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Sharpton leads successful shadow inaugural protest B\ RAOl I M SMS \M'\NEWSSI k\lc I WASHINGTON - In spite of cold rain, near I'ree/ing tempera tures and the fact that despite their efforts, (ieorge W. Hush was to be inaugurated the 43rd president of the I luted States, hundreds of pro testers took to the streets of the nation's capital Saturday morning to make known their anger and dis appointment with the ceremonial enactment placing Hush in the White House. Amid several protests around the city and in Tallahassee, Fla., demonstrators came from around the nation as far as Montana. Boston and California and descended on the United States ? Supreme Court, known as the scene of the crime" in the decision of the controversial 2000 presiden tial election crisis. "They were going to try to stop this march from happening," said organizer Mark Thomson. "But by sheer weight of your numbers, they are going to allow us to move for ward. ne said to the crowd. Protest signs ranged in style, tone and temperament from "R I P Democracy: 1776 to 2IHHI" and "A Car In Every Garage And An Exe cution In Every Family" to "The People Have Spoken. All Five Of Them"and "It's The Vote. Stupid." Diverse in color, economic background, sex and sexual orien tation. the crowd moved through the inclement weather under an umbrella of leadership provided by the NAACP and the Rev. Al Sharpton. The crowd's participants ranged from young African-Amer ican Georgetown students to gay black men. to farmers, white work ing-class students, farmers, busi nets professionals and even tod dlers, elders and young adults. In raincoats, snorkels and trench coats and ponchos layered with sweaters, the shadow inauguration crowd was in sharp contrast to the pro Bush visitors in their polished suits, cowboy hats and cleanly-cropped haircuts. Over the course of the event, more than I .out) came out into the center of the city to protest the Bush inauguration. Although sonic obstacles seemed placed in order to prevent visibility tyf the protest such as city buses parked in the center of the protest march route, the call by police for protesters to walk only oh the sidewalks as opposed to the center of the street and the effort early on to stop the march altogether. In spile of lime delays and obstacles, the demonstration was singed with aggressive banners, political chants and commentary and high spirits inspired by Sharp ton's biting message. "Bush says, 'Get back!"; we say, 'Fight back!'" Sharpton said as he led demonstrators at the top of his speech. "You will have to do more than get messy with Jesse in order to deter us. from the dreams and rights that African Americans his torically fought for within the civil rights movement." The reference was to the Rev. Jesse Jackson's disclosure last week that he was the father of a 20 month-old daughter out of wed lock. The story broke in The National Enquirer as Jackson pre pared to lead a simultaneous demonstration in Tallahassee. Fla. Jackson, saying he was taking a break from public life in his brief statement on his situation, did not lead Saturday's protest. "Just like we stopped your granddaddy from robbing us of our right to vote, we will stop you," said Sharpton. As the temperature dropped, the veteran minister continued his rant, calling on demonstrators to continue to fight for voter reform and against the Bush ceremony. "We came out in the rain and the cold and the mud because we are not going to let you turn us around. We are not going to give up a woman's right to choose; we are not going to give up affirmative action; we are not going to accept police brutality, and profiling." "It was cold in Selma jails 30 years ago." Sharpton said, compar ing the harsh weather to conditions civil rights activists endured in the 1960s. "It was cold in Birmingham jails. We know what it is to struggle and that's why we will not go away." Sharpton evoked memories of civil rights martyrs such as Schw erner, Goodman and Cheney as well as Medgar Evers, King and Malcolm X in his passionate deliv ery calling on all Americans to fight for voter education so that their deaths would not be in vain. He warned that the masses of Americans who are angered over the Supreme Court's ruling, which they say "selected" Bush as presi dent. will not be silent on the mat ter. His message was clear that peo ple were to become active in the effort to make voter reform a reali ty and to make the Bush adminis tration accountable to women and .minority communities. "This is not just another march." Sharpton said of the need to challenge the Bush inaugura tion. "This is like looking at a situ ation where someone breaks in HM TO fH? THIEF! * piAPE^Odl h'^S no I I vo^s' Photo by Raoul Dennis/ NNPA Protesters march in Washington last Saturday during President Bush's Inauguration. your house and steals your TV. and when you ehase them and catch them, the court says there was no crime and awards the thief the tele vision. The American people must stand up to unjust rulings." Sharpton pressed specific venom toward Supreme Court Jus tice Clarence Thomas, the high court's only African-American member. "Clarence Thomas has the nerve to sit on the Supreme Court and vote against the very rights that provided him a career in the first place." he said. "(Bush) needs to know who he is lighting against. He needs to understand the strength and con victions of our lineage: Ida B. Wells, Sojourner Truth, Marcus Garvey." Sharpton said. He noted that Moses did not have the great financial and mili tary might of Pharaoh, but that he had God on his side. "Moses said to God as he looked at the burning bush, "I am not a statesman, I can't speak well.' but God told Moses, "I don't need you to speak."' After saying that "we are all deputies, for vote reform" at the shadow inauguration in Stanton Park, less than six blocks from the Supreme Court, the New York based minister encouraged demon strators to continue to work on election issues when they returned home. "Don't be discouraged. We have come too far and the Lord did not bring us this far to leave us now." said Sharplon. Other speakers