This column appears in this week’s edition of Urban Pro Weekly.
Forty years ago, in the old St. Joseph’s Hospital, I was born. I love Augusta. Always have, always will. When I see people promoting a project with a tagline of “Building Augusta’s Future,” I’m all ears. If the project is promising new jobs, economic impact and exciting acts, even better.
I just believe we can do those things independent of a $400 million price tag.
Anything that you love, you must learn, and so it goes with Augusta. There are some people who want a new entertainment complex, but haven’t yet made peace with the city’s governmental complex.
I was a younger reporter more than a decade ago when conversations were had over the boondoggles known as the convention center and the parking deck. Since that time, I have wondered how the city could have used those funds more constructively.
The answer wasn’t in buildings or businesses. The answer has always been and will always be the people.
It’s tough for me to talk about building a new entertainment house, when so many Augustans are homeless. It’s tough to talk about the promises of shuttles to alleviate potential parking problems with a downtown arena, when lack of transportation denies opportunities to so many.
This isn’t just an Augusta problem – it’s a national problem. Society prioritizes entertainment over empowerment, and we elect men and women who carry out this shallow agenda. I’m not disregarding the arts – Lord knows, as someone who works in the media and as someone who has young children, I believe in the enriching cultural power of music and storytelling.
I also understand that part of the reason why Augusta can’t get big acts is because of the government’s refusal to allow Black media to tell this city’s story. I can personally attest to reaching out to the entertainment companies who carry Augusta’s name, only to be ignored or unheard. That infrastructure is just as important to promoting community and raising arenas as the physical materials we use to build.
I find this conversation ironic as I notice a certain devil in the details – the disappearance of James Brown’s name in talks of a new Augusta arena. For Brown’s flaws, there were two things that he valued – people and the power of the media. This is why the holiday charity events which carry his name still endure, and why his legacy as a radio station owner, ever hidden in plain sight, shows his power as an entertainment mogul. Leaving Brown’s name out of the arena and out of the entertainment conversation is like putting a statue of James Brown in town that pales in comparison to other nearby statues, much less the white and racist confederate monument only a few blocks down the street. Surely Augusta wouldn’t allow that to happen.
Augusta has an opportunity to help people, and it isn’t through an entertainment arena. We can increase economic impact, create new jobs, bring in new acts and raise community morale by improving transportation, building houses for the homeless and creating the type of partnerships between Black media, the government and the community that inform and empower us all.
We can do all of that for well under $400 million. Best of all, we get to keep the change.
Feature photo via the Jordan Trotter website.
Ken J. Makin 