Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Aug. 29, 1985, edition 1 / Page 4
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Q Page A4-The Chronicle, Thursday, August 29, 1985 Winston-Salem Chronicle Founded 1974 ERNEST H. PITT, Publisher NDUBISI KOEMONYK ALIEN JOHNSON Co-Founder Executive Editor ROBIN ADAMS ELAINE L. PITT Assistant Editor MICHAEL PITT Office Manager Circulation Manager OUR OPINION First, the good news This editorial is the first in a periodic series of articles. THE SLEEPY TOWN that used to stretch, yawn and roll over for exercise has awakened. You don't hear as. many jokes that Winston-Salem ought to be renamed 44Reynolds," like everything else here, 'cause we're growing more than tobacco these days r in the Twin City. 44Superblock" once seemed destined to be another glorious concept turned urban-renewal white elephant. Todav it ic fact Kprnmino o rAolltu ? ? ? ? j WVV/llllli^ (4 1 VUlll J 1 ^ The expansion of the Benton Convention Center has c moved forward with due haste. s Likewise, across Fifth Street, the Winston Plaza Hotel f seemed to sprout overnight, adding another impressive ^ tower to our skyline and enhancing the Convention F Centerdrawing power. Not to be outdone, and obviously recognizing its poten- ? tial in tandem with the Convention Center and Winston \ Plaza, the neighboring Hyatt has begun a facelift program a of its own. ^ Meanwhile, an industrial park is planned adjacent to ^ Winston-Salen State University, an attractive, comfortable transit mall for bus patrons downtown. v A n *?*? i 117 ? - * i-E iivw i-aai-ncsi cApicssway win, in me coming years, t offer relief from the twisting, congested stretch of 1-40 g that serves that purpose now. v And, although we wish it had come under different circumstances, city voters recently approved a long-overdue ? new arena to replace antiquated Memorial Coliseum, t| which probably is architecture's closest answer to what u human beings call a nerd. h On a broad scale, these are exciting times for the Twin n City. s< Yet, on a smaller scale, in Winston-Salem's sizable * black community, an awakening could be in the offing, M too. a Consider the signs: N d ^ TM * T 1 * J - i nc uroan League s spacious new offices on the corner of Fifth and Trade streets have been recently completed, n and that increases the agency's ability to help others help themselves through job training and counseling. The Chronicle has staked its investment in a revitalized ^ downtown by purchasing and renovating a building on Liberty Street to house its offices. T th The new Winston Lake YMCA holds its own among ^ the best YMCA facilities in the nation. o The East Winston Shopping Center, which should have been black-owned, continues to thrive. .. Hi Developers plan new apartments near the shopping o center, at 12th and File streets and off Carver School c Road, helping to fill a serious void in decent, affordable housing in the black community. n' Pending an interpretation of its legal meaning by the state attorney general, recently passed enabling legislation j( could heln breathe npw 1if<* ?? /> u r ? ..V" Mtv unv Uiavft uuauiwow Uiai 5CCK 11 city contracts. t\ The Chamber of Commerce's Minority Business Coun- * cil has made significant headway in increasing the involvement of black businesses in the Chamber and bringing n black businesses into the economic mainstream. n S . The black political leadership has received an infusion ^ ui new energy, as younger heads have joined forces and shared perspectives with older ones. ti j< Obviously, we're bullish both on the future of Winston- C Salem as a whole and Black Winston-Salem in particular. tl The ingredients for a political and economic renaissance certainly appear to be in place, waiting for somebody to stir the brew. f( But in order to move from where we are to where we s< ought to be, we need to do our homework. e< We need to identify our strengths and weaknesses, pin- tf pointing both our most pressing needs and our biggest ? assets. The Chronicle plans to do its part with an upcoming series of articles, editorials and columns that will assess, t< from the perspectives of experts and laypeople, politicians tc and businessmen, academicians and planners, "The P Future of Black Winston-Salem." We've completed the easy phase this week in this j editorial: given you the good news. o Please see page A13 ~ 9 w TDu *%. I rhe ironic tr HAMILTON, N.Y. - On the tight of June 12, two incidents pccurred in New York that repreent the terror and tragedy of police and civilian racist violence, ^t approximately 9:30 p.m., a Plainclothes police officer shot md killed a 17-year-old black nan in Manhattan's Upper West lide. The white officer, Lee Van iouton, claimed that the victim ind another companion