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Editorial and Opinion Page ""B-? I % A f I I by Dr. D?aa Chivtri, Prwldcoi I he Way I See It Positive Changes in my Life There have been lour events in my life which changed nic for ihc bcllcr (I won't mention the negative influences.) A couple of the changes were carlhshaking for inc.) My besi friend says 1 am the most aggrcssi\ c person he ever met That's not true, there is at least one other person who is more aggressive than 1 ant. I am also not \cr> sensitise to other people, and used to be a perfectionist I am also a workaholic To top olT the list. I am a poor listener I had gone through life not thinking much about myself or my personaim until I read an article in Newsweek about the children ofalcoholics This cover story in about ll)79 hit home to me as nothing I had ever read before had done It told how these children arc control freaks This is especially true of the oldest children in alcoholic families. I am the oldest of sis children The oldest ftcqucullv have to take >:..rc of voimgc siblings, sometimes lieu they arc no older than five or sis v cars old They get all kinds of other responsibilities My father was a confirmed alcoholic I he fi rsl yea rsot my life He then went on the wagon and ncvci took another drink He knew it would hav e killed linn Encysted tuberculosis did kill hi n i when I was IX He had abused his body with alcohol, cigarettes, and bad diet for too many years The negative consequences of this need to control arc spouses who want to kill you friends who think yon arc cra/.y. aiidco-uorkerswhosnyyouarc .(Iris ing tlieiu nuts The day I read the article I started trying todeal with this need to control Hut it still bothers me If I misplace my kc>s. or lose something. 1 sometimes still come unglucd It could be a file at work, and it will drive me crazy until we can find it and put it back where it belongs Most of the time now 1 try to deal w ith this need to control by not letting other people know about it The second thing which changed me was a glass or milk A couple of years aficr 1 had the Newsweek experience. 1 olTcrcd my wife Toni a glass of milk one da> By this time we had been married for ovcrtcn years?time enough for me to get to know her. one would think "You know 1 can't drink milk." she responded "I've been telling you all these years I can't drink niilk I'm lactose intolerant" That hit nic like a ton of bricks Only Godknovvswhy she stayed with mcall those years 1 was so insensitive that I didn't know she couldn't drink milk That has to make me eligible for some sort of pii/c-thc biggest lout the most insensitive husband in history. or the woild's lousiest listener etc Immediately 1 started working on trying to become a better listener I am still bad. but back then I was horrible I bought an audio tape "How to Listen" and played it several times, making notes (as I learned to do in college) I still need to do a lolofworkon developing my listening skills just to reach the level of "poor" But I'm working on it I learned later that listcningis uhat vvcdoX5%ofthe time Thcoihcr 15% we spend reading, speaking, and writing Listening is the only one we do not teach in school Many of us really need it The third event was one which set m> path toward my present goal It was a job announcement form UCLA for a person to teach Indian education policy When I read the announcement. in 1986.1 thought someone had read m> resume and written a job description to fit it I applied and held my breath. But I did not make the cut and never got interv iewed Three people were interviewed, one was ofTcrcd the position, and at the last minute turned it down I was told by inside sources later that I had no chance for the position because 1 was a Lumbcc A year or two later the university took the position back, and gave it to another department So we still have no professorship in the U S which teaches Indian education policy, unfortunately Once I realized that I would never be able to get such a faculty position anywhere in the U.S.. I decided to strike out on my ow n Six of us founded the Native American Scholarship Fund(NASF) We arc building N ASF into a national Indian scholarship agency, an organization which also helps schools on reservations to improve We plan to send thousands of I udian students on to college and help them be as successful in life as they can be I was still charging hard until a few weeks ago 1 got a speeding ticket on the Navajo Reservation I had had lunch w ith the Superintendent of the Chinlc School District. Dr TcdFadlcr. had met w ith some people at the high school and some others at the primary school, and started charging down to Ganado 40 miles south to try to catch some people there before school was out Thai's the way 1 have always worked II was nol enough for nic to be teaching college, going