urban pro weekly july 26, 2012
TRANSCRIPT
Deon Grant:Best ofthe best
NEWS • COMMENTARY • ARTS • ENTERTAINMENT
Newspaper
The CSRA’s
FREEWEEKLY
July 26 - Aug. 2, 2012Urban WeeklyPro
NFL Super Bowl Champgets unique tributefrom the Augusta Museum Photo by Vincent Hobbs
Walton Oaksopens Phase II
of mixed-incomehousing complex
MOREFIRSTFRIDAYHYPE
!Adva nce Voting
results indicate high voter interest
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UrbanProWeekly • JULY 26 - AUGUST 1, 2012
PublisherBen Hasan
706-394-9411
Managing EditorFrederick Benjamin Sr.
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Sales & MarketingPhone: 706-394-9411
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Urban WeeklyPro
VOTEHattie Holmes-Sullivan
Clerk Of Court“A Proven Democrat”
Family LifeBorn and raised in Augusta, Hattie has two beautiful daughters- Shonda and Felicia, one son Levi, Jr., and four grandchildren, Chassidy, Chelsey, Chance and Chandlier. And one great-great granddaughter Jada.
Work Experienceü Hattie is a dedicated public servant who has worked in the office of the Clerk of
Superior and State Court for 20 plus years as Deputy Clerk and Administrative Assistant
ü Currently working for State Court Judge of Augusta Richmond County, Georgia as Judicial Assistant
Education, Training, Knowledge, Abilities and SkillsLucy C. Laney High School graduate, with over 100 hours of training with Georgia Criminal Information Center, the National Criminal Information Center and Criminal Justice Information System. Hattie has working knowledge of court rules and procedures.
Paid for by the Committee to Elect Hattie Holmes-Sullivan Clerk of CourtP. O. Box 9229-Augusta, Georgia 30906
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LOCAL NEWSpublisher’s corner T-SPLOST is bad deal T-SPLOST is on the ballot in the
JULY 31 Primary and we encourage Augustans to vote NO. Why should the voters tax themselves another penny in this economic climate, especially when we are depending on 12 other counties to pass this act as well? Why
would we put our penny into a region-al pot and expect to be treated fairly at the end of the day?
If we as Augustans feel the need to tax ourselves an additional penny, we can do that by way of our Commission and have the opportunity to choose
what projects we would like to fund. We as citizens have had no input into the T-SPLOST choice of projects. That says to me that if we have been ignored in the beginning, we will be ignored in the end. Let’s do ourselves a great service and vote NO on the T-SPLOST.
Early voting numbersindicate high interest
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Clock ticking on First Friday plan
LOCAL NEWS
CPA Sanford Lloyd (R), of the Clean Augusta Downtown Initiative, shares his vision of First Friday during a community forum where a panel of city leaders and business people discussed the future of the event. Sheriff Ronnie Strength (L) spoke about the safety of downtown during the forum on July 18, 2012. Photo by Vincent Hobbs
Springfield Baptist225th Anniversary Celebration opens with First Friday event
AUGUSTAHistoric Springfield Baptist
Church, the oldest African American Baptist church in America organized in 1787 and still standing at the same location, will celebrate its 225th Anniversary on August 12, 2012, with the Rev. Al Sharpton as the guest speaker.
The celebration kicks off on First Friday, August 3 from 6 to 9 p.m. with a Praise in the Park Celebration at the Springfield Village Park located at 12th and Reynolds Streets, downtown Augusta. This outdoor praise and wor-ship concert is free to the public and will feature live gospel singing, praise dance, spoken word poetry, food, and fun. Everyone is encour-aged to bring canned goods and non-perishable food items, which will be donated to the Head of the Giant Ministries, a non-profit fam-ily shelter located in South Augusta.
The celebration will con-tinue on Sunday, August 12 with Augusta Fire Chief Chris James delivering the
keynote address at our 10 a.m. Memorial Service. At the close of service, Pastor Hardy S. Bennings, III, will lead the Laying of the Wreaths Ceremony honoring former pastors.
The celebration continues at 12 noon with the unveil-ing of the new street name: Springfield Way.
The Commemorative Anni-versary Celebration will continue at 3 p.m. with the Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of the National Action Network, delivering the keynote address.
Music for the Anniversary celebration will be rendered by “Faith,” Springfield’s con-cert choir.
