Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / June 27, 1985, edition 1 / Page 11
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Talk The Chronicle, Thursday, June 27, 1985-Page A11 i' Fifty youths and parents attend program on teen sexuality KAREN M. HANNON Staff Writer approximately 50 teenagers /adults attended a program on 1 sexuality on June 1 at jjlabrook Presbyterian Church. plieon Beal, assistant director pivision of Health Educa- ,at Reynolds Health Center, jjjussed the problems and con- jj of teen sexuality with those * „1, The Rev. Carlton A. G. [ittsley, pastor of Dellabrook, present to discuss the topic the church’s point of view scripture selections. il’s presentation included a ), entitled “When Teenagers jiPregnant” which focused on couples who were faced with j problem of an unwanted lijnancy. Following the film, those pre- jiliad a “Values Auction,” a Fcossion on values that the Local blacks get token share Karen Hannon teenagers thought were important in a relationship. Groups were then given play money and told to bid on the three most impor tant values, including trust, honesty, love and God. This game illustrated the different values each person considers in a relationship. Participants were then asked to write anonymous questions that they wished to have answered. The main issues covered throughout the program included the decisions that must be made in a sexual relationship among teenagers, the problems of an un wanted pregnancy and the myths and taboos on the topic of sex uality. According to Dorothy Height, president of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) who wrote an article in last March’s issue of Ebony, statistics show that “in 1981, 65 percent of all births to black women were out of wedlock. Among black women under 20 the proportion was over 86 percent.” These statistics, as well as others gathered in recent years, prove that the numbers of teens with problems related to teen pregnancies are growing as more and more teens are becoming pregnant. Beal discussed several ways to combat the problem of teen pregnancy: • Teens, as well as their parents, need more education about the prevention of teenage pregnan cies. It is also important for chur ches to educate their teens. • Teens should also have easier access to birth control. • Activities for teens to par ticipate in to get goals and aspira tions should be available. • Better education for males is needed. • The media needs to show a more realistic portrayal of sexual relationships. • Sex needs to be “taken out of the closet.” Garrett Crosby, a sophomore at Mount Tabor High School, at tended the program to get a bet ter insight on teenage sexuality, a growing concern among teenagers. “Teenagers need to become in volved in discussions like these in order to become more aware of the consequences that could come about if they are not careful,” said Crosby. Rachel Crosby, the mother of Garrett Crosby said, “A lot of the teenagers’ questions were answered from a better viewpoint than one they might get from their peers.” Darryl Brown,, a junior at Reynolds High School, said he attended because he knew it would be “rather interesting.’’ “The best part Of the program was when our questions were answered by Mrs. Beal and Rev. Eversley,” said Brown. Mazandra Spigner of Hill Mid dle School, and her mother, Irma Spigner, also found the program to be interesting. “The whole presentation was enlightening for both the teens and the adults,” said Mrs. Spigner. “I think it was better for the younger people, whether male or female, to learn the straight facts from someone who is educated in that area, instead of learning off the streets.” Teenage parenthood is ob viously a growing problem in the black community. Awareness programs like these for teens and their parents would give teens a better insight on the concerns as well as the consequences of ir responsible teen sexuality. From Paige A1 jjpany based in Chesterfield, I),, according to the report. The (jest amount spent with a white snan-owned business was $1.6 lion with P & H Construction I, headquartered in Lexington. Locally, the largest amount pt with a black business was BM,635 with Cartwood Con- iiction Co. The least was tllfflwith Photo First. The average local minority- iied business contract was !l,203 during the period com- to an average contract of II, 341 with out-of-county iority-owned businesses, city jires show. The report says that the average local white woman- owned business contract was $32,699 compared to an average white woman-owned out-of county contract of $191,753. According to the report, those businesses solicited included 45 local minority-owned companies, 40 out-of-county minority-owned businesses, 20 local