OPINION
The Chronicle
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President Bush and Trent Lott celebrate Sen. Strom Thur
mond's recent 100th birthday in Washington.
I Lott and racism
?H'
; ; Trying to distance himself in
1999 from the right-wing Coun
cil of Conservative Citizens. Sen.
1 Trent Lott wrote that he could
never support a group that deni
] grates people "because of their
race or religion." He added. "1
grew up in a home where you
didn't treat people that way. and
you didn't stand with anyone
foolish or cruel enough to do so."
Lott lied then in his letter to
The Anti-Defamation League and
?he lied last week and again this
week as he moved quickly from
being the Senate majority leader
in-waiting to a serial apologist
trying to rationalize his enthusi
astic support for Strom Thur
mond's segregationist campaign
for president in 1948.
At a celebration of Thur
mond's 100th birthday. Lott said:
"We voted for him. We're proud
of it. And if the rest of the coun
try had followed our lead, we
wouldn't have had all these prob
lems over all these years."
He later claimed that he got
caught up in the moment and
apologized for "a poor choice of
words." Far from being caught
up in a celebratory frenzy, the
Clarion-Ledger newspaper in
Jackson. Miss., disclosed that
Lott had used almost identical
language at a Nov. 2. 1980, rally
with Thurmond. At the time. Lott
said in Jackson. "If we had elect
ed this man 30 years ago, we
wouldn't be in the mess we are
today."
A review ot Lott s record
shows that not only has he active
ly opposed civil rights through
out most of his life, he and his
family have been closely associ
ated with white supremacy
groups and ideas as recently as
three years ago.
Let's begin with his family.
After violence erupted over
James Meredith's desegregation
of the University of Mississippi
in 1962, some calmer white voic
es in Mississippi urged modera
tion. For example, Ira Harkey Jr..
editor of the now-defunct
Pascagoula Chronicle, published
editorials opposing mob violence
and Gov. Ross Barnett's rabid
opposition to desegregation.
Harkey's call for nonviolence
was met with violence; the win
dows of his newspaper office
were shot out by someone who
obviously didn't share his views.
A while later, Harkey received a
letter from a woman who told
him that if he didn't publish her
letter it would prove "you are
truly an integrationist and I hope
you not only get a hole through
your office door but through your
stupid head."
The letter w as signed Iona W.
Lott - Trent's mother.
Harkey told a N#w York
Times reporter. "I called her.
asked if she'd sent it to me. and
she said she certainly had sent it
to me. and she meant every
word."
Trent Lott was particularly
close to one of his uncles, Arnie
Watson. A die-hard segregationist
even into his 90s. Watson headed
the Carroll County. Miss., chap
ter of the White Citizens Coun
cils and was elected to the board
of its successor white supremacy
organization, the Council of Con
servative Citizens.
So Lott. who graduated from
an all-white high school in
Paseagoula. was walking in
familiar territory when as a stu
dent at Old Miss, he opposed
efforts to desegregate the univer
sity and his fraternity. Sigma Nu.
In a 1997 interview with Time
magazine, he acknowledged.
"Yes, you could say that I favored
segregation then."
After graduation from law
school. Lott began working for
Rep. William L. Colmer, an arch
segregationist from Mississippi.
When he retired. Lott succeeded
him in 1972. His first piece of
legislation was an anti-busing
bill.
Not all segregationists
remained chained to the past.
Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas
probably did more to advance the
causes of African-Americans
than any other president. Hugo
Black, a former member of the
Ku Klux Klan. threw off his
white sheets and became one of
the most liberal members of the
U.S. Supreme Court.
But Trent Lott. who receives
an F each year on the NAACP's
civil rights report card, has
shown no such growth.
