Winston-Salem Chronicle
I >.t' 1 ?vtn City 's A^ord W \nmng Weekly
Established in 1974
Ernest H. Pitt ? Ndubisi Egemony?
Editor Publisher Co-Founder
Member in good standing with
\????>dpe, S?/1h ( Audit BUfMli Ammynrwa ?
A??oc??ior P'mi auomwo of Circulation* inc
Editorials
The Mortgage Loan
A iQpal black woman busily prepared to move into
her new home, only to be told at the eleventh hour
that her mortgage application had not been approved.
Had it not been for
the inteccession of a
black alderman, the
woman might still
. be searching for. a
mortgage lender.
A single black woman have been to four banks -
trying to get a mortgage loan Jo build her dream
home. Not only has her applications been denied, but
she's had to suffer the indignity of being told by loan
officers that she needs a husband. One officer had the
audacity to advise that she find one who works at
Reynolds. '
A local black businessman who's doing quite well
financially, sought to refinance his mortgage.
Monthly loan payments for the new loan would be
considerably less than the old payments, but one bank
advised that he wouldn't be able to afford the new
payments. The businessman placed a call and got the
loan through?another bank.
These are just a few of the stories the Chronicle
uncovered during its investigation of discrimination
in mortgage lending. No doubt, there are plenty more.
In none of these stories was there definitive proof
that the mortgage Joan applicants were being discrim- ,
inated against. But data provided by America's banks
and publishedjnj/?^ Weill Street Journal suggest that
something is seriously amiss. The black-to-white
rejection ratio is inexcusably high - roughly twice as
often as "whiles, reports the Journal - and the Usual
reasons, such as disparity in income and an inclina
tion on TtTe part of blacks to ignore the importance of
credit history, don't account for what can only be
viewed as racism.
One story, recounted by the Journal , concerns a
black couple who was denied a mortgage loan
because of an old unpaid bill - for thirty-eight cents!
Most of the realtors th t~Chronicle interviewed for
its series of mortgage stories claimed that none of
their clients had been victimized by discrimination.
(Parenthetically, some of those realtors, who were
white or worked for vftiite firms, are selling properties
in East Winston but don't advertise in the black
media.) In most cases that was because they prepared
their clients well and anticipated what problems ^
needed to be addressed long before they* went in to
see the loan officer. But if all realtors were as con
cerned and vigilant as those the Chronicle found,
would those rejection ratio figures be sp lopsided?
Maybe, maybe not. What is certain is that the
presence of a bank in a community means that Chat
bank wants io do business with that community.
* >
There are only two bank branches in East Winston,
and one is black.
?
American banks must
serve every citizen.
! 1
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Mail to: Winston- Salem Chronicle
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Winston -Salem, N C 27102
The Wlneton-Sslem Chronicle is
published every Thursday by the
Winston-Salem Chronicle Publishing
Co Inc., 617 N. Liberty St
Mailing address:
P.O. Box 1636
Winston-Salem,
NC 27102
Phone: (919) 722-8624
FAX: (919)723-9173
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Winston-Salem, NC 27102
The Wln9ton~Sslem Chronicle is a
member of'
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Publishers Assooation
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Association
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Publishers Assooation
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Amalgamated Publishers, Inc.
(212) 869-5220
Contest For Local and International Columnists
To the Editor:
Hav ing been an ardent reader of
the Winston-Salem Chronicle for
several years. 1 have seen it blos
som. grow and get better over time.
The quality of its columns, articles
and the substantive news it reports
has enriched our community. Con
gratulations!
Speaking of columns, you have
a number of columnists, both local
and syndicated, who have brought
enjoyment to the readers of our
communitv. And on mi.ny occa
sions. 1 have wondered who is the
most popular.
As your ardent reader, 1 am
requesting a "fun" exerctse which
will involve all readers "a contest"
one in which, (over a period of time s*
2-3 weeks), all columnists will be -
pictured and readers/fans will vote
their choice (readers choice) of best
columnists via mail-in ballot. Crite
ria for selection could include origi
nality, creativity, variety, interest,
substance and other criteria of
importance.
