Box 4, Folder 4, Complete Folder

Box 4, Folder 4, Complete Folder

'
AGENDA
COMMUNITY RELATIONS C0£Jllv'.iISSION
September 12, 1969 Meeting
This is a special meeting cf the Commission
· called to review the proposed 1970 Prbgram Plan.
1.
Discussion of Section I - Legis lation
2
Discussion of Section II - Town Hall Meetings and
Section III - Public Hearings
3
Discussion of Sections IV - XII
4
Other business .
0
�CITY OF .ATLANT.A
C ITY HALL
ATLANTA, G A. 30303
Tel. 522-4463 Area Code 404
IVAN ALLE N, JR., MAYOR
R. EARL LANDERS, Administrative Assistant
MRS. ANN M. MOSES, Executive Secret ary
DAN E. SWEAT, JR. , Director of Governmental Liaison
MEMORANDUM
TO:
Dan Sweat
FROM:
J. H . Robinson
SUBJECT:
Stat istical Report for May 26, 1969 to August)I , 19 6 9
DATE: S e pte mber 3 , 1969
Dan , you will find enclos e d, a c om plete sta tistical repor t
on the City S e rvices Coordinator 1 s Program durin g this
p e r i od.
You will a l so see a complete b reak-down on each d e p artment
as it r e late s to c omplaints re c e iv e d, and complaint s cor r e cte d.
T he fig u re as it rel ates to other~ means t h e coo r d ination of
service with othe r ag e ncies outside of t h e City Governme nt.
W e wer e activ e ly invol ved a n d participate d in 227 n e i ghborhood
m e e tings, t h i s wa s mad e possibl e du e to the addition al m an powe r we rec e ived from Urban Corp and H UD .
J H R : bt
Enclosur e
�MAY 26, 1969
Department or Authority
TO AUGUST 31, 1969
Received
Corrected
Atlanta Housing Authority
28
19
Sanitation
530
406
Police
306
Parks & Recreation
62
47
Housing Code Division
93
57
Traffic Engineering
97
73
Construction
99
69
6
6
Fulton County Health Department
43
28
Public Works
97
55
Others
106
87
1467
956
Planning
TOTAL
TOTAL MEETINGS ATTENDED
227
.
'
109
�August 8, 1969
MEMORANDUM
To:
Mayor Allen
From :
Dan Sweat
Shbject :
Analysis of Complauits on City Services
I am attaching three pieces of information which you will find very interesting.
One is the summary of complaints from Town Hall meetings and recommendations
of the Community Relation Commission. The second is the monthly statistical
report from Johnny Robinson on th work of his City Services Coordinators.
The third is a summary of evaluations and recommendation of eight interns
who are working with the City Services Coordinator in various parts of the
City.
As I indicated to you before when publicity was released on th ~ s complaint
summary, I was surprised to find that the Parks Department came in for so
much criticism. 1 did not feel thi wa the case with our City Services
Coordinator.
l have attempted to analyze the mo t frequ nt complaint in the CRC report
nd the city servic s report. You will not the percent of total in ach of th
m jor categori ~ . I am xtr mely impr s d with the total number of compl ints
rec ived and corrected by th City Services Coordinator. This is a result, of
cours , of the b efed~up staff utilizing th int rn .
You will find the comments nd r commend tions of the intern v ry inter ting,
nd 1 think it i
ignificant that only one of the int rns consistently f el that
ev rything i wrong.
ve b en exc ptionally ple · d with th f ct that lthough the int rns pl ce
great d 1 of xtra work on th department in g tting compl ints an wer d,
ther hav be n very f w compl inta J;egi t r d with m from th d p rtm nt .
I
DS:Je
At cbment
,,
�Mr. William H . Boone, Jr .
·6.
Do you believe the CRC can be the prime agent in getting
the School Board to fully integrate the Atlanta public schools?
The CRC can be a prime agent in pointing out any existing
inequities within the School system, and offer recommendations
to alleviate these inequities .
7.
Can CRC do anything to speed integration of neighborhoods . . • ?
The CRC can m ake certain that a ll complaints concerning
discrimination i n housing are thoroughly investigated. The
Commission c an also work with existing neighborhood fair
housing groups in stimulating initiative.
8.
At present, the CRC has no powers outside of holding hearings
and investigation should the CRC be given additional powers?
The CRC has not submitted any formal resolutions requesting
additional powers, and ha been able to work quite effectively
without them . If some hould be requested, this decision
would have to be made by the Board of Alderm en.
9.
A tlanta is very heterogeneous in it makeup. How do you ·
m ke the CRC member hip reflect the diverse segments. . . ?
By
10.
ppointing citizens representative 0£ all segment
of Atlanta.
What do you con ider when you select a CRC member. . . ?
Citizens who have th qualifications to main in the very
excellently
l ane d commiseion, and who have the talent
motivation to carry out the dutie of the Commie ion .
11.
nd
Why did the Finance Committ e give the CRC a sizable incre
in its budget thi ye r . . . . ?
e
A the Commi ion d veloped it I' pon ibilities, additional
financial needs emerged, nd the Finance Com.mitte
nd the
Board of Aldermen ap r ntly f lt dditio 1 fund were ju tified,
nd, therefor , approv d them.
lZ.
A l te a 1961, it wae r ported that you did not favor n official
human rel tion council • • • why did you c:ban
your view ln 1966-?
The n wer to Question No. 1 l•o n w ra thi que tion.
-Z-
�..
"COMMUNITY RELATIONS CO/-iJv\ lSSION
MEMORIAL DRIVE ANNEX BLDG.
121 MEMORIAL DRIVE, S. W.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30303
~22-4463
July 25, 1969
DR. SAMUEL W. WILLIAMS, CHAIRMAN
VICE MAYOR SAM MASSELL, JR.,
• .
EX-OFFICIO
. COMMISSION MEMBERS.
MR.T. M.ALEXANDER , SR .
R . BYRON ATTRIDGE
MRS. SARA BAKER
MISS HELEN BULLARD
MR . R. J. BUTLER
MR . f,!: :-:E CH ~ ~A~ TH A~-~
REP. JAMES E . D EA N
MR. ROBERT DO BBS
REP.C.G . EZZARD
.
MR. L . L. ~ELLERSTEDT, J~.
MR. CHARLES HART
DR . ROB E RT E . L.EE
· - - · - -·MRS. F. W. PATTERSON
RABBI JACOB M . ROTHSCHILD ·
MR. PAUL SHIELDS
MR . L. D . SIMON \
. - • ..MRS. MA RY STEPHENS
DR. J. RANDOLPH TAYLOR
-REV. J.·A. WILBORN
TO: M~yor Allen and the 1?oard of Aldermen
· - -irn.
FROM: Community Relations Commission
SUBJECT:
Summary of Complaints from Town Hall
Meetings and Recommendations of the
Commission
· The key role of the Community Relations Commission (CRC}
in the Mayor I s Sumni.e r Program has been in holding Town
I
MR. WILLIAM McGEE, E X-O FFICIO
Hall me e tings in the disadvc.nt age d ares of the City. The
ATLANTA YOUTH CONGRESS
!
Commission initi;:i.lly g oes in to h ea r the compla ints of
MR. NAT WELCH
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
citizens and returns some t hir ty clays later and r e ports on
actions taken by City Hall and other agencies. In many
cases, CRC has been able to report corrective action taken
-·oy City Depa rtments a nd other agencies {note Suppleme nt
· ..!½". for _responses this week to complaints at Perry H01nes).
Town Hall meetings have b ee n held since March in the
following communiti~ s : Blair Village, Grant Park, Mechanicsville, Perry Homes, University Homes and EdgewoodKirkwood.
·- -- -· o _ .
(;;
This report tabulates the frequency of complaints registered
_·_in the initial me e tings. The frequency of compla ints is not
in itself conclusive evidenc e of the gravity of problems faced
·- ·by ·Atlan ta.
0
The purpose of this memorandum is to m ake recommenda tions
on proble ms the Com.mi ssion h as been unab l e to r eso lve .
~<:?~
· ~~t~\:}J
~ \\
. .,, "'< ,\..~
~ ~:;;.\/3 '\_,\ ·. '.V
· ··1 ,~,·::-..., -~, ~
·., ~ l\~
'\ i),J
'
•
~'l \\,;~ t~ ~
~~r>\\
~\v.>~'\.
~~i~y\M
~\
b/
11 (",,.., _ .
tf:;"'$>-
\<:)~
~f·!..~s
Far and away the most frequent complaint received was th e
need for more and b e tter recreational facilities. T v,renty -six
-complaints were received on this s ubj ect comp ared wit h
• 111,... eac h o n po 1·ic e an d gar b age service.
·
T wenty- f our
e1g
complaints on re cr eation dea lt with the need for m o re s wim n1ing pools, more play lots for tots, and pr ogr ams for t ecnagers. Two complaints had t o do with lack of services by
- t-
o
~v\~
.-.
�I?age 2
Summc1;,ry of Complaints
Community Chest agencies in the disadvantaged areas. The Commission
would like to recommend four areas for improving this situation:
1.
The Parks Department capital improvern.ent budget of
approximately $35 0, 000 is grossly inadequate. This
. - sum can easily be expended to build one new park; but
this $350,000 has to be spread over 65 parks. For
example, a modern swimming pool costs approxim ~\ely
·· - · : --- ----- ·· · - --$220,-000; -·The City of Atlanta needs to give serious
consideration to a multi-million dollar bond issue for
. .. -. improvement and expansion of its Parks system. It
should b~ pointed out that the Parks Department is
operating 80 play lots of which 40 are staffed. These
are constructed and maintained principally from Federal
Poverty Funds. If these funds ar.e reduced, this would
throw an immediate and substantial burden on this City.
r
- ·--i.---Emphasis ·should be _Placed on expanding and improving
_
play lots for tots and neighborhood parks in such com ···-- _________·__ __!!1:u_njttes_ cts _J\1echanicsville, Surn.merhill, Fulton Village,
Blue Heaven, Bowen Hom e s, Perry Homes and Grant
_ __:· ____park: are_a . Parks need to be in walking distance of
these citizens where possible; ghetto families have very
poor transportation. Imp r oved transportation in disadvantaged areas will help broaden recreational opportunities.
3.
Better utilization must be made of school playgrounds
-- --~ -=-a nd facilities. ··· This re·quire s more co ope ration between
·. the Atlanta School Board and the Parks D epartment .
.. _ ... With the costs of construction and real estate spiraling,
. Atlanta has to make better use of school facilities for
i-ecreaHon.
4.
Th~ need is pressing for improved recreation in public
· ··housing. The Atlanta Housing Authority c an build recre·-ational, buildings. The City should urge action here by
· the Authority. The Board of Aldennen has offered to
pay 50% of the costs of operating recr eat ional programs
in public housing if the A uthority would do like wise.
Under Federal law, AHA can not do so. Therefo re, the
City must accept its responsibility here in as much as
it has as surned responsibility in providing other services
in public housing.
0
0
A major burden for improving recr eation in the City rests w ith the Pa rk s
Department.
Churche s have be e n remiss in developing re creational programs
�Page 3
Summ~ry of Complaints
- -
and using their facilities for their neightborhoods. Community Chest agencies
need to step up their programs in disadvantaged areas and to guard against
serving just the middle class. The Atlanta Children 1 s and Youth Services
Council has done an outstanding job in coordinating and promoting volunteer
services and warrants continous support.
Complaints abo.ut the Atlanta Police Department were eight in number ••.••.•
seven dealing with the need for greater protection and quicker, response and
- ----one -about segregation ·in the department. Four suggestions were made by
citizens for improving police services:
I.
M·.:>re foot·.patrolmen in areas of high crime.
2.
Quicker switchboard answering at headquarters.
3. . Complete desegration of the Police Department.

-4.
Improved street lighting in areas of high crime. This has
sharply reduced crime in some American cities.
ll Atlanta is to cope with its nsmg crime rate, citize ns must share this
responsibility with the Police Department. The Atlanta Police Department
must be given a d_eguatc funds for operations, salaries, .training and res ear ch.
Atlanta citizens have a strong responsibility t o report crimes and to serve as
witnesses where needed.
__ ______ G~:r:}Jage s e rvice also ranked second in _number of complaints. The Commission
received six complaints on the quality and frequency of garbage collection and
- - __:_-two complaints on garbage being strewn over premises. The Commission held
a special meeting in June with the Director of the Public Works Department and
the Director of the Sanita ry S ervic e to inform the m of these facts and to make
recommenda
tions.
The Public Works Committee of th e Board of Aldermen
.
·.
needs to take furth er steps to mechanize garbage collection and to increase the
pay-of ·sanitary wo1.·ker s -and ·to elevate· the - dignity- of·th·e · job. - Citi zens need to.
show more appreciation for the men who p erfo rm this important public service.
-A serious complaint h eard a t Town Hall meetings during the spring d ealt with .
the f ailure of the City to remove junk c ars . The responsibility for removing
junk ca.rs on private prope1·ty rests with the Sanitary D epartment and on streets
with the Police D epartnient. In the last few weeks both d epartments have moved
forward with aggressive pr9grams for coping with this nagging problem.
Other complaints receive d by the Commis si on are list e d below in the frequency
in which rec e ived:
7 complaints ..•· ..• on sewers and dr a, inage - -5 on flood e d streets and
2 on di r.ty sewers and smelly creeks.
5 compla ints •••••• lack of jobs for youth.
�~
. .
Page 4
Summary of Co1nplaints
5 complaints •• _. ... Comprehensive Health- -3 on services offered and
2 alleging discriminatory hiring practices.
5 complaints .•••• ~ Model Cities - -lack of knowledge of program,
inadequate community representation, objections
to ho1n~ purchase and repair programs, and
community contractors not getting a chance to _bid.
-· ·· __ _:__4 · complaints •••••• repair of and the need for better street lighting.
4 complaints •••••• need for new streets and the paving of existing
streets.
3 complaints •••••• rats.
3 complaints .•.•.. City of Atlanta- -2 on the lack of coordination of
City Departments and 1 on the lack of responsiveness _
to cou-1plaints of citizens.
3 complaints .....• Atlanta Housing Authority- -2 on the condition of
housing and 1 on· high rents.
2 complaints.~
o
•••
stra:,r dogs c:
2 complaints .•...• Urban Renewal--thc desire of citizens for information,
and representation on urban renewal committees.
2 _complaints •.•.•• Economic Opportunity Atlanta
The Co~~unity Relations Commission itself was not above criticism. One
. complaint was registered on the lack of youth representation on the Commission
and another on the inability of the Commission to respont to complaints.
/
/
.·
0
•.
�p
•
•
0
SUPPLEMENT
i
11
A 11
I
f
The follow-up meeting in the Northwest Perry Homes area was held on
July 22~ fThe CRC was able to report the following positive actions on
complaints registered by the citizens:
1.
Transportation--the CRC met with Mr. William Maynard,
President of the Atlanta Transit Company, to encourage
the extension of the Perry Boulevard Bus to Holiywood Road.
This would enable the residents of Perry Homes to have bus
transportation to the K-Mart and several large grocery stores
in the Ba1:ld1ead Highway area_.
The Atlanta Transit Company
agreed to make this extension on a three month trial basis.
New bus schedules were handed out to residents of Perry
Homes at the CRC meeting~
- -z.--- Recreation:
a,
Through the efforts of the Atlanta Youth Council, the
Butler Street Ylv1CA and Community Che st
a recreation
program for teenagers at Northwest Perry Homes has been
· developed.
/
/'
This program will provide recreation four
.
0
nights a week during the remainder
b.
of the summer.
Mr, Persells reported that the Atlanta Housing
Authority will begin surveying for the construction o_f a
ne w r e cre ation building w ithin the ne x t few w eeks .
.
..
0
.
�...
Page 2
Supplement "A"
3.
-- --
Consmner Services:
a.
CRC reported that Mr. Alterman, of Big Apple Food
.Stores, has agreed to build a new supermarket in the area
·provi_ding a minimum of three suitable acres can be found.
______ ____M:1-°: .. Welch
sur_veye~ the area with a large shopping ·center
developer who promised a best effort to develop a shopping
- Center ·fo-r the Perry Homes Area.
b. Mr. Lindskoog met with Mr. Yates, of Yates & Milton
_D rug Stores, to request that a pharmacist be placed in their .
. --------·Drug Store in Perry· Homes.
Mr. Lindskoog plans tc work
further on this is sue
-4.
Atlanta Housing Authority:
a.
In response to the residents request, new railings will be
plac e d on unprotected stairways.
_ - -- - ·b. -- Mr. Persells reported that operations are now under way
to eliminate the m aggots that have become a serious problem
·_ in one. section of the housing project. _·
· s. ·
Proctor Creek--citizens were pleased with the report that
.•
the Cit_y is p·resen~ly doing extensive work to e liminate the
/
.
/
odor of Pr octo r Creek.
0

.
..
�Community Relations Commission
Pe.i:cent of Total
87
26
8
8
7
Total Complaints
Parks
Police
Sanitation
Sewers, etc.
Employment
Health
Model Cities
5
5
5
30%
9%
9%
8%
6%
6%
6%
Cities Services
Percent of Total
(July) ~:< Total Complaints
Parks
Police
Sanitation
Sewers, etc.
Employment
Health
Model Cities
708
32
133
267
59
5%
19%
38%
8%
No Figures Available
19
No Figures Available


Other


Prominent Complaints
Housing Code
Traffic Engineering
36
40
3%
�COPY
KING & SPALDING
HUGHES SPALDING, JR.
ROBT. B . TROUTMAN
CHARLES L, GOWEN
JAMES M , SIBLEY
CHARLES H , KIRBO
JOHN IZARD
POPE B . MCINTIRE
KIRK M. MCALPIN
HUGHES SPALDING
WILLIAM K . MEADOW
KENNETH L, HEWITT
HARRY C. HOWARD
R . BYRON ATTRIDGE
TRUST COMP ANY OF GEORGIA BUILDING
RICHARD A, DENNY, JR .
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
WILLIAM H . IZLAR , JR.
BRADLEY HALE
ROBERT W . HURST
ROBERT L. STEED
HENRY HALL WARE Ill
ANTHA MULKEY
CHARLES M . KIDD
JOHN C . STATON, JR.
FURMAN SMITH , JR.
G. LEMUEL HEWES
PHILIP F. ETHERIDGE
R . WILLIAM ICE Ill
CHARLES M. SHAFFER. JR.
JOHN D. HOP K INS
A , FELTON JENKINS , JR.
30303
404 525-0481
DANIEL J , O ' CONNOR . JR.
HUGH PETE RS ON, JR.
JOHN A. W A LLACE
DAVID L . COKE R
January l2t 1969
JACK H. WATSON, JR.
HORACE H . SIBLEY
W , DON A LD K NIGHT, JR ,
JAMES A, BRANCH Ill
Th
&onorabl Herbert Jenktns
Chief of Polic•
City of Atlant· Polic »epartment
17S l)ec tui: Str~et.# s. g.
A-t: l artta I f.tet>rgla
Dear Chi f ifenld.ns,
I aa Chair
of the Law
of tbe CoAmtUn.ity Relatiomt c
ore
nt Subc
i'tt:
·e ion. and this ubc:ommittee
n ask 1:0 study tb f
ibllity of the establishment
of a Citize ' Revi8" lo d of th Polic Department for the
city of Atl.aata. 'l'be requut for t
11everal oit:izen • grouJ'IS in 11$ c
,s tudy h
com
from
ni.ty.
w lrt. to 41 cu•• t:be at
wi tb all grou . who
re c ponsible for police protection and police'<
unity
,:elations.
e felt it would be th
· at approach to initi t
our atudy by· det nd.llibi your f · lings and ug9estiona in tbia
regard. It vould be gooc!l if you could l t u know a couvenioat
tl • when t b aubconuaitt
might come by· you offtc for
bri f conf enc.
Byron Att:ridg
Chairman~ Law
zu:ty
BAajiu
,c ci Nr. llat
cc, ar. nan
ecr
Hellber•,
ii.fore
1.•tJ.om
�January 16~ 1969
M ills· Lane
Ed Smith
Bi lly Sterne
Joe Birnie
Gordon Jone-a
D e ar Friends :
Through the, Community Relations Com mission.
the City .is seeking ways to i m prove the conditions
and opportunities of our less fortunate citizens .
definite plan is being develop.ed which ill need
your advic~ and assi tance in the area Qf private
-e nte rpri e opportuni ties for Negro busine men.
I would appr-eciate your meeting with m.e briefly
on Thur day m orning , February 6th at 10 :00 a . m .
in order that I may have th benefit of your idea
about this pl'oject.
Sincerely,
Ivan All n , Jr.
IAJr :am
be: Nat Welch
Dan Sweat
�•
January 16, 1969
MEMORANDUM
TO
Nat Welch, Community Relations Commission
FROM
Ivan Allen, Jr.
Attached i a copy of the lett r I have written to the five bank
presidents requesting them to me with the idea of discussing
th ir ability to make financial loans to Negro businessmen.
Prior to this meeting, I would like to have a memorandum
from you as to how you think they may a sist, a summary of
what ha - already been done in thi area ; and an outline of the
meeting you plan to have on February 20th.
I would hope you would be available to it in on the me ting
on F bruary 6th.
Attachm nt
�202/223-1212
DAVID A PTER & ASSOCIATES
1145 19th Street, N .W . Washington, D.C. 20036
13 January ;l969
Ivan Allen. Jr., Mayor
City of Atl anta
City Hall
Atlanta~ Georgia
D
30303
ar Ivan:
I was delighted tog t your re ponse to our proposal
addressed to white racial attitudes .
llefore reporting again to the Ford Foundation, I'm waiting to hear from a couple of loc 1 coalitions, after which I
expect to be .able to
ke my recommendations for pilot cities.
If all goes well, I should have something more specific to
revi w with Nat Welch e rly next month.
Like 11 your admirers, I was disappointed, though h rdly
surprised, by your decision to rotir. ~lixabeth a.nd I were
pl as d to se the Washington Post's comment. Thanks to her
own bedside clipping servic, here's anoth r copy of the
ditorial for your scrapbook.
B st regards,
GCalvin Kytle
CK/ fvg
cc: Mr. Dan Swat
Mr. Nat Welch
Mr. Jorry Horton
Encl/ t sh Post clip
(1/11/6 )
Dal'id Apter, President / C ali-in Kytle, E'xecutive Vice President/Theodore 0. Cron, Vice President
�WHO
The Atlanta Community Relations Commission is sponsoring
WHAT
a series of Workshops in Human Relations for City employees.
WHEN
The first session is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon , May 28
1:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. The Commission is requesting each
City department to send one receptionist to the initial workshop
WHERE
Committee Room 2 in City Hall.
WHY
As a part of their 1969 program the Community Relations Commission is initiating a series of workshops in human relations
for City employees. These workshops have two major objectives: (1) to provide ways in which personnel working for the
City can better relate to minority group citizens with whom they
come in contact; and (2) to assist Citj \ personnel in gaining a
better understanding of the major proB.lems confronting citizens
in the disadvantaged communities of Atlanta.
The CRC believes that the actions and attitudes of any City
employee who comes in contact with the public can have a
considerable impact on the relationship between the City
Government and a given community. This is especially true
in dealing with the problems of Atlanta's Negro citizens .
Mayor Allen and his administration have made tremendous
strides in breaking down the barriers of racial prejudice.
It seems only logical that community relations can continue to
be improved between the City Government and the citizens if
the Mayor's farsighted and compassionate attitude in human
relations is reflected in the actions and attitudes of all city
personnel.
It is the hope of the CRC that these workshops in human
relations will act as a catalyst in bringing this about.
�OMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMISSION
ESTABLISHED BY THE MAYOR AND THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN, NOVEMBER, 1966
J!OJ CITY HALL, ATLANTA GEORGIA JOJOJ
TELEPHONE 5U-H6J EXT. ~33
DR. SAMUEL W. WILLIAMS, 0,a/rl1Uln
THE HONORABLE SAM MASSE LL. JR., ex-Officio
Ptes/dent, Board of Aldermen
COMMISSION MEMBERS
MR. T. M. ALEXANDER, SR.
MR. R. BYRON ATTRIDGE
MRS. SARA BAKER
MJSS HELEN BULLARD
MR. R. J. BUTLER
REP. JAMES E. DEAN
MR. ROBERT DOBBS
REP: C. G. EZZARD
MR. L. L. GELLERSTEDT, JR.
MR. CHARLES HART
DR. ROBERT E. LEE
MRS. F. W. PATTERSON
RABBI JACOB M. ROTHSCHILD
MR. M. O.RYAN
MR. JACK SELLS
MR. PAUL SHIELDS
MR. L. D. SIMON
MRS. MARY STEPHENS
DR. J. RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MR. NAT WELCH
Executive Direcfor
TO:
The Business Advisory Committee
FROM:
Nat Welch
SUBJECT:
DATE:


