Opinion
Supporting aClinton Nomination
Winston- Sa lem Chronicle
ERNEST H. Pitt, Publisher/Co-founder NDUBISI EgIMONYL, Co- Founder
Richard L. Williams, Managing Editor
Elaine Pitt, Director of Community Relations
MICHAEL A. Pitt, Advertising Manager MEL WHITE, Circulation Manager
VlPAPORN RATANATANINCHERI, Office Meager
Editorials
An African- American
Revolution
There is a quiet revolution going on in the African
American community here and elsewhere. It is simple but
powerful. And this past weekend, in Washington and in
Winston-Salem, we witnessed the impact of the revolution
and caught a glimpse of what is to come
fa-Washington, thousands marched in commemoration
of the 1963 march which saw the late, great Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. deliver his famous "I Have A Dream"
speech. It left an impression on America that survives even
to this day.
In Winston-Salem, a hundred or so African Americans
met in the Anderson Center at Winston-Salem State Univer
sity to hammer out the details of an African-American Sum
mit What happened at WSSU was perhaps more important
to this community than the March on Washington because
of the immediate impact it will have and, in fact, already has
had on this community. ^
Crucial to the discussions were leadership values. And
perhaps the most important of those was honesty. African
American leaders must be committed to an open agenda,
sharingTnforinatroirrbelng dependable and following
through. Additionally, the African- American community
;must hold people accountable but in a loving way. All of
these things must take place if we are to address racial and
economic injustices.
The African-American Summit planning meeting repre
sents a giant step in the direction of unity and solidarity. The
African Americans at the meeting showed a determination
to take full control of and responsibility for the community.
Those who were present know that this was not simply a
meet, eat and greet affair. There was substance to the discus
sions, and workable solutions to problems were presented.
For example, discussion on education focused on creat
ing groups to interact with individual- schools and teachers
do so themselves ? much like the extended concept some
lime ago, where any adult in the black community felt com
Portable chastising a kid who was misbehaving. Later the
parent would thank that individual for caring, and the child
would likely get further discipline from the parent.
This meeting was revolutionary in the sense that so
many people came together on the same accord, disagreed
but were not disagreeable, and challenged each other but
Were not argumentative.
It was revolutionary in the sense that most African
Americans now understand the importance of their cultural
heritage and are not ashamed of who they are or from Where
they came ? both emotions being vestiges of a racist soci
ety that painted everything black as evil.
The opening ceremony of the meeting solidified our
connection to the past The African music, the drums, the
chant and the African greeting set the tone for a spiritual
dwareness that resides in the very soul of every African
American in this country. Participants felt that this meeting
was right and that the time for loving and caring about each
Other has arrived. All of these things are merely a return to
where we once were. But it is revolutionary because it rep
resents the next phase of a movement that began the minute
slave ships arrived in this country some 400 years ago.
African Americans are now accepting the responsibility for
reviving their community. This group of African Americans
is now taking charge of themselves. This current group has
the will to make it happen. It is, indeed, a revolution ... a
black thing.
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To the Editor:
On Aug. 6 President Clinton
announced the nomination of Jane
Alexander to chair the National
Endowment for the Arts. Alexan
der's confirmation hearing is sched
uled to take place on Sept 21 in the
Senate Labor & Human Resources
Committee with a Senate floor vote
expected in the beginning of Octo
ber. Every citizen or community
who values the arts and the opportu
nities they present should be inter
ested in this nomination.
Jane Alexander is a superb
choice to chair the endowment One
of America's finest thespians, she
has the tenacity, skill and leadership
to make the arts a full partner in our
nation's future and will do so by
applying the following characteris
tics: : ~
Alexander has a broad and ver
satile range of experience in the arts,
from acting and recording to pro
ducing and writing. She is one of
this country's most distinguished,
respected and accomplished work
ing artists. Millions of Americans
have seen her performances; and she
also possesses a sterling record of
managing staff, meeting deadlines
and overseeing budgets as a suc
cessful producer. In addition, her
work on the boards of several not
for-profit organizations has prepared
her to lead the National Council on
the Arts and manage' the agency
staff.
Her belief in and commitment?
to the arts is tireless. Throughout her
career, she has demonstrated her
belief that accessibility and quality
are the keystone of making the arts
alive to more Americans. A strong
advocate for small regional theaters,
Alexander has "walked the talk" for
many years as a performer in
regional theaters, at the Spoleto Fes
tival in South Carolina, and as a
teacher of young children at the
Oklahoma Summer Institute.
She is an effective advocate.
Jane Alexander's career in not-for
profit theaters in our nation's capitol
and Cambridge and Boston, Mass.
has prepared her to be one of the
most articulate and forceful advo
cates for the arts. In testimony
before Congress, she has publicly
. expressed her appreciation of the
government's support of small and
regional theaters and has spoken
eloquently on the importance of the
arts in our children's and nation's
future.
Jane Alexander's career has
encompassed television, radio, film,
recording, Broadway, Off-Broad
way, and small and regional the
atres. As an actress, she has first
hand experience of the power of the
arts to move audiences. As a pro
ducer, she is effective and efficient
in the business of the arts and, as an
advocate, she knows what it takes to
fight for critical priorities.
