OPINION
The
Chronicle
Ernest H. Pitt <
Elaine Pitt
Michael A. Pitt
T. Kevin Walker
Publisher/Co- Founder
Business Manager
Marketing
Managing Editor
Press Association
File Photo
Several residents expressed their concerns about the fate of
Carver High School at a recent meeting.
System should
focus on schools
and communities
The deep concerns about
the fate of Carver High
School are understandable.
Despite its historical status
in the black community and
its legacy of educating strong
leaders, the school can't seem
to catch a break these days. It
seems like it was only yester- '
day \when the state judge
caused that hubbub when he
threatened to shut Carver
down because of the low test
scores of its students.
Now, the school will face
an uphill fight to hang on to
its already diminished student
population oncfc the new
Walkertown high school is up
and running. Not only will
Carver have to fight the
excitement ^nd energy of a
new multi-million dollar
school right down the road,
but also the negative percep
tions that many white parents
have about Carver and every
other school and institution in
East Winston.
The reality is that new
school or not, a majority of
Walkertown residents were
never going to let their kids
set foot in Carver. Like any
thing black, they see Carver
as inferior, scary and danger
ous - a place too black to
properly educate their kids.
The real fight is against
that perception - not the pro
posed school
Yes, it is true that the
School Board dealt a lethal
blow to Carver and other East
Winston schools when it
decided to end busing and cre
ate the' "neighborhood
schools" plan The switch was
made more than a decade ago
and the School Board seem
ingly has the court of public
opinion and the court of law
on its side. So we need to get
over it and realize that busing
ain't coming back and think
constructively of ways to save
and market our schools.
The neighborhood school
plan does still provide parents
with the option of sending
their children to a school in
East Winston - miles away
from their suburban homes.
But few are taking that option.
We praise Superintendent
Don Martin for always being
a straight-shooter who never
hides in his office - no matter
how heated the controversy of
the moment happens to be.
But Martin's attempt to ease
fears by vowing that the
school system will bring new
programs to Carver to help it
retain and attract students, has
to be seen as somewhat disin
genuous.
The school system has one
'of the best, most innovative
high school programs in the
state at the ne^v Atkins High
School. But Atkins is not
bursting at the seams like sub
urban Reagan High School,
and the limited amount of stu
dents that do attend the school
are mostly black and brown .
If the innovation that
Martin promises didn't work
at Atkins, why would it at
Carver?
One of the solutions, we
believe, is that educational
excellence and community
development and redevelop
ment must go hand-in-hand in
order to make East Winston
schools as appealing as possi
ble.
The new Kensington
Village Apartment complex
on Old Greensboro Road
should give us all hope of the
possibilities.
The complex is right
across the street from the new
Atkins and Petree Elementary
School. Appearance- wise, the
apartments look like units one
might find on Peace Haven or
Robinhood Road, and devel
opers are trying to attract a
residential population of pro
fessionals. If Kensington is
successful, it will help change
the perception that Atkins and
Petree - a school with one of
the county's most dedicated
staffs - are in the slums. And
that perception change will
open more eyes and possibly
attract more students.
The school system, which
has invested tens of millions
in new school construction
over the past several years,
should consider a way to
throw some money toward
community redevelopment
efforts to improve the com
munities around its most dire
schools.
After all, schools don't
exist in a vacuum. They are a
integral part of a much larger
community, and if the com
munity is struggling with
crime and dilapidation, most
likely so is the school.
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"REMEMBER THE GCOP OL' PAN5 WHEN Gfl& W& ONLY THREE DOLLAR& A, GALLON?"
A lot to celebrate during 'home' month
Phyllis
Caldwell
Guest
Columnist
June is "National
Homeownership Month," and,
across the country, countless
agencies will hold housing
fairs and kick-off events to cel
ebrate homeownership as a
symbol of the "American
Dream." But, at a time when
news headlines tell about fore
closures hitting all-time highs,
or about mortgage lenders
closing their doors, some peo
ple might wonder: "What on
earth is there to celebrate?"
I believe that there is plen
ty to celebrate, having seen
firsthand the difference that
homebuyer education and
housing counseling can make
when purchasing a home.
Though the foreclosure rate
in Winston-Salem/Forsyth
County continues to climb,
research indicates that families
with mortgage loans requiring
housing counseling and home
buyer education had a minimal
foreclosure rate,' compared
with families without the
requirements. And, for indi
viduals and families who
tapped into our local resources
for assistance with purchasing
a home, the foreclosure rate
was less than one percent.
Today's would-be home
owners can gain critical home
owner insights through many
avenues. They can obtain
housing counseling and home
buyer education through the
Center for Homeownership or
gain financial literacy through
Consumer Credit Counseling
Service. They can tap into the
City of Winston-Salem,
Forsyth County Department of
Housing, Partners for
Homeownership, SG Atkins
CDC or the New Century IDA
Program.
This year, the U.S.
Department of Housing and
Urban Development has cho
seip "Back to Basjcs" as a
national theme. It reflects
HUD's recognition of the
importance of traditional lend
ing and underscores the need
for common-sense fundamen
tals as a way of rtiaintaining a
sustainable housing market.
