OPINION
The Chronicle
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One step forward,
but still backward
Davidson County finally joined the rest of the nation last
week when its stubborn Board of County Commissioners nar
rowly passed a measure to honor the Martin Luther King Jr.
Holiday. For years, the commissioners have used every excuse
under the moon to justify their refusal to approve the holiday.
They said that county employees already had too many days off
and that making MLK Day an official holiday would be too
expensive, forcing the county to pay employees for a day off
from work. Of course, racism, the most valid reason why the
holiday took so long to win approval, never was cited, not by
the commissioners at least.
Four of the seven commissioners voted in favor of the holi
day. The three opponents held their ground and came up with
more excuses to justify their refusal to honor a man that many
people believe was one of the greatest Americans ever.
Commissioner Rick Lanier told The Associated Press that he
would have approved a holiday for an African American such as
Frederick Douglass without hesitation. King, though, Lanier
said, had scratches on his pristine image, including allegations
that he had extramarital affairs and his opposition to the Viet
nam War. Lanier said he would no sooner approve a holiday for
King than he would one for former President Bill Clinton.
If naivety and narrow-mindedness are qualifications for
politicians (and law enforcement officials) in Davidson County,
then Lanier may soon be mayor of Lexington. There are people
and events we celebrate in this country every day that are
steeped in hate and bloodshed. Maybe these events are not as
offensive to Lanier, but to many of us they reek.
We routinely honor men who held people captive and profit
ed from their enslavement. These men did things that Dr. King
would have never dreamed of doing, yet they are called our
forefathers. Their faces look back at us from the n oney we
spend. Monuments and holidays hopctr them. Columb D;is
celebrated each November with massive parades in so places,
but it's a holiday built on a lie, or a misconception at least. We
celebrate a man who discovered a land that was already found
eu ana wen estaDiisnea. a man wno spoke anu acted witn nts
sword much more often than with his mind and heart.
If Lanier really thinks that a holiday to honor King will
somehow put a "dark spot" on Davidson County's moral image,
he has many other battles to fight. The county is run by a sher
iff who some see as a law enforcement god and others believe
to be a backwoods hick with a badge, gun and a bad sense of
humor (remember the less-than-subtle Christmas card he sent to
friends). Three of the sheriff's former deputies are facing
charges of distributing a variety of drugs. And what is more
detrimental, the county, thanks in no small part to people such
as Lanie^and Sheriff Gerald Hege, faces a huge public relations
problem. Outsiders see Davidson County as a place where high
ranking folks place themselves on a moral higher ground but
don't have evidence<o support their being up there, and a place
where folks abandon what's right and just in favor of what's
popular among the masses'. We certainly hope that Davidson
will overcome someday.
'Black Nativity'
was wonderful
To the Editor:
This is addressed to the edito
rial department. Shame, shame,
shame on all of you who missed
the NCBR production of "Black
Nativity" under the wonderful,
brilliant direction of Mabel
Robinson. It was undoubtedly one ,
of the best productions I have ever
seen.
I was absolutely mesmerized.
The acting, dancing, singing,
lighting, costumes and sound
were superb - and to think, almost
all homegrown talent. We truly
are blessed with such talent as
Rev. John Heath and his equally
talented daughter, and Carlotta.
Mary and Joseph \&re absolutely
divine in their expressive dance of
the birth of the Christ Child.
1 don't know enough superla
tives to adequately describe the
wonderful experience it was.
1 had just returned the previ
ous day from vacationing in
Europe where 1 saw my daughter,
mezzo-soprano Tichina Vaughn,
sing the role of Azucena in
Verdi's "II Trovatore" (excellent
production). (I) also saw the
Harlem Gospel singers on tour, so
this production was icing on the
cake.
Big ups to Mabel Robinson
and to artistic- director and founder
of the company, Larry Leon Ham
lin. Please continue to bring-u?
quality performances such as this
to the Triad. Hopefully this pro
duction will be an annual holiday
performance. I am certainly going
to make my reservations well in
advance.
Sincerely.
Luci C. Vaughn
Let's learn from
recent history
To the Editor:
The headline of the business
section of the journal on Saturday
The Dream
Lives On
MB
fewi;
Dec. 29, 2001, was a slap in the
face, a kick in the rump on a "Hint
to the Wise." The Chamber of
Commerce announced that the
East Area Council (the Afro
American arm of the chamber)
would be replaced by the Minori
ty Business Council, comprised of
Hispanics and Asians. Actually
the Hispanics are1 rsians already
have a sizable successful network
of businesses, fhey d: 1 what ?'l
successful groups do hey united
and helped each other
To the Afro-Americans, this is
a "Hint to the Wise" or even bet
ter, a "wake-up call." There is no
cause for any African American to
feel inferior or subordinate to any
other ethnic group. There is no
other ethnic group that has
endured the struggle African
Americans have since the Eman
cipation Proclamation. This group
has still risen and been successful
in any arena allowed by its coun
terparts. History is replete with
successful Afro-American busi
nesses of yesterday and today.
These men and women have left a
legacy.
Two of the oldest and most
successful businesses in North
Carolina are the N.C. Mutual Life
Insurance Co. and the Mechanics
and Farmers Bank. The Mechan
ics and Farmers Bank was started
ill Durham by John Merrick. Dr.
A an m McDuflfie Moore and C.C.
Spaulding. These men pooled
their financial resources and.
because of faith, hard work ami
commitment, these institutions
exist today. N.C. Mutual Life
Insurance is the largest Afro
American insurance company in
the world.
