5A
OPINIONS/CdsTlotte
Thursday, September 7, 2006
Congressional
Black Caucus
theme has it right
I like the theme of this year’s Congressional Blads
Caucus week of events, “Changing Course, Confronting
Crises, Continuing the Legacy” because by tehir^ us what
time it is, it offers three critical things that we have to do.
• Changing course: First, it is necessary that this coun
try change and that the blade community help it to do so.
As the favorable ratings of Geoige Bush languish in the
political basement with 60-65 percent of the
/■ t American people saying he is not doing a
%, I good job and same is rou^ily true of the
* i Congress and Ihe Supreme Court, these are
signs that the American people have had it
with the conservative era. And althoiogh
they probably would not say that they are
ready to chuck conservatism, they are being
pummeled by the issues that the conserva
tive movement has let loose upon the nation,
symbolized by the Iraq war, the Katrina cri
sis, high energy prices, fiscal irresponsibifity and a host of
other problems.
Normally when people are asked whether the coimtry is
on the "right track or wrong track" and they answer in
pubhc opinion polls that we are on the wrong track, you
can escpect some type of change. Normally when they are
asked their view of the Cor^ress, they may say they don't
hke the Cor^ress, but they like their own representative.
Tbday they don't like either one. In 1994, when the ratings
of both the president and the Congress were this low,
Republicans experienced a net shift of 52 seats in the
House and six in the Senate, causing America to char^
course. That must happen today
• Confronting crises: It is dear then, that the nation
needs to confiunt the crises that are bringing down the
credibility of its leadership, with its perverse direction,
both here and aroimd the world. In that, blacks can help
as they did in Joe Lieberman's defeat, by leading a vigor
ous campaign to make the war a voting issue. But blacks
themselves must also dean up their own house and change
course by confronting the crises of HIV/AIDS, the crisis of
black churches that are chasing the dollar, the popular cul
ture that elevates negative images of om people, the fail
ure to save and do sound financial planning,
continuing our fear of young black malea •
rather than placing love and discipline in
their fives, and other things.
Most of all, we need to create a sense of our
own pofitics with an agenda that we can
campaign on, with a program of account
ability to our agenda, and with an indepen
dent stance fix)m any party More about that
later.
Although my take is that the CBC is doing
a good job overall, elected leadership can't confront all
these matters. We desperately need inde
pendent black leaders outside of the political
institutions that are free from the restraints
of rules governing their behavior. Rules and
expectations of behavior that, for example,
have thrust Rep. Cynthia McKinney of
Georgia from her seat, would be expected
I and applauded coming from any civil rights
leader. So, we need leaders, as Rep. John
Lewis would say who can "get in the way”
Even Lewis can't do so as effectively as he
did 40 years ago because of where he is. And Jesse
Jackson, A1 Shaipton, Danny Bakewell, Wendell Anthony
C. T. Vivian, Bruce Gordon, Marc Morial and others can,
we hear voices railing them out, wishing they would go
away because they are speaking truth to power, disturbing
the peace, and in the process, creating some embarrass
ment for those whose distance fium the black community
give them the illusion that they are free,
• Continuir^ the legacy So, we must continue the lega
cy but enrich it by the struggles of today and the leader
ship of a new generation. There is some debate in our com
munity about whether the tactics of old are still necessary,
but since that question is most oft«i not ours to decide, we
must retain aU the an'ows in our quiver. For example, if
the Voting Rights Act had not been reauthorized, we would
have had to go to the streets; opposition to the war cannot
take place in political institutions confused about it; forc
ing Katrina on the national agenda cannot be done just by
“making nice.”
As we honor the sacrifices of those who have recently
passed on: Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks, C. DeLores
Tucker, and so many other freedom fighters, we also
demand that everyone who can, step up into the batter box
of history to help Change Course, Confront Crises and
Continue the Legacy In that, I have inordinate faith in
what I have seen of the generation coming on that the
struggle will continue, until victory is won.
RON WALTERS is director of the African Atnerican Leadership
Institute, Professor of Govermnent and Politics a the University of
Maryland College Park.
McKinney
Gordon
What difference
does a year make?
In the lives ofmany of the people affected by Hurricane Katrina,
the answer is a resoundii^, ‘No difference at all!” One year afte-
the levees broke in New Orleans and after the storm surge hit the
Gulf Coast, hundreds of thousands are still waiting, still suffering,
and still crying out forjustice and relief If a strainer visited some
areas of New Orleans, he or she would probably think the tragedy
occurred a week or two ago. Yes, it’s just that bad.
