nanuouus are gouu anu uau in
themselves. Aside, from being
needed a perspective giver cannot
always adequately assess
whether thcif gift will be used
wisely.
Sometimes its better to give a
hand-up than a handout, because
it builds character, self-esteem
and a feeling that the individual
has some self-worth and is a
growing part of society.
So often when we battle with
the question of whether we should
or should not give. There are a
number of variables that are
important to your decision in
coloring the grey area that defies
understanding, frustrates us, and
causes us to question the morality
and ethics of that gift.
Some experts will say yes give,
while others will frown and scorn
you for giving. However,
regardless of which type of person
you confront, most of the nation’s
homeless and indigent are still
suffering from lack of adequate
care and having an opportunity to
become an integral part of society
again. Simply, because the
programs that are currently in
place are not serving or
addressing the real needs of those
people. They’re getting lip
service, being pushed up, on and
out to make way for the people
who have the same needs. So
where and how have they been
helped, you haven’t really given a
hand-up or a handout.
Think of how difficult it is for
you to ask for something you
sincerely and truly peeded at one
time in your life. Though due to
circumstances you were not able
to help yourself. Now try
understanding how a person feels
who asks for a handout because
their lives have changed
dramatically and it is now
necessary for them to seek
assistance just to get through the
day or night.
Do you think its demeaning or
are you so self-centered that it
really doesn’t matter. Subsequent
to the person becoming a beggar
they could have very well been in
the niainstream of life with more
success than you’ve achieved.
Remember... “The Man In The
Mirrore,” by Michael Jackson is
just an >image and that image
could be yours.
So, when you are grappling
with a hand-out vs. a hand-up. Be
very objective in your thoughts
and analyze what has been done to
date for these individuals. They
are growing in numbers,
adequate facilities are not in
place to even begin to cope with
the problem and they are merely
crying for help the best way they
knowhow.
This is not just an agency
problem or question, it’s a
question that this nation should
seriously address as a whole. We
are and have been known for
many years as the greatest
country on earth. We should
attempt to live up to such a
prestrigious honor by doing the
things that should be done that
made us great and that will keep
us great.
Because of whether you are a
beggar or someone of
accomplished means, people need
guidance and assistance to have
direction and purpose in their
lives. Do you think this is asking
too much?
Family Stability
Probably the most profound
issue to face the African
American family since slavery is
family stability. Consistently,
statistics indicate that the
African-American family is in
deep trouble.
Over the past 15 years, the
number of African-American
families headed by women has
increased rapidly. Today, almost
50 percent of all African
American families are without a
father in the home.
Some of the contributing
factors to this crisis are drug
abuse, alcoholism,
homosexuality, high mortality
rate and unemployment.
Furthermore, the number of
African-American children living
with both parents dropped during
the same period from 58 percent
to 41 percent, while the
percentage in single-parent
situations increased.
Economists realize that the
unemployment rates for African
Americans are usually
consistently double those for
whites. Whereas, in 1985 the
jobless rate for blacks was 15.1
percent as opposed to the 6.2
percent of whites .
Also, the median income of
the African-American family was
only about $19,000 per year in 1987,
56 percent below that of whites
compared in the same category.
The African-American numbers
below the poverty level rose from
8.6 million in 1960 to 9.5 million in
1984. Researchers behind these
statistics included Maya Angelou,
Marian Wright Edelman and Dr.
AlanF. Poussaint.
There is no one solution to the
compound problems facing the
African-American family. The
crisis is something that should be
seriously addressed by a “cause
and effect” analysis of the best
psychologists, sociologists and
other professionals that the
American public can gather.
It is easy for some of us to
turn our heads away from the
African-American family crisis
and say, “All families are faced
with a crisis.” This is true but the
multitude of the crisises which
face the black family are far
greater than those that face most
white families because whitres
are more entrenched in the
economic structure of this
country. They have better-paying
jobs, more political clout and a
more sophisticated system to
address family issues.
Leaders can no longer turn
their backs on valid statistics that
indicate there is a severe crisis in
the African-American family.
