4A
EDtTORIAL AND OPINION/ tCfet C^rlstte
Thursday, December 22, 2005
tEljc Cljarlottc
The Voice of the Black Community
1531 Camden Road Charlotte. NC. 213203
Gerald (). Johnson ceo/publisher
Robert L Johnson capuBLi.SHERAiENERAL manager
Herbert L White EDITOR in chief
EDITORIALS
Takemorei
giuelessto
CMS board Fumbling over Donovan McNabb
Limiting panel’s charge to establish
school policy is best for the district
It’s no secret that the Charlotte-Mecklenbui^ Board of
Education has been dysfunctional for quite some time. Last
week’s doubleheader of sheer lunacy with charges of intimida
tion, challenged manhood and calls for security only added to the
ugliness and calls for wholesale change. The fearsome foursome
of Viima Leake, Kaye McGarry George Dunlap and Larry
Gauvreau should carry themselves with some modicum of pro
fessionalism, but that’s almost beside the point. It’s obvious they
don’t care to know better. Meanwhile, public confidence contin
ues to slide in public education.
While voter indignation is
appropriate, we believe there’s a
larger issue to consider the role
of the school board in governing
the state’s lai^est school district.
As the one elected board with the
chai^ of overseeing the educa
tion, safety and development of
children, this panel should be
limited in scope, primarily of a
budgetary nature. The real chal
lenge of education should be left
to professional teachers and
administrators who have the
training and background to pro
vide optimal results. We also
believe that the role of superin
tendent should be given more far-
reaching authority to set policy for the district and put.in place
people and facilities that will make CMS a more nimble opera
tion, which it has struggled to do since 2001 when court-ordered
busing for desegregation was ended.
Serving on an elected board is never easy, and school board is
the toughest job in Mecklenburg politics. It’s thankless, and
these days confiuntational to the point of embarrassment We
don’t doubt the sincerity of CMS’s board, but let’s be real.
Without taking the egos and finger-pointing out of the equation,
very little will be accomplished during a period of imprecedent-
ed growth and government-required achievement standards.
However, this board spends too much of its time micro-man
aging the process. Their time and the districts patience would be
better served if they concentrated on budgetary matters and on
hiring a superintendent.
In most government entities, there are checks and balances to
steer them to the ultimate goal. We are of the opinion that this
district can best improve education by giving teachers and
administrators the latitude to be creative and innovative when
necessary The board, of course, would still be a mqjor partner by
working with them as well as the community to push CMS for
ward.
McGarry
Dunlap
Balance history with some
financial common sense
Grace AME Zion Church is historic and represents a unique
chapter in Afiican American history It’s also for sale, and its sta
tus is uncertain.
Grace AME Zion’s congregation has moved to a new building,
and the AME Zion Church wants to get the most it can for the
old structure, its historic legacy notwithstanding The Historic
Landmarics Commission would like to buy the church for preser
vation purposes, but church officials are rightly determined to
sell for as much as they can get. If the new owners want to pre
serve the building in First Ward, that’s their call. If they tear it
down, the church doesn't have a restriction against that action.
The HLC wants Mecklenburg Coimty to replenish a revolving
fund that would be iteed to buy the site for neariy $950,000 at
minimum..
That would be a mistake, even at market value.
History is important, but so is oversight d taxpayer dollars. If
Grace AME Zion can be preserved with a program that can be
econamically feasible, that's worth government intervention.
But to let the building languish for the sake of history cheats the
county that paid to save it fixou the wrecking ball.
Charlotte has a well-deserved reputation for turning a Hind
eye to its histoo’ but making ,up for past oversi^ta by going
overboard with tax dollars is counter jarxluctive. Puhjic-private
vaituree, or preferaHy private developm^t would preserve the
ccaumunity's histcuic sites while giving them another chance at
a productive life. Keeping history alive requires sacrifice AME
Zion’s leadership will make out just fine once the building is sold.
For the county, any possiHe investment should be weired
against the benefits of preservation.
Connect v\1th
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The national president of
the NAACP is involved in a
public brouhaha with the
president of the Philadelphia
chapter. Are
they feuding
George E.
Curry
President
Bush’s autho
rization of
secret spying
on U.S. citi
zens? No. Is it
over the tug-
o f - w a r
House and
between the
Senate over the proposed
extension of controversial
sections of the USA Patriot
Act? Nope. Are they fighting
over cuts poor people are
expected to shoulder in the
next federal budget as the
wealthy get to eiyoy extended
tax cuts? Hardly
Of all the important public
issues facing America,
NAACP President Bruce S.
