OP/ED
Ernest H. Pitt Publisher/Co-Founder
A,ebra/v
C ^ elaine Pitt Business Manager
r- c3 _ / Richard gillespie General Sales Manager
t. Kevin Walker Managing Editor
Election '14
*
Rarely does the end of the election filing period bring good tidings; this year
was quite the exception.
Since four Republican members of the much-maligned School Board failed to
file for reelection, we know that nearly half of the board's seats will be filled by
newcomers.
Hallelujah!
Among those leaving the nine?nember board is Jane Goins - the board's
Methuselah. Goins joined the board when Apples were just something students ate
- not used to complete assignments and commu
nicate with the world.
Those of you with long memories may won
der why we are faulting Goins for her nearly 30
years on the School Board when we recently
praised Mayor Pro Tempore Vivian Burke for her
longevity. The answer is Goins was just a seat
filler for much of her reign - a show-horse trot
ting about when a work-horse was desperately
needed. And her board colleagues did the school
system a grave disservice when out of deference
they chose Goins to replace Donny Lambeth -
the ultimate work-horse - as chair of the board
instead of a more capable member like John
Davenport Jr.
Buddy Collins, Marilyn Parker and Jill
Tackabery are the other Republicans exiting. The
new board will invariably still be Republican
controlled, but we hope the new members have
the grit to take a stand for teachers and students
instead of toeing the GOP line. Most on the cur
rent members lack spines. While school boards
Judge Hartsfield
in Guilford, Durham and other counties fight tooth and nail to maintain the dignity
of their teachers and safeguard the futures of their students, our folks equivocate,
offering only subdued objections to repressive policies for fear of offending the
Republican gods.
In other filing news, none of the incumbents on the 21st District Court bench
will face challengers this fall. This means Judge Denise Hartsfield is all but assured
another term on the bench. About two years ago, when Hartsfield faced specious
ethics charges, many predicted her demise. She never wavered, though, from her
commitment to service. Even as she served a short suspension, Hartsfield contin
ued to build bridges by volunteering, mentoring and taking every opportunity to
warn young people about the perils of being entangled in the criminal justice sys
tem.
Her service became her penance. Her faith and the support of the community -
those who knew and loved her long before she was "Judge" Hartsfield - was stead
fast. As a result, like the mythical phoenix, Denise emerged from the ashes to soar
even higher. Let her story be an example to all of us who have or may find our
selves down for the count.
Make God Colorless
Irshad
Hasan
Guest
Columnist
On Feb. 28,
Hollywood released a
new movie, "Son of
God
Obviously, it is a story
about the great Christ
Jesus, whom some say is
God and others say is the
son of God. Most
Christians believe that
Jesus is both God and the
Son of God.
Jesus Christ has been
portrayed for hundreds of
years as Caucasian, a
white man. Until recent
ly, he has mostly been
shown with blond hair
and blue eyes. Today, you
may see him pictured
with brown hair and
brown eyes, but almost
always, still as a
Caucasian man.
If Jesus is God and
Jesus is white, then God
is white. If Jesus is the
Son of God and Jesus is
white, his father's white;
therefore, God must be
white. This is the undeni
able message that is com
municated when God is
portrayed this way.
In the early to mid
1970s, an African
American Muslim leader
named Imam Warith
Deen Mohammed asked
several serious questions,
including, "What do you
think would happen to
the world's white people
if they sat in churches
from the time they were
children until the day
they died, generation
after generation, for 400
years, with the image of a
black man in front of
them as the God who died
to save them? What do
you think this would do
to their minds?"
He also posed this -
"What do you think it
does to the minds and
hearts of white people
who are taught from time
they are children, genera
tion after generation, for
thousands of years, that
Jesus is God, and they see
that God looks like them
and not like the darker
people of the World?
What does this do to their
minds?"
Mohammed's answer
was that it would con
sciously and subcon
sciously promote feelings
and thoughts of superior
ity in white people and
inferiority in non-white
people.
If we cannot remove
racism from religion,
how can we remove it
from society and the
world?
The obvious solution
is to stop portraying God
in this way in pictures,
statues and movies. The
image that is used for
Jesus is not even the real
image of the historical
Jesus.
Dear people -
Christians, Jews,
Muslims, Caucasians,
Latinos, Asians and
Africans - it is not right
to put God into a color, to
say that He is in the
image of one people to
the exclusion of others.
This cannot be moral.
This is not godly. Let's
make no image of God.
It is our appeal to the
Higher Voice within you
to stand against this kind
of thing. (I am) not ask
ing anyone to stay away
from the movie, but to be
conscious of this wrong.
Some people think the
images are harmless, but
corporations spend mil
lions of dollars for 30
seconds of advertising to
get images of thei: prod
ucts before your eyes.
There is indeed an
impact.
Let's stand against
racism in religion.
Remove images portray
ing God as white or any
other color.
Irshad Hasan has led
Winston-Salem's Masjid
Al-Muminun as imam for
more than 20 years.
I
Movement
from page A6
open to the public.
