Twelve Grants Approved for Community Action Projects
Diocesan Press Service. February 19, 1970 [84-7]
GREENWICH, Conn. -- Twelve grants totalling $369,000 were approved for under the Episcopal Church's General Convention Special Program at the February meeting of the Church's Executive Council.
It was an action characterized by the usual long debate by Council members and an extended discussion of project goals and procedures followed by Executive Council staff members in consulting with Diocesan officials.
Two of the twelve grants were only tentatively approved, pending completion of Diocesan consultations.
The controversial three-year five-million-dollar Special Program was initiated by the Church's General Convention in 1967 and provides a means for assisting community organizations and other similar groups to develop programs for poor and powerless minorities.
In the past two years, the program has expended nearly three million dollars in assisting minority groups, including blacks, Puerto Ricans, Mexican- Americans and American Indians and Eskimos, to help themselves in a variety of community projects.
Four projects recommended for funding by the Council's Screening and Review Committee were challenged at the Council session. In each case many of the questions were concerned with consultations with local Diocesan officials and how they had been carried out by Executive Council staff.
Administrative procedures require consultation with the local Bishop before grants are made, although approval by the Bishop is not necessary.
A grant of $13,000 to the Black Radical Action Project, of Indianapolis, Ind., was approved, although a resolution passed by Council directed that "none of the funds be released until the Presiding Bishop receives from Bishop (John P.) Craine full and unqualified approval of the entire grant. "
Bishop Craine was reported to have approved of the project verbally, and the resolution asked for verification of this approval before the funds could be disbursed.
Another grant of $30, 000 for the United Organization for Community Improvement, of Durham, N.C., also was questioned because consultation with the Bishop of North Carolina had not been completed.
Leon E. Modeste, director of the Special Program, reported that relations between the Diocese of North Carolina and the Special Program are "at a stalemate" and that consultation was not possible at the present time.
The impasse is the result of a Special Program grant to the Malcolm X Liberation University in Durham which has been widely criticized by Church members in North Carolina.
The Council directed that a special committee be appointed to meet with Mr. Modeste and the Bishop of North Carolina "to endeavor to resolve procedural difficulties and the misunderstanding that have arisen between them."
The Presiding Bishop also was authorized to disburse the funds on an "emergency basis," but the resolution specified "that the grant not be made until after consultation. " Houston Wilson, Council member from Georgetown, Del., was appointed by the Presiding Bishop to be responsible for seeking consultation between the Diocese and Executive Council staff.
A requested grant of $30,000 for the Southern Media project, of Jackson, Miss., also was affected by a slight delaying action, but it was finally approved. Dr. Clifford P. Morehouse, in objecting to the grant, said that "we feel that consultation with the Diocese is incomplete."
A subsequent telephone call to the Bishop of Mississippi resulted in final approval.
Only one other grant was called into question, involving $10, 000 for the Committee on Indian Rights of the Colville Reservation, Nespelem, Wash. The Council decided that, although the Bishop of Spokane had expressed doubts about some aspects of the program, he favored some of it, and the vote endorsed the funding.
Following is a brief description of each of the projects receiving grants:
Black Radical Action Project, Indianapolis, Ind., $3,000 for training and $10,000 toward program expenses. BRAP is attempting to organize the black community of Indianapolis through black studies programs, communication between blacks, and the development of action groups and black leadership. It received a regular grant of $47,360 in 1968, $20, 000 of which was shared with College Room, and an emergency grant of $1, 000 in 1969 and has been instrumental in obtaining progressive legislation in such areas as welfare administration and addiction treatment; and in working with unions to eliminate unfair labor practices. The present grant from the GCSP and the training program are designed to assist BRAP in developing broadbased community support for continuing and expanding its program. An additional $5, 100 was approved on a 1:1 matching basis.
United Organization for Community Improvement, Durham, N.C., $30, 000. UOCI is a coalition of neighborhood councils engaged in programs of self-determination. Its four standing committees are concerned with housing, welfare, employment and political issues. Among plans for the future are an educational pro- gram for pre-school children which would deal with the children's self-image.
Southern Media, Jackson, Miss., $30,000. Southern Media is a film company which provides communication services for poor communities of the South where none previously existed, trains local persons in technical communication skills, provides audio-visual aids for use in community organization and development, and records community activities and social change. In all these endeavors it also attempts to present a positive image of the black man. A part of the Poor People's Corporation, Southern Media received a previous grant from GCSP in 1968 of $30,000. Among its activities since that time was the production of a film, "Grand Marie, " on the work of a sweet potato cooperative funded by GCSP. Also approved was an additional $15,000 on a 1:1 matching basis.
