5A
OPINIONS/The Charlotte Post
September 12, 1996
Journalist’s trouble doesn’t describe us all
By Dennis Schatzman
SPECIAL TO THE POST
Let me just speak for myself. Janet Cooke, you did a
bad thing 15 years ago when, as a reporter for the
Washington Post," your perpetrated a hoax on the
American people by creating “Jimmy” and his world of
drug abuse. The 8-year-old heroin addict you wrote about
in your Sept. 28,1980 story never existed. You paid dear
ly for that, as well you should. You were summarily run
out of Washington, D.C. on a rail and was forced to give
up your Pulitzer Prize.
That was then; this is now. You have asked your one
time journalist colleagues - and presumably all of Black
America - for forgiveness. After 15 years of exile, I
believe you are entitled to be forgiven. I mean, practically
everyone else has been forgiven after committing similar
acts. Some were worse than yours.
The world of jommahsm has long since forgotten when
the late Arthur Pegler (father of the late columnist
Westbrook Pegler) of the Chicago American planted
arsenic in cellar of a boarding housekeeper who was sus
pected of poisoning some of her roomers. Reason: Pegler
beUeved the woman was guilty. A jury found her guilty of
first degree murder and sentenced her to death. Later
the sentence was commuted to life. How touching.
The sad part about this cruel hoax is that Pegler
became a respected reporter and editor for some of the
nation’s most respected newspapers.
Let us not forget that the Pubtzer you were forced to
Schatzman
give up was passed on to Teresa Carpenter of the Village
Voice for her story on the murder of former New York
congressman Allard Lowenstein. The article suggested
that Lowenstein’s murderer had main
tained a homosexual relationship with
him. Friends of the congressman
raised hell and challenged Carpentei^s
reporting methods and sources.
Carpenter’s major source was the killer
himself. She quoted him repeatedly.
Later it was learned that Carpenter
never interviewed the murderer. Last I
heard. Carpenter still had her prize sit
ting on a mantle somewhere in her
house. How about that?
I found no proof that white reporters
fretted and hung their heads in shame because of the
misdeeds of Pegler and Carpenter. Yet when the going
gets rough for one of us, we black journalists rarely think
of ourselves as individuals, but only as a monolithic
group just because some whites view us that way.
Contrary to public belief, we are not our brother’s and
sister’s keepers. We blacks can be so weak sometimes.
Many of my African American colleagues would say,
however, that what you did set black journalists back
years. They argue that your act placed undue pressure
on us because it caused white editors and reporters to
second-guess everything we did joumahstically for many
years after your ruse was discovered. In essence, they
say, you were a traitor to the black joumahstic cause.
Well, Janet, I’m here to tell you that argument is pure
horsepucky. You never spoke for me as a journalist, and
neither have your critics. I hve and die on my own jour
nalistic merits. Every reporter does - black, white, yellow
or brown. What you did, you did to yourself. You didn’t
do it to black journalists, except the weak ones. And
maybe the prima donna ones. Certainly not me. You
went out on the skinny branch of deception by yourself
You didn’t drag me out there with you. As far as I know,
only Milton Coleman, your editor at the time, climbed
part way out there vrith you. And we all know he is not
without journalistic sin either.
My colleagues might recall that it was Coleman who
used another (read, white) reporter to publish 1984 presi
dential candidate Jesse Jackson’s off-the-record
“Hymietown” comment that hurt black-white (and
Jewish) relations more them your act ever will.
So I will forgive you, even if no one else will. I am cer
tainly no paragon of virtue in this business. What jour
nalist really is? But I never have, and never will, care
what my critics think. When I mess up, I just learn from
my mistakes and keep striving forth to try to be the best
reporter I can be. Unlike you, I never asked anyone for
forgiveness when I messed up. But you have asked. And
the least we can do as men and women is to accept your
apology.
Ido.
