Newspapers / The Carolinian (Raleigh, N.C.) / July 27, 1989, edition 1 / Page 4
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Cursing The Darkness The black entrepreneur rides the horns of a dilemma. On the one hand, the most successful economic boycott ever conducted in America is the boycott that blacks have conducted of blacks in business. Blacks spend almost 95 percent of their income with non-black firms or professionals. On the other hand, racism shuts the black entrepreneur out of the general market and venture capital sources. Racial prejudices render target markets unrecep tive to black entrepreneurs and create imperfections in the free market system. These are systemic factors that are much larger than the in dividual entrepreneur; they con stitute burdens that render the perfect market imperfect. As a result of these imperfec tions, the free enterprise system is not free. At an infant stage of economic development, the black entrepreneur cannot connect with a fully developed economy. Blacks cannot depend on white people or the government to solve the problems of single-parent homes, drugs, illiteracy and unemployment. Freedom for blacks will not and cannot come from whites or the federal government. Frankly, it is not theirs to give. For, in fact, freedom for African-Americans will only come from our ability to control our own economic destiny. There comes a time in the history of a people when a con scious choice must be made to i become free or to live forever on > the fringes of human existence. 1 Blacks are figuratively in the I dark. We have two choices: We : can either curse the darkness or i turn on the light, t TV personality and i businessman Tony Brown has been projecting this through films ; and commentary and the “Buy i Freedom” program. » “Our vision of freeodm, justic ; eand equality sees the African ■ American obtaining a standard of l living equal to whites by simply ■ sharing 50 percent of our $200 billino annual income,” he says. : “This would mean an income ■ retention of $100 billion this year ■ (instead of $13.2 billion) and $450 i billion in the year 2000 (instead of $59.4 billion). “This is clearly the antidote to the projection of 70 percent black male unemployment and 70 per cent black female-headed homes by the year 2000. It is also the dif ference between exporting 1.7 million jobs and retaining 900,000 this year. “Illiteracy, drug addiction and the cycle of dependency are all potential victims of an economically and psychologically sound people who love themselves and their heritage. We are thankful to God that He made all of it possible. “That’s why we declare our allegiance to America and our in dependence from poverty. That’s also why Buy Freedom is based on faith in God and sound economics.” The Death Penalty Amnesty International has been joined by hundreds of human rights groups throughout the world in the recent launching of a new international cammpaign against the death penalty. Here in the United States the issue of capital punishment continues to be hotly debated. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Commis sion for Racial Justice and numerous other civil rights and human rights organizations in the United States have long argued against the death penalty. John G. Healey, executive director of Amnesty Interna tional, USA, stated, “The death penalty is a basic human viola tion. It is cruel and degrading. It is barbaric and should be stopped immediately.” In a 268-page report that details how and why the death penalty is applied worldwide, Amnesty In ternational concluded that in many nations the death penalty is used “for blatant political reasons and/or disproportionately against the poor or racial and ethnic minorities. Since 1979 it is estimated that more than 40,000 women, men and even in some cases children have been official ly executed in some 90 different nations as a result of the imposi tion of the death penalty.” In the United States, the report cites statistics that “86 percent ol prisoners on death row in 198*; have been convicted of killing whites. Forty-five of the 98 prisoners executed between January 1987 and May 1988 were black or Hispanic and 98 percent of them have been convicted of killing whites.” Capital punish ment in the United States has been rarely imposed when the vic tim was an African-American or Hispanic. Because of racism, the values of the lives of the victims of crime and violence is socially determined by race and socioeconomic circumstances. The point here is, however, not the color or the race of the victim or of the accused. The issue is that the imposition of the death penal ty is immoral and unjust. The state does not create life. Does the state have the right to take life? Although African-Americans to day are approximately 15 percent of this nation’s population, African-Americans comprise 41 percent of those on death row. Hispanics, Native Americans, and other racial and ethnic com muinities also disproportionately are sentenced to death. In those States where capital punishment has been made legal, the argument that the death penalty is a deterrent to crime has failed. In fact, there has been a gradual increase in the murder rate in those states where the death penalty is routinely impos ed. African-American Male Crisis BY BENJAMIN F. CHAVIS, JR. 1 Guest Editorial I i Safety and security are never i permanently ensured for anyone. 