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SEPTEMBER 6-12, 2012
VOL.2 NO.1

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Not enough Republicans to go around.
The defeat of Ronnie Strength and Scott Peebles really amounted to the fact that there were . . .
Richard Roundtrees runoff
victory establishes him as the
Democratic Partys most potent
political force in Richmond
County.
THE BOSS
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706.721.1858
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(UPW) AUGUSTA
People are wondering how an absurd complaint made by woman
gets forwarded to the Georgia Secretary of States office and then
leaked to the media. This one has dirty tricks written all over it.
The complaint has to do with a campaign volunteer for
Democratic Sheriffs candidate Richard Roundtree and the com-
plaint was made on behalf of the Richmond County Sheriffs
department not the woman who made the complaint.
Sheriff Ronnie Strength just got through endorsing Roundtrees
Republican opponent Freddie Sanders, so it is hard to see how the
whole affair keeps Strength out of the mud.
Now no one is suggesting that this is a race issue, yet no one is
certain that it is not. A lot of folks in the community are just won-
dering about that.
When the story first started circulating, many of those who com-
mented in the media went to great lengths to suggest that it is just
a distraction. Wrong.
It is not a distraction. It is the worst sort of hypocrisy. Since
when does the Sheriffs Department take such a lofty interest in
electoral politics? Strengths involvement even at arms length
constitutes the worst kind of meddling.
It does nothing but fuel speculation that Strengths dislike for
Richard Roundtree could lead to serious consequences.
Augustans repudiated Ronnie Strengths endorsement of Peebles
by electing Richard Roundtree and now Strength is completing his
downward political spiral by abandoning common sense.
. . & why party matters in Richmond County
LOCAL NEWS & Commentary
The repudiation
of Ronnie Strength . .
(UPW) AUGUSTA
From his perch at the Democratic
Convention on Tuesday, Democratic
Party chief Lowell Greenbaum replied
to our question Do political parties
matter in Richmond County?
Parties are extremely important
despite what some people might say,
Greenbaum said.
Some are wondering. In the latest
round of the current sheriffs race,
we saw dyed-in-wool Republicans vot-
ing in the Democratic primary and
then we saw one of the most power-
ful Democrats abandon his party to
endorse the Republican in the race.
The rationale for all of these moves
appears to be that political party does
not matter,
The truth, however, is far more believ-
able not only does political party
matter, it matters so much that people
will lie, cheat and steal to conceal their
true party allegiance.
The root of this deception can be
found in the traditional Democratic
dominance in Richmond County
politics since as far back as anyone can
remember.
In 1996, Richmond County elected
Democrats to nearly every partisan
office on the ballot. From U.S. Senator
Max Cleland, to Solicitor-General Sheryl
Jolly, if you were on the Democratic
ballot, you got elected. Democrats
running unopposed that year included
District Attorney Danny Craig, Clerk of
Superior Court Elaine Johnson, State
Senator Charles Walker, State Reps.
Henry Howard and George Brown and
Jack Connell. Sheriff Charlie Webster
crushed his Republican opposition with
78% of the vote. The only Democrat to
lose against a Republican that year was
Hobson Chavous who lost to Republican
George DeLoach.
In 2000, when Sheriff Webster retired,
Ronnie Strengh ran as a Democrat and
remained one until this day. Strength
may not have been the first, but recent
events prove that he might have been
the most powerful Democrat In Name
Only (DINO).
At some point between 2000 and
2012, the fortunes of Republicans in
the state of Georgia began to improve.
Prior to 2000, Charlie Norwood was
the only Republican in the Augusta area
(Congressional District 10) that consis-
tently won reelection. On the national
level, Bush and Cheney won the White
House after two terms of Bill Clinton.
In 2002, Republican Sonny Perdue
won the election for Governor despite
the fact that Richmond County gave the
Democratic candidate Roy Barnes 60
percent of the vote. In that same election,
Walker lost to Republican Randy Hall.
Since 2002, as the G.O.P. became
more powerful in Atlanta, some local
lifelong Democrats like State Senator
Don Cheeks jumped over to the
Republican Party despite having run
and been elected as Democrats.
Other Democrats, like Strength,
stayed put and maintained their
pose as Democrats, but really they
were DINOs. When Strength recent-
ly endorsed Republican Freddie
Sanders, the pretense of being a
Democrat was finally at an end.
Do political parties matter in
Richmond County? The Richmond
County Democratic Party says emphati-
cally, yes!
We register the people and then
make sure that our candidates win,
Greenbaum said.
LAME DUCK Sheriff Ronnie Strength was once the symbol of Democratic Party
strength. His belated endorsement of Democrat Scott Peebles could not prevent
underdog Richard Roundtree from winning a historic victory. Now Strength has
thrown his dimished influence behind the Republican candidate. Vincent Hobbs
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Boss Roundtree:
Victory makes
him potent
political force
By Frederick Benjamin Sr.
UPW Political Analysis
Now that the dust has set-
tled and Richard Roundtree
is the Democratic candidate
for Sheriff, the realization
that he has become one of the
most powerful Democrats in
Richmond County has begun
to settle in.
Many people have said all
along that this race was larger
than Richard Roundtree and
they were correct. Look what
the defeat of the Augusta
Chronicle and the local
Republican Partys candidate
has meant.
First, it revealed the fact
that money does not trump
a committed political orga-
nization.
