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fl,r nw-Sk iii riu Vol. 1 'Killed himself’ SIMS FEELS SORRY FOR ABRAMS -GIVES ADVICE Er / —? v. I •» '• / *****•*• ■ “JI * •■■■>■ : , >; . ,_1 'i F *‘ W< * H>Wk ’'■**'*•**-'•' ' *-•* a REV. ARTHUR D. SIMS (Question) Grady Abrams in an interview with News-Review said that you hurt him more than anyone else. He also said that you used your pulpit to destroy Black leaders. Do you feel there is any substance to these charges? (Answer) First I’ll give you a flat answer - no. I feel that - number one - Grady and I have never had an argument in a personal conversation but on the radio and in politics. The reason Grady attributes his downfall to me is that Grady and I worked together before the Councilmatic election. He asked if I could work with Charlie Douglas. He told me that the Committee of Ten had a slate of candidates they wanted me to endorse. A few days later Grady and Larue (Committee of Ten spokesman) came to my office and left word that they had changed their minds about their slate of candidates and I could get $2,500 if I changed my mind, too. They said I had until two o’clock that day. I told my secretary to tell them to go to hell. I didn’t know what they meant by two o’clock; but at exactly two o’clock that day, Leon Larue came on the radio attacking me. Larue was Abram’s mouth piece. A battle took place. They lost and the people won - not Sims - the people won. Larue asked me to debate him. Larue was not qualified to debate me. I challenged Grady Abrams to debate me and he turned it down. I’m not responsible for his failures. Before I was on the scene, he had failures in the school system. He failed with Metropolitan Life Insurance. I had nothing to do with it. He had domestic and financial failures; I had nothing to do with them. A person who is falling looks for a scape-goat. Grady’s worst enemy is himself. He could not tell publicly one thing that Grady did to cause his own failure. I didn’t destroy him. One man can’t do that. If he goes to New York or anywhere else, he’ll still have to face himself. I feel sorry for him I have nothing against him. He has enough problems. I’m not going to fight him. (Question) Your critics repeatedly describe you as “power hungry” Is this charge valid? (Answer) Every man has a hunger for some sort“of power. We all have ego problems. Some people are hungry for money. They want to be rich. Others may want to be a school teacher. I love to lead. I think I was born to lead. I like to lead. There is nothing wrong with having power, but the important thing is how we use that power. The Kennedys couldn’t have helped if they didn’t have power, but the power comes from God and the people. The people make the leader and a man can’t lead without power. I’m not hungry just for power; I’m hungry for justice, good education for our children, for more Blacks to be employed in City government. I hunger for power to help our people. The sin comes when I use that power just to elevate Arthur Sims. Most people who say they are concerned about my power, are really concerned about the power they have had for thirty years. They’re concerned about the power they’ll lose. They don’t want me to get any of the gravy. Their question is not therapeutic. (Question) Many people see Blacks badly divided over the Sheriffs race. Is there any realistic hope for Black unity in the near future? (Answer) I don’t think that the sheriffs race divided Blacks. The election brought out the division that was already there. The sheriff s race made the division clear. I think that this is just another election. Two Blacks ran for 930 Gwinnett St. Augusta Ga Phone 722-4555 office. They did not put on a sincere campaign. They did not try to solicit Black support. They did not solicit massive Black support nor any white support. As intelligent men they should have been aware of the number of registered voters Black and white. If they were sincere they would have gone after the white vote as well as the Black. They knew they couldn’t win without the white vote. Any man who is intelligent can see this. So we should take this as history and press on. Keep striving to bring Black leaders together and to run a sincere and upright campaign. The people were left out of this campaign; Blacks were left out. I know a lot of people wonder why I did not support a Black man. What disturbed me most