Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / July 27, 1989, edition 1 / Page 4
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Pa^e 4A • THE CHARLOTTE POST - Thmsday, Jufy 27, 1989 tKJje Cljarlottc Gerald O. Johnson, Publisher Robert L. Johnson, Co-Publisher Jalyne Strong, Editor EDITORIALS Civic Index: An Agenda By HOYLE H. BOARTIN Editorial Writer For the past nine months, a 68-member group of volunteers called the Civic Index "stakeholders", met eveiy three weeks In terlaced with sub-group work sessions to study Issues under 10 board categories and to prepare reports. Under the chairman ship of banker Ronnie Cuthbertson, the "stakeholders," true to their name, re searched, debated, discussed, analyzed and compromised viewpoints In arriving at a consensus on what they perceive as the es sential Issues facing the Charlotte- Mecklenburg community. Subsequently, and with little fanfare, the committee then went on to prepare recommendations for dealing with these Issues and concerns. Undoubtedly, there are people who are disappointed because the "stakeholders" did not chart a specific set of "do's" and "don't's" for solving the community's prob lems./ To have such thoughts Is to miss the whole purpose of the Civic Index, that Is, as their brochure says, "a process designed as a subjective, self-evaluation tool which Charlotte-Mecklenburg Is using to strengthen our civic lidrastructure and community problem-solving capacity." Chairman Cuthbertson put the "stakeholders'" efforts In perspective when he said, "these recommendations ... are not about specific Issues that we all agree need to be addressed. These recommendations are to determine If we have the process In place to handle these Issues." However, If there Is one possible weakness In the Civic Index's recommendations. It Is, as The Charlotte Observer's Jerry Shinn noted, the passionate feelings that some of the "stakeholder" members had about par ticular Issues that don't clearly surface In any of the recommendations. Yet, when 68 people are struggling to reflect a consensus on the feelings, frustrations. Ideas and In terests of a broad-based group of citizens who may or may not reflect the full range of j. opinions of and beliefs of the 400,000 plus citizens of the community, the weakness In question should be expected. On the positive side of the ledger, we wish to highly commend the "stakeholders" for their untiring efforts In helping the Char lotte-Mecklenburg community to put In clearer focus and perspective the issues and concerns it faces. The "stakeholders" Identi fied seven "critical Issues" and listed them In a random, non-prlorlty order. However, we believe some priority is necessary for an orderly and timely approach to building :the necessary foundation for attacking these critical Issues through the proposed recommendations and their outgrowth. ‘ The first priority should be the develop- "ment of a "common vision" about the direc tion and future of the community. There fore. there Is a need to establish an educa tional and Information process to Inform both youth and adults alike about how they can determine the destiny of the shape and form of their living environment. In par ticular, they should be educated and ad vised as to how they can Influence the kind of neighborhoods they want to live In and the upgrading of the quality life of the larg er Charlotte-Mecklenburg community through taking the time to think about, study, dream dreams and seek, as the "stakeholders" state, to be Involved In the development of a share(d) ... common vi sion about the future of their community and region." They add that "a community vision Involves a shared set of values (that Is,) .. economic vitality, liveability, quality education for all children, a safe and crime-free environment and Inclusion of all citizens In community decisions." This all sounds good - almost too easy for developing a more livable environment. Thus, we need to pause and run up a red flag of caution. Why? Because the "stakeholders" have noted too the growing sense of apathy among adults about the lo cal electoral process, the functions of local government and the status of public school education. Such apathy was partly reflected In our editorial last week about the large number of purged voters stemming from their failure to vote during the last four years. Thus, the "stakeholders" have appro priately passed the final responsibility for determining whether their untiring efforts have been In vain and whether we, the citi zens, are truly concerned about the quality of life In our communities and the region. We can only hope and pray that the many citizens who did attend the "stakeholders'" meetings and had Input are a true cross sec tion representation of the Interests and concerns of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community. We can only hope too that the citizens of the region will accept the chal lenge to get Involved In the "common vi sion" development process In whatever form so that a strong foundation can be laid for addressing the problems that Im pact on all of our lives. In summary, we believe that