UPW Urban Pro Weekly

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The sad demise of Sandra Bland

URBAN PRO WEEKLY JULY 23 - 31, 2015 VOL. 4 NO. 44

Silas Norman’s

Civil Rights remembrance

R.I.P. SILAS NORMAN JR. 1941 - 2015 Eddie Bussey 706-772-9800

UrbanProWeekly - JULY 23 -31, 2015

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Unheralded

3 UrbanProWeekly • JULY 23 - 31, 2015

Silas Norman Jr. and the 1965 Selma campaign In 1965, the name Selma became seared into the national consciousness in an unforgettable way. An army of ordinary people, including grade school children, high school kids, college students of all races, professionals and domestic workers, changed the course of a nation. A college student from Paine College was in the mix. Silas Norman Jr. traveled to Selma, Alabama to become a part of history. Meeting face to face with the notorious Jim Clark and winding up in his jail along with hundreds of others. Norman later shared his civil rights experiences in a piece that first appeared in A Circle of Trust: Remembering SNCC by Cheryl Lynn Greenberg. It was entitled, “Remembrance of SNCC, Selma, and Alabama” presented at a SNCC Reunion at Trinity College in 1988. The following is an edited excerpt of his recollection.

I

’m the first of five living children of working parents in Augusta, Georgia. Augusta, Georgia, has a rich legacy; some of the significant personages in black history lived and moved there. At Paine College during that time we knew about Mr. [James] Lawson in Nashville, some other personages like Harry Ashmore, a white activist and journalist in the South. We were influenced by the Atlanta Committee on Appeal for Human Rights very profoundly. I got to go to Atlanta as a leader and meet Benjamin Brown, who was a contemporary of Julian Bond, and to meet Ruby Doris [Robinson] and others. And later when I would go to graduate school in Atlanta, at Atlanta University, we would be in the same class. In fact, Tom Gaither from CORE and I were in the same biology program. We learned much more about each other’s history at that time. So the history and the connectedness were very important.

I was vice president of the state of Georgia youth and college chapters of the NAACP, a very, very supportive organization to us in those early days.

I left Atlanta University and went to the University of Wisconsin and became president of the Student Council on Civil Rights. I got connected with other activists at the University of Wisconsin. If you know

“We went up to the counter; they wouldn’t serve us. So we decided, well, we’ll sit down. That’s when I met Jim Clark — the sheriff of Dallas County.”

— Silas Norman Jr. anything about the University of Wisconsin, you know that there were student activists there of many persuasions. I remember being called into the dean of students’ office, and he explained to me that being from Georgia, perhaps I didn’t understand that I was associating with the wrong people. It was from that place that I was recruited by Mary Varela — now Maria Varela — to participate in the Selma literacy project. This was in the summer of 1964. I’m not sure how Mary found me, but through that connectedness, through her knowledge of people at the University of Wisconsin, I was recruited to the Selma literacy project.

I had considered going to the Mississippi Freedom Summer.

Ivanhoe Donaldson and the Freedom Singers had come to the University of Wisconsin; the Freedom Singers were late and Ivanhoe Donaldson talked for about two hours, and I knew at that moment that I had to go back home and I had to follow Ivanhoe.

And so I was going to the Mississippi Freedom Summer, but then Mary Varela recruited me for the Selma

literacy project.

I, along with James Wiley from Gary, Indiana, Carol Lawson from New York, and Karen House from Washington, D.C., made up that project.

Bernard Lafayette has told you about what was happening in Selma up unti1 1963. At the time we arrived in Selma, Selma was under what they called the injunction. There was an injunction against mass meetings, against voter registration action — against anything — so at the time we arrived in Selma we were supposed to be undercover, because there were not supposed to be any gatherings.

We lived and worked in the Good Samaritan Mission, a Catholic mission there where the priests and the nuns lived; that’s where our offices were.

Mary lived in the white community and we lived in the black community, because we didn’t want anybody to know what we were doing. And our meetings at the black churches, in the homes of the people of Selma, were supposed to be secret. We were told very specifically that in order to

Silas Norman Jr. served as the Alabama State Director of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Commitee in 1965. He died this week at the age of 74. Norman served as chairman of the Paine College Board of Trustees and was the brother of Augusta’s own Jessye Norman. do our jobs, we couldn’t be in jail.

And Mary made it very clear that we would stay clear of the SNCC people, because if we got involved with the SNCC staff we’d be in jail and we couldn’t do the literacy project and it was important for us to do the literacy project.

We must have lasted about two, two-and-a-half weeks, because on July the 2nd, 1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed and we heard on that day that some of the old SNCC staff was down at the office, which happened to be across the street from the jail, cleaning it up and getting ready to move into action again.

