Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Jan. 4, 1990, edition 1 / Page 4
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T> \ & Winston-Salem Chronicle v x Founded 1974 '' * ' ERNEST H. Pin Publisher MICHAEL*. ^tTT Assistant to the Publisher ANGELA WRIGHT ELAINE I. PITT Managing Editor ' Office Manager? JUUE.PERRY v- ? V;. Advertising Manager ?. A need for indignation IhaTE bombs are flying through the mail. ?Two men are dead, one woman is seriously wounded, and several other people barely escaped injury as pipe bombs were dismantled at a federal' courthouse in Atlanta and the NAACP ft" r ^ - wicew Jacksonville, Fla. ~ "" FBI officials are placing the blame on white supremacist groups. A group calling itself Americans for a Competent Judi cial System has claimed responsibility for the bombs. The group claims the bombs were in retaliation for the 1988 "rape and murder of a white woman in Atlanta, and threatens fur ther attacks on Afro-American leaders. vBoth of-the-men killed-hy-the-bbmbsT a judge and a Savan nah, Ga. city alderman, were reportedly civil rights activists. VioleiTt acts of^pacism have been escalating during the past decade. According to a repo^ by the Klanwatch Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala;, more than half of the hate crimes from the past decade occurred in the last two years. The Howard Beach, N. Y., incident which left one black , * N yputh de'ad; the murder1? f an Ethiopians an in Portland, Ore.; and the murder of a young, Afro-American youths Vusef Hawkins, in Brooklyn, N. Y., are just a few of the more notable hate crimes'that tfave occurred in the past few years. ^ It is appalling to the average person that anyone could be so filled with hatred as to randomly murder others because of their ethnic background. But what is niore appalling is the apparent lack of concern among the majority media and our nation's polit - ical leaders. : l? These crimes have received minimal coverage in the majority daily press. When they are publicized, they are usually relegated to inside pages and are allowed no more than a few paragraphs^ Despite the fact that two people have recently been killed because of racist bombings, the front pages of most dailies are important news stories. But^the random killings of civil rights and federal officials in this country deserve at least as much e m phasis. ~ ? ~ The daily rtiedia have been slow to follow up on the, bomb killings. There has been no mention of the funerals of the slain, ?pro mention of the civil rights activities ortfie^t^^menwfiicfi led to their murders, no reaction from the people close to them. \ There has been no condemnation of the bombings from Pres ident George Bttsh or any majority member of Congress. For the two men who died because they worked to ensure the civil rights of othWs, there has been no tribute. It is precisely this type of apathy on the part of major opinion makers that allows such hatred and violence to recurs The acts are condoned by the silence. The deaths of Afro-Americans and other civil rights activists are trivialized by the majority media's lack of attention. ^ As the Klanwatch report states^'The h^te that inspires these acts is not simply the product of a depraved environment or men tal illness; it is the outcorrt?'oFour own "naivete land neglect." . It is"time that we, as* a nation, stop~?viewing these violent acts as isolated incidents commuted by a crazed few. We must recognize that we live in a political climate that endorses the victimization of minorities. That victimization has been endorsed by the Supreme Court. The-vi^timizaiion will come to an end only when people who care about what is just and right are willing to challenge those 'jf "who do not. Readers defend Burke; say let officials work To The Editor: We couldn't believe what we were reading when we saw the attacks on Alderman' Vivian Burke in the newspapers recently. Alderman Burke has a reputation that she can be proud of. She has worked hard for our precinct and our city. We don't have to itemize the good things that she has done: Her campaign committee has published many times an article they called "Let the Record Speak for Itself." It has not been-challenged, so we can assume that even her attackers are aware of what a good job she has done. For many years, black citizens all over the country have marched and raHied for equality. How can this group of attackers not see that Alder man Burke was voting for et|ual rep resentation of chairmanships on (he board? Why would-our mayor name all fou? of the chairmanships to '? blacks when she knew that they will be representing all of the citizens of the city? Il seems that this action - caused 4he breakdown on the board. If she had named all four white chair manships, this same group would, I think, be rallying against her, shout ing "racism." What message is this group send ing to the aldermen? Are they saying, "If we don't like .your vote on issues, we will ask for a recall?" What are they saying to our youth who might be interested in politics? Please think about these two questions. The answers to them will set the course for our city's future. Maybe this group has forgotten Alderiparv-vBurke's hard work, but many of us ha^c not. We respect her determination to stand up for and vote for\what she believes to be best for our t'wy. People soon forget, but many of.Alderman Burke's achieve ments are visible* } ' Can there be other reasorfs for this attack on her and are people using this issue to confuse the citi zens? Let's think about this, cancel the idea of a recall, get it behind us, and let the mayor and aldermen go about the business of looking after our city. Rev. F.A. Leak Mildred C. Leak Winston-Salem CHRONICLE MAILBAG Our Readers Speak Out About our real needs To Tftfc-Kditor: ; i There ik a campaign to recall Vivian Burke because of a decision she macie as an elected official; an alderman, Patrick Hairston, was jeered at during a public meeting for expressing his opinion; a group tried to impeach Walter Marshall. These events concern me because they are actions to stifle differing opinions in our community. Most importantly, they also divert our attention from the real needs of our community. Our black community is going.