ii •*
The American people have been
conditioned by the medium of television to
want and expect instant gratification. Our
mentality has become'one'of expecting to
solveall problems in 30 to 60 minutes, less a
few seconds for commercials, and the
blissful Jpys'of happiness of all or at least
the “good guys.” So-called fast food
restaurants, fast cars, TV dinners, and TV
instant replays are all" a part of this
mentality of swiftly moving from a situation ’
to escalated joy and extended happiness.
Last week, the reality of the culture of
instant gratification bolted the nation into
“culture shock” as the escalating joy'of the .
space shuttle Challenger exploded just 75
seconds after liftoff* leaving us with the
ultimate instant tragedy.
The disaster on that Tuesday morning -
took, the lives of a “Rainbow CoaUUon”of
Americans ranging from a black to white to ,
Japanese-Americans, men and women,
school teacher to scientist, civilian to
military and from Jewish to Christian. The
witnessing of the sudden and instant deaths
of these seven American - five men and two
women - was a shocking reminder'of the
down side to instaiit gratification and an
example'of the fragility'of man’s technolo
( gical advances. . ^ s , -
> ^Ironically, at a time when the American
black |amily is'once again being portrayed
as an* endangered species, primarily
because of the absence' of too many fathers
and male role models in the home, we find
in the ashes' of the space shuttle Challenge a
real meaningful role model - Dr. Ronald E.
McNair. A native of Lake City, South
Carolina and the'only black in the seven-.
member shuttle crew, McNair is an
excellent role model for Both Mack and
white youth alike.
/•■•. Dr. McNair, a mission specialist'of the
Challojger space shuttle, was a physicist
and lager expert. An honor graduate of N.C.
A&T State University in 1971, McNair
received a doctorate degree in physics from
MIT in 1976. He was formerly employed in
the physics department of Hughes Research
Laboratories in southern California .'He was
. then selected /as one of three black
astronauts and was the second-of the three \
, to fly a space shuttle mission. Dr. McNair
leaves behind a wife and two small children
One youngster in Lake City recalled Dr.
McNair said to him, “I am an astronaut and
you can be whatever you want to be.”
.A ‘ I
Americans all salute Dr. McNair and his
six colleagues for giving their lives in the
ever-dangerous quest for peaceful space
Exploration and advanced technology. *
I he Positive Plight Of Blacks
it shocking but hot too
i documentary, “'The
Family- Crisis in Black
the National Urban League’s
“State'of Black America - 1986,” the 1984 ‘
Black Family Summit and Daniel Patrick
Moyniharv’s 25-year-old study on the same
basic issue all appear to have painted a
negative pictureof American blacks. Some
new ifr columnists and, anti-black
tions have taken darts of these
put'of context in order to support
negative viewpoints that they are
seeking to convey about black people.
Even with this kind of negativism, the
plight of black America can only begin to be
improved if we as «£Ck people are willing
to publicly discuss the iyues and challenges
^ solutions.
Nevertheless, there is aso a need to remind
some' of us and to inform'others' of us that all
of black America is hot caught in the web
and grip of poverty, Joblessness, out-of
wedlock parenthood and repeat generations
of welfaredependerice.
While we must all continue to be our
brother’s keeper, especially our poorer, less
fortunate brothers, we miist also announce
to the nation that poverty, Joblessness and
welfare are ftot within the social fabric, life
style and: culture'of all black Americans. It
is important for blacks to know this as a
motivation force for the self-esteem of
many who lack hope. Whites, too, need
to know that all of black America is hot a
welfare dependent sub-nation and that
many blacks are, in fact, a part'of the same
socioeconomic t — ~
awareness. / -
I
’s Destiny In Own Hands
Sabrina j'-Lir
zLvdZX
manufacturers can
ward to a fourth year of
Automobile competition
. *** v* w iia vc
ii _ j i• . , , _
the inexpensive, fuel effi*
m . 1 am, • vgf r
petition into the market.
• Yugoslavia and Korea have
introduced more inexpensive
import cars while Japan has
stepped into the higher
priced market long dominat
ed by U.S. auto makers.
The new challenge foe.
domestic auto makers is to
make profitable cars that
people want to buy. Why?
