Recently there has been a well organized and coordinated campaign in the media promoting what is titled as "heritage tourism." When you get to the substance the articles all are directed at black tourism and its growth in recent years.

We at the Georgia Heritage Council have long believed heritage belongs to all Georgians and we have never considered ethnic origins as a qualifying factor.

The very same Constitutional freedoms we extol in virtually every commentary and satire at GHC apply to all Americans equally. With that in mind, we're glad to see economic progress and a greater awareness of black heritage.

Atlanta has suffered greatly in their quest to establish a convention and tourism market. Much of this effort has come at the expense of all Georgia taxpayers as efforts to break even on investments are still about two million short this year on just one facility. We fear the total losses are more drastic.

They have now shifted their tourism and convention strategy toward several niche markets, most notably, black conventions. If that is their choice, so be it. For the sake of Georgia taxpayers, we wish them well. (It may be unfair to mention the Freaknik fiasco of the 1990's, but for the sake of Atlanta residents, we hope they learned their lesson on the 'party animal' crowd.)

As one with a little experience in marketing, I pass on this little tidbit. When you put all your revenue expectations in one narrow basket you risk the loss of the mainstream revenue from all other sources. You become stereotyped as a niche marketer.

In this case, there are other cities who will pick up those conventions and meetings which seek a well-balanced community that honors all heritage and works at fairness in representing the wonderful culture of all Georgians. To me, balance represents not only more economic sense, it also shows a civic recognition of the realities toward welcome fairness and hospitality to all.

Atlanta and Augusta have chosen the narrow path that is so remindful of a segregated society. They have each made it plain that they do NOT seek balance in history or heritage or hospitality. They, and some other cities have or are considering eliminating the parks, monuments and memories of all the heroes and builders of their own society.

What is heritage? Very simply it is the acceptance of the inheritance of your ancestors. But it is more, it is the obligation to pass that inheritance on to those who follow you. It doesn't need cleansing, it doesn't need apologies, it doesn't need excuses or reasons. It does need to be truthful lest we fool ourselves and misrepresent those who gave us our greatest inheritance, thereby robbing our descendants of their rightful inheritance earned by blood and toil.

In this regard it would be nice to see a level playing field in the area of tourism and heritage. All over the South, we see bigots who want to change or tear down every street, building, highway, bridge, school, park or monument dedicated to those who bequeathed their heritage to the future generations. Name me any of those who have received this inheritance who want to tear down or remove the names or memories of those black leaders who have also passed on an inheritance? So...Where is the fairness or the truth?