tt&e Charlotte $ost
Bill Johnson. Publisher Emeritus in
QOmld O. Johnson. Publisher Bob Johnson. Co-Publisher
Jackquelyn Carr. Production Manager Fran Farrer-Bradley, Advertising Manager
Dannette Gaither, Office Manager Jalyne Strong, Managing Editor
: PuhUshad Imy Thursday 'v ,’J9
- _:_Shi_L_:_
inHai
Christmas means many things, but most
of all it means a time for caring and shar
ing: that is. caring enough to share one's
; heart in love and understanding and doing
! enough to help someone realize that there is
a greater gift in giving than In receiving.
Christmas Is also a time for remembering -
of the good that you have done for someone
and the good that has been done for you.
There Js a story that has been shared
quite frequently because it personifies car
ing and sharing and. in thu s holiday sea
son. illuminates the true meaning of
Christmas. Paraphrasing the unknown au
thor's stoiy, we hope you will share it with
others as its full meaning penetrates your
heart as It did ours. ~~
a professional man in a southwestern
city parked his new car on the street while
[attending a business meeting. Upon return
ring, he saw a little boy looking and admir
ing the car. As-he put the key in the car
' door, the little boy asked; Is this your car,
[mister?" The man repUed, "It sure Is.”
"How much did it cost, mister?" the little
;boy asked In an increased show of excite
ment and Interest. "Son. I don't know what
it cost because my brother gave it to me" As
if In total amazement, the little boy asked.
"You mean your brother gave it to you. and
it didn't cost you anything?" "That's right,"
the man replied.
Then, and this is important, the little boy
said, "I - I wish..." (the man was thinking, "I
think I know what he’s going to wish - that
he had a brother like that, that Is, someone
to give him a car?" But when the boy fi
nished the sentence, the man said. "I was
Jarred to the soles of my feet." The little boy
concluded, "I wish I could BE ft brother like
that." (Be able to give his brother a car.)
When the man regained his sense of bal
ance, he olTered the little boy a ride in his
car, to which the boy replied, "I’ll dirty up
your car." The man thought to himself
"your clothes may be dirty, but your heart is
as white as snow.” Therefore, he insisted
that the boy aqpept the car ride.
After riding:* few minutes, the little boy
asked. “Mister, would you mind driving In
front of my house?" When the car stopped,
the little boy jumped out. ran into his home
and came back carrying his little brother,
crippled with Infantile paralysis. Carefully
sitting his brother on the bottom outside
step, the little boy pointedto the pretty car
and said. "There she is. Bud. His brother
gave it to him. One day I'm going to give you
one just like it. and then you can see all of
the Christmas windows for vourself."
The man. choking with emotion, said.
"Buddy, you are going to see them all today,
this minute, and both of you are going to
pick out what you want and have it/'
Talcing the crippled bpy in bJftjmnaMlhe
man placed him In the front seat of the car
hours were the happiest Christmas of my
life Just to see the Joy in the faces of the two
boys as they selected their toys."
< iMnalIy. our unknown author sald/Do you .
want a foretaste of heaven? Be d bighfrither
to someone m need." This is a tWenSfcdfttng
■n/n I
¥•>» i
we noted that many such urban cities
were in rapid decline when these black
mayors were elected as whites, both resi
dents and businesses fled to the suburbs
taking their Individual and corporate taxa
ble income with them. Combined with im
migration of low income, low skilled, high
unemployment prone blacks and hlspan
ics, black mayors inherited public admin
istration nightmares. However* many large
cities that have never had black mayors
have suffered the same fate « New York City
is an excellent example.
fti addition to missing or overlooking
these economic factors. Pierce appeared to
not recognize two Interesting conclusions
drawn from the November elections. These
,were first that the forces influencing racial
‘politics (black candidates) voter patterns or
"outcomes is changing. For example. Harvey
jGantt's bid for a third term as Charlotte's
I
mayor was lost on this issue of traiBa prob
lems. not race. The black mayor of Flint.
Michigan, lost on a similar hard issue -
public service issue - not rice , or economic
decline. The second conclusion was seen in
the determination of the voters til plat a
role tn thi charige affecting their comrmmi
that Hatcher was so preoccupied with a*na
tional agenda for blacks that he was ignor
ing the needs of the City of Gary and its peo
ple. In other developments, black conserva
tives have begun to have an impact upon
elections and affect the black-vote-for
black candidate. In Durham black Republi
can conservative Howard Clement used
business community support, some conser
vative whites and a small percent of blacks
to challenge in a losing cause to the incum
bent mayor Wilbur Gulley, who had majori
ty black support.