Twenty-six auto makers
compete in the American
market. The big three are
trying to win the race k
against 22 foreign'firms
selling cars., Last year
American Motors Corpora
tion was^^^ed^w^tte
facturing, Inc., which the
u.b. subsidiary now counts
as a domestic company be
" cause-it built l45,325 Accords
in 1985 in Marysville, Ohio.
Plus* U imported another
4OO,0OOhf ffom japan^ v
Last year import car
sales hit an all time high,
selling 2.8 million cars in the
domestic market - that is
more than a1 quarteTof the
new car market. Data re
sources prediakgtoKent by
economically possible that
import car makers’ share of
the marketplace could
exceed 40 percent by 1990.
The bottom line to the
scenario is that domestic
automakers face a possible
10
-m I
ChjWr P
economy.
Cat cc I
I
irtg back with
neip close the
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By Sherman N. Miller
Special To The Pest
Black History Month is a
time for black Americans to
recount their journey up
America’s, socioeconomic
ladder, i believe our cete
>, bratlons should also high
light the significant contri
butions of many low key
black unsunjg Christian
heroes who are the backbone
U of black America’s sodo
f economic progress,
r One of these black heroes
> was the Jate Milton W.
Marshal] of Wilmington,
i D®. He started out catching
chickens in Dagsbofo, DE, at
a chicken factory and rose to
own his own trucking com
pany. But Marshall never let \
materialism become a god
forhim. €
I wondered why Marshall
dared to start a hauling
company in the early I9*0s
when segregation and racist!
bias were overtly practiced.
“Milton wanted a little
more* out life than somebody
telling him what to do,” says
his widow, Thelma Marshall,
“He wanted to get out and
see if he could make N on his
own. He did real well.”
Yet Marshall did rtot hoard
his wealth. He shared it,
Mrs. Marshall went on,
“Milton had a big heart. If he
could help you, he would help
you...he would take time off
and goout with those fellows
and help them find what they
were looking for.”
Marshall firmly believed -
that there was* only one stan
dard on which io'operate a
business. He built a reputa
tion for operating on main
stream standards. ,
“After business started
picking up people began to
find out they Could trust
him,” says MttT: Marshall
“The contractors, they cpU
for trucks, he said he could
get them He Would do it. If
he Couldn’t do It, he would
call them beck and tell them
he Couldn’t do It.”
I felt compelled to learn •
what techniques Marshall
used to talk to white con
tractors prior to the civil
rights movement. I asked
1 Mrs. Marshall to share his
%W:
“I think it was Ws per*
tonality. Milton could talk to
anybody. He was always
sincere - he wasn’t a phoney.
By working around (dif*
ferent contractors) laughing
and talking he found out a
whole lot... In that way he
could pass on some o(fthe
things he learned and tome
of the things he heard to the
other Fellows who were Just
startinSfout.”
‘ Although he loved, his busi
ness Marshall was an avid
’ Christian, v
“He practiced it and he
talked it Went to church
unless he was sick or wasn't
irt town. And, he tomestimes
would go to church is he was
sick,’’ says Mrs. Marshall.
David M. Marshall says his
father’s religious convictions
guided his business.
“A lot'of guys, in order lo
know the business, had to
work for him. After they
understood it, he actually
told all of them to get their
own trucks.” . ,,•/
One might think that
Marshall had done his fair
share by helping business
people get started. Yet he felt
compelled to open his home
to the homeless.
“His home was open to
anybody who didn’t have a
place to stay,” says Mrs.
Marshall helpe
people reach their
owning their own
Nevertheless, future blateis'
American prosperity is tied
to his knowledge being S /
cumulated from generation
lo generation. I queried Mrs.
Marshal] tb find out If any of
Marshall’s understudies had
picked up his kindness
legacy. - V; -c
“It’s a shame. Everybody
how is, ‘What (ever) I can,
get I’m going to keep it . You
take care of yours. Get it if
you can.’ Milton was never
like that. (If) he found out
that they weren’t working
and didn’t have any work,
and needed work, and Some- <
body needed trucks, he would
call them, white'or black. >
D M. Marshall offers some
food for thought for those
people who have hot
embraced his father’s
sharing legacy. ‘‘Ha gave a
lot of people, who probably
didn’t have thft proper
education, a choice to decide
something else they can do.”
Mrs. Marshall left me with
three statements that'touch
the spirit of their 43 years of
marriage. *
X ' if* , . *,
-v K‘