Winston-Salem Chronicle
"7 he Twin City's Award-Winning Weekly"
established in f 9?4 ?
Ernest H. Pitt ? Ndubisi Egemonye
Editor/Publisher Co-Founder
Member in good standing with:
N?l?ooa< N? inpap m North C*roJ^? Audit Bureau Arr*tyarr?!*d ?
M?oc??t?on Ptm* amocwikw of Circulations Puw?h?r?. inc.
Joel Coliseum
No shows for blacks
on the marquis
Excuses, excuses, excuses.
Why is it that the only acts that come to the
Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum are farm
bred? We have tractor- t
pulls and" rodeos. We Our ODilliOn
? ? ? 1 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
h a ve horse show s and r
dog acts. We have cow- Coliseum officials &
boys who rope steers and promoters are falling -
cowboys who strum gui- down on the job.
tars. -
We don't have
rhythm-and-blues. We don't have black performers.
Most black citizens can't remember the last time they
were in the coliseum, other than to attend the Winston
Salem State University homecoming (an event for
which coliseum officials can not take credit). On the
other hand, many local blacks drive to Greensboro for
live entertainment. What's wrong with this picture?
Coliseum officials say they have tried, for two
years, to find a strong black act that would be a suc
cess here. They promise that something good is
planned for August. If they can't pull this one off,
someone's job should be in jeopardy.
Until then, perhaps black folks should help them
out by calling, writing or dropping by the coliseum
offices (located in the Benton Convention Center) and
let them know what type of entertainment you would
plunk down your hard-earned money to see. The bond
referendum that helped finance the new coliseum took
money out of black wallets and white wallets, and
pledged to bring entertainment for everyone's tastes.
We hope that happens soon.
Not everyone likes cowboy shows.
TRACKS! - Yolanda
King's production
In three weeks, distinguished members of the King
family will come to
Winston-Salem to bring
TRACKS!, a multi
media production that
explores the issues Dr.
King lived and died for.
It is a show that ven
tures boldly into the
nitty-gritty of racial issues, politics and religious strife.
Dr. King's daughter, Yolanda King, portrays sever
al characters in the show and weaves the production
together, including the use of several large screens for
slides, as well as recordings of parts of his speeches.
The city is doing their part by covering 50 percent
of the production costs to bring the show to our fair
city. Another $22,000 is needed to finish the job.
Undoubtedly the act should have been ? and could
have been ? better promoted, pointing fingers at this
point won't do any good.
Let's all give what we can, and promote the pro
duction in every way possible.
About letters . . .
The Winston-Salem Chronicle welcomes letters from its readers,
as well as columns.
Letters should be as concise as possibleand should be typed for
printed legibly.
They also should include the name, address, and telephone num
ber of the v/riter.
ColumnS'Should follow the same guidelines and will be published if
we feel they are of interest to our general readership.
We reserve the right to edit letters and columns for brevity and
grammar.
Submit your letters and columns to:
Chronicle Mailbag
P.O. Box 1636
Winston-Salem, N.C. 2?102
Our opinion
We must rally in sup
port of the production
honoring Dr. King.
Reader calls for end to political race-baiting .
To the Editor:
Race-bailing is wrong. For
lcsulcfs uf ctthci majur pu! i ileal
pany to employ racial stereotypes
or veiled racial references designed
to provoke latent racial prejudices is
irresponsible, devisive, and inflam
matory. As a Republican, I know
that the principles to which I am
committed (hard work, saving
money, the power of the individual,
efficient government, and equal
opportunity) can stand on their own
without desperate appeals to basic
emotions that are at the root of
many our most serious ills.
1 call on all of our leaders,
Democratic and Republican, to
renounce the politics of race and
focus on building a sense of com
munity in this community in this
county^and in this state. If we hon
estly wish to live together in a col
orblind society that rewards initia
tive and achievement, then we have
to make the commitment today to
abandon the old ways and fill our
rhetoric with the politics of inclu
sion, opportunity, and hope.
Sincerely,
Andy Nilsson, Candidate
N.C. Senate, 20th District ^
Chronicle thanks
To the Editor:
On behalf of myself and the JV
players recognized Saturday night, I
would like to take this opportunity
to thank you for a very enjoyable
evening at your awards banquet. We
enjoyed the speakers, the entertain
ment, and the food was delicious.
