It was March 7, 1965 when a troop of state police officers and a band of voting rights activists faced off on a nondescript bridge in Selma, Alabama. The activists were intent on marching; the troopers intent on stopping them.

Former U.N. Ambassador Andy Young congratulates Amelia Boynton Robinson (right) during a celebration of her 99th birthday last weekend. Activist Bernard Lafayette and Evelyn Lowery also attended the birthday celebration. (Photo by Sharon Ochoa)

Moments later, marchers were charged by mounted horses, knocked to the ground, stomped, sprayed with tear gas and brutally beaten with nightsticks.

Amelia Boynton Robinson, bruised and beaten, was knocked unconscious and tossed to the ground in an incident that later became infamous as "Bloody Sunday." Photos of her seemingly lifeless body on the Edmund Pettus Bridge appeared on the front pages of newspapers and magazine across America, rallying support for the civil rights movement and leading to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

That day, horrific as it was, fueled the marchers' passion for voting rights, Boynton Robinson said.
"When I became conscious, and they told me what happened, I made myself more determined and dedicated to make sure every person – particularly black – became a registered voter," she told a rapt audience of family and friends celebrating her 99th birthday.

On Saturday, the Gateway Educational Foundation honored Boynton Robinson for a life of dedication to human rights and equality. But they celebrated more than just her health, strength and passion for justice. They commemorated living history.

Former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young, SCLC Women president Evelyn Lowery and Bob Mants of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) were among the guests who gathered to honor a woman some call "the mother of the voting rights movement."

Bernard Lafayette, a participant in the 1960s Freedom Rides for open public accommodations, said when Boynton Robinson invited SNCC to Selma, it was a place with no hope. But her home was always open, he said, and activists frequently congregated in her living room to fellowship and plot movement strategy.
"We had a big red X on our map where Selma was. Two SNCC groups were sent and both said nothing could be done because the white folks were too mean and black folks were too scared," Lafayette said.

"Boynton, you turned that X into a plus sign and I was proud to work side by side with you," he said.
Civil rights leaders, elected officials and other activists also were welcomed into Boynton Robinson's home where she lived with her husband for nearly 30 years.

Young, a longtime movement leader and strategist, said he spent many nights at the Boynton Robinson home.
"I figure if I put up a hundred dollars a night for every night I slept at your house, it would be substantial," he joked during the celebration.

Boynton Robinson said she learned the power of voting at a young age.
As a child in the early 1900s, she rode in a horse and buggy with her mother knocking on doors and taking people to the registration office.

"When I became 21 years old, I immediately – with the help of my husband – went down to the registration office in 1932 and I was a registered voter," she said.

Boynton Robinson said she is adamant that people without a vote are people without a voice.
"Our president is a perfect example of how the evil spirits are trying to kill everything he's trying to do," she said of attacks on President Barack Obama.

"So I say to you, your vote is your ticket to first class citizenship – use it."

Boynton Robinson, the oldest living graduate of Tuskegee University, still travels around the world as the vice chairwoman of the Schiller Institute – a political and economic think tank – working to end racism, poverty and economic injustice.

She is proud of her work as an activist, but disappointed that black people have not run farther with the baton.
"What we lived through to get the civil rights bill, the human rights bill and the right to vote bill opened the door and all they had to do was walk in," she said.

"[Instead] the biggest thing you hear about is all this terrible music and drugs," she said. "I'm not pleased with it."

She insisted that the solution lies within in having self-esteem and racial pride.

Genise Kemp-Brown, CEO of the Gateway Educational Foundation, said the foundation purchased Boynton's home in 2008 to build a museum that would honor civil rights icons and help instill that racial pride.
"We don't have enough things for our children to take part in, to look at or to praise their history," Kemp-Brown said.

The modest, early 1900s bungalow was certified by the Alabama Historical Commission and listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 2008.

Gateway plans to transform it into the only wax and bronze museum in the southeast. It will display historical artifacts, statues of prominent civil rights figures and tributes to lesser known and unheralded civil rights pioneers and activists.

The foundation is looking to raise about $600,000 to make the project a reality. The opening date is tentatively set for March 2011 to commemorate Bloody Sunday.