The crisis is real, the people
are real and compassion is not
going to solve what generations
have created. What is needed is
sound, sincere effort on behalf of
anyone who has suffered from a
crisis and overcome it. Otherwise,
we as a nation are perpetrating an
even greater uncertainty of what
crisis our children will face.
Unless solutions are
implemented, many African
Americans are destined today to
live in the perpetual ghetto of the
1990s.
The African-American College Student
They are and have been a
dominant force in the
advancement of our race. Without
them, we could never, and would
never, have achieved our current
success against such outstanding
obstacles-the African-American
college student.
Today’s student faces a far
different task then, say 30 years
ago. Then the African-American
student faced, reckoned with,
challenged and strove to
overcome the color barrier in
order to enter most jobs,
professions and careers. Today
some of these barriers have been
broken and the student now must
place his or her emphasis on going
beyond what is in existence and
must strive to create something
new in every aspect of. human
existence and endeavor.
What a far better, far greater
task students have today, to
create, improve, enrich,
embellish, to start something
new, to go beyond that which is
current, to establish new thought,
to experiment, explore, expand,
to be imaginative, to be free
Students should be courageous
and know today is worth living.
Yesterday, the students before
you did great works. It was the
students who led the change for
civil rights. It was the students
who brought about the beautiful
(See EDITORIAL. P 12)
Sm'aCJWTCH
THIS. VOU KNOW
THE NlfcY J
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Tribune Media Services
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BRAINWASHING YOU FOR
CHRISTMAS
Well, another Christmas has passed and
everything seemed normal. Advertisers
were up to their old tricks. What happened
was the shrewd use of brainwashing that
advertisers used this Christmas and have
used for a long, long time. Their idea was
to manipulate you into buying, buying,
buying while they got rich, richer and
richer. Of course, you probably thought
that you had bought all those Christmas
gifts because you wanted to buy them. You
said to yourself, “Nobody makes me buy
anything. I do only what I want to do.”
I hate to tell you this, but you were
psychologically manipulated. And the big
gest part of the manipulation was that the
advertisers made you believe that your
decision to spend large sums of money for
gifts was made by you, not by them. This
way. you won’t accuse them of
manipulating your behavior. However,
brainwashing and manipulating you is ex
actly what they did.
Here’s how advertisers played with your
mind. On the day after Thanksgiving,
Christmas hit you with a bang. Stores
played hour after hour of Christmas
carols. Newspapers, television,
restaurants, radio and every conceivable
enterprise overwhelmed you with the
“Christmas spirit.” Pictures of Santa
Claus, the King in the Manger, loving
couples in front of a warm fireplace, lovely
families in front of the Christmas tree, and
happy kids riding open sleighs on snow
covered hills. This, combined with happy
(or sad) Christmas music, won your mind,
your heart, and your money.
You, like millions of other Americans,
purchased millions of dollars worth of gift*
that few people could afford in this slow
economy. But you did it out of a deep love,
and out of a need to remove guilt,
loneliness and sadness.
Did you like that new tape recorder?
You sure dfd, after seeing it advertised
over and over again. Were you sad and
sentimental? You sure were, after listen
ing to four solid weeks of Christmas music.
Did you fed guilty about that argument
that you had with your family (girlfriend,
boyfriend, husband/wife, boss)? You sure
did, after bearing so many loving songs
over and over again. You removed your
guilt, and the store owners became
wealthy as a direct result of your guilt and
sentimentality.
In effect, they played games with your
mind and emotions. They made you feel
sentimental. You bought a gift from them
because of this great sentimentality. They
made tremendous profits. You thought
that you did all of this because you wanted
do, but they made you want to.
Now, suddenly, the “Christmas spirit” is
gone, on the very day after Christinas, and
you are again lonely and depressed. But
don’t worry, they will be back to get your
mind again on Valentine’s Day and
Easter.
*
In 1*85, shortly after the death of my
mother, I found taped to the aide of her
refrigerator, some powerful lessons for
living which I have attempted to follow as
closely as possible as I pass through this
life. I offer them to you for your considera
tion and possible use. I hope that you will
share them with your friends and families
and will make every attempt to reflect
upon them form time to time.
