OPINION
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The Chronicle
Ernest H. Pitt Publisherico-Founder
1\di bisi EVEMONYE Co-Founder
Sharon Brooks Hodce Editor
elaine Pitt Business Manager
Fannie Henderson Ads-enisMg Manager
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Kudos for NAACP board
From the Call and Post. Cleselaltd
The NAACP has taken the unprecedented step of demanding the
resignations of four prominent board members in order to protect the
integrity of the organization. We commend NAACP Board
Chairwoman Myrlie ilvers-Williams for initiating this action to preserve
the reputation and moral authority of the historic civil rights organiza
tion. )'
The resignations of the board members were demanded after facts
came to light that their continued membership on the board would have
been detrimental to the organization. Hazel Dukes, because of a guilty
plea to taking $13,201 from a sick woman; Bobby Bivens, for being
arrested for owing $20,000 in child support payments; James McGhee,
after pleading guilty to charges of embezzling $38,517 from a client; and
the Rev. Henry Lyons, who is under investigation for alleged mishan
dling of funds belonging to the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A.
The NAACP National Board, by and large, has been a good one
over the years. However, there was, at one time, an entrenched group
that appeared to be more concerned about their own self preservation
than the future of the organization. It is refreshing to see that Evers
Williams and a majority of the other board members are weeding out
the "old guard." and demanding integrity and excellence from their
membership That is the first step needed to insure that the organization
remains vibrant, relevant and effective.
Violent crime not disappearing
hi mi the [ n-Suile Defender Memphis. Venn
Although government statistics were recently released to the public
stating how violent crime has dropped in the nation, we as a people must
rrot be satisfied with those numbers.
Why? Because crime rates in African-American communities are still
many times greater than those in other American neighborhoods.
Those rates of crime in the African-American community involve,
among other things, assaults and murder.
Some criminals have become so bold that they have gone into
churches in the African-American neighborhoods to rob the people who
worship there.
Fqually ridiculous, in some Memphis communities, drug traffickers
are reportedly so bold that they will approach people demanding to
know what the individuals are doing in the area
Drug traffickers don't own the street, or any neighborhood. They
and other criminals do not have a right to question people who are
entering or leaving an area.
Drive-by shootings, whether they come in the form of shooters rid
ing bicycles or in cars, continue to claim the lives of people of all ages in
I the African-American community. Many of the killings are gang-relat
ed. and that is one of the main reasons these groups are not good for us
?or our communities.
Various social observers have noted that for many youngsters gangs
are like surrogate families, which is very sad: gangs cannot begin to do
any of the great, positive and wholesome things for youngsters that a
good family and home can do.
A considerable percentage of the drive-by murders have claimed the
lives of people who were not in gangs. Those victims were simply inno
?cent casualties.
The list is relatively long. For example, some of the people were mur
Idered in drive-by shootings while sitting in their own homes, babies were
shot in strollers, and countless other individuals were killed while enter
ing their apartments, going to the store, on their way to school, etc. We
must not allow?oursclves to sit idly by while our communities are turned
into blood baths We must continue to work with the police, the sheriff's
department, state troopers and any other officials on any level of gov
ernment who can help us reduce violent crime in our neighborhoods.
^But more importantly, we must work diligently with our young people,
?because the majority of violent crimes in the African-American com
Vnunity is committed by youths.
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Chronicle MaBbog, P.O. Box 1636, Wintton-Salom, NC 27103. S-maB
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Don't kill
Wild/lower Gardens
To the Editor:
The city of Winston-Salem is
quickly growing around the unique
area known as Emily Allen's
Native Wildflower Gardens. The
diversity, even the existence of this
carefully preserved area is now
threatened by hurried develop
ment.
I ask the aldermen to consider
what approval of the development
projects along Fairlawn Drive will
involve. Remembering that the
flora in the Gardens cannot be
replaced, how will you explain to
the professors and students of
Wake Forest University, Winston
Salem State University, and Salem
Academy and College that you
allowed development without
studying the whole issue of hydrol
ogy? Without the proper water
flow, the Gardens will die, ending
the live studies now uniquely avail
able in this area.
People wanting to study these
plants now come from universities
around this country and around
the world because they are not
available elsewhere. Aldermen,
how will you explain to them or to
the garden club members from
your own ward that this site was
not protected?
Engineering of water run-off
has a poor record in the area of the
Gardens. When Silas Creek exten
sion was built, engineers made mis
takes in calculating water flow, and
repeatedly flooded a house on
Edgebrook Drive. Such errors can
not be tolerated in so sensitive an
area as the Gardens. Ineffective
planning of the Fairlawn extension
has already caused die-backs in the
Gardens, and that was further up
stream than the currently proposed
development.