!Jif


Committee Meeting April 28, 1969
April 9, 1969
The Business Advisory Committee of the Community Relations
Commission will meet from 3:30-5:00 p. m., Monday, April 28
in the Aldermanic Chambers of City Hall. Here is the agenda:
1. A report and an evaluation ·of the II Workshop on Black
Business Opportunity" sponsored by the Commission
at Atlanta _University, -February 20.
2. John Cox , Director of the Atlanta Youth Council, will
outline several proje·cts your company can undertake
this summer to get disadvantaged kids off the streets
and constructively involved.
3. CRC Project Director Chuck Williams, who is working
with twenty-five l arge Atlanta companies on stepping up
employment of minority persons, will give a brief report.
The Cornmittee wants to hea1· about any successful ideas
your company has developed to increase minority
employment.
4. Andy Hub er of the N ational Allianc e of Businessme n will
bri efly outline their program which will emphasize
employment of black females.
Please feel free to bring along one or two other of your company's
executives who might have interests in the above areas.
�HUGHES SPALDING
WILLIAM K . MEADOW
HUGHES SPALDING, JR.
CHARLES H . KIRBO
POPE B, M C.I NTI RE
KENNETH L. HE W ITT
HARR Y C . HO W ARD
R . B Y RON ATTRIDGE
ROBERT W. HUR S T
. HENRY HAI_L WARE Ill
ANTHA MUl-KEY
CHARl-ES M . KI DD
EDWARD J. HAWIE
ROBT. B . TROUTMAN
CHARLES L. GOWEN
JAMES M . SIBLEY
JOHN ! ZARO
K I RK M . Mt;AL_PIN
RIC HARO A . DENN Y , JR .
Wll-LIAM H . IZLAR,JR.
B R ADl-EY HALE
R O BERT L.ST E ED
DANIEL J. O ' CONNOR, JR .
HUGH PETERSON , JR .
F U RMAN SMITH, JR .
JOHN D • HOPKINS
A . FEl-T O N JENKINS.JR .
JA C K H . W ATSON . JR .
R. WILLIAM IOE Ill
HORACE H . SIBLEY
M , S HAf"FER , JR .
W. DO NALD KNI G H T, JR .
.JOSE P H
&
SPALDING
TRUST COMPANY OF GEORGIA BUILDING
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
30303
404 525 - 0481
JOHN A . WALLACE
JOHN C.STATON , JR ,
DAV ID L. COKER
C HARLE S
KING
G . LEMUEL HEWES
March 3, 196 9
GEORG E G RAH A M TRA S K
.JAM ES A , B R A NCH Ill
R. G L AD DEN, JR.
Honorable Ivan Allen , Jr .
Mayor
city of Atlanta
City Ball
Atlanta , Georgia 30303
Dear Mayor Allen:
The February meeting of the community Relations
commission was held this past Friday, February 28th, and a
substantial portion of the meeting was taken up with discussion of the so-called "welfare payments freeze."
There was a great amount of confusion as to just
exactly what was involved in the "freeze." However , it
appears that the federal government presently plans to
restrict welfare grants to the states beginning July 1 , 1969,
which would in turn cause some reduction in the payments to
individual recipients. It was the strong consensus of the
community Relations commission that any reduction in the
individual welfare payments - particularly in the summer
month of JUly - wouid increase unrest and the possibility
for general trouble in the community.
It is clear that the whole question of the "freeze•
needs to be studied and clarified, and I have asked the staff
of the commission to undertake such a study. I have also
talked with Dan sweat this morning who is also studying the
matter.
�Honorable Ivan Al.len, Jr.
March 3, 1969
Page TWO
If the. problem exists as it now appears, the
commission wil.l be available to assist you in any way in
attacking the problem .
Sincerely,
Byron Attridge
Vice-chairman
community Relations commission
BA:jmb
cc:
cc:
cc:
Reverend Sam Williams
Mr. Nat Welch
Mr. Dan Sweat
�•
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL
~.eparhtre1t± of ]u~dicc
~nsl1insto11
July 23, 1969
Mr. Nat Welch
Executive Director
Community Relations Commission
1203 City Hall
Atlanta, Ge9rgia
30303
Dear Mr. Welch:
The President and the Attorney General have asked
me to reply to your letters of May 8 and May 12, 1969, in
which you express the concern of the Atlanta Community
Relations Commission that the Civil Rights Division is in
need of additional resources. Please excuse my delay in
responding.
l.
Attorney General Mitchell has recognized the nead for
additional resources within the Civil Rights Division and
has sought an increased budget from the Congress.
In his
testimony before the House Subco:r.unittee on Appropriations,
Attorney General Mitchell made the following statement with
respect to the needs of the Civil Rights Division.
I
I
In the important field of civil rights, our
commitment is to enforce all the civil rights
laws, on behalf of all our people in all
sections .of the country. To fully carry out
this responsibility in three priority areas-housing--education and emp loyrnent--places an
op~rationa l burden upon the Civil Rights
Division that vastly exceeds its capacity,
even with the modest increase in staff that
· has been requested above the revised 1969
levels. We seek for 1970, only 35 po~itions
and $1,073,000 above that asked for in 1969.
As you will recall, we asked for 55 positions
and $447,500 by way of a supplemental request
. primarily to implement Titles I, VIII and I X of
the 1968 Civil Rights Act. We have not increased the r~quest of the prior Administration
for Fiscal Year 1970 primarily because it was
0
'
I
�our judgment that a larger increment of
additional manpower over that sought in the
1969 supplemental could not be effectively
/ utilized by the Division as it is now constituted and operating. However, we can conceive
of nothing more devastating to our concepts of .
equal justice than to have sectional, or piecemeal enforcement of civil rights statutes imposed upon us because we have.failed to ask the
Congress for the necessary resources. We cannot
hope to reach, by our enforcement of these laws,
all forms or shades of discrimination. But we
are totally committed to removing on a priority
basis the patent injustices in employment,
housing and edudation that remain in one degree
or another in all areas of the Nation. We shall
in candor ask for all the manpower we believe
can be effectively used to this end and we
eainestly hope that you will provide it.
We deeply appreciate the position tha t the Atlanta
C~mmunity Relations Commission has taken and the . help which
i~ has given in support of the budget for this Division
arid we hope you realize that the additional support which
we have received, at least in partr will enable us to bring
about greater compliance of the civil rights laws .
Best regards.
Sincerely,
r
,
I..
~
~-
-·-c.."
Jerris Leonard
• Assistant Attorney General
Civil Rights Division
0
/
�CITY OF ATLANTA
OFFiCE OF CITY COMPTROLLER
ATLANTA 3, GEORGIA
January 2, 1969
TO:
Those Noted
FROM:
SUBJECT: CIP 1969 Update
We have been instructed to give first priority to matching the CIP
Master File against Fulton County's Real Property Master File.
Fulton County is now reformatting their Real Property Master File
and will have a reformatted file, updated through 1968, available for us
by January 15, 1969.
Parcel Code Number identification as used in our CIP file differs
from that used by Fulton County on their Real Property Master File. The
two identification methods are shown here:
County PCN
District
Land Lot
Square
Unit
XXX
9999
xxxx
999
City PCN
99X
999X
9999X
999X
9 = A digit only
X =
Either a digit or an alphabetic character
This results in PCN identification as shown here:
County PCN
XXX9999XXXX999
City PCN
99X999X9999X999X
As can be seen, not only are there differences in the characteristics
of the various positions but the City PC N is a total of 16 characters whereas the County PCN is only 14 characters.
The different PCN identification formats resulted from the Ci~y's having
t o allow for Dekalb County I s numbering system when the CIP file was originally
built . Dekalb County has since then changed to the PCN identification method
used by Fulton County .
PCN is the s equence i n which both t he City and County files are kep t .
Since the PCN i denti f ier s are not c ompat ib ie in forma t , i t has been nece ss ary
f or us t o transla te PCN fr om the County f ormat t o t he Cit y f ormat whe never
we us ed data supp l ied by the County. Thi s translat i on pr oc e s s wou l d caus e
the resultant file to be out of s equence and t hus requi r e a sort of the Mas t er
File.
The translation and sorting was done in order to preserve the ability to
r un the series of CIP report programs which required for input, a PCN in the
City's format .•
�-2During the upcoming match of 1968 Fulton County tape s with the 19 67
CIP file, we will convert our PCN identifier on the CIP file to the County's
format. This will render it impossible to continue to use existing CIP
report programs without modifications and will alter the me thod of making
updates to the master file.
It is anticipated that the special Committee which has been appointed
to study the data processing needs for planning information will define future
reporting requirements. If it is necessary to run the CIP reports, they could
he run with the 1967 CIP Master which will r emain unimpa'ired as a result of
the conversion.
Fulton County's file should be available for us to schedule processing
the weekend of January 18 - 19.
Distribution:
Messrs:
JG/bb
George Berry
Milton Converse
Charles L. Davis
Collier Gladin
Frank Howard
R. Earl Landers
W. Roy Smith
John Watson
�-2During the upcoming match of 1968 Fulton County tape s with the 1967
CIP file, we will convert our PCN identifier on the CIP file to the County's
format. This will render it impossible to continue to use existing CIP
report programs without modifications and will alter the me thod of making
updates to the master file.
It is anticipated that the special Committee which has been appointed
to study the data processing needs for planning informat.i on will define future
reporting requirements. If it is necessary to run the CIP reports, they c.ould
b.e run with the 1967 CIP Master which will remain unimpaired as a result of
the conversion.
Fulton County's file should be available for us to schedule processing
the weekend of January 18 - 19.
Distribution:
Messrs:
JG/bb
George Berry
Milton Converse
Charles L. Davis
Collier Gladin
Frank Howard
R. Ear l Landers
W. Roy Smith
John Watson
�f' 1
.August 8, 1969
MEMORANDUM
To:
Mayor Allen
From:
Dan Sweat
S!ibject:
Analysis of Complaints on City Services
I am attaching three pieces of information which you will find very interesting.
One is the summary of complaints from Town Hall meetings and recommendations .
of the Community Relations Commission. The second is tb.e monthly statistical
report from Johnny Robinson on the work of his City Services Coordinators.
The third is a swnmary of evaluations and recommendations of eight interns
·_,·tcr~!:1.; ·.·lit_~. th~ Cit~r Se r ...ricee C oorr1 i r? !l. t o:r i'1 1 r!l_~!0143.215.248.55 !""~-!'ts; of theCity.
·:~~=-~ .:.::::
As I indicated to you b e fore wh3n publicity was relear.ed on the QB_C' s complaint
s ummary, I was surpris e d to find that the Parks Department came in for so
much criticis m. I did not feel this was the case with our City Services
Coordinator.
I h '3.ve attempted to analyze the rnost frequent complaints in the CRC report
a nd the city services report. You will note the percent of total in each of the
maj or categ o ries . I am e x t rem e l y impre s se d with the total number of compla ints
re ce ived and corr e cted by the City Service s Coordinator . This is a result, of
c our se , of the beefed-up s t aff u t ilizing the interns.
Y ou will find th e comments a nd r e commenda tions of the i n terns very intere s ting,
and I thi nk it i s s i gnifica nt tha t only one of the inte rns consi s t e ntly feel s that
e~.,erything i s wr o ng .
I have been exceptionally pleased with the fa c t tha t a l though the i nter n s pla c e
a grea t deal of e x tra work on the departments in gettin g complaints answere d,
there have been very few complaint s regis t ered with me fr om the departments .
DS:je
.Attachment s
�r-'
"
Community Relations Cc1mmission
Pe~cent of Total
Total Complaints
Parks
Police
Sanitation
Sewers, etc.
Employment
Health
Model Cities
87
26
7
30%
9%
9%
8%
5
5
5
6%
6%
6%
8
8
Cities Services
Percent of Ta tal
(July)


Total


Complaints
Parks
Police
Sanitation
Sewers, etc.
Employment
Health
Model Cities
708
32
5%
133
19%
267
59
38%
8%
No Figures Available
19
3%
No Figures Available


~ther Prominent Complaints


Housing Code
Traffic Engineering
36
40
'
�'
-.
.,.
.
.
•143.215.248.551;:
·co.V.MUNITY RELATIONS. CO/,lJ,\ISSION ___
MEMORIAL DRIVE ANNEX BLDG.
_
-
.
121 MEMORIAL DR:VE, S. W.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30303
G:-.~----=:-;;·_-i.;,ln,, -Ji 11 .' '
~22-4463
~~t~Jt{,::~;; Jf.:
'--- - .
July 25, 1969
DR. SAMUEL W. WILLIAMS. CHAIRMAN
VICE MAYOR SAM MASSELL, JR . ,
.
EX-OFFICIO
.COMMISSION MEMBERS.
TO: M~yor A.Hen and the 1?oard of Aldermen
MR.T.M.ALEXANDER,SR .
.
· --i.lR. R. BYRON ATTRIDGE
'-IRS. SA.RA EJAKER
MISS HELEN BULLARD
MR.R.J. BUTLER
l~fL f.!:!':E: CHE:.'\!H A!.!
REP. JAMES E. DEAN
MR . ROBERT DO BBS
REP.C.G. EZZARD
.
MR. L.L. ~ELLERSTEDT,J~.
MR. CHARLES HART
OR. ROBERT E. L.EE

,_!RS. F. V:. PATTERSON
RABBI JACOB M. ROTHSCHILD ·
MR. PAUL SHIELDS
'-IR. L. 0. SIP.10N i
. •• J.IRS. MARY STEPHENS
OR, J. RANDOLPH TAYLOR
-REV. J.·A. WILBORN
FROM: Community Relations Commission
SUBJECT:
Summary of Complaints from Town Hall
Meetings and Re.commendations of the
Commission
· The key role of the Community Relations Commission (CRC)
in the Mayor's Summer Progr am has been in holding Town
I
MR. WILLIAM McGEE. EX-OFFICIO
Hall meetings in the disadvc. ntaged ares of the City. The
ATLANTA YOUTH CONGRESS
l
C0rnmj s si0n hijtially goes in to hear the complaints of
. MR. NAT WELCH
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
citizens and returns some thirty days later and reports on
actions taken by City Hall and other agencies. In many
cases, CRC has been able to report corrective action taken
-·oy City Departments and other agen cies (note Supplement
1
. • .~!A". for _responses this week to complaints at Perry Hoines).
Town Hall meetings have been held since lvlarch in the
following communities : Blair Village, Grant Park, Mechanicsville, Perry Homes, University_ Hom es and EdgewoodKirkwood.
··---
-·
·- .
This report tabulates the frequency of complaints registered
_·_in the initial meetings. The frequ ency of compla ints is not
in itself conclusive evidence of the gravity of problems faced
,1··· - ·by ·Atlanta.
0
The purpose of this memorandum is to make recommendations
on problems th e Comrn ission has been unable to resolve .
�Pag:e 2
Summ~.ry of Complaints
Community Chest agencies in the disadvantaged areas. The Commission
would like to recommend four areas for improving this situation:
1.
The Parks Department capital improvern.ent budget of
approximately $350,000 is grossly inadequate.
This
. - sum can easily be expended to build one new park; but
this $350,000 has to be spread over 65 parks. For
example, a modern swimming pool costs approximately
····.- ·-- -~--- ----------$220;·000. · - The City of Atlanta needs to give serious
consideration to a multi-million dollar bond issue for
. ... -.improvement and expansion of its Parks system. It
should b~ pointed out that the Parks Department is
operating 80 play lots of which 40 are staffed. These
,
are constructed and maintained principally from Federal
Poverty Funds. If these funds ar.e redli.ced, this would
t~row an immediate and substantial burden on this City.
·"-···--z.--Emphasis ·should be ·_placed on expanding and improving
play lots for tots and neighborhood parks in such com__________ ··
munities as _11echanicsville, Sun1merhill, Fulton Village,
•· ·
Blue Heaven, Bowen Homes, Perry Homes and Grant
_ _ ____ p _a rk area. Parks need to b e in walking dista nce of
these citizens where possible; ghetto families have very
poor transportation. Improved transportation in disadvantaged areas will help broaden recreationa l opportunities.
3.
Better uti lization must b e made of school -pla yg rounds
· - ·-...::...:.-=-and facilities. ··· ·This re·quire s more coo pc ration between
·. the Atlanta School Board and the Parks Departm e nt.
___ ... With the costs of construction and r eal estate spiraling,
. Atlanta h a s to make better use of school f ac ilities for
recreadon.
· 4.
The need is pressing for improved recreation in public
- · -· hou sing. The Atlanta Hou s ing Aut hority c a n build recre.--ational, buildings. Th e City should urg e action he re by
the Authority. The Board of Alde rmen h as offere d to
•
pay 50% of the co s ts of op e r a ting recr eat iona l pro grams
in public housing if the A uthority wo uld do likewise.
Und er Federal l aw , AHA can not do so. Therefore; the
City must a cc ept its responsibility here in as much as
it has assumed re s ponsibility in providing other s ervices
in public housing.
0
A major burden for improving recreation in the City rest s with the Parks
Department.
Churches have been ren1iss in d eve loping recreatio nal programs
�..
~
Page 3
Summc:ry of Complaints
.
and using their facilities for their neightborhoocls. Community Chest agencies
need to step up their programs in disadvantag ed areas and to guard against
serving just the middle class. The Atlanta Children 1 s and Youth Services
Council has done an outstanding job in coordinating and promoting volunteer
services and warrants continous support.
Complaints abo-ut the Atlanta Police Department were eight in number •••..••
seven dealing with the need for greater protection and quicker response and
- ---one-about segregation ·:n the department. Four suggestions were made by
citizens for improving police services:
I.
More foot·.patrolmcn in areas of high crime.
z.
Quicker switchboard answering at headquarters.
3.
Complete desegration of the Police Department.
- . ----4.
Improved stre·et lighting in areas of high crime. This has
sharply reduced crime in some American cities.
"Jf Atlanta is to cope with its nsmg crim e rate, citizens must share this
responsibility with the Police Department. The Atlanta Police Department ·
must be given a deguate funds for ope rations, - salaries, training and res ear ch.
Atlanta citi zens have a strong responsibility to report crimes and to serve as
witnesses where needed.
_________ _G~i:?age service also ranke d second in number of complaints. The Commission
received six complaints on the quality and frequency of garbage collection and
-- -- ---.- two complaints on garbage being s tre wn over premises. The Commission held
a special meeting in June with the Director of the Public Works D epartment and
the Director of the Sanitary S ervic e to info rm t hem of these facts and to make
recomme ndations. The Public Works Committee of the Board of Aldermen
nee~s to take furth e r steps to mecha ni ze garbage collection and to incre ase the
pay-of ·sanitary workers ·and to elevate· the-dignity-o·f ·thc· job. ·· Citi ze ns need to .
show more appreciation for the men who perform this important public service.
-A serious compla int h eard at Town Hall meetings during the spring d ealt with
·the failure of the City to remove junk cars. The responsibility for removing
junk cars on private property rests with the Sanitary Department and on streets
with the Police Department . In the last few weeks both d epa rtments have moved·
forward \vith aggressive pr9grams for coping with this nagging problem.
Other complaints received by the Commission are list e d below in the frequency
- in which received:
7 complaints .• ; .•. on sewers and dra i nage- -5 on flooded streets and
- 2 on dirty sewers and smelly creeks.
5 compla ints •••••• la.ck of jobs for youth .
...
�I.
":
w •
Page 4
Summary of Co1nplaints
5 COffi:plaints •• _. ••• Comprehensive Health- -3 on services offered- and
2 alleging discriminatory hiring practices.
5 complaints ••••• ~ Model Cities- -lack of knowledge of program,
inadequate community repres e ntation, objections
to horn~ purchase and r e pair program,s, and
community contractors not getting a chance to bid.
-· __ __ _:__ 4 . complaints •••••• repair of and the need for better street lighting.
4 complaints •••••• need for new streets and the paving of existing
streets.
3 complaints •••••• rats.
3 c01nplaints ••.•.• City of Atlanta- -2 on the lack of coordination of
City Departments and 1 on the lack of responsivei:iess
- to complaints of citizens.
3 complaints .•••.• Atlanta Housing Authority- -2 on the condition of
housing and 1 on high rents.
2 complaints •••.•. stray dogs.
2 complaints .••.•
~
Urban Renewal--the desire of citizens for information,
and representation on _u rban renewal committees.
2 _complaints •.•••. Economic Opportunity Atlanta
The Co~~unity Rela tions Commission itself was not above criticism. One
. complaint was registered on the lack of youth r e pre s entation on the Commission
and another on the inability of the Commission to re spont to complaints.
'
~-
..
•
�p
•
•
"
•
..
SUPPLEMENT "A"
I
i
,·
The follow-up meeting in the Northwest Perry Homes area was held on
July 22~ )-The CRC was able to report the followi~g pos,itive actions on
complaints registered by the citizens:
1.
Transportation--the CRC met with M;. William Maynard,
President of the Atlanta Transit Company, to encourage
the extension of the Perry Boulevard Bus to Holiywood Road.
'This would ena ble the r e sidents of Perry Homes to have bus
transportation to the K-Mart and several large grocery stores
in the Ba1:Jd1ea d Highwa y area_.
The Atlanta Trans it Company
agreed to make this e x t e nsion on a three month tria l basis.
New bus sche dules w er e h a nde d out to resid e n t s of P e rry
Home s a t the C R C m eeting ~
- ---z~-- Recreation:
a.
Through the e ffo r t s of the Atla nta Youth Council, the
Butler Stree t YMCA and Communit y Chest
a re creation
progra m for t e enag e rs a t Northwe st Perry Home s has b een
T h i s p rogram w ill p r o v i de re creation four
d e v e lope d.
/
/
.
•
nights a week during t he remainder
of the s ummer.
b. Mr. Perse ll s reporte d that the A tlanta Housing
Authority will b e gin surveying for the construction o_f a
. new recreation building within the next few weeks .
.. .
•
..
..
�·-
~-.,
.Page 2
Sllpplement "A"
3.
Consumer Services:
..
a.
CRC reported that Mr. Alterman, of Big Apple Food
.Stores, has agreed to build a new supermarket in the area
·provi_ding a minimum of three suitable acres c~n be found.
.. ..... . -
Mr. Welch surveye~ the area wit h a large shopping center
--- · .. -- ·
·-
- ··
developer who promised a b e st effort to develop a shopping
-center ·for the Perry Homes Area.
Mr. Lindskoog met with M r . Yates·, of Yates & Milton
b.
!
•
.
_Drug Stores, to request that a pharmacist be p~aced in their .
·····- ··-Drug
St ore :hi Perry· Homes·.
Mr. Lindskoog pla ns tc work
furt h e r on this i s sue
.4·.
Atlanta Housing Authority:
a.
In respons e to the re s ide nts r e quest, new r a ili n gs w ill b e
pla c e d on unp rot e cte d s t a irway s .
_ ---- ·b.--· Mr. Persells reported that ope rations are now under way
to e l imi nat e the m aggots t h a t have b e come a seriou s problem
in o ne. se ction of the h ou sing proj e ct. _·
· 5.
Procto r Cre ek- -c ~ti zen s w e re please d with the r e po r t t h at
tlie C it_y i s p·res e nt_ly d oing e x tensive w o rk to e li1n i nat e t he
•
/
.
•
/
. odor of Pro ctor C reek •
•
.
.
1
�Community Relations Commission
Percent of Total
Total Complaints
Parks
Police
Sanitation
Sewers, etc.
Employment
Health
Model Cities
87
26
8
8
7
5
5
5
30%
9%
9%
8%
6%
6%
6%
Cities Services
Percent of Total
(July) ::, Total Complaints
Parks
Police
Sanitation
Sewers, etc.
Employment
Health
Model Cities
708
32
133
267
59
5%
19%
38%
8%
No Figures Available
19
No Figures Available


