5A
OPINIONS/ The Charlotte Post
October 24, 1996
Why Pm running for Baptist State Convention
By Rev. Philip Davis
SPECIAL TO THE POST
You may have already heard that I have decided to
allow my name to be placed in nomination for the office
of First Vice-President, at our upcoming State
Convention, November 11-13, 1996. The election of offi
cers will take place on Tuesday, November 12, at 10:20
a.m. for the Office of President and at 3:15 for all others,
including Fist Vice-President.
Let me tell you why I decided to seek this office. Many
of you may not know that I have never been a part of any
“political agenda.” I have been asked to address the
Carolina Conservative Baptist Meeting on October 22,
1996. I plan to do so and would be more than willing to
address the Friends of Missions, if invited. It was at the
request of several pastors and Directors of Missions
across the state that I agreed to allow my name to be
placed in nomination. The requests were based on the
fact that as pastor of Nations Ford Baptist Church, I
have led our congregation to be one of the top five
churches in baptisms, in each of the past five years. In
addition, we have led the state in earning discipleship
course credits and diplomas in the area of Evangehsm for
two years and have ranked 12th in the entire SBC. The
point that I am making is that I have one agenda, and
that is to lead our great state convention to a Spiritual
Awakening, a revival of love, unity and true brotherhood.
I desire to see churches across our state unite against the
real enemy which seems to be tearing us apart. While
bite and devour one another, the enemies of intolerance,
hatred, racism, classism, sexism, immorality, drug
abuse, child molestation and a host of other family
destroying vices are ripping apart our churches both
urban and rural.
Friends, I believe that God wants us to change our
focus from being exclusive, controlling and bitter to a
new vision of hope, restoration and reconciliation.
Perhaps I am naive, but I don’t imderstand why conserv
atives would need to control the convention. I certainly
don’t imderstand why moderates must elect our nomi
nees to at least two of these three offices to continue con
trol of the convention for the future.” I was under the
impression that the convention belonged to the churches
and that the churches belonged to our Lord Jesus Christ,
thus the convention belongs to Christ. He is the only per
son who should be in control.
I don’t understand the attempt to imseat a President
who is a “capable and pleasant President who has shown
a great deal of good will and cooperative endeavor, which
is praiseworthy.” I also don’t understand why more eth
nic and minority leadership is not included on the staff of
our state convention, the agencies and boards of our
institutions, including the General Board.
I beUeve that it is time for a change in our convention.
It is time for us to move into the 21st century with fresh
new ideas and a renewed commitment to model effective
evangelism and servant-leadership. The days of back
room politics, fear propaganda and control techniques
are over. 'This is a time to start fresh, with diversity of
races, inclusion of the language and ethnic churches of
our state and most of all a revival of love and unity.
I believe we can and should be open to those who may
differ with us, as long as we agree on Jesus Christ. Our
former president, Dr. Alfred Ayscue, stated in his
address to 1994 convention, where I also preached the
convention sermon, “There is no second class Baptist in
North Carolina, be they male or female, clergy or laity,
members of a small church or a part of a mega-congrega-
tion. Ehtism and judgmental spirit have no place among
us. 'The Baptist House in North Carolina must remain
expansive enough to shelter all members of the “Baptist
family,” and I wholeheartedly agree. I am allowing my
name to be placed in nomination in order to break
through the ehtism and prove to the nation that North
Carolina Baptists are people of good will,
I believe that I can help our state convention and serve
as a “peacemaker” for Jesus and for our churches. I have
worked with men such as Dr. Roy Smith, Dr. Ron
Pinkerton, Bill Poe, Dr. Mike Steen and Eddie Griggs as
well as with Dr. Wayne Poplin, Kelvin Smith, Alan
Blume and George Mathis. I respect and beheve I have
earned the respect of the people with
whom I have worked over the years.
My commitment to you will be the
+ same that I ask of you and anyone else;
namely, I commit to serve you with
► fairness, openness and honesty. I have
no grudges, no ax to grind, and no
political agenda. I have only a deep
desire to serve our state convention
- and to help move us into the 21st
Century without the baggage of
infighting and bickering, but with a
vision of renewal and a vision of seeing
lost humanity saved by the grace of
Almighty God.