I would also like to thank you
for the trophies presented to Johnny
Senn, Maurice McMillan, and
Bryan Epps, the certificates given to
the others, and the plaque given to
me. ?
Again, thank you for a great
evening.
Sincerely
Mike Pennington
JV Football Coach,
Carver H.S.
Academic jocks
To the Editor:
I was pleased with your empha
sis on highlighting the academically
positive side of Winston Lake
YMCA basketball.
Our youth need to be more
encouraged challenged by receiving
publicity of that type.
Keep up the excellent work! !
Sincerely,
Mundy Realty Company
Carolyn R. Hardy
Broker-In-C bar ge
Keep celebrating
To the Editor:
The Black History Month cele
bration has passed as an official
occasion, but for all thinking
African-Americans it continues
throughout the year. And one of the
most commendable and enduring
celebrations is evident at Winston
Salem State University in a pro
gram aimed at developing scholar
ship and leadership among students
there. It's called the WJE.B. DuBois
? Cheikh Anta Diop Scholars Pro
gram.
In an age of the Rhodes Schol
ar, named after the 19th century
British Imperialist and racist Cecil
Rhodes, or the Fulbright Scholar,
named after the late Senator J.
William Fulbright, it is heartening
and refreshing to see that at Win
CHRONICLE MAILBAO
Our Readers Speak Out
ston-Salem State they are creating
the W.E.B. DuBois-Cheikh Anta
Diop Scholar.
The program is named-in honor
of two great intellectuals of African
descent ? the late Dr. W.E.B.
DuBois, who this year is being hon
ored by the U.S. Postal Service on
its Black Heritage stamp, and the
late Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop, who was
one of Africa's leading scientists
and intellectuals, and whom More
house College feted with a honorary
doctorate in 1985.
I certainly applaud the exem
plary leadership and wisdom of
WSSU's chancellor, Dr. Cleon F.
Thompson Jr., in holding to the his
toric mission at WSSU, and for rec
ognizing that black people can
serve as examples of leadership,
scholarship and inspiration not only
to black students, but to whites as
well.
Mrs. Rachel Jackson
Bring it home!
To the Editor:
I am supportive of and applaud
you and Dan Brock in your efforts
to try and win the bid to bring the
CI AA tournament (I prefer to call it
a happening) to Winston-Salem, for
the years 94, 95 and 96. I am sure
you all will do everything to ensure
that the CIAA will be held here in
Winston-Salem during those years
mentioned. At one time during the
late 50s and early 60s, the CIAA
was held here and it generated a
tremendous amount of interest and
it was very successful and brought a
lot of pride, excitement and activi
ties to Winston-Salem.
I believe this will be an eco
nomic boom or an economic shot in
the arm for Winston-Salem. This is
a major African-American activity
across the country that has such an
impact on any community or any
city that it goes into. It is very pop
ular and well attended. The "spin
off effect happening" will benefit
other areas of Winston-Salem, such
as: the restaurants, cafes,
hotels/motels, service stations,
shops, boutiques, clothing stores,
shppping centers and the advertis
ing agencies.
The Chamber of Commerce
and also the City of Winston-Salem
need to go all out and not hold any
thing back and pull out all of the
stops to make sure that this activity
comes to Winston-Salem. Who
knows maybe Winston-Salem will
be known as the home of the CIAA.
Most oF the major African- Ameri
can colleges that play in the CIAA
tournament are station in and
around Winston-Salem and certain
ly in the State of North Carolina.
I believe the citizens of Win
s ton -Salem and surrounding areas
will support the CIAA tournament
being held here. If there was some
thing like an informal survey taken,
I believe it will show something
like an informal survey taken, I
believe it will show overwhelming
ly that all of the citizens of Win
ston-Salem will benefit, especially
the City itself.
It is another way of exposing
the eastern seaboard and other areas
of the United States to the benefits
of Winston-Salem. Who knows,
there may be other kinds of activi
ties and programs that may come
into Winston-Salem because it has
shown that it is very friendly and
interested in wanting to host tftes^
kind of activities. We hav$ ? Iq^ j#
build upon here and a lot of virtues
to extol to those people who will be
making those decisions.
Speaking as a private citizen
and as an alderman for the City of
Winston-Salem, I wholeheartedly
support your efforts and anything
that I can do to assist, I^will be more
than happy to do so.