1 Yet, it is a mark of a civilized Society to strive to ensure safety jand security for its citizens as a social, political and economic ob jective. A recent feature story in the Boston Globe titled, “En dangered: Black Men” once again raised disturbing and serious questions about the condi tion and prognosis of the African American male in the United States. The article by Joanne Ball detailed how African-American men are disproportionately suf fering from homicides, drugs, other forms of violence, AIDS, and from the devastation of economic Injustice. Ed Pitt of the National Urban League was quoted as saving, “What’s new is hat now we, for the first time in he history of this country, have a ieclining life expectancy for ilack people. And the biggest fac tor in this decrease is attributed to the high death rates of African* American males between 15 and 14.” Jawanza Kunjufu, a nationally known authority on Africa* American males, has chargee that there is “a conspiracy t< destroy black males.” Th< negative statistical data concern ing the mortality rate of African American males is not an acci dent or a' mere coincidence o history, it is rather a factual eS plication of the severity of thi conspiracy which begins befor birth and is maintained until earl death. Racism and economic a ploitation continues to endange all African-Americans andinpai (See EDITORIAL, P. IS) NNPA FEATURE COPING by Dr. Charles W. Faulkner A CONVERSATION ABOUT DRUGS We were both shocked as we saw a police cruiser screech to a stop, just a short distance from us. Two police officers jumped out of their cruiser and arrested a suspected drug pusher. As they slammedthe suspect against the cruiser and began to search him, the lady, who was a stranger, became very excited and said, "They ought to arrest all of these drug dealers who are ruining our com munity. Then, the drug problem would end." I said, “It’s not quite that easy, Ms.” She seemed a bit agitated when I said that. "Parents should teach their children how to do right,” she said. "Some of these parents are glad to have their cliildren bring home money, even if il is from selling drugs,” I told her. “They need to go to church and learn th< way of the Lord.” “But, Ms., some of the very people wh< use drugs go to church.” “Well, if the policemen were doing theii job, they would arrest these druggies an< stop this mess.” “There just aren’t enough policemen ti do an effective job.” “Oh, yes there are. Some of thes policemen are in this drug mess, too. Som of them sell drugs and look the other wa; when they see somebody else doing it.” “That may be true but it’s just a assumption. I doubt that you have any prc of.” “I don’t need proof. I just know these . policemen are involved in drugs.” “It’s not a good idea to make these claims if you can’t prove it. But suppose that what you say is true, you couldn’t stop the huge drug problem by arresting the few policemen who are involved in drugs. The problem is too big. Selling drugs is probably the only jog that some of the pushers can get.” “Oh, no it’s not. I see advertisements everywhere trying to give jobs to people. McDonald’s is always looking for people. So is Burger King and Roy Rogers.” “But nobody could live decently off $3.75 an hour. That wouldn’t even pay rent in the ghetto. Selling drugs pays much more.” “I was poor. I made it. I had to live off less than that and I survived. They can do it, too.” • “But, Ms., I seriously doubt that you were forced to pay rent, buy food, buy ' clothes and support a family on less than I $3.75 an hour.” “Oh, yes I did. I still say we need to start > with the little children and teach them values.” i “That’s a good idea, Ms., but you’re talk i ing about 10-15-20 years from today. What r do we do to save people today?” Without bothering to answer my ques i tion, she walked over to her car and drove - awav. Vantage Point BY RON DANIELS ITS TIME TO FIGHT THE POWER Though African-Americans must muster the energy and resources within our communities to tackle the crisis of black youth, ultimately we must “fight the power” of the American political and economic system to achieve a change in the condition of African-American youth. The crisis of black youth is tied to the crisis facing the national African-American community in general. And the crisis facing the na tional African American communi ty is the direct result of racism, economic exploitation, a woe fully inadequate political-economic DANIELS system and misplaced priorities within that system. The crisis of African Americans is the crisis of America. We live in a nation and under a system that has produced unacceptable extremes in terms of the distribution of wealth and power. One-half of one percent of the peo ple in America control 26.9 percent of all the wealth of this