OPINION
HI h ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . tv w
Chronicle
Ernest H. Pitt Pubiuher/Co-Founder
EL AINE Pitt Business Manager
Michael A. Pitt Mated*
T. Kevin Walker Managing Editor
P iiwwn Kmocmoon
File Pholo
Courtney Taylor's school has been closed down for now.
City Leaders:
Stand Up for
the Little Guys
The plight of Courtney Taylor has us scratchingour head.
The young, talented dancer has been in a tug of war with
the city ox er the fate of her dance school. Dozens of kids are
taught and nurtured at the school, which has done much to
live up to its promise of promoting "positive images,"
Besides learning dance moves, the girls are taught to respect
themselves. They gain confidence through performing and
being in front audiences.
Taylor, a native of Kernersville. has long been a faithful
David Moore
member of this com
munity, ~ providing
entertainment for
myriad local events
with her crop of tal
ented students, and
serving on commit
tees and boards
across the city.
With credentials
like this, we don't
understand why
Mayor Joines and
every member of the
City Council, espe
cially the black ones,
aren't calling on city
inspectors to bend
over backward to
ensure that this young
woman continues to
do the awesome w ork
that has become her
trademark. Isn't this
what we elect our
leaders to do: to
stand up for us, to
speak out for us? It would take just one phone call from the
mayor or a Council Member to help this young lady, who
may have to find another location for her dance school.
Sadly, this is not the first time that this paper has report
ed on a young, ambitious African-American who has collid
ed with city building inspectors. David Moore, whose
Southside Rides Foundation keeps young men out of prison,
had to fight with the city to continue his work. Apparently,
city officials and silent city leaders, would rather see the
young people that Moore trains in auto-body repair in jail or
on our streets drugging, raping and robbing.
To us. it is a no-brainer When you have people trying to
do good. the> should be supported to the max. We don't buy
that there is no gray area. Moore and Taylor can provide a
safe, zoning appropriate environment in which to continue
their work Even if it means inspectors have to hold their
hands through the process, the payoff it well worth it.
While we concede that not all of Taylor's and Moore's
problems stem from the city, we feel the powers that be have
done little to aid them in their efforts to do positive work in
our community.
Entrepreneurship and small businesses are the beating
heart of this community, and they should be treated like
such. Unfortunately in this city, despite all the talk to the
contrary, the big. deep-pocketed boys still are getting their
way. If Taylor and Moore were a developer of one of those
multi-million dollar office or apartment buildings down
town, they would not be getting this kind of treatment.
Inspectors and city leaders would be crawling over one
another to accommodate them
That just ain't right!
wamNG pes?
iwe WHMeR..
Obama Hits a Triple
Ron
Walters
Guest
Columnist
By all accounts, Barack
Obama won the first of the
presidential debates on
September 26 over John
McCain, who was widely con
sidered to have more experi
ence in foreign affairs.
He won by exceeding
expectations, exhibiting that he
had a substantial grasp of issues
and that he was presidential,
while McCain talked in gener
alities and showed his disdain
for Obama. not according him
proper acknowledgment by
refusing to look at him.
But whatever advantage
McCain was thought to have
over Obama by his familiarity
with various heads of state and.
as he intoned, having been
involved in every major crisis
in foreign policy in the past 25
years, Obama came back sever
al times, diminishing McCain's
winning points.
For example, when McCain
alluded to the fact that he had a
bracelet from a woman whose
son had been killed in Iraq,
Obama countered with his own
bracelet, squelching McCain's
emotional point. When McCain
charged that Obama didn't
understand the "Surge." Obama
countered that McCain seemed
to think the w ar began in 2007.
then dramatically stated since
die war began in 2003, McCain
had been wrong aboutethe rea
son for its start, wrong about
how American troops would be
received, and wrong about the
tension between Sunni and
Shia factions. And there were
others.
Nevertheless, it was also
somewhat unnerving to hear
him say at least seven times
that McCain was right; for him
not to counter McCain's repeat
ed message that Obama didn't
understand, to see McCain
muscle him out of responses
several times because Jim
Lehrer was not in control of the
debate; to see him not follow
up on several obvious openings
such as his definition of the
"success" of the Surge,
McCain's slavish support of
George Bush's policies,
McCain's lack of support for
Veterans, and others.
I understand the problem he
has. On one hand, fte can't feed
into the 'angry black man"
racial image and turn off some
white voters; on the other, he ?
has to establish a level of poli
cy competence and physical
ease that lets him appear presi
dential. But I give him a triple
because he could have been
much better.
Then next evening, howev
er, when Barack Obama
stepped on the stage to give the
keynote speech at
Congressional Black Caucus
annual dinner, the fact that he
was home could be witnessed
by everybody who was on their
feet, rocking to the music of,
"Here I am baby, signed sealed
delivered, I'm yours...."
Obama was given the
CBC's Harold Washington
Award, named after the former
mayor of his home City and he
proceeded to acknowledge
those who had paved his way -
again, leaving out Rev. Jesse
Jackson Sr. who sat at a table in
front of him.
But as Obama got into his
speech and began to warm up,
he answered the criticism of me
and others, by dealing with crit
ical aspects of the Black
Agenda.
Time and again, he brought
the crowd to its feet by observ
ing that this historical moment
was not just about him. but
about the children who might
benefit and who might live to
actually see a black person in
the White House. He defined
change with his stock presenta
tion on issues like ending the
Iraq war, enacting health ade
quate insurance and health
care, and ending the failed No
Child Left Behind education
program. He also linked
shoring up inadequate schools
in poor neighborhoods to col
lege attendance and good jobs.