I had the opportunity to visit New Orleans on the "anniversary”
of Katrina's destruction and the resulting levee failures. The jux
taposition of the rebuilding and revitalization of downtown and
other tourist attractions against the backdrop of abject poverty
and hopelessness among folks wallring the streets
and residing in neighborhoods that were
destroyed by Katrina, was overwhelming.
One of the most egregious areas of discrimina
tion against blacks in New Orleans and alor^ the
Gulf Coast is employment, which was my primary
piupose for going there on the anniversary of
Hurricane Katrina. After everything that hap
pened a year ago, black people are taking a double
whammy, they are being overlooked and denied
employment to rebuild their own city many tim=ts
in favor of folks who have never lived there and do
not evai five in this coimtry
I participated in a press confeence coordinated by Choose Black
America, a newly-formed organization, that dealt with the practice
of contractors' passing over and laying off black workers to hire, in
some cases, illegal immigrants to whom they can pay a low^
w^. My contention is that folks who five and used to five in the
affected areas of the Gulf Coast should have the right of first
refusal to the dean-up, restoration, and construction work.
The bottom-fine is more important than those on the bottom.
Broken casinos are more important than broken lives and shat
tered families; brokai sidewalks in fiont of plush hotels are more
important than the broken hearts of the disenfranchised and
poverty-stricken, and it is quite obvious that although we can
'lose" $9 billion in Iraq, still imaccounted for, by the way it is much
more difficult to "find" $9 billion doUais, much less the $100 billion
promised, to restore the lives of the people along the Gulf Coast. I
know, I know, it's on the way, right?
The people in the most trouble are disproportionately black,
overwhelmin^y poor, and they are American dtizens, yet we can
not seem to get money to them the same way we got it to Iraq, Sri,
Lanka, Thailand, and to the families of the 911 victims. MLK said
we begin to die the day we remain silent about things that matter.
If we fail to speak out on this situation and the discrimination that
is noi^' takir^ place, we are in sad shape.
I spoke out about it. At the news conference, I said, "I have come
here to speak on behalf of the black people of New Orleans. I have
come with righteous indignation at the disparity and outright cor
ruption that continues to plague our people, even in fight of one of
the most tragic events in the history of this country One year ^o,
and even now, black people are treated as if we do just don't coimt. ”
Despite the number of laborers needed to revive this dty the
opportunity for black people to work on rebuilding their own
ne^iborhoods is being stymied by greedy and corrupt politidans,
corporate execs, and contractors.
What happened in this dty one year ago — after the storm - was
reprehensible. It was and is the antithesis of all thit^ moral, aU
things decent, and all things r^t. Now, today, we face the same
immorality the same greed, and the same lack of concern and
"compassion" for people who have been throu^ and survived hell
on earth. Yes, we should be ashamed, but we should also be so dis
turbed that we act, collectively to right the wrongs that have
grovm out of this tragedy
Again, black people are sent to the md of the line or passed over
altogether for work that should be theirs by priority There is no
excuse for denying those who live in New Orleans the first right, of
refusal for any work that must be done to rebuild their dty And,
they should be paid a living wage for their labor.
I call on the authorities to stop this filegal, immoral, unfair, and
unconsdonable treatmeait of black people in New Orleans. After
being corralled like cattle, himted down fike wild animals, aban
doned in what would be a stinking, watery grave, turned back at
gunpoint by their neighbors across the bridge whfie trying to get
away fixim the flood, relegated to yet another Diaspora, this timp
in the U.S., separated firam their children and loved ones and
unaware of their whereabouts, used eis political fodder, and now
bdr^ thrown on the trash heap of discriminatory iinempln3mi*^Tit,
don't you think they deserve our best?
And if what is happening to them now is our best, then someone
has to explain why the "least of these brethr^” are being treated
in such a manner?
We must reverse this latest injustice against black people once
and for aU, and we have the opportunity to so in New Orleans arid
along the Gulf Coast. We can rebuild the cities and the fives of
those who were so adversely impacted by Katrina simply by doing
the right thing for the right reason. Speak up; speak out; and let's
not allow this injustice to continue.
JAMES E. i^LlNGMAN, an adjunct professor at the University of
Cincinnati’s Afhcan American Studies department, is former editor of the
Cincinnati Herald newspaper and founder of the Greater Cincinnati A^can
American Chamber of Commerce. He hosts the radio program,
"Blackonomics, ” and has written several books. Website: wwwLlackonom-
iesrom. Telephone: (513) 489-4132.