Other


Prominent Complaints
Housing Code
Traffic Engineering
36
40
3%
�~-
-~- -- ..
·CITY HALL
ATLANTA. GA. 30303
· Tel. 522-4463 Area Code 404
Au·g ust 6, 1969
IVAN ALLEN, JR., MAYOR
R. EARL LANDERS, Administrative Assistant
MRS. ANN M. MOSES, Executive Secretary
DAN E. SWEAT, JR., Director of Governmental Liaison
MEMORANDUM
TO:
Mr. Dan E. Sweat, Jr.
Deputy Chief Administrative Officer
FROM:
Johnny H. Robinson
Community Development Coordinator
SUBJECT: Monthly Report (Statistical}
Dan, . you will find enclosed a breakdown on the amount of
complaints received from July 1, 1969 - August 1, 1969.
The overall received are as following:
Total Received
708
Total Corrected
405
Total Meeting Attended
105
We were also involve d in a survey for the Planning De partment
in Plunke ttown.
JHR/mc
..
�'ro:
.
.,
Johnny H. Robinson
FROM:
//J.zi/4;
SUBJECT
Jo.ii .l
1/


·11)~ //}(~/


>
191.: 9
COMPLAINTS
Received
Atlant a Housing Authority
Sanitation
Police
Parks
Housing Code Divisfon
Traffic Engineering
Construction
Planning
Fulton County Health Department
_._
OTHER
Corrected
l
Cl
l.:S
/,5
I
I
2
I
/]
___________
--t
--========
41
TOTAL
}4-
lvfEETIN GS
Number
E .O.A. Staff
CNAC
A r e a B lock
CRC
M ISC .
i
2
7
TOTAL
COMM E N TS - O B S ERV AT IO N S
,,
-

.,
--
�'.
. ..·
TO; · .
Johnny H. Robinson
FROM:
/7/. I ?o/ c-,.; -<:
-
,{. l , .
l..
I
'C::
, t (.. _~_c.·
_ ' ._ : _
J _ __
---·
SUBJECT
COMPLAINTS
Received
Atlanta Housing Authority
Sanitation
Police
Parks
Housing Code Division
Traffic Engineering
Construction
Planning
Fulton County Health Department
OTHtR
Corrected
l'l
II
II
I ,Y .
I.
C


JlJi
TOTAL
l-VC C. Oi~A ,(-'0
•I
._5n i1. Ff!
,I
' :
n u,11~')(:v
E . 0 . A. Staff
CNAC
Arca Block
CRC
lviISC.
Jv1EETIN GS
/'~01.:::~-/1/1-=? C PD V
- -1, ., . - · -
I
I(,., ,, ,,&,c_ _
I
I
P l , ,,. ~- ,
--- - ' '"' ' ' ,
"-"- V - ' / • t
Nun,ber
N~·ml>:?i/
,
2
lj-
_J_._1____,_TO T AL
I~
COM MEN TS - O B S ERV A TIO NS


I J./_;u_(_); l~(j o;.


.!tu (
( /17 st·cc?i"~t. '. f
.0/c71/1 / 1. //





I
-
.·
I
,,lf:_'.J,}/2..- ",-
I
'7 .
12
k r{:s
.,,,,...-_-,.,. r . · -
c...-,,'--._/V.,t_
�I.
... "
.
VI\ LC,
_,
Johnny~- Robinson
TO:
FROM:
-~
SUBJECT
Y
/9(9
/,
7
COMPLAINTS
Received
,t?~
Atlanta Housing Authority
Sanitation
Police
Parks
Housing Code Division
Traffic Engineering
Construction
Planning
Fulton County Health Department
OTHER
/G
.2-
t.L
¥-
/4
'
t
/()
L
<)?
7
•
' ? 6 --
tl{,/-'tkS
,<_,
~


z::z


,23

- - -
7?-,8 ic
Corrected
gi
I~ I
TOTAL
f{;t:$ Oil//L----£
ol2
· 7J:.),_7~1J oF L-:-/Jvc.
C7
i'-J . . ~ _,
.
.r \
J A
___,,
_, , .
A./V'/A.J(//,' Jr"(_;,-
)JCL.-1/VS'[
.-
t_' )
A,· :- ,'7,;. :/ . ~
_,,..,;1· - _,
/
/);t,-
I
I
Number
E.O.A. Sta ff
CNAC
Arca Block
CR C
MISC.
7
rZ
,:L
(c/7 y 1/4 .l'.~
Sr,,.Jrr- /t~1--L--r11v'Gs
. V1sT. tJ vL:T
.:5pc·,--e..
TOTAL
/ :/4-~"L-7 /,-'./(;.S
COMM E N T S - O BSERV ATIO NS
l
1'" 1[L .
.
.
r;)I
•" - · I/NC-:- t'{.1/7// l ~5-<. /
(:
,.
y
/ }
l l •c' -<'XS' [ )CPI::.~)
--;;;;,.,-s d '1( '/ V7,,Y
@ /_-- u(N·"/! SF/~< & --/.},-1/) ;N f.
.
.
(},./0(!.
2 oc_:;;v,r dvv7/(h'. ,
~ / 4-?,.;,,,:, / /?.r
/J~·~;:ST&v&.:.
~//{) / ,,~_ I}
I . ,.-- 77,
..
/;)N O t'{ c\R& rf'i-'/}!,{'7S" 7c)
.
,
?t!--7/7/~,< ' <::
/?/V/
-
{!,,:/..~-,,p
/2/'
/t,1/)
/ ::-? :/.,(
71>
,l) ci
-S-(~ . ~
?
. , ·,-
--;-
/ ~.-z - 8y v d~.,,c
c:1-- ,ci-i>1c-('Jd,< w,c': / t!:e'.7S;
l
l
'-7iJ> OF /2-pt.1<.
0:,.,t7 /- -{'
4 -<:t--cz c c,,--~7:"/VP//1-'z:r
Uo/-_!r
'
f'c!N/7/Ycl/::'
-
s.
1.
/i/~
11.--P,< T/1/
/l
. ,,
U
1~-
1


0/ U >-~


l/fl(~ 11 JS: TC 7;Ji,K "( 1
/
/-/,// ·c'c .- /7'S'Kc.- /,)/-t"-/..._"' [ '. ~V
fi-~, /N-w,;:-r- ;V~ r / /.1 "1c"1/'0 1/{ ':- ~1J t1-"r1.,,o
7
ci;.J~:~ /? c '/t:5/V' /:::/'r,, r f
/ \,: ,·. ,u - J~ -~.,,_-J/


..-'


(__.,,,
. .,._, ,-;.'(-/.. '
~~c ) , /;l_ S r,4,c£ /S° (';'c\~ /l
[.l).::,r.,1,n,1.·/ J~
/ ?/ ~L-~
G/:(::·///
/ /t!_--/._j) _
-->~
�. . ....
.
Johnny H. Robinson
TO:
· FROM:


µ;:.11-1/1
SUBJECT
-
v ~S& l?C
to
7
-
-:::;:;;__y ?4 /9& 9
-- -
I
COMPLAINTS
Re_c ;eived
Corrected
r:27
d'I
19
•II
J:Z
/l'>
Atlanta Housing Authority
Sanitati on
Police
Parks
Housing Code Division
Traffi c Engineering
Constr uction
Planning
Fulton County Health D e partme~t
OTHER_ _ _ _ _ _ _-'----,---
'
17
?/
TOTAL
Numb e r
I
C N AC
Ar ea, Block ...
I
CRC
MISC.
C1ry
2.,
f //l.l1...
T O TAL
COMM EN TS - O BS ERV A TIO N S
•
£.c·Vc:·-/1,'l/l:'.'.'.'.<?
7~
<,
T/-11-- /z,,1.~4 ( ' / 1/VT tJ/:' C ar//)/ /f?//v'/- ~
.Lt1<'. Y~y /J €t-'l'/)
IJL:/lL
,;·C? S/1Hf/-- 7?/'P;re,--;:
//..!--
»u- /2?A."7,::::-:-9
/<; d<lZ Tl/c·ZI-- ·T(J
_Cf:!!.yJ,<;;1L/1//:<: __. ,)(' l'.·r'/)
7


/ V/) )(' c? ZI/S


..
/L'-Cl.'-/'./.:....J·,,.._·-_
- __
�.. .

- - -------------
•
Johnny H . Robinson
TO:


FROM:
·,
·-
July l, 1969
SUBJECT
July Jl, 1969
·to ·-
COMPLAINTS .
Received
Corrected
6
lt
24
Atlanta Housing Authority
Sanitation
Police
Parks
Housing Code Division
Traffic Engineering
Construction
Planning
Fulton County Health Department
OTHER.
51
39
IG
ti:
11
10
11
9
29
...,
I
l&
0
0
s
7
9

'-----
~ ~
t""!"'1 T -. -
101
172
TOTAL
.,._ r
6
,..... ,....
1v1 .t',J'..: .!. .!.l'! v
.::i
Number
E . 0. A. Staff
5
CNAC
Arca Block
CRC
lviIS C.
2
11
l
6
TOTAL
_COMMENTS
25
O BSERVATIO NS
Co:>~:ents are on n e xt s b e et.
- - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
�·----
A SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATIONS AND
R];:COMMENDA TIONS OF:
Mr. Bement (East Central} ·
Mr. Bruce (West Central)
Mr. Christenberry (Pittsburg)
Mr. Isaac ( Central City)
Mr. Menez (~dgewood}
Mrs. Snider ( City Hall)
Miss Sowell (Nash-Washington - Extension)
Miss Woodward (West End}
AUGUST 1, 1969
..
�-·--
EVALUATIONS OF CITY SERVICES
,
In evaluating City Services not all interns mentioned all City Services.
divided opinion on many departments.
There was
However, the general consensus was that
the City Services were not responding well enough to complaints by area residents.
The Atlanta Hous i ng Authority, according to Miss Sowell, does not respond at all.
.
.
.
.
However; the Housing Coqe Department was commended by Mr. Christenberry and
Miss Sowell.
This was not the case with Mr. Menez, who feels the depart~ent is
"not only inadequate, but also poorly administered 11 •
Mr. Isaac reported that the Police Department is· doing w e ll in Central City, but '
Mr. Christenb e rry-, Mr . M e n ez , and Miss Sowe ll r e porte d v e ry poor response.
Mr.
Christenberry ,.vas told that the Police D e partme nt d i d not know to return route sheets:
however, that is not b e lie v e d.
In most areas they hav e show n poor r e sponse on
pick-up of junk c a rs~
Only Mr. Isaac m e ntione d Public W orks.
He noted only o n e t hird response.
The R e creation D e partm e nt w as comme nted on by Miss Woodw ard and Mr. M e nez.
Mr. M e n ez stated tha t the R e cr eati on D e partme nt was not o n l y h a mp e r e d by lack
of e quipment, but it s uns y s t ematic s y stem a ll ows for i:11consis t e n c y .
M i s s Woo d ward
was more explicit, sta ting that r e creation . 11 app e ars to suffe r not in quan ity but in
q u ality" .
Sinc e t h i s is A tlanta ' s t hi rd y ear of expand e d s ummer recreation , s h e fee l s
that " one woul d expect t o find acti vities with carr y over valu es " .
Further, A tlant a
is loosing its bes t opportunit y t o commu nic a t e with y outh in these areas.
She
reports that youth do es not participate in other programs, such as Model Cities,
E.O.A., etc.
..
�-2-
The Sanitation Department came in for quite a bit of comment.
Miss Sowell, Miss
Woodward, and Mr. Isaac had reasonably good experiences with this department.
Mostly their request had been answered promptly.
Miss Sowell ·stated that the
quick response on the trash barrels gives tangible evidence of the City's concern.
Thus this service of the Sanitation Department is invaluable.
Miss Woodward
states tha"t° ther·e· is such· high c·onfiden'.~e in the department and in Mr_- Hulsey in ·
West End that citizens there usually call Mr. Hulsey directly with their complaints.
Not all opinions of the Sanitation Department are good.
Mr. Christenberry reports
poor pick-up of junk cars by this department, especially if the car has not been ,
tagged by the City Service Coordinator.
capacity is totally inadequate".
Mr. Menez feels the departments "output
Thus the Sanitary Department seems to respond
well on complaints concerning litter barrels and/ or trash removal and poorly on
removal of junk cars.
The "Sidewalks Department" was commended by Mr. Isaac who stated that he has
received one-hundred percent response.
Miss Sowell reports Street 1v1aintenance as being prompt in replying.
However, she
feels they should have inf or med this office that no additional paving could be d one.
The Traffic Engineering Department did not please Miss Sowell, Mrs. Snider, or
Mr. Menez.
Miss Sowell felt they should have notified the Community Development
Coordinator I s Office that no traffic signals were available for this year .
.
Mrs .
�---
-3-
Snider noted that many times the Traffic Engineering Department replied with "will
check this next week" or "maybe next year".
harm than good.
are done 1 1 •
Mr. Menez criticized
11
She felt this type of reply did more
the bureaucratic procedure in which things
Mr. Isaac reported answers to all five route sheets sent to Traffic
Engineering.
Thus of the four comments on this department, only Mr. Isaac was
satisfied.
RECOMM ENDATIONS
There were several types of recommendations which appeared often in the intern
evaluations . · These were concerned mainly with the City Services Coordinator,
junk cars, and the establishment of a central telephone nurn.ber or office.
Although
many recommendati ons were quite siinilar each wa s prese11ted fr-om a
different vi ewpoint .
The recommendations concerning the City S ervices Coordinators centered around
the number of coordinators and their duties.
Miss Sowell, Mr. Isaac, and Mr.
Beme nt recomme nd that there be one City Service Coordinator per target area.
Others, such as Christenberry, Mrs. Snider, and Miss Woodward felt that more
City Servic e Coordina tors should be hired 1 1 •
Mr. Christenberry sugges ted that
since the City Servic e Coo rdinator·s do public relations work a nyway, the
11
e x p ensive ,
blue-ribbon bed e cked Community Relations Commission 11 could be abolished and
the commission 1 s mone y be used for 1nor e City Service Coordinators.
Miss
Woodward, Mr. Bement, Miss So\vell, and Mr.· Christenberry a lso discussed
possible changes in the coordinator 1 s duties.
making them the adminis tr ators of
11
Miss Woodward recommended
Littlc City Halls 1 1 and increasing the scope of
�- -4-
their duties to include early slum detection, consumer services complaints,
public relations, and general information distribution.
..All of this involves
rcmoving · the coordinators from the E.O.A. Centers.
Mr. Christenberry feels
the City Service Coordinators be viewed as "inovative chaps with an overview of
the whole system whose job is to better integrate existing services and develop
ne~ services as they see .fit".
They shoi:ild ha~e the po\ver to "recom:rr.end
revisions in and additions to the city codes in their respective areas 11 •
Mr.
Bement saw the coordinator: s job as that of a "city-man in the ghetto; touching,
listening, stimulating, teaching, reporting 1 1 •
Miss Sowell believes the City
Service Coordinators could perform a broader coordinating function between the
various groups on his ( or her) area.
Those "\vere not the only recommendations pertaining to City Service Coordinators.
Mr. Christenberry wants all City Service Coordinators (both present coordinators
and all future ones) to sp e nd time with experienced coordinators, learning methods
of "handling 'routine' community problems".
He also feels that all City Servic~
Coordinators should have a personal kno w led g e of th e operation of all city departments .
Mr. Isaac recomm e nded that th e coordin a tors be publicized in the community.
· Miss Sow ell sug gested that r e gular "houp5 of att e ndance" in their offices be k e pt
by th e coordinators , and that route she e ts from the City Servic_e Coordinators
should r e c e ive d p r iority action (perhaps special funds could be allocated fo r this).
Thu s th e s e i n t e:n re comme ndations conc er nin g the City Service Coo r din a t o r s r e late
...
�-5- .
· to their role, their number, their training, etc.
There is disatisfaction not with the
ideal of a City Service Coordinator, but with the reality.
A large number of recom1nendations concerned centralization.
the entire system be tied to one telephone number, such as 511.
Mr. Bement suggested
He also suggested
· :a cent;al. City Services intake and Routing Office containing one or two complaint
desks from each department.
This wou~d expand the Community Development Office's
coordinating function by enabling d e partments to work together on problems not
"apropos" to any one department.
Mrs. Snider also felt a central information
service for field personne l was needed ,
Under her plan, the Community Develop-
ment Office could become a central coordinating a gency for target area groups · who
might need supplies or other help and thos e church e s
like to help such groups .
i
busine sses , etc . , who n1ight
A centrali ze d publici z ed t e lephone number was also
recommended by :tvlr. Isaac.
Miss Woodward sug g ested a central complaint depart-
ment similar to that of Mr . B e men t, but not included as a part of the C,ommunity
Development Office.
In the complaint departm e nt the re w ould be a central real-tune
informat ion bank and " exceptions" cr ews to inv e sti gat e all typ e s of complaints .
Cen tralization as seen by the int e rns, w ould e x pand the function of· the Community
Developm e nt Offic e a nd aid in its operation. ·
Junk car s w e re the obje ct of man y of Mr. Chr i s t enb erry 's a n d Mr. Menez 's
recommendati on s .
Both fe lt that only one d e p arhncnt of the Cit y . s hould h ave
responsibility for removal o f junk ca r s , rather t h an b o th Sanitary and P o lice.
Menez suggested that this singl e agenc y be the Sanitary Department.
Both felt that
manpow er in Sanitary should be increa s ed; Christenberry suggesting that these
.
�-6be used to make "periodic sweeps through all infected areas to remove junk cars".
An additional suggestion made by Mr. Christenberry was to assign personnel from
the Community Development Office to work with Rex I-Ioneycutt of Sanitary in the
development of a profitable system for handling junke d cars.
In other words, these
intern recommendations were concerned with increasing the efficiency of junk car
removal.
Although the above are the major typ e s of g roupings of intern r e comme ndations, there
were many more. - Mrs. Snider and Miss Woodw ard sugg este d "little City Halls".
Miss Woodward also sug g es t e d a soci al res e arch and planning staff w h i ch would .
b e gin slum pr evention s tudie s, a n e w tra i n ing orientation prog ram for s ummer
recr e ation employ Be s, plain engli sh tr ans l a tion s of city o:r d inances, new ordinanc e s
conc e r n ing c o ns u me r s e r vice v i ola tion s ; inv e sti gation o f b r ib er y c ompl a i n ts,
regulation of absent e e land lord s , a nd use of vol e nte e rs for summer r e creation
programs.
publicit y.
Mrs. Snide r a nd Miss Woodw ard had r e comm endations p ertainin g to
Mi ss W oodwa r d fee ls t h e W a r on· P ov erty s h o uld b e publicized to afflu ent
Atlanta; Mrs. Snide r sugge ste d tha t City H a ll publici ze itself through dir e ct e ffec t ive
a ction.
Mi ss Sowell and Mrs. Snider fe lt thathigh l evel pressure (i.e. , M a yo r Allen )
shoul d be used agains t t hose depar t1nents whic h were unresponsive to the C ommunity
Dev e l opment Offi c e.
S eve ral s u gges t i on s we r e made w ith regar d to p ersonn e l .
Mr. I saac believes the intern program shoul d be conti nued part -time all year.
Miss
Woodward sugg e sted the pay of policeme n and recreation c1nploye es be incr ease d.
She also suggested strengthening th e lines between the E. 0. A. Manpower Prograrn
..
�- -7and the City Personnel Office.
Miss Sowell recommended that the Atlanta
,
Beautification Corps workers could be used to clean streets and vacant lots in
answer to complaints.
Mr. Christenberry also suggested increasing the number
of housing inspectors.
Other 1 s suggestions included improving the Summer
Program Book by printing it in color code, having each department use the same
are~ definition providing space for up-dating t~e book, :t"evising th~ route sheet
filing system by using file cards (Mrs. Snider}; charging land owners for cleaning
their property, giving recog nition to the Housing Code Department for its fine
~
performance, making a concentrated effort in one area in the hope that changes
in crime, property values, etc.
(Mr. Christe nberry).
�.'
September 29, 1969
Dr. David B . Lyon
Suite 132- B
490 Peacht~ee Street, N. E .
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
Dear Dr . Lyon:
Thank you for your letter of S ptember ZZnd expre ing
interest in b ing of service in the field of r c relation •.
I arn referriJlg your letter to our Community Relations
Com.mis ion, nd l m sure
r. N t
lch will b in
touch itb you shortly.
Sincerely you:r ,
Ivan Allea, Jr.
M yor
IAJr:l:rd
CC: Community R e l tions Commi
ion
~
�From : Community Re lations C omm i ss i on / . - -·
12 1 Me m or i a l D r ive , SW
--...___
Atlanta , G eo r gia 3030 3
Fo r R e l ease , Thursda y, S e ptember 25, ll:00 A. M.
BEN HILL LEADERS DEPLORE VANDALISM
/
A grou~. ·of Ben Hill church, school, business arid community leaders released
a statement today e x pressing their
II
shock and si{ame" at an act of vandalis1n d·irected
against a Negro family recently who moved on an all white street in this southwest ·
Atlanta community • .
The McMicha e l family purchased a home on Kimberly Road and moved into it
in lite August .
Vandal~ hit once breaking windows and hit again some three days later.
The McMichael 1 s elected to move and their money was refunded by the real estate
agent who sold the property.
The statement by the group of Ben Hill leaders continl.!ed: · 11 We know the spirit. ·
of thi~ community.
We believe that the good people ·of Ben Hill and surroim.ding
c01nmunities want their moral support placed behir~d the movement for fairness in
housing and equality in education.
We encourage that every effort be made by the
Atlanta Police Department to apprehend the offender so that justice will prevail and
respect for the law be strengthened in event that a similar situation should face us
again.
We believe that man, his person: and his personality, is sacred and that
property rights 1nust be respected and tl:at unless we can come· to this point of view,
none of us are safe.
11
from that community.
This statement represented _the first collective effort of censure
The group met at the Ben Hill Methodist Church with the
/
0
Atlanta Community Relations Commission acti?g as the convener .
. Among those participating in the meeting were:
Rev. L. Clyde Allen, Bill
0
Atchison, Ernest R. Bennett, Rev. W. C. Bowen, Kenneth R. Drane, Milton S.
Earnest, John G e r en, Re v . William G e ren, Mrs. Thelma Heath, Ja1nes R, Lemon,
Walker McKnight, Charles L. Moates, Dr, Harmon D. Moore, H. Jack Smith , Charles
Stin? _o n, Jr., Ra_y Terry, Jr. ·, Cecil M. Thornton, Lyndon Wade, Thomas G .. Ward,
Nat Welch, R~v. Paul F. Wohlgemuthand Cy Young.
O?
�For Release:
Thursday PM, January 2, 1968
From: Community Relations Commission
1203 City Hall, Atlanta, Georgia 30303
BENNY T. SMITH NAMED FIELD REPRESENTATIVE FOR
COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMISSION
Benny T. Smith, widely known community leader, has been named field
representative for the Atlanta Community Relations Commission and will
assume his new duties immediately.
It was announced today by Nat Welch,
executive director for the Commis siono
As field representative, Smith will head up CRC's .expanded Town Hall
Meeting Program for 1969 and will act as a communications link between
the Neighborhoods and the Commission.
"We have expanded the scope of this position and are delighted to have
secured the services of such an able and experienced leader as Benny T.
Smith," stated Welch.
Smith was raised in Vine City and educ a t ed at Booker T. Washington
High School, Morris Brown Coll ege and the Blayton School of Accounting. ·
With funds h e won on the national TV show, "Strike It Rich,
11
in the mid
fifties, S~ith op ened and operated a dry cleaning firm in Vine City .
He
�Page 2
Press Release January 2, 1968
Benny T. Smith
later was the proprietoi· of a neighborhood grocery store in the Poole Creek
Community.
Smith was subsequently employed by the U.S. Postal Data
Center and the Georgia Department of Labor where he played a key role in
the J obmobile Program in cooperation with the National Alliance of Businessmen.
Smith was a prime mover in the organization of the Community R e lations
Commission some two and a half years ago.
He helped organize the Price
and the the Pittsburgh EOA centers and the Model Cities Program.
He is a
former vice president of the All Citizens R e gistration Committee, former
president of the Metropolitan Atlanta Grassroots Council, president of the
Southeast Community Council, board member of the Metropolitan Atlanta
Summit Leadership Cong~e ss , and form e r vice pr esid ent of the Fourth
Ward Improvement Council.
He served as chairman of the transportation
committee for the Poor People's Campaign to Washington.
CRC I s new fie ld represent ative has r ece ived awards for community servi ce
and leadership from the Peoplestown Civic League, the Atlanta brancb of
the NAACP, the Exc e l sior Knight Civic and Socia l Club, the Southeast
Community Council and the V e t e rans I Administration Hospital.
Mr. Smith is a member of the Wheat Stre e t Baptist Church and Princ e H a ll
M as ons .
He resid es a t 2 09 Arc h crest D r ive .
�FORM 1667
OFFICE LETTER
TRUST COMPANY OF GEORGIA
TO
A. H. Sterne
FROM
C. Linden Longino, Jr.


