22 DEC 04: KEEP THE CHANGE
Tuesday's Ledger-Enquirer clarified what sort of economic boycott Jesse Jackson is declaring on Columbus. I went to bed Monday night wondering whether I should tell an ambulance driver to send me to Opelika if I became ill. If enough people did this, couldn't David Glisson be blamed for killing MORE people?
It turns out Jesse Jackson of Rainbow/PUSH has called a boycott of Columbus's financial institutions. This includes AFLAC, the local banks - and I guess Fort Benning soldiers should stay away from all title pawn shops.
(Jesse Jackson might deny this boycott is about race - but let's face it, the AFLAC duck isn't brown....)
Jesse Jackson wants a financial boycott of Columbus until two things happen. The big thing is the federal prosecution of former deputy David Glisson, for shooting Kenneth Walker. But Jackson may be overlooking something - how Muscogee County voted for John Kerry for President, so the Bush administration might not really care.
Jesse Jackson's other demand is for the Georgia Legislature to pass a bill making racial profiling illegal. We'd consider this an excellent suggestion -- except we can't help noticing none of the top civil rights leaders in the state are white.
Jesse Jackson's boycott announcement in Atlanta stunned a lot of Columbus leaders - including some African-American leaders who work at places being boycotted. For instance, Rep. Calvin Smyre is a vice-president at Synovus. Does he quit that nice job? And is there room at the Waggoners for any more truck drivers?
Columbus Councilor Nathan Suber actually suggested Tuesday people should NOT cancel their AFLAC insurance policies, or pull their money out of CB&T. But I suppose an automatic withdrawal of any interest to the Rainbow/PUSH Georgia office would be acceptable.
Nathan Suber openly wished Jesse Jackson had talked with local Columbus officials, before announcing the financial boycott. I think this courtesy is known among politicians as "political cover...."
The Jesse Jackson boycott announcement also took a lot of Columbus journalists by surprise. Civil rights leaders William Howell and Wayne Baker showed up in Atlanta, apparently without telling any TV station what was happening. These ministers want publicity -- but do they REALLY expect reporters to follow them 24 hours a day?
Did Jesse Jackson overspeak by declaring a financial boycott of Columbus? Antonio Carter of the National Action Network revealed Tuesday it was discussed weeks ago during a conference call -- but only as one possible option. It's nice to know Jackson supports democracy and "one man, one vote" in cases like this.
Fourth Street Baptist Church Pastor J.H. Flakes said a boycott was called because "the majority don't have a voice." They don't?! How many votes for Sheriff and District Attorney were ruled invalid last month?
After all this, is it still possible to have One Columbus? Pastor J.H. Flakes thinks so. He called Tuesday for a series of "bridge-building sessions" among ethnic communities during 2005. If they want to go ahead and replace the aging Dillingham Bridge, we wouldn't object to that.
We can think of other steps which can be taken right now, to promote One Columbus:
+ Disco Fashions on Broadway can do a TV commercial with some white models.
+ Davis Broadcasting can swap the announcing staffs of "FM-92 The River" and "Foxie 105-FM" for a day. Would half of their listeners even notice a difference?
+ A white family could move into the East Wynnton Park neighborhood -- to prove the children in that ad are right, and everybody DOES have fun.
Former deputy David Glisson could make a move, which saves the city of Columbus a lot of headaches and national prestige. But that answer raises another difficult question. If he goes to Guantanamo Bay, which suspected terrorist goes free in his place?
Now let's take our hands off our bank accounts for a moment, and consider other items from Tuesday:
+ Columbus Council agreed to create a four-way stop sign at 42nd and Oates Avenue. Now we'll know for sure if Adam Johnson has been drinking too much on this street....
+ Georgia's Public Service Commission granted Georgia Power a 4.2 percent rate increase. It's the utility's first increase in 13 years - and suddenly, we don't feel guilty anymore about not hanging Christmas lights.
+ Georgia's Education Department released results of high school "End-of-Course" exams. A calculator on the Atlanta newspaper web site revealed more than 45 percent of Muscogee County students failed to meet the state standard for U.S. history. They're perfect candidates for the University of Georgia - where Michael Adams wants everyone to forget Vince Dooley.
+ Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville agreed in principle on a lengthy contract extension -- only hours after Louisville football coach Bobby Petrino signed one of his own. Once again, a long shadow covers the Plains....
+ Instant Message to WHAL-AM: What do you mean you're on "from Uptown to Downtown?" Don't you realize in Columbus, Uptown IS downtown?
2004 IN REVIEW CONTINUED: March was a decisive month for Georgia, as voters endorsed the current state flag. We're still waiting for supporters of the old flag in Taylor and Sumter Counties to announce they're seceding from the union.
A giant display was unveiled on the Hamilton town square in March, showing the Ten Commandments. Supporters have been a bit disappointed ever since - because Roy Moore hasn't stopped by to bless it.
Central Columbus celebrated in March when a new Chick-fil-A restaurant opened on Wynnton Road. I'm not saying other restaurants are running scared - but the Sonic on Wynnton Road plans to be open this Saturday evening.
The Kenneth Walker case dragged on during March. Friends of David Glisson started their own web site. Opponents of Sheriff Ralph Johnson started a recall petition drive. To this day, I don't know why these groups haven't merged....
Albany's Ken Hodges was named a special prosecutor over the Kenneth Walker case in March. Then came Thanksgiving week, a grand jury - and civil rights groups didn't consider him very special anymore.
A Columbus Police officer was in trouble with the law for a few days in March - Officer Larry Lightning. With a name like that, why doesn't he drive cars at East Alabama Motor Speedway?
Auburn's Colonial Mall changed its name in March, to "Colonial University Village." I'm still trying to figure out which map the owners checked, when they decided Alabama was a U.S. colony.
(Maybe this mall gave someone the wrong idea - because days after the name change, Auburn University's Interim President fired both the Athletic Director and men's basketball coach.)
Columbus High School's girls basketball team played in a state championship game in March. Compare that with Tuesday, when the Lady Blue Devils could only score about 15 points in a half. Ashley Powell isn't coaching this team anymore, and opponents are much more focused on the game.
But Auburn University pulled a double in March - with both the men's and women's swim teams capturing national titles. Hopefully students understood, when the teams came home and rolled Toomer's Corner with plush bath towels.
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