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A2 January 9, 2020 The Chronicle Trump From page A2 tion to kill Osama bin Lad en and Muammar Gaddafi. Reactions to the fatal airstrike have been swift - Iran has vowed a “force ful” revenge against U.S. assets in the region, they have withdrawn from JCPOA, and mobilized ballistic missiles across the country. The Iraqi govern ment approved a resolution (170-0) to eject the U.S. military from their country - Shiite lawmakers drafted the language and led the vote with Sunni and Kurd ish factions abstaining. Have a Story Idea? Let Us Know News@wschronicle. com Trump quickly prom ised to strike 52 sites across Iran if they attack Ameri cans or American interests overseas. He even went one step further, declaring cultural sites would be in cluded on the list, which is a war crime. Around 3,500 soldiers at Fort Bragg have been deployed to the re gion. Some pundits argue Trump’s tough response may lead us into a new major conflict in the Mid dle East and even predic tions of another world war have been leisurely thrown around. America has invested trillions in Middle Eastern conflicts and most would argue the country is in no position to continue wast ing dollars or American lives in the region. The most informed military aides capable of advising Trump on restraint and ef fective planning no longer work in the administra tion - Mattis, Kelly, and McMaster - all resigned or have been pushed out. Trump will need well- informed expert advice to navigate this mounting crisis while averting fur ther conflict with Iran and their allies. Any POTUS is justified when they re spond to threats against the American people, but the response must be com mensurate to the action - no one doubts Trump should have responded, but only time will tell if his response was appropriate. Algenon Cash is a na tionally recognized speak er and the managing direc tor of Wharton Gladden & Company, an investment bankingfirm. Reach him at acash@algenoncash. com. Emancipation From page Al the equation.” Jones, who is a native of Little Rock, Ark., said despite lingering effects of slavery, we have the power to overcome. He said race is only the pig ment of one’s skin and to overcome those lingering effects, the African Ameri can community needs to adopt a new mindset and value system. He also en couraged the crowd to do their part to ensure that the young people in our com munity know that they can achieve anything they set their minds to. “Rev. Dr. James Cone, a black liberation leader out of Arkansas, said the oppressed can take the val ue system of the oppressor or the oppressed can set his or her own value sys tem,” Jones continued. “If we do to others what oth ers have done to us, then we’re no better than the others. My Bible says do justly and love mercifully, that is the will of God.” Although Jones deliv ered the keynote address, Judge Denise Hartsfield read the Emancipation Proclamation aloud, and several elected officials spoke and encouraged citizens to exercise their right to vote. The highlight of the service came to ward the end when seven students from local high schools received $1,000 scholarships. According to Dan Piggott, longtime member of the Emanci pation Association, it was the most scholarships they have awarded since the service was established. Scholarship recipients were Najashi Belchor, Al len Choyce, LaJada Flow ers, Darian Lowe, Taylor Martin, Stephen Minor and Todd Ryan. Black News Channel Network launch fulfills lifelong dream of J.C. Watts BY STACY M. BROWN, NNPA NEWSWIRE SENIOR CORRESPONDENT WASHINGTON, D.C. — On January 6, 2020, the Black News Channel (BNC) became the na tion’s only 24-hour news and information television network focused primar ily on African Americans. The historic launch of the BNC fulfilled the busi ness dream and vision of J.C. Watts, Jr., a nationally known entrepreneur and former U.S. Congressman representing Oklahoma’s Fourth District. Programming includes special news features on topics that most affect the quality of life of commu nities of color - like Sickle Cell disease and hyperten sion - that generally aren’t given much attention by other news outlets. The BNC has also established a news-content alliance with the National Newspa per Publishers Association (NNPA), representing the Black Press of America, via 225 African American- owned newspapers and digital companies through out the United States. The Tallahassee, Flor ida-based BNC counts as the brainchild of J.C. Watts, Jr., who is de scribed by Tommy Ross, the network’s director of communications, as “a fa ther, husband, grandfather, business owner, entrepre neur, author, elected of ficial at the state and fed eral level, a pastor, and a rancher who grew up in a small town in Oklahoma.” In reality, Watts ap pears as much more, and those who know him, un derstand that he’s a Repub lican conservative whose accomplishments cross party lines. Watts is also a former All-Star quarter- back who played college football in Oklahoma and pro ball in Canada. His congressional ac complishments and living legacy are noteworthy, in cluding: *Helped black farm ers get some justice on a discrimination suit against the United States Depart ment of Agriculture. *Helped push through legislation for the African American Museum of His tory and Culture. *Sponsored HBCU summits to establish rela tionships and better under standing between students and Republican policy- makers. *Sponsored anti-pov erty legislation (commu nity renewal/new markets tax credits). *Led Congress in high lighting minority health care disparities. *Led on the Republi can side against sentenc ing disparities between crack/powder cocaine. *Led in getting fund ing to fight malaria in West Africa. *Sponsored Africa growth and opportunity legislation. “We’ve done a lot as African Americans,” Watts stated before referencing a recent statue unveiling that took place in Richmond, Va., earlier this month. “Rumors of War,” a statue by artist Kehinde Wiley, was unveiled on Decem ber 10 during a ceremony at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The figure de picts an African American man dressed in contem porary clothing riding a horse, echoing the eques trian sculptures of Confed erate soldiers. “Rumors of War” was reportedly Wiley’s re sponse to the Confederate monuments that pepper the U.S. and the South in par ticular. The new memorial arrived amid an ongoing debate across the country about what do with Con federate imagery. “This