Winston-Salem Chronicle
" "The Twin City's Award Winking Weekly"
Established in 1974
Ernest H. Pitt ? Ndubisi Eg?monye
Editor/Publisher ? Co-Founder
Member in good standing with:
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Editorial
A Welcome Change
The torch has been passed.
A new generation of leaders has finally sprung to the fore
front, having been chosen by their baby-boomer counter
parts.
The exuberance over Bill Clinton's election is reminiscent
of the excitement over John F. Kennedy's election. We
have hope once again. We realize that in the days ahead we
still face the same problems ? economic uncertainty, a $4
trillion deficit ? yet we trust Clinton to tackle these issues
on our behalf. And we trust him for completely different
reasons than the ones
for which we elected
JFK.
Clinton is a regular
guy who made the
most of himself (much
as Ross Perot). Clin
ton's childhood wouldn't make a bedtime story, yet it is
much more typical of many Americans than the childhood
of Hollywood actor Ronald Reagan or Texas oil mogul
George Bush.
His father was an alcoholic who died before he was born.
His mother remarried a man who was also an alcoholic and
who abused her. She leaned heavily on him for emotional
support after her second divorce. He helped raise his
younger brother. Yet he studied hard to earn academic
scholarships, graduated from Yale school of law, and
returned to Arkansas to practice. While he was governor,
the State Bureau of Investigation informed him that they
had evidence that his brother was involved in drug use.
Clinton told them to prosecute him just as they would any
pther citizen. i
Clinton understands the concerns of the average American:
he has been there himself.
Throughout this campaign, George Bush repeatedly asked
voters, who do you trust to make the change for you?
We have answered. We have chosen Clinton. Black voters
in particular rallied to the polls like never before in support
of Clinton. A September 492 survey of newspaper readers
in the state (commissioned by the North Carolina Press
Association) revealed that 66 percent of blacks surveyed
answered they would vote for Clinton.
Clinton's leadership will bring many welcome changes. He
can be counted on to aggressively address the needs of at
risk families and children. He supported the Family Leave
Act of 1990 and again in 1991. He will most likely call for
measures to limit health spending nationally, and wants to
require employers to provide health insurance for workers.
These are measure that send small businesses screaming
down the street in protest: until they are made to realize the
far greater price we all pay in remedial health care, which
is always too little, too late.
If Clinton has his way, those who are able to pay extra will
be required to, such as requiring the rich to pay more for
Medicare premiums. He wants to see fair taxation on
Social Security and Medicare of upper-income families.
We hope to see an quick death to the trickle-down econom
ics theory: instead of tax breaks on luxury boats, Clinton
proposes deductions for families with incomes under
$60,000.
Clinton will not be able to change the country overnight, or
make much difference in one four-year term. But he plans
to dig in vigorously and stimulate more investment and
more give-and-take in the economy.
We welcome his leadership.
Clinton's leader
ship will provide
fredh, workable
ideas.
About letters ...
The Winston-Salem Chronicle welcomes letters
from its readers, as well as columns.
Letters should be as concise as possible and should
be typed or printed legibly. They also should include the
name, address, and telephone number of the writer.
Columns should follow the same guidelines and will
be published if we feel they are of interest to our gener
al readership.
We reserve the right to edit letters and columns for
brevity and grammar.
Submit your letters and columns to:
Chronicle Mailbag
P.O. Box 1636
Winston-Salem, N.C. 27102
Reader Wants To "Make Things Clear"
To the Editor:
In September, we were asked
by an interracial, ecumenical group
of clergy to meet with U.S. Attor
neys Doug Cannon and Bob
Edmond about a concern which had
been expressed in the community
regarding the cases of Lee Faye
Mack, Patrick Hairston, and Rodney
Sumler, namely, that they were sent
to prison even though their cases
were being appealed.
As a result of our meeting with
the attorneys, it is our opinion that
the confusion arose because the
public was not made aware of a dif
ference between state and federal
law. While it is not unusual for a
person convicted under state law to
be allowed to go free while his/her
case is on appeal, it is highly
unusual for a person to go free if
convicted under federal law. Can^_
non and Edmond said they could
recall only one person who did not
go to prison while his/her case was
being appealed since the current law
went into effect in 1984.
Federal law states that a person
who has been convicted of a crime,
sentenced to a prison term, and has
appealed will be detained unless the
judicial officer finds that the appeal
"raises a substantial question of law
or fact likely to result in reversal, an
order for a new trial, a sentence that
does not include a term of imprison
ment, or a reduced sentence ..." It
was the opinion of the court that the
appeals of Mack, Hairston, and
Sumler were not likely to lead to
any of those conclusions.
We believe that the responsibil
ity for making the public aware of
such legal distinctions rests with the
press and the media We encourage
local newspapers, radio and televi
sion stations to be diligent in provid
ing all information that is required
for sufficient understanding of sen
sitive, divisive issues.
