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Page A4 Wmston-Sahtn Chronicle Thursday, July 2, 1987
Winston-Salem Chronicle
-Found* 1974
ERNEST H.PITT
Publisher
NDUBISI EOEMONYE MNNB C SCMATCMAN
Co-Founder ( Managing Editor
i S|MlMnBi
Office Manager Advertising Manager
ft *?CNA?IX PITT m VINSON DBWMRRY|f
i Circulation Manager t ? v f f Production Manager &
EDITORIALS
'It ain't easy'
ELECTEEX officials everywhere can identify with a
familiar Rodney Dangerfield line: "It ain't easy being
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me.
*
Almost daily, whether in the aisles of the local supermarket
or in the aisles of City Hall, public officials are requested
? sometimes demanded - to take sides in battles
between conflicting interests.
Such was the case Monday night when the aldermen
voted unanimously to seek another site for the proposed
transit center, preventing the potential demise of 14
minority businesses located at Fifth and Liberty/Trade
streets, downtown. In this instance we feel they made the
right decision, and we publicly commend them for it.
Not enough can be said, however, about the push-andpull
life of the elected official. Often, they are placed in
the unwelcome position that, no matter what they do, they
are "damned if they do and damned if they don't."
In the highly charged transit center issue, the aldermen
were caught between two forces: the 14 merchants and
their legion of supporters on one side and the threat of
lawsuits from federal judges with unlimited power on the
other. Very few of us would relish facing such a dilemma.
CROSSWINPS
What Others Say
- King Day set J at last
From the Arizona Republic, Phoenix.
IT took Gov. Evan Mecham the better part of six months,
but he finally came to his senses and realized ? as have
so many other Arizonans ~ that slain civil rights leader Dr.
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itxc4.ilin i^uuivi x-v 1115, ji. is vyuiuiy ui spcwiii! recognition.
What precisely caused Mecham to change his mind remains
a mystery, but the burgeoning convention industry
boycott cannot be dismissed as insignificant, ine loss of
$18 million in convention cancellations is not peanuts for a
state dependent on tourists and conventioneers.
Nor can the damage to our image as a progressive state
be discounted. Sharp criticism about our governor and the
resultant embarrassment when he rescinded a King holiday
declared by his predecessor, former Gov. Bruce Babbitt,
has been painful.
Mecham's decision to declare the third Sunday in
January as Martin Luther King Jr.-Civil Rights Day will
not please those advocating a paid state holiday on the
third Monday in January. The issue of paid vs. non-paid
holidays has served to polarize the camps. There's a sense
that King could have compromised for seats in the middle
of the racial bus, but he held out for total equality. A paid
holiday was symbolic of that struggle.
Regrettably, at this time the political reality dictated a
compromise as the only way King could get the recogni
tion he deserves for his lifelong commitment and his
sacrifice so that future generations of Americans, both
black and white, could live in dignity and harmony.
The governor's proclamation likely will defuse the convention
powderkeg. National organizations that once said
they would boycott Arizona over Mecham's rescission of
the King holiday last January may want to rethink their
- actions.in.lieiLat his. recent declaration.
The situation in Arizona, at least among blacks, probably
will change little. A Sunday King-Civil Rights
remembrance will be viewed as half a loaf. That same
belief likely will hold true in the Legislature in the sessions
ahead. Mecham's hope that his act will "remove a major
impediment to cooperation in the legislative process between
partisan legislators" seems to be wishful thinking.
Mecnam's tardy proclamation begs the salient question
of why it took him so long to move unilaterally. It was he,
it will be remembered, who said King was undeserving of a
holiday. He also called the ensuing flap "a non-issue." It
was as if he hoped the issue would evaporate like raindrops
at high noon.
The appropriateness of the governor's proclamation,
which is viewed as tokenism, will not extinguish the public
debate on how best to commemoiute King. The people of
Arizona have a right to expect more than mere gestures
from their elected officials.
ABOUT LETTERS
The Chronicle welcomes letters from its readers, as well
as columns. Letters should be as concise as possible and
typed or printed legibly. They also should include the
name, address and telephone number of the writer"
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Why Micha
TONY BROWN
Syndicated Columnist
NEW YORK -- Going into the
fifth round, the fight for the
"Peoole's ChamDionshin" bet
ween Gerry Cooney and Michael
Spinks, who was bleeding slightly
above the right eye, was dead
even.
