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10A EDITORIALS/ The Charlotte Post Thursday, December 18, 1997 Charlotte ^ost Whosc histoiT is it anywav? The Voice of the Black Community/ ^ ^ ^ The Voice of the Black Community A subsidiary of Consolidated Media Group 1531 Camden Road Charlotte, N.C. 28203 Gerald O. Johnson CEO/PUBLISHER Robert L. Johnson CO-PUBLISHER/ GENERAL MANAGER Herbert L. White EDITOR IN CHIEF Why I’m backing Jim Richardson Former commissioner can help shape a better future for Mecklenburg County By Parks Helms SPECIAL TO THE POST The following are comments made by former Mecklenburg County Commissioners Chairman Parks Helms during a rally announcing Jim Richardson's intention to run at-large for a seat on the board. In recent days many people have asked me “What is is wrong with our community? And “What can I do about it?” In each instance I have urged them to get involved in the political process - to get to know the candidates and their stand on relevant issues - and even to file and run for office. These questions have come from Democrats and Republicans alike. And my response has been the same regardless of party affiliation. We are here today to begin what I hope will be a vigorous and honest campaign about the future of Charlotte-Mecklenburg and this region of North Carolina. For too long, the important process of making public policy has been over shadowed by the energetic and highly effective efforts of the private sector in creating the healthy economic; momentum we now enjoy. The time has come for the role of politics and politi cians to be a creditable part of shaping our future. Our goal of creating a safe livable, prosperous, healthy and united community cannot be accom plished unless we renew the traditional partner ship among the business, civic, religious and political communities that has marked our progress thus far. We must elect men and women who understand that we are at a cross roads - and whose agenda is to build relation ships and to build community and to take advantage ore the potential we have at this point in our history. By John William Templeton NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBUSHERS ASSOCIATION Whose history is it, anyway? That’s the question Barbara Chase-Riboud is asking in a law suit about who tells the stoiy of one of the most critical events of Afiican American history. Her suit also highlights one of the biggest problems faced by today’s AfHcan American busi nesses - protecting their ideas and intellectual property from big companies whom they approach for distribution and capital. Amistad was a ship that African captives seized from their captors and sailed into a U.S. port. Their case made histo ry because an American court upheld their freedom, in a case argued by former President John Quincy Adams. 'The name Amistad, like that of Nat 'firmer, Denmark Vesey and the maroons, has become a sym bol of courage and commitment to fight for freedom. Chase-Riboud, who has built a solid literary career with histori cal novels on such topics as Amistad and Sally Hemings, took notice when the news of this movie came out. She had sent a movie proposal based on her Amistad book to DreamWorks founder years before, without response, she said. Now she’s asking to see the script, pointing out similarities between characters created for her novel and those portrayed in the screenplay. The situation represents an almost insurmountable dilemma for creative entrepreneurs like Chase-Riboud. Cutoff from insid er networks at major distribution companies, black businesses are often forced to send proposals blindly to anonymous offices. Most times, there is never an acknowledgment that the pro- PHOTO/DREAMWORKS . The movie “Amistad” is a story about a siave revolt told through a white fiimaker’s iens. posal has been received. Unfortunately, the first notice can come in public, when they see their proposal or product on the market. It behooves entre preneurs to understand that their most valuable product is their inteUectual property and that they must take measures such as registering trademarks and service marks before sending out valuable information. However, a small company that sues a large company faces long odds, even when right. I had the foresight to protect properties developed as part of my book “Our Roots Run Deep: the Black Experience in California.” Even so, a Southern California utility which was asked to sponsor our photo exhi bition of the same name later decided to appropriate the term for its advertising to tout its minority business program, without paying for the privilege. How ironic? And almost any black vendor can tell their own horror story about seeing their work turn up under someone else’s banner. In the case of Chase-Riboud, along comes Hollywood, no respecter of history, or even the present - particularly when it comes to African-Americans. That is a long-standing tradition. In 1918, Noble Johnson and four partners began the Lincoln Motion Picture Co. to present a realistic view of Black America. Johnson was the first major Black contract player with a big studio (Universal). Indeed, the Lincoln’s five films began to outdraw his movies for Universal, which forced Johnson to make a choice between his job and his company. Johnson con tinued a long movie acting career, including breakthroughs as a makeup artist and as an ani mal trainer. But his movie-mak ing voice was silenced. George Johnson, his brother, fortunately preserved the films of the 50-year period that black filmmakers valiantly competed with the major studios in a collection that is now held at the UCLA Library. Seventy years later, Hollywood still presumes to tell the Afncan- American stoiy - blocking the distribution of “Sankofa,” Hade Gerima’s independently pro duced account of the Middle ^ Passage. Now, the appropriately- titled Dreamworks Studio has decided to film its own version of Amistad. Choices made for key positions ” such as screenwriter indicate that we are headed for as warped a presentation as such movies as “Mississippi Burning” (remember the FBI leading the civil rights movement in the Deep South), or “Native Son” (which implied that Bigger 'Thomas’ problem was that