Juvenile Boot Camps: Are We Killing Our Children?

There has recently begun a debate about the effectiveness of so-called “boot camps” for juvenile offenders in this country. The debate has arisen due to the many deaths that are occurring in these supposedly good alternatives to incarceration for our youths. Apparently, these “boot camps” have developed an “anything goes” approach to correcting our young people’s behavior. “Tough love” and “character-building” are terms often used to mask what has obviously become some very brutal treatment. What most people would consider basic human rights are being denied to our youth in frighteningly increasing numbers. Denial of food and water (particularly after extreme exercise or running for literally miles) has become common practice with the result of many deaths due to heat stroke, dehydration, and cardiac arrest. Does this sound character-building to you?

This year, Florida shut down its juvenile boot camp system due to the harsh brutality that resulted in many recent deaths. In Arizona, at a privately-run Boys Ranch, sixteen year-old Nicholaus Contraraz suffered bouts of 103 degree fever, muscle spasms, severe chest pains, and impaired breathing. He was forced to participate in calisthenics, running, and the harsh military-style regimen of the ranch. As he got sicker, it got to the point where he was defecating in his bed and he complained of pain all over his body. On the last day of his life, he was forced to do push-ups, was thrown to the ground, and was bounced off a wall on several occasions. An autopsy later showed that his abdomen was flooded with more than two and a half quarts of pus from a horrid staph infection. The immediate cause of death was cardiac arrest. This boy was murdered, as are more and more each day in these “incarceration alternatives."

The fact is that juvenile boot camps lack substantial research as well as regulation. Recidivism rates are no better than for incarcerated youths and many young people are actually beginning to choose lengthy incarceration over the harsh realities of boot camp life.

The main goal of boot camps is to rehabilitate chronic delinquents before they move into the adult world and offend. Most attendees are male, non-violent, repeat offenders between the ages of fourteen and eighteen years. It is difficult to see how brutality and the denial of basic human rights are going to rehabilitate our youth.

Celebrities Roast Rev. Joseph E. Lowery On His 85th Birthday

On Thursday, October 19, 2006, the Board of Directors of the Lowery Institute and The Peoples’ Agenda along with a host of family, friends and supporters will celebrate the 85th Birthday of the Reverend Dr. Joseph E. Lowery. Celebrities such as Harry Belafonte, Dick Gregory, Governor Roy Barnes, Jesse Jackson, and Don King along with other distinguished guests will roast and give tribute to Rev. Lowery as advocate for the “least of these” and fearless fighter for civil rights and justice. Radio talk show host Tom Joyner will MC the Tribute/Roast. The evening’s entertainment will include a performance by Fonzworth Bentley.

The event will be held at the Martin Luther King InternationalChapel at Morehouse College. The reception will begin at 6:00 pm; recording for the Tribute/Roast will begin promptly at 7:30 pm.

Funds raised will benefit the Lowery Institute whose mission is “to provide opportunities for students, teachers, professionals, advocates, elected officials, clergy and laity, to benefit from examples of nonviolent advocacy, and for exploration of the moral, ethical and theological imperatives for justice and human rights for all people”.

The Joseph E. Lowery Institute for Justice and Human Rights is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and all contributions to this event are tax deductible as allowed by law.
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Tickets:
$85.00 Reserved Seating - $50.00 General Admission - $20.00 Student (with I.D.)

Tickets can be purchased online and at the following locations:

People's Agenda
The Atlanta Life Building
100 Auburn Avenue Suite 102
Atlanta, Ga. 30303
(404) 653-1199

Eventions, Inc.
2919 East Point Street
East Point, Ga. 30344
(404) 762-8881

Destiny World Church/Pastor Wilbur Purvis
7400 Factory Shoals Road
Austell, Ga. 31068
Ms. Myrtis Jones
(770) 770-4739

Cascade United Methodist ChurchPastor Marvin Moss
3144 Cascade Road
Atlanta, Ga. 30311
Karen Lowery
(404) 691-5770

Victory Church/Pastor Kenneth Samuel
1170 North Hairston Road
Stone Mountain, Ga.
Monica Smith
(678) 476-6000

Lindsey Street Baptist Church/Pastor Anthony A.W. Motley
550 Lindsey Street N.W.
Atlanta, Ga. 30314
(404) 688-8959

Millions More Movement Hosts Beacon of Light Awards

Troy Young, Tina Hicks, Leroy Thomas,
Elder Ben Ridley, & Darryl Muhammad
(Some of the Recipients of the Beacon of Light Award)

By Clarence Thomas

As a show of its appreciation for the sacrifice and devoted service of thirty-four distinguished community servants, the Middle Georgia Local Organizing Committee of the Millions More Movement hosted its first Beacon of Light Awards Program on September 30. The event was facilitated by Macedonia Baptist Church.