Gordon and Philadelphia
chapter president Jerry
Whyatt Mondesire are at
odds over whether Mondesire
should have criticized
Philadelphia Eagles quarter
back Donovan McNabb in a
newspaper column.
Mondesire, publisher of the
Philadelphia Sun, a black
newspaper, called McNabb
overrated and took him to
task for what Mondesire
described as McNabb’s lack of
leadership both on and off
field.
“...This week I felt com
pelled to offer some personal
thou^ts about your horrific
on-field performances this
season because at their core
is a lie you have tried to use to
hide the fact that in reality
you actually are not that
good. In essence, Donny you
are mediocre at best,”
Mondesire wrote.
Gordon, who grew up in
Philadelphia, issued a strong
ly-worded statement that
upbraided Mondesire for
upbraiding McNabb.
‘T have followed the Eagles
organization and its players
for a long time,” he said.
‘Dbnovan McNabb is one of
the best that thfey have had.
He is a great quarterback, an
excellent role model and a
class act. Whatever possessed
Mondesire to take such a neg
ative jxjsition on a positive
person like McNabb is
beyond me. The NAACP has
many civil rights issues that
require our attention.
Criticizing Donovan McNabb
is not one of them. However,
in li^t of Mondesire’s criti
cism it has become a personal
priority to offer my apology as
well as my support.”
Gordon added, “The
NAACP is further investigat
ing this matter to make sure
these statements were prop
erly vetted and our policies
and procedures weie not vio
lated.”
The last time I checked,
NAACP chapter presidents
y/ere volunteers. That means
they are not NAACP employ
ees and even if they were,
they would still be entitled to
the First Amendment protec
tion of fiee speech. Writing as
a columnist - where opinions
are supposed to be expressed
- and going to great lengths to
say that he was offering some
“personal thoughts,”
Mondesire didn’t need his col
umn “vetted” by Gordon or
anyone else.
I have known JeiTy
Mondesire, a former aide to
Congressman Bill Gray for
many years. He is thou^tful,
principled and, as is evident,
unafi-aid to speak his mind.
He is said to be considering a
run for Congress. If that’s
true, I admire Jerry even
more for speaking up. Surely,
he knew that writing that col
umn would not win him any
votes.
Many people have asked
why Mondesire would offer
such a harsh critique of
McNabb. All one has to do is
read his column and it’s pret
ty clear what set him off
(Copies of Mondesire’s col
umn and Gordon’s stat^nent
are pxssted on my blog, curry-
ingfavor.blogspot.com). He
faults McNabb for running
less this year and then accus
ing critics who point that out
as engaging in a form of
racism.
During the season, Tbrrell
Owens, the recently exiled
wide receiver for the Ea^es,
said that the Ea^es would
win a Super Bowl if Brett
Farve, the Green Bay
Packeis quarterback, were
the team’s quarterback
instead of McNabb.
“The brash and bombastic
Tbrrell Owais may have com
mitted the unpardonable sin
of going public with his put
down, but was he ftmdamen-
tally wrong?” Mondesire
asked. “The pressure, the
hype, the clock - they all just
converged and your nerve col
lapsed under their combined
weight,” he wrote. “Mediocre
isn’t horrible in and of itself.
M^st of us don’t live up to our
dreams. It’s when we fake it
that most of the rest of us get
irritated.”
Clearly, Mondesire was irri
tated when he wrote the next
paragraph.
“So, for you to continue to
deny we fans (as well as your
self) one of the strongest ele
ments of your game by claim
ing that ‘everybody expects
black quarterbacks to scram
ble’ not only amounts to a
breach of faith but also belit
tled the real struggles of
black athletes who’ve had to
overcome real racial staeo-
typcasting [sic] in addition to
downright segregation.”
As Mondesire noted, Doug
Williams, the only Black
quarterback to win a Super
Bowl, was not a* scrambler.
Nor is the Tfennessee Titans’
Steve McNair, Minnesota QB
Daunte CXilpepper or Byron
Leftwidi of Jacksonville. And
they are not criticized for not
scrambling.
If McNabb, in fact, blamed
his sub-par and iryury-rid-
dled season on others’ pur
ported perception of Black
quarteihacks as scramblers.
Mondesire is’ not only correct
to call him out on that lame
accuse, Bruce (^rdon should
present Mondesire with an
NAACP Image Award. Then,
perhaps, the NAACP can con
centrate on our real priori
ties.
