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Volume 74, 49th Edition - Mobile & Prichard, Alabama - Wednesday, May 2 - Tuesday, May 8, 2018
THIS WEEK IN BLACK HISTORY
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Council warned: don’t disrespect garbage workers
Legendary blues guitarist and songwriter Robert Johnson was born on May 8 in Hazlehurst, Mississippi. He became one of the most influential musicians of all time despite his life being cut tragically short at the age of 27. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generations of musicians.
Table of Contents Page 2 - DEPLORABLE SCHOOL CONDITIONS CITED: Williamson alums give new superintendent an earful Page 3 - Leopard’s boys run away with sectional track title | Ex-Blount forward Diggs heading to North Alabama Page 4 - So you got the job, now here’s how you keep it | SOCIAL SECURITY: Checklist for your Social Security annual check-up Page 5 - Trump as president is the kind of thing that happens when Black people don’t take voting rights seriously | Honor the memory of Nashville victims by voting for supporters of gun reforms | HIDDEN TREASURES: Don’t be alarmed in what you see in yourself
Page 6 - Mobile Beacon Church Calendar | Central High School Class of 1964 visit Nazaree Missionary Baptist Church Page 7 - Weekly Calendar of Events | HAPPENINGS AROUND TOWN: We are family! I got all my ‘PEOPLE’ with me! Page 8 - Classified Ads | Legal Notices Page 9 - Obituaries Page 10 - Homicide claims the life of a Mobile 21year-old | Weekend crime digest
Wesley Young, president of the Mobile Public Service Workers addresses city councilmembers during the May 1 Mobile City Council meeting (Photo by Arthur L. Mack). By Arthur Mack The president of the Mobile Public Service Workers addressed the Mobile City Council on Tuesday with concerns of possible privatization of services as well as pay issues and harassment by supervisors. Wesley Young, who was not only accompanied by a large number of city workers but also a group of ministers, said that city workers such as garbage collectors should get the same consideration as police and fire fighters, who were not only give a 21/2 percent pay raise, but a $5,000 bonus as well. “What we want is a $5,000 bonus and a 2 ½ percent pay raise for every five years they were employed,” he said. “We also want a $249 bonus for public service workers. We believe that the city should make it a priority.” Young also had concerns that workers were treated unfairly, saying that their superintendent, Greg Beckham, was harassing them through fear. “He’s using a fear tactic, trying to keep them in place,” he said. “We’re familiar with that because it happened to our people over 400 years ago. The harassment has been going on for over two years.” Those accusations had Councilman Fred Richardson concerned—so much so that he offered Young some advice and also asked the administration to investigate. “We need to know if employees have been harassed,” he said. “I don’t think we ought to have
even one employee work under those conditions.” City attorney Ricardo Woods agreed to look into the allegations, stating that his office has always investigated incidents of harassment. “We’ll be glad to communicate with you on what we found without infringing on a person’s individual rights,” he said. As far as revenues, Councilman Levon Manzie said that he was all for trying to get workers raises. “If the revenues are there, I don’t believe that there will be one person on the council who will be against it,” he said. “While we can’t sponsor revenue items, we’ll support them,” Richardson added. Young told members of the media that he had brought up the matter during a city council meeting in 2016. He said he wanted to meet with the administration regarding the problems. “All who were at that meeting spoke,” he said. “The city’s representative, Mr. Ashley Hill, said that he believed what they were saying, and that he was supposed to set up a meeting with the mayor. The meeting hasn’t taken place and were into 2018, so it’s obvious that someone in the administration doesn’t value us. So, we’re going to meet with the mayor one way or the other.” Young told the Beacon that there were 13 employees that were having issues. While they are still working with the city, he said other workers CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Emotions run high at Saraland town hall meeting By Arthur L. Mack SARALAND — To say there were varying levels of emotion during an April 26 town hall meeting held at Cedar Street Baptist Church in Saraland to address the arrest of Chikesia Clemons following an altercation at the Waffle House days earlier on Industrial Park Drive would have been an understatement. More than two dozen speakers expressed their concerns during the town hall meeting, which was held by the Mobile County Chapter of the NAACP for the purpose of having the local chapter, as well as the public to hear from residents of Saraland about the incident. But there were not only Saraland residents, but others from surrounding areas who expressed concerns about the way Clemons was treated when she was arrested. In addition, there was some criticism of the NAACP itself, as some criticized the organization for not doing enough to stand up for citizens. However, David Smith, the NAACP’s Mobile County Chapter President, took issue with the criticism, and urged patience. “I think there was a lot of self-aggrandizing tonight,” he told members of the media after the meeting. “The organization has been around for 109 years, and we’re as viable now as we were then. I think there are a lot of young people who have a lot of passion and a lot of energy who really want to do something, and (then) there are those who want to complain. “I’m tired of the complaints—I’m tired of the slothfulness. Let’s build something together, let’s
make it happen. But this is a start, I’m not discouraged. It’s hard work, I knew that coming in, but we’ll make it work.” Bernard Simelton, the Alabama Conference President of the NAACP, urged the audience to support the organization in its efforts to seek justice for Clemons, and compared her arrest to that of Travis Reinking, the shooter at the Waffle House in Nashville where four people died. “We can’t do it alone,” he said. “We need peo-
ple to support us through activities throughout the state. We’re going backwards instead of forward. If we’re going to see equality, we have to work together. We need strategy, and (then) take action. You look at the incident at the Waffle House in Nashville—when police arrested him (the suspect), he had a weapon. Had he been an AfricanCONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Alabama House of Representatives member Napoleon Bracy (D-Prichard) addresses the crowd during a town hall meeting held at the Cedar Street Baptist Church in Saraland on April 26 in the wake of the arrest of Chikeshia Clemons at a Waffle House on April 22 (Beacon photo by Arthur L. Mack)