Box 3, Folder 17, Document 45

Box 3, Folder 17, Document 45

EOA Forum on School S ag
Turns Into Political Rally

By JUNIE BROWN
Atlanta Journal Educativn Editor

An Economic Opportunity At-
lanta {EOA) subcommittee
meeting, which began as a
forum for discussion of educa-
tional complaints, ended as a
Political rally.

Despite EOA’s regulation
about poiitica’ neutrality, two
persons announced at the meet-
ing that they are candidates for
the Atlanta Board of Education
and a third person advised
those present to “begin political
action to unseat certain board
members.” The occasion was a
meeting of the education sub-
committee of EOA’s Citizens’
Central Advisory Committee
Monday night at West Hunter
Street Baptist Church.



THE SUBCOMMITTEE meet-_
ing ostensibly was called to dis/
cuss a controversial report and
set of recommendations for im-
provements of the school sys-
tem which the group had drawn
up during the four years of its
existence. _ j

t

Dr. John Letson, superintend. |
ent of Atlanta schools, raised |
the ire of subcommittee nce
bers by rejecting an invitation
to appear at the meeting and |
discuss the report. Instead,
three members of Letson’s staff
fielded questions from those |
present. i

Early in the four-hour meet-
ing, Mrs. June Cofer announced
she will run for the board of ed-

‘ucation from the Ist Ward!
against incumbent Ed Cook, and |
Dennis Jackson said he wil? Le |
a candidate for the 2nd Ward |
seat held by Mrs. Anne Wood-'
ward, ;

The Rev. Mance Jackson,
director of the Urban Mission
Project in the ‘Lightning’ area
of Atlanta sponsored by the In-
terdenominational Theological
Center, told subcommittee
members they are “really too.
patient with this bureaucratic |
red tape.”

“THE BOARD of education
has no respect for us as a com-
munity,” Jackson said. “We
play white. people’s games
year-in and year-out, and we
get the runaround.”

“T would hope we would even-
tually get ito the point where we
would not write letters and beg
them to come. I recommend
that the subcommiitee entertain
political action to unseat those
who won't come to see you,”
Jackson said.

“You sit in a most powerful
position. You are not aware of
the power you have. This sub-
committee has the power to
change the complexion of this
whole city,”’ Jackson said.



- to be in that job.’ Jackson said.



“You beat ‘em te death on
rapid transit, and you ean da it
again,” Jackson said.

JACKSON ALSO called for

Dr. Darwin Womack assistant

oy ‘

QWeun_ey

enough in the planning of}

schoo's, Dr. Womack respond-

ed: ‘You won't like me for say-

ing this, but the difficulty

with bringing people into plan- |

ning is that they want veto! He's doing paichwork planning.
served. | power.’ They are just thinking about

“Somebody ought to be rec-| “I think the community has | September, they’re not planning
ommending as this man’s job;|the right to have veto power,” for the future of the commu-
he’s not responsive to the needs | Jackson said. “And he ought to! | nity.”
of the cominunity and ough! not Know that he. has to answer to’ Jackson said: “Every day you
,the people,” Jackson said of can hear ambulances coming
down Bankhead Highway to
pick up a child who’s been hit

“IT’S QUITE obvious that by a car walking to school.” " He

blamed the repeated accidents
on “poor planning’ by Wom-
ack’s office.

Mrs. Maggie Moody chairman
of the EOA subcommittee on ec-
ucation, will take the report and
the 13 recommendations before
the full board of education Mon-
day night at the reguiar
monhtly br icfing session,

building and construction, to be
replaced when he refused to
agree with the parents in the
audience that enlarging Price
High School would be detrimen- |
tal. to the Negro neighborhood it:

@

In answer to a compaint’ ' Womack.
from committee members that!
the community is not inv olved |