at the rally and demonstration were Rev. Walter Fauntroy, a former aide to Martin Luther King, and U.S. Rep. Don Payne (D-N.J.). Faithful few black Republicans express big hopes for Bush administration BY HAZELTRICK HDNEY NNPA STAFI WRITER WASHINGTON It was cold, rainy and almost 1:30 a.m. But. for the thousands of White Republi cans who h,id converged on Wash ington, D.C., frort) across the nation early Saturday morning, it was Inauguration Day morning and the party had just begun. Among them, a comparative handful of black celebrators also reveled in the moment. They did so. knowing that the inauguration of George W. Bush would draw throngs of protestors many of whom would be Black and right eously indignant about the per ceived disenfranchisement of black voters that resulted in the former Texas governor's election. Nevertheless, from the glitzy pre-inaugural festivities to the muddy Capitol grounds, black Republicans expressed big hopes for the new president. " I he issue is that they really don't know the president-elect." said t rie Bosl. who worked more than three years for Bush as head of the Texas Department of Human Services. "They will see very soon that he will run this country with honesty, loyalty and intelligence." Bost and his wife. Rose, were among the relatively few black Republicans who partied among thousands at the election-eve Black Tie 'N' Boots Ball, held at the Marriott Wardman Park until 3 a.m. Saturday. "I've had a fantastic time!" said a jazzy Nathaniel Moore. 51. hold ing a drink and grooving to the live country music. He told a reporter he was here "because I'm a Repub lican. That's right. I'm an intellec tual. not an emotional." Then, breaking into a chuckle, he took pot-shots at Democratic President Clinton, who was largely beloved by the black community. "I think Clinton was the best Republican president we ever had." Moore said sarcastically. "He killed welfare with welfare reform, he got NAFTA through and created thousands of new jobs - at McDonald's!" Bending over in laughter, he then added seriously as he walked away: "Don't believe what they say. They're all white folks." Economics seemed to be the main buzzword among those will ing to discuss their specific hopes for the Bush administration. "I honestly feel like this." said Southern Californian Tarnisha Davis. 27. who attended the ball with her husband. Brandon. 28. "It's about tax-sheltering and making people better." she said. Her husband chimed in that the protests being held by the Rev. A1 Sharpton and other black activists "won't matter because most black people and most poor people don't tote - and the election is four years/away Most people black . or white vote on two things: cash and whatever issues directly affect them personally." he said. Jaime Moore, 27, outside the packed ballroom so he could con verse with friends, said both his parents are Democrats. But the issues have changed, said the com puter and Internet software spe cialist. "It's about what's going to be important for the next genera tion." Moore said he disagrees with his mother on the Republicans' perspective of black people and working people. "My mother says that the Republican Party doesn't really strive for the working class. I found that the Republican Party is trying to empower people to empower themselves rather than rely on government programs," he said. As the misty rain and bitter cold continued into Inauguration Day. a sea of white faces crowded into the coveted seats lining the Capitol grounds. The handful of black Republicans maintained their big hopes as protesters raged only blocks away. "This is what makes this coun try great," said veteran Republican Deborah Burston-Donbraye, Ohio's only black member of the Electoral College. "We can have a peaceful transfer of power and peaceful protests," she said. Burston-Donbraye acknowl edged that racism lingers heavily in. America. But, some black activists, such as Sharpton, "are so wrong-headed because they are unreasonable," she said, i "We're living in the past. W9 should be dealing with pregnant women instead of pregnant chads." New Yorker Russell Hatcher, who aspires to become a Bush speeehwriter, said he liked the inaugural address in which the new president promised to work to build a single nation of justice and opportunity. "I think they should give him a chance to heal the racial divide and to see what's going to hap pen," he said. As a Marine band approached in preparation for the big inaugur al parade, veteran Republican Rayford L. Harris Sr. scurried along the sidewalk with his adult son. Rayford Jr., who strongly declared himself an independent. "This is a positive change," Rayford Sr. said of the new admin istration. "After eight years of Democrats leading and setting an admirable pace, I see that as an inspiration to anyone coming along afterwards to do better. And that's a win-win situation for us all." Tjfie Chronicle (USPS 067-910) was established by Ernest H. Pitt and Ndubisi Egemeye in 1974 and is published every Thursday by Winston-Salem Chron icle Publishing Co., Inc., 617 N. Liberty St., Winston Salem, NC 27101. Periodicals Postage paid at Win ston-Salem, N.C. Annual subscription price is $30.72. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: O The Chronicle, PO Box 1636 - Winston-Salem, NC 27102-1636 INDEX OPINION A6 SPORTS " B 1 RELIGION B6 CLASSIFIEDS B9 HEALTH C3 ENTERTAINMENT C7 CALENDAR C9 Quotables: "We have to give our children, especially black boys, something to lose. 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(asrwtfipirluns 1*4*7* w* JOBLINK CAREER CENTER AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY SERVICE PROVIDER YOUTH SERVICES COMPONENT (Employability Learning Lab) X: IS OFFERING "INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER BASICS" classes (Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10:00 am until 12 noon) MB ? ASSISTANCE WITH THE SAT & THE ACT COLLEGE PREPARATION TESTS (Monday, Wednesday, Friday 2:30 PM - 5:00 PM) Please contact: Reginald R. Scott 516 North Trade Street Winston-Salem, NC 27101 (336) 748-3405
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