4A
EDITORIALS/ The Charlotte Post
January 25, 1996
W^l)e CJjarlotte
Gerald O. Johnson
Publisher
Robert Johnson
Co-Publisher/
General Manager
Herbert L. White
Editor
A major public
relations blunder in
more ways than one
By Lon Walls
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
WASHINGTON - It is obvious that Eddie Bauer Inc., a popular
clothing store chain, still "does not get it" when it comes to han
dling fallout from the harassment incident that occurred at its
Prince George's County, Md., outlet store last October. Perhaps
the $85 million suit recently filed against the company will pro
vide it with the proper insight.
As an African American male, I'm angered that a young black
man would be confronted at an Eddie Bauer store by off-duty
police officers and forced to leave in his undershirt to go home
and return with a receipt for the shirt off his back- a shirt he had
bought there previously. As usual, the black youth and his friend,
also black, were followed throughout the store by the police offi
cers. As usual, the incident rose out of a suspicion that the shirt
might have been stolen by the young man. And, as usual, the
youths were black, the officers white. Adding fuel to this now cus
tomary racial scenario is the fact that all the managers at that
particular Eddie Bauer store were white.
Had it not been for African Americans in the metropolitan
Washington, D.C. area media community, this incident would
have joined the ranks of the many similar situations African
Americans still experience almost daily somewhere in America
ones with no attention, no action, no redress and no apology.
Extensive press coverage of the incident created a backlash
Eddie Bauer did not expect. Subsequent demands for an apology
catapulted the episode to the level of a full-scale communications
crisis - one worthy of outside public relations counsel. So who
"It's bad enough that African American
public relations practitioners and firms sel
dom receive a call when corporate crises such
as the Tylenol incident or the Pepsi needle
scare... The very least that the Eddie Bauers of
the world can do is retain a black firm when
they have a crisis in the black community.
does Eddie Bauer call? Hill & Knowlton.
What's wrong with this picture?
As a black public relations practitioner and president of the
Capital Press Club, the oldest organization of African American
communications professionals in the nation, I am further out
raged that Eddie Bauer would hire a predominately white PR
firm to handle a problem it created within the black community.
Nothing against Hill & Knowlton. Undeniably, they are one of
the best firms in Washington. But like most of the other public
relations and public affairs firms in the area, they don't have
many African American professionals within their ranks.
However, Washington, D.C. does have a wealth of first-rate
African American public relations professionals. In addition to
the Capital Press Club, many of these PR practitioners belong to
the Black Public Relations Society of Washington.
Supplementing this large group of individual practitioners are
several highly qualified African American PR firms here.
If Eddie Bauer Inc. was sincere in its efforts to atone for the
company s affront to the black community, the company should
have done some research and sought out African American public
relations counsel.
Most black public relations professionals would have strongly
advised against Eddie Bauer giving some of its merchandise to
Prince George's County, Md. shelters. They would have easily
told the company that such a move was not an appropriate
response. A black PR firm would have told the company such a
move would insult the black community. A black PR firm would
have advised Eddie Bauer that not all African Americans are
controlled by a welfare-oriented mentality and free hand-outs
won't make a consumer racism policy disappear.
Instead, a black PR firm would have recommended Eddie Bauer
actively implement an extensive management training program
for African American employees and new black hires. In addition,
such a firm would have recommended that all of the company's
white managers at its urban stores nationwide undergo some sort
of consumer-oriented diversity/sensitivity training.
Last Dec. 1, Eddie Bauer president Richard T. Fersch came to
town and met with local NAACP officials. On face value, it was a
commendable gesture. For some inexplicable reason, however, he
did not take the time to personally meet with and apologize to
the aggrieved teenagers and their parents. An African American
public relations practitioner would have insisted such a meeting
take place!
Finally, an African American PR firm would now advise Eddie
Bauer that despite hiring Hill and Knowlton and attempting to
keep news of the incident local, this story is now spreading like
wildfire throughout Black America - a place where Hill &
Knowlton and others have little or no influence.
It s bad enough that African American public relations practi
tioners and firms seldom receive a call when corporate crises
such as the Tylenol incident or the Pepsi needle scare occur in
the general population. The very least that the Eddie Bauers of
the world can do is retain a black firm when they have a crisis in
the black community.
LON WALLS is president of the Capital Press Club, the oldest
organization of African American communications professionals
in the United States. The Club is headquartered in Washington,
V)oft5 Tfie'pia Appie Fall far Tsee ?
Teaching the truth about our history
By Conrad W. Worrill
SPECIAL TO THE POST
The movement to implement
an appropriate African- cen
tered curriculum is predomi
nately African American inner
city schools is growing by
leaps and bounds.
This movement has now
become popularly known as
the African Centered
Education Movement. Simply
stated, it focuses on teaching
the truth concerning the con
tributions of African people to
the development of civilization
in all subjects.
Throughout the country,
African Americans are now
becoming more sensitive to
challenging the racist and
white supremacist basis of the
American public school cur
riculum.
Through the National Black
United Front, and its World
African Centered Education
Plan, more African Americans
are beginning to see the need
for massive curriculum
change in the public schools of
this country.
There is not a day that goes
by that someone does not call
my office seeking information
and help on how to start the
process of changing the cur
riculum in their school.
It is clear that the public
school system is the place
where African American chil
dren receive a significant por
tion of their view of the world
and the history of the world.