nation, Ten percent of the people control 72 percent of the wealth. Ninety percent of the people, the vast ma jority, control only 20 percent of the wealth in the United States. One author has dubb ed America’s system of institutionalised inequality “Democracy for the few.” Then there is the question of values and priorities. America is fabulously wealthy but what does it do with the wealth? There are three to six million homeless people in the United States. Thirty-seven million people subsist with no health insurance. There are 30 million Americans who aw completely illiterate and another 3C million who are functionally illiterate That’s 60 million people who are plaguec by illiteracy in America. And yet Amelia spents 55 cents of every tax dollar or defense while allocating only two cents o every tax dollar to education. ; More than one-third of all African Americans live in poverty, and the majori ty of those who are impoverished an 1 woman and children. Unemployment u . the African-American community re m«>iw at what would be defined a “depression” levels in the overal ’ economy. Despite these persistent pre greed-oriented, profit-above-people ethic which enslaved African-Americans in the first place muist be rejected. Our fight for change must pose the vital alternative. National defense must be redefined to mean defense against homelessness, il literacy, ignorance and disease, and defense against unemployment and pover ty. If we are to save our youth and our peo ple then we must have a public policy agenda that calls for deep cuts in an insane and runaway “defense” budget. Monies saved from the madness of creating exotic weapons of destruction must be used to fund our new human defense priorities of education, housing, health care and full employment. Programs like the Job Corps which worked effectively to train youth and prepare them for employment in the ’60s and ’70s need to be resurrected and fully funded. Rev. Jesse Jackson’s innovative proposal to use a protion of the billions of dollars in public pension funds for job generating programs in housing, highway construction and infrastructure develop ment should be strongly supported. Last, but not least, African-Americans need and must demand affirmative action and reparations. The recent battery of Supreme Court decisions which dramatically weakened this nation’s resolve and commitment to affirmative action are intolerable acts which must be resisted and overturned in Congress or in the streets if necessary. The sons and daughters of Africa who have suffered in America, and whose free labor and sup pressed surplus labor- built this nation, cannot and must not accept a retreat or basic remedies for the crippling effects ol past and present racism and discrimina tion. Indeed, if the legitimate demands ol Japanese-Americans for restitution foi their unjust imprisonment during Work War II can be met, then certainly the cal for reparations by African-Americans foi our enslavement, and the systematic ex ploitation of our labor, warrants evei greater consideration. The physical an cultural destruction of African peoples genocide-constitutes the greates holocaust in human history. Since “eman cipation” we have been asked to “is tegrate” into a capitalist society withou compensation for the crimes committ© against us, and no endowment to give us state and start, not even 40 acres and demand.” He also noted that “1 \.~M 11 \mmJk M ^ The Lord Is merciful ana gracious, wow to anger, and plenteous is His mercy. He will not always chide: neither will He khep His anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. (Psalm ©(DQtatKB® ■ CULTURE VS. DRUGS What does Black History Month have to do with drug usage? Everything. It becomes clearer and clearer that there is a relationship between cultural pride, self-esteem and drug use. Last week, a panel of very l distinguished black doctors, in-1 eluding Dr. Carl C. Bell, one of the I nation’s leading psychiatrists and I director of the Community Mental I Health Council in Chicago, an-1 nounced at the annual meeting of I the National Medical Association] that the poor health, mental as] well as physical, of blacks is due in | part to low self-esteem. Take illegal drugs, for exam-| pie. Black Americans’ drug usage is 30 percent higher than the pop- BROWN ulation as a whole. If you accept the fact that hundreds ot years of psychological damage from slavery, Jim Crow, segregation and today’s pseudo-integration have produced a low self-image, you’re not surprised that we’re killing ourselves faster than whites. “When you get right down to it, many of our problems can be traced to poor self-esteem,” said Dr. John Chissell of Boston. “We live in an intensely racist society that teaches us to hate ourselves.” Evidence? Blacks largely prefer to go to a school that is controlled by whites; prefer neighborhoods with few blacks; prefer to buy from non-blacks; and call anything controlled bv other blacks “segregated” or anti-white. Quite frankly, that’s the civil rights agenda. And the Americanized African is so confused that a quest for his or her own destruction