DENNIS SCHATZMAN is a freelance reporter based in
Los Angeles. He is co-author of “The Simpson Trial in
Black and White" with Tom Elias. He has been ajoumal-
ist for over 20 years, all with black-owned newspapers.
Environmental racism at root of transfer station
By Fran Fairer
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Jn times when health is a
prime concern of most citizens
ii| most cities, why must I feel
like the city in which I live is
only concerned with the health
and welfare of a certain seg
ment (tfLliu city.
•Waste and garbage are creat
ed by all people. Why is it that
ray family, friends and neigh-
hors must be the dumping
ground for everyone’s waste?
Has privatization been the cul
prit in all of this? When cities
say that waste and garbage con
cerns becoming private owned
Helps the business sector,it’s
cjnly because they don’t want to
be bothered, but they still gain,
and we, the minority communi
ty, lose.
The northwest side of the city
has been the dumping ground of
all things not desired in south
Charlotte. It is constantly stat
ed that it does
not effect
property val
ues, but it
does. It is con
stantly stated
that there is
no health haz
ard. but tl'H.'re
is. If it’s ()K.
and harmless,
why aren’t
they request
ing waste transfer facilities in
Raintree, South Park, and
Providence?
The answer to me, to all the
above is environmental racism.
What the neighborhoods Highly
populated with the wealthy
majority doesn’t want, the city
just says, “Put it on the west
side. The black community
won’t mind, or won’t say any-
Communities are joining to
fight westside trash facility
Farrer
thing.”
Well, this time they are
wrong. I’m not emotional. I’m
angry. I did not purchase a
I\omo in a nice neighborhood to
have my children become ill
from lumo.s, or fear the in\'a.sion
of pests, or run the risk of not
being able to sell because of a
nearby waste transfer facility.
Why doesn’t the owner of
NationsWaste place this facility
in an industrial park near his
home? He doesn’t because he
knows the risks. Is his only
desire to make money at the
expense of those he feels have
no value?
The NationsWaste
Corporation was invited to the
organizing meeting of the com
bined communities’ association,
but as you would know, he nor
any company representative
showed up. Why? Because they
do not care about the communi
ty that they ;iro attempting to
destroy, little, by little.
Why can’t waste and garbage
be taken from point “A” to its
final resting place without
entering residential neighbor
hoods? Because unfortunately
our city does not care enough
about all of its residents. That
would be too easy, or too much
like doing the right thing.
The communities are upset,
the churches are upset. We can
not allow our communities to be
destroyed by NationsWaste or
the city of Charlotte.
There has been an association
formed by 11 of the effected
communities. Now operating
under the name of The
Northwest Combined
Neighborhoods Association, our
communities will do eveiything
within our power to prevent the
building of this proposed trans
fer facility at 43.30 Northpointe
Industrial Blvd.
We need the support of our
entire community in this effort.
The association is meeting
weekly to prepare for what we
know will be a fight, but we are
not afraid. We will no longer lay
dormant.
Join us this evening at 6:45
p.m. at Simpson-Gillespie
United Methodist Church, 3545
Beatties Ford Road.
FRAN FARRER is advertising
and marketing manager at The
Post.
Dialogue needed between blacks,and Asians in U.S.
Manning
„Marable
Racial minorities - African
Americans, Asian Americans,
Pacific Island Americans,
Native Americans and
Bispanics — are growing more
than seven times faster than
npn-Hispanic whites.
.Much of this population explo
sion has occurred in only the
past decade. Nationwide in
1990, minorities accounted for
about 61 million Americans,
representing 25 percent of the
country's total population. By
the year 2000, that percentage
will have increased to nearly
one-third of the U.S. population.
According to demographers, the
entire United States will have a
“majority minority” by the year
2060. Issues of multicultural
diversity will become even more
central to all aspects of
American life.
Racial minorities themselves
must engage in a critical, honest
dialogue about their areas of
mutual concern. Certainly one
dimension of that discussion
must occur between Asian
Americans and African
Americans. Asian Americans
are the most rapidly-growing
group in the U.S. Today, there
are more than 7.5 miUion people
of Asian descent in this country.