to graduate school, and pulling dut> in the Reserves on the weekends 1 also had to be helping Indian tribes and organizations write grant proposals 1 ha\c always been burning the candle at both ends. Ten miles south of Chinlc 1 lopped a hill and met a deputy coming the other way. It was a 55 m p h. zone, and he clocked me at 70. I pulled over immediate, and thanked him for the ticket Deputy ShcrilTB M. Bclman(l think that's what his signature said) never realized that I reallv meant m\ "thank you" But I did At my advanced age I have to slow down I have to do less focus on the important things, and let the rest go That may be the hardest thing! have yet to learn But I'm going to work on it I still remember a beautiful faculty member at Baconc College when 1 was President there in 19X0 asking me "Why don't you slow down? You're already at the lop. so you don't have to try so hard any more " I didn't listen to her until a few weeks ago. I could hear Iter v oicc vv hen the deputy w as vv riling out my ticket Iwill listen to her now Shcwasthconly faculty member there who had the nerve to tell me that I wish some others had I'll always be the child of an alcoholic But i can try to soften around the edges, and let somethings go l ean learn to listen if I try hard enough I can learn at least a liilIc bit how not to be a perfectionist. And I can learn to slow down if I try for a few more decades political Empowerment Speech Given by Public Defender at African American Summit Angus B. Thompson II, the Public Defender for Robeson County, presented this speech to the Summit tofocus on issues which face African Americans in Robeson County: I want to congratulate the organizers of this Summit for bringing into fucus issues which face African Americans in Robeson County . Thank you for providing a forum for the much needed dialog to set a Black Agenda for the 21st Century . In setting this agenda. I encourage you, my brothers and sisters, to always take the moral high ground. In whatever we say or do here today and hereafter, let's be honest and let's be fair. Let's be slow to accuse unless we are willing and able to substantiate our accusations. Let's be critical of ourselves in areas where we have blundered; let's me more resolute in those matters where there has been a lack of commitment. Unfortunately, there is no time to bask in our accomplishments. There is so much work to do, so many young lives to touch and save, so many obstacles to overcome. Remember that the struggle is not for the weak or fainthearted, but for the committed and the eternally vigilant. Before I make some suggestions of items which I feel ought to be included on the agenda for political empowerment of African Americans, I would like to discuss the concept of "political empowerment." The American Heritage Dictionary (Second College Edition) defines the term political as "pertaining or dealing with the study, structure, affairs or government, politics, or the state; or having a definite or organized policy which resembles or is characteristic of the state or political parties." It also defines empower as "to invest vyith legal authority." However. I want to suggest to you that the concept of "legal authority" implies the legitimacy of that authority. Legal authority must be authentic, credible, and Sustainable if it is to keep its legitimacy. The nroblem with "legal author ity" is that even though it may be invested in a person or an institution, individuals and institutions sometimes loose their legitimacy. For example, this is an African American Summit sponsored by the Robeson CountyBlack Caucus. The Black Caucus was founded and exists to represent the collective interests of African Americans in Robeson County. And that's one hell of a task, for this organization to try to represent the collective interests of Black people in this county. There are three major reasons why it is such a difficult task. First, the Black Caucus is not the only organization in this county which purports to represent the interests of African Americans. There are several organizations, often competing to represent and speak for the African American community. Second, the interests of African Americans can no longer be viewed as monolithic. Increasingly, there is more and more diversity even within the African American community. Our collective social, economic, and political interests can no longer be indexed to the single issue of race. Now, issues evolve from both race and economic interest, which complicates our ability to define, prioritize, and homogenize our interest into a common agenda. The third reason it is difficult to represent the collective interest of African Americans is more academic. Our failure as individuals to participate on a meaningful level within our organizations, such as the Black Caucus. affects the legitimacy of