assaulted lim in an attempted robbery, tfter an investigation, Van iouton was cleared. But many disturbing questions yere left unanswered. The vicim, Edmund E. Perry, had raduated with honors only two /eeks before the incident from 'hillips Exeter Academy. He was mployed at a Wall Street rokerage house this summer; his autumn he was to begin col;ge at Stanford University. Perry ad no criminal record, had ever used drugs and was "a very ensitive and endearing person,'* ccording to his teachers. "Why /ould a young black man on his /ay up attempt to rob anyone?" sked Attorney C. Vernon 1ason shortly after Perry's eath. "But if he did, why was eadly force used to stop a 7-year-old with no criminal xord and no weapon?" set out of bet Falwell's picking of Botha over utu is like selecting Hitler over \e Jews ... Bull" Conner over tar tin Luther King ... Pharoah ver Moses ...." - The Rev. Jesse Jackson It's not surprising for someone ke Jerry Falwell - who did othing for poor people during te civil rights revolution (in the !nited States) - to take the rong position on South Africa ow." ? Dr. Benjamin Hooks NORMAL, Ala. - The Rev. srry Falwell -- erstwhile Bapst/fundamentalist preacher of le Gospel ? has proven once gain that he clearly does not orship the same God as did loses or Dr. King. If Falwell did, surely he would ot be aligning himself with the icist, oppressive demagogues of outh Africa by advocating more f.S. investment in and support 3r the apartheid regime. To be sure, this is not the first me that Falwell's "Moral Ma>rityM (or, as my friend the Rev. larlton A.G. Eversley terms it, le "Immoral Minority") has een on the wrong side of critical loral issues. These right-wing ositions have included support 3r increased military spending, >cial services cutbacks, increasd aid for the CIA-trained Conas in Nicaragua, advocacy for :onald Reagan and, of course, a istory of defending the racists in outh Africa. A J r. ? ... ' Avurnmcaiy, raiweu nas a rignt 3 his opinions, as well as a right > express and expound upon his ositions. Moreover, given his ibstantial following among kfrican-Americans -- undoubtedf due to h(s "moral" positions n abortion* homosexuality, etc. one must give credence to km ' * JlV jyByjWiw agedy of polk FROM TH1 ORASSBOC By DR. MANNING MARAB One hour later, four black youth between the ages of 14 and 18 entered a small Brooklyn grocery store. None were armed, but one teen-ager was drinking a bottle of soda which he had brought from home. The " ' Why would a young black t rob anyone?' asked attorney after Perry's death. "But if h used to stop a 17-year-old wit weapon?' " storeowner, Ali Nagi, demanded to know which of the youths intended to pay for the drink. When none of the teen-agers agreed to do so, Nagi pulled a gun from behind the counter. Two teen-agers directly in front of Nagi were shot and killed instantly. The storeowner then leaped from behind the counter ... *1 -1 ^ iu uituc mc oincr icen-agers. une youth was killed, the fourth wounded. Neighbors informed police that the young black men were not "troublemakers." But now three are dead over a 65-cent soft drink. What creates police and i with the De\ CLIFTON GRAVES JR. Chronicle Columnist Falwell's persuasive ability and charismatic personality. However, when one subverts the moralistic teachings of Christianity to foster selfish, materialistic motives (as Falwell has done), such subversion must I _i 11 ? ? dc cnanengea oy all people of good will. Now, there are certain of my Muslim friends who will make a cogent argument that Falwell's brand of Christianity has, in fact, Vw?^n tKp nrpvailina fnrm Hnu/n l/vvi1 uiv pi vvulllll^ 1 v/l 111 uvttii through the ages. Indeed, both the sword and shield of Christianity were used and abused by the Europeans who invaded and enslaved our African ancestors. j 11-. ali /\aaiuonauy, rurniess oppressors such as Hitler, Mussolini, Batista (in Cuba), Marcos (the Philippines), Somoza (Nicaragua), the South African government, and even the founding fathers of this nation who perpetuated slavery and committed genocide on the Native American all purported to be "God-fearing Christians." Yet, in spite of the false prophets and perverters of the J :e violence >TS LE civilian violence? The Reaganites and law-and-order addicts claim that the police simply require a freer hand to check urban violence against individuals and property. Certainly the black community, as a whole, is un nan on his way up attempt to C. Vernon Mason shortly e did, why was deadly force h no criminal record and no sympathetic to rapists, vandals, burglars and other criminals who prey on the poor and working people. But the distinction between fanlaw enforcement versus excessive force is frequently blurred, and often totally