After a fitting welcome and opening prayer by LOC Co-Chair and emcee Kenneth Muhammad, in which he referred to awardees as “well deserving”, the lively and attentive crowd engrossed themselves with an excerpt of the Millions More Movement rally keynote address delivered by Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan during the October 16, 2005 event at the foot of the Capital Building in Washington D.C.

The Millions More Movement is the tenth anniversary commemoration of the historic Million Man March that took place on October 16, 1995 in the nation’s capital. Nearly two million Black men from across the country and world converged on Washington as an expression of their commitment to change within themselves, their families and communities. Unity, Spiritual Values, Education, Economic Development, Political Power, Reparations, Prison Industrial Complex, Health, Artistic/Cultural Development and Peace is the ten-point platform of the Millions More Movement.

Participants were next treated to an impressive guitar performance by a music student of Kenneth Muhammad, before hearing from the event’s main speaker Minister Darryl Muhammad of Macon’s Nation of Islam Mosque #93 – who commended the award recipients for the courage and commitment that they have unselfishly exhibited through service throughout the mid state over the years. Muhammad was also honored with an award following his address: Refocusing on the Millions More Movement.

Beacon of Light recipients were well pleased and impressed with both the event and the selections. “The event was really wonderful. I accept this award on behalf of all the children of Progressive Christian Academy,” said the school’s founder and principal Dr. Betty Tolbert following the ceremony. “Everybody needs to become a light right where they are. Young people especially need that light and I want to continue being one.”

Veteran television anchor and reporter of Channel 13 fame Tina Hicks was overwhelmed. “I’m so elated that somebody remembered,” she excitedly expressed. “This program was well done and very inclusive. I’m very grateful for the Local Organizing Committee choosing unsung heroes that go above and beyond the call of duty. The right things that we do in secret will eventually be rewarded openly by God and I’m grateful for that!”

Joining Tolbert and Hicks were Reverend Lonzy Edwards of Mount Moriah Baptist Church and the Georgia Informer's very own founder and publisher Herbert Dennard. Both have made tremendous sacrifices in their fields of endeavor and as community activists. "This award is an honor but it goes way beyond me," Edwards reflected. "Our community has to figure out how to do better than we are doing. Hopefully these designations will inspire us and others to redouble our efforts and try even harder to improve conditions throughout all Macon." Dennard expressed his gratitude for the award and reminded himself and others of what service should be about. "When people do things, they should not do it for the honor but because it's the right thing to do. I'm grateful to be honored while I'm living."

The 2006 Millions More Movement Beacon of Light recipients are as follows:

ART & CULTURE
Wini McQueen, Fabric Artist
Wilfred Stroud, Painter & Illustrator
Baba Raa El & Aima Bey, Story Tellers/Performing Artists
Chi Ezekwueche, Cultural Innovator and Visual Artist
Kirklyn Hodges, Owner/Creator of Homeland Village
BUSINESS
D.T. Walton, Jr., Walton Dentistry
Alex C. Habersham, Entrepreneur, Middle GA Black Pages
Fred Jones, Jones Brother Eastlawn Memorial Chapel
Saleem’s Fish Supreme
Troy Young Realty

COMMUNICATIONS
Leroy Thomas, Veteran Journalist/Activist
Tina Hicks, former television Anchor/Reporter
Shirley Ellis, Radio Announcer & FVSU Educator
Herbert Dennard; Publisher, Georgia Informer

COMMUNITY SERVICE
Loretto Grier Cudjoe Smith NAACP & Community Activist
Herbert Tuggle; former Librarian, Washington Library
Tina Dennard, Adopt-A-Role Model & Middle GA Black Pages
Howard Scott; Director, Booker T. Washington Center

EDUCATION
Betty Tolbert; Founder/Principal, Progressive Christian Academy
Lillie Ruth Gantt; Founder/Principal, M.A. Evans Gantt School
Leontine Espy; Lifetime Educator, Teacher, Principal, Deputy Superintendent
Oscar Jackson, Music Educator, Bandleader

