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EDITORIAL AND OPINION/tlte C^arlttU $ot
Thursday, July 7, 2005
Gerri
Cunningham
tJTlje Cljarlottc ^oiSt
The Voice of the Black Community
1531 Camden Road Charlotte. N.C. 28203
Gerald O. Johnson ceo/publisher
Robert L Johnson capUBLiSHER/GENERAL manager
Herbert L White editor in chief
POSTSCRIPTS
Media messages
leave teens in more
vulnerable position
You’ve seen the music videos, men fully dressed with jerseys,
sagging jeans and a baseball cap. The women have on bikini
tops and miniskirts completely surroimded by
men who fieely throw champagne and dollars
at them. Is this the new perception of ladies?
^th so many teenagers idolizing musicians
and their videos, is sexism the new trend?
For years, my friends and I have walked to
the neig^iborhood comer store simply to catch
a breeze and see friends fix)m school. The expe
rience has changed dramatically since our
junior high school years when everyone
focused more on their bags full of Blow Pops
and Skittles than the females that roam the
store. Now we’re greeted with ''Ay girl” and “Shorty”
This wouldn’t be much of a concern if the guys really didn’t
know our names, but this isn’t the case. There are so many
young guys that have not learned to separate the fact frx)m fic
tion in music so they relate what they hear and see to how they
live their everyday life. W^th songs like “Give me dat” by hip-
hop newcomer Webbie, the youth are presented with a new
approach to women — give me dat. It’s quite ridiculous, but
tme. This remark isn’t thought to be disrespectful in any way
because the women in the videos respond to it so well. Since
the youth’s idols are referring to women as only good for one
use, it becomes necessary and acceptable. Who can’t lAse a good
pick-up line?
Mike Jones, a new rapper fix)m Houston, expresses in his
album women and their interest in one thing — money “Back
Then” is dedicated to females that only see what's ri^t in
firont of them like the car with spinning rims and the mouth of
platinum teeth. The single teaches men that women are gold-
di^;ers and shouldn’t be valued because so. “...I don’t have the
time to call her, Imma stall her... Imma dog h^,” this excerpt
speaks for itself but Mike Jones basically tells men women
don’t deserve respect and the message is taken
and accepted very well with his sii^e topping
hip hop coimtdowns. In every other video, every
other song on the radio this message is delivered
to oui' youth. Which is why so many guys find it
aU ri^t to grab a lady by the hand-not to ask
her to dance, but to ask her to take a ride with
him. These songs encourage infidelity among
relationships with a lot of songs concentrating on
“pimping” and obviously leading to other prob
lems.
Just as quickly as the mess^e of violence and crime reach
our young ones thinking that is the only way to survive, the
whispers of the Ying Yang T\vins’ ‘Wait” teach them sweet
nothings will undoubtedly impress the women you seek. This
song was so increasingly populai’ that a remix was made with
the same message. Not only is s®dsm encouraged in rap music
but also in the entertainment industry, such as commercials
for cologne. In such instances where four and five women
chased one man in a grocery store because of the cologne he
sampled. The moral of the story: get the cologne, get the girls.
Rappers such as Common and Mos Def have been highly
successful through their messages to the hip hop community
about life and love. Their stjde of music is the same but with a
message to eadi one. In Common’s newest single “The comer”
he emphasizes the beauty of the black community and their
struggles in everyday society Mos Def has gone on to hosting
HBO series, “Def Poetry Jam,” now in its third season. There
are plenty of R&B artists who the youth look up to such as
John Legend and Lyfe who both express love in their songs
and how magical it is. If there was more of a balance with
these genres the message of s®dsm would smely decline.
The rap industry overshadows young R&B artists because
hip-hop generates more controversy through rivalries and stiff
competition, which only boosts record sales. Perhaps the youth
should be presented with more ?uestloves finm The Roots
rather than two quarters.
It isn’t fair to blame the media for what goes on in the com
munity because to each its own, but it is necessary for each
woman regardless of race or beliefs to realize we don't live in a
rap video and regardless of what we wear, it’s not an invitation
to approach us with lyrics. The only way to end a trend is to
stMt from the root. Women make the world go aroimd and sex
ism is threatening our rotation-let’s end the trend.
GERRI CUNNINGHAM w a senior at West Mecklenburg High
School.
Legend
MATTERS OF OPINION
Supreme battle over court appointee
George E.
