Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Feb. 26, 1998, edition 1 / Page 6
Part of Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
OPINION ' The Chronicle Ernest H. Pitt Ndlrisi Egemonye Sharon Brooks Hoike Elaine Pitt Fannie Henderson Carol Trader PubiisherICo-Founder Co-Founder > Editor Business Manager Advertising Manager Production Manager m A New ?j-> , Beginning FROM THE TRIANGLE TRIBUNE Sunday March 1,1998 will go down in history as the beginning of the redefining and affirmation of the Black Press in North Carolina. The Triangle Tribune, a joint effort of The Chronicle and The Charlotte Post,'is committed to conveying a message of hope and to making a difference. (This new weekly paper will serve the Durham and Raleigh communities and will give The Chronicle the opportunity to to share with our readers in the Triad events and issues about African Americans from the state capital.) As we embark on this new venture, we commit ourselves to covering news, issues and events that concern the African American community. Our aim is to inform and inspire...to enlighten and encourage. We will strive to provoke thought and, when necessary, challenge the status quo. The Black Press has always been a voice of conscience; at times, a voice of compassion; and at times, a voice in the wilderness. As our community continues to set trends and make history, we will work hard to get the word out... to get your word out. And we hope to make a difference not only through words, but also through actions. The Triangle Tribune will invest in this community just as The ? Chronicle in Winston-Salem, and The Charlotte Post in Charlotte, have invested in those communities for the past 24 years. We have pro vided our communities with quality newspapers that represent the best in journalistic excellence. And, we won't ask you to hold us to any less er standard We encourage you to write to us and tell us how we are doing ... good, bad and indifferent. Please tell us what you want from us. We will listen and respond. We enthusiastically support organizations and institutions that seek to improve conditions in our communities. We are involved because we have a stake in the outcome. We will not hesitate to take up unpopular or controversial causes even though we know that taking a stand sometimes means standing alone, or risking safety and prosperity. But, we believe that principles must prevail. Actions must ultimately speak. Otherwise, words are not worth the paper they're printed on. The future success of all businesses how depends on the ability to manage the flow of information. Fortunately, Consolidated Media Group, the parent company of The Triangle Tribune, The Chronicle and The Charlotte Post, is already in the game. All of our newspapers . are linked through a T-l line that enables us to move information, including stories, advertising and complete paginated pages, from site ~ to-site, ending at our central printing facility without ev?r actually . leaving our computer system. With your support and encouragement, we will provide the kijid of publication that you will be proud of. We will be good stewards of your trust. This we promise. I ~/ 1 '? Tht Chronicle imlwiwi lotlmt at mwI at guott columnt from ill rood on. lotto) i thouid bo at concito at pottMo and thouid bo typod or fog/My ptintod. To onturo tho authotpicky of tho lottor, you moot mdudo tho namo, addrott and tolophono numbor of tho writor. Columnt mutt fafcm tho tamo guidoBnot and wi bo pubBthod if thoy am af intonat to our gonotal roadorthip. ftw Chronid* wik not publish any lattmt or eokmmtt that ttrrivo without this information. Wo rotorvo Iho ngftf to odklotton and columnt for brovity and clarity. Submit lottors and columnt to: Chronido Mokbag, P.O. Box 1636, Wintton-Solom, NC 27102. t-mai oddrBM.' wschron@netvnliaMtvd.net Give Nat Ervin an "F" in Satire By Billy Booker I have been a lot of places with in this country as well as outside this country. I've seen a lot of things, and there aren't too many things that surprise or shock me when I see or hear them. However, I must admit, I was taken "aback" somewhat, when I read Nat Ervin's commentary in the Winston-Salem Journal on Sunday 2/15/98. I was not com pletely surprised because I would expect no more of Mr. Ervin. In reading his articles and under standing psychology and behavior the way I do, I have come to under stand that what Mr. Ervin is deal ing with is "SELF HATRED." It is the Self-Hatred of his in group that desperately wishes to identify with the reference group. Reference group is defined as "those groups to which the individ ual relates himself as a part, or to which he aspires to relate himself psychologically. Thus a reference group is any group that is warmly accepted, or a group in which the individual wishes to be included. I qualify my statement about Mr. Ervin by quoting his own words in the Feb. 15 commentary: "For if Nat Ervin we acted more like the rest of soci ety, then nobody would even notice we were here". In my opinion, this self hate derives from Mr. Ervin's wish to relate himself to the white majori ty in his community. He would like to partake of the privileges of this majority, and be considered one of its