Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Feb. 2, 1989, edition 1 / Page 7
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AIDS Myths Targets Blacks This week in Dajrtona Beach, black publishers and editors will be briefed by officials from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on AIDS and the black iommunlty. . They will be introduced to CDC's new media campaign, de signed to change the behavior bf blacks and Hlspanlcs In or der to stop the spread of AIDS. CDC wants the black press to tell Its readers that blacks ac count for 12 percent of the pop ulation, but 26 percent of the ■AIDS cases. Hlspanlcs are ,elght and 15 percent, respec tively. That leaves 58 percent of the cases for whites who are 80 per cent of the U.S. population. While blacks and Hlspanlcs are being targeted amd warned that drug usage and sex should be avoided and regulated, some whites are using the same sta tistics to prove CDC's theory 'that AIDS In America came from Africa. Therefore, some thing should be done about blacks In America. ■ "AIDS Is taking on a black face," declared editorial writer Bill Johnson In The Detroit News, a white dally. Johnson .called on blacks to support mandatory AIDS testing and said the alternative may be a backlash of Increased bigotry aimed at blacks. If blacks allow themselves to be identified as the AIDS prob lem, they will be both mlsedu- cated and eliminated. In one ■form or the other, from Amerl- ban society. This "black" number of 26 per cent of the AIDS cases Include 'Haitian and Central African im migrants. Both of these areas ■received the World Health Or ganization's (WHO) smallpox vaccine, which the London /(Imes said triggered the AIDS epidemic In Central Africa and Haiti. “ There Is no doubt that any ;^member of any group who Is seeded with the AIDS virus Is imore likely to develop the dls- : ease. However, Americans of Af rican descent have not been in oculated with the virus and are . not at risk — imless they are ho- jmosexual (57 percent of AIDS Tony Brown's Commentaries cases); bisexual; drug users (13 percent); have sex with mem bers of a high-risk group; or a homosexual/blsexual/drug user (6.5 percent). So being black does not Increase the risk for AIDS and Is no more reason for mandatory testing than being white — unless you are white and In a high-risk group, there fore more likely to carry the vi rus. If mandatory testing Is to be based on statistical Inference, then males -- black, white, green and polka dot — who have an exposure rate 13 times high er than females, should be sin gled out. Ditto for hemophiliacs, young people and people living In San Francisco and In New York (the AIDS capital of the world). For that reason. New York should be "destroyed for the benefit of the whole nation," wrote a man from Edmonton, Canada, In a letter to me. "Panic and fear" are not too far off, and black people , who he holds re sponsible for AIDS, will get their "heads blown off or Incin erated." This man Is a product of the current AIDS Information programs, misinformed and misled, albeit not typical. Maybe the black Journalists should ask the CDC experts about the new and questionable focus of cancer research. The viruses being developed In the "war on cancer" are the same ones developed In a biological warfare lab; lethal viruses (maybe, the AIDS virus) that prefer humans, and against which humans have no Immuni ty. That's a strange way to re search the cure for a disease. Better yet, what about the an nouncement last week at the American Association for the Advancement of Science's an nual meeting that biological weapons (which Is what the AIDS virus may be) "can be tar geted against specific ethnic or racial groups? There Is overwhelming evi dence that Russian agents could have Infiltrated America's medical research facility at Ft. Detrlck, Maryland, emd caused contamination of the World Health Organization's smallpox vaccine, used later In Africa, Haiti and Brazil. You can read the details and the "scalar elec tromagnetic" healing cure for AIDS (a vaccine Is not possible) the Russians allegedly already possess. In "AIDS Biological warfare" by T. E. Bearden, 1- 800-548-3198. Most Americans and Africans who question the ridiculous Af rican Green Monkey lie, be cause of society disinformation, are convinced that the CIA poi soned Africa and its own coun try. Before you settle in with that theory, read "AIDS Biologi cal Warfare." Right or wrong. It Is one of the most remarkable books I've ever read. T. E. Bearden responds to the Green Monkey-business by ex plaining that the Infection of AIDS in Africa had to be assist ed and "vastly speeded up by some outside mechanism" -- something like an "AIDS con taminated vaccine and a mass inoculation program." Warnings to use condoms and to not be promiscuous and to avoid drugs Is good advice — period. But good habits won't help much If we're being con taminated Intentionally with bi ological weapons. Twenty years ago, this kind of thinking would have been In sane. Today, It is the new reali ty- TONY BROWN'S JOURNAL TV series can be seen on public television Sunday, Channel 42, 5 p.m. It can also be seen on Channel 58, Saturdays, 1:30 p.m. Please consult listings. Make Congress Earn Its Pay Raise ■ Last year about 98 percent of the,members of Congress who ran for reelectlon won. Maybe that Is why they think that they deserve the pay'raise that they are going to allow themselves to receive this week. 