ENTERTAINMENT
Eddie Kirkland, Blues Pioneer
Basil Dixon, Percussion Pioneer
Tony Dorsey & Mary Holmes, Legendary Bone, Holmes & Friends

POLITICS
Mayor C. Jack Ellis, Macon’s First Black Mayor
Lonnie & Ronnie Miley, Renown Twin Political Servants & Activists
State Representative David Lucas
Macon City Council President Anita Ponder

RELIGION
Rev. Jacob Parker; Pastor, Ebenezer Baptist Church
Elder Benjamin Ridley, Middle GA Regional AME Leader
Rev. Eddie Smith; Lead Servant, Macedonia Baptist Church
Rev. Lonzy Edwards; Pastor, Mt. Moriah Baptist Church
Min. Darryl Muhammad, Nation of Islam Mosque #93

Bert Bivins To Receive NAACP AWARD

The Macon Branch of the NAACP will sponsor the Annual Earl Shinhoster Freedom Fund Awards BanquetSaturday, October 21, 2006 at 6:00 P.M. at the Macon City Auditorium, 415 First Street, Macon, Georgia.

This year, the NAACP will honor veteran civil rights leader Bert Bivins, III with the Earl Shinhoster Freedom Award. Bert Bivins, III was the first Black to integrate the Bibb County School System in 1963, and he was arrested for integrating the YMCA. He serves as a County Commissioner, retired teacher, and retired Warner Robins Air Force Base employee.

Just before finishing high school, Bert Bivins, III followed his mother, Hester Bivins, into the civil rights movement, taking part in protest demonstrations, marches and the bus boycott.
In the fall of 1961 Bert Bivins, III went back to Ballard-Hudson at night to study electronics. In the summer of 1962, he went to work at Robins air force Base as a janitor (a common entry point for minorities in those days).

While attending vocational school at Ballard-Hudson in 1962, he asked for a transfer to segregated Dudley Hughes Vocational School. Because Ballard-Hudson had one teacher teaching two classes. That “uppity” action got him suspended from school, and school officials said that they were going to “teach him a lesson.” His attitude was so “uppity”, he told them “when it was all over, we’ll see who learns the most.”
Not long after that, he earned the right to take part in an electronic training program at robins Air Force Base. Base Officials tried to discourage him from taking part in the program, because training was to be held at segregated Dudley Hughes Vocational School.

He not only insisted on taking the job, but told school and base official he intended to attend classes at Dudley Hughes with the white students, or he would not attend at all.
Base officials told him he would lose his job if he did not accept second class arrangements for certification of training. His reply was that f he lived in a country that would allow him to lose his job for refusing to be segregated, it was time for him to know it. He wrote a letter to Attorney General Robert Kennedy, and soon had discussions with the justice department.

With talk that the school system could lose some federal funding, the Bibb county board of Education held a called meeting in June of 1963. The board voted to admit Bert Bivins, III to Dudley Hughes as an exception to the rules of segregation.

In June of 1964, he finished the training program with the highest average in the class, and was immediately drafted into the army. In 1968 (or 67) a group of young black men were denied admission to the Young Men’s Christian Association YMCA) to play basketball, in spite of the fact that one of them had a membership card (from New York).

He helped organize and participated in a demonstration at the YMCA, which landed him in jail. Rather than integrate the YMCA, the charter was given up, and the place once known as the YMCA is today commonly called the “City Club”.
Bert Bivins, III was involved in many other civil rights activities:

He was involved in the integration of Tatnall Square Park .
A member of the “White Hat Corp”, set up to prevent violence at a time when cities were being burned all over the country.
Took part in bi-racial group discussions
Was a panelist on a weekly television talk show (Community Forum)
Wrote for the Macon courier and The Telegraph
In 1970, he married Barbara Hones. They have two children – Belinda and Bert IV. He also has six siblings.

Bert retired from Robins Air Force Base in 1992 and returned to Fort Valley State College to become certified to teach. He graduated in the summer of 1994, with the highest GPA in his class, and taught in Twiggs and Bibb County School systems until 2004 when he retired from teaching.

In 1995, he ran for the un-expired term of his mentor, William P. Randall, on the Bibb County Board of commissioners, where he still serves.

