Photo bjr Jonathan Mannion
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that a crlmo hat boon tammHM.
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Litesaver or harassment tool?
By Heri^^Whte^
CHARLOTTE ? When Reg
gie Lawrence slides behind the
wheel of bis 1996 Nissan
Pathfinder, strapping on a seat
belt doesn't cross his mind.
Lawrence, a 25-year-old stu
dent at Johnson C. Smith Univer
sity, prefers not to buckle up, a
choice that is prevalent among
African American men age 18-29.
In a national telephone poll, 5S.9
percent of Mack men in that age
group don't buckle up.
"I think wearing a seat belt is
an option," he said. "It's your life,
and basically it should be up to
you whether you want to wear it
or not."
Conversely, black lawmakers
are struggling with a painful
dilemma.
African Americans suffer dis
proportionately from not wearing
seat belts. But blacks are also like
ly to suffer disproportionately
from a Clinton administration ini
tiative to increase seat belt usage
through state laws that permit
police to stop motorists to check if
they are wearing seat belts.
The split in the black commu
nity over the issue has stymied
efforts to pass tougher seat belt
laws in states with large urban and
minority populations, where many
complaints about police harass
ment originate. Yet some federal
and state lawmakers contend that
fears of police harassment are
overblown. Surveys show that
blacks, especially black men, drive
beltless more often than their
white or Hispanic counterparts,
thereby exposing themselves to
greater risks of fatal or critical
injuries in vehicle crashes.
Some African Americans are
leery that giving police more
authority will make "driving while
black" more annoying and dan
gerous. Although Lawrence, a
native of Tampa, Fla., has never
been stopped for a seat belt viola
tion, several friends have. Florida,
which is notorious for police pro
filing of minorities in an attempl
to stem drug trafficking, hai
become a national example of law
enforcement overstepping iti
authority.
"I know a lot of people that'i
happened to, especially back
home," he said. "At home, it'i
what you drive. If you're 18 to 2!
and driving a Lexus or a Jeep and
it has rims and music, you're auto
matically considered a drug deal
er, no matter what. If you're white
and 18 to 25 and you're driving
that, your parents are rich.'*
While seat belt laws are essen
tially state and local matters,
President Clinton last year direct
ed the Transportation Depart
ment to seek ways to increase seat
belt usage from the current
national average of 68 percent to
8S percent by 2000 and 90 percent
by 2005, a rate the administration
claims would save an estimated
10,000 lives a year. Fourteen
states, including North Carolina,
permit police to stop motorists to
check if they are wearing their
seat belts, and the Clinton initia
tive seeks to make that the law in
every state. At least IS states are
considering passing such a law.
"There are virtually no African
American males ? including con
gressmen, actors, athletes and
office workers ? who have not
bdpn stopped at one time or
another for an alleged traffic vio
lation, namely driving while
black," said Rep. John Conyers Jr.
(D-Mich.), who supports tougher
seat belt laws but does not want to
let police officers stop people at
will.
"It's just another way for the
police to stop you for anything,"
Lawrence said. "If that passes,
they can stop you for anything
they want to, then they can search
your car or anything they want. I
don't think that's fair."
Last month, in response to
concerns from Conyers and other
lawmakers who say they are bom
barded with complaints about
unfair traffic stops, the House
passed a bill that would require
^ the Justice Department to con
duct a two-year, nationwide study
to determine whether blacks are
being harassed through routine
/./ vehicle checks.
There is limited data indicating
a problem ? such as a 1995 Mary
land state police study showing 73
percent of the cars subjected to
t stops and searches on Interstate
i 95 were driven by blacks, while
' only 14 percent of the people
i using the road were black. But the
Justice study, estimated to cost
i $500,000, would be the first com
prehensive nationwide look at the
i issue.
i Rep. Juanita Millender
McDonald (D-Calif.) also ques
tions the new seat belt laws, saying
complaints about unfair or
harassing traffic stops are com
mon in her heavily Hispanic and
African American district in
south-central Los Angeles. Cali
fornia has permitted police checks
for seat belt use since 1993.
"We are getting a lot of these,
and they are very disturbing," she
said of the complaints. "The
young black males are saying:
6Why me? Why are we always
being stopped for no apparent
reason? Why are our cars being
searchedT It has become an issue
that we must look at, because
these traffic stops are putting peo
ple in positions of anger, where
they feel they have to respond
because thev think they are being
stopped unfairly."
But Rep. J.C. Watts of Olda- ?
homa, the lone black Republican
and not a member of the Con
gressional Black Caucus, said he
does not accept the notion that
seat belt laws are being used to
target minorities.
The good of wearing seat
belts far outweighs the bad," he
said. "We have many states that
have seat bdt laws, but those laws
are weak, 'they havi no Enforce
ment mechanism, which makes
those laws a sham."
Clinton administration offi
cials are aware of the concerns.
