Winston-Salem Chronicle Established in '974 trn#$t H. Pitt ? Ndufcrist f gemonye ? bditor'HubliSner ? Co -Founder Member in good standing with A - 0 ^ N?ltonal N??rK>ap*' ?North Ci'O1"** Audit Buft?flU Arnaijamat^o Pub**'*#'* A??ocu?i'on Pxn* Aiiooaton Of C IfCUMt lOHS Pw&*rw*. "K Editorials The Struggle Ain't Over As the c o untrv celeb rates Black History j Month, African Americans- should ask themselves: "What can I do todav tor the betterment of my race?" This is a question that blacks should ask not only during this celebratory month, but everyday. Blacks need to continually pay hommage to their founding fathers. But many today take for granted the earlier contributionsjhat were made. So many African American have been condi tioned over the years to believe that, pardon the colloquialism. "Black ain't it, " that we now accept that as gospel. Blacks play the dozens on each other at pool halls, on the basketball courts and at other social arenas, many thinking they are the originators. But these games, which today have evolved into "your mamma" jokes, were subliminally put into black minds hundreds of years ago by the slavemaster as a way of making "coloreds" feel inferior. Atti- " tudes did not change when Abe Lincoln in 1863 ? signed the Em a n c i p a t i o n*P r o c t a m a t ion, "which supposedly made slaves freedmen. In fact, a year before he signed the document, he met with a del egation of blacks and asked them to leave the country. ". . .1 think your race suffer very greatly, many of them by living among us. while ours suf fer from your presence. There is an unwillingness on the part of our people, harsh as it may be, for you free colored people to remain with us. It is better for us both ... to be separated." He then proposed a settlement land in Central American. ? The attitude that blacks are second-class citi zens persist today among many whiles, too. That's why blacks are followed around stores - as if they were common Thieves? are ignored at car dealership showrooms and w hy whites clutch their - pocketbooks and cross the street when meeting a black man. However, if there were black-owned busi nesses in East Winston, blacks could turn over the dollar in the black community more than one time. It's impossible to find in the black commu nity a sit-down restaurant, a video rental store or many major retail or commercial outlets. But blacks must understand that they have the power - "and its wtltiin easy grasp -- to stem tHeTimeT Support what black-owned businesses there are left in the community. And put pressure on city officials to build more retail stores in East Win ston. The struggle must continue if blacks are to gain an equitable share of the pie. If blacks don't sup port each other, no one will. Winston-Salem Chronicle Th* Tmm City's Ntwtpapir 617N. UbtivfcniiU. < Winiton-SatofTi, NC. 27102 (919) 722*6624 Single Copy 75* Mail Subscription Rates (p?y?t#? with order) In County 2 years 1 year 6 mos 3 mos $40 95 30 72 20 48 10 24 M Out of County/State 2 years $45 95 1 year 35.72 6 mos 25 48 3 mos 15 24 ? Yes. please send me the Chronicle Name Address C<ty St . Zip_ Check endosed 'or ? 2 ytvi ? 1 y??' ? 6 ? 3 ~ior'h? Mall to: Winston-Salem Chronicle PO Box 1636 Winston-Salem, N C 27102 The Winston-Salem Chronicle is ?published every Thursday by the Winston-Salem Chronicle Publishing Co Inc., 617 N Liberty St Mailing address: PO Box 1636 Winston-Salem, NC 27102 Phone: (919) 722-8624 FAX: (919) 723-9173 Second class postage 051 paid at Winston-Salem, NC 27102 The Winston-Salem Chronicle is a member of ? Audit Bureau of Circulation ? National Newspapers Publishers Association ? North Carolina Press Association ? North Carolina Black Publishers Association National Advertising Representative: Amalgamated Publishers, Inc (212) 869-5220 Discrimination Encounter In Court To the Editor I just read the "To the Editor" section of Februar> 4lh's issue of the Winston- Salem Chronic le. A let ter from Crystal Brown stated that it's not what you know but who you know pertaining to her experience in court. 