He is a member of the Little Rock Baptist Church and honorary society organizations.

New Report Exposes Failure of Workers' Compensation Systems

ATLANTA - A new report released today by Georgia Watch and national consumer rights group, Center for Justice & Democracy, finds that workers’ compensation programs nationwide and in Georgia have devastated injured workers, leaving them to contend with an adversarial bureaucracy and inadequate benefits that render many destitute.

The CJ&D report, “Workers’ Compensation – A Cautionary Tale,” calls the workers’ compensation program a “colossal failure” and notes, “[t]he real winners are insurance companies, which continue to boast record profits as workers’ benefits are declining.”
“Workers’ compensation is an unfortunate example of how a seemingly fair program can be manipulated by political forces into a nightmare for those it was originally meant to help,” said attorney and policy analyst Amy Widman, the report’s author.

The report closely analyzes the progressive deterioration of the workers’ compensation system since its inception in the early part of the last century, highlighting disturbing trends in several states. In Georgia, those trends include the insurance industry’s attempt to strip benefits from workers who have suffered catastrophic injuries, and the legislature’s use of the annual maximum compensation rate as a political football.

“Georgia’s maximum weekly compensation is the lowest in the country,” said Georgia Watch Executive Director Allison Wall. “We need to do more for workers who are injured on the job.”
Other deficiencies inherent in Georgia’s workers’ compensation system include:
While most states determine compensation rates based on indexing, or by a percentage (75-100 percent) of the state’s average weekly wage, the state legislature arbitrarily chooses Georgia’s maximum weekly compensation rate, politicizing the decision.
In Georgia, where the state average weekly wage is $680-$700, the weekly maximum compensation rate is $450, the lowest in the country.
Georgia’s statute of limitations is one year from the date of an injury, whereas the statute of limitations in most other states is 2-3 years from the date of the injury.
Weekly indemnity benefits for Georgia workers are cut off after a maximum of 400 weeks, or less than eight years, with few exceptions. While the worker receives lifetime medical benefits, after a maximum of 400 weeks, most workers receive no compensation for lost wage, lost physical ability or lost mental ability.

According to “Workers’ Compensation – A Cautionary Tale”, through a combination of factors like the slashing of benefits, unprecedented and insurmountable eligibility requirements, and continuous industry lobbying of politicians and agency administrators, workers’ compensation programs in many states have been essentially gutted, leaving injured workers without adequate help to care for their families.

The CJ&D Report also brands workers’ compensation a “cautionary tale” about the pitfalls of administrative compensation programs that take away someone’s right to trial by jury, such as proposed “health courts” for medical malpractice victims. Citing problems with workers compensation, the CJ&D Report warns against this idea, stating, “Once political forces take over a statutory system, and they always do, it is merely a matter of time before a pro-victim proposal for no-fault compensation is turned into a fault-based, bureaucratic nightmare for the injured person.”

Upholding the Rule of Law Requires Prosecution of Killers in the Moore’s Ford Bridge Lynchings

“Murder is murder. It doesn’t matter if it took place six minutes ago, six hours ago, six days ago . . . or 60 years ago. That’s why the lynchings case continues to receive attention, both locally and nationally, even after all this time."

"The best way to put an end to this tragic story is to bring those who perpetuated the crime to justice, and that’s a story I hope we will be able to tell someday."

These are quotes from Patrick Graham’s column “Vantage Point” (7-26-06). Mr. Graham is publisher of the Walton Tribune in Monroe, Georgia.

It is appropriate to use these words from the publisher of this local bi-weekly because they speak volumes in compelling and challenging us in so many ways to continue our work which cries out for upholding the Rule of Law (not just for George and Mae Murray Dorsey, and Roger and Dorothy Malcom (and the unborn infant cut out of Mrs. Malcom), who were beaten, cut, shot and lynched on the Moore’s Ford Bridge, July 25, 1946.), but for all who believe in our Constitution and this Republic, the great USA.

No doubt there are those who believe we should just forget about this massacre and let all the suspected killers get older and die and then wait for somebody to issue a report which will factually prove their involvement and complicity after they are safely dead. That’s exactly the strategy the state of Florida successfully used in the horrible KKK firebombing deaths of Harry and Harriet Moore (1951) in Mims, Florida. This is insulting and shameful. We thank God no one convinced the great Simon Wiesenthal to give up and just write a report about old Nazis responsible for the killing of innocent Jews during the Holocaust. He demanded justice for victims and the upholding of the rule of law. Therefore, many old Nazi murderers are serving life sentences in prisons.

