Coble's a good olv boy
IT should now be clear to a lot of people why Larry Coble
was selected the new superintendent of Forsyth County
schools. Actually it should have been clear to anyone who was
Hhere when all four finalists were presented to the public.
Coble was certainly not the best qualified, neither was he
the most visionary. But he did come across as the most mal
leable.
He grinned a lot and offered a lot of circuitous answers to
some very important questions.
From the beginning it was clear that Coble would fit very
well into the good ol' boy structure. He would not rock the
boat, he would perpetuate the status quo.
He was the one candidate the school board could control
and count on to implement their racist policies in the hiring
and promotion of school administration personnel.
And he's off and running. He started a couple of weeks ago
when he named four white females a$ principals, one replacing
a retiring black male.
\yhen questioned about the move, Coble'said that he
should not be judged on those appointments as there were
more appointments to come. ?
This week Coble assigned four more principals. One is a
"black: male; the other three are whiter So- farTthe Atro-Amen
~~Can community has gained nothing under Coble.
In fact, we're losing a lot. We're losing the most qualified
and talented Afro-American administrator in the school sys
tem.
Although Coble calls the transfer of Dr. Barbara Phillips a
"lateral move," it is in effect a demotion. She is being required
to report to someone whose experience in the school system is
vastly inferior to hers.
Whereas Phillips is currently overseeing community
. schools, information services, school-community relations and
volunteers, under Coble's plan she will be responsible for
guidance, health services, drop out prevention - areas that
don't make the best use of her skills and experience. T
But making use of the skills of Afro-Americans is appar
ently not an interest of Coble's. Under his reorganization plan,
the key decision makers are white males.
Coble's statement that he will not be "held hostage" to
black concerns is interesting in that during the selection pro
cess and in a subsequent interview wnh the Chronicle > he
emphasized his concern about the state of race relations in the
school system.
But Coble is proving to be quite the hypocrite. On
Wednesday morning he invited a member of the white media
to what was supposed to be a closed meeting with central
office staff. When questioned about his neglect of the black
press, Coble called the incident "an oversight."
It was reported that Coble plans to bring an Afro-American
in from outside the system to fill one of his deputy superinten
dent slots. Such a move should be an insult to every Afro
American in this county.
Rather than make use of the homegrown experienced
Afro-Americans that are already in the system, he would be
bringing in a token in an effort to prove his "sincerity."
Coble is anything but "sincere". He has proven with every
move he's made that he intends to keep black educators in
inconsequential positions and that the administration of our
county schools will continue to be handled solely by white
males.
Coble need not be "held hostage" by black concerns, but
the school board's bond referendum can be held hostage until
the new county election plan gives black voters the clout to
remove some of the racists from the system.
Civil, constitutional rights pendulum swings back
To The Editor: | ?
Stand on any comer. Knock on
any door, and ask a black American to
comment on the Reagan years. If a
person happens to live below the
poverty level or is a member of the
working poor, you will hear that they
were the worst of times. If he or she
happens to be a member of the black
middle class, you will hear that they
were not exactly the best of times.
But both groups will readily admit
that we survived.
It has been less than a year since
Ronald Reagan departed the White
House, and already his legacy is
being felt through the federal judicia
ry that he put in place, which shall
remain in place long after he is dead.
In recent weeks, the Reagan Supreme
Court has performed master surgery
on court-ordered civil rights decrees
and court-ordered mandates that have
been in place and working successful
ly for nearly two decades. .
These civil rights rulings were
designed to provide America's blacky
minority access and opportunities
once denied them, as well as to reme
dy past wrongs perpetrated against
this group for generations.
Ronald Reagan came into office .
saying that he was unaware that
America had a race problem, and he
left office declaring that America was
now color blind and the playing field
was level. Anyone who believes this
is either naive or foolish. What we are
witnessing now by the Supreme Court
represents not chance but design on
the part of the conservative right to
turn back the clock - something that
Ronald Reagan could not accomplish
""dufing His eight-year tenure in the
White House. Now he has left it to his
hand-picked jurists to implement his
legacy.