Curry
The unexpected resignation
of Supreme Court Justice
Sandra Day O’Connor cre
ates a vacancy that, once
filled, can radically shift the
court to the right on social
issues. And that can ulti
mately spell disaster for such
issues as affirmative action,
women’s rights, dvil liberties,
the death penalty and
anployees’ rights.
O’Connor, the first
Supreme Court appointment
made by Ronald Reagan, was
the court’s swing justice, with
her vote helping constitute a
5-4 majority on many impor
tant issues. Court watchers
had expected ailing Chief
Justice William H. Rehnquist
to retire after this session —
and that’s still a possibility —
but he was expected to be
replaced by another conserv
ative, meaning the 9-member
court would remain evaily
divided, with four liberals,
four conservatives and
O’Connor darting back and
forth between each camp.
However, the resignation of
the court’s swing voter means
that Geoige W. Bush’s first
court appointee could
• instantly shift the balance of
power, creating a conserva
tive majority
This appointment will force
Bush, who has tried to have it
both ways on some issues, to
dioose between his rhetoric of
compromise and cooperation
and his pledge to appoint
Supreme Court justices in
die mold of Antonin Scalia
and Clarence Thomas, the
court’s most conservative
members.
Ib understand O’Connor’s
impact, aU one has to do is
examine some of the 5-4
Supreme Court decisions.
She cast the deciding vote in;
• Grutter V. Bollinger,
affirming the ri^t of univer
sities to use affirmative
action in admissions;
• Brown v. Legal
Foundation of Washington,
maintaining legal funding for
the poor;
• Rush Prudential HMO v
Moran, allowing people
enrolled in HMOs to seek a
second medical opinion;
• Hunt V. Cromartie,
upholding the right of states
to consider race as a factor in
redistricting and
• Brentwood Academy v.
Tfennessec Secondary
Athletic Association, affiiin-
ing a lower-court decision
that civil ri^ts laws apply to
associations regulating inter
collegiate sports.
Even before O’Connor
annoimced her decision, the
battle lines were drawn and
multi-million doUar cam
paigns had already been
laimch^. Progressives w«* *e
campaigning to persuade the
public -and President Bush—
that only mainstream jurists
should be appointed to the ■
lifetime appointments on the
court. Conservatives were
eager to avoid a defeat simi
lar to 1987 attack that
blocked the elevation of
Judge of Robert Bork to the
Supreme Court and the nar
row (52 votes) and bitter con
firmation of Clarence
Thomas in 1991, formed
Alliance Defense Fund, a con
sortium of conservative
Christian organizations.
Ev^ more important, they
set in motion a campaign
aimed at making sure the
next Supreme Court selection
will consistently side with
conservatives. Upset that
Justice David H. Souter, a
Reagan appointee, consis
tently votes with the more
liberal wing of the court, con
servatives have developed a
rallying cry “No more
Souters.”
Bush’s conservative base is
pushing for a strong conserv
ative who will not disappoint
them.
A research paper by People
for the American Way
observes; “... Right-wing
activists have turned their
harshest fire not on the
Court’s more moderate jus
tices but on two conservative
justices who fi:equently forge
majorities on the most impor
tant cases before the Coiut —
Justices O’Connor and
Kennedy A number of far-
right leaders have harshly
criticized these two Justices,
going so far as to call for their
impeachment.
“In an April newsletter.
Focus on the Family’s James
Dobson called Supreme
Court Justice Anthony
Kennedy “the most danger
ous man in America,” and
demanded that he be
'impeached “along with
[Justices] O’Connor,
Ginsbei^ [sic], Souter, Breyer,
and Stevens.”
Despite such radical views.
White House officials have
acknowledged that they are
sharing the names of several
potential nominees past
Dobson and other conserva
tive group for their review.
Some Senators are urging
Bush to select a nominee who
will enjoy broad bi-partisan
support. Tbey note that
Sandra Day O’Connor was
approved 99-0 in 1981,
Anthony Kennedy, 97-0 in
1988, David Souter 90-9 in
1990, Ruth Bader Ginsburg,
96-3 in 1993 and Steven G.
Breyer 87-9 in 1994, the last
time there was a vacancy
So far. Bush does not seem
to be striking a conciliatory
tone.
“The nation deserves, and I
will select, a Supreme Court
justice that Americans can be
proud of,” Bush, said. “The
nation also deserves a digni
fied process of confiimation in
the United States Senate,
characterized by fair treat
ment, a fair hearing and a
fair vote.”
Whether the nominee gets
that kind of reception, will
depend on whether Bush is
able to break the hold tiie Far
Right has on his administra
tion and nominate a main
stream candidate acceptable
to both Democrats and
Republicans.
