4A
EDITORIALS/
Thursday, May 6, 2004
tKfje Charlotte ^osft
The Voice of the Black Community
A Consolidated Media Group publication
I53J Camden Road Charlotte, N.C. 28203
Gerald O. Johnson
CEO/PUBLISHER
Robert L. Johnson
PUBLISHER/GENERAL
MANAGER
Herbert L. White
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Clingman
Just chilKn’
and grilKn’
By James Clingman.
SPECIAL TO THE POST
Just Chillin’ and Grillin.’ Commanding millions and probably
billions of dollars, our young people, especially men, have
brought a whole new meaning to those two terms.
In the parlance of the past chillin’ meant “cooling out” or
“relaxing.” Grillin’, of course, meant “cooking out.”
From what I saw on two television stations owned by media
giant, Viacom, and mostly watched by Black teens and even
younger children, those terms have moved to a much higher
level. 'They have taken on a connotation that would have our
youth thinking about and reaching for an endless, meaning
less, and senseless level of economic empowerment. It’s what
Amos Wilson calls, “Dreams without Means.” It’s what I call,
“Means without Ends.”
The two TV shows, running simultaneously, lionized so-
called “thugs” by introducing us to their “ice” and their “grills”
(As if Cribs and How I’m Livin’ aren’t enough).
On one show a beautiful, well endowed, young sister was
interviewing several “thugs” about their medallions, bracelets,
rings, and those diamond-ensconced, clock-sized watches they
wear on their wrists. I think it was titled Bling-Bling. It should
have been titled, Cha-Ching.
One by one these young brothers flaunted
their diamond-studded medallions, large
enough to be hubcaps, and probably weighing
enough to cause serious neck damage.
They call it “ice,” and they have lots of it.
Their rings made those you see worn by pro
fessional athletes who win championships look
like something from a Cracker Jack box. 'Their
bracelets looked large enough to serve as
weights; maybe that’s why their arms are so
big. And, man, those things around their
necks. One was not only huge but it was spinning, just like
those wheel rims we see; it had so many diamonds in it the
brother didn’t even know how many there were.
'The sister was impressed though; boy was she impressed.
One of the guys, who happened to be White, gave her one of
those necklaces as a gift. He just happened to have an extra
one in his pocket.
One enthusiastic brother bragged about how much one of his
medallions cost. That’s right; he had several aroimd his neck,
as if one just wouldn’t do the trick. He said, “Dis one is five fig
ures.” Then he reached down and lifted up another one and
said, “Dis one is in da high five-figures.” I wondered if he real
ly knew how high. As he displayed his “ice,” he was definitely
proud of the things he had spent his money on, and the sister
was just speechless, obviously blinded by the light of aU that
“ice” and all the Bling-Bling on display next to her.
It was a sight to behold, especially those necklaces. Is what
we are seeing from these young brothers the result of that guy
who wore the clock around his next in the rap group. Public
Enemy. Flava Flav is his name. Look at the trend you started,
brother Flav. They ought to be paying you royalties.
On the other ehaimel, just when I thought I had seen it all, I
got a lesson in oral surgery and dental prosthetics. I also got a
lesson in economic empowerment and economic enslavement
as I watched brother after brother strut their stuff by letting
the camera go right into their mouths to check out their
“grills.”
This was really amazing. Some of the brothers had front
teeth missing, but they stiU had gold on the ones they had left.
They had diamonds in white gold settings, designs that would
make one of those New York fashion designers quiver, and they
moved well beyond the one gold tooth fad of their father’s gen
eration. They did their entire mouth. Oh yeah. I’m sorry, their
entire “grill.”
One brother even said, “I got so much money, I can put it in
my mouth.” But then came the denouement, the coup de grace,
the final solution. They introduced the dentist who creates all
of those “grill” masterpieces. I guess we could call him the
“Grill Master.” Quite appropriately, his name is Dr. Cunning.
As one brother hugged his “masteri dentist. Dr. Cunning told
the viewers how he was just pleased as punch to a “homey” and
that if his boyz wanted their grills done at 2 o’clock in the morn
ing he would get up and go take care of business. After aU, he
is an artist, /all. Did I mention Dr. Cunning is White?
