[This text is machine generated and may contain errors.]

PRINCEVILLE, NC " Residents,
friends and supporters of the City
_ of Princeville " the oldest Ameri-

can town chartered by blacks that

Leadership Conference " as a
birthday gift.

After sin ing the national Ne-
gro anthem, oLift Every Voice and

g Photo: Jim Rouse

Rev. Joseph Lowery shown here with Princeville Ts Mayor, Priscilla Everette-Oates|

was settled in 1865 and incorpo-
rated in 1885, gathered inside St.
Luke Church af Christ to celebrate
120 years of history and to hear the
Keynote speaker, Rev. Dr. Joseph
Lowery " one of the original
founders of the Southern Christian

Poverty worsening HIV

By Paul Simao, Reuters
ATLANTA - Poverty, unemploy-
ment and other socioeconomic fac-
tors are helping to fuel a growing
HIV problem among black women,
a U.S. study released on Thursday
suggests.

Black men and women account
for a majority of the estimated
40,000 new HIV infections that are
diagnosed in the United States each
year. The new HIV infection rate

Jackson lea

By Jennifer Cunningham:

Rav. Jesse Jackson, Sr.

NEWYORK - During the latter part
of january when Rev. Jesse L. Jack-
son, along with a host of promi-
nent politicians, business leaders
and community activists, kicked off
the 8th Annual Rainbow/PUSH
Wall Street Conference in Midtown
Manhattan in an effort to fight for
racial economic reform.

oWhen Jackie Robinson came
to play baseball in 1947 the issue
was playing, ? said Jackson, who has
said that African Americans must

Pitt County

By Susie Clemons
M-Voice News
GREENVILLE, NC- In 1981,
Bethel native, Dr. Ruby L. Perkins
already a 14 year veteran English pro-
fessor, at the nation Ts oldest histori-
cally Black Colleges, Cheyney State
a _

ee

Dr. Ruby 'L. P.

College located 25 miles south of
Philadelphia, PA, realized that olit-
cracy required a diet of reading ?.

Elizabeth City State, Howard,
Cheyney, and Temple Universities
nu and gave rise to the coat of
a colors which Perkins was des-
tined to wear. Therefote, is it any
wonder that Perkins, in addition to

Sing, ? and introductions of the
towns elected officials, Lowery took
the pulpit.

oCongrats on the courage and
preservation on rising from a wa-
tery grave to a mountain of hope, ?
said Lowery, 83. oYou all represent

among black women is about 18
times that of white women.

The study published by the Cen-
ters for Disease Control and Preven-
tion found that black women infected
with the AIDS virus are more likely

to be unemployed and willing to trade _

sex for drugs or money than
uninfected black women.

The study was based on a small
group of black women in North
Carolina who were diagnosed with

ding fight fo

gain access to capital. oNow the is-
sue is development. ? rt

Bonita Parker, national direc-
tor of the Rainbow/PUSH Coali-
tion agreed. oWe can sing, we can
dance, we can wear the baggy pants,
but now we need to step up to more
management roles, ? said Parker.

?,? time, they argue, is now.
With the development of major ur-
ban areas across America, Jackson
said that contracts and loans should
be extended to blacks to develop
minority-owned enterprises.

Of the
four goals of
the civil
rights move-
ment, which
included end-
ing legal sla-
very, ending
legal segrega-
tion, and se-
curing the right to vote, the fourth-
teaching financial literacy and elimi-
nating predatory lending-is the most
important.

oAs we come together this year,
seeking participation in America Ts
economic engine, we must be ever
more vigilant in protecting the
rights we have gained, even the
right to vote, ? said Jackson. oAt the
same time, we must extend the gains

Native Reflects

her duties as professor, would develop
(LIPS) Literacy is Peoples T Survival and
its companion project (RIBS) Read.
ing is Black Survival literacy reading
programs. Each is monumental in
that they exemplified the expanse of
Perkins Ts desire to provide access to
literagy to those in need of its life long
benefits, as well as to promote literacy

| as the foundation of sustainable com-

munities, especially Black communi-
ties.

And those acts of giving back to
the community also evolved into suc-
cessful fund-raisers during the early
90's, Imagine these fundraiser, as
moments Frozen in time with Perkins
holding center stage, in a fluffin hap-
hazard colors, tattered dress and in-
fectious speech in bringing toslife the
outrageously funny tales of the late
Jackie oMoms ? Mabley. Out of this
period arose yet another medium
through which she could teach her
English students lessons in effective
speaking.

Add to Perkins growing list of lit-
erary achievements, that of Director/
Playwright of the successful West
Chester Community Players, whose
repertoire included storytelling, son
and dance in celebration of Women's
history.

However, it is her collection of
Black Memorabilia, rare objets d T arts,

r

Serving Eastern

North Carolina T:

Sane

SA eee

a people who deserve praise. Just
three years ago you all were cov-
ered in water. The way you've come
up and out has set a beautiful ex-
ample to America. I respect this
town Ts perserverance. As black

. peo le, we learn how to live thro

ardships and use what we got. This
is an example of how to turn adver-
sity into opportunity. ? .
Lowery, a native of Alabama,
served as president of the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference
until retiring in 1997. He also led the
1982 march through five states in fa-
vor of the Voting Rights Act. Altho
this was his first visit to Princeville,
he said his wife had been to the town
" formerly known as Freedom Hill
" after the 1999 flood,
oHistory is important, ? Lowery
said. oIf you don Tt know where
youve come from, you don Tt know
where you're going, and if you don't
know where you've come fom, you

wont know when you're being led ?

back. History builds a foundation.
No other set of people have come
so far since slavery, ?