1. Just for today I will try to live through
this day only, and not set far-reaching
goals to try to overcome all my problems
at once. I know I can do something for 12
hours that would appall me if I felt that I
had to keep It up for a lifetime.
2. Just for today I will try to be happy.
Abraham Lincoln said, “Moot folks are
about as happy as they make up their
minds to be." He was right. I will not dwell
on thoughts that depress me. I will chase
them out of my mind and replace them
with happy thoughts.
3. Just for today I will adjust myself to
what is. I will face reality. I will try to
change those things which I can change,
and accept those things I cannot change.
4. Just tor today I will try to improve my
mind. I will not be a mental loafer. I will
force myself to read something that re
quires effort, thought and concentration.
5. Just for today I will exercise my sow
in three ways: I will do a good deed for ,
somebody—without letting them know it
(if they find out about it, it won’t count). I
will do at least two things that I should do,
hot have been patting off. I will not show
anyone that my feelings are hurt; they
may be hurt, hot today I will not show It.
(. Just for today I will be agreeable. I
will look as well as I can, dress becoming
ly, talk softly, act courteously, and speak
ill of no one. Just for today I’ll not try to
improve anybody except myself.
7. Just for today, I will have a program.
I may not follow It exactly, but I will have
it, thereby saving myself from two pests:
hurry and indecision.
S. Just for today I will have a quiet half
hour to relax alone. During this time I will
reflect on my behavior and w ill try to get a
better perspective an my life.
I. Just for today I wUl be unafraid. I will
gather the courage to do what is right and
take the responsibility for my own actions.
I will expect nothing from the world, but I
will realise that as I give to the world, the
world will give to me.
I hope that these words will affect you as
they have affected me. I firmly believe
that we do create our own realities and all
too often they are not in our own best in
terests. As we begin our Journey through
INI it becomes ever more important that
each of us begins to create realities which
■re not only positive from our own
perspectives, but also positive from the
perspective of those who come in con tad
with us on a daily basis. May this oew year
and the rest of your life be filled with Joy,
love, peace and happiness.
3. World Wrestling Federation
Figures
4. New Wde on the Block
5. Game Boy, Nintendo
ft. My Pretty Ballerina
7. Super Mario Bros. 3, Nintendo
•. Batman
0. G.l. Joe
10. Scattergoriee
AM in/»f. m —n, .In
oUllnViC. nM^ilriiitf,
KRTN Infographics
r
BIBLE THOUGHT
Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who ■hnU
dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and
worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth la Ida heart.
He that backbiteth not with Us tongue, nor doath evil to his
neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor. In j
whose eyes a vile person is condemned; but ha hanorath
them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt,
and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to >
usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He Oat
doeth these things shall never be moved.
Psajmsu
Tony Brown’s
Journal
WHY PRESIDENT BUSH WILL 8ELF—OBSTRUCT
The Department of Education’s Michael Williams’
uncalled-for attack on the availability of scholarship
money for black and Hispanic youths has backfired.
President George Bush’s
presidency, I predict, will never
recover from Williams’ mean
spirited directive to shut off col
lege scholarship aid designated
for black college students.
A firestorm was raised against
the ruling by such diverse critics
as the U.S. Chamber of Com
merce, conservatives, liberals,
education leaders, White House of
ficials, and of course, most blacks.
Bush told Williams, a Negro
right-wing zealot, to clean up the
mess he and his White House and
Department of Education “reverse discrimination” white
cohorts had created. The revised copy of this tortursd
retreat turned out to be as bad a the original aaaault on'
black people.
At a press conference, Williams bristled at charges that.
he wa a Negro “lackey” being manipulated by racists. He
did what he did, be added, because he believes that finan
cial aid designated for blacks is illegal because it,
discriminates against whites.
But it’s okay to use private money to discriminate
against whites, his confusion explained. And although he
believes the present system of giving aid to blacks harms
whites, he has no idea how many blacks are depriving
whites of scholarship money.
Yet he feels there is an urgent need to protect whites
from this unknown monster of money designated to help
blacks attend college. There is not enough space to itemise
Williams’ legal and logical inconsistencies.
