Urban Pro Weekly

Twiggs Circle project unveiled

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Inner city development will add senior housing, shops, parks

rban Pro NEWS • COMMENTARY

ARTS

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ENTERTAINMENT

Photos by Vincent Hobbs

Grady Smith

Joe Jackson

Wayne Guilfoyle

Building The CSRA’s Community FREE

The CSRA’s FREE WEEKLY WEEKLY

Newspaper Newspaper VOL.2 NO.25 VOL.2 NO.18

MARCH 7 - 13, 2013

Smith to city: “Censure this!”

Despite rebuke, official still doing business with the city.

UrbanProWeekly • MARCH 7 - 13, 2013

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2ND ANNUAL AUGUSTA LITERARY FESTIVAL March 2, 2013

Author Ruth P. Watson (L) chats with attendees at the Augusta Literary Festival, held at the Augusta Public Library on Saturday. Watson is the Second-Place winner of the Yerby Award for her book “Blackberry Days of Summer”. Authors were judged on literary merit, cover design and content. Photo by Vincent Hobbs

Cache Perez exhibits the cover of her book, “Secrets In The Islands,” at the Augusta Literary Festival, held at the Augusta Public Library on Saturday. Perez, a native Augustan, is a spoken-word artist, author, playright and hairstylist. Photo by Vincent Hobbs

Authors got the opportunity to display their wares at the Second Annual Augusta Literary Festival. Here, a book

by Ruth P. Watson, Blackberry Days of Summer is on display.

Photo by Vincent Hobbs

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CENSURE

1. a judgment involving condemnation; 2. the act of blaming or condemning sternly; 3. an official reprimand

City powerless to curb code violations Commissioners permitted to keep money, keep positions and keep doing business with the city.

By Frederick Benjamin Sr. UPW Political Commentary AUGUSTA Given its capacity for forgiveness, one wonders how Tom Beck, former Director of Augusta Parks and Recreation, came out on the losing end of his dispute with city commissioners after his alleged violation of the city code.

By deciding not to seriously punish commissioners who admitted to multiple violations of the city’s “conflict of interest” statutes, the city sent the message that rank does have its privileges and that it has no appetite to “police its own.”

City employees, however, can expect to have receive the harshest of penalties.

What’s good for the goose, apparently, is not good for the gander.

Perhaps, Commissioner Marion Williams said it best.

“Censure? That’s nothing!”

He’s right.

I don’t think that anyone was really surprised at the outcome of the supposed “ethics hearing” conducted on Tuesday at the AugustaRichmond County commission meeting.

At that meeting, commissioners Wayne Guilfoyle, Joe Jackson and Grady Smith were to learn their fate before the full commission for their parts in indisputable violations of the rules.

Once again, Commissioner Williams had it right. “This is about money!”

But, once it was established that Mayor Deke Copenhaver was in charge of the “penalty-phase” of the proceedings and that city attorney Andrew Mackenzie was to define the boundaries of the playing

field, it was clear that, “the fix was in” — no one need worry.

And no one did.

City attorney Mackenzie left his “prosecutor” hat in the parking lot and guaranteed that the city would bend over backwards just enough to ensure that Messrs. Jackson, Guilfoyle and Smith would not have to deal with any indigestion at their Tuesday evening meal.

An impassioned appeal by the Rev. Christopher G. Johnson, chairman and executive director of Augusta’s Interfaith Coalition for the commission, or the mayor, or the GBI or the FBI to do something did nothing but provide the rug under which commissioners could sweep these charges on their way to their shuffling, “toothless,” act of forgiveness.

Not only did the commission, as a body, sweep this matter under the rug, it entertained the notion that special exceptions could be made to permit the offending commissioners to continue their enterprise with the city. As it is, they were permitted to leave the building with their ill-gotten booty.

Genghis Khan would be envious of the “pay for plunder” deal handed out.

However, let’s be clear.

Commissioners Alvin Mason, Bill Lockett, Corey Johnson, Bill Fennoy and Williams did not enter into this charade with blinders on. They realized that the commission had few options that Copenhaver and Mackenzie would seriously entertain.

At the very outset, Williams and Lockett continued their running feud with the city attorney.

Rev. Christopher G. Johnson, chairman and executive director of Augusta’s Interfaith Coalition, requested that the offending commissioners voluntarily step down, apologize to the taxpayers and return any money earned. He also called on the sheriff’s office and appropriate state agencies to launch an investigation.