We decided during lunch that in spite of Mary’s warnings that we would go down to the SNCC office and we’d help them clean up. However, on the way to the SNCC office we decided since the Public Accommodations Act had been passed — part of the Civil Rights Act — that we would stop at a place called the Thirsty Boy, a white drive-in restaurant. At first we decided we’d drive in and we said, “No, we don’t want to drive in, we’ll park across the street.” So we parked across the street and we went into the Thirsty Boy. We went up to the counter; they wouldn’t serve us. So we decided, well, we’ll sit down.

That’s when I met Jim Clark — the Continued on page 5

UrbanProWeekly - JULY 23 -31, 2015

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THE CITY

City adopts stormwater fee Implementation delayed until January 1, 2016

By Frederick Benjamin Sr. UrbanProWeekly Staff Writer AUGUSTA The latest edition of the AugustaRichmond County Commission under the administration of Mayor Hardie Davis and City Administrator Janice Allen Jackson passed its first real test on Tuesday when it voted 6-4 to pass the stormwater fee.

Two weeks ago, the same measure was derailed by a political stunt and its future was clouded by the promise of a gift-wrapped SPLOST package.

If everything goes as planned, the revenue from the fee should bring in $14 million to be used for maintenance.

The original ordinance called for the fees to be collected as early as July 1, 2015, but months of delays

Welcher is city’s development czar AUGUSTA On Tuesday the city elevated interim director Hawthorne Welcher Jr. to the top spot at the Housing and Community Development department.

The appointment came in the wake of a national search to replace former director Chester Wheeler who resigned suddenly in December of 2014.

Welcher made the final cut from a pool of 28 applicants. The final four under consideration had included Welcher, Thomas Tatum of Akron, Ohio, Bonita Scarlett-Logan of Boulder, Colo., and Robert Cooks

UPW

URBANPROWEEKLY.COM

Published by

Urban Pro Weekly LLC 3529 Monte Carlo Drive Augusta, GA 30906 Executive Publisher BEN HASAN 706-394-9411 bzhasan54@yahoo.com

Welcher

former Director of the Augusta Neighborhood I mprovement Corp.

Welcher was hired on the recommendation of city administrator Janice Allen Jackson.

He will earn a salary of $100,00

a year.

Welcher has been with the city since 2008.

Executive Managing Editor FREDERICK BENJAMIN SR. 706-306-4647 editor@urbanproweekly.com Sales & Marketing 706-394-9411 Contributors VINCENT HOBBS Photography & New Media View Urbanproweekly on Facebook

made that unworkable. The amended ordinance, as voted on by the commission, calls for the fee to be collected starting January 1, 2016.

According to the ordinance, the fee is set at $6.40 per month for the average homeowner.

Large property owners will pay considerably more, but they can apply for credits by making runoff management improvements to their

properties.

The city still has to decide on how to close the several-hundred-thousand dollar hole in the budget caused by the six-month delay in implementing the stormwater fee.

The six commissioners who voted for the ordinance included Bill Fennoy, Ben Hasan, Bill Lockett, Sammy Sias, Dennis Williams and Marion Williams.

Mayor hosts first ditigal Town Hall Meeting AUGUSTA Mayor Hardie Davis, Jr. hosted his first Telephone Town Hall Meeting this evening with nearly 2,000 Augustans. Mayor Davis gave a brief update about the work he is doing as Mayor of the City and informed residents about what to expect in the days ahead.

During the call, Davis took questions about stormwater, downtown development, the Rocky Creek area and Regency Mall, transit and many other issues raised by Augustans

during the call. The technology made it possible for Mayor Davis to ask residents opinion questions and 99% of call participants agreed that they liked the Telephone Town Hall as a way to talk with Mayor Davis.

“It is a winning day when we can engage so many of our residents and talk with them about what is happening in their government,” said Davis.

Mayor Davis reminded constituents to call 311 or his office at 706-8211831, if they need assistance with local government issues.

Mayor Hardie Davis, Jr. selected to serve on EPA Local Government Advisory Committee AUGUSTA Mayor Hardie Davis, Jr. has been selected to serve on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2015 Local Government Advisory Committee. The Local Government Advisory Committee is a formal advisory committee chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act and has been in existence since 1993. The Committee is composed primarily of local, state, and tribal elected and appointed officials, from around the country.

“I’m honored to be selected to serve alongside other elected and appointed officials to help drive policy and conversation about environmental

protection in cities,” said Davis.

The Committee will work to assist the EPA with building partnerships with local governments through building state and local capacity to deliver environmental services and programs. The ultimate goal of the LGAC is to provide the citizens of the Nation with more efficient and effective environmental protection at the community, State and Federal level.

