5A
OPINIONS/The Charlotte Post
November 27,1996
Black males mistreated in local shopping mall?
By Nora Chambers
SPECIAL TO THE POST
I was privileged to recently attend the African
American Male National Council and Summit in
Charleston, S.C.
This conference addressed several topics, and through
out there were negative statistics with which the black
males are often associated. None of us who attended
were Surprised, but what hurt then and still does now is
that too often this negativism often spills over into our
own race. We too have bought into what the media says
as well as sociely.
Even the word “nigger,’ which to us should be the worst
cuss word ever used, is spoken with affection as a term of
endearment. It was once said that if something is said
long enou^, we will start to believe it ourselves. I beg to
differ! “Tlatred, when planted in the minds of a people,
reaps a harvest of the same, and if you hate yourself, you
b^in to hate everything that looks like you.” And if we
are advised to love our neighbor as we love ourselves,
what type of behavior do you think our neighbors will
see?
My son visited Midtown Mall on Nov. 6 with three fam
ily members. All female. AH adult. While they shopped
for ladies fashions, he went to the Finish Line to look for
athletic wear. He was shopping for shoes for the basketr
ball season. His enthusiasm was brought to a shocking
halt when he was refused service by the sales attendant
on duty. It seems as if she would not allow him to tiy on
a pair of shoes based on no adult being with him, and
berause she didn't know if he was going to buy the shoes.
Moreover, this lady was then asked by the assistant
store manager to allow him to try on the shoes-, but she
refused, and walked away. My son then went to get my
sister and returned to the Finish Line where they were
both ignored by the sales attendant. It was my sister's
intent to take him back and confirm that he had adult
supervision and money for the shoes, but after her
behavior, she instead asked for the number to their cor
porate office. The assistant manager, who gave her the
information, was apologetic md stated that this behavior
was not the policy of their establishment and that they
were to let anyone who eisked tiy on shoes. Afl«rwards,
the sales attendant did apologue to my sister - but never
to my son.
This incident happened around 8 p.m. and when I
called the store the following Friday, I was told by the
store manager, they had ““plans” to reprimand the sales
attendant. I didn’t believe him. I do, however, beheve
they thought the incident wasn’t that important — or
that no further action woidd be taken. It is my behef it
was said to appease me when I asked for the corporate
address, phone number and CEO’s name. To date, I do
not have the information I requested, but was given the
Raleigh telephone number of a district manager, to
which I have had no response. The store manager echoed
the assistant manager in his apologies and store pohcy.
He said the sales attendant was probably having a “load
day.” He added, “Tm sorry it happened to your son,” to
which I responded, ““My son knows I am his mouthpiece.
and his advocate for injustice. I'm sorry for the other chil
dren who are treated this way and have no one to speak
on their behalf.” By virtue of the fact the sales rep still
had not been reprimanded by the time I called shows me
the Finish Line establishment perceives black youth in
the same negative light as the media. Also the attitude of
the Finish Line employees shows they were hired to per
petuate this negativity, after aU, employees mirror their
company's image.
A recent show aired the Nike sweatshops and the cruel
treatment of the employees. My son and I discussed
oppression and how it is wrong to even take part in the
purchasing of the Nike items. This was especially hard
on him because he loves the gear — and is still negotiat
ing with me on the decision. We discussed what would
probably happen if only black male teens stopped buying
their products. I wanted him to see the power of this
group in particular and what they could do when unified.
This week I cut up and returned my Texaco credit cards
because of racial slurs they openly made. That was hard
on me because of the convenience of credit cards.
Today, I sit and write about further injustice and
unfair treatment to a black male teen...done at the hands
of a black female. Nothing personal — but a matter of
principle. I never want my son to think it's not a big deal,
because it is. Until people become unified and together
oppose injustices done to one, the struggle will continue,
and if we choose to remain ignorant once enh^tened, we
lengthen the progress of aU. It is my personal duty to let
you know what your youth are in for if they visit the
Finish Line at Midtown Mall ““on bad day.”
