PORUM
Commemorating
Those African- Americans
who Die/or a Cause
Afro-Jamaican and Harlem Renaissance troubadour Claude McKay s
most famous poem "If We must Die" gives us enthusiasm and brackets our
anger as Memorial Day approaches. McKay wrote, in part: "If we must die,
let it not be like dogs . . . chained and bound and bleeding, as some inglori
ous lot!"
How many African Americans will die this Memorial Day weekend?
LIFT EVERY VOICE
By WILLIAM H. TURNER .
? ' ?? I J
. ' I .
How many will join* the daily U.S. average of one black death every 45
minutes. Between Memorial Day weekend and July 4, more blacks will be
murdered than have been lynched in the past 1 10 years. Who will die in the
African-American community this weekend; behind whose caskets the
anguished muttering in the sobbing hearts of veiled mothers shall be heard
again to spy," He didn't have to die this this!" Like a dog.
Few eulogies will intone with veneration and vaulted tribute these dead
for their heroic acts. The timeless words spoken by our eloquent clerics
about the character of the casket occupants are replaced with thoughts of
how senseless the deaths have become. Cold-bloodied murders, few having
met this final fate ''for a cause. "
The cause of racial justice espoused but a generation ago and for which
many noble souls perished has ebbed and waned, traded away for its effects:
racism, poverty and the violence that imprisons us all.
Memorial Day invites us to look anew at the Civil Rights Movement
and those who died in the struggles. Many of our martyrs are well known,
but unlike many dying in the streets today, many deaths were never investi
gated, many killers never identified, and there are many victims whpse
names have been lost. Their deaths, unlike most victims and killers in the
We salute the memory of the countless millions of Africans who died
during slavery's Middle Passage, whose bodies would cover ten-deep the
victims of the ridiculous and stupid savagery in the African-American
community today. We offer heartfelt Memorial Day accolades to those
who,' like Kunta Kinte, gave limb and life in resisting the deep-seated feel
ings of racial superiority during the ravages of slavery.
When you stand this weekend near the tombstones of African Ameri
cans who would be in their 90s-and-up, ponder on George Henry White,
White, a North Carolinian, the only black U.S. Congressman at the turn of
this century, sponsored the first anti-lynching bill. Remember the 2,800
blacks lynched between 1882-1901 who died "just because" they were
black. Venerate and consecrate this Memorial Day weekend our forbearers
who fought against Jim Crow laws at home and perished defending democ
ratic-loving peoples on the battlefields of Europe in World War I and II, and
in Korea, Vietnam and the deserts of Iraq.
Pause this Memorial Day weekend to reflect on Little Rock, Mont
gomery and Selma. Harassment and physical attacks at the hands of angry
whites then is no different than the tyranny we suffer at the hands of "our
own." Then, as now, we have no alternative but to protest, protect and
defend our little girls ? as we did when they died (gloriously) in that Birm
ingham Sunday School. At least their cooling boards dripped with the blood
of a cause.
May our collective memories this Memorial Day focus on the value of
the confrontations that demonstrated the justice of our cause and exposed
the brutalities of racism. In like manner and with even greater zest, we must
retain the Monday morning spirit of young African Africans in the Greens
boro Woolworths. African-American youths willing to fight ? nonvio
lently ? against the senseless violence in the neighborhoods and to be bat
tered with fists and clubs and guns (this time in the hand of their neighbor^)
would make for a better site than what we see today.
At least in the Movement days, we knew that our struggles would
silence the sounds of gunfire, the constant killing, and the undeviating
tragedies. If they've "come to live with it," they must be shown how to die
for it, for its cessation. If we could but enlist a corps (remember CORE and
SNCC) of youths exercising their right to be free from crime and violence,
any brutality against their just cause would force public and federal actions
to. end this malaise and foe of us all. ? ? ' ? - . '
Of course, it is our will to live in peace (and with honor) with each
other and all peoples of the earth. But. we should not resign ourselves to
live in fear of those who would take our lives because they have no cause.
