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4A EDITORIAL AND OPINION/Cl^arlotte $o0t Thursday, October 5, 2006 Clje Cljarlotte 3^o^t The Voice of the Black Community J 531 Camden Road Charlotte, N.C. 28203 Gerald O. Johnson ceo/publisher Robert L Johnson co-pjblisher/general manager Herbert L White editor in chief OPINION Are illegal alien foes racist? r 1 Sherman Miller It is disquieting to hear arguments on turning a blind eye to illegal immigration because these illegal immigrants are doing jobs that Americans wiU not do. Does this suggest that America clamors for yesteryear’s cheap labor providing a legitimate business rationale for the reincarnation of a modem day ver sion of America’s slavery epoch? A reformed Pennsylvania Yellow Dog Deihocrat chap (who in the past would have voted for Democratic candidates even if they ran a yellow dog) ofiei-ed a compassionate look at illegal immigration. He is a Caucasian college professor, in his middle sixties, who expresses strong feelings on America’s Civil Rights Era. This reformed Yellow Dog Democrat ai^ed that it is okay for illegal immigrants to break American laws because they are coming to this coimtry seeking a better life for their Families He then said that his grandparents were immigrants and he wouldn’t be here if they did not get the chance to come to America. I challenged his assertion on cheiry-picking American laws on immigration. He argued that some laws are good laws and some are bad laws, so he fdt that illegal immigration laws were bad and he did not feel they deseived felo nious status. This professor argued that the plight of today's illegal immigrants is compara ble to African Ameiicans’ yesterday civil ri^ts struggle. He contended that the movement of illegal immigrants today hiding from the law was comparable to yestoday's black slaves escaping on the Underground Railroad. As I listened to this chap make the case on illegal immigrants doing jobs that Americans will not do, I retorted that black Americans didmany of these jobs before the illegal immigrants cjime. Tbdaytlie exploiters are faced with black Americans hav- ir^ mainsti'eam legitimacy so blacks will have to be paid the fair market value for their labor. I argued that American labor has watched many of yesteryeais’ good jobs be exported to low wage coxmtries; however, there are a host of jobs that must be done at home such as domestic work, landscaping, and so on. Hence, 12 million illegal immigrants offer a way to depress wages for many Americans through thefr wiUingnesa to work at Third World rates, which is incarnating a new chattel class. The professor shared that a chap showed up at his house with some workers who appeared to be Hispanic and offered to cut his grass weekly for $30. He agreed. I retorted asking what the fail’ market value of doir^ that job is. The professor said some where between $30 and $80. However, the professor said if he had to pay 80 dollars he would probably cut the grass himself We then turned our attention to the long-term politick impact on the United States of America. Since the nonwhite children of the illegal immigrants bom in the US will be citi zens, this tamiing of Ameiica means a redefinition of who will get to be President. The professor pointed out that whites ai-e not havir^ a lot of childi'en and the illegal immigrants ai’e hav ing many children, so one might expect a long-term shift hi political clout hi this nation. He also argued that this shift in political clout to descendents of illegal immigrants is not solely a US problem because in Emope illegal ahens ai’e supplying many of the Emopean new bhths. As I pondered the professor’s compassion for the illegal humi- gi’ants, I wondei’ed who cares about the many young black native bom citizens that I see standing on the sti*eet comer’s in the hoods across Ameiica with no hope of a better tomoiTow? Is it okay to offer- hopes of a better tomoirow to illegal hnrai- gi-ants while seeing recidivism imdei-pin mai'rying aged Black American males becomhig one of today’s endangei-ed species? Wliat is vei’y disquieting is that in this age of political coirect- ness it is easy to tahit opponents of illegal immigration as racists in the media. However, the real concei’n for our pohtical leadership presently who are bui’yir^ then heads in the sand on the ille gal immigration issue, is tliat massive consternation over ille gal inmugi’ation gi-owing aaoss tire nation could evolve into riots against illegal ahens compar-able to what happened to Black Americans in the ear-ly portion of the Twentieth Centur’y Wikipedia (on hue Arcydopedia) r-epor'ts, “Labor conflict was also used to justify the racially motivated 1917 massaae of hmrdreds of black residents of East St. Louis ■ many of whom were women and childr’en, at the hands of white worker's who resented hving amongst and competing for jobs with black