OPINION/ FORUM
Chronicle
Ernest H. Pitt Put>hsher/Co-Foun<kr
El. AlNE Pitt Business Manager
Michael A. Pitt Marketing o
T. Kevin Walker Managing Editor
Pholo by Kevin Walker
Mary Jordan is helped off a charter bus Sunday as she
arrives for a food distribution program at Agape Faith
Church in Clemmons.
Our
Thanksgiving
Prayer
We are certain that no one needs to be reminded that on
this Thanksgiving much is needed in the way of prayer.
These are tumultuous times. Everywhere you turn, there is
turmoil, crisis and sadness. The economic climate is stormy
at best. Ordinary people of modest means are suffering.
Many among us are having problems meeting even the most
basic of needs.
Our government seems to only be concerned with bailing
out the ones who are responsible for this mess in the first
place. That is why w t are emphasizing prayer above all else
this Thanksgiving.
When you consider that big companies are receiving bil
lions of dollars to keep their companies afloat using taxpay
ers' money, how do you reconcile them prospering and the
rest of us suffering? Consider also the fact that many of these
companies are receiving money that they have said they do
not need.
It is going to take a lot of praying to affect the situation.
Some folks do not believe in the power of prayer. For those
of you who do, we ask that you to pray for the sick, the poor,
the needy and those who have mortgages that they cannot
meet. Pray for those who have children to feed but cannot
find jobs.
We need also to pray for those who are sitting high and
looking low. They need help too. They need to understand
how ungodly it is for them to continue to reap benefits while
everybody else is bleeding. How much does one require to
be whole? Does it take a company billions of dollars of prof
it to be successful? Do executives need to make in excess of
$50 million for an annual salary and then get a couple mil
lion in bonuses in order to consider themselves wealthy? We
need to pray for them.
Even in our suffering, though, we need to give. We need
to be in a sharing mode this Thanksgiving. After all, if we are
healthy and in our right minds -we have reason to be thank
ful. If we have a warm place to sleep at night, we have rea
son to be thankful. If we have but one good meal to eat a day,
we have reason to be thankful. Let us thank God for the
many blessings that we have and pray that He will touch the
hearts and souls of those that have plenty but are too callous
to share.
Let us pray for President-elect Barack Obama. As this
country's first African American President, he faces the most
difficult time in American history. He certainly needs prayer.
His job is difficult even in the best of times. Now that it is
the worst of times, we know his critics will judge him harsh
ly and constantly. Let us commit to praying that God will
lead his thoughts, words and actions.
An Olive Branch for Jesse Jackson
Julianne
Malveaux
Guest
Columnist
When the 2008 contest for
the Democratic nomination for
President got heated. New
York Sen. Hilary Rodham
Clinton threw all kinds of wild
accusations at President-elect
Barack Obama.
He wasn't fit, he wasn't
ready, and she didn't know
whether he was a Muslim or
not. Time heals all wounds,
and now Sen. Clinton is poised
to be Secretary of State. The
fact that she campaigned
enthusiastically for Obama
didn't hurt her chances to be
the third most powerful person
in government, and the
appointment suggfSs that
Obama is serious when he says
he wants to surround himself
with the best and brightest
minds in our nation.
Sen. Joe Lieberman cam
paigned against Obama, so
enthusiastically supporting fel
low senator John McCain that
he hoped to get the vice-presi
dential nod that Sarah Palin
ended up with. Elected as an
independent, he has been
allowed to maintain his senior
ity as a Democrat, and even a
committee chair, despite his
acts of disloyalty to the
Democratic Party.
President-elect Obama
could signal that he wants
Lieberman punished by strip
ping him of his committee
chair, but he has not done so.
Disloyal Lieberman has had to
pay no consequences at all for
his behavior.
Meanwhile, the Rev. Jesse
Jackson made some ugly com
ments when he was off-mike at
Fox News back in July. He was
roundly, and justifiably, criti
cized for his remarks by an
array of people, including his
son. Congressman Jesse
Jackson Jr.
From all outward appear
ance, Rev. Jackson seems to be
persona non grata to the
Obama team. So while
Clinton, Lieberman, and even
McCain have been forgiven for
their campaign behavior, there
appears to be no forgiveness
for Jackson.
The elder statesman contin
ues to lead Rainbow/PUSH
and continues to make a differ
ence on issues of social and
economic justice. He has not
let the cold shoulder from the
Obama team slow or stop him,
but it is clear that he would
welcome the opportunity to
spend a few minutes with
President-elect Obama. And
why not? Jackson has rubbed
elbows with Wall Street giants
through his annual Wall Street
Project conference, and under
stands some of the fundamen
tals behind this current eco
nomic meltdown.
Further, his reach is broad -
from Wall Street to Main Street
to the 'hood. The President
elect could benefit from Rev.
Jackson's insight, just as he has
benefited from the insights of
Senator John McCain.
? During the Campaign, it is
understandable that Obama
would not meet with Jackson
for fear of being considered
"too black" or "too left". After
all, the Jackson wing of the
Democratic Party is unapolo
getically left of center. Now,
the campaign is cfver. Obama
has been elected, and he has
said he will be the president of
all of America.
He has reassured the right
wing by meeting with John
McQain. Why not reassure the
black left by meeting with Rev.
Jesse Jackson?
The Black left was in full
force at the State of the Black
World Conference in New
Orleans this weekend. But for a
family emergency. Rev.
Jackson* would have been
there. Rev. A1 Sharpton was
also scheduled to speak.
Minister Louis Farrakhan was
on the program for Sunday.
Organized by Dr. Ron
Daniels, the gathering drew the
Urban League's Mark Morial
and the Congressional Black
Caucus's Dr. Elsie Scott, the
University of Maryland's Dr.
