Starting at home
Woman works to better Altoona, local communities for more than 40 yearsBy Phil Ray, pray@altoonamirror.com
Article Photos
Alice E. Lawrence of Altoona says it makes her want to cry seeing young men in prison - many involved with drugs - on the verge of wasting their lives.
As a mother of eight children, she knows that drugs are bad for a community.
"Nobody wants drugs in their town, nobody. It's bad when you are raising children," she said.
But Lawrence also empathizes with the many young people in prison, who are only 18, 19 or 20 years old, facing long jail terms and ruined lives.
That's why Lawrence, chairwoman of the executive board of the NAACP in Blair County, joins fellow NAACP leaders Don Witherspoon and William Sweet several times a week to attend court cases and visit county and state prisons in Blair and surrounding counties.
The trio meets with inmates, prison administrators and even judges - all in an effort to make sure the justice system is being fair, not only to black inmates but to anyone who needs their help.
"We don't act like attorneys. We go out to see [the inmates] get a fair shake," Lawrence said.
Lawrence is an exuberant woman with a hearty laugh and a good sense of humor. She has been active in Altoona and Blair County for more than 40 years.
Her work with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the justice system is just one of many ways in which she is giving back to her hometown and the county she loves so deeply.
She expounds traditional values. People, white or black, need to take responsibility for their lives, she said.
Lawrence remembers raising her large family at Fairview Hills, saying "back then, it really took a village to raise a child."
She said the Fairview Hills community was like a big family, and if anyone saw a child doing something wrong, he or she told him about it.
The other side is that people need help sometimes to improve their lives, and she has tried to be one of the those individuals who act as a "boot strap" for people to raise themselves up.
For example, she was among a small group of people back in the 1960s who saw the need for improved housing in Altoona. She, along with pioneers in the local housing movement such as Lucy Johnson, Lois Hileman, Nina Kennedy and Miriam Ritchey, met after church every week with the Rev. John Jameson to talk about housing.
That led to a bus tour of Altoona, showing ministers and others the atrocious conditions in which many people lived. It spurred the formation of a group that eventually became Improved Dwellings for Altoona.
IDA, as it is known, now operates hundreds of units for the elderly and families in central Pennsylvania
Lawrence is insistent that the job is not done. Young people, she said, still need places to live, to get on their feet.
Despite having seven sons and a daughter with her husband, Grover, who died in 1987, Lawrence worked for 36 years running a sweater-shaping machine at Warnaco, an Altoona company that closed several years ago.
"That was a nice place to work. We had a good time there. Most of the people who worked there were family, a lot of husbands and wives," she said.
Lawrence can remember when the city's downtown was all "hustle and bustle," and she loved a recent Saturday antique automobile show because downtown was like it used to be.
She is concerned about the lack of jobs for young people, about the closing of other businesses and about the lack of business in downtown Altoona.
She was and remains a big supporter of the Blair County Community Action Agency, which developed local neighborhood organizations in Claysburg and the Logantown, Fairview, Fifth Ward and Sixth Ward sections of Altoona that gave a voice to the poor, all in an effort to improve the community.
Lawrence still serves on the agency's board of directors.
She believes in Head Start, stating that the preschool children in the program don't just play - they learn. Head Start also has inspired many of the parents to further their educations, some to attain a college degree, she said.
The Rev. Calvin C. Edmonds, pastor of the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church, which Lawrence attends, said she "is very faithful and devoted."
Until recently, Lawrence, who is approaching 80 years old, drove the church van. She collects food from church members to take to a local food bank and gathers clothes for the poor.
Lawrence is asking her church to help Shaquita Young, a young mother with six children who is being evicted from Fairview Hills - a story that caught public attention two weeks ago, Edmonds said. Lawrence also is helping the woman through the NAACP.
Witherspoon, the NAACP president, said Lawrence oversees the organization's executive board, helps out with the annual Freedom Fund Dinner, plans bus trips for young people to Washington, D.C., and is involved with community projects for the elderly. He said she visits people in the hospital and takes them flowers.