SUBJECT: Bank Loans to Minority Businesses
I have a collection of many news articles and other reports, as well as my own thoughts,
on the general subject of business formation and development in urban "underprivilegedghetto-black-minority" areas. Connnon threads bind all of these together:
1.
A city cannot endure with a central core of business and individual poverty.
2.
Strengthening the underprivileged
toward solving the overall number
members comprise 12% of the U. S.
business, according to government
3.
This uplifting can be done by direct government "intervention" or by the more
fortunate members of the "privileged" business community; the latter being a
better way for innumerable reasons, but a combined effort being workable and
not necessarily undesirable.
4.
Many government programs exist and ~ any private organizations have been
formed to cope with these problems, but there is much duplication of effort
and a general lack of intercommunication and coordination.
5.
Banks can play a key role because of the general scarcity of money available
to the ghetto businessman f or s t arting or upgrading his business. (Only 150
of this country's 14,000 connnercial banks engage in specific loan programs of
this nature.)
6.
A bank can follow three basic paths:
A)
B)
C)
7.
business connnunity would go a long way
one problem of the city. (Minority group
population but they own only 3% of U. s.
figures.)
Establish its own high r i s k loan pl an (C&S has done this).
Parti cip ate wi t h t he SBA in " Proj ect Own", a liberali zed lo an guar antee
program. This plan is endorsed by the ABA. (Trust Company , First National,
National Bank o f Georg ia and maybe Fulton National Bank do this.)
Banks within a city can organi ze a "pool" of funds and talent , off e r ing
lo ans a s well as management assist ance. (This h a s been informa l ly d iscussed ,
but no such move i s under way in At l a n ta. Banks in s ome other c i t i e s h ave
tak e n s u ch action . )
Conculsion: Each bank must make its own decision as to the ex tent of its
involvement, i f any, in this area of community service . A f ormal "pool" o f
b anks is no t neces sar y if e ach b ank will as s ume its r espon s i bilities and t ake
an active ro l e in this area o f lend ing. A central " clearing house" would make
the job easier for a ll interested parties, pub l ic and private. Independent
services of banks, attorneys, accountants, consu l tants and various national,
state, and local government bodies cou l d be efficiently channeled toward the
connnon ob j ective . We h ave s uggested t h at the Atl anta Chamber of Connnerce mi ght
assume the role of coord i nator if such a "clearing h ouse" is established .
CLL,JR:cb~~ ~
1- 15-69
H'tf
�During the past ten years Atlanta has experienced an economic
growth rate that is rivaled by few American cities.
To a large
extent this was only possible because of an enlightened business
and banking community ••••• the community that you gentlemen
represent.
During this same ten year period Atlanta has also experienced a
social development that is rivaled by few American cities.
We
can feel fortunate in that this has usually taken place in a peaceful
and orderly fashion.
This was only possible because of an enlightened
black and white community that has grown with Atlanta.
We now live in a city where the population is almost 50% black:-,-11/'
o/e,.
The continued economic growth of our city will depend greatly on
the means by which the heretofore untapped resources of o u r ~~ ~
citizens can be utilized.
The Community Relations Commission has recently initiated a
proj e ct of vital importance to all of us.
lopment of~
It conc e rns the further deve -
entrepreneurship in Atlanta.
The Commission,
in deve loping this p;,oject;,, h ~ _as s,a-sP5:msors tpe Atlanta Business
a;:e. Ate~
e~ 9
~~c_)
-
League s Project Outreach / the Atlanta Urban League, the N ationa l
1
Alliance of Businessmen , the Small Busin.ess Administration, the
Atlanta Chapter of the NAACP and the Atlanta Univers ity School o f
MJlh
Busine_ss.
1/z-
,<4 , ~
I
r-
A tlanta needs a public committme nt fxom you, · s banking fraternity,
143.215.248.55 13:10, 29 December 2017 (EST);Ut--~
/
that you will , to an ever increasing extent , .g..ant-4!9gh-'l'--i-sk ea~s- to
~~ a..-t. ~~ ~~/
,...,...-~±1:ent-black· busineSS~n
{"t-'I,,.,__~
~
~fa-:di~Z
A/
/V~
~-
_
~€-<L--
.u_
~ ~~
~ /1/~t- /
~
,,.
-
.
�FORM 700-7 ~67-4 0 M
'
·~/
Trust Company of Georgia
POST OFFICE DRAWER 4418
Atlanta, Georgia 30302
February 6, 1969
.
'
Mr . Nat Welch
Executive Direc t or
Community Re l ations Coumis s i on
1203 City Hall
Atlanta , Georgia 30303
Dear Mr . Welch :
Trust Company of Georgia will be de l ighted to take part
in the February 20 "Workshop on Black Business Opportunities , "
sponsored by the Community Relations Commission. Attached is the
form which names C. Linden Longino , Second Vi ce President, as our
representative. Mr . Longino will participate i n the Banker Round
Table and ill be awaiting your instruc tions as to when the roup
com.prising the Round Table will meet .
You also asked if we would provide a table during t h
session running from 2: 30 to 5:00 p. m. and Mr . Longi no will also
be in ch rge of our arrangem nts in providing such an inform tion
booth . He may use one or more of our people to ssist him.
Attach d lso is our check payable to the Commission
for $30~00 for registration .
will be a good one , assw.ning
I believe th t the progr
you obt in the participation de ired by those who re rea lly
intere ted in going into busines for themselves . The progr
has
been well thought-out, and I see nothing in it that would be contr ry to our own vi w of how to att ck the problem . It was a
pl sur to it in for Mr. Stern, and he of cour eh s been apprised
of what went on nd supports fully our p rticip tion, as outlined
bove .
Att c
nts
Copy to Mr.
Presiden t - Banking
Iv n Allen, Jr.
�~
t UL
/ll/l;[tJ£ 4~/f/
L
.
COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMISSION 1S
.
"WORKSHOP ON BLACK BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES"
New building, of Atlanta University School of Business, February 20.
i
.
8:30-9:00
Registration
9:00-9 :15
Purpose of Conference - Mr~ Byron _Attridge, Vice Chairman
of Community Relations Commission
9: 15-10: OO·.
Keynote Speaker - Mr. Frank Carter, President, Atlanta Chamber
of Commerce
10:00-10:15
Break
10:15-11:15
"Do's and Don't's in Launching new Businesses"
Five successful Atlanta Black Enterpreneurs
11:15-12:00
S,F>ecialized Panel Discussions:
1. Service Stations
2 . .Fast Food Outlets
3. -Construction Contracting
4. Auto Dealership~
5.
Ice Cream Outlets
6. Franchised Dry Cleaning
7.
8.
Specialty Auto Services tires, mufflers, etc.
Other Franchise Businesses
12:00-1:00
Box Lunches
1:00-1:45
Banker Round Table - Opportunities envisioned, how
your banker can help, what he looks for in loan applicant,
etc. (Atlanta bankers, accountant, and SBA official}
1:45-2:30
Ongoing Programs for T e chnical Aid
1.
2.
3.
Small Business Administration
National Busines s League "Project Outrea ch;'
Regional Economic D eve loprnent and Bu s iness Service Center,
. Atlanta Univers ity
2:30-5:00
"Fifty Great Business Opportunities"
Individual confe rence·s between franchisors and franchisees
7:00 - 10: 00
Banque t at Paschal I s Motor Hote l
Awards to the five out s t anding Atlanta Black
Entr e preneu rs for 1969
·
Address: Berkeley ·G. Burrell, President, N a tiona l
Business League, Washington, D. C.
�Pure Oil Division
O
-- E
lJninn O i l r.nm!')8 ny of l.8l ifo rni ci
Chattaho ochee Station, P.O. Box 17027
Atlanta, Georg ia 30321
Telephone (404) 799-141 4
!1n1Ttlo~r~
l! LHJU . ~tJU
February 5, 1969
Mr. Nat Welch
Executive Director
Connnunity Relations Commission
1203 City Hall
Atlanta, Ge~rgia
Dear Mr. Welch:
We would like to congratulate the Community Relations Connnission on
its forthcoming "Work Shop on Black Job Opportunities" to be held
February 20, 1969, at Atlanta University. The Atlanta Division,
Union Oil Company of California, will be an active participant in
this Work Shop.
We know from experience what able businessmen some Negroe s can be .
One of our very best dealers in Georgia is a Negro.
Your goal of involving more minority people as owner/managers of
business is a positive one. The Atlanta Division, Union Oil Company
of California , extends its str ong cooperation.
Cordia lly,
ATLANTA DIVISION
UNION OIL COMPANY OF CALIFORNIA
'/f:(J? oil~
K. P. Dutton
Manager , Divisional Sa les
KPD:eg
�AMERICAN DA!RY QUEEN CORPORATION
Southeastern Division/ 751 DeKalb Industrial Way, P.O. Box 1037, Decatur, Georgia 30033 / Telephone (404) 634-5151
• I
Febru?-_ry 5, 1969
Mr. Nat Welch
Community Relations Commiss ion
120 3 City Hall
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Dear Mr. Welch:
Thank you for your invitation to attend your Workshop on Black Business Opportunities to be held on February 20 at the Atlanta University
School of Business.
We expect to have our Franchise Sales Director, Mr. Leo Wells, in
attendance.
We in D a iry Queen feel that this is certainly a progr es sive program
that you are sponsoring, and we are looking forward to finding capa ble
store owners through this meeting. It is indeed a pleasure to know
that our city is concerned with the growth and development of all its
citizens and its businesses.
Look forwar d to working with you and your group.
Sincerely yours,
QL~
R. E. (Red} Roberts
Op erations M anager
r
_@ , C!:j~~h<f_k~J!,~
J . C. Cruikshank
Co-Chairma n of the Bo a rd
. RER/mjc
�I
Cannolene
Zove
1)•' ':)"ll
i
~ 1
nn:" o· il"ll
i \./~.0A~
Bl
O '
•
'\I •
Negroes' Own Fault, Leader Says
As C of C Launches Money Drive
\
By·LAURENCE GWIN
Atlanta Negro-owned manufacturer of hair products-the
Cannolene Co.-will top the $1
million sales mark in 1969, according to predictions by com- ·
pany officials.
Atlant1 Journal Bu:.in e:u Writer
Robert 0 . Cannon, president
Is there a "black money curtain" in Atlanta which deters of the firm, said the big sales
Negroes from getting ass istance they need to enter the main- rise-more than 700 per cent
over 1968- began when the firm
stream o! capitalism?
. . . and we also hope to get expanded into the national marOne of the leading Negro busi- successful Negroes to encourage : ket three years ago.
ness executives in Atlanta says other Negroes."
"
"yes."
Although not completely outWe are now able to take
"But it's par,tly the fault of lined, the program will have two ~ull advantage_ of the g_reatly
hases he sa'd "You h
llnproved earnmg power m the
,
the black community," said T. P
, .
ave N
k t ,,
'd
M. Alexander Jr., wbo in addi- money on one side ·and candi- I egro m ar -e ,. sa1 Cannon,
dates on the other- a nd these wh~se company_ manufactures
tion to having financial ties in
various Atlanta projects, is with have to be matched. Especially a !me of 13 different beauty
when less than $5 ooo is in- products for the ethnic market
the Courts and Co. brokerage
volve~, . the percent;ges go out in the South and maj~r metro
firm.
the wmdow. You're backinrr the centers across the nat10n.
0
Alexander noted that although individual."
·
The firm has devised a way
the fault does not lie with the
THE LATTER PHASE will be for students at Carver Vocabanks totally, "it is a psychological fact that when a bl ack per- to provide counseling and inana- tional School to reap benefits
son gets turned down on a loan gerial coaching for the appli- from one of its new lines by
by a black bank - and because cants " so that they may learn having pupils manufacture disof the restricted caoital of these the ins and outs of the busi- tinctive burlap bags for its cologne and after-shave lotion.
banks they most times have no ness."
choice but ,to be more careful in
Dickso·n, a_lt~~ugh not seeing a · Cannon also gave credit to
higher r isk areas - these peo- sep~r_ate d1v1swn fo~'.n~lated, the F. W. Woolworth Co. for
i pie would naturally feel they env1s~ons that banks
will ~g- its "candid suggestions" for
I wouldn' t have a· .chance to get gres~1v,ely } o after worth:':l11ie improvement of packaging and
! money from a white bank .. . a~plicants. He_ added that this m erchandisine1 generally.
will ,not be c1 giveaway- but we _ _ _ __ "'_ _ _ _ _ __
.aind they don't try."
are going to genuinely try and
r Another problem he coman at mosphere whereby ber , the local chapter of
l mented on was that blacks seek- create
the black community· can enter NAACP, the Atlanta Business
'. ing financial aid " just do not the mainstream of capitalism." League , the Atlanta University
· have the records and r eports
In conn ection wi~h this, the School of Busi ness, the Urban
1 filed on them, and the instituCommunity Relations Commis- League and the Small Business
1 tions don't have enough inforsion
has announced pla ns fo r a Administration.
i rnation to be able to m ake the workshop
to be held Feb. 20 at · "The primary goal of the
i decisions ."
Atlanta University's School of workshop is to . involve Atlanta
Negroes \vho are interested in
OFTEN when a Negro applies Business.
for financial assistance, the The Workshop on Black Busi- becoming- owner-managers of .
banks will ask him to fill out a ness Opportunities will be co- business in Atlanta ," CRC exfinancial sta tement, Alexander spomor1:;d by the-Atlanta cham- ecutive director ·at Welch said.
said. "And he thinks this was ,
Tuesday, February 4, 1969
1 just a nice way the bank had to


turn him down," he said. " More


Atlanta Chamber of Comoften tha n not he doesn't know
m erce President Frank Carter
how to make out a financial
has appointed Eugene Boyd a
statement . . . and this is where
vice presiden t of Coca-Cola Co.,
it's dropped."
Inc., and Her bert J. Dickson
He cited a precedent for sucexecutive vice president of th~
cess in John J efferson, who
C & S Bank, to 1head up a proa fter being tu rned dow n numergr am "for concentrated effort
ous times. fi!la liy recieved asin the field of black entreprensistance f:·om Citizen; & Sou theurship."
ern National BaM and construcDickson said that " this will
tion is now under way for a 78not be a cure-all- but it will proroom downtown m otel to be
vide a small tool that we hope
owned and operated by blacks.
can do some good.
Atlanta is currently trying to
" Our efforts wH! encourage
change the cliaiate s urrounding
Negroes to build for U1ernselves
the "black money curtain."
I
I
�MAIL TO:
Nat Welch, Executive Director
Community Relations Commission
1203 City Hall
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Please count our fi:i;m in as a participant in the Atlanta Commuhity Relations
Commission's "Wo~kshop on Black Business Opportunities" to be held at
Atlanta University on Februa:y 20.
FIRM NAME:
ADDRESS:
REPRESENTED BY: {l)

{2)

