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OPINIONS/Charlotte $o0t
Thursday, September 28, 2006
My friends are
being tortured in
Zimbabwe
Several yeai^ ago I and a number of other African-
Americans came under attack for our public criticism of
Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe and his repressive
regime.
Some African-American activists who have been out
standing champions of the stru^e for national liberation
thou^t that it was, at best, inappropriate and at worst
treasonous, for people such as Africa Action’s Salih Booker,
the Coalition of Black Ttade Unionists’ Bill
Lucy and me (at that time, president of
TtansAfrica Forum), to challenge the prac
tices of an allegedly anti-imperialist individ
ual and government.
At the same time, we received consider
able suppcat—quiet support I should add—
from other African-Americans who were
pleased that we had spoken out, thou^ they
were imcomfortable beir^ public in their
support. Since that time, in part because of
• the manner in which our criticism was so successfully car-
icaturized by our opponents, I have been cautious in my
comments
- Tbday I throw caution to the wind. Very recently, lead
ers of the Zimbabwe Congress of Ttade Unions, (ZCTU),
individuals who in many cases have long and distin
guished histories going back to the national liberation war
(1966-1979), individuals I have come to know and respect,
were arrested by the Mugabe government.. Some of them
have been tortured while in captivity This cannot go on.
We cannot remain silent.
, President Mugabe was a hero for many of us as one of the
chief leaders of the Zimbabwe freedom struggle. He put
his cormtry on the.hne, upon its liberation, in supporting
'the anti-apartheid liberation stn^gle in South Africa. Yet,
over the years something has gone terribly wrong. Instead
of proceeding forward on a revolutionary transformation of
Zimbabwe that would increase the power of the workers
and farmers, something else slowly unfolded. Those clos
est to President Mugabe came to be the principal recipi
ents of the benefits of liberation.
For many of us in Black Ameiica, Zimbabwe dropped off
die ‘radar screen’ until the land seizures that took place a
few years back. These seiziu^s of land finm many White
farmers were heralded by a considerable number of
African-Americans as a step toward full liberation. Yet, few
of us stopped to ask who was getting the land and what
was happ)ening to the African farmworkers who had
(worked the land? Such questions seemed inconvenient at
'best. So, two equations began to emerge as a way of silenc
ing any opposition. The first went like this:
President Mugabe is seizing the land of White
farmers; this helps to rectify the situation that has existed
since the land was stolen in the 19th century, therefore,
anyone who aiticdzes President Mugabe is actually a sup
porter of the White farmers.
The second equation that emerged, particularly after
President Bush and British Prime Minister Blair got into
the fray with Iheir criticisms of President Mt^abe, looked
like this:
President Bush is a maniac attemptir^ to dominate the
world; President Mugabe criticizes President Bush for his
global aggression; therefore. President Mugabe must be on
the side of justice and anyone criticizing President Mugabe
must be an ally of President Bush.
I wish that politics were that simple. When I briefly vis
ited Zimbabwe in late 2004 and spoke with leaders of the
Zimbabwe Cor^ress ofTbade Unions—a room full of Hack
faces fiom the working class—it was dear that politics is
never that easy 'They do not want Bush and Blair to inter
vene in Zimbabwe any more than I do, but they do want
justice.
The ZCTU has led a stru^.e against both the increasing
immiserization of the Zimbabwe workers brou^t on, ini
tially at least, by the faulty economic polides of President
Mugabe’s government. In addition, the ZCTU has been
central to the stn^gle for democracy They have dared to
raise criticisms, only to be painted as allies of imperialism
by those who in the past had no difficulty sitting in the
comfortable rooms of the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund developir^ economic pohdes
that do not benefit the Zimbabwean people. The ZCTUs
continued stn^gle against harsh economic conditions has
now landed their leaders in jail and subject to—what does
the Bush administration call it in Guantanamo?—^treme
pressiare.