"We're happy to have her as part of the NAACP," he said.
Asked why Lawrence is so active in the community, Witherspoon said she raised a large family and was active because of her children. He said that just carried over even after her children were grown.
"It's a way of helping not just the black community but also the white community," she said, explaining why she became a part of the NAACP. "We have saved jobs for white as well as black."
She has fought for civil rights over the years, working with former state Sen. Robert C. Jubelirer and others to ban cross-burning in Pennsylvania, a bill signed by Gov. Tom Ridge.
She also met and talked to Dr. Ralph David Abernathy, who assumed control of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and met Dr. King's wife and daughter.
She said her active life is "to make it a better place for your children and other children coming up. This is our town, and you want to make it a better place to live."
Her advice for parents: "You have to start and teach your kids at home."
|
lambs1
|
|
|---|---|
|
10-13-09 12:37 PM
|
Ban the cross burning, but you can still burn the American Flag!
|
|
mocus1
|
|
|
10-13-09 11:57 AM
|
You're not black BigBadBlackMan? Sure fooled me. You're lack of education, strident nonsensical style, and incomprehensible syntax and grammar made me think you were. Maybe you should call yourself "BigBlubberButtedBoobMan instead. That would be a more accurate moniker.
|
|
NeverSatisfied
|
|
|
10-13-09 10:31 AM
|
Cathy... you tooks the words right outta my mouth. Caucasian is now the worst thing you can be for Loans, college grants, etc... All kinds of programs to support the"minorities" Can you imagine the uproar for a TV network called "WET or White Entertainment Television" or The Million Man March of white people? How about The White Musis Awaraeds in addition to The Latin Music Awards? Maybe Caucasian Awareness Month? On another note, You'll never hear me shout from my soapbox about being German-American... Am I proud to have a German lineage? Sure... but I felt no need to play a race card when I couldn't get grants for college because they went to "minorities"
|
|
cathyE
|
|
|
10-13-09 12:18 AM
|
*puts away soapbox on race labels" As for Alice Lawrence, she should be proud of all the things she's tried to accomplish. She tries to help the poor, the teens, the youth. I don't believe it is about color to her. NAACP, yes, but years ago that was a group she could join that would help a lot of her neighbors, her family, her friends. I was being raised in Fairview Hills during many of the years the Lawrence's were there. Went to school with some of her kids. She was strict. but she wasn't racist. She was poor. And that's the kids she was trying to help back then. Yes, there are others every bit as giving to our community. She is but one. Personally, I want to feel like prisoners are already getting way too many freedoms they should have given up when they wrongThe Mirror chose her this time, so let her have the pat on the back she deserves. Appreciate what she's done and tried to do over the years. She has spent her life trying to improve life for her community. Can you say as
|
|
cathyE
|
|
|
10-13-09 12:06 AM
|
how do we always manage to get down to racism? what the heck is african american anyway? someone with a parent from both countries? or your heritage being from Africa? or is it a color? years ago we used to check White, Black, Hispanic,etc..then it was Caucasion and Black, finally Afro-American. Since 10% of Africa is White, is it only for those with dark skins? and what if you are black skinned but your family heritage is from somewhere else, like France? and what about all the mixed race people? This is America. Most all of us have another heritage country. Why are only a few pulled out? We can celebrate our culture as still be Americans. Imagine the uproar if there was a White MsAmerica contest, White Awards,etc. How are we to become color blind when it's segregated all around us?
|
|
cuffs0367
|
|
|
10-12-09 10:01 PM
|
I was going to comment be MOCUS1 took the words right out of my mouth
|
|
DRILLMAMMA
|
|
|
10-12-09 6:50 PM
|
Inmates have more rights than you can imagine. Many lawsuits are filed by inmates that are so frivilous. I once heard of inmates almost rioting because they got cold cereal every morning and no coffee with breakfast. Instead they were given hot tea and they wanted coffee.