“It is important to continue to raise the profile and level of influence that Augusta has in the state capital and in our nation’s capital,” said Davis.

For Media inquiries contact: Lynthia Owens, lowens@augustaga.gov 706821-1831

Unheralded from page 3

wanted to participate in that I felt that I could best spend my energies working with people in the movement in small groups in Selma.

At that point we were deciding what we were going to do in Alabama. We decided that it was not productive for us to fight with SCLC. So members of the staff then decided to move out; we decided to move to places where we decided they would not come.

Accordingly, there were members of the staff here who moved out to Wilcox County; Cynthia Washington went to head the project in Greene County; Annie Pearl Avery went to head a project in another town — I can’t remember — in Hale County; and then finally there were staff members who went to Lowndes County: Courtland Cox, Stokely Carmichael, Bob Mants, Judy Richardson, Ruth Howard, Jennifer Lawson. There are many other names, but that’s the way we got to Lowndes County. The decision was that Lowndes County was so bad that nobody would come in there showcasing, that it was only going to be serious work there, and so we would not be bothered and would not be in conflict. So we decided to decentralize the movement.

Dallas County Voters League. That is the organization to which Mrs. Amelia Boynton, who has been mentioned earlier, was a part. Her husband had been a part before he died in 1963; later councilmen like Reverend Reese, Mrs. Foster, other very active community persons were in the Dallas County Voters League. The Dallas County Voters League decided sometime in the fall of 1964 that they wanted to invite in Dr. King to spark the movement. And so in January of 1965, in the midst of our preparation to move again, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was invited to Selma. Needless to say, there were a lot of discussions and philosophical and procedural differences with the organization, but that was mediated by the fact that by then Diane Nash Bevel, who had originally been in SNCC, then worked for SCLC; James Bevel, who worked for SCLC, had previously been a SNCC organizer; Bernard Lafayette who had previously been in SNCC, by then was in SCLC, and those individuals helped us to bridge the gap.

So immediately we got together and we decided that we would work together in Selma, in terms of organizing in the wards. We assigned an You don’t have to live with SCLC person and a SNCC person to each ward. For the ward meetings, we would go to the meetings together or any other kind and we would essentially try to check of discomfort, including headaches, each other and try to make sure that we were all working in the same or any other kind of discomfort, neck stiffness, shoulder pain, muscle direction. including headaches, neck stiffness, People have been talking about shoulder pain, muscle tension, tension, sleep sleep difficulty or hand grass-roots organizing. We felt that or Brice hand numbness/weakness. numbness/weakness.

Dr. Cal that meant we had to be in the com- difficulty munities, living with people the way Drug Testing Now Available! they were. We had to be with them.

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Augusta, GA 30904 Hephzibah, GA 30815 So for example, there was some disagreement over the march to Montgomery in March of 1965. In fact, WE TAKE SNCC voted not to participate in the march from Selma to Montgomery, • Georgia medicaid • Insurance plans but as always, there were individu• Charge cards • WIC vouchers als in SNCC who participated in that march because we had freedom of FREE conscience, and people were free to participate in any way they wished.

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sheriff of Dallas County, Jim Clark.

I will never forget, I was facing the door; he entered without a word, accompanied by a number of other white men in various kinds of uniforms. It seemed like a number of cars pulled up out there. He didn’t say a word. He walked over to me, and that was my first experience with cattle prods, and let me tell you, it worked.

I was trying to decide which car to get in, not whether we were going to jail.

That afternoon, after people heard about our arrest, the demonstrations started again in earnest.

Now you need to know that the staff in Alabama, before the influx of other SNCC staff from Mississippi and Georgia, was made up primarily of people from Alabama, primarily of people from Selma. And it was the indigenous staff that was in the office on the day that we got arrested. They decided after we were arrested that they would then go to the [segregated] movies in downtown Selma. For the next eleven days, as we sat in the Dallas County jail, hundreds of people filled the jails. About eleven days later we were released on bond, which had been sent down from the North and through the many other channels that SNCC usually used. That was the reopening of the movement to some extent — it was the summer of 1964.

At that time I was not a SNCC staff member, I was on the Selma Literacy Project. I was supposed to be underground, but our cover had been blown. So Mary Varela introduced me to Jim Forman, and he allowed me to join the SNCC staff in Selma. The first project director who returned after then, the return of action, was John Love. And at that time, in the fall of 1964, our actions consisted of getting ready to move in mass action again.

What we would do, since we were still sort of undercover: the SNCC workers would go out to homes of members in the wards, in the various parts of the city, who would allow us to come.