This strategy of “forget and wait” is a serious blow to our criminal justice system and has been employed by killers and conspirators in Walton County since 1946. The killers have also been rewarded with street signs and road markers. What a gift for their heinous mob action.

One of the most frequently asked questions of us is: What would Walton County, Georgia and the United States government do if the victims were white?

We commend Mississippi and Alabama for not using this tactic to let killers go free, let them die and then issue a report. Thank God they didn’t, because we would not have witnessed prosecutions in the murders of: James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner in Philadelphia, Mississippi; Medgar Evers, Jackson, Mississippi; the four little girls at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama; Jimmie Lee Jackson, Marion, Alabama; and Emmett Till, Money, Mississippi.

Also, thank God this tactic was not used following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee.

Yes, it would be constructive for prosecutors to issue a report naming all 55 suspects listed in the original FBI investigation. But just in case you didn’t know, some are still alive and safely residing in Monroe and near the Moore’s Ford Bridge. We can never allow the status of senior citizen to deter or delay the pursuit of justice. In the words of freedom fighters, “Ain’t gonna let nobody turn us around.”

Some of us, including Bobby Howard, were introduced to this case in 1968 by the late Mr. Dan Young and will continue until justice and the rule of law prevails.

Note: Citizens can claim the $27,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and successful prosecution of the killers. For more information visit: www.gabeo.org

State Rep. Tyrone Brooks (D-Atlanta) is president of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials. Charles Steele is the national president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and a former Alabama state senator.

Unity Eve

Homeland Village & the Middle Georgia LOC for the Millions More Movement presents…..

UNITY EVE
“A Spiritual and Cultural Connection”

Saturday November 4, 2006
3 – 7 PM
Homeland Village
2910 Napier Avenue
(Foul weather location will be L.H. Williams Elementary Gym)
325 Pursley Street

Featuring:
African Dance & Drumming, Live Music, Positive Hip Hop, Spoken Word, Youth Talent Time, Community Speakers, Food, Children’s Activities & More

Come out and hear Pastor Ronald Toney address Domestic Violence as Rev. Eddie Smith, Veteran Journalist and Community Activist Leroy Thomas, Experienced Educator Lillie Ruth Gantt-Evans & Nation of Islam Minister Darryl Muhammad expound on Political Power, the price paid to achieve it and its importance to the future health of the Black Community.

Free event designed to increase community operational unity, cultural awareness and to encourage participation in the local organizing committee for the Millions More Movement.
For more information, call (478) 742-3328 or (478) 744-0913

Woman, 44, gives birth to 18th child

ABBOTSFORD, British Columbia (July 28) ­

A Romanian immigrant has given birth to her 18th child in British Columbia, making her the province’s most prolific mother in 20 years. Proud dad Alexandru Ionce said Saturday
that his 44yearold wife, Livia, gave birth on Tuesday. Their daughter Abigail weighed in at seven pounds, 12 ounces. "We never planned how many children to have. We just let God guide our lives, you know, because we strongly believe life comes from God and that’s the reason we
did not stop the life," said Alexandru Ionce. The couple immigrated to Canada from Romania in 1990 and now live in Abbotsford, British Columbia. Their 17 other children range in age from 20
months to 23 years old. Ionce said he did not know if the couple would have more children. The family now has 10 girls and eight boys. "We would have liked a boy to be even," he said. "We thank God all of them are healthy and happy." Ionce said the family has received calls from Germany, Romania and England, as well as from media outlets across Canada.

Hamp Swain of Macon Georgia, To Be Inducted Into The Georgia Music Hall Of Fame

Recenlty, Hamp Swain received a call from music promoter Alan Walden, informing him that he was being named one of the inductees for the Georgia Music Hall of Fame’s Class of 2008. Walden, Ben Sandefur (fellow DJ “back in the day” and current owner of GMS Advertising in Macon) and Senator Robert Brown had campaigned for years to see “Hamp” gain his rightful place in music history. "Hamp definitely deserves to be in the Hall of Fame," said Senator Brown. "I nominated and supported Hamp because he has a strong history of supporting music. He was a pioneer in recognizing rising talent during a time when it was difficult for black entertainers to get exposure." The Induction will take place in September of this year.