Claud Anderson has a saying, “Black people can’t even do
wrong right,” which is certainly the case with our chillin’ and
grillin’ generation. If they have to get their grills and their ice-
covered bling-bling on, at least they could let a Black dentist or
sales person hook ‘em up and make that outrageous commis
sion and profit from their ridiculous purchasing habits. If we
are going to be economic slaves, we should at least be econom
ically enslaved to one another. You know what I’m sayin?
I was saddened as I watched those two shows. I saw our
young people being sucked into the abyss of economic enslave
ment, finding their value in baubles, gold teeth, and obligatory
tattoos. I also saw a generation, neglected by many of its elders
and by some of its leaders, earning untold sums of money only
to give it right back to the very people who hold them in dis
dain. How misguided they are. How misguided we have
allowed them to be.
Could it be that “chillin’” really means we are cold, even
dead? And, could “grillin’” really mean we are burning? You
draw your own conclusions.
JAMES £ CUNGMAN, a professor at the University of Cincinnati, is
former editor of the Cincinnati Herald and founder of the Greater
Cincinnati African American Chamber of Commerce.
Putting athletics ahead of academics
George E.
Curry
Two years ago, the
Baltimore Sim filed a federal
Freedom of Information
request with the University
of Maryland to obtain a copy
of the contracts of the
school’s football and basket
ball coaches. 'The university,
a tax-supported institution,
fought the request. Last
week, the Maiyland Court of
Appeals ordered the school
to release the documents.
Now, we know why the
University of Maryland tried
to keep them secret.
Both basketball coach
Gary Wflliams and football
coach Ralph Friedgen are
guaranteed aimual salaries
of jpiore than $1 million.
Various incentive clauses
allow them to earn at least
another $400,000 each year.
Tb put these salaries in
perspective, consider this:
Clayton D. Mote, the presi
dent of the University of
Maryland’s flagship campus
at College Park, earns
$337,999 per year. William
E. Kirwan, the chancellor of
the University of Maryland
system, earns $375,000. And
Robert L. Ehrlich Jr, the
poverty-stricken governor of
Maryland, earns $140,000.
Something is wrong with
this picture.
Why should football and
basketball coaches earn
three times more than the
university president? Why
should they earn 10 times
more than long-serving full
professors? Equally impor
tant, what message does this
send to the students who are
under the illusion that the
role of a university in a
democratic society is to edu
cate its populace, not to
serve as a farm system for
the National Football
League and the National
Basketball Association?
In defending the high
salaries. Athletic Director
Debbie Yow told the
Baltimore Sun, “We want
Ralph to be competitive with
the other ACC coaches who
are doing great things, and
we want Gary to be competi
tive with the other basket
ball coaches who are achiev
ing at high levels.”
In fairness to Williams and
Friedgen, they are not even
the highest paid coaches in
their conference. Williams
trails Duke’s Mike
Krzyzewski and Fiedgen
earns less than Florida-
State’s Bobby Bowden and
Virginia Tech’s Frank
Beamer. In football, LSUs
Nick Saban, after leading his
team to a shared national
championship (with USC)
last season, is guaranteed at
least $2.3 million annually.
Both Bowden of Florida
State and Bob Stoops of
Oklahoma earn more than
$2 million a year.
In basketball, Kentucky’s
Tubby Smith has an eight-
year, $20 million contract,
and Louisville’s Rick Pitino
has a six-year, $12.4 million
deal.
Clearly, Williams and
Friedgen are collecting what
the market will bear. That’s
the American way. But is it
the right way?
I think teachers, not coach
es, should be the highest
paid workers in society.
Everyone who excels in life
can attribute part of that
success to smart, caring,
dedicated teachers — fi-om
pre-school to graduate school
- who enjoy imparting
knowledge to students.
Where would we be without
them? Increasingly, teachers
are working in financially-
strapped districts that don’t
even provide them with
basic supplies.
Consequently, they dig into
their own wallets or pur ses
to augment limited school
supplies.
And we reward them by
complaining: Thda/s teach
ers are not as good as those
in the old days. Anyone
worth his/her salt wouldn’t
go into teaching, 'teachers
are merely collecting a pay-
check. Instead of being
grateful that these dedicated
people decided to enter the
teaching profession, know
ing they could make more
money elsewhere, many of
us ridicule them, take them
for granted or, even worse,
don’t think about them at
all.
