Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

News—Review, July 15, 1971 THE NEWS-REVIEW PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY 930 Gwinnett Street - Augusta, Georgia Mallory K. Millender Editor and Publisher Mailins 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 inch 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. LETTER to the EDITOR Dear Sir: The recent sheriffs election was a very good example of “White Power” and “White Unity”. The white people in this community stuck together, supporting their white candidates, and they deserve to be congratulated. They proved that the only way a race can survive and be victorious, it must be strongly united. This election should have taught us that as long as a race of people refuses to support each other, it will never be victorious. Hopefully, all Black people learned this lesson. People learn from each other, and I am hoping that Black people learned the necessity of unity from the white people who campaigned and voted in this election. It is not a very easy task for me to write this letter; because I am a black woman, and it shames and hurts me to think of the way the white people stuck together, and how we split up. I, at one time, believed that we were learning to trust and love each other, but after I witnessed what happened in the recent sheriffs election, I began to wonder if we were not retrogressing, instead of progressing. 1 turned on my radio, and I heard a deep, handsome voice, which I identified as the voice of a well-known and respected black “leader”, Rev. A. Sims. But to my utmost surprise this black “leader” was not speaking out for a black man. No, he was supporting Widener. This made me sick. I felt that if Rev. Sims was going to publicly support any candidate, it should have been Cross, or Johnson. Admittedly, I was disappointed when I learned that there were two black men running for sheriff, because I felt, like many other black voters, that we would have had a better chance of winning with just one candidate running for sheriff. However, I also knew that there were four white candidates, and that the white votes would be split four ways, while ours (black votes) would be split just two ways, if we stuck together. (I did not, at any time, feel that any “money” was involved in the fact that there were two black candidates. Perhaps this is due to my youth, and very innocent mind.) Therefore, I was sure that we could still win, or make a darn good showing. I was also so sure that if there was a run off, one of our black candidates would have been involved. However, all of this depended on our sticking together. We did not stick together, and we did not win, and nor did we make a good showing. However, we did show the white people of Richmond County something. We showed them that “White Power” is not threatened in this area. In fact, we showed them that “White Power” is not only upheld by white people, but by Black people as well. We showed the white people in this area that we were satisfied with the present situation in Augusta. And most important, we showed them that we are not united, but very much divided, and easily persuaded by money. I am deeply hurt, as you can no doubt tell by reading the above paragraphs, and I have every right to be hurt. On election day, I saw my people wearing red & white Tebow Hats, some were urging people to vote for Anderson, and still others were crying Widener. I approached several people and asked them to tell me Page 2 something about the man whom they were supporting. Not to my surprise, all they could do was to repeat some slogans that I had heard “Brother” Sims, “Brother” Mclntyre, or “Sister” Mays say on the radio Wow!!! I heard one of our black “leaders” say that he felt that something funny was going on because there were two black men running for sheriff, implying, no doubt, that one, or both of the black candidates were paid to split the black votes. 1 feel that it was his responsibility to find out if this were in fact true, and to see that his people knew the “truth”. If he found out that one of the candidates was being paid, he should have supported the other one; however, if he found that both of them were crooked, he should have let the Black people (not the white people-unity) know, and then he should have encouraged a truly dedicated black man to seek the office of sheriff. Instead of trying to support the best black candidate, he supported Widener, who he claimed would help us to “over come.” What was wrong with this? 1 will briefly state two things: 1. It is rumored that this same black “leader” is being given “under the table” mone\ by his “good” white folk whom he so often speaks of. Now, if this rumor about him is not true, he should be the first to doubt the rumor that the black candidates were paid to split the black votes. For, he should know that not all rumors are true. 2. Widener cannot, and still will not help us to over come. My dear brothers and sisters, if we are to over come, we will have to over come by ourselves! And the only way we can do this is to learn from the white people in this area (and all over the world) how to stick together, and to trust each other. Black people, we are going to have to learn how to stick together. Right now, all of the white people are laughing at our inability to stick by each other. They are laughing at the way we got out in the streets on election day to support their white candidates. We did look rather funny and stupid -- very stupid. It is necessary for us to stop listening to so called black leaders like Rev. Sims, and other people who supported white candidates. We have very poor black leadership. We are in desperate need of a Malcolm X, a Stokley Carmichael, or a Kwame Nkrumah. We need some truly dedicated leaders, who will not be bought off with money. We need a black leader who will not get on the radio and down his people, and tell them to support a white man, because we “can’t win”. We need someone who will encourage us to get out and support each other. We need someone who will preach unity among our people, and not disunity. Our so called black leaders denied us the right to elect a black sheriff. They