Someone will be rewarded. I
leave this to your imagination and
creative ability to decide if the
rewards will go to the columnist, the
voting community or both.
1 believe this exercise will
actively involve the community in a
"fun" way while providing recogni
tion to the deserving columnist.
Please let me know your decision as
1 am looking forward to this activity.
Zeni Alderson
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HOWCOWPA
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KIPWHOM?Al?W? .
WH1U 1HW LEME
1H6 COONTW fj
HRONICLE MAI LB A
Our Readers Speak Out
Black Unity
To the Editor:
Stop the violence, stop the
killing^ and say no to drugs are pre
ventive educational messages. They
arc messages to all groups of people
in this country. But to one certain
group of people,. this also should he
said. They have so little BU.
It seems to me that this "one
certain group of people" have been
affected far greater than any other
races of people by drugs and its
effects. It seems to me that blacks
are dying far too often, too young,
and it seems to me that we are doing
it to ourselves but with help!
It is because blacks have so lit
tle BU and are^yet to develop true
and complete BU.
There are many books that
blacks should read to expose them
selvS tcKdeas about the force and
power of By.
I have come across a book by
Jerone Bennett Jr. entitted, The ?
Challenge of Blackness. In my vie\v\
this book should be the starting
point of all blacks \yho want to be
informed about ideas for the uplift
ing of blacks.
By the way, BU means BLACK
UNITY. Black unity of the mind,
soul, body, and purpose.
First the unity of the individ
ual, then unity of the family, com
munity, city, state, country, and
finally the world. BU is the begin
ning, for without it, we (all blacks
regardless of their social or political
status) will die, completely and ulti
mately.
A concerned black man
? Tony L. Walker
Following is the inaugural poem written by author
and Wake Forest professor Maya Angelou. She gave
a moving delivery of the poem Wednesday. Jan. 20.
immediately after Bill Clinton was sworn in as the 42
preside?CiiLlljc-Hnited Slates.
AJtock, A River, A Tree
Hosts to species long since departed.
Marked the mastodon.
The dinosaur, who left dry tokens
Of Jheir sojourn here
Orvour planet floor.
Any broad alarm of their hastening doom
Is lost in the gloom of dust and ages.
But today, the Roek cries out to us. clearly, forcefully.
Come, you may stand upon my
Back and face your distant destiny; ?
Maya Angelou's Inaugural Poem
But seek no haven in my shadow.
1 will give you no more hiding place down here.
You. created only a little lower than
The angels, have crouched too long in
The bruising darkness.
Have lain too long
Face down in ignorance.
Your mouths spilling words
Armed for slaughter.
The Rock cries out t(xiay. you may stand on niK
But do not hide your face.
Across the wal^of the world,
A River sings a beautiful song.
Come rest here by my side.
Each of you a bordered country.
Delicate and strangely made proud.
Yet thrusting perpetually under siege.
Your armed struggles for profit
Have left collars of waste upon
My shore, currents of debris upon my breast.
Yet, today 1 call you to my riverside,
? ??
If you will study war no more. Come.
Clad in peace and I will sing the songs
v The Creator gave to me when 1 and the
Tree and the stone were one.
Before cynicism was a bloody sear across your
Brow and when you yet knew you still
Knew nothing.
The River sings and sings on.
There is a true yearning to respond to
The singing River and the wise Rock.
So say the Asian, the Hispanic, the Jew
The African and Native American, the Sioux,
The Catholic, the Muslim, the French, the Greek
The Irish, the Rabbi, the Priest, the Sheik,
The Cay. the Straight, the Preacher.
The privileged, the homeless, the Teacher.
They hear. They all hear
Tfre speaking nf the Tree.
Today, the firsthand last ot every Tree
Speaks to humankind.
Come to me. here beside the River.
Plant yourself beside me. here beside the River.
Each of you. descendant of some passed
On traveler, has been paid for.
You. who gave me my first name, you
Pawnee, Apache and Seneca, you
Cherokee Nation, who rested with me, then
Forced on blcxxly feet, left me to the employment of
Other seekers _ desperate for gain,
Starving for gold.
You. the Turk, the Swede, the German, the Scot ...
