Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Feb. 25, 1999, edition 1 / Page 7
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
FORUM r I really do love this game \ Nigel Alston Motivational Moments 1 -J The friends of our friends are our friends. ? Congo Founded in 1912, the CIAA is the oldest black ath letic conference in the nation. The CIAA Tournament is the {third largest in the country in {terms of attendance. It's in {good company behind the l-ACC and the Big East tour naments and has produced [legendary coaches and pro fessional players. I've attend ed the tourney for more years J than I can count. But one ! memory stands out in my {mind. { I don't remember the year, [but I remember one of the [players and can hear the ;crowd cheering. War Memorial Coliseum iwas packed to see one of the jCIAA's best, Earl "The Pearl" {Monroe do his thing, i It was a fast break. He " {brought the ball up the court i while the defense was jockey ling for position. As he approached half court, he dribbled the ball behind his back, changed direction and completed a killer crossover that would make Tim Hard away dizzy. He crossed the half court line, moved the ball from his right hand behind his back to his left hand, between his legs again and in one continu ous motion released the ball. It sailed through the air on its way through the hoop - swish - nothing but the bot-. torn of the net. It qualifies for the CIAA Tournament highlight reel. Raise the roof. I love this game. I have seen a few more games and have a lot of mem ories since that time "back in the day." I attended my first tourna ment in 1971 as a freshman at Livingstone College. It didn't take a lot of plan ning or thought. "Let's go to the tourna ment," someone shouted. That's all the encourage ment we needed. We didn't have $5 between us. We did n't see a game or make it into the coliseum. We didn't need a hotel reservation, we slept in the car . That was the beginning of a love affair. |t's the same love affair that thousands of people have developed over the years. I wonder if the coaches who pooled their money to rent that boxing arena to put on the first tournament in Washington, D.C. knew they ' ' '\r were starting a tradition that would become the largest black basketball tournament in the country. From a 2,000 person sell out in Washington, D.C. to an economic impact of $8 million for the city hosting the event. Operating on a shoestring budget of $800 in 1946, the CI A A now com mands more than $250,000 in scholarships that benefit member schools. Sky boxes are used to entertain and host school supporters while the Delta's and AKA's have the hottest ticket in town to a sold out fashion show. There is some thing for everyone. A Greek step show allows students to show off their * synchronized moves and a cheerleading contest makes Tae-Bo look tame. And how can I forget Mr. CiAA. He'll be styling and profiling in living color. I watch the games in between conversations with friends. I walk over to the pavilion to find that bargain I just can't do without as I lis ten to "old school" music blast from a boom box. The CIAA is more than just a basketball tournament. There is the hall of fame induction ceremony, tip-off banquets, the coaches' social and one party after another. tyly wife has just come in from the . ladies' evening game. She is in the spirit already. It's ladies night out. A friend's daughter is a ball girl and they are out to support her and watch some good basketball. She met a few people she didn't know. They talked about the coach ing changes, a chancellor moving on to another school, and the games moving to L Raleigh next year. p The games have traveled around over the years to cities like Washington, Baltimore, Durham, Greensboro, Hamp ton, Norfolk, Richmond and Winston-Salem. ? I am flipping through the pages of a souvenir program now, which is more like a family photo album, reading about the rich history of the CIAA. I have one more day at the office before the fun begins for me. By the time you read this column, I'll be enjoying another CIAA tournament And it is all because of those coaches who pitched in $100 to rent an arena to put on a tournament in 1946. Thanks coaches!" Your legacy continues. ? Nigel Alston is an execu tive with Integon Insurance and can be reached at PO Box 722, Winston-Salem, N C. 27102 or e-mailed at nalston237@aol.com J! 1 ? The truth behind the death penalty Earl Ofari Hutchinson j ' Guest Columnist / ?' ' Even with the public embarrassment over the near ?execution of Illinois death .jrpw inmate Anthony Porter . who was wrongfully accused /p{ murder, most Americans Atill enthusiastically favor .capital punishment. There are essentially two reasons why they do. One is publicly stated: the Tear of crime. And for that we "dan thank the media and 'politicians. From the late 1980s on, ,jthe media has stuffed the public with mega doses of .gory crime and violence sto ries, and politicians have . pounded away on crime as a -sure-fire crowd pleaser and vote getter. Even though mur der rates are at a twenty year tow and Americans were , more likely to be murdered * during the Great Depression "p{ the 1930s than today, a scared stiff public still demands the speedy dispatch < of violent criminals. Some ^argue that crime rates have sdropped because of the death \penalty and tougher crime >!measures, but the downward strend in murder and major Jcrime happened before the !;big escalation in th^ number ^executed in the late 1980s, f The other reason for death '.penalty mania is privately S whispered: race and class. More than forty-five percent of those currently sitting on the nation's death rows are minorities. They are almost always the poorest of the poor and the least likely to have the resources to get top flight legal representation. In the public's legal rush to judgment of prisoners, many of those executed have been mentally incompetent, juve nile delinquents, and as we now know innocent. According to a Congres sional subcommittee report, 48 innocent persons have been executed during the past