I find it ironic that a huge majori
ty of Americans are infuriated over
the Supreme Court decision concern
I am a graduate student from
the People's Republic of China
where, as everybody knows, a great
tragedy has taken place. As a Chi
nese, i was shocked by the brutal
killings and bloodshed.
I cry for the dead and wounded
students and all the demonstrators
in my hometown. I cry for the oblit
eration of the nationwide patriotic
and pro-democracy movement. I
cry more for the darkening of my
country's future.
No government has been found
so cruel, totalitarian and monocratic ~
as to have killed thousands of bare
handed students and residents call
ing simply for democracy and free
dom. In some way, the killers are
like fascists. The leading killer is
even worse than Hitler, because
Hitler did not kill his own people.
Nevertheless, the practice of
the Communist Party and dictator
ship of this government are not new
to the Chinese people. The case of
my father is a living example. He
had not lived with us for more than
20 years before he was sent to a far
away labor camp in the 1950s. He
was suspected to have joined a non
communist party even before the
Communist Party came into power
in 1949. Our family was torn apart.
He was only allowed to visit us in
Beijing once a year.
I do not know my father. Today
O1H0? FORMS of PESECRATING
WFLfiGMmU ?
mm wp.
rnncs
WlHITm
hiwns
mm.
ITm
ing the desecration of the flag, the
symbol of our democracy for all the
jgeople, yet there's very little hue and
cry when the elementary rights of
some of the people are being whittled
away by that very same Supreme
Court.
Black Americans have fought and
died for the flag (even before they
were considered citizens) and have
remained loyal to that flag in spite of
the fact that their civil rights are still
being curtailed in some instances.
This makes the flag issue" a bit hypo
critical.
Peter Moore Watt
. . VA Medical Center
CHRONICLE MAI LB AG
Our Readers Speak Out
sity family congratulates you and
your staff for the recognitions you
received recently at the National
Newspaper Publishers Association's
convention in New Orleans.
Having walked the hallways of
your building, I know at first hand
that the awards received this month
merely demonstrate that your paper's
high level of excellence has continued
your award-winning ways.
Winston-Salem State University
our campus in order to cover it better.
But I also know that it is the commit
ment to excellence of every person
there, from the front office to the
press room, that maRes your paper
excellent.'.
We also congratulate Chronicle
publisher Ernie Pitt on being elected
the NNPA's second vice president. He
has become an important figure in the
newspaper business, which certainly
speaks well for our city.
Asheville
Congratulations
To The Editor:
The Winston-Salem State Univer
appreciates the coverage we get in
your paper, and we feel proud that we
can pull clippings from a publication
that has been judged by its peers year
after year as one of the best in the
nation. I can personally attest to the
hard work of the people in the news
room who have spent time learning
Again, congratulations, and the
university looks forward to continu
ing its good relationship with "The
Twin City's Award-Winning Weekly."
John Slade
Acting Director
of Public Relations
Seeds of de
mocracy will grow despite tragedy
A. STUDENT S VIEWPOINT
By QING S. WANG
he is still a stranger to me. We do
not have any father-daughter feeling
with each other. It is not because I
do not love him, but because he has
not been living with us almost since
I was born.
No one could count how many
families throughout China have suf
fered the same tragedy. Despite my
own family's suffering, I still had
placed high hopes in my country's
new reform and open-door policy.
Every Chinese person was expect
ing and working for a strong and
prosperous China. However, my
hopes were destroyed by the ruth
less government's massacre of its
own innocent people. This is the
biggest shame for China and great
est disaster for her people.
I was in San Francisco when
the massacre occurred in Beijing.
Nobody could control their anger
and disappointment at the Chinese
government's inhuman action. I par
ticipated in the demonstration con
cert and protest rally in San Francis
co on June 4 and 5. I wrote the two
words "sadness" and "hatred"' on a
white band and put it around my
head. I thought these two words
were the only ones to represent my
feelings at that moment. No one
could blame me for the sharp turn^
ing from showing no interest in the
Communist Party in the past to hat
ing it right now.
