OPINION/ FORUM
The
Chronicle
Ernest H. Pitt Publisher'Co-Founder
ELAINE Pitt Business Manager
Michael A. Pitt Marketing
T. Kevin Walker Managing tuiior
*ortn Carolina
Pre** Association
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VERIFICATION
WSBBB
Blacks must
advocate for
health care reform
Congress seems to be putting the. final touches on health
care reform legislation . arranging to provide health care. espe
cially, for the uninsured. V . . . v.
Anyone who has made the summer rounds of civil rights
conventions understands that African-American policy makers
care about this issue. Still, there seems to be no passionate
advocacy for heath care reform.
Our presence in this debate is much needed - we have a
dog in this fight. African-Americans are more likely than oth
ers to be uninsured, so the many ways our new legislation will
make insurance available is important. And even when we are
others are.
Julia n ne
Malveaux
Guest
Columnist
lnsureu, me way mat neaitn
problems hit us are most dif
ferent. According to the.
Centers for Disease Control.
African-Americans and
Hispanics "bear a dispropor
tionate burden of disease,
injury, and disability."
African- Americans, in partic
ular, are more likely to be
killed or to die of HIV than
There is more - we are more likely to be obese, to have
high blood pressure, diabetes, or to experience strokes. The
obesity hits us early - our children are carrying more weight
than they need to, and our community has done little to pro
mote healthy eating. We experience cancer earlier than others,
especially breast cancer, and we are often diagnosed too late
for diagnosis to save us.
We should be clear that many health disparities are the out
come of racial bias and racism in our lives and experiences.
And many health disparities are the result of our own unwill
ingness to deal with the health challenges that face our com
munity. For example, the fact that African American women
are. about 11 times more likely to be diagnosed with HIV than
majority women is partly a function of sex education in our
community.
We really can't blame racism for the fact that in an age of
easily available information, too many sisters continue to put
themselves at risk. Ditto obesity. While we can talk about the
availability of healthy food choices in inner cities, the fact is
that there is also much information available about how to eat
and live more healthily.
Race may play a role in the ways our health disparities
play out, but our own engagement in our health outcomes also
plays a role.
As health care reform legislation snakes its way through
the congress and senate, it is disheartening to see the few who
are involved in the legislation and the many who are silent.
You can't live without a healthy life, can't agitate for jus
tice without the stamina for agitation. Yet there are so many
African-American people who are proud, passionate and side
lined by their health challenges. Where is the intense advoca
cy in our community, an advocacy that w ill propel us to be key
activists in the health reform legislation?
African- American people need the means and ends to
healthy lives. We need to push hard for the health care reform
that the Obama administration is promoting.
Possibly, (>ur legislators will kick the can toward health
care reform, producing legislation in the next several days.
The goal was that they would have come to conclusion by
Aug, 7, but there is a clear possibility that discussion of this
legislation will continue after the recess.
What needs to happen, now and later, is that we need to
hear black voices raised in support of health care reform. We
need to hear black voices put all of this in context. We need to
make sure that we all understand how critical it is for people
to have access to health insurance and to health care.
In so many ways, access to health care is the foundation of
our energy and survival. A community that has been econom
ically marginalized gains much when health care is made
available to the broadest range of people.
Health disparities are a function of the many racial
inequities that plague our society. If you scratch an African
American, she can tell you what she thought of the Henry
Louis Gates arrest or the beer summit. How many can recite
the details of the health legislation and the many ways it can
enhance the African-American community. Priorities, priori
ties. Health care reform wjl] improve the health status of the
African-American community.
Julianne Malveaux is president of Bennett College for
Women in Greensboro, North Carolina. She can he reached at
presbennett@hennett.edu.
* vr? tavur i ie-"~ ? a. ?
Nothing Learned During ' Teachable Moment'
George
Curry
Guest
Columnist
When it was announced
that President Obama.