You the Ashanti. the Yoruba. the Kru. bought
Sold, stolen, arriving on aTtightmare'
Praying for a dream.
Here, root yourselves beside me.
I am the Tree planted by the River.
Which will not be moved.
I. the Rock. 1 th^iver. I the Tree
1 am yours your Passages have been paid.
Lift up your faces, you have a piercing need
For this bright morning dawning for you.
History, despite its wrenching pain.
Cannot be Unlived, and if faced
With courage, need not be lived again.
Lift up your eyes upon
The day breaking for you.
Give birth again
To the dream. - ^
Women, children, men.
Take it into the palms of your j^ands. .
Mold it into the shape of your most
Private need. Sculpt it into
The image of your most public self.
Lift up your hearts *
Each new hour holds new chances
For new beginnings.
Do not be wedded forever
To fear, yoked eternally.
To brutishness.
The horizon leans forward.
Offering you space to place new steps of change.
?HJere, on the pulse of this fine day
^You may have the courage
To look up and out upon me. the
Rock, the River, the Tree, your country.
No less to Midas than the mendicant.
No less to you now than fhc mastodon then.
Here on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister's fcyes, into
Your brother's face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope
Good morning.
? Maya Angelou
? ? ? = ? ? 11
What Is Washington's Education Agenda?
In the past, presidents have
talked the game of education reform
while slashing federal support for
schools and packaging school
choice programs as a panacea for
what ails American education. That
hasn't worked.
The schools are still in deep
trouble. They aren't educating
enough of our children, and they are
especially failing to educate poor
children.
Hill Clinton must lead the
charge for education reform if he
really wants our schools to pl^y
thetr part in making the American
economy competitive in the
demanding global marketplace.
His best ehancc for success in
reforming American public educa
tion lies in shaping policies that rad
ically improve the school perfor
mance of minorities and the poor,
and delivering the resources that can
make those policies work.
But if that is to work, he'll also
have to chance the mindset of edu
cators and the public alike that says
intelligence is fixed at birth and
unalterable.
The federal government can be
a positive force for change if it tar
gets it's policies and its resources.
One such area is the vital one of
pre-sehool education.
Study after study has shown
that Head Start and other learning
programs for disadvantaged prc
sch<x)lers work.
The children come to school
better prepared than those denied the
experience, and the positive effects
tend to last.
Despite that. Head Start never
got enough funding to include all
eligible children, nor have enough
resources been available to ensure
that all programs are of the highest.;
quality.
So a priority of the new Admin
istration's education policy should
be to ensure that every disadvan
taged child has access to quality pre
school learning based on a belief
that every child can learn.
A second area for targeting the
children most at risk of failure is to
beef up supplemental education pro
grams.
Right now. the federal govern
ment spends about $6 billion on
grants to local school districts under
Chapter One of the 1965 Education
Act.
Ttiat War on Poverty program
is supposed to improve the basic
academic skills of poor children.
But a recent report by a presti
gious group of civic leaders, the
Commission on Chapter One, has
called for ? thorough overhaul, long
supported by educators and chil
dren's advocacy groups.
in the basics to making sure those
youngsters acquire the math, sci
ence, and analytical thinking skills
the modem economy requires.
Finally, Washington should tar
TO BE EQUAL
By JOHN E. JACOB
The Chapter One program
needs to go beyond often ineffective
remedial work to provide the tools
to help those children excel.
Chapter One grants should
come with clear guidelines based on
the concept that all children can
cxccl academically. Schools should
be required to set high standards and
more funds should be funneled into
schools with large concentrations of
poor children.
Chapter One grants should also
encourage parental involvement and
give incentives for states to tie
health and social services to schools
serving eligible students. And the
emphasis should shift from rote drill
get its spending on education
research to determine ways to
change curricula and teaching meth
ods so that schools can more effec
tively educate poor children.
Perhaps as important, we need
research and experimental programs
to destroy the myth of innate ability
and to chart the effects on academic
achievement of parental involve
ment, after-school programs, and
other supportive activities.
Schools may be run locaHy, but
the federal government can set a
new agenda for American education
by targeting those most in need, thus
helping to reverse the decline of
American education.