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4A EDITORIAL AND OPINION/tlje Cftatlotte jpost Thursday, June 30, 2005 Landrieu t!Cl)c Cljarlotte The Voice of the Black Community 1531 Camden Road Charlotte. N.C. 28203 Gerald (). Johnson ceo/publisher Robert L Johnson co-publi.sher/general manager Herbert L White EDITOR in CHIEF EDITORIALS Lynching ‘apology’ shows true colors Eai’lier this month, the U.S. Senate voted for a non-bindii^ resolution apologizing for its failure to pass legislation that would have made lynching a federal offense. The sponsors, Sens, Mary Landiieu (D- La.) and George Allen (R-Va.) no doubt had theii* heaits in the right place when they biwght the measure up. But it’s too little, too late. An apology — even a non-binding one — is a good gestui'e in terms of acknowledging the Senate’s role as accomplice in the shameful role lynching had in southern states until the late 1960s. Research at Iliskegee University, a pre dominantly black college in Alabama, confiims 4,743 black Americans were lynched, which doesn’t include those who never were accounted for. On thi*ee sepai'ate occasions in the 20th century, the House of Representatives passed anti-lynching legislation, but sinii- lai‘ measui*es never made it to a vote in the upper chamber because poweifiil southern senators — usually Democrats — made it a point to filibuster each and every one. Without southern support, the measures died. In the meantime, “sti’ange fiiiit” as the singer Billie Holliday called black bodies swinging fix>m trees in the South, continued to bear. Lynching is no longer a national issue, but it’s ironic that 15 senatore — mostly Republicans — couldn’t find the decency to support an apology that doesn’t carry the wei^t of law or com pensation for the victims or them families. Eighteen senators thi'ew theii’ support behind the measure after checking the political winds on the day of the vote, including North Caix)lina’s Elizabeth Dole. Ironically, her husband, foimer Sen. Robert Dole, was among the few Senate Republicans who con sistently graded beyond an “F’ on civil rights mattere. It is amazing that in 2005, there aie people in positions of power who aie too timid or mean-spiiited to ev«i acknowledge the wrongs done in the name of maintaining the status quo in this society America’s histoiy is replete with brave and heroic acts by all its peoples, but it has its share of shame, too. Lynching is an atixxity that proves humankind’s hoiror against itself The Senate, unfortunately can’t even unani mously agi’ee that it was worth a collective “oui’ bad” for its own callousness when facing an oppoi-tunity to addi’ess the issue. Maybe the chamber should’ve held a roll call vote to let the countiy and the world know exactly where each member stood on the issue. But that would’ve taken some courage, wouldn’t it? At Pughsley’s retirement, CMS needs to move ahead Tbday is Charlotte-Mecklenbuig Schools Superintendent James Pughsley’s final official day on the job. It’s worth noting that Mr. Pughsley has been a good steward of public education in the distiict, and his service deserves our thanks. Duiing Ml’. Pughsley’s three yeai's leading the state’s largest school district, challenges arose that would’ve crushed a lesser individual. Overax)wding, discipline and academic achieve ment of low-income students are now flash points. ^h*. Pughsley had to ju^e competing regional philosophies on what’s best for CMS and a dysfunctional school bo^md that still hasn’t developed a cleai’ vision for the district’s future. But it isn’t too late for CMS to get its act together. Fii'st, the board should take the due diligence to develop a cleai’-cut roadmap for the overall education experi ence in public schools. It should also take time to recruit a new superintendent who can deliver on that vision. Intei’im super intendent Frances Haithcock was an excellent choice to lead the district, and although she hasn’t expressed interest in the position, has the skills and personality to handle it. Regardless of where the superintendent search leads, CMS needs to get it ri^t. The heal’d also needs to get its act togetli- er in solving the issues that thi’eaten to put the district in a no- win situation that leads to fuiiher erosion of public confidence. Legal reality leaves N.C. no choice on minority vendors North Carolina lawmakers are mulling a bill that would move the state fiom a race and gender-based vendor program for highway contracts to a small-business model that would open the field to a wider demographic. Of course, that doesn’t sit well with black contractors, who say it’s an attempt to erode a tenuous grasp of N.C. DOT business. The biU. sponsored by N.C. Sens. Malcolm Graham and Charlie Dannelly of Charlotte would remove race-based goals fix)m the vendor program, which have proven to be on slippery legal footing in recent years. In order to keep the state out of court on the issue, Dannelly and Graham argue. North Carolina has little recourse other than take race out of the equa tion. Legally the state doesn't