My friend and co-laborer, the issue is bigger than a
label of conservative or moderate, liberal or fundamen-
tahst. The issue is bigger than who is going to control.
The issue is, will we as God’s people in North Carolina,
humble oiuselves, seek His face, turn from our wicked
ways and pray. God has promised that if we would do
these things He would hear from Heaven, forgive our
sins and would heal our land. I believe that the time for
healing in oiu convention is now!
If you beUeve like I do, that it is time for a change and
that we can change and that the future will be brighter
for North Carolina Baptists, then I solicit your support
and vote on November 12, in Greensboro.
I will be happy to answer any of your questions, and I
am open to your suggestions. Please give me a call at
704-522-6480 or send me a fax at 704-522-8937.
Thank you and I look forward to seeing you on
November 12. May the grace of God abound towani you!
The Rev. Philip Davis is pastor of Nations Ford Baptist
Church in Charlotte and a candidate for first vice presi
dent of the Baptist State Convention.
Just how much is a dead child’s life really worth?
By Dennis Schatzman
si’i-:iT.\L ru iHEi-ci^r
The late 18th century poet
Samuel Johnson once said “If a
person says he’s doing some
thing not because of the money
involved; but for the principle of
the thing; it’s the money!”
Which brings me to the sub
ject at hand: How much are the
civil trial plaintiffs going to get
p.J. Simpson for in this latest
fmiuder” trial? Lawyers for the
plaintiff's, the families of Nicole
Brown Simpson and Ronald
Lyle Goldman, said recently
that the punitive and compen
satory damages is worth some
where around $50 million. This
seems rather peculiar since it
was the Goldmans who have
publicly stated that their civil
action against Simpson had
nothing to do with money.
Lack of candor aside, the
action is about money, and we
all know it. Since many of us
believe that the fix is already on
this one (the plaintiff's have the
right judge, the right courtroom
and the right amount of mass
media and talk show host sup
port) the only question remains:
How much is the loss of loved
ones actually worth?
That was the question I posed
to a charter member of the
American Academy of Economic
and Financial Experts I met
with in Las Vegas last month.
He responded by giving me the
Winter 1995 edition of the
Academy-published Journal of
$50 million sought in OJ.
Simpson case is way too much
Legal Economics which con
tained two very interesting and
revealing articles on that very
subject written by some econo
mists who very likely may be
called as expert witnesses in
this wrongfiol death suit.
In the first article, “The
investment Approach to
Parental Loss in the Death of a
Child,” economists Thomas R.
Ireland and John Ward of the
University of Missouri-Kansas
City, explain that “when par
ents decide to have a child, they
are, in large part, valuing the
anticipated benefits from that
child more than the financial
costs they expect to bear on
behalf of the child.” They argue
that if a child is bom and fives
to be 19 years old, it is anticipat
ed that a parent or parents have
invested about $10,000 per year
for the care and upkeep of that
child at a financial benefit of
$5,208 per year. If a child “is
wrongfully killed” at that age or
younger, the parent(s) loss of
future benefits, both financial
and emotional is far greater
than if the child lives to - say -
age 58.
Ireland and Ward estimate
that the earlier a child is wrong
fully killed, the greater the
financial loss to parents. 'They
cite, for example, that if a child
is bom in 1977 and dies wrong-
fiilly the next ye^u, based upon
parental “investment” of
$10,000 at a real 3 percent rate
of return (estimated at $17,024)
the net loss to the parents is
$242,303. If the child is killed at
age 9, at the same rate of invest
ment, the net loss to the parents
is reduced to $173,296.
Similarly, if the child dies at age
18, the net loss is reduced to
$120,360.
Now let’s take a look at
Goldman and Brown Simpson.
What would their deaths be
worth financially to their par
ents at the age that they were
wrongfully killed, according to
Ireland and Ward? These
experts say that a 25-year-old
wrongfully killed would be
financially worth $87,913 to the
parents of a waiter who makes
barely more than minimum
wage plus tips.