the organization and the credibility of our leadership to speak and act on behalf of African Americans. Empowering someone (to invest with legal authority) to speak or act is not synonymous with legitimacy. Neither does the name of an organization purporting to represent a group necessarily confer legitimacy. One may be the King of a kingdom, but a pompous King who owns no arm and wears no c lothes will soon loose his legitimacy, and eventually his kingdom. An organization may have a fearless leader, but if its members are disorganized, the organization looses credibility. Political empowerment of African Americans to me means, investing some authority in African Americans which allows them to participate on the policy-making and management level of government. Authority is power, and power is the ability to influence. Any agenda that we set for political empowerment then, should focus on developing a strategy which will promote the advancement of African Americans to positions where they can influence policy, manage the affairs of government, and politics. Again, we must take the moral high ground. Our purpose and our goal should be to enhance our status and seek inclusion, to promote diversity; not to unfairly, hurt, punish, and exclude others. As long as we are just and fair, we will have the moral fortitude to push our agenda, while other fair-minded Native Americans, Caucasians, Hispanics, Asians, and others will respect and support it also., In closing, I would like to mention a few suggestions which I believe will foster political empowerment of African Americans in Robeson County, and which should be considered in deciding an agenda. 1. We must develop a comprehensive year round voter registration and voter turnout program. "A voteless people are a hopeless people." 2. Remember that "all politics are local." We must organize on the precinct level. Identify African Americans who are members of a political party, encourage them to, learn party rules and to run for local precinct offices. 3. There are literally hundreds of local boards and commissions whose members are appointed rather than elective. However, many of these local boards and commissions are more than advisory. They have real authority to set policy, budget money, and hire personnel. We should never underestimate the importance of nonelectoral politics. 4. We need to re-establish an independent African American owned newspaper which serves primarily Robeson County. We must have some control over the editorial pen, which decides what is and is not newsworthy. 1 believe that the print media is the necessary medium to keep us focused and informed of the progress we make in implementing any agenda. 5. It is better to build multi-level coalitions around socio-economic and political interest rather than on race. African Americans simply don't have the numbers in Robeson County to win race baiting campaigns, which advocate voting for a candidate primarily because of his race. We can never overcome the nagging race issue unless we conduct well financed, issue oriented campaigns with credible candidates who enjoy broadbased support. No African American can win a county wide race in Robeson County by totally writing off any one race. 6. Politics is an expensive game to play. African Americans must be willing to pay to play. We have got to stop running African American candidates of our choice on the financial coat tails of others' campaigns. 1 get tired of Native Americans and whites telling me that they owe us nothing because they already paid us for our support. 7. We need to set goals, priorities, and time tables for whatever agenda we set. 8. We must find some way to encourage our youth who attend institutions of higher learning to return to Robeson County. This means that we must have jobs available in their area^of speciality, and some system of support which makes it attractive to come back home. Retention of our talented tenth would increase our pool of potential political leadership. 9. The presence of a majority owned African American Bank or other major financial institution would enable us to put our money in our own pockets. Economic empowerment is essential to political empowerment. Again, 1 want to thank our president, Thomas Jones, and other officers of the Black Caucus for providing this much needed summit today, March 21. The struggle continues! In Loving Memory of Angelo Lowry August 1955-June 1975 Someone Special This is to someone special, someone who greatly influenced me through the years and I've never forgotten. We've all had friends to come and go, from childhood to those teenage years, right up until today, but this was someone special. It's been over twenty three years since you've been gone. Not a day passes without you walking through my mind. You taught me so much in such a short time. To speak