National Highway Transportation
Safety Administrator Ricardo
Martinez has been working with
black lawmakers on Capitol Hill
and in state houses nationwide to
allay any fears that seat belt laws
might be used to abuse citizens,
agency officials said.
Not only blacks have been con
cerned about the civil liberties
issues raised by these laws. Efforts
to pass tougher seat belt laws, in
fact, failed in largely white states
? such as Washington, Minneso
ta and Colorado ? according to
Janet Goss, spokeswoman for the
Air Bag and Seat Belt Safety
Campaign, a group funded by the
nation's automakers and auto
insurers.
"There is a strong feeling of
individualism in those places; a
strong feeling that government
has no right to tell people what to
do in their cars," Goss said.
And the anti-government-med
dling syndrome can often be more
difficult to overcome than "the
very real perceptions'* of racism in
law enforcement, she said.
David A. Harris, a law profes
sor at the University of Toledo
who has done several studies on
the roles of race and ethnicity in
police traffic stops, said there is
compelling evidence that blacks
are targeted by the police.
"Police for years have used
traffic laws to stop people for rea
sons that really hove nothing to do
with traffic safety. The traffic
codes are so voluminous, you can
be pulled over for anything," Har
ris said.
"But as a policeman, you can't
possibly stop everybody. You've
got to be selective, and all of the
available evidence we have is that
police disproportionately use their
power to stop Macks, Hispanics or
other minorities whom they view
as suspicious," Harris said.
The Maryland study, however,
found that 70 percent of the
searches of African Americans'
cars turned up nothing.
Experts offer a variety of rea
sons for why many young blacks
tend not to wear seat belts ? that
wearing belts is seen as unhip, that
the high incidence of single-par
ent households leaves fewer role
, models, and that many poor (ami
lies are forced to buy used cars in
which seat belts may not be in
good condition.
Centers for Disease Control
research in which people were
questioned about their seat belt
usage indicates that tougher seat
belt laws can make a difference. In
telephone polls conducted
between 1987 and 1993, only 44.1
percent of the black men aged 18
to 29 said they used seat belts.
That compared with 34.3 percent
of white men in the same age
group, 63.4 percent of Hispanic
men and 63.2 percent of Asian
men.
A similar poll, conducted in
1993, found that in states with the
tougher laws, the overall seat belt
usage rate for young black men
and women, ages 18 to 29, was
62.2 percent, with men at 38 per
cent and women at 63.6 percent.
In the 36 states that had weaker
seat belt laws, use rates fell to 46.1
percent for black men and 60 per
cent for black women.
The Washington Post con
tributed to this report.
?9
UNCF
from popr A!
Assistant U.S. Attorney LoretU
Biggs retired W-S State University
profeMor Dr. Virginia K. Newell,
the Rev. James Ferree and Vivian
Love Turner.
The monies raised by The CoL
lege Fund/UNCF provide finan
cial aid to students, supplement
faculty salaries, purchase teaching
and laboratory equipment and
defray other operating expenses.
The N.C. fund raising efforts
(including the "Partners for the
Future" Campaign) accumulated
SI.2 million. The College
Fund/UNCF returned $7.7 million
to N.C. member schools.
One of the morepopular
fund raising sources is "The Lou
Rawls Parade of Sura," which ben
efits the Fund. Over $13 million
was raised last year by the telethon
to help reach the overall goal of
$75 million by the Fund.
North Carolina students make
up six percent of the students who
attending UNCF schools Between
1991-1996, there were 564 students
from W-S attended one of the 39
member schools and in Greens
boro, 1,030 students who enrolled
at that time.
"I think the member school
give students a learning environ
meat that is conducive to moat of
their need*," said Richard* "We
take students from where they are
to where they need to be"
According to Richard*, the
Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is
looked at differently by member
schools. "UNCF schools use the
SAT to measure the strengths and
weaknesses of a student so they
know bow to help them," said
Richards The SAT is not used
as an exclusionary standard to
keep students out of college, who
further explained."
With the year 2000 coming up,
the goals and aspirations of the
Fund continue to remain consis
tent.
"We hope to continue to
increase our enrollment at our
member schools and raise more
funds via payroll deduction cam
paigns, corporate matching gift
campaigns and increased individ
ual giving," said Richards, who
says it's important to also
"increase and diversify our enroll
ment.
"We don't perpetuate segrega
tion," said Richards "We welcome
any student and we always have."'
Call 748-0010 for more infor
mation on applications and dona- <
tion opportunities
WOMAN
from page At
didn't have to wear them. I had
to And my niche, because I am a
tomboy."
Treadwell found what she
wanted in the Construction
Training Program, said Richie
Brooks development and hous
ing director.
Martha Rooks agrees.
Rooks said, "Todzia has
come a long way. Now that she
has applied herself, she has the
potential to excel."
"When she Arst applied to
the program, Treadwell recalls,"
she was a little difficult. She
knew that she would have to
learn a lot before she could do
any work."