"We took on the project because we love Ms. Boynton; this house is a national treasure and so is she," Kemp-Brown said.

August 20 - 26, 2010

Girl, 12, has rare mission
Youth 'can change the world,'
8th grader says

By Sharon Ochoa
Contributing Writer

STONE MOUNTAIN – It's clear, at first glance, that MaryPat Hector is not your average 12-year-old.
While she watches Disney and Nickelodeon, and Twilight movie posters plaster her bedroom walls, there's one defining trait that makes her different from most of her pre-teen peers:
She wants to change the world.

MaryPat Hector is founder and president of Youth in Action, a Stone Mountain-based organization committed to solving community problems "one project at a time."

Hector is founder and president of Youth in Action, a Stone Mountain-based organization committed to solving community problems "one project at a time." The group highlights such issues as child abuse and civil rights while working to overcome youth and gang violence through peer counseling.

And on Aug. 28, Hector will lead two busloads of her peers and community activists to Washington D.C. to celebrate the 47th anniversary of the historic March on Washington.

It's more than a trip for Hector – it's part of a mission.

"A lot of people are forgetting the dream and I think it's very important for youth to get out there and honor his dream," she said of Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech in 1963.

"I'm looking forward to people turning their lives around, for that light bulb to come on and for teenagers to reclaim the dream," she said.

Hector's passion for activism began at age 9 when she learned that her best friend had been molested. Rather than sit quietly, she became the voice for a cause.

She wrote her first play entitled "Easy Street Ain't So Easy" to highlight the issue and, hopefully, stop the actions ofher friend's assailant.

mpratt2 "I wrote the play because I felt that was my job, my duty," recalled Hector, who attends Solid Foundation private school.

"That was my friend and I felt as if I had to be the voice of people who believe they didn't have a voice," she said.

The play was performed at North Atlanta High School and, in the end, her friend was removed from the abusive environment. That's when she realized the power of activism.

"I felt like there was no telling how many more issues that teenagers were afraid to speak about," Hector said. "I was born to be that voice."

Hector's voice has been heard around the country as she advocated for various issues. She's been invited to CNN's taping of "Fixing America's Schools" with Education Secretary Arne Duncan, and spoken at a youth anti-violence alongside Huntsville, Alabama Mayor Tommy Battle.

But what makes the 8th grader so passionate about advocating for social change while many of her peers are focused on math homework and hanging at the mall?

"Seeing kids change from being destructive to being outstanding drives me to be revolutionary," Hector said. Her dedication and drive landed her under the wing of longtime civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton.

After learning of Sharpton's Nov. 2009 National Day of Outrage, Hector created the yearlong movement "Shake Off Violence." She said after one conversation with Sharpton, he committed to spreading the word about her movement's first march.

She considers Sharpton a mentor and a role model.

"A lot of people think that he is loud, obnoxious and cocky. However, he has taught me that whether they like you or not, your message should always be heard," Hector said.

Sharpton's insight and counsel have helped Hector learn that being a leader is hard work. But, she says, she's up to the task.

What's her advice to other youth who want to make a difference? Go for it.
"People are always going to say that you're too young to do stuff and we're going to prove them wrong," she said.

"You can change the world at any age."

August 20 - 26, 2010

Reed boasts Atlanta’s progression
City’s future is bright, mayor tells Buckhead leaders

By Dennis Malcolm Byron
Contributing Writer

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed was the distinguished guest speaker at the Buckhead Business Association’s Quarterly Luncheon held recently at the posh 103 West restaurant.

With Buckhead Business Association (BBA) primarily based on supporting business growth particularly within its Northeast Atlanta district since its inception in 1951, Reed was the ideal orator due to his history of entrepreneurship, fundraising and overall realization of dreams.

Since his early teens, Reed started a jewelry business at the age of 16 that grossed more than $40,000 by the time that he was a sophomore at his alma mater, Howard University. To add, besides being featured in Black Enterprise Magazine, the political science major and undergraduate trustee founded a university endowment program where students voluntarily paid a $15 fee per semester that was matched dollar-for-dollar by the U.S. Congress, resulting in approximately a $10 million increase to date.

