Community of Excellence Strategy

1. Community of ExcellenceStrategy Blacks Against Black Crime The Kwanzaa Gallery Rite of Passage Program

2. BABC Mission Statement • The mission of Blacks Against Black Crime, Inc. is to eliminate the reasons for Black people to commit homicide or any type of crime against ourselves or others; and harness our energies toward constructive individual and community development Ms. Barbara Thurmond Co-Founder, BABC

3. UNLEASHING THE POTENTIAL FOR EXCELLENCE • T - Talent/Time: recognizing them as gifts • H - Hope for good things and being honest • I - gaining Insight from people and good books • N - being NICE to all people (sociable) • K - increasing Knowledge: recognize it as the key to living a successful life • B - Books: reading them actively • I - In-depth learning skills: developing them • G - GOD: never get too big for Him Courtesy of Blacks Against Black Crime, Inc.

4. Vision: To eliminate the reasons for Black people to commit homicide or any type of crime against ourselves or others. Violence Elimination Enhance Community Awareness Reduction Economic Violence C-1 Reduction Domestic Violence C-2 Provide Quality Educational Experience C-6 Enhance Learning Environment C-7 Community / Residents Equity in Criminal Justice Administration Assure Outcome-Based Adjudication C-3 Enhanced Quality Prosecution & Defense C-4 Exceed Community Satisfaction/Expectation C-5 Black on Black Crime Education / Training Excellence in Judicial Administration Expand Area Training Opportunities IP-12 Prevent Conformity to Violence & Injury IP-1 Effectively Manage Judicial Data IP-7 Leverage Social Science, Economy &Technology IP-4 Maintain and Modernize Alternative Solutions IP-10 Provide Diversified Life Skills Experience IP-14 Develop Root Cause Analysis & Correction IP-2 Feedback Adjusts Resourcing Decisions Provide Consistent Monitoring / Intervention IP-11 Optimize Judicial Effectiveness IP-5 Reduce Market Appeal Judicial System IP-9 Internal Processes Promote Think Bigger Experience IP-13 Ensure Nonviolent Intervention IP-3 Improve Judicial Efficiency IP-6 Enhance Violence Research IP-15 Assess Incidents and Cases for Lessons IP-4 Empowerment Through Tools and Training Learning & Growth Train a Professional Volunteer Force L-1 Align Mission With Culture L-2 Optimize Automation & Technology L-3 Stewardship of Resources Utilize Resources Effectively F-2 Align Resources with Changing Missions F-3 Secure Levels of Funding F-1 Finance

5. Vision Statement • To carry to Think Bigger Message across Augusta/Richmond County to dissuade crime and violence in homes and communities. • BABC to conduct series of meetings city-wide to residents, particularly African Americans.

6. Lift Every Voice and Sing Lift every voice and sing Till earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty; Let our rejoicing rise High as the listening skies, Let it resound loud as the rolling sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us, Facing the rising sun of our new day begun Let us march on till victory is won.

7. Lift Every Voice and Sing Stony the road we trod, Bitter the chastening rod, Felt in the days when hope unborn had died; Yet with a steady beat, Have not our weary feet Come to the place for which our fathers sighed? We have come over a way that with tears has been watered, We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered, Out from the gloomy past, Till now we stand at last Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

8. Lift Every Voice and Sing God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, Thou who has brought us thus far on the way; Thou who has by Thy might Led us into the light, Keep us forever in the path, we pray. Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee, Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee; Shadowed beneath Thy hand, May we forever stand. True to our God, True to our native land.

9. STOP THE KILLING • CDC Officials predicted that of children born in 1989, one of every 117 Black females and one of every 27 Black males will become Homicide Statistics. Most will be murdered by other African Americans

10. BLACKS AGAINST BLACK CRIMEA non-profit community service group dedicated to • Stop the violence • Stop the madness • Stand in the Gap for the Black Community • Think Big & Bigger • Community and youth development • Victims Rights in Criminal Justice. • The eradication of street crime. • The elimination of assault weapons. • The ultimate defeat of racism and racial discrimination in the administration of justice. • Email: babc@bellsouth.net or write P.O. Box 12394, Augusta, Georgia 30914

11. BLACKS AGAINST BLACK CRIMEA non-profit community service group dedicated to • Stop the violence • Stop the madness • Stand in the Gap for the Black Community • Think Big & Bigger • Improve community and youth development • Advocate Victims Rights in Criminal Justice. • The eradication of street crime and gang violence. • The elimination of drugs and assault weapons. • The ultimate defeat of racism in through the administration of justice.