a consensus on a common vision tn the context of de fined values can serve as the foundation for objectively dealing with the six other criti cal Issues that the "stakeholders" have Identified from talks, debates and discus sions with responsive citizens. We believe, too, that our region, our city and our com munities can be whatever we want them to be If each of us gets Involved In working to make good things happen and not merely wait and watch for others to make things happen. Again, thanks to the Civic Index "stakeholders" for a job well done. They have done what, somehow, we could not do for ourselves, so now, let us do our part. Are Interracial Whites Shtmned ? t. During the heyday of racial .segregation, white persons as sociating with black people were labelled "nigger lovers." »Thus Interracial relationships iwere a nightmare for liberal rwhltes In Mainstream America. But some liberal whites Ig nored this upward mobility bur den. These people worked In so cial programs targeted to the black community. A few liberal whites committed the mortal sin of manylng Into black families. There are roughly two hundred thousand black/whlte Interra cial married couples today. I guesstimate another 50,000 Black/whlte Interracial non- marrled relationships under way. Furthermore, competitive world market forces now de mand that American businesses harness the full potentled of their mutllraclal work-force. • The above shifts In American's modus operandl suggest that Whites involved In Interracial re- kitlonshlps have unique skills. These people know how to pros per In dual cultures. ^ I began to appreciate In terra- trial whites when a white lady Whowed up at my home to pick up my youngest son to go to the YMCA. She claimed to be the mother of one of the black boys that Is often around my house. I inltlalty doubted her statement because the child is not a mulat- *Id. *’ She read the doubt In my face. «he replied, she was the child's litepmother. I Invited her Into my home vdille Sherman II got hls things ready. I was reviewing some ar- Hcles so we began to talk about writings. She then surprised jpie, revealing that she thou^t of writing a proposal to the man- Miller ! Says By Sherman Miller agement of her multi-national employer to work on projects significant to the black commu nity. This white lady expressed inti mate understanding of the plight of black Americans. She attempted to give credence to her claim by revealing that she had once taught blacks mathe matics at the Opportunity In dustrialization Centers. This lady's comments were very perplexing because they raised the issue of non-raclal qualifications outweighing race on supposedty race related pro jects. I was left plagued by the Issue, "Are Interracial whites victims of defacto segregation In both Black and White America?" I asked a number of main stream white people the ques tion, "Who would get the job be tween a black and white person If It was to manage a program targeted to the urban black community?" I proposed that the black person grew up In a predominantly white suburban neighborhood and attended pri vate predominantly white sec ondary schools and an Ivy League university. On the other hand, the white The Mayor Is Marching On What is this, the sound and ru mour? What is this that all men hear, like the wind in hollow valleys when the storm is drawing near, like the rolling on of ocean in the eventide of fear? Tis the people marching on. WUliam Morrison 1834-1896. Just when things started to get boring around our town. Mayor Sue Myrick came through. Not that she Intended to, mind you, things Just turned out that way. You see, the Mayor decided that a drug march was what the city needed to bring some aware ness to the seriousness of the drug problem In Charlotte. So, she planned a march centered In the westslde of town. The march route starts In Fairvlew Homes, goes close to Earle Village, and ends up near Piedmont Courts. I would think the Mayor rea soned that the reported drug problems centered around pub lic housing projects made these areas ideal targets for communi ty awareness. However, the Mayor In her haste to make people aware of the drug problem, neglected to make people aware of her plans to march. Well, this didn't sit well with a lot of folk. City coun cil members were not made aware of her plans until they were given an Invitation to march. Neither were members of the community notified about plans to march until they were asked to participate. Of course this being an election with Gerald Johnson As I See It year and all, other politicians up for re-election couldn't resist the opportunity to play politics. So, they accused the Mayor of playing politics. Since the march would do little to solve the drug problem, some black leaders felt the risk far outweighed the reward. The march would only cast a nega tive light by Impljdng the drug problem Is a black problem. The whole situation even caused some heated discussion during this week's city council meeting with the Democrats sid ing against the Mayor and the Republicans siding with the Mayor. It was politics as usual. Well, If you roll your pants legs up and wade through the caw- caw, you will find that this Is much to do about nothing. The Mayor blundered by mafing a Isolated decision to march. But this happens to be the Mayor's style. This Isn't the first time she has operated fi'om a vacuum and It probably won't be her last. But she Is human, and she will make mistakes. But I happen >to think this was an honest mis take. I think she meant well, j Is the march warranted? 