Vote No March —Floyd E Rose

Seen yesterday. -jsq

Never before in the history of Valdosta have its citizens been met with a greater challenge. The most powerful business interests in our city have conspired to deceive us with a scheme to dilute the black vote, and thereby rob our community of the political and economic benefits to which we are rightly entitled.

We make up 55 percent of the city's population. However, we are only 34 percent of the county's population. If the city and county governments are consolidated, which is the real goal of the Committee for Educational Excellence (CUEE), we will lose forever the opportunity to have access to the millions of federal dollars that will come to Valdosta, with which we can rebuild our community; monies that we are now going to the North side.

This is, and never has been, about school unification. However, legally

they cannot consolidate the city and county governments without first unifying the two school districts. CUEE is spending thousands of dollars on ads directed at black voters. Why? Their children don't attend the public schools! They're using Dr. King's words and image to promote something that he was for as a means to achieve something that he was against; that is, the dilution of the black vote.

As president of the Valdosta-Lowndes county chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the civil rights organization which he founded, I was personally offended to see CUEE use Dr. King's words and image in their scheme of deception, and it should insult the intelligence of everybody who loved and respected him, whatever their color, creed, or religion.

The Valdosta Daily Times will be featuring a Guest Column that I submitted this week. Please read it for a greater explanation of this issue, and please join us for our "Vote No March" led by former superintendent, Sam Allen, Saturday, October 22, at 9:00 A.M. The mach will begin at the Chamber of Commerce and end at the Martin Luther King Memorial.

Hundreds of us will say "Not this time. Not now!

Please share this email with others on your email list.

I appreciate you, always.

Floyd