FRANCHISED OFFERED:
There will be a briefing session for frarn;:hisors at City Hall, Meeting Room 2,
3:30-5:00 P. M., February 19.
Registration for commercial companies is $30. 00. This includes one banquet
ticket- -additional tickets can be purchased on February 20.
PLEASE ENCLOSE CHECK WITH THIS REGISTRATION FORM.
�T HE VOI CE - January 26, 1969- Page 2
Black Business Workshop, February 20
Atlanta's Community Relations
Commission announced today plans for it's
"Workshop on Black Business Opportunities" to be
held February 20 in the new
building of Atlanta University's School of Business.
The workshop will be cosponsored by the Atlanta
Business League, the Atlanta
Chamber of Commerce, the Atlanta University School of Business, the
National Alliance of Businessmen, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the
Small BusinessAdministration and the Urban League.
'~he primary goal of the
workshop is to involve Atlanta Negroes who are interested in becoming ownermanagers of businesses in
Atlanta. We hope that this
combined community effort
will offer a quantum jump
to Atlanta black business
entrepreneurs and strengthen on going efforts of the
Atlanta Business League's
Project Outreach, the Small
Business Administration,
and Atlanta University's
Business Economic Development and Business
Service
Center stated
CRC'S executive director
Nat Welch.
The planning committee
has identified nine likely
break-thru areas for black
busine ss opportunities •. fast
food franchises , auto deale r ships , service station,
building c ontracting, ice
c r eam outlets, fr anchised
dry cle aning stores, coin
operated l aundries, drug
stores, and specialty auto
stores selling such items
as tires and mufflers.
If you are interested
in becoming an owner/
manager of any type of
business and want to
participate
in this
workshop, tall Benny
T. Smith, field representative, Community
Relations Commission,
Room 1203, City Hall,
·phone .number 522-4463
e xtension 433, who is in
charge of community
participation for this
important affair.
"The workshop will have
a heavy emphasis on franchised operations because
these are geared to family
involvement.
Good franchises offerprovenmanagement assistance and formulas for suc cessful operation, stated Nat Welch,
Some three dozen national
franchise operations are being invited to have top
management
representation. The afternoon session
will feature "Fifty Great
Business Opportunities
and will provide a two and
a half hour period for the
franchisor and the franchisee to have individual discussions with the hopes that
new businesses will be
bir thed as a result of this
workshop, e xpla ined CRC ' s
e xecutive di rector.
The morning se ssion will
have a panel disc ussion on
"Do.' s and Don ' ts in Launching New Bus iness Ventures "
by five seccessful Atlanta
black entrepreneurs and individual panel discussions in
the nine areas of business
break-thrus being emphasized at the workshop.
The afternoon session will
have two additional panels.
One will be · on "On Going
Programs ofTechnicalAid"
in which presentations will
be made by the Small Business Administration, Project Outreach, and Atlanta
University's Business Economic
Development and
Business Service Center.
The other will be a banker
round table with Atlanta
bankers discussing opportunities envisioned, how
bankers can help and what
bankers look for in a loan
applicant. . ,
The banquet session, to
be held at Paschal's Motor
Hotel, will climax with an
address by a nationallyknown black business leader.
The planning committee
for the workshop includes:
Frank O'Neal of the Atlanta
Business
League;
Dean
Harding Young oftheAtlanta
University
School
of
Business; Lyndon Wade of
the Atlanta Urban League;
Curtise Driskell of the Atlanta Chamber of commerce; Henry Reid of NAB,
Lonnie King of the NAACP;
John P . Latimer of SBA
and Nat Welch and Chuck
Williams of CRC.
THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTIO N, Thursday, J a n. 23, 1969
CRC Plans
Worl{shop
For Blacl{s
T h e Commu nity Relations
Commiss ion announced plans
Wedn esday fo r its bl ack entrepreneurship works hop to be held
Feb. 20 at Atl anta Un iversity's
School of Busi ness .
The Works hop on Black Business Oppo rtun it ies will be cospons·ored by the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce . the local
chapter of the Nationa l Assoc iation for the Advancement of Colored People, the Atlanta Business League, the Atlanta University School of Business, the
Urban League and the Small
Business Administra tion.
BASIC GOAL
"The primary goal of the
workshop is to invol ve Atlanta
Negroes who are interested in
beco ming owner-managers of
businesses in Atlanta " sai d
CRC executive direct~r Nat
Welch.
The workshop will feature
nine " like ly brea kthro ugh areas
fo r bla ck business opportunities "-fast-food fran chises , auto
dea-l erships, ser vice stations,
building contracting. ice cream
outl ets, franc hised dry clea ning
sto res , co in-operated laundries,
drug stores and specially auto
stores.
THREE DOZEN OPERATIONS
About three dozen national
franc hise operations a re bei ng
invited to have to p management
represe ntat ion. The a rternoo n
session will feature "Fifty Great
Businf'ss Opportunities ," Welch
said. 'i'ec hnica l aid programs
and a ro 1ncl-tab le discussion by
Atl anta bank ers al so will occur
in th e aru, rnoo n.
Th e morn ing sf'ss ion will ha ve
a p:rnel di sc uss ion on ··Do ·s and
Don"t' s in Launchi ng New Business Ventures ·' by five successful Atla nta bl ack entre preneurs
plus ind ividual pan el disc uss ions
in the nin e breakt hrough areas
A dinner sess ion at Paschal 's
Motor Hotel will end the workshop with a speech by a yet -tobe-announced nat10n all y-kn ,)w_n
blac k business lea der . In add 1tion five black entrepre neur,
for 1967 will be given spec: :,11
recognition by the CRC.
1
1
�PROGRAM
"WORKSHOP ON BLACK BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
New building of Atlanta University School of Business, February 20.
9:00-9:15
Purpose of Conference - Dr. Sam Williams
9:15-10:00
Keynote Speaker - Frank Carter, Presi.dent, Atlanta Chamber
of Commerce
10: 00-10:15
Break
10:15-11:15
Do 's and Don't' s in Launching new Bu sines se s"
Five successful Atlanta Black Enterpreneurs
11:15-12:00
Specialized Panel Discussions:
1.1
1.
Service Stations
2. F as t F ood Outl e t s
5.
Ice Cream Outlets
6. F ranchi s ed D r y C l eaning
3 . C onstruction C ontracting 7 ...,. Specialty A uto Services tires, mufflers, etc.
4. Auto Dealerships
12: 00 - 1: 00
Box Lunches
1:00-1:45
Banker Round Table - Opportunities envisioned , how
your banker can help, what he looks for in loan applicant,
etc. (Atlanta bankers, accountant, and SBA official)
1:45-2:30
Ongoing Programs for Technical Aid
SBA
Project Outreach
Atlanta University School of Business
2: 30-5:00
"Fifty Great Business Opportunities"
Individual conferences b etween franchisors and franchis~es
7:00-10:00
Banquet at Paschal 's
Awards to the five outstanding Atlanta Black
Entrepreneurs for 1969
Address:
Berkeley G~ Burrell. President, National
Business League, Washington, D . C.
�"WORKSHOP ON BLACK BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES"
Sponsored by the Community Relations Commission in cooperation with:
Atlanta Business League - :'Project Outreach"
Atlanta University School of Business
Atlanta Urban League
National Alliance of Businessmen
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Atlanta Chapter
Small Business Administration
(The Atlanta Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee has this under
consideration.)
TIME:
PLACE:
GOALS:
February 20, 1969
New building of the Atlanta University School of Business for morning
and afternoon sessions. Paschal 1 s for banquet session.
(1)
((2)
((3)
FOCUS:
To involve Atlanta Negroes who are interested in becoming owner/
managers of businesses in Atlanta
To involve Atlanta University Center students who are desirous
of becoming owner/managers of businesses
To secure the active interest and support of the Atlanta banking
fraternity in aiding competent black business men with technical
advice and loans.
Plans are to spotlight several business fields which are likely break
through areas for black businessmen with emphasis on franchised
operations.
Fast Food Franchises
s. Ice Cream Outlets
1.
Auto Dealerships
6. Franchised Dry Cleaning
2.
Specialty Auto Serv ices Service Stations
7.
3.
tires. mufflers, etc.
4. Contracting
�January 10, 1969
BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
. COMMUNITY .RELA TIONs· COMMISSION
Ex Officio from the Commission
D:::. Sam Williams
(Chairman of CRC)
Pastor, F r iends hip B aptist Church
Robert Botts, Manager of PersOILTJ.el &
Pul;)lic Relation s
W estern _Electric Company
T.M. _Alex ander,. Sr.
Real Estate & Insurance
Eugene Boyd, Vice President
'I'he Coca Cola Company, Inc.
L . L . Gelle rstecit, Jr., President
Bee r s Con struction C o-rnpany
Al Brax ton , ·Partner in charge of
Small Busine·s s Division
Arthur Anderson&: Company
M. O. Ryan : General Manager
-Marriott M otor· Hotel
Char l es Ada m s
S e nior Vice President
The Coca - Cola Company , Inc.
M iles A lexander
Kilpa t rick, Cody, Rog e rs , McCla tche y & _R egenst e in
(A ttor ney s )
T . M . ·Alexand e r, Jr.
C ourt s &: Company
Harve y A nd e rs on, C oordinator
· Car ee r Coun se li n g & Pla c e m e nt C e n ter
A tlanta University C e nter
Ben Bar n es ~ Senior Vic e Pre sid ent
F i rst Na t i onal Bank
J . B. Behl, Vi c e P r eside nt
Ec on om y A uto Divisi on
Oklahoma T ire & Su p p ly Com pa ny
Russell A. Blanchard, Jr. , Vice Presid e nt
·Peoples - American Bank
E. William Bohn, Director of Per sonne l
Cox B roadcasting Corporation
Arthur E. Bronner, Vic e President
Bronner Bros. Wholesale & Re tail
Beauty Supply Company E. R. B r ooks, Vic e Pr eside n t
Industrial Relations
· Scripto, Inc.
Paul E. X . Brown
A tlant a Coca-Cola B ottlin g Compa n y
T. T. Brown, Zone Manager
Chevrolet Division
Gene r a l Motor s Corporation
J ame s W. Couch, Owner
D e l uxe C leaners
Paul A . Clifford, Pe rsonn e l Direc t o:::
· A lte r man F oods , I nc.
P. D. D a vis, Jr., Di re cto r
A tlanta School o f B u s ine ss, I nc.
C u r tis Dri s k e ll
Atla n t a Cha mbe r of Com merc e
J ames E. G reen, J r ., Vice Preside n t
C iti zens &: Sout h ern N ati onal Bank
�-2-
James ~- Green, Jr. , Vice President
Citizens & Southern National Bank
Claude H. Grizzard, Jr., President
Atlanta Junior Chamber of Commerce
S. C. Gordon
Gordon's Body Shop
Alan Gould, p...-e sident
A. R. Abrams Fixtures
Leon Hames, Vice President-Personnel
Life Insurance Company of Georgia
Geneva Haugabrooks, Owner
Haugabrooks Funeral Home
J: . M. Moore, Jr.
Ford Division District Sales Manager
Ford Motor Company
Richard G. Murphy
General Manager for Retail Stores, Atlanta
Sears Roebuck & Company
Leslie R. Nicholas
General Personnel Manager
Georgia Operations
Southern Bell T & T Company
Frank O 'Neal
Project Outreach
James Paschal
Paschal Motor Hotel
Dr. Vivian Henderson, President
Clark College
Ira Jackson, Owner
Jackson's Service Station
John Perry Latimer, Regional Director
Small Business Administration
Arthur P . Laws
Pinkerton and Laws
Bob Lewis, Vice President
Cannolene Company
C. Linden Longino, Jr .
Second Vice President
Trust Company of Georgia
E r skine Love , Jr., Pres i dent
Printpack, Inc.
R. L . McLeod, Vice Preside nt
Ja c k son-Atlantic , Inc .
H. L. Megar, Vice P r eside n t
Fulton National Bank
Clarence Mitchell, Owner
Dot's B .a rbecue
Henry L. Reid
National Alliance of Businessmen
Herman Russell
H. J. Russell & Company
Charles Sandusky, Regional Manager
Chrysler - Plymouth Division
Chrysler Corporation
H. M. Skelton
Assistant City Sales Manager
Standard Oil Company
Richard Sterne, Senior Vice President
National Bank of Georgia
R . 0. Sutton, Vice President
Citizens Trust Company
R . H. Sweeney, Vice President for
Industrial Relations
Colonial Stores, Inc .
W . R . Tolimson
Sal es Su perviso r
Gulf Oil Compa n y , U SA
�-3Lyndon Wade
Urban League of Atlanta
Lottie Watkins
Lottie H. Watkins Enterprises
John Weitnauer, Vice President-Personnel
Rich's Department Store
P. H . Werner
Director of Public Relations, Southeast
F. W. Woolworth and Company
James A. York
Assistant Vice President
Employee Services
Delta Airlines
Dean Harding Young
School of Business
Atlanta University
�During the past ten years Atlanta has e x perienced an economic
growth rate that is rivaled by few American cities.
To a large
extent this was only possible because of an enlightened business
and banking community ••••• the community that you gentle,rnen
represent.
During ·this same ten year period Atlanta has also experienced a
social development" that is rivaled by few American cities.
We
can feel fortunate in that this ~as usually taken place in a peaceful
and orderly fashion.
This was only possible because of an enlightened
black and white community that has grown with Atlanta.
We now live in a city where the population is almost 50% bla-€--k-# 0 ~ -C
A
"
The continued economi c growth of our city will depend greatly on
,
the means by which the heretofore untappe d resources of our bla-e-10-"<2..,c, £...c'
citizens can be utilized.
The Community Relations Commission has recently initiated a
project of vital importance to all of us.
It concerns the furthe r deve-


f~ktJ


lopment of ~ k entrepreneurship in Atlanta.
The Commission,
in developing this p 7oject , h <:J __ a~ ~-sponsors Uie Atlanta Busine ss
ffe Af!;,~
.
.,~."lfk '7
~
e&--:--:--e,,~ -'--~- L J
League's Project Outreach;{ the Atlanta Urban League, the Natio n al
Alliance of Busine ssmen, the Small Business Admini stration, the
A tlanta Cha pte r of the NAA CP and the A t l anta Univ ersity Sch ool of
Busine ss .
/J
/ _,t;:.· ,(.,,~ [ -L~
.f..',f.~<-"'/'
JI
I
"-L-/_ ,(.,,. ,4
...f
d. ..1--
/
. (- -
_I
I,
(Z--1Ll.- 74 .., I
I '
Atlant a needs a p ublic · comm ittment fr om y ou , -i ts b anking fraternity ,
~~
6--~&1_-
J2-xll-t__ c:i-(/
that you will, to an ever inc rea s ing e x tent, g.ra n t - hlgh- risk--loa£ s to
~~ ~
~~-nA <---;"ti d--~
-c om_petent·b1ack busmessm-e~ • . ,.,/
("143.215.248.55 i?
~
~
IM--:tJ~,,_.J...
/Y~
- ez.Ld"L / ~ .e--<1-. ~
,,t? _
_
.U .
~ , } YU,,--/__. /
. e'(,-'C:.-,,---
~-de
--;,·
-
.
�DRAFT
Dear
Through out the Nation there is a strong trend toward getting more Negroes
involved in business as owner-managers.
Relatively speaking Atlanta has
always been a good business city for the Negro.
We hope to make it a better one.
The Community Relations Commission is sponsoring a "Workshop on Black
Business Opportunities at the School of Business of Atlanta University on
February 20.
Also lending support are the Atlanta Business League, the Urban
League, the National Alliance of Businessmen, the Chamber of Commerce,
the Small Business Administration, and the NAACP.
You and the chief executive office :i:sof other Atlanta banks are invited to
meet with me in my office on Friday, February 7 at
---
how the Atlanta banking ·fraternity can support this effort.
I will be grateful for your participation.
Sincerely,
We will discuss
�THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF ATLANTA
POST OFF"ICE BOX 4140
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
EDWARD
D.
SMITH
30302
January 17, 1969
PRES I DENT
The Honorable Ivan Allen, Jr.
Mayor of Atlanta
City Hall
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Dear Ivan:
In response to your letter of the 16th,
I shall be pleased to meet with you at 10:00
a.rn., February 6.
Best regards,
Edw&._
EDS:fhp
Smith
�The National &nk
ofVeorgia
J OS E P H
EAR LE B I RN I E , PRESIDENT
MA IN OFFI CE• PEACHTREE ST. AT FI V E POINTS • ATL ANTA, GA,
22 January 1969
Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr.
City of Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Dear Ivan:
In reply to your letter of the 16th,
I will be glad to meet with you on Thursday
morning, February 6th, at 10:00 a.m. concerning
the Community Relations Commission .
Sincerely,
JoseAle
Birnie
�J a nuary 16, 1969
.,,
-~~flm ills
/ .Ed Smith
~
Ch
Th
fYLJ.Jl
I
r
De r Friends :
Through the Comrn\lllity R l tiona Commi
th City i
ki
•
y to
and opportunitiee of our 1
ion*
rove the ~ondidon1
s fortunate citiz-en •
ing develqped wbi<:h ill n ed
ad a i ta ce in the are of pri.v te
d finite plan i
your
dvice
nterpri e opportunities for
ro
aiu &Im n.
1 o ld
prec .. te yo rm etin
ith me briefly
on Thur day mo.min • February 6th t 10:00 • m .
in ord r , t I m y
ve th b eftt of your ide •
bout thi proj ct.
Sincerely.
lAJr:am
be: N t Welch
Dan Sw t
�January 16 , 1969
MEMORANDUM
TO
FROM
Nat Welch, Community Relations Commission





Ivan Alle-n , Jr .
Attached i a copy of the lett r I have written to the five bank
president$ requesting them to me 1.1ith the idea of diacu ing
th ir bility tom ke fin ncial loans to N gro busines men.
Prior to this meeting. l would like to have a memorandum
from you s to how you think they m y as i t, a summary of
what ha already been done iri thi area; nd an outline of the
meetin you pl n to have on February 20th.
1 would hope you would be a
F b:ruary 6th.
011
Attachment
ilable to
it in on the- m eting
�• I
February 13 , 1969
Mr. Hobart Franks
Vice President and Director of Sales
Atlanta Newspapers , Inc.
10 Forsyth Street, N. W.
Atlanta, Georgia
Dear Hobie:
Again I want to thank you for such a. wonderful compliment after
the Pillsbury luncheon.
Sometime luck is with u . We had been trying iDr we ks to get
in touch with th Br nch Manage,: of Bu,:ger King in connection with
the Workshop on Bl ck Bu iness Opportuniti
eheduled for
February 20th. A a re ult of our luncheon conversation, Jim
McLamore (and hi br nch m nager} came to City Hall on Wednesday
nd sp nt well ov r n hour with Nat Welch of the Community Rel tions
Commiesion, going over pl ne for the work hop nd specific of how
Burg r King could mov
head of other franchi e companie . I think
it will be most rew rding.
I am enclosing a copy of the Work hop program for your information.
I m ur th papers will cover it, but if you - re int rest d in ttending
it, I will tf th t you will have apeci l invi tion.
Mo t sine rely,
Mr • Ann M. Moa
�February 21, 1969
..
Mr. Terrance Hanold
President
The Pills bury Company
Minneapolis,. Minnesota
Dear Mr. Hanold:
1 hope you and your associates have had an opportunity for a little
relaxation after the rigorous schedule of the Bake - Off. I am till
impressed that it is one of the grande t fetes of perfect o:tg nizing
l have ever een.
l was delighted that Jim MeLamor had n pportunity to pend
couple of hours at City H 11 with N t Welch, our Community
R lations Commi ion Director, nd go into d tail bout our pl n
for th Bl ck Bu ines Work hop.
It w
h ld yesterday, and was n out tandi-ng succe s. Inf ct,
we bad e
cted thr e to four hundred to ttend, and
d to move
th e-onf i-ence into the m in auditorium of Atl nta Univer ity to
ccommodate the crowd.
l m encloeing copy of th progr m , some of the new coverage
and the nnual l" port of the Community Re·l tlon Commieaion. I
hop tbi will give you a littl more insight in what e r trying to
do in Atlanta. lf you n ed additional information, or
ve any pecific
qu
tion • Nat Welch will be delight d to be of a
ttce.
On tho othel' hand, if th i-cs ta · ny thing l m y do f oi- you. Lou G lfand,
or Th Pillebury Com ny. I hope you will let me know. It waa uch
a pl
1lJ" being ith you.
Mo•t aincer ly,
Mre. AnD M. Moaea
cutlve S er ta
Enc aur •
�·' Mi~ GlzeatJialIL
PUBLIC RELATIONS
February 18, 1969
Hon. Ivan Allen, Jr.
City Hall
68 Mitchell Street, Southwest
Atlanta, Georgia
Dear Mayor:
I am grateful for your appointing me to the Community
Relations Commission.
It is my hope that the work I do as a member in some
way will help to preserve and continue the advances in
human relations made during your service to the City.
Sincerely,
Mike Che atham
MC:lg
415 East Paces Ferry Road, N.E. •
Suite 207 • Atlanta, Georgia 30305 • Telephone (404) 261 -8761
�, /Jc
ti
HUGHES SPALOING
WILLIAM K . MEAOOW
HUGHES SPALDING, JR.
CHARLES H . KIRBO
POPE B. M~INTIRE
KENNETH L , HEWITT
HARRY C , HOWARD
R , BYRON ATTRIDGE
ROBERT W . HURST
ROBT. B . TROUTMAN
CHARLES L . GOWEN
.JAMES M. SIBLE Y
JOHN IZARO
KIRK M. M~ALPIN
HENRY HALL WARE III
RICHARD A . DENNY, JR.
WILLIAM H , IZLAR,JR.
BRADLEY HALE
ROBERT L, STEED
OANIEL J, O ' CONNOR , JR.
ANTHA MULKEY
CHARLES M. KIOO
EDWARD .J. HAWIE
DAVID L. COKER
JOHN o . HOPKINS
A. F"ELTON .JENKINS, JR.
R . WILLIAM ICE Ill
HUGH PETERSON , JR .
JOHN A . WALLACE
.JOHN C. STATON, JR.
F"URMAN SMITH, .JR .
G . LEMUEL HEWES
JACK H . WATSON. JR .
HORACE H . SIBLEY
CHARLES M , SHAF"F'ER , .JR .
G E ORG E GRAHAM TRASK
W . DON A LD KNIGHT, JR.
J A MES A. BRANCH Ill
Elc<!__
KING
&
SPALDING
TRUST COMPANY OF GEORGIA BUILDING
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
30303
404 525 - 0481
March 3, 1969
.JOSEPH A. GL A DDEN,JR.
Honorable Ivan Allen, Jr.
Mayor
City of Atlanta
city Hall
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Dear Mayor Allen:
The February meeting of the community Relations
commission was held this past Friday, February 28th, and a
substantial portion of the meeting was taken up with discussion of the so-called welfare payments freeze. "
There was a great amount of confusion as to just
exactly what was involved in the "freeze." However, it
appears that the federal government presently plans to
restrict welfare grants to the states beginning July 1, 1969,
which would in turn cause some reduction in the payments to
individual recipients. It was the strong consensus of the
community Relations commission that any reduction in the
individual welfare payments - particularly in the summer
month of July - would increase unrest and the possibility
for general trouble in the community o
It is clear that the whole question of the "freeze "
needs to be studied and clarified , and I have asked the staff
of the commission to undertake such a study . I have also
talked with Dan sweat this morning who is also studying the
matter.
�Honorable Ivan Allen, Jr.
March 3, 1969
Page TWO
If the problem exists as it now appears, the
Commission will be available to assist you in any way in
attacking the problem.
Sincerely,
BA:jmb
cc:
cc:
cc:
Reverend Sam Williams
Mr . Nat Welch
Mr . Dan sweat
�ESTAIJLISHED IJY THE /\!AYOR AND THE BOARD OF' ALDER MEN, NOVEU EER, 1966
HOS CITY HALL, ATLANTA GEORGIA 30303
TELEPHONE 5U-H63 EXT.
DR. SAMUEL W. WILLIAMS, O rn imum
THE HO NORABLE SAM MASSELL, JR., ex-Officio
President. Board of Aldermen
COMMISSION MEMBERS
MR. T- M. ALEXANDER, SR .
MR. R. BYRON ATTRIDGE
MRS. SARA BAKER
MISS HELEN BULLARD
MR . It. J. BUTLER
REP. JAMES E. DEAN
MR. ROBERT DO BBS
REP: C. G. EZZARD
MR. L. L. GELLERSTEDT, JR.
MR. CHARLES llART
DR. ROBERT E. LEE
MRS. I'. W. PATTERSON
. RAB BI JACOB M. ROTHSCIJILD
MR. M. 0 . RYAN
TO:
The Mayor and The Board of Aldermen
FROM:
Nat Welch
SUBJECT:
/4A}J.
The 1969 Town Hall Meetings Prograrn
n'IR. jn.CrC SELLS
MR. PAUL SHIELDS
MR. L. D. SI MON
MRS. MARY STEPHENS
DR. J. RMlDOLPH TAYLOR
MR . NAT WELCH
Executive Director
DATE:
March 18, 1969
The schedule for the first three Town Hall Meeting s sponsored by
the Community Relations Cornmission is as follows:
1.
Grant Park are, Jero1ne Jones Elementary School, 649 Home
Avenue, Tuesday night, M _a rch 25, 8: 00 p. m.
2. Southe ast Atlanta, Blair Village Elementary School, 370 Blair
Village Drive, Wednesday night, April 9 , 8:00 p. m.
3. Sirant Park area,· Jerome Jone s Elementary School, 649 Ho1ne
Avenue, Tuesday night, April 22, 8: 00 p. m. (This is a return
me~ting to report to the resident on actions taken on their
problems}.
You are warmly invited to attend any of the Commission 1 s Town
Hall Meetings.
You will rec e ive a rn.onthly schedule of these meetings and a
reminder t e lephone call when a meeting will be· held in your Ward.
The Commission is grateful for your interest and support.
,.s,
�April 2 , 1969
Mr. William H . Boone, Jr .
3775 Gordon Road, Apt D -5
A tlanta , Georgia 30331
Dear Mr. Boone :
"in reply to your questionnaire regarding the Community Relations
Commission, I hope the fo1lowing information _will as~ist in your studies at Atlanta University:
1.
What factors cau ed the city to create the CRC. . . . ?
This was a decision made by the Board of Aldermen to
provide a coordinatlng agency to work with various community
problems.
2.
What do you view as the job of the CRC. .
. . . ?
Attached is a. copy of the Ordinance e tablishing the Commi sion
which outlines the duties and responsibilities.
3.
Was th
CRC ere ted primarily to work in black neighborhood . • ?
It w
ere t d prim rily to work in solving the pc,1tblem
Atlanta' di adv ntag d citizen , both white and black.
4.
of
How can the CRC be t serve the people of Atlanta?
By fulfilling it re pon ibilitie a outlined in the Ordinance,
and by providing Atlan citizen with factual inform tion
concerning r ci l is ue
nd working to eliminat some of
the xisting misconc ptions and myths.
5.
Should it take an active role in changing raci l
ttera . . . ?
The CBC ta one of many organization working to
d t
on the basi · f race, ere d, color or
tion 1 origin.
betto
�Mr . William H . Boone, Jr .
13.
How do you feel the CRC is being accepted in the affluent
white community?
There seems to be an increasing interest and support of
the CRC from the filffluent white community. Many people
throughout Atlanta are finding the Commission to be a
valuable agent in bringing about social change and equal
opportunity for all citizens through peaceful and responsible
means. Hopefully; this increasi ng interest will lead to the
involvment of more Atlanta citizens in the efforts of the CRC.
14. What were your feelings toward Mrs . Paschall as director
of the CRC?
Based on the unanimous recommendation of the Commission
member•, I appointed Mrs . P sch · 11 as its director, as I
felt the Commission deserved my full support.
Sinc e r e ly,
I van All e n, Jr .
�37'75 Gordon Rd. Apt. D-5
Atlanta~ Georgia 30331
February 19, 1969
The Honorable Ivan Allen, Jr.
Mayor of Atl anta
City Hall
Atlanta~ Geor gia 30303
Sir :
At present I am a graduate student attending Atlanta Univer sity. I run als o,
engaged in a research project concerning the Atlanta Community Rel ations
Commission.
I understand a personal interview~with you, would not be poss ible, therefore
I am submitting the enclosed questions. for your views in regards to the Community
Rel ations Commission.
Your views on the Commission would be of great aid to my study. I would
appreciate your answering the questions at your earliest convenience .
Thank you for your help in this matter.
Yours truly~
encl . 1
William H. Boones Jr.
�QUESTIONS FOR THE HONORABLE IVAN ALLEN,JR.
MAYOR OF ATLANTA CONCERNING THE ATLANTA
COMMUNI TY RELATIONS COMMISSION
rJ.hat factors caused the city to create the CRC? How much influence did the
riots in other cities or the 1964 Civil Rights Act have in convincing the city
to establish the CRC ?
2 o What do you vi.ew as the job o.f the CRC' ? Is it just a sounding board ?
3. Was the CRC created pr imarily to work in the bl ack neighborhoods of the city ?
4 . How,
in
your view, can the CRC best serve the people of Atlanta?
5.
Should the CRG take an active role i n changing the racial patterns of the city?
60
Do
you believe the CRC can be the prime agent in getting the school board
to, fully integrate the .Atl anta public schools?
7. Can the CRC do anything to speed integration of .Atlanta 1 s neighborhoods-which would relieve the back pressure of housing in black areas?
8 • .At present the CRG has no powers outside of hol ding hearings an d investigat ion
should the CRC be given additional powers?
9. Atlanta is very heterogeneous in its makup . How do you make the CRC members hip reflect, as near as possible,, the diver se segments of the city?
10. What do you consider when you select a CRG member --what is your criteria
beyond t he ordinance's adult resident clause?
ll . In the .past t he CRC had t o s t r uggl e to get an increase in i t s bidget, in 1966 ,
only '30,000,, in 1967 35,ooo,. however this year the Finance Comrn:li.ttee gave t he
CRC a sizable increase in its budget without dissenting voices--why?
f~
0
As late as 1961 i't has been reported that you did not favor an official human
rel ations council( excl uding t he coordinating co:rnn,it tee you created which had
no of f icial status ) why did you change your view in 1966?
13 . How do you feel the CRC' is being accept ed i n the affluent whi t e community ?
G
\fuat were your fee l ings toward Mrs. Paschal as director of the CRC 1
/
�- - -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
,_JZ_~ -_,.,__ ~ ~ ~ -~
- -- .
--c;r~ .{: /<_
~
a~../4..-t'.'.~ . .-.- ,. _. c~
~
~
~------0
-
__d_ _ --- ---- -
~~ ~
---4.~~::::::U
- 2:::::
_
~-
-
~
- = ' - - - = - = - ' - - - ----'-~
-
"'-"
~
~~
~ ~
_ C.-..
_ ,...<.-1
_
-
_f?--
~~ ~
- -
-
~~ ~
~~ ~~ 6~~
~
-~
~
e, - - -
---


