Opinion
President's Elan Boasts Maximum Benefits
Cultural Arrogance
John Gates, the editorial page editor of the Winston
Salem Journal , gave a classic example in his Sunday col
umn of attitudes that are extremely frustrating to African
Americans. He wrote of John Mendez's reference at a recent
meeting to European- American's attitude of racial superior
ity. A nrore appropriate term would be cultural arrogance.
This arrogance has showcased itself for centuries, as
Europeans "crusaded" to drive the "heathens" out of
Jerusalem, "colonized" occupiecHerritories all over the
world, enslaved millions of Africans and rewrote history to
serve their own ends ? all under the guise of Christianity.
In Mr. Gates' reference to Rev. Mendez's remarks of
accommodation of cultural difference, Mr. Gates said: "I
think it may be a social, rather than a racial, matter. It's not
acting white so much as it is acting sociable." Does this
mean that not acting sociable is anti-European-American?
Does this mean that the European-American definition of
"sociable" sets the standard for sociable behavior in Amer
ica? Is not Mr. Gates' statement yet another example of cul
tural arrogance?
John Gates should never forget the motivating force
behind European exploration and colonization ? pure,
unadulterated GREED. He should never forget how bibles,
booze and bullets were used by Europeans all over the
planet to subjugate indigenous populations while they raped
the land and destroyed "heathen" (non-European and non
Christian) cultures in the process. John Gates also should
never forget how Christian bishops stood on the shores of
West Africa blessing slave ships because their cargo was
declared by Europeans to be non-human.
What God(s) gave Europeans a monopoly on culture?
What God(s) told them to declare the northwestern portion
of Asia a continent? What God(s) told them to usurp an
Eastem-bom religion as their own, declare it to be the only
true religion and demand that all cultures abide by its ten
ants except themselves?
If this is Mr. Gates' concept of being "sociable,** then
African Americans ? by that definition ? should not
aspire to social behavior. """
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 ? regardless
of race or creed ? full human and legal rights. Hating no person, 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
Karen Haraion
Doug Ritz
Reporters
Mask R. Moss
Deby Jo Ferguson
David Dillard
Circulation
Walter Mickle
V amell Robinson
Todd Fulton
Patrick Edmunds
Business Office
Donna Conrad
LaCheryl Mitchell
Crystal McNair
Advertising
Cliff Hunt,
Judie Holcomb-Pack
No?w<
AM4o??n
Audit ButMU tn?>9?KMd ?
of Circulations
To the Editor:
As Congress prepares to vote
on President Clinton's economic
plan, 1 wanted to update you on
some issues of interest
v The President has put forward
a balanced plan that combines the
largest deficit reduction in history
and the investments we need to
revitalize our cities, educate our
children and train our workers.
During the initial votes on the
bill, the plan received the support of
both liberal and conservative
Democrats and African Americans
in the House and Senate, We hope
the plan will have the same base of
support on the final vote and that
the Congressional Black Caucus
will de the same kind of leadership
that it did on the first vote.
We project that with the Presi
dent's plan, the economy will create
eight million jobs over the next four
years ^Tnore than four i times the
number created under the Bush
Administration. That's good news
for the African- American commu
nity, which has seen higher unem
ployment than the American aver
age.
The plan has essential invest
ments to improve our cities and
rural areas. These include empow
erment zones to bring business to
distressed areas, low-income hous
ing tax credits and a new jobs tax
credit The plan also places a, high
value on investments like Head
Start, a tax credit for working poor
families and worker training.
Along with these investments,
the plan has real deficit reduction
Rev. Jesse Jackson helps residents of St Louis flU sandbags along the River Des Peres Sunday. He toured flood
damage with St. Louis Mayor Freeman Bosley Jr., left, and East St Louis, lit., Mayor Gordon Bush, right.
? $500 billion in all. For each ten
dollars of deficit reduction, five dol
lars will come from spending cuts,
four dollars from taxes on the
wealthiest Americans and only one
dollar from middle-income Ameri
cans. The average American family
of four will see its taxes rise about a
The President has proposed a
fair and balanced plan that makes
the tough decisions we need to get
our economic house in order and
put people back to work. . .
Roger Altaian
Deputy Treasury Secretary
Department of the Treasury
I am a young, black executive
secretary for a major corporation in
Winston-Salem. 1 would have been
in attendance (at the Association of
Black Secretary's recent meeting) if
1 had been aware of this gathering.
CHRONICLE MAILBAG t
Our Readers Speak Out
dollar a week. For this modest
amount, the country is already see
ing lower interest rates which bene
fit all Americans borrowing money
to buy a home or a car, go to col
lege or finance something for their
home.
