Thursday, March 16, 1989 - THE CHARUITTE POST - Page 7A
Bush Urged To Halt War
African-American as well as
other church leaders recently
made an urgent appeed to Presi
dent Bush to stop the United
States sponsored war on Ango
la. This multi-racial group of
clergy and church leaders from
across the nation expressed
their opposition to Bush's sup
port of Jones Savlmbi and his
terrorist group known as UNITA.
It is a good sign when African
American church leaders are
Joined by Hispanic American.
Asian American, Native Ameri
can and Anglo-American church
leaders in this Important appeal
to President Bush. Tens of thou
sands of AngoUans in their own
native land have been murdered,
tortured and maimed as a result
of the vicious acts of brutality
committed by UNITA on the
people of Angola.
The following is the text of the
letter that was sent to the Presi
dent:
Dear Mr. President:
We are writing to make an ur
gent appeal to you concerning
the injustice of the present for
eign policy of your administra
tion toward the People's Repub
lic of Angola.
We have a moral and a theo-
Civil
Rights
Journal
By Benjamin Chavis
logical responsibility to speak
out and to act for the cause of
freedom, justice and peace. We
are aware that in January of this
year you wrote a letter to Jonas
Savlmbi, the brutal leader of the
terrorist group UNITA. We are
very dismayed that you have
stated your Intention to
"continue all appropriate and ef
fective assistance to UNITA" in
clusive of covert military aid.
Today, Angola has the highest
amputee rate per capita in the
world, most of whom are women
and children who have been
criminally tortured and victi
mized by Savimbi's UNITA. Now
that peace accords have been
signed between Angola. Cuba
and South Africa, why does the
United States under your leader
ship continue to send land
mines and other military weap
ons of mass death and destruc
tion to UNITA? How can there
be peace in Angola or in south
ern Africa if the United States
continues to support the terror
ism of UNITA?
We appeal to you, President
Bush, in the name of Christ, to
change your policy toward An
gola in the following ways:
1. Terminate immediately all
aid and support to Jonas Savtm-
bl and UNITA.
2. Grant full diplomatic recog
nition to Angola.
3. Support the providing of
medical care and emergency aid
for the tens of thousands of vic
tims of the unjust war on Angola.
Whether or not Bush will ain-
swer this letter --or more im
portantly, whether or not Bush
will change his current policy
toward Angola will be depen
dent upon public outcry. Our
sisters and brothers in Angola
need our help and solidarity and
most of all they need our united
voice demanding justice and
peace.
Civil Rights Laws Must Be Enforced
Ouest Editorial
By Augustus Hawkins
Black American writer Lang
ston Hughes once wrote:
"What happens to a dream de
ferred?
Does It dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or does it explode?
This passage is worth ponder
ing when one examines the pre
vious administration's lack of
commitment to civil rights over,
the past eight years. This ne
glect has become even more evi
dent in a report Issued by the
Majority Staff of the Education
and Labor Committee, which I
chair.
The report is based on an in
vestigation of the civil rights en
forcement activities of the Office
for Civil Rights (OCR) in the U.S.
Department of Education. The
conclusion of the report is that
OCR has failed to enforce the
civil rights laws they are man
dated to uphold.
Basically, OCR is responsible
for enforcing federal laws which
prohibit discrimination on the
basis of race, sex, national ori
gin, handicap or age in all edu
cation programs or activities
funded by the federal govern-
ment. Amt^ng ltd x"caporisl-
bilitles, the OCR is obligated to
make sure re-segregation, even
in its most subtle forms, does
not take place in our public
schools. Aji example of a viola
tion in need of review would be a
school district which has ne
glected the needs of minorities
by setting up a two tiered sys
tem, with low expectations for
minority children, and high ones
for non-minority children. This
discriminatory pattern is evi
denced many times in schools
which focus special college pre
paratory courses on white chil
dren and direct vocational/
manual training to minority
children.
