"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
- The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Many of the people who responded to The Augusta's Chronicle's series on race over the past 14 months made clear their opinions on the topic: Leave this 800-pound gorilla alone.
Don't talk about it. Talking about it only stirs things up. It's no longer an issue.
Keith Brown is amazed by that sort of thought. As one of the dozens of people who appeared in the 30 stories and columns that the newspaper has written on race, he believes there isn't enough discussion about the subject.
"That's crazy logic to me," said Mr. Brown, who is a regional manager at Auto Color in Augusta and was part of a roundtable discussion the newspaper held April 26 on race relations. "There's some truth to the fact that sometimes when you've got a problem and just talking about it all the time keeps it stirred up. There's some truth to that, but I don't believe that this is in that category. We've got a problem, in the whole country, and I think it's something that needs to be talked straight with. I'm just stunned by people who say that's not a problem."
To conclude its race relations project, The Chronicle asked Mr. Brown and others from the series how they would address the problem. There was no consensus on how to resolve the differences, but several said the first step in doing so lies in just getting to know people on a personal basis.
"We don't go to the same churches, we don't really belong to the same social clubs, the country clubs - those sorts of things have only token cross-fertilization," said the Rev. Paulwyn Boliek, a co-chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee, a grass-roots group created in 2002 by the city's Human Relations Commission to promote racial understanding. "I think until we socialize together and really get to know each other on a personal level, there's still going to be this wall between us."
When The Chronicle began its project last January, there was little doubt that racial differences were still considered a problem in Augusta. Nearly 65 percent of the 400 people polled in a 2003 survey commissioned by the newspaper believed that to be the case locally.
But taking on this sensitive topic prompted questions about the newspaper's motives, and some still openly question The Chronicle's credibility in being the one who tackled it.
"The Chronicle is the wrong vehicle to be used to push this issue," said Augusta attorney Ben Allen, a roundtable member. "People just don't view The Chronicle as being a paper that is tolerant of change. ... It brings a certain amount of baggage with it to begin a discussion as sensitive as race relations until no one trusts it. No matter what results The Chronicle says take place, people will always be suspect of the results because they are going to say, 'Well, that's what The Chronicle wants to do because it had this motive.'"
A May 9 story in the series dealt with the role that the newspaper played in Augusta race relations. Many at the roundtable criticized The Chronicle, particularly its editorial page, for creating racial tension in Augusta.
"I respectfully disagree with Mr. Allen and others who say The Chronicle shouldn't try to bridge the racial gap," said Dennis Sodomka, the executive editor of The Chronicle. "There is no wrong vehicle to try to bring people together. Each one of us should use every means possible to tear down the racial walls that have been built up over the years.
"And what motive would The Chronicle have for promoting such an agenda? We want a better community. We know that if the community is stronger, we all succeed, personally and in our businesses."
The series has generated plenty of response since it kicked off Jan. 25, 2004. A March 28 story on interracial couples prompted the most response with a couple dozen e-mails and heated discussion on the forums section of the newspaper's Web site.
A primary goal of the series was to start what the newspaper hoped would be a serious discussion on race. Several of the people contacted said it was hard to judge what impact the project has had on the community.
Bishop Cesar Brooks, of First Family Church of Augusta, said he has gotten many positive comments from a Feb. 13 story that explored segregation in churches. Bishop Brooks, the pastor in the multi-ethnic church, said the article prompted a recent lunch with Charles "Champ" Walker Jr., son of state Sen. Charles Walker and a 2002 congressional candidate, in which they talked about a number of prominent people who want to bring about racial harmony in Augusta.
"I have told our congregation I will not do business with someone I know is a bigot, even if they could give me a better deal or do a better job," Bishop Brooks said. "I won't support them. I won't embrace them. That is a personal commitment I make at my level."
For some people, the series' success was in putting a much-needed spotlight on an uncomfortable issue.
"I think you made it known to some folks who may have not given it much thought," said James Kendrick, the chairman of the Community Trust Initiative, an Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce sponsored group that addresses area race relations. "As far as, 'Did you change any minds?' - I doubt very seriously you did. I think it's going to be a thing where you got to change some hearts. And writing in the paper or standing up and giving a speech is not going to do that. It's got to be a heart-changing experience for people to truly, truly get into race relations that everyone is proud of and can accept within this community."