Ron Walters, among others. I
participated in the opening
town hall meeting led by talk
radio hosts Bev Smith and
Mark Thompson.
While Revs. Jackson an<
Sharpton were missed, then
was rich conversation abou
the state of the civil right
movement, and the responsive
ness that President-elec
Obama will have to thi
African- American community
While the President-elect i
meeting with this group an<
that, hearing from this or tha
leader, it is important for hin
to maintain an open door to th
civil rights community.
And it is important for hin
to be open to meeting with
among others. Rev. Jessi
Jackson. Such a meeting \9oul<
signal respect, magnanimity
and the open spirit that ha
welcomed Clinton an<
Lieberman to the Obama team
While the success of th?
Obama administration does no
depend on a meeting with Rev
Jackson, it sends an importan
signal to a sector of our natioi
that supported this President
elect. Why not reach out t<
Rev. Jackson and, by exten
sion, to the Black left?
t
Dr. Julutnne Malveaux. i
famed economist, is presiden
of Bennett College for Women
Reading is the Ultimate Gift
George
Curry
Guest
Columnist
Of the many things I have
to be thankful for this
Thanksgiving, one is a gift
given to me in childhood - a
love for reading. 1 was remind
ed of this special gift two
weeks ago when I accompanied
my 6-year-old granddaughter,
Neyah Angelique Curry, and
her parents to a parent-teacher
conference at her school.
We carefully reviewed each
comment on Neyah's report
card and talked about what her
parents, Edward and Nikki,
could do to strengthen her
skills. Then, Nikki surprised
me by removing a book from
the shelf, giving it to Neyah and
saying, "Neyah, show Pa Pa
how you can read." I placed
Neyah on my lap and she read
the book almost flawlessly. I
was so proud as I cheered her
on. "My granddaughter can
read," I said repeatedly. "My
baby can read." My happiness
was rooted in the knowledge of
how reading empowers people.
Reading has always been a
big deal in my family. In spite
of growing up in public hous
ing with parents who never
completed high school - or,
maybe because of it - reading
was emphasized in our
Alabama home.
I can't remember a time
when we didn't have The
Tuscaloosa News delivered to
our home. Everyone would try
to read it before my stepfather,
William H. Polk, because he
read everything in the paper. 1
do mean everything. William
went to the 5th grade and was
perhaps the smartest person I
have ever met. He watched
NBC network news, called the
Huntley-Brinkley Report,
every weekday. Mama tried to
get us to eat together as a fami
ly, but if the news came on,
William dashed to the TV.
All three of my younger sis
ters - Charlotte, Chris and Sue
- were avid readers as well. In
fact, when we'd gather around
the dinner table, we'd often dis
cuss issues in the news. One
day. Sue, who was about 8 or 9
years old at the time, joined in
the discussion with an item of
her own. Startled, one of us
asked, "Sue, how did you know
that?" She replied, "I read it in
the paper."
Because 1 am the oldest of
the four children, 1 experienced
Charlotte reading "Chicken
Little" in the first grade. She'd
run around the house proclaim
ing, "The sky is falling, the sky
is falling."
One day, Mrs. Maude
Whatley. her grade school prin
cipal, walked into Miss Johnnie
Anderson's classroom and
heard Charlotte read about the
sky falling. With my mother's
permission, Charlotte was
skipped to the second grade
Two things sparked my
love for reading even more than
The Tuscaloosa News. William
subscribed to the Pittsburgh
Courier, the premier Black
newspaper in the country. He
and Mr. Jimmy McMath, his
close friend who also lived in
McKenzie Court, would
always discuss the contents of
each issue. I was mesmerized
with their conversations, often
going back to the paper to read
any article I had overlooked.
To appreciate the profound
impact the paper had on me, it's
helpful to remember that in the
segregated South - and in
many parts of the North - the
only time African-Americans
appeared in the newspaper was
if they were entertainers, ath
letes or were suspected of com
mitting a crime.
The Pittsburgh Courier pre
sented all aspects of our IrVes. I
remember developing a love
for Black history, in part,
because of the column written
by J. A. Rodgers. Growing up in
Alabama. I had heard far too
much about Booker i
Washington and very liltli
about W.E.B. DuBois, wh?
quickly became my hero. Ii
fact, my son Edward's ful
name is Edward DuBois Curry
My newly-discovered Blacl
newspaper gave me an ampli
supply of DuBois, Willian
Monroe Trotter, Ida B. Well
and so many other towerinj
figures.
It was the combination o
The Pittsburgh Courier, mj
love for reading and writing
and the encouragement of m;
parents and teachers that pro
pelled me into the field of jour
nalism. That was pivota
because I had received a differ
ent message from the Whiti
daily that did not hire anj
African-American journalist
at the time.
One of the things I remem
ber most about The Tuscaloosi
News was that its classified ad
were segregated. There was j
"colored section" that adver
tised for "colored bus boys'
and a separate section for oth
ers, such as White womei
seeking "White Christiai
Roommates."
In my youth. I filed a com
plaint with the U.S
Commission on Civil Right:
but they refused to do anythinj
about those ads. But thank God
The Tuscaloosa News ha:
changed and even recentl;
endorsed Barack Obama ove
John McCain.
My granddaughter Neyal
will grow up in a markedly dif
ferent world than I did. Am
because she has already devel
oped a love for reading at (
years old, she has one of th?
greatest gifts one can eve
receive.
George E. Curry, forma
editor-in-chief of Emerge mag
azine and the NNPA New.
Service, is a keynote speakei
moderator, and media coach
He can he reached through hi.
Weh , site
www.georgei~urry.com .