2A
NEWS/The Charlotte Post
April 11, 1996
MELODYE MICERE STEWART
In the
spirit of
Ma’at
SAVE achieving lofty goal
A slave ship
speaks to us
"We have come over a way
that with tears has been
watered... We have come,
treading our path through the
blood of the slaughtered."
This exalted, musical tribute
to honor our heritage comes
from the second verse of
James Weldon Johnson's "Lift
Every Voice and Sing."
Honoring history means pre
serving and observing it,
learning from it and being
empowered by it.
In November 1996, African
Americans in North Carolina
will have that opportunity.
In 1701, 35 miles west of Key
West, Florida, the slave ship
Henrietta Marie sank after
trading its cargo of enslaved
Africans for sugar. Indigo and
cotton. In 1972, the ship
wrecked remnants were dis
covered, along with shackles
to fit children and adults.
Twenty years later, "A Slave
Ship Speaks: The Wreck of the
Henrietta Marie" exhibit
should implore every African
American to confront the hor
rors of our history, acknowl
edge the strength of our
ancestors to endure and be
empowered to move mightily
into the next millennium.
Alas, this is not the case.
To understand the objections
and misgivings of some blacks
to bring the exhibit to
Charlotte, I refer to the writ
ings of Carter G. Woodson. In
his searing "Miseducation of
the Negro," Woodson writes,
"The large majority of the
Negroes who have put on the
finishing touches of our best
colleges, however, are all but
worthless in the uplift of their
people.;. They become
estranged from the masses
and the gap between widens
as the years go by." Some
African Americans, not under
standing the full value of this
historical opportunity
were/are concerned about a
negative image, hurVangry
feelings and a "rehash of old
history." (You would never
hear a Jewish person rejecting
the opportunity to enlighten
the public through powerful
artifacts from the Holocaust.
They understand the rele
vance of history to the present
and the need to tell one's story
frequently.)
Unfortunately, too many of
us have become so estranged
from our history and ourselves
that we can't even face the
truth of our existence! The
entire Charlotte community
nearly forfeited an opportuni
ty to help bridge and heal the
racial divide through educa
tion, understanding and
empathy that the exhibit of
the Henrietta Marie repre
sents.
"God of our weary years, God
of our silent tears. Thou who
has brought us thus far on the
way..." Like the lyrics to "Lift
Every Voice...", the meaning of
the slave ship must be taught
to our children. It represents
the power to endure and tran
scend the dehumanizing sys
tems and institutions that
still plague us. Instead of run
ning away, African Americans
need to embrace the past's
painful reality so we can intel
ligently strategize for the
future.
Continued from page 1A
Bynum has personally
received awards from the
Children’s Defense Fund
(Moral Leadership) and Focus
on Leadership (Unsung
Heroes).
“I really try hard not to con
sider myself the founder,”
Bynum said. “ I‘m a supporter.
I consider Alex as founder. It
was his death that angered
students.”
Bynum makes several
appearances each year to help
SAVE grow.
“When I go to a school, I
make one of the students get
up and talk with me...to their
peers,” Bynum said. “I try to
keep SAVE as student-run...
them doing their own things.
It takes a strong faculty, but it
must be students.
“Someone knew something
was going to happen and said
nothing. What we tell stu
dents when we go to high
schools and junior high
schools, is if something is
going to happen, tell some
body. They have resource offi
cers now. Tell them.”
Bynum hopes SAVE contin
ues to grow and that young
people will heed its message.
“My dream is that every
school in North Carolina has a
SAVE chapter,” she said. “Fd
love to follow up on all the
schools and make sure the
SAVE chapters are running
the way that they should.
“As long as we can save one
child, I feel good. One day it
may be mine, my daughter
(Portia Gerald, 4).”
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PHOTO/COCA-COLA CONSOLIDATED
Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated presented Johnson C. Smith University $5,000 for the uni
versity’s captital campaign. Pictured are (left to right) Chris Dunkley of Coca-Cola; retailer
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Brown remembered as pioneer
Buried at
Arlington
Cemetery
Continued from 1A
Brown and 34 other people
were killed last week in a
plane crash in Croatia. He
was leading a trade mission
with the aim of helping to
rebuild the war-tom country.
His closed coffin was dis
played in the lobby of the
Commerce b.uilding until
Wednesday morning.
A public celebration of
Brown's life was held later
Tuesday at Metropolitan
Baptist Church.
Justin Fortune, 13, traveled
to Washington from Baltimore
after his mother told him
about Brown's work and lead
ership.
“My mom said that Ron
Brown is just as important an
African American as Colin
Powell, so I came here to learn
a little bit about Ron Brown,”
he said.
Mary Krupka, 32, of
Turlock, Calif., made an
impromptu decision to pay
respects to Brown while she
was visiting the capital.
“Ron Brown was a very good
example of, if you're willing to
work hard you can do any
thing,” she said. “I think peo
ple should remember him that
way.”
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