Winston-Salem Chronicle
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Ernest H. Pitt Established m 1974
Publisher/Co-founder
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Richard L. Williams Co-*00"*' Michael A. Pitt
Managing Ednor Ads trus'n" Mlna?tr
Mel White Vipaporn Ratanatanincheri
Circulation Manager
Officc Manager
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Ca/cx?a Nawspape# Audit Buff 3U
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Put Up or Shut Up
It had been known for some time that Louis Far
rakhan would be arriving in Winston-Salem to partici
pate in the Gateways black musical festival. It is also
known that the fiery minister, who heads the Nation of
Islam, is not well-liked by whites in general and Jews in
particular. And for good reason. For years, Farrakhan
has preached about white people being devils and that
none can be trusted. He also is friends with Libyan
leader Moammar Ghadafi. But last weekend. Farrakhan
was not in town to spew venom. And the reason he was
here should have been embraced by everyone, Jews and
Gentile, Christians and Catholics, alike. It was a cultural
occasion, in which racism and ideologies should tran- _
scend, but unfortunately does not.
But Farrakhan's visit was not embraced by everyone.
Some of the very/Gfganizations running around town
shouting "culturalvdiversity" ran away from this event.
The N. C. School of the Arts was to host the three-day
event , but it locked its doors and hid when it found out
Farrakhan was to perform. If any place should have
accepted him, it should have been NCSA ? a state-sup
ported school with an overwhelmingly white enrollment.
Perhaps, Chancellor Alex Ewing, it would have been a ?
way to reach out to the 49 black student at NCSA. What
better way to foster race relations; to seek cultural
enrichment?
Another-organization-4hat-backed_out_was_ihe_ Arts^ .
Council, whose president, David Hudson, by the way,
teaches a course this semester at Salem College on "Cul
tural Diversity." These and the other organizations that
backed out of this perhaps once in a lifetime event
should put their money where th^-lwo sides of theifc
mouths are. They should put or shut lip.
Spreading the Word
It's not often that a weekly newspaper can "scoop" a
daily newspaper. But last week the Chronicle announced
that Minister Louis Farrakhan would be performing in
the Gateways black classical music symposium.- At least
one other media outlet knew of his arrival, but chose not
to advance the story. The Chronicle chose not to follow
suit.
We do not exist to sit on news stories, but to bring
news affecting the black community to our readers in a
timely, professional and fair manner. But apparently that
upset folks from the Delta Fine Arts Center and local
resident Armenta Hummings, two of the organizers of
Gateways. Apparently they thought the Chronicle had
agreed not to publish the story until after Farrakhan had
performed. Since the Chronicle comes, out on Thursday,
such agreement would not have served the best interests
of our readership.
The Chronicle : would not and did agree to such _
arrangement with anyone. Granted, Hummings did flip
pantly approach the paper's editor two weeks before the
event about not running the article. No accord was
reached on whether the paper would run the piece. So, if
an embargo was agreed upon, the Chronicle was at the
bargaining table.
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 ? fitU 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.
How To Reach Us
722-8624
Production
Kathy Lee - Supervisor
Deborah Belcher
Crystal Wood
Reporters
Karen Hannon
Mark R. Moss
Deby Jo Ferguson
Business Office
Donna Conrad
LaCheryl Mitchell
Emma Jean Pitts
Advertising
Cliff Hunt
Judie Holcomb-Pack
Circulation
Walter Mickle
Varnell Robinson
Todd Fulton
Patrick Edmunds
Opinion
Reader is Concerned About Youth
To the Editor:
I'm concerned about our youth.
Last week's newspaper was filled
w ith stones of stabbings, shootings
and all sorts of violence. "Man
Stabs Woman," "Man Found Lying
in Pool of Blood," "Youth Killed in
Drive-by Shooting." "Shoot-out at
Night Club," etc. Our youth are
angry! Their actions usually result
in tragic violence. Why are our
youth so angT\? What can we do to
help them? We need to find what's
going on inside these kids heads.
Charity begins at hqme. Parent
ing is not what is used to be. The
number of single-parent families has
increased to an astonishingly high
rate. Many of our single parents are
women who must work two jobs to
make ends meet, which creates an
extensive absence of authority in the
home. Many are forced to seek pub
lic assistance. Our children need to
mote aggressiveness or violence.
Drug dealers appeal to our children
as a means to escape poverty. They
glamorize the "Ijfflefits," yet they
do not mention the dark side of sell
ing drugs, which includes imprison
ment. They do not tell the kids their
future can be messed up, nor are
they made aware of the many lives
of innocent children, who will suffer
in poverty because of a drug
addicted parent. Drug dealers need
to be enlightened to the fact that
they, too, are responsible to society
for the part they take in all of this.
