OPINION/LETTERS
- Winston-Salem Chronicle
Ernest H. Pitt, Publisher/Co- foi. a r NdUBISI EGEMONYE, Co-founder
Richard L. Williams, Executive Editor
ElaKSE PlTT, Dii*^*^o??o'mmunity Relations
MICHAEL A. Pitt, Advertising Manager Mel White, Business Manager
V
, Strength in Voting
?_ j y\ ? ?
The Rev. Jesse Jackson is still able to mobilize the
masses. He still realizes the power of the ballot, too.
Jackson, twice a Democratic candidate for president,
* hammered home the power-of-the-ballot message twice in
two days over the weekend at the 1 8th annual N.C. Black
. Leadership Caucus. Saturday night, as the keynote speaker
at the caucus banquet, Jackson said that there were 500,000
. unregistered voters in North Carolina.
He also told those in attendance that they should not let
their churches 6ff the hook and should suggest that their
ministers hold voter registration drives during Sunday wor
.. ship services, ? ? ^ , ? ? ? ? ? ?
The next day, Jackson put his money where is mouth is,
? he did just that. Before he preached at Phillips Chapel
Baptist Church near the Kimberley Park community, the
[charismatic Jackson had 27 people ? young and old ? to
march down the church aisles and register to vote.
Those 27 votes could spell the difference in some elec
tions come November. v v ?
. | *? " ? ... _ . , . V % ;. ? ? .* v
Youths Score Big
V ' ' Q ' ? "V ? v ' , ; ?? , ? t ; - ,..t . ' ' .
Not only was it good to set* scores of African-American
youths take leadership roles in the state Black Leadership
Caucus, it was also necessary. -
<i. v v.: V
We are at the onset of the 2 1st century, and lest the sun
set both literally and figuratively on the American century,
this nation will need our young people ? and those who
share the concerns of our youth ? at the forefront as we
continue to struggle against mediocrity, social blindness./
ignorance and plain old-fashioned bigotry and racism,
If we are to rise as a people, our AfricaJV^it^iCan
youths must play an integral part in the directiT^ffot the total
African-American community.
-While we are preparing our youths for the -2-Ui century
^ we must show them the importance of learning compassion,
and excellence, fairness and no less inclusivenessv and the
? ^
freedom to speak and the disposition to listen.
v ' * w *?'
We must also help them to understand the importance of
subduing their physical passion until the\ are mature;
enough toaeeepttheresponsi biJity -of-creating a chrl d ? ? - ?
These are complex'times in which we live and tor the
African- American community to prosper, we muhl ensure -
that our youths are equipped with the nec.essary tools to gal
vanize the community ?economically 4*nd politically
And both are equally important. ?
What good is it to be able to sit down at the lunch
counter if you haven't two bits to order a malt shake.
Open Government
When the General Assembly took a step Recently to
ensure a more open government in North Carolina, it was a
positive step for the public.
These changes agreed to by the state House and Senate
will give newspapers better tools to fulfill the role as watch
dogs of the government. The changes also make it more dif
ficult for public bodies, such as county commissioners, city
councils, school boards, and any- others to conduct the pub
lic's business behind closed doors.
. In Forsyth County, as we're sure in other municipalities
across the state, local boards and commissions have- been
known to skitf the law and deny the public the right to know
by carelessly and easily going into "executive session" with
out legitimate reason.
Their rationale, most argue, is that a candidate for a post
will be less inclined to apply if his names gets out. Or that
industry won't locate here if word gets out of their interest.
There is little evidence that that is the case.
Most public official's just feel more comfortable dis
cussing a matter out of earshot of the public..
Democracy, however, is not designed for the comfort of
public officials, but to keep government honest by keeping
it non-secretive. All what really should matter most is
whether the public is comfortable.
Did You Know ...
That 29 percent of all women killed in 1992 were slain
. by their husbands or boyfriends, while only 4 percent of
men killed were slain by their wife or girlfriend. Overall. 42
percent of all homicide victims in 1992 were killed by
someone they knew.
We Need to Put Prayer Back into Our Schools
To the Editor:
I grew up in Winston-Salem.
Though 1 have been away through
out my adult life, 1 do keep up with
the activities in and about town. 1
am very concerned for my home
community. There are some things
we must correct if we are to save
our children. We can turn things
around if we put prayer back in pub
lic schools. When we took prayer
out of the schools, we suffered as
individual communities and subse
quently as a nation.