We stand on the shoulders of those who have come before
us, as goes the famous saying. Yet, we cannot be trapped
by those same shoulders. What was once done - actions
taken, coiuage displayed — is always important, but it is
not necessarily reflected in what one is doing today
BILL FLETCHER, is a long-time international and labor writer
and activist. He is currently a visiting professor at Brooklyn
CoUege-CUNY and is the immediate past president of TransAfrica
Forum.
Time for an upgrade
at the ballot box
By Harry C. Alford
NAT/ONAL NEWSPAPER PUBUSHERS ASSOCIATION
Collectively we Afiican-Americans have been voting as a bloc
since the late 1960s as the Voting Ri^ts Act began being imple
mented throughout the South and other venues. We have been
very kind, espedally to the Democratic Party and to anyone black
running for a local office.
We have elected officials who have spent an entire career in some
slots without having anything of substance to claim as an accom
plishment. Afiican-Americans have been the least selective and
least demanding of all blocs of voters. Poverty crime, legal injus
tice, unfair taxation and imemployment have become household
terms to us and for some reason we accept it. We do not hold our
elected officials accountable, especially the Hack ones.
This November, I propose we do something radically difiHent. If
things aren’t noticeably better than they were at the last Hection
we should make big changes. Upgrade your local officials by vot
ing in new ones who claim they can do better. Give the new ones a
one term chance. If they ^cceed they can have another shot at it.
If they don’t succeed send them packing also. It is tims to run our
elections like a tightly-run business. Maybe then our plight will
improve.
Many of our communities have black mayors, chiefe of police, fire
chiefs, school superintendents and school board members, dty'
coimcil members, coimty commissioners, sheriffs, district attor
neys, etc. etc. Yet, we have double-digit imemployment while the
American average is 4.2 percent. We have children
who are fimctionally illiterate. Our children, espe
cially boys, are unjustly represented in court and go
off to jail needlessly We are taxed to the neck and
get little government service in return. 'Things are
bad and someone black either did it or let it happai.
Why do we continuously reelect them or in succes
sion elect their children or apparent heirs? No
longer can we blame “The Man.” It is on us.
How ludicrous is it when a locally-elected official
Obama
proclaims that a construction project has been declared “union
only” when there is no one in his district or precinct who belongs
to any construction union. Negro please! You just secured total
imemployment for the people who have Hected you. How sick it is
when school board members meet continuously while students
cannot learn the fimdamentals of reading, writir^ and beisic math.
In Detroit, the school system received millions of dollars in new
books and it took years to deliver them from the warehouse to the
classrooms. Why do we put up with such incompet«ice? Let’s
tiirow them out and get some foreword-thinking leaders.
'The biggest rip off to the residents of “chocolate cities” around the
nation is professional sports stadiums. BiUions of dollars have
been appropriated for the erection of stadiums that replace per
fectly fine existing ones. 'The money is raised through industrial or
revenue bonds that are, in effect, tax increases upon the residents
of those cities. The work benefit (jobs/contracts) goes to people and
compames iliat do not reside or pay taxes within those cities.
Those hotels and restaurants around the new stadiums are not
owned by any resident of the affected city 'The vast majority of the
fans who wfll enjoy the sporting events come from the subiubs and
rural areas that do not have to pay a cent in the tax burden. 'Thus,
it is total exploitation. Outsiders get the thrill and the Black resi
dents get the bill. Vote out anyone who supports another tax-sup
ported stadium deal.
After you clean up the “local trash,” begin evaluating the state
and federally-elected officials. Heis your governor done something
about prison reform? If not, vote him out. What has he done about
your state’s healthcare delivery system and affordable service? If
not enough, vote him out! Call the local office of your congression
al and senate office and see how they voted on the renewal of the
Voting Rights Act. If they voted against it (including earlier
amendments to cripple it), vote him/her out! Do they support affir
mative action? If not, vote them out! It is imperative that we put
pertinent issues on their mind so that they can adequatHy think
these issues out and do the right thing,
That is why a Corey Bcwker in Newark and a Barack Obama of
Illinois excite us all. They bring fi^sh air and dare to lead. This is
what America needs. No longer, in this dangerous world, can we
afford to have followers instead of leaders. Those who go alor^ to
get along or do not think at all cannot sit in places that require peo
ple who can act on behalf of the voters who put them in office. Vote
them out!