GEORGE E. CURRY is editor-
in-chief of the National
Newspaper Publishers
Association News Service and
BlackPressUSAjcom. He appears
on National Ihtblic Radio as pari
of "News and Notes with Ed
Gordonf
Prisons foster economic incongmity
An article on CTiarlotte.com
by Liz CTiandler, titled “Black
contractors used as fiunts?”
reminded me of an economic
incongruity: Black people
occupy most of the cells in the
U.S. prison
James
Clingman
system but
have very lit
tle participa
tion in prison
development,
construction,
and long-term
contracts for
vending, i.e.,
supplies, food,
equipment.
etc. Another in a long line of
atpose' articles on minority
programs, the latest vmcover-
ing of the prison-building
monqy-pit discloses several
issues relevant to the eco
nomic disempowerment of
Hack people.
^ usual, a hislory lesson is
in order here. Amos Wilson,
in his book, “Black cai Black
Vioienoe,” wrote, “Within five
\-ear8 after the Qvil War, the
black percentage, of the
prison population went fix»m
close to zero to 33 percent.
Then, as now, the black
prison population performed
^ economic euid political
ftmction for the benefit of
whites.” (Featured in the City
Sun, July 18-24, 1990, and
written by Clinton Cox,
'Racism: The Hole in
Amerka’s Heart.)
Another tidbit of pison hisi>'
tory is foimd in the 13th
Amendment of the U.S.
Constitution, that says,
“Neither slavery nor involun
tary servitude, except as a
punishment for crime where
of the party shall have been
duly convicted, shall exist
within the United States. ”
We should pay special atten
tion to the words, “except as a
punishment for crime where
of the party shall have been
duly convicted.” Need I say
more?
It is obvious that black peo
ple have been and continue to
be the fodder, first for the
agricultural industry of the
19th C!)entury and now for
the prison industrial complex
Wf the New Millennium. As I
bead the article, I thou^t
about our history, and I
thought about how we contin
ue to contribute to our own
economic demise by serving
the new master as fix)nt com
panies, especially in the
prison-building induaby ..
WTiat a shame that sqme of
us would do that, as ifbladj
people don’t have the capabil
ity to stand on our own, col
lectively, and secure more
than fix)nt money fi*om
prison-building, conventicHi
centers, waterfixait devHc^
ments, museums, and stadi
ums, where tho^ is another
economic “Kackout” brewing
in Dallas, with the construc
tion of their new q»rts facili
ty I am {leased to report
that the two Black firms that
were offered “deals” as fix)nt
cximpanies turned them down
and then turned in the com
panies making the offers.
The article questions
whether there are black (or is
it minority?) contractors who
are being used as fiunt com
panies, conduits through
which miniscule amounts
flow to the black company for
doing little or no work. These
Faustian deals also carry the
added benefit of the prime
contractor “doing business”
with a “minority” firm.
The first problem I saw was
the ridiculous notion that
women are “minorities.” Oh
yeah; since when? The U.S.
C)ensus says women are the
majority population. Thus,
when women are declared
minorities by “minority pro
grams” they must be refer
ring to white women, ri^t?
Tliat’s part of the game. In
the diariotte case, “womai-
owned” businesses received
more contracts than Hack
owned businesses - black
men and black women com
bined.
The article stated, “...nearly
21 percent oS the prison woik
will go to minority firms, pri
marily those owned by
women. Afiican American
firms, one of the most imder-
used groups in state construc
tion, are to get 3 percent to 4
percQit of the prison woik,
obtained only eifter complain
ing to the state.” According to
the 2000 census, Charlotte is
33 percent black
The other prcibl^n is some
thing I harp on all the time:
black people referring to our
selves as “minorities” in the
first place. I have said it as
plainly as I can. It’s a game,
folks. It’s a game that we can
never win. No one should
ever be confused about who
we are. The organization
fighting against the economic
iryustice in the Charlotte case
is the Carolinas Associated
Minority Contractors.
Unless this organization com
prises Asian, Hispanic, and
Indian members, it is a black
association.
Bottom-line: The onus is on
us. If we can occupy the pris
ons to such a hi^ degree,
why are we not also repre
sented in building them, in
maintaining them, in supply
ing their needs, and in. selling
them equipment, food and
other necessities? Can a
brother get some Hack-made
• (and distributed) hair grease
and some Shea butter soap
and lotion iq) in here?
We must be more assertive,
more aggrea®Ve, more deter
mined, and'We must build
more capacity to take on larg
er projects.
JAMES E. CUNGXfAN is a
professor at the University of
Cincinaaii and former editor of
the Cincinnati Herald.