After keeping a stiff jab in
Cooney's face and connecting
with combinations in the second
round, Spinks was pounded hard
in the fourth with several jarring
left hooks to his ribs.
Cooney's 30-pound and 5-inch
advantage showed; Spinks was
literally running to keep away
from that awesome left hook that
Cooney had used so well in
previous fights.
1 had gone to my first
neavyweight tight, not because
I'm a fight fan, but to support
Michael Spinks and Butch Lewis,
who had supported my effort to
raise $15,000 to save a Wilmington,
Del., woman's life. The
- $8,000 donated by Spinks and
Lewis sent the drive to buy Cindy
a kidney over the top.
Then there was the matter of
Lewis and Spinks singlehandedly
forcing whites in boxing to stop
Companies
NEW YORK -- Corporate
America must go beyond equal
employment hiring to groom
young black managers for line
positions and career ladders that
lead to the top.
Part of the problem is that
companies are locked into
"credentialism" -- abstract
criteria that are not job-related
and do not predict jobsuccess.
Corporations have to look at
people, not at culture-bound
credentials. When they do, they
get outstanding performers.
Too few corporations are willing
to bring promising black
managers along in a succession of
increasingly responsible"line jobs
and then put them in a vice president's
chair. Instead, they cry
&bout the "limited pool" of
blacks for managerial jobs.
The problem is worsened by
corporate restructuring that
reduces opportunities for promotions,
leading some of our most
talented middle managers to hit a
career plateau.
A related problem is the proliferation
of covert. barriers to
black advancement.
This is the skeleton in the corporate
closet. It's something no
one talks about. It's something
few will admit to. But it's there.
And it effectively sabotages even
the most sincere corporate affirmative
action directives.
Companies need institutionalized
mechanisms to insure
that equal opportunity policies
operate throughout each company
and in all aspects of
business interactions.
In most corporations today,
blacks with the proper skills,
credentials and, attitudes can get
r r
tel Spinks is
doing business with South
Africa's apartheid boxing
establishment and exposing other
blacks in boxing who were going
along.
So Spinks was mv champion,,
not Mike Tyson who has yet to
identify himseif as anything other
than a boxer.
"Afterward, instead of talk
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talked of his taking the fighi
But at the top of the fifth, my
champion looked like he was
nearing the end of his boxing life.
I was reminded of Cooney's
manager's words: "I got news for
Michael Spinks*. When he tries to
fight from outside, he's gonna
get hit in?*the face with the best
left jab in boxing."
He added, "Let's face it, most
people are coming here to see
Gerry Cooney knock out Michael
Spinks."
Don Johnson ("Miami Vice"),
the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Mike
Tyson, all seated in my section,
were as tense as I was when both
fichters an^wptpH h#?ll fV?r tV??
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fifth round.
Midway, Spinks' looping right
hand beat what could have been
s must go il
TO Bi EQUAL
By JOHN JACOB
ahead. They'll face some lowlevel
harassment at times. There
may be a double standard for
'^petforrnance. There may be a
subtle ceiling to their progress.
But none of that is very new.
Blacks have always hacLto be bet
vfty
ter than anyone else, have always
faced- racial bigotry and have
always been held to 3 double
standard that says a black who
ncu mauv 11 iu a maiia^ci tai puM
is doing pretty well, even though
his white counterpart is sitting in
a vice president's chair.
The difference today is that
there is a critical mass of bright,
capable young black managers
who are advancing to operational
jobs that have bottom-line impact.
The best companies want to
keep them happy. And the new
breed of black managers has options
- they can either stay in
Corporate America or go on their
own.
We are all impatient for more
change and faster change, but
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; my champ
Cooney's best punch of the night
to the target. Spinks then stepped
inside and snapped Cooney's
head back with a jolting right
hand.
The 6-7. 21Qrpounder \ legs
-buckled undfrtheBarrage that
followed. With 9 seconds left, the
referee showed Cooney some
of Spinks' lack of guts, they
ead of his alleged fear, they
r to Cooney."
mercy by stopping it all. And
there 1 was, standing on my chair
and screaming my delight.
Afterward, instead of talk of
Spinks' lack of guts, they bragged
of his courage; instead of his
alleged fear, they talked of his
taking the fight to Cooney.
