Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Sept. 6, 1990, edition 1 / Page 4
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PaqeA4 Winston-Salem Chronicle Thursday, September 6, 1990 Winston-^Salem Chronicle Founded 1974 ERNEST H. Pin Publisher NDUBISI EGEMONYE Co-Founder DAVID GRINSTEAD VIPAPORN P. Director ot Operattons/MaiKsti-g RATANACHAPOENOIRI Controller ELAINE L. Pin Director of Community Relations RUDY ANDERSON Managing Editor Reader upset with American role in the Gulf Police Review Committee: An idea whose time has come The Jackson mercy mission To The Editor: FOR more than 20 years now, the Winston-Salem Chapter of the NAACP has literally begged city leaders to establish a citizen's police review board. Their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. NAACP officials have decided to take matters into their own hands and establish a review board of their own to chronicle police actions in dealing with African-Americans in this city. In their view, there have been far too many questionable and brutal acts by white city police officers again.st African-Americans. Some have even gone so far as to say that they believe officers engaged in such actions have been given "the green light". If those perceptions, real or imagined, are allowed to go unchecked or at the very least unquestioned, then the trust the police department claims it so desperately wants to build in the African-American communi ty will never be developed. What would this review board of the NAACP be able to do? It would be able to document the claims of those who felt they had been treated unfairly or unusually harsh by the police. That group could take the information they obtained directly to the Board of Aldermen's Public Safety Committee chair or to the Police Chief The review board could also call for state or federal help in those cases where there is a general con.sensus that the police department is not policing itself or the unwarranted acts of some of its officers. The people who serve on this committee should not be only members of the NAACP. The committee should include retired police officers, attorneys, community leaders, a representative from the city human relations department and others. The claims of harsh treatment from African-Americans in this city are coming with frightening regularity. Some claims may be without foundation. But we all know the old saying, "Where there's smoke there's fire." These days there seems to be a great deal of smoke circling the air above our city and a lot of it is coming from incidents involving local law enforcement. Since the city has opted not to listen to the persistent urging of some of its citizens to form a group to review questionable police actions, the NAACP has decided to act on its own. And quite frankly, it's about time. In the last four months, there have been four incidents where a white officer has been accu.sed of beating up on an African-Ameri can. In three of those incidents the people abused were African- American women. If African-American officers in the police or sheriffs depart ments know that the.se kinds of acts are taking place but remain silent, they are as guilty as those who do the deed. Information pro vided by these officers or other white officers who do not agree with what they see would go a long way toward helping the depart ment do a better job of policing itself. There are many in the African-American community who believe that the department is incapable of taking a long hard look at itself and taking action to right the wrong it finds. As long as that feeling lasts, the deep valley of mistrust will remain. And if a review board set up by the NAACP is the only way to shed some light on an increasingly ugly situation, then so be it. In lc.ss than 100 yeans, we have become so culturally dependent on oil that the U.S. is prepared to go to war to keep it flowing cheaply and abun dantly. Less than 100 years from now, there will not be enough oil left to maintain projected demands at any price, military or otherwise. It is a sickening but unavoidable play on words to say that the Middle East is soaked in gasoline and that Saddam Hussein holds a lit match. The industrialized world, with the U.S. in lead, is inextricably involved any ensuing explosion. We have been warned before about the danger.s-political, economic, and ecological, of so wholly a petroleum-based culture. While the private automobile is certainly the major player in the big oil game, few of us realize how oil-clogged the veins of our way of life have truly become. Agricultural chemicals, paints, solvents, all plastics, in fact, very lit tle that we now use does not have at least origins in oil. Unfortunately, oil is one of the few natural resources not abundantly available within our bor ders, and is non-rcncwable. It is a poor peg on which to hang our hopes for the future. Even with astute conservation measurcs-something we still aren’t taking very seriously-affluent cul tures have little lime, in numbers of generations, to implement alternative means of fueling our lives. Many of these have been identified and devel oped, but will remain largely on the shelf as long as oil companies can charge what they want and get it, and CHRONICLE MAILBAG Our Readers Speak Out as long as we as a nation prefer the specter of war to that of public trans portation, local production and con sumption of goods, and changing our patterns of energy use. I am very disappointed by the U.S.'s upstaging of the United Nations in the Persian Gulf. Amid vague talk about preserving American Way of Life, Natii Security and U.S. Interests, we s all eager to make this "our" before it even becomes one. John M. Harti Danl Culture, not race, is salient to making changes Though presently in the throes of a crisis in the Middle East, this coun try's problem with racism will bo here