They would invite in their neighbors, and we would go into the homes and talk about voter registration. We started to get ourselves ready to move into action again. We felt that it was very important that we were knowledgeable and prepared because we were going to move to break an injunction and we were going to once again incur the wrath of Jim Clark and his cronies.

We continued to involve ourselves in that way. Also, you must understand that one of the active organizations in the community was the

Lewis with a knapsack on his back going down under the batons of the state troopers.

At that time, after that incident, I decided that I could no longer sit back and philosophically be opposed to participating in the march. On the second march on Montgomery, I emptied my pockets and I prepared to offer my body as a living sacrifice. We started the march across the bridge for the second time and as we got to the end of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, state troopers lined up on every side. I noticed they were not moving toward us, and I will remember that Dr. King — he was a row or two behind me — said, “Let us pray.” We prayed. And then the march proceeded to turn around.

Well, Jim Forman was close to me, we were all sort of baffled. Jim was saying, “What’s going on, let’s go ahead,” and as we turned around and headed back across the bridge, there were hundreds of people behind us asking, “What’s going on, what’s happening?”

We had no idea. We were to discover later that there had been some agreements with Robert Kennedy, with the government, that that march was not to proceed. Personally, I did not participate in that march again. I felt that we had been betrayed, and I no longer

UrbanProWeekly - JULY 23 -31, 2015

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The sad demise of Sandra Bland

Betraying arrest report, newly released footage shows how arresting officer violently escalating traffic stop by threatening unarmed black woman with Taser

by Jon Queally CommonDreams Staff Writer While many questions still remain about what exactly happened to Sandra Bland in a Texas jail cell before she was found dead under mysterious circumstances on July 13, those looking for answers about why she was initially placed under arrest three days earlier were offered a look at devastating dash-cam footage released by the Texas Department of Public Safety on Tuesday evening which showed the arresting officer, Texas State Trooper Brian Encinia, actively escalating a situation with violence and threatening the unarmed black woman with a Taser.

The manner in which the escalation occurred led law enforcement officials to say that Encinia had not followed department procedures and failed to “maintain professionalism” during the arrest.

In one shocking moment, the officer, tells Bland that if she does not get out of her car he will “light her up.” Subsequently, after she objects to having her head banged against the ground and telling him that she suffers from epilepsy, Encinia responds by saying, “Good.”

As the New York Times reports, several Texas lawmakers who were shown the footage said it is clear that Bland should never have been treated in such a manner nor ultimately taken into custody by police.

“This young woman should be alive today,” said State Representative Helen Giddings, Democrat of Dallas.

According to the Times: Ms. Bland, an African-American from the Chicago area who had come to Texas for a job at her alma mater, Prairie View University, was arrested after she was stopped July 10 for a failure to signal a turn.

The video also confirmed an account from the family’s lawyer that the confrontation between Ms. Bland and the trooper, Brian T.

Encinia, escalated after she refused the officer’s order to put out a cigarette, said State Senator Royce West, Democrat of Dallas.

Neither the Taser nor the confrontation over the cigarette were mentioned in Officer Encinia’s incident report, which was released on Tuesday by the Waller County district attorney’s office.

Mother Jones reports: In a press conference late Tuesday, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety said that Encinia failed to “maintain professionalism” throughout his interaction with Bland, and that he has been taken off the street and placed on administrative duty for duration of the investigation into Bland’s death. In answer to a reporter’s question, Texas state Sen. Royce West said that the dash cam footage showed that Bland should not have been taken into police custody.

The subsequent death of Bland has continued to raise troubling questions since she was found hanged on the morning of July 13. A medical examiner report and the county sheriff›s office ruled her death a suicide, but during the three days Bland spent in jail, Bland’s family members said they spoke to her on the about posting bail, and that a suicide seemed “unfathomable.” An hour before she was found, Bland had asked to use the phone again, county officials said.

On Monday, officials in Waller County released additional details about the morning Bland died, including surveillance video footage showing the hall outside of cell 95, where Bland was held. Citing interviews with family members and with the bail bondsman who was among the last to speak with Bland, Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis said it is too early to make any kind of determination” and that “this investigation is still being treated just as it would be a murder investigation,» signaling that he had

Sandra Bland: A victim of poor policing. not ruled out any motives and would explore all leads and evidence, including videos, fingerprints in her cell, and the plastic bag found around her neck.

And Time magazine adds: The Bland case is the latest in a string of high-profile incidents around the country that have highlighted the strained relationship between the African-American community and local police.

Around two minutes into the 52-minute video, Bland changes lanes without signaling, and the police officer pulls her over. After several minutes while the officer sits in his cruiser, presumably going over paperwork, he returns

to the vehicle to find Bland is upset.

“You seem very irritated,” he says.