Second, it exposed The
Augusta Chronicle as a paper
tiger whose endorsements
arent worth the cost of the
Sunday edition.
Third, it exposed Sheriff
Ronnie Strength as a
Democrat in Name Only
(DINO) and a political neo-
phyte despite his 12-year run
as sheriff.
Fourth, the effort to defeat
Roundtree may have siphoned
off just enough Republican
votes to deny Rick Allen the
GOP nomination for the 10th
Congressional District there-
by highlighting the fracture
between warring factions
of the regional Republican
Party.
Fifth, it served notice to
the entrenched black politi-
cal community that they
may have been napping too
soundly. No one saw Richard
Roundtree coming. No one
wanted to give him any cash,
so now they have to acknowl-
edge that, win or lose in
November, he has become
BOSS ROUNDTREE.
He doesnt owe anything to
anyone other than those who
worked so hard to get out the
vote and those who actually
voted for him.
Barring any extra-electoral
interference posed by those
who would derail his prob-
able assumption of the title
sheriff-elect in November,
Roundtree will control the
entire Augusta-Richmond
County law enforcement
infrastructure. His operating
budget will exceed $50 mil-
lion and he will be the one to
do the hiring and firing.
The Republicans are berat-
ing themselves for letting
this one slip away, but the
Roundtree team has a dif-
ferent take on things. This
election didnt fall into their
laps they grabbed it by the
throat and put it in the bag.
We felt that we could win
that thing without a runoff.
There was polling out there
to suggest that we could
win this thing. Thats what
Roundtree campaign team
member Charles Lyons told
UrbanProWeekly recently.
Not having money early
on probably helped us.
During the last week before
the runoff, our ads ran for
4 or 5 days. Everyone who
saw those ads said they were
effective.
Crossover Voting 101:
(UPW) AUGUSTA
Crossover voting is nothing
new in Georgia politics. The
states open primaries per-
mit registered voters to cross
party lines and participate in
the other partys nominating
election.
Congresswoman Cynthia
McKinney fell victim to the
huge amounts of crossover
voters in her last run for
Congress as a Democrat.
The Atlanta area Democrat
was defeated, largely due to
Republican crossover vot-
ing in the 2002 Democratic
party primary. Estimates
put the number of crossover
voters as high as 20,000.
The beneficiary of the raid
was McKinneys Democratic
opponent Denise Majette.
This was a case where the
Republicans realized that
they had nothing to lose by
participating in that elec-
tion. If a Democrat was going
to be the ultimate winner,
they wanted it to be their
Democrat.
The local Republicans had
a similar goal. They wanted
Scott Peebles to be their
Democrat.
The mistake they made,
however, is that in Richmond
County, there just werent
enough Republicans to go
around. Of course they had
hoped for assistance from
Richmond Countys DINOs
(Democrats in name only)
and they probably got all of
the DINO vote.
The local GOP shot them-
selves in the foot because
the Republicans who crossed
over to vote for Democrat
Scott Peebles in the primary
may have hurt Republican
Rick Allen who was locked
in a close race for the 12th
Congressional District. Thats
because the Republicans could
have voted in the Democratic
or the Republican primary, but
not both.
The Republicans were hop-
ing for an outright victory of
either Peebles or Allen. But
when both Peebles and Allen
were faced with runoffs, the
strategy proved to be a com-
plete blunder.
Why? Because Republicans
who voted in the Democratic
primary could only vote in
the Democratic runoff. Even if
they wanted to switch and vote
for Allen in the Republican
runoff, they couldnt. The laws
dont permit that.
The fact that both Allen
and Peebles lost their run-
offs by very small margins
means that both candidates
were sacrificed on the alter of
GOP mischief.
UPW News
Not enough Republicans to go around
Democratic Sheriffs candidate Richard Roundtree is a rising political force in Augusta after defeating Scott Peebles. Photo by Vincent Hobbs
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The Great Land
By Frederick Benjamin Sr.
UrbanProWeekly NEWS
AUGUSTA
On Monday, August 27, after six
months of behind the scenes tap
dancing, the city of Augusta and
Augusta Riverfront LLC say that they
have reached a management agree-
ment for the Reynolds Street Parking
Deck.
But have they really?
As of Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012, the
management deal and subsequent
transfer of the land to the AGLBA is
shrouded in uncertainty.
One of the sticking points in the
negotiations is that, despite prom-
ises to the contrary, the owners of
the land on which the parking deck
is built never donated the land to the
city. Thats important because every-
one in the city with the exception of
city administrator Fred Russell, his
legal team and possibly, Mayor Deke
Copenhaver, thought that the city
owned the land.
But when it was discovered that
they really didnt own the land, but
instead owned the air rights they
were understandably upset.
So, they came up with a scheme
whereby, the real owner of the
land (933 Broad Investment Co.
LLC) would donate the land to
the Augusta Land Bank Authority
(AGLBA).
Everyone thought they had found
a solution that everyone could live
with until it was revealed that the
land had a multi-million dollar lien
on it. So then they decided that in
order for the deal to go through, the
lien had to be removed clearing the
way for the land transfer.
But, from the beginning questions
abounded as to whether such a
transfer would violate both the letter
and the spirit of the land banks mis-
sion and more importantly whether
it complied with state statutes that
govern the creation and operation
of land banks.
