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EDITORIALS/ (Cge dtarlstte
Thursday, January 29, 2004
^|)e Cljarlotte
The Voice of the Black Community
A Consolidated Media Group publication
1531 Camden Road Charlotte, N.C. 28203
Gerald O. Johnson
CEO/PUBLISHER
Robert L. Johnson
PUBLISHER/GENERAL
MANAGER
Herbert L. White
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Tampa leads
in reaching
out to black
businesses
By James Clingman
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
cA^Plpm^
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NAACP LDF chief sets an example
Black businesses get help from ‘Dollar Da/ event,” was the
headline in the Tampa Tribune earlier this month. The article,
written by Kathy Steele, contained one line that stood out like
a beautiful ripe apple at the top of the tree. In addition to the
positive aspect of supporting black-ovmed businesses, the story
included this line: “Mayor Pam lorio issued a proclamation
naming the third day of each month African-American Dollar
Day.” I could hardly believe what I was ijeading; the Mayor of
Tampa is encouraging the support of black businesses - by all
citizens. That’s right, this campaign is not just aimed at black
consumers; it calls for all consumers to shop at black business
es and help them to grow and create more jobs.
“We are encouraging all races to spend money in black busi
nesses,” said Randolph Kinsey, legislative aide to State Sen.
Les Miller, (D-Tampa). Kinsey continued, “We hope if we can
get it going on one day, it can blossom into something that will
happen everyday.”
Now, that’s what I call progressive, and it makes all the sense
in the world because it ultimately benefits the entire city of
Tampa.
I assume the mayor of Tampa, vrith the name lorio, is
Hispanic, or Latino, if preferred. I also know that Tampa is not
a predominantly black populated city. So why would the mayor
do something that some folks consider divisive and some of the
more ignorant folks in this country consider “racist?” She is
doing it because it’s the right thing to do and because it makes
good business sense. Why is it so difficult for us to do what is
right, and take the negative objections out of the equation?
I applaud the mayor of Tampa, and I applaud the city of
Tampa for this progressive effort. And I encourage consumers
to follow through and do their pari to make the effort a rous
ing success. The politicians have made their move, now it’s up
to the people to complete the task.
Now, I must wonder what cities vrill follow this move by
Tampa. How about your city? I also wonder how many con
sumers, black, Caucasian, Hispanic and otherwise, will support
efforts such as these, especially when their city officials ask
them to do so. Why not put it to the test? Ask your mayor to
issue a similar proclamation in support of black businesses,
and continue to seek support from consumers for those busi
nesses as well.
As for the black business owners, please do your part, too.
See that your business is worthy of consumer support. Make
sure your employees treat your customers with respect. Assure
that quality products and services are sold in your establish
ment. Open on time and always do what you say you will do.
Business is all about relationships; we need more positive rela
tionships between consumers and black owned businesses.
The Tampa effort is a great start to build those relationships;
it’s up to the businesses and consumers to maintain them.
Despite the positive step taken by the mayor, an additional
and veiy important point was made in the article by Kim
Mallard, a black business owner, who said, “An African-
American Dollar Day will help increase people’s awareness.”
Mallard also hopes elected officials and small business organi
zations will make more money available to support new busi
nesses. That is one of three critical ingredients required for
business start-ups and continuous growth. The other two are
access to education and information along with access to the
opportunity of business ownership.
There are several outstanding efforts to promote support for
black businesses around the country, and while there may be
another mayor who has also issued a Black Dollar Day procla
mation, this is the first one I have seen. Nonetheless, isn’t this
the positive first step we should see in more of our cities?
Shouldn’t more of us jump on board this train, regardless of
who gets the credit for the idea, and move black business own
ership and job creation forward? I think so.
Therefore, I strongly encourage you to get busy in your city
with a similar campaign. Our cities and this country cannot
afford to alienate and isolate black-owned businesses. Black
business growth should not be stagnated; it should be vibrant.
Black-owned businesses should be strengthened instead of
weakened through unfair treatment and discrimination. Black
consumers have supported the business of others in this coun
try for hundreds of years; it’s time - no, it’s way past time that
our businesses receive reciprocity in the marketplace.
Ib paraphrase Booker T. Washington, the millions of black
people in this country can either be a drain on the economy or
an asset to the economy. Business ownership and job creation
are vital to the asset base of this country. What Tampa has
done, followed by the support of all consumers in that city, will
surely lead to the latter option cited by Washington. Thanks,
Mayor lorio, and thanks, Tampa, for giving us this wonderful
example. But, it’s only a proclamation; it must be followed by
action. As Arsenio Hall used to say, “Let’s get busy.”