1 wish that we would give
prayer another chance. I invite my
family, friends and loved ones there
in North Carolina to join our cam
paign to put prayer back in the
nation's public schools, . .? ? ^
I must salute Family Services
Inc. of Winston-Salem fo^r showing
the way . 1 attended the~gfand open
ing of the new Sarah Austin Head
start Center, formerly Skyland
School. During the ceremony, a
? board memfcfer prayed a dedicator}'
prayer which caused me a stir, for 1
recalled immediately that the U.S.
Supreme Court had outlawed prayer
! in public schools. .;'t
* While reading a, back issue of
i my Chronicle. I noticed thai the
dynamic and courageous leadership
of Family Service lnc is alive arv.l
well. The Chroniclc 's article stated
that one reason given tor the school
being out of compliance wa>> thai
one of the teachers had been caught
by federal investigators reading the
Bible, during the children's nap
time. Right on Brothers and Sisters
'Keep up the *joTkT work.
? Wilma Ylartin
Board of Education
Ithiaca f-N.Y i Ch> School District
v
Who's in Control
To the Editor:
\s I write this ?etier. I think ot
reasons' Irnd my motives.,*. I u si
like most people I can respond to
something that 1 \e experienced
recently? in the' focal school system.
! have ihree years experience , in the
fitfld of" substitute teaching. From ;
first-hand knowledge. 1 know tnat
there is,.a very excellent, high qual
it > level, of education that is offered
in the Winston- Salem Forsyth
? County schoul system:
There are some dedicated
teachers and administrators, but not
enough in decision-making posi
CHRONICLE MAI LB AG
Our Readers Speak Out
Rep. Kweisi MJume , U-Md., chairman of the Congressional Stack caucus , center , accompanied by other
members of the caucus, meets reporters on Capitol HillThursdaw to discuss the Racial Justice Act which
is part of President Clinton 's crime bill package. From (I to r) Rep. Louis Stokes , D-Ohio; Rep. Maxine
Waters, D-Calif Mfume; Rep. Cynthia Mc Kinney, D-Ga.; and Rep. Robert Scott, D-Va.
- lions Because of this situation, you
have a tew parents that are in con
trol of the teacher's classroom. Stu
dents know this and attempt to do as
jhes please.
When I. was personally
involved in a classroom takeover. ! |
found out how the system works.
There was never a meeting between
the principal, assistant principals.*
parent, student, other students and
the secured teacher. 1 later found
out. after my court date that Mr.
Weldon idol, who i* in charge of
, the substitute teachers list, had
called other schools to inquire of my
work record and informed these
schools not to give me any more
assignments until this matter was
cleared up. I feel that the principal
of the school and Mr. Idol could
have talked with me. This matter
has not been mentioned in the
media until now. But until now. 1
had to deal witb lost days of work,
rumored to have been fired. and
accused of ussaulunjM^todentr-He?
had to pronounce me not guilty
before I could once a'gain feel
needed and blessed to be an educa
tor. How nice would it have been if
the school and Mr. Idol to have
informed me with a call of confi
dence and slate. "We reviewed your
work track record and reviewed this
students' behavior track record and
we stand behind you 1^)0%. Mr.
Jones, and this would be a good
opportunity for us to focus in on
classroom behavior and we won't
tolerate teachers being abused."
This problem is not going to go
away until the school board and oth
ers on down to the classroom
teacher stand up and let parents and '?
students know who runs the school.
X
Recently, the N.C. Attorney
General spoke about the need to
change juvenile laws.
Not only is this necessary, but
it needs to be done now . A youth
that is 14 years old in 1994 is well
beyond that same age of when the
original juvenile laws were written.
1 found
.ing to file a charge against a juve
nile.
The clerk's office sent me to
the juvenile division. The juvenile
division sent me to the Sheriff's
office. The Sherriff's office
informed me that I would have to
get the assigned officer to do the
necessary paperwork. This officer
never contacted me. I'm very thank
ful for the outcome of my situation.
I hope that there will be some career
educators and administrators that
can look and learn from how they
do things ajsp.
To this day. right continues to
be right an<d wrong ;s wrong When
children are wrong we have a
responsibility to correct them and
discipline them.
Today's child is no more or am
more valuable than children born
yesterday. Let's get back to the day
when any adult could correct unde
sirable behavior in children.
.You didn't have to be a rela
tive. only that your lessons were
puie.