HARRY ALFORD is the president/CEO of the National Black Chamber of
Commerce, Inc. He can be reached via e-mail at president@nalionalbcc.org
or through his organization's Web site, wwwnaiionalbccarg.
Upgrade your local officials by
vofing in new ones who claim
fhey can do betfer. Give fhe new
ones a one ferm chance. If fhey
succeed they can have another
shot at it. if they don't succeed
send them packing also.
Students lack
understanding
of education
By Paul H. Hailey
SPECfAL TO THE POST
The article by professor Sherman Miller in the Aug.
31 edition of'The Post casts light on one of several fal
lacies and troubling characteristics of not only sec
ondary schools but American education in general.
After 25 years in college teaching and 15 years in
public school, I concluded that many students go to
school without ever establishing in their own minds a
real connection between a solid education and the
quality of life they can establish for themselves dm'-
ir^ their adult years. Consequently these young peo
ple - primarily through innocence - go to school
because it is the politically correct place to be rluring
these years (including the college years). Allow me to
share here a few of the most indelible impressions
that I received which engender a twisted culture set
for many young people.
In public schoH teaching there was a requiiement
for each student to have a spiral-bound notebook for
the class. For certain notebook assignments I would
ask the student to have their parent or guaidian sign
on the line provided below my comments aftei* I had
checked the assignment. 'This comment would rarely
be a request to leave home to drive for a conference or
meeting; just sign to indicate that you have been
made aware of what the child is doing and my assess
ment of his or her efforts.
I found after 12 yeai's of using that approach, most
parents would not sign (majbe as high as 80 percent).
Also, the ones most likely to come to'the school (or
call) at the end of the term and have a tantium
because their child did not leceive an A or B in the
. Our young people in college (particulaiiy fii-st-gen-
eration college students) are often peiplexed. theii*
impression of college is often little more than a pro
jection of impression fium populai' cultuie. 'They
enter testing in quite often at grade 8 or below on
standardized reading tests. Many graduate reading
as high as the ninth or lOth grade, which indicates
that there is nothing wrong with the students’ learn
ing apparatus, the deficit is fuither exasperated by
the fact that relatively few, if any colleges have reme
dial readir^ clinics as required “courses” for the stu
dents who do not do well on the Nelson-Denny and
other standardized assessment-placement tools.
Perhaps the most egi'egious of the quirks and
. anomalies in college education is in grading College
instructors ai-e required for each class they teach to
give each student a sjllabus for the course. 'This syl
labus is supposed to include a section on grading
schemes which should include such data as weights
given to tests, repoids, etc. and what raw score a stu
dent must acquire to earn his grade.
This is where the trouble is amplified. Call it the
curse of the computer. 'The teacher pre-arranges in
his computer file the same scheme that coiresponds
with the statement on the sjilabus. Using that same
configuration at the end of the term, the teacher
turns to his computer to calculate the student’s
numeiic and letter grade. Some students will not
stand for that! The student who has cut class, failed
some tests and missed other tests will then, like the
non-signing high school parent, throw a tantium and
even appeal and protest grades to the administi’ator.
The teacher now becomes loser-victim because he
must spend countless hours in meetings witii depart
ment chairpersons and others explaining why the
student is not receiving the A or B that he or she
wanted.
We should all be proud of our young people. Many
complete their degree work and go on to a great ser
vice to humanity However, they could reach even
hi^er achievements - and they can do it - if the edu
cation culture would fully understand and lift itself
out of its delusions and contradictions.
Former Johnson C. Smith University professor PAUL H.
HAILEY lives in Huntersville.
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