4A
EDITORIALS/The Charlotte Post
January 9,1997
?KI)e CF)arlotte
Published weekly by the Charlotte Post Publishing Co.
1531 Camden Road Charlotte, N.C. 28203
Gerald O. Johnson
CEO/PUBLISHER
Robert Johnson
CO-PUBLISHER/
GENERAL MANAGER
Herbert L. White
EDITOR IN CHIEF
And who shaU
lead them in
the future?
African American success
depends on contributions of all
By Kelly Alexander Jr.
SPECIAL TO THE POST
Alexander
Talking can bridge racial divide
GERALD O. JOHNSON
As I
See It
I was sitting with a group of
black folks over the holidays
having worldly discussions
about meaningless stuff, when
all of a sudden one individual
started talking about “That’s
how they are, you know.” Then
came the comment “That’s how
they think, you know.” I had to
open my mouth and say, “No, I
don’t know, teU me.” Without
hesitation the individual started
to rant and rave about how they
are. Just to be the devil’s advo
cate, I had to ask who are
“they?” “White people” was his
response.
This individual at best
knows very few white people
and he knows them on a curso
ry level. Yet, he has formulat
ed deep-rooted opinions about
an entire class of people.
It is very probable that the
same scenario plays itself out
in white environments where
blacks are the focus of conver
sation.
What’s happening is we are
spending a lot of our time talk
ing about each other and
spending very little time talk
ing to each other. Yet, we are
astonished that we have such
poor race relations.
Gto visit one of our many inte
grated schools and see segrega
tion at its best. We spend a lot of
time, money and energy making
sure our children participate in
an integrated environment, yet
they spend very httle time min
gling outside of the classroom.
Go visit a church in this city
and over 90 percent are still seg
regated.
Even when we leave our inte
grated work enviromnents, we
head to segregated social set
tings. Yet, we are astonished
about poor race relations.
Bridging the gap between the
races has to begin with dia
logue. People have to mingle in
order to begin to understand
each other. But the dialogue has
to be honest and sincere. We
can not worry about political
correctness in an environment
of open and honest dialogue,
Keep an open mind, say what
you feel and accept what you
hear. Learn to disagree without
being disagreeable.
The good thing about open
and honest dialogue is every
body comes away with a little
more than they brought.
So, if you have associates of
different racial or cultural back
grounds, begin to ask them
questions about what they think
on certain issues. Begin honest
dialogue and you will be doing
your part to facilitate a solution
to our racial problems.
Peace.
GERALD O. JOHNSON is
publisher ofThe Charlotte Post.
Black consumers take dissing in S.C.
For the first time since our ancestors got off the boat at Jamestown,
the Afiican American community has produced visible numbers of
highly educated, highly skilled individuals who are pursuing careers
in every walk of life.
The legal and social barriers that once limited our horizons have
largely been overcome. The last great beirrier, that of economics is
being assaulted, but has yet to fall.
At the beginning of the 20th century, W.E.B. DuBois charged the
“talented tenth” (black folks with education and advantages) with not
only doing well for itself, but with providing leadership of the black
community. For much of the century that group was AWOL in the
struggle for equality under the law.
Education brought with it the potential of receiv
ing advantages fiom the system. True meiny of the
so called advantages were minimal, but even a
minimal advantage is better than no advantage at
all. Teachers had a higher social position than
laborers. Even though they taught within a segre
gated S5^tem, and were paid less than an equally
qualified white, they had more status and a more
steady income than other black folks. Generally
then, even though teachers were clearly a part of
the talented tenth, as a class they did not assume
overt positions of leadership in mounting chal-
^ _ lenges to the status quo. _
.^e’ii^enges were^?nounted largely by those who’s ecoiionuc sur
vival was based more on the support of the black commumty than
that of the white.
Black ministers, undertakers, retired governmental employees and
retired educators joined with your average black person in the street
to promote the general interest of black people. The two earhest tar
gets were education and political participation.
As is true with most movements, its beneficiaries tend to be persons
who did not participate directly in the stru^le. Those who led the
charge opened up the doors for today’s black corporate, pohtical and
educational elite’s. The beneficiaries are a mixed lot, some of whom
are imcomfortable with history.
They want to forget the days of separate but equal and legal segre
gation, and instead concentrate on the here and now of their jobs and
benefit packages. They seek leadership positions in non confironta-
tional organizations. When they think of a black community at afi, it
is more often couched in terms of religious expression, sports and
entertainment. Never protest.