"Yeah, I gave them some
trouble, I am just outspoken. I
realized then, and I see now,
that they were only looking out
for my best interest. I had to be
sure, I have my bert interest at
heart, too," she remarked with a
snicker.
I After two yearsfwith the pro
gram, Treadwell will be placed
with the city or acquire a job
with a private contractor.
Her work with this project
landed Treadwell's name on the
list for a Habitat Home and it
has given her an opportunity for
full-time permanent employ
ment with the city.
She holds Denise Lucas in
high regards.
"Ms. Lucas is my girl, she
inspired me to do my best. 1.
look to her for advice," Tread
well said.
In regards to her future
?
"RISE gave
me a founda
tion to grow
from, it gave
me vision
? Todzia.
Treadwell
?
?
plans, Treadwell wants to con;
tinue her education, maybe ln
electrical work. She said, she
recently bought a car to get to
work and she is preparing for
home ownership, too.
1200 Willie Davis Drive ,
now stands as testimony, of a
young mother's faith ana deter
mination to create possibilities
in light of profound obstacles.
?*' t
SANTOOTH CENTER ?h
IVUitfiPUaUOitAt BKR.
>
DECADES
o / d ?r ? I t ?
May 8,1998 >.
7-11pm
Artistic Dining Gala Event benefitting the
Sawtooth Center for Visual Art
226 N.Marshall St.
Tickets are $60
Please call 723-7395
for information.
Supported by The Arts Council of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County
Survey
from page A!
"All state senators and repre
senxtatives, 308 legislative
liaisons and lobbyists based in
North Carolina and 28 capital
news correspondents were asked
to rate the 'effectiveness' of each
member of the North Carolina
General Assembly on a scale of 1
to 10," explained the summary
that accompanied the report,
which has been distributed
around the state.
According to the Center for
Public Policy Research, the sur
vey's purpose "was to identify
the most effective legislators in
the General Assembly."
Ron Coble, the Center's exec
utive director contends that the
rankings "help citizens under
stand the way the legislature
works ? who's up who's down,
who's new in town. He added,
"This time, the rifts among
House members caused shifts in
effectiveness."
Critics, however reject the
survey and describe it as nothing
more than a popularity contest.
Adams and Boyd-Mclntyre criti
cized the rankings because they
are based on legislators' assess
ment of each other and because
lobbyists were also polled, not
the representatives' constituents.
"Ita a peer evaluation and I
don't put too much stock in it,"
said Adams. "I don't think very
many of the African-American
representatives even bothered to
return the surveys."
Both Adams and Boyd-Mcln
tyre deity that they are dmong
the least effective members of
the state House.
"I got some bills through, rat
ified said Adams.
For example, there was the
special provision in the budget
bill that called for equity funding
for the state's historically black
colleges and universities. Initial
ly, the Assembly had been poised
to give an additional S21 million
to five schools deemed to have
been underfunded. The state's
black colleges were excluded
from that list.
"That was another issue of
race." said Adams.
The lawmaker from Greens
boro said she. led the push for
equity. .
"That was my bill. Sure there
were other names on it, but that
was my effort," said Adams.
One of the most contentious
political issues of the moment is
the debate over children's health
care insurance. "Yet," notes
Adams, " there are no African
Americans on the conference
committee, which is responsible
for negotiating compromise
between the disparate House and
Senate versions of the proposed
legislation."
A Klan rally ? that's what it
looks like down there," said
Adams.
i
If black legislators are not
appointed to key panels then it
will be highly unlikely that they
will have significant impact over
the outcome, she explained.
Much of the Assembly's work
is done through committees.
Boyd-Mclntyre noted that there
are scores of committees, most
with fewer that two dozen mem
bers. Consequently, she ques
tions whether anyone other than
the people on a specific commit
tee can assess performance.
"My constituents know that I
contribute," said Boyd-Mcln
t y re, adding that she has received
accolades and standing ovations
on the House floor.
Boyd-Mclntyre was responsi
ble for new state laws regarding
fire bombing of churches.
"I'm the one who was able to
get the other legislators to do the
right thing," said Boyd-Mcln
tyre.
Yet, she was rated less effec
tive than Rep. Steve Wood, R
Ouilford, who has had problems
within his own party.
Wood upstaged Rep. Robert
Brawley's bid for speaker pro
tern by nominating himself and
garnering support from House
Democrats. According to
Adams, House Speaker Harold
Brubaker "won't even go the the
bathroom" as a means of keep
ing Wood from assuming leader
ship duties.
Wood fell SO places in the
?
rankings, but at 82 he still was
considered more effective than
Adams, Boyd-Mclntyre or
Womble.
"I have the evidence to prove
that I am doing my job," said
Boyd-Mclntyre. "The responsi
bility entrusted to me proves that
I am not down there fumbling
around.
Rep. Larry Womble could not
be reached for comment.
?
i
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