Ricky A. Jones
NAACP is Alive And Well Under Ben Chavis
Although I am a life member of the NAACP ?
and gdfFTed my initial introduction to the civil
rights movement as a youngster in the NAACP, I
had never attended a national convention of the
Association. Because of the constant barrage of
media attacks on the Rev. Benjamin F. Chavis
and the apparent controversy about his leader
ship. 1 made a special effort to attend the 85th
annual convention of the, NAACP. I wanted to
get a first hand feel for the dynamic of the asso
ciation, an up 'close assessment of the rank and
file sentiments about the leadership of Dr. Chavis
and the new course he is boldly charting for the
1 NAACP.
What 1 discovered is an NAACP vastly dif
ferent from what has been portrayed in the white
media over the last year. Judging from the stream
of negative media stories the NAACP was in dis
array with widespread disaffection with the lead
i ership of Chavis and William Gibson, chairman
of the board. Indeed, according to the media ana- .
lyst and pundits, a major challenge to Chavis and
Gibson would be mounted at the convention and
their ouster was imminent. Nothing could have
been further from the truth. As 1 moved among
the delegates I found great enthusiasm for the
new direction being blazed by Chavis and an
overwhelming almost unanimous support for his
leadership. The mood was optimistic, vibrant and
almost celebrative in terms of peoples' percep
tions of the future of the Association.
Nothing captured the mood and sentiment of
the delegates more than the opening mass meet
ing of the convention. As Gibson introduced
Chavis to delver his address to the delegates and
the nation, the convention erupted with a thun
derous and sustained standing ovation. Hundreds
of delegate> left their seats and raced to the front
of the auditorium with banners and signs pro
claiming their support for Chavis in a massive
demonstration. At the very center of this impres
sive demonstration were scores of young people,
the future of the NAACP and the Black Nation.
When Chavis mounted the podium, he did
not disappoint. Citings 14 percent increase in
corporate contributions over 1993 and a dramatic
growth in the NAACP membership from
480,000 to 690,000, Chavis declared that the
NAACP is alive and well under his leadership.
Acknowledging that the Association has a debt
of nearly $3 million, Chavis reminded the dele
gates that throughout its history the NAACP has
always been in debt. He challenged the black
community and its allies to provide the necessary
financial resources to enable the Association to
engage the battle for civil rights/human rights
unencumbered by wor
ries about money. Noth
ing he said, however,
would halt the historic,
march ofHhe NAACF
towards freedom and jus
tice for African Ameri
cans and the oppressed?
into the 21st century.
Solidly reaffirming the new direction which
he has charted along -with board chairnran
William Gibson, Chavis outlined several major
priorities for the Association over the next few
years: continuing the process of creating unity in
the national African American community
through the Leadership Summit; the initiation of
a youth entrepreneurial training program: a cam
paign to save historically black colleges and uni
versities: challenging institutional racism in pub
lic school systems; continued efforts to combat
violence, drugs and substance abuse in the black
community, and the development of a national
constituency for Africans in the U.S. As he out
lined these priorities the delegates roared their
approval. Clearly sensing the overwhelming sup
port of the delegates. Chavfs cbaBenged his
detractors to get on board the "freedom train" or
get out the way..
At the second mass meeting Gibson, spoke
to the delegates and the community. When he
finished his address there was absolutely no
question where he stood in term of his support
for Chavis and the new direction of the NAACP
He suggested that the critical crises we face as
Africans in America demands a new direction
and bold uncompromising leadership to move
black America into the 21st century. It was clear
th5I Chavis'and Gibson comprise a dynamic part
nership and leadership team determined to
reassert the relevance of the oldest and largest
civil rights organization in black America.
When the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson was invited
to the podium for remarks, he rose to the occa
sion by emphatically embracing the leadership of
the NAACP and passionately defending the
VANTAGE POINT
By RON DANIELS
Leadership Summit process. No one, he said, had
the right to tell black leaders and organizations
who to meet with within the framework of a
democratic process. Jackson lambasted the media
for constantly focusing on diversions while dis
missing the critical crisis in the black community
and refusing to provide significant coverage of
black-led initiatives to resolve the crisis. Jack
son's eloquent defense of and embrace of Gibson
and Chavis was a signal to friend and foe alike
that a new era of operational unity is dawning in
black America.
By the time the 85th annual NAACP con
vention had concluded it was clear that Chavis
has not only withstood the furious assault of the
media and the naysavers. the delegates had jubi
lantly proclaimed that this leadership was just
wbat-tke doctor ordered to sustain the health and
well beinc of the Association. The NAACP is
w r>
alive and well under Benjamin F. Chavis and
black people by the thousands are getting on
board a new Freedom Train destined to carry
black America into the 21 st century.
(Ron Daniels is a national syndicated
columnist. )