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4A EDITORIALS/The Charlotte Post November 27,1996 tIClje Cliarlotte Published weekly by the Charlotte Post Publishing Co. 1531 Camden Road Charlotte, N.C. 28203 Gerald O. Johnson CEO/PUBLISHER Robert Johnson CO-PUBLISHER/ GENERAL MANAGER Herbert L. White EDITOR IN CHIEF Product of faith and strong family values Marian Wright Edelman I want to take time in this column to thank Dr. Samuel DeWitt Proctor for the wisdom he shares with us in his new book, “The Substance of Things Hoped For: A Memoir of African American Faith.” I was deeply moved by this book, as I always am by Sam Proctor, because his writings and sermons ground me with his realism and awe me with his infinite optimism and faith. Seun says that he, like miUions of black Americans, is “heir to the faith that “was bom the day 20 black captives were unloaded at Jamestown in 1619. Their slow, courageous joimiey fiom the Dutch slave boat to the present, in the face of unrelenting oppression, is the story of their faith.” That faith, he says, is what gave them the strength to endure physi cal bondage, and the power to prevail against evil and maintain the vision of a better day. It is his own fanuiys experience up from slav ery, he says, that makes the vision clear for him today. His father’s mother and his mother’s grandfather were born enslaved, physically but not spiri tually or mentally. His grand mother was still alive in 1955 when he became a college presi dent. As a child, it was difficult for Sam to see how his proud, intelli gent grandmother ever could have been someone’s propertyi Hte and his five brothers and sisters grew up in a strictly divided. South dur ing the Great Depression, riding segregated cars on trains, eating in segregated dining rooms, and using segregated bathrooms, all designed to diminish their sense of worth. As a child, it was difficult for Pwcidr to see how his proud,, intelligent grandmother could been ever have someone s property. But his grandmother’s pride and high expectations instilled in them a quest for excellence. Every one of them earned graduate degrees. His sister became a teacher, and his four brothers include an Air Force bandmaster, a dentist, a postal clerk, and an ophthalmologist. Sam’s varied accomplishments could never fit on one page. He succeeded Adam Cla5d»n Powell, Jr., as minister of Abyssinian Baptist Church of Harlem, and became a fidend and advisor to many whose names will ring through history, including Martin Luther Ring Jr., Medgar Evers and Jesse Jackson. He served in the Kennedy, Johnson, and Carter administra tions, worked in the Peace Corps when it was changing the world and in the Office of Economic Opportunity when it was changing our coimtry. He earned his doctorate of theology from Boston University, and became president of two colleges - his alma mater, Virginia Union and North Carolina A&T University. Lake so many black children, Sam was blessed with a loving and affirming family, neighbors and teachers, whose message was dear: You are called of God. Pride and self-respect, he says, “derive from the spiritual core with in,” and there is a need within every man and woman “for a strong religious faith and a world view that holds things together. If you believe that there is a pmpose and a power available to each of us, you have an inexhaustible source of evergreen inspiration.” In his book, Sam calls upon us to address “questions of our purpose and destiny” and presents us with the vision of a new model of love - respect for one another in a world without poverty, hunger, and hatred. He warns that “the crisis is upon us.” Violence and hopeless ness spiral together. Families disintegrate or never existed to begin with. Drugs and prisons are the future for so many of our children. Children, who should be dreaming of careers and homes and famihes of their own, are plaiming what to wear at their funerals. He says it is unacceptable when countless children, families, and communities are struggling to make it while some members of Congress propose radical, regressive, unfair, and anti-child provi sions, which leave millions more children destitute, hungry, and homeless. As oim society struggles to find solutions to poverty and violence, Sam reminds that “we must reach back and find ways to help others” who are “mired in poverty, edcohohsm, violence, and immorality — or the whole American nation may sink. This is the new tenet- of our faith.” We must be inspired to remember our faith and to fight for our chil dren’s families, education, just treatment imder the laws of the land, and strong morals that are lived and not just preached. The Substance of Things Hoped For is published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 200 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016. BennettsviUe, S. C. native MARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN is presi dent of the Children’s Defense Fund, and a leader of the Black Community Crusade for Children. For more information, call 1-800- ASK-BCCC. Charlotte’s lost sense of direction GERALD O. JOHNSON As I See Jt I was saddened to hear about the incident that led to the death of James WiUie Cooper. I did not know Mr. Cooper, but the circumstances surrounding his death have darkened the doud of doubt that lingers over the black community and its relationship with the Charlotte- Mecklenburg Police Department. The doud was helped along by the outcome of the 1993 Windy Gail Thompson shooting by a white police officer. The black community still has unan swered questions about the cir cumstances surrounding that shooting. It is deeply felt that the entire truth has not been revealed. Now, three years after that inddent, we are facing another white police officer shooting an unarmed victim who happened to be black. I feel strongly that the inddent needs close scruti ny. I am not convinced that an independent review committee is the right answer. Who would make up this commit tee? Who would they answer to? Who would pick the indi viduals to serve on the com mittee? I don’t see the need, but maybe it has merit. I have not been convinced. I think the current dty coun cil can review the findings and determine if the findings are reasonable. If people still feel the findings are not satisfacto ry, then they can hire attor- ne)fs to represent them. But what saddens me as much as the incidents afore mentioned is our reaction to them. The black community was outraged that for the sec ond time in three years h white officer has taken a black life. We have daily meetings to discuss this thing. The black communi ty has been outraged, the white community has been on pins and needles because we have had the second killing of a black citizen by a white police officer. Practically every black minister has felt compelled to speak on this situation. AU of our elected officials have risen to the occa sion to address this as an urgent issue. The city council meeting this week had more black people than I have ever seen at a coun cil meeting, aU because we have had the second killing of a