Mel Watt-The New Breed We Need!
Last week, on a five to three vote, the
State House Judiciary I Committee passed
a bill that would allow county governments
to reorganize the delivery of health ser
vices. The action was taken after receiving
comments from Mecklenburg County,
public health representatives, and mem
bers of an increasingly common divided
Mecklenburg County legislative delegation. V
The Committee’s action increases the
authority Mecklenburg Commissioners re
ceived in 1973 when a law was enacted
allowing county government to abolish
state-required health boards. Mecklenburg
Commissioner Fountain Odom told the
Committee that the many restrictions in the
current law prevent adequate authority.
However, Rep. Howard Barnhill, D-Meck.,
and representatives from two state nurse’s
organizations argued that increasing coun
ty government’s power would endanger
public health.
Stealing the media spotlight from the
debate began when Barnhill, a former
public health instructor at UNC-Chapel Hill
said that the Mecklenburg delegation had
not met to discuss the bill. Rep. Jo
Graham Foster, >the county delegation
chairperson, expressed support for the bill
and said that the delegation had met?on the
issue.
Resolve The Issue
After thie meeting, the conflict mush
roomed into a near shouting match. Foster
reportedly said to Barnhill that he “mis
represented* ’ the delegation on the question
of their having met on the issue. Barnhill
replied that she was falsely accusing him.
reportedly said, “She’s weak.’’ Foster,
tionwhathi had^id°n’ retuni€d to ques'
Likewise, this debate or argument re
minds us that it took the I^ec;klenburg
Mecklenburg voters.
: Mecklenburg County voters are
undoubtedly less thari enthusiastic about
their delegation thus, far, there is ^e
encouraging thought - Sen. Mel Watt, In hi*
own words, Sen. Mel Watt, D-Meck. , did not
expact to be a “high-profile senator.”
: Nevertheless, Sen. Watt has begun to re
cttje attention as an alert, intelligent
legislator who does his own thinking
Last week, Watt opposed planned cuts in
abtftion spending, arguing that such cuts
for ^political expediency” would deny con
stitutional rights to the poor.
Two weeks ago Sen. Watt cast the only
vote against a multi million dollar tax cut
bill. Pleading for state needs, Watt asked
the senators to reject “this mania for
• cutting taxes.”
Being tactful and knowledgeable when
he speaks, Mel Watt, even as a freshman
senator, is gaining a sense of respect that is
a bright light among the county delegation.
Recognition of this led Sen.* Charlie Hipps,
D-Haywood, to remark that Sen. Watt is
“probably becoming sort of the conscience
of the Senate. He said some things that
needed to be said when everybody was
afraid to say them...I would say he’s
probably the most effective freshman le
gislator in either the House or the Senate.”
Maybe, just maybe, it’s time, to begin
thinking of electing more Mel Watts, that is,
people sensitive to the needs of their
constituents, having the courage of their
convictions to speak out without fear of so
called political consequences, and know
ledgeable and articulate enough to com
mand the attention of his legislative peers
when he does speak.
Sen. Mel Watt has demonstrated, too, a
rare quality seldom seen in politicians, that
is, the ability to be humble by living by his
word to not seek to be a “high-profile
senator,” as most lawmakers are. Specific
ally, when the advocates of a recent bill
sought Watt’s help in introducing the
measure, he in turn sought out a more
senior member closer to the Senate lead
ership in the person of Sen. Tony Rand,
D-Cumberland.
On the move, Watt said, “The name of the
game is not personal success, but legis
lative success. It really doesn’t matter who
gets credit for something” as long as the
people are served.
Yes, maybe it’s time to elect more Mel
Watt types, i.e., those who put public
service ahead of personal glory. Right on
Mel Watt, right on! T*
Black Families
.
. . Rewritten From
The Carolina Times
Families, some experts beltem, are the
building blocks of a society. They provide
all the character development traits neces
sary to produce successful human being*?'
But that assertion is clearly under fire
today, particularly in black American fa
milies as problems assail this unit of
society.
Black American families are divorcing
and separating at an alarming rate, leaving
men adrift to “sow wild oats,” and women
alone to socialize the children.
More and more mothers, both those who
live in married couple homes, and others
are working, leaving more and more
children, particularly teenagers, to fend
alone for several hours each afternoon.
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A HURRICANE SHEEPS
ACROSS THE LUSH IANS OF
THE GULP COAST AND IT
BECOMESAMSASTERAREA *.
A DROUGHT DRAGS OtUKTHL v
HUMtSTAHDA DISASTER IS
DECLARER AND BLACK V
UNEMPLOYMENT FURS
UP TOSSftNSOME CITIES,
ANDITIS DESCRIBED ASA
RESULT OF A TURNDOWN M
THE ECONOMY AND
GOVERNMENT POES
NOTHING?
SIMS
.
Time For Action _ Mr. President
The Decision To EM
The choice to end child
bearing is a decision being
made by more and more
couples in the United States.
The primary basis of the
decision is that the couples
feel that their lives and fa
milies are “complete” with
the present offspring.
Who usually submits to the
surgery? Up until the late
1970s the wife would be the
chosen one. However, men.
are catching up. Why? Be
cause many couples view a
vasectomy as being less of a
risk of complications than
female sterilization. 7 ' '
Sterilization today is the
leading form of birth con
trol ; the proportion has Aore
than tripled since 1985. In
1983 15 million adults in thg
Uhited States were surgical
ly sterilized. The statistics
being 450,000 men and 822,
000 women. Twenty-eight
percent of currently mar
ried women 15-44 years of
age are protected via steri
lization, either by their
state, 17.5 percent, or their
husband’s at 10.5 percent.