was history,” Watts said of the statue. “Because, if we talk about the slave owner, how can we ignore the slave? African Americans contributed mightily to the United States, and you don’t see enough statues of African Americans. “Think about what Rosa Parks contributed, Harriet Tubman’s sacri fice, Martin Luther King’s sacrifice, and Frederick Douglass. Their contribu tion was to raise the con scious level of America to Submitted Photo J.C. Watts say that you know, we are all human and all created by the same God,” Watts emphasized. He said the BNC would highlight the contri butions of African Ameri cans. And, to successfully accomplish that mission, Watts said it was essential to partner with NNPA. “NNPA already has people in the trenches that report on African American life, whether it’s Chicago, Atlanta, Birmingham, Detroit or Oklahoma City, they re port on African Ameri can life every day,” Watts stated. “I don’t know if I can put into words how important that partnership will be, and that’s just in terms of content. When I was in politics, we used a strategy where you’ve got people knocking on doors and leaving literature, and that’s your ground game,” Watts continued. “But you also need an air attack to augment that ground game, so with NNPA being on the ground and giving us information and data, and us being able to launch an air attack, it’s critical,” he stated. Watts believes that a significant component of the BNC is providing knowledge to a commu nity that’s starved for in formation. “Our viewers will be able to find out more about Sickle Cell and black men and black women’s health,” Watts stated. “They will also be reminded that black his tory isn’t just about Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement, which was extremely important, but it isn’t the only part of our history. We are going to take a deeper dive and have a deeper relationship with our community.” Watts’s background as a Republican and a con servative has often been a topic of both his support ers and detractors. Howev er, Watts refuses to allow stereotypes and presump tions to define him. “Conservative means many things to different people. To me, it means living the way my grand- mama taught me,” Watts stated. “She taught me to treat people the way that I want to be treated. In a black home, you rarely saw people leaving their lights on at night because grandmama taught that it was a waste of electricity. If the lights were on, you knew that something pret ty serious was happening.” Watts continued: “The bottom line about being a conservative is that you treat people with respect, and you don’t believe in wasting things. That’s important. And, another primary place that I get my conservative values is the Bible. I was taught that I shouldn’t just be concerned about Okla homa University, my alma mater, but I should also be concerned about Morehouse. That’s why I sponsored anti-poverty legislation because some times you have to put ex tra resources into different communities to give them the infrastructure to attract industry and jobs. “My biblical prin ciples drove me much more than the Republican Party. Look, the National Football League recog nized that having success ful teams in every market would benefit everyone, and that’s why the team with the worst record gets the top pick in the draft. They know that if the Cin cinnati Bengals perform better, everybody Wins because you would have more advertising and a better television contract for everyone. So, I feel the same way about un derserved communities. If we can help them to be stronger and create more opportunities within those communities, then that’s good for all communities.” Conservative values also sparked Watts’s desire for criminal justice reform, he stated. “When I talk about conservative principles, you know you don’t waste money,” Watts stated. “So, why should we spend $28,000 a year to incar cerate someone for a low- level, nonviolent drug of fense? “You can spend sig nificantly less on commu nity service. And, when you look at the facts, the sentencing disparities were big. People on Wall Street were using powder cocaine just like people on Main Street, or people in poor communities, but the sentencing disparities were off the charts. I vot ed my conscience on this when I was in Congress,” Watts stated. With the launch of the BNC, Watts hopes that viewers will get a similar feeling to what he experi enced after recently taking his daughter to dinner to celebrate her birthday. “My daughter recom mended the restaurant, I’d never been there before,” Watts stated, “After din ner, she asked me what did I think of the restaurant? I said, T’d come back to to morrow.’ And I think that’s our mission with the BNC, not just to grab the imagi nation and the attention of the nation, but especially our demographic and to have them come back. I think it’ll be a mission ac complished.” Dr. Benjamin F. Cha vis, Jr, a progressive Democrat and president and CEO of the NNPA, without any reservations asserted, “The launch of the Black News Channel (BNC) is very timely at the beginning of 2020. This is good news for all in Black America. The BNC tran scends the current partisan divide iri the United States. The interests of African Americans, as well as all other people of color and all of humanity who cry out for freedom, justice and equality, will be more effectively addressed as direct result of the daily 24/7 diverse and news- packed broadcasts of BNC in the U.S. and throughout the world.” CONTACTING THE CHRONICLE www.wschronicle.com 1300 E. Fifth St., Winston Salem, N.C. 27101 Main Phone Number: 336-722-8624 Advertising: Ext. 113 Circulation/Subscriptions: Ext. 100 To send news items: email news@wschronicle.com To send a Letter to the Editor (350 words or less) or column (550 words or less): email letters@wschronicle.com For advertising: email adv@wschronicle.com For subscriptions: email plewis@wschronicle.com Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/WSChron- icle Follow us on Twitter: WS Chronicle The Chronicle (USPS 067-910) was established by Ernest H. Pitt and Ndubisi Egemonye in 1974 and is published every Thursday by Chronicle Media Group, LLC, 1300 E. Fifth St., Winston Salem, N.C. 27101. Periodicals postage paid at Winston-Salem, N.C. An nual subscription price is $30.72. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Chronicle, P.O. Box 1636 Winston-Salem, NC 27102-1636 Editor: Ext. 108
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