City attorney Andrew Mackenzie
at that August 27, 2012 special called
meeting said that state law permit-
ted the transfer. Others in city
government including Land Bank
board member Maurice Henley and
Commissioner Joe Bowles said that
changes in state law gave the land
bank more flexibility in handling
commercial property.
The statute cited by Mackenzie
included O.C.G.A. 48-4-106(a) and
O.C.G.A. 48-4-109.
Has the
Parking
Deck
already
been
listed in
the
land bank?
Getting accurate information about
what goes on at the land bank is not
difficult. The staff is small, but profes-
sional. Executive Norman Michael and
coordinator Lisa Williams handle the
day-to-day operations.
The Land Bank is sanctioned by
Georgia State Law and is governed by a
four person board which includes chair-
man B. Maurice Henley, Fred Russell,
Robert Sherman and Paul DeCamp. The
Land Bank meetings are public and are
conducted on every third Wednesday
and every first Thursday.
But when it comes to finding out
whether the Tee Center parking deck has
been added to the land bank inventory,
there are more questions than answers.
Has the parking deck land been
transferred the land to the Land Bank
Authority already?
According to at least one Augusta-
Richmond County Commissioner, its
already a done deal. Commissioner Bill
Lockett told UrbanProWeekly last week
that he thought that the land had been
transferred back on August 28, 2012, the
day that the city commissioners voted 6-
2 to approve the management contract
with Augusta Riverfront LLC. According
to Lockett, transfer of the land was
one of the conditions for getting that
deal done. Lockett, it should be noted,
opposes the transfer.
Land bank board member Maurice
Henley, however, says that the prop-
erty has not been transferred. That item
hasnt been added to our agenda. If there
is a proposal that comes across we would
know about it, Henley said.
Land Bank Director Michael agrees.
That property is not in the land bank
inventory, he said a week ago.
Commissioner Joe Bowles, one of the
early supporters of transferring the land
bank, when asked whether the land had
been transferred already said, I dont
know the answer to that. He said that
the transfer is to be completed once the
mayor signs the management contract
and the lien on the land is released.
As far as anyone knows, none of that
has happened yet.
Asked what would happen if for any
reason the Land Bank couldnt accept
the land, Bowles said, If the land bank
cant accept the land, then the deal is
off.
Asked if he knew which statute that
the city attorney was referring to he
said, I do not know what bill that was.
If theres a question, we would need the
attorney generals ruling.
Bank Scam part 2
Can the Augusta Land Bank accept a fully
developed and revenue producing property?
How does the land bank
get property?
The land bank acquires property by:
a. Purchasing it from a tax delinquent owner
or developer;
b. Accepting donated property;
c. Receiving land in connection with a tax fore-
closure; or by
d. Requesting a judicial foreclosure on the
property and then bidding on the property at
the foreclosure.
What kind of property does
the land bank acquire?
The land bank accepts property, usually from
distressed parts of town, that have not been
tax producing. These are typically abandoned
properties or properties which pose envi-
ronmental risks for citizens. (See The Other
Augusta on pages 8-9 in this edition).
The following language appears in the state
statute governing Land Bank activities:
Land banks are one of the tools that can
be utilized by communities to facilitate the
return of dilapidated, abandoned, and tax
delinquent properties to productive use.
What does the land bank
do with the property it
acquires?
According to the Land Bank Mission Statement,
the must identify a responsible developer for
the property. First preference is given to non-
profit developers of affordable housing.
State law adds the following:
There is an overriding public need to . . .
return properties which are in nonrevenue-gen-
erating, non tax-producing status to an effective
utilization status in order to provide affordable
housing, new industry, and jobs.
In order to comply with state law that governs the cre-
ation and operation of land banks, the city would have
to declare the newly constructed multi-million dollar
Reynolds Street Parking Deck as dilapidated and under
utilized. Photo by Vincent Hobbs
(UPW News) All eyes are on the Augusta Georgia Land
Bank Authority (AGLBA). In order for the city to legally
transfer the land owned by 933 Broad Investments LLC to
the land bank as proposed, it will have to perform some legal
jiu-jitsu or some good old fashioned sleight of hand.
This may not be very easy to do because state law is very
specific about what land banks can do. The state statutes
referenced by city attorney Andrew Mackenzie appear to
give the land bank authority carte blanche to do whatever
it pleases with property that it acquires, but it spells out
clearly the process the land bank must go through in order
to add property to its inventory.
But whatever they do, they will have to do it in broad
daylight and the citizens of Augusta will be watching.
For starters, they will have to have the land bank board
(see sidebar on this page) vote to approve the transfer
during a public meeting. This is probably not something
that the current board, with the exception of Fred Russell,
would be too anxious to do.
State law says that for every transaction involving prop-
erties valued at over $50,000 there has to be a majority
vote and that all land banks must have at least (5) board
members. Currently, the Augusta Land Bank has only four
members. They will have to add another member before
taking any vote.
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Golf
course
fiasco
(UPW News) Augustas privatiza-
tion orgy has gotten off to a great
start. Less than 18 months after the
decision to privatize the citys bus
service and eight months into the
handing over the municipal golf
course to a private firm, the wheels
have come off of both enterprises.
The bus services woes have been
widely publicized and with the lat-
est privatization scheme gone bust,
the privatization mavens are looking
none too smart.