|
|
DRILLMAMMA
|
|
|
10-12-09 6:50 PM
|
Inmates have more rights than you can imagine. Many lawsuits are filed by inmates that are so frivilous. I once heard of inmates almost rioting because they got cold cereal every morning and no coffee with breakfast. Instead they were given hot tea and they wanted coffee.
|
|
SP4200
|
|
|
10-12-09 4:39 PM
|
As for the prison population give them bread and water. No comforts of outside life should ever be given to them. It is jail, not a vacation. If we treat them like animals maybe it would be enough to discourage the types of behaviors that put the inmates in prison.
|
|
RobFan
|
|
|
10-12-09 4:36 PM
|
LOL Big Bad Black Man isn't even black!!
|
|
SP4200
|
|
|
10-12-09 4:34 PM
|
Here is a shot in the dark at why drugs are illegal. Have you ever seen someone hopped up on PCP? They are out of control, a danger to society, and have no regard for human life. Example Charles Manson and his family. Someone on Herion gets so addicted that they need to shoot up more and more to reach the same high. Example most of the burglars in BCP right now. These people would steal from their grandma to be able to feed their addiction. How about someone on coke? This guy is so wasted that his heart is about to beat out of his chest. This person will drive his car 130mph and crash into an innocent person sitting at a signal light. So yes allowing people to destroy their own lives is fine by me but the government puts these laws in place to protect the upstanding citizens of our great country.
|
|
lambs1
|
|
|
10-12-09 3:11 PM
|
BBBM, I knew for sometime you were waiting for that to happen.
|
|
BigBadBlackMan
|
|
|
10-12-09 3:07 PM
|
Wow the levels of stupid of people who post relpies to things i say on here never cease to amaze me. Especially the one who actually thinks im black, that was the higlight of my day, it almost made me want to go to the welfare office and sign up so everyone else can take care of my kids while i sit at home and run up utility bills i never intend on paying. What the*****maybe i might join the ****** Against All Caucasian People.
|
|
lambs1
|
|
|
10-12-09 2:47 PM
|
Or an American with a afro?
|
|
DRILLMAMMA
|
|
|
10-12-09 2:40 PM
|
Well, AfroAmerican--can you tell me what you have done for the community? To help all races?
|
|
lambs1
|
|
|
10-12-09 2:31 PM
|
I find it interesting why some need to be identifed by their username?
|
|
Tuna83
|
|
|
10-12-09 2:25 PM
|
"Claps for AfroAmerican" Well said , Well said
|
|
AfroAmerican
|
|
|
10-12-09 12:33 PM
|
As for the comment about all the children. Yes we do have some issues in the black community. But all races have issues. We really need to get away from judging others based on race and understand the root causes of these issues. We need jobs and education. People need to be able to get a second chance when they make a mistake or else what choice do they have but to go back to the life they knew. That goes for black, white, latino everyone. The NAACP tries it's best. Do I think it should play the race card to get people jobs, or out of jail no. That's not right and it insults me as a black man. But I do truly believe it needs some new blood just like the leadership in Altoona. This city could be so much more!!
|
|
AfroAmerican
|
|
|
10-12-09 12:24 PM
|
It disappoints me to see the comments on this site. Bigbadblackman from one black man to another hit the mute button on your mouth. You're making us look bad. What you're proposing wouldn't work it would spread throughout the rest of society. They people are put in jail because of their lack of self control for whatever reason. We can't allow them to hurt the rest of the population. The laws are put here to protect the masses. We feel secure because of the laws. Think, when you're driving your car you feel secure because of the traffic lights. You believe to a certain degree that everyone on the road will obey the traffic laws and that makes you feel safe. You trust that the cops are pulling the rebellious drivers off the road to protect the rest of us this is the same principle. The NAACP does serve a good purpose. The problem isn't miss lawrence is the generation gap. This woman is from a different era. We need young leaders that understand what's really needed.
