Bishops Welcomed by Black Community in Georgia
Diocesan Press Service. October 28, 1968 [70-17]
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Forty Bishops of the Episcopal Church stood in line in the dirt of a squalid settlement near Augusta, Georgia, and ate a "soul-food supper" of chitterlings, greens, blackeyed peas and fried chicken. The supper invitations had been extended to the House of Bishops by residents of Hyde Park, a community just outside of the city where 300 black families live without the benefit of sewage disposal, running water, paving or street lights.
They had invited the Bishops for two reasons -- to show appreciation for help given by Episcopalians and in turn to give the Churchmen a chance to meet the residents and see Hyde Park.
Things are bad in Hyde Park, but the situation has changed dramatically in the past four months. Until last June the community languished, ignored by both city and county governments. Augusta said the community was the responsibility of Richmond County. The County said it was the city's responsibility. Both looked the other way.
Last June 29, eight monks from the Episcopal Order of the Holy Cross, West Park, N.Y., came to Augusta for a visit. They asked the Rev. Edward O. Waldron, rector of St. Alban's Episcopal Church, Augusta, and chaplain of the Sisters of St. Helena, a companion order to the monks, what they could do to help the community.
Father Waldron, who also acts as chairman of the local community action committee, conveyed the offer to Hyde Park residents and shortly, thereafter, the monks moved in, provided by the residents with a house and furnishings. Soon the monks organized the people to picket the County Commission, to attend Commission meetings and to plead their cause. The County responded, and there will be water lines by March 1st.
After the monks left, application was made to the General Convention Special Program of the Episcopal Church, and a grant of $14, 190 is awaiting final action. The money will provide for a small staff and an office for the community association.
Response has come from the Augusta community as well. Four doctors from the Medical College of Georgia, three dentists from the Dental College and two nurses spend a day a week in Hyde Park providing medical services. Lawyers have offered legal aid and the children of the community are provided with tutoring under the auspices of Paine College, a Methodist institution, and with swimming lessons from the YWCA.
The Rt. Rev. George M. Murray, Bishop Coadjutor of Alabama, said that this was "a starting point for people to put their voices together to obtain their rights."
Daniel Cross, 42, director of Turpin Hill Neighborhood Center and resident of Hyde Park, commented:
"This is the best thing that ever happened in Augusta."
The Rt. Rev. William Marmion of Southwestern Virginia:
"It's just plain old good democracy. "