even denied us the right to be in a run off. This is what I call very poor leadership. Our black people, or leaders were so mixed up until they could not decide on one white candidate to support. Just as one newsman stated, the reason that the votes turned out they way they did was due to the “inability of the black leaders to decide on which candidate to support.” And because of their disunity, some people will have to go back to the polls in three B--;. to the People of GEORGIA ATLANTA (PRN) I was happy to be able to join other southern governors in testifying before the senate sub-committee on rural development last week. Both Senator Talmadge and Senator Gambrell have demonstrated a sincere interest in obtaining recognition of the need for comprehensive programs for rural development. Some of our national leaders are just beginning to realize what most of us have known for a long time. The problems of our cities which receive so much attention and are certainly real are outgrowths of long ignored problems in our rural areas. I would like to quote some paragraphs from my testimony that I think will be of particular interest to you: It is my firm belief that if we are to ameliorate our urban crisis and deal with related rural problems, we must address ourselves to problems related specifically to people. All rural areas, and particularly those in the south, have paid a terrible price for past inabilities (or perhaps unwillingness) to provide the economic and social structure which would allow our people to choose freely where they want to live and what they want to do. It is an inescapable fact that there is no more pervasive nor damaging form of discrimination than that practice against the residents of rural America, both black and white, in the rural south in particular. The basic problem of rural Georgia is the lack of a viable and expanding economic base to support those people who want to live there. With the mechanization of agriculture and the shift from “labor intensive to capital intensive fanning” a tremendous number of small farmers have been forced to leave the land, by factors which they were powerless to influence. Those who have been able to remain on the farm have seen increased productivity and efficiency rewarded by decreasing profits and a totally inequitable share of our national income. As a farmer myself, I cannot be satisfied with an economic system which deals so unjustly with such a large segment of the population. Our small towns have been largely by-passed by the tremendous gains in our national economic products during the past decade. We do not need to see the federal 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. HEALTH Summary The health service facilities of Augusta are numerous enough to provide adequate health care for its residents; however, there is a glaring lack of health services being received. Many of the clinics and available services are only open during working or school hours. This does not seem to indicate that the services are attempting to reach the residents who are in most need of health services. There is also a glaring lack of black board and staff participation. Agencies and clinics cannot respond adequately to the needs of the black community without black participation. weeks to decide between Tebow and Anderson. Our so called black leaders saw to it that the next sheriff of Richmond County would be a “lawman” and “white”. I hope that they are satisfied. I hope they also realize how ridiculous government, your well-meaning laws, drive wedges between our people. As governor of Georgia, I am responsible for the development and implemention of coordinated programs to meet the needs of our people. Recent proposals to establish unilateral alliances between federal agencies and a few selected communities, excluding the state government, are of great concern to me. One revenue sharing proposal (made by Senator Muskee, I believe) would provide grants only to cities with populations exceeding 50,000. We need carefully planned programs to bind us together, not to separate us. As a port of beginning this legislation should include the following components: 1. Include state government as an active participant in coordinating and directing federally assisted programs which affect the rural (and urban) areas. 2. Provide financial incentives for planning and development on an area-wide basis. Most of the crucial problems facing rural areas (economic revitalization, transportation, pollution control, and development of human resources) cannot be dealt with on a county by county basis. Rather, they must be solved using an area-wide approach with strong support and guidance from the state. This means the development of a strong area-wide planning and development process. 3. Provide the fiscal resources to implement the planned developmental facilities and services. Increased public investment in basic community needs coupled with a decentraliza tion of industry and manpower training program would serve to revitalize our rural areas. 4. Develop and implement a national Urban Rural Balance Growth Policy. We must begin to plan our development if we are to avoid the wasteful sprawl and severe personal dislocation which have heretofore characterized our growth. Along this line, we should have a National Regional Development Program, patterned after the lessons we have learned from the Appalachian and coastal plains regional experience. 