was that we tipped our hand by running two Blacks in a race where we were so outnumbered. In doing that we let the whites know what we’ll do in a sincere election like the Mayor’s election in ’72. Now that whites see what we will do they’ll take special measures such as annexation or consolidation to offset the power that Blacks have in the City. Our chance of having a Black mayor or a chance in the runoff has been hurt. I didn’t want to talk about that. I wanted it as an ace in the hole. We lost that ace. I’m sincere about that. That was one of the main reasons for holding back against the Black candidates. But let the record show that I did not encourage or discourage them to get out of the race. I was a man; I took my stand. (Question) There is still a lot of resentment among Blacks about your reference to the Black candidates as “coons”. Why did you use that term when it certainly has a negative connotation? (Answer) I did not know any better. I did not know that the word “coon” had been THE PEOPLE’S PAPER used by whites to refer to Blacks. Evidently the word originated before my time. I was born in 1944. I have a lot of contact with Black Panthers. During my contact with them I met a man who called himself Coon X. Even when I sent him to Attorney (John) Ruffin for legal help, he introduced himself as Coon. He said he did not want to use names of the racist English language such as John or Jim. So I thought it was a hip word to use if the Panthers could use it being as militant a group as they are. I did apologize on my broadcast for using the word. I’m sorry that it happened. My intentions were good. I made a mistake but I’m not too big to apologize. (Question) What is your relationship to Charles Douglas. Abrams and others have said that Douglas controls you. (Answer) It was Grady Abrams who first introduced me to Charles Douglas as his personal friend and as a man he trusted and as a man young Blacks could trust. It just so happened that Abrams played tricks on Charles Douglas and Douglas found me to be a man. When I said something I meant it and when he said something he meant it. My relationship with Charles Douglas is ohe where two men can sit down, regardless of color, and discuss political and social issues, compromise with one another and try to bring about a better government. I’d be lying if I said Douglas was not a friend of mine. I do not base my friends on color alone. Douglas has his faults and I have mine. But no man dictates to me. No man. I’ll die first. Charles Douglas does not have enough money to control me. He is a working man like I am. He does not want to control me, for he is struggling and concerned as I am, in his own '• way. Even God has a hard time | getting through to me - much > less another white man or Black man. I believe brother' Abrams is just jealous of my, relationship with Charles || Douglas. (Question) Why should he be jealous? > (Answer) Because we are accomplishing some goals against the power structure and the (voters) leagues which Grady Abrams and the Committee of Ten could not do. As a minister I would like to leave brother Abrams some advice. 1. Self is man’s greatest enemy. 2. There is no Promise Land in New York City. He’ll still have to face himself, face his problems, face people and face God. 3. He will have to work for a living. There is no substitute for good honest hard work. 4. Just because he failed does not imply that all other Black leaders will fail. 5. God cannot use a quitter for it is bad when the Captain leaves a sinking ship before the crew is safe. 6. Two roads diverge in the woods and brother Abrams took the one most traveled - the easy one - instead of the least. traveled, and that makes all the difference - he killed himself. HHuBSSSB EEEI Ml EMM B K ™Beoßb i w EE J (Photo By Charles G. Harris. Jr.) BILL ANDERSON (LEFT) AND CAMPAIGN MANAGER JOHN T. ANDERSON. William A. (Bill) Anderson, the 35-year-old criminal investigator, Wednesday was elected Richmond County Sheriff to fill the unexpired term of E.R. Atkins, who died in office May 13. Anderson defeated John R. Tebow, 44-year-old Safety Division captain in the Sheriff s Department, in a runoff contest following the elimination of four other candidates in an election July 7. Including absentee votes, Anderson polled a total of 14,697, while Tebow won 11,655. Contradiciting earlier reports that the voter turnout appeared