Although he still serves as Howard’s youngest General Trustee after earning both a bachelor’s degree (1991) and juris doctorate from its school of law, he faces his most challenging goal of improving the prized city where he was raised, Atlanta, in virtually every facet.

BBA President Heather C. Wright provided an introduction that listed Reed’s aforementioned accomplishments along with a detailed disclosure of the mayor’s demanding daily routine. When Wright finished, Reed joked, “I’m telling you, all my privacy is gone, huh?”

Continuing the humor, he added, “It’s really something, when I was listening to the introduction and there was reference to the ‘Independence Initiative’ – the $15 per semester fee that I got Howard students to vote for so many years ago – some of my political opponents are going to say ‘He was raising taxes back in college!’ ” More laughter erupted and then the mayor disclaimed, “Although they did that by referendum; it was voted on by the voters. I don’t like to raise taxes.”

Getting down to business, Reed expressed his appreciation for BBA’s contribution to the city, and then proudly listed Atlanta’s progression during his first few months serving as the mayor. “Atlanta’s long and short term fiscal needs are always at the front of my mind,” he said.

“I am happy to report that we passed the City Council budget 12-1, which shows we had a lot of work, coordination and thought put into this.”

He added that the budget did not contain a tax increase, as promised, even though the city faced a $40 million revenue shortage at the beginning of his term. Now, Atlanta is projected to go from $7 million in cash reserves to more than $70 million under the 2011 budget.

And, thanks largely to the City’s Chief Operating Officer Peter T. Aman, Chief Financial Officer Roosevelt Council and Council Chair of Finance Yolanda Adrean, Atlanta ended the 2010 fiscal year of $18 million in excess cash, but duly noted that this was not a surplus.

Addressing the increased “tide of violence” in the city at the beginning from his term, Reed said the police force is now totaling 1,850 officers, 150 officers away from the 2,000 mark “the people have been talking about in the city of Atlanta for more than a decade.”

Coupled with the officers’ (and firefighters’) raised salaries by 3.5 percent (another feat that took six years to accomplish), violence has gone down considerably in virtually all areas by 14.7 percent (including violent crimes down 22.5 percent) and the 9-1-1 call response time is down from a 45-second hold time in January 2000 to less than 15 seconds.

“It may not sound like a big deal unless you are the one making the 911 call,” he emphasized. Reed also expressed great confidence in his newly appointed Police Chief George Turner—someone who was educated in Atlanta Schools, attended Clark Atlanta University, and spent 29 years in the police force.

From there, the mayor discussed the goal to invest $11 million of the city’s $559 million budget in the streets, parks and the Beltline.

Reed also said, “We are delivering concrete results. The trash collection rate was proudly 85 percent, but that left 8-10,000 people pretty mad—the 15 percent who didn’t get their trash picked up. We now have in my office computers that monitor trash pick-up time; the trash collection rate is 99.2 percent right now.”

Reed also stressed how viable the HB 277 Transportation Bill is the most important of its kind in more than 40 years. He admitted that although the Bill’s remedy is not perfect, it will provide MARTA with $43 million a year over the next three years.

The mayor stressed the importance of improving the relationship between “rural Georgia” and “Capital Georgia” during his term, which has been an ongoing statewide contention for decades.

“There are places in North Carolina, [Florida], Tennessee and others that fantasize that they will replace Atlanta as the dominant city in the Southeast and I will tell you that with the remaining 3 years I have left as mayor, that is not going to happen. I don’t care if I have to work with a Republican, Independent and all of the rest. It’s time eternally for a cease-fire by necessity because the times are serious right now.”

“I want you all to know that I get it and understand it,” Reed concluded to audience of decision makers. “We are delivering results that will change the trajectory of this city, but we can’t do it without you. I am ready to go. I hope you are.”

For more information on the Buckhead Business Association, visit www.buckheadbusiness.org.

August 13 - 19, 2010

Martin King III speaks out at
SCLC's prayer vigil

'Do something to bring people together,' King told baby sister

By A. Scott Walton
Contributing Writer

Big Brother knows best.