of all that you taught me, where do I being? You showed me how to smile even through pain. You showed me nothing lost is noting gained. I can still see your smile as we walked many a mile. Never complaining what life handed you as you smiled. Angelo, others may have forgotten you, but not me. We were closer than cousins or best friends could be. We talked about our future and how it would be. I was to be best man at your wedding. And you were to be at mine. And our families would have to learn to put up with one another, 'cause we did. We made a promise to each other that nothing or no one would ever come between us because we were friends. Not distance, nor time would destroy our friendship. But in June of 1975 you future was cut short. In less than twenty years, you were gone forever. 1 look back at it now and it's like a bad dream. You loved your life and you touched so many people. I thought you would live forever. How was anyone to know? I'll never forget the last conversation we had. You were tired and wanted to come home. I told you that if you fe'.t the same in the morning to get on a bus and 1 would pick you up whenever. If I had known that was the last time we would have talked, I would have said so much more, my friend. You were always telling me to do my best. You really encouraged me that life is what we make of it, and w e must give it our best. Since you've been gone, I've tried to carry on just like you. Sometimes it is hard to smile when the world turns against you. Just like you, 1 try to bring joy to others, no matter where 1 go. As you said, "Leave them with a smile, if that's all you have." Angelo, my life has taken me many a mile and I've tried to leave them all with a smile. But you did it which such style! As 1 go through life I try to remember all that you showed me and live my life with the style that you did so easy. Every now and then I go by a place where we hung out. And I think of what was and what will never be. 1 still hold my head up and carry on because 1 know that is what you would have done, ifl.weregone. It'sjustthat every now and then 1 expect to see you right around the next comer, especially this time of year. I've never been able to find another friend like you and maybe I'm not suppose to. Maybe I should be glad 1 had a friend. I've seen and done many things I never thought I would. But I can't help from thinking about my friend, Angelo. I can hear you saying, if I live right there will be a great celebration in heaven when we are all together and never have to say good by to anyone again. But you were someone special and so much more, you were my best friend I called "Ange." by Derek Lowry Reflections by Alta Nye Oxendine DONNY Sunday, June 14, was Flag Day. But to me it was a reminder of the morning 38 years before when my first baby entered the world. Because Donald Ray seemed like a big name for such a little boy, 1 decided to call him Donny. To my surprise, everyone else did the same. He lived a little over two decades. Even as he was turning 20, he still preferred to be called donny. It's hard to believe that he would have turned 38 on Sunday! Even though my son-in-law was preaching at Branch St UMC, I chose to attend First Methodist, which holds so many memories of our Oxendine family. James Locklear, whose Christian life and witness always inspire me, was thelay speaker there. He, in his message, and I during the earlier sharing time, expressed appreciation for the love we have found at First Methodist. Have you been fired or laid off from your job? Have you been denied unemployment benefits? Before you go to a hearing before an appeals referee on your own, contact: Lumbee River Legal Services, Inc. e^ 'juL. E. Main & 2nd St. Pembroke, NC (910)521-2831 or Toll Free 1-800-554-7852 All Services Free of Charge to Eligible Applicants "Serving Low Income Families in Cumberland, Hoke, Robeson and Scotland counties since 1978" V / PROGRESSIVE SAVINGS & LOAN, LTD. IS minimum balance if Nn cH^CKinG account * for Checking^J * This S100 Minimum Balance Checking Account Allows You To Write Checks WITHOUT A SERVICE CHARGE As Long As The Balance Does No? Fall Below $100.00. If The Balance Does Fall below $100.00, A $6.00 Monthly Charge And 300 Per Check Is Necessary. This Account Does Not Pay Interest DEPOSITS FEDERALLY INSURED TO $106,000.00 SiitKldnli.il Penally For tarty Withdrawal Rale Subject To Change Without Notice PROGRESSIVE SAVINGS & LOAN, LTD. 90$ N. Cheemut 4400 PayftUvTDe Rati TSO Harria At?i? 410 B. 3r4 Street l/emftprtonN. C. Lomberton, N.C. fUeforJ.N.C Pembroke, N. C 7341474 734 141* 478 1444 . 891-4300 * * . -AC v You hope no one in your family will ever need CPR. We hope you're right. 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The Carolina Indian Voice (Pembroke, N.C.)
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