But all is not well in MudviUe, while many have been able to take
advantage of the openings to a better future far more have remained
mired in poverty. John Kennedy, reminded America that “a rising
tide raises all boats”. What of tiiose standing on the shore, without
the means to build or buy a boat? It’s time for the sons and dau^-
ters of the talented tenth, who missed the revolution, to come on back
down home and help us devise a strategy to being the rest of the tribe
across the river Jordan into some semblance of the promised land.
. Charlotte can not reach its potential unless prosperity reaches
deeper into those pockets of poverty and depression that ring down-
'town. Making the neighborhoods look better is not enough. Real
opportunity must be injected into peoples lives. The talented tenth
can not do it alone, but ^ey must do their part. The people at the bot
tom of the well, need to be thrown a rope up which, with encourage
ment, they can climb., .not just told to hold on, and “we’ll rescue you”.
KELLY ALEXANDER JR. of Charlotte is former state president of
the North Carolina NAACP.
By Barney Blakeney
THE CHARLESTON CHRONICLE
A black woman purchases fur
niture from a local white mer
chant, but when she complains
that the goods are damaged, the
merchant becomes angry, ver
bally and physically abuses her
then calls the police to have her
removed firom the store.
The story sounds almost unbe
lievable until attorneys are
hired by both parties and the
legal system seeks to sort out
some of the questions that have
plagued black consumers for
generations.
In a community 'that is signifi
cantly black and where blacks
control relatively few business
es, alternatives to accepting
abuse from white merchants
has been a perplexing question.
Nationally, black consumers
spend an estimated $400 billion
annually with the bulk of our
trade going to white businesses.
In many cases those businesses
which. discriminate against
blacks depend on the communi
ty for their profit margins. In
many cases they exclusively tar
get and are supported by
Afiican Americans.
At a Charleston grocery where
blacks overwhelmingly are the
business’ primary customers,
bu3ing neck bones and pigtails,
one woman who is a regular
customer complained that the
merchant had cursed her.
“I don’t know why he did
that,” said the woman. “I shop
there ma3Hbe a couple of times a
month and we always joke
around. I don’t know if they
know my name, but they have
to know my face.
“I said something about the
freshness of the meat jokingly.
He must have been in a bad
mood because he just started
cursing me and telling me if I
didn’t want the meat I could
leave,” the woman said.
Another woman complained she
had been verbally abused by a
furniture merchant who had
previously cursed and physical
ly abused another woman.
Noting that the second woman
should never have shopped at
the furniture store, since the
pre'vious incident had been pub-
hcized, one local black business
man said black consumers con
tinue to support businesses
which discriminate against
them.
One woman complained that
while shopping at a North
Charleston beauty supply store
she and her two friends were
continually watched as if they
were shoplifters. When she com
plained, the police were called
because the clerk insisted the
three women had shopped and
now, because they questioned
being followed, were trespass
ing. Since no crimes had actual
ly been committed, the police
consoled the parties and left
without making arrests.
“That business has to realize
their business would not exist if
it were not for me and my
money,” the woman complained.
But her statements to that
effect directed at the manager
the next day, “went in one ear
and out the other,” she said.
According to many economists,
black consumers must become
more educated and selective in
order to have an impact on the
situation.
While discrimination is a real
ity it is also dear that there are
some white merchants who do
not discriminate. Those mer
chants must be identified and
supported, said one business
man. But most importantly
black consumers must support
black-owned businesses.
The complaint that black busi
nesses often have higher prices
and limited selections is invalid,
the businessman said. But that
is because they don’t get the vol
ume of business other mer
chants enjoy.
“When we begin to support
our businesses they will be able
to buy in bigger volume which
allows them to reduce the prices
and increase the selection. But
we have to be willing to stay
■with them until they get to that
point. Unless we develop our
businesses we will be dependent
on whites and they will have no
motivation to respect us,” he
said.
BARNEY BLAKENEY is a
Charleston (S.C.) Chronicle
columnist.
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Ebonics shouldn’t be relegated to island of incorrectness
By Judy Simmons
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER
PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
- In 1967 when I taught in the
Job Corps, we didn’t call it
“Ebonics,” and we didn’t feel we
' had to prove the obvious.
