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Face In A Crowd?
* Years and years ago, African
’■ Americans were not a face in the
i.Ccrowd. We were legislated
•^against mingling in the crowds
public events. We could not
'•I drink from the same water foun
tain or use the same restroom.
L; i Now, in 1992, we can be seen
p-iit the crowds. We can use the
same restroom and drink from
^-tjie same water fountain as Cau
u.\caisians and that’s about all.
K' Where are we going in 1992,
t; shortly to enter 1993? If we look
^ around ourselves and assess
b what is taking place, we may
not even be a face in the crowd.
However, if we are a face in
b the crowd, we better speak up
for ourselves and our people. We
had better insist on equity. We
had better deal with inequities
on the spot. We had better come
together for the good of our
selves and our children.
Are we just a face in the
crowd? Many people would enjoy
seeing us maintain such a posi
tion. But if we do, we will disap
pear just as quickly as we ap
peared.
African-Americans today need
to be more than just “a face in
the crowd.” We need to be heard
and we need to be responsible to
our genuine and necessary re
quests.
Parents Are The Best Hope
BY DR. WILBERT J.
LEMELLE
Guest Editorial
More hands-on participation
earlier by parents and guardi
ans in helping to socialize and
educate their children may be
the untried efforts desperately
- needed to spark higher skills
achievements in the nation’s in
ner-city schools.
Meaningful parent involve
ment presupposes a conviction
that schooling from pre-K
through the 12th grade is aimed
at enabling the student to read,
write, speak, compute and mas
ter a core set of academic sub
jects that will prepare him or
her to go on a chosen field of
postsecondary education or un
dertake a job paying a decent
wage.
Clearly, a large percentage of
parents of inner-city school chil
dren do not share this vision of
education nor are they familiar
enough with the range of com
plex issues, from basic curricu
lum and teacher attitudes to
school finance, which affect the
teaching and learning that occur
in a classroom.
The question that has to be
addressed is how they can pre
pare themselves for the kind of
involvement they must under
take on behalf of their children.
One approach might be
through the establishment of
Neighborhood Education Coun
cils. Such councils would be cre
ated in connection with several
schools in a district. Parents
would focus their attention on
evaluating the schooling of their
children through the examina
tion of eight key issues related
to effective teaching, learning,
and preparation for study or
work after the completion of sec
ondary school. They are:
1. Preschool Education
2. The Elementary School
Curriculum
3. The Secondary School Cur
riculum
4. Apprenticeship
5. Science, Technology and
Language in the Curriculum
6. School Finance
7. Counseling and Guidance
8. Choosing a College and Se
curing Funding for Post-Secon
dary Education and Training
These are the key issues and
basic questions with which par
ents of inner city and poor
schools must be concerned and
come forward to protect their
offspring from the harm of non
performing schools.
Dr. LeMelle is president of the
Phelps-Stokes Fund, and chair
man of the National Citizens
Commission for African-Ameri
can Education.
Letter To The Editor
I take issue with Cash Michaels’
statement, in your June 30 edition, that
“Clinton Clashes with Blacks, Loses
Support” over the Clinton-Jesse
Jackson-Sister Souljah flap. If Governor
Clinton is going to lose black support, it
shouldn’t be over this issue. Of course,
hit motives were political in making his
comments at the Rainbow Coalition
convention, but the fact remains that
this young lady needed to be chastised
for making such an irresponsible
suggestion as “taking a week to kill
white people.”
Indeed, Rev. Jackson should have felt
embarrassed, because he, and other
black leaders, should have been the first
to talk to Sister Souljah—and to Ice-T
or anyone else spouting such violent
rhetoric—about the wrongness in what
they are saying. You cai)’t make these
inflammatory statements and then try
to explain them away as a “mental
exercise” or as “poetic license.”
Violent rhetoric against police seems
popular these days, but we must
remember that they are our only line of
defense against the criminals out here,
black or whatever. When we find
something wrong with them—as in Los
Angeles, for instance—we need to try
and fix that rather than talking about
getting rid of them.
I know that Mr. Michaels works hard
for community involvement and
improvement but I don’t think his
article puts the blame in the right place
this time, which I think is with Rev.
Jackson and other black leaders for *
failing to use their influence to get these
young people to consider the conse
quences of their apparently violent
attitudes.
Very truly yours,
Joseph Mitchell
Raleigh
Q#>i vic#s
©199? PMfrrtfev:
NNPA FEATURE
COPING
by
^Dr^Charles^ W. Faulkner
HE KICKED MY DOOR DOWN!
Dear Dr. Faulkner:
Last year, I gave my phone number to
a man I met, who I thought was gentle
and quiet like I am. We went to the
movies together several times, but we
are just friends. Two weeks ago, I saw a
different side of him and now I am
afraid of him. My sister was visiting me
at my apartment one night, when my
male friend knocked on the door. He
had not told me that he was going to
visit and I was not prepared to enter
tain him, so I did not open the door.