In January, Scotsman Brian Hendry
hosted out an impressive debut of
The New Patch for excited commis-
sioners. Barely six months later,
Hendry and co. bailed out of the
deal.
The interim operators have prob-
lems of their own. The sublet agree-
ment with Hendry may have violated
the contract and vetting issues have
surfaced involving the interim opera-
tors management team.
Also, they say that they need the
money ($300,000) that was denied to Hendry. From the
looks of things, the ultimate fate of municipal golf course is
still anyones guess.
Windell Scott just wants to play golf. The retired golf enthusi-
ast was initially against the city letting go control of the course,
but was won over by the slick promotion that Hendry and Co.
offered. He describes the experience of life at the Patch under
the Hendry regime.
Initially they were maintaining the course, Scott says. That
would include January, February, March, April and May.
In June, however, players began to notice small, but signifi-
cant changes.
There was some let up. They seemed to be having equipment
problems, but they were still maintaining the course. Maybe
they didnt have the funds to maintain that old equipment.
By July, you could see a decline in the way the course was
being maintained. There were watering problems the sprin-
kler system was broken, Scott says.
But, people still went out to play golf. The course was play-
able, even though the roughs were too high. The fairways
hadnt become a problem yet, Scott says.
But that was just a matter of time. Soon, the fairways were
deteriorating. It got to the point where the fairways were not
well kept. That course has a grade of weed which grows real
fast. You could be in the fairways and still have trouble hitting
the ball.
Eventually, personal issues, forced Scott to take a break from
golf, but he returned as soon as it was possible. Things however
had not gotten any better.
I had stopped playing there and just went back in the middle
of August, but the conditions were just too bad, Scott says.
Frederick Benjamin Sr.
I dont know Ricardo Azziz, but I know a little
bit about the ability of The Augusta Chronicle
editorial pages to demonize a local legisla-
tor, candidate or anyone who doesnt care to
amplify their unique worldview. The Augusta
Chronicle has come after Azziz with a mean-
spirtedness that it had heretofore reserved for
African American politicians and their allies in
the Democratic Party.
I dont know what Dr. Azziz political affilia-
tion might be, but from what I can understand,
they dont like his opinion regarding the future
naming of consolidated ASU and GHSU (for-
merly MCG).
As far as the name change is concerned. I
about as concerned with that as I would be if
the Southern Baptists Organization decided to
remove Southern or even Baptist from their
letterhead. I just dont care.
Now, on the other hand, most of what I have
heard about Dr. Azziz has been negative. And
this was before the name change heresy. Most
of that came from friends who work at GHSU
hospital and have been reeling from his heavy-
handedness in employee issues. A lot of people
flat out dont like the man.
But the name change issue is something else
again. Apparently, Augusta Chronicle owner
William S. Morris III doesnt like the name that
the Georgia Regents has chosen Georgia
Regents University. And hes not alone. Those
in favor of an Augusta shout-out in the name
have been very vocal about it, but instead of
taking their wrath out on the Georgia Regents,
they sharpened their knives and went after
Dr. Azziz. The vitriol has been both rabid and
unrelenting. This is not disagreement this is
hatred.
You either like the name or you dont. All
the arguments for or against a particular name
have merit. They are opinions and everyone
has one.
Even Dr. Azziz.
Now, Im thinking that Dr. Azziz has a vision
for the school that is as legitimate, if not more
legitimate, than that of Billy Morris.
Maybe he feels that including Augusta in the
name would call attention to all the negative things
that people are already saying about Augusta or
Augusta State University for that matter.
Lets face it, Augusta has an image problem.
That is why everyone feels that they have to ride
the coattails of the Augusta National.
Thats some standard bearer! When you
think of race and sex discrimination on a major
level. Augusta is right near the top.
One of the most ridiculous arguments being
floated about why the name Augusta is so cool
has to do with the fact that some golfers from
Australia decided to attend ASU because of the
name Augusta. They suggest that because
these Aussies actually decided to come to
Augusta, it led to them winning a national title.
Thats nice.
The arc of that argument suggests that no
one would ever know that Georgia Regents
University is located in Augusta and well miss
out on all those Aussie golfers. How terrible.
Now well have to be content with the excel-
lence of the Paine College golfers.
Even the Augusta-Richmond County
Commission went or record as not caring
whether the name Augusta was included in
the new name. Well, that was before the deluge
from the AC which cowed them back into line.
People are also upset that no one listened to
them when they let their opinions be known.
They keep saying no one listens to us.
To those people, I say, Welcome aboard. No
one listens to us either. Dont be surprised; its
called maintaining control.
Remember about a year ago, when Augustans
met to redraw the voting lines after the 2010
Census. An ad hoc committee was formed
composed of state and local legislators plus
school board members. Well, they put in the
work and got it done. Only to have all their efforts
canceled by big wig Republicans in Atlanta.
Sound familiar?
No one listened, so a federal judge had to
take it to the next step.
I think the integrity of our electoral process is
every bit as important as the name of our local
state-run school. Where was the outrage from
the daily papers? They did nothing but encour-
age the crooks in Atlanta. Now, comes all the
crocodile tears. Child, please!
The people routinely vote in favor of things
which the politicians promptly ignore or
change to suit their purposes. Can you spell
SPLOST?
Other than getting their feelings hurt and
feeling dissed by the powers that be, what
harm can accrue to any individual who in their
heart of hearts must see the name Augusta on
their degree?