Al Sharpton
Serenity Charity Club, Inc and Augusta Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club, along with Augusta Recreation and Parks Department, KISS 96.3 and Nu Omega Psi Sorority, will be holding their annual Back-to-School Supply Giveaway on Sunday, August 12, 2012 from 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm. The give-away will be held at Brigham Community Center on Golden Camp Road, Augusta, GA.
Pam Perry, the founder and president of Serenity Charity Club, Inc and Nu Omega Psi Sorority, Theta Chapter, said, “Normally the start of school is an exciting time of year for children, as well as the parents. But due to the financial strain that has been placed upon many families, the excitement and promise of having the basic back-to-school supplies is just not a reality. Therefore we are asking the community to come together to provide backpacks, school supplies, and basic need items for our
children!”The sponsoring organiza-
tions are currently collecting school supplies to give to our area youth!
The goal is to provide school supplies for 700 chil-dren (drawstring backpacks filled with school supplies will be given to the first 250 children). Others will receive school supplies, but without the backpacks. Child(ren) must be present to receive supplies. Parents must bring a copy of last year report card or a copy of the child(ren) birth certificate to receive supplies. This event will also provide free haircuts for the boys; nail polishing for the girls; and FREE refreshments for the kids.
Those wishing to donate supplies, can drop them off at Brigham Community Center or contact Ms. Thompkins @ 706-699-1071; Ms. Perry @ 706.755.0357 or Mr. Smalls @ 706-825-4449! Deadline for donations is August 7, 2012.
Charities and local organizations unite to offer free school supplies
AUGUSTAFriday, August 3, may not
experience the largest crowd to visit downtown on a Friday in recent years, but it might well be the most anticipated First Friday celebration this year.
In the wake of the shooting that wounded six in the wan-ing hours of First Friday on
June 6, 2012, there have been a flurry of activity and discus-sions about the future of First Fridays in Augusta.
Despite calls by Augusta Sheriff Ronnie Strength to put someone in charge of the event or shut it down, downtown businesses, orga-nizations, and patrons are not looking for ways to limit the
celebration, but rather defi-antly asserting that the vio-lence was random and don’t see any reason to jump the gun by imposing unneeded First Friday restrictions.
City Administrator Fred Russell is pulling together a plan which he hopes will enhance First Friday security in time for the August 3 date.
Early voting numbersindicate high interest
AUGUSTAEarly voting numbers for
this year’s General Primary and Nonpartisan races sug-gest that we may be in for high voter turnout on the Tuesday, July 31, 2012 elec-tion.
“We’re seeing a little more interest this year,” said Lynn Bailey of the Richmond County Board of Elections. Bailey has been very active this season by attending
numerous community infor-mation sessions.
According to reports released by Bailey’s office, the totals for the first three days of advance voting in the week before the General Primary have exceeded the same period in the 2008 General Primary.
As of Tuesday, July 24, 2012, 2089 persons cast their vote in the first three days compared with 1,858 for the
first 3 days in the last week of advance voting in 2008. This year, Saturday voting was allowed. In 2008, there was no Saturday voting.
Bailey thinks she knows why there is more interest this year.
“We’re seeing well con-tested races this year on both the Republican and Democratic ballots. Also, the nonpartisan judge’s has sparked interest.
Advance Voting in First Three Days of Final Week in 2012 vs 2008
Day 1 484 115Day 2 557 111Day 3 696 119
Day 1 363 123Day 2 513 211Day 3 494 154
2012 2008Dem Rep Dem Rep 1st (3) Days Totals
Year 2008 - 1858Year 2012 - 2089
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Augustans living in District 5 will have one last opportunity to talk to city elec-tion officials and elected officials prior to the July 31, 2012 General Primary and Nonpartisan Elections.
On Saturday, July 28, 2012 District 5 Commissioner Bill Lockett will be the facilitator at a Community Meeting/Breakfast at the Henry H. Brigham Community Center at 2456 Golden Camp Road in Augusta.
The meeting begins at 9 am and will end before noon. Among the speakers scheduled are Lynn Bailey, Executive Director, Richmond County Board of Elections; Angela Palm, Director, Legislative and Policy Services, Georgia School Board Association. Palm will dis-cuss the Charter School Constitutional Amendment. State Rep. Quincy Murphy and Richmond County Trustee Patsy Scott will also bring remarks.
District 5 Community Meeting/Breakfast set for Sat. July 28
AUGUSTAJoyce Jones, vice presi-
dent for student services and dean of students at Au-gusta State University, has been named the University System of Georgia’s vice chancellor for Student Affairs, effective August 15, 2012.
