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RHODES SCHOLAR (Continued from page 1) “He has all the attributes to be an outstanding scholar—both as a researcher and a teacher. I’m just lucky I had him as a student." Henry says he first developed a taste for teaching while involved in a Student Government tutoring program his sophomore year. He now tutors student athletes. His interest in economics stems from a desire to better understand what determines a country’s wealth. “I’m originally from Jamaica, and I’ve always been interested as to why Jamaica’s a poor country," says Henry, who now lists Wilmette, III., as his home. “I thought that study ing economics could help me better understand what it is that determines the wealth of a country.’* Besides an inherent interest in math, Henry was en couraged to pursue a double major and graduate studies in the field as a way to strengthen his understanding of economics. “I’ve always liked numbers, and I liked the fact that you can use math to describe things,” he says. “I like solv ing problems, and economics lets you do all that." At UNO, Henry earned the Office of Student Counseling Award for the Highest Minority Grade Point Average in spring 1988 and has been active in the Big Buddies pro gram and the University Ministry Committee of the Chapel of the Cross. A walk-on for the Tar Heel varsity football team his freshman and sophomore years, he made the Atlantic Coast Conference honor roll in 1988. Henry’s mother, Caroll, chairs the biology department at Chicago State University. His father, George, is a research chemist with Sara Lee. “They’ve had a big influence on me,” Henry says. “Both my parents were able to come to the United States because they received fellowships to go to graduate school. Otherwise they would not have been able to afford to come to graduate school here. Both came here and got their Ph.D.s. They both came from pretty humble means in Jamaica. ••They’ve always emphasized the value oi education, and we’ve alweays had lots and lots of books around the house," Henry explained. "They never pushed me into anything, but they always encouraged me when they saw I had taken an interest." Henry says his parents' attitude only made him strive harder to please them. Their pleasure with his selection as a Rhodes Scholar was evident on the telephone when he told them. “My mom practically went through the roof she was so excited." Henry says, laughing. "My dad was a little more calm. I think they called everyone in my family in Jamiaca." Henry is one of 32 Rhodes winners in the I’nited States. He was the last of four chosen from the Southeast region. His reaction to winning the scholarship was a mixture of disbelief and relief that the interview process and waiting were finally over. "You get this incredible feeling of humility just because you realize there are so many other people who probably deserve this at least as much as you... It’s really a very humbling feeling," he says. People who know Henry agree that his achievements belie his unassuming nature. "No one is more deserving of this honor than Peter." says Charles Lovelace, executive director of the John Motley Morehead Foundation, which administers the Morehead Scholarship Program. "In addition to being an outstanding scholar-athlete. Peter, in his humble and selfless manner, demonstrates the responsibility of those who are blessed with many talents to assist those who are less fortunate.” Dr. Craig Calhoun, professor of sociology and director of the Office of International Programs, which ad ministers the Marshall Scholarship at UNC, says Henry "is a wonderful student. He’s a good combination of con fidence and humility." BLACK MEN (Continued from page 1) more likely to receive bypass surgery, and 2.1 times as likely to receive angioplasty. A1987 study by the National Center for Health Statistics found that one third of all black deaths were “excess deaths,” that is, preventable deaths. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found several reasons for the disparity in black and white death rates. They in cluded: • Lifestyle factors, including obesi ty, high cholesterol levels, smoking and drinking. Blacks were also found to run a greater-than-average risk for high blood pressure and diabetes, which can be genetically caused. • Poverty. Vincent Navarro of Johns Hopkins University School of -Public Health argues that income level, not race, is the deciding factor in longevity rates. Health declines 'and mortality rates among all people maki ng less than $20,000 a year. •Lack of insurance or doctors in poor neighborhoods. “Black men are Very macho. Men in general don’t engage the health-care system. But with black men, because of poverty and the job situation, it’s even