Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / March 21, 1985, edition 1 / Page 21
Part of The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Tony Brown's COMMENTS -J The Problem Of Racism Ninety-five percent of Afro Americans killed each year are murdered by another Afro American. Older Afro-Ameri cans are held hostage in homes by young blacks, street smart and immune to prosecution. There is not one black com munity in America that is not . living in terror of its indigenous criminal element. Opinion poll after opinion poll shows that Afro-Americans see crime-in their neighborhoods-as a major problem. To my statement of these facts and the assertion that Afro-Americans talk too much about what white people do .to them or don’t do for them and not nearly enough about what they are going to do about what white people do tathem or don’t do for them, I was called the problem by an irate reader. Michael A. Matambanadzo of Slippery Rock, Pa., wrote to the Pittsburgh Postgfczette and called my colurli “an orgy in (racial) self recrimination.” I am simply an opportunist, he said, “swept aloilg by the emo tional tide” who tgcks the guts to “swim against it.” “Blaming the victims in Ame rica for their miscues is no thing new,” he argued. After all,' how could a black who is ‘com prised by his bourgeois aspi rations’ who ‘used to be a black militant when it was fashion able’ possibly be anything but a ‘professional apologist for racists?”’ In Mr. Matambanadzo’s lo gic, I am bourgeois because I have accomplished what I set out to do. But what he obviously doesn’t understand is that I am successful because of what I believe in. And I do not now or ever have believed that white people were going to do anything for black people. To this man, I would be a fit object of pity (and perhaps adulation) if I were conspicuous ly not successful and, therefore, a victim. My “victim” status would then entitle me to vic timize other black people ( the “victimization syndrome”) and depend on the Matambanadzos of the world to justify my “miscues.” And by attacking those who attack crime in the alleged de fense of the black community, he holds himself up as a black leader of a victimized black community who is guarding against the tides of racism and other blacks who sell out to law and order. Other than his demagogic rea soning, Mr. Matambanadzo suf fers an inability to even attack the problem. His remarks con spicuously omit any action on his part about the solution. In fact, he never recognized the problem and by attacking me, he con tinued to wallow in the pre dicament. Crime in black neighborhoods is a predicament. It has already happened-and it is literally kill ing us. We don’t solve it by creating a “victimization syn drome” to legitimatize murder and mayhem. We begin to solve it by dis tinguishing between the predi cament and the problem. Racism and crime are facts in America. And they are predica ments because blacks cannot change these facts. The pro blem is what are blacks going to do about them? Obviously, there will never be a solution to theiproblem (What are blacks going to do?) as long as the focus is the predicament, (What whites are doing or will not do). «madzo’s personal d not prevent the ad today about a n assaulting a ggs^ Neither did he halt my. p by calling me phically demonstrates of many Afro and the resultant in deal effectively with They don’t know the dif between a predicament lem. “Tony Brown’s Jotirnal” TV series can be seen on public television Sunday on Channel 42 at 5 p m. It can also be seen on Channel 58 on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. Please consult listings. Documentary To Focus On Lives Of Charlotte Women Finding A Common His tory: Women of Char lotte,” an hour-long docu mentary focusing on the lives of Charlotte women through the past 30 years, airs Wednesday, March 27, at 8 p.m. on WTVI and pswnieres to the press and a selected audience Tues day, March 26. The premier screening, to be held at NCNB’s 40th floor penthouse at 6 p.m., features a reception and program that will include the presentation of copies of the documentary to re presentatives of the Char lotte-Mecklenburg School System, UNCC’s Urban In stitute-Leadership Char lotte Program, Johnson C. Smith University, and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Library. These fa cilities will make the do cumentary available throughout the community to interested groups, in dividuals, and civic organi zations. Over a year in prepara tion, the project grew out of a desire of Women’s Com mission members attend ing various sessions of Leadership Charlotte (a program to recognize and give training to emerging civic leaders) to see the role of women in the growth and development of Charlotte-Mecklenburg ad dressed and emphasized within the Leadership Charlotte Program. The Commission submitted a proposal to WTVI, the lo cal public broadcasting station, suggesting a joint venture to produce a video tape on the Charlotte wo men previously researched by a Leadership Charlotte task force. The idea was accepted by WTVI and pre sented to the N.C. Human ities Commission which approved a grant for the project. Matching funds were provided by NCNB Corporation and Harris Teeter Super Markets, Inc. The project has been under the guidance of Katheryn Frye of Frye Productions, Project Co Director; and Elliott San derson, Director of Broad casting, WTVI. Karen Mos teller of Mosteller Produc tions Services is the direc I ■ ■ ■ tor and Kim Cooke is the videographer. In preparing the pro gram, nearly 100 women of diverse social, economic, and cultural backgrounds participated in discussion groups and oral history interviews. Dr. Elizabeth K. Minnich, nationally known women’s studies scholar, helped place these histories in the con text of the national wo men’s movement. Histo rians George Warren, Jannette Greenwood, and ' Tom Hanchett studied traditional source mate rial and provided local background perspective. David Todd Formerly of Alexander’s Grocery Introducing Our New Fish <S Meat Dept. IWCiALI Brim *1** lb« Fresh $.M Shrimp lb. Pan Trout lb. Block Boss »|— lb. Oysters *«"lb Flounder • l^lb. We Also Carry A Full Selection Of Fresh Meats 11 The Market 3700 Beattie* Ford Rd (Near YMCA) Peacock Lounge HAPPY HOUR Mon-Fri 4:00-8:00 _Thursday - Ladies* Night y ----- featuring “Sweet Dreams ” Fri-Sal-Sun Michael Porter & Fred Milk i———-: We Have It All Live Entertainment, Excellent Service, Wonderful A tmotphere— Who Could Atk t For Anything More? 1527 Wert Boulevard 077 q^7a Charlotte, NC * -007U (Across from Wayne's Super Market) Come by and tee us for your membership card.
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
March 21, 1985, edition 1
21
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75