Photo by Vincent Hobbs “I can’t believe what you’re saying is right and true,” Williams said. “It is hard to sit here and listen to someone who has mislead us before. I would like for you to excuse yourself.”

Lockett continued the dressing down of Mackenzie. “I don’t know where you got your law degree from,” he said before eliciting an admission from the city attorney that a conflict of interest could be a crime.

Let’s face it. Here you have three white commissioners, some of whom had already complained loudly of “racism,” accused of violating the city’s ‘conflict of interest’ statutes.

They were not going to be thrown to the wolves.

The fuzzy calculus that drives the city’s business always adds up to six. Without six votes, whistling “Dixie” would have been about as productive as waiting for this commission to, not only do the right thing, but to give the appearance that it wanted to do the right thing.

After affecting just the appropriate amount of contrition and remorse, Commissioners

Guilfoyle and Jackson promised “not to do it again,” and accepted their “slap on the wrist” gracefully — even thankfully.

But Grady Smith was neither contrite nor remorseful.

He basically challenged the commission — “hit me with your best shot.”

They did, and he continued on his way.

Then, he advised the commission that he was still doing business with the city and that he could not guarantee that he wouldn’t still be doing business with the city 30 days from now.

And as far as the city is concerned, that’s okay. The voted 8-1-1 to censure Smith and that was that.

What the entire matter underscores is the fact that there exists a de facto tolerance for commissioners that, with a wink and a nod, pay lip service to the idea of following the rules, but who can violate those same rules with impunity or, at least, without fear of any serious sanctions.

In fact, no serious sanc-

tion even exists for repeat offenders. Commissioners now know that they can do whatever they wish until they get caught. And if caught, they could use their “GetOut-of-Jail-Free card.

Now, if that’s the way the game is to be played, who can blame them.

The sad thing is that, if city employees are caught playing fast and loose with the rules, they will pay the piper — in spades.

Is this the end of the matter?

It is, as far as the city is concerned.

Before the proceedings began, mayor pro tem Corey Johnson wanted clarification from Mackenzie that the city had no jurisdiction when it came to any felonies or misdemeanors.

Mackenzie agreed that if there were any future discoveries that placed any of these commissioners on the wrong side of a law enforcement matter, then the appropriate authorities would have to step in and take action.

UrbanProWeekly • MARCH 7 - 13, 2013

LOCAL NEWS Analysis

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UrbanProWeekly • MARCH 7 - 13, 2013

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Update

from the

Capitol: Sen. H ardie Davis

General Assembly enters ‘crossover’ week ATLANTA The General Assembly is gearing up for the final push for legislation that can be passed during the 2013 session.

Under Georgia law, the House and the Senate must both pass identical versions of a bill. Often this requires many committee meetings and amendments to the bill from both sides of the General Assembly.

Once the House and Senate do pass the same version of a bill, it is then sent to Governor Deal to be signed into law.

Crossover day marks the last day that bills can be sent from the House to the Senate, so we know that next week will be a long one as we work to hear the remainder of the bills the House wishes to present.

Last week, a bill that I sponsored— the ‘Uniform Fraudulent Transfers Act’—passed the Senate by a vote of

50-1. This legislation is intended to protect charitable organizations which take donations for operational expenses. Under current law, if someone makes a fraudulent donation in order to avoid a creditor, the donation may be reclaimed in order to satisfy the debt.

Other bills being considered: HB 57 revises Georgia code to expand the definition of Schedule I controlled substances. The revisions specifically target compounds used to manufacture synthetic marijuana. HB 57 is a swift response to manufacturers who changed the chemical make-up of the drug after SB 370 was signed into law in 2012.

SB 70 would change the types of projects eligible for design build contracts and procurement processes by allowing bids from the private

sector. Additionally, the design bill would allow Georgia to choose bids which are of the best value, not just the lowest priced.

SB 72 would standardize the interest rate for tax refunds and past due taxes and help establish a standard rate on taxes owed from the local to the federal level. This legislation sets the annual interest rate due on unpaid refunds and interest owed on delinquent taxes at 7 percent annual.

Currently, interest owed on taxes due to the state or any local taxing jurisdiction is set at 1 percent per month from the date the tax is due until it is paid.

