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News-Review - June 17, 1971 - THE NEWS-REVIEW PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY 930 Gwinnett Street - Augusta, Georgia Mallory K. Millender Editor and Publisher Mailing Address: Box 953 Augusta, Ga. Phone 722-4555 Application to mail at Second Class postage rates is pending at Augusta, Ga. 30901 SUBSCRIPTION RATES Payable in Advance One Year in Richmond County $2.50 tax incl. One Year elsewhere $3.00 tax incl. ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT Classified Advertising Deadline 12 noon On Tuesday Display Advertising Deadline 12 noon On Tuesday Office Hours -10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mon. thru. Fri. mu___j i j ■ ■ ■ Winning Is The Name Os The Game Win! We are number one! A winner never quits and a quiter never wins. Win! Win! Win! These and similar expressions are designed to stimulate a winning attitude. They can be very effective, and, when properly used, wholesome. When properly used, the winning attitude can bring out the best in an athlete; it can make him play “over his head.” That is to say that he can be so ingrained with the desire to win that he surpasses his normal performance level. This is good and totally desirable. However, fans, coaches and parents can become so over exhuberant in their zeal to win that they abuse the athletes upon whom they depend to bring them the victories upon which their egos thrive. We believe that such abuse occurred in a recent state championship game at a nearby high school. A certain star athlete with scholarship offers in both baseball and basketball was forced to pitch in a state championship game although he was suffering from painful ankle wounds in both legs. His coach sent him to a doctor where he received two shots of novocaine and was rushed back to the mound to pitch. The athlete was able to play until the novocaine wore off. According to the athlete the novocaine was the coach’s idea. He concedes, though, that he probably would have agreed to play if he had been asked. The athlete’s team lost the game but that is not the point. The point is that our subject is a human being. Iteyond that he is a star athlete with an apparent bright Bture. No responsible person would jeopardize an Mdete’s future just to win one game no matter how Kjortant that game might be. RThere is a law that prohibits the use of drugs on ■rses to kill pain before a race. We think that the same Whcern should be extended to human beings. Our bodies are equipped with a protective alarm device called the nervous syetem. It warns us when our body tissues are in danger of being damaged. The degree of danger is expressed through the degree of pain. If we place our hand in or near a flame, we experience severe pain. This lets us know that if the hand is not immediately removed, the tissue therein will be severely damaged if not destroyed. If we had no such system we would experience no pain and our bodily tissue would always be subject to destruction without our knowledge. And so it is with our star pitcher who had his alarm system desensitized by novocaine. The stakes were high; he wanted to win the state championship; so did his team and coach and apparently the doctor who administered the drug. There is no way of measuring the intensity of their desire to win. But neither was there any way of measuring the degree of permanent damage to the ankle with a dead warning system. But who cared about him and his future? The coach? Os course not, he ordered the drug. The doctor? He administered it. Coaches have no right to exploit high school students in order to get promotions or to boast “We’re Number One”! We are not debating the legality of the case. We are saying that it was irresponsible and immoral. URBAN LEAGUE REPORT As a community service the News-Review will print the entire text of the report and recommendations of the National Urban League concerning the causes of the events of May 11,1970. It should be made perfectly clear that the text of this report has not been edited or otherwise altered in anyway. Since the report is too lengthy to be printed in one issue, we will print it in a weekly series. We urge you to read it and carefully consider the information found therein so that we may begin to work seriously toward meaningful progress in race relations and human dignity. RECREATION AND LEISURE TIME ACTIVITIES How the black community in Augusta-Richmond County is served by recreation has not only been expressed by the black community but among the white community leaders as well. A recent report on recreation in Augusta and Richmond County prepared by the Augusta-Richmond County Government Study Committee provides broad information on recreation programs and a frank critique of some of the major problems existing as deterrents to an effective recreation I Page 2 program in Augusta-Richmond County. These deterrents include in inadequate budget for operating expenses in contrast to National Recreation Association recommendations. An inventory of existing recreational facilities in Augusta show that there are twenty-one community facilities (ten of which have a predominant black clientele, see Table 39). Table 39 shows that there is only one facility serving a predominantly black community with acreage of 10.34, while there are four facilities in predominantly white communities with acreage in excess of 24.0. TABLE 39 