Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Feb. 13, 2003, edition 1 / Page 6
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OPINION The Chronicle 4_> ' [kmisi H. Pitt Iiaihi Pitt T. KtriN Waiki* Kay Stuitz jtn Publisher/Co-Founder Business Manager Office Manager Managing Editor Production Supervisor <$!!& North Carolina National Nawapapar Prass Association Publiahara Asaociation Certified Audit QAC 3 ot Circulation Put)Msh?r? me. Azalea Terrace was built with HOPE VI money. HOPE diminished If Ihe U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Develop ment is going to unveil a new program to get rid of run down units, thousands of pub lic housing residents are ' eagerly waiting for the big news. HUD must obviously has something up its sleeves ' since it has quietly shelved the HOPE VI program. The agency says HOPE VI, grants designed to revital ize old public housing com munities, will continue as normal with the hundreds of millions of dollars already in the program. But it does not take an accountant to figure that no new money coming in and existing money going out equals the inevitable end of the program. HUD says part of the rea son the program is being dis continued is because some housing authorities have dragged their feet, taking years and years to complete revitalization projects. If that is the case, perhaps HUD could have provided more support and direction for housing authorities that received the grants. It makes no sense to take away the ben efits of HOPE VI from thou sands of low-income Ameri cans because of the actions of relatively few people. HOPE VI's fate may have been sealed by the nation's limping economy, like many other federal, state and local programs. But HOPE VI is a program worth shifting num bers around for. As its name states, the program has given new hope to once run-down communities and has given residents their first taste of the American dream. It is insane for the Bush administration to push a sweeping tax cut plan that is sweet on the rich, while we try to balance the budget off of the the nation's poorest people. Wanted: golf pro There is little doubt that Winston Lake Golf Course would benefit from having Walter Mor gan on board. Mor gan has earned his marquee value through years of training and hard work on the PGA Seniors' Tour. Now he wants to bring that work ethic to Winston Lake as the course's new golf pro. Morgan says he can give Winston Lake Golf Course the kind of respect it certainly deserves by bringing in top-name golfers and possibly secur ing big-name spon sors for events at the course. Morgan says no other candidate for the golf pro job would be able to do those things. That may sound a bit cocky, but Morgan s ? credentials give him leeway to talk a little smack. The 1995 N.C. Black Golf Hall of Fame inductee has three tournament champi onships. and he nearly edged out Ed Dougherty at the 2001 TD Waterhouse Champi onship. Other candidates vying for the job don't have Morgan's credentials. Ralph Gaillard. another candidate for the job. does have a long record of being dedicated to the course - in the good and bad times, a credential that Morgan can't claim. Although opinions vary over who is the best man for the golf pro job. everyone agrees that anyone who can bring new life to the course would be welcomed with open arms. The Winston Lake Golf Course is one of the most beautiful courses in the city, yet it has not received its due. The person who can give the course that respect and make it a shining star in East Win ston should be given the job. That should be the main crite ria the city should consider before making a decision. No war (This is an open teller recent ly sen! to President Bush by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. The local NOI masque will air a speech by Far rakhan on the war Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. at the Benton Convention Center. For tickets, call 721 161 ft or 725-V88B.) Dear President Bush: As-Salaam Alaikum (peace be unto you). May this letter find you and your family well. I am writing this letter to once again appeal to you in the strongest way that you might heed my humble cpunsel and sincere warning to you. I am not your enemy, nor am I an enemy to this country, but I do believe that the course that you are guid ing the nation on will increase many enemies for you and the nation at home and abroad. In my last letter. I respectful ly called your attention to U.S. presidents and their dealings with Islamic nations and leaders over the last several years, and I warned that should you pursue what I know is in your mind and heart concerning Saddam Hus sein and Iraq, that you would lose the great advantage that you gained after Sept. 11. 2001, and that the coalition would fall apart and you might be forced to go it alone. Also. I opined that if you did such, you might run into something that your advisers had not thought of or perceived. This is already happening. Nations are becoming afraid of you and the tremendous power of Ameri ca. In this state of fear, they will not stop trying to attain weapons of mass destruction because they believe that is the only thing that you will respect. There is a rising chorus of anti-war demonstrations in the nation and throughout the world, and it will intensify as you move toward war with the thought of occupying Iraq. The anti-war demonstrators will blame every death of an American service person and every death of an Iraqi citizen on you. and this will YOUNG GEORGE W. BUSH IN A WORLD WITHOUT PREFERENCES... DON'T WORRY, SON,,, I'M SURE YOU'll GET USED TO MIDLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE, produce a crisis for your admin istration within the United States, as well as in countries throughout the world. I am writing to plead with you that there is a better way. However, the more you talk , -afitTrWr stronger you talk about regime cnange, you paint your self into a corner from which it becomes increasingly difficult to extricate yourself. There are times in history when men of conviction go against the tide of world thought and opinion, bringing suffering upon themselves to establish a new truth or a new idea. Howev er, this is not that time for you. In my judgment, this is a time when the president of the United States must not only listen to his advis ers and study their agendas, but he must listen to world opinion. If the president of the United States seems to show no respect for world opinion or for the thoughts of the members of the Security Council of the United Nations, then your actions will turn the nations of the world against you and against America. Your actions will also render the United Nations an ineffective institution for future peacekeep ing. Ancient Babylon was a city that caused all who traded with pher to wax strong, but at a