She responds by saying that she only changed lanes because she felt the officer was speeding up behind her.

The officer then asks Bland to put out her cigarette, and when she refuses, he orders her to step out of her car. When she refuses, he opens her car door and orders her repeatedly to step out, while she argues that she did nothing wrong.

The encounter soon turns physical.

“Step out or I will remove you,” he says repeatedly. “Get out of the car now, or I’m going to remove you.

I’m going to yank you out of here.”

UrbanProWeekly • JULY 23 - 31, 2015

TO PROTECT & SERVE

UrbanProWeekly - JULY 23 -31, 2015

8

SPORTS

Volleyball coach Lance Abbott (L) and Nicole Abbott (R) talk to players before the start of the “Summer Slam” volleyball tournament, held at Patriots Park on Saturday. The event was sponsored by the CSRA Heat volleyball team. Lance Abbot is the director of the volleyball club.

Photo by Vincent Hobbs

Bringin’ the HEAT INTERVIEW BY VINCENT HOBBS Most CSRA residents are familiar with the various youth sports clubs around town, such as soccer, football and swimming. But did you know that Augustans have a topnotch youth volleyball club as well? The club, known as the CSRA Heat, immerses high school and middle school players in advanced volleyball training and competes in several tournaments during the season, including regional championship events. Players hone their skills in blocking, serving, setting the ball, passing, and overall game techniques as members of the club.

UPW: What is the CSRA Heat?

ABBOTT: The CSRA Heat is the largest youth volleyball club in the CSRA. Last year we had 16 girls teams and one boys team that traveled to tournaments around the southeast.

UPW: How can interested volleyball players become a member of the team?

ABBOTT: The CSRA Heat holds tryouts for its travel teams in October and November at the end of the high school season.

ABBOTT: Our indoor season runs from November through June. The outdoor season runs from May until the end of July.

UPW: How did you become involved in coaching volleyball?

ABBOTT: I became interested in coaching when my daughter was in middle school and became seriously interested in volleyball. I observed the best coaches in the area, and took several coaching clinics to improve my coaching skills.

Lance Abbott has been the Director of the CSRA Heat for the past ten years and has coached volleyball players since 2007.

UPW: What do you enjoy the most UPW spent some time with Abbott to find out more about UPW: Does the team play games year- about coaching? the Heat and upcoming events. round or just during the summer?

9 UrbanProWeekly • JULY 23 - 31, 2015

Ta

Grovetown High School volleyball player Tashae Dewalt competes in the “Summer Slam” volleyball tournament, held at Patriots Park on Saturday. The event, which included athletes from across the region, was sponsored by the CSRA Heat volleyball team. Photo by Vincent Hobbs ABBOTT: The best thing about coaching is seeing the players develop skills and make friendships that last long beyond the club volleyball season.

UPW: Where does the CSRA Heat practice and play games?

ABBOTT: The Heat practices at several facilities around the CSRA, including Augusta Prep. Most tournaments are in South Carolina, but we also play in North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

UPW: Who are some of the other principal coaching team members?

ABBOTT: We had over 35 coaches participating in our programs last year, including Amber Cornett (former GRU Volleyball Head Coach), Connie Spearman (Assistant at Augusta Prep), and coaches from several area high school programs.

UPW: What are some of the CSRA Heat upcoming events?

ABBOTT: The next major event for the Heat is our travel team tryouts in October and November. For more information, go to www.csraheat. com.

For interested student-athletes, the CSRA Heat will be holding a pre-tryout clinic on Sunday July 26 from 4-6 PM at Augusta Preparatory Day School, 285 Flowing Wells Rd, Martinez, GA 30907. The clinic will help prepare aspiring student volleyball players for their upcoming school team tryouts.

The $10 drop-in clinic (no pre-registration required) will have stations set up with Heat coaches to work on specific volleyball skill sets.

UrbanProWeekly - JULY 23 -31, 2015

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Laney Museum highlights contributions of Women to Civil Rights Movement WOMEN AND CIVIL RIGHT EXHIBITION AUGUST 1 - SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History Women have played a key, but often unrecognized role in The Civil Rights Movement.

From educators, to politicians, to fierce activists they have influenced the course of history and inspired generations. This exhibition explores their contributions and impact.

Women And Civil Rights Exhibition has historic documents, photographs, art, lectures, films and features four amazing women: Shirley Chisholm, Angela Davis, Dorothy Height, and Mary McLeod Bethune. The two month event will also feature the following events:

CIVIL RIGHTS LUNCHEON WITH REV. DR. JOAN R. HARRELL African American Women in the Civil Rights Movement Then and Now: A Womanist Critique WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2015 11:30 am - 1:00 pm Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History

The Rev. Dr. Joan R. Harrell, will be the guest speaker for the Civil Rights luncheon. Cost is $11.00 and RSVP for meal is required.