When Dr. Azziz had the temerity to suggest
that Augusta was way down on the coolness
meter, he was raked over the coals despite the
fact that Augusta is not cool. But you have to
cut Azziz some slack on that one. After all, his
last assignment before coming to Augusta was
Los Angeles
But that doesnt mean that its not a great
place to live, but lets face it. Augusta has
issues.
The Redneck Olympics, civil war reenact-
ments, Fred Russell and Jerry Brigham. Come
on, yall.
A line from Shakespeare comes to mind. The
one in Hamlet where the Queen says something
like, She doth protest too much, me thinks.
Protest and dissent are great, but I can list 25
things more important to protest about before
we reach the ASU-MCG name change deal.
We think that people should expect that
Augusta can do something about flooding
neighborhoods.
We think that people should expect that
Augusta can do something about poor to non-
existent bus service.
We think that people should expect that
Augusta can do something about the disparity
in city business that goes to women and minor-
ity contractors
We think that people should expect its police
department to be accredited and committed to
diversity.
And wheres the outrage the city builds a city
parking deck on private land and then brags
about obtaining the air rights to perpetuity.
It would be nice if Billy Morris could get
behind some of those things just for starters.
You may not like Ricardo Azziz management
style or his commitment to Augusta, but the
man is entitled to his opinion.
Twenty years from now when Azziz and Billy
Morris may have both left the scene, we may
look back and wonder why the name Azziz
attracted so much negative ink.
Augusta is not cool, but it has plenty of cool
people who live within its borders. And if
Augusta is going to survive, let the cool rule.
Now Dr. Azziz may not be cool, but for sure,
neither is Billy Morris.
Frederick Benjamin Sr.
The demonization
of Ricardo Azziz
urban pro opinion
Brian Hendry,
Scottish golf course
operator, was denied
the $300,000 that the
city is now clamoring
to give to the new
operators.
A Patch loyalist describes
how the experiment went
downhill very quickly
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1.800.546.2685 Fax 706.738.6328
email: tbamakedreams@aol.com
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Ben Hasan
706-394-9411
Managing Editor
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email:
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Mailing Address:
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Paine College has received
the HBCU-UP Research
Initiative Award sponsored
by the National Science
Foundation.
Dr. Lixin Wang, assistant
professor of computer sci-
ence in the Department of
Mathematics, Sciences and
Technology serves as the
principal investigator for
the project titled: HBCU-UP
RIA: Analytical Studies of
Multihop Wireless Networks
with the Log-normal
Shadowing Model.
This is a two-year proj-
ect funded for $162,262
by the National Science
Foundation.
Wang will mentor under-
graduate student researchers
on this unique and presti-
gious research project.
The project is to help
further Wangs research
capability and effectiveness,
improve research and edu-
cation in computer science
at Paine College and involve
undergraduate students in
research experiences.
Wang is also the Co-
principal investigator
of the Minority Science
Engineering Improvement
Program (MSEIP) sponsored
by the U.S. Department of
Education.
He has been an assistant
professor of computer sci-
ence in the Department of
Mathematics, Sciences and
Technology at Paine for two
years.
Dr. Wang hold a Ph.D.
in Computer Science from
the Illinois Institute of
Technology, M.S. in Computer
Science from the University
of Houston, an M.S. in
Applied Math from the
University of Houston, an
M.S. in Math from Fudan
University, Shanghai China,
and a B.S. in Math from
Hunan Normal University,
Hunan, China.
His research interests
include Wireless Networking,
and Algorithm Design and
Analysis.
Dr. Wang has published
papers in leading com-
puter science journals
such as IEEE Transactions
on Information Theory,
IEEE Transactions on
Communications, IEEE
Transactions on Wireless
Communications, and
Discrete Mathematics, Algor-
ithms and Applications.
Paine Awarded Research Grant
Dr Lixin Wang
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Fax: (706)736-0995
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Phone 706-925-2929
Toll Free (877-790-6082
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The Other Augusta Photos by Vincent Hobbs
An old abandoned mill on Fenwick Street. Photo by Vincent Hobbs
The burned out remains of the former Curry Grocery building, located on 12th Street near
Laney-Walker Blvd. The building was eventually demolished. Photo by Vincent Hobbs
D
espite plans to spend over $30 million for the renovation of the
municipal building and giving serious consideration to adding
the multi-million dollar Reynolds Street parking deck onto the
Land Bank inventory, the citys stock of dilapidated buildings contin-
ues to expand. If these properties are not already part of the land bank
inventory, they are prime candidates for consideration. Lets hope that
the Land Bank gets the resources it needs to make a difference in parts
of town that are mired in urban decay instead of using the land bank to
sanitize silly business deals that benefit millionaires. UPW News
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Augustas inventory of dilapidated structures continues to grow. The Augusta Land Bank exists to see that property such as this is eventually
converted to affordable housing. The land bank does not exist to line the pockets of wealthy developers. Photo by Vincent Hobbs
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COLON HYDROTHERAPY
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Marshall Curtis,
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706-722-7355
SPARKING INTEREST: Vocalist Monet Epps performs during Art Walk,
held at the Augusta Commons. Epps is a competitor in the SPARKS tal-
ent showcase. Art Walk featured local artisans with diverse works rang-
ing from paintings, jewelry, and photography to ceramics, fine crafts
and other hand-made goods this past Saturday (Sept. 2, 2012) Photo by
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The Greater Augusta Alumni
Chapter of South Carolina State
University will be inducting six mem-
bers of the chapter into the 2012
Athletic Hall of Fame at SCSU. The
induction date is September 7 at the
SCSU verses Bethune-Cookman game
in Orangeburg, SC.
