Pane 16, AC Phoenix, October 1990
PHOENIX OPINIONS-EDITORIALS
Brother Against Brother
“And other sheep I
have, which are not of
this fold: them also I
must bring, and they
shall hea'' my voice; and
there shall be one fold,
and one Shepard.”
-John 10:16
A recent develop
ment reminds me of a
disfurbing true story
about a number of
Southern white ser
vicemen wounded in
the Korean War who
opted to die rather than
receive transfusions
with blood taken from
Black soldiers.
The same fafe fhat be
fell fhose blindly sfub-
born GIs could also lead
to the demise of a local
religious-oriented radio
station, WSMX, for
identical reasons-blind
prejudice.
According to the word
on the street, WSMX
has opted to remove re
ligious programming
sponsored by the Na
tion of Islam because,
so the story goes, the
station had been get
ting too many com
plaints from its loyal
“Christian" listeners.
Before I go back to
the Scriptures, let's try
to think this one
through in more earthly
terms.
You see, any com
munications medium,
whether it be WSMX,
the Wall Street Journal
or the Phoenix, relies
almost solely on adver
tising or some form of
“sponsorship" m oro'ei
Pheemx
monthly by AssodsM Consult
ants. Inc, locatod at 2S23 Patiar-
son Avonuo. Winslon-Salem,
N.C. 27tOS. The phone number
IS(919) 727-117t.
The publisher ol AC Phoenix
rosorves the right todelete objec-
bonable words or phrases from
all material to be published and
the right to reject any advertising.
No pari of this publication may
bo reproduced without the writ
ten consent of the publisher.
Informa >n wiihin r^^s ooWi-
rabon is deemed reliabw. but the
publisher makes no ciiaraniees
of acairacy Opinionsexpressed
reflect tie views of contributors.
• M ni'cessanly those of the pub-
From The Publisher
By Rodney Sumler
to operate. You know,
like pay the bills (in my
case, “Williams." My bills
are to serious to be
called by a nickname).
The Nation of Islam,
just like every other de
nomination or church
that sponsors a program
on WSMX, has to pay
hard, cold cash just for
the opportunity. Last I
heard, WSMX wasn’t
exactly rolling in the kind
of dough that grants
them the luxury to turn
away cash paying cus
tomers.
It is also rumored that
WSMX refused to allow
one church to broadcast
because of emotions.
The pastor of this
church is a former mem
ber ot the church that
owns WSMX.
Then there are the
potential legal ramifica
tions. Unlike the
Phoenix, radio stations
are governed by the
Federal Communica
tions Commission which
has strict rules and regu
lations prohibiting sta
tions from barring peo
ple or groups from the
air based on race, eth
nicity or religion.
On a more secular
note, this conflict places
the station in dishar
mony with I Corrinthians
12:4-5.
“Now there are diver
sities of gifts, but the
same spirit. And there
are differences of ad
ministrations, but the
same Lord.”
As you know, we are
not a race ot monolith'ic
needs, interests and
tastes, particularly when
if comes to religion.
Blacks worship their
God in many different
sects and call him by
many different names-
God, Yahweh, Allah.
Too many blacks are
critical of Jehovah’s Wit
ness because they call
God “Jehovah.” But
what about “Tnjsl ye in
the Lord forever: tor in
the Lord Jehovah is ev
erlasting strength.” Isa
iah 26:4. What differ
ence does it make what
you call God as long as
you praise, honor and
acknowledge him?
This dilemma of pitting
one brother against an
other tor religious rea
sons, unfortunately, is
not without prece
dence. Not a week goes
by where news about
the Catholics and the
Protesiants in Ireland
shooting each other up.
Ditto tor the Moslims
and Christians in Nige
ria.
In Winston-Salem, it
appears that WSMX is
instigating a unneces
sary conflict between
Christians and Muslims.
Is it necessary? No!
I would hope that rea
sonable minds would
come to the realization
that whether you wor
ship your God in a
mosque, a temple or a
church, we as Blacks,
like the soldiers in the
Korean War, are in the
same foxhole together.
Tiny Indians Vs. Tiny Vikings
Athletics in our black
households has be
come an important tooi
in the raising of our kids.
In some instances it is
more a negative than a
positive to their total
growth process.
If athletics take the
place of all other reali
ties, such as religion,
academics and social
contact then the par
ents and the individual
is setting himself up for
failure. It should in fact
be something that is
both fun and inspira
tional for the youth. It
should instill in that
youth that sometimes
you win, and other times
you lose. Being able to
lose is equally important
as winning. Why? Be
cause in real life experi
ences, everything is not
going to go our way and
being able to accept de
feat can be a humbling
experience. These
lessons are important in
the growth process from
bi'.h to death.
Cn October 20, 1990
the Tiny Indians, of Last
Winston-Salem, and the
Tiny Vikings will clash in
a homocoming celebra
tion that should encom-
Malcolm's
Mandate
pass the entire black
community. The Indians
and the Vikings are
Winston-Salem’s two
only historically black
football teams on the
Pop Warner level. Some
of the cities most tal
ented athletes have
donned one of these
uniforms in their more
formative years. And the
talent seems to get bet
ter all the time.
Being a part of these
organizations is impor
tant to the black com
munity because aside
from W.S.S.U. their is
very little tradition left in
homecomings since the
closing of our predomi
nantly black high
schools and integration.
Desecration was good
for it’s time, as well as
today, but black tradi
tions and discipline
slipped away within the
transition. So if you’ve
got imagination, and a
cravino for good football
blended with “shaking
and baking" team
dancers, you won’t want
to miss the homecom
ing show the Indians
have prepared for you at
the Atkins Middle
School field.
It is imperative that we
support the efforts of
parents, players,
cheerleaders and
dancers associated with
these two programs be
cause of historical and
economical reasons.
Historically blacks in
Winston-Salem, and the
triad area, have come
together in religious or
community settings and
have found time to
communicate, celebrate
and dedicate our efforts
into some fabulous
times. More and more
we are being separated
from whence we came.
No one wants to go
backwards, but it is
good for the spirit when
we can look back and
share some of the more
simple things in our lives
with the coming gener
ation. It’s been said by
many, but heard or
practiced by few: “If you
don’t know where you
have been, how can
you know where you are
going?”
Economically speak
ing both the Indians and
Vikings need your sup
port. Not support as in
“Buy us some equip
ment or transportation”,
but just come out buy a
hot dog and some fries
and enjoy our show.
There are a number ol
black business
men/business women
who could help with
some of the items that
make a program go.
They need to stop
waiting on others to
solve our problems and
stop up and be ac
counted for.
Many groups and or
ganizations lake time to
plan trips for themselves
to various locations.
Why doesn’t some or
ganization say, “We
want to anange a trip tor
30 IndiansA/ikings who
are active participants
and maintaining a B-av-
erage or better in
school.” Just a little in
centive will go an awfully
long way.
We tally need to keep
these programs alive in
order to help keep our
young people involved
in competition and as
sociated with positive
role models. Many
complain about the
coaching and instruc
tion, but those are only
“backseat drivers” or
“arm-chair quarter
backs”. The coaches
and girls activities coor
dinators deserve an A
for effort. They volun
teer 10 to 12 hrs., or
more, per week to baby
sit tor some and disci
pline others in the name
of fun.
So Winston-Salem
once again you are the
captain ol this ship. Your
destiny is in your hands.
Support our youth by
Continued on page 21