; 2A
NEWS/ The Charlotte Post
September 19,1996
MELODYE MICERE STEWART
In the
spirit of
Ma’at
Learn black history
“If you don’t know where you
came from, you can’t know
where you’re going.” This
African proverb reveals the
ultimate truth of “sankofa:”
you must reclaim your past in
order to create your future.
Until African Americans
acquire general knowledge
and a basic understanding of
our history, we are doomed to
repeat the struggles of our
existence in America.
An obvious manifestation of
this truth is witnessed in the
recent pages of our history,
via, Rodney King, O.J.
.Simpson, the retrenchment of
.affirmative action and the
rash of black church burnings
throughout the “new” South.
The need for African
American adults to engage in
the active study of our history
is clearly apparent in the lack
;of knowledge of African
American children. Before the
days of integration, black
adults continued the oral tra
ditions of our ancestors and
verbally passed the history of
our people. That history was
contained in the stories of “the
old days” of segregation,
sharecropping and the brav
ery of those who registered to
vote in spite of life-threaten
ing risks.
Those were also the days
when the black community
was an active reflection of
anot herAtVican provioi); “li
takes a whole village to rai.se
a child.” Black parents and
the black community are still
the first teachers of our chil
dren; ultimately, it is our
responsibility to teach our
heritage to our children.
It is indeed a sad state of
affairs when, in 1996, black
children can’t distinguish the
deeds of Sojourner Truth from
Harriet TubiHan and,
although they'^fheard ,of”
Frederick Douglass, they dbn’t
know his signifiyjnce to our^.
continuing struggle for libera
tion. Indeed, many have not
heard of Mary McLeod
Bethune or Ida B. Wells-
Barnett. And, beyond “I have
a dream,” and “by any means
necessary,” little is concretely
known of Martin King or
Malcolm X.
Can you identify David
Walker, James Weldon
Johnson, Marcus Garvey or
Martin Delaney? What about
Samuel Cornish, John
Russwurm, Richard Allen,
Absalom Jones or Carter G.
Woodson? We should know
W.E.B. DuBois, Paul Robeson,
Adam Clayton Powell, Arthur
Schomburg and a host of oth
ers. These African Americans
dedicated their lives and
bravely advocated in our
. behalf and if you never heard
of them, you, too, have been
mis-educated.
We can collectively blame
school systems, or we can take
responsibility and rise to the
challenge of re-education of
ourselves and our children.
Harris defends Libya deal
Continued from page 1A
“It may have mentioned Robin
Hayes, but did not direct him
to send money directly to us.”
Duke added that the flap
had no,thing to do with race,
but revolved around Harris’
role in brokering a deal with a
“known terrorist nation.”
Harris^ 62, said he has acted
as “an agent” for the NOI in
its bid to receive a $1 billion
donation from Libyan leader
Colonel Moammar Gadhafi.
“Currently, I am acting as a
representative for the Nation
of Islam,” said Harris. “It hap
pens every day across the
nation, especially in the
North.”
Harris’s role is to plow
through bureaucratic red tape
that hinders access to the
money, which the NOI plans
to use to fund black-owned
banks and businesses and a
charitable foundation.
Farrakhan has said accep
tance of the donation will not
make him a puppet of the
Libyan government.
Farrakhan was also denied
permission by the government
to accept a $250,000 prize that
accompanied the Gadhafi
Human Rights Award. Past
winners include South African
President Nelson Mandela.
Hindering the application
process is Libya’s internation
al status. It has been under
international sanctions that
seriously curtail economic
activity and travel for the last
10 years. Libya was named a
terrorist nation after the
Reagan administration
aik'urd il. ciai tin-ii t was
behind terrorist bombings in
Rome and Vienna.
The trips raised the ire of
some members of Congress,
especially Rep. Peter King (R-
NOI patrol
Continued from page 1A
ment in New York, which has
increased its occupancy rate
from less than 5 percent to over
95 percent. Residents there told
The New York Times thdt since
the start of NOI • seciH-ity
sweeps, the neighborhood has
been made safer and drug traf
fic has all but ceased.
It is that reputation that
brought the FOI to the attention
of Fighting Back’s Donnie
Moore.
“The NOI is an effective group
of individuals,” said Moore.
‘They defuse situations in non
violent ways. They help by
bringing stability. I have
tracked the NOI for some time;
they have a good record.”
Already, FOI members have
been successful in patrolling
areas on Cummings Avenue.
“There was a lot of talk about
the NOI,” said Lee Faircloth of
Brown and Glen Realty. “We
have been working closely with
groups and leaders in the com
munity and the police depart
ment.”
Brown and Glen, which owns
or manages several westside
units, has entered into an
agreement with NOI. In return
for a rent free apartment, NOI
patrols Cummings Avenue.
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N.Y), who threatened to sub
poena Farrakhan to testify
before the body.
Harris, who stands to earn
as much as $70 million if the
deal goes through, says he
became involved with the mis
sion because of his commit
ment to African America.
He is one of the state’s
wealthiest black men, with
widespread business concerns.
“You need specific licenses,”
Harris said. “Whenever a
country is under sanctions, it
requires applications based on
specific requirements to be
submitted to the Treasury
Department. It is a long
process, that requires many
legal documents.”
The Clinton administration,
recently rejected the applica
tion.
“Yes, they denied it,” said
Harris. “But there are other
processes that you can go
through. I will discuss them
with Minister Farrakhan. I
personally think he will
receive the grant.”
Farrakhan has promised to
fight “the mother of all court
battles” to get the money.
Harris expressed concern
over what he referred to as
the disparity between the
sanctions against Libya and
Iraq, which continues to bene
fit from its international oil
trade despite its possible vio
lations of international
human rights initiatives in its
policy against the Kurds.
“Whites are still doing busi
ness with Iraq. White busi
nesses continue to prosper,”
he snid ’“TLoy i N.ploit /wk*
is.sur iridack> arc invoU’cd in
it as opposed to whites. The
problem is the Nation of Islam
and the amount of money.
“Try to work like white
folks,” he added. “You wind up
with problems.”
Hayes has also issued public
statements encouraging Hunt
to remove Harris from the
N.C. Railroad Commission.
“You take a person who is
running for governor of North
Carolina, who gets advice
from Peter King in New York
City, there’s a problem,”
Harris said.
The Hayes campaign denies
any contact with I^ng.
“I am sure that Rep. King
has better things to do than
work with a gubernatorial
race in North Carolina,” Duke
said.
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