The disclosure of the
University of Maryland
coaches’ contracts proves
that at the college level, at
least, we place more empha
sis on what athletes do on
the football field or basket
ball court than how students
perform in the classroom. As
a society, we ought to be
ashamed. President Bush
should worry about this dis
parity rather than the use of
steroids in athletics. Let’s get
our priorities straight.
A look at the contracts
reveals the extent to which,
the coaches are pampered.
One would think that any
one earning more than $1
million a year could afford to
purchase his own automo
bile. But, no, coaches need
allowances for that as well.
So Friedgen gets a $12,000.
annual automobile
allowance while Williams
gets only $8,000. Overall,
Williams can earn up to
$1,871,021 and Friedgen
$1,469,000, when you count
all of the shoes and broad
cast deals.
I want to make a modest
proposal. No coach should
make more than 50 percent
of what the president of the
university earns. In the case
of Maryland, that would still
be more than $175,000 a
year. If the governor of the
state can get by on $140,000,
surely a coach can squeak by
on $175,000 a year. If noth
ing else, adopting my propos
al would prove that we don’t
put athletics ahead of acade
mics.
GEORGE E. CURRY is editor-
in-chief of the NNPA News
Service and
BlackPressUSA.com. His most
recent book is “The Best of
Emerge Magazine, ” an antholo
gy published by Ballantine
Books. He can be reached
through his Web site, georgecur-
What is John Edwards running for?
D.G. Martin
Tll
Is John Edwards running
for vice president?
That question, which is
always on the minds of
North Carolina political
observers, came back into
the news last week. 'The
North Carohna Democratic
Party announced officially
that Edwards won 57 dele
gates to the party’s national
convention. Also, Edwards
traveled to South Carolina
where he got a warm wel
come from Democrats in the
state where he was bom and
where he won his only pri
mary victory.
Neither of these stories
would have gotten much
notice if Edwards were not
still running for something.
So, is Edwards running for
vice president?
'The answer is “no.”
John Edwards is stiU run
ning for president - just not
in 2004.
Becoming the Democratic
nominee for vice president,
and perhaps being elected to
that office in November,
might be a steppingstone to
his objective. But his eye is
on the bigger prize.
By the way, it is not certain
that the vice presidency is a
good place from which to run
for the .highest office. Vice
President George Bush, the
elder, was elected president.
A1 Gore almost did it. But,
before them, you have to go
back to Martin Van Buren,
Thomas Jefferson, and John
Adams, to find sitting vice
presidents who were elected
presidents.
Several recent vice presi
dents did become presi
dent—but not by election.
Teddy Roosevelt, Cal
Coolidge, Harry Truman,
and Lyndon Johnson became
president upon the death of
the President. Gerald Ford,
when Richard Nixon
resigned. Nixon, who lost
the presidency when he was
a sitting vice president, later
won the office by beating
Lyndon Johnson’s vice presi
dent, Hubert Humphrey.
Former vice presidents,
other than Nixon, have not
had much luck winning the
presidency. Walter Mondale,
■ who had been Jimmy
Carter’s vice president, lost
to Ronald Reagan in 1984.
Former Wee President Dan
Quayle failed to get his
party’s nomination. Hemy
Wallace (Roosevelt’s vice
president before Harry
'Truman) ran unsuccessfully
as a third party candidate in
1948. Truman’s vice presi
dent, Alben Barkley, was an
unsuccessful candidate for
his party’s nomination in
1952.
What about the Joe
Liebermans of presidential
history? Does it help to be
the vice presidential nomi
nee on a losing ticket? Notin
Lieberman’s case. Nor did it
lead to success for Ed
Muskie,.Hubert Humphrey’s
vice presidential running
mate in 1968. Muskie lost
the Democratic nomination
in 1972.
Although Bob Dole lost to
Bill Clinton in 1996, his
place on Gerald Ford’s loos
ing ticket in 1976 probably
helped him gain a national
platform from which he
finally gained his party’s
presidential nomination 20
years later.
'There are no sure, or nec
essary, steppingstones to the
presidency - neither the
Senate, nor a vice presiden
tial nomination. Edwards
will find his way into the
public eye over the next four
(and eight) years whether or
not he is the nominee for vice
president.
D.G. MARTIN hosts “North
Carolina Bookwatch" on UNC-
TV.