white woman-owned businesses, 10 out-of-county white-woman owned businesses, 587 local white-owned businesses and 1,428 out-of-county white-owned businesses. The average spending with local white-owned businesses was $40,866. The average spending with out-of- county white-owned businesses was $35,714. City contracts went to com panies as far west as California and as far north as Maine, accor ding to the report. Approximate ly $55.5 million was spent with businesses based out of Forsyth County. Only $26.4 million was spent with businesses based in the county. Farmer said the reason for so much out-of-county spending is that much of the goods and ser vices the city needs are manufac tured by companies based out of the county. “Ninety percent of our goods and services are purchased within our market area which lies from Raleigh to Charlotte,” he said. The amount spent with local minority-owned businesses is as follows (rounded to the nearest dollar): • Acoustic Clean, $2,644 • America’s Best Janitorial, $3,868 • Contract Furnishings, $33,963 • Deck the Walls, $712 • Gadson Electric, $515 • William Hopper, $1,740 • A.D. James Co., $478 IIIIMlillillllllllltlllllllllllllllllllMIlllllllllllllllllllllllllillillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillillllllllltllillllllllllllllllllllllllinfllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllilllllllMlllllllllllllliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 'imwn From Page A4 be lost from lack of ntity,” the interrogator said. He dearly suggested that had litolm lived, blacks would lie no identity problems today iAziz, as “one of his killers,” ,iy virtue of this convoluted ft, responsible for the pathetic kl: condition as observed by Hand. tirkland was also obviously ifcred by Aziz’s outstanding tiorniance as a prisoner: a Siler’s degree; a calming force fc Attica prison riot in 1971 ** at Sing Sing in 1983; a ■selor to other inmates; an ^ for the American Muslim fcion in prison and an ex- fct record on a nine-month '•ikelease program in which •fed in the community, held a paid taxes, fed his family d reduced society’s burden by itamount of production. ^ a result of Aziz’s record, JPPort for his release came * all quarters, including black fcians. New York’s black fc commissioner, Jewish dteand journalists. But, sur- this support infuriated Wand: “Would the Con- ftman and all the rest of them ■Commending your parole if •'liad killed a white person of a **lar status?” ,'didnt’t kill him,” Aziz of- and added, “I think it ^dcolm’s murder) was a rty.” But that didn’t satisfy Wand. CIA, Kirkland said, is Icted of killing Malcolm, Represents the law enforce- ^ establishment. “Why do Blink they (law enforcement J^s) look so favorably upon ■ Guilt, Kirkland seemed to naade Aziz a model ^ i'iand’s cohort on the panel ‘^“iablishing guilt by associa- , •'as Commissioner Samuel ^ 'B, a white man. He was ^interested in proving Aziz’s , Rion with minister Louis ^akhan’s alleged anti- Jia® than in establishing ^•fitness for release. with a working of the black com munity understands the dif ference between the beliefs of Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam and the American Muslim Mission, of which Aziz is a member. But this parole board member, like Kirkland, could not hide his bias. Instead of a parole hearing based on the facts and rules as established by law to determine Aziz’s return to society, Kirkland conducted an inquisition into blackness and Sherrid into rumors of anti-Semitism. The result is that the parole board was tainted by these acts of im propriety. He took this point of view, Kirkland says, because of his “uniqueness” as a “victim of racism.” That may be more of a statement of fact than a reason to diminish the system of justice. While there is some merit in his attempt to help black people, he has harme^ them by his example. It seems that in his rush to judgment, Kirkland is more in terested in enforcing his percep tion of blackness than being fair. Neither does he seem to unders tand that the objective of placing blacks in these sensitive positions is not to defend blacks that they approve of philosophically and persecute those with whom they disagree, but to make the judicial system work for all. Kirkland should be particularly sensitive to this issue because he now is the subject of an investiga tion of the New York State Crime and Correction Commission. “I was accused of releasing an in mate after reading a confidential letter that was allegedly in his folder outlining his crime plans upon release.” Two policemen subsequently were killed as a result of the convict’s plans. If Kirkland goes to jail (highly unlikely, but possible), would he want his successor, a black nam ed Veroncia