Like African Americans and
Latinos, Asian Americans have
experienced a history of discrim
ination and oppression. As early
as 1854, the California Supreme
Court ruled that Chinese
weren’t permitted to testify
against whites. In 1882, the
Chinese Exclusion Act banned
all immigration from China. As
Japanese immigration to the
U.S. grew, discriminatory legis
lation was extended to them. In
1913, California prohibited
aliens ineligible for citizenship
from owning property. The 1924
National Origins Act excluded
most Asians from migrating to
the U.S. With the outbreak of
World War II, 110,000 Japanese
Americans were relocated to
internment camps. It was only
in 1952 that Asians born out
side the U.S. were permitted to
become citizens. African
Americans have not been alone
in their search for a non-racist
democracy.
Conversely, an appraisal of
racial and ethnic reahties today
illustrates profound differences
between minority groups.
Blacks and most Latinos, for
example, continue to be subject
ed to extreme economic and
social discrimination, while
most Asian Americans are not.
According to Census surveys,
the median household income in
1989 of Asian Americans was
$36,100, compared to $30,400
for non-Hispanic white house
holds, $21,900 for Hispanic
households, and $18,100 for
African American households.
According to the Census
Bureau’s 1987 Survey of
Minority-Owned Business
Enterprises, the number of
Asian-American-owned busi
nesses in the U.S. grew from
187,691 in 1982 to 335,331 in
19987, an increase of 79 per
cent. By 1998, about 6 percent
of all Asian Americans owned a
business of some type, com
pared to 6.5 percent of all non-
Hispanic whites, 2 percent of all
Latinos, 1.5 percent of all black
Americans, and 1 percent of
Native Americans.
Similarly, in terms of access to
higher education, there are real
differences between minority
groups. Although African
American and Latino college
enrollments reached 1.4 million
and 1 million respectively by
1993, both were well underrep
resented, based on their per
centages of the general popula
tion. Between 1976 and 1992,
the number of African
Americans who received both
master's degrees and doctorates
actually declined. Conversely,
access to higher education for
Asian American increased sig
nificantly during these same
years.
These statistics may explain
why Latinos and African
Americans overwhelmingly sup
port affirmative action pro
grams and minority scholar
ships, while a large percentage
of Asian Americans do not.
We are rapidly moving beyond
the older “black vs. white”
model of race and ethnic rela
tions in the U.S., and African
Americans must recognize the
impact of this social transforma
tion. We need to recognize that
within the Asian-American pop
ulation that there are many
nationalities and communities
whose interests parallel our
own.
MANNING MARABLE is
Professor of History at Columbia
University in New York.
Letters to The Post
E-mail
from
cyberspace
We asked readers of The
Post’s World Wide Web site
their opinion on several top
ics. Here are the questions
and a few of the responses.
• Has the NAACP lost its
relevancy in helping solving
community problems?
L. Sigler Jr.
age: 48
E-mail: 1 sigleijr@world-
net.att.co
I must qualify my answer.
While I feel that there are
plenty of laws on the books to
ensure civil rights for all, I
think there is still a need for
a watchdog organization to
monitor and publicize abuses.
However, I think there is a
greater injustice today. That
is the economic immaturity of
the African American com
munity. We cannot even hire
our own school age kids for
the summer.
The organization that steps
to the forefront in addressing
this problem will be far more
beneficial to our comminity in
the long run.
Maurice George
age: 24
E-mail: mgeorge@uncc.edu
The NAACP has always
stood up for African-
Americans. The organization
has respect and power in this
country. As long os w c
African Americans stand
behind the NAACP, it will be
able to represent us more
adequately.
We must not forget that a
divided kingdom cannot
stand. Let us embrace the
values and ideals of the
NAACP as it fights for all of
our rights.
If the organization is in
trouble financially,, let's get
some of the big salary people
together and help out.
Recruit more members and
be more visible before things
happen.