Edgar Christman
David Partington
Richard Groves
Reinvest in America
To the Editor:
Our priorities are all wrong! It's
time to change those priorities and
pat people first for a change!
No one ? especially someone
from North Carolina ? would ever
advocate weakening our national
deiense or placing our country or
the countries of our allies at risk.
But it's time to find a balance in
how we set our priorities and
expend our resources.
We're hurting here at home.
And we can't help the rest of the
world if we fail to keep our own
nation strong and successful.
It's time to reinvest in America.
Our economy is faltering. Our
streets aren't safe. Basic services are
being cut Health care is a constant
worry. We have the strongest mili
tary in the world, but our economy
seems to be falling behind.
In 1991, there were 198,000
unemployed North Carolinians.
Almost 906,000 of our fellow citi
zens were living in poverty. And
over 1,451,000 had no health insur
ance.
In 1989, every taxpaying citi
zen of North Carolina spent an aver
age of $1,392 on the military. Each
taxpayer in North Carolina spent
more on the military than on educat
ing our children ? and policing our
streets ? and maintaining our high
ways ? and keeping our citizens
healthy ? combined!
CHRONICLE MAI LB AG
Our Readers Speak Out
This year, North Carolinians
will pay roughly $480 per person in
taxes to defend Europe from a
nonexistent threat, over five times
more than will be spent to keep our
own streets safe.
It's time to rearrange our priori
ties!
As a share of the total federal
budget, education dropped from 2.5
percent to 1.8 percent between 1980
and 1992.
If the level of federal funding
had remained constant, the U.S.
Department of Education would
have SI 0.3 billion more to spend to
help schools than it currently has.
Less than one percent would have
meant more than $10 billion addi
tional education dollars.
What would that have meant
for North Carolina?
In 1992, North Carolina
received $425 million from the fed
eral government to support 1 1
highly effective school programs,
-including Chapter 1, Individuals
with Disability Education, Voca
tional Education, and post-sec
ondary student aid.
. If the level of federal help had
remained constant, if we had
invested that extra one percent here
at home, North Carolina could have
received an additional $230.7 mil
lion ? about a 50 percent increase
in needed education services. .
The world is changing. <Our' '
needs are changing. And it's time to
have our priorities change to meet
those new needs.
Yes, America has a place of
leadership in the world that must be
maintained. But the best way to
maintain that position is to make
sure every American has a secure,
high-wage job, that every American
family is protected against the threat
of run-away health care costs, that
families are safe in their homes, that
our children have the opportunity to
learn, to build, and to live the Amer
ican Dream.
For the school employees of
North Carolina, the first step in set
ting those new priorities is to elect
Bill Clinton and A1 Gore and to put
people first ? for a change.
Julia Kron, president
North Carolina Association
of Educators
Top Degree Producers
To the Editor:
Have you ever wondered which
colleges are graduating most of our
African-American students? Would
this information be helpful to par
ents and potential college students
that plan to enter college next fall?
Recently a good friend and her 18
year-old daughter pondered this (
question with me, and because L
badly needed financial aid was ,
made available, the young lady first
visited and later enrolled in St.
Augustine* s College, a very fine
historic black college in Raleigh.
Today she seems very happy with
her choice.
Top degree producers in 1988
and 1989 were first Howard Univer
sity; second, Southern University A
& M College; third, Hampton Uni
versity; fourth, North Carolina A &
T State University; and fifth, Jack
son State University at Jackson,
Miss.
Black Enterprise Magazine
obtained its information from the
May 7, 1992 edition of Black Issues
in Higher Education. This publica
tion had a special chart titled 'Top
100 Degree Producers," which also
revealed that only three predomi
nately white schools placed among
the top 20. The University of Mary
land - College Park, which ranked
12th, was first among predominately
white schools in graduating African
Americans. -
Maryland granted 286 bachelor-^
degrees to black students for the'
1988-89 school year. By contrast,
Howard granted 744 degrees during
this same time. (Responding to the
survey results, the writer said "the
report shows that white colleges are
not doing nearly what they should in
terms of graduating African-Ameri
cans," says Frank L. Matthews, pub
lisher of Black Issues in Higher
Education.)
Turning momentarily from the
report, most would agree that some
other factors may be involved. I
remember one supervisor said when
she sought to get her master's
degree while studying in France, she
was told to keep her eye on the light
at the end of the tunnel. When
beginning a course of study or even
starting high school, for example,
the end seems so far away. But if
one keeps his eye on the light, grad
uation day finally arrives and what a
great day! Hopefully, with this goal
behind oneself, one can begin on the
road to obtaining a college degree
and even higher accomplishments in
one's chosen field.
