Newspapers / Winston-Salem chronicle. / May 12, 1994, edition 1 / Page 10
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OPINION/LETTERS Winston-Salem Chronicle Ernest H. Pitt, Publisher/Co -touBer Ndubisi Egemonye, Co?Founder Richard L. ^[ILLIAMS, Executive Editor ELAINE Pitt, Director Of Community Relations MICHAEL A. Pitt, Advertising Manager MEL W HITE, Circulation Manager i ^Support for Campus : . j The African-American community turned out en masse J Tuesday night to show its support for the East Winston loca tion for a satellite campus of -Forsyth Technical Community College. The proposed building would be located on the cor ner of LansmgJ)rive and Carver '.School Road. This site had been previously designated by the County Commissioners and Fqfsyth Tech officials as the prime site for an East Win ston campus. Some 100 citizens showed up to voice their support for and desire to have the campus built on the Lans ing DrfVe site. We applaud them for this strong show of unity We hope that Forsyth Tech, as well as other entities, will realize that our community will respond when it is properly notified that its support is needed. Not many people realized that the site was in jeopardy until a report indicated that only two^peopte^ had showed up ror a pumic lorum three weeks ago. However, we learned that a weak effort at best had been made to inform the community of this meeting. Naturally, many citizens felt that the community was about to be hoodwinked . . . again. We have said many times and will continue to say that nothing will happen in our community unless we get together and push it! We can no longer sit idly by and hope that needed facilities will get built in[Oiir community. We are going to have to get behind projects such as the satellite cam pus and push them through. Please do not forget that a library is considered for the Lansing Drive site as well. We need both facilities in order to continue to stimulate development in the area. Additionally, we must be creative in coming up ' residents and for businesses who may consider developing in East Winston. We believe that Mayor Martha Wood should get behind and spearhead the development of Winston Lake Park. We believe that Winston Lake Park can be developed into a facility much like Tanglewood in Cleiiimons. The land i tf'there 7A c t i v [ties such as tennis courts, horse stables, boats, track fields and some apartments would make for an out standing facility. The Winston Lake Golf Course could use a ' new club house. We know that would increase play. But, all of these things need to be pushed by the commu nity. They will not happen on their own. . ' . Support for Youth The brutal killing of a young, pregnant coed over the weekend drew widespread nHentroir 1'iuiii aii'a L'll'Lirnjlil' lllld print media. And rightly so. It was a brutal, senseless act of violence. This heinous act of wanton violence and disregard of life is why we support Gov. Hunt's proposal that danger ous, violent criminals face stiffer sentences and spend more time in prison. But for two days prior to 16-year-old Ceyls Bennett s death, there was a lot of good things happening in Winston-Salem involving our youth: Scores of them attended the^ first Housing Authority of Win>ton-Salem's Crime? Reduction Conference last week. F:or thnv,r two d;iy. 'ir*vr*nil youths and adults exchanged honest dialogue. And the youth*, for the most part, delivered a simple message: They just want to be loved; to have a hug and/or kiss, every now and then. So often, we don't take the time to hear what our youths are saying. It's certainly not easy being a teen-ager today, but we could make it much easier for them if we would listen. We could use the HAWS conference as a springboard to help turn this community around as it relates to our black youth. Our politicians cnnlH iisp. this^- opporUmity to talk with ? youths and youth-advocacy groups to find out what programs might be needed in the African-American community. The answer isn't always increasing police patrol. But politicians are more concerned with trying to tear down instead of building up. For example, if Robert Nordlan der cared one iota about the youth in his Southeast Ward, he . would be trying to establish more programs at Reynolds Recreation Center rather than worrying about whose photo graph graces its walls. He furthermore is a coward who didn't even have the gumption to show up the board of aldermen's general session meeting when the removal of former Alder man Larry Womble's photograph was being discussed. Mr. Nordlander is a destructive menace to this city. He = continues to show that he is out of touch with the city he is sworn to work toward improving. But with the ray of hope that shone Thursday and Friday at the HAWS conference, this city and the African-American community will continue to survive in spite of ardent racists like Mr. Nordlander. We hope that there will be more similar-type dialogue ? Allowed by positive action. Then, maybe, we can help stem the tide of violence rampant our community. Column by Phil Banks III Sorely Misses the Point WE WANT TU? HEV/?W BOARP To the Editor: Alter reading Phil S. Ranks Ill's column entitled "The Citizens are Better Off Without) the Police Review Board", i.n which he said the citizens are better off without the board and that there are avenues within the system that have been established, such as a trial by a jury , of one's peers, the Department of Justice and the local United States , Attorney, to address the occasions of criminal misconduct, inadequate investigations to cover up such mis conduct. and sometimes miscom munication to mislead the citizens as to the truth, one would assume v v there really is no need for a police review board. ? 