•Has free agency helped or
hurt sports?
DJSr.
I think that this is only an
issue because now it allows so
many African men to become
multi-millionaires. I think
it’s great, because the players
won’t get half the money that
the owners are making off of
them
• Will the welfare reform bill
help or hurt chMren?
Cheryl Jenkins
age: 34
E-mail:
jenkins@gwvenus.cmd.gwumc
It will certainly help us tax
payers weed out the bad
apples. I see too much of it
every day.
What’s on your mind?
Send your comments to The
Charlotte Post, P.O. Box 30144,
Charlotte, N.C. 28230 or fax (704)
342-2160. You can also use E-mail
- charpost@dt.mindspring.com
All correspondence must include a
daytime telephone number for veri
fication.
Children’s sabbath: Time to reach out to all of our young
Marian
Wright
Edelman
, Rosemary Matthews prays for
the day when people of faith all
across America will begin to
reach out to society's most iso
lated and lonely children.
Those are the children, she
^ays, who wonder every day
whether anybody even knows
.they are alive. Rosemary is the
outreach director for
Philadelphia Citizens for
Children and Youth, and she
'has become one of that city’s
most vocal advocates for young
people, pushing for everything
from eyeglasses and dental care
to free lunches and legal aid.
She has also become one of
Philadelphia’s most active orga
nizers of the annual National
Observance of Children’s
Sabbaths, coordinated by the
Children’s Defense Fund and
the Black Community Crusade
for Children.
“The call on our fives is for all
children,” says Rosemary,
whose organization lobbies both
City Hall and the state house on
behalf of children. “If there are
children who are isolated, they
need to know they’re not alone.
We have got to let them know
that there are adults \^ho care
about them all across this coun
try.”
With that in mind, Rosemary
has decided that in
Philadelphia, this year's annual
Observance of Children’s
Sabbaths will be aimed at
reminding people of faith that
everyone will be judged on how
they treat “the least” of society,
she says, reflecting on God’s
promise in the scriptures. PCCY
will hold Children’s Sabbath cel
ebrations at the Philadelphia
Youth Studies Center, a deten
tion facility that houses more
than 100 mostly black, male
juvenile offenders.
“When we think about our chil
dren, we cannot forget these
children. They are the least,”
Rosemary says. “We want chil
dren to understand they are
part of this nation and part of
this universe, and that they
need our prayers and need to be
lifted up. What the Children’s
Sabbaths celebrations do is tie
these youths to something that
is national. We will he joining
them with people all across this
country, and helping them
imderstand they are connected
to larger families.”
And it is our link to those fam
ilies, despite seeming differ
ences, that help us feel needed
and cherished, Rosemary says.
“We all look different, we wor
ship differently, we’re tall, we’re
short, we’re black, white,
Indian, and Asian,” she says.
“Yet there is a basic thread that
runs through all of us. The
Children’s Sabbaths help us
bring everybody together to
share and celebrate the com
monalty that we are all created
by God.”
The services at the center will
bo nondenominational and
include clergy from a vanety of
faiths, says Rosemary, a
Catholic. “There will be music
and singing, and an opportunity
for youths to offer a prayer, a
wish, a blessing, or a statement
about something or somebody
they care about. We must allow
them to take an active role in
the service and keep reminding
them of who they are despite
the act that got them there. It is
important for them to have
some kind of commitment, to be
open. On the other hand, we
need to make a commitment to
them that we adults will never
betray them again.”
But most important,
Rosemary says, “we cannot just
leave it there. We must find
other ways to use Children’s
.Sabbaths to network and help
children. We must not only fig
ure out ways to connect them,
but we must maintain that con
nection.”
The National Observance of
Children’s Sabbaths is held
annually on the third weekend
of October. Congregations can
order kits from the Children’s
Defense Fund to help them plan
celebrations for Protestant,
Catholic, and Jewish congrega
tions.
Bennettsville, S.C., native
MARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN
is the president of the Childrens
Defense Furui.