when the Midoast crisis is over. For sure, racism is a blight that must be eradicated, and one of the reasons racism is so prevalent - and thriving - - despite all the rhetoric to the con trary, is because of the ineffectiveness of the battles against it. More specifically, racism, like any other enemy, must bo carefully analyzed and a strategically sound battle plan must be devised to combat it. The insidious nature of racism, however, camouflages the scourge to the point that it is so embedded into the fabric of our society that we have developed a ritual "racism paranoia" and label everything v/e deem racially unfavorable as racist. Too often our assessment is cor rect, but I al.so think we arc wrong more times than we would like to admit. This racism camouflage is what presents the problem. Wc must never forget: This republic was founded by white men for white men and cvervone else, including white women, is inferior based on the philosophy of that founding. Consequently, virtually every standard is cither set by or mea sured against those dictated by white men. The concept of racial superiority, people, because the two are not nec essarily the same. There are many whiles who are just as outraged and frustrated as non- whites about the degree of racism in this country, and in a significant effort to address this concern, many entities, AGAINST THE GRAIN By ROOSEVELT WILSON the genesis of racism, is a significant component of that philosophy, and when non-whites perform poorly on exercises based on while experiences, the myth of superiority/inferiority is further perpetuated. Not recognizing this and not including it as a major focus in the fight against racism contribute as much as anything else to the lack of success in this battle. Blacks must understand that we arc fighting a white system, not white particularly in corporate America, for a number of years, have conducted or participated in programs to promote racial harmony and sensitivity. Unfor tunately, based on numerous studies and media reports from around the nation today, these programs have enjoyed only minimal success. For the racist this is understand able because notliing more than being different is required to be the object of racism. But a bitter irony is that many whites out front in the fight against racism are some of the pti ry perpetuators of the status qtii well. I don't believe this is intcnlit but the result is the same, lii: cases ignorance, not racism, problem. Culture, for example, not t makes us different, and how cani be sensitive to another's cultui one does not understand the cultp say one cannot, and because nation is more multicultural nowi ever and the cultures are grot more diverse by the day, mulliculi education must be included as ii weapon in the fight against racism Until this nation concentrate understanding why people are di ent; until this nation understa; becomes sensitive to, and resp those differences, making progress against racism will be treading water: We'll be making of noise and expending a lot of en but getting nowhere. Roosevelt Wilson teaches joui ism at Florida A&M Universil Tallahassee, Fla. Will blacks cancel conventions, buy hotels? THE mercy mis.sion of the Rev. Jesse Jackson to gain the release of hostages held in Iraq and Kuwait has been the topic of controversy around the country. People have questioned his motives for making the trip. "More political grandstanding," some have said. Others say it is because he sincerely cares about what is happening to Americans in the Middle East. Still others charge he allowed himself to be used by Saddam Hussein. Whatever his motivation, the man did what he set out to do, gain the release of at least some of the hostages. And for those who were released and are once again back on American soil and safe, they don't much care what Jackson's motives may have been. They are just thankful someone came and got them out. That, after all, was the bottom line. All those who are trying to .second-guess why Jackson takes on such missions are only wasting their time and mental energy in an exercise that has little meaning, especially for those who had been captives of Hussein. A few weeks back, I wrote a column entitled "The NAACP Should Tell Blacks To Grow Up." Last week, the NAACP told all of America's black leaders at a "Sum mit Conference of Black Organiza tions" to put up or shut up. The result was that a diverse group of more than 100 hlack orga nizations (brought together by the NAACP) became the National As.socialion of Black Organizations and began laying the foundation of a new direction for Black America, with Ben Hooks as chair. This landmark group signals a new focus for black leaders. Instead of placing a high priority on legisla tion and litigation, it will place more emphasis on promoting self- help programs that can be duplicat ed in various communities to help poor blacks. In the economic area, the sum mit conference of more than 100 organizations endorsed my Buy Freedom economic plan as a course TONY BROWN Syndicated Columnist of action for their millions of mem bers. That means billions of con sumer dollars will be returning home to create jobs and businesses. The invitation asking me to keynote this historic gathering said: "As one who has dealt with self help for years and had your mes sage fall upon deaf cars, I am sure you realize how important it will be to us and the movement for the per sons who assemble at this confer ence to hear first hand your cogent and accurate assessment of what African-American people can do for themselves." My message was: "Choose between self-help and no-help." I began by saying that 150 black organizations spend $3 billion each summer in white hotels discussing while racism and black poverty. Black Americans do not own one hotel in this country. Specifically, I urged these lead ers to cancel thetr