OPINION
The Chronicle
Ernest H. Pitt Publisher ICo~ Founder
NdLBISI egemonye Co-Founder
elaine Pitt Business Manager
Fannie Henderson Advertising Manager
Carol Trader Production Manger
T. J. WILLS Copy Editor
* ?l*"*C*? OlCKMbr, ' ? ?
?'ubMa**'* I MiiriMnr
The Home Town Lost
More people attended the Wake Forest-North Carolina
State football game at Grove Stadium than voted in
the last primary elections. More attend the drag races
at Bowman Gray Stadium than cast votes in that area. It occurs to
me, why don't we have elections at sporting events? That way peo
ple could plunk their votes at the turnstiles and no one would be
inconvenienced.
The city spent $120,000 for 12,000 votes ? $10 a vote, which is
less than the price of admission to a sporting event. This bolsters
my argument for the two events to be combined.
ESPN could broadcast the election/game, and we could all be
entertained by a half-time show of candidates "strutting their
stuff"
The mayoral candidates could talk about a glowing future for
the city, and the two new African-American candidates who won
their primary races for alderman could talk about diversity, eco
nomic development, school vouchers, and nudity.
We would, of course, have instant replay for when a candidate
got a foul for illegal procedure or unsportsmanlike conduct.
During the last election, sadly, the home town lost. The stadium
was less than half full. Some spectators were heard saying, "That
election doesn't count, it was just the primary (preseason). Nobody
votes in the primary but rookies, diehards and vote-switchers."
Taking a look at the scoreboard, we see that the two "free agent"
African Americans will advance to the "playoffs." If they are suc
cessful, they will create a majority ? an African-American majori
ty! This will be the first time in the history of Winston-Salem that
such a phenomenon has happened.
All of you non-voting fans and spectators had better pay close
attention to the training camps of those rookies, diehards and vote
switchers for this post-season event. If not, you will find yourselves
in your usual position, stunned and confused in the post-game
interview."
With this in mind, it would be advisable for all tailgaters, church
es, sororities, fraternities, and social boules to turn their "good-tim
ing" and ego-boosting events into something special by getting
people to the polls to vote Nov. 4.
Looking at the two candidates makes interesting commentary.
One is a Democrat. Fred Terry, the other a Republican. Vernon
Robinson. We will present a closer look at these two candidates in
future articles; however, a preliminary introduction here is offered
for brief comparison.
Terry is a soft-spoken, long-term resident, containing a goodly
mixture of patience, animation, and persistency. In conversation he
displays a willingness to give and take and is seasoned enough to
avoid smugness. He would have been a good "night student" who
toiled the fields during the day and became educated at night.
' Robinson is also a long-term resident. He is well-dressed, aggres
sive, and often shoots from the hip. He would have been a good
; "day student," where virtue and books were the theme and human
ity the background.
Terry can top anybody with his personnel acumen. Robinson
carries the key to school vouchers, choice, and charter schools.
Both districts are majority Caucasian with large segments of
minorities ? including Hispanics. What do we give up just to win a
simple numbers game? The dilemma in the local ^frican-American
community would be similar to the national one we now face since
the Congressional Black Caucus has joined with the Republican
majority to defeat national testing for public school children.
Would an African-American Republican vote be representative
of the views of its constituency on crucial issues like education and
government involvement?
Would it rather reflect a generic fiscal conservative ideology
manifested in Republican politics? Would the city be better served
if another view were presented, i.e. fiscal conservatism vs. social
conservatism?
Robinson could certainly articulate this alternative view.
The coaching strategy here suggests that we call a time-out and
decide whether we should go for the field goal instead of the "Hail
Mary," because there isn't any time on the game clock.
? English Bradshaw
???- ii?
I do not believe that the meaning of the
Constitution was forever "fixed* at the
Philadelphia Convention ... lb the contrary; the
government they devised was defective from the
start, requiring several amendments, a civil war,
and momentous social transformation to attain
the system of constitutional government, and its
respect for the individual freedoms and human
rights we hold as fundamental today.
- Ti mw IIII# ll/iirrtnff
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Counselor has
the right stuff
To the Editor:
Carolyn Gray is a guidance
counselor at Carver High School
in Winston-Salem.
All too frequently good guid
ance practices and techniques are
lacking when seniors find them
selves at the point of graduation.
During their high school tenure,
often they have been given very lit
tle help in course selection, man
aging time and study practices,
discovering and remedying their
weaknesses, selecting higher edu
cation institutions and courses of
study ? and the list goes on.
What are the chances that there
is a guidance counselor out there
somewhere who defies those odds?
Well, visit Carver High School and
meet Carolyn Gray. She exempli
fies the best in her concern for the
welfare of her students. Whether
it's a monthly talk to a distraught
senior girl or a strong no-frills
admonishment to a rebellious
senior boy, Mrs. Gray is up to and
on the job. In her concern for par
The Chronicle welcome* IiWwi as wo# as guest columnt from its readers.
Letters should bo at concito at possMo and thould bo typod or logibty print
od. 1o onturo tho outhonticity of the lottor, you mutt incktdo tho namo,
addrott and tolophono numbor of tho writor. Columnt mutt
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arrivo without this information. Wm reserve tho right to edit lottors and
columns for brevity and clarity. Submit letters and columns to:
Chronicle Mailbag, P.O. box 1636, Winston-Salem, NC 27102.
I .