SB 103 would allow the Technical College System of Georgia to approve requests to use community college in the name of institutions.

In order to be named a community or technical college by the Board, an insti-

tution must grant associate’s degrees.

SB 115 would change the way performance data of juvenile justice detainees is counted. Under current law, minors who are within the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) have their performance data included within the school system where the facility in which they are housed is physically located. This legislation would treat all such facilities as a single entity for the purpose of accountability programs.

SB 10 would require registered professional nurses to meet continuing competency requirements as a condition of license renewal, beginning with the 2016 license renewal cycle. This legislation would also allow for a registered professional nurse to request that his or her license be placed on inactive status.

Paine College department to host First Annual Youth Summit AUGUSTA The Paine College School of Professional Studies will host the inaugural Sankofa Youth Summit on Saturday, March 16, 2013, at 10:00 am in the Candler Memorial Library Ballroom. This event focuses on celebrating African and African American

culture, history, and heritage.

The word Sankofa is derived from Akan tradition and translates in English as “go back to the past in order to build for the future.” In the spirit of Sankofa, this youth summit will bring the richness, complexity, and the legacy of African American

AUGUSTA BRANCH NAACP 39th Annual Martin L. King, Jr.

Freedom Fund Banquet Theme: “Your Power, Your Decision, Your Vote” Keynote Speaker: Reverend Dr. William Barber, II, President, North Carolina State Conference NAACP; Chairman, NAACP National Political Action Committee; Member, National Board of Directors, Pastor, Greenleaf Christian Church Disciples of Christ in Goldsboro, North Carolina.

Gordon Conference and Catering Club (FORMERLY THE GORDON CLUB) Building 180402-19th Street Parkway Fort Gordon, Georgia 30905

Friday, April 5, 2013

Meet and Greet Reception - 6:00 P.M. Banquet–7:00 P.M. Donations: $50 For ticket information call the Augusta Branch NAACP at 706-724-0390 or Lizzie Wilhite – 706-733-6242

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UrbanProWeekly LLC Mailing Address: 3529 Monte Carlo Drive Augusta, Georgia 30906

Publisher Ben Hasan 706-394-9411 Managing Editor Frederick Benjamin Sr. 706-836-2018

culture and heritage strength from the margins to the center.

The Sankofa Youth Summit targets youth between 12 and 17 years of age. The event will provide culturally enriching seminars focused on African and African American history, leadership skill training, and

dialogue about community building.

For more information on the Sankofa Youth Summit, please contact Dr. LaShawnda Lindsay-Dennis at (706) 432.0726, Dr. Lawanda Cummings at (706) 396.7597 or SankofaYouthSummit@paine.edu.

Writer-in-Residence publishes WWII memoir Author Louise Shivers, writer-inresidence at GRU’s Department of English and Foreign Languages, has published a new work. My Shining Hour: A Novelist’s Memoir of World War II (Dash Press) was released in January 2013 and is now in its second printing.

A December article by Steven Uhles (Columbia County News-Times) informed local readers of Shivers’ latest publication and her home-

town newspaper, The Wilson (N.C.)Times , carried a feature story prior to a gala autographing party there on February 9th.

Louise Shivers’ earlier works include the highly acclaimed internationally published novels, Here to Get My Baby Out of Jail (Random House) and A Whistling Woman (Longstreet Press).

For information about My Shining Hour, e-mail the publisher, Dash Press, at: dashdog45@gmail.com.

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ASU era ends; long live GRU

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Judge Mablean in two Augusta appearances Paine College To Host Spring Career Fair The Laney Museum on March 10 • KROC Center on March 11 Judge Mablean will be in Augusta this weekend for two events.

On Sunday, March 10, 2013 at 5 p.m., she will be at the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History. At the Laney Museum, Judge Mablean will share her life experiences and her new book, Life Lessons: Tools for Weekly Living.

The admission is $10.00. Hors D/ oeuvres will be served and autographed copies of her book will be available.

The Museum is located at 1116 Phillips Street in Augusta.

On Monday, March 11, 2013, Judge Mablean will be at the Kroc Center, at

Paine to Host HIV/AIDS Awareness Forum The Paine College Media Studies Department will host an event to commemorate National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. The awareness program will take place March 8, 2013, 10:30 am in the Candler Memorial Library Ballroom on the Paine College campus.

