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5A OPINIONS/The Charlotte Post January 16,1997 '-Tr w Miygy Example of deception in affirmative action By Harry C. Alford NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION 'Many of the astute must wonder why after 25 years of special procurement progrEims “implemented by major corporations,” many still only do about one percent of aU puitdiases done with minority businesses. When you dissect the portion going to black-owned business it is even far worse. How can that be? With companies “participating in these programs” and getting the experience, growth and expertise we should be at the point of no longer needing such programs. If the pro- greuns were genuine and actual we probably would be at that crossroads. Unfortunately, what we have been going through for the last two and a half decades has been a ihajor orchestrated rouse. Most major corporations join white managed/minority theme associations tike the National Minority Suppher Development Counsel. This provides cover when the fed eral government or other entities question their Title VI (Civil Rights Act of 1964) comphance or wonder if they have a minority vendor procurement progreun. AU they have to do is send dues to the Counsel, put up booths at their conferences and keep their pubhc relations office busy with press releases. In essence, what we have is a glob of social activity and public relations pizzazz. In the end, that’s aU we have - pizzazz - no business, i Federal Express offers a very typical example of how corporations deceive the pubhc and make promises to black businesses who seek to improve their chent base by participating in these “programs.” FedEx began the pro curement known as the PowerShip program. The PowerShip procurement is supposed to amount to over $75 miUion in biUables for the winning firm. Every major firm in the nation probably bid on it and, allegedly, FedEx required the winning team to subcontract a mini mum of 10 percent to a certified and approved minority vendor. This $7.5 million publicized opportunity caught the attention of Jannifer Johnson, president and owner of Professional Computer Services, Inc. based in NashvUle, Tenn. Johnson contacted FedEx and began going through the screening process. She became certified and approved for subcontracting by FedEx. 'This being done, she was given a list of the major bidders on this procure ment and was encouraged to find one to partner with (subcontracting). The foUowing companies were compet ing and needed minority subcontractors: Access Technologies, BeU Atlantic, Dataflex Corporation, Data Processing Equipment, EDS, Flytech, IBM, NEB Technologies, Packard Bell, Unisys Corporation, Vanstar and Win Laboratories. After numerous phone calls, trips, faxes, mail and interviews, Johnson landed a slot with Vanstar. This partnership arrangement was presented to FedEx and approved. In order to “cany her weight” (10 percent of the contract), Johnson had to invest an enormous amount of resources into her company. Credit lines, equipment, the building, etc. had to be ready, if they won the procurement. In aU, Johnson spent over $100,000 of her life savings investing in this opportunity publicized by FedEx. After a year of preparation and sacrificing, “BINGO!” Vanstar won the contract and Johnson was now on her way, or so she thought. Almost immediately Eifter Vanstar was awarded the - contract it began “dissing” Johnson and reneging on every arrangement made. Johnson was “out the door” and FedEx offered no help in the matter when she approached the company. Vanstar continues performing the contract with no minority subcontractor and that appears to be just fine with FedEx. In sum, it was aU a charade. FedEx got good publicity and Vanstar keeps aU the money. Johnson is out over $100,000 in up fiunt expenses and is denied $7.5 million in business. Jannifer Johnson is a member of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. We are going to assist her in the needed fight against FedEx. This example is only a microcosm of the deceit that goes on in corporate America. It is up to us to expose such examples and fight them effectively. HARRY C. ALFORD is president and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. Why Simpson is liable for wrongful death By Earl Ofari Hutchinson , NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHSERS ASSOCIATION The moment the jury found G. J. Simpson “not guilt^ of the murders of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman, the Goldman and Brown fanulies announced that they would quickly move ahead with their wrongful death suits against him. Many Americans, especially African Americans, were puz zled and confused then and they still are. They ask. How can O.J. be tried again? Doesn’t this vio late the due process and double jeopardy provisions of the Constitution? There are the compelling reasons why in Simpson’s case the answer is no. •Criminal trial Acquittal: ;When a defendant is acquitted in a criminal court, civil suits are rarely brought. The defen dant has few assets for a victim or their family to recover and the time and the expense of a civil trial aren’t worth it. But there are two glaring excep tions. The first is when the defendant is wealthy or a celebrity. In 1976, T. Cullen Davis, reputedly one of the world’s richest men, was accused of shooting four people, two fatally, at his Fort Worth, Texas mansion. One of the vic tims was his estranged wife and one of the fatalities was his 12- year-old step-daughter. The prosecutors tried to prove that Davis tried to kill his wife to avoid a messy and costly divorce settlement. They didn't succeed: Davis was acquitted. A decade later his ex-wife sued him for the death of her daugh ter. The jmy hung in her favor. Rather than risk another civil trial, a bankrupt Davis agreed to pay her a $5 million settle ment. When social gadabout Claus Von Bulow was acquitted of the attempted murder of his wife, his two step children sued him. It never went to court. The suit was dropped when Von Bulow agreed to give up any claims to his wife’s fortune. The other