Most of us have something for which we are willing to give our lives. We
fought and died on slave ships and against slavery. We fought Jim Crow.
We walked and died on freedom rides. We died to get our citizenship rights ?
for schooling and access to public accommodations. Today, vve have
another adversary and formidable foe. We fought and died too long and
hard to break the chain of discrimination and racial prejudice to let it come
to this implosion. I hear McKay this Memorial Day, speaking to us as we
commit to die "for a cause.' "We ' will conquer every foe, or together gladly
die. "? ? * ? y r ' ? --
(William Turner is a regular freelance columnist for the Chronicle.)
'Applauding Trans Africa's Rise to Prominence and
Credibility'
Haiti and South Africa. Two distinct nations. Two distinct legacies.
Two distinct challenges.
Neither time nor space wil| allow this writer to delve into the depth of
the analysis necessary to give"1rue understanding of the complex histories
of, and even more complex challenges facing these two countries. Yet, suf
fice it to say here lhat much of what we are witnessing today as far as U.S.
GUEST COLUMN
By CLIFTON GRAVES
foreign-policy initiatives, media attention and public awareness regarding
Haiti and South Africa is directly attributable to the efforts of TransAfrica,
and its dynamic executive director, Randall Robinson.
Since its founding in 1977, TransAfrica ? the only recognized
. African-American lobbying entity focused on African and Caribbean inter
ests ? has positioned itself as the "foreign-policy braintrust" for the
African-American community. Under the leadership of Brother Robinson
a Virginia Union and Harvard Law School-educated scholar/activist ?
TransAfrica has been and continues to be on the cutting edge of issues con
fronting the African Diaspora.
It was TransAfrica as early as 1978 that began to challenge the Carter
Administration, Congress, prestigious universities, states and municipalities
to invoke economic sanctions against racist South Africa. It was
TransAfrica's scholarly research and concerted activism that documented
and brought to light the unjust incarceration of Nelson Mandela, as well as
the insidious financial ties of U.S. -based (and European) multi-national cor
porations with South Africa's then-brutal oppressive apartheid government.
Consequently, in conjunction with entities such as the African Liberation
Support Committee, NAACP, the Congressional Black Caucus, National
Conference of Black Mayors, National Association of Black Elected Offi
cials, the Commission for Racial Justice, etc. TransAfrica's pressure funda
mentally changed the way the government and business dealt with South
"Africa, ' ? ? ? -
From the economic-divestment movement to the South African
Embassy protests, Trans Africa kept the public's attention focused on that
pariah nation. ,
But do not be misled. TransAfrica has not risen to prominence and
credibility as just a "one-issue" Organization. Indeed, again from its incep
tion, it Was TransAfrica that enlightened the African-American community
and its leadership on the then-heroic liberation struggles in Zimbabwe,
Mozambique, Angola and Namibia. Moreover, it was TransAfrica's mission
to systematically change the- historic rule that, the U.$. government and
American-based corporations played in bolstering the repressive, imperialist
European governments in those nations.
?For the record. Brother Robin^on would^want you^to knownhat
TransAfrica's posture has been to challenge injustice whenever it reared its
ugly head ? no matter the race of the perpetrator. Thus, TransAfrica led the
change in exposing the brutality of Idi Amin in Uganda, as well as the cor
ruption of Mobutu in Zaire.
As for the Caribbean. TransAfrica again has been ihe catalyst for policy
makers in the White House and at the State Department to rethink political
and economic relations with countries like Jamaica, Cuba, Panama, the
Bahamas, Puerto Rico and yes, Hkiti. And as critical as TransAfrica was of
the 1983 U.S. invasion of Grenada, it is now in the forefront of advocating a
military solution in Haiti.
