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OPINION
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tiniM-liiu (mimmm Mi?a Ni?i
i The Chronicle
ernest H. Pitt PublisherlCo-Founder
Ndibisi Egemonye Co-Founder
Elaine Pitt Business Manager
Fannie Henderson Advertising Manager
JERI YOLNC Managing Editor
steven Moore Production Manager
karen J. Olson Circulation Manager
M^onal NMMfM^ar PniM^AMOdMton of Circulption
Black publishers to gather in New York
For the first time in 31 years the National Newspaper Pub
lishers Association will hold its annual convention in New York
City.
Expectations are for more than 200 publishers from around
the country to arrive inThe Big Apple by next Wednesday.
For black newspapers, New York City holds a certain signif
icance. New York was the site of the first black newspaper print
ed in America. Freedom's Journal was first published at 6 Var
ick Street on March 16, 1827, in the Trjbeca section of New
York City by Samuel Cornish and John B. Russworm.
On Wednesday June 16, 1999, at 2 p.m., a group of NNPA
publishers, joined by various NYC officials and community
leaders, will make a pilgrimage to the site to commemorate the
publication.
Plans are for a bronze plaque to be laid in the sidewalk in
front of the building.
The last convention was hejd here in June 1968 at the
McAlpine Hotel. Presiding at the time was the late John H. Sen
gstacke, publisher of the Chicago Defender in Chicago, 111. In
those days the presidency was usually held by one of three pub
lishers, John Sengstacke, Garth Reeves or Carlton B. Goodlett.
The months leading up the convention were tumultuous. On
April 4, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated as he
stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tenn.
On June 6, an assassin again struck, this time taking the life of
Robert Kennedy. The Vietnam War claimed a record number of
racnaltipc
Many cities burned as people took to the streets in an unde
clared war against racism and brutality. It was also a year of
political trials like the conspiracy trial of the "Chicago 8" stem
ming from the protests at the Democratic Convention and the
trial of the "Catonsville 9" for burning draft files in Maryland.
It was also a time of intense resistance on college campuses
across the nation.
More than 30 years later, black publishers face similar con
cerns.
This year, police brutality has dominated headlines. African
Americans, both male and female, are being gunned down by
police officers on the street and brutalized .
These maimings and murders were all initially classified as
justified by local lhw enforcement.
At the forefront of the quest for justice for these murdered
children and their families is the Rev.1 Alfred Sharpton, a serious
candidate for mayor of New York City in 2000, and the Nation
al Action Network.
Twenty eight year's before the 1968 meeting in New York City,
John Sengstacke, then heir to the Robert S. Abbott Publishing
Co., sent out a call for a meeting of Negro newspaper publishers
in Chicago for Feb. 29 through March 2, 1940.
He had in mind a conference that would give major attention
to advertising, editorial and news gathering problems and would
substantially recognize inevitable and omnipresent racial mat
ters.
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Today there are local-, regional- and state-based publisher
organizations, all with similar objectives: improved products,
increased revenues and greater reader interest and response.
Today, the National Newspaper Publishers Association
stands as one of the most powerful black organizations in Amer
ica. Under the leadership of the founding fathers, and subse
quent effective leadership by the elected officials, the organiza
tion continues to grow in membership, influence and prestige.
The outgoing president, Dorothy Leavell, has lifted the orga
nization to new heights both nationally and internationally. '
, \ %
To the editor:
During my half-century plus
of association with Winston
Salem State University my per
sonal identity is and hopefully
forever will be linked to this great
institution.
Those who know me know
that I have had my fair share of
agreements and disagreements as
a member of thfe university. ?
We faced those issues and con
cerns squarely, recognizing that
there are no absolute answers or
rules only interpretations that we
as men and women must make.
In the past few weeks I have
been saddened by newspaper and
television reports about my
beloved "Teachers College."
I think it's time to call a "time
out" and make sure we're inter
preting' the rules correctly. I
would not want to see the integri
ty, honor and distinguished histo
ry of WSSU be diminished
because some small rams are
butting heads at the expense of
the Big Rams reputation.
Clarence "Big House" Gaines
To the Editor:
In the May 30 edition of the
daily newspaper. Dr. Carlton
A.G. Eversley, pastor of
Dellabrook Presbyterian Church,
was accurately quoted as saying
he was not particularly interested
in large numbers of homosexuals
joining Dellabrook. Readers were
given the impression he spoke-for
the church. This letter is a public
correction both of Dr. Eversley's
original statement .and the mis
taken impression that he spoke on
our behalf.
On June 6, in a meeting of the
session, the governing body of
elders in a local Presbyterian
Church, Elder Joseph Battle
made a motion restating and reaf
1 firming Dellabrook's commit
ment to the membership stan
dards of the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.), which are: anyone who
confesses Jesus of Nazareth as
Lord and Christ is eligible. This
includes all racial and ethnic
groups and people of any sexual
orientation. Moreover, the session
directed Dr. Eversley to sign any
and all documents that speak to
this openness. Finally, as a con
gregation striving to be A.B.C.
Afro centric, Bible centered and
Christ centered - Dellabrook is
always geared toward inclusion
and not exclusion. We regret any
pain and/or confusion Dr. Evers
ley's statement may have caused.