A review of how the OCR
handles its cases, by people
who have complained about dis
crimination, reveals that the
agency has not vigorously en
forced laws protecting the rights
of women and minorities in edu
cation since 1981. This conclu
sion was reached, in part, by
statistics showing that OCR
closed 99 percent of its com
plaint reviews by either finding
no violation or reaching a settle
ment prior to issuing a final
comment. In most cases, a
"settlement" simply means a
promise by the school district
not to discriminate. OCR rarely
monitors to determine if such
promises are ever kept.
Furthermore, during 1982 to
1988, the Reagan Administra
tion cut the budget and staff of
OCR, arguing that it could "do
more with less." Despite such
cuts, this agency failed to spend
all the monies allotted to it, fur
ther weakening its enforcement
capabilities.
We have found throughout our
history that when civil rights
laws are strongly enforced, im
portant gains have been made
in educational opportunity for
women, minorities and the dis
abled.
The gains of the past 20 years,
although tangible, have not
been sufficient to overcome the
prejudice and discrimination
which still exists in our society.
We can no longer afford to defer
the dreams of those who have
the desire, ambition, and the tal
ent to contribute to our society.
On Bringing Sense, Sanity To Athletics
Dear Editor
Gerald Johnson's views of
Proposition No. 42 and No. 48
("Too Little, Too Late," Febru
ary 23, 1989) were very well
taken.
Certainly television has
caused many to lose rhyme
and reason. We even felt that
in the Division II football
championship over the past
couple of years. We moved our
championships two years in a
row to accommodate TV for no
money — only exposure. We
almost sacrificed the integrity
of the championships.
But there are other items
that are more than a notion
that further create the reasons
we have such laws on the
books. Education is supposed
to be for the good of all —-
those of us of color know that
our kids are not being educat
ed.
Counselors do not provide
the total information to edu
cate all of the people. Teachers
are afraid of those who may be
larger and/or louder than
their classmates. Principals
have no authority to disci
pline because the laws have de
serted them. School systems
are stripped of their authority
to say that "if you can't pass,
you can't play."
Little leagues have pin
pointed the potentially great
afhlete as early as eight or
nine years of age. But the high
school coach is more con
cerned with winning than
building men and women. The
same pressure on the large
university coach is somehow
being put on little league, jun
ior high and senior high
school coaches.
There is nothing wrong with
the desire to win, but until we
get our young people to start
using athletics for its true val
ues early in life, we will not
eliminate the need for rules
like 42, 48 or 64 — there are
some others equally as asi
nine.
The second item is equally as
Important as Johnson's views
on 42 and 48. Presidents and
Chancellors must not abro
gate their FINAL authority to
determine the destiny of any
program within his/her uni
versity. Hiring and firing must
be the last words in their offic
es, not the Athletic Director's
or the alumni's.
Final authority must rest in
the hands of the person as
signed to run the institution —
- it may be a rubber stamp au
thorization — but when prob
lems occur, the Chief Execu
tive Officer must be the one to
know why, how, when or what.
Others can only recommend
not to handle such a vast pro
gram as athletics.
Ceiling caps must be put on
expenditures so that athletics
becomes a helper to the entire
university — not a program
set apart because of its ability
to generate big, big dollars. All
programs MUST benefit from
athletic dollars that are made,
even though athletic programs
would receive the lion's share
of what's made. This would
keep good programs strong
and cause weaker ones to seek
their own levels.
I am sure there are many
Chief Executive Officers who
feel, as it was reportedly said
by the Chancellor at North
Carolina State University,
"the coach is larger than I
am." I would hope that was not
said, but when we look at how
the tall wags the dog, I am sure
many feel that way.
One thing I feel very certain
of is that smaller universities
that do not have the resources
of the larger ones do not allow
this to happen. I believe the
larger one with a strong state
ment of cooperation by con
ference and national universi
ty heads could more equally
say the same.
I think a coach should be re
quired to win -— after all
that's why we play games. But I
think the rules should be the
same for aU — ample opportu
nity with adequate resources
and facilities for similar types
of schools. But that cannot be
because we do not like to be
told what we should or cannot
do by those whose job it is to
be in charge.