members. According to Kurt Lewin, one of the most influential social psychologist of his time, Mr. Ervin may feel so intensely about this matter that he repudiates his own in-group and develops a con dition known as self-hate, i.e. hatred of his own group. Over a century ago, de Toqueville described self-hatred among Negro slaves. Although the passage is poignant, it commits the fallacy of ascribing this state of mind to all African Americans. Actually, this form of ego defense was probably not common, certainly not univer sal, among slaves; nor is it com mon among the majority of African Americans today, howev er, it does fit the bill for some peo ple like the Nat Ervins and Clarence Thamases, de Tocqueville states, "the Negro makes a thou sand fruitless efforts to insinuate himself among men who repulse him; he conforms to the tastes of his oppressors, adopts their opin ions, and hopes by imitating them to form a part of their community. Having been told from the beginning that his race is naturally inferior to that of the whites, he assents to the proposition, and is ashamed of his own nature. In ? . ? each of his features, he discovers a trace of slavery, and it it were in his power, he would willingly rid him self of everything that makes him what he is." , Now, let's dissect Mr. Ervin's commentary that he later comes back and makes a flimsy attetnpt to explain to 5th graders at Carter G. Woodson School. His explana tion to them is that it was satire. He further insulted their intelli gence by saying he didn't realize 5th graders read the commentary section of the newspaper. Next1, he attempted to explain satire to 'the 5th grade student who wrote in saying it was tricky. Someone should explain Satire to you Mr. Ervin. Satire is a mode of expres sion that criticizes social institu tions or human foibles humorously. Their is no humor in Mr. Ervin's commentary., Mr. Ervin reminds me of Francois Arouet, (better known as Voltaire) before his imprisonment. Son of a bourgeois lawyer, yopng Voltaire wanted so much to ingra tiate himself with the court nobili ty; with his wit, intelligence, and good education, he accomplished this. Becoming well known as a writer of neoclassical tragedies, he discovered that in spite of his tal ents he was not socially equal to aristocrats when one of them had him publicly beaten and thrown into the infamous French prison, the Bastille. Mr. Ervin's commen tary is a crime against satire, good education and plain 'ole common Maybe the Bastille is where Mr. Ervin should spend some time until he becomes enlightened to the cultural differences of all peo ple. Why should African Americans always be the ones to conform or in Mr. Ervin's words, "act .like the rest of society"? Don't misunderstand me, I am by no means saying we should run amuck in the streets and dismiss all rules and regulations that govern society. As for the majority of us, we are law abiding citizens who work hard everyday, present our selves respectably before our peers and desire to live in peace and har mony with the rest of the world. It is dangerous and psychologically damaging when one who is sup posed to be intelligent ascribes a certain behavior to an entire group of people. Mr. Ervin would do well to read William Ryan's book. "Blaming the Victim" or maybe I should say, re-read it. Mr. Ervin should ask himself, am I also seen as a preda See SATIRE on A8 GREAT MI6RKTI0H Of IhE . '> "- ? ) * Voices from the commit.. > N* ^ > . * With the CI A A Basketball Tournament currently going on, THE CHRONICLE went to Hanes Mall to ask some consumers and ?' businesses if they supported the tournament or if they benefited from it? Here 's what some people said: Chance Largent "I probably won't go because of financial reasons. Plus, / have to work. I went to a couple last year when I had some free time. The games were all right. Not much is really going on in Winston Salem so the games attract more people here." " _ Cory Gaither "I'm going to try to catch some of the games. I caught about 5 games last year. Since I've been working at the Hawthorne Inn at Adam's Mark, they've been sending me to some games for about 2 years." Heather Cherry " Yes, I plan on going to at least one game and the step show. I'm going to the step show to see all the new people and see all the girls and guys step and maybe I can get some ideas, because I'm help ing out at Parkland High School with their step team and maybe I can take some ideas back to them." Pop Kamara "I'm from West Africa? Senegal. I used to live in New York. I've been here for 2 months. I don't know that much about the CI A A, but I heard that there will be a lot of people from out of town coming to Winston. The mall manager was telling to be ready to get some more mer chandise, because I'm selling African American art." Tabitha M. Dobson " Yes, I'm thinking about it. A lot of my friends are going and I'm thinking about going to it. I haven't been to any games in the past. But a lot of people talk good about the tournament. Several peo ple came in [ where she ' works ] and got outfits for it."
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Feb. 26, 1998, edition 1
6
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75