seems normal. That’s low self-esteem at its lethal best. As a matter of fact, two black psychologists, Dr. Robert Davis and Dr. Lawrence Gray, have concluded from studies that as blacks “assimilate” into white culture, they lose cultural identity, but do not gain equality. The white culture encourages blacks to abandon their cultural sup port system, but doesn’t replace it with cultural accep tance. What these blacks get instead is racial anxiety. This syndrome leads to suicide. This suicide can be im mediate—a gun to the head or sleeping pills; or it can be gradual—drug addiction, for example. People use drugs, drugs don’t use people. Drug abuse is not the real problem; it’s what therapists call the presen ting problem—what others see and recognize as inap propriate or destructive behavior. Policy-makers have recognized that anti-drug efforts must attack the demand for, as well as the supply of, drugs. Therefore, it is really just common sense that a strong sense of cultural identity may prevent blacks from being victims of drug abuse. A lack of pride in cultural heritage leads to poor self-esteem which predisposes one to drugad diction. Conversely, pride in cultural heritage leads to high self-esteem which results in no drug addiction. Pride in one’s cultural heritage for a person who has learned a basic feeling of shame because of racial pre judice is a tremendous weapon against drug addiction because it is a tremendous weapon against self-hatred. Amazingly, cultural pride as the basis of self-love is vastly unter-utilized in the anti-drug arsenal. Therefore, the message of Black History Month is that a love of cultural heritage is the basis of pride in oneself and this feeling of pride is the basis of a self-determined deci sion to say “no” to drugs. My movie, “The White Girl,” dealing with the same theme—black self-hatred and drug addiction—will open in theaters during Black History Month in February. Our slogan: “If you love yourself, you won’t abuse yourself—with drugs. And Black History Month is a time of year that you can learn to love yourself." For Black History Month, let’s remember: “It’s time we learned to love—ourselves.” “Tony Brown’s Journal” TV series can be seen on public television Saturday on Channel 4 at 1:30 p.m. Please consult listings. Other Viewpoints A NEW POLITICAL DAY IS DAWNING BY DR. LENORA A. FULANI From Marcus Garvey and Paul Robeson to Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to Minister Louis Farrakhan, the Rev. A1 Sharp ton, and attorneys Alton Maddox, Jr. and C. Vernon Mason, we have seen our leaders cut down—maligned, imprisoned, murdered—for the crime of defending the black communi ty. When black leaders step out to lead, the Powers That Be move quickly to punish them. The law is turned into a weapon—not in the cause of justice but against it; the white corporate-owned media lend themselves to the task—which is not to expose the truth but to invent lies; and the official black leadership (those who have sold themselves to white corporate America at the expense of the black masses) jump on the bandwagon—not to stand up with their sisters and brothers under attack but to repudiate them. These phony black leades have the job of cooling out the black community while ensuring that no new, independent black leadership emerges to bring our people out of bon dage. For as we know only too well, Abraham Lincoln (the “Great Emancipator”) never intended to abolish slavery; the northern industrialists for whom he won the Civil War I were just concerned with freeing black labor for their own I use west of the Mississippi. And those who profit from the ' enslavement of black people are still not willing to let us go. Today a new generation of Mack leaders is emerging. > We are not intimidated by the attempts to silence us, to I discredit us, to wrench us away from the black community - by calling us names—“tax evaders,” “police informers,” t “sexual perverts,” “extremists,” “anti-Semites.” We - know that we cannot rely on the old leaders, the ones who - long ago sold the black community for a mess of pottage, to t defend our people in the war that is being waged against us. 1 And we recognise that it is black people themselves who i must enlist as soldiers in the resistance against genocide, i When I say that white corporate America is conducting a genocidal war against the black masses, I am not just us i ing "a figure of speech.” I am talking about war—dialoca i tion, imprisonment, brainwashing, torture and death. I am f speaking about the physical, political, cultural and ’ psychological destruction of a people by any means a necessary—guns, drugs, terror, deprivation and humilia f tion. t The question is what the black community is going to do i- about it. People need to decide whether they want our com S muni ties to be empowered, or not. They need to decide U whether they want to change this rotten, corrupt and op >- pressive system—or not.
The Carolinian (Raleigh, N.C.)
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July 27, 1989, edition 1
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