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Georgia
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Savannah, GA
Permit No. 923
14
Decern her
, 2022 - December
■VoL 52 No, 50
181)5 MLK Jr. Btvd, SavffGA J141!
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OUR VOTES COUNTED AND THEY MATTERED!
By Shirley James, The Savannah Tribune Publisher
T hank you,
Voters, for
your deter
mination, commitment and
stamina while braving the
long lines during the ex
tremely short Early Voting
period for the December
6th Runoff Election, or by
showing up at your pre
cincts on December 6th to
cast your Votes. You pro
vided transportation and
assistance to our disabled
and senior citizens; and you
encouraged and remind
ed your family, neighbors,
friends, colleagues and or
ganization members to Get
Out and Vote. You did it!
We did it! Our votes count
ed! Our votes mattered! Our
votes clearly determined
the Senator who would rep
resent Georgia in the U.S.
Senate for the next six (6)
years. You chose to re-elect
the Rev. Senator Raphael
Wamock. We experienced a
Victory, and we proved that
Faith WITH Works is Alive.
However, we cannot rest
on our laurels. There is still
much work to be done.
We must BOLD
LY speak up, speak out, and
actively engage in the work
to make sure that we hold
our state legislators account
able. We must let them know
that we do not expect them
to follow the same practice
of imposing rash changes
and further restrictions to
the Voter laws in Georgia
after election outcomes are
not as they desire.
Based on the high
voter turnout last week
during the December Run
off, as well as turnout for the
November midterms, Sec
retary of State Brad Raffen-
sperger, along with other
leading Republicans, have
proudly declared on national
televised and broadcast me
dia, that the new GA SB 202
which passed in 2021 im
mediately after the election
of President Biden and Sen
ators Wamock and Ossoff,
did not suppress the vote
in this first federal election
Senator Rev. Raphael Warnock (Georgia)
runoff since the new law
was implemented.
However, I quote
our U.S. Senator Warnock
from remarks made during
his Victory Speech last Tues
day night. He said, “Just be
cause people endured long
lines that wrapped around
buildings, some blocks
long...doesn’t mean that
voter suppression does not
exist...It simply means that
you, the people, have decid
ed that your voices will not
be silenced. ”
GA SB 202 does
have restrictive obstacles
that must be addressed
- many of which are sub
liminal, but have negative
effects on voting with the
Absentee Ballot. The obsta
cles imposed by the Georgia
law which include methods
of retrieving and returning
the Absentee Ballot appli
cation and providing an ac
ceptable ID, coupled with
the administrative decisions
made by U.S. Postmaster
General Louis DeJoy, a
Tramp appointee, have led
to the disenfranchisement of
disabled and senior Absen
tee Ballot voters, many of
whom are part of the Afri
can American voting block.
Beginning with the 2020
Presidential election, DeJoy
implemented policies and
practices that have consis
tently slowed down the ser
vices of the US Postal Mail
system. These practices con
tinue to cripple the postal
services and negatively im
pact the vote-by-mail sys
tem. There were too many
Absentee Ballot Voters who
were disenfranchised during
the December Runoff sim
ply because thwey did not
receive their ballots until
AFTER DECEMBER 6 th
The Long lines
and massive turnouts during
the December 6th Runoff
were indicative of the Vot
ers’ determination to make
a statement about GA SB
202, that despite the hurdles
to having their voices heard,
they VOTED! Voters had to
stand in line because unlike
the longer and more reason
able time allowed during
the 2021 federal Runoff
election, the “new” law re
duced the days between the
election date and the federal
Runoff date from 9 weeks to
4 weeks and the Early Voting
schedule reduced from 16
days to 5 days, with Sunday
being optional (A lawsuit
was filed, and won, to allow
Saturday voting during the
December Runoff). Voters
stood in line because only
25 of 159 Georgia counties
offered Saturday Early Vot
ing and only 18 of the 159
counties offered Sunday
Voting.
Continued on Page 4
SCI Presents “One Hundred Years of Influence:
The Life of W.W. Law”
The Learning Cen
ter of Senior Citizens, Inc,
3025 Bull Street, presents
“One Hundred Years of In
fluence: The life of W.W.
Law,” which is a collabora
tive program between The
Learning Center and the Sa
vannah-Yamacraw Branch
of the Association for the
Study of African-American
Life and History on Thurs
day, January 5, 11:30 AM
- 2:00 PM. It will begin at
11:30 AM with Lunch, a
12:00 Noon presentation on
“The Influences of W.W.