What are our local school sys
tems doing? They handle our chil
dren for approximately eight hours
per day. Do the teachers genuinely
care or are they just there to process
papers? Do they not share some of
the responsibility to help us produce
educated, productive members of
society? Unruly and disruptive
About letters .....
The Chronicle welcomes letters as well as guest columns from its readers. Let
ters should be as concise as possible and should be typed or legibly printed. The
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
Chronicle will not publish any letters or columns that arrive without this infor
mation. 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.
What arc the local churches
doing? Are our children being
taught about God? Do we offer
thanks to the Lord for bountiful
blessings or are the kids left to
believe they were blessed by their
social worker who approved their
food stamps. Do we pray for God's
will and ask for deliverance in
Jesus1 name? Are our church activi
ties still related to God? Is God the
the people right here in our commu
nity?
Who is going to take a step
toward helping our youth? They are
our future and they need us. Will wc
react as the poet has described and
allow everybody to think that some
body will do something, and when
nobody does anything then nothing
will ever get done? If that be the
case, this story will not have a
happy ending. It will be sad. Our
youth will not live happily ever
after. If we (me and you) don't take
the time to find out why our youth
are filled with anger and what wc
can do to help them, they will con
tinue in violence until they die.
When they die, so does our future
because they are our future.
Janet E. Taylor
Winston-Salem
CHRONICLE MAILBAG
Our Readers Speak Out
know they are cared about and
loved. They lack discipline and con
trol. They are often left "home
alone" to be influenced by rap
music videos, which sometimes pro
behavior needs to be reported and
psycho-analyzed in a manner differ
ent from reporting slow learning
skills. Our youth are in pain and
they are crying out for our help.
center of our being? Is the church
reaching out to the lost after the
Sunday message is brought forth?
What about the other six days of the
week? Are we blind to the famine of
The Truth About Jackson Quitting NAACP Race
After Jesse Jackson's political
allies and business associates on the
NAACP's search committee elimi
nated the serious competition from
the final four to be the group's new
executive director, Jackson threw an
alreadystacke<^processintoohaos
by quitting.
Joe Madison, the most logical
person to succeed Ben Hooks, was
eliminated by Jackson's supporters
from an arbitrary list of four final
ists, along with Maynard Jackson,
William, Randall Robinson and C.
Delores Tucker.
Without these heavyweights as
finalists and wjth the selection in
tatters, factionalism is sure to nag
the eventual winner into office.
Hazel Dukes, former NAACP
president, said that many NAACP
members are "disgusted" by the
selection process and the damage to
the group's image.
Jesse Jackson didn't help any
as a sore loser when he suggested
that NAACP Board Chairman
William Gibson has manipulated
the rules to make himself the de
facto executive secretary.
But nothing has changed *ince?
Jackson first started campaigning
for the job with his new activism -
baseball racism, Haitian immigra
tion and getting arrested while mug
ging for the camera.
My point is that if the position
that Jackson overtly sought is weak
now, it was weak when he first
sought it. So why is a watered-down
position suddenly the issue?
Jackson actually withdrew. The
New York Times said, "amid Indi
cation that he could have suffered a
humiliating defeat had he remained
in the race."
"But friends of Jackson
acknowledged that he was also
deeply anxious that he could suffer
a hurtful political defeat if he
remained a candidate and was not
selected," the Times added.
In other words, Jackson's ego
centered leadership and hand offs of
a cult of personality at the organiza
tion."
Covering his backside and
soothing his ego, Jackson retreated
TONY BROWN
Syndicated Columnist
the spoils of racism-pork of the tin
cup brigade to friends in his inner
circle don't amount to agendas,
goals and objectives for an undevel
oped and underdeveloped group
such as black people.
One former NAACP aide told
the Times that "Jackson would have
been primarily interested in promot
ing himself and would have created
while accusing the NAACP of not
being aggressive enough in solving
Los Angeles' racial tensions and
suggesting that it was out of touch
Jackson's real motive is sup
plied by his own admirers. "Friends
of Jackson said he was eager for a
position of great visibility, The New
York Times reported.
What Louis Farrakhan Didn't Sav
Last week, I was beleaguered
with the anticipation of the jury's
decision in the trial of the LAPD
officers accused of violating the
Civil Right of Rodney King. Better
put, I was apprehensive about the
media-projected reactions if a guilty
verdict were not handed down.
Beneath it all, I sensed that the Jus
tice Lady was peeking underneath
the blindfolded, too. It was a no-win
situation, coming on the heels of the
continuing saga in Waco, Texas,
Miami-Herzovenia, and the hostage
holding in Ohio, and Srebrenica,
and Palestinian refugees marching
in Lebanon, and Chris Hani's mur
der in South Africa, and Rev. Jesse
Jackson at UNC, and it was 25 years
after the shot at the Lorraine Hotel,
and the observation of the Holocaust
coming up. And on and on and on!