Harvard Professor Henry
Louis Gates. Jr.. and Police
Sgt. James Crowley would
hold a beer summit in the
While House, the suds tag
lines began flowing. They
included 'The Audacity of
Hops." "A Thousand Points,
of Bud Light" and my
favorite, "Yes. Three Cans."
Late night comedians
also got a bu it from the
event. Bill Maher said, "I
don't know if this is a case
of racism. The police in
Cambridge say it had noth
ing to do with Gates being
Black. They said they would
have given the same treat
ment to any minority. 'v
Conan said. "The meeting
got off to a rough start when
a neighbor called the police
to say Gates was breaking
into the White House."
Jokes aside, the president
said Gates being arrested on
his own porch by police
should be used as a teach
able moment.
But three Weeks after the
highly-publicized arrest,
nothing has been taught to
the public about race rela
tions. Not only have there
been no lessons, there hasn't
even been a lesson plan.
Because President Obama
stated that Cambridge police
"acted stupidly," he was sub
jected to a barrage of criti
cism. Ami for tactical rea
sons. the focus was shifted
from using the incident as a
teaching moment to putting
it behind us. From the presi
dent's perspective, the con
troversy over his use of
words detracted from the
administration's major push
to get a health care bill
passed by Congress.
For the rest of us, howev
er, we shouldn't rush to put
the controversy behind us.
Thatrs because whether most
Americans admit it or not,
we are not past our past.
Historian Eric Foner. for
mer president of the
American Historical
Association, observed: "For
two and a half centuries, the
large majority' of African
Americans were held in
slavery, and even after
emancipation were subject
ed to discrimination in every
aspect of their lives. Other
minority groups have suf
fered severe inequalities as
well. Today, while the nation
has made great progress in
eradicating the 'color line,'
the legacy of slavery and
segregation remains alive in
numerous aspects of
American society."
America's racial divide
has been a sharp one. On the
guilt or innocence of O.J.
Simpson. Whites and Blacks
were sharply divided. Even
on a non-racial topic such as
Hurricane Katrina, there was
a difference of opinion.
There have been some
hopeful signs as well. For
example. New York
Times/CBS poll released in
April found that the election
of Barack Obama has
ipiproved the perception of
race relations. Two-thirds of
Americans describe race
relations as generally good
and the percentage of
African-Americans holding
that view has doubled since
last July.
But improving race rela
tions is too important to be
left to President Obama or a
beer summit at the White
House. A major impediment
to racial progress is the lack
of meaningful interaction
between the races away from
the workplace. One of the
things that helped race rela
tions in the 1960s were
structured programs that
allowed people of all races
to talk directly with one
another.
Perhaps they should be
revived. Today, we still talk
about race, but usually
among our own racial group.
Of course, we need to do
more than talk.
When I began my jour
nalism career as a reporter
for Sports Illustrated in
1970. most of my friends
growing up in segregated
Alabama were African
Americans. Also starting at
SI in New York were Larry
Keith, a proud North
Carolinian, Ron Scott, a
devout Mormon from Utah,
Kent Hannon and Stephanie
Salter from Indiana. Jim
Kaplan from Boston and
Don Delliquanti from New
Jersey. At the time, I was the
lone Black reporter at the
magazine. Although we
came from different back
grounds and in a way were
competing for the same pro
motions, we developed gen
uine friendships, many of
which continue to this day. .
No one set out to break
any racial, religious or
social barriers. Rather, we
spent a lot of time together
away from the office, play
ing touch football, basket
ball. softball, and attending
parties together. Friendships
developed naturally from
those interactions. 4
A similar thing happened ?
to me in Washington. I
developed a close friendship
with Craig Trygstad. cxe.Cu-.
tive director of Youth
Communication, a teen news
service Craig gfew up in a
White farming community
in Minnesota. We came
together through our interest
in training young people for
careers in journalism. I
eventually became chairman
of his Board and later served
as the best man in his wed
ding.
My experience over the
years has been that racial
progress is aided by genuine
interaction between equals.
The problem, is that too
many of us. both Blacks and
Whites, lytved stopped try
ing to bridge the racial gap.