To win election, Democrats are going conservative
By Andrew Cline
SPECIAL TO THE POST
RALEIGH - The mix of
Republican and Democrat tri
umphs in the 1996 elections has
caused rejoicing among many
critics of conservatism who
claim that the Republican victo
ries of 1994 were nothing more
than an electoral hiccup.
They rejoice prematurely.
This month’s elections show
that when conservatives of
either party stick to a positive,
conservative messEige and clear
ly communicate that message to
the voters, they win. The perfect
c$se in point: the North
Carolina governor’s race.
Gov. Jim Hunt has loads of
charisma and has convinced the
public that he’s conservative.
Riobin Hayes, unlike some
Iqwer-level conservative candi
dates, had no clear message
o&er than, “Tm a conservative,
Ifepublican businessman.” But
lots of people are conservative,
Repubhcan businessmen. That's
no criteria for becoming gover
nor. Voters want to see serious
governing agendas. Jim Hunt
had one, Robin Hayes did not.
Hayes could have learned a lot
from newly elected Wake
County district court judge
Anne Marie Calabria. Calabria,
in her first campaign for office,
became one of two non-incum
bent conservatives to win elec
tion in Wake County this year.
She did it by setting an agenda
and communicating that agenda
to the public.
Calabria created fliers embla
zoned with her name across the
top and a handful of bullet
points outiining what she would
work for as a judge. Her mes
sage: mediation over litigation.
A family attorney, Calabria
pledged that if electe^ she
would work to move jnore
■ divorce cases to mediation and
away fi'om litigation, in hopes of
keeping famfiies together or at
least avoiding nasty divorce
comt battles. Her opponent had
no message other than a party
label. The result: women voted
for Calabria in droves. During
the campaign, women often told
Calabria that she was the only
Republican for whom they
woiild vote.
NatuTEdly, this strategy works
only if the candidate has a vehi
cle for getting out the message.
Local or legislative candidates
often don’t have the money to
print detailed agendas as
Calabria did, and with a gener
ally hostile media, many candi
dates have a difficult time com
municating effectively to the
voters. To remedy this, conserv
atives have two options: spend
thousands of dollars each elec
tion trying to maneuver the
message arovmd or through the
filter of the media or become the
media.
Those who fund conservative
candidates have a tendency to
throvf all their money into t^
- high-profile races, leaving judi
cial, municipal and some legisla
tive candidates without a vehi
cle for spreading their message.
The result is that each year
many deserving candidates lose
to less conservative opponents
who receive editorial board
endorsements and more positive
coverage in the local press.
The answer to this problem is to
provide vehicles through which
conservatives can spread their
message to the public unfil
tered. This means funding
small, conservative publications
such £is The Citizen in Redeigh,
New Voice/New Generation in
Durham, Mountain X-Press in
Asheville, The Charlotte
Christian News and The
Rhinoceros Times in
Greensboro. It also means
developing better relationships
with the small, community
newspapers that are not strong
ly leftist. These little papers are
widely read and can serve as an
effective springboard for gaining
the attention of editors and
reporters at the larger papers. If
there’s one thing a big city edi
tor hates, it’s getting scooped by
a small town rival.
It is no accident that conserva
tives have a difficult time com
municating their agendas when
they have no strong allies on the
editorial staffs of most large
media outlets. The only way to
combat this problem is to esta'o-
lish alternative sources of infor
mation. But doing so requires
money, which means that those
activists who pump all their
money into high-profile candi
dates must rethink their strate
gies.
How would that money be bet
ter used, by funding one candi
date or by establishing a perma
nent conservative voice in the
community? If the candidate is
defeated, there will be no one to
get out the conservative mes
sage until the next election. On
the other hand, if activists were
to focus their efforts on estab-
hshing alternative pubhcations
through which conservatives
could inform the public on a reg
ular basis, the probability of
winning future elections would
be greatiy increased because the
public would have continual t
access to unfiltered conservative
ideas.
ANDREW CLINE is director
of publications at the conserva
tive John Locke Foundation, a
non-profit, non-partisan public
policy think tank in Raleigh.