Brown Simpson, who lived to
be age 35, would have cost her
parents $51,791 in lost financial
benefits. Had each of them lived
to be age 58 before they were
killed, they would have both
been worth just $22. That’s
right. Twenty-two dollars.
That is, assuming that they
both worked all of their fives at
the same rate of current pay.
With Goldman, it’s hard to mea
sure. One can guess that the
Schatzman
waiter would
not always be
a waitei’ just
making tips
and minimum
wage. With
Brown
Simpson, who
only worked a
total of two
months (as a
waitress) and
two weeks (as
a sales girl) it is harder to mea
sure.
Enter economists James Cieka
and Seth Epstein of DePaul
Umveisity in Chicago. Although
they correctly deduce, in their
article, “The Use of Value of Life
Estimates in Wrongful Death
Matters,” that “no amount of
compensation” emotionally sat
isfies a grieving parent, they
also argue that a person’s life
“must have a finite value
because people are quite willing
to assume small risks of death
for some amount of compensa
tion."
If O.J. Simpson did indeed kill
Brown Simpson and Goldman,
one can argue that they did take
a risk in living with (in Brown
Simpson’s case) and cavorting
with (in Goldman’s case) a per
son who was a “jealous” and
“abusive” man.
Cieka and Epstein say that
“people with larger incomes
have a greater value of life than
poorer people, and awards
based on the value of life may
lead to granting richer people
more compensation for the lost
joy of living than pcwir people.”
'I’lierofore, they say. “the value
of life is larger when income is
larger.”
What does that mean in the
case at hand? Although Brown
Simpson worked barely more
than a decent paycheck in all
her life, she did bring O.J, into
the family. The defendant, in
turn put the Brown family in
the Hertz Rent-a-Car business
and paid for the education of
Brown Simpson’s other sisters.
He even loaned Denise Brown
$5,000 just a few weeks after
she says she saw O.J. beat
Nicole after a long night of
rowdy drinking.
In a civil case like the one cur
rently underway, it is clear to
me that O.J. Simpson will lose
and some compensation will be
granted. It will not be $50 mil
lion as the plaintiff's envision,
but it will be something. At
least it shouldn't be, according
to the experts. In granting an
award in a vmingful death suit,
there in no attempt to make a
victim or dependents whole; it is
simply a recognition that every
one wrongfully killed is entitled
to be compensated equal to the
value of a statistical life.
Assuming, of course, that
Simpson is “liable" in the
wrongful death of the Brown
and Goldman children.
DENNIS SCHATZMAN is a
former Los Angeles Sentinel
reporter and journalism profes-
The anger that hinds us together rips us apart
Bernice P.
Jackson
A few months ago a pastor
wrote me about the anger he
sees in the world around him.
And he is right - it seems that
anger boils beneath the surface
of so many people and bubbles
out sometimes at unexpected
moments. Sorrowfully, anger
may be the common denomina
tor for many in our world today.
On our highways, angry and
impatient drivers blow their
horns, shouting and making
obscene gestures at each other,
sometimes running each other
off the road, sometimes even
attacking and shooting one
another. In our work places,
angry workers increasingly are
resorting to guns and violence to
resolve their conflicts and disap
pointments - postal workers
killing other postal workers, fac
tory workers killing those who
fired them, even law firms and
professional workers killing for
mer colleagues. In our homes,
angry husbands-beat their
wives and angry mothers kill
their crying children. In our
schools, where once anger led to
list lights, we now find even
small children using guns.
We find anger all around us.
At airports and train stations,
angry passengers make unrea
sonable demands upon workers.
Angry parents make unreason
able demands upon teachers,
who are angry themselves.
Voters are angry with govern
ment and politicians are angiy
with each other. We even find
anger in our churches and
mosques, with angry people
feuding with each other, bring
ing their anger inside houses of
worship.
There is the anger which rich
people and even some middle
class people feel against the
poor, whom they charge with
being lazy and irresponsible.
There is the anger which poor
people have as they see a society
obsessed with material wealth
while ignoring their needs for
the necessities of life - jobs,
liou.sing and f'lKid.
Then there is the anger which
widens the gap between white
Americans and people of color.
People of color are angry at the
treatment we have received for
the last 500 years in this nation.