GEORGE E. CURRY is editor-
in-chief of National Newspaper
Publishers Association News
Service.and BlackPressUSA.com.
He appears on National Public
Radio-on “News and Notes with
Ed Gordon.’’
New Jack slavery without due process
FILE PHOTO
R&B singers like newcomer Lyfe (above) expresses love and
how magical It is in his recordings
Many of us know that Abe
Lincoln and his
Emancipation Proclamation
did not firee our relatives.
On the other hand, many of
us believe slavery was abol
ished when the 13 th
Amendment to the
Constitution was ratified in
December 1865, even though
it took 100 years more to give
us our “dvil rights.” But how
many of us know that there is
an exception in the 13th
Amendment that allows slav
ery in cases of those “duly
convicted” of crimes? Maybe
that’s why we see all the pri
vate jails and all of the money
being made on the stock mar
ket on prisons. Yes, slavery is
alive and wdl, and I saw a
Rowing example of it last
month in Morgan, Ga.
I was in that small town for
the Habeas Ck)rpus hearing
for William Mayo, the brother
who was sentenced to two life
sciences, plus 40years, - for
a robbery he did not commit.
It took 13 years for Wiliam to
get his hearing, and tens of
thousands of dollars, a thou
sand of which was spent to
bring the two men who com
mitted the crime to Morgan
to exonerate Mayo.
That morning in the remote
town, dozens of supporters
came hundreds of miles to
stand with William Mayo, to
James
Clingman
see justice finally rendered, to
share the moment with
William’s mother, his family
and fiiends,
as the judge
would Usten
to the argu
ments and
deliberate,
and finally
decree that
William
should have
another trial.
De^ite an over-abundance of
police officers, prison officers,
and court room officers (You
would have thou^t William
was a serial murderer or
worse), we were full of posi
tive anticipation and didn’t
think much of it when the
judge had to be reminded to
“bring the petitioner” into the
covmtroom. Just an overs^it,
you know.
The judge was also remind
ed by William’s attorney that
there woe witnesses in the
courtroom that would be
called and she reqpiested they
be sequestered in another
room. Oh yes, she also sug
gested to the judge that they
be sworn in collectively,
whidi the judge did.
Judge Cato asked the attor
neys to begin. William’s attor
ney spoke for a few minutes,
setting up the case and
recounting two major points;
the men who did the crime,
perjured themselves and
woiild disclose that fact, as
they had done several years
ago, althou^ no one listened;
and the prosecutor in the
original case acted in a cor
ruptible manner as he cut
deals with the real perpetra
tors to implicate Wiliam.
That, too, was disclosed years
ago, but no one listened. This
time we had the “honorable”
Judge Cato; he would listen.
After the prosecutor spoke
for a few minutes, it was time
to rumble. We settled in for a
long day in that souiJiOTi
courtroom, in that quaint lit
tle town. The defense attor
neys, armed with so many
files they had to be carted in
by hand truck, were ready to
go to war. They had the evi
dence, the witnesses, and
they had the hearing they
had fou^t so long to obtain.
Justice. What a sweet soxmd-
ing word.
After both attorneys spoke.
Judge Cato clasped his hands
and began to speak. Cato
started to dte points he had
read finm the case, and I sat
there waiting for him to get to
tile gocxl part, you know, the
part where he says, “Call
your witnesses.” Ah yeah, any
minute now, I thought.
As the judge continued to
speak, something in his voice
and his legal jargon si^gest-
ed he had already made up
his mind, even though he had
sworn in the witnesses, even
though they had spent
Wiliam’s money to bring the
two perpetrators to Morgan,
Georgia, and even though
William’s attorneys had hun
dreds, maybe thousands of
documents to share durir^
their presentation. This guy
had already made up his
mind. He was about to do
something that would let
everyone know that slavery
was still-in effect and that he
was the master, the one in
charge.
Cato ended his brief state
ments by slamming his gavel
down and walking out of the
courtroom, leaving in his
wake a stunned crowd, a
shocked attorney standing
tiiere with her mouth wide
open wondering what just
happened, and a grieving
mother who was not even
allowed to hug her son.
William was literally man
handled and shoved out of
the courtroom without the
opportunity to speak one
word. Thirteen years to get a
hearing, but only 10 minutes
to deny it. Justice? Yeah,
right.
JAMES E. CUNGMAN is a
professor at the University of
Cincinnati’s African Ajnerican
Studies department.