General Assembly to give lottery a look
?i
By HERBERT L WHITE
CONSOLIDATED MEDIA GROCP
N
If you can't beat em, join em.
The N.C. General Assembly, feel
ing pubbc pressure jto let voters decide
on a state lottery, has drafted legisla
tion to bring the issue to a referen
dum
As one of three states without a
lottery. North Carolina is losing mil
lions of neighboring Virginia and
even Washington, D.C., which are
using proceeds to build schools, roads
and improve infrastructure
"I had a friend go to Virginia to
buy 40 tickets last weekend," said Sen.
Charlie Danndh of Charlotte, co
t
sponsor of the Senate bill. "All those
dollars ate going to (neighboring)
states (We need to) keep the people
home."
North Carolina, Tennessee and
South Carolina are the only states
without a lottery, but Tennessee will
put a measure before voters this year
and South Carolina elected a pro-lot
tery governor in Jim Hodges.
"We are not making a decision,"
Dannelly said. "All we're doing is
bringing it to a referendum of the
people of the state."
The N.C. Senate bill would ear
mark some lottery proceeds for edu
cation purposes, Dartndl) said,
although the percentage would need
to be determined. A similar bill has
been drafted in the House of Repre
sentatives
Not everyone has lottery fever.
The North Carolina Family folicy
Council, made up of religious and
public policy groups, opposes state
supported gambling. The group
points to studies that contend 86 per
cent of compulsive gamblers have
committed a felony to support their
addiction. A lottery would create up
to 200,000 compulsive gamblers in
North Carolina within 10 years,
group members argue
"Easy access to gambling through
a state lottery means that most citi
zens will gamble" said Bill Brooks,
the council's president. Of those who
do, studies consistently show that S
percent of adults will become com
pulsive gam biers. Teenagers also pay
a higji price as research indicates they
are twice as Hkdy as adults to become
compulsive gamblers."
Dannelly said there's little proof
playing would cause significant harm.
"I don't have substantial evidence
to indicate that," he said. "If they
don't play the lottery, they'll play
something else. If they can get a lump
sum of money that's more than a
minimum wage - which isn't neces
sarily a living wage in this state - they
ought to have an opportunity to get
it."
Blue says failed 'coup' attempt not a hindrance
By ARCHIE T.CLARK II
CONSOLIDATED MEDIA GROUP
RALEIGH - N.C. Rep. Dan
Blue says the last-minute campaign
to elect him speaker of the N.C.
House was a effort to ensure that
African Americans' concerns are
heard.
Blue. D-Wake, said little planning
went into the vote, which aligned his
supporters with Republicans to take
the spot from the Democrats' choice,
Rep Jim Black. D-Mecklenburg. In
November, the Democrats and a
majority of the Legislative Black
Caucus nominated Black for speaker.
Leading up to the vote. Blue says lit
tle planning was done and the divide
between he and Black began well
before Black's 60-59 victory last
month.
"Coup is the wrong choice of
words," Blue said. "A coup is when
you overthrow a governing body. The
House speaker spot was an open
seat. I was merely trying to put in
place an administration that would
insure topics of importance to the
most underrepresented people in
North Carolina get their due atten
tion. That includes welfare issues,
education reform and appropriations
to historically black colleges I saw it
as an opportunity for me to fulfill my
vision of where the General Assem
bly should go. I am. however, confi
dent this session will meet with suc
cess in those areas"
As a part of the deal to encour
age Republicans to side with Blue, his
supporters promised key co-chair
positions to Republicans along with
the pro-tem position, the second
highest in the House. Sen. Bill Mar
tin said had the attempt succeeded.
Democrats would have had to push
bills upstream, but according to Blue,
the Democrats' majority would have
remained solid.
"The Republicans would have
had the pro-tem position but you
must realize that that position in the
last session did not preside over the
House one time," Blue said.
Although heavily criticized, some
political observers said the process
was a lesson in coalition-building.
Chris Fitzsimon of the Common
Sense Foundation says the campaign
was in many ways a good showing
for the Black Caucus
"I applaud the fact that the Black
Caucus wants to make it known that
the African American vote has been
taken for granted and that enough
attention has not be given from the
state Democrats and I agree with
that." he said. "The only thing that
troubles me is that the only way they
could do this is to make an alliance
with people who have been the most
negative and damaging to working
people and African American issues
here in North Carolina. Their gener
al attitude toward people of color in
the state house makes it a little hard
er to reconcile that alliance."
The coup was spearheaded by
Black caucus member Rep. Toby
Fitch, whom Black defeated for
minority leader when Republicans
seized power in 1997. Blue, on the
other hand, said he had no ill feelings
toward Black - only misgivings
about the way his nomination was
handled last November, including a
tacit endorsement by Gov. Jim Hunt.
"Governor Hunt, somewhat
stacked the deck by showing support
for Black leading up to the nomina
tion," said Blue: "It is clearly not the
protocol for a governor to take such
an interest in this sort of democratic
affairs within the House."
Although it has been widely spec
ulated that Blue would run for lieu
tenant governor or the U.S. Senate
seat held by Jesse Helms. Blue denies
any interest in either.
"I have heard that said and I must
say I have had no interest at all to run
for any of those positions," he said,
"...and I still have no interest. That
has been floating around and I first
heard it from the black members*
from Charlotte. Someone wrote
something about it possibly hurting
my political career, but as far as I am
concerned I have just as good of
chance of winning any of those posi
tions now than I did three months
ago."