Only two days before the
Planning Board meeting did the
developers bother to meet with
Mrs. Allen to explain what they
plan to do directly up-stream from
the Gardens. No data have been
collected concerning current run
off rates during storms of varying
intensities, or of the stream's nat
ural flow rate from the spring
which feeds it. Even so, the engi
neers claim they can send storm
water from two developed tracts
through these gardens without
affecting the stream and the rare
flora dependent on it.
Developers worry about getting
a plan approved quickly because
their financing bond will expire in
January if plans are not finalized
before then. This should not be an
issue for our aldermen. We have
only one chance to develop this
area correctly. If the developers did
not start planning to take care of
the water issues when they began
six months ago, that is their fault.
For nearly nine years, ever since
Sunnynoll was proposed, it has
been a matter of record that this
city is concerned about run-off
from the steep hills of the area, and
concerned about protecting the
(Hardens in particular.
We all know the rule of the six
P's: proper prior planning prevents
poor performance. Aldermen,
allow time for studies of the cur
rent seepage patterns, current run
off rates, and counter-proposals
for storm water diversion before
allowing any development to pro
ceed. After nine years of inactivity,
a reputable developer has been
found, but remember that better
plans can be made either by these
people or by others.
? Ann M. Heller
Ignoring racism is
bad strategy
To the Editor:
Most well-meaning, non-racist
white people are not comfortable
responding to a Klan rally in their
community. They look to people
whose judgment they trust and to
community leaders for guidance.
This past weekend Winston
Salem was annoyed by this group
of child and spouse abusing idiots
who gathered at the Hall of Justice
to rant and rave. Fortunately, a
diverse group of ministers
announced they were holding a
prayer vigil across the street in
response. There was no response
(or appearance at the vigil) from
any of our local politicians besides
Larry Womble. The Human
Relations Commission felt the best
strategy was to ignore the event.
Given the mixed and non-mes
sages, it is not surprising most peo
ple stayed home. As a community
we need to be more proactive in
opposing racism and violence.
More people need to hear what
Larry Womble, the Rev. Carlton
Eversley and others have to say. We
need our business leaders, non
profit and elected officials to join
with religious leaders to send a
clear message to the bigots where
the vast majority of this communi
ty stands. The problems of Klans,
armed cults and militias should
not be ignored. The "good"
Germans tried to ignore the Nazis
60 years ago. That strategy doesn't
work.
? Bert Grisard
Mayor-elect
should resign
To the Editor:
Mayor-elect Jack Cavanagh
has, without a doubt, captured the
attention of the people of
Winston-Salem, in a way that is
certainly not the norm. Whatever
his intention or "unintention" was
in capturing our attention, he has
rendered himself a mayor-elect
with a negative effect. As far as this
citizen is concerned, it would be in
the best interest of the honorable
citizens of this city for our mayor
elect to resign before the swearing
in. This is the only way to "heal the
process." There are some things
that just cannot be fixed, and this
choice in bad judgment is one of
them.
Editor's note: This letter was
written before Cavanagh was sworn
in.
- Albert R. Anderson
Hang on to your
. benefits
To the Editor:
It is appalling to this writer the
fact that our president has signed
into public law a bill that is detri
mental to all veterans of these
United States. The bill states in
effect that if a veteran has not reg
istered since Oct. 1, 1996, and does
not register by Oct. 1, 1998, at a
VA hospital, he will lose "all his
medical benefits for the rest of his
life." This includes care at the
Virginia Veterans Care Center.
This action was taken by our
president earlier this year and was
done in such a manner as to render
the action offensive to all veterans.
To make it worse, the VA cannot
notify veterans of this action. It is
disseminated by word of mouth or
by letters to the editor. Thus this
letter.
I for one served my country
faithfully for 20 years and was
promised health care as an incen
tive for remaining on active duty. I
will not sit idly by while our presi
dent and other elected officials
slowly but surely whittle away what
benefits we veterans have left.
? James O. Flint
Commander, Post 30
The American Legion
I' WAITING
| ROOM
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MARRIAGE
COUNSELOR
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Colored and White in the Fair Store
Guest Column
Alvin J. Schmxnidmr
\ I have many memories of
?growing up in Lake Charles. La.,
in the 1950s. Nestled on the Gulf
; Coast, 30 miles from the Texas
'.line. Lake Charles is an industrial
?city, the fourth-largest in the state,
? with one of the busiest ports in the
country, where my father worked
as a stevedore. It was on Lake
Charles' docks that my father
honed his skills as one of the most
effective and respected labor nego
tiators in the International
Longshoreman's Association.
