Terence Dicks, a longtime community activist and member of the Richmond County Board of Elections, died earlier this week after an illness.
Dicks was an avid Democrat and former state coordinator for the Progressive Democrats of America who advocated for transit, disability rights, equal justice and other causes.
“He was a wonderful friend and very, very good Democrat,” said Lowell Greenbaum, chairman emeritus of the Richmond County Democratic Party. “We spoke almost daily, and he would make predictions and so forth about elections. I enjoyed tremendously his insight into the progressive part of the party.”
Greenbaum nominated Dicks to serve as a Democratic member of the Richmond County Board of Elections, which is comprised of two Democrats, two Republicans and one nonpartisan member. Dicks had held the post since 2013.
Dicks, who attended Westside High School, formerly served as Augusta director for the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda. He attended President Obama’s inauguration in 2013 and was the 2019 Augusta Bar Association’s Liberty Bell Award winner, which goes to a non-lawyer advocate for legal rights.
Dicks chaired the Augusta Transit Citizens Advisory Committee and founded a group, “Claiming a Street Named King,” dedicated to economic development along streets named for Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., and held numerous other posts.
“He was a strong advocate for the disabled community and he worked very closely with transit to make sure all voters had access to polling places,” said Travis Doss, executive director for Richmond County Board of Elections. “He was a consummate public servant who put the needs of citizens above his own.”
Dennis Williams, the former commissioner and former president of the Augusta chapter of the NAACP, said Augusta has lost a respected community member.
“I’ve been knowing Terence for a good number of years and he’s always been out on the streets working with the state Democratic Party, the board of elections and the local committee and he’s always been dedicated to the cause,” Williams said.
Augusta Commissioner Jordan Johnson, who is chairman of the county party, said Dicks remained committed to the end, voting on elections board items from his hospital bed.
“Terence spent his life fighting for the rights of everyday people and was a stalwart for all things equality in our community,” Johnson said. “His heart showed through his decades of service. He believed that the voice of the people was the most important voice, and he fought for people and their rights until he was physically unable.”