While this writer is not yet sold on the idea of U.S. military interven
tion in Haiti, given the sordid legacy of imperialist "gunboat diplomacy" in
that region. I nevertheless applaud TransAfrica for its courageous and con
sistent stands. (Indeed, even sources within the Clinton Administration con
cede that were it not for Randall Robinson's much-publicized fast protesting
Clinton's Haitian policy of returning refugees without hearings, the changes
that we are currently witnessing would not be occurring.)
To be sure, there were African Americans before (and since)
TransAfrica who saw our struggle in its global context and pressed for more
association and alignment between Africa, the Caribbean and throughout
the Diaspora. From Martin Delany to Frederick Douglass4, Henry McNeil
Turner to Paul Robeson, Marcus Garvey to Malcolm X, Martin Luther King
to Benjamin Chavis, Jesse Jackson to Owasu Sadukai, Angela Davis to
Maya Angelou. there have always been among us those who challenged us
to view our struggle as extending beyond the geographic boundaries of the
continental United States.
? Randalli*obinson and TransAfrica proudly andiiiligently continue that
legacy. We all should be grateful. Certainly President Nelson Mandela and
the masses of our folk in South Africa and Haiti are May God continue to
bless TransAfrica and Randall Robinson.
(Clifton Graves is a frequent guest columnist for the Chronicle.)
-^Encourage Congress to Support A Safe Start for our Children
The upcoming weeks are critical to the safety and life chances of our
nation's children. Within the next month, members of the U.S. House of
Representatives will meet with members of the Senate to develop the final
version of a comprehensive crime bill for approval by President Clinton. It
is up to us to make sure than the best provisions for our children in both the
House and Senate versions of the crime bill are left in, while the worst are
taken out. v
We must encourage our Congressional representatives to push for the
inclusion and full funding of prevention measures. Following the Senate's
lead, the U.S. House of Representatives voted recently to include the Ounce
of Prevention and the Community Schools provisions, and added the Youth
crime bill. These programs and others will give our youth wonderful alter
natives to lives on the streets and meaningful opportunities for growth and
achievement. WitW1 quality after-school and summer recreational, tutoring
and mentoring programs and significant employment opportunities for
youth, we will begin to take the steps necessary to reinvest in our young
people.
If we are to keep our children entirely out of harm's way, we also must
urge our Congressional representatives to support strong federal laws con
trolling the manufacture, sale and possession of non-sporting firearms and
ammunition. The House version of the crime bill does not include a ban on
assault weapons. We must let our representatives know that their failure to
help us ban these deadly machines will endanger our children's lives. ~
America's young are harmed everyday by the pervasive gun violence
around them, by losing parents or siblings or classmates, by having to sleep
in bathtubs for cover, by losing much of their childhood and all of their
innocence to this immoral tidal wave of violence that reaches all comers of
our society, but particularly afflicts certain poor and minority and inner-city
communities.
Between 1979 and 1991, almost 50,000 American children were killed
by guns. Thousands more children are injured by gunfire. The Center for
Disease Control estimates that there are five non-fatal gunshot injuries for
every fatal one. That works out to more than 26,000 children and youths
injured by gunfire in 1991. Remind your Senators and Representatives that
the time for enacting strong legislation against the sale and manufacturing of
non-sporting firearms is now. The longer we wait, the more our children
, "CHILD WATCH
By MARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN
will suffer.
One provision in the Senate version of the crime bill that will be partic
ularly harmful to children requires juveniles over the age of 1 2 to be tried as
adult in federal court for certain crimes. We simply must keep this provision
out of the final version of the crime bill. Although this proposal is intended
to make young people accountable for the consequences of their actions and
to stop the tremendous rise in violent juvenile crimes, it will not effectively
deter violence and instead will have unintended negative consequence that
will affect a much broader group of troubled young people who could bene
fit from the rehabilitation that is the hallmark of the juvenile court. In most
states, judges already have the option to try violent juvenile offenders as
adyJis, We know that waivers, which allow juveniles to be tried as adults,
disproportionately affect minority youths. In 1990 black youths petitioned in
juvenile court were more than twice as likely as white youths to be waived
to adult court. Adult courts are not equipped to meet the needs of juveniles,
especially children as young as 13. There are many troubled 1 3-years-old^
(who have a seventh-grade education at best), who will not even be able to
comprehend the significance of a criminal trial in federal court. Federal pro
bation officers often have little, if any, experience working with juveniles,
and there-are no federal juvenile facilities in which to house children. Per
haps the most harmful aspect of this provision is that it symbolizes the aban
donment of anyJiope of rehabilitation for even the youngest of offenders.