The position is an upgrade from the former position of associate vice chancellor and was recom-mended by campus stu-dent leaders. Supported by Chancellor Hank Huckaby, the new position gives greater authority to the vice chancellor in deal-ing with student issues and policy.
The head of Student Affairs has the primary responsibility for general oversight of a wide range of student services pro-vided throughout the USG. The Office provides direct support for five major areas of student admin-istration: Enrollment Services; Student Services; Student Life; Student Information; and Special Projects. The VCSA also works collaboratively with the System-wide Student Advisory Council (SAC), and a number of Regents Advisory Committees
related to students. Jones was named to
her new post by USG Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer Dr. Houston Davis. “We are so excited to have Dr. Jones join our team,” Davis said. “Her wealth of experience in student affairs and services com-bined with her strong rela-tionships with our system campuses will enable her to advance the work of this critical area.”
Jones and the Student Affairs department report to Davis as part of the USG’s Academic Affairs division. Among other duties, she will be involved with the System’s work to increase college comple-tion rates under the Complete College Georgia
initiative. Since 2005, Jones has
served as dean of stu-dents at Augusta State. She assumed the role of vice president for student services. At ASU, she has supervised several offices including financial aid, student activities, testing and disability services, the counseling center, the career center, interna-tional student programs, code of conduct, judicial and disciplinary boards, residence life and the first-year experience.
She came to Augusta State from The Carter Center of Emory University in Atlanta, where she held the position of director of Educational Programs from 1995 to 1998. Prior to Emory, Jones was assistant vice president for Student Affairs at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. from 1993 to 1995.
Jones received a doctoral degree in clinical psychol-ogy from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas. She is originally from Terrell, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, Texas.
ASU former dean of students to lead University System student affairs operations
Joyce Jones
FRIENDLY WELCOME: Hostesses Danessa Burnett (L) and Shayeeda Stewart (R) prepare to greet guests during the unveiling of an exhibit honoring Deon Grant at the Augusta Museum of History on Friday, July 20. See next page. Photo by Vincent Hobbs
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Augusta Museum boosts Deon Grant’s legacy
BUDDIES: De Pierce (right) of Augusta Mercedes was one of the moving forces responsible for the city’s unique tribute to NFL Super Bowl Champ Deon Grant (left). Photo by Vincent Hobbs
(Above) Deon Grant, NFL football star, speaks to reporters during the unveiling of an exhibit honoring him at the Augusta Museum of History. Grant, a former safety for the New York Giants, is a 12-year NFL veteran and Superbowl champion.Photo by Vincent Hobbs
(Above) The Augusta Museum of History unveiled an exhibit honoring Deon Grant during a cer-emony in the main hall. Grant, a former safety for the New York Giants, is a 12-year NFL veteran and Superbowl champion. Photo by Vincent Hobbs
AUGUSTANFL Super Bowl Champion Deon Grant is making local
history in a unique way. On Friday, July 20, the Augusta Museum of History unveiled its brand new Deon Grant exhibit.
Grant, the T.W. Josey alum reached the pinnacle of a 12-year professional football career this year with the February 5 Super Bowl victory as a member of the New York Giants. For Grant, it was his second Super Bowl appearance and the high point of an illustrative sports career which saw him rise to the top at every level from Pop Warner through grade school, high school, college and the National Football League Championship.
The impetus for the museum exhibit came from De Pierce, of Mercedes of Augusta. Pierce sat down with UrbanProWeekly and explained how the tribute came about.
“To be honest with you. Something was supposed to happen for Deon in the city and it didn’t happen,” Pierce explained. “Deon and I had been friends for a while and I saw him the day it was supposed to happen. I asked him how was everything and he said, ‘De, nothing hap-pened’.”
Amazed that a local hero could be treated so shabbily, Pierce went to work.
“I got on the phone, I called Deon, I called Hardie Davis, I called the commis-sioners and said, ‘this is not right. This is not how we treat Augustans, especially a person who has won the Super Bowl.’ So from that point forward, I formed a com-mittee and we went to work.
Pierce said they thought about a parade or naming a street after Grant, but settled on the museum exhibit like the one the museum has for legendary performer James Brown.
“The James Brown exhibit is great and you never know when another Deon Grant will come along again. So, why not put him on display? We wanted to do something fit-ting for his legacy that would last a long time,” Pierce said.