I remember going downtown
with my parents to shop at stores
like Muller's, the largest depart
ment store in town, and
Podrasky's, where we got new
shoes, and Hoffer's, where my
father bought clothes for me and
my brothers. But it is the Fair
Store which has the haunting
memories.
The Fair Store was a depart
ment store that was smaller than
Muller's. Muller's was top shelf.
On occasion, I went to The Fair
with my mother to buy things like
jeans and underwear Although
they were ubiquitous at the time,
what I remember most about the
Fair are the water fountains at the
back of the store with "colored"
and "white" signs over them I sus
pect that I recall them so vividly
because it seemed odd to find col
ored and white signs denoting
anything in a store that calls itself
Fair.
Memories of the two water
fountains have been uppermost in
my mind recently as I try to com
prehend and explain to my chil
dren why we are living in a city
where the Ku Klux Klan gathered
recently and where confederate
license tags are almost as common
as the colored and white signs of
my youth in Louisiana. As a pro
fessional educator who has spent
the bulk of his life helping young
people of all races and ethnic
groups achieve their goals and
maximize their potential, it is
equally disconcerting to witness
what appears to be social and
political retrogression of alarming
proportions.
Let me hasten to note that I am
not at all naive about the times we
live in and the historical
antecedents to our current chal
lenges. As a college student, I
protested and participated in voter
registration drives and went to
many a counter to Me if I would
be served. A college-mate of mine
died after being served a poisoned
cup of cofTee. in order to prove
that the simple rights most of us
now take for granted should be
?
available to him. I was simply one
of the lucky ones, but I have never
forgotten the supreme sacrifice of
my friend who died on the lonely
battlefields of northern Louisiana
while we were at Grambling State
University.
In time the colored and white
signs disappeared and the lunch
counters were cleared and we sang
"We Shall Overcome" thousands
of times. I went off to Vietnam
after a brief stint in the private
sector and returned to the United
States to enter graduate school.
There, amidst my formal studies, I
found time to reread books I had
not fully appreciated as an under
graduate. One in particular,
W.E.B. DuBois' Souls of Black
Folks has followed me the same
way as the Fair Store. In this extra
ordinarily prescient study written
at the turn of the century, DuBois
Writes, "The problem of the twen
?
tieth century is the problem of the
color line."
Today, nearly 100 years after
Dr. DuBois' observation, we are
about to enter another century
with race as the preeminent social
challenge of our time. The presi
dent of the United States has
empaneled a commission of dis
tinguished citizens to lead a
national dialog on race even as we
grapple with domestic issues and
rapidly changing global condi
tions that may challenge the qual
ity of life of all citizens.
What to do? I am no expert on
race relations any more than any
other citizen. Frankly, I suspect
that I may have inadvertently
offended a few well-meaning
friends and associates who over
the years have incorrectly assumed
on the basis of my background
and position that I am the race
relations expert. 1 am committed.
however, to providing first-rate
leadership as an educator and to
creating an environment of mutu
al respect among people of all
races and ethnic groups. As an
institution of higher education,
Winston-Salem State University
has a role to play in this arena that
is no more or no less than that of
any other institution of higher
education. We will continue to do
our part to educate students, fac
ulty and staff to appreciate and
value diversity.
Equally important, we have a
responsibility to ensure that our
students and faculty recognize
that for our nation and our econo
my to be strong, we must compete
not only with graduates of col
leges and universities in South
Carolina, Texas and Oregon, but
also with graduates of colleges
and universities and technical
institutes in Korea, Japan,
Germany and Brazil. Our failure,
for whatever reason, to provide
equality of opportunity for all our
citizens diminishes us all and com
promises our ability to compete in
the global economy.
Our nation's social security
system is an excellent case in
point. To the extent that we fail to
maximize the number of workers
who earn decent wages and con
I
tribute to the fungibility of the
system, it will falter, as economists
have reminded us for at least a
decade. If this happens, we may
see . a return of the colored and
white water fountains, but with a
lot more people, black and white,
on American soil, drinking from
them.
Our future, the maintenance of
our standard of living as we know
it, may well depend on our ability
to turn the corner on race, so to
speak. A brief review of what has
been happening in our cities may
be instructive.
Whereas in the 1960s author
James Baldwin could write an
angry, pessimistic book entitled
The Fire Next Time, in the 1990s
sociologist William Julius Wilson
would write a scholarly, detached
treatise simply called What
Happens When Work Disappears.
To a frightening degree, America's
largest urban areas have become
reservations for the nation's poor,
the unemployed and the underem
ployed. Seemingly, we have
become inured to the hogieless, a
1980s creation mind you,*but also
a group whose vast numbers
include poor blacks, poor whites
and poor Hispanics. Within each
Ser Fair Star* on A11
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