he didn’t trust White people). Our ultimate solution is to form our own networks and to present proposals on the basis of solid personal relationships. Gerima’s “Sankofa” demonstrates what a little pride can produce. If DreamWorks continues to stonewall Chase-Riboud, the black community should take the same attitude as the Africans who seized the ship rather than just go along for the ride. If Amistad can be perverted, then nothing in our culture is sacred. JOHN WILLIAM TEMPLE TON is executive editor ofGriot,”'' the African American, African- and Caribbean business daily. Richardson Helms Jim Richardson has a history of public service that is unequaled in this community. He has served 10 years in the North Carolina Senate and two terms on the Mecklenburg County Commission. He is a man with the highest of ethical and moral values, and has a vision for this county that is both inclusive and challenging. I am highly honored that Jim Richardson is here to announce that he, along with me, will be an at-large candidate for the Mecklenburg county Board of Commissioners. 'This is a new beginning that should help answer the question: “What can we do ? “ I urge every person who cares about our com munity - Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated - to Join Jim Richardson and me as we seek to preserve our reputation as a New South community that is accepting, tolerant and committed to all of God’s children. Sprewell a victim of sports racial double standard By Earl Ofari Hutchinson NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBUSHERS ASSOCIAATION For nearly an hour I listened to a sports talk jock call Latrell Sprewell every vile name in the book. Finally near the end of the hour, one caller him asked why he didn’t blast San Francisco 49ers owner, Eddie DeBartolo with the same vehemence for sul lying the sport for am alleged bribery attempt and associating with gamblers. 'The jock lamely croaked that it wasn’t the same thing, and cut to a commercial. When he came back on-air he instantly went back on the attack against Sprewell. But the caller asked a fair ques tion. One week I counted 57 Associated Press wires stories on Sprewell, and exactly 11 on DeBartolo. 'There were dozens of irate letters in the New York 'limes, Washington Post and the L.A. 'Times on Sprewell, but only a handful of letter writers made mention of DeBartolo. 'There’s only one reason. One is white, rich, and a well-connected team owner. TTie other is black, for the moment poor, and one of many NBA players. While no sane person would condone Sprewell’s behavior, or suggest he shouldn’t be stiffly punished, Sprewell is hardly the only “bad citizen” in sport to act up - many whites such as DeBartolo do too. But when they do, the double standard quickly kicks in. It goes like this: When black athletes are accused of, or are guilty of wrongdoing, their punishment is swift and harsh, the public is merciless, they are pounded pitilessly by the media, and they become the eternal poster boys for deviancy. When whites admit to or are accused of wrong-doing there is much hand- wringing, apologetics, and kid glove rationalizations to explain their behavior, and their names quickly disappear from the headlines. Sprewell, however, isn’t the first black athlete get a hard les son in this racial double-stan dard. Pete Rose bet on his team, the Cincinnati Reds, consorted with known gamblers and loan sharks, and evaded federal taxes. He finally admitted that he had a gambling problem, got a five-year federal prison sentence, and was banned from baseball. Yet, when he was disqualified from baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1991, baseball fans and sports- writers were enraged. “The Rose case,” New York ’Times sports columnist Ira Berkow wrote, “has touched the emotions of a sur prisingly large number of peo ple.” Berkow, fans and sports- writers roundly criticized Commissioner Fay Vincent and the judges who voted to disquab- fy him. By contrast, Michael Jordan didn’t bet on his team. But fol lowing an orgy of media specula tion that Jordan was involved with gamblers, NBA commission er David Stem quickly investi gated. He found out that Jordan was not guilty of anything illegal and had committed no rule viola tions. It did not stop the rumors, innuendoes and accusations. When Jordan refused to respond to the allegations in the press many sportswriters pounced. One sports columnist in a major daily twisted Jordan’s silence to imply that he was guilty of wrong-doing. Another columnist in the same paper lectured him on his responsibility to uphold a public image. TTie pressure of the gaftibling controversy and the murder of his father probably briefly forced Jordan out of the game at the height of his career. A less airborne Mike came back. 'The fans and the sports estab lishment cheered again. But Mike probably knows that if he ever shps again those cheers could just as easily turn to jeers. Although ex-Nebraska and St. Louis Rams running back Lawrence Phibips admitted guilt Simpson and was sen tenced for assaulting his girlfriend, the media and sportswriters did not forgive or forget. 'There were endless stories on the “troubled” Phillips. Any time his name crops up sports writers run through the whole litany of Phillips off-field troubles. Meanwhile his white Nebraska teammate, Christian Peter, was accused of multiple counts of assault and rape. Yet there was bare media attention of it. It’s probably no consolation to Sprewell but he now travels in select company. His misdeeds like those of disgraced black sports “idols” Mike 'IVson, Michael Irvin, Daryl Strawberry, O.J. Simpson and Dennis Rodman almost ,certainly will be Jordan Tyson beaten to death, resusci tated, and ■ beaten to death again by the media and the public into perpetuity. 'This while the misdeeds of white sports notables Andrew Golota, Marv Albert and Mickey Mantle are buried, or they become objects of pity.' It’s not fair, but who said racial double Stan-' dards are. EARL OFARI HUTCHINSON is author of The Assassination of the Black Male Image” and “The Crisis in Black and Black.”
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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