JAMES E. CLINGMAN, an adjunct professor at the University of
Cincinnati's African-American Studies department, is former editor of
the Cincinnati Herald and founder of the Greater Cincinnati African
American Chamber of Commerce. He can be reached by e-mail at
Jclingman@blackonomics.com.
George E.
Curry
During my seven years as
editor-in-chief of Emerge, no
story we published had a
greater impact than
Reginald Stuart’s “Kemba’s
Nightmare.” As you will
remember, Kemba Smith is
the young lady who was sen
tenced to 24.5 years in prison
for a peripheral role in a
northern Virginia dnig ring.
Under federal mandatory
sentencing guidelines,
Kemba, who was 24 at the
time of her sentencing, was
ineligible for parole.
President Clinton ended
Kemba’s nightmare by
granting her clemency short
ly before leaving office in
2000.
Although we ran the first
of three “Kemba’s
Nightmare” stories nearly
eight years ago, no matter
where I go today, someone
invariably will bring up
Kemba and how that story
had impacted their life.
I am always quick to
remind people that while I
am proud that Emerge was
the first publication to tell
Kemba’s story, Elaine R.
Jones, president and direc
tor-counsel of the NAACP
Legal Defense and
Educational Fund (LDF),
was the person most respon
sible for Kemba’s freedom.
After reading the first
cover story, Jones placed
LDF’s legal apparatus
behind her fellow Virginian,
representing Kemba in vari
ous legal venues and ulti
mately making the formal
request to Clinton for
clemency.
Because of this and many
other cases I have covered
involving LDF since Jones
took over the helm of the
association in 1993 - the
same year I became editor of
Emerge — I was particularly
saddened to learn that
Elaine Jones has decided to
step down as head of LDF. I
don’t use the word “retire”
because I don’t know if this
passionate activist will ever
be capable of retiring from
the fight for justice.
I have enormous respect
and admiration for Elaine
Jones; Ted Shaw, her likely
successor, and the staff at
LDF. Like Elaine, who had
rejected an offer to join a
prestigious law firm in New
York in order to advocate
full-time on behalf of the
poor and disadvantaged,
many LDF lawyers could be
partners in major law firms.
Instead, they chose to work
at Thurgood Marshall’s old
organization, litigating some
of the same issues that he
addressed before joining the
United States Supreme
Court.
After graduating from
Howard University with a
degree in political science,
Jones spent two years in the
Peace Corps teaching
English in Ibrkey. She then
applied to the University of
Virginia’s law school, though
the state’s policy had been to
pay for blacks to study out-
of-state rather admit them
to all-White Virginia univer
sities. The Norfolk, Va.
native was accepted and
became the first African-
American woman to gradu
ate from UVA’s law school.
Just two years out of law
school, Jones was the LDF
lawyer that litigated
“Furman v. Georgia,” the
landmark U.S. Supreme
Court case that abolished
the death penalty in 37
states. Of course, she has
since participated in thou
sands of other cases involv
ing discrimination.
In a real sense, Elaine
Jones represents a different
level of civil rights activism.
At one point, we focused on
marches and demonstra
tions to highlight a particu
lar problem. Jones and oth
ers have taken that protest
to a higher level. They have
moved from demonstrations
in the streets to challenges
in the suites, attacking
deeply-ingrained institution
al racism. And the beauty of
Elaine Jones is that she
chose this career path rather
than one in corporate
America that would have
given her more creature
comforts and fewer
headaches.
There is also a lesson in the
roles that LDF and Emerge
magazine played in winning
Kemba Smith’s freedom. I
am not a lawyer and I don’t
play one on TV. Elaine is not
a journalist, though she has
a better chance of being one
than ray becoming a lawyer.
Each of us used our profes
sional skills at address a
problem confronting our
community.
In the case of Emerge, we
told Kemba’s story, even
after a couple of other black
magazines she had contact
ed refused to investigate her
plight. Once we published
“Kemba’s Nightmare,”
Elaine Jones vigorously pur
sued every legal option open
to Kemba, including seeking
presidential clemency. It was
the combination of a maga
zine and a legal advocacy
group doing what they do
best that led to Kemba’s
release. And that’s what we
all should be doing.