have much choice, considering the conservative climate in state and federal courts these days. In facing that reality we believe the state should do more to ensure that small businesses — especially those that historically have been imderutilized — get the help and incentives necessary to continue and build upon their role as suppliers to DOT. Pughsley Graham Dannelly MATTERS OF OPINION Declaration of war on the black press George E. Curry CHICAGO - When the National Newspaper Publishers Association held its 65th annual convention here last week, there was one topic that overshadowed the usual maneuverings to elect a new president and the perennial concern about the failure of major corporations that rely on black consumers to advertise in black newspa pers. The burning issue this year — and I do mean burn ing — was the disclosui’e that the New York Times plans to start an African-American newspaper in Gainesvfile, Fla. Black publisher’s fi'eely con cede that anyone has the right to start a newspaper. That is not the issue. What is so galling is that white- owned media companies that have done such an embai’- rassingly poor job of accurate ly poi’traying people of color on their pages and broadcast outlets are now seeking to supplant the only legitimate black media voices that have performed that task admirably for more than a century It is ari’ogant and ridiculous to think that news papers that primai’ily porti’ay Afiican-Americans as crimi nals, athletes and entertain ers will suddenly be able or willing to present Afiican- Americans in their full com plexity Equally culpable are com panies that refuse to adver tise in black-owned media but are willing to place ads with white-owned publica tions, broadcasts and Internet outlets targeting African-Americans. They should be pubHcly exposed and boycotted. In fact, every black newspaper should iden tify them each week so that Afiican-Americans will be able to support only corpora tions that respect and sup port them. The New York Times’ deci sion to compete with black newspapers is eJI about money Daily newspapers have been losing circulation for more than a decade, more classified ads are shifting to online portals and conglomer ates that purchase media ‘properties’ are pressuring them to become more prof itable. The Project for Excellence in Journalism at Columbia Univereity reports that only 22 corporations con trol 70 percent of daily news paper circulation. As a conse quence of mergers and dedin ing cii’culation, what often gets passed on to readers as news is pabulum. . There is also the issue of changing demographics. In • 50 years, whites are projected to become a minority in this country for the first time. Over that same period, the U.S. population is expected to gi’ow by 50 percent, with 90 percent of that growth being among people of color. So for economic reasons — this has nothing to do with altruism — the New York Times, NBC, Times Warner and other media giants are eager to add black and Latino publications and stations to their portfolio. We’ve already seen this with Time, Inc.’s decision to piu'- chase Essence magazine, Viacom’s purchase of Black Entertainment Television, American Online’s owner ship of Afiicana.com and Blackvoices.com, and a deri sion by NBC, a subsidiary of General Electiic Co., to pui’- chase Telemimdo, a U.S. Spanish-speaking cable net work, in 2001 for $2.7 biUion. One of the most important chai’acteristics of the black press is that it is a ti’usted source for news and perspec tives. Readere tui’n to the Black Pi’ess to get an alterna tive to white-owned media that routinely parrot the Establishment view and don’t offer, let alone understand, alternative perspectives. In 1978, the American Society of Newspaper Editors established a goal for the year 2000 of having newsroom employment be "equivalent to the percentage of minority persons in the national popu lation.” Although Afiican- Americans represent 12.5 percent of the populatioji. Blacks are only 5.4 percent of the nation’s newsrooms, according to a survey by the American Society of Newspaper Editors. Instead of achieving those goals, ASNE’s solution was to push the target date back to 2025. Rather than trying to sup plant black and Latino publi cations, white-owned media companies should show that they can improve their unbal anced coverage and increase African-American presence at all levels within their orga nizations. According to a recent Knight Fomidation study, people of color make up 30.9 percent of the New York Times’ cii’culation area. However, they comprise only 16.7 percent of the Times’ newsroom. The paper’s first responsi bility should be to have its newsi'oom miiTor the diversi ty of the community it is pledged to seive. If that hap pens, perhaps we wOl see more well-rounded poiiray- als of people of color. In the meantime, buying or creating black newspapere does not absolve white-owned media companies of that I'esponsi- bOity In ■ 1827, * Samuel Cornish and John B. Russwurm, foimdei’s of Freedom’s Journal, the nation’s first Black