(Some of those "basics," such
as verification of borrower's
income and their ability to
repay, were, many believe,
overlooked in the lead up to
the present housing problem.)
Locally, the American Dream
Network, which consists of
several of the above-men
tioned groups, will contribute
to "Back to Basics" by inform
ing struggling families abofit
federal government housing
assistance, providing tips on
how to protect against predato
ry lending, and offering sup
port in many other areas.
As a strong advocate of
housing counseling and home
buyer education, I have seen
and helped many people
through the years increase
their economic wealth by
becoming a homeowner.
Arguably, not everyone is des
tined to own a home. But
there's no doubt that home
ownership is the foremost sin
gle asset that has the ability to
increase one's financial well
being. So, I say, let's
"Celebrate Homeownership."
Phyllis Caldwell is the
director of the Center for
Home Ownership, a local
HUD-approved housing coun
seling agency and full service
agency dedicated to turning
dreams of homeownership into
reality. The Center for
Homeownership is a program
of Consumer Credit
Counseling Service of Forsyth
County, Inc.
Fox crossed the racist line
Harry
Alford
Guest
Columnist
The famed comedian DJ.
Hughley has stated that when
ever he accidentally rests his
television dial on the Fox
News station it will automati
cally start tilting to the right.
That's funny, but it also
illustrates the dogma and
mantra that comes from this
?station that claims to be "fair
and balanced".
That claim is indeed untrue.
In fact, there has never been a
cable channel so devoted to
one area of political debate.
Fox News is not extremely
committed to the right wing
dogma of the political debate it
is pro ultra conservative awash
with neo conservative views
which are not compatible with
traditional or progressive
Black views.
Anti-democratic, anti-liber
al but also anti-Black and this
is what sickens me and should
cause great concern for the free
nation known as America. .
The Obama run for the
presidency has turned this sta
tion into a bastion for hate,
propaganda and sick satire.
Mahatma Gandhi once stated
that when you start a move
ment "they will first ignore
you; then they will laugh at
you; then they will fight you;
finally you will win".
Fox News is engrossed ii\
the third stage with Senator
Obama and the entire Black
race in general. It appears to
them that the Senator and the
entire Black race are one and
the same and must be stopped
at all costs. The level of hate
and racism from the Rupert
Murdoch station is turning up
to a very serious level.
It has decided to demonize
the entire Black church. Since
PK Photo by Albert Watson
Billionaire Rupert Murdoch, is the man behind Fox News.
the tape and follow up of Rev.
Wright, Senator Obama's for
mer minister, the television sta
tion has repeatedly blamed this
on typical Black church rheto
ric coming out every Sunday
from typical Black churches
and their ministers throughout
the land.
They have even brought on
their dependable colored buf
foons who claim* "This is
what's wrong with Black peo
ple. They have stupid, hate
mongering preachers telling
them what to do."
Someone needs to tell this
medium that it is the Black
church that has gotten our race
through the Jim Crow
apartheid era of the United
States and that it is the Black
church that has spawned great
leaders like Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. who have led us to vie
tory in the great Civil Rights
Struggle.
I guess that's it. They
despise the Black church for
what it has done - delivering
us from oppression through
faith and courage. Apparently,
this station hates what the
Black church stands for and is.
It was not funny at all when
one of the paid pundits on Fox
News made a Freudian slip by
saying, "it would be nice to
stop Al Qaeda and kill
Obama", when checked by
another pundit she continued,
"Osama/Obama, let's knock
off both of them".
This is intolerable! They
tried to cover themselves with
a mild jovial apology the next
day. This was nothing to joke
about and based on the history
of this nation it was clearly a
threat that should not be taken
| j .. ? . . Jh ' . ? ' '
lightly. How can a "news
show" carry on in such a dan
gerous and sick manner? If the
Ku Klux Klan has an endorsed
television channel, this is it.
Racists can clearly be illus
trated with the hatred of the
Black female. Their fear of the
Black male causes them to hate
the one who loves him - the
Black female. The personal
mean spirited attacks against
the Honorable Michelle Obama
are terribly sad. Another Fox
News pundit referred to her as
"Obama's baby mama". This is
reducing the most celebrated
Black family today to an
unholy affair replete with ille
gitimate children. This is more
than mean; this is pure hate.
You have to be pretty sick to
think this stuff up.
It gets worse. Bill O'Reilly
has stated on his nightly show
on Fox News that he wants to
organize a "lynching party to
go after Michelle Obam'fc".
This is 2008 and we are on the
verge of breaking a long cycle
of exclusivity. However, there
is a news medium that is hell
bent on preventing that. Issuing
a statement like this is truly
indicative that something very
wrong is still amiss amongst
us. We need to call it out.
I gave up watching Fox
News long ago. I just could no
longer stomach the mess that
was being presented before me.
No African-American or any
human being with racial toler
ance can watch this program on
a consistent basis. Bad taste is
one thing but racial animus
becomes something more sin
ister. .
It is time for us to start offi
cially complaining to the
Federal Communications
Commission about the antics
this channel is perpetrating.
Let's stop this monster.
Harry Alford is the co
founder, president/CEO of the
National Black Chamber of
Commerce, Inc. Website:
www.nationalhcc .org .