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ThursdiQr, Ju)^ 27, 1989 - THE CHARLOTTE POST - PageSA Self-Esteem And Drug Abuse '■"What does Black History Month have to do with drug us age? Everything. It becomes clearer aJid clearer that there Is a rela tionship between cultural pride, -^If-esteem and drug usage. ■ ‘ Last week, a panel of very dis- 'tltiguished black doctors. In cluding Dr. Carl C. Bell, one of the nation's leading psychia trists and director of the Com- 'munlty Mental Health Council In Chicago, announced at the annual meeting of the National Medical Association that the pwor heath, mental as well as physical, of blacks Is due In part to low self-esteem. Take Illegal drugs, for example. Black Americans' drug usage Is 30 percent higher than the pop ulation as a whole. If you accept the fact that himdreds of years of psychological damage from slavery, Jim Crow, segregation £pid today's pseudo-integration have produced a low self-image, you're not surprised that we're .killing ourselves faster than ^Y?hltes. "When you get right down to It, many of our problems can be trac^ to poor self-esteem," said D]r. John Chlssell of Boston. "We -live In an Intensely racist socle- ,ty that teaches us to hate our- «lves." Evidence? Blacks largely pre fer to go to a school that Is con trolled by whites: prefer neigh borhoods with few black; prefer to buy from non-blacks; and call anything controlled by other blacks "segregated" or anti- white. Quite frankly, that's the civil rights agenda. And the America nized African Is so confused that a quest for hls or her own de- Tony Brown's Commentaries struction seems normal. That's low self-esteem at Its lethal best. As a matter of fact, two black psychologists. Dr. Robert Davis and Dr. Lawrence Gray, have concluded from studies that as blacks "assimilate" Into white culture, they lost cultural Identi fy, but do not gain equality. The white culture encourages blacks to abandon their cultural sup port system, but doesn't replace It with cultural acceptance. What these blacks get Instead is racial anxiety. This S5mdrome leads to sui cide. This suicide can be Imme diate — a gun to the head or sleeping pills: or It can be grad ual - drug addiction, for exam ple. People use drugs, drugs don't use p>eople. Drug abuse Is not the real problem; it's what ther apists call the presenting prob lem — what others see and rec ognize as Inappropriate or destructive behavior. Policy makers have recognized that anti-drug efforts must attack the demand for, as well as the sup- pfy- of, drugs. Therefore, It is really just com mon sense that a strong sense of cultural Identify may prevent blacks from being victims of drug abuse. A lack of pride In cultural heritage leads to poor self-esteem which predisposes one to drug addiction. Converse ly, pride In cultural heritage leads to high self-esteem which results in no drug addiction. Pride in one's cultural heritage for a person who has learned a basic feeling of shame because of racial prejudice is a tremen dous weapon against drug ad diction because it is a tremen dous weapon against self- hatred. Amazingly, cultural pride as the basis of self-love Is vastly underutilized In the anti- drug arsenal. Therefore, the message of Black History Month is that a love of cultural heritage is the basis of pride in oneself zmd this feeling of pride Is the basis of a self-determination decision to say "no" to drugs. My movie, "The White Girl," dealing with the same theme — black self-hatred and drug ad diction — will open in theaters during Black History Month (February). Our slogan: "If you love yourself, you won't abuse yourself - with drugs. And Black History Month is a time of year that you can learn to love yourself." For Black History Month, let's remember: "It's time we learned to love — ourselves." TONT BROWN'S JOURNAL TV series can be seen on public television in Charlotte on Chan nel 58 (WUNG). Please consult TV listings or phone station for air times. coimoRf nomwswe C£6I$CAT0R. 0^ Letters To The Post Opposing The Mayor's March Dear Editor I , for one, am totally in sup port of any efforts to combat the drug problem that plagues our city. However, I must go on record as opposing the march Mayor Sue Myrick has planned for this Saturday, July 29 at 10 a.m. Ibis march, as I understand, will take place beginning at Falrvlew Homes, ending at Piedmont Courts. The reason for my opposi tion to this march Is two-fold. One, the area targeted for the march Is public housing, which seems to suggest that it Is the residents of public hous ing who are the drug users and abusers and who are causing the drug problem for the entire city of Charlotte. Granted there are drug prob lems in the public housing projects. But these have been addressed and there are plans underway to combat the prob lems. Marches are not what is needed at this time. What is needed Is more police officers, more education and preven tion alternatives and a streamlined eviction process. The residents of Falrvlew Homes have had an aware ness day and Mayor Myrick and I were there. On August 12, the residents of Dalton Village wUl have a special day of com munity awareness and pride. In addition, the residents of Piedmont Courts will host their annual Piedmont Courts Day in August. Drugs are not a poor, black problem. Drugs are killing people and victimizing people across racial and social- economic lines. We simply cannot, try as we may, isolate the drug problem in one area because others do not want to admit that they, too, are a part of the problem. If we are going to spend time marching to make people aware of the problems with drugs, then I suggest that the Mayor start in uptown Char lotte and march toward the south and southeast areas of Charlotte. She should also monitor the number of up town workers who spend their lunch hour buying and using drugs in and around the up town area. My second reason for oppos ing this march Is economic. Why not use the dollars In manpower and other resourc es to Improve the police patrol in some of these areas and to combat "white collar" drug