With the nation becoming
increasingly diverse
Latinos and Asians Can't be
left out of the equation - all
of us have an obligation to
eradicate cripling barriers. If
we don't, we'll have nobody
to blame but ourselves.
George E. Currv, former
editor-in-chief of Emerge
magazine and the NNPA
News Service , is a keynote
speaker, moderator, and
media coach. He can he
reached through his Web
site, www.georgecurry.com .
Attacks on President Obama
A1
Sharpton
Guest
Columnist
It's "been just over six
months since the first
African- American President
assumed the reigns of leader
of the free world, and thus
became arguably the most
powerful man on earth.
Following slavery, centuries
of institutional racism,
unequal access to education,
jobs and the pursuit of pros
perity. America voluntarily
voted for a Black man to
hold the highest office in the
land. And after running on a
platform of unity and stay
ing above the fray of racial
divisiveness, President
Obama finds himself at the
center of bigotry, race-bait
ing and hatred - and this
time the right wing fringe is
attempting to portray him as
the racist.
A few weeks back. Fox
News anchor Glenn Beck
engaged in an all-too famil
iar rant where he1 began
attacking the President of
the United States. Literally
pulling out a wobbling
Black doll holding an
'umbrella that he called
'Obama', Beck went on a
tirade over how the
President's proposed health
Care reform would remake
Glenn Beck
America' and that people
should be very, very afraid.
With neurotic-type gestures,
Beck espoused that Obama
was taking the "beacon of
freedom and turning it into
an apologetic, hey, what can
you do for me, wannabe
European, spread the wealth,
socialist wonderland."
As if such vitriol and fear
mongering wasn't incompre
hensible enough, the Fox
loud m^uth went one step
further last week in a move
that even astonished his
bosses when he called
Obama a flat out 'racist.*
Following the election in
November, the nation was
immersed in the progress of
finally electing an African
American into a house that
was literally constructed on
the backs of slaves. Many, in
an idealistic manner, hoped
that society would now
advance into a post-racial
environment where skin
color, ethnicity, creed and
religion wouldn't play such
intense roles, and discrimi
nation would subside.
Unfortunately, what we
must remember is that
despite having a Black
President, inequities in edu
cation, housing and work
still exist, and that the insti
tutional structure of society
hasn't shifted all that much.
The CEOs of most corpora
tions are still White, the hir
ing managers are mostly
White, the heads of police
departments are predomi
nantly White and the execu
tives in media (and that's
TV, print and radio) are
more often then not White.
Yes, we have made some
advances, but there is a
tremendous way to go before
anyone can even begin to
speak of equality and a fair
playing field.
In January, President
Obama inherited an exacer
bating Housing crisis, two
wars and the worst economy
in years. And as people con
tinue to lose jobs and face
tough times, those on the
right continue to exploit the
fears of the downtrodden.
Several in the GOP have
utilized health reform as a
wedge to scare White folks -
especially poor Whites -
that Obama is using health
care as 'reparations', when
in fact those same poor
Whites would be among
those who benefit the most
from this reform.
Just last week, two offi
cers in Georgia were put on
leave after being accused of
running a criminal check on
the President. This outra
geous behavior followed last
year's security breach of
then Senator Obama's pass
port. And since inauguration
we have witnessed danger
ous words like 'socialist'
and 'Marxist' touted around
as if they didn't hold an Ugly
and troubling history.
Never before in our
nation's history has the
President of the United
States been undermined and
attacked so blatantly in the
media, on Capitol Hill and
in the court of public opin
ion.
Il happens in small man
ners "when someone refers to
him as 'Mr. Obama' rather
than 'President Obama,' and
in more blatant manners by
the Glen Becks and Rush
Limbaughs of the world.
Instead of supporting the
President as he undertakes
the daunting task of resur
recting the country out of
our plethora of challenges,
some choose to divide,
incite fear, push their own
agendas and reinforce age
old stereotypes. Now I ask
you, who is the real racist?
Activist Al Sharpton is
head of the National Action
Network .