Supporters say a prayer for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference during a prayer vigil last weekend at Ebenezer Baptist Church.
Photo by Sharon Ochoa

Just ask the Rev. Martin Luther King III, whose "do something" mantra inspired the prayer vigil held on behalf of his baby sister, Bernice, at the Ebenezer Baptist Church last weekend.

In an exclusive interview with the Atlanta Voice, Martin King said he urged his sister to rise above the fray that has mired the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in controversy and court battles since she was elected its president last October.

"I encouraged her, prior to this, to do something," King said. "I didn't say what. But I said, 'You've got to do something to bring people together, because they're waiting for leadership."

A former SCLC president himself, King said he understands Bernice King's reluctance to officially delve into her position until Fulton County Superior Court judge Alford Dempsey, Jr. decides which half of the splintered group has legitimate control.

"Why would she immerse herself in a court battle when we, as an immediate family, just came out of one? We resolved it. But do you get out of one very tough battle, and then you jump right back in? Why would she want to do that?

"She wanted to give the court the opportunity to handle their business (and) the court has taken a long time," he added.

Paula White, pastor of the Tampa Fla.-based Without Walls International Church, laid hands on Rev. Bernice King during a two-hour prayer vigil calling for healing in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Photo by A. Scott Walton

The SCLC's acting national chairperson Sylvia Tucker leads one of the combative sides. Meanwhile, Raleigh Trammell and Spiver Gordon – respectively, the former chairman and treasurer of the SCLC – have named Atlanta minister Markel Hutchins as the de facto president. Trammell and Gordon are suspected of misappropriating as much as $500,000 from SCLC coffers.

Meanwhile, the two broken branches of the 52-year-old organization staged separate annual conventions within days of each other last week.

In a bold stroke of solidarity, many of Atlanta's most prominent ministers took turns preaching in support of Bernice King, and her "calling" to one day assume official leadership of the SCLC.

Paula White, pastor of the Tampa Fla.-based Without Walls International Church, laid hands on Bernice King during the two-hour event and declared: "God has chosen you. Your trial will not go to waste."

Bishop Eddie Long of Atlanta's New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, gave the closing sermon, saying, in summary: "I don't know what things were like in here two hours ago, but now we're in unity."

That optimistic viewpoint is yet to be confirmed. In fact, Martin King said he spotted several members of the contingent supporting Trammell in the vigil crowd.

The power struggle has grown so sour, he added, that certain SCLC board members attend meetings strictly as "observers," while refusing to engage in discussion.

Last October, Bernice King was elected president of the organization co-founded in 1957 by her Nobel Peace Prize-winning father. Since then, however, she has declined official appointment to the post while infighting and allegations of financial misdeeds have been deabeted more often than the group's intended ministry and social activism.

At the vigil, Bernice King delivered an impassioned testimony about her sense of pre-ordained mission to lead a united SCLC. But she stopped short of stating when – or if – she will accept the group's presidency.
Through a spokesperson at the vigil, King repeated the stance that she won't make that decision until after Judge Dempsey has ruled which of two warring factions within the SCLC has legitimate rights to lead it.
Alluding to biblical martyrs while detailing her plight, Bernice King told congregants, "A divided house cannot stand."

But, "It's my hope and my prayer to lead a unified SCLC," the Hillside International Chapel minister said.
"I'm a life member of the SCLC and I'm very concerned about this confusion; where we can't come together and find some common ground to work on," she said.

"I don't pick sides," she added. "What I do is pray that we can get the two sides to sit down and see what the real issues are."

Rev. Dale Bronner of the Word of Faith Family Worship Cathedral said he felt obligated to preach to Bernice King's faithful because, "I believe prayer has the power to bring peace."

Elizabeth Omilami, executive director of the Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless programs, spoke from the podium about the need to "clean house" at the SCLC.

First Iconium Baptist Church minister Timothy McDonald chalked the SCLC's strife up to "selfishness."
For his part, Martin King said he believes genuine leadership spawns genuine support.

Standing just outside the sanctuary while his sister led the crowd in a rousing rendition of "We Shall Overcome", Martin King said: "You notice how she didn't criticize one side or the other? She called for redirection, building, bringing all the members of the organization together.