Committee on Indian Rights of the Colville Reservation, Nespelem, Wash., $10,000. The Committee on Indian Rights has been organized by Indians living on the Colville Reservation to oppose termination of the reservation proposed by the present Tribal Council. Funds from the GCSP will be used to inform tribal members of the issues involved in termination and in waging a campaign to elect members to the Tribal Council who oppose such termination.
White Eagle Community Development Association, Ponca City, Okla., $20, 000. This Indian community organization carries out programs designed to meet the social, economic and educational needs of their community. Previously funded by a regular grant of $20, 000 in 1968 and a $3,614 emergency grant in 1969, the Association already has established Ponca language and history classes, a small cooperative grocery, a radio program, a youth recreation program, a legal aid clinic and an employment bureau. The present grant from the GCSP will enable the group to continue and to expand its program, providing funds for staff, supplies and other office expenses.
Academy of Black Culture, Savannah, Ga., $10,000. The Academy of Black Culture is attempting to unite the black community of Savannah through cultural and service activities. It has also become an instrument for focusing attention on the problems of that community. Among the programs which the grant from GCSP will make possible are a black studies program, a fine arts program and a recreation program.
Drum and Spear Press, Inc., Washington, D.C., $60,000. The Drum and Spear Press is a community organized and controlled publishing company. It was established to assist with the community projects in which the Drum and Spear Bookstore is engaged. It proposes to make black material such as short papers available at no cost to individuals, community organizations and other groups, and to publish selected titles, including a paperback edition of The House of Bondage, a photographic essay by Ernest Cole, a black South African in exile. The Drum and Spear Bookstore, itself, was funded by GCSP in 1968. Up to $15,000 was also approved on a 1:1 matching basis.
Center for Black Education, Washington, D.C., $50,000. The Center for Black Education is organized by and for the residents of the Cardozo area of Washington. Located on a "hard" block -- where all the people are black and poor and many are on welfare, unemployed or suffering from tuberculosis -- the Center is running a course of study on African World Reality, Communicative Skills, Culture and Consciousness and Human Development. It also expects to begin a health service program and a pre-school educational program shortly. Up to $10,000 was also approved on a 1:1 matching basis.
South End Tenants Council, Inc., Boston, Mass., $27,000. The South End Tenants Council, which received a previous grant of $18,000 from GCSP in 1968, has developed a new independent tenants' development corporation, nurtured a non-profit or limited profit tenant management corporation, begun a tenants' rehabilitation corporation and was among the founders of a statewide tenants' organization. Using the resources of the South End black community, it rehabilitated a number of buildings and has entered into negotiations with the Boston Rehabilitation Authority to become the redeveloper for a six-square- block area. The present grant from the GCSP will be used for staff, program and office expenses.
Afro-American Players Theatre Group, Inc., Yakima, Wash., $41,000. Afro-American Players Theatre Group is an organization of black youth who are using drama to organize the total community for social, political and economic programs. They received a previous grant from GCSP of $25, 000 in 1968.
United Front, Cairo, Ill., $68,000. The United Front is a coalition of organizations in Cairo, including the NAACP. Working in cooperation with United Fronts in Springfield, Chicago, Peoria and East St. Louis under the aegis of the United Christian Front, this organization has coordinated an economic boycott of Cairo's downtown stores, has organized political campaigns for local offices, and is beginning a program of economic development. The United Front, which received an emergency grant of $10,000 in 1969, will use the funds to sustain its office and staff expenses, develop its economic program further, continue political organizing and finance leadership training classes. Up to $15,000 was also approved on a 1:1 matching basis.
Vine City Foundation, Atlanta, Ga., $3,000 for training and $7,000 for survival. Vine City Foundation is a community organization operating self- help programs, primarily economic. Among its various programs are a thrift shop, craft shop, nursery, medical clinic, food club and bread club, family planning clinic and emergency assistance. It received a previous grant of $30, 000 from the GCSP in 1968.
It was also reported that two emergency grants had been approved by the Presiding Bishop since the last Council meeting. The White Eagle Community Development Association, which received a regular grant at this Council meeting, was given an emergency grant of $3,614. The Central Coordinating Council of Alcatraz Indian Territory, Alcatraz Island, received an emergency grant of $3,000.