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EDITORIAL AND OPINION/Charlotte $ogt
Thursday, December 28, 2006
tlTIje Cljarlotte
The Voice of the Black Communify
1531 Camden Road Charlotte. N.C. 28203
Gerald O. Johnson ceo/publisher
Robert L Johnson co-publisher/general manager
Herbert L White editor in chief
OPINIONS
Celebrating
Kwanzaa
celebradng
community
The Nguzo Saba, or seven principles, are the framework of a
Kwanzaa celebration. Dr. Karenga explains that they are the
key building blocks of community in general. Each day during
Kwanzaa focuses on one of these principles and reminds cele
brants to I’ecommit to that value: ‘TJmoja (unity), to strive for
and maintain unity in the family, community nation and race.
Kujichagulia (sdf-determination), to define ourselves, name
ourselves, create for oxxrselves and speak for ourselves.
Ujima (collective work and responsibility), to build and main
tain our commimity together and make our brothers and sis
ters’ problems our problems and to solve them together.
Ujamaa (cooperative economics), to build and maintain our
own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them
together.
Nia (purpose), to make oiu- collective vocation the building
and developing of om' community in order to restore om' people
to thefr traditional greatness.
Kuumba (creativity), to do always as much as we can, in the
way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful
and beneficial than we inherited it.
And imani (faith), to believe with all our heart in our people,
our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness
and victory of our struggle.”
Not everyone celebrates Kwanzaa but these values contain
many universal principles for building strong communities.
Kwanzaa ends on New Year’s Day in the Kwanzaa celebration,
the Day of Meditation. Many people already spend New Year’s
Day thinkir^ about how they can resolve to improve them
selves during the next year.
But imagine if this year we all resolved to take steps to
improve our communities instead. Imagine if every cbi)d in
this nation were being raised in a community resolved to see-
ii^ any member’s problems as everyone’s problems and solving
them together, or to raakir^ sitre that all community members
hve together harmoniously and support each other in their
common goals, or that every community decision would leave
the community healthier and more beautiful tomorrow than it
is today What kinds of places would these communities be for
oiu childi'en and, by extension, for all of us?
During a traditional Kwanzaa celebration muhindi, ears of
corn, are laid on a mkeke, a straw mat. The mat symbolizes
African peoples’history and traditions, and the corn symbolizes
children and the future. Families place one ear of com on the
mkeke for each child in the household, but they’re instructed to
put at least two ears down even if they don’t have children,
because in African tradition every adult is considered a parent
to every child in the community
Many people talk about this belief, but imagine if every one
of us I'eally put it into action. And then imagine what kind of
a world we could birild for- our children if om- local, national,
and global communities all committed to making it our most
impor-tant commurrity value.
During that final Day of Meditation in Kwanzaa, people are
supposed to ask themselves three questions: ‘Who am I? Am
I r-eaUy who I say I am? And am I aU I oirght to be?’ Everyone
answer’s these questions as an individual, but then- answers
should r'eflect how well they are playing their pai-t in making
tlieir- community function as a whole and with justice. A per
son’s success is deeply cormected to how much value they are
giving to otlier-s. At a time when our childi-en desperately need
adults to reweave the fabric of family and community for them,
all of us need to think and ask ourselves these questions.
Are we all that we-ought to be?
Bennettsville. S.C.. native MARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN is
president and founder of the Children's Defense Fund.
The Nguzo Saba, or seven
principles, are the framework of
a Kwanzaa celebration. Dr.
Karenga explains that they are
the key building blocks of
community in general.
During the last week of December, many black families and
communities observe Kwanzaa. Kwanzaa is a unique celebra
tion because it’s not a religious or national holiday but a cul
tural one. It doesn’t celebrate a person or an event but a set of
ideas. In a year when Americans have heard a lot about “val
ues,” values are what Kwanzaa is aU about.
Maulana Karenga, the originator of Kwanzaa,
explains, “There is no way to understand and
appreciate the meaning and message of
' Kwanzaa without understanding and appreciat
ing its profound and pervasive concern with val
ues. In fact, Kwanzaa’s reason for existence, its
length of seven days, its core focus and its foun
dation are all rooted in its concern with values.”
And the values Kwanzaa celebrates and asks
people to live up to aren’t about individual pri
vate behavior but the values a community needs
to be strong and thrive.