Special Evening Lecture WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2015 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm Dr. Harrell began her career in broadcast journalism at WJBF-TV and worked for ABC News in London, England, and as a producer with television journalist Bill Moyers in New York City. The evening lecture is free and open to the community.

FOOT SOLDIERS: CLASS OF 1964 THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2015 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History Video & Discussion: This award-winning documentary is about women in the Class of 1964 at Spelman College, who participated in the largest coordinated series of civil rights protests in Atlanta’s history as college freshmen. Snacks provided.

TRANSPORTATION VISION 2040: Sustain regional economic growth through a transportation system that reduces congestion, improves

traffic safety; and provides road maintenance, public transit, sidewalks, bike and pedestrian paths linking jobs, education, healthcare and

recreational facilities for all citizens and tourists in the AUGUSTA REGIONAL TRANSPORTAION STUDY (ARTS) Region.

Locations in Georgia Monday, July 27 Gracewood CommunityCenter 2309 TobaccoRoad Augusta, GA30906 5:30 - 7:30PM Tuesday, July 28 Sand Hills Community Center 2540 WheelerRoad Augusta, GA30904 5:30 - 7:30PM Thursday, July 30 Evans GovernmentComplex 630 Ronald ReaganDrive Evans, GA 30809 5:30 – 7:30PM

South Carolina Monday, August 3 Riverview Park Activities Center 100 Riverview Park Drive North Augusta, SC. 29841 5:30 - 7:30 PM

OPEN HOUSE Saturday, August 1 Augusta-Richmond County Municipal Building Linda Beazley Community Meeting Room, 1st Floor 535 Telfair Street Augusta, GA 30901 9:30 AM – 12 Noon

Notice to the Public Augusta Housing Authority Project Based Voucher Program Public Housing Program The Housing Authority of the City of Augusta, Georgia, in partnership with Walton Communities, is pleased to announce that the site-based waiting lists for Project Based Voucher (PBV) units and for the Public Housing units at The Legacy at Walton Oaks 2 will be open effective Monday, July 27, 2015. The Legacy at Walton Oaks 2 will be ready for occupancy in the Fall.

The Augusta Housing Authority (AHA) will provide 10 project based vouchers and 10 public housing units for seniors ages 55 and up. Effective Monday, July 27, 2015 through Tuesday, August 25, 2015, potential residents may complete an on-line application at www.augustapha.org. Preliminary applications will be accepted through Tuesday August 25th at which time the site based waiting lists will be closed. A $14 application fee will be required to process your application at Walton Communities. Eligible applicants will be placed on the site-based waiting lists and will be ranked by date and time.

The Augusta Housing Authority will continue to accept online applications only for the Elderly Public Housing Program waiting list. The waiting list will be opened for all applicants age 55 and older. Elderly families that require a two bedroom unit are encouraged to make application and all members of the family must be age 55 and older to be eligible. Applications will only be accepted by completing the on-line application at www.augustapha.org.

Equal Housing Opportunity The Housing Authority of the City of Augusta, Georgia By: Jacob Oglesby, Executive Director

11 UrbanProWeekly • JULY 23 - 31, 2015

Public input sought through a series of meetings

12

‘MAKIN’ A DIFFERENCE’ COMMENTARY

UrbanProWeekly - JULY 23 -31, 2015

When it comes to the KKK, the devils are in the details

By Ken Makin Neither give place to the devil.”

– Ephesians 4:27 Spiritually and contextually, I understand Ephesians 4 and its call for unity within the body of Christ.

I can’t help, though, but see and hear this scripture in my mind as I watch how people digest and regurgitate what they see in the media.

Let’s talk about the Ku Klux Klan for a minute. Like the devil in the Christian faith, the KKK has already been defeated. Thanks to the notable efforts of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the KKK has been essentially bankrupted. It was a strategic measure that has crippled the KKK so severely that this maggot-filled hate group has resorted to passing out flyers to gain membership in the information age.

In November of 2008, the SPLC won a suit that forced a Kentuckybased KKK group to pay $2.5 million in damages.

The suit was filed on behalf of Jordan Gruver, a Latino teen severely beaten in 2006 by two Klan members.

The Klansmen were convicted and served two years in jail. At the time, that KKK group, the Imperial Klans of America, was the second-largest Klan group in the nation.

Morris Dees, the lead attorney and founder of the SPLC, spoke with profundity in his closing statement: “It’s all about the money. It’s all about the money,” said Dees. “If you stop the money, you’ll cut the organization off.”