John H. Johnson from Chica
go. III., of Johnson Publishing Co.
started his business with $250. He
took a vision along with faith,
commitment, hard work and a
first-class product and became a
very successful Afro-American.
Locally we can boast of J.
Raymond Oliver, who started Jet
way; Mr. and Mrs. Eddie
McCarter. who started Special
Occasions; and Tom Trollinger,
who started Contract Office Fur
nishings. All of these businesses
started small and have developed
into highly successful businesses.
No one is more interested in
your business than you. African
Americans need to come together,
have courage and faith, along with
love for your fellow man; and let's
learn from history. Think about it!
When can we get started?
Virginia K. Newell
Shuffling the race card at Harvard
Earl Ofari
Hutchinson
Guest
Columnist
Here's one for the books. A privileged
black professor at a prestigious Ivy League
university spends much of his time writing
pop-intellectual books, cutting rap CDs and
traveling around the country bagging stratos
pheric speaking fees to pontificate on the
state of black America. The president of the
university in frustration at these antics has
the gall to suggest that the professor do what
he's paid to do. namely teach, read and grade
student papers, and be a mentor to the stu
dents. He also warns professors, including
this professor, against "grade inflation."
Translated: ladling out A's to students for
merely showing up for class.
Now bear in mind that hyper-grade infla
tion at this elite university has raised eye
brows in academic and media circles for the
ease that graduating students can get A
grades and qualify for the honor roll. This is
in glaring contrast to other Ivy League
schools where honors graduates traditionally
rank in the top 10 to 20 percent of the class.
In any case, the university professor is so
"insulted' that the president would question
his academic credentials, that he threatens to
pack his bags and go to another university. It
gets better. The piqued professor's depart
ment head also takes umbrage at the presi
dent's "insult' to his underling, and strongly
hints that the president's suggestion that the
professor live up to his professional billing
and improve his teaching performance is
really a sneak attack on the school's affirma
tive action program.
Never minu tnat tne university s African
American studies department is one of the
oldest, best known and funded black studies
programs in the country.
Never mind that the professors in the
department, and that certainly includes this
shattered professor, are routinely touted in
the media (the department head has carte
blanche to discourse in the New Yorker and .
New York Times on black America's plight),
wined and dined by foundations, fawned
over at universities, and courted by top politi
cians and business leaders. Never mind that
neither the university president nor board of
regents has fired or laid off any of the pro
gram's staff or faculty members, cut its fund
ing or even so much as restricted their ?se of
the copy machine.
The sorry little drama gets even better
when black America's top race man. sniffing
a chance to grab a headline, quickly and pre
dictably jumps into the fray. He rushes to the
university, flanks himself with a handful of
local activists, publicly saber rattles the pres
ident with veiled hints of protests and boy
cotts unless he keeps hands off the professor.
and the department,
and demands as
penance that the uni
versity convene a
national conference on
racial justice attd
action..
What at best was
no more than a private
in-house spat at Har
vard University
between President
Lawrence H. Sum
mers, and two hurt
feeling university pro
fessors, Cornel West
aqd Henry Louis
Gates, became a full
pitched race war when
Jesse Jackson muscled
into the act. If this
sounds like racial cor
rectness once more
gone amok, it is. After
all, we're not talking
about a fight over real
issues such as police
abuse, failing public
schools, the HIV/AIDs
crisis, drugs and
gangs, or criminal jus
tice system disparities
that plague poor
blacks. It's not even
clear that this is even a
legitimate fight over
academic freedom or
free speech, as West
hinted. He says that
Summers chided him
for supporting Al
Sharpton's hinted-at j
presidential campaign. i
Summers denies it.
KRT Photo
Harvard professor Cornel West is one of the most noted
African-American intellectuals in the country today.
The saddest thing of
all is that this silly brouhaha fits in with the
shop-wom pattern that whenever a black
politician, preacher, or in this case a pam
pered professor, is called on. the carpet for
misdeeds or failings, many blacks instantly
circle the wagons, turn the tables on their
accusers, scream racism, and spin dark tales
of white plots and conspiracies to nail them.
That was certainly the case with Jackson
when the news broke that he had fathered a
child out of wedlock, kept a mistress and was
accused of paying her hush money to shut up
about it. We then saw the sad and pathetic
spectacle of black elected officials, civil
rights leaders, community activists and peo
ple on the street parading before the cameras
offering prayers, and pleading for under
-standing and forgiveness for Jackson. Some
even stood Jackson's profligacy on its head
and praised him for publicly admitting it.
Wayward black public officials and
celebrities get away with it because many
whites regard blacks as so far outside the
political and social pale that they see blacks
solely through the prism of a racial monolith.
They are profoundly conditioned to believe
that all blacks think, act and sway to the same
racial beat. They freely use the words and
deeds of the chosen black leader as the stan
dard for African-American behavior. When
the beleaguered chosen on,e makes a real or
contrived misstep, he or <he becomes the
whipping boy among many whites, and
blacks are blamed for being rash, foolhardy,
irresponsible and prone to shuffle the race
card on every social ill that befalls them.
Jackson, Gates and West masterfully
shuffled the card at Harvard. And it paid
handsome dividends for them. Jackson got
yet another chance to media grandstand and
a much-needed boost in his frantic quest to
reclaim his tarnished throne as black1 Ameri
ca's exclusive mouthpiece. West and Gates
almost certainly will get an even sweeter deal
to stay at Harvard. This was indeed one for
the books.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and
columnist. Visit his news and opinion Web
site: www.thehulchinsonreport.com. He is
the author of "The Crisis in Black and
Black" (Middle Passage Press).
/^\
I I
\-r aj
XtONTjX
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