'A 98 percent approval rating is pretty good. "•Doesn't Congress have a right to think It Is entitled to a little giore pay? Cost of living and all of that. Everybody wants a mlse. You and I do, too. ' So, why Is this week's raise so flnpopular? -There are a lot of reasons. jSome people think that Con gress Is overpaid at the current salary, $89,500 a year. Even those who think there ought to be some Increase don't like the idea of paying anybody $135,000. That Is the proposed hew salary. It's a 51 percent increase. -Wow. Wrong signal, wrong time. The next congressional elec tions are almost two years away. Some people will forget, but not everybody. And I will bet you a nickel that some con gressmen will lose the next election because of the pay raise issue. DG I Martin \ I One-On-One I have an Idea that would let them get their raise — and not make all of us so angry. Why not let them get their salary in crease the old fashioned way? Let them earn it. Let's give them Incentive pay. We will give Congress an as signment, and reward them if they accomplish it. What kind of assignment? Everybody is worried about the budget deficit, but nobody seems to be doing anything about it--especially Congress. Why not say that Congress can raise Its members' salaries to $135,000—Just as soon as the Federal budget is balanced? And why not let them keep the pay raise as long as they can keep the budget balanced'? Don't laugh. 1 think that It would work. And it might be the only way we will ever get rid of the budget deficit. Another idea. Pay them for each day that Congress Is in session. Here's how the new system would operate. If they work five days each week of the year, that is about 260 days. So, if we paid them, $500 a day, they could earn $130,000—if they ac tually worked five days each week. Truth is most congressmen are in Washington only three days a week—Tuesday through Thursday. Other days they are back home running for reelec tion. Working only those three days each week would get them about $75,000 under my plan. If they stay In Washington and work more, they can earn more. Good idea? I floated it by one of my friends. His reaction; "I'd pay them at least $500 a day to stay away from Washington. This country Is a whole let bet ter off when Congress is out of town. I would like to put Con gress In a 'soil bank' and pay them not to produce." I hate to admit my ideas are wrong, but I think that my friend might Just be right. Racism Is Miami’s Most Evil Vice As millions of people In the United States and throughout the world celebrated the birth day of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., another case of police bru tality and misconduct In the city of Miami, Florida, exposed the rampant, naked racism that continues to be all too preval ent In the nation where Dr. King's life was sacrificed for the cause of racial Justice. When Miami police officer William Lozano shot and killed 23-year-old Clement Lloyd, an African American who was driv ing his motorcycle through an African American section of Mi ami known as Overtown on Jan uary 16, 1989, a full scale riot erupted. The next day, another African American, Allan Blan chard, 24, died from injuries he received as he was thrown from Clement Lloyd's motorcycle af ter Lloyd had been shot In the temple by Lozano. There has been much national : attention that has focused on ^ I the riot that occurred In Miami. Yet, the causative factors of the riot have not been dealt with sufficiently. This recent riot In Miami was not the first racial confrontation In Miami result ing from police brutality. We re call that back in 1982 a similar Civil Rights Journal By Benjamin Chavis case of police brutsdlty where a Miami police officer shot and killed an African American which caused a riot. Before that, in 1980 In the African American section of Miami, known as Lib erty City, the unjust killing of an African American by the Miami police caused a racial riot that left 18 people dead and over $100 million In damage. Although Miami Mayor Xavier Suarez has promised an Inves- .tlgatlon Into these recent police killings. It Is clear that the mayor's priority has been to protect Miami's image as a city for tourism and business trade at the expense of Justice for the African American community. In an interview published in the New York Amsterdam News, Leo Casino, a political activist