Dees knew how to “shake the devil off.” Too bad the community at-large doesn’t know how to follow suit.

On July 18, the KKK held a rally over a flag that state legislators

LETTERS

Criticism of VA is valid The public outrage directed at Donald Trump should be directed toward the Veterans Administration.

True, what Donald Trump said about Senator John McCain not being a hero was beyond disgraceful.

However, how the VA mistreats veterans is beyond tragic. What Trump said about one veteran is a matter of opinion. What the VA has done to thousands of veterans is a matter of fact.

The legendary incompetence of the Veterans Administration has caused emotional pain,

suffering, and death to veterans who have honorably served our country.

Therefore, public contempt and criticism of the VA must not cease until those responsible are prosecuted and jailed.

Criticizing the VA has value. Criticizing Trump is a waste of time.

The lunacy of a politically ambitious megalomaniac must not distract from the appalling mistreatment of veterans by the Veterans Administration.

Kevin Palmer, Martinez, GA

already took down. There again, the enemy has already been defeated. So why did mass media and the general public feel the need to highlight the activities of these imbeciles? Why do we give these individuals a media presence that they literally cannot buy? Why do we give these cretins a platform that they don’t even have the common intelligence to create through politics or planning?

My profound disappointment comes from the fact that people don’t even have the common discernment to let the KKK die. We put our mouths and ears to this filth – through media consumption and social networks.

It’s sickening to watch, and you cannot tell me that it is constructive toward race relations, nor the healing that this world so desperately needs.

It is hurtful to watch all of the gains our immediate predecessors fought for dissolve and dissipate. The

sickness is so rampant that my people can’t even discern and prioritize economic empowerment over basic, bottom-level hate. Like Dees said, “it’s all about the money.”

And THAT is the new danger – not the KKK “coming down your block.”

This is not the level of supremacy that is most dangerous in our community. Worry about the prevailing mindset of politicians who not only kill you with their pompousness (Jay Lucas, South Carolina speaker of the house, comes to mind), but with their POLICIES. And for God’s sake, stop giving place to the devils.

Ken J. Makin is the host of “Makin’ A Difference,” a radio program that airs weekdays from 1 to 3 p.m. on WKZK, 1600 AM. You can also reach Ken by email at makinadifferenceshow@gmail.com.

WORSHIP

UrbanProWeekly • JULY 23 - 31, 2015

CHURCH

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Tabernacle Baptist Church BACK 2 SCHOOL BLAST SATURDAY, AUGUST 1ST 11 A.M. - 2 P.M. Evans High School & Tabernacle Family Life Center

ANNIVERSARY KICK-OFF SERVICE THURSDAY, AUGUST 13TH, 7 P.M. Rev. James Hogan of New Zion Missionary Baptist Church at Tabernacle Baptist Church.

Sunday School 8:30 am Morning Worship Services: 9:45 am Evening Worship Services 6 pm (4th Sunday) Bible Study: 6pm (Mondays) Midday Bible Study: 12pm (Tuesdays) Prayer Services: 6pm (Wednesdays) Celebrate Recovery: 6pm (Fridays) and 12pm (Mondays) 2323 Barton Chapel Road • Augusta,GA 30906 706.790.8185 / 706.922.8186 (fax) Visit Us @ www.broadwaybaptistaug.org • Join us on facebook Dr. C. William Joyner, Jr. Senior Pastor

Good Shepherd Baptist Church

Rev. Clarence Moore, Pastor 1714 Olive Road / P. O. Box 141 (mailing address) Augusta, GA 30903 706/733-0341- Telephone/706/667-0205 – Fax E-mail address: admin@goodshepherdaugusta.org Web address: goodshepherdaugusta.org Rev. Clarence Moore Church Service: 7:45 & 11:00 a.m.

Church School: 9:45 a.m. / Prayer Service: 11:00 a.m. – Wednesday Bible Study: 9:00 a.m. - Saturday / 7:00 p.m. - Wednesday

Everfaithful Missionary Baptist Church

314 Sand Bar Ferry Road Augusta, Georgia 30901 (706) 722- 0553 Church School Sunday 9:25am Morning Worship Sunday 11am Evening Worship 6pm (1st & 3rd Sunday) Midday Prayer 12pm Wednesday Intercessory Prayer/Bible Study 6pm Wednesday

Bishop Rosa L. Williams, Pastor

Radio Broadcast: Sundays • WKZK 103.7 FM at 7:30 a.m.