worse,” said Allen Ball, executive director of the Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center, the only Boston health center with a designated clinic for black men. •Violence. Black men in America have a one in 21 chance of dying by murder. White men have a one in 131 chance. •Job hazards. Black workers are also more likely to be exposed to hazardous substances, such as asbestos, said Dr. Thomas Georges of Howard University. Part of toe solution sounds simple, experts say. They encourage black men to eat well, exercise and not smoke. But social factors, such as unemployment and toe lack of grocery stores in poor neighborhoods can’t be ignored, experts said. “The only time we’ve been fully employed has been in slavery,” said Dr. Reginald Barnette of the Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center. NAACP (Continued from page 1) L. Hooks, NAACP executive director, said. “We did not expect to come away from the meeting with the problems we raised resolved, since a number of the Japanese leaders were hearing of the seriousness of the current situa tion for the first time from the lips of African-Americans. “However, we regard it as a hopeful sign that the Japanese pro posed the wHimiiwi of a dialogue « Oct. those directly related to business ac tivities, and to use their influence in persuading government officials to act on the others. The Japanese at the meeting, held at the Japanese embassy, were members of a trade delegation that spent approximately a week in the States. Represented at the meeting were a number of Japan’s major cor porations, including Sony, Mit subishi, Fuji, Xerox, the Bank of Tokyo and Honda. The American delegation, in addi tion to Dr. Hooks and members of the NAACP staff, included John Crump, executive director, National Bar Association; Otis Warren, businessman; Dr. Melvin Jones, vice president, business and fiscal affairs, Howard University; and Dr. Earl S. Richardson, president, Morgan State University. Hie meeting with the Japanese business leaders and the quickening of the pace of talks with Japanese government officials were cited by Dr. Hooks as the reasons why the NAACP decided to suspend the daily picketing that had been going on for the past 60 days at the embassy. Also suspended for the same reasons was a planned demonstration at the embassy on Dec. 15 involving thousands of demonstrators. Both the daily picketing and the planned demonstration were responses to in suilting racial remarks made by Japanese officials and to perceptions of discriminatory hiring and business practices by Japanese firms in the United States. “These suspensions should not be interpreted as closing the door m fur ther demonstrations. We reserve these as very viable options, should the current negotiations fail to pro duce the desired results within a reasonable period of time," Dr. Hooks said. “We will be constantly monitoring progress both with the Japanese of ficials and with the Japan Chamber of Commerce, and making periodic public reports,” he added. “This is far from being a closed issue." He also noted that an early meeting would be held with the Japanese am bassador to the United States, Ryobei Murats, to pursue NAACP recom mendations in the government’s sphere of operation. QUOTAS (Continued from page 1) Roger Stone. “It is the kind of cutting social issue that conaervativea need to hold onto the White House.” A number of recent developments suggest voters may be hearing a lot about affirmative action and racial MM: •Democratic congressional leaders have renewed their pledge to once again pass a civil rights WO that President Bush branded a quota bill and vetoed in the last Congress. •Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder, the only Democrat blatantly testing the MM presidential waters, blasted Bush’s characterisation of the bill and said it gave Mmi phony am munition. “I know what racial quotas are; I have experienced them firsthand,” Wilder, who is said hi a letter to Buah. •William Bennett, the new tion was supposed to be temporary and small-scale and has outlived its time. But Gantt said hundreds of years of discrimination cannot be remedied in two decades. “That’s not even one generation,’’ he said. “We need to do it, and we need to remove the stigma that we’re going to discriminate against whites or we’re going to pro mote blacks who aren’t qualified. None of that is true." Many Democrats maintain the heart of the matter is economics. They say Republicans want to divert attention from the recession, and the whole idea of affirmative action is more threatening now that jobs are scarce. “This issue is about a shrinking economic pie and people thinking so meone’s going to give up their slice to somebody else," said Democratic strategist