Most importantly, he
showed that he was conversant
with the problems of urban
America, pointing to the need
to deal with poverty, promoting"
job training and ending mass
incarceration by rolling back
punitive legislation. And he felt
that we should not only be
"tough on crime," but smart on
crime. Gone was the patroniz
ing language of moral responsi
bility as the only solution. This
was not only good for the audi
ence to hear assembled there,
but it was fuel for the fundrais
ing that he and Michele were
doing in town, and for the mes
sage of a strong Mack turnout
that rippled through the CBC
forums all week long.
So, I give Obama a Home
Run for his performance at the
CBC and feel that he has. not
only put many of the questions
raised to rest, he also teed up a
number of issues he will bring
to the table in the debates on
domestic issues.
Dr. Ron Walters is the
Distinguished Leadership
Scholar and Professor of
Government and Politics at the
University of Maryland
College Park.
The Road to Race-Free Politics
Marian
Wright
Edelman
Guest
Columnist
A cartoon published in the
early 1960s depicted a Black
boy saying to a White boy:
"I'll sell you my chance to be
President of the United States
for a nickel."
The cartoon summed up
how much most Black people
felt the chances of a Black
child growing up to be
President were worth. At the
time the cartoon appeared.
Barack Obama was a toddler.
There were only five Black
Members of Congress and
about 300 Black elected offi
cials nationwide.
The Voting Rights Act
hadn't been passed and the
overwhelming majority of
Black Southerners w ere disen
franchised* It was difficult for
anyone ,to visualize a time
when a Black person would be
elected to the highest office in
the land.
That changed With the
nomination of Illinois Senator
Barack Obama as the
Democratic Party's standard
bearer for the 2008 presiden
tial campaign, there's a good
chance that a Black man may
occupy the Oval Office in the
White House this January.
This historic nomination is
the culmination of a long evo
lutionary struggle for Black
political empowerment that
reached a high point when the
Civil Rights Movement
pressed Congress to pass the
Voting Rights Act of 1965.
That led to the dramatic
expansion of the Black elec
torate. Black people began to
fill a broad ntnge of elected
posts at every level of govern
ment: from sheriff to school
board, from mayor to state
legislator and on to higher
offices such as U.S.
Representative. Senator and
Governor.
With the power of the bal
lot. Black voters have
achieved major electoral gains
throughout our nation. In
2002. there were 9,470 Black
elected officials in the United
States according to the Joint
Center for Political and
Economic Studies. The Old
Confederacy states of
Mississippi and Alabama had
950 and 757 Black elected
officials respectively in a
broad variety of positions The
41 Black members of the U.S.
House of Representatives have
nearly approached parity in
that body compared with the
percentage of Black people in
the U.S. population.
The growth of a Black
presence in America's political
realm has helped Black elect
ed leaders gain acceptance
among the general public. Sen.
Obama garnered nearly 18
million votes in this year's pri
mary elections. Americans of
all races have looked past his
skin color to consider his pres
idential candidacy on the basis
of his vision of inclusive
change as a way to move the'
nation forward as well as hi^
intelligence and political expe
rience.
The question remains,
however: Have we apived at ?
post-racial era where the elec
tion of the President can take
place on a "colorblind" basis?
Regrettably, race remains a
factor in American politics. It
is still difficult for Black can
didates to win statewide
offices? Governor or U.S.
Senator? which are threshold
positions for a run for the
White House. Barack Obama
is currently the only Black
Senator in Congress and only
the fifth Black person to hold
that office. And over the histo
ry of our nation, there have
been only four Black gover
nors.
Candidates for these
offices face what may be a
daunting campaign appealing
to a majority White electorate,
a significant component of
which may not be open to vot
ing for a Black person. A
recent Associated Press- Yahoo
News poll revealed deep-seat
ed racial misgivings among
some Whites toward Blacks
and found that one-third of
White Democrats harbor nega
tive views toward Blacks-^
calling them "lazy," "violent,"
responsible for their own trou
bles. The poll indicated that
these attitudes could affect the
outcome of the Presidential
election in a close contest.
There is too much at stake
in this election (o vote against
a candidate simply because a
nebulous voice deep in one's
psyche may be saying
America isn't ready for a
Black President.
The next occupant of the
White House will set our
nation's priorities for the next
jfour years and beyond. But we
cannot move forward without
dealing with the Issue of race.
Barack Obama says: "The
legacy of discrimination ? and
current incidents of discrimi
nation. while less overt than in
the past? are real and must be
addressed, not just with words,
but with deeds, by investing in
our schools and our communi
ties; by enforcing our civil
rights laws and ensuring fair
ness in our criminal justice
system; by providing this gen
eration with ladders of oppor
tunity that were unavailable
for previous generations...."
He adds that "Investing in the
health, welfare and education
of Black and Brown and
White?children will ultimately
help all of America prosper."
The struggle to ensure that
our political, economic and
social interactions take place
on a level playing field began
when the Founding Fathers
signed the Declaration of
Independence asserting that
"all men are created equal."
President Abraham Lincoln
exhorted the nation to expand
that precept in the Gettysburg
Address with the hbpe that the
United States would have a
"new birth of freedom."
We've come a long way.
But, as Barack Obama
says: We must "continue tlw
long march of those who came
before us. a march for a more
just, more equal, more free,
more caring and more prosper
ous America." and ultimately
achieve a more perfect union.
Marian Wright Edelman Li
head of the Children 's Defense
Fund.
http://wwM.childrensdefense .o
rgf