5. Continue and intensify efforts to provide agriculture with a fair share of the nation’s economic prosperity. and stupid they now look, and 1 hope they realize that they have brought shame to the black community. For, we are all being laughed at. Cecelia Butler Agnes Street Walking WITH DIGNITY BY Al IRBY (A FEDERAL COMMISSION FOR POPULATION CONTROL IS A MUST TO HALT THE INFLUX OF NEW BABIES) Quietly but frantically Government Officials are working on our ever expanding population. Little does the man on the street realize that our very way of life is being challenged by a mere epoch of a rising birth-rate. There is a striking evidence of what run-away population growth has already done to many under-developed countries. India, Egypt and Haiti are in dire trouble because of their growing birth rate. President Nixon has asked Congress to establish a commission on population growth and the American future. A temporary panel is already at work with a permanent Federal population agency due in 1972. This panel has made its first report; here are a few of its findings -- “Every day in the United States an average of 10,000 babies are born, and only about 5,000 persons die daily; then about 1,000 people enter the country. The total sum of babies and immigrants entering add up to 6,000 per day or an increase of 2,000,000 additional persons to the population yearly. Despite the declining U.S. birth rate, our growth will actually continue for several years, made possible by the terrific momentum of past years before American women became birth-control conscious. In 1975 there will be almost 6,000 more American women of prime child bearing age - ranging in years from 20 to 19 - than there were in 1970. This is a delicate job for the Federal Government, because the problem is not acute today. We must also keep in mind that no other crisis must be handled 30 years before it occurs. Even 20 years before would certainly be too late. Birth rate now in the U.S. is not in the danger zone; if it was, little could be done toremiedy it. Top Demographers and birth-rate scholars emphatically agree that the country needs some kind of birth control policy, and it is very essential, at once. Here are some of the reasons why. The present U.S. population of 207,000,000 will reach 266,000,000 by the year 2,000. American families will probably average at least two children apiece, until then. If they average three, the population would climb to 321,000,000 or 114,000,000 more than now. Food is not the prime factor to our immense population expansion; there are numerous other real pressing problems. A private group called Zero Population Growth, Inc. had this to say - “We are in favor of family planning and we believe abortions should be accessible to all. We think there should be a change in those social institutions that now presure couples into having children. You know what they say about couples that don’t have any children: It’s said they’re selfish. That idea should be turned around. It’s the couples who have a lot of children who are selfish.” It’s really hard for a rational person to argue with that premise. Overpopulation is also unique in its effects on practically every aspect of human existence. These concerns range from religious barriers to secular values, from individual freedom to the general welfare of all, from recreation facilities and school rooms to highways, hospital care & to job opportunities. And beyond all, this is the question, how many people can a democratic nation justifiably support before the principles of self-government becomes untenable? Maybe our present racial problems are laboring under this malady. A Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C., blocked a vast housing development proposed by the nation’s largest home builders. Officials decided that costs of sewers, water and new schools would exceed the new tax income. The experts say: “that Americans should consider one other fundamental truism about growth - growth per se is good.” Already that idea is changing, with many states making it known that new residents are not necessarily welcome. America should tighten its present immigration laws, and completely cut off the hordes of Cuban hustlers, who are only looking for an easy life at the American tax-payers expense. Population control truly touches basic human feelings, involving religion, individual rights & politics. In the end politics will probably pose more difficulties than the President’s commission. Also, the delivery of health care services cannot provide optimum care without blacks being employed as functionaries of that system. There is a definite need for increased outreach services to persons who are unable to comfortably travel to receive medical services. There is an apparent lack of volunteer work with the health agencies. There are many areas of service which clubs, groups, organizations and other bodies could provide in upgrading the quality of life in Augusta and Richmond County. Car pools could be provided, baby sitting service while parents seek medical care, home nursing courses could be taught, and so on. Probably the most grossly inadequate services lie in the field of mental health. There is an extreme shortage of facilities available to low-income residents for health care in this area. If the comprehensive medical center is completed this should relieve the need to some degree, but the community’s attitude seems to be apathetic toward this major health problem. Recommendations 1. More black persons should be hired at all levels of participation in all health agencies. 2. More members of the black community should be included on the Board of Directors of all public and private agencies. 3. More medical services to low income residents should be offered at night since operation during working hours excludes and/or penalizes many potential participants. 4. Mobile units in certain areas, should be utilized, especially where service is given in multi-county areas, to insure adequate medical services are available for all. 5. Steps should be taken to see that clinics primarily for children and youth are open for more than one day per week and are not open during school or working hours. 6. Food buying cooperatives should be developed in low-income black neighborhoods so that more and better quality food is available. 7. Additional paraprofessionals should be hired and trained especially for outreach work in the community. These outreach workers are particularly needed by public agencies which have huge caseloads. 8. Decentralized mental health and preventive medical services should be made immediately available to low-income families in Augusta. 