Sincerely,
Larry W. Womble
Alderman,
Southeast Ward
1.
Enough is enough
To the Editor:
For decades now America has
been attempting to imitate the roles
of missionary, peacemaker, and
policeman to the world, spreading
its ideals of freedom, justice, and
equality to those who desire it Yet,
when we look at how our govern
ment has rejected assistance to the
Haitian refugees who seek refuge
for political and social oppression
in Haiti, the role of missionary is
suddenly defunct.
And when we examine how
America in its recent past extended
its arms to welcome refugees from
Asian and Spanish countries, even
irt the midst of economic stability,
one tends to wonder why suddenly
there is no "Welcome" mat far
Ifi
Haitians? Of course, we as a
democracy-oriented people would
rather be objective and not entertain
thoughis^that^raeia^ prejudice and
discrimination are possible underly
ing factors. Yet, how can we (espe
cially we who are black ourselves)
not view America's rejection of the
Haitians as anything but racially
motivated?
For America has a notorious
history of maltreatment and dis
crimination of blacks ? history
which is still being made today! Far
too long now we as blacks, African
Americans, have sat on our hands
condoning the injustices perpetuat
ed by America against our race. For
when we sit silently by and permit
this government to blatantly ignore
apartheid abroad, as well as ignore
inequality in employment, educa
tion, politics and community
resources among blacks are, and
now, the Haitian refugee situation,
we as blacks are consenting our
agreement with them!
_<c Ayhen Fidel Castro emptied his
ft*pu>sed the bulk of
Cuba's undesirables, America
accepted them with very few
qualms. Yet, when Haitian refugees
seek similar asylum (whom are nei
ther criminals nor undesirables)*
they are denied access and sent
back! It almost appears as if Ameri
ca is saying, "Enough is enough!
We have all the blacks we desire
already!"
It is time we as black people
stand Up and shout out against the
blatant injustices which must be
endured by our black brothers and
sisters ? both here and abroad ?
and force America to stop giving
lip-service to freedom and equality
for all people, yet falling miserably
short when these people are black.
Our ancestors played a major role in
building this country from the
ground up ? with blood, sweat,
and tears. Therefore, we as people
ought to have some say-so as to
whether or not black refugees be ,
permitted to enter here. And we
must begin by raising our collective
voices and righteous indignation in
favor of the Haitian refugees!!! Not
to do so, is not only to trample the
ideals of Martin Luther King Jr.
fought and died for, but is also a
desecration of Black History
Month.
For enough is truly enough!
Robert Jones
Radio Black America
goes on the air
Nearly 75% of people sur- In fact, it will be the first
veyed in a Time/CNN poll believe weekly opinion survey of black
Americans haven't been told the Americans, called the Buy Free
truth about the assassination of dom Opinion Poll. Both local and
TONY BROWN
Syndicated Columnist
President John F. Kennedy.
But what do black Americans
think about this subject or any
other?
On March 18 at 1 p.m. EST,
over 50 black -oriented radio sta
tions will become what I loosely
call Radio Black America.
national poll results will be
announced on a weekly basis.
Callers can vote on issues of
current interest via a touch-tone
phone 24 hours a day 7 days a
week by calling 1-900-967-5558.
A flat charge of 99 cents is placed
on the caller's monthly phone bill
for the service.
The callers will also get a toll
free 800 number they can call for
information on getting a free mag
azine and catalog.
Between March 18 and 25,
callers can respond to the question
on everyone's mind: Do you think
Mike Tyson should go to jail?"
The implications of this and
other matters of current interest,
the Rodney King trial and the
absence of any discussion of black
concerns in the 1992 presidential
primaries, to name two issues, can
be addressed immediately by lis
tening and responding to the
black-oriented radio stations in
this network.
For example, WPUL-AM in
Daytona Beach, WYLD-AM in
New Orleans and WUFO-AM in
Buffalo, New York are among
the stations nationwide that will
ask the black community to
make its voice known on current
issues and will provide weekly
results to their markets and to the
nation.
In addition to being the first
polling of this magnitude among
blacks, there is another innovative
aspect: The "networking" of
media to educate people on cur
rent and historic events by stimu
lating public debate on pertinent
questions later announcing the
results of the national and local
responses to the issues. w
The bottom line of this new
media alliance: A better informed
public and a stronger community.