^&gphill, and we all need to listen to each other ?in order to work together to improve? our family life, help our children to become lovers of learning and have the self-esteem they need to risg above their environments and to wit ness Christ Jesus to our community so that we have the power to live morally. These are times for service, not - vengeance; for self-sacrifice* not self seekers. Esther C. Collins Winston-Salem Selling con servative p olicy to black voters The 1989 campaign results and the continuing inabTTTty oT Republi can candidates to win black votes give me pause.40 think. Many peo ple who call themselves conserva tive, in fact, have no idea what con servatism means in terms voiLcraft ing public policy initiatives based on conservative principles. This problem fs particularly - acute with regard to-the policy chal lenges facing the Afro-American community. If conservative Republican can/' didates and their supporters ate -unable-te-elearly artieuiatc policy approaches that both address black concerns and are distinct from those offered by the Democrats, the GOP wjH continue to get few votes from the black community. Let's examine a public policy reading list that no self-respecting conservative should be without. Currently two products of the great society programs are stran gling^the black family: Welfare poli cy and subordinating all other edu cation considerations to desegrega tion. Charles Murray's last two books, "Losing GroumP-and "In Search of Happiness and Public Policy," detail what happens to poli cy wnen they are judged arid contin ued on the basis of good intentions rather than results. The black community has been conditioned to ask for another fix of poverty pills and, like the neighbor hood junky, never will quit unless offered an alternative. Conserva lives'must reframe the question rather Than competing with the gen erals of the poverty pentagon in the other party. Rep. ^Jewt Gingrich, R-Ga., frames the question in the/allowing manncr>*Do you need government help with a particular problem?' What solution will maximize quali chooses? Conservative solutions must shift power away from the ^government to The disadvantaged ancTworking families. Robert Woodson of the Nation ~at CentertaTNeighborhood Enter" prise and Kimi Gray of the Kenil distributed by vouchers' for depen dent care, housiijg'and education. These vouchers would preserve quality, quantity and cheicer Mr. Frecdman creates the philo sophical basis for the Schools of Choice and school autOTTOmy reforms that may actually produce a large number of public schools that work. He also provides the basis for a solution to young public housing residents becoming captives of the drugingfc. "Winning the Brain Race^Jby David K,earns and "Rublic^Schools t>y Chr/tce" edited by joe Nathan outline how to harness free market ANOTHER VIEW By VERNON ROBINSON 7 / / / worth Housing Project have chroni- * cled their winning program of empowering public housing tenants through tenant management. More info ?rv 4enaru managernem and other self-help programs is Avail able from the National Center for * ... . Neighborhood Enterprise, 1367 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Washing ton, D.C. 20036. Milton Frcedman's "Free to Choose" is another staple of a con-j servative public policy diet. It sug gests, to the extent we keep any welfare programs, that welfare be ill " ' I ? J- ' principles to restructure America's public schools. ?' Drug dealing, the third major policy challenge facing the black community, exists in the housing projects for a very good, reason. There is no legal free enterprise activity available there. George Waters at/EDTEC, 309 Market St., Suite 302,VCamden, N.J. 08102, has created programs to give ghetto teens an opportunity to create free market opportunities in the black community. Tony Brown's Buy Freedom campaign also harnesses/the free market to address social problems by redirecting black income into the black community. Write Tony Brown's Journal at 1501 Broadway, Suite 2014, New York, N.Y. 10036, for more information on the Buy Freedom campaign. Finally, conservatives (and lib erate fot thai matter) would be well served by reading "After Apartheid: The Solution for South Africa" by Frances Kendal 1 amhfceon Louw^ The book outlines how South' Africa can peacefully evolve into a "state that places great emphasis on personal freedom and a free market economy while accommodating great cultural diversity. If sanctions v couldn't remove Manuel Noriega, they will never work in South Africa. "After Apartheid" gives the right an argument that the left can not match. I've tried to offer several sug gestions on how conservatives can strengthen the appeal of conserva tive policy solutions to black voters by becoming familiar with both the policy and the philosophy that underpms4henv-Wi?ning a mere 20" percent of the black vote would j5ut the Democratic Party out of busi ness at the national level. In light of the coming 1990 elections, I hope my appeal won't fall on deaf or dim wits. Vernon Robinson is a former candidate for the North Carolina General Assembly. Chronicle What New Year's resolution would you offer your favorite celebrity? A resolution^ according to Webster's New World Dictionary's Sccond College Edition, is a thing determined upon or a decision about a future action. The word is probably most popular during the last or first few days of any given year. People resolve to quit smoking, lose weight, be more thrifty wijjf their money or do numerous other things in an effort to make them better human beings. New Year's Day is a holiday celebrated all over the world and has been for thousands of years. It's celebrated by some on Jan. V, by others at the beginning of spring and still others at harvest time. More than 5,000 years ago, the Babylonians had parties and made New Year's resolutions. The Jews ate sweets- for a sweet new year. Iroquois Indians cleaned their "I want to see Eddie Murphy progress even further in 1990. "?? f ? . i Mtller My favorite is my pasvor Jerry Drayton aitd* I want him\ to continue to be outspoken and say what's on Joe Gaston houses,- made peace with 'their enemies, prayed, danced, visited each other and feasted. The English gave Americans many of the New Year's Eve traditions observed in our country - such as toasting the year in with egg nog and writing resolutions. -Thr Scots gnvp Americans the games go on all New Year's Day. New Year's Eve theme song, Auld Lang Syne. Not much has changed in the way Americans celebrate the new year. People still gather in Times Square in New York City, and parades and football championship ? Celebrities really come Out at this time of the year. Rather than a?k city residents their own resolutions for 1990, the Chronicle asked them what they wanted for their favorite stars. I'd like to see Michael Jackson do a movie next year/' "Roseanne Barr should resolve to do the same thing she did in 1989 - be a big success." . j *1 want Prince to do a new movie that was better than the last one." Fleshman Tfiiffjr Jordan >11? 4
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