1 agree with Mr. Banks that then1 are avenues within the systerfi to address inappropriate behavior, but it is also true that there are stops and detours within that system to dissuade an individual from exercis ing their constitutional and federal statutory rights. Tht problem is who do Tlfe there rights have ben denied or violated? MostX'itizens. even low-income citizens, have enough intelligence and understanding nf the svucm to r W ' 9 know thai there- are avenue*, within the system to exercise their consti tutional and federal statutory rights. And most Citizens have enough intelligence to realize that- every hody within the system is nr>t th.rp to engage in inappropriate behavior, hut most e it j / ens h:>ve nn ypy identifying the individuals within the system who have no desire to participate in the inappropriate behavior. ? And that is why the Citizen's Police Review hoard is needed, to shine a light on the stops and detours that have been placed there without the permission of the peo ple. . Imagine, if you wjll. an intelli gent person of low-income status, living on the "wrong ' side of town ? *or maybe I should say on the low-income side of Winston-Salem ? inexperienced in the methods of videotape, nobody but Rodney King, his family members, friends, the nurses and doctors that assisted him and the pofice would know about Mr. King's beating and Rod ney King vCould be just one more black man beaten by who would feel as if nobody cdred. Con kl_yon imagine a black man with a prior police record going to the system and showing and telling authorities that four or five of their fellow colleagues had beaten him justly? How far do you think Mr. King would have gotten if the inci- , dent hail not been recorded on tape? -So imagine how defenseless citizens feel when they attempt to exercise their constitutional and federal statutory rights and encounter psy chological abuse. Most walk away feeling that nobody cares and they don't know where to go to next. At least the Citizens Police Review Board offers them an alternative. Yes, Mr. Banks is right. Suing to receive money forjhe damages of inappropriate behavior by those within the system is an answer, but so is the Citizens Police Review Board. It is a symbol of hope that is on trial, not only by the board of aldermen, but also by the citizens who have encountered the stops and detours within the system thai have been placed there without the per mission of the citizens. The Rev. John Mendez said, "We can't look to those aldermen in City Hall to make a difference; the people are going to have to do it." Maybe the citizens, business and churches can establish a permanent Community Citizens Police Review Board to make a difference. Vanessa Powell Support for Hunt To the Editor I'd like to comment on an arti cle recently fftiblished that stated that tests were ordered for Darryl Hunt in the murder of Deborah R. "* Sykes nearly 10 years ago, which I feel he was falsely accused. Judge Melzer A. Morgan Jr. hints that he may give Mr. Hunt a third trial, which I feel is deserving. Hopefully this may be the break that he needs to prove his innocence. The court appointed attorney Mark Rabil has already stated that his client was railroaded and maybe the DNA/PCR test results will prove it. - = I feel that the prosecutor Eric Saunders knows this, and by reason ing has already stated that the test is not reliable before it has had a chance to even be done J I feel that the $3,500 test that Judge Melzer ordered is a little expense, but if that is the price for a man to have his freedom once again, so be it. I also feel that the two other DNA/PCR tests be done so that this murder chqrge can be pinned on the unjust -person deserv ing to wear it. Danny Lindsey CHRONICLE MAI LB AG Our Readers Speak Out the system, not dressed just so. that decides- to exercise their constitu- s J ion a 1 :*nri Punitory ripHu How far do you think they would get? Yes. we all have rights and all have e the same rights on paper, but sometimes minorities and the poor aren't encouraged or allowed to exercise those rights: and they __don't know who to go to next. Most of them walk away thinking that nobody cares. Consider the bill that they're trying to pass to allow the pft>l ice to go into public housing without a warrant to search tor guns Most public housing is occupied b\ low jnt'Ome rr,j?y>ritw.. Mh.v, protect their rights .' It the incident with Rodney King hadn t been on About letters . . . The Chronicle welcomes letters as well as guest from its readers. Letters should be. x&ocancise as possible j and should be typed ortegtbly fltinte^The letter must*0$ |S include the name , address and telephone number of the writer to ensure the authenticity of the letter, Columns must follow the same guidelines and will be published if \ they are of interest to our general readership. 