Grant was overwhelmed by the tribute.“This is unbelievable. You look about this room and
you see the history in this room. I think the only African American you see in here is James Brown. Words can’t express what it means for me to be in this building with a person like that.”
Grant believes in giving back to the community. His foundation, Grant D. Knowledge targets kids who are strug-gling.
“The next generation is so important. If we don’t strive to bring them up to our level, we will all be struggling for years to come. I was one of those struggling kids.”
Grant always credits the part his mother played in his life.
“My mom is my best friend. He has been there from day one. She instilled in us to still enjoy life. When we didn’t have a pair of pants, she let us know that we still have God in our life.”
Grant’s mother, Joyce Wright, shares her secret of raising a successful family. “We pray a lot,” she said. “When god has a divine purpose, it’s bound to happen.”
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Walton Oaks Phase II now available
A new model two-bedroom apartment was shown during the grand opening reception at Walton Oaks Apartment Homes in east Augusta. The new devel-opment was built on the former site of Underwood Homes public housing.Photo by Vincent Hobbs
Augusta Housing Authority board member Dr. Rodger Murchison speaks to the crowd during the grand opening reception of Walton Oaks Apartment Homes in east Augusta. Photo by Vincent Hobbs
A courtyard view of Walton Oaks Apartment Homes. Photo by Vincent Hobbs
Georgia State Representative Wayne Howard speaks to the crowd during the grand open-ing reception of Walton Oaks Apartment Homes in east Augusta. Photo by Vincent Hobbs
Guests enjoy food refreshments during the grand opening recep-tion of Walton Oaks Apartment Homes in east Augusta.
Mixed-income housing community celebrates Grand Opening.
About eight months ago, the Augusta Housing Authority (AHA) and Walton Communities unveiled the Legacy at Walton Oaks, a 75-unit housing commu-nity for senior citizens. Last week, they unveiled an additional 75 units for mixed income families.
Walton Oaks represents the new direc-tion for affordable public housing for the Augusta area. The mix of two and three bedroom apartments will be available for both low and moderate income families.
Walton Oaks has numerous indoor and outdoor seating areas, sculptured gardens a gazebo, and an outdoor grilling area.
Fourteen of the units are set aside for Section 8 occupants managed by the AHA.
This represents the second of four phases which will provide a total of 300 units. The complex is build on the site of the former Underwood Homes Public Housing project.
“Instead of having all public housing families living together, you have them mixed into the broader community,” said Jacob Oglesby, director of AHA.
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Urban WeeklyPro Commentary
For the past four years I have served as Chief Judge for the Superior Court of the Augusta Judicial Circuit. This responsibility has given me a unique opportunity to lead the court during a time of significant change. My fellow judges and the dedicated courthouse staff work hard every day to make sure our court proceedings are timely, efficient, and fair. This focus has allowed our court to serve the people of this judicial circuit in an open and balanced manner.
For the principles of democracy to be both protected and fulfilled our courts must be fair, just and available to all citizens. I have spent
my professional career dedicated to the goal of making sure that the comfort and protection of the law is available to all who have a just cause. In many ways the Superior Court is an important crossroads for our community. Here the best and the worst of our society often intersect. As a judge my job is to make sure that all parties have an equal and fair chance to be heard and that the administration of justice is guided by the law and delivered in a swift and clear manner. Holding firm to these values has allowed me to work for the best interests of our community while protecting the integrity of our judicial system.
I hope to continue my service to the people of the Augusta Judicial Circuit for another term. Vote for J. Carlisle Overstreet on July 31, 2012.
Lieutenant ROBBIE SILAS has the honesty, loyalty, integrity, knowledge and experience it take to keep this Community and the RCSO moving forward. SILAS is a life long resident of Augusta-Richmond County, he has been married for 23 years, has two children ages 19 & 17. SILAS has 15 years law enforcement experience; he is dedicated to the job, Silas has not missed a day of work in 15 years, except when his parents past away. SILAS has chose to stay on the road patrol because it gave him the oppor-tunity to “Know the Streets, Know the Community, and by doing so, Know the JOB” which gave him the 1st hand experience to meet the folks of the community, and to know their con-cerns as parents, grandparents, busi-ness owners and concerned citizens
of the community. SILAS knows the importance of family and the involve-ment needed to keep our youth safe and what it will take to “PROTECT YOUR FAMILIES FUTURE.