-
-


-
~
--
J;b_"_ __
OL-:7
_
.
0-,
~-<..,,"
~
~
~~-<'fC/'-Q
~ ~
~ ~
/
~





¼ ~~ LC . ~
-~
~ ~ ~--2~<7 ~ ~~ 1/" f ~
- -- -- - --
~ , 7 ~
143.215.248.55 - ~ -~
7143.215.248.55 ~ 7.~ ~~
fa- _eA.,, ~ ~ ~
..
~~ L.--r ~~ ~
C /Z c ~
13:10, 29 December 2017 (EST)7~ --
~
~
ij/
-
--~ ~
~~
- ~
-
~ ~~
~- ~
-Y
- ,, ~ c;, x
- -
.,- -
~~
,
-
.
/143.215.248.55 13:10, 29 December 2017 (EST) ~
-
~
-- --
/4--,__
.
~ -~
- =--"--
-
- ~ --~
t?---4.../
--
~
~
-2
G
I
~
C /{ ~
--
-
~~. 143.215.248.55 13:10, 29 December 2017 (EST)
13:10, 29 December 2017 (EST) -~.Zo 143.215.248.55
143.215.248.55
-
143.215.248.55-
~ ~ 0 . 143.215.248.55 ~ ~ 143.215.248.55 ~ ~ -143.215.248.55 -
�v~J- /A,
~
~
__ ·_ - ~ 1 7 ~ = ~ y
-~
~
--
-
-
---
~ ~ ~ -~ ~ ~ /4> ~ ~~ ~ ~
-
- ~
~ ~ - ~ ~ " ' - -
- ~
- ~
-- --
-
---
-
.
-
-
_ 5 J _ / ~ _ /- ~
~
~ ~ --
-
-
-
-
--
- ~ ~ ~-' i ~
~
~ ~ .
-
~
-
~
-
~
?4 ____
J
-~
'
/ ~< . . ; c . . . , c : z - - - ~ ~ ~ - -
.
-
~ a.U ~ -
or-~
- .-h-
~
-7-
-
~l(,c_
-

- - - - -
-
~~ 143.215.248.55 143.215.248.55
13:10, 29 December 2017 (EST)~~ -­
~
~ ~ ~:;z.......-'
~ ~ ~~ ~~.
-
~
~ - 13:10, 29 December 2017 (EST)~h ~~
~
. ?~ ~ - - - - o/ ~
13:10, 29 December 2017 (EST)~~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ < a-,( _,-v1 _./4o ~
~7
~ ~ ~ _£.,_ 143.215.248.55 ~ ~
~
-
·~
I...~ ~ -
I
~ ,, ~ ~
~~
-


--
p,)_ _;;~
~
_:tA,~
~ ~ ~~ ~
L/
- ~ZiJ- ~
- ~
O?-~~
-
~
-
-
~ ~ -7 ~/-~~
e,~ C
-143.215.248.55 143.215.248.55 ~~? ./ 4 ~ -~
143.215.248.55:
-~
, -
-
~ . ~~
- ~
.....-~--
~
. 8-~~ ~-~~
~
~a_~/~~ -~~
~-~-Q">..-
�-
-
'
_?;J_2~ -~ 1<._'2- _ ~ - ~
-- ~
- 143.215.248.55 ~
___L_ ~
~
-~
--~
~---"
-- --
-
~
~-~~ ~
-
-
~
-
-
.
~rc1/~
~~
.
~~
-- ~
~
--~
-
~
-
--
-- -- - - - - ~
-
-
~
.
~
- ~ --
~'f-
-.~ ~
-
""~-~--c;,-
~ ~ ~
-
-~~
o----d)~
'
CAJ---
·w ~ ~ -~
0- ~ - ~ ~ /4~
o-->--
-+-
-
_ Y_
-
- -


)_A_ _


{!-, /{ C ~ ~
- - - - - -~
_
--
_
_
_ -.-;._.,,--___..-,
-_ -
--
_. k ~ ~--l q ~ r4 ~
-~ -~-rr~
-
_0 -
~ ~ ~~
. /~
~ ~ ~~
-
~ ~~ .
--u~..,.__.,,
0,--
--
~~ -
-~
143.215.248.55 13:10, 29 December 2017 (EST) ~
- -C5-
~~
~ ~
-
--
•
~ ~
.
-- ~
--
~ ~
~ ~~
-
�q__~_ -143.215.248.55 ~
~
--
e
-
~~
-~
~
-
~ .,<C____.r
- -- - - - -
-
-
_._../-~ - - - -
~ J ·
. ~~___,.~~ . ~ -
~
143.215.248.55 13:10, 29 December 2017 (EST)
-~
--
'
o-( -~
~
c, . ~- C . -~
---
-~ r o--r
~ ~ z:, ~~ -
-
~
~
0,-,,
- 143.215.248.55--
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-~ - -
-
~(?~-~~ -~ -4,._~ ~---
-
·- -
~
I.
-
.
--
-n-143.215.248.55.,___..,.
t
~ ~~
~ ~
_ _ ________:;z~ ~- ~
~ ~
--
~ -.
3 . of13:10, 29 December 2017 (EST) ~
13:10, 29 December 2017 (EST)143.215.248.55 13:10, 29 December 2017 (EST)
- - - -
~~ ~ ~
-~
-~~ ~~
-
-
-
--
- -
-
-
~~_.,
-

- - - - - -
-
_ij ~ . , ~ 7,d<,___ ~
--
-
.
~
o-L---~
~
-
-
-
o...-<!-,,
_
-
~
143.215.248.55.of~
.
--
---
_,cd'~
~
-
- -
.
~ ~ ~
-~ -~ ~ ~ 7 .~ 0-c97 ~ ~ -~ ~
w~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ·~ ~
,~.......-;;,-.143.215.248.55
· r:---_ •
~ A,_
fa ~ ~ 143.215.248.55 13:10, 29 December 2017 (EST) ~ ~ ~/
~ . i , ) ~ ~ ' " " - Y ~ ~ 13:10, 29 December 2017 (EST)
-Z4_, _
e./?C
~~ ~
2;;
~ ~ ..
~ ~ ~~ ~
~
'
�--5'.

----
---·- - -



�ESTABLISHED BY THE MAYOR AND TIIE BOARD OF ALDERMEN, NOVEMBER, 1968
JtOS CITY 1IALL, ATLANTA GEORGIA S030S
TELEPHONE Stz-4~6S EXT. HS
DR. SAMUEL W. WILLIAMS, 0,airman
THE HONORABLE SAM MASS ELL, JR., ex-Officio
P,-esident, Board of Aldermen
COMMISSION MEMBERS
MR. T. M. ALEXANDER. SR.
MR. R. BYRON ATTRIDGE
MRS. SARA BAKER
MISS HELEN BULLARD
MR. R. J. BUTLER
REP. JAMES E. DEAN
MR. ROBERT DOBBS
REP: C. G.. EZZARD
MR. L. L. GELLERSTEDT, JR.
MR. CHARLES HART
DR. ROBERT E. LEE
MRS. F. W. PATTERSON
RABBI JACOB M. ROTHSCHILD
MR.M. 0.RYAN
- · - MR.-JACK SELLS
MR. PAUL SHIELDS
MR. L. D. SIMON
MRS. MARY STEPHENS
DR. J. RANDOLPH TAYLOR
TO: Mayor Allen, B~ar/ of Aldermen, and Members of the Press
FROM: Nat Welch
SUBJECT:
\
~\~t
CRC 's Town Hall Meetings
-- .DATE: April 29, 1969
MR. NAT WELCH ·
Executive Director
You will find listed below the Town Hall meetings that the Atlanta
Community Relations Commission will hold during the month of
May. You are warmly invited to attend these meetings:
Blair Village Elementary School
370 Blair Villa Drive
Atlanta, Georgia
Date: May 8, 1969
(Return Meeting)
Pryor Street Elementary ~chool
883 Pryor Street, S. W.
Atlanta, Georgia
Date: May 13,_ 1969
(Initial Meeting)
Time:
Time:
8:00 p. m.
8:00 p. m.
Sammye E. Coan Elementary School (Initial Meeting)
1550 Boulevard Drive, NE
Atlanta, Georgia
Date: May 20, 1969
Time: 8:00 p.m.
CRC's regular monthly meeting will be Friday, May 23, at
2:00 p. m. ! Meeting Room #2, City Hall.
NW:gdm
�April 18, 1969
MEMORANDUM
TO
Nat Welch, Community Relations
FROM
Ivan Allen, Jr.
I bad a complain that Mr. J mes Brown who lives in the
Simpson Woode Apartments , telephone 799-6991, had
attempted to rent a store in the Kirkwood rea and had
been denied this right due to the fact that he is a Negro.
Will you ee if you c n locate Mr . Brown and look into
the complaint to see if it is valid and whether we c · n do
anything bout it.
�.'
D
Wants you to call
0
Is here to see you
D
D
Returned your call
D
Came by to see you



_te:-=--=--=-==-=




°fj=t'--T.m-e- jj-~3_u_a.m_.
/p._m.
FORM 25 •5
�~
~~
/!&a)
At;
�May 6 , 1969
Mr . Ivan Allen, Ill
Chairman, Nominating Commi ttee
Community Council of the Atl anta Are a , Inc .
1000 Glenn Building
Atlanta, Georgia
Dea-r Ivan:
As requested in your letter of May 5th, I am
submitting the following three names for you to
place in nomination to serve on the board of the
Community Council:
Nat Welch, Executive Director
Community Relations C6mmis ion
John Cox, Executive Director
Atlanta Youth Council
John H. Robinson
Mayor ' Office
Sincerely,
Ivan Allen, Jr-.
IAJr:am
�C
C
A
A
ommunity
ouncil of' the
tlanta
rea inc.
EUGENE T . BRANCH , Chai r111a11 of !h tJ ffr,,o t] of T>ir,:1.-·tor.\
CECIL ALEXANDER. l' i<'t: Chairm,m
J O HN !ZARO. l·'ice Chairmt2n
M RS. THOMAS H. GIBSON. S,:crtttCJr.\·
DONALD H. GAREIS, lrNrn,ra
DUANE W. BECK.
O NE THOUSAND GLENN BUILDING, 120 MARIETTA ST., N. W.
E,e,·uti'<' Direcwr
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
30303
TELEPHONE 577-2250
May 5, 1969
Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr.
Office of the Mayor
City of Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Dear Mayor Allen:
The bylaws of the Community Council of the Atlanta Area, Inc.,
require the Nominating Committee to request from you the names
of three as nominations to serve on the Board of the CCAA. From
these three names, the Nominating Committee will choose one to
serve as a Board member for the 1969-70 term. Each of the five
counties in the Metropolitan Atlanta Area and the City of Atlanta
are requested to submit these nominations for representation.
I respectfully request that you provide us with the names of
your nominations prior to May 15.
Any questions that you have concerning the Community Council or
the responsibility of its Board members may be directed to
Mr. Duane W. Beck, Executive Director.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
(l
n,i...._~
CJ7// tU( U-1..
Ivan Allen, III, Chairman
Nominating Committee
P.
s.
Bill Howland was the City's
representative last year.
�•
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
A!L>ert M. Dov15 M D.
Ray J Efird
Jack P Etheridqc
Rufus J Eva'15, M D
f<olu I L f orunCJn
lame f" Furn1
D•ir lrl H Gore,
Lorry L (,ellu tedt, Jr
Mr fhorno, H G,~ s<,n
Cecil Alexonder
Ivan Allen, '!11
l uther Alvc r n
Ro'ph /' Bee
Euqcnc r. Brnnch
~op 1, , llu
, , Jr
V
,
M D
L. Callaway
Brodey Currey Jr
Cami
~11 Do he,
H M Glr:,,t,,,
Joh, (,odw1r1, M. D
Eh It G 'dsrc,n
V ,v 'ln Hcndersc n
Mrs. lkl<·n Howord
Will1cm ) Howlnr:~J
Mrs Edmund W i-1uqf,c,
Harry t:. Ingram
Jo~C'Ph W Jone,
Vv oltN M M,tch, II
Ph,I Norm re
,\. 8 Podgdt
M,s RhorLs L PC'rduc
J ',Vll,am P1nkst n Jr
',V R Pruitt
T 0. V:nson M. D
"c, All,,on Will,am
John C. W h ,n
J 1h11 Izord
ADVISORY BOARD
J . G BradLu:·y
n1c
V Corn•'cha
R Howe rd Dobbs Jr
[d ,;in I Hotrf
B01sfeuillet Jones
M , 8 I an Jr.
W ll·on W Mr:,ore, Jr, M
Luc en f 01,vcr
W . A . Parker c,,
Richard H. R,,1
l)
Jo~,- A. '
11 c
ey
F'l,tP Tut•!•
n C \/Va ,1 iw, Jr
~JC '(JL W 'vVovd1 uff
W1 1,
�,,,,.
OMM UNXTY RE L ATJION S COMMJISSXON
ESTABLISHED BY THE MAYOR AND THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN, NOVEMBER, 1900
1£03 CITY 1IALL, ATLANTA GEORGIA 30303
TELEPHONE 5tt-UD3 EXT. H3
DR. SAMUEL W. WILLIAMS, 01airma11
THE HONORABLE SAM MASSELL, JR., ex-Officio
President, Board of Aldermen
COMMISSION MEMBERS
MR. T. M. ALEXANDER, SR.
MR. R. BYRON ATTRIDGE
MRS. SARA BAKER
MISS HELEN BULLARD
MR. R. J. BUTLER
REP. JAMES E. DEAN
MR. ROBERT DOBBS
REP.' C. G. EZZARD
MR. L. L. GELLERSTEDT, JR.
MR. CHARLES HART
DR. ROBERT E. LEE
MRS. F. W.PATTERSON
RABBI JACOB M. ROTHSCHILD
MR. M. O. RYAN
MR. JACK SELLS
MR. PAUL SHIELDS
MR. L. D. SIMON
MRS. MARY STEPHENS
DR. J. RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MR. NAT WELCH
Executive Director
TO:
The Mayor, Aldermen and the Press
FROM:
Nat Welch
SUBJECT:
DATE:
fi/4{/
Town Hall Meeting Date Changed
May 6, 1969
Due to a conflict, CRC I s Town Hall Meeting at the Pryor
Street Elementary School is being re-scheduled from
May 13 to Thursda y night, May 15 at 8: 00 p. m. - You and the public are warmly invited to attend.
NW/lh


.


�Ee\
• 1
"""\')
~ ·1
!_ ;
0
0
I· ·. 11I Tl · y
•
JD) 11 TiY'u Tffiu
.
.
, 1
I
JJ_ J.
J


=


~ -~Hr. I ·
q· ~ Fri~
··
v;;;~
=[ j])tn
/..,/
I
1L . ll Jl t··
'J
, '1,_..,,
il ·
I
d'
rrH
\~~
I
BIRMINGHAM: Fair to partly clom~y
VOL. .99- NO. 48
Re~. U. S. Po l. Off.
~
Alabama's 'Good IHlorning' Neiv.spaper
I
I
I
BIRMIN GHAM, M ON DAY, MAY 5, 1969
ALABAl\IA: Partly cloudy, warm
30 Pages In Two Secti'ons
,1 .