Thus, the so-called old guard black
mayors, just like some who are white in
similar big city economic settings have
been in no-win situations from the begin
ning and cuts 1A federal urban program
funds have only made bad Situations worse.
Second, the winning or losing of mayoral
offices by blacks based on hard public ser
vice issues, not race, is a very positive sign
for the cities ahd the nation. Think on
these thinks,, Mr. Pierce.
Children Grow Up Fast During Holiday
"Are you going to leave those
toys In the trunk of the car until
Christmas, Owynelle?" I asked.
' "I wdnt to put them In the
basement, she replied. ' {
"I think It will be better If they
stay where they are.
You know our children don't
miss a thing."
They'D be fine." said Owynelle
Since her mind was made up. 1
concluded It was futile to try to
change It. I. therefore, gave no
further thought to the matter.
When I came home from work
a couple 6t days before Christ
mas. 1 saw Sherman II and
Missy Sammye frantically trying
l° °h P°u k>r their
"WbVe got to gtvc it to her to
r.hrtstnias Is two^rsaway." I
My mind started to run a mile a
minute because Sherman had
Mlrtrad my curiosity
"What is the problem?" I asked.
There was a sadden stillness.
I repeated my question, only to
receive the same response. Then
l looked Missy Sammy* In her
eyes and demanded. "Tell me
Millor
By Sherman Idler
what the problem far !><£
Aa ahe prepared to apeak.
Sherman, , the older child, start
ed to Ihow extreme stress.
Sherman to an easy going chap
who does not appear highly dis
turbed by anything. But his face
revealed "I'm dead meat." an ex
pression that portends my Issu
ing corporal punishment for
some severe infraction of the
rules. . .. u*.
Whilst Sherman shivered.
Missy Sammy* said, "Sherman
spoiled my surprise," • V;
'
She want on to tell of Sher
man's leading her to the base
ment to see their Christmas
toys. Sammy* did not want to
accept responsibility for this
crime. She felt It waa all Sher
man's fault. ■ *
I Ignored her plea of inno
cence. ! told her she waa also
: goaty. ■ *> '' .'. '•?£'**
Sherman and Missy Sammye
never stopped to consider that
their present merely alerted
their mother of their dastardly
deed. When Gwynelle found out
what they had done, she- was
hot. t :,-i . i
• iSiaik -otBrnkm^Jiaaia
To think that they feel they
have outsmarted me!" she rs-.
peated over and over again.
I allowed her to vent her anger
on me whilst quietly Insuring
that she did not become disen
chanted with our Christmas cel*
ebratlon. But deep down inside I
was laughing because I wanted
to say. "1 fold you so." Neverthe
less,^ Christmas Eve saw her
standard of excelte^f
Integrity And Politics
Hart has been getting a
Slype for re-entering the
m iw ^r-.^tlc party's Presidential
Many people feel that his deci
sion to re-enter the race was a
bad one. Many have said that It
was bad enough to get caught
fooling aibund, but this adds In
sult to Injuiy.
However, I think there are sev
eral points that are being over
looked. Mr. Hart accumulated a
huge campaign debt from the
1984 race. It has been rumored
that all of this debt has not been
reurea. 1K. ■
Moreover, he had managed to
accumulate additional debt
from this campaign.
Putting all this together. It
makes logical sense for him to
re-enter the race. Well. It makes
K financial sense, anyway. ’
If Mr. Hart has huge campaign
1 debts outstanding, then in order
for him to get contributions, he
must be a candidate. By with
drawing from the race, he with
drew from receiving campaign
i contributions. '
By re-entering, he stands a
better chance of getting contri
butions to help retire his debts.
In addition the U. S. Govern
ment has a matching funds pro
gram for Presidential candi
dates. The Government will ■
match a candidate's campaign
dollars up to a certain point.
Consequently, by not being a
candidate, Mr. Hart cut ofT all
possible sources of campaign
revenue. He cut his own throat
to spite his face, so to speak.
1 feel that Mr. Hart came to his
senses and realized being out of
the race was not financially fea
sible.
It would surprise me If he was
running to win. But I think he
with 1
Gerald l
Johnson J
I As I See It |
made a smart choice by re
‘4 entering. - v,
With politics the obvious Is
never as obvious as It may seem.
While we are on Gary Hart, the
whole Incident has created a di
lemma for our society.
Because of the sophistication
of the communication medium
today, we actually receive more
Information then we can handle.
