FORUM
In Flint, Michigan,
"We Charge Genocide"
? Six questions and past actions in the U.S. that give precedent
to why such a charge is conceivable
Akbar
Muhammad
Guest
Columnist
Nationwide
(BlackNews.com) - I first
saw the term "We Charge
Genocide" on the cover of
a book given to me in a
New York City restaurant
called "Ararat," off 36th
Street and 5th Avenue. It
was an Armenian restau
rant where the owner got to
* know Minister Louis
Farrakhan, his family and
staff who dined there from
time to time for dinner. It
was from the owner that I
heard about the struggle of
Armenia, which was not an
independent country at that
time.
In recent years,
Armenia has become
familiar to the American
public from the notoriety of
the reality television fami
ly, the Kardashians, who
are from there.
The tragedy in Armenia
was a case of systematic
liquidation of a minority
people struggling for free
dom, self determination
and justice by the old
Ottoman Empire which is
now Turkey.
It was carried out dur
ing World War I between
the years 1915 and 1918.
The Armenian people were
subjected to deportation,
expropriation, abduction,
torture, massacre, and star
vation, said www.armen
ian-genocide.oig that docu
mented the struggle and
1
history.
Although the violations
happened years before the
United Nations Convention
on Genocide, the world
condemned the action. But
perhaps because of time
and Armenia being a dis
tant place and a world
away, the American people
may not remember much
of what happened there.
However, right now inside
America, we are facing a
tragedy in Flint, Mich, with
lead poison contamination
of the water. According to
experts, the whole ordeal
could have been avoided
but was allowed to fester
by city and state leader
ship.
In Flint, we too can
charge genocide; the city is
predominately black and
poor with a high rate of
unemployment.
The poor black, brown
and poor disenfranchised
communities have suffered
from lead poisoning over
the years and the long-term
effects have been docu
mented. One example was
Freddie Gray, who died in
the hands of Baltimore
police sparking unrest and
protests during 2015.
Recent reports disclosed a
high level of lead was
found in his body. Mr. Gray
is not the exception and
according to a black doctor
I spoke to, the establish
ment has clear methods to
eradicate most of the lead
poisoning these communi
ties.
The situation in Flint is
not new and with a cursory
glance at history, lessons
can be drawn to help in the
analysis of the crisis as a
1
pos
sible case for genocide.
Here are six questions
and past actions in the U.S.
that give precedent to why
a charge of genocide in
I
Flint
is conceivable:
We should ask why
isn't the Federal
Government working in
conjunction with the state
and city governments to
relocate the people of Flint,
Mich., as was done during
the March 1979 nuclear
meltdown at the Three
Mile Island reactor in Pa.
where citizens were relo
cated because of the danger
of staying in the area?
The notorious acts of
germ warfare against the
indigenous people by
European settlers here in
North America such as the
intentional spread of dis
ease .like small pox to
weaken and kill Native
Americans. It was a com
mon method and was sent
through small pox contam
inated blankets.
Another note of history
is the famed Tuskegee
experiment where black
men were injected with
syphilis and purposely
denied treatment. This
went on from 1932-1972
and was called the
"Tuskegee Study of
Untreated Syphilis in the
Negro Male." The study
initially involved 600 black
men, 399 with syphilis, 201
who did not have the dis
ease. The study was con
ducted without the benefit
of patients' informed con
sent.
Then there was the
question of eugenics and
forced sterilization of pre
dominately black women
without their consent,
mainly in the. Southern
states. These were acts of
genocide under laws such
as the South Carolina
Sterilization Bill passed
into law in 1935.
In the case of criminal
behavior and mass incar
ceration where America
houses two million mostly
black and brown inmates;
maybe these should be test
ed for lead poisoning to see
if it too is an underlining
impact within their think
ing.
We can encourage
black athletes and enter
tainers, especially those in
Hollywood, to speak out
and demand that the
Federal government test
young black men in this
country for the effects of
long-term lead poisoning,
and test the drinking water
in the cities across this
country that are dominated
by minorities.
The Flint, Mich., lead
poisoning issue is one of
environmental corruption
and racism among other
important problems plagu
ing America. Black leader
ship is mostly pushed into
discussions on civil rights,
but this is about the life and
death of a whole nation of
people that must be ade
quately addressed.
We want to know in
straight words, what are the
political positions on this
from candidates vying to
occupy the White House
after this next national
election? There may be
many more Flints across
America which gives us the
right to say loud and clear
that we charge genocide.
Akbar Muhammad is
international renresenta
tive of the Honorable
Minister Louis Farrakhan
and the Nation of Islam. He
can be reached at aak
bar314@yahoo.com for
questions and comments.
Tournament is a gathering place for old friends
T r.? ???? ? . r '~.ttfun.,'-,r ? - ? nniionnl li/Miioirac nc T r\S\\\l ? roo 1
1 gicw up
arguably in the
heart of CIAA
[Central
Intercollegiate
Athletic
Association]
land. Growing
. up in Winston
James B.