The inductees are Al Young (head
basketball coach North Augusta HS
boys), Raliegh Roundtree (former
standout at TW Josey HS and pres-
ently an assistant coach at TWJ) and
four members from the first National
Champ football team of 1976. They
are Robert Buzzy Banks (former
standout at Richmond Academy
HS), Arthur Pres Prescott ( former
standout at LC Laney HS), Bobby
Moore (former standout at Aiken HS)
and James Quarles (teacher/coach at
Glenn Hills).
SCSU Hall of Fame Bound
The Greater Augusta SCSU Alumni Chapter Members: (L-R) Al Young
71, Arthur Prescott 79, Raleigh Roundtree 95, James Quarles 78,
Robert Buzzy Banks, and Bobby Moore 79.
A Creme de la Creme model strikes a pose during a runway presenta-
tion at the Paine College Odeum recently. Photo by Vincent Hobbs
Go GRU Jags!
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U
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eekly Pro Commentary
By Mark LeVine
When I was a child, Black History
Month, which since 1976 has been cel-
ebrated in February each year in the
United States, used to mean something.
Perhaps it was because I lived in the
New York Metropolitan area in the
still race-conscious 1970s and 1980s,
but during February it was hard not
to get at least a hint of an education
about African American history and
its contribution to the larger American
mosaic, whether it was school activities
or public service spots on television,
or surrounding the growing chorus of
voices to make Martin Luther King, Jrs
birthday a national holiday.
True, February is the shortest month
of the year; but contrary to urban legend
thats not why it was chosen as Black
History Month. Instead, it was because
the birthdays of President Abraham
Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, per-
haps the two most important figures
before Martin Luther King in the quest
for black freedom in the United States,
both occurred in mid-February.
There were plenty of reasons to criti-
cise the ghettoising of black American
history into one short month. But the
idea at least had the virtue of getting
kids to think about the fact that there
was such a thing as a specifically African
American narrative within the larger,
and largely white, version of American
history we were being taught in school.
And if you grew up in an urban, signifi-
cantly black cultural milieu, the focus on
history - that is, on black people having
a past worth learning about - added a
bit of extra gravitas to the increasing
dominance of African American artistic
production within American culture as
a whole.
Futures worth caring about
If a people has a past worth learning
about, then they also must have a future
worth caring about. This is true whether
one is talking about black Americans or
Native Americans, Palestinians or Kurds,
Roma or Tibetans, or any of the other
dozens of peoples whose pasts, pres-
ents, and futures have been systemati-
cally deprived of them by more power-
ful peoples and governments.
At least that was the lesson I learned
from Black History Month as a child. It
might seem trite or even clichd, until
you imagine what impact a Palestinian
History Month would have in Israel, or
Shii or Coptic History months in Saudi
Arabia or Egypt, or a Jewish history
month in Iraq or Lebanon, never mind
the impossibility of imagining them in
the present climate. The first rule to
denying people the right to live freely
on their land is to deny them their his-
torical narrative.
So in fact, it would seem that Black
History Month, which began in 1926 as
the more modest Negro History Week,
constituted an important milestone
in the growing realisation that black
people had a history and thus a per-
manent place and inalienable right to be
citizens in the United States. It is cer-
tainly true that the present corporatised
version of Black History Month is but
the latest example of how radical black
voices, and the ultimately radical vision
of black and through it, American
liberation of figures like Martin Luther
King, have been suppressed from the
mainstream narrative associated with
the month.
But if we consider how much effort
conservatives continue to expend to
deny President Obama his identity as
a natural-born American citizen (never
mind a Christian; that is, a bona fide
member of the dominant cultural com-
munity), its clear that, if the focus and
even substance of the activities sur-
rounding the month can be debated,
the need for continued emphasis on the
legitimacy of black history in American
society, cannot be denied.
And if we consider that Euro-American
historiography has for centuries defined
sub-Saharan Africans and Africa as liter-
ally having no history (as epitomised by
the view of that ur-modern philosopher
of modernity, G W F Hegel), the long
road before us until black history, and
through it black power, is as acceptable
as its white counterpart, comes more
clearly into view.
Black history as relational and
world history
A decade before he established Negro
History Month, the historian Carter G
Woodson created the Journal of Negro
History, which in recent years changed
its name to the Journal of African
American History to reflect the chang-
ing politics of black American identity.
Reading through the first issues of the
journal, I was struck by the the particu-
lar vision of negro history it heralded.
In its pages we do not see negro or
black history merely as one slice of a
larger mosaic of American history, in
which each narrative is placed next to
each other to create the great American
melting pot without actually helping to
form the basic identity of other groups.
Instead, its clear from the first issue
of the Journal that negro history shaped
the identities of Americans from the
inside, while at the same time remained
at its heart a world history. Reading
through articles on subjects as diverse as
the first black inhabitants of Cincinnati
and the passing of tradition among
African cultures, I understood that one
of the main contributions of my own
field, the historiography of the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict, is less groundbreak-
ing than I have long imagined.