I support Robbie Silas for Sheriff not just because he is my brother, but because he is the BEST man for the JOB. I know the person he is, I know his loyalty & dedication to the RCSO as well as his honesty & integrity, but most important I know his heart. He is in this race to make a difference, he is sincere in the message he brings.
Robbie SILAS didn’t just wake up one morning and decide he wanted to be Sheriff, but has worked hard to achieve this respected position in the Augusta-Richmond County Community. He knows how to man-age a budget, under his leadership
and the help of many volunteer brought Master City Little League out of the red zone into the black. SILAS has a perfect credit score which is critical if you’re managing someone else’s budget, and that is true with the RCSO budget, if you are unable to manage your own finances how are you expected to manage a budget as large as the RCSO.
Robbie SILAS believes in fair-ness within RCSO; he will keep the playing fields equal. No one will be overlooked because of race or sex. He will be committed to protecting the citizens of this community.
VOTE, TUESDAY, JULY 31ST, DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY to ELECT ROBBIE SILAS FOR SHERIFF.
Patti Strength
Strength for Silas SheriffLETTERS
By Eoin O’Carroll
Sally Ride, who in 1983 became the first American woman in space, died Monday after a 17-month illness.
Born in Encino, Calif., in 1951, Ride attended Stanford University, where she majored in English and physics. After completing her doctor-ate in physics at Stanford in 1978, she joined NASA as part of the first cohort of astronauts that admitted women.
After training for five years, Ride was selected as one of the five astro-nauts who would rocket into space on the Space Shuttle Challenger’s STS-7 mission, which lifted off from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on June 18, 1983.
“The thing that I’ll remember most about the flight is that it was fun,” Ride is quoted on the Sally Ride Science website. “In fact, I’m sure it was the most fun I’ll ever have in my life.”
Ride would travel into space one more time, in 1984, again aboard the Challenger. She was assigned to a third mission, but after the Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff in 1986, she joined the commission investigat-ing the deadly accident.
Ride retired from NASA in 1987, after which she taught physics at the University of California, San Diego, and authored several science books for children.
In 2001, she founded Sally Ride Science, an education company
“dedicated to supporting girls’ and boys’ interests in science, math and technology.”
“Sally Ride broke barriers with grace and professionalism – and lit-erally changed the face of America’s space program,” said NASA
Administrator Charles Bolden in a statement. “The nation has lost one of its finest leaders, teachers and explorers. Our thoughts and prayers are with Sally’s family and the many she inspired. She will be missed, but her star will always shine brightly.”
Astronaut Sally Ride ‘broke barriers with grace and professionalism,’ says NASA
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By Scott Baldauf
It’s a continent with a long history of war, famine, disease, and recent-ly, a penchant for political instability due to economic mismanagement.
But enough about Europe. Let’s talk about a continent with some hope: Africa.
In 2012, as the rest of the world slows down because past exuberant consumerism and speculative invest-ment – or debt, as they used to call it – Africa is expected to grow by 4.5 percent or 4.9 percent, depending on whether you believe the African Development Bank or the World Bank, respectively.
This growth is due, in part, to African natural resources being dug up, chopped down, or pumped out and sold to global consumers who still have cash – mainly China, India, Brazil, and Russia – and it is also due to the growth of African middle-class consumption. Yes, read that again: African middle-class consumption. According to McKinsey & Company, there is an African middle class; and although they are scattered over 54 different countries, and speak many different languages, they are at least as large as the Indian middle class, and they spend money like middle-
class people everywhere do.“Africa’s economic growth is creat-
ing substantial new business oppor-tunities that are often overlooked by global companies,” said Damian Hattingh, an associate at McKinsey & Company, which produced the report “The Changing Face of the African Consumer” last month.
For those who are used to head-lines about Africa that include “war” or “rape” or “child soldiers” – let’s exclude readers of The Christian Science Monitor, who know better – all of this may come as a bit of a shock. First, how can Africa grow when the rest of the world is shrink-ing? The answer is that a number of African countries have gotten better at managing their own fiscal affairs, avoiding crazy social spend-ing or loose credit schemes that load up public debt. Some countries with massive oil deposits, such as Angola, Nigeria, and Uganda, have been watching the cash roll in as the global price for oil hangs steadily around $100 a barrel. Others, such as Kenya, South Africa, and Rwanda, have diversified their economies into technology and services, so that they aren’t so dependent on commodity prices for their economic future.