GEORGE E. CURRY is editor-
in-chief of the NNPA News
Seiyice and
BlackPressUSA.com. His most
recent book is “The Best of
Emerge Magazine. ”
High stakes in S. Carolina primary
Ron
Walters
I recently talked to the Rev.
Jesse Jackson wffio had just
come from South Carolina,
the town where he was bom.
He made a significant point,
as he usually does, about the
fact that it has been a long
road from the time when the
black vote was of no conse
quence to where it is now the
subject of fierce competition.
Indeed, the South Carolina
press revealed that in recent
weeks, A1 Sharpton was said
to have been in the state so
much that he seems to be liv
ing there, traveling from city
to city with large black popu
lations, to black churches,
black colleges and civic
clubs, in an effort to wrap up
the black vote for his bid.
This is important because of
his expected poor showings
in Iowa, where he didn’t
campaign, and in New
Hampshire, where he
appeared, but also made lit
tle effort. His low totals were
expected because of the
black population in these
states was 2 percent in New
Hampshire and 3 percent in
Iowa, respectively.
The South Carolina prima
ry, then, will be his second
attempt, after coming in sec
ond in the Washington, D.C.
primary election, to appeal
strongly to the black vote
and as such, win some dele
gates. And since this prima
ry is also the gateway to the
South, it is important that
Sharpton fare well in a state
where the black vote is 30
percent of the population
and 50 per
Sharpton
cent of the
Democratic
Party’s elec
torate. If
Sharpton
proves that
he can
attract sig-
n i f i c a n t
amount of
the black
vote, then perhaps others in
the region will consider sup
porting his candidacy.
John Edwards is also com
peting for the black vote,
going to black churches, vis
iting high profile ministers
and civic leaders and asking
for their support. A senator
from North Carolina, he was
bom in South Carolina and
‘’speaks their language.”
Coming from a dramatic sec
ond-place finish in the Iowa
caucuses, Edwards made a
splash as a positive candi
date with a forward-looking
vision and television rated
charisma. No wonder that
he polled second only to
Kerry, who won the Iowa
caucuses, with the ladies.
Gen. Wesley Clark has also
been to South Carolina,
because he is both fmm the
South and has a military
background, both of which
are tailor-made for the
state’s military oriented elec
torate. South Carolina has
an Army, Navy, Air Force
and two Marine bases, in
addition to The Citadel, one
of the best known military
academies in the country.
Clark has also succeeded
in attracting the attention of
some blacks who are veter
ans, and who are more sensi
tive to the more moderate
style of his campaign. But
Clark has also deployed
black legends like Rep.
Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and
former U.N. Ambassador
Andrew Young to go into the
state and campaign for him.
John Kerry is a question
mark and from all accounts,
is not furiously trying to re
build his base in South
Carolina after having pulled
out of the state to concen
trate his meager resources
on winning Iowa and New
Hampshire. Now he is vul
nerable and having to rely
essentially on black siirro-
gates in the state who have
contacts and to raise money
to field an advance operation
there, now that he has estab
lished that he is electable as
the front-runner.
Kerry starts out behind,
not only with regard to
resources and timing, but as
the quintessential ‘’Northern
Yankee” that many
Southerners love to hate.
So, Kerry will have rough
going in this more conserva
tive state, even among
Democrats.
All of this places Rep.
James Clybum in the cat
bird seat. He had endorsed
Rep. Richard Gephart (D-
Mo.) for the Democratic
nomination for president,
but after Gephart lost, the
question was whom would
Clybum endorse. At the
point of his decision, 19 of his
colleagues in the
Congressional Black Caucus
had endorsed Howard Dean,
but with Dean’s flame-out in
Iowa, which effected his
showing in New Hampshire,
Clybum has the field to
review and the telephone
calls were coming hot and
heavy. At this writing, he has
not endorsed anyone, but
whomever he chooses will
benefit from Clybum’s lofty
reputation in the state and
the fact that he has four field
offices as weU.
So, there is much ado being
made over South Carolina
and blacks appear, because
of their impact on the out
come to be in the driver’s
seat, a point which begs the
question what are the stakes
black South Carolinians and
others situated like them
and how have they been
organized to make the vari
ous candidates aware of
them? This is a bargaining
moment if I ever saw one,
but will leadership come
through to get the most out
of it?
RON WALTERS is professor of
government and politics at the
University of Maryland-College
Park.