Nearly half of couples with
three or more children have
been sterilized.
Another basis for choice In
who is sterilized is that tra
ditionally men are more re
L - Sabrina'^
' - — fc
sistant to having their re
productive organs tampered
with than woman - who are
supposed to be tgfed to it! fiut
this is not true. Many Wo
men are seriously concerned
or just as concerned about
losing their womanhood as
men are concerned of hav
ing their manhood threat
ened. One partner in the
marriage is usually more
frightened or resistant than
the other. Women usually
know the procedure will not
affect their sex life - men are
afraid it will and are happy
to know it will not.
Doctors do agree that
vasectomies will likely be
come more popular due to
Quality Of Life
Black People Are In Need Of A Behavior Change
By Ahmad Daniels " f ",
Special To The Port
TTie late Malcolm X, advocate at
black self-sufficiency, has stated;
"Once you change your philosphy,
you change your thought pattern;
once you change your thought pat
tern, it changes your attitude; and
once you change your attitude, it
changes your behavior pattern.”
Who can deny that Americans in
general, and black people in par
ticular, are in need of a behavior
change? Our lifestyle (living ha
bits) is not only killing us in num
bers out of proportion to the rest at
American society, but is dangerous
ly affecting the quality of our life
When the Congressional Black
Caucus Health Braintrust met last
year, it tackled with, among other
things, the following dismal statis
tics on black health;
-A black baby is twice as likely as
a white baby to die before its first
birthday;
-The life expectancy for a Mack
person is 08 years, compared with 74
years for whites;
-Black women are about two and
one half times more likely to die
from diabetes than white women;
-Black men are seven times more
likely to be murdered then white
men and have a greater chance of
cancer and heart disease.
Each week 1 will share informa
tion concerning our health and how
to take responsibility for It.
Black America cannot and should
not expect the government to save
us from the ravages of economic
deprivation. We should also not
► , expect the government to provide m
with health facilities to tackle the
staggering number of Illnesses af
fecting blacks. Indeed, just as am
help Is the answer to the economic
woes of our people, it will take
self-help through self-awareness to
begin to combat the chronic
degenerative diseases afflicting our
people (heart disease, cancer,
diabetes melHtus, hypertension, ar
thritis, and chronic lung disease)
No government or any other out
side source can do for ua - or any
other, group - what we are un
willing to do for ourselves.
The objective of tMs column will
he to get us to think about our
lifestyle and the Impact it has on our
mental and physical health and to do
something about It. Topics concern
ing how to increase our level of HDL
cholesterol (the “good" choleste
rol that helps transport the LDL or
“bad” cholesterol out of the body),
why dieting without regular ex
ercise does not work, why sit-ups
won't flatten a fat stomach, etc., will
be reviewed. We will take a look at
the role potassium plays in the life of
the hypertensive talcing a diuretic
and how unphysically fit our youth
are today and what that portends.
Many school children have Ugh
blood pressure, a significant num
ber have elevated blood fats and an
even greater number are over
weight and cannot pass a bona fide
fitness test! These issues and others
will be reviewed in the weeks and
months to come. This is your
column, so if there is a topic you
would like to read about< send me a
letter in care of this paper and I will,
depending on how relevant it is to
the general public, addkeaa it.
In closing, let me say that I am not
a physician and do not profess to be.
However, I am a 96 year old Mack
man who has been running for 95
years and is very concerned about
the poor health of Ms people; con
cerned about the significant num
her of blacks falling prey to heart
disease, hypertension, stroke,
obesity, ate.; illnesses that are
chiefly the result of how we live day
in anjl day opt andhaot because these
illnessea are part of flatting old. One
need not be s doctor to know that
maintaining a desired weight is good
sense. One need not be a dector to
know that vigorous exardsa 15-90
minutes, at least, three times a week
is wise And it certainly does not
take a doctor to know the damage
fat, sugar, and salt can inflict If wed
excessively In fact, health has
never been and never will be de
termined by what doctor* do. Health
is, however, directly related to the
way people live and the decisions
made each day.
The elitist notion that only people
with formal training and profes
sional degrees have legitimate an
swers must be challenged at every
, turn. If degrees were the prere
quisites for a healthy people, Mack
people would not be to the dire
•traits we presently occupy. The
power to bring about change is in our
hands, but the right thought is not in
our minds.
Join me each week as we try to put
the right thoughts into the missis of
our people.
HavU a good day and remember,
always go for the quality of Hfe
Black Leadership
The North Carolina Black Lead
ership Caucus will hold Us Eighth
Annual Conference in Fayetteville
on Jiriy 19-21.
Featured speakers at the eonfe- 3
rence wifi be William H. Gray III,
Chairman of the U.S. House of
Representatives Budget Commit
tee; Bishop John Hurst Adams;
Con*emman Walter E. Fauntroy,
business leaders Percy Sutton and
Theodore A. Adams; and Joeeph E.
Madlaon, Director of NAACP Po
litical Action Department.
, On Sunday. July 2l, former Can
grass women Shirley Chisholm will *.
be the speaker Cost of the three
day conference at the Holiday Inn y
(Hwy I-M and S3) is 240 for mem ,,
bora and » for non-mombers (on
•iteishigiorL . ;*?' .
For information or registration
contact Bob Daria, soMtai, or
Cathy Hughes, 5*rom After 8p m' ,
7*8-2111 ,ext. 3*12 (•).
Arthritk Luncheon
The first Arthritis Interact
Luncheon Session will be held
Thursday, July i«, at noon at the
Community Health Services Build*.-*,
in*, 1401 East Seventh Street
times the risk of comolicci
iii * » _ *