two decades. With Porter's case in the public spotlight, this may even be the tip of iceberg. He is the 10th death row inmate freed because of doubts about their guilt in Illinois since the death penal ty was reinstated in 1977. This monumental1 flaw in the administration of the death penalty fprced the American Bar Association to repeatedly recommend a total moratorium on executions. But since moral and legal arguments against the death penalty for the most part fall on deaf ears, death penalty opponents should hammer away at the two most cher ished beliefs of the public that it deters crime and that it's more cost effective to kill criminals. Both are huge myths. ? The death penalty does n't deter crime. Eighteen of the 20 states with the highest murder rates are death penal ty states. That includes Cali fornia and Texas which have the highest number of prison ers on death row. Seventeen of the 20 major cities with the highest murder rates are in death penalty states. The murder rates in Michigan and Indiana are nearly identical even though Indiana has the death penalty and Michigan doesn't. Most people artf not mur dered by a stranger on the street but by a. friend, acquaintance, or a relative. There is not a shred of evi dence that those who kill, whether they be a stranger or someone known to t-he vic tim, worry that one day they could have a date with the executioner. But most murderers need not worry about that anyway. There are 20,000 or more* homicides in America yearly. Yet only one in 600 murderers will receive the death penalty. If they are poor, minority and live in the Sooth and their victim is white and mid dle-class, they almost certain ly will be a prime candidate for execution. ? The death penalty is any thing but cost effective. Tax payers pay dearly for special DA units to "prosecute death penalty cases, extra jury selection, special motions, a second penalty phase, lengthy investigations, and a battery of witnesses. The time and costs pile up even higher in capital cases because prose- I cutors and judges try to be ? legally correct and avoid , reversal (many are anyway) and the states allocate paltry sums for legal representation for the indigent. It costs three times more to execute a prisoner than to lock him/her up for life. Florida spends $3 million per execution, North Carolina, and Texas over $2 million. The estimate is that Califor nia would save nearly $100 million annually by resen tencing its ^nearly 600 death row inmates to life imprison ment, and making them pay the families of the victims their earnings from tljeir prison labor. The worst part of all this is that the death penalty wastes time, fans public hys teria and squanders resources that should be spent on alco hol and drug treatment, counseling, education and job training programs. These are far more cost effective deterrents to pro tecting lives than taking a rel atively few lives in execution chambers each month. And that includes the innocent who weren't as lucky as Porter. ? Earl Ofari Hutchinson is the author of The Crisis in Black and Black. His email address is ehutchi344@aol.com. The Chronicle * i The Choice for African American News and Information Subscribe Today. Call: 722-8624 t /instate IYouVe in good hands. Allstate Insurance Company 3911 University Parkway, Suite A Winston-Salem, NC 27106 1 ? Bus (336) 759-3911 MOSE' BELTON-BROWN, LUTCF FAX (336) 759-9192 Senior Account Agent LUTCF Fellow Premier Service Agent 24 Jfour a 2>ay Service SALVAGE MART || IB1KB WHFJTTIEIB. SAILS LADIES DESIGNER FASHIONS Y TV SHOPPING CLUB Clothes \ * Misses to Plus sizes \ ] * LADIES/MENS JACKETS & COATS I * General Merchandise /? * Ladies Handbags & Shoes 115 OLD HOLLOW RD 1 mile North of Walmart, University Pkwy at Hwy 66 377-3630 ? WED-SAT ? 10-6pm You discovered them at Doubletree. You'll love them at Club Hotel '>*' by Doubletree. ? You're probably ready for one W\M now. , 'X'ieK ' ' '?' ?. DOUBLETREE'S DREAN DEALS HAVE JOINED THE CLUB. Club Hotel by Doubletree continues the Doubletree tradition with flMliMMMt You get a terrific weekend rate, free continental breakfast for two, our complimentary chocolate . v chip cookies and your choice of check-out times. Rate 1s per room, per night based on double occupancy. Rate subject to change y without Notice. Hot applicable to groups. Additional restrictions may apply. ?: ^? mnmmmi www.clabhatats.cM ??isMf; |msc|9>BBi0M^ hartntrt In our butlnats trsval revolution. . . ? ? 'i Club Hotel by Doubletree Raleigh North 2815 Capital Boulevard, Raleigh, NC 27604 (919) 872-7666 ^ I K I The Chronicle v The Choice for African American News USPS 067910 617 N. Liberty Street Winston-Salem, NC 27101 The Chronicle was established by Ernest Pitt and J Ndubisi Egemonye in 1974, and is published every Thursday by The Chronicle Publishing Co., Inc. The Chronicle is a proud member of National Newspapers Publishers Association ? North Carolina Press Association ? North Carolina Black Publishers Association ? Inland Press Association National Advertising Representative: Amalgamated Publishers, Inc., 45 West 45th Street, New York, NY 10036 212/869-5220 Postmaster send address changes to: THE CHRONICLE P.O BOX 1636 Winston-Salem, NC 27102 ? Contact Us: phone number 336 / 722-8624 fax 336 / 723-9173 website odtiress www.netunlimited.net/~wschron eml address wschron@netunlimited.net Sports Editor 723-9429 Sam Davis Circulation 722-9624 Vickie B arren Solos Staff 722-9629 I.exii Johnson Brace Cross 9uunou Offka Erick a Asm RY Pai i etti Lewis Production A. N. AA RK.HT Lonnie Aiucks The Chronicle Thr rfeMkvJbr .MrwWI^rwrt..! Home Delivery Subscription Order ? YES, Please send me The Chronicle ? 2 years: $40.95 95 ? 1 year: $30.72 I vear 35.72 ? 6 months: $20.48 ^ ?? Samr Addrrss 7 __ _ ? VISA ? Mastercard ? American Express ? clieck enclosed ? Please bill me Annum \umber * Exptratum Date Signatun / . l ? Send to: The Chronicle. P.O. Box 1636. Winston-Salem. NC 27102
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Feb. 25, 1999, edition 1
7
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75