Let me close with Horace
Greeley's statement that states
very simply and succinctly
what athletics MUST be
about:
"Fame is a vapor: populari
ty, an accident: riches take
wings.
"Those who cheer you today,
may curse you tomorrow. All
that endures is character."
Athletics must be taught for
those reasons in order to bring
some sense of sanity and pride
to our programs.
JOHN D. MARSHALL JR.
Director of Athletics
Fayetteville State University
Piedmont Gas To Clean Up Eyesore
Dear Editor:
This is an open letter of in
formation to the residents of
the Northwood community as
well as users of North Hoskins
Rd. near Beatties Ford Rd.
By the time this letter is
read, the eyesore, piles of tires
along N. Hoskins will have
been removed.
I know many people have
called the city's maintenance
service to have these tires
picked up. I was advised of
these calls when I looked into
the matter.
Piedmont Natural Gas Com
pany is clearing their property
and what resulted was illegal
dumping that has gone on for
many years. I applaud the gas
company for removing the de
bris.
As a community, we need to
continue to call for service
when we see the need. We also
need to assist in seeking out
and prosecuting those respon
sible for illegally dumping
garbage on our streets and
highways.
My sincere thanks to Pied
mont Gas for removing the
tires and cleaning up the area.
ELLOREE MINGO-ERWIN
End To South African Apartheid Is Forseeable
Dear Edlton
Apartheid is merely a more
tolerable form of slavery. But
apartheid is still slavery. It is
appallingly un-klnd, vicious
and arrogant to the point of
extreme egotism.
I know little black children
in South Africa are still walk
ing into bullets. They find
apartheid that Intolerable.
Apartheid, nevertheless,
will not forever be. The very
number of people affected by
apartheid will overwhelm the
system. It diminishes South
Africa at the expense of white
South Africans too.
Tlie road may be very long,
very stony and very bloody.
South Africa is in the midst of
an "evolutionistic" revolution.
Hard hearts turn to stone and
stone gives way to sand.
Deep in my soul I am sus
tained by the clear and certain
knowledge that apartheid will
not forever be.
Apartheid will self-implode
one day, I do believe.
DONTHERZAD. DUVERGER
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* ^ - O iv- w V/Ul ,
Proud Of The Fortitude And Unity Of The Howard University Students
Fresh from his televised ap- their ambitions were at least ticular. The seconH thintr "-aru-r. n i. rrn o
White colleges have a 72 percent failure
rate for black students. Black colleges
Fresh from his televised ap
pearance before the Eastern
Airline strikers, Jesse Jackson
went directly to the next tele
vised hot spot — a student pro
test at Howard University where
2,500 students had occupied the
administration building.
It was vintage Jackson selling
Jackson. He successfully pro
moted his 1988 Democratic Par
ty line that the Republican Party
was the sole repository of white
racism and labeled the ousting
of Republican National Com
mittee Chairman Lee Atwater
from the university 30-member
board of trustees as moral vic
tory.
Atwater, who became a con
venient umbrella for years of
pent-up student frustrations
over campus crime, housing and
student loans, was just as lame
in his Republican defense. Be-
liig as pure as the driven snow,
all this official of "the party of
opportunity" wanted was a
chance to serve the black com
munity by raising money and
scholarships for Howard and
getting internships for the stu-
dents at the White House, Atwa-
ter intimated.
Both Jackson and Atwater
reeked of political partisanship;
teth were conveniently shielded
from the truth by their shared
objective of controlling the
black vote. However partisan
their ambitions were at least
motivated by an understandable
objective.
But it was a black colurrmist
for The Washington Post whose
motives are suspect, at best.
Courtland MlUoy, who has writ
ten previously that black people
are Incapable of economic self-
sufficiency. Interpreted the stu
dent acUvlsm as "Revolution by
Flunking Out"
The Howard students, he
wrote, suffered from the delu
sion that what they were doing
was meaningful. "What black
students should really be out
raged about is the fact that so
many of them are flunking out of
school," charged MlUoy.
