; renewed sup
port for enterprise zones to rebuild
Black neighborhoods; housing
vouchers to allow the poor to shop
for housing, and increased
assistance to crime victims, who
most often are Blacks in crime
ridden areas.
The administration plans to start
its work with Blacks by appealing
to receptive pockets of Black
Americans, mainly business
banning sex discrimination by
educational institutions.
In its 1984 decision, the high
court said the govarument could
cut off federal fund* only to
specific education programs that
failed to meet federal standards
and not an entire institution.
The administration has said it
would use the ruling as am
munition in other civil rights cases.
Civil rights groups maintained the
ruling jeopardized the rights of
many people.
The legislation to broaded civil
rights protection of millions of
women, minorities, the handicap
ped and elderly was introduced last
Ihursday in the House, and is ex
pected to be introduced next week
Mayor reverses
stance on
Greene St. workers
Page 1
rehabilitation.
Reid said it is unlikely that
Augusta could get modernization
money since it has received such
funds only twice since 1969.
Hudson, who was joined at the
news conference by NAACP Vice
President Charlie Moore and at
torney Ronald Garnett, head of
the NAACP’s Legal Redress
Committee, said he and Garnett
asked the Housing Authority for a
copy of the application and the
relocation plan but have received
no response. He said that the
Housing Authority is required to
assure HUD that it will maintain
the same amount of low-income
housing stock.
Hudson declined to say how
many Gilbert Manor residents he
represents, adding “Let’s just say
more than five.” He said he would
not name them for fear of reprisals
against them.
He said the tenants have not
people. It expects that inroads
made with that group will spread
to professional and middle-class
Blacks wh may be beneficiaries of
the economic recovery and thus in
clined to support the president ex
cept for their racial loyalties.
Administration officials believe
that enough Blacks are in middle
income brackets to provide a target
audience for their appeal, and that
the audience is influential enough
to provide a target audience for
their appeal, and that the audience
is influential enough to start
reshaping Blacks’ opinions about
Reagan and the Republican Party.
In 1983, of about 7 million Black
families, 1.8 million, or more than
one-fourth, had incomes of more
than $25,000a year, which was
roughly the median income for
American society as a whole.
“We want to segment the Black
community essentially the same
way we segment the rest of
America ,” says Steven J.
Rhodes, assistant to the vice
president for domestic policy.
“You wouldn’t see the president
going out to talk to (liberal white
women), so why should he go to
the Urban League and the NAACP
where we know we can’t agree. We
don’t get anything from those
groups but grief, so why give them
a platform? What we want to do is
in the Senate.
But a battle looms over the score
of the legislation.
Senate Republican leader Robert
Dole of Kansas introduced a
separate bill backed by the ad
ministration, and said: “I would
hope we could finally resolve this
issue and do it as one of
the priority items early this year.”
While House spokesman Larry
Speakes said later the ad
ministraton “fully supports” the
Dole bill “and will work to see the
legislation enacted in the
Congress.”
He said in a statement the past
Congress almost completed “the
task of developing an acceptable
response to the Grove City College
Blacks outgain |
whites o
SAT
Page 3 |
February 9,1985
been given adequate information
about the sale,and no assurance of
adequate new housing. If they
move out before the sale, they are
told they will get no assistance.
Hudson said the tenants move
because they think the project has
been sold and they will be left with
no place to go.
He said that 39 of the 278 units
are vacant and he has been told
that the Housing Authority plans
to keep them vacant until all the
tenants have moved out.
“It is a travesty to keep 39 units
vacant when they have so many
people on the waiting list they
can’t even place them. They
haven’t even submitted an ap
plication and the process may take
one or two years to get approval,
not to mention how much time it
will take to complete the sale.”
Hudson said that the tenants
don’t have to move. They are en
titled to their units unless the
identify groups with the same
preferences.” Rhodes says ad
ministration officials might speak
to groups of Black insurance agen
ts, morticians and bankers, or at a
Black business school
The response to the unveiling of
the White House strategy had been
skeptical. Eddie Williams, head of
the Joint Cneter for Political
Studies, which focuses on Blacks
and politics, says the White House
is correct when it argues that there
is a potential audience among con
servative Blacks. But he says the
White House is wrong in un
derestimating Black concern about
civil rights.
He says an August Gallup
poll showed that 72 percent of
Blacks, along with 31 percent of
whites, see Reagan as
“prejudiced.”
“This is what white racists have
done from time immemorial; they
try to pick Black people’s leaders
for them...,” says Roger Wilkins,
a former assistant attorney
genreal.
“They don’t see themselves and
their strategies as racist because
they’re willing to sit down with
Black businessmen,” says
Democratic Rep. Ronald V.