Staff writers Johnny Edwards, James Gallagher, Greg Rickabaugh, Preston Sparks, Sylvia Cooper, Virginia Norton and Dena Levitz contributed to this article.
Reach Mike Wynn at (706) 823-3218 or mike.wynn@augustachronicle.com.
"I think all the nasty, straight-up prejudices and opinions ought to be talked straight out. You can't change people's hearts unless they want them changed, but I think you have to put it out there."
- Keith Brown, invitee to The Chronicle's April 26 roundtable on race relations
"For better or for worse, when you get right down to it, most decisions that involve power, or another way of saying it, most decisions which involve money in Augusta are made by white men because they are in the positions of authority. They decide who gets a loan, they decide who gets hired, they decide essentially who gets to serve in positions of power. And until we can get past that, where everybody is included, everybody has a place at the table, we're going to have the same situation we've got today."
- the Rev. Paulwyn Boliek, co-chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee and a roundtable invitee
"We've got to have this continued dialogue between the races or we're never going to get it done. I don't think we can stop talking. What you do when you bury your head in the sand is, where it is is where it stays. No one gains and no one loses."
- James Kendrick, chairman of the Community Trust Initiative and a roundtable invitee
"It's really not going to ever be solved, because it's history, you know what I mean? We've gotten to where we are right now because of history. I think maybe people should get to know other people, whether it be block parties or just things at work. I just think the only way it's going to be solved is if people really open up and mingle with other people..."
- Marcella Harper, appeared in a March 28 story on interracial couples and a roundtable invitee
"If the issue were left up to me, I would probably seek ways to bring the different communities, especially the predomi¤-nantly white, predominant¤-ly black communities, together. A lot of the communities are into sporting events. I think it would be nice to do some type of sporting event that is designed just for communities, where it's communities against each other in competition."
- Maj. Ingrid Scurry, appeared in a Jan. 16 story on segregated neighborhoods
"The way the whole thing on race relations is going now, I think you kind of have to wait and see if there's been an impact (from the series). I think most of it has to sink in. The first thing you've got to do is to teach the children not to hate and everybody get on common ground."
- Woody Highsmith, a member of the Brig. Gen. E. Porter Alexander Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans, appeared in a Feb. 28, 2004, story on the Georgia flag vote
"That's (race) something that's always going to be a part of this society. It always has been. It's always going to be here. The only people who don't think the same are different. We grew up different. We experience different things. We live in different areas. So how can we not have those differences? That don't mean we've got to be mad with each other. And I don't think that's the case in Augusta. But there are differences that we have to deal with that we have to recognize."
- Augusta Commissioner Marion Williams, appeared in a Dec. 19 story on racial divisions on the Augusta Commission
"On an individual level, (people) can be challenged to lay down bigotry, to expose it, to renounce bigotry, to make an effort and tolerate (other) people."
- Bishop Cesar Brooks, appeared in a Feb. 13 story on segregation in churches
"I feel more can be accomplished by focusing on common¤ali-t¤ies. Everyone has unique qualities. Minorities are becoming the majority in many communities. The shift in demographics creates unique business opportunities. The community needs to recognize there are multiple active minority groups contributing daily to our tax base."
- Robert Chaplin, Operations Manager/East Georgia, Atlanta Gas Light, appeared in a June 27 story on minority hiring
"This community is going to be a better community than those communities where you only have one race in total control, in total domination of the other. Here you have a group of people who have the same goal. We all want what's best for this community. That is the goal. How do we get there? That is where we have a difference of opinion."
- Ben Allen, Augusta attorney, appeared in a May 16 story on the re-segregation of Augusta schools and a roundtable invitee
"We just have to keep moving forward. I think the healthiest thing in the world is the growing number of Hispanics coming†here. It's not polarized (to black and white) anymore. There's a third leg to stand on."
- Kip Edwards, appeared in a March 7 story on other minorities groups in Augusta
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