1 was dismayed to read Ms. Brown's account of the blatant dis crimination she encountered in our local courts when demanding an increase in monetary support from her child's father. Most shocking was not the apparent shady dealings of the African-American woman judge and the retained legal counsel. What was most shocking w as the descrip tion Ms. Brown gave of the man with whom she brought a child into the world. She d^cribed him as an irresponsible illiterate with an apparent 4rmking problem. In other words, the man is a bum. ? It is indeed a shame that women have to resort to the "legal" system in order to force fathers to take care of their responsibilities which they should be men enough to shoulder without the type of intervention. We, as women, must learn to better choose those with whom w^begin relationships? We must le^rn to avoid men with tfttle or no integrity and a lack of racial and fatherly pride. I hope Ms. Brown has learned from her experi ence. Not only the lesson that it's not what you know but who you know, but also the lesson of being more responsible herself within her right of choice before beginning relationships. I.M. Taylor Blacks, Whites & Reds To the editor: So Cine innati Keds b as eball teamowner. Marge Schott. has been sentenced for using "ethnically offensive" words. Red Herrings have passed from an art to a science laced up by the media and sewn together by baseballs Executive Council ( 1 1 member body made up r of other team owners). Excuse me, but something is very wrong here. There are just too many free rides at Ms. Schott 's expense! I don't know Wr M <v w asks> to k $m> ? m mcmiAR phone CHRONICLE MAILBAG Our Readers Speak-Out Marge Schott. but what I heard from those that do. she is a wonderful person who has given much to her community. It is also hard to believe by those that know hef that malice was behind the uttered words, "nig ger", "Jap", and "money grubbing Jews".- As a product of an Italian Irish heritage, most of the 1 hear growing up about Italians and the Irish came from my-own family. For several years I worked for a minority (black) organization in Baltimore wherein I was one of the very few non-minority employees. 1 can attest I heard the word "nigger" and more selt-ettacing racial~jtrtre7r~ from my black co-workers than 1 ever heard from my white brothers. Why? It's simple, in the right set ting, making fun of onesdf and or others, where malicious iment is not present, has been and always will be a trait of man's nature. Fortunately., there are people like Hank Aaron. Frank Robinson, Jesse Jackson, Rep. Kewisi Mfume. who are attempting to draw atten W^VEGOTTD ?NW IF WE CAN PO msv% Ttnc in IT 56R7RE OUR B CONGRESSIONAL iwem, tion the truly substantive inequali ties in the baseball "good ole white boy" club network. The question is. "which is worse foul language or foul play"? Of course, the question must extend to other sports! How about corporate America? There are tens of thousands of com panies in America. Are such minori ties as women, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, etc. satisfied with their degree of success (or should I say lack of success) in climbing the cor porate ladder? Let's get touch. How about the so-called liberal-learning new media empire(s), i.e. banks, -strnngs-&4oans^ and the insurance industry. Does the reader believe the only problem with those has been the "red-lining" lending policies? I hope not. I have first hand experi ence. in Baltimore City, of witness ing the lengths banker's, attorney's, local and federal government offi cials wiJl go to rape, and deny eco nomic advancement for minorities in federally funded projects. And, I bet. in their back room plotting, slick-lip attorney's preparing all the right "documentation" for HUD, the word "nigger" was probably never used! (A story for another time, but it reads like a novel for its unbeliev able personages, plots, & successes, except for its victims who can't for get.) Lets face it, racial slurs, with or without malice is a regrettable form of communication, but is not the I stress the media empire (only because of it's influence on our lives), are in need of an attitude adjustment, and surrerender its' NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) behavior. Our attention must be drawn to slur behavior, and slur words will take care of themselves. My question to the reader's is, whether you are minority or non minority, what are you doing about the root cause of our racial misun derstandings and inequalities throughout our society? And to Corporate America, media empires, sports leagues and our law makers I urge you to turn to the Bible and reflect on. at least. Matthew 7: vs. 1-5. and Matthews 