To prove his point, he quoted
from an article in Hamer's by an
English teacher at a white col
lege in San Jose (previously, to
prove his point that blacks were
too brain dead to run a busi
ness, he used a white teacher at
the University of Maryland as
his reference).
The black "drop-out rate is 72
percent," despite the white col
leges' attempt to help them:
rather than demonstrating, they
would be better off "reading and
studying." Milloy quoted the
teacher as saying. After all,
blacks have "the highest drop
out rate and lowest grade point
average of any group in Ameri
can universities." Milloy further
Tony
Brown’s
Commentaries
quoted his source from San Jose
University.
And, Milloy stressed, the stu
dents at Howard cannot justify
this academic failure by de
nouncing Atwater's presence on
the board of trustees. "The issue,
for now, is the proliferation of
mediocrity among black college
students, and what to do about
it," the Black Sage of The Wash -
ingtoaPoai proclaimed. He
seems to suggest that black stu
dents are stupid ("mediocre," he
says) because of activism and
retarded because they are acti
vists.
The first thing Milloy can do is
to examine his consistent hos
tility and deprecating attitude
toward his own people — and to
black college students in par
ticular. The second thing the
neo-member of the white press
can do is to read something oth
er than Harper's for definitive
"facts" about the cultural, socio
logical and psychological dy
namics of blacks in higher edu
cation.
I would recommend that he
begin with Dr. Jacqueline Flem
ing's book Blacks In Collene
which documents, with longitu
dinal and latitudinal studies, the
performance of black students
in black colleges as superior to
black students at San Jose Uni
versity and the other 3,200 white
colleges.
Although Dr. Fleming is black,
which may not count for much
with Milloy, she was trained at
Harvard -- not Howard — which
should excite him to no end, and
force him to reconsider his re
curring anti-black bias.
The reason that seven out of
10 students at Howard and oth
er black colleges graduate and
seven out of 10 black students at
white colleges do not is, accord
ing to several studies, a suppor
tive environment. Furthermore,
the drop-out rate for black stu
dents is not "72 percent," as Mil
loy reports.
White colleges have a 72 per
cent failure rate for black stu
dents. Black colleges have a 70
percent success rate. And con
trary to Milloy's contention that
have a 70 percent success rate.
Howard's protestors are fail
ures, studies show that activist
students have a higher IQ than
non-activist students. Take, for
example, John Davis, a 20-year-
old electrical engineering major
from Yellow Springs, Ohio, who
protested. He turned down Har
vard, the University of Cincinna
ti and Northwestern to come to
Howard. But, as the saying goes,
the proof of the pudding is in the
eating.
From Milloy's description of
black college students, you
would expect the protestors to
be a disorganized rabble, spit
ting out rhetoric of undetermin
able nonsense. Instead, one stu
dent was heard saying, "It's all
about responsibility. If you miss
a class, you must make up the
work."
When 2,500 of them occupied
the administration building,
their leadership was in tact and
their organization was evident:
the first floor was a first-aid
station: the second floor was
supplied with pillows and blan
kets for sleeping; and the third
floor became a study hall.
When the riot police parachut
ed from helicopters with arms
and battering rams, the stu
dents repelled them with a car
pet of human bodies covering
the floors and hallways. When
the university president threa
tened them with jail and expul
sion, they answered him with a
deafening unity. After disrupting
Bill Cosby's speech, they recom
mended him for Atwater's old
job.
And what about this for class:
After the students had won their
demands, April Silver, a protest
leader, warmly shook the hand
of Dr. James Cheek, Howard's
embattled president, and said.
We thank you for your coopera
tion. We're glad things worked
out the way they did."
It is the Courtland Mllloys of
Black America who should
hand their heads in shame for
not being proud of the beautiful
flowers like those budding at
Howard University and on black
campuses across the nation.
TONY BROWN'S JOURNAL
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