.,. ~.-...'_;,1ru
Ll
~·
·1
'.!; I
I
1 r;:'""'.~, '
( ,,. I
',:"""I.
'•
I
t.
· .ED TOR'S NOTE: A Citi· would he forwarded to mayor, during a time or serious racial cy of city government to work
zcns Task Force has callee! on city council or · department tension or other eme rge:1cy exclusively in areas of disMayo r Geo rge Scibcls .Jr. to heads . Birmingham's neigh- situation, the· c:en le r i's ready crimina tion a nd community
u;;point a st ,w!ling comnuttcc hor cities of New Orleans .~nd to give out accurate inform a - r e];.1tio ns. _
rf six mcn:hcrs and a chair- Allanta have such a p rogram tion about what is rea lly
Mayo r Ivan Alle n Jr. and
oilier city officials met logcthma n to hold evcni1g 1 l('ctin~s a lready ln operation . This iS · happening.
The Rumor Control Center ('r in planning s~ssions. A
In ri ty hall 111 licar .Hobkms tl e first of two articles con11' B irmi l " 'iam citizens and to cerning the functions and sue· is a creature of the Atlanta majorily vote of th e aldermen
n e l a ti o n s fo r adoptio n of an ordinance
,altl pu hl'e i1eari11 g~ on suh- cess of those groups in thOs e Community
Commission, an organizal io n establishing
a
Comm unity
cd s a Tt' dir g ia r;;c ;;roups. cities.
that has been on. the job since . Relations Commission was fol, a lysis of p roblems hro:,;;ilt


* *


o the c,·cning city l:all mect- BY LILLIAN FOSCUE VANN , November, 1966 . A group of lowed by approval of the
Dial 524-3261 in Atlanta and · ·"grass-roots" citizens from mayor.
,1~s and rqiorts on p 1JJI1c
The first budget was $2j,QQ0.
1rarings :1:1d ·' in tlcpl h" you have call ed the Rumo r · Soulheasl All anla saw the
.udies and rrt:t•m m·11cl,11..ons Control Center. In operalion need to have an official agen- This year with a staff of six,
Rev. Sa muel W. Williams,
pastor of Friendship Baptist
and, with the late D r. Marlin
Luther King, one of the foun ders of the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference. The
Rev . Williams is also professor and cha irma n of the
Depar1ment of Philosophy and
Reli gion, l\'Ioreho use College.
" We do r.o t ha ve too serious
a generation gap in Atlanta,"
said the chairma n, "but the
See ATL_\:'\:TA, Pa&e 2
0
..:b
Cl.
•--=-"
"'"""
.,.-<•
-<~
the budge t is $50,000 . The
chai rman is ·black and seven
others of the 20 com.mission
members are· black.
Vc1 rious segments of the
community are represented
on the commission, whose
m embers a rc appointed by lhe
mayor· and approved by the
board
of
aldermen . The
clergy, labor, business and
U1e poor all have voices on
the commission. Women too
hold places on the commission.
munity with a report of positive a ction an d whatever results ha ve come about as a
A staff of six people is
result of th e first meeting's
headed by Executive Director
complain ts an d suggestions.
Nat Welch, former AlabamThe com mission makes an ·
ian . Offices are in Cit y Hall
annua l report to the ma yor,
where the com mission holds a
but forwurds r ecommendapublic meeting once a month
tions · to ci ty official s on
at which citizens are invited
whatever issues being i1p:estito speak. Town· Hall meetings
ga ted by the commission.
are held r eg ula rly throu ghou t .
"We have · been able t,:i
the city by the comm ission .
m aintain a pretty good diaThirty days later the com- logue in Atlanta." said the
m ission re turns to the· com- commission Chairman,
the
�THE VOICE - January 26, 1969- Page 2
·alack Business Workshop, February 20
Atlanta's Community Relations
Commission announced today plans for it's
"Workshop on Black Business Opportunities" to be
held February 20 in the new
building of Atlanta University's School of Business .
The workshop will be cosponsored by the Atlanta
Business League, the Atlanta
Chamber of Commerce, the Atlanta University School of Business, the
National Alliance of Businessmen, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the
Small BusinessAdministration and the Urban League.
'~he· primary goal of the
workshop is to involve Atlanta Negr oes who are interested in becoming ownermanagers of businesses in
Atlanta. We hope that this
combined community effort
will offer a quantum jump
to Atlanta black business
entreprene urs and str engthen on going efforts of the
Atlanta Business League's
Project Outreach, the Small
Business Administration,
and Atlanta University's
Business Economic Development and Business
Se r vice
Center s tated
CRC 'S executive dir ector
Nat Welch.
The planning committee
has identified nine likel y
br eak- thru ar eas fo r black
business opportunities.,fas t
food franchises , auto dealerships, service station,
building contracting, ice
c ream outlets, fr anchised
d ry cleaning stores, coin
operated laundries, drug
stores, and specialty auto
stores selling such items
as tires and mufflers.
If you are interested
in becoming an owner/
manager of any type of
business and want to
participate
in this
workshop, call Benny
T. Smith, field representative, Community
Relations Commission,
Room 1203, City Hall,
·phone . number 522-4463
extension 433, who is in
charge of community
participation for this
important affair.
'-i'he workshop will have
a heavy emphasis on franchised operations because
these are geared to family
involvement.
Good franchise s offer proven management assistance and formulas for succes sful operation' ' , s tated Nat Welch.
Some three dozen national
franchise operations are being invited to have top
management
representation, The afternoon session
will feature " Fifty Gre at
Business Opportuni ties
and will pr ovide a two and
a half hour period fo r the
franchisor and the franchisee to have individual dis cussions with the hopes that
new businesses will be
bir thed as a result of this
workshop, explained CRC's
executive director.
The morning ses sion will
have a panel discussion on
Do.'s and Don'ts in Launching New Bus iness Ventures"
by five seccessful Atlanta
black entrepreneurs and individual panel discussions in
the nine areas of business
break- thrus being emphasized at the workshop.
The afternoon session will
have two additional panels.
One will be on "On Going
Programs ofTechnicalAid"
in which presentations will
be made by the Small Business Administration, Project Outreach, and Atlanta
Unive rsity's Business Economic
Development and
Business Service Center.
The other will be a banker
round table with Atlanta
bankers discussing opportunities envisioned, how
bankers can help and what
banke r s look for in a loan
applicant.
The banquet session, to
be held at Paschal's Motor
Hater, ' will climax with an
address by a nationallyknown black business leader.
The planning committee
for the workshop includes:
Frank O'Neal of the Atlanta
Business
League ; Dean
Harding Young oftheAtlanta
University
School
of
Business ; Lyndon Wade of
the Atlanta Ur ban League ;
Curtise Driskell of the Atlanta Chamber of commerce; Henry Reid of NAB,
Lonnie King of the NAACP;
John P . Latimer of S6A
and Nat Welch and Chuck
William s of CRC.
THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, Thm·sday, Ja n. 23, 1969
CRC Plans
Worl(shop
For Blacl(s
The works hop will feature
nine " likely brea kthrough areas
for black business opportunities" -fas t-food fra nchises , au to
dealerships, service stations,
building contracting, ice cream
outlets, franchised dry cleaning
s tores, coin-operated laundries,
drug s tores and specia lly auto
stores.
THREE DOZEN OPERATIONS
T h e Community Relations
Commission announced plans
Wednesday for its black entrepreneurship workshop to be held
Feb. 20 at Atlanta University 's
School of Business .
The Workshop on Black Business Opportunities will be cospons·o red by the Atlanta Chamher of Commerce, the local
chapter of the Nationa l Associalion for the Ad vancement of Colored P eople, the Atlanta Bus iness League, the Atlanta University School of Business, the
Urba n League and the Small
Business Adm inistration.
BASIC GOAL
" The prim ary goa l of the
workshop is to involve Atlanta
Negroes who are inte rested in
becoming owner-m anagers of
businesses in Atlanta ," sa id
CRC executive director Nat
Welch.
About three dozen national
fr anch ise oper ations are being
invited to ha ve top management
r eprese nta tion. The a fternoon
session will feature '·Fifty Great
Business Opportunities, " Welch
said . ,,.edmical aid progra ms
and a ro!111d-ta ble discussion by
Atl anta bankers also will occur
in the al"te• rnoon.
The morning spssion will ha ve
c1 panel di-cu sion on ··oo ·s and
DonTs in Launching New Busine s Ventures ·• bv fi ve successful Atla nta black· en trepreneurs
plus individua l pan el discuss ions
in the ni ne breakthro ugh areas
A d inner session at P aschal's
Motor Hotel will end the workshop with a speech by a yet-tobe-a nnounced nationally-known
black bus111ess leader. In add1tion . fi ve black entrepreneurs
for 1967 will be given spec:c11
recognition by the CRC.
�Agenda
For
Racial
Harmony
10-Point
Individual Plan
Illustrates Ways
to Help
By NAT WELCH
�This article was written at the request of
the editorial staff of the Atlanta Journal
and was published on its editorial page.
The
Community Relations Commission
believes that this IO-point Plan is worthy
of wide distribution in the Atlanta com munity and has made available this reprint
for use by civic , church and service organizations .
Dr. Samu el W. Williams, Chairman
Community Relations Commission


s,<-
::..:>s:::;.;, '½'>-t~., ~~·3~:(e.-~"M-: S.?n:.. ?...-.:.K.............t :~{


mAbout
i
the
Forum Writer
II
I
" tiv:~}:'cf!rC~f istheexe~~: !
lanta Community Re/a- ;i,;,
tions Commission which
@ is charged with the re- =t
M sponsibility of fostering f:
t!
f~:
fl,
I: :.: \:::.,:::~:<1:dt:· 1
~
THE JOURNAL F,ORUM
ibt.Atlnnfn 1!aurnnl
Saturday, May 17, 1969
�The foremost problem America faces at home is the urba n
crisis . Regardless of where I make that statement in Atlan ta ,
few disagree with it. The urban crisis is rea.J. It is m ?re tha n
deteriorating buildings and open spaces. It is a human condition.
Atlanta is known as a proVISIT THE Hungry Club at
gressive city. It has attained
the Butler Street YMCA. This
a favorable national reputais probably the mo?t stimu)attion because its people have
ing luncheon club 1~ the city.
been willing to change , espeSpeakers since the first of the
cially in regard to race relayear have included Mayor
tions. The city is now fa ced
Ivan Allen, form er Gov. Carl
with the challenge of improvSanders, Julian Bond, local
ing on t hat r eputat ion or fallNAACP President L o n n i e
ing a way from it.
King, Dr. John Letson ,
Human relations must be
SCLC's Andrew Young and
improved between white peoDona ld Hollowell .
ple and black people-not


~r *


only on a group basis but as
DRIVE THROUGH some of
an individual. An individual
the upper income Negr o r esiusually has a feeling of good
d e n t i a I areas as Collier
will toward his fe llow-man
Heights and P eyton Forest in
but has little knowledge of
t he Cascade area. You will
what helpful role he can persee that Atlanta has a subform to make it a visible
stailltial nwnber of m iddle and
reality.
upper income Negroes w~o
Here are 10 specific suggestake pride in home ownership
tions :
just as any other comparable
group .
BE INFORMED on what is


* *


happening in regard to local
ENCOURAGE YOUR busiurban problems.
ness or professio na\ organizaREAD THE Report of the
tion tc, expand its Negro
Natio nal Advisory Commism embershi p. The A t I a n t a
sion on Civil Disorder s. We
Chamber of Commerce took
need to understand m ore
t he initial step some ten
about the problems. This is
yea rs ago . This wa y lawyer s
one of the most important
get to . know la wyers a nd
presidential Commission reteachers get to know teachers
ports ever made. If you can't
as persons and prejudice
wade through the severalfa des.
hundred page paper back ed!*
tion, an excellent 30-page diLEARN TO pr onounce t he
gest is available.
word "Negro" correctly. The
word is pronounced "kneeTAKE A tour of some of
grow." This is d ifficult for a
our economically depr essed
white Southerner who has
a reas and let the local resigrown up saying "Nigra." If
dents tell what they are doing
you can' t pronounce it r orto improve t heir lot. These
rectly, just say black since
tours are sponsored by Ecoboth are accept~ble. The term
no mic Opportunity Atlanta fo r
" colored person" is old hat.
individuals and groups. ArProper titles are also very
r angements ca n be mad~ by
important.
calling Mrs. Mary Lou MitchVISIT ANOTHER church.
ell ,at 525-4262.
Four members of the Commu-


*



* *


nity Relations Commi ssion
are outsta nding ministers.
They are the Rev. Sam Williams, pastor of the F r iend~
ship Baptist Church ; Rabbi
Jacob Rothschild of the Temple · Dr. R. E . Lee, pastor of
the ' Lutheran Church of the
Redeemer · a nd Dr. J ohn
Randolph 'T aylor, minister _of
t he
e n t r ,a 1 Presbyterian
Church. Visitors ar e welcomed as in other Atlanta
churches .
ATTEND A . lecture or concert at the Atlanta University
Cente r , E mo ry University,
Georgia State or one of Atlanta 's severa l other institutions
of higher learning. Become
exposed to some new ideas
a nd new people.
The two most interesting
lectures my wife a nd I hea rd
last year were those of John
K. Galbraith and Walter Heller at the Atlanta University
Center. And when the Atlanta
Symphony was doing a spec ial series at Spellman College, a friend remarked,
" They m ight as well be play·i ng at Dahlonega as far a s
most Atlanta ns are concerned."
JOIN AN inter-racial disc ussion group . This sma ll
m ovement was sta rted last
year by Dr. a nd Mrs. Joseph
A. Wilber. Four white couples
a nd fo ur Negro couples meet
once a month fo r a n evening
of discussion . The host selects
the subject which might be a
community problem or a personal prejudice.
One participa nt rem arked,
" These are pretty fra nk discussions. After three or four
sessions, you don't look on
each other as white or black
but as individua ls." There are
now over 100 persons in Atlanta involved. After a year
the group splits up into two or
three groups.
c
THE PLACE to sta rt improving human r elations . is
where you are- your neighborhood, your school, your
church, your business and the
organizations with which y~u
are a ffili ated. If a person 1s
trea ted with genuine dignity
and respect, he will respond
in kind. If trea tment is second class, this is what ca n be
expected in return.
A homemaker can start by
paying domestic help the m inimum wage of $1.60 a nd
seeing tha t the employe's
qua r te rly social security fo r m
is fil ed.


*


WHAT ELSE can be done?





One institution that needs to
be revived in Atlanta is the
neighborhood orga nization or
group. We have lost the
" neighbor hood cohesiveness"
tha t is so impor tant.
White m iddle and upper income neighborhood groups
tend to becom e defensive
mechanisms to insulate t he ·
neighbor hood from the rest of
the city. In so doing we tend
to develop sterile neighborh o o d s. The neighborhood
needs to relate to the city.
The disadvantaged nei ghborhoods a re m aking substa ntial progress by strengthening
their
neighborhood groups
through local leadership with
t he help of EOA, Model Cities,
and the Community Relations
Commission.













THE GRANT Par k area is
an encoura ging example. It
was selected by CRC as the
a rea in which to initiate their
1969 Town Hall meeting program . The usual procedure _i~,
first , a m eeting with the c1t1ze ns to get their idea s on
what their problems a re a nd ,
then a follo w-up meeting
in
.
which City Hall officials re)
port on actions taken in res ponse to the citi ze ns.
The fir st meeting was on a
cold Ma rch night with a
rather slim crowd a t the Jerome Jones School in Gra nt
P a rk . The public offi cials almost outnumbered the ci tize ns. The crowd tr ipled at the
fo llow-up meEtin g held r ecentl y. A to tal of five alderm en two sta te represe ntative; , eight city depar tment
officials and five members of
CRC pa r ticipated in these two
m eetings.