12. BLACKS AGAINST BLACK CRIMEAnnual Victims Rights Brunch National Crime Victims Rights Week America’s Values : “Maximizing Communications and Service” Guest Speaker TBA County Chief Assistant Solicitor Community Resource Center 2x April 200x, 10:00 a.m. No Cost for Admission For Information call: (706) 737-0054

13. Love Peace Self-Control and Discipline Tolerance and Patience Determination Wisdom Strong and Just Government Mutual Respect Responsibility Deliverance God’s Grace and Mercy Join BABC Community Prayer VigilPray for one of these everyday

14. Goal • Raise awareness by all. At all levels • Expand the Think Bigger Concept • Reduce Violence, Illegitimacy and Gun Control • Expand Conflict Resolution • Promote Effective Parenting • Increase Cultural Awareness/Diversity • Increase Intervention via Education

15. Objective • Eliminate injustice and double standards in all institutions, particularly criminal justice. • High Standard of Gun Control within city limits. • Reinforce mandatory minimum sentencing. • Maximize bonds to maximize prosecutorial effectiveness and increase public safety.

16. Today’s Situation • Judicial Inefficiency • Epidemic increase of violence incl. Black on Black violence. • Monitored causal factors not addressed. • BABC Alliance w/ Georgians Against Gun Violence and National Organization for Victims Advocacy.

17. How Did We Get Here? • County Homicide Rates 1991-Present • Biased criminal justice system • Lapse in timely prosecution and punishment. Victims’ Rights. • Lack of gun control. Easy accessibility. • Ignored public safety in low bonds. • BABC “Stop the Killing” Campaign

18. I've learned.... No one in the world is perfect until you fall in love with them.

19. I've learned.... That it's the small things that happen everyday that make life so spectacular.

20. I've learned.... That money doesn't buy class, happiness, or respect.

21. I've learned.... That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.

22. I've learned.... That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an old person

23. I've learned.... That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.

24. I've learned ... That it is best to give advice in only two circumstances; when it is requested and when you’ve taken your own advice.

25. I've learned.... That life is tough, but I'm tougher.

26. I've learned.... That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.

27. I've learned.... That when you plan revenge against someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

28. I've learned.... That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs friends to act silly with.

29. I've learned... That everyone deserves to be appreciated and loved.

30. I've learned.... That I can't choose how I feel, but I can choose what I do about it.

31. I've learned.... That the Lord didn't do it all in one day. What makes me think I can?

32. I've learned.... That when you're in love, it shows.

33. I've learned.... That I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in some other way.

34. I've learned.... That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to spend time and listen to people smarter than I am.

35. I've learned.... That being kind is more important than being right.

36. I've learned.... That just one person saying to me, "You've made my day!" actually makes my day.

37. I've learned.... That “Prejudice” is the child of Mr. and Mrs. Ignorant.

38. LAW ONE • ALWAYS MAKE YOUR FUTURE BIGGER THAN YOUR PAST. • A bigger future is essential for lifetime growth. The past is useful because it is rich with experiences that are worth thinking about in new ways – and all of these valuable experiences can become raw material for creating an even bigger future. Approach your past with this attitude, and you will have an insatiable desire for even better, more enjoyable experiences. Use your past to continually create a bigger future, and you will separate yourself from situations, relationships, and activities that can trap you in the past.

39. LAW TWO • ALWAYS MAKE YOUR LEARNING GREATER THAN YOUR EXPERIENCE. • Continual learning is essential for lifetime growth. You can have a great deal of experience and be no smarter for all of the things you’ve done, seen, and heard. Experience alone is no guarantee of lifetime growth. But if you regularly transform your experiences into new lessons, you will make each day of your life a source of growth. The smartest people are those who can transform even the smallest events or situations into breakthroughs in thinking and action. Look at all of life as a school, and every experience as a lesson, and your learning will always be greater than your experience.

40. LAW THREE • ALWAYS MAKE YOUR CONTRIBUTION BIGGER THAN YOUR REWARD. • Increased contribution to others is essential for lifetime growth. As you become more successful, numerous rewards will come your way: increased income, praise, recognition, reputation, status, capabilities, resources, and opportunities. These are all desirable things, but they can be growth stoppers. They may tempt you to become fixated on just the rewards, rather than focus on making still greater contributions. The one way to guarantee that rewards will continually increase is to not think too much about them. Instead, continue making an even more significant contribution – by helping others to eliminate their dangers, capture their opportunities, and maximize their strengths. Greater rewards will automatically result from this, and your future will continue to be filled with increasingly rewarding ways to contribute. Always focus on creating new kinds of value for larger numbers of people, and you will ensure that your contribution is always greater than your reward.

41. LAW FOUR • ALWAYS MAKE YOUR PERFORMANCE GREATER THAN YOUR APPLAUSE. • Increased performance is essential for lifetime growth. If you become more skillful and useful, you will receive greater applause from an expanding audience. This can be intoxicating, and the temptation will be to start organizing your life around other people’s recognition and praise to keep repeating what got you the applause in the first place – rather than moving on to something new, better, and different. When this happens, the danger is that the applause will become more important to you than your improved performance. The greatest performers in all fields are those who always strive to get better. No matter how much acclaim they receive, they keep working to improve their performance. Continually work to surpass everything you’ve done so far, and your performance will always be greater than your applause.