James Brown the superstars’ superstar
AUGUSTA, Ga. - I was
headed here to spend several
days with my mother over
the holidays when I heard the
news that James Brown had
died of congestive heai-t fail-
lare caused by pneiunonia
early Christmas morning at
an Atlanta hospital.
My first reaction was one of
disbehef “’Please, Please,
Please,” I kept
singing. ‘’Don’t
go, I love you
so.” Yes, I love
me some J-a-
m-e-s B-r-o-w-
n. Since record
ing “’Please,
Please, Please”
in 1956, he has
been at the top
of my hit list.
He sang, “’Try Me,” and
now, 800 hits later, I am still
doing just that.
At the improvised home tal
ent shows in the early 1960s
with my three yoimger sis
ters — Charlotte, Chris and
Sue — we would try to make
one another laugh by imitat
ing famous entertainers.
Chris could always crack me
up with her rendition of Ray
Charles.
Between the sunglasses,
broom stick and side-to-side
rocking, Chris could always
make me laugh imtil I cried.
When it was my turn. Big
Brother No. 1 had to, in clas
sic James Brown fashion, put
on a show. With my right foot
firmly planted, my left one
slightly off the floor, I would
suddenly drop the left one
and ^de across the floor. I
would slide to the ri^t, ghde
backward on the "Good Foot”
and then drop to my knees
and biurst into, “’Please,
Please, Please.” By then, I
would have broken into a
“’Cold Sweat” and one of my
sisters, playing the part of
'Bobby Byrd, would drape a
shirt, towel or whatever was
nearby that could serve as a
cape and comfort me until I
could rise to my feet.
By the time I stood upright,
I would throw the cape off
and resume my James
Brown routine. In short, we
had a ‘Thnky (Gtood Time.”
In the late 1960s, while
spending a few months with
Hiram Crawford, a cousin in
New York CTity, I went to the
Apollo Theater almost every
week. Whenever “’the
Hardest Working Man in
Showbusiness” appeared at
the ApoHo, hnes would extend
along 125th Street in Harlem
and wrap around the block.
One night it was rainirg and
I, like hundreds of others,
stood in the rain in order to
see JB.
Waiting in hne, I developed
a friendship with Steve
Woods and his sister. We
talked about how insane it
was for us to be standing in
the rain, but neither of us left
our place in hne. We laughed
and joked until the long hne
finally inched up to the ticket
window.
We e^erly moved inside,
took our seats, and waited for
the star of the show to mako
his grand entrance. After the
warm-up acts, Danny Ray
the announcer would say "It’s
Star Time” and then tick off a
hst of James Brown hits:
Please, Please, Please; Try
Me; Night 'TVain; Prisoner of
Love; Papa’s Got A Brand
New Bag; I Got The Feeling;
Cold Sweat; It’s a Man’s
World; Say It Loud — I’m
Black and I’m Proud; Give It
Up Or Thm It Lose; Popcorn;
Hot Pants; The Big
Payback...” After the big
buildup, Ray wotdd say
“’Ladies and Gentlemen,
Jaaa-aaaaames
Rrownnnnnnnnnnnn, James
Brown, James Brown.” By
then, we’d aU be mesmerized,
standiig, yelling and scream
ing to the top of our voices.
James Brown was energy
in motion, the ultimate show
man. He was a singer, dancer,
songwriter, and bandleader,
aU rolled into one. It was hard
to determine where one role
began and the other ended.
His official biography in the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
notes, “’This much is certain:
what became known as soul
music in the ‘60s, funk music
in the ‘70s and rap music in
the “80s is directiy attribut
able to James Brown.”
He was the superstars’
superstar. Elvis Presley, Mick
Jagger, David Bowie and
Michael Jackson all mimic
ked James Brown, some
more successful than others.
Even his various run-ins with
police were entertaining.
In 1988, Brown, armed
with a shotgun and said to be
high, on drugs, entered an
insurance seminar next to his
Augusta office and accused
some of the participants of
using his private restroom.
Police chased James Brown
for 30 minutes finm Augusta,
across the South Carolina
line, and back into Georgia.
The'di-ama ended when cops
shot out tile tires on JB’s
truck. That escapade cost
him 15 months in prison and
10 months in a work release
program.
My favorite James Brown
story involves not the enter
tainer, but Adrienne, his
third wife. Fightng several
traffic tickets, her lawyer
filed a petition in court claim
ing she should be extended
diplomatic immunity because
her husband was the official
ambassador of soul. The peti
tion was later withdrawn
before a judge could rule
against it. Because diplomat
ic immunity shields only vis-
• iting diplomats from criminal
prosecution in a host country
— and James Brown was in
his native land — if a judge
had consid«:ed the petition,
he would have been left,
“Bewildered.”