Mike McCurry. “You have to recast the debate to show the Republicans are trying to peddle fear instead of a plan to get the economy going. And you have to have an answer for the working person who fears for his job," he added. “You have to say, ’My plan is to develop red-hot economy so we all have jobs.’” Republican analyst Doug Bailey thinks his party, too, should look at the big picture. He said it would be “a Mg political mistake” to lean heavily on affirmative action to fill the void left by the end of the Cold War and the splintering of the GOP on abortion and taxes. “It turns off a large corps of moderate voters. Northern suburban voters who have supported the Republican Party in the past,” Bailey said. “They will not want to see a par ty intentionally choose an issue, even though it may have some merit, which divides people on racial Unas.” However, Stone said the theme would appeal to a group that is equal ly if not more important to the party—blue-collar “Reagan could be pursued without the GOP ap voices are heard. “Until we give up fear and discuss these issues ra tionally and logically, we are going to continue to lose,” said former New York Mayor Ed Koch. Prominent Democrats say their party has a sound position but others have distorted it. “I don’t know what there is to redefine,” said party chairman Ron Brown, who is black. “The Democratic Party and its chairman in particularly vehemently oppose quotas. We vehemently oppose anything that could lead to reverse discrimination. The legislation that the Democratic Congress sent forward to the president was not a quota bill. It was supported by a number of conservative Republicans.” But the Democats—including Gantt himself—acknowledge that they haven’t communicated well with voters, many of whom equate affir mative action with quotas. As Stone noted, “Harvey Gantt ran up and down North Carolina saying he wasn’t for quotas, but nobody believ ed him.” Working against the Democrats is a feeling among some voters that the civil rights agenda of the 1960s has been fulfilled—that affirmative ac •he politics of Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln." POVERTY LEVEL i Continued from page 1 > years, "I think our community i special I don't kn<w if that is because we are a s nailer area., or what, but I don't thi ik we have*gotten to the crises sitiation yet m our community heca-iseof thecaring." The Reverend H B. Picket, President of ti e Kaleigh-Apex branch el the NAAf P and Gertrude Pope, ehairpersor were not available at this nine lorccmment. Kddie tVilliams. President of the center releasing the study called it a natio.ial disgrace." "The face of black poverty is the face of a child." said Williams The report lound that one of the primary causes of increased poverty was the increased unemployment liemg experienced by "all types" of black families Belinda Tucker, acting director of the Center for Afro-American Studies at UCLA. says. "There is evidence that limited employment prospects account for much of the decline in marriage. Why would a young woman marry a young man who, because he is black today, stands a chance of going to jail or being killed and has no job?" INSIDE AFRICA (Continued from page 1) now a genocide. And there is no sign of its ending. Apartheid-oriented and police-perpetrated killings of blacks are the order of the day in the land. South Africa’s institutionalized racial segregation was originated by the Afrikaners, the descendants of the first Dutch immigrants who settl ed in the country in 1852. From the time of their arrival, the Dutch used superior weapons against the natives’ spears and bows and arrows to grab the Africans’ lands and impoverish and subjugate them. Today, those land-grabbing Afrikaners politically dominate all who live in South Africa, Mack, brown, white and yellow, holding them down in bondage with a four pronged threat. The four tentacles that menace are: (1) the Afrikaner Resistance Movement, led by a Mr. Terblanche; (2) the Conservative Party, led by Dr. Andries Treurnicht; (3) the Nationalist Party, led by President F.W. de Klerk, and (4) the Dutch Reformed Church. A highly politicised religious denomination, the DRC indoctrinates its members absolutely with the ideology and doctrine of racism and racial animosity. It tenches them to believe that Afrikaners an a God chosen people, a—MiwH to dominate all other inhabitants of South Africa, and that the country belongs to the Volk, as the Afrikaners call themselves. The rest of the popula tion are considered to bo “uitlanders” (aliens), even the native inhabitants! Thus, the policies of the country an a brainchild of Afrikanerdom! They alone created the institutionalized apartheid, which has turned the country into a pariah among world