Ewers Jr.
A
Guest
Columnist
Salem gave me
a first-hand view of Winston-Salem
Teachers College (now Winston-Salem
State University), one of the original mem
bers of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic
Association. Nearby were other CIAA
schools like North Carolina A&T (now
University), Fayetteville College (now
State University), Livingstone College and
my alma mater, Johnson C Smith
University. ^
All of these schools had and have stel- \
lar academic programs and great athletic i
traditions. Over time, North Carolina ]
A&T University and North Carolina
Central University moved on to another
division, as did Hampton Institute (now
University) and Norfolk State College
(now University). In fact, Winston-Salem
State University moved to another division
for a few years but now they have come
back to their rightful home, the CIAA.
I have been on the campus of Winston
Salem State University countless times.
One of its presidents. Dr. Kenneth R.
Williams, lived on our street. Back in the
day it was a very big deal to go to an ath
letic contest featuring Winston-Salem
Teachers College. The school was fondly
called TC.
In my neighborhood lived one of the
greatest basketball coaches of all-time,
Clarence "Big House" Gaines. His coach
ing achievements and contributions to the
game of basketball have been character
ized as iconic. When young boys like me,
Bishop Graham and William Earl Jr.,
would go over to his house, we would run
into basketball players like Teddy Blunt,
Richard Glover and Louis "Left Hand"
Parker. Of course many would say that the
greatest basketball player that he coached
was Earl "The Pearl" Monroe. It did not
hurt that Mrs. Clara Gaines, his wife,
taught some of us Latin at Atkins High
I i
School, so we were always around their
house and Skyland Recreation Center,
which was across the street.
The CIAA Basketball Tournament was
a staple in Winston-Salem for a number of
years. Outstanding teams like Virginia
State College (now University) which won
this year's men's tournament, Virginia
Union University and the ones that 1 men
tioned earlier made it a treat for us as
young boys to attend. Shaw University,
St. Paul's College, St. Augustine College
(now University) and Elizabeth State
College (now University) were also mem
bers of the conference and competed in the
tournament as well. During that time, the
aforementioned schools in North Carolina
and Virginia made up the majority of the
CIAA.
While you hear basketball enthusiasts
*
talk about Tobacco Road and schools like
Wake Forest, Duke and North Carolina,
there has also been as much conversation
about CIAA schools. Coaches like Steve
Joyner (Johnson C. Smith University) and
Dave Robbins (retired coach at Virginia
Union University) are coaching legends in
the CIAA. Joyner and his brother, Ed
"Buck" Joyner, who was the head coach at
St. Paul's College before it closed and now
is an assistant coach at Livingstone
College, have a basketball-coaching fami
ly dynasty. Both of their sons are basket
ball coaches. Buck Jr. is the head men's
coach at Hampton University and Steve Jr.
is the head women's coach at Johnson C.
Smith University.
The CIAA Conference was something
that we just took for granted and seeing
great college athletes wasn't anything
M'
unusual. nunvYvi as x ivuvvi nun, x ivm
ize what a special time that was.
So if you fast forward to 2016, the
Central Intercollegiate Athletic
Association has changed quite a bit.
Athletic teams within the conference are
better and women's sports teams have
taken tremendous strides. Student-athletes
from the CIAA schools are graduating in
greater numbers and the conference has
added more schools. For example, the
newest members are Bowie State
University (Md.), Chowan University
(N.C.) and Lincoln University (Pa.).
The marketing of the CIAA has cer
tainly contributed to the overall success
not only for the conference, but also for the
individual schools. The Conference
offices are now located in Charlotte,
arguably one of the premier cities in the
South.
? 1 ! -i 1 1 ..,un
/\iumm 01 uiese scnuui* oiiu uiuac wiw
never attended one of the conference's
schools plan their vacations around the
CIAA Basketball Tournament. By the
way, it will be held in Charlotte next year,
so make your hotel reservations now.
We just returned from the tournament a
few weeks ago and had a wonderful time.
It was a time to see old friends and talk
about the good old days. I spent a lot of
time, simply walking around and seeing
people that I had not seen in years. This is
what happens at the CIAA. You go for the ?
basketball and you leave with renewed
friendships and great stories to tell.
I often say to my friends and col
leagues that the CIAA Basketball
Tournament should be on your bucket list.
Spread the word because next year will be
here before you know it. It will be time for
basketball, great fellowship and wonderful
memories.
James B. Ewers Jr. EdD. is a former
tennis champion at Atkins High School in
Winston-Salem and played college tennis
at Johnson C Smith University where he
was all-conference for four years.
He is the President Emeritus of The
Teen Mentoring Committee of Ohio and a
retired college administrator. He can be
reached at ewers jr56?yahoo.com.
fc"
f^f
"The CIAA Conference was something that
we just took for granted and seeing great col
lege athletes wasn't anything unusual."
-James B. Ewers Jr.