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Photo by Key in Walker
Protest signs posted in the windows of Reynolds American
downtown headquarters express employees' opposition to
the proposed tax hike.
Hasn't Tobacco
Had Enough?
Tobacco is once more the punching bag for elected officials.
Last week. Congress pushed through a mess of a legislation
that will give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulatory
control over the industry. Yes. the same FDA that has done such
a commendable job keeping us safe from tainted spinach, peanut
butter and baby formula. Now. state lawmakers. led by Gov. Bev
Perdue, want to raise taxes on cigarettes by $1 to help lift the state
out of its economic doldrums.
We say. "ENOUGH. ALREADY!"
There is no doubt that for decades. Big Tobacco made mis
takes and concealed information about the dangers of smoking,
but the industrv has bent over backward and done somersaults to
right those wrongs and has. for the most part, willingly followed
every directive set by the government.
But some seemingly will not be happy until every tobacco
company in the Country shuts down or moves to Europe, where
folks have a clearer, more grown-up attitude toward smoking.
Did it not occur to Congress and President Objama, who rushed to
sign the new FDA bill, that now. with the economy still in the gut
ter. is not the best time to sucker punch an industry that employ
ees thousands of Americans? Why would the governor pick now.
with the state's unemployment rate higher than it has been in
decades, to make a move that could force even more job losses?
This all seems like common sense to us. but perhaps common
sense is something that folks lose once they are elected to public
office.
And speaking of common sense, is it a bit odd that other
industries that hawk products that can be potentially dangerous to
our health are allowed to freely frolic w ithout lawmakers at their
backs with knives drawn? Alcohol can be just as dangerous as
tobacco, especially when combined with a motor vehicle. And.
although heart disease, by far. is the nation's number one killer,
our elected officials continue to allow us to eat up all the trans-fat
that we want. If all of these laws and taxes arc really about pro
tecting folks- health, than perhaps that dollar tax should be
slapped Oivthc Monster Burger.
Council Member Malloy
This city is fortunate that nearly all of our local elected offi
cials are the down-home, personable type. This is especially true
of the members of our City Council, but it will be without its
most grassroots member
Nelson Malloy
lie A I ycui.
Council Member Nelson
M alloy's decision to not
seek re-election saddens Us
in man) ways. But the fact
that Malloy will now have
time to foc'us completely <?n
his health is a good living.
Although he relies on a
wheelchair to get around
and does not drive. Malloy
was just as active - more so
in many ways ? than the
more able-bodied members
of the Council. ?>
In him. the residents had
.their common, everyday
man He is reachable.
understanding, and can relate to many ot the problems that resi
dents have because he too has been there at one time or another.
One always got the sense that the people were the only special
interests that Malloy served on the Council - his activist roots
probably deserve credit for that .
We wish Council Member Malloy the best of luck and the
best of health in the future. We know that as long as he is able, he
will be active in the community and in the issues that affect the
least among us.
Is the Economy Rebounding?
Julianne
Malveaux
(iuest
Columnist
It has been a scant nine
months since former Treasury
Secretary Henry Poison took
three handwritten pages to
Congress, demanding a $7(X)
hillion bailout for the financial
sector.
A scant five months since
President Obama has taken
office and put a S7R7 billion
stimulus package out there.
While some money has been
disbursed, mayors are still ask
ing for direct appropriations to
beleaguered cities, and at least
36 states are talking of educa
tion cuts for the next academic
year. . ?/; ??'
Yet there are also those u ho
say the recession is bottoming
out. and the Chamber of
Commerce is organizing to
oppose government interven
tion in the economy with an
"Enough is Enough" campaign.
Because stock indicators look
decent (so far), up more than a
third since mid-March, there
are those who think it is time to
celebrate, or at least pause, on
recovery efforts.
This is not -the rime to hold
YjJaity* ."Even as stocks gain
momentum, not a day- goes by
without an announcement of
another bankruptcy.