to be lighter than that of the election July 7, the balloting Wednesday totaled 26,352. In the earlier contest, Local Black M.D. s Present Check To Med. School JJb - MCG RECEIVES SCHOLARSHIP GIFT FROM MEDICAL SOCIETY Dr. O‘Rear, Dr. Weston, Dr. C. C. Fordham and Dr. Griffin. Drs. R.S. Weston and W.L. Griffin presented to the Medical College of Georgia’s Dean of the School of Medicine, Dr. C. Fordham a check from the Georgia State Medical Association. The check which was turned over to the office of Minority Student Affairs and will be used for recruitment and scholarship purposes for Black students for the School of Medicine at MCG. The check, the first from this organization, was described as “a step in the right direction... and next year we hope to double or triple it” commented Dr. Weston. Dr. R.S. Weston was installed as president at the June meeting the total vote was 25,847. Tebow, who also campaigned on his 20 years of experience in enforcement, will remain in the Sheriffs Dept., according to a pre-election agreement between the contenders. Anderson will assume his new duties as soon as the election is certified, probably next week, according to Mrs. Iree W. Pope, County Ordinary. Certification must be made by Secreatry of State Ben Fortson, she explained, after which Gov. Jimmy will issue a proclamation declaring the unexpired term filled. County Coroner Nathan F. Widener, who has served as Sheriff since the vacancy occurred, will continue in office until Anderson is sworn of the association at Jekyll Island. He succeeds Dr. L.C. Brown of Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. William L. Griffin another local Black physician will serve as WANTED NEWS BOYS WANTED! 100 News Boys Good Pay CALL ' News—Review Office 930 Gwinnett St. 722-4555 WILLIAM A.(BILL) ANDERSON WINS SHERRIFF’S RACE ANDERSON TEBOW Ist Ward 408 533 2nd Ward 397 686 3rd Ward 877 865 4th Ward 528 644 sth Ward 561 631 6th Ward 1,217 506 7th Ward 1,032 538 Bth Ward 1,176 300 CITY TOTAL 6,196 4,703 119-1 412 293 119-2 678 590 119-3 385 423 121 58 166 . 123-1 198 401 123-2 212 291 123-3 213 266 123-4 443 520 123-5 431 649 123-6 490 503 123-7 423 625 124 32 250 1269-1 882 203 1269-2 707 280 1269-3 841 278 1269-4 1,021 152 1269-5 92 156 1434 165 322 1660 139 28 5 1760 44 82 COUNTY TOTAL 7,866 6,736 Absentee 635 216 TOTALS 14,697 11.655 in. Commenting on the race, Anderson said, “I’m not a politician, but it did go as projected. publicity chairman and a member of the scholarship committee. Also in attendance at the presentation ceremonies held in the President’s office at MCG were Dr. Harry B. O’Rear, President, MCG, Mr. Alex Vaughn, Institutional Relations, MCG, and Mr. W.J. Walker, Jr., Assistant Director for Minority Student Affairs at MCG. The Georgia State Medical ssociation was formed in 1895. Redder g|| B B | Vote B July 29,1971 No. 19 “The hands I missed, I’m sorry I missed them. I’ll be on the second floor of the City County Building and they are welcome there.” S.S. OFFICE TO CLOSE ON SAT. The Augusta Social Security office will no longer be open on Saturday mornings after Saturday, July 31, 1971, Mr. James S. Trowbridge, District Manager, announced today. The Augusta Social Security office now offers teleservice. By using your telephone, most Social Security business can be taken care of without a visit to the office. If you have business, telephone the Augusta office at 722-7737. “Since Social Security is now using teleservice, it is no longer necessary that we continue to be open on Saturday mornings,” Mr. Trowbridge stated. Remember, if you work, you may call the Augusta Social Security office during the week, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. until 4:45 p.m., at 722-7737. The HEW Fellows Program THE PURPOSE OF THE HEW FELLOWS PROGRAM IS to provide middle -management opportunities with DHEW for young minority administrators and professional personnel. Patterned after the White House Fellows Program and with recruitment largely from outside of the Federal Government, it is hoped to develop an opportunity for interaction between SHEW, Industry, the academic community, and local government for persons who one day may serve as a resource for top-level positions with government. A MAJOR OBJECTIVE IS to attract high4evel minority candidates for assignments providing experience at the policy-making level and SEE FELLOWS PAGE 4