NAACP officials are applauding the support of Citizens Bank, Sumter Bank and Trust and Capitol City Bank and Trust of Albany as the only three banking institutions that contributed to the Annual Freedom Fund Banquet held April 21. However, the NAACP officials are disappointed over the lack of support from several local banks including Peoples South Bank, Wachovia, and First State Bank.

 “As we usually do, we sent out letters and made contact with all the banks in the community,” said Dr. John D. Marshall, outgoing president of the Americus-Sumter NAACP. “The only three banks that bought advertisements, made financial and other forms of contributions to the banquet were Capitol City Bank, Citizens and Sumter Bank and Trust. The rest just totally ignored our letters.”

A corporate supporter, James L. Bryant Jr., a Regional Vice President with Primerica Financial Services, who attended the banquet, said his company financially contributes to the NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet every year. “I believe in the principles for which the NAACP stands,” Bryant said. “There’s no room for discrimination of any kind in our society whether it be racial, sexual or religious. I put my money where my heart is.”

Marshall said, “It’s too bad that Barry Blount (president of Peoples South Bank), Scott Ivey (president of First State Bank), Scott Rossman (president of Wachovia), don’t share the same sentiments. Based upon their actions, it appears as if these men and their companies believe in sucking money out of the black community, but are ardently against giving a small portion back to the Black community for support. And when I say support, I mean gifts, not high risk loans.”

Dr. Marshall, who stepped down recently after 14 years as head of the local civil rights group, said he could not believe that Wachovia donated $50,000 to help rebuild Sumter Regional Hospital, which Marshall  referred to as “a racist hospital” but couldn’t give $500 to the local NAACP to help fight discrimination. He said although Wachovia gave $1 million to the national NAACP to help change its image as an unsupportive financial institution to blacks, but “wouldn’t give one dollar to the Americus branch.”

“It is highly disappointing that two of the most prominent black churches in town, Friendship and Bethesda, both have huge loans with People’s Community Bank, but Mayor Blount and bank president McGowan couldn’t find funds in their budgets to support the NAACP. It’s not that we need their money. We are a very viable and financially strong branch. We will not stop telling the truth just to receive financial support from anyone in Sumter County. We have to speak truth to power even if they may be previous supporters,” Marshall said.

Officials with the NAACP said in the near future they will be having discussions with churches, businesses and other organizations about moving their business to Capitol City Bank, a black-owned bank that has continuously supported the Freedom Fund Banquet for years.

ASU Media

"The world is in good hands today. It is in your hands," said former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young to the 2007 spring graduating class at Albany State University on May 5.

He told the graduating class of 280 students that they are now ready to serve the world. "You have learned how to study and to value the opinions and analysis of others," he said.

He advised the students not to worry about other people's perceptions of them. "People may consider you quiet, shy and country. Employers won't think about that, they will care about how well you get the job done and how well you inspire others. Presidents Carter and Clinton were from small towns in rural America yet they ascended to the presidency," he said.

He told the students to value the education they have received.  "While you were in school you learned a great deal. He said learning is a life-long process. "I study harder now, 57 years after graduation than I did when I was in school," he said. 

Life is much greater than anything we can imagine," Young said. "God's plans for our lives are much greater than our plans. Everything presents us with a tremendous opportunity," he said. Young, a civil rights activist, referred to what he called "opportunities that the horrors of racial segregation" provided his generation.

 "The walls," Young said, that divided his generation, now separates this generation. "Christians are separated from Arabs, religious people from non-religious," he said. "Those divisions have to be destroyed.

"Realize that challenges and obstacles are opportunities to make you strong. Stay healthy, exercise, watch what you eat. Be careful of your body. Take good care of your body. Take your burdens to the Lord and leave them there. Realize that the biggest cause of disease and death today is stress."

During the program, ASU President, Dr. Everette J. Freeman presented Young with the institution's first International Citizen of the Year Award. Young was given the award because of his dedication to worthwhile causes around the world, Dr. Freeman said.

The International Citizen of Year Award, established by Dr. Freeman, will be presented annually to individuals who are committed to excellence in leadership, and who have a demonstrated commitment to social justice, civil rights, and to broadening opportunities for all Americans.

Also, Dr. Ellis Sykes, the institution's retiring chief academic officer, was awarded a special gift in appreciation for nearly 35 years of outstanding service to ASU. Dr Sykes served ASU in various capacities, most notably as a professor, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (Natural Sciences and Health Professions), Chair of the Department of Natural Sciences, and his final role as Vice President of Academic Affairs.

"It is an honor to recognize an individual who has dedicated his entire career not only to Albany State University but to ensuring that this institution fulfilled its mission to provide a high quality of education for every student who passes through its doors," Dr. Freeman said.

I want you to know that I do not hold any malice or ill will toward you. That is a true tenant of my personal faith.