Evaluate the present, critique the past, plan for future
, By Lyle G. Russwurm
SPECIAL TO THE POST
As we move into the next mil
lennium, I personally feel we
must evaluate our present con
dition and subjectively critique
(Air past.
It is obvious we have made
progress during this millenni
um, but the question is, have we
achieved social and economic
equality? The answer to this
question is “No.”
Our collective accomplish
ments don’t compare to the
overall condition of most Afiican
Americans. Most African
Americans are trapped living
finm check to check, only a few
missed checks and they are
homeless. We are stiU the most
abused race of people in the
United States. Our justice sys
tem clearly discriminates
against our people. The point:
how long will we allow our cdnl-
dren to face these social injus
tices before we stand together,
united. The reason why we are
stiU social pawns and have not
greatly improved our social c»n-
dition during this century is as
follows: Poor leadership; lack of
unify,and discrimination, which
manifests itself through racism.
Most white Americans believe
racism exists only in the mind of
minorities. Apparently, we feel
it is a mmor concern because we
allow it to continue with little or
no protest. For some time I have
advocated for an annual nation
al strike day, for aU minorities
to protest racism and the long
term effect it has created for
minorities, especially African
Americans. This protest day
would address these concerns:
unity, leadership cmd our fims-
tration with our social system
which promotes racism.
To achieve this, our leaders
must agree to work together for
a common goal, organize and
finance this enormous under
taking. The goals are simple.
Select one day where we show
the world that African
Americans are united behind
our leaders, to achieve social
and economic equality during
the next the millennium.
Imagine for a second, over 20
million African Americans,
other minorities and whites
across this country who refuse
to go work or school and who
are organized and protesting at
each state capital and aU major
cities. This would not only shock
the world, this would also shut
the United States down for one
day each year. The power ehte
would start changing the way
they treat minorities in the
United States because this
would cost Corporate America
millions of dollars.
This annual national protest
day should continue until all
minorities achieve social and
economic equahfy. The journey
from slavery to physical free
dom took over 400 years, to
remove the shackles of social
injustice may take another him-
dred years. But we must start
this journey today, by abandon
ing our passive and compromis
ing approaches to achieving
social equahfy and adopt more
aggressive yet non-violent
approaches to solve our social
problems.
I am but one man, but collec
tively we are the foimdation of
black power. I only hope and
pray our leaders have the
courage and the wisdom to
unite. Anything can be achieved
through God, faith and unity.
LYLE G. RUSSWURM lives in
Lithonia, Go,
Citizen review necessary
By Philip M. Davis
SPECIAL TO THE POST
I support the call by several
community leaders to have an
independent investigation of the
shooting of James Willie
Cooper. I further call on the
Charlotte City Council to set up
a citizens panel which wUl have
an input into any future investi
gations of pohee shootings. It is
it best difficult to accurately
investigate oneself, no matter
how thorough the investigation
inaybe.
i The Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Police Department is no excep
tion to the fact that any organi
zation will ““close-ranks” when
investigating one of its own.
E In light of the recent shootings
by officers of the department,
now seems to be the right time
to take action and involve out
side agencies and citizens in the
investigations to eliminate any
community perception of a
““cover up.” With the tensions
erupting in Florida, we must
realize that Charlotte is not far
behind.
Had Mr. Cooper been a white,
south Charlotte or University
area resident, I believe that
white citizens and clergy would
have been outraged and would
take swift actions to ensure that
it never happened again. I caU
on the white clergy and chiuch
leaders of this community to
raise a voice for justice, harmo
ny and unity by calling on our
police department and elected
officials to set up an indepen
dent citizens review panel for
such cases.
It is easy for us ta talk about
racial unity, harmony and rec
onciliation, however it cannot
happen until we take a stand
united against obvious injustice.
There is no excuse for the shoot
ing of an imarmed black father
who was doing the right thing,
taking care of his daughter.
This type of poUce brutality can
not be tolerated, by black minis
ters, white ministers or the
churches of this county. True
brotherhood means being will
ing to stand with one another
during tough times, no matter
what the cost. Just as we stand
against the murder of innocent
children imder the disguise of
abortion, we must also stand
against the murder of innocent
black fathers.