Furthermore, while Wall
Street is finding its lot
improved, there are still hard
times on Main Street, especial
ly among those homeowners
who are struggling with under
water mortgages ( mortgage
worth more than the house).
That's not even mentioning
the labor market, where unem
ployment rates will get to ten
percent (if not more) before
they begin to head downward,
and where Unemployment rates
in the African-American com
munity exceed depression-level
rates of 25 percent , The job cre
ation aspects of recovery have
yet to be realized. yet this is the
most es'sential part of recovery.
It does us no good, to look at
stocks that are doing well if we
cannot look at people that are
doing well i This recovery has
to trickle down !
It may also be time to talk
frankly about targeting some
aspects of recovery on commu
nities most iti need. The
African- American community,
in particular, has been extreme
ly hard hit. but (Mease don't say
"African American'' in a
crowded room - you'll be
accused of racism, or worse.
Numbers don't lie and neither
does drive by public policy
analysas. Drive through an
inner city neighborhood and
then tell me that you see the
same thing that you see in gen
trified areas or in suburbs!
What about targeting young
people? The unemployment
rates among youth are stagger
ing, with new college graduates
entering the worst job market
that we have seen in at Feast 20
years. While everyone else is
the world is fined up for a sub
sidy; we have yet to offer our
students as good a deal as we
are. offering new. 'ear- pur
chasers. Students pay interest
rates -no lower than 5- percent,
and often as high as 12 percent.
New ear purchasers get
away with aero. It would be
great to see an economic stiniu - _
lus for young people.
This recession has caused
enough ahgst for people to
eagerly anticipate its end. but it
is way too .sOon to talk about
bottoming out. anil -it seems
especially insensitive to those
w ho continue to suffer for a few
to talk about how mueh better
they are doing. The members of
the bottom-out team ought to
be talking about targeting those
who are suffering dispropor
tionately - big cities. African
Americans. and young people.
The maeroeconomic indicators
are undercut by the microeco
nomic angst that too many
Americans are experiencing.
If the current economy is
bottoming out. what about eco
nomic restructuring'' The fact is
that economic fundamentals
were weak, and that weakness
led us to recession. Until we are
able to restructure aspects of
our economy, we will continue
to Have, some economic weak
nessV ," ' '' ?'
President Obama and his
team have talked about new
financial regulations. This is
something to look forward to.
These arc also the things that
Chambers of Commerce are
protesting. The missing conver
sation is ;t- conversation about
economic distribution. One
sector can lick its chops and
talk about bottoming out and
good times, while others ail*
still wondering how they can
make their mortgage.
It will be a shame if we
miss an opportunity to look
closely at economic fundamen
tals because optimists think
gtxxl times are coming soon.
Juliarine MMveaitx is presi
dent of Bennett College for
Women and a renow ned econo
mist. She Can be reached at
preshennett@henneit.edu.
Are Racist 'Lone Wolves' Really Alone?
Ron Walters
Guest
Columnist
On Wednesday evening
June 10, I was supposed to
have attended the preview of a
play by Janet Cohen, an
African-American writer and
wife of Jewish former
Secretary of the Army, Steve
Cohen at the Holocaust
Museum.
But that day it was attacked
by James von Brunn, long time
avowed White racist. At the
entrance to the Museum von
Brunn shot and killed Stephen
Johns, a beloved African
American security guard who
had worked there for six years.
This was a supreme irony
because Janet's play, "Anne
arid Emmett" was about intro
ducing more Americans to the
lives of Anne Frank and
Emmett Till, two Jewish and
African-American icons of the
"fjuman rights movement
whose lives have been used to
repudiate racist violence.
Needless to say, the preview
was cancelled and I awoke the
next day to find the American
media cutting the foundation
of American racism out of the
story by emphasizing that von
Brunn was a "lone wolf."