nations. As a result, Afrikaners who constitute only seven percent of the country's population rule 98 pfcfnt of the population with a brutal and heavy hand. The Afrikaners monopolise all the important deprtments of state; the police and military forces; railways and harbors; the nationalised inn and steel works, and all structures of government. Since the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1M0, all heads of state have been, and con tinue to be, Afrikaners only. The DRC has a tremendously bad influence that imbues its members with an incorrigible animosity toward everyone who isn’t an Afrikaner. It instills in its members wrong concepts of what religion is all about. Only this past weekend, the DRC rescinded its own recent deci sion that apartheid is a sin, and ■hiHild be abolished. The DRC con siders apartheid a God-ordained in stitution. Secondly, President de Klerk’s Afrikaner Party continues to cling tenaciously to apartheid. Hence, one wonders why de Klerk is considered one who will eventually turn South Africa into a non-radal democracy. True, de Klerk may he Ukanad to the African snaka mamba which strangles its victim to death with a smooth embrace and kirn... He is not a reformer. ■ Willi am troN BY JOVCE GRAY WILLfAMSTON—Ms. Helen Cook, Burke, Va., spent the Thanksgiving holiday and a week afterwards in Williamston with her friend, Ms. Marietta C. Moore. Ms. Cook, a retired school secretary, lives with her two daughgters in Virginia since retiring, spending equal time bet ween the two of them. She was living and working in Willis, Mich., when she met and became friends with the Moore fami ly. She was the first black school secretary in the Northwest School, Whitter, Mich. Also in the Moores’ company at the same time was Willie Woolard, a brother of T.K. Woolard, who is a resident of Ypsilanti, Mich, for many years now. Woolard accompanied his brother and sister-in-law, Mary, to church Sunday. Something new and delightful to the eyes was a Christmas greeting from Rev. and Mrs. Louise Cason of Soul City, with a picture of their beautiful new home on the front of the card. The Casons, formerly of Queens Village, N.Y., apparently are enjoy ing their retirement here in North Carolina’s quiet, small city. It’s always good to be remembered by old friends. For a number of years Ms. Frances D. Evans always got a card or call in to yours truly to remind her of a birth day, so with determination this year, this writer decided to do the honors first, with a note saying, “Got you—beat you to the punch this time.” Ms. Evans’ birthday is on the 12th, mine is on the 13th., Not that I’m Afrikaner domination must end. But final liberation can only be brought about by an international tribunal. MENTOR PROGRAM (Continued from page 1) help meet a community need and possibly a future business need at the same time. These students are the, people who will be our employees of the future.” First Citizens Bank, encouraged by the program’s proven success elsewhere in the state, had no hesita tion in Joining the Wake County pro gram. Twenty corporate and field staff are involved at all four CIS schools—North Garner Middle and Zebulon Middle schools, and Garner and East Wake high schools. “The end products of the educa tional system are our future work force," says Noel McLaughlin of First Citizens. The bank’s participa tion stems from a need to “improve the level of education in the state. It’s important to our existence and should concern the entire business com munity." So impressive have similar pro grams been across the United States In lowering dropout rates that the United Way of Wake County gave the local CIS program a $50,000 grant for the 1900-91 school year. “It’s a proven model and has a na tional and regional reputation,” says United Way executive director Ron Drago. “They’ve shown that a better Job can be done with at-risk kids, and we are very confident Communities in Schools can accomplish this. It’s the perfect vehicle to do the job.” If the program is successful over the next two years, there’s a good rh»iw> it will become an agency an nually receiving funds from United Way, he says. “Communities in Schools has got ten off to a strong start,” said Alex Holmes, managing partner of Arthur Andersen k Co.’s Raleigh office, who saw the potential for a Cities in Schools program shortly after mov ing to the area in 1969. He convened the initial task force and Arthur Andersen pledged the initial seed money to start the program in Wake County. “The enthusiasm for such a program is contagious,” he added. Hotaes currently serves as chairman of the board of the new organization. More corporations are coming on board with financial support to ad minister the program. Among them are Glaxo, First Citizens