At a minimum. Congress should set aside the waiver provision until an
already mandated study is completed and Congress can take a more careful
look at the impact on young people of existing state provisions for waivers
to adult court. In 1992. Congress requested the Comptroller General to study
juveniles waived to adult court, and certainly no federal action should be
taken on this issue until the results of this study are received and carefully
reviewed. Again. 1 urge you. to contact your Congressional representatives
about keeping the Ounce of Prevention and Employment and Skills Crime
Prevention programs in the final version of the crime bill. At the same time,
let them know that you're counting on them to protect our children with
strong laws on non-sporting firearms. Finally, encourage them to keep out
any provision that requires children to he tried as adults. Our actions today
are what give our children chances tor the future.
To contact your Senators or Representative in Congress, call the Capital
switchboard operator at 202-224-3 121.
( Marian Wright Edelman is president of the Children's Defense
Fund, a national voice of children , and a leader of the Black Community
Crusade for Children.)
Winston-Salem Chronicle
The Choice For A frica n-A merhcan News
USPS 067910
617 N. Liberty Street
Winston-Salem, N.C. 27102
The Winston Salem Chronicle is pub
lished every Thursday by the Winston-Salem
Chronicle Publishing Co. Inc.
The Winston Salem Chronicle was estab
lished by Ernest Pitt and Ndubisi Egemonye
in 1974.
Tho Chroniclt Is a proud nwmbir of:
? Audit Bureau of Circulation ? National News
papers Publishers Association ? North Car
olina Press Association ? North Carolina Black
Publishers Association " .
Motional Advorttslng Vtoprosontathro
Amalgamated Publishers, Inc. ?
45 West 45th St ? New York, NY 10036
(212) 869-5220
-91 0-722
NEWS STAFF
David Dillard
Veronica Clemons
723-8428
-8^24
CIRCULATION
Walter MiCKlE ? Vanell Robinson
Todd Fulton ? Patrick Edmunds
722-8824
( Call to start or stop delivery or
to report a delivery problem)
BALKS STAFF
_JUDie H0lC0mb-Pack ? Carol Daniel
Willie Wilson
722-8828
BUSINESS OFFICE
LExiE JOHNSON ? Tamah Gray
Tamika Hicks ? Cheryl Brown
722-8824
Fax 910-723-91 73
PRODUCTION
Kathy Lee . Supervisor ? Cmarlote Newman
? Scarlett Simmons ? Crystal Wood
To subscribe. . .
722-8624
Call for new subscription information or any
questions about your current subscription.
Subscription Rates
Single Copy 75 cents
In County
2 years
1 year
6 no OS
3 mos
2 years
1 year
6. mos
3 mos
Out of Cnunty/Sftat*
$40 95
X 72
20 48
10 24
$45 95
35 72
25 46
15 24
- ; - - "b
Winston-Salem Chronicle m
HOME DELIVERY SUBSCRIPTION ORDER
? YES, Please send me the Winston-Salem Chronicle
? 2 Year- $40.95 ? ? 1 Year - S30.72 ? -1 6 mos. - S2P.48
Name
Address
City State -Zip
? ch?ck enclosed ? ? please bill me
Mail to: Subscription Department
Winston-Salem Chronicle
P.O. Box 1636
Winston-Salem. NC 27102
Add S5 if delivered outside Forysth County