peo ple.” Will history repeat itself in the 21st centm-y? SHICRiS'IAN MIIJJiR is a sviidiculed cohimiiisi in Wihiiiniilon. Del. €0) WM9 IT.., Election Day should be ‘Hammer Time’ Atfter Benjamin L. Cardin, a White Congressman, defeat ed Kweisi Mfume, the former president of1he NAACP and ex-chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Afiican-American pohtidans in Maryland almost stumbled over one another in a mad r’ush to endorse Car'din. Sen. Barack Obama, every one’s flavor of the month, even par’achuted in to endor-se Cardin. He appeared on the scene so quickly that it was more hke they loaded him in a can non and aimed him toward the Baltimore Harbor. The sight of grinning black elected offidals ntshing to endorse a white Demoa-at is a famili ar scene What made this bum-rush so noteworthy was that after- Mfume filed to fin an open Senate seat, the party went out and i-ecruited Cardin to run against him. Wtli limited resources and lacking the suppoi’t of party bosses, Mfume stfll came within 9 percentage points of defeating Cardin. If he had won, Maryland’s Senate race would have featured two Afiican-Ameiicans, guaran teeing that one would be elected to office. I know for a fact that at one point dming the primary, Mfume was so disappointed with the professional Democrats that he contem plated endorsing Steele in the event he lost the primary When he was chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, he demonstrated that kind of courage and boldness. I sus pect that because Cardin is a fiend and former colleague, Mfume decided not to bolt his Party this time. Still, it’s the same old sorry story Blacks get mistreated and after complaining about being taken for granted, they dutifully fine up to pick cot ton. Or, in this case, black votes. I don’t know what gets into black leaders between the time they complain and the time the party selects its white nominee. As someone said about one prominent black leader, “He’s like a ter rorist - all he wants is money and a plane.” It’s time for a change and clearly that change is not going to come from black elected officials who are for ever wedded to their Democratic overseers. The change, if it’s to occur, must come fi-om those not seeking the favor of either party If we are truly tired of being taken for granted by one major party and just plain taken by the other, then it’s time to take a stand. Here’s my modest proposal for my fellow black Marjianders - teach both parties a lesson by voting for the black Republican, Lt. C5ov. Michael Stede. On the issue of affir mative action, Michael Steele is no Clarence Thomas. I dis agree with Steele on most public policy issues. He is a Repubhcan in every sense of the word. But Hke the voting in New Orleans, this is not about one person. It’s larger than that. This is about demanding respect. And I can think of no better way to get the atten tion of both parties than, in this one instance, voting Republican to make a point. Some party leaders may not be able to read and write but they can count. If we do this, everyone will have to do some different kind of figuring. Republicans will have an incentive to court the Black votes and Democrats will have to work in earnest to earn the respect of Afiican- Americans. Blacks make up 29 percent of Maryland’s population. That’s the -fiifth-highest per centage in the coimtry Among registered voters, about one in five Maryland voters is an Ajfrican- American. That, combined with an expected lower turnout in this non-presiden- tial election, means that Afiican-Americans can deter mine who \yins or loses. That’s why we can’t waste this golden opportunity It’s hammer time. It’s time to lower the boom on white and black Democrats who think that it’s okay to disre spect black voters and then expect them to go to the polls in significant numbers on Election Day simply to sup port the Democratic slate. Let’s be clear. I am not advocating supporting all black Republicans running this year — some of them are far worse than the white Democratic alternative. The GrOP, in general, has to pro vide more than compassion ate rhetoric; Republicans need to compile a compas sionate record on social issues. And they are a long way fiom that. The most rec^t NAACP Civil Rights Report Card, issued in February for the 108th Congress, showed that 98 percent of all Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate earned an F. By contrast, only 2 percent of Democrats failed to support dvil rights issues. Voting for hfichael Steele would send shock waves through both major parties. And that’s exactly what we need. Otherwise, two years fix>m now, we’ll still be com plaining about Democrats taking us for granted and Republicans just takir^ us. GEORGE E. CURRY is edilor- in-chief of ihe National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service and BlackPressUSA.com. To contact Curry or