The moment an event occurs. It
can be reported all over the
world In a matter of minutes. -
Satellite communications,
computers, and fiber optic
cables have made receiving In
formation child’s play. Unfortu
nately. once we receive It. we
don't know what to do with It
I say this to emphasize the
point that politicians today are
no better or no worse than they
have ever been.
However; In today's environ
ment, we know about their car
rying ons a lot quicker. Imagine
the Hart episode forty years ago.'
The elections would have been
over before the news was made
national.
The media Is not to blame for
covering this sort of thing and
reporting it However, the media
is not totally responsible for
what you do with the Informa
tion once you receive It.
A*' responsible citizens, we
must realize that automation
and communication has put tis
on a new plateau as It relate*, to
obtaining data. This puts the
burden of deciphering this data
onus
We must determine what is
relevant and what 1* Irrelevant.
We must decide on source* We
will use for obtaining Informa
tion.
With all this we must learn to
utilize Qod's greatest gift to
man. the human brain.
There Is no substitute for
thinking.
Having said all this we are
ready tor the big question.
Where do we draw the line for
isry as It relates to poll
The line to drawn by each of us
based on our own principles
and moralities. We decide ott
what is acceptable and what is
not on an individual basis. '
We collectively put our individ
ual principles to work through
the voting process. Through this
process, the majority rules.
When done fairly and equita
bly, there Is no better process
on earth to govern a society* -
Hence. If you feel Hart to wrong
running for President alter his
fiasco, then you can be heard.
The electoral process is quite,
effective and works for every
body If everybody takes an ars
i tlve role in it
The situations like Gary Harts
makes sense from his financial
perspective.
But only time will determine If
It made political sense.The an
swer lies with those of us who
will vote In the 1988 primaries.
Let the vote cast the late.
JUST WHEN WE THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE TO
GO BACK TO THE ISSUES...
■xpuciT «nc /
scandal awo v
_3-rwptptTy,
3) / l . r v* ? —» ■ (■,
Culture Improves Black Self- Image
, v i nrFW| n a ■ , . .
Tteens who use drugs are not
typical of (he acne society.
Half of them started drinking
and using Illegal drugs by age
p Moreover, their problems
ranged from sexual abuse to ar
rests to self-hatred. If they're
Black. The self-image problem
or racial anxiety among Black
youth Is bo obvious that a scien
tific study Is not necessary to
observe k.
Abuse pomes In many forms:
physical, sexual and psycholog
ical. Abuse then acts as the ba
sis fir self-destruction or drug
usage, which Is this generation's
choice of gradual (not so gradu
al in some cases) suicide.
Poppy parent* are the new
menace In child reatlng.They
are the "cloaet druggies." par
ents who use drug* around theta
children. In one study, 00 per
cent of the young people on
drugs reported that someone
else at home also abuse* drugs.
Poppy parents present a noth
er of the many challenges to
raising healthy chtl
dren.Parent* such as these add
to the already overwhelming
burden of open drug dealing on
' the streets to poor neighbor
hoods.
The battle against drugs In
Black communities to substan
ttolly different from the battle
that to fought tn White, middle
class neighborhoods. AIDS, for
example, among Black drug ad
dicts, to at an epidemic level.
Because they live among other
Blacks and are sexually iiitl
mate with other Blacks, the drug
problem has brought the AIDS
problem to the front door of
Black America,
Here are some other drug
I Tony
Brown's
I
related statistics, reported un
der the "endangered species"
category. An estimated 50 per
cent of young Blacks are unem
ployed; 35 percent under the age
of 25 have never held a Job; one
In six has been arrested by the
age of 19; more than 10.000
Black males between the ages
of 15 and 19 die each year In
homicides (their second leading
cause Of death); an estimated 72
percent of Black males In New
York City drop out of some high
school.
Also drug related: Among
Blacks between the ages of 20
and 24 there are only 45
"marriageable- males for every
100 females, largely because of
unemployment and Incarcera
tion.
It is my belief that so many
young Blacks are being de
stroyed because they simply
don't believe they can cope And
they don't believe because they
have learned to hate being a
Black. • /,
A White child may fail because
of low esteem due to sexual,
physical or psychological
abuse, but not because he/she
la systematically taught that
being White is a burden.
Many Black* ere failing in
White institutions (7 out of 10
Blacks at Whit* colleges never
graduate) largely because they
are not culturally equipped by a
love of their own heritage to
adapt emotionally and Intellec
The clear exceptions among
Blacks are West Indians and
followers of the Islamic faith.
Both of these grouos over
steeped In a pride system
Muslims, for example, because
SeHM1*!?"Ce fr°m u
... M
Published Every Thursday
Charlotte. MC 28203
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