~


THE CALIBER of leade rship shown by the Gra nt P a rk
citizens impressed m e tremendous ly. Both white and
black citizens and white a nd
black elected offic ia ls showed
dignity a nd respect for one
another and an earnest desire
to move on with solving the
community problems at ha nd.
Cecil Alexa nder, head of the
Mayor's Housing Resources
Committee, has stated, ":'- l·
lanta no longer has the choice
of beng a white or a black
cily. The choice is either to
be a bl ack city or a n mtegrated city. "
These two Town Hall meetings pro duced stron g ev idcn_c e
th at the citize ns . . . wh ite
and bla ck . . . have made
their choice. Grant Park is
their , home and th ey ar e
going to stay there_ and bt~ld
a great commumty agam.
Model Cities, assisted by
CRC is m aking a valuable
cont;ibution in helping deve lop this indigenous leadershi p.
,:, * *
LET US hope that as other
neighborho ods move into transition they will foll ow the exampl~ of the r esurgi ng leadership in Gra nt P ark.
�Dr. Samuel W. Williams, Chairman
Vice Mayor Sam Massell , Jr ., Ex-Officio
COMMISSION MEMBERS
Mr . T. M. Alexander, Sr.
Mr. R. Byron Attridge
Mrs. Sara Baker
Miss He len Bullard
Mr. R. J. Butler
Mr . Mik e C he a tha m
Rep. Jam e s E. De an
Mr. Robe rt Dobbs
Re p. C. G. E zzard
Mr. L. L. Gellers tedt , Jr.
Mr. Charles Hart
Dr. Robe rt E. L ee
Mrs. F. W. Patte rson
Rabbi J acob M. Rothschild
Mr. Paul Shie ld s
Mr. L. D. Simon
Mr s. Ma cy Ste phe ns
Dr . J. Randolph Taylor
Rev . J. A. Wilborn
Mr. Willi a m McGee, Ex-Officio
Atla nta Youth Congress
Mr. Nat We lch
Exec uti ve Director
C ITY OF ATLANTA
C OMMUNITY R E LATIONS C OMMIS SION
ME MORI A L DRI VE ANNEX BLD G .
121 ME MORI A L DRI VE, S. W.
5 22 -44 63
�CITY OF ATLANTA
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE
501 CITY HALL
ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30303
J,uuan, 13, 1969
CHARLES L . DAVIS
DIR EC TO R O F FI N AN C E
EDGAR A . VAUGHN , JR .
DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
GEORGE J. BERRY
DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
Mr. Bat Vetch
lxecutlve Director
CGl!IIIUDit y lelatlcnw Commtui.oo
1203 City Rall
Atl anta, Georgia 30303
Dur lats
The City l• • aambff of the lnterDational City Manager•'
Aaaociation; -4 u a reault of thta memb•rahtp, ve receive
pclodic 111a11ag8illelll reporta. llloV1ng of your tntereat in
rumor control, I 1111 •ncl.o alag a copy for your pereonal uae
of our late,t report vhtcb 11 on thla auhjec·t mattft.
lf.acei:ely,
(J/a-.L,_ / £)._._____
Chul• ... Davl•
Dlnctor of rtnace
CUUdhf
lnclo,ure
cc a IIOOOl'able It.o n G. fanl•
Nr. a. IUl J.ndera
v ·
�Managementlnfonnation Service
THE REPORT'
AT AGLANCE
Rumors are the sparks that ignite
and
many a r(ot. With modern
advances in communications, th.e
spreading of rumors during civil
disorders is easier than ever before, and the high-tension atmosphere of riots makes citizens vulnerable to distortions of truth.
In an effort to squelch rumors
that feed on civil disturbances,
several cities have set up rumor
con:rol centers. Basically, such a
center · consists of a well-publi-
ta'n
cized telephone service that citizens may call during times of
racial tension to report incidents
and to check out rumors. The
Chicago Commission on Human
Relations has established a "Rumor Central" that is being looked
into by other cities as a model. A
separate phone n~mber for rumor
control, tactful personnel who
have the confidence of those who
phone the center, and effective
"call-back" procedures are among
0
the keys for effective operation.
Rumor control should be integrated with the city's total public
information program for civil disorders. Good public relations in
normal times is essential for avoiding a "credibility gap" in public
announcements during crisis. It
may be that the most effective way
for city officials to fight destructive
rumors is to spread contradictory
"rumors" of peace, order, and
quiet.
�Rumor Control
During Civil
Disorders
By Walter L. Webb
Staff Member
International City Managers' Association
one way or another, to the hearer. (2) The details
must be cloudy. Yet, beyond these basic "rumorfacts," it is surprising that so little is known about
rumors, for they have profoundly affected man's history.
Armies have clashed and governments have toppled on the basis of unfounded rumors. Nero, for
example, did not really fiddle while Rome burned ; it
was a rumor deliberately spread by his enemies. The
United States certainly had no plans, in 1958, to restore the dictator Perez Jimenez to power in Venezuela, yet that rumor touched off the deadly "antiNixon" riots that disturbed hemispheric relationships
for years.
Because rumors have always spread like a dread
disease through man' s organizations, one expert suspects that they fill some deep-felt need in human
society, despite the fact that they can rip the fabric
of that society in short order. 1
WHY RUMORS GROW
"The entire Loop is in flames!" ... "Rap Brown is
here!" ... "Everybody is looting at Milwaukee and
Ashland." . .. "Stokely Carmichael has just landed by
submarine from Lake Michigan." ... "Twenty thousand Negroes are marching on the Loop , the streets
are deserted, and all the shoppers are locked inside
the department stores! "
These are just a few of the rumors that spread like
wildfire across Chicago within a five-day period last
April. If these savage rumors had gone unchecked,
" they could have done the city far more damage than
Mrs. O'Leary's cow," one observer has commented.
Inevitably , rumors will multiply during periods of
tension and anxiety. Civil unrest, for a variety of reasons, is shaking our social order. In such a situation,
innumerable phantoms roam and haunt the city.
That is why the shattering power of rumors is
being closely examined, perhaps for the first time in
history. Computers on the campus of Brandeis University are beginning to check all kinds of information about rumors - the time of day they pop up, the
typical circumstances, etc. - in an effort to pin down
their birth, life, and death .
And public servants in several major cities - perhaps most notably Chicago - have developed techniques for quashing rumors as soon as they pose a
threat to community stability. This report, based
largely on the Chicago experience, is intended to aid
local officials in their efforts to fight rumors, particularly in times of riot and civil disorder.
The Psy,hology of Rumor
2
There are two requirements for a rumor to grow:
(I) It must contain information that is important, in
The one new factor in the field of rumors is their
speed of transmission. Nowadays, of course, rumors
spread more quickly than in the past, thanks to the
telephone. But essentially they are the same as always
- falsehoods masquerading as truths.
" We live in a world of instant communications,"
says Dr. Dana L. Farnsworth, who for many years has
observed the effects of mass tension on mental
health. "Yet this simply means that unfounded
rumors can spread as rapidly as the truth ."
Dr. Farnsworth, who is chairman of the Council
on Mental Health of the American Medical Association, points out that rumors inevitably breed more
rumors in a deadly spiral . " Rumors blur the edges of
truth, thus making people feel still more insecure. And
because insecurity is the soil in which rumors grow,
any rumor simply increases the likelihood of the
emergence of still more rumors."
Why do citizens play with fire by passing on rumors? One authority has suggested that rumors may
be to society what daydreams are to individuals. As
such, they could be wish fulfillment or fear fulfillment. Psychologists have long demonstrated that humans often see what they expect to see, what they
wish to see, or what they fear to see . ·
1 An effective technique for illustrating how rumors grow
is to simulate a rumor. The process is quite simple. An observer of a given situation reports to a non-observer what he
witnessed. The non-observer then passes on to another nonobserver what he was told, this non-observer in turn reports
to another non-observer, etc. The "story" as it ends up is
often humorously different from what the actual witness
originally reported.
The Anti-Defamation League ofB 'nai B'rith has prepared
a rumor clinic based on the above "laboratory-rumor" prindple. The clinic features a film strip to illustrate the situations
to be reported and passed on. Information about the clinic
may be obtained from regional offices of the League.
�"Uncertainty increases the vulnerability of the individual," states Dr. Farnsworth. "During a period of
tension, the individual becomes highly suspicious.
The more lurid the story, the more likely it is to be
believed. Because of their very uncertainty , rumors
are more likely to be believed than fact."
Apparently , too, there is an inner compulsion that
forces many citizens to pass on a rumor. "When a
person hears a rumor," continues Dr. Farnsworth,
"he then has ( or at least feels he has) unique information. This makes him an important person in his own
eyes. He feels good toward himself, even though the
rumor may be terrifying. But he can only continue
this feeling of goodness, of importance, if he imparts
his unique information to someone else."
RUMORS DURING RIOTS
No riot occurs without rumors to incite, accompany, and intensify the violence, noted the late Gordon Allport of Harvard, considered the foremost
authority on the nature of rumor.
The National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders ( the Kerner Commission) found irrefutable evidence that rumors not only caused the rapid spread
of last summer's disorders, but in some cases actually
touched off those disorders. Here is what its report
says:
"Rumors significantly aggravated tension and disorder in more than 65 percent of the disorders
studied by the Commission. Sometimes, as in Tampa
and New Haven, rumor served as the spark which
turned an incident into a civil disorder. Elsewhere,
notably Detroit and Newark, even when they were
not precipitating or motivating factors, inflaming
rumors made the job of police and community leaders far more difficult."
The Tampa incident was a clear-cut case of a rumor causing society to devour itself. In the earliest
stages of unrest , a deputy sheriff died. The wire services immediately sent out a news flash that rioters
had killed the man. The rumor spread. Within 30 minutes reporters discovered the truth - that the deputy
had died of a heart attack. By then it was too late ;
the city was in turmoil.
Another rumor , the following day , compounded
the problem. Tampa police headquarters was informed
by semihysterical rumor-listeners that 20 Negro men,
bared to the waist and carrying clubs, had assembled.
Actually, the men turned out to be construction
workers simply doing their job. Yet the rumor had
already done its damage. It took the National Guard
and intense efforts on the part of community leaders,
both Negro and white, to restore order.
Patricia Q. Sheehan, the mayor of New Brunswick,
New Jersey, confirms the deadly power of rumors.
During the disorders last year, she observed, it seemed
"almost as if there was a fever in the air." The press,
radio , and TV reported that guerrilla bands were
roaming the streets - an unfounded rumor that
struck terror into white communities.
"Rumors were corning 1in from all sides on July
17th," she reported to the Kerner Commission.
"Negroes were calling to warn of possible disturbances; whites were calling; shop owners were calling.
Most of the people were concerned about a possible
bloodbath." The thought crossed her mind at that
time that "we are talking ourselves into it."
On the campus of Brandeis University, in
Waltham, Massachusetts, the new Lemberg Center for
the Study of Violence hopes eventually to feed computers with all sorts of information about riots rumors, times of day, temperature, triggering incidents, etc. - and find relationships that may help in
predicting violence.
Center officials note that rumors are obviously not
the sole cause of riots. Their causes are many and
deepseated. But once riots have begun, rumors can
make them worse.
The Center's preliminary findings, according to
Miss Terry Knopf, research associate , indicate there is
a pattern to them. First, there are general and vague
predictions of impending trouble. "Whites," "Negroes," "Army," or "police" are said to be arming
and preparing. These reports keep tension high. Next
come specific rumors that prepare and trigger action.
Rumor Control Operations
Perhaps the nation's best-run rumor control operation last summer was set up by the Chicago Commission on Human Relations. With its dedicated band of
rumor-quashers - professional social workers, clerks,
typists , volunteers - the Commission operated with
such success that its techniques are being copied by a
good many cities around the country. The Commission's "Rumor Central" - as the operation was
named - was singled out for commendation by the
Kerner Commission.2
As reported by Raymond J. Siewert, supervisor of
Rumor Central, the best method for quashing rumors
is simple: "The bald truth , good or bad, is the only
way to fight a rumor. " Yet the bald truth must be
instantly available to the public - and it is here that
2 MIS has received information on rumor con trol centers
in more than 25 cities. Since the Chicago Rumor Central
incorporates principles widely used elsewhere, this rep ort focuses primarily on the Chicago experience.
Other cities which MIS has learned have either set up, or
intend to set up, ru mor control centers are:
Phoenix, Ariz.; Hartford, Conn. ; Atlanta, Ga. ; Decatu r,
III.; Wichita, Kan.; Louisville, Ky. ; Baltim ore and Salisbury ,
Md.; Boston and Springfield, Mass.; Detroit, F lin t, and Grand
Rapids, 'Mich. ; Kansas City, Mo. ; Plainfield, N.J. ; Buffalo,
Rochester, and Syracuse, N.Y.;Dayton, Toledo, and Youngstown, Ohio; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Erie and Philadelphia, Pa.;
Houston, Tex.; Norfolk and Richmond, Va.; and Seattle,
Wash.
3
�Rumor Central's techniques are being looked to as a
guide.
The Commission has published a full description
of how Rumor Central operates. Since the description
is reproduced in full as an appendix to this report, the
following section presents only an overview of the
operation, noting particularly the key factors to its
success.
..
MANAGEMENT
INFORMATION
SERVICE
January 1969 - Vol. 1 No. L-1
Editor: Walter L. Webb
"RUMOR CENTRAL" IN ACTION
4
Chicago's Rumor Central - which on a limited
scale operates throughout the year - consists in times
of crisis of a telephone hookup manned 24 hours a
day, field workers who gather factual information
with which to combat rumors, and others who try to
spread the truth in danger areas. The Central phone
number is widely advertised in the press and on TV,
and citizens are urged to call and check the truth of
any reports they have heard.
The system met its first big test in the wake of the
assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Rumor Central was besieged with calls. Two telephone lines
quickly proved inadequate, and three others were
added. Thousands of calls continued to swamp the
lines, while delays ran to a matter of hours. Ten lines
finally were opened and volunteers brou_ght in from
seminaries throughout the city. For the three days of
the riot, 15 people answered the calls, 24 hours a day.
If the facts were not known, the caller's number was
taken, the situation investigated, and the citizen was
called back promptly.
"It's really a simple technique," reports James E.
Burns, director of the Human Relations Commission.
"We answer questions, calm people, deny rumors, allay fears, and try to protect people by keeping them
out of the danger zones. We have to have the trust of
the. public, and we must have accurate information on
what's going on."
During the height of the April disturbances, Rumor Central in the Commission offices resembled a
military situation room. At least five telephone lines
were reserved for residents' queries. Other lines were
kept open for periodic reports from Commission field
workers who were circulating in troubled areas.
A wall-sized map of the Chicago area, with a plastic overlay, was used to pinpoint trouble spots. Areas
where sniping occurred were marked with a blue
grease pencil, blocked-off streets were marked in
black, burning sections in red, alternate bus lines
around tense sections in yellow, and so on.
One-third of the 27 professionals on the Commission staff are Negroes, many of whom were spending
long hours in the riot areas talking to neighborhood
leaders and trying to calm the situation.
To make certain that the information is correct,
Rumor Central has its own network of intelligence
courses. When any kind of civil unrest breaks loo&e in
Chicago, trained Commission staffers immediately
Management Information Service reports are
published monthly by the International City
Managers' Association, 1140 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. Secondclass postage permit pending. Copyright© 1969
by the International City Managers' Association.
Views expressed are the opinions of the
author and do not necessarily reflect the policy
of ICMA. No part of this report may be reproduced without permission of the copyright
owner.
Subscription rates (including inquiryanswering and additional services) are based on
population of subscribing jurisdiction and will
be furnished on request.
This report is intended primarily for subscribing jurisdictions above 25,000 population.
Concurrent monthly reports, prepared primarily for jurisdictions below 25,000 population,
are available from Management Information
Service.
race to tlie scene of the disturbance and promptly
phone in on-the-spot reports. One man is dispatched
to police headquarters to monitor all calls, another to
the fire department. Still other staff members perform liaison work with the mayors' office , city agencies, and private organizations dealing with civil
rights.
One good intelligence tool, Commission staffers report, is simply a city phone directory cross-referenced
by location. When a call comes in asking about
trouble in a certain block and nothing is known about
the situation, a Rumor Central staffer will call citizens at random in that block, identify himself, and
calmly ask if there are any signs of a disturbance.
New facts , as they come in, are immediately
typed, copied by machine, and distributed within two
or three minutes to all phone operators so they will
have the latest situation reports at their fingertips.
The Chicago experience points up several easily
overlooked factors that many cities have found important in establishing a rumor cental. Among them:
• A separate phone number for rumor control is
desirable. This not only frees the police department
from overly used phone lines but - perhaps more
important - creates a "climate of trust" between the
rumor-inquirer and the rumor control center. During
civil disorders, citizens - particularly non-white - often suspect that information given over police department phones is purposely distorted to make the city
government look good.
�• Rumor central must be trusted by citizens to tell
the truth. It is desirable, if possible , for non-whites to
handle the rumor inquiries of other non-whites. Some
cities report a greater climate of trust by having a
non-governmental agency (such as the Urban League)
man the rumor control center.
• The center should operate round-the-clock.
Imagine the hysteria that could be caused by a rumor
that even the rumor control center had been knocked
out! (i.e. , " I phoned, but they didn't answer.")
• The "call-back " technique should be used. Not
only is it important for the center to phone a caller
when new information is available about his request.
It is also helpful to ask callers to phone the center
back when they have new information on a rumor
they heard.
RESPONDING TO RUMOR CALLS
The ultimate success of a rumor control center depends on how rumor calls are handled. No amount of
accurate information will despel fears if the contact
between rumor central and the inquirer is unsatisfactory.
Officials of the Chicago Rumor Central note that
their personnel manned phones only two hours at a
stretch, because " it is an exhausting experience to
deal by telephone with hysterical or frightened persons."
Recognizing the need for skilled response to rumor
calls, the director of the rumor control center in Detroit, Michigan, issued special rumor-response instructions to his staff. The instructions distinguish the
types of calls received and suggest general responses.
The following briefly summarizes these guidelines:
Rumor-Response Guidelines (Detroit)
Crank Calls. These are defined as calls in which the
caller is either abusive or wishes to offer suggestions
for solving city problems. The staff should courteously hang up if a caller is abusive , obscene, or insulting. If callers want to offer suggestions, the staff
should be courteous, refrain from debate, and terminate the conversation as soon as possible.
Gossip . This would include information dealing with
a person's personal life (e .g., "ls _ _ _ going with
____ ?") In response to such inquiries, the staff
should state the function of the rumor control center
(e.g., an attempt to clarify distorted information, par·
ticularly concerning racial incidents, and to prevent
the spread of rumors) and point out that personal
information is not a part of this function.
Requests for Irrelevant Information. Persons often
call with rumors or questions not related to racial
incidents. When pos3ible, give a courteous answer to
the question and state the function of the rumor control center, emphasizing that this type of request is
not included in the center's function.
Rumors or Questions About Individuals, Organizations, or Agencies. Some callers will ask specific questions about other agencies· or organizations ( e.g. , Will
the police strike?) These persons should be referred
to the agency or group in question.
Speculative Rumors. Persons sometimes call with
vague rumors or questions about future racial incidents which cannot be investigated. Some of these
callers may be fearful, some concerned, and some
hostile. In any case, get as much information as the
caller is willing to give and respond in a way similar to
the following:
"There are no facts to substantiate this statement
as anything but a rumor. Riots are not inevitable, and
no one is able to predict what will happen in the
future . The city is prepared to handle any situation
that occurs, and we believe that the public good cannot be served by repeating rumors such as these."
Copies of the n;i.ayor's television speech are available for use in responding to these inquiries.
If the caller does not accept this statement of the
city's position, no further questioning, discussion, or
explanation should be offered. The call should be terminated with the statement that the center has made
a written report on the information and it will be
turned over to field investigators. Ask that if the caller gets any additional information, he turn it over to
rumor control for investigation.
A person may call with information about a future
event with specific facts that can be investigated.
In such cases, the staff should get as much information as possible, including a copy of any literature
being passed out if available, and explain that it will
be given to the field staff for further investigation. If
this information h as already been obtained , relate the
facts to the caller, clarifying any distortions. These
calls should be catalogued in a central information
file (e.g., three x five-inch cards identifying the incident in detail, along with a report of subsequent investigation) available to every staff member for use in
verifying rumors. If the caller wishes- to leave his
name and phone number, the staff should offer to
call back with info rmation uncovered.
Rumors on Past and Present Issues and Events. A
caller might ask a question or give information about
an incident which has already happened or is happening at the time of the call.
In these cases, obtain information and follow the
same response procedure as with future-even t rumors
noted above. Particularly, combat distortions with
the facts available and, where necessary, state that the
incident is still under investigation, the appropriate
authorities have been notified and are acting in response to the distortions, and this is all the information we have at this time.
5
�In general, the staff should be particularly aware
of the need to probe each call and try, if possible, to
convert the caller from believing the rumor as fact to
recognizing its source and questioning the reason for
its being spread.
Public Information During
Disorders
Rumor control is but a facet of the broader problem of managing public information during disorders.
At a special meeting in mid-1968, sponsored by the
National League of Cities, public information specialists compared notes on how they handled the information needs of the public and press during last summer's civil disturbances. Major points made at the
meeting are summarized here as a guide for planning
rumor control operations within the context of a total public information program for civil disorders.3
• Single information source: Many cities believe it
important to have a single central headquarters for
presenting information to the press and public. Most
of these "press centrals" are located either in city hall
(one city uses the council chamber) or in police headquarters. But several cities favor two information centers - one in the field for riot control information
and another in city hall for major policy statements
by the mayor and other officials. The two-center
approach is definitely advised for best control of
rumors.
• Adequate staffing and equipment: City information specialists or trained police officers of high
rank should man the press centers. Enough telephone
lines and facilities for radio and television coverage
also must be planned for.
• Intergovernmental coordination: Plans must be
made early to assure early coordinated release of information by local, state, and federal officials, preferably from one central point.
• Background and comparative data: Several cities
have fo und it useful, particularly in dealing with outof-town newsmen, to have background handouts prepared on what the city has already done to aUeviate
some of the stated causes of riots. Comparative data
regarding the number of arrests, crimes commited,
and fire calls during " normal" periods also are helpful
in giving perspective to incidents occurring during
riots.
• Advance conferences with news media: Most
6
3 Copies of Public Information and Civil Disorders, containing a meeting summary and texts of typical city emergency public information plans, may be obtained for $2.00
each from the National League of Cities, Department of Urban Studies, 16 12 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006.
cities recommend holding conferences with news
media representatives to get - if possible - agreement on how riots would be reported, particularly
the handling of rumors. Some cities use a 30-minute
voluntary system of withholding reports that a disturbance has occurred in the hopes that it can be
controlled in that time. Many reported success with
getting news media cooperation in first checking their
information with press central officials before broadcasting or printing it. Most of the public relations
officials agreed that trying to get a total press-radioTV embargo on disturbance news was impractical.
• Press identification: Some cities have special
color-coded badges and identification cards for newsmen which are issued at press headquarters. Outergarmept and vehicle emblems often are requested by
newsmen to prevent their being picked up by police
after curfew hours have begun.
Planning is perhaps the biggest need in meeting the
public information requirements during a civil disorder, the meeting concluded. In addition, many of the
specialists stressed the need for city officials to recognize the public relations aspects of their operations in
normal times if crisis announcements were to avoid a
"credibility gap."
Each of these recommendations can complement a
rumor control center and alleviate its problems.
Rumor Versus Rumor
During the height of last summer's riots, one caller
had a curious request for Chicago's Rumor Central:
"What are the latest rumors?"
Actually, it was not a completely foolish question,
for rumors can be used effectively to counter riots.
Rumors of peace, order, quiet, and racial cooperation
might prove more than helpful. After the death of
Martin Luther King, for example, Mayor John Lindsay of New York spread the rumor that New York
City was quiet. By covering up actual violence on
Friday night, many observers feel that the mayor
probably stopped outbreaks of arson and looting on
Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
Indeed, fighting rumor with rumor may weU be
the most effective technique available to city officials
for heading off civil disorders. The calm, restrained
voice of top city officials over TV and radio as rumors of riots are forming is essential to maintaining
citizen calm.
Yet in the final analysis, it is the individual citizen
who determines the life, growth , and death of a rumor. He can pass it on, he can embellish it - or he
can question its validity.
"In a potential panic situation," advises Dr. Farnsworth, "remain cool and collected." It is a difficult
prescription to fulfill, but city officials must take all
possible steps to fight the deadly conseque nces of
citywide panic.
�Appendix
Recommended Procedure for Setting
Up a Rumor Control Centra I*
Basically, Rumor Central consist s of te n
telephones connected on a sequential hunt
system, personnel to man th e telephon es, a
good system of communication with the police and fire departments and various other
private and public age ncies with staff in the
field, and two men to check out rumors and
to receive incoming reports from th ese departments. T he operation ca n be expanded
or decreased in size as the volume of calls
merits.
T here are five basic considerations in setting up a Ru mor Cen tral. Th ese are:
1. Publicizing the teleph one number
2. Phy sical eq uip me n t
3. Personnel
4 . Clearly defined procedures
5. Adequ ate system of com m un ica tion
with the police and fire de partments and
other sources of intelligence
Publicity
Once the d ec ision had been made to
establish Rumor Central , the City News Bureau, a ce ntral news-gathering agency, was
no tified. Information abou t the service went
out on its lines to all member media. Th e
press was give n the R umor Centr al number
and was told that it was a nu m ber where
citizens could rep ort inciden ts, chec k out
rum ors, and obtain o the r informa t ion relevant to civil d isorder. We received excell ent
cooperatio n fro m the news med ia. In add ition to using the informatio n as a public
service ann o uncement , many inclu ded it as a
news item .
• This appendix is excerpted from Ru-
mor Central, issued by the Chicago Comm ission on Huma n Relations. The recommended proced ure is that used by th e Commission's own Rumor Ce ntral.
Physical Operation
The operation should be centralized and
include:
Telephones. One phone numb er and from
two to ten phones connec ted on a sequ ential hunt, so tha t if the first is bu sy, the call
is relayed to the nex t line. Preferably , the
connected phones should not be lines used
by th e agency in the course of normal business. Two separate p hones tp be used ex clusively by research staff responsible for receiving police reports and checking rumors.
Large Map. Stree t map o f the city, vi sible to
all phones, covered by clear plastic, on
whi ch verified in cidents can be recorded.
Black board. Also clearly visible to ph ones,
on which verfied quie t areas and the nature
and progress of incidents may be record ed.
Telephone Notebooks. Notebooks to be
placed at each phone for telephone personnel to use as reso urce material in answe ring
questions. Each should include a street map
of the city to be used in routing callers
arou nd disord ers and xe roxed copies of reports and newspaper clippings giving de tail s
about curfew regulations, agencies distributing food , and o th er pertinent inform ation.
Con tac t Note books. One for eac h staff research man which includ es all im portant
ph one numbers to be used in chec king out
info rm atio n.
Forms. (1) Log for perso nnel t o tall y incoming calls an d rec o rd the co ntent o f im portant o nes. (2) Incide nt report form s for recording all verified police and fu e department informatio n, these to be compiled in a
permanent log. (3) Rumor check-out form s
for telephone personnel to give contact research staff requ esting that he check out a
rumor.
Personnel
During th e peak of disord ers, Rumor
Central was manned 24 hours a day . Pe rsonnel were assigned to day shifts, 8 a.m . to 6
p.m., or night shifts beginning at 6 :00 p.m .
In the evening, staff remained on duty
until the number of incoming calls began to
dwindle. Then the Commission answering
service took over, usually around 2: 00 a.m .,
relaying to a staff person at home only the
most important calls. The following personnel are recommended :
Supervisor.
Teleph o ne Personnel. One per phone, plus
several ex tra to relieve th em. To sup pleme nt
st aff, we enlisted the help of volunteers, primarily gradu ate stud ents.
A volun teer should have a good kn owledge of the ph ysical geogr aphy of a city and
th e location of major st ree ts, an understanding of the pro blem s that can occur during a
disorder, and an authoritative, reassuring
telephone manner.
All telephone person nel, staff and volunteers, received an initial briefing o n the correc t way to answer the phones and subsequent briefings before each shift to fill them
in on answers to current q uestions and details of on-going disturbances.
Research Contac t Men. Several staff members clearly identified as such to the telepho ne perso nnel and permanently available
7
�to take incoming police and fire reports and
check out rumors.
Oerk. To record all disturbances and verify
quiet areas on the blackboard, keep the map
up to date, reproduce and circulate information, and keep a permanent log of police
and fue reports.
Field Staff. As available and necessary, to go
to the scene of reported trouble and feed
back information. During the height of the
trouble, we stationed a man in the police
department where he could listen to all incoming reports and relay up-to-the-minute
information to us. In the future, we plan to
have our own radio receiving equipment so
that all incoming police reports will be received directly by our office.
Typical Calls and Procedure
for Handling
Incident Calls. Many people call to report an
incident or find out if a rumor they have
heard is true. For example, "I can see smoke
. and hear sirens from my apartment at _ _
Can you tell me what is happ ening?"
If a fue in that vicinity is recorded on
the blackboard, the person answering the
phone simply gives the caller the facts.
"Yes, th ere was a fue at ___ . It is under
control and the police have dispersed the
people who gathered."
If there is no report on the board, th e
8
operator records the location and nature of
th e rumor and relays it to the contact man
to check out. The caller may wait for confumation, but most are satisfied wit11 an answer like, Thank your for reporting it; we
are now checking it out." Once the information has been checked out, the facts are
given to all telephone personnel.
Information Calls. These include a wide
range of questions concerning curfew, location of the National Guard, and agencies distributing food and clothing. Many of these
questions can be anticipated and the answers explained prior to any shift and
included in the phone notebooks.
One frequent kind of information call is
on travel within the city. "I have to work
tonigh t and usually travel south on Western
Avenue. Is that route safe? " The operator
will refer to the big map and his street map,
then either answer, "We have no report of
trouble in that area. You shouldn't have any
problems," or "There have been fues on
that street and traffic is being rerouted. You
might detour and take Darnen."
Good Communications System
A Rumor Central operation is valuable
only to the extent that the information disseminated is correct. Consequently, good
outside contacts and efficient means of relaying information to telephone personnel
are essential.
The potential outside contacts should be
identified prior to the establishment of a
Rumor Central and their phone numbers recorded so th at any staff member can check
out rumors. These sources may include the
police and fue departments, city youth
agencies, . social centers, and other institutions that might be in the area of trouble or
have access to dependable information. Contact must be made with these agencies in
advance, letting them know they will be
contacted and requesting that they report to
Rumor Central if they have information.
The research men should also establish a
schedule for making routine checks with the
police department to obtain relevant reports. Contact was made with the police department at least every 20 minutes.
If fi eld staff are available, they can be
dispatched to trouble areas to report regularly.
Good communications within tlrn operation depend upon the clear definition of
resp onsibility and communication procedures. The research contact men are perhaps
the most vital part of the operation. All telephone personnel should know who is on
duty to check out rumors and should submit written requests for information to
these research men. After any report is
checked out with the police department, the
information should be recorded on the
blackboard for all perso nnel so that duplication of checking is avoided.
(