Whites are angry because they
believe that people of color have
taken their jobs and college
placements because of affirma
tive action.
Why are we so angry in this
country? There are many rea
sons, of course. Some of it has to
do with the pace in which we
five today — always rushing, sel
dom taking time to talk to a
neighbor over a fence or to
someone else waiting for a bus.
Some of it has to do with our
placing the accumulation of
material wealth above human
relationships and our greed and
imwilfingness to share with oth
ers. Some of it has to do with
the scapegoating of people of
color and the poor - blaming
affirmative action instead of
looking at the real problems of
lack of jobs for unskilled and
blue collar workers, for exam
ple.
Some of it has to do with the
fact that we as a nation have
never had real, honest conversa
tion about race and racism and
what it is doing to us all. We
have built our national house on
sand, on myths and half-truths
about how this nation has
grown to be what it is. We have
never acknowledged the sins
committed against native
American people or African
Creek isn’t
as innocent
as it appears
Letters to The Post
The writer is former medical
director of the Neighborhood
Health Center!Alexander
Street Center.
Re: Kids Page article (Oct.
3, page 14A) “Creek provides
summer playground:”
While I understand your
good intentions from these
photographs, I am moved to
relive some serious problems
with this seemingly quiet
creek.
I worked at the Alexander
Street Center in the
Neighborhood Health Center
for 17 1/2 years. During those
long years, one of my deep
concerns and fears was that
little kids would fall in this
creek and drown...then wash
away.
The creek bed was then
cleaned up and the wall for
re-enforcement was installed.
However, the water still rises
some 7-8 feet above its nor
mal peaceful level with heavy
rain with powerful rippling of
the stream.
Providing more public and
safe water recreation for the
public housing sector would
be a nice follow-up series for
The Post. Oh, by the way,
three of my patients drowned
in this creek further
upstream several years ago
during one of the heavy rain
storms when their car was
washed up the creek.
1 suggest that your writers
and your readers visit this
area with it rains heavy to
get a different picture.
MELVIN T. FINN JR MD.
Charlotte
What’s on your mind?
Send your comments to The
Charlotte Post, P.O. Box 30144,
Charlotte, N.C. 28230 or fax (704)
342-2160. You can also use E-
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All correspondence must include a
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ification.
American people or other people
of color as we have taken our
place in this country.
We have never had real, hon
est conversation about economic
justice issues - about why there
are hundreds of thousands of
homeless people, about why mil
lions of jobs have left our bor
ders, about why the rich are get
ting richer while the poor are
getting ptxrrer.
We have been alienated from
each other and we have been
separated from our Creator. My
prayer — is that we can reach
beyond the anger to conversa
tion and beyond the conversa
tion to repentance and reconcili
ation and healing. That is our
only chance for survival. That is
our only hope for a future.
BERNICE POWELL JACK-
SON is executive director of the
Commission for Racial Justice
in Cleveland, Ohio.
Self-determination,
black nationalism
By Conrad Worrill
SPECIAL TO THE POST
Throughout the history of
the black movement in
America there has always
been a stream of black leader
ship that has advocated a
strategy of self-determination
as the foundation for organiz
ing and achieving freedom,
justice, liberation, indepen
dence and power.
This stream of the black
movement in America is
called black nationalism.
Black nationalism is a tradi
tion that emerged in the early
19th century among those
African leaders who under
stood the need for African peo
ple in America to develop a
national entity as the only
solution for African people in
America, Latin America or the
Caribbean,
These 19th century black
nationalist leaders such as
Denmark Vesey, Nat Turner,
David Walker, Henry
Highland Garnet, James T.
Holly, Martin Delany, Pap
Singleton, Edwin McCabe,
and Henry McNeal Turner
understood that African peo
ple in America were a “nation
within a nation” and should
organize to collectively strug
gle for the liberation of
African people throughout the
world.
Self-determination simply
means that African people in
America should determine our
own destiny without the inter
ference of others. And black
nationalism seeks to bring
about the complete indepen
dence of African people in this
country with the aim of mak
ing us consciously involved in
controlling our own communi
ties.
CONRAD WORRILL is
national chairman of the
National Black United Front
in Chicago.