While the door was closed, I told him to
call me the next day because my sister
was visiting me and I could not enter
tain him on this particular night. He
screamed that I had a man in my apart
ment and said that I had better let him
in. I refused to do so and he kicked my
door down and came in without my per
mission. When he discovered that only
my sister was in the apartment with
me, he became very apologetic and
asked me to forgive him. I forgave him,
but I am afraid of him and want to get
him out of my life. I don’t want to take
him to court, but what should I do? I’m
afraid of him.
Signed,
Ms. C.
Oklahoma City, Okla.
Dear Ms. C.:
First, I suggest that you get an attor
ney. I do not have enough specific infor
mation about your situation to give you
anything other than the following gen
eral advice.
File a charge of breaking and enter
ing against him, and follow it through
to the end. Few people, other than those
with emotional problems, take such ag
gressive, violent action as he. Chances
are that he has done this sort of thing
before and is likely to do it again.
Maybe to you. Maybe next time, you
might get hurt.
Frequently, people such as yourself
refuse to press charges, out of compas
sion for the intrusive individual. He
then becomes contrite and tells you that
he was out of his mind and will never do
such a thing again. But two weeks from
now, he becomes even bolder and car
ries out a similar kind of behavior. This
time he threatens you with bodily harm.
So you forgive him again after he tells
you how sorry he was. A month later, he
actually attacks you and you could wind
up in the hospital.
It is unwise to forgive a person who
has destroyed your property, invaded
your privacy and embarrassed you. All
of this is due to jealousy, and he isn’t
even married to you. You can be sure
that this will happen again. You said
that he seemed to be gentle and quiet
when you first met him, but it seems
obvious that this is a troubled man who
is like a walking time bomb that is
ready to explode in violence at any time.
This kind of behavior represents a
personality characteristic. Impulsive
violence is his way of getting what he
wants, even if what he wants doesn’t
belong to him. He probably has a his
tory of this kind of behavior. It’s un
likely that you are his first victim. Just
suppose that you did have a male visi
tor when he kicked your door down. He
might have hurt both you and your
guest. Now is the time for you to use the
law to get him out of your life for good.
In Perspective
BY ROBERT A. KING
ANY BOARD GAMES IN YOUR
ATTIC? MAY BE WORTH MONEY
It’s surprising how a neighborhood
paper like this gets wide circulation.
People carry them on buses and trains
and leave them. The next passenger
picks it up and finds something like this
to read that interests him. I get mail
from some second-hand readers.
Almost everybody has heard of Mo
nopoly, the bpard game, even if you
never played. You fight with the other
players to buy a whole business block,
foreclose on tenants, become million
aires, go broke or go to jail. With luck
you become a monopolist.
“The Landlord’s Game,” designed and
patented in 1902 by Lizzie Magie Phil
lips, was her effort to teach the evils of
land ownership. But she couldn’t sell
many of her homemade linoleum square
games. She gave up, didn’t renew her
patent after 17 years.
Around 1933 a “pirate” found one of
Lizzie’s games, made a few changes,
sold it to Parker Brothers claiming to be
the inventor. They changed the name to
Monopoly, sold and made millions.
Their game soft-pedaled land ownership
as the worst monopoly, that land rent
takes ever-increasing shares of earnings
of capita] and labor.
Another man marketed an ‘Anti-Mo
nopoly Game” with government as the
hero fighting big business (at taxpayers’
expense). Parker sued the new enterpr
iser and won, but his lawyer brought
the case to appeals court. He produced
the Landlord’s Game and more: starting
from 1880 were: Finance, Fortune, In
flation, Monopolist, Mariner’s Compass,
Real Estate, Ten-up and Game of Busi
ness. The appellate judge overturned
the earlier verdict. Anti-Monopoly
didn’t have to pay Parker anything.
Parker’s patent was based on fraud.
Patrice McFarland found a linoleum
Landlord’s Game in a flea market and
was greatly impressed the wav the.
“game” operates. It was 1989 or 1990.
She asked around, learned that Lizzie
Phillips died in the 1940s, perhaps not
penniless but robbed of her invention
and that the pirate got the royalties and
the glory. Pat wants Lizzie to get be
lated recognition. She is still research
ing, bought several of the games listed
above; if any reader finds a game board
in the attic that your grandpa may have
played, or was it a previous owner who
left it behind, phone or write Pat
McFarland, Box 1090, Averill Park,
N.Y. 12018, or phone collect (518) 674
8390. She intends to soon write her
complete story, and re-publish the
Landlord’s Game on a new patent.