Specifically, historians of Israel/
Palestine have long struggled against
the tendency of both national nar-
ratives, albeit for opposite reasons,
to describe the two movements as
essentially separate and autonomously
developing entitites who have had little
substantive impact on the culture or
identity of the other outside of their
conflict. Against this innaccurate but
common understanding, scholars have
developed implicate or relational
histories of the two peoples, which chal-
lenge the dominant narrative of exclu-
sivist nationalism by demonstrating
how each communitys identities and
histories have been profoundly shaped
through its interactions and evolution
with the other.
Without using terms like relational
or implicate, early 20th-century negro
historians were clearly thinking along
similar lines. Take, for example, this
minor character described in an article
on the (still today) neglected historiog-
raphy of 18th- and 19th-century African
American women, from the Journals
first issue. According to the historian
W B Hartgroves narrative, one Adolphe
Richards was
a native of the Island of Guadaloupe.
He was a Latin of some Negro blood,
Is all history black history?
If a people have a past worth learning about, they also must have a future worth caring about.
It is certainly true that the present corporatised version of Black History
Month is but the latest example of how radical black voices, and the ulti-
mately radical vision of black and through it, American liberation of
figures like Martin Luther King, have been suppressed from the mainstream
narrative associated with the month.
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Black history from page 12
had noble ancestry, and had led an hon-
ourable career. Educated in London and
resident in Guadaloupe, he spoke both
English and French fluently. Because
of poor health in later years he was
directed by his friends to the salubri-
ous climate of Virginia. He settled at
Fredericksburg [Virginia], where he
soon became captivated by the charms
of the talented Maria Louise Moore. On
learning of his marriage, his people and
friends marveled that a man of his stand-
ing had married a coloured woman or a
Southern woman at all.
Adjusting himself to this new
environment, Mr Richards opened a
shop for wood-turning, painting and
glazing. It is highly probable that he
learned these trades in the West Indies,
but having adequate means to main-
tain himself, he had not depended on
his mechanical skill. In Fredericksburg
he had the respect and support of the
best white people, passing as one of
such well-to-do free Negroes as the
Lees, the Cooks, the De Baptistes, who
were contractors, and the Williamses,
who were contractors and brickmak-
ers. His success was in a large measure
due to the good standing of the family
of Mrs Richards and to the wisdom
with which she directed this West
Indian in his new environment.
Its hard to overstate just how many
threads of American history unknown
to most Americans black or white
are woven into Richards brief biog-
raphy. But the central theme is one
of the inherent globality of African
identity and culture in mid-19th-cen-
tury United States. The triangular
circuit between the United States,
the Caribbean, and England; usage
of the French and English languages,
bourgeois and working class position-
ing, continual and routine interactions
between various races; all these belie
the simplistic narrative of slavery-to-
freedom most of us learn when we
study negro, or today African his-
tory (Or should it be African-Caribbean-
British-American history?).
Another fascinating article from
the first issue of the Journal of Negro
History, What the Negro Was Thinking
During the Eighteenth Century, seem-
ingly by Woodson himself, offers pow-
erful and eloquent negro voices against
slavery, whose claims both to universal
and (through the principles outlined in
the Declaration of Independence) at
that point still uniquely American rights
and freedoms call out for a hearing
today as much as they did well over two
centuries ago.
As one writer excerpted by Woodson
declared in a 1788 article, Upon no bet-
ter principle do we plunder the coasts
of Africa, and bring away its wretched
inhabitants as slaves than that, by which
the greater fish swallows up the lesser.
Superior power seems only to produce
superior brutality; and that weakness
and imbecility, which ought to engage
our protection, and interest the feelings
of social benevolence in behalf of the
defenceless, seems only to provoke us
to acts of illiberal outrage and unmanly
violence.
The language might be politically
incorrect by todays standards, but we
would be hard-pressed to find a more
succinct description of the preda-
tory mercantilist capitalism, which first
joined Europe to the Americas on one
side and Asia on the other, through mil-
lions of stolen Africans. They became
the incubator and even engine of a
European-dominated capitalist moder-
nity, grounded not so much in any
Protestant ethic as in the blood and
oppression of unfettered colonialism
and racial slavery without which moder-
nity, and the European (or American)
mircales would never have occurred.
Relational or implicate histories, it is
clear from the articles in the Journal of
Negro History, do not merely teach us
that we have common cultural DNA.
They also force us to confront the vio-
lence that is at the core of our shared
history. Without having to focus on it
explicitly, reading the Journal reminds
us that black people were not just
indigenous to another continent; their
passage to the Americas constituted
the foundation - and along with the
genocide of indigenous Americans, the
original sin - of modernity, from which
the world, and particularly Africa, have
yet to recover.
It is in this sense that I argue that all
history is ultimately black history. We
might be tempted to qualify this by say-
ing that all modern history is ultimately
black history, given Africas and Africans
central if still subaltern role in the his-
tory of the modern world. But as anoth-
er article in the Journals first issue,
The Passing Tradition and the African
Civilisation, argues, in fact the history
of civilisation from its start can only be
understood as beginning in Africa.
