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OPINION The Chronicle Cuiusr H. Fur Puhliiher/C'o-Founder ciaim Fiji bumnensllanager * Csicut Itimr Office Manager t. kEVIN Walk EN managing edm* kay stuitz Production Supervis** ? Monti Carotana ??? ; Amal^matod ? National Newspap*' P es* Assoc afor ?T <-"CUiation PubUshafs. Inc Pubhshari Association File Photo Clarence Gaines talks to a student at a recent career fair. Kudos for Gaines Anyone who has met Coach Clarence "Big House" Gaines knows that he stands head and shoulders above most people. But it is not just his height but also his heart that puts him ih a league of his own. in a stratosphere reserved for people who have spent their entire lives trying to make a difference and lift others up. Gaines' ability to motivate and encourage young people only grew when he came to Winston-Salem State more than a half-century ago. Most of us know how Gaines became a legend on the court. We know about the 828 victo ries over his 47 years as head coach of the Rams basketball program, a string of victories so impressive that Gaines retired as the winningest coach in NCAA history in 1997. Fewer people know that Gaines ran his basketball pro gram in such a manner that his former players still worship him and many credit Gain$>> for making them the men they are today. Retirement has not slowed Gaines down nor have health problems kept him from doing his part to help this communi ty in any way he can. Gaines often volunteers to I talk to young people about the importance of staying on the straight and narrow. He is a familiar sight at local schools and city recreation centers, where he pushes the impor tance of education and good manners. On Wednesday, one of the organizations Gaines has helped is taking time to say thank you to him. He will be feted by the Old Hickory Council of Boy Scouts of America at a gala reception and dinner at the Benton Con vention Center. He will receive the organization's prestigious Boy Scouts of America Distinguished Citi zen Award for his years of volunteer service with the Boy Scouts, an organization that doesn't have nearly enough local African-Ameri can troops. Gaines has already picked up the Boy Scouts' Sil ver Buffalo Award, the highest honor given to a volunteer. Make time Wednesday to tell Gaines thank you for his service. He deserves it for the work he has done for all of his life, but especially for his most recent good deeds, which he has performed while the more able-bodied among us have stayed away. To find out about tickets for the event, call 760-2900. 1 MUSLIM? M\peasr Maeis vjesT SARS. k - Otwui: rv . G*y\ ?ZflW ikTlViWBMt I 1 Hunger is a big problem To the Editor: Walking through the mall, I was amazed at the number of obese people not only in my state but in the country as well. I was annoyed but not appalled until I thought about the 23 children that die to star vation every minute. World hunger touches over 840 million people; 799 mil lion of them are from develop ing countries. The issue itself enrages me: however, the lack of effort to do something about it disgusts me further. However, the best method for solving the world hunger issue will always be up for debate. An individualized effort becomes group efforts that will have a major effect. Any effort brings results. If countries like America would reduce their meat con sumption by only 10 percent, enough grain would be saved to feed 60 million people. As of now 75 percent of the Third World imports of corn, barley, and oats are fed to animals instead of people. Therefore, an obvious action for any per son would be to reduce or even eliminate his or her intake of meats. Helping around the com munity at hunger-relief organ izations. participating or start ing your own food drive, and donating your time and money to valid programs are all ways to start helping. Yet, not enough cans fill the shelves, and inefficient funds hinder the distribution of foods. With 50 percent of man made disasters being th6 cause for world hunger, it will take 100 percent of humanity to make this issue die. I just want to thank all those that took part in the Hope du Jour on May 6. This is an excellent service that Crisis Control Ministry helps organize and an easy way for everyone to do his or her part. Did you do yours? Sincerely, Mandy Self Democrats Should Take Lesson from Texas Val Atkinson I Jones | Street Fifty-eight of the 62 House Democrats in the Texas Legis lature took a walk on Monday. Their walk prevented the 88 Republicans in the House from convening meetings. By Texas law, meetings cannot be convened without a quorum; and a Texas quorum is at least 100 of 150. Also, by Texas law, the House Speaker can dispatch State troopers to locate, arrest and return absent lawmakers to the House floor. To foil this likelihood Democrats organ ized a caravan to neighboring Oklahoma, where Texas state troopers have no arrest authority. The State of Okla homa has gone on record as supporting the fleeing Democrats. They will not assist Texas state troopers in arresting Democratic lawmak ers. At the root of the walkout is something that North Car olitjians are very familiar with - redistricting. I don't think Texas House Republicans consulted our own Judge Knox Jenkins Jr., but in today's world of "not rein venting the wheel" anything is possible. Texas Republican Tom DeLay. the second ranking member of the U.S. House of Representatives, arrived at the Texas Republican caucus with redrawn district maps under his arm. DeLay's redisricting plan would add at least seven Republican congressmen to the Texas congressional dele gation. Democrats went berserk! Under no circum stances were Texas House Democrats going to roll over for this one. And herein lies my position. I don't necessarily0 advo cate the walkout of ev^py leg islative chamber around the country, but what I do advo cate is the gumption to "ACT." Democrats, wittingly or unwittingly, have acquired the reputation of being hard on communication and soft on action. At the federal, state and local levels. Democrats