Most of the dead and wounded
are students, including those from
my former university. They are
young- and braver and like my
brothers and sisters. They are the
?future of China. Although their
death is a big loss for the Chinese
people, they will always be remem
bered, and their heroic deeds will be
written down in the first chapter of
Chinese history.
I believe the current govern
ment is not going to last long,
because it does not represent its
people. Instead, it murders its peo
ple who demand for their basic
human rights. Everyone knows that
the students' initial demands were
simply for dialogues with the gov
ernment, free press and getting rid
of official corruption. They are rea
sonable by all means.
The killings in China are still
going on. Some student leaders and
other dissidents have been sen
tenced to death. Massive arrests
have started. It's conceivable that
maltreatment, persecution and tor
ture will follow. Obviously, this
power is trying to root out and
smash any vestiges of "capitalist
liberalism and democracy" in order
to solidify its dictatorship, a regime
without humanity and legfchty of
existence.
From phone calls to some
friends in China, I feel that most of
the citizens are afraid of talking or
even thinking of this painful event.
Having grown up in that territory, I
can imagine How fearful they would
be after the witnessing of the dread
ful scene of hundreds and thousands
of students being machine-gunned
down and beaten to death by their
own "People's Army."
But I believe that the seeds of
democracy have been sown in
China, where the blood of the stu
dent martyrs permeates her ground.
A larger-scale movement will even
tually break out. I hope that all the
people in China and the world are
united against this evil government.
I also hope that those compatriots
who are temporarily cheated out by
the massive Chinese government's
propaganda will soon sharpen their
vigilance and join the forces of peo
ple fighting for a free China. I
would make my contribution, how
ever small, to this just cause.
Qing S. Wang is a Chinese
graduate student living in Win
ston-Salem.
<??>-. . .
He should
be retried
because I
don't seem
to think he's
guilty.'
Gwendolyn
Smith
Nora
Love
"I think he
should be
irled again,
^mwhit
I've read, I
don't think
he's guilty."
conviction.
Others have claimed that he
was railroaded and when the state
Supreme Court overturned his con
viction in May, his supporters again
rallied demanding that the murder
charge be dropped.
The state Supreme Court said
Mark
McMIMian
"I don't know
too much
about it. If
evidence
shows that
he needs to
be retried, he
should be. If
not, leave
villi enough
afbne."
CHRONICLE CAMERA
In June 1985 Darryl Eugene
Hunt was convicted of murdering
Deborah B. Sykes, a copy editor
with the now defunct Winston
Salem Sentinel.
Shortly after his conviction,
attorney Larry Little organized the
Darryl Hunt Defense Committee
and many Afro-Americans rallied
in Mr. Hunt's defense.
Churches sponsored bake and
plate sales to raise money to pay
for Mr. Hunt's legal fees.
What many called uncredible
witnesses were major factors in the
state's case leading to Mr. Hunt's
"They ought
to let the
man go. I
dont believe
he's guilty."
prosecutors in Mr. Hunt's case
improperly used hearsay evidence,
particularly that of his then 14
year-old girlfriend.
Presently, District Attorney
Warren Sparrow is trying to decide
whether he will dismiss charges
against Mr. Hunt or retry the case.
Because two prosecutors in the dis- Hunt's case.
trict attorney's office worked with The defense committee has begun
Hunt's defense team, Mr. Sparrow a new fund-raising effort, Mr. Sparrow is
asked the attorney general's office still in the valley of decision, Mr Hunt is
to take the case. serving a 40-year sentence for a 1983
The state attorney general's stabbing and local residents think the
office recently notified Mr. Spar- murder charges against him should be
row that it could not take Mr. dropped.
Herman
Strickland 4
"1 think he
should have
another trial
because it
wasn't fair
the first
time. I think
he wasratt"
roaded."
Scenardo
Douthft