Winston-Salem Chronicle
l he I mn City's Award-Winning Weekly'
Established in 1974
Ernest H. Pitt ? Ndubisi Egomony?
Editor'Publisher Co-Founder
Member in good standing with
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"In Our Schools"
This week, on several of our news pages, the Chronicle
looks at the expulsion rate of blacks from our school system
here. In this "In Our Schools" special report, the Chronicle
talked with administrators, sociologists, teachers and. most
importantly, students. We did this not to place blame on any one
individual or any one ethnic group, but to bring this issue of con
cern to the forefront of people s minds so that the process can
began in finding a remedy. A solution is never found if a prob
lem is never discussed. For this or any other social ill to be
ignored with the hope that it will eradicate itself, is a mistake.
And a mistake that Winston- Salem ? or the country, for that
matter ? cannot afford to make.
There are people in this community ? white and black ?
who have the foresight to recognize that a problem exists in our
schools in terms of the black male suspension rate. They also
have the wherewithal to understand that if the trend continues, a
.generation of black men will have been lost. They understand
the ramifications of this.
On the other, there are those who might be too blind to see
where the issue of a disproportionate number of Black students
expelled or suspended from our schools needs addressing.
Ignore it and it'll go away, they say. There's a trial going on in
Los Angeles right now that emphatically states that the problem
will not go away. But, in fact, will fester and fester, much like an
open wound left untreated.
We all should understand the ramifications of that.
Fighting For Tenure "
When Richard Davis, an associate professor of sociology-at
Winston-Salem State, was denied tenure, the UNC Board of
Governors ruled that it was done
unfairly. The board also excluded
from the subsequent vote on Davis'
application three school adminis
trators who demonstrated "per
sonal malice" toward Davis during
the process. The Board of Trustees
were wrong to have placed the
issue back into the hands of
WSSU. Having three administra
tors to taint the process with "per
sonal malice" and having a non- Richard Davis
favorable recommendation
following a favorable vote should have been just cause to
remove WSSU from the decision-making process.
Tenure, a lifetime faculty appointment, should not be
granted lightly ? or unjustly denied ? at any university.
Lorenzo Battle III, chairman of the Department of Arts and Sci
ences, first recommended denial of tenure to Davis. Battle ?
either mistakenly or wantonly ? made his recommendation
without bringing the matter before the senior faculty of the
department.
He made this recommendation although Davis is a well-pub
lished scholar and had a glowing evaluation. Although there
were concerns about Davis' interraction with students ? some
students accused him of using an unfair grading system and
being >"military" ? he nonetheless deserves just treatment. It is
clear that he did not receive it from Winston-Salem State. It is
also clear that the UNC Board of Governors erred in sending the
charge back to WSSU to determine his fate. If there is a legiti
mate reason that Davis is deemed not worthy of the WSSU fac
ulty, Chancellor Cleon Thompson should have the courage to
deny him tenure and say why. But the process shouldn't be
fooled with to the point where it casts an ugly shadow on the
image of the university.
Credo of the Black Press
The Black Press believes that America can best lead the world
away from antagonisms when it accords to every person ? regard
less of race or creed ? full human and legal rights. Hating no per
son, the Black Press strives to help every person , in the firm belief
that all are hurt as long as anyone is held back.
About letters . . .
The Chronicle welcomes letters as well as guest columns
from its readers. Letters should be as concise as possible
and should be typed or legibly printed. J he letter must
also include the name, address and telephone number of
the writer to ensure the authenticity of the letter. Columns
must follow the same guidelines and will be published if
they are of interest to our general readership. The Chroni
cle will not publish any letters or columns that arrive with
out this information. We reserve the right to edit letters
and columns for brevity and clarity. Submit letters and
columns to
Chronicle Mailbag
P.O. Box 1636
Winston-Salem, N.C. 27102.
Opinion
Disappointed That Educator Would Criticize Clemmer
To tftf Editor:
I am disappointed that an edu
cator and city leader would criticize
Rob Clcmmer, the Carver High
School principal. Signs of oppres
sive behaviors directed toward
many groups are increasing and are
evident in schools as mirrors as
society.
The leadership of the teachers,
principals and assistant principals
recently agreed to pursue funding
for training in the areas of cultural
diversity and violence aversion. The
Forsyth Association of Classroom
Teachers, the PTA and the Junior
League made formal budget
requests to the school board in Feb
ruary, which included cultural sensi
tivity training as a focal area for
staff development. Moreover, the
Forsyth Association of Classroom
Teachers sent its president to a prej
udice reduction workshop recently
to become trained in countering
oppressive behaviors.
