Go Abter the Pushers
Pig. 4
To The Edi ilytahy community people
came to the Arb ’ Hill Community Center to lis-
ten about drug a 2 xed the workshop. Many
concerned comm rea were waiting for a
chance to listen to — District Attorney,
who failed to appear because he had made other
plans to be at a Boy Scout program.
The D.A. sent two people in his place, one an
assistant D.A. and the other, an investigator.
_.The Assistant D.A. introduced him, then started
talking about a program the D.A. has. Its name
- is District Attorney Readiness Team (D.A.R.T).
This young man said this program is made up of
community people. Mr. Van Dyke asked, ‘‘Who ©
are these people?” The assistant D.A. could not
answer, because he had no knowledge. The only
knowledge he had was to explain what sections
of the law would pertain to the drug addict. This
-would only apply if the addict is arrested.
Many of the people at the meeting were more
concerned with what and how the D.A was going
to use his office to make some real arrests. We
were more concerned with the arrest of the big
and little pusher. Once this starts to happen then
we can focus our effort in dealing with the user
through drug programs and maybe eliminate
most drugs from our community. If the D.A.
" ‘@annot respond to the Inner City needs, then he
~ should step aside or hire a better investigator.
Come on, Mr. D.A. Albany is waiting.
GORDON D. VAN NEOS
SAM E. McDOWELL
26/7 e
Albany
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MOMENTS AFTER THE SHOOTING—Aides point out to police where the shot came from that struck their leader, Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr., who lies fatally wounded at their feet on the balcony of the Memphis, Tenn., motel. The photograph was
released by Life magazine, which obtained it exclusively from photographer Joseph Louw of Public Broadcats Laboratory.
Louw was in Memphis on assignment as assistant producer of a television show on Dr. King’s planned “poor people’s march,”
He was in his motel room two doors from Dr. King’s when he heard the shot, rushed out and photographed the scene. (Copy
right 1968 Time, Inc., via AP Wirephoto).
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OCCUPANTS SAFE—Twelve people became homeless as a result of a fire that began
in the rear of a frame dwelling at 136 Knox Street in Albany early today. Mr. and Mrs.
Theodore Burke and their six children resided on the first floor. They had to seek
refuge with neighbers. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Grady, who reside on the 2d floor,
and their two children are in Cleveland, Ohio, and unaware of the fire. The fire spread
to the adjoining home at 138 Knox Street, but occupants names are unknown. There
were no reported injuries at the two-alarm fire, which was reported at 4:27 a.m.
ll EME Te eo
and a lifelong
Obituaries
Gordon Van Ness, 50; founder
of ‘Brothers’ civil rights group
By Craig Brandon
Staff writer .
ALBANY — Gordon Van Ness, a
founder of the city’s home-grown
civil rights group
crusader for the Feuscss x Va
local black com- Baus We
Thursday. He Pigg :
was 50. | cs
He was a box- F
er’s son who saw §
discrimination
firsthand and
took an active,
and often ‘dan- ~<a
gerous, stand YanNess
against racism and bigotry.
He was arrested several times for
disorderly conduct during civil
rights protests in the 1960s.
He met the Rev. Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. and other national
leaders of the civil rights movement
and lived to see the day when a black
could run for president and hold
some of the top jobs in state
government.
Earlier this year, as the main
organizer of the Brothers reunion, he
looked at the progress blacks had
made and felt his place in the city’s
history was secure.
“Most people find it hard to
‘remember when there were no
blacks in the police department or —
fire department,” he told The Times
Union during an interview earlier
this year. “Blacks had no political
power. We were just votes the
machine could buy for $5. The
Brothers made them realize we were
a threat. After that blacks could
never be taken for granted.”
He was one of the black leaders
William Kennedy interviewed for
Kennedy’s informal history “O, Al-
bany!” .
As a member of the Brothers
during the civil rights unrest of the
Jate 1960s, he patrolled the streets of
Arbor Hill, defusing confrontations
between blacks and police and
helped set up community programs
to help blacks find jobs and housing.
That work continued for the rest
of his life. At the time of his death he
was active in minority adoption
programs, president of the Albany
black veterans group, the NAACP,
the Urban League and a member of
the Albany Human Rights Commis-
sion.
One of his last acomplishments
and the fulfillment of a longtime
dream was the opening of a Commu-
nity Referral Center on Clinton
Avenue to help minorities find their
way through the maze of red tape
involving utilities, welfare, housing,
schools, police and drug abuse. It
opened earlier this year.
“What we found in the ’60s is still
here in the ’90s,” Van Ness said in the
interview. “People just don’t know
where to go for the services they’re
entitled to, and we're basically
trying to build the bridge to close the
gap.”
The Rev. Clarence Newton, a
fellow founder of the Brothers, a
longtime friend and fellow founder
of the referral center, said Van Ness
was the type of man who came along
only once in a lifetime.
“He was one of the dedicated
Brothers right from the beginning,”
‘he said. “One of his dreams was to
set up this referral center and we did
that together. He was a brilliant
man, always striving for the next
goal. He was a quiet man, but he was
always there to help. He never
turned anyone down.”
One of his motivations for organiz-
ing a Brothers reunion earlier this
year, he said, was to make sure the
group’s efforts were clearly under-
stood by the younger generation of
blacks. :
His own son and granddaughter,
he said, knew little about the civil
rights movement and he hoped that
their work would not be forgotten.
Friends said it was now seemed as if.
Van Ness was setting the record
straight in preparation for his un-
timely death.
“Most people have forgotten about
us,” said Van Ness, “and that’s too
bad.” -
Van Ness was undergoing treat-
ment for cardiac arrhythmia and
died of a heart attack.
He was employed as an affirma-
tive action officer for the state
Health Department for more than
seven years. He counseled indivduals
who said they had been treated
unfairly and gave them career
guidance.
Lee VanDeCarr, Van Ness’ imme-
diate supervisor in the department,
said he was “a very caring person
who always had times to discuss
your needs. He had good, solid
advice for everyone. He was respect-
ed, not only because he was a good
employee, but because he was a good
person too.”
He is survived by his wife,
Mildred; two sons, Melvin Van Ness
of Albany and David Van Ness of
Albany; a foster son, Emanuel Mc-
Broom of Albany; his parents, Rich-
ard and Carrie Benson of Albany;
five sisters; Mary McIntosh, Diane .
Gordon, Sharlene Hermance, Carol
Simmons, Grace and Tammie Ben-
son, all of Albany; five brothers,
Richard Benson Jr., Albert Benson
and David Benson, all of Albany, ©
Wayne Benson of Dublin, Calif., and °
Tyrone Godlette of Springfield, Va.;
and two granddaughters.
A service will be at 1 p.m. Monday —
in Union Missionary Baptist Church
on Morton Avenue in Albany. |
Burial will be in Evergreen Me-.
morial Park in Colonie.
Calling hours are 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Monday in the church. |
Arrangements are by the Garland
Brothers Funeral Home of Albany.
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0