'If* cle will not publish any letters or columns that arrive, with - ' out this information. We reser\>e the right to edit^ fetters and columns for brevity and clarity. Submit letters and columns to ? Chronicle Mailbag, P.O. Bqx 1636 Winsion-Siitem, KC. 27102. The Real Legacy of Richard Millhouse Nixon Now that Richard M. Nixon is safely buried, perhaps there can be a more "sober assessment of rhi? real lcgai v ul tin* j7ih President ol ll'ie UnitetP States. It was nothing short of amazing to watch Nixon loyalist, analyst and much of the media virtually remake history to sanitize the legacy of the man who was known as "tricky Dick." There was definitely an effort to gloss over Nixon's "whiter side." For African Americans, people of color, conscious poor and working people and progressives Richard Nixon was certainly not a hero. Nixon was above all a pragmatist who was guided by the dictum that the means justifies the He-wa*-tt~?ofch-W3niui who was fiercely devoted to promoting and defending the interest of American's ruling class - the rich and the super rich, the corporate elite and the military industrial complex. His anti -communist rhetoric and bombast was a mean to an end - making the world safe for American capitalism. No one doubts that Nixon was an intelligent man, but he was also a man with a fatally flawed character. He was obsessed with securing and maintaining power. And. in the pursuit of power Nixon was mean spirited and ruthless. It was this obsession with power that ultimately led to his disgraceful demise. Richard Nixon was propelled into the presi dency by skillfully fostering and exploiting a wave of reaction in the American electorate. In the face of urban rebellions sparked by the long standing and unrelenting oppression of Africans in America and the heroic struggle of liberal-pro grcssive force (including Martin Luther King and Stokely Carmichael/Kwame Ture) against the war in Vietnam. Nixon was swept into office on a "law and order" platform. The attacks against the black liberation movement were intensified under Nixon and those who dared to declare the war in ' Vietnam illegal and immoral were vilified as unpatriotic enemies of the United States. We must not forget that it was RichardJ Nixon who tanned the flames of "whitp fvirk lasir ayilinsi the "gains ot the civil rights move ments to put the brakes on civil rights and affir mative action. It was Richard Nixon in tandem with George Wallace who sold white America on the notion that civil rights' were beginning to infringe on the rights of white people. There is a direct link between the exploitative racial politics of Nixon and the all out assault on civil rights, affirmative action and social programs launched by Ronald Rcauan in the 80s. While Nixon is uedited wiili LMklmsnfiif war in Vietnam. the Nixon tan club and revi sionist seem to have succumbed to amnesta when it comes to remembering the terrible toll the war took on the Vietnamese people. While the U.S. suffered about 55.000 casualties Vietnamese casualties numbered in the millions. It was Nixon who ordered the mining of the ports and harbors of North Vietnam. It was Nixon who ordered one of the most barbaric coming of a people in the his tory of. modern warfare as the U.S. attempted to bomb North Vietnam "back into the stone age." And. it was Richard Nixon who ordered the inva sion of the sovereign nation of Cambodia in defi ance of international law; a stanch propagandist of law and order broke the law. We must never forget that this shameful, racist war against the Vietnamese people was conducted to protect the colonial and neo-colonial moneyed interests of America and her western allies. In this unholy war. the Vietnamese were victims and the United Sates was the villain. Nixon's so called foreign policy triumphs, the opening to China and the policy of Detente with the Soviet Union, were also a function of Nixon's pragmatic approach to making the world sate far U.S. corporate saw in China, a vast almost limitless market with more than a billion people/consumers. Anti-communism can fade fast in the face of increased prospects for profit. The China opening was also seen as a way of containing Soviet influence by utilizing a strategy of divide and exploit within the communist block. Nixon's "triumphs" in foreign policy were not motivated by a new found love or respect for China and the Soviet Union but by a basic tenet VANTAGE POINT By RON DANIELS of American capitalism set iourth by President Calvin Coolidge early in this century: "the busi ness of government is business." Finally, we must never forget that a law and order President engaged in the heights of lawless ness in an effort to preserve personal power. In the Watergate scandal, the conservative propo nent of the sanctity of the U.S. Constitution was prepared to subvert the Constitution for the sake of personal power. Hence he was eventfully - forced from the oval office in disgrace." Richard Nixon was a disgrace and any attempt to make him appear heroic must be open to serious question. Thus the effort to remake and resale Richard Nixon should be offensive to all progressives. Indeed, the mere fact that Richard Nixon could be resurrected in the minds of so many in white America may suggest that he was not so unusual after all. In the final analysis, per haps. Richard Nixon was very American. (Ron Daniels is a nationally syndicated columnist.)
May 12, 1994, edition 1
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