The ambassador for the Georgia Red Pump Project, Ms. Skyy Banks, will speak about HIV and AIDS awareness. After the lecture, women and girls will be invited to be photographed on the red carpet. The image will become a part of the national support day of activities.

The nationwide observance, held annually on March 10th, will shed light on the disease and will encourage the public to take action and share knowledge in a variety of ways.

1833 Broad Street, Augusta.

There, her remarks will be directed toward mothers and daughters in a talk entitled “Bridging The Gap.” The event starts at 6 p.m.

Autographed copies of her book will be available and there will be a performance by Cutno Dance.

The admission is $5 for adults and free to students.

AUGUSTA The Office of Career Services will host Paine College’s Spring Career Fair on Wednesday, March 13, 2013 from 1pm-4pm in the Health Education Activities Learning (HEAL) Complex.

Students, alumni, and members of the community will have an opportunity to meet face-to-face with employers and build their network.

ADP, SRNS, Enterprise, Richmond

Country Schools, WJBF, Georgia Regents University, and Georgia Lottery Corporation are some of the employers that will be present.

Resumes and professional dress are required. This event is free and open to the public.

For more information, please contact April Ewing in the Office of Career Services at (706) 821-8307 or visitwww.paine.edu/career.

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Agencies announce the Twiggs Circle Development Redevelopment plans for this area call for an eclectic mix of homeowners, renters, retail, and neighborhood parks.

AUGUSTA The Augusta Housing Authority and the Augusta Housing and Community Development Department made a joint announcement to introduce the development of Twiggs Circle on Wednesday.

The event marks the beginning of the first of a multiphase development within the Twiggs Circle node of the Laney Walker and Bethlehem neighborhoods.

Located at the corner of Twiggs Street and Wrightsboro Road, the first phase is expected to contain up to 40 units of senior housing, comprised of both single family and duplex units.

Future phases call for an eclectic

mix of homeowners, renters, retail, and neighborhood parks. The fully completed Twiggs Circle subdivision promises to be a community of architectural sensitive designs which will pay homage to the rich heritage of these two communities.

The Augusta Housing Authority is using proceeds from the sale of Gilbert Manor and Replacement Housing Funds received from HUD to fund the construction. All units funded by Augusta Housing Authority will be considered public housing units.

For more information on this and the Laney Walker Bethlehem area, please visit http://www.laneywalkerbethlehem.com/neighborhood-developments/twiggs-circle.

Powell Point, a planned senior residential development named for local educator and long-time civil rights leader and social activist, Addie Powell, will serve as the area’s flagship development.

•16 one-story duplexes and 8 single family homes for seniors •Energy efficient design •Restoration of historic homes •Two roundabouts for directing and calming traffic •Landscaped corridor and neighborhood parks

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GRU President Ricardo Azziz (R) presents a homecoming committee check to the ASU cheerleaders during basketball halftime. The Jaguars defeated the Francis Marion Patriots 69-67 and the Lady Jags dominated the Patriots’ womens team 54-40 at Christenberry Fieldhouse on Feb. 23, 2013. Photo by Vincent Hobbs

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SPRING 2013

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JESSICA GREENBAUM: author of the poetry collections Inventing Difficulty and The Two Yvonnes. Her poems and essays have appeared in The New Yorker, Poetry, Harvard Review, and Southwest Review. She’s the editor of the annual magazine, upstreet.

MARCIA DOUGLAS: author of the novels Madam Fate and Notes from a Writer’s Book of Cures and Spells, and the poetry collection, Electricity Comes to Cocoa Bottom.

Her work has appeared in many anthologies including The Art of Friction, Mojo: Conjure Stories, and Sisters of Caliban.

The Spring Sandhills Writer Series will be held on March 12 in the Jaguar Student Activities Center’s Coffee House at Georgia Regents University­­- Summerville Campus. New York poet and magazine editor Jessica Greenbaum will give a reading at 10:00 a.m., and Colorado-based novelist Marcia Douglas with share her most recent work at 1:00 p.m.

Each presentation will be followed by an informal colloquium, book-signing, and reception which are free and open to the public.

For more information, go to www.sandhills.aug.edu or call 706-729-2417.

Public Library Events March 2013

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March 1st –31st: CELEBRATE WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH CONTEST. Please stop by at the children’s department desk and pick up the contest form.

Tuesday Story Time @ 10:00

March 5th The Color Green

March 12th Career Day!