However, some insight can he gained into the psyche of:
(See TONY BROWN, P. 12'
BROWN
A Different Voice
BY DOROTHY 8HAW-THOMP8ON
KWANZAA: A WAY OF LIVING
In 1966 Dr. Maulana Karenga, now a college profeeaor to
California, conceived an African-American holiday aa anj
affirmation of the culture and purpoae of African paeple.
Kwanzaa, which means “first,” is taken from the phnaej
“matunda ya kwanza,” which means “first fruits." Urn
holiday comes out of the tradition of thoae in Africa who!
cultivate and harvest crops and who extend to aaturel
"thanksgiving” at designated times of harvest. It inf
celebrated here in America from Dec. gfclan.1 through
focusing daily on principles from the Ngusa Saba or Seven
Principles.
These seven principles are: “Unoja” (Unity), to strive
for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation
and race; “Kujichagulia” (Self-Determination), to define
ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves, in
stead of being defined, named, created tor and spoken for'
by others; “UJima” (Collective Work and Responsibility),!
to build,and maintain our community together and to make'
our sisters’ and brothers’ problems our problems, and to
solve them together; “UJamaa" (Cooperative
Economics), to build and maintain our own stone, shops,
and other businesses and to profit from them together;'
"Nia” (Purpose), to make as our collective vocattorntbe
building and developing of our community In ordSfto
restore our people to their traditional greatness; “/warn-!
ba” (Creativity), to do always as much as we cr/tn thej
way we can in order to leave our community mare
beautiful and beneficial than we inherited It; and “Igamd”)
(Faith), to believe with all our hearts in our people our,
parents, our teachers, our leaden and the righteousness!
and victory of our struggle. '
There are those among us who celebrate Kwanzaa in!
their everyday lifestyle and of course there are tPwet who;
have never heard of it. Unfortunately, there are who I
having heard cannot conceive of how these principles can'
be applied in their everyday life. Unfortunately, tboimh we
hurry as mankind to a 21st century, there are those amag:
us who continue to be so self-serving and self-hating that to
embrace anything African confuses their image of'
themselves to the point that Africa leaves a bad taste in
See DIFFERENT VOICE, P. 12)
Other Viewpoints
BY DANIEL A. YOUNG. SR.
It’s sad and somewhat ironic that the day that the
United Nations has set as the date for Saddam Huaeein to
be out of Kuwait is also the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr.
Whether that day will be a day of military confrontation
with Hussein, only God and our civilian leaders, Defense
Secretary Dick Chaney and military leader, Gen. Ooiin
Powell, respectively, know for sure.
It’s also ironic, because Colin Powell was earlier -
selected to lead the King Day parade in Atlanta. He deetln-'
ed the invitation with the blessing of many black landers
who felt Powell's presence at the King Day activity aa our
nation’s military commander was not in keepiim with the
teachings and the philosophy espoused by Dr. King in
earlier speeches, King had said, “The U.S. government is
the greatest purveyor of violence in the world...”
Whether King has rightly predicted the U.S. wilUiynaes
to engage in violence, for example, the total «•»«»» nt— tor
World War 1,320,518; World War n, 1,076,245; Korean War,
157,530 and in Vietnam, 211,438, is, of course, left to the
reader and open to speculation.
While three leaders of our nation have held somewhat
similar hopes for our nation, only one of thoae leaders has
had those hopes actualized to this date.
Lincoln’s hope for a United States have been fulfilled;
gut the dream held by Dr- Martin Luther King, Jr. have
not. There are but a handful of Americans who remember
the devastation of Pearl Harbor, but since that December
day in 1941, Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “I know that I
speak for the mass of the American people when I say that
we reject the ‘turtle policy’ and will continue increasingly
the policy of carrying the war to the enemy In dtotaat lands
and distant waters—as far as possible from our own heme
grounds.” !
America today is far different than it was in the ’4M.
Our confidence in our leaders appears shaken, many ques
tion our president’s commitment to civil rights, many
question our military leadgpdpr being outspoken to the ex
tent that they appear*^ undermining the nation’s
(See VIEWPOINTS, P.u;