Thomas, to spend her time at his parole hearing discussing her perception of his blackness or the merits of his fitness to return to society as a productive citizen? And what would Kirkland, as a responsible black parole board member 35 years ago, have said to Malcolm Little, the pimp, the drug pusher and convict? Would he have compared him then to Nat Turner, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass and Marcus Garvey? No. Kirkland, I suspect, would have been overwhelmed by his own black-blindness and Malcolm Little would never have become Malcolm X, the “statesman ... leader ... and pillar for the poor,” as Kirkland calls the man whom he now idolizes so much. African-Americans in prison and outside need justice — not self-appointed overseers. Tony Brown is a syndicated col umnist and the host of “Tony Brown's Journal,’’ a PBS series that can be seen Sundays at 6:30 p.m. on Channel 26. IIIIIIIIIIIIII■IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII|||||II||II||||||■|||||■■||||||||||||||||||||■||||||■||I||||||||||||■|||||||||■|||||||||||||||||||||||■U Marable From Page A4 iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiniiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Washington, Atlanta, Newark and Detroit. Ernest Morial, mayor of New Orleans, was nam ed president of the U.S. Con ference of Mayors this January. These numbers seemingly in dicate black empowerment within the system. But the reality of the situation is more complex than most observers admit. Of the 6,056 black elected officials, 1,368 (22.6 percent) are only members of local school boards. Another 2,189 (36.1 percent) are members of municipal govern ments or councils. Blacks comprise only 1.2 per cent of the 490,800 elective of fices in the nation; they are gross ly underrepresented in federal, state and regional bodies. Only four state administrators, 90 state senators and eight judges on state courts of last resort are Afro- Americans. If democracy really functioned in this country, blacks should have roughly a proportional share of political power. Afro- Americans account for 12 percent of the population, which translates into 58,900 elective positions -- not the 6,056 offices which are currently held. Blacks comprise susbstantial voting blocs in Alabama (23 per cent of the voting-age popula tion), Arkansas (14 percent). Florida (11 percent), Georgia (24 percent), Louisiana (27 percent). North Carolina (20 percent) — but not one black person is cur rently in Congress from these states. The great illusion of the American political system is that each voting bloc and social class has an “equal opportunity” to express its views at the polls and to elevate its representatives into public office. After 20 long years, blacks have begun to exercise their democratic rights, but the barriers to full proportional representation still exist at the federal, state and county levels. The immediate task ahead is to develop strong coalitions of pro gressive voters who share our goals - full employment, civil rights, affirmative action, univer sal health care and decent hous ing - and to build a political movement which will redefine the structures of democracy. This demands a conscious effort to in crease the numbers of black elected officials who have a ge nuine commitment to the aims and aspirations of the black com munity. Dr. Manning Marable teaches political sociology at Colgate University. His column appears in more then 140 newspapers in ternationally. • Fred Lowell Signs, $3,364 • Miller the Printer, $7,976 • Robert L. Millner and Son, $102,935 • B.D. Murrell Construction, $70,292 • Photo First, $12 • Printing Place, $243 • Rice & Ingram, $480 • SBR Associates, $8,913 • Southern Fasteners, $3,324 • Starr Office Supply, $231 • Laughlin Sutton Printing, $1,077 • Twin City Chrysler-Plymouth, $33,106 • Washington Concrete, $96,982 • Jerry Watkins Cadillac, $112 • Window World, $750 • Winston-Salem Chronicle, $9,118 • Woodcraft Builders, $106,832 • George Salley Cleaning, $175 • L & A Cleaning Service, $18,307 • WAAA Radio, $1,975 • Aamco Transmission, $7,081 • James Branch, $169 • Accent Travel, $3,611 • Servepro, $170 • Associated Consultants, $55 • Burch Construction Co., $48,141 • Cartwood Construction Co., $274,635 • Benjamin Construction Co., $150 • Adams Services, $750 • Cox and Evans Concrete, $10,164 • Brown Oil Company, $12,350 • B.M. Kiger, $5,0(X) • Grace Masonry, $60,352 • Amos Hickman, $1,270 • William Thompson Concrete, $2,812 • Samuel Branch, $3,500 • Triad Heating and Air Condi tioning, $13,0(X)
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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June 27, 1985, edition 1
11
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