REV. PHILIP M. DAVIS is
senior pastor of Nations Ford
Baptist Church in Charlotte.
How much color in Cabinet?
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER
PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
How many African
Americans will be in the sec
ond-term administration?
That’s the big question that
is being asked by African
American leaders who were
active and instrumental in the
re-election of President
Clinton. In his first term.
President Clinton emphasized
the importance of having a
racially and cultm-ally diverse
cabinet reflective of the
American population. Five
African Americans were
appointed ta his first cabinet:
Ronald H. Brown, Secretary of
Commerce; Hazel O’Leary,
Secretary of Energy; Mike
Espy, Secretary of
Agriculture; Jesse Brown,
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
and Lee Brown, Director,
Office of National Drug
Control Policy.
Brown was killed in an air
plane crash; Espy was forced
to resign due to allegations of
receiving gifts from a major
company and Brown resigned
to accept another job.
O’Leary has tendered her
resignation, leaving- two
African Americans in the cabi
net: Frankhn Raines, director
of the Office of Management
and Budget and Jesse Brown.
Texas state Rep. A1
Edwards, chairman of the
Democratic National
Committee’s Black Caucus
said: ““The President is very
aware that the black vote was
a decisive factor again in win
ning the presidency...we who
helped to elect him cannot
afford to stand by idly while
other constituent groups lobby
frantically to get their people
in the cabinet. We now must
be as aggressive in lobbying
the President and his advisors
as we were in helping to get
him elected. This is part of the
same politiced process.”
Letters To The Post
Paul Robeson a
model of human
decency to all
To all males who recently
voted for either Jesse Helms
or Strom Thurmond in the
1996 elections, I would like
you to become acquainted
with a man who lived life as
it is meant to be lived. The
man is Paul Robeson.
His accomplishments
include: two-time football All-
American; Phi Beta Kappa,
Rutgers University class
valedictorian graduate;
Columbia University Law
School graduate; a great
singer and actor for 30-plus
years, and fluent in 20-plus
languages. Mr. Robeson
spoke in strong favor of black
American equahty/liberation
and the freedom of African
colonial states. He also
praised the Soviet Unioa
Mr. Robeson’s
potitical/social stances started
in the late 1930s and contin
ued until his death in 1976.
Mr. Robeson, like his succes
sors, Martin Luther King,
Malcolm X and countless
other black persons was
placed under constant FBI
surveillance for years. His
phone lines were tapped. The
federal government clmmed
that Robeson was either a
communist or a communist
sympathizer. The govern
ment, dominated by anti
labor and racist conserva
tives, never brought criminal
charges against Robeson even
though it was able ta gener
ate years of mindless fear
through ““red baiting” which
led to the needless destruc-
.tion of thousands of fives.
It took away his passport
which led ta an income reduc
tion of about $5,000 per year.
The basis for taking his pass-,
port, per legal briefs filed hy
the State'DepBfrttaeritV whi
that Robeson injured the
interest of the nation by
pushing for the independence
of colonial Afiican states and
speaking for the liberation of
American blacks. The govern
ment engaged in many other
actions designed to destroy
Robeson’s livefihood/reputa-
tion/fife.
Robeson survived these acts
in a remarkable fashion in
that he maintained his opti
mism and never surrendered
hisbefiefo. His racist contem
poraries, such as Bilbo and
Eastland, drowned in their
poisons. Other racist »ntem-
poraries such as U.S. sena
tors Thurmond and Helms
continue ta spew their poison.
Persons who support either
Thurmond or Helms or both
are spiritually dead; they just
do not know it. Both
Thurmond and Helms, when
compared to Robeson, are
specks of dirt at the bottom of
Moimt Everest.
So conservative males, look
within yourselves; reject the
fallacious conservative rea
soning which limits your out
look; abandon your mind
numbing fears of fife, those
who are different and the
unknown. Look ta Robeson’s
fife for guidance and become
living men for the first time
in your adult fives.
Michael A. Sheely
Charlotte
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