[03/27/01] North Ward Alderman Gertrude Young said Monday an organization the city voted to sponsor last week to bring a fishing tournament to Vicksburg is about black fish not black fishermen.

During the last five minutes of the televised meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, Young said the controversy surrounding the $40,000 to bring the Sportsman’s Association of Black Bass Anglers to Vicksburg is racially motivated.

“I wanted to give it to the people, so that it could not be changed, you heard it from me,” Young said. “At least you heard the truth.”

While holding a computer printed photo of a fish, Young said the name of the organization refers to a type of fish, not the membership of the group.

Shambani Watts of Jackson, SABBA vice president and the tournament coordinator who last week asked the city for the money, said the term “black bass” does refer to a largemouth bass, but did not say whether the name of the organization refers to the fish or fishermen.

“I do believe that (the name) refers to a common name for a bass, but I have to consult with the executive committee,” Watts said.

Local attorney Marshall Sanders, a member of the Ole River Bass Club, said that the name refers to both.

“The organization is comprised predominantly of black people, and we fish for black bass,” Sanders said.

While Watts and Sanders did not disagree with Young’s statements, the Georgia-based organization’s mission statement as printed on it’s Web site describes the group as a collective of “predominantly African-American bass clubs.”

SABBA is also associated with other black organizations, including the Black Angler’s Network and the People of Colored Organizations.

The mission statement of the Black Angler’s Network is “to make FishNet, via the collective knowledge, experiences and resources of the Black Angler’s Network, an indispensable source of news and information on the fishing activities, interests and experiences of black anglers throughout the world.

“The FishNet Web site is about the black fishing experience.”

The $40,000 sponsorship of the tournament passed 2-1 by the board last week with South Ward Alderman Sam Habeeb casting the dissenting vote. The decision to spend more than three times the city’s entire annual advertising budget by Young and Mayor Robert Walker to bring the tournament here has prompted mixed reactions from citizens.

Some have complained the organization is predominantly black. But most, including four candidates running against Walker in the upcoming city elections, have said the city is spending too much for the event.

Walker, who is seeking his third term as mayor, said the issue was primarily about the upcoming city elections.

“It’s terrible the kinds of things that are thrown at us by the local media,” Walker said.

Walker did not say if he believes the name of the organization refers to fish or fishermen, but said that “games are being played” by people who are supporting other candidates.

Walker is facing four others in his bid to be re-elected to a third four-year term as mayor.

Habeeb, who characterized the $40,000 sponsorship as “out of whack” left Monday’s meeting early and was not present during Young’s statements.

More money is being spent on the tournament sponsored by the Sportsman’s Association of Black Bass Anglers and its local affiliate, Ole River Bass Club of Jackson, than the combined total advertising budget for the city last year.

Young said that funds for the tournament came from the city’s marketing budget of $200,000; however, numbers provided by the city’s accounting department last week indicate the city spent a total of $12,386 last year for similar events.

Last year the city spent $2,500 for advertising in the Miss Mississippi Pageant, which brings about 40 contestants and their families to the city for a week, holds a downtown parade and autograph parties, and sells 1,700 tickets at the Vicksburg Convention Center for the final night of competition, which is televised across the state.

SABBA representative have said that group expects up to 400 participants in the Memorial Day event with an economic impact of about $1.2 million during the week of activities that include a Youth Fishing Derby at City Front. Participation in the main tournament is limited to members of the organization.

The newspaper, “made it look as if it was about black fisherman when in essence a black bass is a fish,” said Young.

A founding member of the organization who asked not to be identified because of ongoing association with local members said the name was intended to include both references, but added that he left the organization two years ago because of differences in opinion about the direction the group was headed.

“It was all based on money for certain individuals,” he said. “They felt that they could make some money out of it.”