23: vs. 4,15, & 23-29. R. Dan Ritchie Foster & Ross To the editor: We would like to thank you very much for the way in which you pub lished our engagement anntronce? ? ments. We received numerous congratula tion pertaining to your article com pared to the one published in the Journal. As a note of appreciation. Your arti cle would truly make a black portion proud of their accomplishments towards a future together. Again ,,l thank you. Sincerely Carolyn Foster Frank Spencer Classic To the editor: Your continued support of the Win ston-Salem/Forsyth County High Schools is much appreciated. The Frank Spencer Classic in which you've graciously participated pro vides sorely needed revenues - most of which support those non revenue producing athletic programs which sermany students. On behalf of all the high school principals and Sugar Creek Enter prises, Inc., please accept our sin cere thanks. Jerry Peoples Principal What New NAACP Leaders Need There is hardly anywhere you can go and not hear the "secret" that any day now the NAACP will name Jesse Jackson as the successor to - Ben Hooks as its executive director. A story, alleged planted in USA Today by a public relations firm hired by a "Rev." whose name was mentioned as one of the final four, included Randall Robinson and Har vey Gantt, who immediately pro fessed no interest in the job. Jackson, the stealth candidate and rumored frontrunner, wasn't even mentioned, but that has not deterred his fans from a hard sell of the presidential aspirant. Suddenly, in the media, Jackson was looking like a NAACP leader. Conspicuously in the last month, he started up his "activities again: call ing for baseball boycott if Reds' owner Marge Schott was not sus pended and associating himself with another high profile cause ? the Haitian refugees. The logic for putting Jackson in charge of the premier civil rights group is, according to his promoters, his charisma. They readily admit that he is severely lacking in the keep-track-of-the-money depart ment and use his record in Chicago at Operation Breadbasket and his current tenure at the Rainbow Coali tion as proof. His friends also concede his non-interest in building an organiza tion, other than those functions that N A promote his image. There is little interest in consensus building either. Their main argument for giving him a 400.00 member organization with a multi-million dollar budget is, "Jesse needs a platform." Aside from his not being a major player on President Clinton's team (spelled: no political clout) and the refusal of a Democratic presi dent and Congress to seriously push for D.C. statehood that would give him a seat (or platform) in the U.S. Senate, Jackson's friends don't feel that the CNN TV show, syndicated column, business interests, speeches and ad hoc gadflying are sufficient for "Dr." Jackson. However. I was never satisfied that the NAACP of Black America would benefit ? and to his advo cates, it didn't seem to matter. Compare that attitude with Kelly Alexander, Jr. and Joe Madi son, two NAACP insiders who have worked in the trenches for years to find new, young faces to help rebuild an nf^rg vj^|Ar'p infra structure svith invig<5Tated human capital. To me their major asset is trust. They're known. They're dedicated and committed to the organization; not to the next press conference. Neither is a shrinking violet in the showboat department when a little charisma is needed, however. But neither sees charisma as his defining civil rights or electoral, with the slo gan: "Old Values and New Ideas." Not a bad idea for national NAACP focus. Madison and I fell on different sides of the Clarence Thomas nomi -nation. He staunchly upheld his board's opposition to Thomas. After the debate, we all went out to dinner and slapped hands. He builds bridges with people who differ. Vernon Jarrett, Chicago Sun Times columnist and Chairman of the NAACP's ACT-SO program, wrote that individual egos don't character trait. Joe Madison once campaigned for president of the Detroit NAACP with Rosa Parks as his running mate against one the the most entrenched political machines in the country. make, organizations confer the opportunity for individuals to serve in order to build communities. He used Martin Luther King and the Montgomery bus boycott as his example. TONY BROWN Syndicated Columnist

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