The most effective efforts to
end racism begin in the home. The
best efforts in the school as a social
ization agent for each child must
reflect racially balanced classes,
equal access to programs, advocacy
programs (much like the one at
Carver, "It's My Call"), fair-but-firm
discipline, and early intervention
programs. The Strategic Direction
Initiative, currently being developed
by the school system, must culmi
nate in a blueprint for K-12 success
for all students.
? In a recent newspaper article,
Rob Clemmer committed his per
3onaLresources Jo provide Jrug-tesu_
ing for Carver students if no other
resources were available. His com
mitment generated immediate sup
port from the community. His
response to the recent incident was
exemplary and warrants similar
community support. Walter Mar
shall acknowledged his support at
the Feb. 18 school board meeting. I
urge the parents and citizens of the
Carver district to join us in support
ing the efforts of Clemmer and the
Carver faculty.
Reba J. Smith, president
Forsyth Association
of Classroom Teachers
Winston -Salem
Police Review
Good Idea
To the Editor:
This letter comes to applaud
Mayor Wood and the Winston
Salem Board of Aldermen for mov
ing to establish a Police Review
Board. I agree that people are justi
fied in feeling threatened by police
and need the protection of a review
withbut subpoena powers. It is
important that we put pressure on
our elected representatives to push
for enforcement powers for the pro
posed police review board.
Carolyn Gordon
Winston-Salem
Meat is the
Root of All Evil
To the Editor:
How to get low cigarette taxes,
better health care, and protect the
health of people and the environ
ment?
The concept is simple: elimi
nate billions of dollars in meat pro
duction subsidies and create a spe
cial sales tax on meat products,
apparently the cause of many health
care needs in this country. Ameri
cans consume about 1,000 pounds
of meat and dairy products each a
year. Considering the 300 million
legal and illegal residents in the
residues in breast milk, birth
defects, kidney disease, gout, early
onset of puberty due to hormone
additives and sterility in males due
to pesticide concentrations.
Meat products affect our envi
ronment. Forests and rain forests are
cleared to provide rangeland or food
for cattle. Habitat for diverse
species is lost. The Sahara Desert
was caused by livestock overgraz
ing. Statistics show a meat-based
diet requires 20 times more land and
100 times more water than a veg
e table-based diet. Half the total land
area of the U.S. is devoted directly
or indirectly to livestock agriculture,
resulting in ground water depletion
and topsoil erosion. Crime may be
related to our food, since the vio
lence required to harvest it may be
transmitted in it
Results of this suggestion are
that life spans and social security
expenses would increase, while
crime, teen-age pregnancy, environ
mental damage and health care
needs would decrease.
CHRONICLE MAILBAG
Out
board that would be able to investi
gate charges of police brutality and
misconduct. Citizens need an objec
tive panel to investigate police
indiscretions without fear and retri
bution. It would also be ideal if the
review board included at least 20
do have strong reservations as to
how effective this board would be
U.S., a special meat products tax
would generate large revenues, per
haps 50 billion dollars a year ?
enough money for universal health
care.
Meat products affect our health.
They may be responsible for or
related to 97 percent of coronary
occlusions, 90 percent of heart dis
ease, SO percent of cancers, dia
betes, multiple sclerosis, pesticide
(Sources: Statistical Abstracts
of the U.S. 1992; Diet for a New
America by John Robbins; Revers
ing Heart Disease by Dr. Dean
Ornish; literature from the Mecklen
burg Vegetarian Society.)
If this makes sense to you, con
tact your representatives.
Tommy Harmon
Charlotte
Academically Gifted and Permanently Expelled
The public education system is,
in my opinion a system designed to
educate, but in the process has
become more obligated to those of
above-average intellect, leaving oth
ers ? mainly black males ? behind
to fail.
I, being a black senior brought
up in these so-called advanced
classes, can attest to this. 'I started
out in the academically gifted pro
gram. This, I feel, is a crock. Stu
dents are selected in the second
grade because they are supposedly
advanced in their thinking, but from
what I've seen, it realty has nothing
to do with this. At this young age,
kids only know what their parents
are teaching them. Consequently,
those selected come from middle
class, two-paremt homes wherein
their parents have extra time to work
with their kids or can afford a tutor.
So here at a young age, students are
separated. In some of my AG
glasses, there were as little as three
black students. When I entered, my
grades dropped.