lose too many opportunities to make things happen by acts of commission, omission or a combination of the two, as was demonstrated by those 58 brave souls in Texas. Conversation is wonder ful; compromise is the path to understanding and unity, but too much of anything can be harmful. If Democrats expect to reclaim their position of majority (especially in the South), their words and letters are going to have to backed up by deeds. A walkout, work stoppage or other acts of civil disobedience may be just the ticket. Democrats at all levels of government have got to do something. The hale they're in is too deep to talk your way out of. Colorizing NYT deception case ? George Curry \ J Guest After Janet Cooke con cocted a sfqry about a non existent 8-year-old heroin addict, an embarrassed Wash ington Post had to return a Pulitzer Prize it. had been awarded in 1981 for the bogus story. At the time, I was director of the St. Louis Minority Jour nalism Workshop, a program that local black journalists developed for high school stu dents. And I still remember what I told a reporter from the St. Louis American who inter viewed me about Cooke. Essentially. I told the reporter that Cooke should climb back under the rock that she had emerged from before writing about "Jimmy's World." My fear was that all those smart, hard-working stu dents who had given up their Saturdays to study journalism would be unfairly tainted by Cooke's action. The recent resignation of Jayson Blair from The New York Times for plagiarism did not affect me the same way. Maybe I've matured over the past two decades. At least. I hope so. Instead of rushing to defend the 27-year-old rising star at the Times, as many of my black colleagues have, or to condemn him as the journal istic equivalent of the "Unabomber," as some white journalists have done. I've Photo via Getty Jayson Blair looked at this as simply the failing of one individual who happens to be black. Until now, I have been con tent to watch this one from the sidelines. After all, it was not considered a blemish on the records of white authors when Clifford Irving submitted a fake biography of Howard Hughes or when it was dis closed that Joe McGinniss, author of "The Last Brother" (Ted Kennedy) had borrowed liberally from Doris Kearns Goodwin's book. "The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys." When it was discovered that columnist Mike Barnicle of the Boston Globe and Stephen Glass of the New Republic had engaged in writ ing stories that contained more fiction than facts, no one indicted all white journalists for their misdeeds or blamed it on white privilege. To be blunt, they were simply thieves. , And so was Blair. He clear ly stole numerous passages from other sources without crediting them and. according to a New York Times investi gation. he wrote about scenes, places and events as though he was present when, in fact, he wasn't. What Blair did was a clear violation of all canons of journalism, and, as far as 1 am concerned, he can climb under that crowded rock with Janet Cooke. Mike Barnicle. Stephen Glass, Joe McGin ness, Clifford Irving and their ilk. j Instead of seeing Blair as the liar that he is, some white journalists want to drag race into this slimy picture. William Safire, the resident conservative columnist for The New York Times, wrote: "Apparently this 27-year-old was given too many second chances by editors eager for this ambitious black journalist to succeed." Referring to his conserva tive chums. Safire brings up "the affirmative action angle." He writes, "See what happens, they taunt, when you treat a minority employee with kid gloves, promoting him when he deserves to be fired." Safire has it backward. The only offenders to be treated with kid gloves are white. After Barnicle lost his $250,000-a-year job in Boston, he became a columnist for the New York Daily News and has his own radio program. Glass is about to profit on his mis deeds by coming out with a book (this time, billed as fic tion) about his experiences as a liar. Meanwhile, Janet Cooke has never had her career revived, and, 1 suspect, nor will Blair. Unfortunately. Safire is not the only white journalist trying to colorize this sordid chapter. On CNN's "Reliable Sources," Howard Kurtz, media colum nist for the Washington Post, asked, "...Blair is an African American. Does that suggest that, perhaps, in an effort to bring him along that he was held by the newspaper to a lesser standard?" One panelist, Seth Mnookin of Newsweek, answered, "I think it certainly suggests it...." Inasmuch as these Sunday talk shows continue to mostly present white journalists, even to answer questions about race, I'll reply to them in this space. There are countless examples of young, inexperienced reporters being fast-tracked to the top because someone in a position of power wants to help their careers. Was Jayson Blair one of these people? Apparently. But that has noth ing to do with race; those slat ed for such treatment are usu ally white. When I discussed this "golden boy" phenomenon years ago with Pam Myers, a colleague at the St. Lbuis Post Dispatch, she (old me, "The problem, George, is that you're not golden and I am not a boy." Sadly. Jayson. the golden one, has tarnished his reputa tion. That should be seen as his downfall, not a result of pro viding opportunities to previ ously excluded African-Amer icans. George E. Curry is editor in-chief of the NNPA News Ser vice and BiackPressUSA.com. Corrections The photo credit for a picture from Winston-Salem State University's athletics banquet was incorrect in last week's issue. Floyd Taylor took the picture of LaToya Whitfield and Dennis Felder. A news clip about Wendy Branson being awarded by the United Way incorrectly sttSfed that the Literacy Initiative is a YWCA program. It is a YMCA program. ? MM???- ? The owners of Sweet Potatoes were identified incorrectly in a picture last week. Vivian Joiner is on the right and Stephanie Tyson is on the left. news?wschronide.com
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