newspaper, pro claimed: ‘We wish to plead our own cause. Tbo long have others spoken for us.” Black people don’t need the New York Times or any other white-owned media company to speak for us. We do that quite weU ourselves. GEORGE E. CURRY is editor- in-chief of the NNPA News Service and BlackPressUSA.com. He appears on National Public Radio three times a week as part of ' 'News and Notes with Ed Gordon.” To contact Curry or to book him for a speaking engagement, go to his Web site, www.georgecurryxtom. Some life-changing statistics on AIDS By Phill Wilson NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBUSHERS ASSOCIATION Whether you noticed or not, something happened last week that ou^t to change your fife. It should rank amoi^ those lifelong mile stones, the ones where you always remember what you were doing when you found out. And no, Fm not talking about Michael Jackson’s acquittal. On Monday June 12, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that African- Americans represent about half of all people living with HIV in the country Half We’re only 13 percent of the population. We already know three quarters of new female infections are among Afiican- American women, who are getting HIV largely through sex. It gets worse. CDC also revealed a study—the first in a series that the agency hopes will give us unprece dented specifics about the number and nature of HIV infections in America—sug gesting that half of all Black homosexual and bisexual men are already positive. Meanwhile, improvemaits we once saw among youth are reversing. After declining by 30 percent throughout the 1990s, the number of new HIV infections among young men of all races shot up 41 percent between 1999 and 2003. For more than two decades now, AIDS activists have rightly asserted that this is not just any other disease. It’s a virus that preys upon the most mai’ginalized in our society As a result, infection continues to carry great deals of stigma. It is, after all, a sex ually transmitted disease, and one that is most likely to affect those who are having anal sex or using drugs. But on June 12 we entered a new era. We can no longer afford to trifle with the poli tics of America’s culture wars, whether they come fix)m the left or the ri^t. It is time that everyone, particularly African-Americans, take responsibility for this mon ster’s longevity Individuals, community organizers and poUcymak^ must all begin to hold themselves account able. As individuals, two things are clear. First, every Afiican- American who does not know whether he or she is HIV pos itive or negative has the abil ity to find out. Free, confiden tial testing is available in every part of this country Go find out your status. Be accountable. Second, every one of us who knows we are HIV positive have the ability to stop the virus’ spread, to not allow ourselves to be a link in the insidious chain. Similarly everyone who is negative has the ability to stay that way by taking responsibility for your own health Be accountable. The community oiganizers who have ri^tly taken the lead in HIV prevention to date must also accept the new reality We can no longer afford to spend our limited resources on initiatives that just make us all fe^ good. Our prevention campaigns must be acccamtable to scien tific standards; if we can’t show they work then we need to put our resources into what does. But accountability doesn’t stop there. Individuals and communities need support in their efforts, and govern ment—at both local and national levels—must be a far more responsible partner than it has been so far. The White House is push ing a $4 million cut to the CDCs HIV and STD preven tion budget for the coming fis cal year. That comes after two previous years of cutting an already measly budget. This as Washington prepares to hand out yet another round of billions of dollars in tax cuts to the wealthy Meanwhile, religion and politics rather than science continue to guide the federal government’s role in preven tion. An early 1990s regula tion prevents the CDC Jfrom fundir^ any prev^tion cam paign deemed to “promote” sex. Right-wing legislators have repeatedly used the bizarre rule to browbeat any community group trying to develop innovative interven tions that speak honestly about what is, I repeat, a sex; • uaUy transmitted disease. Washington has also begun shoving aside the school- based comprehensive sex education that has proven effective, in favor of improven abstinence-only curricula— which forbids any discussion of how to use a condom or avoid STDs once you are sex ually active. Politicians must get out of the way and let sci ence rule the day and we must hold them accountable when they don’t. PHILL WILSON is founder and executive director of the Black AIDS Institute in Los Angeles. Wilson has been living with HIV for 23 years. He can be reached at PhillwkBlackAIDSjorg.
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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June 30, 2005, edition 1
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