exception in which a civil suit is filed against a defen dant acquitted in criminal court is if it’s a highly pubhcized case, and the acquittal sparks legal outrage. When Louisiana butch er Rodney Peairs was acquitted in the mistaken shooting of a Japanese exchange student Yoshihiro Hattori, his family sued and won a $653,000 judg ment against Peairs. But with Simpson there are differences. There was no dis pute that Peairs shot Hattori. If Simpson is found liable in the wrongful death suit this will be the first known case (at least to the general public? Where a defendant was acquitted of mur der in criminal court and foimd liable for the same crime in civil court. •Double jeopardy: An individ ual cannot be criminally prose cuted twice for the same offense. The Supreme Court has ruled that double jeopardy apphes to a defendant in a civil case only if the lawsuit is being brought not for the purpose of compensating the victim or their family for their pain and suffering, but to punish the defendemt. The civil sanction is so severe that in effect it becomes a criminal sanction against the defendant for the same offense. Simpson’s attorneys may well argue this point if he’s found liable and A writing race we can’t win By Marion Boykin NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION Since attending a recent sports forum on “Race and Racism in the Sports Media,” held at HBO, I’ve been a little more bothered than usual. The forum included some big gies, like Jesse Jackson, A1 Sharpton, Spike Lee, New York Knicks forwaird Buck Williams and an impressive contingent of sports columnists, editors, and sociologists, black and white fi-om everywhere. They were aU there to discuss the most impor tant problem in our society today and yesterday: Racism. The topic was sports coverage and the very noticeable lack of black writers and editors at major pubHcations. After opening statements by Jesse Jackson, we began to kick the science, starting off with the issue that seemed to have initi ated the whole event; that is Spike Lee’s teke on the baiseball player, Albert Belle and Daily News sports columnist, Mark Kriegel’s response to what he thought was race-baiting by Lee. It was a good starting point and did indeed open the playing field for a larger, louder discus sion. I enjoyed the give and take, but in fact was not there for answers from all those that look like me - we all got horror sto ries to teU. Instead, I wanted to hear solutions by all those that didn’t look like me, that don’t think like me, and don’t feel about me what I feel about us. As Kenneth Shropshire, author of “In Black and White: Race and Sports In America,” eloquently wrote in a recent guest column in the Simday edi tion of the NY Daily News, PHOTO/WADE NASH Black athletes ate a major force In sports. Black sports reporters are still rare. [the]... “forum was proclaimed by a few speakers as a historic dialogue. Most of what was in the room, in deference to Rev. Jackson, was the choir. The power brokers — the sinners - chose not to come. Bottom line, it don’t make much sense preaching to the choir (can I get an Amen).” I made them aware of what I thought about the matter, as I am one of those that experience the problems first hand as a front line foot soldier. Consider this: Out of nearly 2,000 major daily papers, there are only 10 African American sports colum nists. A question was put to Williams (the only athlete to show up and play with us) about why black athletes, like many of the Knicks, don’t get together and refuse interviews to papers that don’t have black writers? It seemed like an effec tive approach to me, but Williams said it would never happen because of player fear and apathy. Perhaps what would work is a variation of this approach, one that could involve the fans for added pressure. Maybe Williams could call for such a boycott of a paper like the N.Y. Post for its insensitivity toward hiring black sports writers and editors. Let’s see which players decide not to understand the bigger picture, and take no active part in helping to allevi ate this problem. Perhaps our cheering (if we cheer) should be for them as strong men first, and then as strong athletes. We could also find out who’s who by watching to see which players give direct interviews and quotes to white writers in their stories. We should then talk to these brothers and make sure that they understand the situa tion. If the response is not positive, then we should add them to our boycott Ust. They must be made to understand that they retnain responsible to our people as a group, despite any arguments put forth by all those outside the group (and some inside) that aim more candidly at the sepa ration of the black athlete from the community. MARION BOYKIN is a New York-based writer. nailed with a massive punitive and compensatory judgment. •Litigious nation: America is the most htigious nation on the planet. In New York City more than a million lawsuits are filed annually for every imaginable type of criminal and civil mis conduct. California leads the states in numbers of lawsuits. Tort reform has been a hot item in Congress and state legisla tures, but the going has been slow. There’s simply too much vested interest against it from the legal and medical establish ment. •Victim empowerment: Millions of angry Americans cheered Kim Goldman, Ron’s sister, when she insisted that “we have only one goal and that is that Simpson be held respon sible for what he did.” For the Goldmans the civil suit against O.J. is not just for money. It’s just as well. There’s probably not much there to get an3rway. Between attorney's bills, an IRS tax hen on his house, and zero opportunities for him to make money from commercial endorsement or deals. If he loses he’ll probably declare bankruptcy. Yet more and more people are using civil courts to get a mix of justice, revenge, and recom pense for the violent death or suffering of a loved one. According to the National Victim Center, several thousand lawsuits are filed annually by the victims or their families against criminal defendants. This is a ten-fold increase over the last