I now realize that it wasn't
because of the difficulty of the
work, but because I couldn't relate.
I couldn't understand why I was dif
ferent Many of my friends, mostly
black, were just as smart as me. I
know they were. I was singled out
because I never caused problems,
came from a good family, and in
their (school officials) opinion,
came from a family that was finan
cially stable. This is the criteria that
made me "gifted." I dropped out of
the program in the fifth grade. My
whole attitude changed and instantly
my grades went up. Straight A's! I
would have rather stayed in regular
classes with my friends, but when I
reached the sixth grade 1 was put in
advanced classes. Again, it was
mostly white.
I was accepted because to them
I was smart and basically non
aggressive. I didn't even like to talk.
They thought of me as just one of seated next to regular students.
them, when I knew I wasn't. I really ... When one of the AG students
didn't want to have anything to do got in trouble, they were just
GUEST COLUMN
By J OWENS
with them. I didn't like their We're
better-than-anyone-else' attitude.
The situation is not helped by other
black AG students who also feel
they are superior.
The AG students wouldn't come
out and say it, but feeling superior is
how they felt. They would say it's
always "them" acting up, referring
to the other black students. AG stu
dent s didn't like to attend assemblies
because they didn't want to be
slapped on the hand and sent back to
class. Whereas other blacks in regu
lar classes were labeled trouble
makers and were suspended or put
in CDC (in-school suspension).
I fault not only these students
for their wrong opinions of us black
youths, but the system that separated
and taught them that they were
superior.
(The writer is a senior at UFT
Academy.)
Four-To-One Odds? Who Dropped the Ball?
Four to one. These are not
odds you bet against.
But what if you are a young
African- American? Four out of
every five students recommended
for. expulsion from Winston
Salem/Forsyth County schools are
African- Americans. Why? Who
dropped the ball? The students, the
teachers and faculty, the parents or
the community? Each person or
group is a variable in this sad equa
tion. Today, more young blacks are
raised in a home with only one par
ent. That parent is faced with the
responsibility of being both mother
and father ? the bread winner and
the Argus. Without the guidance of
two role models at home, some of
these children are lost. The only
place these students can turn to for
guidance is their teachers at school.
Many teachers do not have the
time or do not want to spend the
time to steer their students in the
right direction. Each day. teachers
work with an average of 225 stu
dents in less than a five -hour period
of time. Teachers barely have time
to teach their students the curricu
lum, much less (deal with) students
who cause distructions. This
prompts most teachers to send to the
office both black and white students
who create disciplinary problems.
The problem arises when a student's
disciplinary file gTows thicker and
thicker, and the school administra
tion feles there is no other route
than expulsion.
When students go home to an
empty house after school with no
one to show them right from wrong,
they have no respect for the punish
ment they receive at school.
Although this is a problem that
affects both races, it seems as if the
African-American race is the one
that gets constantly slapped in the
face with it.
It is our duty as students, par
ents, teachers and a community to
alleviate this problem.
Students, do you feel as if you
cannot get respect from anyone and
that you do not care if you get
expelled from school? How can you
get respect from anyone without
self-respect or without an educa
tion? Do not drop the ball! Parents
? whether single, divorced or mar
ried ? must take the time to teach
their children right from wrong.
They need to set the example.
Encourage, nurture and discipline.
Young African Americans must
unfairly prove themselves over and
American children ? safe places
where they can stay. Places where
young blacks can see positive role
GUEST COLUMN
By JOHN HARRISON
over again to reach the heights that
caucasions can attain much more
ea&ily. Do not drop the baiL
Teachers and faculty cannot
give up so easliy on "troubled" stu
dents. Instead of recommending
expulsion for the students that are
constantly disruptive, take time to
put yourself in the students' shoes.
Try to find out the reason for a stu
dents' actions instead of putting
them in an even deeper pit than they
already are desparately trying to
crawl out of. Teachers and faculty,
you must encourage, nurture and
discipline. Do not drop the ball.
Members of our great commu
nity, we must unite and give our
children ? and especially African
models. It is our duty as a commu
nity to prove to our youths that they
can reach their goals. We need to
give young African Americans a
place where they cap see the impor
tance of an education. We cannot
drop the ball.
So who dropped the ball? We
all dropped the ball. Four to one
odds. I would not take that bet. It is
now our duty to even the margin
through positive reinforcement and
education, until expulsion is a worry
that exists no longer. We need to
pickup the ball and run with it
(The writer is a senior at
Carver High School)