‘ ‘Course we were just a multi
ethnic bunch of ideahsts, mostly
" in our 20s, overseen by some
creative types who had a man
date; Do something practical to
' make it possible for kids who
' didn’t grow up with green eggs
and Grinches to survive and
j flourish among those who did.
Besides a trade, the money
1 making skill Job Corps young-
, sters needed most was fluency
in Dr. Seuss language, other-
' wise known as “Standard
English,” in addition to their flu-
■ ency in what we thought of as
; black city and black southern
dialects or speech patterns.
Today we might call it Urban
Oppressed English, or even
Ebonics.
Back in the day we took the
position with the kids that how
you talk depends on who you’re
talking with and where you are
and what you’re trying to
accomplish. No judgments
about correct and incorrect. No
static about smart or dumb.
Pragmatism. It worked. They
learned. We learned.
The issue does have a lot of
caste and class baggage riding
on it, though. As “My Fair Lad}^
shows, the ladder of up'ward
mobility has been climbed as
much by teeth and tongue as
feet on rung. That is to say,
adopting massa’s WASPy lan
guage pattern has been the key
to sod^ progress finm the slave
days of Jupiter Hammond and
PhylUs Wheatley into the post-
Reconstruction era of Anna
Juha Cooper and Booker T., on
up to the civil rights coming-of-
age of Jesse Jackson, the late
Barbara Jordan and NAACP
President Kweisi Mfume.
People of low social status
and/or obvious ethnicity and/or
regional traits and/or, nowa
days, urbanify in the “from the
‘hood” sense, are expected to
stow their “inferior,” “incorrect,”
“ignorant” language patterns in
the baggage compartment when
they board the American sup-
pos^-to-be gravy train.
Never mind that their lan
guage patterns are their identi
ty and their map of the world.
Never mind that if you want to
take people somewhere else you
gotta respect what got ‘em to
you in the first place. If that’s
something you call Urban
Oppressed English or Black
English or Ebonics or Ghettoese
then you examine it, you get to
understand it, and you use it to
bridge the communications gap.
This becomes a sore point for
some of those African
Americans who have gone to
great pains to live down the car
icature of the thick-tongued,
dull-witted, slobbering Negro
who’s too D&I (dumb and igno
rant to master massa’s tongue.
They may feel terribly threat
ened when somebody announces
that in this sixth post-slavery
generation some black children
in America need to be taught
English as a second language.
It’s as if the whole race has been
indicted again, set back again,
branded inferior again.
Consider this. People with lim
ited experience of the world will
usually be limited in their lan
guage, thought, and behavior
patterns. So, teachers accus
tomed to li-ving sheltered lives in
Standard English may have
trouble comprehending students
who live in Urban Oppressed
English, aka Ebonics.
Personally I don’t think teach
ers, cops and other tools of the
SE massa class can’t under
stand UOE-speakers so much
as that they won’t, and they’re
supported in this snobbery by
people like ex-congressman
Mfume. He insists that Ebonics
is simply a wiUfiiUy “incorrect”
imd “ignorant” use of language
and imphes that “they” oughta
go through whatever he went
through to develop his lovely
high SE diction (in contrast to
U.S. Rep John Lewis of Atlanta,
for instance, who makes some
black people cringe every time
he opens his mouth in public).
The American experience is
never -without its irony. A man
rejects his SE-culture name
because of its historical and cul
tural ba^age. He takes a name
from another language pattern
that apparently symbolizes self-
determination for him. But
then, with obvious contempt, he
puts labels like “incorrect” and
“ignorant” on people who go a
step further in self-determina
tion than he did, and reject not
only their SE-name but also
SE’s built-in put-do-wns of them
selves and their experiences.
Since “integration” has in prac
tice become racial segregation
by class, poor urban blacks and
browns (yellows imd reds being
still largely invisible) have had
steadily decreasing contact with
the Standard English-speaking
Talented Tenth over the past 35
or 40 years.
The Tenth has been sucked
into white economic entities,
mono-class subdivisions, and
corporate churches and sucked
out of classrooms where chil
dren of poverty and of color are
too often despised and abused.
So let’s stop pretending that or
Ebonics isn’t English, and drop
the fiction that Standard
English is anything more
absolute them a class value.
JUDY SLMMONS is a jour
nalist, editor and poet whose
work appears in several national
publications.