INVENTORY OF EXISTING RECREATION FACILITIES AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - 1970 Recreation Facility Location Acreage Allen Homes* 1130 Peters Road 1.03 Allen Park* Fifteenth St. & Walton Way 1.00 Robert Blount Playground* 2510 Allen St. 4.00 Central Park 1130 Merry Street 3.80 Chaffee Park 1800 Pearl Avenue 24.40 Delta Manor* East Boundary 1.50 Eisenhower Soft Ball Field Eisenhower Dr. 7.00 Gilbert Manor* University Place 2.30 Hillside Park 2107 Telfair Street 1.47 Hickman Park 965 Hickman Road 2.49 Stephan Heard Playground Heard Avenue 1.54 (2275 Broad Street) 27.85 Julian Smith Park Lake Olmstead) 86.18 Jones Pool* 1600 Holly Street 1.08 Pendleton King Park Kissingbower Road 64.00 May Park* 2100 Broad Street 1.04 Play Area Central Ave. Fire Station 0;50 Sunset Homes* 15th St., McCauley & Linden St. 10.34 Sunset Center* 1610 Hunter Street 4.96 Tennis Center 2835 Central Avenue 1.43 General Wood Park 189 Highland Avenue 4.00 Robert S. Williams Park* Taylor & King Streets 0.60 Four recreation facilities which serve predominantly white communities have acreages of 64.0, 86.2, 27.8, and 24.4 respectively. The major programs of the department are softball, baseball, basketball, ceramics, and daily recreational activities. The contributions of businesses to promote recreation in the city and county have facilitated the involvement of black and white youth. The Little League (ages seven to seventeen, boys and girls) is one of the most popular summer activities. Some of the Little Leagues are all black and others are all white, while others are desegregated. ♦Denotes those facilities which serve predominantly black communities. The Optimist Club annually contributes funds to both city and county recreation departments to expand recreational programs which could not be provided otherwise. Even though Augusta and Richmond County have shown progress in improving recreation for all citizens, the Augusta-Richmond County Study Committee points up certain weaknesses which affect the quality of the programs. For instance, the department has no procedural manual for formal organizational structure to guide employees’ activities and identify lines of responsibility. Inadequate salaries is also a deterrent to recruiting quality employees. The top salary ($3,427 for a six-hour day, five-day week supervisor) and lesser salaries for playground leaders offers no inducement for persons qualified to provide the kind of supervision needed. Richmond County operates seventeen park and recreation facilities, six of which are frequented predominantly by blacks. The activities consist primarily of directed activities and some counseling. Black residents have equal access to other facilities; however, the pattern of living precludes their full use of all facilities. The following is a list of the Richmond County recreational facilities used predominantly by black residents: Name of Facility Hephzibah (privately owned) Athletic Area Hyde Park Athletic and Play Area East View Athletic Area Boy Scout Road Athletic and Play Area Southside Community Housing Authority and Play Area Terrace Manor Community Housing Authority and Play Area In addition to the above parks and playgrounds, the county maintains certain Board of Education athletic fields during the summer. Only two county parks have year-round facilities -- Terrace Manor (predominantly black) and Doughty Park. Activities offered at these two centers include arts and crafts classes as well as athletic programs. There are no continuous adult activities sponsored by the County Recreation Department. During the summer, adult softball leagues have been popular as a participant and spectator activity. The Department of Recreation has no formal agreement with the Board of Education FOR USE OF SCHOOL FACILITIES. The Richmond County Board of Education has cooperated with the Recreation Commission in permitting use of seven outside school facilities, i.e., playgrounds and ball fields for programs scheduled following school sessions and on weekends. All playground facilities in Augusta and Richmond County operate on a nonrestricted racial basis. However, the housing pattern in the city almost isolates one racial group from participating with fire other. The exception is in ball teams where a few are integrated. The City Recreation Department currently (1970) employs thirty-five full time staff members. Six playground supervisors are black and six are white. Other employees include one black and one white coordinator, one black senior supervisor, one program director who works with white and black supervisors, one black hostess, and nineteen part-time employees. As one tours many of the congested areas in Augusta, it is obvious that the leisure time needs of youth and adults are not being adequately met by organized or supervised activities. Mrs. Myrtis Deas, Director of the Augusta Recreation Department, stated that acquisition of land was one of the big problems. She also cited the need for more small neighborhood centers and play lots and additional staff at more attractive salaries. THE U.S.O. Military personnel in the Augusta-Richmond County area are served by two U.S.O.’s. One branch on 1123 Gwinnett Street serves predominantly black servicemen, even though both agencies provide service for black and white military servicemen and their families. Activities include games of various types such as: Bowling, table tennis, and