Lott - who said in 1998 that
"sometimes I feel closer to (Pres
ident of the Confederacy) Jeffer
son Davis than any other man in
America" - was the only senator
to vote against the confirmation
of Roger. Gregory, the first
African-American judge ever
seated on the 4th US. Circuit
Court of Appeals. Lott voted
against extension of the Voting
Rights Act in 1982, and the fol
lowing year, he opposed making
Dr. Martin Luther King's birth
day a federal holiday. Even Thur
mond. the former Dixiecrat. sup
ported all three measures.
As a congressman. Lott went
so far as to file a Supreme Court
friend-of-the-court brief in 1981
in support of Bob Jones Universi
ty. hoping to provide tax-exempt
status to an institution that pro
hibited interracial dating.
As Jesse Jackson says of Lott.
"He is supposed to be Senate
majority leader for all Americans,
but once again has shown he is
interested only in Confederates."
George E. Curry is editor-in
chief of the NNPA News Service
and BUickPressVSA .com.
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Don't get Scrooged: holiday shopping tips
From
Attorney
General
Roy Cooper
As we cherish our loved
ones and give thanks for all
that we have during this holi
day season, it's important to
make sure our gift-giving dol
lars are well spent. For many
consumers, a trip to the store
is a holiday tradition. Rather
than fight the crowds, some
holiday shoppers prefer to
browse online or order by
mail from catalogs. Regard
less of where you go in search
of gifts, keep these tips in
mind to keep from feeling
more like Scrooge than Santa:
? Learn about refund and
return policies. Some compa
nies may accept returned mer
chandise, but they are not
required to do so by law.
Many retailers will offer you
store credit instead of a cash
refund. Also, ask if the store
charges a '"restocking fee"
for returned merchandise. If
your purchase came by mail,
you might have to pay postage
to return it.
? Buy from established
retailers. A well-established
store is more likely to still be
in business if you need to
return a gift or make an
exchange. This is also impor
tant if you give gift certifi
cates or gift cards. With cata
logs and Web sites, it is also
wise to stick with familiar
names. Beware of unsolicited
telephone calls, e-mails or
catalogs from vendors you've
never heard of. You can check
up on a company by calling
my office at (919) 716-6000
or contacting your local Better
Business Bureau.
? Consider paying by cred
it card to improve your
chances of getting a refund if
the retailer goes out of busi
ness. If the gift certificate you
purchased has not yet been
used and the company has
closed its doors, you may be
able to dispute the charge if
you paid by credit card. And if
you order a gift that never
arrives, you'll be able to dis
pute the charge. Also, if your
credit card is stolen or used by
an unauthorized person, feder
al law limits your liability to
$50. Some credit card compa
nies offer additional protec
tions for buyers.
? Ask when your order will
arrive. Internet and catalog
shoppers alike are protected
by the Federal Mail Order
Rule. By law, a company is
required to ship your order
within the time stated in its
catalog or on its Web site. If
they don't give you a timeline,
they have 30 days to ship your
purchase once they have
received your order. If the
seller can't ship the item with
in that time, they must notify
you and give you a chance to
cancel the order for a full
refund.
? Hang on to receipts. Save
your receipts in case the gifts
you bought need to be
returned or exchanged. If you
buy online, print pages that
show what you have pur
chased. When ordering by
mail or telephone, be sure to
ask the company to send you
an invoice or receipt. Some
retailers can provide you with
a gift receipt that makes it
easier for the gift opener to
return that sweater if it does
n't fit or isn't the right color.
? Guard your privacy. You
keep your wallet in a safe
place when you shop at local
stores. It is just as important
to keep an eye on personal
information when you shop on
the Web or by mail order.
Before you provide any per
sonal information, find out
about the company's privacy
policy. Also, make sure the
company uses a secure server
that will protect any personal
information in your order.
An unbroken key or pad
lock symbol at the bottom of
the browser window means
you're shopping on a secure
site. If the business doesn't
have a policy or you aren't
comfortable with the way they
may use you personal infor
mation, take your business
elsewhere.
? Protect your identity.