9. The Client contact and administrative personnel of all health agencies should be offered an opportunity for in-service training on how to effectively deliver services to black communities. The expectation is that such an in-service program of instruction will be a requirement of all employees. *■ I gL "GOING PLACES” Philip Waring BLACKS WHO BUILT AUGUSTA ‘Blacks Who Helped To Build Augusta” will be the title of a two-part series in this column slated for later this summer in the NEWS-REVIEW. Ideas for this historic project came during my recent visit to Augusta with excellent input from State Rep. Richard Dent, Ernest Shanks, and two of my long-time friends and schoolmates L.B. Wallace and Horatio LaMarr. Some additional information also came from Mrs. Laura F. Harper, former Trustee of Paine College, Dr. James E. Carter, Jr., past President of the National Dental Association and other civic leaders. My two articles will be informal and cover several different fields roughly during the first twenty-five years of this century. NEED HISTORY ON LUCY C. LANEY In my travels around the nation, speaking to various groups, attending conferences, etc., I often hear many fine things about the late and great Mrs. Mary M. Bethune. Good! Story behind the story, however, is the fact that Mrs. Bethune (and others who moved forward to greatness) was trained right at Haines Institute by our own beloved Miss Lucy C. Laney. We need some type of historical publication (it need not be an expensive hard back) on “The Life And Times of Lucy C. Laney”. Here is a wonderfully rich story with great strength and legend about “The Mother of the Children of the People” who organized Haines, developed it into one of the nation’s finest secondary schools, and educated thousands of black boys and girls who in turn moved on into worthwhile service to their city, state and nation. Young blacks are looking very hard to find their roots so as to build pride on the accomplishments of their forefathers. If we are not very careful we are going to lose the opportunity of recording and publishing a historical tract on Miss Laney. This would be indeed a racial catastrophe! CHALLENGE TO WRITE A HISTORY ABOUT MISS LANEY I know six individuals -- five wonderful ladies and one gentleman - all of whom were trained by Miss Laney, served under her and could produce this historical tract. Who are they? At the risk of being most presumptuous with six dear friends (I’ve never discussed this matter with them) I would, nevertheless, like to ask them to meet this great challenge. With integration upon us this makes a history on Miss Laney of even greater importance. Now who are these persons? Miss Louise Laney, niece of Miss Laney, social worker and educator; Mrs. Josephine Allen Richardson, Registrar at Paine College; Mrs. Marjorie Butler Carter, Mrs. Viola Harris Evans and Horatio LaMarr, all of whom served under Miss Laney, and Mrs. Rosa C. Tutt, wife of beloved Coach John Tutt, and herself also a former teacher at Haines Institute. And there are several others who could join this team or give close support. Fortunately, there is still lots of material around and people yet alive on the many achievements of Miss Laney and Haines Institute. This could be assembled and drafting started. Money should be no major problem in" its production. A non-profit foundation or an existing institution could be used as sponsor. I’d be happy to pledge now one hundred dollars toward the publication of a history about Miss Laney, What about it Negro Augusta? PLAUDITS TO HAROLD SIMS Whitney Young’s tragic death in Africa on March 11 thrusted sudden and grave responsibilities upon his deputy director, Harold Sims. While this talented and able Memphis-born young man may have picked up a few gray hairs, he has done a creditable job and the Urban League has held to steady course. One wise move was to bring in M. Leo Bohanon, who has 40 years outstanding experience in American social work, as a special administrative consultant. Bohanon’s assignment will furnish some of the needed “cement between the senior and young staffers at NUL national headquarters”. This is most important. LEAGUE HAS COMPLEX STRUCTURE The Urban League Movement - nationally and locally - is unlike any other American human betterment agency. It is both social work and civil rights. This multi-function community service agency has varied and many complex facets relating to its policy-making structure, ability to shift program services to meet changing needs, coupled with ongoing relationships between NUL and its 98 local affiliates. Also its relationships with business, labor, government, the foundation community and United Funds, social Welfare other civil rights groups and many other sectors, groups and individuals. We have always been interracial. Urban League’s thrust and concerns must be in keeping with the major needs of the black community. NUL will observe its 61 anniversary of continous service to the American Community on July 24-18 in Detroit. In order to accomplish its mission the Urban League needs dedicated men and women of all ethnic groups, different kinds of training and experience, etc. SALUTE TO JOE ALLEN AT NUL CONF. On July 28 the Eastern Regional Committee of the Urban League’s Executive Director’s Council will sponsor at Cobo Hall in Detroit a breakfast “Salute To Joe Allen On His 30 Years Os NUL Service”. This gentleman, termed by the late Whitney Young as the Urban League’s “Man For All Seasons”, has been chief executive of local Leagues in Baltimore, Pittsburgh and New York City before moving on to his present spot as Director of NUL’s Eastern Regional Headquarters. He has wonwide acclaim as a top administrator, organizer and diplomat and is clearly numbered among the hundreds of men and women who have over the years helped to build the Urban League Movement. There has been over the years concern among the local executives and other staffers that little recognition had been given to individuals who also helped to build the agency. Summary SOCIAL WELFARE The social welfare system in Augusta which was constructed for the purpose of serving the people shows glaring inadequaces. Many of these inadequacies are shared by other systems particularly, health, local government, communications, etc. The composition of boards and staffs reflect that few persons who receive services are actually involved in the overall planning and See Urban League Page 4 ***'• Jy-