Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / March 21, 2002, 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 s Emmm H. Pitt \dl hisi ecil m(l\l i ? , t El aim Pitt V* i Fan mi Hindikson #?? ;? i T. kea in \V \ i k i k ?' . k\\ S II I I / I Publisher I Co-Founder ('a-Founder Business Manager idvertising Manager Managing Editor Produi /ion Supervisor C^C -^=1 {? North Carolina ?-? ? Amalgamated ?? National Newspaper tasoc.ai.on ol Circulation pub,?h? ,nc Publisher# Association ? ? The war on c ? communities of color in America ! <s? Jesse Jackson Guest Columnist For decades the United States has been trying to solve the u complex social problem of drug abuse through an expensive criminal justice approach. Millions of non-violent drug offend ers have been arrested and imprisoned. Drug offenders now account for almost one-fourth of all state prisoners and more than half of all federal prisoners. While the so-called war on drugs hasn't stemmed the drug tide (illegal drugs are cheaper, purer, and more prevalent than ever), its primary effect has been to fill our jails and prisons with the poor and the young, dis proportionately African American. Latino and Native Ameri can. The evidence shows that w hite Americans in 1999 sold and used drugs at the same or higher rates than minorities. Accord ing to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, white youth ages 12-17 are more than a third more likely to have sold drugs than African-American youths. During the period 1991 to 1993. the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) included questions-about drug selling in their annu al National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. While it is regrettable that SAMHSA no longer includes survey questions on drug sells, the data thev collected during this three-year period is vers informative. On average over the three-year peri od. blacks were lb percent of admitted sellers and whites were J'82 percent. Despite the fact that studies show that people of f; color use and sell drugs at similar rates as whites. African I Americans. Latinos and Native Americans are arrested, prose ?' . cuted and imprisoned at dramatically higher rates than whites for the same crimes. \ African-American men are admitted to stat^ prisons for drug offenses at a rate that is 13.4 times greater than that of white men. In seven states. African Americans constitute 80 percent to 90 percent of all drug ojTenders sent to prison. In 15 states. African-American men are committed to state prisons for drug charges at a rate that is 20 to 57 times the rate for white men. While African Americans constitute only 13' percent of drug users, they represent 35 percent of arrests for drug possession. 55 percent of conv ictions and 74 percent of prison sentences. African-Americans. Hispanics and Native Americans are incar cerated and whites receive rehabilitation. This is not fair. While racial disparities stem in'part from racial profiling, economic inequality and an unwarranted concentration of drug war activ ities in inner cities, state and federal sentenci ? struc- . tures?in particular/mandatory minimum sentencing iw .? play a large role in intensifying disparities. Mandat / mini mums intensify racial disparities by granting too much power to prosecutors, mandating long sentences for low-level drug offenders (disproportionately African-American. Latino and Native American) and applying disparate sentencing struc The most disturbing aspect of the current federal sentencing law is the crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity. This 100 to-l sentencing disparity raises fundamental questions about our nation's commitment to laimess, justice and racial equality. - There is no scientific or pharmacological evidence that justifies treating crack offenses a hundred times more severely than power Cocaine offenses. The penalties for crack cocaine are unfair not just because they are more severe than those for powder cocaine, but because the penalties are inherently too severe. Even if the sen tencing disparity was eliminated by increasing penalties for powder cocaine to equal those of crack cocaine, the crack penalties would still be unfair las would the new penalties for powder cocaine). This is because the current crack penalties are out of line with the organizing principle applied to other illegal drugs, which provides for a five-year sentence for serious drug seders and a 10-year sentence for ma jor drug traffickers. The impact of these out-ol-line crack sentences falls dispro portionately on African Americans. Nearly 85 percent of all offenders convicted in federal court for crack cocaine distribu tion are African Americans. In 1986. before mandatory mini mums for crack offenses became effective, the average federal drug offense sentence for African Americans was II percent higher than for whites. Just four years after implementation, the average sentence for African Americans was 49 percent higher than Tor whites The Rainbow/Pi SH Coalition urges the Drug Sentencing Commission to reduce the crack/powder disparity as much as possible. Maintaining a wide sentencing disparity is simply unacceptable We also urge commissioners not to lower the threshold for powder cocaine in any way. Severe racial disparities already exist in arrests and sentencing tor powder cocaine offenses: subjecting more offenders to mandatory minimums will only intensify these disparities. Increases in poyvyier cocaine sen tences will also disproportionately hurt all communities of color. Moreover, we also encourage the use of rehabilitation for all members of society and nbt only the privileged. Keep hope alive! Jesse L. Jackson Sr. is founder and president of the Chica go-based Rainbow/Push Coalition. iDAKTbtt&H ifc'-g- X.IM^ d imsa'H hgnfn GUNS H ft. las* Hi ? leooaT) Awards banquet was wonderful Dear Editor: What a marvelous celebra tion was the Chronicle's Com munity Service Awards Ban quet! We at Green Street United Methodist Church appreciated being honored with a Human Relations Award. It was espe cially gratifying that mistress of ceremonies Denise Hartsfield invited our group to come for ward and join Pastor Kelly Car penter in receiving the award? thus -showing the community our vision of "A Church for ALL God's Children." We were in very good com pany. too. As United Methodists, we are proud of the pioneering work of Marion Woolen at Bethlehem Center. Your citations carried a great deal of information, but there was no way to tell the range of the Bethlehem Center's influ ence in this town. Thank you for selecting Marion Wooten for a Lifetime Achievement Award. As one who has long admired the creative commit ment of Marjorie Northup. I was delighted that her early work coordinating inter-racial dia logue groups was cited. It should be noted, however, that this started not at the YMCA as stated?but as pail of the mis sion of the Young WOMEN'S Christian Asm ? The lead ership of Marjoric aid others through tlh YY ' meant a lot to this comndfii us the chools