"That's leadership. And, quite clearly, there's support for her leadership."

August 6 - 12, 2010

SCLC's future on the line
Convention to decide fate of organization

By A. Scott Walton and Sharon Ochoa
Contributing Writers

ATLANTA – Hundreds of delegates from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference will convene here this week to consider a provocative convention theme of "What We Are Fighting For."

Ironically, what they're fighting for is their very existence.

Bernice King, elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, conducts a news conference Tuesday to announce an Aug. 6 prayer vigil in support of the SCLC, which is embroiled in legal disputes stemming from alleged misuse of funds and squabbles over who controls the board. The organization starts its 52nd annual convention Aug. 8, and King -- elected last year -- has yet to assume office.

Just days from the start of the SCLC's 52nd annual conference, the once-feared civil rights organization is shrouded in controversy and uncertainty.

SCLC officers and delegates are set to convene August 8-11 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel without their newly elected leader, the Rev. Bernice King, presiding.

King, the daughter of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. – was elected SCLC president last fall but has not assumed office because the organization is mired in legal disputes stemming from alleged misuse of funds and squabbles over who controls the board.

After nearly 10 months of virtual silence on the issue, Bernice King is asking SCLC officials to end bitter infighting that has split the group.

"I believe that the time is now for us to come together as one SCLC," King said at a news conference Tuesday. "The word of God reminds us that a house divided against itself cannot stand."
King said she has been invited to this week's conference, but her role is unclear.

"I don't know if I have a role at the convention. I'm not an official in the organization so I'm not involved in the planning," she said.

King said she wants to lead the civil rights group but declined to say when she would take over the post to which she was elected in October. She previously said she would wait out legal wrangling.

"Amid the chaos and confusion, there is still a resounding hope and I am committed to leading this great organization further into the 21st century," King has said.

Late last year, the leadership of the group founded by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. split into two factions that have met and made decisions separately.

The SCLC is awaiting a decision from Fulton County Superior Court Judge Alford Dempsey, Jr. as to which faction controls the group.

Bernice King says she will lead a prayer vigil for the SCLC on Aug. 6 as the factions prepare to host dueling conventions. She said she has not decided whether she will attend either.

SCLC board member Bernard Lafayette said he hopes King will speak at the conference, even if she does not formally stand before convention attendees as president.

"We wouldn't try to get her involved in the middle of this battle. We have to get this cleaned up," Lafayette said. "We have to make sure it's on solid footing so she can focus on what she wants to do next."

The judge ruling would determine control over the SCLC, which is fractured by financial squabbles. Acting national chairperson Sylvia Tucker leads one faction in the dispute. And Markel Hutchins has been designated President of the SCLC by former chairman Raleigh Trammell and former treasurer Spiver Gordon; both of who are suspected of misappropriating more than $500,000 in SCLC funds.

The ensuing legal disputes and investigations have dragged for months. In a defiant display of dominance this spring, Hutchins put in new access locks at the SCLC's downtown Atlanta headquarters.

In July, Rev. Joseph Lowery – who helped found the once venerable organization – said the political infighting could cause the group to collapse.

"Those in position of leadership have let the organization drift," Lowery remarked. "It's contrary to everything we stood for. We set out to help the world solve its problems in the context of the common good, and here we are setting a poor example."

Without quick work toward resolution between the factions, Lowery suggested, the SCLC's progress toward ensuring social justice could cease.

"What's happening now will destroy the organization," he said, while depicting the disputes as "foolishness".
Andrew Young – a lieutenant of MLK's who went on to serve as Atlanta's mayor and as U.N. Ambassador during Jimmy Carter's Presidency – has said the SCLC's time of effectiveness has probably come and gone and that he wishes Dr. King's daughter hadn't enmeshed herself in the group at all.

"If they revive the organization, okay, but I question whether that's the kind of movement we need now," Young said.

He added that'd he'd cautioned Bernice King against becoming SCLC President, to no avail.
"She said, 'God called me to do it', and then I said, 'Don't let me argue with God'."

AP contributed to this report.