U.S. Senate holds hearings on
problems of young black males
With thousands of black soldiers
returning from war in the Persian
Gulf, a U.S. Senate Committee shift
ed national focus to the "tragic plight
and alarming crisis facirig young
approaches for solving the complex
problems affecting young black
males in this country.
Committee Chairman Senator
Donald W. Riegle Jr. (D-Mich.) said,
As the lead-off witness, Gov. L.
Douglas Wilder of Virginia said, "It
is ironic that a great many of the
same men and women who served
this nation so valiantly in our efforts
I _ s
Key participants In the Senate hearing were (l-r): Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder; Sen. Donald W.
Riegle (D-Mlch.); Dr. Dorothy Height, president, National Council of Negro Woman; and Sen.
Terry Sanford (D-N.C.). - ,
black males in American urban cities.
The Sehate Banking, Housing
and Urban Affairs Committee invited
a number of black policy makers to
participate in a unique hearing to con
sider new policy initiatives and
in convening the roundtable hearing,
' "Young black men today face prob
lems that stack the odds against them.
We cannot stand by while so many
Americans fall behind. Our challenge
is to work together to find solutions."
to free Kuwait . . will be returning to
this country only to be caught in the
cross-fire of another war, one which
rages even as 1 speak, in streets
across this nation. It's a war in which
all too often black Americans are vie
Peace Corps
Continued from page A4
iwi language, the Peace Corps has
established an impressive record of
meeting very human needs. Volun
teers work on health and nutrition
programs in communities; food pro
duction and fishery pond maintc
t .nance on farms; math, science, and
English skills in the schools; and
* 'energy and conservation projects
? under trees.
To the 123,000 Americans who
have served in the Peace Corps over
the past 30 years, the Washington,
D7C. Recruiting Office honors you
and your work overseas.
Sincerely^
Rachel Maleh
Public Affairs Specialist
Peace Corp of the
United States
Driver's Ed?
To the Editor:
, During the current General
Assembly Session (1991) our legis
lators in Raleigh are debating a crit- .
ical issue which is vital to all youth
and parents of our state. The issue
in question is who should teach our
youth driver education, the com
mercial schools or the public
schools. Even in terms of dollars
and cents, this is a debatable ques
tion. However, it is crystal clear that
if driver education is relegated to
commercial schools, the quality of
the program would be greatly
reduced. .
For the sake of brevity, let's
compare teachers and support facili
ties of the two respective schools
(commercial and public). The com
mercial schools will draw their
teachers from a populace of retired
truck drivers and retired taxi
drivers. Commercial teachers are
not required to go through the rigor
ous education preparation and state
certification evaluations which arc
teachers. Also, public school teach
ers arc evaluated for their emotional
and ethical stability which arc
added safeguards for the students.
The in -car/classroom on wheels
phase of driver education some
times becomes a onc-on-onc, mean
ing one teacher with one student
because of an unpredicted absence
of a classmate.
Driver education, like other
courses, needs the cooperation and
support systems which public
schools have available. The support
systems include personnel and facil
ities. One example, some fifteen
year old girls arc terrified in the
early stages of learning to drive a
car - the counselor is a valuable
professional to assist the child in
overcoming fear. Microscopes,
video tape players, psychophysical
testing devices and the various
school laboratories arc essential in
preparation of tomorrow's society to
cope in a high-tech world. When
driver education* is administered
from an academic perspective, it
also becomes a catalyst for achieve
ment in other subject areas, r
Commercial schools will not be
able to provide the aforementioned
facilities for students' educational
development nor arc their teachers
qualified to utilize them. Remem
ber, the bottom line for commercial
schools is profit; the bottom line for
our public schools is education.
Dr. Isaac Barnett,
Professor (Ret.)
Safety and Driver Education
N.C. A&T State University
A wish
To the Editor:
If I Had A Wish
11 I had a wish my wish would
be for ihcrc to be more love in the
world. The word itself is not hard to
relate to.
I have parents and a family that
I love, and they love me.
It is so many people who seem
lo-have forgotten what the word
means.
If it were more love in the
world, the world would be a better
place to live. - . ?
Violence
Continued from page A5
registration was about to expire.
That's not a misprint. It hadn't
expired. It was about to expire.
And local minorities have a
fund of stories about police abuses,
some of which have been translated
into lawsuits that have cost the city
millions of dollars.
The obvious conclusion is that
racists in uniform routinely harass
minority citizens, seize on stereo
types to justify their actions, and
use force more readily against
blacks and Hispanics.
In the King case, a citizen cap
tured it all on videotape. But what
would have happened is he hadn't
been there with his camera?
Most likely, the same thing that
happens all the time: the violators
would get off scot free, their false
reports would be accepted without
question, and the victim would be
just another statistic.