Start your calling today! Mount Olivet Certified Academic Institution 706.793.0091 • 706.793.0335 • www.mocai-aug.org

The CSRA Clergy Board of Directors

Board of Coalition Pastors P.O. Box 16013 Augusta, GA. 30919-2013 Bishop L.A. Green, Sr., Chairman

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Augusta Regional Airport searches for local artists to hold exhibits in terminals

UrbanProWeekly - JULY 23 -31, 2015

Augusta Regional Airport (AGS) is currently searching for local area artists to display their work in the General Aviation and Airline Terminal buildings. Two and three dimensional (2-D & 3-D) artists are welcome to submit applications. Desired artwork includes pottery, sculptures, tapestries, wood turning, photography, painting, etc.

Two dimensional (2-D) artwork will be selected for display in the airline terminal building and will be on display for one quarter of the year. The airline terminal building is the perfect

setting to have pieces viewed by thousands of residents and visitors that travel through the Augusta Regional Airport every quarter.

Three dimensional (3-D) artists will be selected to have their work on display for one year in the Airport’s private aircraft terminal. The General Aviation Terminal welcomes private and business aircraft to Augusta on a daily basis.

This venue provides the perfect opportunity to showcase your art and be seen

by Augusta’s elite visitors.

If you would like to submit an example of your work please see details

facebook.com/

Since 1969

EBT Wayne Lanier

Classic Knots Haberdashery Affordable Men’s Clothing

Suits • Slacks • Shirts • Ties Sam Hickson (706) 589-7491

Tender Care Training Center Accredited and State Approved

Train to become a Certified Nurse’s Assistant (CNA) Phlebotomy Technician or Pharmacy Technician 1755 Gordon Hwy, Suite E • Augusta, GA 30904 For Enrollment Information,

Call (706)736-9225

Fax: (706) 736-0995

Visit www.tendercareschool.comcastbiz.net

below: Example: Please send 6 to 10 examples of your work via photographs on CD or website address to: Mail: 1501 Aviation Way

Email: lsmith@augustaga.gov Augusta, GA 30906 OR Attn: Lauren Smith Deadline: August 7, 2015 Requirements: Artwork displayed in the General Aviation terminal will be showcased within locked cabinets and must be able to fit within the following dimensions: 65.5’’H x 34’’W x 22’’D. Glass shelves are available. There is also

a limited amount of floor space for a free standing piece. Artwork displayed in the airline terminal will be displayed on a freestanding art wall system. *NOTE: All submissions will be evaluated by the Augusta Regional Airport Art Committee. Artists selected for display will be notified by phone. The selected artists will not be reimbursed for their displays, however, they will be allowed to provide contact information for interested buyers. Please review and fill out AGS’s Art Policy along with your submission. This policy can be found at www.flyags.com/Resources/885.pdf.

Beat the heat with a DQ Miracle Treat on July 30 and help the Children’s Hospital Miracle Network Hospital.

Participating Dair y Queens include:

In Augusta: •2837 Central Ave. •3149 Washington Road •Augusta Mall •4099 Jimmie Dyess Parkway •3102 Peach Orchard Road Miracle Treat Day is a CMN

Hospitals fundraiser. CHOG, a notfor-profit hospital, has been a beneficiary of the CMN Hospitals program since 1986. Last year, local DQ stores raised more than $18,000 on Miracle Treat Day. The event lasts all day and group pre-orders are available at most locations. For more information, call Catherine Stewart, CMN Development Officer, at 706-832-

Want to see a past edition of Urban Pro Weekly?

Go to our

Jennifer Norman-Dixon Independent Cruise & Vacation Specialist

Facebook

Trowell Builders & Associates

page and look for any back issue.

TBA

Hephzibah, GA 30815 Phone 706-925-2929 Toll Free (877-790-6082 Fax 404-601-4492

Email:jdixon@cruisesinc.com www.cruisesinc.com/jdixon

Got News?

Call 706-306-4647

Designers • Builders Planners

Sanctuary Multi-Purpose Buildings Renovations P.O. Box 211886 Augusta, Ga 30917 1.800.546.2685 Fax 706.738.6328 email: tbamakedreams@aol.com

1804 orcastewart@gru.edu.

With 154 beds, CHOG is the second largest children’s hospital in the state, providing the highest level of pediatric critical care and neonatal intensive care, as well as a wide range of general and complex health care for children.

Visit facebook.com/GAChildrens or follow on Twitter at twitter.com/ GAChildrens

UrbanProWeekly • JULY 23 - 31, 2015

It’s summer again in the CSR A, and that means everyone is suffering the Georgia heat and could benefit from something cool and refreshing. Lucky for us, local DQ stores will be serving their famous Blizzards on Miracle Treat Day, Thursday, July 30, with a $1 or more from every Blizzard sold being donated to Children’s Hospital of Georgia, the local Children’s

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UrbanProWeekly - JULY 23 -31, 2015

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