in Miami stated, 'The cops' actions shows the contempt Miami's 1,000-man police force has for the African American commu nity." Church leaders and civil rights leaders In Miami have all voiced their grievances to the power structures of Miami, but to no avail. Racism is a deadly evil. The fact that police depart ments across the United States maintain the proclivity to use unnecessary deadly force against African Americans and other racism and ethnic per sons Is an indication of Just how dangerous it is to live In a racist society. All citizens of this nation are entitled to be free from this type of persecution, yet, history teaches us that these kinds of atrocities are only prevented by the organized and mobilized will of the victimized communi ty. We must not allow the Afri can American community of Mi ami to stsmd alone In the face of this brutality. Miami's racist vi olence and vice must not go un challenged. Thursday, February 2, 1989 - THE CHARLOTTE POST - Page 7A — """ Mm ‘Cli Win The Real Founder Of Black History Month Observance Please Stand Up? Guest Editorial By Laymon Herring Robert Starling Pritchard, a black businessman based In Baldwlnsvllle, New York, claims he Is "the founder of Black History Month." The Yesterday, Today & To morrow Society ( a Society for the Unification and Improve ment of African-Americans) has done extensive research In ef forts to determine If Pritchard Is indeed the founder of black His tory Month. However, we have been unable to unearth even one thread of evidence that will sup port his claim. In the course of our endeavor we Interviewed a number of highly-respected, well-learned black Individuals and organiza tions In the city of Syracuse and In other cities throughout the state of New York and across the United States: we also Inter viewed a number of black news paper publishers and/or editors located in cities throughout the United States. However, only a few of the organizations and persons whom we interviewed have even heard of Robert Pritchard, and most of the per sons we Interviewed were flab bergasted when they learned that Pritchard was claiming to be the founder of Black History Month. At the conclusion of our re search we were able to put to gether the following: Black History Month is an an nual national observance In February of past achievements and current status of black Americans. It coincides with the birthdays of the great black American leader Frederick Dou glass (February 14) and Abra ham Lincoln (February 12). Black History Month, an ex pansion of Black History IVeek, was originated as Negro History Week In 1926 from an Idea of Dr. Carter Goodwin Woodson, a black historian known as The Father of Black History. In the 1970's "Negro" History Week be came known as "Black" History Week. Its observance "is spon sored by the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History (ASALH)" which Dr. Woodson founded In 1915. According to Ms. Karen Robin son, Executive Director of ASALH, "In 1975 the ASALH," which is based In Washington, DC, "decided that It was time for National Black History Week to expand into National Black His tory Month. So the ASALH formed a committee to approach the President (of the United States) with the idea. The com mittee did approach the Presi dent, and In 1976 President Ge rald Ford, In conjunction with America's Bicentennial celebra tion, proclaimed Black History Week as Black History Month." "Robert Pritchard," according to Ms. Robinson, "was not a member of the ASALH commit tee, never was a member." Also, according to both Robinson and a librarian at the famed Schom- berg Center for Research in Black Culture, one of the largest and best known sources of black research in America, located in New York City, "Robert Pritch ard Is definitely not the founder of Black History Month." It would be remiss of us If we did not mention that, in efforts to support his claim, Mr. Pritch ard submitted the names of sev eral prominent national black leaders; a national black organ ization; the names of 21 state governors, who recently issued proclamations lauding him as founder of Black History Month: and a clipping from a national magazine. Modern Maturity, which did a story on him, in its February/March 1988 Issue, as founder of Black History Month. We did not check all of Pritch ard's references, but those we did check were consistent in their reply. Each of them told us that they could not document Pritch ard's claim and the only infor mation they had or used was the material that Pritchard himself or someone from his staff had sent to them. That Information, we may add, is far from being sufficient or appropriate docu mentation. The writer, Laymon Herring, is the Executive Director of the YTT (Yesterday, Today & Tomor row) Society, headquartered in Dewitt, N.Y. Have You Read Dr. King's Letter Lately? The following is an excerpt from a speech given by Charles A. Summers, pastor of Seigle Avenue Presbyterian Church. This address was given at the Davidson College annual "Martin Luther King Jr, Gospel Songfest on January 15, 1989. 