But was he really? We
make two points. So-called
"lone wolves" are part of a
larger official community
which gives them substantial
legitimacy and two. when that
legitimacy falters they are
most likely to show their vio
lent fangs.
With the upsurge of the
conservative movement, racist
violence and hate speech
became staples used to mobi
lize people, not necessarily
into racist groups, but also into
campaigns and voters for
elected officials.
When Ronald Reagan ran
for President in I MHO. not only
did he open his campaign in
Philadelphia, Miss., where
civil rights martyrs Sch werner
Goodman and Chaney were
killed by the Klan. but Klan
Pholo by l)li\ icr Dnulicry AKic.i PreWMCT
The U.S. Holocaust Museum shut down for a day last week
after a deadly shooting.
members took off their sheets
and staged "Vote for Ronald
Reagan" rallies at events on
the campaign trail.
And even though Reagan
mildly repudiated their sup
port, the new road to the legit
imacy of the radical right had
been forged.
In the 1990s, as one publi
cation put it, "a feeling of rage
is building across the country,"
an expression of which
became the militias thai were
forming in many stales, osten
sibly to protect citizens from
all sorts of government con
spiracies.
Many of "these had ties (b
racist. neo-Nazi and Ayran
supremacy movements and
most militia members were
also card carrying members of
the National Rifle Association,
which gave them political pro
tection. So serious was this
movement regarded that in
return for grassroots assis
tance, some members of
Congress included them in
campaign operations and gave
them access to government
resources.
In March of 1 995. the para
noid rumor of a federal plan to
raid them prompted inquiries
to Attorney General Janet
Reno's office from mostly
Republican members of
Congress, such as: Robert
Dornan (CA). Mac Collins
(GA). James Hansen (UT),
Larry Craig. (ID), Lauch
Faircloth (NC), and Steve
Stockman (TX).
Next month on April 19,
when "lone wolf' Timothy
McVeigh bombed an
Oklahoma City federal build
ing. because lie had tfes to the
Michigan Militia, members of
Congress with ties to such
groups, such as Rep. Helen
Chenoweth (ID) who had
associations with the
Commander of the United
Militia Assn. and others were
pressured to explain the nature
of these ties.
Bill Clinton tried to de
legitimi/e the hate-filled
atmosphere with speeches
i^iressing directly the need
? - vtronecr hate crimes legis
r Official statistics indi
cate that most such crime* are
oriented toward race and most
of these involve African
Americans.
But although the Clinton
Administration wanted to
expand it to include crimes
aeainst -gavs and prov ision
related to the burning ol
churches, in his last days in
office, he publicly regretted
the UW that Republicans had
prevented the passage of any
hate crimes legislation.
Indeed. Republicans made
such moves extremely ditli
cult. When m 1999. Democrat.
Rep. Robert Wexler (CA)
attempted to pass a resolution
condemning the Council of
Conservative Citizens, a new
version of the supremacist
group. White C iti/ens C ouncil.
Republicans blocked it.
Politicians who had associa
tions with the Council includ
ed Senators Trent Lott. Jesse
Helms. Bob Barr. Mississippi
Gov. Kirk Fordice and others.
This led Wexler to ar>k why
the Congress could pass a res
olution denouncing Black hate
speech by Khalid Muhammad,
then of the Nation of Islam by
97-0. but did nothing in this
case.
That same year. Congress
also refused to denounce the
speech of Republican Sen.
Ernest Hollings. who called
Black people "darkies" and
Hispanics "wetbacks and said
that African heads of state
came to International confer
ences to "get a square meal
instead of eating each other."
With the latest change of
administrations, it may appear
that legitimacy for racism has
weakened, and so the "lone
wolves" may come out once
more .
Dr. Ron Wallers is the
Distinguished Leadership
Scholar. Director <>J the
African American Leadership
Center and Professor oj
Government and Politics at the
University of Maryland
College Park. Among his
books is "White Nationalism.
Black Interests."