“When I set out in radio, I never dreamed of this (induction),” said Swain. “Senator Brown knew weeks ago, but had told Alan (Walden) not to say anything yet. When Alan couldn’t hold it anymore, he called me Monday to tell me. He was so excited, he had tears in his eyes,” finished Swain.

Hamp & Atlanta attorney Roy Miller during the filming of the movie "BIngo Long and the Traveling All Stars"

A Macon disc jockey for years, dating back to the 1950s, Swain helped launch the careers of such greats as Otis Redding and James Brown by giving them airtime on the radio. Known as “King Bee”, Swain was Macon’s first black DJ, beginning his career at WBML-AM in 1954. During his time there, he played James Brown’s “Please, Please, Please” over and over again, until music producer Cliff Brantley heard it and contacted Swain to find out more about Brown. “The rest is history,” said Swain. Three years later, Swain moved to WIBB, joining Satellite Papa (Ray Brown) and Big Saul (Charles Green).

Swain also hosted the Teenage Party at the Douglass Theater, where Otis Redding won many talent contests and launched his career.

Hamp & Mahalia Jackson at the WIBB station in the '50s

During his DJ days, Swain was privileged to meet many great artists including The Supremes, Sam Cooke, Mahalia Jackson, and Marvin Gaye.

Many people were involved in getting Swain inducted into the Hall of Fame. “I just want to give a great, big thank you to all of those who worked for this for me and the thousands of fans who wrote in my behalf,” said Swain. “I’m very grateful.”

Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials

Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials
News Conference and Re-enactment of 1946 Moore's Ford Bridge Lynchings

GABEO (Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials) held a news conference at the State Capital in Atlanta, Georgia beside the statue of Governor Eugene Talmadge at 10am on July 21, 2008. This conference was held to bring awareness of the 1946 lynchings of Roger Malcom and his wife and unborn daughter and George and Mae Murray Dorsey. Reenactment of the lynchings will take place on Friday, July 25, 2008, the 62nd anniversary of the murders and the 4th reenactment to date.

During the news conference, an actor portraying Governor Eugene Talmadge spoke at the old Walton County jail in Monroe, where Roger Malcom was held for 11 days before the lynching. Ms. Euriel “Blondie” Young and Ms. Portia Scott were guest speakers. Young is the daughter of the late funeral director Dan Young, who picked up the bodies of the victims and prepared them for burial. Scott is the daughter of Atlanta Daily World co-founder C.A. Scott, who helped to break the story in the Black press and demanded prosecution of the killers.

This year marks the fourth annual reenactment of the Moore’s Ford Bridge murders in Monroe County, Georgia, the last public mass lynching in the United States. On July 25, 1946, the Dorseys and the Malcoms and their unborn daughter were slaughtered by a mob of unmasked white men at the Moore’s Ford Bridge. Five suspects continue to live in Walton County.

Congressman John Lewis of Georgia’s 5th District and Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut have been instrumental over the years in helping to unmask the killers in this case. The two are co-sponsors of HR 923, also known as the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act, which authorizes $10 million annually for 10 years to prosecute cold case civil rights murders. Because of the heinous nature of the murders and the number of victims, the Moore’s Ford Bridge lynchings are at the top of the list of crimes investigated. There is also a $35,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the killers.

Please see below for a complete itinerary of the events being held on Friday, July 25, 2008 in Monroe, Georgia and directions to this remembrance of those whose murderers still remain free.