cards. Movies are sponsored weekly at both centers and social dancing at least monthly. A committee of black and white sponsors serve a buffet luncheon each second and fourth Sunday, followed by a social affair to which the community is invited to meet and socialize with the servicemen. According to Mrs. Gardner, Director of the Gwinnett Street U. 5.0., the monthly attendance is approximately 7,000, which includes relatives and friends of servicemen. In addition to the recreational and social activities, the center provides counselling service for military personnel. ■j * to the People of GEORGIA ATLANTA (PRN) - The third portion of this year’s effort to save your money and make government work more efficiently is Zero-Base Budgeting. This is a very thorough and far reaching program which is already requiring extra work from all state employees. Their response has been excellent. They know it is designed to help us get a better return from every tax dollar spent and this is what almost everyone wants. Basically Zero-Base Budgeting is just what the name implies. It is away of preparing the budget starting from scratch. To often a program that was worthwhile when it was begun has outlived its usefulness, yet it still goes on and on, eating up tax money. This happens because in the past a department could assume that everything already underway should continue and at budget time departments simply presented a request for additional funds for new programs. These requests are almost always reduced by both the governor and legislature. Sometimes worthwhile new programs are eliminated while less important programs continue just because they were already in existence. This is no way to conduct the public’s business. Zero-Base Budgeting requires department heads and managers all down the line within a department to take a The staff, which consists of one professional and two part time persons, is assisted by thirty volunteers. An inter-racial council assists in developing programs and recruiting and screening junior and senior volunteers. The U.S.O. receives its principal financial support from the local United Fund. Library Facilities The main library and three branch library facilities in Augusta serve all segments of the population without restriction. These branches include the Appleby, Wallace, and the Burke County Library. The Wallace Branch (1237 Gwinnett St.) originated as a black branch, but since desegregation of public facilities it serves all segments of the population. This branch is located near the center of the black community and its facilities appear quite adequate and attractive. In addition to library facilities, an auditorium is available for community meetings. Miss Gwendolyn Cummins, librarian at the Wallace Branch, stated that the black community does not avail themselves of the branch services as one might expect. Efforts to enlist the cooperation of religious, social, and civic groups, she continued, have had a minimum effect on encouraging more active use of the library facilities. According to Miss Jean Cochran, librarian, services to the disadvantaged is receiving increased emphasis by the public library system. Programs for the disadvantaged members of the community include work with Upward Bound and Headstart programs. Library books are sent to various parts of the city through the Bookmobile program. Circulation statistics for the Avgusta-Richmond County Library System are shown in Table 40. Y.W.C.A. - Central and Phyllis Wheatley Branch The Augusta Y.W.C.A. provides a wide variety of recreational and cultural activities that relate to the black community. Facilities for serving the total Y.W.C.A. membership are located in the Central Building on Greene Street. The Phyllis Wheatley Association was organized as a branch in 1918 to serve the predominant black community. In 1945, the Y.W.C.A. Charter was incorporated, integrating all facilities of the Central and Phyllis Wheatley Branch. Since 1964, the Residence Hall and swimming pool of the Central “Y” have been open to black members. The Central “Y” has a membership of 4,000, while the Phyllis Wheatley “Y” has a membership of 900. Membership fees range from 50 cents to SIOO.OO for a life membership. The Y.W.C.A. memberships range from $3.00 for adults, SI,OO for teenagers, to 50 cents for children. Special programs sponsored by the “Y” include a summer camp funded by the Office of Economic Opportunity. The summer camp accomodates fifty girls during four different time periods. There is also a special education program for inner city boys and girls funded under Title 11. It was stated by several black female leaders that although the memberships are relatively small, there are many black adults and children who cannot afford them. Included in the activities of the Phyllis Wheatley Branch are the following: Music, modeling, sewing, and hat making. The “Y” teen activities include baseball, discussion groups, and sewing school clothes. Blacks are represented on the Central Association Board and serve on various committees. y| sm ■MM O» IKIIUMX * IT TAKES A GREAT CAR ... * TO MAKE A GREAT CAR DEAL! WE HAVE BOTH. WIDE-TNACK |] ] fh| CORNERS TELFAIR STREET PONTIAC I st iMASTER "After are aell—HE’ SERX E—ainre 1937 long hard look at all of the functions that they are to perform. Alternate plans for doing the same job are required. Existing programs and new programs are compared and rated according