Page 4, AC Phoenix, September 1989
PHOENIX OPINIONS-EDITORIALS
Where have our black heroes gone?
lousands are
massing in Winston-
Salem to witness the
annual rivalry between
N.C. A&T State Univer
sity and Winston-Salem
State University. As the
game and its associated
activities get underway,
there's just one re
minder.
In the final analysis
this grudge match is
only a game. Going
overboard and taking
things too seriously is
counterproductive. No
matter which team wins,
the economic outcome
for the black community
and both universities
makes the game a 'Vvin-
win" proposition for ev
eryone.
Considering the dol
lars generated by the
Aggies-Rams matchup,
it's a shame that only
this game and the
schools' respective
homecoming generate
the bulk of the money
from each school's
sports seasons. The
avid support and school
spirit shown now should
continue year-round to
bolster the funding at
both A&T and WSSU.
Although both
schools will be winners
economically,
confidentially, as a 1964
graduate of A & T, my
cheers will be for Coach
Bill Hayes and the
mighty, mighty Aggies!
Phoenix
Th« AC Phoenix is published
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N.C. 27105. The phone number
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lisher.
Being a hero-that
paragon of virtue every
one adores-has always
been a tough act to pull
off. And nowadays, with
so many of the people
we tend to idolize
crashing around us,
being a hero is just thaf-
an act.
It's our thirst to find
that one person who
epitomizes all or at least
most of what we want to
be and have in life that
causes to put that per
son on a pedestal.
Some psychologisls say
we yearn for heroes be
cause we lack individual,
personal role models.
There's something to
be said for the good old
days when a special
teacher, a local scout
leader, a minister, or a
sports figure was our
hero. When we grew
up, we wanted to be just
like our hero or wanted
our children to be. For
some perverse reason
after a time our parents
cease to be our heroes
even though, nine
times out of ten, we
grow up to be like them.
But, times change
and with change has
come a sort of national
frenzy to know all we
could ever want to know
about our heroes. The
more prominent that
person, the more we
dig. The more we dig,
the nrare we expose the
vulnerable spots. And
when our golden idol
reveals feet of clay, we
either recoil in horror
and topple said hero
from the pedestal or
cling to our picture of
perfection with a "say it
ain't so" attitude.
Over the past tew
years, a lot of heroes are
stumbling or just plain
falling from grace. The
issue raised, however,
is whether or not it
makes a difference to
the hero-worshippers.
The people we make
our heroes are generally
a good indication of
where our values are as
individuals and, in some
cases, as a community
because for many
youth, a sports scholar
Consider the recur
ring problems of New
EDITORIAL
By Patricia Smith-Deering
Phoenix Managing Editor
and a natton. Those val
ues have tended to
change with the times.
The danger is that what
our heroes do (and
sometimes get away
with doing) has serious
impact on how impres
sionable youth re
spond.
Sports figures tend to
be high on the list of
heroes in the black
community. So many
young blacks strive to
emulate prominent
football, baseball, or
basketball celebrities
ship and career repre
sent their ticket out of
the lower-income level
into the heady high-in
come world.
As we look up to and
admire these athlete-
heroes, we also love
their lives vicariously.
We share their lifestyles.
But, something is
wrong. Without the
guidance and direction
that instills a deep
sense of pride and high
moral and ethical values,
the price of fame could
well lead to shame.
York Giants' All-Pro
linebacker, Lawrence
Taylor, and his struggles
with alcohol and drugs.
The fall was quick for
Ben Johnson, the black
track star who was
stripped of his gold
medal at the 1988
Summer Olympics be
cause he tested posi
tive for steroids.
Remember David
Thompson, at his time
the highest paid bas
ketball superstar? He
Sea Heroes on next page
Smoozing Voters at the WSSU-A&T Classic
Above all, politicians-
particularly those up for
reelection-need and
want to be seen. They
want to be seen in the
right places. You know,
where a lot of likely vot
ers can be found all at
one time.
i'ii bet you even
money that the smart
candidates who need to
be seen by a lot of likely
voters will be smoozing
the crowd at the up
coming annual WSSU-
N.C. A&T football clas
sic.
Studies by the Joint
Center for Political
Studies and other D.C.-
based think tanks have
confirmed that the
group with the highest
percentage of voter
participation in both lo
cal and national elec
tions, is the Black mid
dle class. Those are
precisely the people
who'll be sitting on the
wooden planks rooting
for State or the Aggies-
voters; Black voters.
office," the loud
speaker blurts, "You
seum in Los Angeles.
Stalking through the
VIEWPOINT
By Dennis Schatzman
Phoenix Staff Writer
I ne smart candidate
will be there pressing
the flesh and wearing
the right colors. So
there might only be
20,000 people there,
you say, hardly enough
to make a significant
dent in any local elec
tion.
I beg to differ. More
than likely, many of
those 20,000 people
will tell their friends (also
middle class) which
politicians were there,
especially if one of them
tries the old urgent
phone call ploy: "Will Al
derman Larry Womble
please come to the main
have an urgent phone
call." That one is always
an attention grabber
and allows the candi
date to gracefully leave
the game and go
somewhere else.
Black college football
contests have always
been good stomping
grounds for political
candidates. White
elected officials in
Memphis were regular
patrons to Black college
games as far back as the
I940's. Just last week,
the Grambling-Alcorn A
& M classic played be
fore 45,000 in the Coli-
crowd were hoards of
local politicos, including
the embattled Mayor
Tom Bradley, according
to Francine Greer a local
spectator from
Pasadena.
Similarly, over 10,000
patrons attended the
Howard-Univ. of D.C.
showdown. So did all of
the D.C. mayoral candi
dates, including hiz-
zoner, Marion Barry
himself.
In Winston-Salem
there is a mayor's race
and several local aider-
men's races coming up
soon. In each race, the
Black vote will be the
deciding factor. Sensi
ble candidates will do all
they can do to hone in
on targetted groups of
likely Black voters. This
means visiting certain
churches, attending
various annual social
functions where these
stable groups congre
gate. By "stable" I mean
those persons with
permanent homes, reg
ular jobs. Conventional
wisdom has it that peo
ple in public housing are
far too highly unem
ployed and transient to
fall into this category.
Therefore, it makes
perfectly good sense
that campaigners "go
where the ducks are."
Those are the people
most likely to vote on
election day.
Bet your bottom dollar
that a lot of those voters
will be yelling and
screaming at the big
, game,