March 19th Spring is Coming!

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March 26th If March comes in like a lion, It Goes out like a lamb!

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History Club hosts Cedar Grove tours AUGUSTA The Paine College History Club will host its 4th Annual Cedar Grove Historical Re-enactments on Saturday March 9, 2013. The tours are scheduled for 11:00am, 12:00 noon, and 1:00pm. The tours will take place at the historic African American cemetery located at Cedar Grove in Augusta, Georgia.

“The tours are free and are priceless! So much about African American history is demonstrated through the tour guides and the re-enactors”, stated Author Holmes, Professor of History and History Club advisor.

In 1820, Augusta allotted 40 acres of land where slaves were laid to rest in wooden boxes or were simply wrapped in cloth and buried in unmarked, shallow graves. The first records of burials at Cedar Grove Cemetery are found on page 100 of Book A, July 1840. It reads, “6 blacks, 2 of whom children”. At this time in history, names of the deceased or their masters were not listed.

It was not until June of 1862 that the records began to show the colored report, giving date died, sometimes names, disease, age, sex, wards in which they lived, and the names of their owners. In June of 1865, the report started listing the deceased of freedman instead of property. In April of 1880, separate books from Magnolia Cemetery burials were started. The record books can be found in a safe at Magnolia Cemetery, containing records of the past up till present day, but no index is available until after 1930.

Notable graves include Mr. James Carter, Sr., Augusta’s first Black dentist; Mr. R. A. Dent, first black from Augusta elected to the Legislature, Mr. Silas Floyd, minister and educator; Mrs. Amanda Dickson Toomer, richest black woman in the U.S. after the death of her father, David Dickson; and many others.

Directions to Cedar Grove Cemetery: Take Laney-Walker Blvd to 2nd Street. Turn left on 2nd Street continue until you reach Watkins Street. Turn right for Cedar Grove Cemetery located at 120 Watkins Street, Augusta, GA. Please park on the street.

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Rose Sunday Jazz Vespers Attend a Rose Sunday Jazz Vespers on Sunday, March 10, 2013 at 4:00 pm at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 2321 Lumpkin Road, Augusta, GA. There will be an afternoon service of readings, music, and meditation during the season of Lent. Music provided by CHAMBERJAZZ. The event

Founders Day Celebration Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Zeta Xi Omega Chapter will celebrate their Founders’ Day on Sunday, March 10, 2013 at 3:00pm at First Metropolitan Baptist Church 3719 Belair Road Augusta, GA. The speaker will be Dee Griffin from WJBF News Channel 6. The Citizen of the Year and Community Service Awards will be presented and The Zeta Xi Omega Ensemble will perform. This event is free and open to the public.

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Commentary

Honor sought for the Four Little Girls

By Tavis Smiley Nearly 50 years ago, a bomb planted by white supremacists killed four little girls in Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church. Twenty-two others, mostly children, were injured in the blast just weeks after the historic “March on Washington” where Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.

There is already intense planning in the nation’s capital and beyond to mark the 50th anniversary of the “March on Washington” in August of this year. But once we have moved past the ceremony and celebration of the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of the nation, what will be said days later of Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robinson and Cynthia Wesley, all 14 when they were killed, and Denise McNair who was just 11, on the 50th anniversary of this seminal moment in the movement? The gruesome and ghastly images of their deaths helped to galvanize the Civil Rights Movement in the days after the march, and within a year Congress had passed the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and one year later the 1965 Voting Rights Act. How do we honor their ultimate sacrifice?

There is now a bipartisan effort to posthumously award the Congressional Gold Medal to these precious young girls. The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian honor our govern-

ment can bestow. There is no doubt that these “martyred children” have earned this recognition, but even when Congress is pushed it does nothing with alacrity. If we are going to appropriately acknowledge these four little girls 50 years later on September 15, 2013, we need to start niggling members of Congress now. Right now.

I know a little something about how this works.

Years ago when I was the resident political and social commentator on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, we spearheaded a campaign to have the Congressional Gold Medal awarded to Rosa Parks as she was advancing in age. You would think an effort to honor the woman regarded as the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement would have been an easy task. Hardly.

It was a tough fight. This was long before she was honored as the first woman to lie in repose in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, and obviously long before the recent addition of her statue in the National Statuary Hall chamber of the Capitol building.

