OPINION
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The Chronicle
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T. Kevin Walker Managing Editor
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The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court
One-strike housing
policy is wrong
in January, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to let stand the gov
ernment's extreme "one strike and you're out" eviction policy. Under
this policy, innocent family members of people who have used drugs
can be evicted from public housing, regardless of whether the family
member was aware of the dreg use and regardless of whether the drug
use took place in the public housing residence. The ruling applies to 1.2
million tenants of the nation's 3,200 public housing developments and
means any individual may be held responsible for a guest's on-the
premises drug use even if the tenant has no knowledge of the violation
or no control over a guest at the apartment.
Once again, we see that the poor and disenfranchised are held to a
higher standard than people of means in this country. Evicting innocent
people from their homes?many of them frail, elderly and living in
poverty?and pushing them into homelessness is not a viable solution.
The law should not punish people for being poor.
Recently. President Bush's 24-year-old niece was charged with try
ing to buy the prescription drug Xanax with a fraudulent prescription.
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and his wife immediately issued a statement
saying that they were deeply saddened by their daughter's troubles and
they asked that the public respect their family's privacy. Soon there
after, the governor's daughter entered a drug treatment program. Once
completed, all criminal chatges will be dismissed..
Contrast that scenario with the case of Pearlie Rucker. a 63-year
old great-grandmother who has lived in public housing in Oakland.
Calif., since 1985. Rucker lives with her mentally disabled daughter,
who was found in possession of illegal drugs three blocks from their
apartment. As a result of her daughter's arrest. Rucker. her daughter,
two grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter were faced with evic
tion in late 1997. No doubt Mrs. Rucker would also have preferred that
this remain a "private family matter." However, faced with eviction,
she did not have that luxury. She did not have a press secretary or spin
doctors to issue a statement on behalf of her family. Instead. Rucker
became the lead plaintiff in HUD v. Rucker. w hich was argue I before
the Supreme Court and decided last week.
Pearlie Rucker and her daughter and Gov. Bush and his uaughter
(and even President Bush and his twin daughters.) have more in com
mon than the Bush brothers might like to admit. All are residents of
public housing. Each has a daughter who at one time or another had
legal problems with alcohol or drugs. But the consequences of their
actions are vastly different: eviction for an elderly woman with no
knowledge of her daughter 's drug use. which took place away from the
home, vs. medical treatment for a young woman with a history of sub
stance abuse and addiction.
This one-strike policy is fundamentally wrong, but if it stands, and
it is the law of the land as of today, then it be applied from the execu
tive mansions to the poorest of public housing. This is not a single
abhorrent case. For example. Herman Walker. 75 and disabled, had
lived in public housing for 10 years when eviction proceedings began
after his care-giver and two others allegedly were found with cocaine
in his apartment. There are literally thousands of Mrs. Ruckers and Mr.
Walkers across the United States.
This decision is sure to leave many of our most vulnerable citizens
worried about losing what little they have because of the act of anoth
er, an act for which they neither had knowledge, nor participated in. At
the same time, the president and the governor no doubt sleep soundly
knowing that their children are receiving the medical help and support
that they need with their addictions, and that the ample roofs over their
heads are going to be there for the foreseeable future .or at least until
the next election.
The law should not punish people for being poor.
Keep hope alive!
- By. Jesse L. Jackson Sr.
Jesse L Jackson Sr. is founder and president of the Chicago-based
Rainbow/Push Coalition.
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Article was great
To the Editor
1 enjoyed your fine article
about the 1950s Camels
immensely. I graduated in 1953
and the article and the photos of
the players brought back a lot of
pleasant memories. Especially,'
"Head" Griffin?what a ferocious
competitor. He was in a class all
by himself...football and basket
ball. I played with him briefly,
and vividly recall some of his
"hits" in the brickyard at the old
Atkins field.
I was also a member of the
1953 Atkins baseball team,
coached by Cal Irwin. That was
one of the first baseball teams the
school had fielded in years. After
graduation. 1 played baseball in
the service?Europe and Califor
nia. where I presently reside, (also
played a lot of baseball at Happy
HillRec).
Thanks again for such a won
derful article. I happily shared it
with my adult children. Surpris
ingly. they were i.alter impressed
that Winston-Salem produced
those kinds of athletes "back in
the day."
Thaddeus Rice
TV station
deserves kudos
To the Editor:
I would like to thank WXII
News Channel 12 for their Putting
the Piedmont Back to Work series.
The station-wide promotion,
which aired during the 2002 Win
ter Olympics and provided great
coverage, was an unprecedented
commitment to the unemployed
and underemployed of our com
munity and to the community col
leges that provide the education
and skills needed in today's work
place.
WXII focused on the unem
ployment problem in the Pied
mont Triad by looking at what
people can do to retrain them
selves for new jobs by attending
community colleges. Featuring
the career opportunities that exist
in areas like health services and
information technology and by
communicating the many assis
tance programs available through
community colleges, WXII pro
vided hope for jnany of its view
ers.
Forsyth Tech and the 11 other
local community colleges in the
station's viewing area are valuable
resources for individuals who are
Iqpking for ways to get back
into the work force, and we
appreciate the help of WXII in
spreading the word.