1 was bom In Birmingham, Al. Not far from the city Jail. And Dr. (Martin Luther) King once wrote me a letter from that very Jail. I am sorry to say that It was years later before 1 read the let ter — but It was addressed to me, and many like me. It was not ad dressed to bigots, or to the Wan. The letter was not written to Bull Connor, or the governor of Alabama. The "Letter from the Birming ham City Jail" was written to white, southern, liberal clergy. It was a letter written to me, and many more like me. It was written to people who count themselves on the side of civil rights, but who are reluc tant to pay the price to see it es tablished. It was written to the legion of Southern Christians who with their mouths confess the love of God for all people re gardless of race, but keep their hands safely folded behind their backs. It was a letter written to me, and my kindred, who stand for principles of truth and Jus tice, but are not willing to work for them: who pray for the com ing of the kingdom of equality, but are not willing to get In the way of the Juggernaut of Injus tice. It was written to people who are afraid lest their principles prove too costly: lest Justice come with too high a price tag: lest the price of our neighbors' freedom come at the expense of our privileges. I am here today to acknowl edge a debt to a great man who once wrote a letter to me and the many like me. Rather than write us off as hopeless, he wrote us an epistle of hope. Rather than con demn us for our blind eye, he wrote us a letter to enlighten us. And 25 years after he wrote that letter, I think we all, black and white, need to heed his words. Dr. King still speaks to us about the cost of freedom and the price of Justice. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter. If you haven't read it late ly, you should. It was years be fore I read It. It villl take us the rest of our lives to answer it. De Facto Ambassador Needs A Facelift On a drive through Geneva, Switzerland, my host was anx ious to show off his city. We drove tiirough the heart of town where life radiated from every comer. But stress came into my host's voice when we passed an abandoned, dilapidated build ing. He was embarrassed and he scrambled for words to ex plain why this blight In the midst of an International finan cial mecca. He claimed that building In Geneva had been at a standstill for many years, but develop ment was once again underway. 1 could not appreciate his trepi dation over one abandoned building until I got to my hotel. As far as I could see out of my bedroom window were con struction cranes. There were even cranes imme diately In front and In back of my hotel. The number of these building cranes, dotting Gene va's skyline, were too many to count. I saw them as giant ro bots on a mission to relnvlgo- rate Geneva's greatness. The full weight of my Geneva host's embarrassment slapped me In the face when 1 recently rode through the Bronx In New York City. I was riding In a van with some friends from Phila delphia, when we looked up from U.S. Route 1-95. The aban doned, high-rise buildings with numerous broken windows. Miller Says By Sherman Miller were a very depressing sight. We all commented on the blight. It looked as If we had Just passed through a combat zone. I was sick to my stomach be cause these abandoned apart ments were potential homes for homeless people. My distress Is exacerbated when I think that unseasoned travelers from Geneva or other nations could some day paint an erroneous mental picture of New York from this Bronx blight. New York City Is a world class city. It Is also an Interna tional tourist attraction. Thus, New York City Is a de facto am bassador for the United States of America. Would we expect our ambas sadors to dress like homeless street people when they host foreign dignitaries? Former U.S. Representative Jack Kemp (New York) is the Secretary Designate for the U.S. Department of Housing and Ur ban Development in President George Bush's administration. He must make every effort to clean up the Bronx, so it is no longer an American albatross. Kemp needs to move beyond the past pandering of the Bronx such as movies and pub lic relations visits by politi cians. I guess If a New Yorker like Jack Kemp cannot remove the Bronx enigma and others throughout the nation, then we ought to consider HUD nothing more than a facade. Will Ameri cans see HUD as merely a Joke If Kemp fails? What's On Your Mind? Let us hear your comments, ideas and opinions. Write to: Letters To The Post P.O. Box 30144 Charlotte, NC 28230 Please include name, address and phone number. We edit letters for clarity and grammar.
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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