Over the radio I would do a daily roll call of every member of Congress who had not signed on as a co-sponsor of the legislation to honor Mrs. Parks. Live over the airwaves I would call out members’ names, office numbers and fax numbers. (We didn’t have email addresses and Twitter handles to give out back then.) One by one, our advocacy efforts were

The four girls who died in the Birmingham church bombing

Denise McNair

Carol Robertson

moving us closer to getting the long overdue recognition and respect that Mrs. Parks had long ago earned and richly deserved.

My office is filled with precious memories and cherished photographs, but none more special than the photos of President Bill Clinton, Mrs. Rosa Parks, Tom Joyner and me standing in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda the day she was awarded the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal.

We can do this again. How? Black radio, the blogosphere, Twitter, Facebook. However you communicate, spread the word. Time is of the essence.

Just weeks after his momentous “I Have a Dream” speech, Dr. King traveled to Birmingham to deliver a eulogy for the “martyred children” as he called them. “These children --unoffending; innocent and beautiful

Addie Mae Collins Cynthia Wesley

--- were the victims of one of the most vicious, heinous crimes ever perpetrated against humanity. Yet they died nobly. They are the martyred heroines of a holy crusade for freedom and human dignity. They entered the stage of history just a few years ago, and in the brief years that they were on the mortal stage, they played their parts exceedingly well.”

Let us demand that Congress move swiftly so that come September 15, alongside the families of these four little girls, we will know that we played our parts exceedingly well to ensure that although these beautiful children of God are gone, they are not forgotten.

Tavis Smiley is a PBS talk show host and PRI radio host; Follow Tavis Smiley on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ tavissmiley

Racial disparities decline in female arrests

by James Swift Last week, The Sentencing Project Executive Director Marc Mauer released findings from a new policy report evaluating female incarceration trends.

“We’ve been looking at race and incarceration for well over two decades,” he said. “The story in general has been a discouraging one.

We’ve seen high–almost shockingly high–rates of incarceration for African-American men in particular, but increasingly for women of color.”

In the new Sentencing Project analysis, however, Mauer said there is currently a “shift” in the racial dynamics of incarceration, specifically regarding females in United States prisons.

According to the new report, the rate of incarceration for AfricanAmerican women declined by more than 30 percent over the last decade, while rates of incarceration for Caucasian and Hispanic females rose by 47 percent and 43 percent, respectively.

“As a result of these changes, the black/white disparity for women’s incarceration was cut in half during the decade,” he said. In fact, black women were incarcerated at a rate six times that of white women in 2000.

According to the new report, the rate of incarceration for African-American women declined by more than 30 percent over the last decade, while rates of incarceration for Caucasian and Hispanic females rose by 47 percent and 43 percent, respectively.

By 2009, African-American were being incarcerated at a rate just 2.8 times higher than Caucasian females.

The rate of women entering the prison system, Mauer stated, remains higher than men.

“We also believe that the story for black women and white women is likely to be two different pictures,” he said. “It’s not that, for example, law enforcement priorities shifted from targeting offenders in black neighborhoods.”

Over the last decade, Mauer said that arrest rates for both male and female African-Americans declined substantially, with violent offense arrests for the populations decreasing by 22 percent. A significant

national decline in the number of drug offense arrests, he said, explains the “entire reduction” of African-American females in United States prisons.

In New York, newly enacted drug policies may have freed up the state’s prisons by nearly 25 percent since 2000, Mauer said. “In part, it would appear that just as the War on Drugs has had a very disproportionate effect on communities of color in terms of incarceration, the policy [and] practice changes that result in a decline in drug offenders are likely to disproportionately benefit those same communities.”

To explain the increase in the number of white and Hispanic

women being arrested, Mauer says a confluence of factors have to be taken into consideration. “Many people have postulated that we’re seeing changes in drug offending, at least in some states, greater prosecutions for prescription drug offenses [and] methamphetamine drug offenses, which are more likely to involve whites and Hispanics, rather than AfricanAmericans.”

Socioeconomic factors–most notably, a lack of education–may also play a role in increasing arrests of Caucasian females. “Research documents … declining life expectancies for white women without a high school degree,” Mauer said. “Many of the risk factors that correlate with declining life-expectancy are also quite relevant to potential for greater involvement in crime.”

Limited health care access, poverty and unemployment, he said, were also likely contributors to a “greater propensity” for the populations to engage in criminal activity.