Lack of Publicity
To the Editor:
1 am writing in regards to the
article in the July 22, 1993 issue ol
the Chronicle, "Ruby Dee Speaks."
I do not currently subscribe to
the Chronicle; however, you would
think that an organization would
publicize this event as well as its
f existence to the area cities.
Shaunta Collier-Santos
How the Black Vote Can Put the GOP in the White House
. <? * -
Never has the destiny of Amer
icanized Africans been more inter
woven with the economic destiny of
the United Slates than during the
present period of excessive govern
ment debt and reckless taxation
That point was driven home by a
man attending the Minority Enter
prise Corporation of Southwestern
Pennsylvania's "New Strategies for
Business Success" conference in
KttcKiiroh * !
riujuutgit,
This small business owner
shares the fears of 20 million own
ers of small businesses. He just hap
pens to be Black. After my speech,
he asked me if small businesses
could survive President Clinton's
so-called soak-the-rich tax bills. In
my opinion, I told him, many will
not and many who work for them
will lose their jobs.
As Time magazine explains,
the Democratic tax proposals from
both the House and the Senate "will
drown small enterprises. That is
because 80% of businesses in the
U.S. pay taxes at the same rate as
individuals rather than corpora
tions." Time continued: "Prosper
ous small firms assessed at the indi
vidual rate will be hit with an
increase froiti the current 31% to
almost 40% in the top bracket."
"Crazy as it sounds," Jerry Jasi
nowski, president of the National
Association of Manufacturers, is
quoted as saying, " many small
businesses will pay a higher effec
tive tax rate than Fortune 500 cor
po rations." I might add, that doesn't
include Clinton's new stealth tax
later this year for employee health
benefits or the 1993 higher tax.rgte
that will be retroactive to March 1.
Nebraska Sen. Bobby Kerry, a
Democrat, admitted on NBC-TV
last week, in response to a question
by The Washington Post's David
Broder, that small businesses were
being exploited by the new Democ
rauc tax bill.
Normally, Black business own
ers would look to the Congressional
- Democratic Black Caucus for help
to hold the Democratic Party's puni
tive legislation, but it has become
very evident that Caucus politics
are not the politics of business or
self-reliance. It is the obsessive pol
itics of being a part of Clinton s
team at any cost and backward eco
nomics.
That's obvious by Caucus
emphasis on "empowerment zones"
to give non -blacks tax breaks to
open up more businesses in black
communities. A few jobs are better
than nothing, but how that will
"empower" blacks escapes me.
The endangered black entrepre
neurs who truly "empower" black
communities with more wealth and
80% of all new jobs created in their
neighborhoods don't fit the Black
Caucus or the Democratic Party's
socialist agenda. Or, for that matter,
the Republican political agenda
either.
blacks who believe in self
help* conservatively 20% of all
blacks who vote, are similarly
ignored.
. Instead, the Republicans eiitef .
run to a xenophobic Southern strat
egy or write the black vote off all
together. In the end, 63% of white
men and 59% of white women
voted for either Bush or Ross Perot.
Then with only 39%^f the
white vote, how did Clinton win an
election in which the electorate was
87% white?
Ananti-Republican Black vote,
accounting for between 18% to
50% of Clinton's total in strategic
However, Clinton's entile 12-point
nationwide lead was the result of
over 90% black support.
But a strategy that goes after,
the "black vote" without appealing
to a distinct segment, a niche, of
those voters is a flawed strategy.
With only 20% of the black vote.
Bush and the Republicans would
still be running the country.
1 told Sen. Robert Dole and 12
other Republican U.S. Senator s at a
private breakfast meeting that Presi
dent Clinton has given the GOP a
tremendous opportunity in clearly
distinguishing Republicanism from
TONY BROWN
Syndicated Columnist
Electoral College states where the
White vote was close, gave Clinton
the presidency. That strategic
advantage made it possible for Clin
ton to become President with the
majority of voces in only his home
state of Arkansas, less than a quar
ter of those eligible to vote and only
39% of the white vote.
Ill explain it another way. One
opinion poll prior to the election
showed candidate Clinton and Bush
is a statistical tie (44% to 43%
respectively) for the white vote.
Democratism. The GOP needs to
take advantage of this opportunity
and target certain black voters by
adopting a strategy that appeals to
those voters' special interest, just as"
the GOP or any other political party
does when it targets segments of
other voter groups.
If the GOP helps black entre
preneurs and black self-help organi
zations, it will get its 20% share of
the black vote and help itself to the
White House in the process.
Where I'm Coming From
By Barbara Brandon
\WV\?N\W|tL
$6
6nbm
.acpancs?
w\ VW8N
in w
apr\cau ,
m\CH, IT'S
we P
&m?tw
==^\MA<RLCRP?
I^cnewcx