Dellums of California. “But
they’re not so quick to sit down
with the poor and the hungry....”
decision and there is no good
reason why” the current Congress
“cannot finish this work by enac
ting the legislation introduced
today.”
“I am confident that this will
happen so long as no efforts are
made to alter the legislation’s fun
damental purpose or add to it
needlessly crippling amendments
that go beyond the careful reversal
of Grove City” contained in the
Dole bill.
Dole’s bill would ban
discrimination in education in
stitutions receiving any federal
money, but would not specifically
address other kinds of institutions.
“In recent weeks, we have heard
the suggestion from some who pay
I Augustan is
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or
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Less than 75 percent Advertising
Housing Authority has other
reasons such as failure to pay rent.
“We want people to know that
they have rights that haven’t been
protected.”
He said that Reid has given the
tenants until October 1985 to
move, and some of the units have
been boarded up and the Housing
Authority has removed the ap
pliances.
“This is really nothing new in
regard to how housing authorities
do in trying to get rid of a project.
Housing Authority officials ad
mitted that no application has been
filed and said attorneys are in the
process of negotiating a sales con
tract.
Tom Mcgee, assistant director
of the Housing Authority, said
that 39 units remain vacant in an
ticipation of the sale, and
“because we anticipate that it will
be approved, we’re not assigning
anybody. We’re saying, ‘Would
Black perspective needed
Editorial
The County Com
mission’s decision Tues
day to hire Robert N.
Dixon, associate superin
tendent of schools, as
county administrator,
creates an opportunity
for the appointment of a
Black to fill that position.
The student population
of Richmond County
schools is now 52 percent
Black, and it is essential
that a Black be hired at
that level ifnot at the level
of superintendent. It is
Mayor reverses stance on Greene
Street workers
The Augusta Police Chief has
informed an attorney for casual
workers removed from the spot on
6th and Greene streets where they
congregated in hope, of finding
temporary work that the police
department will no longer enforce
Mayor Charles A. DeVaney’s
directive to move the men, accor
ding to Georgia Legal Services
manager Ozell Hudson.
Hudson said that he sent a cer
tified letter to Police Chief M.D.
Philpot asking if the mayor had
changed his stance, and was told
lip service to civil rights that a
narrov bill can achieve the same
result,” Kennedy said.
“Half-way measures and half
hearted support for civil rights are
not a satisfactory response by
Congress, and we will not be party
to such a charade,” he added.
Although the high court ruling
has not yet been used to challenge
other kinds of cases, Sen Paul
Simon, D-lIL, said it had the
potential to do great damage.
“We want to lock the barn door
before the horse gets out,” Simon
said.
Congress tried last year to pass
legislation to overturn the Supreme
Court ruling, but the effort failed
when a compromise proposal was
you like to move?’ and we’re
assisting with expenses. He said he
was not aware of an October 1985
deadline for moving.
Reid said that there was no need
to file an application unless there is
a firm buyer and that an announ
cement of such a buyer will come
in 10 to 12 days.
“We have nothing to hide.
Tenants have told the outside press
‘We trust you and we support what
you’re doing. He (Hudson) has no
clients. He’s hiding behind the
NAACP. They’re not interested in
helping the poor. They’re interested
in prolonging their agency.
“They frustrate me because they
hide under the pretense of helping
the poor. We’re helping the poor
and our deeds speak a lot louder
than their words.... I think this is a
dying gasp for them. This is one
area (Legal Services) I hope Mr.
Reagan cuts out of the budget.”
equally important that a
Black be chosen who will
indeed reflect and ar
ticulate the Black per
spective.
Without that perspec
tive, the race of the
superintendent would
matter little. However,
we believe that it matters
a great deal. And the
Richmond county school
system owes it to the
people to have the
broadest perspective
possible.
that “my understanding was
correct.”
He said that the Department of
Labor asked the Augusta Police
Department to move the men in
January, which constituted a
violation of his client’s freedom of
speech, assembly and contract.
Hudson, who said he represen
ted at least 10 Black men, added
that all of his clients have suffered
financial loss as a result of their
removal from 6th and Greene.
Hudson also requested that the
public benches be returned to the
site.
derailed in the Senate.
Opponents of the legislation
argured that overturning the
Supreme Court ruling and man
dating broader civil rights coverage
would increase federal intrusion
into the lives of Americans.
They maintained, for instance,
that a “Mom and Pop” grocery
store accepting foood stamps
would be forced to build
wheelchair ramps to avoid
discrimination against the han
dicapped.
But Sen. Lowell Weicker, R-
Conn., said the Grove City
decision “left it to Congress to
stand up and be counted on the
issue of- tax-supported
discriminaton.”
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