Law”, followed by “Trea
sures From The W.W. Law
Collection” at 1:15 PM.
The event will be-
W.W. Law
gin with lunch followed by a
conversation about “The In
fluences of W.W. Law with
panelists:
• Carolyn Black-
shear (President, Savan
nah-Yamacraw Branch, As
sociation for the Study of
African-American Life and
History (ASALH))
• Honorable Edna
B. Jackson (Georgia House
of Representatives, District
165; Mayor, City of Savan
nah, 2012-2015)'
• Honorable Dr.
Otis Johnson (Mayor, City
of Savannah, 2004-2012;
Savannah-Chatham County
Board of Education, 1999-
2002)
The moderator
will be Wanda S. Lloyd,
author, Coming Full Circle:
From Jim Crow to Journal
ism and Co-Editor, Meeting
at the Table: African-Ameri
can Women Write on Race,
Culture and Community.
Following the
panel discussion, Luciana
Spracher, Director, City of
Savannah Municipal Ar
chives, will present “Trea
sures From The W.W. Law
Collection.”
Additional In
formation: S20, including
lunch. To register, please
contact Roger Smith at
rsmith@seniorcitizens-inc.
org or 912.236.0363 ext.
145.
Seven Takeaways Of “Lasting Gifts to Youth” At The Hungry
Club Forum
Rev. Thurmond Tillman Dr. Gwendolyn Martin Rev. Marco L. George
Savannah youth
advocates, practitioners,
neighbors, and leaders cre
ated a potent, passionate and
much-needed discussion at
the December 3, 2022 Hun
gry Club forum of Savannah,
Inc. (HCFS) virtual Signa
ture Roundtable and Open
Forum. According to Diana
Harvey Johnson, President,
Pinnacle Communications
Corporation, an enthusias
tic exchange of experience,
expertise, vision, and com
mitment all came together in
a stellar community fusion
of resources dedicated to
serving youth. While youth
considerations penneate
discussions throughout ses
sions of the HCFS, in 2009,
the non-profit organization’s
Board of Directors made the
decision to especially revisit
annually this youth-focused
session which has proven
informational, motivational,
and empowering to mem
bers of the community. Ev
idence that the forum has in
spired progressive attention
and policy changes and in
clusions has been noted over
the years.
The HCFS con
tinues to frequently provide
youth participants to make
input into its discussions,
this forum focused on what
is currently being provided
for youth, as well as visions
and needs going forward.
Continued on Page 2
Savannah State Employees
Selected For USG Executive
Leadership Institute
Kisha Aites
Two Savannah
State University (SSU) em
ployees are among the 35
faculty and staff members
named to the 2022 - 2023
University System of Geor
gia’s (USG) Executive
Leadership Institute (ELI).
Kisha Aites, Ph.D.,
associate professor of Engi
neering Technology Edu
cation and interim chair of
the College of Education,
and Sheri Rouse-Mainor,
executive director for the
SSU Foundation, Inc., and
University Advancement &
Philanthropic Operations
have been selected to partic
ipate.
The ELI is a com
prehensive six-month, 120-
hour development program
designed to enhance lead
ership skills and prepare
participants for advanced
and cabinet-level leadership
positions within the Univer
sity System of Georgia. The
SSU team joins employees
from 25 USG institutions
and the University System
Office. Presidents nominate
Sheri Rouse-Mainor
one academic leader and one
staff leader to participate.
From the nominees, indi
viduals are selected for the
program and participate in a
leadership development cur
riculum that includes con
tent, personal reflection, job
shadowing and cross-men
toring.
Aites has been at
Savannah State University
since 2013 and now serves
as the interim department
chair of the College of Ed
ucation and associate pro
fessor of Engineering Tech
nology Education. She is a
graduate of The School of
the Arts in Rochester, N.Y.,
where she majored in dance
and clarinet. She complet
ed her undergraduate and
graduate work in technology
education at North Carolina
A&T State University and
her Ph.D. in workforce ed
ucation and training devel
opment with a concentration
in post-secondary technical
leadership from The Penn
sylvania State University.
Continued on Page 4
CARVER'
STATE BANK
Established Feb. 23, 1927
ROBERT E. JAMES LOUIS B. TOOMER
Aeiidenrf 5i'r>ee FauncJerarKi
D ”™'"" 95 Years of Service, Leadership and Success!
MAIN OFFICE SKID A WAV BRANCH
701 Moriin tulhsf Kina, Jr. Bb/cJ., Savannam, GA 3 U0I 7HO SJdctoway J?cL Savannah, GA 33406