to book him for a speak ing engagement, go to his Web site, www.georgecurryeom. Made in China, at America’s expense By Harry C. Alford NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION In his 2002 State of the Union message. President Bush declared that Noi-th Korea, Iran and Iraq consti tuted an “axis of evil” because they were arming to threaten world peace. Later, the Bush administration added Cuba, Libya and Syiia to that “axis,” but not China. Why not? It is China that gives those countries the technology and courage to do what they do. Yet, we won’t approach China about its sin ister actions. Here at home, illegal immi- gi-ation is on the finnt biu’ner. We debate the issue, accuse and thi-eaten all sorts of reac tions to the illegal enta-y into tliis nation. Everything is focused on the U.S.-Mexico boi-der. However, tlie most savage fonn of illegal immi gration is the sex slavery sponsored by Cliina. These slaves ar-e being smuggled into tlie poi'ts of Seattle, Los Angeles, Baltimore, New York and elsewhere. It is barbaric to a-am iimo- cent lives into shipping con tainers, all with the oversi^t and appi-oval of the Cliinese govei-nment. Yet, we don’t scream about this like we should. It is happening daily but the official anti-immigra tion action centei-s around the Mexican border. We have ti-ade debates and confiontations with various nations throughout the world. The recent trade talks at Doha collapsed in total fail ure. The U.S. courts China and wants to consider it for “most favored nation for trade.” The i-eahty is that China is a master pirate and trade thief. No country on . this earth condones patent theft and the violation of intellectual property rights like the military regime of China. From watches to Buicks, you can find U.S. products being “knocked off’ in China and distributed around the world. Even fium the legitimate trade we have more than a $200 billion trade deficit with China. There have be^ many wars started in this world over less than a trade imbalance. And it gets worse. In addi tion to the dirty trading, China falsely props up its money value. The yen is a mystery because this rogue nation uses “smoke and mir rors” to assess its currency value. It is very misleading and can corrupt our money markets around the world. Furthermore, China is buy ing up oxu* debt. It owns 15 percent of the U.S. national debt {U.S. Treasury bonds). This makes them our single largest creditor. They own a piece of our “mortgage” and that is very scary Why are they doing this if not for leverage and advantage and/or blackmail? When you think of an oil crisis, think - and thank — China. Sixty percent of all the new oil bdng produced goes to meet the demand of China. This is reflected at our pump. While environ mentalists resist our drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, China has begun to do it. They have begun pulling natural gas off the coast of our FToridd Keys. Also, they have launched a joint venture with Cuba to begin building oil rigs to pump out the vast reserves off our shorelines. This is bold as you can get. Yet, you don’t hear a “purr” Sum the U.S. The media went ballistic when a small Arab nation was about to take over the management of the Port of Baltimore. StiU, nothing has been said about China taking over the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. What is ev^ more devastating is that China now manages the Panama Canal, which once belonged to us. They are there watching our merchant ships as well as our entire navy This is a serious breach in national security Again, there are no shouts coming fium Congress or tiie White House. China is also busy exploit ing Afiica. For some reason, we are assisting them in that exploitation. The Afiica Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is suppose to promote trade and agri-business between the United States and Afiican nations. However, there is a loophole as big as the Grand Canyon that allows China to substitute its cotton products in place of Afiican cotton products. This has delivered a terrilde blow to the farmers and textile industry of Afiica. What is even more sickening is that the Congressional Black Caucus has supported this action to the benefit of China and detriment of Afiica. Even today members of the CBC are running aroimd Capitol Hfli trying to make this action permanent for the benefit of China. This is insane. China has its mojo working on us and it is a very sad state of affairs. A communist, militarily-run empire with a sordid human rights record and undemocratic system that is totally deplorable. They are the real threat - that’s evil, whether on an axis or not.. HARRY C. ALFORD is presi dent/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. Website: wwwjialionalbccorg.
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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