respective 1992 conventions and u.se the S3 billion they spend annually to develop an economic infrastructure for the black community. This S3 billion can be lever aged to S30 billion in financial mar kets and deposited in black lending institutions. Some of it can be used for loans to community people with good ideas who want to become self-employed, some to expand existing businesses and all of it as a capital base. For only S400 million (about the annual interest on S3 billion) a black coalition (or individual orga nizations) could own first rale hotels in the 20 largest urban areas. In turn, these hotels would be the recipients of our annual S3 billion convention market. Shirley Chisholm, who deliv ered a spellbinding luncheon speech at the summit, offered $25,000 of her own money toward the pure: of a major black-owned hotel. You can help directly by sp ing 50% of your consumer inc with a business designated b; Freedom Seal. The seal desigi the businesses that are committf reinvest in the black community Next, ask your organizatio cancel its 1992 convention invest the money saved in the ft of our people. Our 65,000 churches (will million members) can serve capital redistribution base. Ask minister to start "God's Buy I dom Plan" and recycle 50% ol spending power of your churcli new jobs for the churches' si programs that benefit the ne And/or start a special Buy Free group of 10 or more people teach your dollars some sense. Contact me for details on of these proposals at 1501 Bf way, Suite 2014, New York, 10036 or call (212) 575-0876. The tragedy of Marion Barry is the tragedy of U.S. law gone mad For months, the media followed the controversial trial of Washington, D.C. mayor Marion Barry with a per verse mixture of fascination and dis gust. Sex, drugs and public illegality always sell. The Barry trial had it all. Acting as a legal pimp, the federal government obtained the services of Barry's ex-girlfriend, Rashceda Mixrrc, to snag its victim. Ample evi dence was presented in the trial prov ing to most observers that Barry had been a casual user of drugs for many years. Evidence of government malfeasance was abundant as well. Scores of Barry lieutenants and confi dants had been indicted and convicted of various crimes during the past decade. The political circus came to a disappointing end, however, when the jury found the mayor guilty of only one misdemeanor -- possessing cocaine. It acquitted him of one count, and couldn't agree on twelve additional charges. Barry now claims that he was vindicated, and has announced plans to run as an indepen dent for a D.C. Council Seat. Marion Barry is surely guilty of many things -- dependence on cocaine, infidelity to his silent and long suffering wife, and most of all, political .stupidity. But the Barry case makes no sense outside of its broader political and racial context. The feder al government's entire case rested on entrapment of the worst kind. No one seriously helicves that Barry's deci sion to enter a hotel room with his former lover was dictated by a desire for crack. Sex, not drugs, motivated ALONG THE COLOR LINE By MANNING MARABLE the mayor. Barry's certainly guilty of adultery, and his libido is out of con trol. His problems with alcohol and cocaine certainly make him unfit to hold public office. But the authorities would have been wiser to pressure Barry to resign, in lieu of facing crim inal charges and a protracted and dis ruptive court trial. Instead, they were determined to place the black Demo crat in a federal prison. Barry's central argument which attempted to justify his behavior was the thesis that a pattern of FBI and judicial harassment exists against African-American civil rights leaders and elected officials. The argument is certainly true, based on the evidence over nearly half a century. In my own research on a political biography of black American leader Malcolm X, I have uncovered an extensive pattern of illegal electronic surveillance, tlic opening of private mail without war rants, and political harassment. COINTELPRO, the FBI's Counterin telligence Program in the sixties, plot ted the destruction of civil rights organizations, and led to the impris onment of hundreds of black activists. In the 198()'s, hundreds of black elect ed officials, judges and other commu nity leaders were subjected dispropor tionately to surveillance and harass ment. Congressman John Conyers and other members of the Congres sional Black Caucus have investigat ed many instances of political harass ment aimed at blacks. The goal is to reduce African-American political clout within the system, and to intimi date leaders to back away from cnal- Icnging the establishment. But the real tragedy of Marion Barry lies not in his cocaine depen dency, which he .shares with literally millions of white, Hispanic, and black Americans. His tragedy is his inabili ty to place his community's objective interests ahead of his own. By his scries of errors and criminal acts, Barry has undermined the.drive for D.C. statehood for years. His behav ior provides justification for racists and political reactionaries to under mine other African-American lea But his greatest tragedy was B: failure of vision. The great streng black freedom struggle's polilica dition, from Frederick Dougla: Martin Luther King, Jr., was the age between politics and ethics. What was morally correct also politically correct. Barry's tempt for the ethics of the black s gle, his contempt for his wife, dren and constituents, could nev justified. Marion Barry's only service which he could perl would be to withdraw permani from public life. Dr. Manning Marable teac political science at the Unive of Colorado at Boulder.
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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Sept. 6, 1990, edition 1
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