abuse? There are a number of ways the dollars, which are tax dollars, can be used more productively. Again, I am In favor of meaningful efforts to combat our city's drug problem. How ever, this particular march seems to be iU timed and more of a hindrance than a help. As always, I make myself availa ble to help in any real mean ingful effort to better our city and the quality of life for all residents. REV. PHILLIP M. DAVIS Mayor's Marching The Wrong Way Dear Editor So we want to march through the black communi ties to end the use of drugs. Big deal. Why don't we stop skirt ing the truth. Get the big grys who have the money to buy and sell this junk to the youth and others In these communities. Get the rich pushers with the fine homes, fine cars, big boats, pools and great vaca tions. Misunderstood youth who have little food, poor clothing, poor housing and no jobs are trapped without much hope of having anything. So they are throwing their lives away on drugs. But If you can't get the drugs — then you can't use them. Start marching on the peo ple who are bringing drugs Into the community. 1 am real sick and Ured of our good God fearing Mayor blaming all the bad that happens in Charlotte on the black community. We need to look at who start ed this problem in the first place. T^e a long, hard look at history -— the things that were printed and the mess that was kept undercover and hid den. Go back to the source of the problem. FREDDIE T. SMITH WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND? Let us hear your comments, ideas and opinions. Write to: Letters To The Post P.O. Box 30144 Charlotte, N.C. 28230 Please include name, address and phone number. We edit letters for clarity and grammar. i .9srsrM«rgH>aiiUfAfeu^ | > LEIARNING THE LESSONS ... "If George Washington didn't get independence for this country , non-vlolently, and If Patrick Henry didn't come up with a non-violent statement, and you taught me to look upon them as patriots and heroes, then it's time for you to realize that 1 ‘ have studied your books well." Malcolm X in hls own words., Threat Of EJxtinction For Black Males Signals Ultimate Destruction For U.S. Safety and security are never permanently Insured for any one. Yet, it Is a mark of a civil ized society to strive to ensure safety and security for its citi zens as a social, political and economic objective. A recent feature story in the Boston - Globe entitled, "Endangered: Black Men" once again raised ; disturbing and serious ques tions about the condition and : prognosis of the African Ameri can male In the United States. ‘ The article by Joanne Ball de tailed how African American men are disproportionately suf fering from homicides, drugs, other forms of violence, AIDS, and from the devastation of eco nomic injustice. Ed Pitt of the National Urban League was quoted as saying, "What's new Is that now we, for the first time, in the history of this country, have a declining life expectancy for black people. And the biggest factor in this decrease is attrib uted to the high death rates of African American males be tween 15 and 44." Jawanza Kunjufu, a nationally known authority on African American males, has charged that there Is "a conspiracy to de stroy black males." The negative statistical data concerning the mortality rate of African Ameri can males Is not an accident or a mere coincidence of history. It Is rather a factual explication of the severity of this conspiracy which begins before birth and Is maintained until early death.Ra- clsm and economic exploitation continue to endanger ^ African Americans and in jrartlcular Af rican American young men. Nathan and Julia Hare, who have authored many writings on the plight of African American adolescent and family life, con tend that the growing crisis of African American males in the United States demands the at tention of all Americans, but In particular the attention and re sponse of the African American community is an absolute ne cessity. Dr. Nathan Hare, a not ed psychologist and sociologist, has suggested that a long-term solution must come from "an In dependent black Intellectual class which puts value on our selves and value on our youth, and stop looking to the white media for good Images." Dr. Hare knows well the negative role the Civil Rights Journal By Benjamin Chavis established national media con tinues to play in stereotyping and demeaning and depicting racist Images of the African American community. One point to be emphasized is that a society that selectively and oppressively predetermines the genocide of a community of that society is a society that ul timately determines its own de struction. Are African American males today an endangered species? Yes, this Is the sad but true real ity In this nation. Will African American males continue to be an endangered species? The an swer to this question lies In what response we all make to day concerning this crisis. We believe the time has not yet run out. There Is still time and great opportunity to challenge this situation. Alarmingly, President Bush has just announced that a prior ity of this new administration In the White House is to put some citizens of this nation back on the moon and even to go to the planet Mars safely and securely. This effort will cost in the huit- dreds of millions of dollars. President Bush: "What about the planet Earth, and In particular how will a multl-bllllon doll^ attempt to find some new spe cies on another planet will help to save the endangered sp>ecles in this nation?" Whether or not Bush answers this question is not the issue. Let us all be chal lenged to place our personal and collective priorities in the right place, l.e., the place of join ing together in a renewed na tional movement for justice and empowerment. Not to respond to the challenges of African American destruction and self- destruction Is to Invite more danger and fear. D.C.'s Mayoral Race Should Prove To Be A Watershed Campaign For Voters with D.C. Mayor Marlon Bar ry's announcement, through an aide, that he will seek reelectlon in 1990, and the Rev. Jackson's