Ethnic studies country twang
Most Europeans, never mind white
Americans, still have a lot of trouble
understanding that they owe so much
of what they consider to be their unique
cultures and achievements to African
minds and bodies. Black History Month
tried to correct this by pointing out
the achievements of individual black
American scientists or inventors (the
approach celebrated by Stevie Wonder
in his seminal song Black Man). I
prefer to point out to fans of country
music that the famous country twang,
not to mention the banjo, that define
the quintessentially white American
country music, in fact derive directly
from black Muslim African melodies
and instruments that came to the
United States with the black slaves
whose cultures and identities were so
ruthlessly, if incompletely, stamped out
upon arrival.
Sadly, while corporations use Black
History Month to erase their continued
combination of marginalisation and
exploitation of black American com-
munities, the study of black history, and
ethnic studies more broadly, is coming
under intense attacks from conservative
politicians who are desperate to pre-
serve white cultural-political dominance
against all forces that might challenge it
(Latinos, gays, blacks, the working class)
and from budget-conscious university
administrators who see ethnic studies
- ironically, along with other smaller
fields such as the once-dominant
European languages and literatures - as
easy fodder for drastic reductions in
course offerings, if not elimination. Is
it a coincidence that these attacks have
risen at the same time that a prison-
industrial complex arose in the United
States, which has so disproportionately
criminalised and incarcerated young
black men?
Even at the grade school level, Black
History Month seems to have lost much
of its heuristic power. As I began to
write this column, I asked my children
and several of their friends, ranging
from the first to sixth grades, what
theyd learned from Black History
Month this year. Nothing, they each
replied in turn, explaining that none
of their teachers had even mentioned it
and only one had ever heard of it before
I mentioned it to them.
As I tried to ponder the implications
of how marginalised Black History
Month has become to my children and
their friends, the words of Franz Fanon,
the seminal Martiniquo philosopher
and revolutionary, came to mind. In
his Black Skin, White Masks, Fanon
argued that to speak a language is to
take on a world, a culture. The prob-
lem, however, is that sometimes people
hold a core belief that is very strong.
When they are presented with evidence
that works against that belief, the new
evidence cannot be accepted... And
because it is so important to protect the
core belief, they will rationalise, ignore
and even deny anything that doesnt fit
in with the core belief.
Whatever its faults, Black History
Month and indeed, the far more pow-
erful realities of negro/black/African-
American history offered a generation
of Americans an entree into a language,
a culture, and a world that few would
otherwise have the chance to engage,
but without which it remains impos-
sible to be fully American. Or indeed,
to be fully human, since our common
history, whether 100,000 or 100 years
ago, is rooted in or passes through the
experiences of Africa and its peoples as
much as - if not more than - any other of
the worlds major cultures.
This is a lesson that will take a lot
more than one month a year to teach.
Mark LeVine is a professor of his-
tory at UC Irvine. His most recent books
are Heavy Metal Islam (Random House)
and Impossible Peace: Israel/Palestine
Since 1989 (Zed Books).
Sadly, while corporations use Black History Month
to erase their continued combination of mar-
ginalisation and exploitation of black American
communities, the study of black history, and eth-
nic studies more broadly, is coming under intense
attacks from conservative politicians who are des-
perate to preserve white cultural-political domi-
nance against all forces that might challenge it.
I have always been curious, asking
questions, not necessarily directly
and openly but within my own
mind. This is a place of complete
privacy where I do not have to be
hypocritical in my thinking. I can let
it all flow. It is the safest place for
me to lay it all on the table, without
fear of retribution or any inhibitors
getting in the way. In my mind, I can
go places that I would otherwise be
forbidden to go in my body. I can be
on Broadway in New York City, on
the beach in Savannah, Georgia, or
in one of the most expensive suites
in Las Vegas. I could even be in the
Queens Palace, or in Israel where so
much of Bible history was made, and
still is being made.
Yet so many of us deny ourselves
that last vestige of freedom, think-
ing, and leave it to others to do
it for us. And, believe me; others
are doing it for us. Take political
advertisements as an example. We
are told what to do with so little
information provided in assisting
us making credible decisions. We
usually get what I call catch phrases.
Liberals like to tax and spend is
just one of them. Nobody wants
to be taxed and nobody wants to be
taxed so that liberals can spend it on
wasteful, social causes. So attaching
the simple phrase tax and spend to
Liberals cause people who do not
think to believe what they hear and
not what they have taken the time
to know.
If we would take time to use our
heads for something other than
what my mother used to call a hat
rack, we may find that there is very
little, if any, substance in what we
hear from people who are trying
to win us over to their side. When
we have a government that is put up
for bid every four years, what else
can we expect to hear? We have a
competitive system of government,
which I tend to believe is not the
best system.
Just the other day, for instance, I
thought about how life would be if
we would make a paradigm shift,
one hundred and eighty degrees,
where we, instead of being competi-
tive with one another, especially in
politics, we would be cooperative.
Consider the resources that would
be saved and could be used to fund
other needed endeavors. I believe
working together produces a better
product than working in competi-
tion with one another.
If not working together across
the board, at least there should be
a non-competitive environmental
market in areas where the quality
of life is affected, i.e., food, cloth-
ing, shelter, security, health, etc.
All efforts in these areas should be
cooperative. These are necessities
that we cannot have market driven.
Most likely, someone is ready to
call this socialism. And maybe it
is. Our government has always had
elements of socialism. Everybody
knows this. I cannot imagine what
life in America would be like if it
were not so.
Grady Abrams
August 13, 2012
READERS FORUM: Thinking or just absorbing?
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