"Due to his intelligence and bril
liance, there is no way Blue will not
have a future impact on North Car
olina politics in the future because of
this one incident on Jones Street,"
Fitzsimon said. "I am really torn by
people saying otherwise."
100 years later, first black
West Point grad cleared
By DOUGLAS K.1K.ER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
*
WASHINGTON - President
Clinton has posthumously par
doned the first black graduate of
West Point, a former Georgia
slave whose, milifary career was
tarnished by a racially motivated
discharge.
"This? good man has now
completely recovered his good
name," Clinton said Friday
evening during a ceremony with u
17 descendants of Henry O. .
Flipper in the Roosevelt Room
of the White House.
The president lamented that
the pardon was a century over
due. and said, "The special qual
ity of American freedom isn't
always extended to all Ameri
cans."
But he urged Flipper's family
and a group of past ^nd present
military leaders, including
retired Gen. Colin Powell, to
take heart in Flipper's story.
"This is a day of affirma
tion," Clinton said. "It teaches
us that although the wheels of
justice turn .slowly at times, still
they turn."
Dr. William C. King, Flip
per's great-nephew, told the
president that his family har
bored no rancor for the system
that took 117 years to clear his
ancestor's good name.
"It has been a long journey.
And I don't think you can find a
bit of aqger in anyone in the
family," King said. "We learned,
as was painfully revealed to
Lieutenant Flipper, that anger
would not gain you anything,
that you needed to persevere."
Earlier, the descendants of
Flipper, who died in 1940, gath
ered at the Pentagon for a cere
mony in honor of him. "We are
grateful to God that this day
has come," said Robert Alexan
der Jr., Flipper's great-grand
nephew.
Clinton's pardon reversed an
1882 decision by President
Chester A. Arthur to give Flip
per the high punishment of a
dishonorable discharge. Flipper
was convicted of conduct unbe
coming an officer, but the
Army's judge advocate general
later concluded he had been sin
gled out because of his race.
Although the pardon was a
long time in coming, Flipper has
been lionized for years. In 1977,
his remains were reburied with
full military honors in
Thomasville, Ga., where he was.
born a slave, and Powell kept a
photo of him on his wall while
serving as chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff.
"Like the rest of the family,
I'm relieved that this has come
full circle," said King. King's
mother, Irsle Flipper King, was
instrumental in beginning the
push for Flipper's pardon in the .
1950s.
"It's very exciting because"
he's finally getting the honor he f
deserves," said one of Flipper's
youngest relatives, his great
great-grandniece Blake Alexan
der, 9.
"We are all very happy and
vesy proud," said William Davis,
a great-grandnephew. Flipper
never married and had no chil
dren.
Flipper entered West Point in
1873. Ostracized by white
cadets, he dedicated himself to
hard work, graduating 50th in a
class of 76. The first black com
missioned officer in the regular
U.S. Army, Flipper was assigned
to Fort Sill, Okia., to the 10th
Cavalry, the "Buffalo Soldiers,"
one of only two all-black units
in the Army.
In 1881, his commanding
officer at Fort Davis in Texas
accused Flipper of failing to
accbunt properly for commis
sary motley entrusted to him. A
general court-martial acquitted
Flipper .of embezzlement but
convicted him of conduct unbe
coming an officer - in a case the
judge advocate general later
concluded was racially motivat
ed.
In 1976, the Army granted
Flipper an honorable discharge,
but only Clinton could formally
overturn Arthur's decision.
Flipper's memory is honored
in his hometown, where the U.S.
Post Office branch was recently
named for him.
His family has no intention
of moving Flipper's remains to
Arlington National Cemetery
now that he qualifies for burial
there, said King.
Crib death awareness f
program targets minorities
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
GREENSBORO - Child
health advocates have
announced a new phase in the
4-year-old statewide campaign
to prevent Sudden Infant Death
Syndrome.
The message, targeting
black mothers and grandmoth
ers, is to put babies to sleep om
their backs and sides.
SIDS prevention informa
tion will be advertised in
minority neighborhoods, radio
advertisements featuring black
actors, child health advocates
said last Thursday.
The campaign is being
waged in the 13 counties that
together accounted for more
than half of the state's SIDS
deaths between 1993 and 1997.
The rate of babies dying
from SIDS, the unexplained
death of seemingly healthy
babies during sleep, has
dropped by nearly half since
,1992 as parents have learned to
stop putting children to sleep
on their stomachs.
But national surveys sho#
that SIDS continues to plagt&
black children in North Caroli
na at twice the rate of while
children, and Native America!^
at three times the rate of white
, children.
North Carolina, though
declining along with the rest
the country in SIDS deat^j
still averaged 9.1 deaths par
10,000 live births in 1997, con
pared with 6.9 deaths national
ly. The deaths of 552 infants in
the state between 1993 and
1997 have been attributed \o
SIDS.
SIDS, which tends to afflict
babies between 2 and 4 months
old, has been correlated with
poverty, smoking, premature
birth and, most of all, stomach
sleeping.
A baby is more likely to
sleep on his stomach,
researchers have also found, in
a home where a grandmother is
present.
I Announcement
t ' ' ...
The Math and Science Academy of Excellence
held at Winston-Salem State University is
planning an educational trip to London & Paris
on June 28, 1999. All former students who wish
to go should call the director:
Virginia K. Newell
? 722-3480 or 722-4606
Deadline for reservations - February 27,1999
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