President Clinton's choice of
Jane Alexander marks a new era of
leadership at the National Endow
ment for the Arts. Alexander has the
wisdom, knowledge and experience
to make her a distinguished and vital
leader and spokesperson for the arts
and all America. She understands
both the concerns of the artists and
the needs of the public. This under
standing, coupled with her vision,
can move the federal agency for
ward toa new era of excellence and
Winston-Salem needs to delve into
its many racial problems.
Please don't hold against him
the fact that he is able to articulate
what many of us think but just don't
bother to say. Larry has always
expressed himself well, even as a
child. His grandmother was a master
at it He makes mistakes, but what
human being doesn't? Many news
papers make mistakes from time to
time also.
Larry learned early in his life
how to relate to all races and creeds.
He got a start in this expertise as he
played football and baseball with
white boys in a vacant lot near the
Dixie Classic fairgrounds.
As a teacher coming to Win
s ton -Salem in the early forties, my
salary was only $92. A White
teacher coming to this city on the
same bus made four times that
much. It wasn't until the late forties
in a court fight that teacher's
himself in his efforts to be diverse.
He proved to be too trusting of some
of those with whom he worked. He
found at that racism is still alive in
Winston-Salem.
Thank you, Larry, for seeking
reelection in the Southeast ward. I
have worked for you in past cam
paigns, and I know how the citizens
(white and black) in the ward
respect you and appreciate all the
work you have done for the commu
nity. For this reason, I know you can
win. Just remember the poem by
Maya Angelou: "And Still I Rise."
Bessie Allen
Peaceful Rally
To the Editor:
I would like to commend the
efforts of John Moore and Robert
Greer, the founders and co-leaders
of Black Men and Women Against
Crime for the Peace and Unity Rally
CHRONICLE MAILBAG
Our Readers Speak Out
fully recognize the place of the
artists and the arts in our communi
ties.
If is for these reasons that I urge
you to contact Senators Jesse Helms
and Lauch Faircloth and ask them to _
support the nomination of Jane
Alexander aa the chair for the
National Endowment for the Aits.
David 'C. Hudson
The Arts Council
Reelection Bid
To the Editor:
Larry Womble's decision to
seek reelectiori for alderman in the
Southeast Ward is a very significant
way to enhance his continued alle
giance to his community. It comes
as no surprise to many of us that
Larry would seek reelection, for we
know of his dedicated efforts to
make this city the kind oTcomimr
nity we would all like it to be.
He was forthright in stating his
belief that wa needed to do-some ?
house-cleaning before we became
an Ail-American City. Most Ameri
can cities do. A recent article in the
daily paper reaffirms the fact that
salaries were equalized. During the
court battle, we were told that we
were not qualified, even though we
attended colleges and universities
throughout America that would
accept us. Afterward, we were told
we were "over qualified.** We
passed such experiences on to our
students and urged them to seek
degrees as high as possible. Our
young people who are striving to
reach the top are continuously being
knocked down. If they dare to give
an honest opinion or disagree with
the power structure, they are consid
ered insubordinate, and they are
unmercifully criticized and unjustly
treated.
LarTy has always been inter
ested in learning and improving
that they sponsored on Aug. 13. Our
community has become very famil
iar with the vigils that this organiza
tion holds to counteract acts of vio
lence perpetrated against our
neighbors..
The rally was a tremendous
success, and it was especially grati
fying to see so many citizens, busi
ness leaders, social service ageqcies
and government officials unify tyeir
efforts on behalf of peace in our
community.
I believe that we should all
thank Messrs. Greer and Moore and
BMW AC and support their hard
work to stop the senseless violence
and crime.
Rep. Warren C. Oldham
District 67
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A Good Reason to Have
African Blood
At last, researchers found
something good to say about the
blood of Africans ? in this case the
blood of a hybrid group that I call
Americanized- Africans.
This group of Americans has
more prostate cancer, more heart
disease, more AIDS, more ? you
name it ? than Americans of Euro
pean or Asian descent
But last week the Laboratory of
Malaria Research at the National
Institutes of Health (NIH), a gov
ernment agency, reported a link
between blood characteristics of
black Americans and their ability to
resist malaria.
Researchers have know for
decades that Africans and people of
African descent over time have
grown resistant to malaria, a leading
cause of death on that continent
Africans are dying like flies
from not being treated for Malaria
and the cases are being reported as
AIDS. And instead of the funds
going to fight malaria, they go to
buy condoms for "AIDS educa
tion,** many scientists and journal
ists believe. That's one reason this
discovery is so welcome. This lat
est research opens up the possibility
of a way to block one of the two
major types of malaria," said Louis
Miller of NIH. Almost all West
Africans and perhaps 70 percent of
African Americans are resistant to
the vivax strain of malaria, which
mainly afflicts people in South
America and Asia. The disease is
spread when mosquitoes inject the
over and over and then returns to
the bloodstream to destroy red
blood cells and cause fever and ane
mia. Now that the scientific world is
focused on malaria, we should
I TONY BROWN
Syndicated Columnist?
malaria parasite into the human focus attention also on 40 million
bloodstream. The parasite travels to Africans who will die by Year 2000
the liver, where it replicates itself from malaria that is called AIDS.
Where I'M Coming From
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