McKinsey, which interviewed some
15,000 consumers in 10 different African countries, found Africans to have the kind of spending habits that attract big companies. According to the report, most African households spent 30 percent of their money on groceries, 10 percent on clothing, 6 percent on telecommunications, an amount that could total $185 billion by 2010.
Now, that is still far behind the spending of Indian consumers, who spent $991 billion in 2010, and are expected to spend $3.6 trillion by 2020. But it’s not nothing, either. And unlike Europe, the Americas, and the non-Chinese parts of East Asia, Africa is actually growing.
Africa, it must be noted, is not a country, and its growth is not spread out uniformly like tulips in a Dutch field. There are laggards like Central African Republic and Chad. There are conflict-torn countries like Somalia, anarchistic messes like the Democratic Republic of Congo, a scattering of dictatorships, and odd little kingdoms like Swaziland where the leaders treat the public treasury like a personal piggy bank.
So yes, Africa has problems. But it’s easier to deal with problems if the money is flowing in, and that is cer-tainly the case in Africa. In fact, the
influx of cash and investment is so strong that the African Development Bank warned this week against “exces-sive exuberance,” which sounds close to Alan Greenspan’s warnings against “irrational exuberance,” in December 1996.
Chronic youth joblessness at home, along with the uncertainty over Europe’s ability to control public debt, could still drag down Africa’s economic growth, since Europeans buy much of the food and other commodities produced by African companies.
“That will have implications on the growth of the continent,” Donald Kaberuka, the president of the African Development Bank, told reporters at the Launch of the bank’s economic outlook report yesterday in Tunis, Tunisia.
The key to success with money, according to the African Development Bank, is to act as if you don’t have it.
“While keeping an eye on new eco-nomic storm clouds in Europe, Africa must keep its focus on reforms that encourage growth and ease social tensions that set off the Arab revolu-tions and caused North Africa’s GDP growth to decline by 3.6 percentage points to near stagnation in 2011,” the banks said in its report.
As Europe peers into economic chasm, Africa’s economy is risingEconomic reports show how Africa continues to offer a bright spot in the global economy.
Over the years I have tried to provoke thought through my articles, columns, letters, books, and my postings on my Facebook page. I have done this tak-ing into consideration other persons’ points of view. Having just a one-sided view of issues would make me an agent of shallow information.
I am speaking as a man who has lived more than three score years and ten – a man who has had to rely on public and private libraries to access knowledge most of my formal education years, a man who did not have instant access to knowledge as it is available today with a touch of a keyboard. Now, stu-dents have that access without ever leaving home. To compete, and even to survive, in the world to come, hav-ing marketable knowledge is going to be the key. This is going to be true especially in the political and financial world. In other words, we will have to hear the truth coming from these agents.
On Sunday morning, July 8, 2012, I shared a site on my Facebook page uncharacteristic of me. However, I knew what I was doing and was expect-ing fans to be shocked – and they were. I had the gall to share a woman’s YouTube postings that were what some would call over the top. She used a public forum to say what we often say in private. The anger was not so much about what she was saying, I believe, but rather where she said it. In public – where politicians tell us everything except the truth.
What is more important, listening to one expressing one’s true feelings and convictions, as it is often done in pri-
vate, or hiding them, as it is often done in public? If the latter, no wonder poli-ticians lie to us during campaigns. We want them to tell us what we want to hear, not what we need to hear. We are just as guilty as they are because we are complicit. Nobody wants to hear the painful truth. This is the culture in which we live today.
Back to the woman’s videos I shared on my Facebook page. She calls herself Atlantasistah. I admit, her language is raw – the kind we speak around people with whom we are very comfortable. What I call honest language. She cusses a lot, but I was not offended by it. She had strong convictions, and she put a face on them. If for no other reason she ought to be applauded for that. Can I get a politician to say amen?
Cuss words, when you really think about it, do not have much meaning at all in regular conversation, though we make a lot of it. Often they are just fillers, and they are a few in number. If you would use one of them in a sen-tence right now, you will not be able to explain how its meaning adds to the substance of what you are trying to say. It’s like saying “nigger.” Whatever meaning you want it to be, that’s what it is.
On the other hand, polite language tends to hide true feelings. People can cuss us out and we not know it. The message is often covered up with a lot of niceties. You know what I mean, don’t you? The Bible says, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”
Grady AbramsJuly 17, 2012
Honest or two-facedLETTERS
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