Realistic health
care for black
Americans
By Harry C. Alford
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
During a visit by a delegation of the Congressional
Black Caucus, Cuba President Fidd Castro offered
, free healthcare assistance to residents in the
Mississipfd Delta and fi^ medical school education
to American students who promised to work in
underserved American communities.
It seemed insulting or sarcastic but he was sincere
and the need is real. Here we are the richest nation
on earth and we suffer Bx>m healthcare issues and
cannot deliver an adequate system to our own popu
lace. There is a big concern by U.S. businesses about
a viable workforce that is healthy and educated. It is
becoming a scourge and is going to doom our compet
itiveness if we don’t address it immediately
A Cuban of Afiican descent has a lifespan that is
sevCTL years longer than his American counterpart.
Sickle Cell Anemia barely exists in Cuba and is total
ly under control. HIV/AIDS is not a major issue, even
though sex flows in Cuba as well as any other place
in the world. All Cubans get two physical examina
tions per year. All healthcare is free and totally acces
sible. Consequently, Cubans have a very healthy pop
ulation that is also at least 92 percent literate. This is
the envy of American business.
Unless we get a.handle on our situation, the United
States’ position of greatness is doomed. Of course, the
African-American segment of this country will be the
first to hit “bottom” and will ejqjerience the lowest
rung of each demographic. The hurricanes last year
made the Gulf Coast situation even worse. New
Orleans is operating with only two decent hospitals.
Tx> many of us die too soon and suffer too much need
lessly The dire' situation of healthcare in black com
munities has been ignored for too long. We cannot
incubate our own businesses if we cannot have a
workforce that is healthy and physically dependable.
This is our challenge.
Necessity is the breeder of invention and some
entrepreneurs have begun to address this void. One
such innovator is Intrepid Holdings Inc. This
Houston-based firm is traded over the coimter on the
NASDAQ exchange as ITPD. There are fewer than
two dozen Black-owned firms that are publicly trad
ed and Intrepid Holdings Inc. is one of them. The
Healthcare Group division of this company is starting
to put health dinics into urban nei^iborhoods that
will provide affordable 24-hour service to the public.
Instead of going to an emergency room at the local
hospital and waiting hours upon hours, one can walk
into a clinic at the time they desire and get timely ser
vice.
Wonderii^ about your blood pressure, diabetes,
^thma, etc.? Just pay $25 -$40 for tiie service. Get
your prescription needs fulfilled at an a (joining 24-
hour pharmacy Return as many times as you like
and know that your healthcare needs have an alter
native to the ejqjensive, hard-to-access regimen that
all Americans, especially the needy have had to
endure.
These new “Healthy Access” clinics will start open
ing throughout the nation during the fall. The first
clinics wfil open in some Wal-Mart stores in Tfexas,
the Washington, D.C.-area, Delaware, Maryland,
Pennsjivania and \Trginia. They are expected to
grow at the rate of two stores per week within the
Wal-Mart system. Houston will also allow Healthy
Access cfinics within its borders in the near future. All
cities can contact Intrepid Holdings and inquire
about the possibility of clinics being established in
their needy areas. City administrators and health
care executives can simply go to www.intrepidhold-
ings.com for contact information. ■
This is just one good example of the opportunities
that exist in addressing our healthcare crisis. There
are a few other companies attempting to do what
Healthy Access is doing but they are not minority
owned and, perhaps, don’t directly relate to what the
trials in healthcare exactly are for those of us in
urban areas or blighted rural communities.
HARRY C. ALFORD is the President/CEO of the National
Black Chamber of Commerce Website: www.nationalbccr)rg;
e-mail: !nfo@nationalbccarg
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MINUTES LATK3. HE ElTHtR COLIAPSES P0£ TO A
CHRONIC EXHAUSTION OR FALLS ATTWONG A
BZLLVBLAKKd'SlVlE \(\CX. EITHER WAY,
SOMETHING IN HiS PACkT |S NOW MlSALIGNEP
ANP HE LIES MOTIONLESS ON THE GROUND UNTIL
SUNRISE. WHERE HE HAS PEEN FOUND PY THE VERY
GRANDSON WHO FOREWARNED HIM, PUT WHO HAS
FAR TOO MUCH RESPEa FOR HiS ELDERS TO SAY
"I TaO YOU SO." )