Opinion
Winston-Salem Chronicle
i
Ernest H. Pitt, Publisher/Co-founder NDI BISI EgEMOWE, Co-Fourider
Richard L. Williams, Managing Editor
ELAINE Pitt, Director of Community Relations
MICHAEL A. Pitt, Advertising Manager MEL WHTTE, Circulation Manager
VlPAPORN RaTANATAMNCHERI, Office Manager
Editorials
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Political Endorsements \
Tuesdays aldermanic and mayoral primary election
offers a mj? of the experienced and the neophyte. It figures
? in some wards ? to be close races. We examined the
candidates of the four wards where African
Americans are running for aldermanic seats
? East, North, Northeast and Southeast ?
to hopefully make your selections much
easier. ? ?
In the East ward, there are seemingly
three qualified candidates: Jimmie Bon
ham, Joycelyn Johnson and Norma Tanner Johnson
Smith. Our nod goes to Johnson.
Bonham, a longtime businessman in the community, and
Smith, a computer consultant who is active with the East
Winston Economic Task Force, would both bring a business
savvy to an African-American community long deprived of
economic development. Both seem to have some of the nec
essary qualifications for alderman. But Johnson, by her
* longtime association in grass roots politics here, has learned
what the key issues are that affect African Americans. She
also has gained a knowledge of how city government works
by her regular attendance at Board of Aldermen meetings.
This, in our opinion, gives her a slight advantage over the
other challengers for the seat being vacated by Virginia
"Newell.
k - 4
Over in the Northeast ward, there clearly is time for a
change. Vivian Burke has long lost touch with her con
stituents, first psychologically and now in proximity, having
departed her job in Winston-Salem for a Gov. Hunt
appointed position in Mooresville. Voters also should let
Ms. Burke know that they have not forgotten how she vio
lated the black community's trust by siding with her white
colleagues in 1990 in votes that stripped key chairmanships
from the other black aldermen. Ms. Burke
has done a lot for her ward during her 16
years as alderman. But politics is about
power. The African Americans had power
with those chairmanships, but because of
her actions that power has been dissipated.
While challenger Jim Conrad may lack
in the political experience factor, he is a
Conrad longtime businessman with strong commu
nity ties and his personal integrity seems in tact. We believe
unopposed republican candidate Rasheed Bey also is a good
candidate to claim her seat and that Conrad should be his
challenger in November's general election.
In the Southeast ward, strong support
for Larry Womble is essential to keeping
four black aldermen. He gets our nod. Mr.
Womble was made a scapegoat for the
problems plaguing this city when he spoke
out against the Ail-American City bid. He
has been, throughout the years, mindful of
the interests of his constituents. He ha^ Wombl e
been unafraid to take stands on controversial matters. While
his modus operandi might lack circumspect, he genuinely
cares about the city and all its residents.
In the North ward, we endorse Nelson Malloy, who's
running unopposed. Malloy continues to be on the front
lines fighting for African-American parity in a city amok
with opposing forces.
In the mayoral race, we strongly favor Martha Wood for
a second term. Although we disagree with the Mayor's
make up of the Citizens Police Review Board, Mayor Wood
sided with the black aldermen in creating
the board. While we are proud to see a
young, black African-American male ?
Joseph Alexander ? seeking the mayoral
seat, we do not believe his time has come.
But we encourage him to study the issues
and to become a watchdog of this city's
government that his aspirations of running
this city one day might be realized. But for
now, Mayor Wood is our choice. She has has been a catalyst
for economic development in East Winston. To wit. Lake
Park housing development, a high-income community near
Winston Lake Estates; Carver Glen, a moderate-priced
housing development off Carver School Road; Eastway
Plaza shopping center; and the Review Board. Additionally,
without the Mayor's support, the CIAA might have also
found a different city to hold its annual basketball tourna
ment. All of these efforts equate to a strong economic com
munity that bodes well for us all.
Wood
African- Americans Seem Stuck in Misery
To the Editor:
1 need to share an incident that
made me understand why w t
African Americans seem stuck in
misery and cannot leave slavery,
when all over the world other peo
ples are saying. "Better a grave than
a slave."
1 was walking near George
Washington University when an
intelligent-looking. African Ameri
can street vendor attempted to sell
me a gold necklace. When I said I
was not interested he said, "Buy it,
it will make you feel like a white
woman." I practically went into
shock to hear in 1993 such words
from such an intelligenulooking
man.
When I recovered I practically
screamed at him, "I don't want to
look like a white woman IT want to
_Jook like an African woman/' This
man's response was. ".What do you
know about Africa?" to which I
replied, "Africans ruled the ancient
world " His next response was, "So
what, we are nothing but slaves
now."
e What I found so depressing is
that this man actually saw himself
and all African Americans as slaves,
but after I calmed down I realized
that he was correct: We have
accepted slavery, because unlike
Asians who know whites as barbar
ians, we think whites are nearly
gods whom we cannot defy.
Europeans went into Africa and
said, "I am your master. Get on your
knees to me." and Africans said,
"Yes. master." Furopeans went into
Asia and said. "1 am your master.
Health and Humuin Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala swears in new Surgeon General Dr. Jocelyn Elders.