to their importance. Based on this thorough review of what is needed and what is already going on both the governor and the legislature can decide the most efficient way to spend the money available. Zero-Base Budgeting is a way to get more services for every tax dollar. Georgia will be the first state in the nation to put it into practice. It costs us nothing to establish except some extra work at all levels of state government. I think it is worth it. By their own enthusiastic participation, state employees have shown that they do too. I hope that you, the people of the state, who will benefit most from this extra effort will let us have the benefit of your encouragement and support. In closing let me add that response to Goals for Georgia and Re-organization has been tremendous. If you have an idea about making Georgia a better place please write: Goals for Georgia The Governor’s Office Atlanta, Ga. 30334 You have my word that your ideas and suggestions will receive thorough consideration as all of us together do our best to return Georgia’s government to the people. (SCHOOL INTEGRATION IN THE SOUTH NEXT FALL) The national attention will be focused upon the South this fall with massive integration brought on by the U.S. Supreme Court’s latest decree justifying busing. The small communities will solve their problems much more easily than metropolitan districts. Comparatively, integration is ignored in the rest of the country. The larger cities, where the concentration of black students out-number the population as a whole, is where the real crunch will come. Black civil rights leaders should low their rhetoric, and help in this gigantic task. It will take dedication, and people of good-will of both races, if America is to cope with this huge undertaking. Here are some interesting statistical data that confronts bur country. The nation’s capital, where the population is 71% black, has an elementary and secondary school population of 95% black. Philadelphia with a 34% black count, has a racial school population of 60% black. Atlanta’s population is 51% black according to the 1970 census; New Orleans is up to 45% black, and in both cities the school systems are two-thirds black. Maybe some people will say that integration isn’t all that important and that the real need is to improve the quality of education everywhere- in all-white schools, integrated schools, and all-black schools. It is partially true that the entire American school system needs over-hauling. Educators have been doing a miserable job of educating well-to-do schools as well as all black slum schools. Enlightened educational experts still are sticking to their guns, with this statement, “that in a multi-racial society, integration is a necessity. Two highly rated educational researchers as James Coleman, and the business-led Committee for Economic Development declared in a recent special report on urban schooling that “An integrated racial and social setting substantially improves the educational performance of less advantaged kids.” The report continues - “school integration is of critical importance for the quality and equality of education as well as for social relationships.” (ARE WE DEVELOPING TWO COMPLETELY SEPARATE CULTURES?) Still a great many people contend that the only way to achieve integration is through gradual integration of schools or to integrate residential neighborhoods. Yet this is almost impossible for many reasons. Neither the Nixon administration nor the Democratic Congress would support such a far-fetched plan. More blacks are moving to the suburbs, but many more whites are moving there faster. Many advocates of integration are favoring the use of the federal carrot to promote cooperation among school districts - cutting across political boundary lines to combine the black central city student bodies with those of the white suburbs. The inter-district plan could be utilized in many ways; cross-busing between urban and suburban schools, with exchange student bodies, and faculties. There is another plan known as the educational park, where the elementary and secondary schools gathered in one huge complex on the outskirts of the city, drawing students both from city and suburbs. Then, in theory, there is the magnet plan, where slum schools whose curriculum and faculty have been upgraded to the point that white suburban kids will want to come. That’s only a remote hope and a dream for the far future. All of these approaches should be tested. The educational establishment is understandably reluctant to give any of these courageous innovations a trial; also local political leaders, especially those in the suburbs are very hesitant. One of the most potent objections to experimental programs, is the huge amounts of money they will cost; for instance, a typical educational park for some 20,000 students would cost as much as 40 or 50 million dollars. The irony, and the frustration that middle class Americans exhibit are simply pathetic; because the same suburbanites who resist school integration, also object to sending tax dollars to help black urban schools. YOUR BEST BUY IS at JIM SATCHER MOTORS '7l FORDS Over Cost JOHNSTON, S.C. (28 Miles from Augusta) AIKEN-BATH-AUGUSTA RESIDENTS CALL 593-4373 OR 722-0386 ALL CARS CARRY 24 MONTH WARRANTY. CAN BE BOUGHT FOR NOTHING DOWN. LEE BAGWELL MOTORS, INC. 1424 GORDON HIGHWAY NEXT TO HYDE PARK PHONE 793-2283 Walking WITH DIGNITY BY Al IRBY