decade. The criminal trial was a hard fought battle that reused social and legal issues that bitterly divided millions of Americems. The verdict in the criminal trial didn’t resolve them. The civil trial has carefully skirted meuiy of those thorny social issues. But it has created a new set of doubts and confusion among many Americans, particularly African Americans, about the legal system. This is perhaps one of the biggest habilities of all of the Simpson case. EARL OFARI HUTCHIN SON is the author of “The Assassination of the Black Male Image” and “Beyond O.J.: Race, Sex, and Class LessonsforAmerica. ” Despite setbacks, keep positive outlook By Jervay Vanderhorst SPECIAL TO THE POST I am a senior student at Garinger High School. I recently transferred to Garinger on Nov. 12, 1996 in order to try out for the basketball program. I had previously attended Independence High School on a board transfer. I was selected to be a member of AAU/Junior Olympics team when I was 11 years old, and have played each summer since that time. I was selected as MVP of the junior varsity squad and Defensive Player of the Year. As an 11th grader, I experienced less playing time. Some of this was due to my ill health. In 1994 I was diagnosed with with a chronic severe liver con dition. This school year, because I had experienced a good sum mer with the Charlotte Royals AAU team in a national tourna ment and played in Cocoa Beach Fla., and I’m physically healthy, I was looking forward to a successful basketball sea son as one of Independence High School’s point guards. However, I was subsequently cut from the team. This exclu sion had nothing to do with my athletic skills, for I hold the leading assist average in Mecklenburg County as a point guard. It had nothing to do with my academic performance as I have a 3.0 grade point. The cut ting had nothing to do with my behavior as I have never been referred to the administrative staff during my primary or sec ondary school years for unac ceptable behavior. Rather, I was cut, I believe, as a result of a grievance that the coach had with my parents. The purpose of this letter is not to discuss the reaction of the coach to this grievance, but rather to help other students successfully live through a potentially esteem-damaging situation that can be brought on by adults in a position of author ity. I recommend that: •Students communicate open ly and honestly with their par ents. •Share with your parents your successes and hurts. They will provide that emotional sup port and be there for you when you need them most. •Always perform to the “best” of your ability. •Be honest and perceptive of your own strengths and weak nesses. •Believe in yourself and always maintain a can-do atti tude. •Be accepting of others, regardless of their human fiuQ- ties. •Adverse situations result in victory. I am a hving witness. My final advice to you is: Do not allow adults in authori ty to negatively impact the man ner in which you view yourself or infringe upon any positive goal which you seek! JERVAY VANDERHORST is a senior at Garinger High Letters To The Post Fairness for incarcerated Why does our justice system fail the incarcerated is not consistent with citizens, and portrays a tunnel vision men tality for our children.? People incarcerated are innocent until proven guilty. A minimal amoimt of these people fall through the cracks. Society tends to believe if incarcerated, one is guilty. Why can we not as a society evaluate the complete situation and not allow our selves to accept explanations given just because the per sons are policemen, teachers, district attorneys, doctors, social workers, judges or poUce chief or any other per son with a job in the public eye. We aU know corruption is in our justice system and other areas also. We citizens tend to believe without question things reported to us by the justice system and newspapers. (Corruption is eveiywhere. Young people, mainly black males, need to realize the sys tem works against them, but at times be for them. The sys tem can destroy your life on allegations. If one is accused, we, the public, should demand conclusive evidence and not rely on bargain base ment information fi'om pohce in protective uniforms. Myrtle Sloan Charlotte Post e-mail At issue: Do you think Oakland, Calif.’s attempt to get Ebonics approved as a teaching tool is a good idea? Why? •■ Name Katrina Age: 31 E-mail address: comcme@aol.com Response: No Ebonics has no place in pub lic school. If anytiiing I think they should try and teach our kids the Afiican language £is a second language, also I think the teachers and the whole Afiican American pop ulation ought to protest the history books in our schools today, throw aU the old books out and make new one to include all our history in more details such as all the inventions we have made that’s a part of all our fives today. Also include other eth nic groups instead of the civil war and aU the presidents of the United States. Ebonics is street slang and it should stay in the streets. Ebonics is not our culture • Name: Eugene Butler Jr. Age: 31 E-mail address: EugeneBJ@aol.com Response: No I am an administrator in Miami, Florida, and I strong ly oppose this initiative. This movement basically states that Afiican American children cannot compete with non-blacks unless we lower our expectations for them. This is total nonsense. All children will achieve to the level of expectation. I neglect ed to mention that I am also an African American male that grew up on the mean streets of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Wilmington, Delaware. It would be easy for me to agree that lower-income blacks speak and listen to ungram matical phrases and sen tences on a daily basis, there fore, that speech pattern must be legitimized in the mainstream population. However, if I did that, it 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-mail charpost@clt.mindspring.com All correspondence must include a daytime telephone number for verification.
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Jan. 16, 1997, edition 1
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