|
|
mocus1
|
|
|
10-12-09 12:04 PM
|
So Lawrence "had a hand in housing developments of the 60's". Instead of mindlessly praising Lawrence for this supposed achievement, why don't you go take a look at those developments 40 years after and see what kind of conditions exist there? Bet those developments aren't the utopian abodes you credit to Alice in Wonderland. If you looked, you'd see they're cesspools of illegitimacy, unemployment, welfare deadbeats, drug abuse and crime. But, why let facts get in the way of a feel good puff piece Mirror editors? That would mean a huge deviation from your usual whitewash.
|
|
mocus1
|
|
|
10-12-09 11:56 AM
|
Lawrence "empathizes with the 18, 19 and 20 year olds in prison who face long prison sentences and ruined lives". The implication being that the justice system gives them "long sentences and ruins their life" simply because they're black. Nowhere in the piece does it mention the heinous crimes committed by these saints and the many lives they've "ruined" with their illegal activities. Yes, a nice politically correct piece which paints blacks as the innocent victims of a vicious, racist society, and no indictments of the dysfunctional, self-destructive habits of this segment of society.
|
|
mocus1
|
|
|
10-12-09 11:50 AM
|
Where in the US Constitution does it state that the NAACP is to "make sure blacks get a fair shake in the justice system"? I believe the Constitution says everyone needs to get a fair shake in the justice system. The NAACP is a pressure group that foments 2 cynical assumptions. Number one that whites are inherently racist and number two that blacks are incapable of getting ahead without pressure groups intimidating businesses, lawyers, judges, and law enforcement personnel. Equal treatment is what these people preach, but it's unequal treatment based on race that they practice.
|
|
mocus1
|
|
|
10-12-09 11:32 AM
|
Nice "solutions" you proposed BigBadBlackMan.....it's guys like you that make the NAACP necessary. You need a group to mindlessly defend anything you do or say, based solely on your race, and not on merit. Yes, legalize drugs and let everybody shoot each other. Isn't that what the black community is doing right now? Sounds like a magnaminous plan that will work for everybody. We thank you for allowing us lesser humans to read the intestinal contents that emanate from your slobber soaked keyboard.
|
|
mocus1
|
|
|
10-12-09 11:28 AM
|
Yep, a typical media article about the NAACP, filled with glowing praise and accolades and nothing about their race based bias and troublemaking. They're the first ones there when there's an accusation of racial bias to be leveled against law enforcement or the court system, but never to be seen when blame is to be leveled for the self destructive culture of the black community. If you're putting Fairview Hills up as an example of "affordable housing" provided by such groups, that's quite a stretch. That filthy, crime ridden development has been a flop since the 70's, when children were always warned to stay away from it, especially after dark. And, if Alice in Wonderland is so worried about "the loss of jobs, business and opportunities downtown", why doesn't she attack the left wing organizations that taxed, regulated and litigated businesses out of America and overseas? We don't expect facts, reasoning and hard analysis from the Mirror, just bromides and nic
|
|
BigBadBlackMan
|
|
|
10-12-09 9:27 AM
|
maybe punishing people for doing drugs isnt the answer. Why does it have to be the job of the american government to be everyones baby sitter?? why not just legalize all drugs and stop wasting tax money to jail people who are just too stupid to have any self control. if you wanna go stick needles of death into your arm well fine go for it kill yourself off and tomarrow we wont have to worry about you. with all the money we waste paying for people to sit in jail for basically nothing but the lack of an ability to make smart descisions we could produce 5 times the amount of drugs and put vending machines in all of the projects. instead of snacks put rocks and stamp bags and and glass stems and needles and lighters and what not...if you really wanna kill two birds with one stone put some guns and ammo in there. All the ones who dont die from the drugs will surely shoot eachother and in a month the problem will be solved.
|