1st African Baptist ChurchTyler Street at Highway 11 (Across from Church’s Chicken)12 Noon – Church Opens for Meditation and Prayers for Justice2 p.m. – Pre-Reenactment Rally
Invited Guest Speakers will include National and Local Civil/Human Rights and Political Leaders
Reenactment Timeline Narrator: Mr. Robert Howard, Civil Rights Activist Walton CountyDirector: Ms. Bobbie Paul, Director, WANDCoordinator: Ms. Hattie Lawson, Chair, Athens Area Human Relations Council 4:30 p.m. Leave 1st African Baptist Church4:45 p.m. Arrive at the Farm House of Barney Hester, 2932 Hester Town Road(This is where the altercation occurred leading to the arrest of Roger Malcom, Sunday, July 14, 1946.)5 p.m. Leave Barney Hester’s House5:15 p.m. Arrive at the Old County Jail, 203 Milledge Avenue, Downtown Monroe(Place where Roger Malcom was held for 11 days.)5:30 p.m. Leave the Jail en route to the Moore’s Ford Bridge (This is the exact time that Loy Harrison (white farmer) took the Malcoms and the Dorseys from the jail and delivered them to the KKK lynch mob waiting at the Moore’s Ford Bridge.)6 p.m. Arrive at the Moore’s Ford Bridge for the Reenactment Ceremony and Call for Justice: Arrest and Prosecution Now!!7 p.m. Benediction: At the Historic Memorial Marker Dedicated to the Legacy of: Roger and Dorothy Malcom (and unborn infant), George and Mae Murray Dorsey. And a Challenge to Us All to Continue Our Quest and Pursuit of Justice.
Note: There is a $35,000 Reward for information that leads to the Arrest and Prosecution of the Killers. If You Have Information of the Lynchings, Please Contact: The GBI – 404-244-2600 or the FBI – 404-679-9000. For More Information Contact: Rep. Tyrone Brooks, President, 404-656-6372 or 404-372-1894, or visit our Web site: www.gabeo.org
Message to the killers: “You can run but you can’t hide forever!”


Directions
From Atlanta:
Take I-20 East
Exit at Conyers-Athens
Take Highway 138
Turn left and head straight to Monroe
(Pass McDonalds on your left and keep straight on Highway 78)
Exit at Highway 11 (Monroe Exit)
Turn right
Go one block and turn left on Tyler Street
Church is on your left (look for Church’s Chicken on the right)
Telephone (7 70) 267-5819


From Decatur:
Go Hwy. 78 East, pass Loganville to Monroe Exit
Turn Right, then left at Tyler Street
Church is on your left (look for Church’s Chicken on the right)
Coming I-20 West:
Exit at Monroe Monticello Exit #98
Turn right. Stay on Highway 11 straight to Monroe
(Approximately 13 miles)
You will pass through downtown Social Circle to Monroe
(Stay on Hwy. 11 North)
Look for Church’s Chicken on your left
Turn right on Tyler Street
You are at the church


Coming From Athens:
Take Highway 78 West to Monroe
Exit on East Spring Street, come into town
Take a right on Broad Street at courthouse (Hwy.11)
Turn right and come up to Church’s Chicken
Turn right on Tyler Street
Coming from Macon area:
Come to Monticello
Take Highway 11, North all the way to Monroe
(Follow the instructions as outlined above)
Note: If you pass Church’s Chicken you have gone too far.

For More Information Call Rep. Tyrone Brooks @ (404) 372-1894, (404) 656-6372
and visit www.gabeo.org.

Remembering Ford For The Right Reasons

Isn’t it strange how, in death, some of the most remembered acts of our lives are not the most important? Former President Gerald Ford is just such a case. Probably most widely known as the only president never elected and the one who pardoned President Richard Nixon of his Watergate crimes, these facts become almost insignificant when compared to Ford’s support of legislation that changed the country.


Consider the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. As a congressman, Ford supported and voted for these two pieces of legislature, while all Democratic congressmen from the South and many conservatice Republicans, such as Senator Barry Goldwater, voted against it. These Acts had far-reaching effects and opened new doors for blacks that had been previously slammed shut and locked.


The 1964 Civil Rights Act established as law the following:
1. All persons shall be entitled to full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, advantages, and accommodations of any public place without regards to race, color, religion, or national origin, to include:
a. any inn, hotel, motel, or any other place of lodging
b. any restaurant, cafeteria, lunchroom or other facility that serves food, including gas stations
c. any motion picture house, theater, concert hall, sports arena, stadium, or any other facility for entertainment.


The 1965 Voting Rights Act outlawed literacy tests and poll taxes as a way to decide whether anyone was fit or unfit to vote. The impact was quick and dramatic. Within a year, only 4 of the traditional 13 southern states had less than 50% of African Americans registered to vote. Long-term results of the legislation were far more blacks elected to public office. This Act was the boost that the civil rights cause needed to move it along at a much faster pace.


During his presidency, Ford appointed William Coleman as Secretary of Transportation, only the second black to serve in a presidential Cabinet and the first appointed by a Republican administration.


As one can easily see, we should remember the great things that Gerald Ford accomplished during his life; things that many are apt to take for granted. This country has lost a great statesman, one who was truly for all the people. We could use more like him.