This motion passed unani
mously, with the voters including
Elder Dr. Denise Penn-Powell,
Elder Adline Thomas, Elder -Bat
tie. Acting Clerk of Session Elder
Valjeanne Smith and Dr. Eversley
himself. We hope this clarifies the
official position of Dellabrook
Church.
Yours truly,
Elder Valjeanne Smith
Acting clerk of session
Dr. Carlton A.G. Eversley
Pastor and moderator of the
. -K session
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t suegsfffctf N**,
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A
Blacks need to embrace firs t black holiday
Val Atkinson
Jones
Street
Memorial Day is behind us.
July 4 is right around the
corner, and Labor Day is not
far off.
These are the holidays of
summer. The beaches will be
teeming with sunbathers, and
parks and camps will be busy.
There will be pool parties,
family vacations and tons of
reunions.
The thought of these days
of summer celebrations is the
stuff that gets us through the
long winter nights and cold
winter days.
But there's one celebration
that doesn't seem to get its due
in North Carolina - June
teen th.
Juneteenth is the oldest
known celebration of the end
ing of slavery. So why aren't
African Americans celebrat- t
ing their freedom? 1
The Israelis celebrate their i
freedom on May 14. Kenyans <
celebrate theirs on Dec. 12; I
the Nigerians, on Oct. 1; and i
the United States, on July 4. It
seems to me that we should be \
celebrating two days of free- I
dom - the freedom of our i
African forefathers from slav- i
ery on June 19 and the free
dom of the' American ]
colonists from the rule of 1
.Great Britain on July 4. i
We celebrate heartily* on
July 4, but for too many
African Americans June 19 is
just another day. i
The holiday has its roots in
Texas, where the news of the
Emancipation Proclamation,
signed on Jan. 1, 1863, didn't
reach many black Texans until.
more than two years later. The
initial celebrations of June
teenth waned over the years
until the civil rights movement
in the 1950s and '60s.
Recently, with the surge of
he use of the Internet, June
eenth has taken on new and
nodern life. Juneteenth is now
celebrated all over America
jut still doesn't enjoy the
-ecognition it deserves.
There are still too many
\frican Americans who'll see
the caption of this column
tnd ask, "What is June
teenth?"
The official day of emanci
pation - Jan. 1, 1863 - hasn't
been celebrated over the years
mainly because most Africans
in America didn't know about
the Emancipation Proclama
tion. And those who had
heard about the proclamation
couldn't do very much about
it. There were a few demon
strations in Virginia, Missis
sippi, Tennessee and in
Raleigh^-,
H
But for the most part, Jan.
1, 1863, went uncelebrated
until after the end of the Civil
War in 1865.- June 19 is the
official Juneteenth celebration
date, but most communities f
celebrate Juneteenth on the
weekend before or after the
19th. Juneteenth is definitely
worth celebrating, and we
don't need a special .reason.
It's our birthright to celebrate
the freedom of ;our forefa
thers. We value our past, -we
want to protect our heritage,
and in celebrating Juneteenth,
we'll be passing on those parts ??
of our culture that are crucial
to the continuation of our
people. ???
This year June 19 falls on a
Saturday, and so there's
absolutely no reason to avoid
the celebration.
Get with your family, get
with your neighbors and
friends, and tell them what ,
you're celebrating. Set a date
t-o do it again next year, but
even bigger and better.
If's the least we can do for
our people and history.
i.
* . Vol A tkinson is a columnist
for the Triangle Tribune.
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w y 1 ' ? . > 4 . The East Side Cafeteria will be one of the few black-owned, sit-down eateries in the city when
I / it opens its doors in 2000. It will join a burgeoning group of black businesses that have been
Mr /\ J /I p fl p J) /\ 1 t ^PTfP f^f\ H jfH jfT J\JJ ^P\/ springing up over the city over the last few years. We asked local African Americans whether
F |y| ^ p | If jj 1/ 111 x 1119 they feel they have an obligation to support black-owned businesses.
0 ro n do o Jo ^ o JOn
'Xi o Wadt ma/f, 1 do feel that we as a
people have an obligation to support Hack
owned businesses because automatically when
Hack businesses are started they are already
behind the competition. / feel without our sup
port they wilt not thrive. And Hacks do not
have much of a financial infrastructure: h*
rely too much on other races. That 's why we
need to support our own businesses and start
our own businesses."
Dimtrkk Broekmtt
"I think we have an obligation to
support black business because it is
our own kind You have all these
other businesses out here that are
being supported by their own. You
got Chinese being supported by Chi
nese; you got white people supporting
each other As black people we have
to support each other to keep every
thing equal."
Monica Williams
"I feeI like it's more a preference
than an obligation. Ultimately we do
what M f want to do. / do not feel like
I'm obligated, hut / supported 5 Star
grocery store just because it's Nack
owned. but I don't feel like we're
obligated "
Kevin White
"I feel we are responsible for
black businesses, because the strides
that businesses have made in the past
and the ones they make today have
made blacks what we are today. IJ we
keep supporting them, we can foster
unity. We have to emphasize that we
should always support them and give
them as much business as possible."
Alexandria Ferguson
"As a black woman I do feel that it is
an obligation for me as well as the black
community to support black-owned busi
nesses. I feel that if black-owned busi
nesses are not supported by African
Americans, then they will fall and they
will not prosper." >
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