Bank and “The program works because of fee relationship we’re building bet ween students and the community,” says Communities in Schools ex ecutive director Debby Bine “This is a partnership,” she stresses of fee time donated by the volunteers, the work done by social service agencies, the support from Wake County’s schools and the so “absent minded,” just have too many family members’ birthdays to keep up with until I seem to think of mine last. Did for sure hate as a child to be told, “You’re getting one gift since it’s so close to Christmas.” Thank God things are different, now I get separate gifts and calls. The North Carolina Council of Churches; Legislative Seminar is scheduled for Jan. 23,1991, at Jane S. McKimmon Center, corner of Western Boulevard and Gorman Street in Raleigh. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m., worship at 9:15 a.m. Workshops start at 9:45 a.m. Fees which include lunch are $25, and must be paid by Jan. 2, 1991, as lunch cannot be prodded for participants who register the day of the seminar. Make checks payable to N.C. Council of Churches and mail to 1307 Glenwood Ave., Suite 162, Raleigh 27605. Workshops: Criminal Justice: Vic tims, Alternative, Sentencing, Prison Construction, will have such persons as the Rev. Jim Lewis, director of Christian Social Ministries, the Episcopal Church, N.C. Diocese, and co-chair, Criminal Justice Commit tee, N.C. Council of Churches; Rev. John K. Kemoodle, Jr., executive director, Community Justice Resource Center of Guilford College; James E. “Mike” Roark, executive director, Center on Crime and Punishment. Speaking for the workshop on Hous ing, Not Shelters: The Answer to the Homeless, will be Ms. Angie Wright, coordinator, Durham Affordable Housing Coalition; Donald M. Saunders, attorney, N.C. Legal Ser vices Resource Center. Health Care: Universal, Com prehensive, Accessible, Ms. Pam Silberman, attorney, N.C. Legal Ser vices Resource Center. Rural Issues: The Politics of Eating,” Charlie Thompson, a farmer active in the Carrboro Farmers’ Market and director of the Seeds of Hope Farmers Markets; Ms. Betty Bailey, an expert on farm issues who works for the Agricultural Resource Center; the Rev. Joseph Mann, who works with the Duke En dowment and chairs the Rural Crisis Committee of the N.C. Council of Churches. Legislative Process: Citizen Ac tion, Ms. Roslyn Savitt, legislative coordinator, N.C. Chapter, National Association of Social Workers; Rev. George Reed, legislative agent, Bap tist State Convention; Peyton Maynard, Governmental Affairs Con sultant and legislator. Poverty: AFDC, Minimum Wage, Food Stamps, Jobs, Dana M. Court ney, ACSW, training director, Durham County Department of Social Services; Daniel C. Hudgins, ACSW, director, Durham County Department of Social Services; Micheline Ridley, Ed.D., Department of Public Policy Studies, Duke University. Other workshops will be presented on such topics as AIDS, Women and Economic Agenda, Children: Foster Care, Protective Services, and Health, run through 3:15 p.m. and all will be repeated twice. Happy belated Hanukkah to all of our Jewish friends. And a Merry Christmas to all. Happy birthday greetings to Roosevelt Bell, Ms. Jere Daniels, Christopher Benitez, Ms. Alice Mat thews and Lareo Reddick. Also to Ms. Earnestine Hannon. Members voted to re-elect all in cumbents back into their positions in the Martin County Branch of the Na tional Association for the Advance ment of Colored People last Sunday. Since all committee chairmen; vacated their positions with the end of I the term of the presidency, new chairs will be sought for every com mittee. Focus will be upon member ship, education, political action, youth work, housing, fundraising and labor/industry. However, persons' desiring to work in the area of relgious affairs, economic development/Fair Share, ACT-SO, Mothers' Program, life membership and veterans’ affairs, are definitely welcome. Meetings will continue to be held at 3 p.m. on each second Sunday of every month at Green Memorial Church, East Main Street, Williams ton. On the sick and shut-in list: Ms. Devie Hill, a patient in Martin General, during the first week of December, was released; Ms. Daisy H. Biggs, Ms. Marie Bigs, Magellan Duggins, Sam Brown, Frederick Ben nett, Joe Biggs, Ms. Mattie H. Parry, Mr. and Mrs. George T. Hyman, Ms. Grace P. Smithwick, Ms. Armaza C. Roberson, Alton Bell, Ms. Hattie Spell, Jesse Bell, Ms. Zara Church, Ms. Roxie West, Ms. Annabel Best, Robert Lee Barnes, Ms. Clara P. Barnes, Ms. Betty S. Lanier, Ms. Mammie Keyes, Ms. Rachel Lyons, George A. Perry, Ms. Christine Coun cil, Ms. Rosa Lee Best, Ms. Reba Rid dick. Expressions of sympathy are ex (See WILLIAMSTON, P. 12)
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