The next day, the most cynical
of sportswriters admitted that
Spinks was the smartest boxer in
the world.
I knew that when he opposed
apartheid and helped us save Cindy's
life.
Tony Brown is a syndicated
columnist and television
host, whose series, "Tony
Brown's Journal," can be
seen Saturdays at 1:30 locally
on channels 4 and 26.
: one better
there are hopeful signs that we
may be on the brink of some real
breakthroughs in Corporate
America.
It is in Corporate America's
best interests to advance and retain
black and minority
managers. Today performance,
not race, is becoming the major
factor.
But both blacks and whites
mu$t keep up the pressure to win
equal treatment and a fair shot at
the height of corporate power. As
Tom Shropshire, who recently
iotired as senior vice president of
\ ! Illpr HrPIUir"> rt Ana rtf ~
t 111 v I w i v lll^f KJII w v/i uit II1U51
;?o\verful jobs held by a black
man in corporate America, says:
"It's up to us as black people
to keep up the pressure on those
corporations and not let up for a
minute because our fight is by no
means over. We've got to make
them understand that we're not
going to accept being pushed in
the background anymore."
John E. Jacob is president of
the National Urban League.
VERNON ROBINSON
On meeting
the challenge
Historically black colleges and
universities, or HBCUs, are
among the most precious
resources in our community.
But I wonder whether we are
supportive enough of them?
HBCUs must create a healthy
working environment for their
employees, develop human
capital and strengthen their
governing boards of visitors or
trustees. It is vital that the public
subject these institutions to
scrutiny, review and, when
necessary, agitation to insure that
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The history of these institutions
is replete with tales of ironwilled
administrators who built.
their institutions brick by brick
and were equally tough on
students and faculty. Their
mangement style could be summed
up as: "Spare the rod, spoil
the faculty."
'If- this " Theory X"
authoritarian management style
was ever appropriate^ 4t is no?
Jonger so. We are at the daw^ of
, the information age, one in which
r^wea4lh. is.-a function of. innovation,
creativity and risk-taking.
' Such an environment is impossible
to achieve when the dominant
culture is one of fear and standard
operating procedure. Unfortunately.
this is the culture of
far too many HBCUs.
You may wonder, "Why is this
creativity stuff so important?
There's no creativity on the line
where I work."
The importance for both
manufacturing and education of
innovation and creativity is overriding.
Even more so for the
university, as it is. the original
information-based institution. It
makes no sense to run one as an
intellectual sweatshop.
UNC President C.D. Spangler
was absolutely right in firing
Fayetteville State Chancellor
Charles Lyons. Lyons created an
environment of personality cult, j
fear and intimidation that robbed
the university of the wealth of
human capital as surely as if a
?bandit had taken it from the till.
HBCUs must cut through the
endless layers of approval that
crush creativity and risk-taking.
The public must inquire and
forcefully protest when the layers
of administration that poison the
well of innovation are added to
HBCUS, as was recently done to
Winston-Salem State University.
Unlike the days of old, where
wealth was measured in terms of
land, physical plant, sculpture
gardens and endowments, wealth
in the era of human capital is a - .
function of innovation, creativity
and knowledge. For the first time
in history, HBCUs meet their
white-college colleagues on a
level field in terms of the potential
to develop this new kind of
renewable capital.
The public must insure that the
"X". administrators are swept
| away and that their replacements
reward innovation and invest in
developing human capital.
Finally, we must do a better
job of scrutinizing those to be
. ? ? * - *
^iav.bu vj11 mc governing ooards.
Alt"too often, these jobs are given
like some merit badge for 40
years of community service.
HBCUs which fall prey to this
trap will not survive this riptide
of dynamism which figures prominently
in their immediate
future.
We need strong swimmers -those
with intellect, creativity, vision,
commitment and access to
the resources to implement that
vision. We cannot afford those
who tread water or those who
should be kept in wading pools.
Witfc L1I
" u. iwgcuu IU puuilC nDLUS,
the governor must realize that for
a community that thrives or
perishes based on education,
these appointments are the most
important that he will make.
Anyone who seeks to remain in
or move into the governor's mansion,
and fails to appoint the
strong swimmer, will not and
should not get the support of the
black electorate.
Vernon L. Robinson Is chair- '
man of the 21st Century PAC
of North Carolina.
t
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