It has been a long winter with real
life signs that the world's harmonic
possibilities were hopelessly diverg
ing.
I wanted it all to get over. I
wanted to go fishing with my boy of
13 who's having problems at
school. Our little world - in spite of
all of its sham and drudgery - on
Saturday. April 17 - was clear and
warm. Our expectation was to spend
the together and cap it off at the
Delta Fine Arts' presentation of
"Gateways: Classical Music and the
Black Musician." to be held at the
venerable Reynolds^Auditorium.
Perhaps I could be favored by
Copeland's Appalachian Spring and
be transported to my boyhood days
in Harlan, Ky. It was a glorious day
to be alive. It was one of those days
that demanded harmony, peace,
inner reflection, family time, and a
conscious detacnn? it from the (var
iously sordid) things over which I
have little or no control.
Truth be told, my anxiety level
on this unique event was tweaked
when the Chronicle scooped the
appearance of Minister Louis Far
rakhan as violin soloist on the pro
gram in its April 15 issue. Being
nobody's fool, I wondered aloud to
my wife - who's company helped to
underwrite the program - if atten
dance would be diminished by Far
rakhan's presence. Would he politi
cize it - as in politically incorrect?
Mind racing, I thought first of
Joseph Lamm, (A Jew), my college
roommate twenty five years ago. He
had introduced me to classical
music and I had turned him on to
Nina Simone and Malcolm X.
Would Jewish people in this com
munity stay away? Would the politi
cal and cultural elites with whom
we attended the NAACP Freedom
Fund Banquet on Friday the 16th
come? Did they, like me, think that
Farrakhan would use the stage to
deliver some fiery invective? Would
he do an Olympics '68 number and
hold up a gloved black fist and over
shadow the magic of the moment.
Well, the minister fooled the hell
out of me. He made my day!
Felix Mendelssohn, who hap
pened to be a Jew, and the composer
of the "Concerto in E minor" -
played so deftly by Farrakhan -
would have been proud of the min
ister. Conductor Michael Morgan -
who, by accident of birth, is an
African American - and conductor
of the Chicago and Oakland Orches
tras set the tone. The rainbow-like
montage of musicians was set to
tune by First Violin Sister Karen
Lowery of the Kennedy Center
Orchestra. Master violinist, Sanford
Allen, a black man, rendered Con
certo for Violin in A minor" by
Glazounov. Another black man,
Anthony Elliott, breezed through
deep breaths while gazing skyward
with the- confidence of a truly gifted
musician. The shadowy figure of his
bodyguard beneath the orchestra pit,
the police all about, and even the
GUEST COLUMNIST
By WILLIAM H. TURNER
Saint-Saens' "Concerto for Cello
and Orchestra" to set a serene, play
ful, though sternly serious scenario
for the minister. Thereafter, one
sided stereotypes about the rhythm
of people of African descent went
out the window.
Conductor Morgan remarked in
an interview that Farrakhan "...
fascinated me to be able at this level
with such a tremendous grasp of
technique on the violin." Peter Per
ret, conductor of the Winston -Salem
Symphony echoed Morgan's
impressions, noting that Farrakhan
possessed "very good technique,
tone and emotion . . . and was a
'turn-on* with the audience." Low
ery wondered aloud about Far
rakhan's ability "to do so well",
absent the frills and routines of pro
fessional musicians. I practice every
day," she noted, "and I make mis
takes with that piece!"
Yes, anticipation was in the air.
The authoritative tap of the baton,
then the overwhelming silence . . .
then Farrakhan. Graceful, com
manding, nimble, stood he, with
athletic-like movements and those
head-bobs only violinists make.
*
Between movements, he would take
phalanx of somber Muslim guards
through which he passed to his car
were forgotten. He never said n
mumbling word. He humbly kissed
the hand of Conductor Morgan and
returned triumphantly for an encore
to the standing ovation. There we
were as Dr. King dreamed: Jews and
Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics.
And a conspicuous array of Mus
lims. Bravos from all of us. Seemed
we were also applauding ourselves.
The universal communicative power
of music.
Now if we could get Yitzak
Perlman, Yoyo Mah, and Minister
Farrakhan - Hillary Rodham Clin
ton as C on certmi stress - with Presi
dent Clinton, on sax, together! Let
them play some music, with Rush
Limbaugh conducting. Ah, then we
might just figure a way out of this
mess we've created with our words.
Perhaps then we could sit down
and give real meaning to such words
as A Salaam Alakium! and Shalom?
and find the source of harmonic
convergence. On April 17, 1993, for
the first time, I agreed with every
thing Minister Louis Farrakhan
didn't say. Amen!