42. LAW FIVE • ALWAYS MAKE YOUR GRATITUDE GREATER THAN YOUR SUCCESS. • Increased gratitude is essential for lifetime growth. Only a small percentage of people are continually successful over the long run. These outstanding few recognize that every success comes through the assistance of many other people – and they are continually grateful for this support. Conversely, many people whose success stops at some point are in that position because they have cut themselves off from everyone who has helped them. They view themselves as the sole source of their achievements. As they become more self-centered and isolated, they lose their creativity and ability to succeed. Continually acknowledge others’ contributions, and you will automatically create room in your mind and in the world for much greater success. You will be motivated to achieve even more for those who have helped you. Focus on appreciating and thanking others, and the conditions will always grow to support your increasing success.

43. LAW SIX • ALWAYS MAKE YOUR ENJOYMENT GREATER THAN YOUR EFFORT. • Enjoyment is essential for lifetime growth. Some people believe that success has to be hard earned to be real. They are highly suspicious of any gains that come as a result of enjoyment. If they earn rewards this way inadvertently, they feel guilty. If others appear to be profiting from enjoyment, they question those people's morality, certain that such gains can only be ill-gotten. Meanwhile, they continue to toil away at things that give them no pleasure, suppressing any hints of enjoyment that may creep through, lest these be interpreted as signs that they’re not “serious” or “professional” and deserving of success. In the process, they cut themselves off from a major source of energy, creativity, and motivation. Finding ways to get more and more enjoyment from your activities is one way to ensure continued growth. Creativity in all fields of activity is intimately linked to playfulness – the constant desire to do new things just for the fun of it. Approach everything you do with this sense of play, and you will ensure that, even though you still get as good or better results, your enjoyment is always greater than your effort.

44. LAW SEVEN • ALWAYS MAKE YOUR COOPERATION GREATER THAN YOUR STATUS. • Cooperation is essential for lifetime growth. When people come together around a common purpose, they can achieve results that no individual could accomplish alone. Working with others and creating opportunities for increased cooperation makes greater things possible in our lives and in the world. Yet some people mistakenly assume that if they work with others or treat them as equally valuable contributors, people will somehow think less of them, or it will diminish or obscure the value of their own contribution. These people’s attachment to their status keeps them from cooperating with others and puts a ceiling on their growth. Always make your cooperation greater than your status, and you will find unlimited possibilities and synergies in combining your talents and opportunities with those of others.

45. LAW EIGHT • ALWAYS MAKE YOUR CONFIDENCE GREATER THAN YOUR COMFORT. • Increased confidence is crucial for lifetime growth. Many successful people start off life as dreamers and risk takers, but the moment they become successful, they begin to seek greater security and comfort over everything else. This attitude puts them to sleep motivationally, and they lose the confidence that made them so successful. Security and comfort are desirable by-products of goal achievement, but when they become the goal itself, they quickly stop lifetime growth. Treat any increase of comfort in your life as only a temporary stage for establishing bigger goals. Continually strive for higher goals and achievement, and your confidence will always be greater than your comfort.

46. LAW NINE • ALWAYS MAKE YOUR PURPOSE GREATER THAN YOUR MONEY. • Greater purpose is essential for lifetime growth. Many people start off their careers thinking that money is the goal. Money can be a useful measure of success or progress in certain circumstances, and it’s a resource we can use to realize greater possibilities, but at some point money without purpose loses its meaning. Money as an end becomes a growth stopper. Having a purpose that is greater than yourself will give you a constant impetus to strive. Purpose gives life meaning and helps us to direct and focus our talents and efforts. It also attracts the talents and energies of others whose purposes align with our own. Think of money only as a means of achieving a greater purpose, and you’ll attract all the resources and rewards that make up a rich life, not just money.

47. LAW TEN • ALWAYS MAKE YOUR QUESTIONS BIGGER THAN YOUR ANSWERS. • Questions are essential for lifetime growth. As children, when we’re all growing at a rapid rate, we ask lots of questions. As we get older, we gradually begin to think we have a lot of the answers. For some people, their entire sense of security and self-image depends on having all the answers – on never being wrong. As a result, these people try to understand everything in terms of what they know. But all growth lies in the territory of the unknown. What we already know is in the past. What we have yet to discover is the future. Always make your questions bigger than your answers, and you’ll keep drawing yourself into a bigger future with new possibilities.

48. Popular Black Novelistsand Short Story Writers Tina McElroy Ansa James Baldwin Hal Bennett Anita Richmond Bunkley Octavia Butler Bebe Moore Campbell Charles W. Chesnutt

49. Popular Black Novelistsand Short Story Writers Michelle Cliff J. California Cooper Eric Jerome Dickey Ralph Ellison Percival Everett Ernest Gaines Marita Golden

50. Popular Black Novelistsand Short Story Writers Virginia Hamilton E. Lynn Harris Zora Neale Hurston Charles Richard Johnson Jamica Kincaid Sandra Kitt Benilde Little