Guest Columnist- George Rhynes

Here in South Georgia there appears to be an asserted effort to block
citizens from reaching their higher consciousness!

Recently, an International Exhibit "SANKOFA"known around the world as
"An African American Museum on Wheels" It is considered the foremost
collection of African American History---with over 1,500 artifacts.
This collection is compiled and owned by Angela Jennings, a South Carolina
Native.

The exhibit spans the period from 1860 to present, and beyond. The
exhibit was displayed at Valdosta State University.

However, here in South Georgia it never made the front page of our
local newspaper or was reported on local television. This lack of coverage did
not come as a shock to local citizens.

For example: There is (Now) an 1860 City Charter displayed near the
Valdosta Municipal Courtroom in Valdosta that reads, (Section XI), "The
Mayor and Council shall pass all proper and necessary laws or ordinances
for the control of slaves, and free persons of color in said town and
suppress, and abate all nuisances arriving from hogs, dogs, horses, or
other stock straying at large in said town, or from other causes"

Other items excluded from local news media are: Eleven inmates in the
Lowndes County Jail requesting help from an outside source to
investigate the denial of their individual Constitutional Rights, incidents being
swept under the rug involving an alleged weapon, problems filing state
complaint forms and getting them notarized, Lowndes County Board of
Commissioners failure to respond to inmates request of 23 Aug 2003.
Also eye-witnesses' in the arrest and death of a Black male motorist were never
called as witnesses.

Moreover, candidates running for public office are not treated the same
at news conferences, and the way they are endorsed by local news media,
valid registered election problems never published during a recent
Mayoral, and City Council race, alleged gang activity have senior citizens
afraid to come out of their homes, marches and protests against the war
with Iraq, local school being built on a controversial site
(hazardous), controversial opinion columns and editorials excluded from the
public, citizens to be heard at public meetings are seldom published unless
they are a group, or organization, hazardous railroad tracks in the
Black community not published, several local merchants continuos problems
with panhandlers and loitering, Valdosta Lowndes County Conference
Center has only one Black full time employee, while all employees of the
work crews are black---with no job benefits, white applicants with medical
problems being hired over blacks, present and former employees
complaining of unfair hiring practices and promotions at public establishment.
However, little investigative reporting is done to gather the facts
surrounding these items of interests.

Therefore, local citizens have been forced to use Message Boards,
Blogs, Internet, and other news outlets to keep Free Speech, and Press
alive. Unquestionably, citizens must start their own newsletter, or
newspaper in this South Georgia Town. Peace!


George Rhynes
A concerned citizen and brother of humanity!