Never give out your Social
Security, driver's license or
bank account numbers when
someone calls you on the
phone. While a tyedit card can
be a great way to order by
phone or Internet, you should
never give out your credit
card number to an unknown
telemarketer.
And finally, to avoid start
ing the new year in debt, buy
only what you can afford.
Each January, the Attorney
General Consumer Protection
office sees a sharp rise in calls
from consumers who are deal
ing with debt collectors
because Of unpaid bills. If you
don't overspend, you can hold
on to that good holiday cheer
right into the next year.
Black appointees
Armstrong
Williams
Guest
^Columnist
President Bush has done
far more to address the every
day concerns of black Ameri
cans than any president of
recent memory.
That includes former Pres
ident Bill Clinton, who
became an honorary black
man when he pledged to have
a cabinet that "looked like
America." And indeed. Clin
ton assembled the most racial
ly and ethnically diverse cabi
net ever. By the end of his first
year, the Washington Post
reported that 22 percent of his
appointees were minorities.
Much of black America
found this all wonderful and
jaw dropping. They clasped
the president close to their
bosoms. And with good rea
son. The diversity of Clinton's
cabinet facilitated more hiring
- and elected representation ?
of African-Americans in gov
ernment at every level. This
created a positive ripple effect
throughout the community.
For example, a black politi
cian may maintain close asso
ciations with other black com
munity figures such as minis
ters. teachers, entrepreneurs
and t|nion officials.
These interlocking rela
tionships proclaim to black
Americans that they are part of
the administration, while
keeping the administration in
touch with the chief concerns
of the black voting populace.
Very good. But few in the
news media acknowledged
that while Clinton facilitated
the ethnic diversity of his cab
inet. he tended not to appoint
blacks to top policy positions.
As former Clinton Press Sec
retary Dee Dee Myers snorted
after vacating her post, the
upper echelon of Clinton's
cabinet is a "white boys club."
Like Clinton, President
Bush has consciously assem
bled an ethnically diverse cab
inet. The Washington Post
reports that 25 percent of
Bush's appointees are minori
ties. Bush has far superseded
Clinton, however, when it
comes to appointing blacks to
top posts. According to a
recent White House release.
minorities have filled 45 per
cent of the administration's
highest policy positions.
Most notable are the
appointments of Gen. Colin
Powell as secretary of state
and Condoleezza Rice as
national security adviser.
Every time Bush enters the sit
uation room, or sits down with
foreign leaders. Rice and Pow
ell flank him on either side.
Other high-profile black
appointees include Education
Secretary Rod Paige. HUD
Deputy Secretary Alphonso
Jackson, Deputy Secretary for
HHS Claude Allen and Veter
ans Administration Deputy
Secretary Dr. Leo Mackay.
At the same time. Bush has
crafted an educational reform
policy that holds the promise
of a new civil rights move
ment. Currently, school dis
tricts mirror housing patterns.
As a result, economically seg
regated communities have
produced economically segre
gated public schools. The
result is a brutal and arbitrary
divide between rich and poor,
urban and suburban, minority
and white. There exists an
astonishing body of evidence
that these "poor, minority"
schools are failing to properly
educate their students.
Bush's educational reforms
- specifically his support of
vouchers - could help redress
this inequality by holding pub
lic schools accountable for the
proper education of their stu
dents. while ensuring that poor
people - mostly of color - no
longer remain trapped in
schools that are failing to meet
their needs. This change could
be the single most important
factor in redressing the
achievement gap between the
races.
Additionally, Bush has
pushed programs aimed at
facilitating home ownership,
welfare reform and faith-based
initiatives - all issues that are
among the chief concerns of
the black voting populace.
When Clinton proclaimed
that he would facilitate racial
inclusiveness within the gov
ernment. the media all found it
dazzling. When Bush did
much of the same - and then
some - the media barely took
notice. But if the midterm
results are any indication, this
rousing fact has not gone
unnoticed by the American
electorate.
wwwMrmstrongwilliams com
Powell
Rice
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