?TiS SeU-S
WHAT?
jEt-frr
^ACK STE.<K?S Sf^^WNJ^eRlCA
ents to know what is happening
with their children, she calls them
on or off their jobs with informa
tion that is timely and understand
able. Whether she's dealing with
the parent or the student, there is
always in evidence a deep sense of
caring. There is nothing better nor
more profound than for a student
to feel that his or her being is
worthwhile. The ways and means
for the gifted, the over-achievers,
are usually open and apparent; for
others, frequently the way is not so
clear ? and that is where good
guidance comes into play.
Mrs. Gray is a noble asset to
the field of guidance and a bless
ing to Carver High School and its
surrounding community.
Gloria Love Mclver
Thanks for Roundtable
Support
To the Editor:
The members of the Black
Leadership Roundtable Steering
Committee would like to thank
the many citizens who participat
ed in the second community
forum held Sept. 25 at the
Anderson Center. Your partici
pation in these meetings and your
work on the various committees
show your commitment to help
ing address the many problems
facing our community today.
We invite everyone in the com
munity to join with us as we con
tinue the struggle for social,
political and economic equality.
As one of our early civil rights
leaders once said, "At the ban
I
quet table of nature there are no
reserved seats; you get what you
can take, and you keep what you
arn hold; if you can't take any
'wiing, you won't get anything;
and if you can't hold anything,
you won't keep anything; and you
can't take anything without orga
nization."
The Black Leadership
Roundtable will hold its next
community meeting Nov. 20. In
the interim, we encourage you to
get involved by contacting
Joycelyn Johnson, Khalid Griggs,
Larry Womble or Linda Sutton.
You may write to P.O. Box 1354,
Winston-Salem, NC 27102 or call
767-6355 for more information.
Black Leadership Roundtable
Steering Committee
Gray
. y
Forfoe ChildK?'s Sake
The well-being of the children in the
Winston-Salem area is in jeopardy.
According to an extensive study recently
released by the nonprofit organization Zero
Population Growth (ZPG), children of
Winston-Salem and the surrounding area are
suffering.
The study is unique in that it focuses on
children in urban areas. ZPG's 1997
Children's Environmental Index evaluates
more than 200 cities on 15 population-related
indicators that specifically affect children.
These indicators include air quality, toxic
releases, toxic waste sites, education, crime,
births to teens, percentage of low/Uirth
weights and the percentage of children living
in poverty, among others.
In Winston-Salem our environmental
score was elevated by our high amounts of
toxic releases (EPA data), although on the
positive side, we have had no major toxic
waste sites identified. These scores combined
to give us a score of 9.1 out of 10. That is
good but could stand improvement.
In Winston-Salem, our infant mortality
rate is a staggering 15.3 percent, low birth
rates are 11.5 percent, and our births to teens
are 16.1 percent. These combined with the
number of physicians to give us a score of
only 3.1 out of 10. This was the lowest score
for the cities in North Carolina.
In Winston-Salem, 23 percent of our chil
dren live in poverty, while the unemployment
rate is 4.3 percent. These figures combine
with our median family income of $34,007 to
give us a score or 5.8 out of 10. Our score is
lower than those for Charlotte, Durham,
Greensboro and Raleigh, which were also
included in the study.
As a teacher in Winston-Salem/Forsyth
County Schools, I took special pride in seeing
that our ranking in education was 8.5 out of
10, which did exceed the scores of the other
North Carolina cities in the study!
However, cities with high poverty rates,
like ours, also have a higher percentage of
Births to teens. In fact, almost one million
American teens become pregnant each year,
about 10 percent of all girls ages 15 to 19.
U.S. teen pregnancy rates are the highest
among all industrialized nations and rival
some developing nations. Many young moth
ers face few educational and job opportuni
ties and a continuing cycle of poverty for
themselves and their children.
Congressional cutbacks on public assis
tance programs, including welfare and food
programs, jeopardize poor children's oppor
tunities to develop into healthy, educated and
productive adults. Lawmakers are also target
ing programs such as the Clear Air an Clean
Water acts, which protect the environmental
quality and the health of America's children.
The ZPG report points out the interrelated
nature of children's well-being and the physi
cal and social conditions they live in. ZPG
cautions us to weigh carefully the costs of
reducing programs that benefit children and
protect the environment.
Winston-Salem was ranked number 155
among 2-19 cities, placing in the bottom half
of the cities studied. Our overall score was
4.447 out of 10 points. All four of the other
N.C. cities studied fared better.
Guest Column
Luann Bridle
Charlotte ranked 105th with a score of
5.575.
Durham ranked 87th with a score of
5.997.
Greensboro ranked 72nd with a score of
6.240.
Raleigh ranked 42nd with a score of 6.854.
_ Now more than ever,
our children need your
help! As a teacher, I am
gravely concerned
about the quality of life
of my students, the
future leaders of our
community. It is time
_for us to look at
Washington and the power they have over the
public assistance programs and environmen
tal management of our precious resources. It
is time to look to Raleigh and the power they
have over the same. It is also time to look to
our city and county governments for the pow
ers they have. It is time to look to our com
munity leaders, churches and schools to use
the powers that they have to enrich the lives
of our young people. It is time to look to the
families who can ensure children are doing
their best in schools by closely monitoring
homework and daily progress. The time is
now! We have to start looking at the interre
lated nature of urban problems and prioritiz
ing areas of need. Citizens must begin to take
actions today that will ensure a quality future
for all. To request a copy of the Children's
Environmental index, call ZPG at 1-800-767
1956.
{Luann Bridle leaches in the Winston
Salem/Forsyth County Schools and is the
Governor's Conservation
Educator of the Year.)