The full report, The Changing Racial Dynamics of Women’s Incarceration — which includes recommendations to address racial discrepancies in incarceration — is available on The Sentencing Project website.

The Recruitment Game:

MEDICAL VILLA PHARMACY WE TAKE:

Good collegiate athletes are a Dime A Dozen Many athletes are not aware of the melting pot that exists in reference to the number of high school student-athletes that are recruited each year. They sometimes put on blinders, believing that they are the best player that a particular coach or university is recruiting. Parents are sometimes also oblivious to this, not fully understanding that recruiting is a business, not just a pick-andchoose system. Student-Athletes need to understand that they are a DIMEA-DOZEN. Not to say this as to diminish their athletic ability but to bring about an understanding that this is a competitive process, or can we say, a business, with potentially career ending outcomes for coaches depending on their recruiting class.

Parents and guardians need to maintain a more active role through an athlete’s recruiting process.

Understand that there are certain educational obligations that the NCAA & college institutions must uphold once an athlete qualifies academically, to compete within college athletics. Parents sometimes get side tracked depending on which universities are recruiting their son or daughter. When these so called “MAJOR UNIVERSITIES” enter your home, with hope of luring your son or daughter to their school, demand to know what type of educational outline they have in place for your child. Don’t just get caught up with the track record of wins and loses the school has compiled over the years.

There also needs to be an understanding that it is a coach’s job to recruit the best player possible. We sometimes like to criticize the tactics and strategies of recruiting. Although you might not agree, one should understand some of the avenues coaches have to take in order to fulfill the needs of the program, and to also maintain their job security.

Is it always right, maybe not?

Coaches are aware that: The day they are hired is the day they are fired.

Athletes should take more aggressive stands in taking advantage of every opportunity a school offers that will assist with their educational success.

Throughout my years of involvement with athletics and student academics, I have developed a fair understanding, purposely straddling the fence, respecting the demands of recruiting, while establishing a direct focus on academics and graduation rates. We need to limit the finger pointing and become more proactive from a student-athlete stand-point.

Keenan Davis, a former NFL Executive who has worked with athletes within the college and professional ranks, expresses that, “The worst form of violence is poverty.

Sports are a socioeconomic Band-Aid for citizens of all races, class, and origin to eliminate the threat of this form of perpetual violence in their family and community. However,

the power of sport goes beyond the potential financial reward. The construct of its origin is applicable to any competitive environment - specifically, education. Sports coaches, administrators, and executives have a responsibility to use the power of the sport industry for the common good.

It is our duty to stop the exploitation of athletes and equip them with an educated skill set to contribute to their families and communities with their mind and not just physical attributes. As it stands today, athletes react to the future instead of planning for the future.”

Coaches do have the responsibility of making sure that once they sign a player to a athletic scholarship, they are accepting the role of assisting that student-athlete perform at their highest level off the field as well as on the field. Athletes should be aware that they are one injury away from ending their careers. It is a coach’s responsibility, and right, to replace you as soon a possible, not being inconsiderate of your situation but they are responsible for the athletic success of the university also.

Understand that as an athlete you are one of many seeking a scholarship. Focus on the advantage of receiving an education while pursuing an athletic career. Your educational progress can become an awesome motivational tool to dictate your performance within your sport of choice.

When I mention the fact that we need to stop pointing the finger, this is directed to our student-athletes.

Once you sign that letter of intent and agree to accept a scholarship from a College or University, you have a responsibility to perform academically. Your job is to: go to class, stop relying on “Class Checkers” (student workers who are hired by the Student Academic Center) to motivate you to arrive to class on time, stop taking courses that will not help you in your pursuit of a degree, and the ultimate reason on why you should be the best student-athlete you can be is: take pride in where you come from, have the desire to want to make your parents or guardians proud of your academic success. Understand that they have supported you throughout your athletic career and reward them with the fact that you have obtained a degree in four years.

Don’t ever forget that good athletes are a DIME-A-DOZEN. Thousands of athletes are recruited each year.

Student-athletes need to identify themselves as responsible individuals, self motivated, not limiting themselves to only achieving the accolade of having competed on a college level, and returning to their home towns to boast about a dismal experience as a student athlete which is only good conversation in the local barbershop.

Marcus Amos; For Comments: ml_amos06@yahoo.com

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