0«r editor and our chief photogra pher went to see how the people of the affected neighborhoods felt about aU this. Some did feel that attention to their neighbor hood slows down the drug traf ficking. They feel that dealers:do not like public notoriety. So-^ march may not be totally use less. I am having a difficult time ap preciating why everyone Is so upset about the black communi ty being a target area for fighting drugs. Even though It Is true that drugs are not Isolated to Just the black community, it is havtug^a more devastating Impact on the black community. Drugs are single-handedly re sponsible for pushing the black male species to the brink of ex tinction. The percentage of driSg addicted babies being bom dally Is disproportionately hlgher-ln the black population. The drug related crimes are concentrated In pockets of poverty, where most of the people are black • -- Elven though dmgs are a com munity problem, the people least able to afford dealmg with the drug ramifications are black. Hence, we should Wel come any help we can get to draw attention to the problem. •*- This Is one issue where poftl- pous community pride should take a back seat to pragmatic community reality. Small Towns Are A People Resource 'That couldn't happen If you moved eveiy three years." Reynolds Price, the novelist and Duke professor, was talking to a group at the Southern Writ ers Conference In Chapel Hill about memories. Our memories are our treas ures. They are who we are. Look ing backwards some of us see our parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, cousins, long time friends, teachers, preach ers, and the places we knew them— home, church, school, r stores and fields. Those people and places of growing up define us. They are our anchors. They are our foundations. They are our roots. At least they re. If we have those memories—if we re member where we grew up. But fewer and fewer of us know where we are from. The average American moves every three years. You can't let your roots grow too deep If you move that often. If you move every three years and live In a new neighborhood where everybody else Is new. Rice says, you are not going to have the same kind of memories as those who grew up in one place. Does It make, a difference? I D.G. Martin ...li One-On-One think it does. I can't prove It, but look around at the people who are making a difference In North Carolina — the best business leaders, our best political lead ers, our best teachers and writ ers. Don't a disproportionate num ber of them come from small towns and farms? What explains their success In the development of leaders for the rest of us? Some big city snobs would say that these leaders have had to overcome their culturally de prived backgrounds. Look at the small towns, they say, and see nothing happening, backward schools, no theaters, no big li braries, no big time sports. ,; Nothing there? Nothing but the stable nurturing that creates self-defining memories that Re ynolds Price talks about. “ North Carolina's small towns and rural communities are tHe state's "people estuaries." Estuaries are those protected brackish waters along our coast, which, with the marchesj, swamps, and backwaters, arts the most efficient producers -of food in the state. They are a crlll- Ical link In our food chain. W)s often think of those areas as un derdeveloped backwaters. But they are irreplaceable treasures where the richness and stability of life makes for one of the earth's most productive ecosys tems. Reynolds Price Is right. Those nurturing memories that the small towns make possible are Important In giving people-a sense of who they are. People who have a sense of who they are becoming our best leaders, which may explain why small towns are so successful in pro ducing North Carolina's leaders. They are out "people estuar ies." ■ > grew up In the black community or near It. This person was also educated at the local state col lege or university. I then asked: "Should the white person get special treat ment because of their Interra cial relationship?" "No," was the overwhelming response to my question. There was also general agree ment that mainstream treat ment of the white partners In In terracial relationships Is a difficult Issue to address. Most people were still strruggllng with this Issue when we termi nated our conversation. One fel low even asked for a few days to tumble It over In hls mind. I feel that whites who are par ents of mulatto children or who have lived and worked in the heart of Black America ought to be considered assets by the black community. Black Ameri ca can ill-afford to be emotion ally blinded by black racism when the upward mobility of black community