During May, a Chicago columnist ran
two articles on Monopoly giving credit
for the invention to the pirate whose
name I won’t use. He deserves no
praise. Pat—and I, too—want Lizzie
honored at last.
OFF THE mm
©1992. Tribune Madia Services
Bible Thought
One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek
alter; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the
days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to
enquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble he
shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his taber
nacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
Psalms 27:4-6
TONY BROWN'S
JOURNAL
inis NEWEsT SELF-HELP PLAN
In March of 1991,1 received a letter from a woman
who was responding to an editorial in the New Pitts
burgh Courier about a speech I made, in which I pro
posed the Buy Freedom 900
Network, the first phone self
help network.
This 62-year-old mother of
six from Sacramento, Calif,
lived on a Social Security dis
ability grant. Two of her daugh
ters have children and are on
public assistance.
“I am not asking for a hand
out, but a helping hand,” Max
ine Wilcox said in her letter. “I
want to get beyond the fish-for
a-day routine, but to be able to fish for myself.”
She explained that 12 banks and the Small Busi
ness Administration had turned her down. “Credit
problem,” she said.
If you’re black, you suspect a little “race” problem,
also. That’s why I advocate putting your money where.
you can borrow it—in a black-owned bank or financial
institution.
In mostly-black Washington, D.C., blacks have their
money mostly in a white bank, but the majority of the
loans made to these blacks come from the two black
owned lending institutions.
The solution seems obvious: put your money where
you can borrow it. That’s why Italian-Americans
started the Bank of America.
That’s one institutional solution to getting loans;
another is an informal-cultural mechanism, utilized by
various ethnic groups.
The Koreans call it a “Sol;” the Jamaicans say
“Partner;” Guyanese name it “Box” and many black
West Indians call it a “Su-Su.”
Black Americans have no such device; so I created
the Buy Freedom 900 Network Loan Guarantee Pro
gram. It works on the same principle as those described
above.
BROWN
(See TONY BROWN. P. 18)
MIND’S* EYE
by Agatha E. Carroo
ELECTION *92: THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN
COMMUNITY
Choosing between the lesser of two evils occurs occa
sionally for white voters, but for African-Americans this
is a commonplace occurrence in national elections. In
the election of 1992, both blacks and whites will seem
ingly be faced with such a dilemma, the choice between
the lesser of three evils. Chances are that the incum
bent will be favored if the prevailing wisdom reflects
the modified adage that it is better to choose “an evil”
that you know rather than one you don’t know.
With such a backdrop, the African-American com
munity seems peculiarly affected. We are now witness
ing the attempted prostitution of our bloc vote by some
of our well-known leaders and the lecherous courtship
by each of the three evils. Roes Perot has recently con
ducted clandestine meetings with community members
of South Central Los Angeles, including gang members,
While Bush has invited black leaders from all over the
country to meet in his Oval Office. The invitation to
this “dance” to North Carolina’s black speaker of the
House, Dan Blue, was quickly rescinded when he was
hastily ushered out of a side door, to avoid any pros
pects of embarrassment belatedly anticipated by Bush’s
inept men.
Clinton was invited to the Rainbow Coalition “Cotil
lion” and complained of the presence of other invited
guests, such as Sister Souljah. He apparently didn’t
take the time to read the guest list before he came. His
art of courtship among African-American rappers is as
ineffective as his wooing of the MTV crowd, an obvious
generation gap. Yet, the dance goes on.
Under these circumstances, as some black leaders
suggest, is the proverbial party over? Certainly not. Af
rican-Americans still have several options. One strat
egy is to vote for one of the candidates. Bush received a
mandate in 1988 without significant Support from Afri
can-Americans and has largely ignored our interests in
the last four years, placing the black vote out of his
reach. In this three-man race in ’92, our support could
prove invaluable to him.
Ross Perot has yet to ask us for a dance as he cau
tiously tests the political waters. It’s unlikely that he
will master the dance steps before November.
Bill Clinton has asked for several dances, stepped
on our toes and now is ashamed to be seen with us in
public; he fears his chances to go to the prom with
white constituents will be jeopardized.
African-Americans may be well advised to sit out
the presidential election and let the “slugfest* between
the three evils commence. Thus, we avoid tipping the
scales for either one of them.
Our time might be best served concentrating on na
tional and state congressional elections and important
local elections throughout the country. In addition, po
litical caucuses and meetings should be devoted to de
veloping and reviving agendas and plans of action for
the next four years for state and local black communi
ties. It i3 time for African-Americans to identify models
of social, political and economic change that will facili
tate our long-range goals and to develop a real national
consensus that a majority of our community will sup
port.
We must stop the dance, play some different music
and become wedded to those who promote positive
change in our communities. We must save our dances
for them. When that occurs, only the “tried and true”
will even bother to ask us for a dance and the prostitu
tion of our vote will not be possible.