were integratin aid a oik* II over town were ext^ ing oui definition of "neig! i For several years I have counted on The Chronicle to bring news about Winston Salem that I might miss w ithout its perspective. Keep on keep ing us awake and alert. Ellen S. Yarborough upen letter to WSSU Rams Rams.Jots of exciting things have happened at Winston Salem State University over the past few years that make us beam with pride. Our institution was recently ranked #1 among comprehensive colleges in the South. Our softball, football, and men's and women's basket ball teams have represented us well in playoff games and have won several championships. "Campus of Champions" is a title very befitting for our insti tution. Over the past four years, the National Alumni Association has also experienced success. We have seen an increase in membership. More notably, last year our Annual Fund alumni participation increased by 3(X) percent. While we are basking in accomplishments. I'd like for us to add more link to our circle of success. The upcoming election of national officers for 2002-2(X)4 represents an opportunity for each of us to ensure continued progress of the National Alumni Association. This letter is an open plea to all WSSU Rams to let your vote be your voice as we prepare to select the individuals that will lead this association over the next two years. After the painful voting debacle of the November 2000 presidential election, people everywhere should feel more inclined to exercise their right to vote whenever the occasion arises. One vote does make a differ ence! It's easy to brag about the acclaim that WSSU is experi encing right now. As I travel in Ram circles. I hear the accolades about the significant and posi tive changes that are taking place at WSSU. However, we must not rest on these accom plishments. for they are tempo ral. Just as you verbally express your pride in WSSU', please make the conscious effort to express your choice for new officers. When you receive your candidate information, take the time to read the information and respond. Unlike voting day, you can cast your ballot in the com fort of your home. Just be sure to respond by the deadline so your vote can be counted. Let's become a proactive organization and let our collective voices be heard. Don't leave the leader ship of your organization to chance and "let the chips fall where they may." We have all matured since we left these hal lowed halls and should care enough to vote your choice. One vote does make a differ ence: "Ram pride" is more than a slogan to me. It is an attitude. Just as you must register to vote in an election, you must be a Ram in good financial standing with the National Alumni Asso ciation to voice your vote for candidates. If we want our insti tution to continue to be a cham pion. it must be supported finan cially. Catherine Pettie Hart Atlanta Alumni Chapter Homosexual adoption Armstrong Williams (iuest Columnist File Photo Talk-show host Rosie O'DonneU has been a longtime advo cate for kids. She is the regular host of Nickelodeon's Kid Choice Awards. The adoption system in this country is broken. Thousands of kids languish in substandard facil ities that lack the resources to properly educate and nurture them, thus perpetuating the cycle of underachievement. ...OK. so far I'm in agree ment. Then: one possible solution is to open adoption up to homosexu al couples. So said the Rosie backers dur ing my recent appearance on CNN's "Talk Back Live" with Rev. Jerry Falwell. My response was straightfor ward: the maimer m v^iucb-twrr adults neat their bodies w hether hurling themselves at life, mem bers of the same sex. the horizon. etc. - is a matter between them and their creator. However, it is another thing to use children as instruments to push alternative lifestyles into the mainstream. And that is precisely what advocates of gay adoption are doing. A brief lesson in perspective: History, social science research and all three major religions tend to agree that a loving union between man and woman provide' the bedrock for a child's emotion al health. I say this not out of fear or loathing of the homosexual lifestyle, but merely to point out that raising a child requires more than love or money. A child requires emotional consistency, gender stability and self-esteem. (The jails and madhouses are crammed with emotionally con tused kids who came from seem ingly well-off suburban neighbor hoods.) For an adoptive child, estab lishing an identity that meshes with social conventions is essen tial to constructing a healthy sense of self. To abruptly break with social conventions by placing the child in a homosexual household can create the sorts of gender confu sion and social scrutiny that ignite a lifetime of emotional confusion. Consider: studies indicate that children in homosexual house holds are four times more likely to test the extremes of their own sex uality by experimenting with homosexual behavior. Now con .*u..t <i-... u:..u,w.? ....: .:.i ?_ tiutl nun llIC llllillCM MJICIUC lillC. in thK country is among homosex ual teen-agers^ Plainly, the social this sort of gender contusion are tremen dous. That is the reality that con fronts us. To subject adoptive chil dren to this sort of emotional trau ma by design is worse than mis guided: it amounts to socially martyring a large segment of adoptive children, just to make a cultural statement about *homo sexual rights. Nonetheless, advocates for homosexual rights continue to place themselves at the center of Adoption law in this country. Their justification: that the eroding nuclear family through divorce and the general liberalization of the culture has precipitated a change in traditional Social struc tures. They have a point: they sim ply miss iti the crucial issue is not whether traditional social struc tures are changing, but whether embracing these changes is in the best interest of adoptive children. Get it? Adoption law ought not to he about cultural statements in general or gay rights in the spe cific; it ought to be about the best interests of the children. While debate regarding homosexual rights has its place in the national dialogue, such issues are not cen tral to the issue of adoption. What is central to the debate is a proper understanding of cultural norms and how they influence our sense of self - or. more to the ixiint. how common law. common sense, history and science all tell us thai the very nature of a homo sexual relationship deprives a child of the emotionally stable environment that he/she requires. While I am deeply sensible about the need to place adoptive children with families, this need does not justify placing adoptive children in any home - or inap propriate homes. Nor. for that matter, does it justify risking the emotional well being of adoptive children just to make a political statement about homosexual rights. ww.anmtnmgwilliams.com
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
March 21, 2002, edition 1
6
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75