The entire town, except for the most uninformed, has come to see how you and your close associate, Mr. James Bryant, Jr. are working maliciously day and night to turn Americus into a cesspool of hatred, and that your minds and hearts are utterly poisoned by vindictiveness toward others.

I and my family have taken blow after blow from you, despite the good we have tried to show you, and we have patiently and charitably endured these undeserved assaults, also hearing the advice of some that it will just go away.

You have had our genuine prayers that you, a physian, and your friend will get the help you need to heal yourselves of what are obviously deep and abiding scars.

Now you are viciously attacking my children, and the children of others in ways that are completely unbecoming of a man of your age and supposed station. I now realize that the advice that you will just go away is mistaken, that you and your kind do not intend to stop and that your hurtful ways will not end until the people take action.

While we have tolerated assaults on us as adults, we can not continue to stand by and let you assault our own children. Any civilized person can understand this. Since, in your paper and elsewhere, you have ridiculed and mocked the requests of others for correction of the unbelievable lies which you have shamelessly printed, I have no illusion that you will not do the same here.

However, in a father's effort to protect our children, I am required under Ga. Law, first to request a retraction.

The law (O.C.G.A 51-5-11) reads: " In any civil action for libel which changes the publication of an erroneous statement alleged to be libelous, it shall be relevant and competent evidence for either party to prove that the plaintiff requested retraction in writing at least seven days prior to the filing of the of the action or omitted to request retraction in this manner...(If the newspaper makes a proper retraction) the plaintiff shall not be entitled to punitive damages and the (publisher-defendant) shall be liable only to pay actual damages."

Therefore, under the law, you are requested to "retract" the following:

In your publication known as "The AmericSumter Observer", under date of January, 2007, and your characterization in this article that this is an example of girls gone wild" knowing full well that the context of this meaning is a well known current TV show depicting outright nudity and pornography which has nothing to do with my daughter's charge of DUI and does not apply to the face and has never applied to her conduct at any applied to her conduct at any time; you have used this reference in earlier reporting about one or more other persons as well; that you admit that these false reports by you are racially motivated against my daughter and other children in our community because they are white (see page 1 and 6A).

This article also includes other serious misstatements and omissions of facts. There absolutely was no" cover-up" and no special privileges granted. A defense motion based on the illegal procedures used in making the case was acknowledged as correct and valid by the city, resulting in dismissal of the of charge on perfectly legal grounds. There were no favors granted to my child at any time. She complied with every request made to her.

Your newspaper article was written expressly to defame and injure, to create ill will and resentment through misunderstanding of the true facts and through false reporting. They were malicious and false, either outright or because of omission to report the whole, material truth.

When you sued the local hospital accusing it of being "racist' the hospital authorities paid you millions to get rid of you, thinking it was buying its peace from you. That was a miscalculation. Now the hospital and the community is in desperate need and should have that money back.

I Challenge you to return it. You insult an innocent and trusting community, both black and white, by participating in the sealing of court records which would show how much you were paid by this pubic service hospital, and will not tell anyone how much. You could have insisted that the record be made public like most court records are, yet you want to accuse others of cover up!

I have not seen you spend any of it for the benefit of the black community. Instead I have heard you brag about the out-of-state interior decorators you hired with it and the very expensive, "big-shot" Atlanta lawyers you pay.

Win or lose, a jury can at least have a chance to put a stop to your insane madness and restore this community the funds it gave up to you.

In about 1985 you showed up in our town and almost immediately began to enact a campaign of negative behavior that assaulted a proud and growing racial harmony here.

This harmony was hard earned by people from both races who were determined that right would prevail. We wanted our children to have peace and understanding with one another. Our town was moving in the direction of bright progress and achievement.

Even though very little was known about you, a trusting community welcomed you and the hospital accepted you. The local NAACP chapter, respected by everyone here, in trusted you with its office of president. Your future here was promising.

Then people, both black and white, began to realize things about you. Like a smiling Judas you turned viciously on any person in the black community who would not let you enslave him. You began to reveal strongly racist attitudes. You began to associate with people of questionable motives. You began printing what turned out to be a propaganda paper that practiced unashamed slander and libel against a broad spectrum of decent citizens in our town and their children, both black and white, and against the town itself. You hijacked the local NAACP chapter and used it to slander and attack good people, pretending to speak for the black community when you were only acting out your personal vindictiveness in the name of your own people. At the 2006 annual banquet I personally heard you challenge and threaten the members in attendance to do something about it if they didn't like it, knowing full well that had frightened many dissenting members into submission.

You began to be seen as self centered, mean and vindictive, expecting everyone to slavishly adopt your agenda, like it or not, or pay. You did not hesitate to threaten or intimidate to get your way, as you did me, ordering me out of a tragic wrongful death case, saying you wanted your lawyer friend in Atlanta to have it. In this preserved conversation, I refused to allow you to tell me what case I could or could not work on, and then you bragged that you would hurt me.

You want to run the black community, but instead you are running the entire community down.