Dr. Gary M. Green
President
FTCC
Another fox guarding the hen house
Earl Ofari
Hutchinson
Guest
Columnist
If nothing else, the junior
George Bush's recess appoint
ment of Gerald Reynolds as
assistant secretary of education
for civil rights proved that he is a
good student of history.
A decade ago the senior
George Bush ignited one of the
most bruising and ugly confirma
tion hearings in living memory
when he nominated hyper-black
conservative Clarence TTiomas to
succeed Thurgood Marshall on
the Supreme Court.
Civil rights groups, women's
groups and abortion rights
groups stormed the confirmation
hearings and filled the airwaves
with sledgehammer assaults on
Thomas for his retrograde tum
baek-the-clock stance on civil
rights, civil liberties, abortion
rights, and his barely literate
reading of constitutional law.
Thomas was approved by the
Senate Judiciary Committee and
confirmed by the Senate by the
squeakiest of votes. Thomas has
turned out to be an even more ter
rifying nightmare than even his
fiercest opponents imagined. His
neanderthal votes on prisoner
rights, the death penalty, affirma
tive action and school prayer
have often been the deciding
votes in many recent 5-to-4 court
decisions.
As for the senior Bush, the
Thomas debacle hopelessly tar
nished his political star and
earned him the eternal damnation
of civil rights leaders.
The recess appointment of
Reynolds was the junior Bush's
back-door ploy to avoid the same
political embarrassment that
befell his father. Reynolds will
serve in the post until the current
Senate ends its term in 2(X)3.
The original idea behind the
recess appointment was to give
presidents a tool to get top offi
cials into vital departments and
offices during periods when Con
gress was out of session and
unable to approve presidential
appointments on a timely basis.
While Sen. Ted Kennedy and
other Democrats slammed Bush
for the appointment of Reynolds,
it's hardly the first time a presi
dent has made a recess appoint
ment in order to slip his ideolog
ical clones and pals into office
when Congress is out of session.
During his one term. Jimmy
Carter made 68 recess appoint
ments. and the senior Bush made
77 during his term. Reagan
topped the list with a whopping
243 appointments during his two
terms.
But it was Clinton's 56 recess
appointment, especially the
appointment of Bill Lann Lee to
run the Justice Department's
Civil Rights Division, that had
Republican conservatives froth
ing. They accused Clinton of
mocking the constitutional
process by appointing liberal
activists to government positions.
In the case of Reynolds, civil
rights groups would have waged
the same battle royal over his
confirmation. Reynolds is a for
mer staff counsel and board
member of the hard-core right
Center for New Black Leader
ship. This is the Washington.
D.C., outfit that claims personal
responsibility and free market
solutions are the solutions to dis
crimination. and rails against
civil rights leaders for promoting
"racial victimization."
He's also a former legal ana
lyst for the even harder-core right
Center for Equal Opportunity
(CEO). The CEO. founded in
1995 by notorious liberal baiter
Linda Chavez, describes itself as
the "premier voice" opposing
affirmative action, bilingual edu
cation. and immigration reform.
It has ferociously opposed vigor
ous enforcement of the Ameri
cans with Disabilities law, even
urging Congress to narrow (i.e.
gut) the law.
The instant Bush told the
Senate in September 2001 that he
intended to nominate Reynolds,
more than two dozen civil rights
groups, women's groups and dis
abled groups screamed foul.
And with good reason.
Reynolds will oversee the Educa
tion Department's Office of Civil
Rights. This is the unit responsi
ble for ensuring that school dis
tricts. colleges and universities
comply with civil rights laws.
Unlike the close-mouthed
Clarence Thomas. Reynolds has
publicly ranted against affirma
tive action and the ADA law.
Nearly 60 percent of all discrim
ination complaints are for viola
tions of the disability rules.
Reynolds has called the ADA
a had law that "would retard eco
nomic development in urban cen
ters across the country."
In a 1997 Washington Times
op-ed piece he slammed affirma
tive action as "a corrupt system
of preferences, set aside and quo
tas against affirmative action."
and branded civil rights leaders,
"the civil rights industry." In a
1999 op-ed piece in the San Jose
Mercury News, he harangued
Jesse Jackson as a "race hustler"
for leading a discrimination fight
against Silicon Valley computer
corporations.
At a Feb. 26 hearing. Ted
Kennedy openly questioned his
credentials to head the civil rights
office and called his appointment
a disaster for civil rights enforce
ment.
But Bush's deft move has
rendered Kennedy 's gripe a mute
point. Reynolds is now in office
and civil rights and disability
rights advocates must keep a
hawk-like ? vigilance over
Reynolds" actions to ensure that
he isn't the total disaster for civil
rights that Kennedy fears he'll
be.
Meanwhile, Bush has served
notice that he will do what other
presidents have done and use
recess appointments to get whom
he wants in office, regardless of
whether it angers civil rights
groups and Democrats.
The next time he makes such
an appointment, and there will
almost certainly be a next time,
civil rights groups must quickly
blow the warning whistle before
it's too late.
EarI Of ah Hutchinson is an
author and columnist. Visit his
news and opinion Web site:
www. the hutchinson report, com.
He is the author of "The Crisis in
black and black" (Middle Pas
sage Press).
l ilc Photo
Clarence Thomas is sworn in during his controversial confir
mation hearing.
Clarification
The photos featured in last week's
Chronicle Awards pictorial tabloid
were taken by photographer
Patrick Golding-.