And, it also is a place where
large numbers of African
American youth are misedu-
cated under the system of
white supremacy through the
ideas and interpretation of
history that is presented to
them.
Let's turn to Carter G.
Woodson's great book, “The
Miseducation of the Negro” to
get some further insights into
this problem.
Woodson observes "The so-
called modern education, with
all its defects, however, does
others so much more good
than it does the Negro,
because it has been worked
out in conformity to the needs
of those who have enslaved
and oppressed weaker people."
For example, Woodson says,
"The philosophy and ethics
resulting from our educational
system have justified slavery,
peonage, segregation and
lynching. The oppressor has
the right to exploit, to handi
cap, and to kill the oppressed."
Continuing on, Woodson
explains that "No systematic
effort toward change has been
possible for, taught the same
economics, history, philoso
phy, literature and religion
which have established the
present code of morals, the
Negro's mind has been
brought under the control of
his oppressor."
Concluding on this point
Woodson states: "The problem
of holding the Negro down,
therefore, is easily solved.
When you control a mans
thinking you do not have to
worry about his actions."
Therefore, it is inspiring to
see so many of our people
waking up all over America
and seeking the truth concem-
ing the real contributions of
African people to the world.
Through study groups, con
ferences, black talk radio, and
information network
exchanges, African Americans
are coming into a new African
consciousness that seeks to
reclaim the African mind and
spirit.
Through the Portland Model
"The philosophy and^thics resulting from our education
al system have justified slavery, peonage, segregation and
lynching. The oppressor has the right to exploit, to handi
cap, and to kill the oppressed."
-Carter G. Woodson
Baseline Essays, the work of
the Kemetic Institute, and
other writings and curriculum
materials, Africans are becom
ing much more aware of the
following points that must be
incorporated into the curricu
lum.
1. Africa is the home of early
man.
2. Africa is the cradle of mod
ern man.
3. Africa is the cradle of civi
lization.
4. Africa once held a position
as world teacher including the
teaching for the western
world.
5. There was and there still
is a continental wide cultural
unity in Africa and in the
African communities around
the world.
6. The first time Africans left
the continent was not on slave
ships.
7. Africa and African people
all over the world have been
under siege for nearly 2000
years and only recently by
European slavery and colo
nization.
8. There is an African dias
pora all over the world today.
9. African people have resist
ed domination on the conti
nent all over the world.
10. Even under slavery, colo
nization, segregation,
apartheid, African people
have made monumental con
tributions to arts, science and
politics.
These ten points, and others,
have become the basis upon
which we can judge the white
supremacy public school cur-
riculums content in textbooks
and other learning materials.
In other words, these points
have become the basis of
determining whether the
truth is being taught in the
public schools of this country.
The truth will set us free!
CONRAD WORRILL is
chairman of the National
Black United Front.
America’s growth industry: building prisons
Bernice P.
Jackson
Soon we ll no longer be
known for our automotive
industry or our Silicon Valley
computer technical industry.
Prisons are fast becoming the
United States' growth indus
try. We'll be known around
the world as the nation which
makes a living by incarcerat
ing its citizens.
We now incarcerate some
where around 1.5 million
Americans, about half of
whom are African American
or Hispanic. The number
grows by leaps and bounds
every year, with prisoners
often being double-bunked in
already overcrowded and out
dated facilities. With the
recent passages of the so-
called three-strikes-and-
you're-out bills and mandato
ry long sentences for crack
cocaine, the prison population
can only continue to grow.
In our capitalist tradition,
private enterprise is looking
at these numbers and the pri
vatization of the corrections
industry is now occurring in
many states, particularly the
South and West. While the
number of private companies
running prisons is still small.
The Corrections Corporation
of America now has about 42
percent of the private correc
tions market and is seeking to
expand to other states, includ
ing Ohio. In 1994, CCA saw
profits of $7.1 million, nearly
double its 1993 earnings.
With the clamor for tax cuts,
many argue that private pris
ons will save taxpayers dol
lars. But the numbers show
that privately-run prisons are
slightly more expensive than
public ones.
Many criminal justice advo
cates worry about this new
trend toward privatization,
recalling earlier abuses, when
inmates were forced to build
railroads, dig mines and work
in textile factories under hor
rible conditions which often
resulted in death. They also
question the accountability of
private corporations and point
out that it should be the gov
ernment's responsibility to
incarcerate.
On the other hand, private
prisons tend to be new, mod
ern facilities and in at least
one survey prisoners rated
them better in health care,
discipline, cleanliness, educa
tional programs and inmate
food and mood. Some private
facilities, however, have expe
rienced prisoner revolts, based
on complaints about spoiled
food, abusive guards and beat
ings and shacklings.
For many communities
across the country the issue
around prisons, whether pub
lic or private, is jobs. As more
and more blue collar jobs are
eliminated, communities are
turning to prisons as a source
of employment for their dis
placed factory workers and
increased state tax revenues
in the case of private prisons.
For instance, Youngstown,
Ohio is proposing to give 100
acres of industrial brownfields
(land polluted from toxic
wastes) to be used for the con
struction of a private prison.
With a 10.7 percent unem
ployment rate, this former
steel and manufacturing town
sees prisons as a source of jobs
an income.
BERNICE P. JACKSON is
Executive Director of the
Commission for Racial Justice
in Cleveland.