forgotten. In New York City last year, about 6,700 complaints against excessive police force were filed, 10 percent more than in 1983. Five officers were forced to resign several weeks ago for beating and assaulting suspects with an electric stun gun. But these problems aren't conPlease see page A13 41, Jerry Gospel, anyone who is even vaguely familiar with the Bible must realize that the God of the slaveholder was not the God of the slave; the God of Hitler could not have been the God of the Jews; the God of the white South Africans is not the God of our black brethren in that nation; and, so, the God of Jerry Falwell cannot be the God of Martin I lltKar U ivuluvi rviu^, namci i uoman or Jesse Jackson. With his uncalled for, but not unexpected aiding and abetting "POHTIUS PflATE 1 'N6 PROGR^ShV I I 1 BNSVlP1!^ 1 of the Caucasian South Africans and their Uncle Tom stoolies, Jerry Falwell has, in effect, made a pact with the Devil. Thus, it is incumbent upon all of us truly decent, God-fearing folk of all races ? Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist alike - to condemn such a dangerous, immoral pact. Let us demand that the Jerry Falwells of this world either denounce South Africa, or renounce their misguided Christianity. Get out of the bed with the Devil, Jerry. Winston-Salem native Clifton E. Graves Jr. is an attorney and director of University Relations at Alabama A&M University. A # j TO BE EQUAL It ain't broke so why fix it? By JOHN JACOB ^Syndicated Columnist X NEW YORK - Affirmative action programs do what they are supposed to do -- namely, enhance opportunities for minorities and women. Because those groups have traditionally been excluded from academic programs, skilled trades, and other employment opportunities, affirmative action also is very necessary. Despite the massive assault on affirmative action conducted by a government that should be implementing it, there are signs that the principle has widespread acceptance, among them its proven effectiveness. One way to tell if affirmative action actually does create greater employment opportunities for excluded groups is to look at the hiring experiences of government contractors, who must file detailed reports on the races and genders of their employees and who must implement affirmative action plans with goals and timetables. The Labor Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs monitors those reports, and several studies have been made comparing the racial makeup of companies subject to federal oversight and those that are not. The results of those studies consistently show that minority employment among federal contractors grew faster than in firms not covered by affirmative action. Among large employers, affirmative action has become an integral part of corporate practice. It may have started out as something a company had to do to meet the requirements of federal agancies or of the civil 4 rights laws. But because it worked, many companies are now relatively immune to the propaganda crusade against affirmative action. Much of that crusade is directed against the purported evils of categorizing workers by race and sex. But business has always known that you can't meet goals without measurements. Corporations set minority hiring goals the way they set marketing goals ? through statistical analysis and timetables. Anything else would be dishonest, for there would be no way to tell whether a program is successful. So corporations keep close measurements on their hiring and promotion figures, and the best make their equal opportunity programs a priority. Most companies with affirmative action programs say they plan to stick to their present efforts. Sometimes the courts have ordered implementation of affirmative action plans to remedy gross violations of constitutional rights. Recently, the Justice Department tried to overturn some of those court decrees as they relate to state and local governments, arguing that "bnly the individuals who can prove they were victims of discrimina tion should be covered by the plans. But the law clearly intended affirmative action as a remedy to solve systematic discrimination, not individual complaints. On the rare occasions when courts have ordered quotas, it was to remedy past quotas that excluded all but white males. What doesn't make sense is opposition to affirmative action procedures that have taken root in our society and have benefitted both workers and employers. Guidelines set by the courts, including several Supreme Court rulings, ensure that white males are not victimized by procedures int*?Hin a ^ vuwutp kVS WIVfKIKIl * tunitics in our society. When the government claims to support affirmative action Please see page A13
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