Also relevant, I feel are some
comments a Wake Forest professor
made at his family reunion a few ...
years ago. Speaking to all of us, but
more directly addressing his com
ments to the young people in atten
dance, he argued them to take
> charge of their education. He, told
\them even though they were young,
they needed to take responsibility '
for seeing that they learn and gradu
ate; to learn all that the teacher
knows that is teaching them, even *
when the teacher seemed not to care ?
whether they learned or not. They .
needed to take responsibility, for it
was their life and their future on the
line. He further remarked that his
craft, which is athletics, often led
him into the local schools to talk to
various classes. Sometimes, and
quite sadly; he saw students "hang
ing out," and "snuggling up" at the
classroom door, rather than being '
inside with their class being atten
tive and doing their work. He
reminded us that these students were
wasting their valuable timeT and if
teachers let them, they would be the .
ones to pay the cost for misusing
this grand opportunity to get pre
pared for the future.
The success of schools is very
encouraging, and it was heart-warm
ing to see that Howard and North
Carolina A & T State University led
in the number of black male stu
dents that grdrfiiated. Maity who
know said'ttte'cfe'ciine of 6dllege "
graduates was also the result of the "
Vietnam War which dried up
monies for college grants and schol- ?
arships.
This letter only offers a few
ideas. Why students do or do not
graduate is not known by this writer.
But this I do know, those who grad
uate and complete other comparable
rigorous programs and projects do
so because they make up their
minds and decide that they will let
nothing -stop them ? nothing. "Nei
ther fire, hell, or high water!" And
often this can be said of a lot of
things: of living, of life, rearing a
family, keeping a job, and even hon
oring your God ... "I'll let nothing 1
separate me from the love of God"
is a refrain over the centuries that
has kept many, many African
Americans steadfast and moving
forward to reach their goals and des- '
tinations. We simply cannot let bar
riers stop us; we must overcome all ?'
barriers.
Lozie Ann Gray .
Historical Roots of
Genocide Spring
Forth Deja Vu
The Neo-Nazi, anti-foreigner riots in Ger
many that are being reported to us by the news
with great frequency are a terrible and distribut
ing thing, even though the participants seem to be
nearly all extremists. German novelists like Hein
rich Boll, or th Australia poet Ingeborg Bach
mann have pointed out to us that after the war and
up until the present day there is a great deal of
even though many of them are probably "stu
dents,"
Old issues, that is present events with roots
in the past, have certainly been sprung into the
hands of the wolfpack while gaining a modem,
more multi-ethnic momentum. While listening to
Mahler's Titan" First Symphony and his momen
tous Fifth, some of these issues came to mind for
- me because I feel that
the achievement of
Mahler has always
been diminished by
? some critics, then and
now, because of his
Jewishness. Mahler
was given, almost liter
ally,, a devil of a time
GUEST COLUMN
BY Carl R Martin
corruption in Germany, whereas members of th
old regime have been able to use their vague con
nection with the past as intimidation or network
to amass money and respectability.
This has taken place apparently not as a
function of ideology but as a function of capital
ism; the practical urges of greed, and the decidu
ous nature of money. Some persons with a cyni
cal urge would probably be found to say, "Winter
comes after The Fall, but Spring soon follows. "
No doubt they would be branded as the "rem
nants"* of leftist ideologues* but we might find
that these living remnants do have a notion or two
by what is often called the "anti-Semitic Viennese
press" while individuals also made it hard for
him. Perhaps some of the blame can be attributed
to the propensity for command of Herr Mahler,
but that is not an adequate excuse for all the deri
sion that lay like hot coals around his head,
mahler, to his credit, perhaps, was actually of
such musically accommodating good intention
that he became, as a conductor, a fateful inter
preter of the music of Richard Wtgra, the wild
anti-Semite and convinced vegetarian wote one
time statement was, 1 ffcel myself to be the only
true German amidst this dull-witted race of peo
pie they call the Germans." Mahler's behavior
shows that he could certainly put pondering the ,
man aside, to show the exposed jewellike like
beauties in Wagner's music to an appreciating ,
public c.
I think that Mahler's real "fault" and what I
call an "old issue" was Mahler's astute and fanci
ful ability to seem the ultimate Viennese in his
music whjje often blending it purposefully and
perfectly with the sinuous, circular rhythms of
Jewish folk song and the Jewish fiddle of the
Bohemian countryside or streets of the old
Ghetto. His symphonies with their tint and inclu
sion were perfectly convincing. ..to convincing.
This music, in part, threatened the already threat
ened identity of the central German population of
Vienna which was becoming immersed in the
diverse ethnic acquisition of the Hapsburg
Empire. This music threatened to represent
Vienna, the proud repository of a German popula
tion and Germanic aristocracy, as more of the
"Eastern " city, merging towards Slavic-Semitic
Orientalism as a culture. In present day Germany
there is the seducing hand saying, "Accede to us
this difference (between us and "them"); affirm .
our German ity. "
The implication is always that it's preferable
and safer to ?o along with then for this brief
period, to not become an "outsider." then the brief
period becomes a permanent extension.