I know you can’t see me, but I’m standing up and clapping as I write this column. I’m applauding Augusta University for its foresight on diversity. I was able to attend the naming of its largest ballroom to reflect the many accomplishments of Dr. Roscoe Williams.
For a little background, Dr. Roscoe Williams was the first African-American dean on the campus of what was then Augusta College. He was the one who laid the groundwork for many in academia and he brought many with him as he moved upward.
This was reflected in many stories that were told; from a former student’s perspective — Henry Ingram, a trustee of the University — to the Vice Chancellor of the Georgia Regents and the dean that followed Williams, Joyce Jones.
It was a “Who’s Who” of education personnel in Augusta in attendance. This event was star-studded, but more importantly, it was just what was needed. The creation of the diversity and inclusion board on the campus has been phenomenal. You can see the impact on the students and the community around them who are so supportive. AU is a school that’s getting it right. I mean, a school keeping it right.
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Speaking of getting it right… Commissioner Alvin Mason had his first community event this past weekend. It was a Community Meet and Greet, Lunch and Vaccination. It involved elected officials, city departments and community partners all there to take time to speak with citizens.
Commissioner Mason left no stone unturned. I was very impressed to see the number of people being vaccinated at this event. I stopped Richmond CountyBoard of Education Member A.K. Hasan, who is running for County Commissioner, and asked what he thought about the event.
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He responded, “I will be doing the same thing in my community to keep them informed.”
Speaking of staying informed… The community is abuzz with the recent outbreak of gun violence in our area. You will hear and see people post about putting down the guns and stopping the violence. However, the loudest comments center on the fact that the sheriff has said nothing.
I don’t believe anyone is looking for the sheriff to have any profound words about what he will do, but I do believe people look toward him for safety and assurance. I believe our law enforcement officers are doing everything they can to keep our community safe. They are going to need the support from us to help them keep our streets safe. We have had two or three of our most recent shootings in broad daylight. They took place in high traffic areas where the shooters were clearly visible.
Speak and say something! Stop protecting bad people. The same thing goes for school violence: when you see something, say something. From guns in schools to fist fights, something has got to give. Last week, I was sent info about four fights occurring in one day in our Richmond County schools. In my mind, I see staff being apprehensive about stepping in or not stepping in at all. That comes from a lack of support.
It might be that staff members are thinking they are going to lose their jobs because they have to break up a fight. That’s because we let bad parents come up and complain about their horrible children and try to get our teachers fired. On the other side, the teacher could be a lady and could possibly get hurt trying to break up a fight. So, it goes on while other teachers and staff members stand there and watch them try to break up a fight… I will talk more about that in a few weeks.
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In other exciting news, I would like to informally announce the formal announcement of what I have been talking about the last few weeks. I truly believe our mayor is on to bigger and better things. With the top of the ticket still looming, I just feel that if our mayor could do anything, he definitely could be the front runner for any position at the state level.
He took on the governor on national news organizations during the beginning of this pandemic. He is very articulate and has more words at his disposal than are found in the dictionary. So, I may have misspoke when I said he would be leaving for a cabinet position and in fact, he may be leaving to run for… something a little closer to home. And that makes a lot of sense.
Now, with our last surprise announcement for mayor getting ready to come from… Well, let’s hold off on that. I was getting ahead of myself again.
Michael Meyers is a Columnist for The Augusta Press. Reach him at Michael.meyers@theaugustapress.com