black citizen by a white police officer in three years. Yet, we are killing each other at a rate of three per week. Black on' black crime has reached epidemic proportions. Where is the outrage? Why are we not up in arms about killings that are making our young men an endangered species? Why aren’t we singing this hymn from the pulpits? Why is the Rev. James Barnett a lone voice in the wilderness on “stop the killing” as it relates to us killing each other? Is a black fife only valuable when it is lost at the hands of a white person? I am saddened by the Cooper incident. My sympathy goes out to the Cooper family. I am sad dened for Officer Marlow and his family, who will have to live with this incident for the rest of their lives. I am deeply sad dened for a black community that continues to wear the men tal shackles of slavery. GERALD O. JOHNSON is publisher of The Charlotte Post. I fA iO uo ■in rif so JO :of li' IS 'ft di d A IfT (Mj ip i km - mlNUeiUTOf twe ftec^Nr fatal ^ /VtC'Ppl6T,TMe N£eD A C1MN& |$vieii/ g ^ MAVcpMAVNOT BeAD[){2eS5eD,„g£/he/Viael2 Noihinq is e-pHeD IN 6W. murn ncihinq-/ 1 Don RirigfiB b Creating a culture of rights in U.S. By Ron Daniels SPECIAL TO THE POST While it is important to strug gle to repair the tom and tat tered safety net of welfare and social programs in this coimtry, ultimately far more is needed to ensure a decent quality of life for every person who lives in this society. The concept of “inalienable rights” and the “pursuit of hap piness” as articulated in the Declaration of Independence must embrace the right to live firee of hunger, poverty, disease, homelessness, illiteracy, and pollution. It is interesting to note that despite the claim that America is the greatest nation in the world, most western industrial nations have a much higher standard of living for poor imd working people than the U.S. That standard of living is the result of a culture of rights - which provides a veiy generous range of welfare and social pro grams to take care of the needy, workers and, in some instances the middle class. For example, the U.S. is the only western industrialized nation that does not have a uni versal health care system to guarantee health care for all of its residents. In nations like Germany and France 8-10 weeks of paid vacation is virtu ally mandatory and there are generous provisions for unem- plo3rment compensation, hous ing, paid pregnancy leave, child care, elder care, transportation for the needy and assistance with utilities pa3rnients in the winter months for the poor. Many western nations also pro vide free pubhc education from pre-school through the coUege/university level. The culture of rights which has developed in other western democracies, however, did not evolve because of any inherent generosity by the ruling elites in these coimtries. The culture of rights emerged as a product of relentless and sustained stmg- gle by poor and working people in these nations. Virtually every other western industrialized nation has major socialist and conununist parties whose ideas of worker rights and egalitari anism permeate the society and command allegiance of sizeable ni R sectors of the population. lit. addition, thriving and powerful labor unions have not only led- - the struggle for improved wages and benefits for their members, but social welfare programs to ■ benefit poor and working people in general. The power of labod unions in other industrials democracies is bolstered by ai, weapon that labor unions in thCf, U.S. are forbidden by law to uti lize - the general strike. Private- and public sector workers can, back up their demands by para-p l3rzing an entire nation at wiU. ^ A decent standard of living for^ aU must not be seen as a privi lege, but a basic human right in the United States of America. ’ RON DANIELS is a Neuf York-based columnist and essay ist. ^ Are curfews for African Americans? By Naya Arinde NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBUSHERS ASSOCIATION Editor’s Note: Communities throughout the country are seek ing ways to address the crisis of juvenile crime. One controversial option is police-enforced teen curfews. While there have been no conclusive studies document ing the effectiveness of curfews as a deterrent to crime, an increasing number of municipal ities are introducing and tor have legislated curfew restric tions. The discussion in New York City echoes the debate taking place in large cities like Washington, D. C., Miami and Los Angeles, as well as smaller communities like Phoenix and Indianapolis. Curfews already in place are being heavily scruti nized and are being legally chal lenged for their constitutionali ty- “Surely a teen who breaks the law win not be concerned with breaking a curfew,” Councilwoman C. Virginia Fields told the Daily Challenge in response to the City Council’s proposed curfew on New York teens. Voicing strong disagreement with the city’s plan. Fields added, “What we should be doing is working towards a safer environment for our youth, not punishing them in advance for crimes they have not commit ted.” The city coundl contend that having juveniles out in public places between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. contribute to acts of delin quency. Members have there fore proposed curfew restric tions from 10 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday and 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday until 6 a.m. The proposal further states that youth remaining in a public place after 10 p.m. or the owner of a public establishment or a parent or guardian ‘allowing’ an under-age person to break the curfew will be in violation. The only noted exceptions are youth accompanied by a guardian; youth who are married or ‘emanicpated’ youth who are employed or traveling to or from work, school, religious establish ment or a recreational activity supervised by adults. A police officer would be empowered to escort the youth home or to the local precinct, or issue a summons. For a first offense the youth could recieve up to 25 hours of community service, while the owner of an establishment and a parent- guardian could be fined. Parents/guardiEuis may also be “required by the court to obtain counseling or attend classes to improve parenting and child-^ raising skills.” “The city does not belong in my house,” said Gwendolyn James, a Queens mother of two teenagers. “How can they tell me what time my young adults have to be home. Are we edging towards a police state?” 2 “After listening to testimon}^ on juvenile curfew laws at a recent City Council Public^ Safety Committee hearing, I an” more convinced than ever that such a law for New York City ia untimely and ill-advised,” Councilwoman Fields said recently. i “Why create oportunities td involve juveniles in the criminal justice system? Our goal should be to keep as many youth ad possible from coming in contact with this S3rstem,” she said. ? NAYA ARINDE is a National Newspaper Publishers Association columnist. '
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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