But let's not make the mistake
of thinking this is jug .1 lo-ayg^
wf ctC , Fi o^cjucs
tionable force by police officers
have risen sharply in recent years.
Those incidents often cut
across racial lines, but the typical
pattern is white officers beating
blacks.
The usual explanation is that
the victim was resisting arrest or
otherwise provoking force, but the
reality is that very often officers
allow racial feelings to overcome
their professional responsibilities.
Black communities around the
country arc being denied adequate
police protection and citizens are
afraid of the people who arc paid to
protect them.
Decent, hardworking law
enforcement officers arc smeared
by the acts of fellow officers who
think their badges give them the
right to harass citizens and translate
* racist feelings into violence.
Some police departments have
strict rules on the use of force, train
officers to recognize and overcome
and stress respect for citizens. Air
should.
You can have money, clothes,
shoes, jewelry, or a big house, bui
without love your life is empty.
Some people show love in dif
ferent ways, but others don't show it
at all.
Just because some people don't
show love it doesn't mean that they
don't love someone.
Sometimes when you are down
and out just say to yourself 1 know
someone loves me and maybe you'll
feel better.
God put us here to love each
other not to kill each other every
time we get the chance.
It takes the same amount of
time to love someone as it does to
hate someone.
If it were more love, maybe
there wouldn't be so much crime,
and people would think about what
they do before they do it
If you love yourself you will
sec to it that no harm is done to you
or around you.
If you see your friends doing
something wrong you should love
them enough to tell them that what
they're doing is wrong and don't fol
low right behind them.
Love a friend enough to talk to
them about selling or doing drugs,
1
Utilizing and killing one another."
Wilder said, "It is imperative that
we redouble our efforts to provide
our young people with the knowledge
and the access to opportunities thai
they so desperately need to break free
from the vicious cycle of drugs, drop
outs, unemployment, teen pregnancy,
and violent crime."
Wilder announced the establish
ment of a bipartisan 21st Century
Commission on African-American
Males, of which he is a co-chairper
son, along with Mayor David Dink
ins, of New York City; Dr. DofOlhy
Height, president of the National
Council of Negro Women; John
Jacob, president of the National
Urban League; Arthur Fletcher, chair
man, U.S. Civil Rights Commission;
and Sen. Terry Sanford (D-N.C.)
The Commission will host a
National Conference on the Status of
African-American Males May 22-24
in Washington, D.C. at the Omni
Shoreham Hotel.
Jacob said, "Through research,
as well as national and community
based initiatives, the National Urban
League has for years provided leader
ship on issues pertaining to the devel
drinking and driving, and staying in
school. '
~ It doesn't matter whether you're
old or young just love a person
enough to talk to them or even help
them.
We are only on earth for a ,
while, so while you're here make
the best of iL
Love is what you make of it!
Tracy S. Foote
Northwest Middle School
7th grade
Tracy S. Foote
opmcnt and well-being of our young
African- American males. M
In her testimony at the hearing,
Dr. Height said the issue of black
males cannot be separate from the
issue of the black family. She said*
'The black family is the foundation
that nourishes achievement, provides
support, enhances self-esteem, shapes
our ideals and goals, and tempers
behavior."
Dr. Spencer emphasized that
teachers must be trained to deal with
young black males and that job train
ing for black males should be
expanded.
Senator Sanford, who was
instrumental in organizing the biparti
san Commission on the Status of
Black Males, said, "It is time for the
nation to turn its conccm to the disad
vantages bom with each black male
child."
Those interested in obtaining
information on the 21st Century
Commission on African-American
Males can contact the Washington,
D.C. office of the Commission at
3704 Huntington St. NW, Washing
ton, D.C^20015 or call (202) 686
2891.
Clean Topsoil and Fill Dirt
Available at New Walkertown
Market Site.
Located on New Walkertown Rd.
behind the new ABC store.
CalL777-3474 ?
George ft Walker
florisblricT
'sjjjjfcv CgU us today
DM; . . . Our phones
are answered.
24 hrs.
823 S. Marshall St.
Phone 723-2938
Instead, Get lax-Deductible
Financing From Us.
With a Tax Advantage Loon from Southern National,
you may be able to deduct up to 100% of the interest
on your taxes. And thatfc an option that no car dealer any
where can offer.
SOUTHERN NATIONAL
Tax Advantage Loans
? ??
Equal Hon si ng Lender Member FD/C.
Consult your tax advisor for specific details on deductibility of interest.
BUD
LIGHT
STOCK UP
Bud Dry
/<8>
AT OUR BUD. FAMILY DISPLAY!
j
NOTHING BEATS A BUD
R. H. BARRINGER DISTRIBUTING CO., INC.
GREENSBORO
WINSTON-SALEM BURLINGTON