I won’t get a chance to see
him perform hve anymore,
but at least IH have his music
as a rehable travel compan
ion. And as long as I can have
that, “’I Feel Good.”
GEORGE CURRY is editor in
chief of the National
Newapaper Publishers
Association News Service.
Can America handle breakthrough candidates?
By Eugene Robinson
THE WASHINGTON POST
For the moment let’s
assume that we’ve come far
enou^ to seriously consider
electing the fii-st U.S. presi
dent who can be described
without using both the adjec
tives “white” and “male.”
Who has the bettei- chance of
breaking thi-ough, Hillary
Clinton or Barack Obama?
Obviously the leading con
tenders for the Democratic
nomination have plenty of
qualifications other than race
and gender — Clinton’s
unique experience and
tremendous pohtical savvy
Obama’s ability to move peo
ple with his stunning elo
quence. I think the old rule of
thiunb still applies: Women
and minorities don’t reach
the top just by being as good
as anybody else; they have to
be better.
Still, you almost want to
feel sorry for someone hke
John Edwards, who’s both
experienced and eloquent —
but isn’t being splashed all
over magazine covers. He has
the misfoi'time to be lunning
in an election cycle when his
major rivals are alreadymak-
ing history, at least for now.
It makes sense that Clinton
is still leading the polls. She
has been competing in poli
tics at the hipest level since
before Obama became an
Illinois state legislator.
With one exception, she has
done eveiything r^ht. The
way she gained power and
influence in the Senate was
remarkable, given how skep
tical her colleagues were
when she anived. She knew
when to defei' and when to
asseiT herself, as women in
corporate America have had
to learn. She has enough
campaign money in the bank
to weather any imaginahiA
storm, and enou^ pledges of
fealty fix)m Democratic Party
gi-andees to make her stiff the
odds-on favorite. And she has
the cleverest politician in the
country — that would be her
husband. Bill — as animpaid
adviser.
Also going for Hillary
Clinton is the fact that other
Western democracies have
become accustomed to seeing
women in charge —
Maigaret Thatcher, Angela
Merkel — but not racial
minorities.
Clinton has two big piob-
lems, though. First is that
“one exception” I mentioned
earlier — Iraq. Her support of
the war neutralized the issue
of whether a female president
could be sufficiently martial,
but that tiuTied out to be the
wrong position, and she’s still
stiaiggling to get \mstuck.
The other problem is that
many Democrats are certain
that if she gets the nomina
tion, she’ll lose in the general
election. Democrats want
badly to win in 2008, and
Clinton has to be concerned
at how much support Obama
has attracted in such a short
time.
Obama, meanwhile, has
the advantage of perfect tim
ing — he has sti*eaked to
national prominence at a
moment when his party and
perhaps his coimtry are des-
peratdy in search of some
thing new.
The fact that he has been in
the Senate only a couple of
years means that he hardly
has a voting record for oppo
nents to pick apart. From the
beginning, he was consistent
ly against the war in Iraq —
not that he was in a position
to do' anything about it.
Unless there’s more to come
out, his questionable real
estate deal in Chicago doesn’t
rise to anywhere near the
level of White watei-.
And his oratorical gifts are
truly remarkable, at least
equal to Bill Clinton’s and
perhaps on a par with the
skills of Ronald Reagan, the
Great Communicator. Yes, he
can talk
He has a couple of big prob
lems, too, even if you figure
that his name alone —
Barack Hussein Obama —
isn’t enough to turn’ some
people off. First is the fact
that at 45, the senator looks
barely 30. A presidait needs
gravitas, not boyishness. Isn't
there some sort of reverse
Grecian Formula on the mar
ket that can give Obama
some gray hair?
The other issue, of couree, is
his race. He is at present the
only black U.S. senator.
There have been only two
black governors elected.
Contrast that with the rela
tive profusion of female sena
tors and governors, and you
have to conclude that
Obama’s election would be
more of a miracle than
Clinton’s.
Still, I’m not counting
either of them out. I hope
they both formally get into
the race and stay for the long
haul.
And I hereby pledge never
to liken either one to a politi
cal “rock star” unless he or
she is actually holding an
electric guitar.
EUGENE ROBINSON is a
Washington Post columnist