is at stake. Furthermore, Corporate Amer ica should view Interracial whites as a national treasure because these people can offer guidance on bridging the chasm between minority groups and Mainstream America. I am sure I will get criticized by blacks who will argue that whltes.always get the leadership positions. These people will ac cuse me of attempting to legiti matize these shunned whites. .1 only ask. "If Interracial whites are the parents, cousins. aunts, uncles, and grandparents of black people, should Black America not show empathy and sympathy for their plight?" Blacks Must Blaze New Directions Government policy caimot do much about teenage parenting, fatherless households and, academic nonexertion — the "crisis of the spirit" In the black community — as Robert L., Woodson of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise terms It. That's a job the black estab-- lishment will have to undertake, at least In providing the leadership and inspiration the’' underclass Is Increasingly without. In addition. It Is up to the black leadership to blaze new directions that do not focus exclu sively on discrimination. It Is true that most of the Ills of the underclass have their roots In racism, but It is also true that ending racism will not solve those problems. •j The words of Rasbeny, Issues & Views, May/June 1987., Help DrugAddicted Babies Kick Habit Guest Editorial By Cong. Gus Hawkins There Is a saying, "when the child Is safe, everybody Is safe." But today. In an ever changing and complicated world, we are experiencing the harsh reality of a perilous environment for too many of our children. These conditions are evidenced In the growing number of homeless families; the children trauma tized by crime-ridden neighbor hoods; and the scores of youth who suffer from inadequate diets, health care, and educa tion. The latest reality, however. Is marked by the growing number of Infants born each year after exposure to cocaine and other drugs during their mother's pregnancy. Statistical evidence indicates that drug addicted ba bies account for an estimated 11 percent of all births. Almost 400,000 may be bom "hooked" and harmed by prenatal dmg exposure this year alone. The risk to these dmg-exposed infants Is Indeed alarming. These babies may suffer from withdrawal. Irritability, loss of sleep, and Increased muscle ri gidity, and a condition similar to kids who have suffered brain damage. Addltlonalty, these In fants are more likely to be bom prematurely and have low birth weight, which raises the risk of Infant mortality and childhood disability. In their school age years more problems surface, such as exhi biting extreme mood swings, demonstrating excessive anger and hostility, hyperactivity, con centration difficulties. Impaired speech patterns, withdrawal and/or regressive behavior, and a number of other negative emo tional characteristics. These children need so much educa tional attention they are char acterized as "high risk" students, differentiated from the com monly used "at risk" student, denoting a young person who is academlcalty behind. A few months ago I visited an elementaiy school In Los An geles which had a number of "high risk" children. It was evi dent that the educational effort, which Is largely a remedial ac tivity directed at the "high risk" student, was difficult because of their behavior and attention dif ficulties. An innovative program was presented before a Congres sional icommlttee earlier this year by Carol K. Cole, a child de velopment speclallst/teacher. She submitted testimony on be half of the Los Angeles Unified School District and teaches In a pilot program for children ages 3-6, who have been prenatally exposed to drugs. The purpose of the pilot program Is to pro vide sendees to pre-school age children who are competent thinkers, but are defined as high risk because of prenatal expo sure to dmgs. Supportive servic es are provided such as a part- time psychologist, social work er, nurse and pediatrician, speech and language therapist and other specl^ized services. The problem, similar to so many other pressing social is sues. Is that there are not enough good programs to meet the need of eligible people. The obvious solution Is to prevent pregnant mothers, or anybody, from using dmgs and abusing alcohol to begin with. We cap begin this task through effective dmg education programs, to cut down the demand. We must also Increase the available number of dmg rehabilitation treatment slots In our nation's public health facilities. Dmg rehabili tation should not Just be a luxu ry for the wealthy. And while we must direct a strong effort toward preventing dmg and alcohol abuse, we must have a plan to help these vulner able victims who are born "hooked". Surely a nation which Is now celebrating the 20th an niversary of Its remarkable con quest of the moon has the knowledge and resources to ad dress this critical Issue of as sisting dmg-addicted babies.
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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July 27, 1989, edition 1
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