"I'm excited to collab
orate with others to get as
many people in our com
munity writing at the
same time on a common
theme," said White,
OCOP coordinator for the
Triad. "Writing provides
an avenue for creativity,
inspiration and profound
change. My hope in doing
this is that those who par
ticipate will walk away
from the experience hav
ing met new people and
found a deeper relation
ship with their own voice.
Writing truly is transfor
mative and 1 hope people
feel that through OCOP."
In addition to attend
ing writing workshops
and discussion groups,
participants may submit
their writings online at
www.poetryheals.com/on
e-c it y -one -prompt -
events.html. Visit
www.poetryheals.com/oc
op-calendar.html for a
calendar of OCOP events
and registration informa
tion.
Upcoming events will
include Saturday, March
8's "Begin Again: The
Writer's Journey," with
noted local poet Ismael
Khatibu. It will be held at
the Community Arts
Cafe, 411 W 4th St.. from
2-4 p.m. Admission is
$20 and RSVPs must be
received by March 7 via
www.press53.com/work
shops.html.
White will be featured
at a roundtable held by
the Women Writers' of
the Triad on Sunday,
March 9 2-3 p.m. in the
Deep Roots Community
Room, 600 N Eugene St.
in Greensboro. She will
also be featured on
Monday, March 24 from
7-8:30 p.m at the
Community Arts Cafe for
a gathering hosted by
Winston-Salem Writers.
White will lead a 90
minute workshop that
will focus on the "Begin
Again" theme.
For a complete sched
ule of events or to learn
more about the project,
visit
www.poetryheals.com.
Davis
from page AT
"The reality of what
the law was and what the
law could achieve was
exposed to me," he told
the students. "...I knew
from this moment in
Philadelphia that I want
ed to be a lawyer and that
was what I was here on
earth to be."
While an aptitude for
the material is important,
being passionate about
the work is an essential
component of becoming a
good lawyer, Davis said.
"Love the law," he
advised the audience of
mostly law students.
"Pursue your studies as
an act of love, because it
will empower you to
achieve just incredible,
incredible things, for
yourself and for your
family."
Davis, who celebrated
his 65th birthday last
month, is now a senior
judge - a pre-retirement
status. He. said he was
attracted to serving as a
judge, which he calls "an
extraordinary honor and
privilege," because of his
desire to teach and men
tor the next generation of
legal minds. As a law stu
dent, Davis said he was
inspired and empowered
by the example set by the
late Harry Cole, a former
state senator and the first
African American to
serve on the Maryland
Court of Appeals. Cole,
who passed away in
1999, was appointed in
1977, while Davis was in
law school at the
University of Maryland.
The news of his appoint
ment inspired Davis.
"I needed that to hap
pen. 1 really needed that
to happen, to affirm my
prospects," Davis said.
"Even though I had great
prospects, 1 needed to
know what was possible,
and the way you learn
what is possible is to see
what is. That is why 1 am
here at the Wake Forest
law school."
Davis implored the
students not to let any
obstacle deter them from
their hopes and dreams.
"The world is open to
you, if you work hard, if
you seek out the mentor
ships and the guidance
that you need," he
intoned. "Don't let any
body tell you that you
can't achieve your
dreams."
Davis addressed the
issues of race and racism
in the criminal justice
system after being probed
by Parks.
"In so many ways -
some quite positive, but
far too many negative
ways - race is the defin
ing feature of the
American criminal jus
tice system." Davis
declared. "The mass
incarceration that we see.
and the impact that it's
having on the African
American community
specifically and other
communities of color in
general, has been a blot
on our criminal justice
system for decades. It's
absolutely outrageous."
In order to effect pos
itive change with respect
to race and race relations,
African Americans must
be willing to serve on
both sides of the aisle
- as both prosecutors and
defense attorneys, Davis
said. He challenged his
audience to employ their
skills and expertise to
eradicate institutional
racism and build a more
equitable system for their
successors to inherit.
"Much of the prob
lems of race in the crimi
nal justice system would
be, if not resolved, seri
ously addressed if more
people of color and peo
ple committed to civil
rights and social justice
became prosecutors," he
stated. "...The law is a
wonderful institution,
and for people who care
about social justice and
equality, we need those
people at every segment
of the law."
First-year law student
Tony Ogw was impressed
by Davis' candor.
"I was surprised by
how socially-conscious
he was," the Dallas,
Texas native said, noting
that many African
American judges exhibit
more conservative values.
"...It's cool to know that
there isn't one black
opinion in the judicial
courts, there are multiple
different views."
Ogw, an aspiring
business consultant, said
he was taken by Davis'
engaging, eloquent man
ner of speaking.
"I could listen to him
talk for hours," the 23
year-old declared. "He
seems like a great guy."
WFU Law Dean
Blake Morant said it's
essential that law stu
dents are exposed regu
larly to working profes
sionals like Davis.
"There's such
intertwining between the
doctrine of law that we
teach and the practice of
law," he said. "...What
Judge Davis does is real
ly an important part of
the entirety of what we
do in our profession."
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Photos by Layla Garrns
Judge Davis is now a senior (no longer full-time)
judge of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
WFU Law Dean Blake Morant addresses the crowd.
Tony Ogw
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