certain point, the neighboring nations turned against Babylon and she was destroyed and left as a sign. The Book of Revelation speaks of a mystery Babylon that ancient Babylon was a sign of. The Honorable Elijah Muham mad. my teacher and guide, said that America is the fulfillment of that mystery Babylon. Mr. President, your?must study prophecy in order to beat it. Look at the nations to the north and south of you. Are they pleased with you, your adminis tration and your policies? Look at your friends in the Middle East. Are they really pleased with you, your administration and policies? Look at your Euro pean friends and your African and Asian friends. The prophecy teaches that they will take your money and whatever you offer, but they will hate you and ulti mately make you desolate. We are headed into a terrible time. I am writing this letter as a final witness of my deep concern for you and for the nation, believing, however, that you are bent on doing what is in your heart with respect to Iraq and Saddam Hussein. Mr. President, if you do this, you will bring down upon Amer ica an increase in the divine judgment of rain, hail, snow, wind, earthquakes, pestilence and famine already witnessed in the country. As you go about destroying other nations and cities, you will bring this kind of divine wrath on the American people and on American cities. Please reconsider your plans. ? May Allah (God) guide you to make the right decision for this nation and for the future of the world. I am your servant in the war against evil. The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan Farrakhan The New' Pepsi Challenge James Cli'ngman Guest Columnist Russell Simmons has called for a boycott of Pepsi Cola because Pepsi dissed hip-hop per sonality Ludacris, pulling his appearance in Pepsi commercials and opting for the Osboume fam ily. You may also remember that Fox News' Bill O'Reilly used one of his tirades to pillory Pepsi for using Ludacris and said he would not buy Pepsi until the company removed Ludacris from Pepsi's advertisements. Looks like Pepsi is in a no-win situation, doesn't it? Will O'Reilly get his way, or will Pepsi bend to Russell Simmons' request for an apology and a rein statement of Ludacris in its com mercials? The plot thickens. It' was ironic that just before BET News did the story that fea tured Simmons at a news confer ence announcing a boycott of Pepsi Cola. BET (owned by Via com) ran a Pepsi commercial fea turing three or four young, black, hip-hop-looking brothers dancing, as usual, to a funky beat and drinking Pepsi. At the end of the commercial, one of the young brothers said, "You know how we do." As I watched this strange jux taposition. I wondered if the airing of that particular commercial was planned for that particular time. Here's my take on this: Rus sell Simmons has demonstrated his ability to rally the troops in the hip-hop world, especially around social and political issues. He is one of the most articulate, dedi cated and tenacious brothers on the scene today. He is also a mul timillionaire. having done tremen dously well in his personal eco nomic empowerment. It will be interesting to watch, for instance, how much money Pepsi dangles in the faces of young brothers and sisters, such as those in the com mercial to which I referred, to get them to repel Simmons' message. As to the boycott of Pepsi. I have no problem with it. I do have a problem with Simmons' call for a boycott of Pepsi, which simply says. "Don't buy Pepsi Cola." but does not say. "Here's what you can buy instead. And guess what? We have a black-owned alterna tive." Russell may not know it. but there is a black-owned soft drink company in Elyria, Ohio (near Cleveland), called New World Beverages, started by Larry Jones. We could be pushing our youths (and our adults) to support it as hip-hop withdraws its dollars from Pepsi. I also have a problem with calling economic sanctions and settling for social solutions, e.g., apologies, as remedies to the issues at hand. We have seen it many times, and it makes no sense to stop spending your money with others, and then as soon as they apologize for a trans gression. we return with our money in hand to continue build ing their wealth. Is it reasonable for black folks to concede and go back to busi ness as usual after we get an apol ogy? Is it reasonable for us to call a boycott against Pepsi and tell them it will be lifted if they rein sert a rap artist into one of their commercials? I am sure Ludacris has more than enough money and does not need Pepsi's. (But I do understand that a little more won't hurt him.) I am also certain that most black people can do without Pepsi and many other products, and have the ability to mix and sell soft drinks, as well as hun dreds of other products. So, I say to Brother Russell Simmons, please tell the hip-hop community to take the money they withdraw from Pepsi and spend it with black-owned busi nesses. Tell them to emulate you and other young entrepreneurs who made millions by owning busi nesses. Tell them to invest in the black-owned soft drink company. Tell them that our economic free dom is worth much more than mere apologies and platitudes. Tell them, as they come to the Hip-Hop Summit in Atlanta, to pool their money and build an economic foundation, in addition to using their voting power. Tell them. Brother Russell, tell them. To the young brother in the Pepsi commercial who said. "You know how we do." I say to you: "They know how you do." They know thaVyou will buy their prod ucts and compete to be in their commercials, even despite what Russell Simmons is asking you to do. They know that your group spends millions per year on soft drinks and other items they make and sell They know that you, young brother, are a threat to their sales if you are an educated con sumer. and if you are on the road to yourtiwn collective economic empowerment via business own ership. They also know that if you geared more of your interests toward being producers rather than consumers, they could no longer just use you to dance in their commereials. Who knows? They would probably offer you a few distributorships. To Pepsi. I say. I don't envy your position. O'Reilly obviously carries a lot of weight. After all. he scared you into taking Ludacris out of your commercials by threatening a boycott. Now Rus sell Simmons has called a boycott, and he has a great deal of clout, too. Looks like a new Pepsi Chal lenge to me. James E. Clint-man is an adjunct professor at the Universi ty of Cincinnati's African-Ameri can studies^ department. He can he reached at (51 J) 4M-4I32 or by e-mail at jclingman@blacko nomics.com.
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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Feb. 13, 2003, edition 1
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