apparent Interest in the job, an engaging pictures looms large. This Is the first time in the black community that the possibility of serious competition has oc curred for such a visible politi cal office. For weeks, some of Jackson's closest friends and advisers have Indicated to the press that he wants to run for mayor. To further Intensify the specula tion, Jackson Is moving hls fam ily and hls political operations to Washington from Chicago and Is also expected to change hls voting address. Barry, who Is described by journalists cover ing hls tenure In office as "beleaguered," has seen hls pop ularity reach an all-time low in recent opinion polls. But he has been vague about hls Intention to run for reelectlon, until now. According to Barry's press sec retary, he not only Intends to run but ge also expects Jackson to support his candidacy. Although It Is still uncertain whether Jackson will actually enter the race, the specter of two black men, who are each polltl- ckl heavyweights In their own National Minority^ Politics by Gweneveve Daye right, vying for Mayor of Wash ington, D.C., ushers In a new era in black politics. There zu-e fi nally enough polltlcally-sawy blacks In the pool of potential candidates, with differing opin ions and constituencies, that competition is viewed as healthy, rather than divisive. And what better {dace for it to occur than In the nation's capi tal. Why has this competitive spir it been such a long time com ing? One reason has been that there have simply not been enough politicians to create a truly competitive environment. Blacks are relative newcomers to the political arena and, al though the number of black elected officials has mush roomed over the oast 25 years, the highest jx)lltlcal offices are still somewhat elusive. There Is a lingering perception that there Is a limit as to how high a black person can go in government. Nonetheless there are a hand ful of exceptions: Ronald H. Brown, chairman of the Demo cratic National Committee: L. Douglas Wilder, lieutenant gov ernor of Virginia, and a current contender for the governorship of that state; and Rep. William Gray of Pennsylvania, newly- elected House Majority Whip. For the most part, however, black elected officials continue to represent majority black con stituencies in the lowest levels of government. The limitation for the time be ing, either actual of self- imposed, appears to be the House of Representatives; offic eholders get as far as this point In their political careers and then get stuck in neutral, for ex ample, of the 24 black members the House currently In office, none, with the exception of Gray, appears to be eyeing a move up, either to the Senate or within the House hierarchy. In addi tion, those who have been elect ed to Congress appear to be there for the long haul. Intent upon staying in office until death or retirement, whichever comes first. Indeed, the primary reason why Barry insists upon retain ing hls position as mayor Is simply that there is nowhere else for him to go politically. There Is no higher position in city government he can aspire to, and Congress offers no op portunity for career advance ment. The District of Columbia only has one non-voting dele gate, Walter Fauntroy, repre senting It in Congress. In addi tion to the fact, that Fauntroy shows no Interest in retiring, Barry knows this would be a step down for him In stature as well as Infiuence. Another reason for the belated manifestation of competitive ness, Is that, unfortunately, some black politicians, particu larly Incumbents, resort to the use of demagoguery to keep competitors out of elections. A well-meaning contender Is first faced with the difficulty of rais ing funds in order to laimch a vi able candidacy. Then he must be charged with selling out to the white establishment, creat ing division In the black com munity, and not understanding the "struggle." By splitting the black vote, it is argued, the op ponent is allowing a white can didate the opportunity to win the election. The Incumbent is thus able to keep hls competi tors at bay by appealing to black voters' fears and Insecuri ties. Washington, D.C., is one of the few cities where using this form of demagoguery during the may- oral campaign would be unne cessary. D.C. will almost cer tainly have a black mayor, no matter how many candidates enter the race. Having a black mayor is of such symbolic sig nificance to D.C. residents that a white candidate has virtually no chance of winning, and the white vote is currently not sig nificant enough to be a factor. Of course, not everyone in Washington is elated about the possibility of Jackson entering the mayor's race. Two members of the City Council, who, inci dentally, want to succeed Barry, successfully pushed a bill through the Council that would bar elected officials from taking more than $10,000 a year in speaking fees and require public disclosure of outside Income. Since Jackson';s annual Income from speaking fees far exceeds $10,000, this bill was considered to be a way of discouraging him from running for mayor. But that makes the race all the more intriguing. On the one hand, you've got an embattled sitting mayor, hoping for a comeback. On the other hand, you've got Jesse Jackson keep ing everyone on the edges of their seats, waiting to see what he'll do next. Then you've got an other faction of mayoral hop^ fills, plotting a strategy to not only knock Bany out of the race, but thwart Jackson's candldaqr as well. Some might call it divi sive, but a more appropriate de^ scrlptlon would be exciting, fas^ clnatlng, or, better yet, long overdue. Hopefully, other talented would-be piolltlclans waiting In the wings for a signal that lUs o.k. to compete will take thefr cue from this provocative politi cal contest. 'w Ms. Daye, based in Houston, ik the publisher/editor of tHk monthly publication, Natiortal Minority Politics. ■
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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July 27, 1989, edition 1
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