At right. Elders 9 husband Oliver; holding the Bible, Elders' brother,the Rev. Chester Jones of Little Rock, Ark.
CHRONICLE MAILBAG
Our Readers Speak Out
Get on your knees to me," and
Asians said, "Get out of my face,
you dirty, stinking barbarians."
Recently, I wrote to Mayor
Kelly that I saw a hidden hand in the
killings going on not only in Wash
ington, D.C., but in all the* inner
cities just as there is a hidden hand
in South Africa.
The Ku Klux Klan is riding
again, but this time they have black
hired help., I am not psychic, but I
see patterns that look man-made.
The murder of James Jordan fits into
the man-made patterns, and 1 am
willing to bet thqt a war on crime
. will be launched with this murder
just as a "war on drugs" (African
Americans) was launched with the
"drug overdose" of the young bas
ketball player
Have you noticed how only cer
tain people die from drug overdoses
when we have maybe millions using
drugs? These murders plus the
flooding of our communities with
drugs is enough for us to go before
the United Nations and say that our
human rights are being violated
Gloria Hemphill
Washington, D.C.
Young Black Folks Giving Back
If we believed the stereotypes perpetuated by
the mass media, we'd think that most young,
black adults today are selfish, unmotivated, mate
rialistic and headed for self-destruction.
If we take a look at our communities, we' nq
likely to see that a large and growing number of
young people are trying their best to stay in
school, study hard, stay away from drugs and
crime and fulfill their potential. Many are also
concerned with the problems facing their com
munities and committed to working for positive
ehangc,
I've recently come from "graduation" cere
monies of the Ella Baker Child Policy Training
Institute (EBCPTI). where 1 20 African- American
college students and young adults spent two
weeks learning leadership and community advo
cacy skills. Now, they'll spend the rest of the
summer working in underprivileged communities
on behalf of children.
Building a new generation of leadership is a
top priority of the Black Community Crusade for
Children (BCCC). Our Black Student Leadership
Network (BSLN) recruits and trains college stu
dents and young adults on campuses during the
school year through regional meetings and during
the summer through the EBCPTI.
Founded in 1 992 and named in honor of Ella
Baker, considered by many to be the '^mother of
the Civil Rights Movement," the EBCPTI trains
young^people in all aspects of community service
and advocacy. The EBCPTI is headquartered at
Ella Baker's alma mater. Shaw University, a his
torically black college in Raleigh.
These young people study movement history
and context (including Henry Hampton's award
winning series "Eyes on the Prize"), along with
economic development, grass-roots organizing,
classroom methodology and public policy.
The training at EBCPTI often lasts from
early morning until late at night, and the intensity
never wavers. As I watched the young people,
exhausted from the process but exhilarated and
motivated by ftfl'they tradleatfnetf ahd oh flte'WIh "
\\ a sense of purpose, I remerrtbte^d,4^H^^l^#ttW?*,^,
student in the early days of the Civil Rights
Movement. In spite of our determination to
change the world we lived in, we sometimes
faced discouraging obstacles. It was people like
Ella Baker and the other adults in our lives who
provided the guidance and inspiration to keep us
on track.
The BSLN and the EBCPTI are about inter
generational leadership, which allows the young
folks to benefit from the wisdom and experience
of the elders, who are in turn buoyed by the pas
sion and purpose of the young folks. This is a ter
rific example of how we
can work with and
5- to 18-year-olds a combination of nutritious,
federally-funded meals and academic, cultural
and recreational activities. These schools are
located in sites such as schools, churches and
community-based organizations." u ju mi . .
? The EBCPTI graduates are committed to
giving the Freedom School students a stronger
sense of their history and traditions, while bol
stering their academic skills, expressive abilities
and self-esteem. Evenings and weekends, the
EBCPTI graduates work with parents of the Free
dom School students and other community lead
ers to address issues of concern.
I'm proud of the young people in EBCPTI
and those like them around the country. who
remind us that they're committed, caring and
eager to make a difference.
inspire each other.
The* EBCPTI has
grown ? in its first year,
25 students from across
the Country were trained
1 in community service
and advocacy and placed
in six-week internships with community-based
child service organizations throughout North Car
olina.
This year, there are some 120 participants
from the East Coast and 29 from the West Coast
CHILD WA TCH
who will work at Summer Freedom Schools
throughout the country. They'll be supervising
and teaching at the Freedom Schools in New
York, California, Washington, D.C., and North
Carolina. These Freedom Schools are based on
the principles of the 1960s Mississippi Freedom
Schools, which educated black youth in poor
areas so they could help their communities grow.
This year's Summer Freedom Schools offer
MARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN
I'm inspired by our young leaders who are
taking the lessons of history and building upon
them a bridge over today's troubled waters that
leads to a brighter tomorrow.
I want to thank and congratulate them for
reminding us not to be discouraged by the crisis
confronting our communities. For the possibili
ties our y o'ung leaders represent are greater than
the problems we are facing and give ]as added
faith in the potential for change.
( Marian Wright Edelman is president of the
Children's Defense Fund , a national voice for
children , and a leader of the Black Community
Crusade for Children .)
Where I'M Coming From
? 1993 Barbara B'jrKtonOisI Oy Unrv?rs?l Pr?< Syrvfccate
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