Lowery Ts message didn Tt just fo-
cus on his experiences of injustices

HIV in 2003 and the first half of
2004 and a larger group of
uninfected women who were re-
cruited at HIV testing sites in 2004.

It found that 71 percent of those
who were infected did not have a
job, compared with 38 percent of
those uninfected.

More than a third of the HIV-
positive women admitted trading sex
or money, drugs or other gifts, said
researchers with the Atlanta-based

we have made to include econammic
parity and equity in the boardroom,

in the managers T offices and in the }

owners T boxes, ? he added.

The conference, titled oBeyond
Diversity, Equity and Parity: A New
Covenant, ? hosred several hundred
people, most of whom were minor-
ity businesspeople with pledges to
work with Jackson Ts Organization to
address the wealth disparity between
blacks and their white counterparts.

Jackson said that African-

Americans and other minorities
have been
economi-
cally disen-
franchised,
crippling
their path-
way to suc-
cess.

oThe
wealth gap
leads to an opportunity gap, ? said
Jackson. oExcellence and Art can-
not compete with inheritance and
access. ?

Halting the economic misuse
of the Black community

This economic stagnation, said
Jackson, has occurred through
unscrupuopus nortgage lending, au-
tomotive finance mark-ups for mi-
norities, and pension defrauding,

equality on

on Lessons Learned

during the civil rights era or the im-
portance of Black History Month.
He also spoke on the state of the
nation. He said it was time to redi-
rect and understand that the United
States needs to seek out the evils in
its own country.

oAmerica is serious. Not seri-
ous like a headache, but serious like
a heart attack, ? he said. oPeople
think we are crazy; we are out of
our cotton-pickin T minds. We're

sending smart bums on dumb mis- ~

sions. Our own people are dying
searching for weapons of mass de-
struction, when (those weapons) are
here, too. Forty-four million people
in this country are aceat th
insurance, and more are trying to
live off of minimum wage. Those
are weapons of mass destruction
right here in our own country. ?
Friday's celebration of the town
is a reminder to the community of
where the town is going, said
Milton Bullock, a Princeville native
and former member of The Plat-
ters " one of the top vocal groups
of the 1950s. Though Mayor
Priscilla Everette-Oates could not
say where she sees the town in five

among U.S. black women-stud

CDC, North Carolina Depattment
of Health and University of North
Carolina.

Only 15 percent of uninfected
women had done so.

There was also a higher ten-
dency for the infected women to be
on welfare or some other form of
public assistance.

oTt suggests that it Ts a lot more

difficult for women who are poor
to even think of HIV as a health

Wall Street

He called for an end to these preda-
tory lending practices, or charging
high interest rates arid fees that are
not beneficial to the borrower.

Predatory lending companies
are five times more likely to be in
Black communities than white, and
African-Americans are 4.1 times
more likely to be victimized by
predatory lending.

In a breakfast discussion be-
tween Jackson and Elliot Spitzer, the
New York attorney general, Spitzer,
who is a candidate for governor in
2006, said that the fight for racial
economic parity is an uphill battle.
oCapital flows influence decisions, ?
said Spitzer. oEveryone fights to
maintain the status quo. They have
an overwhelming constituency, ? he

_ added.

But Spitzer, who has experience
in mutual fund fraud, pledged to track
down predatory lending companies
and said that his.office would pros-
ecute those involve in such schemes.
In addition to halting the economic
misuse in the Black community Jack-
SON wants to see more commercial
ventures between Black businesses
and mainstream companies.

oAllowing minority-owned
businesses to compete in the mar-
ketplace will increase dividends for

all, ? said Jackson.

antiques, awe inspiring headlines of
history captured on paper and film as
well as modern arts detailing the rise
of Blacks in America and the
handspun legacy of Africa that Perkins
holds dearest to heart. Each piece
painstakingly selected during her ex-
tensive coavels would later debut as the
oMama Day's Parlor ? museum col-
lection.
The oMama Day's Parlor ?, after

Pictured from left'to right is Rosa Ward, Mary Cates - President, Vickie, Joyner,
Effie Thompson, and Denise Tyson, Minnie Andrews, Mary Raynard, kneeling,
Janice Leonard-Peace, Shirley Williams, and Ruby Perkins during an appreciation

re-celebration party for the fist annual Valentines Day Scholarship Gala that was
held at the Hilton Hotel the following evening.

Photo: Jim Rouse

Mama Day, the Black matriarch in
Gloria Naylor's successful novel so
entitled, was first elegantly housed in
the A. Foster Student Alumni Center
on the campus Cheyney University,
during Perkins tenure as professor.

~The catalogue includes a Repub-
lican Textbook for Colored Voters, an
early NAACP newsletter, slavery items
that include a $1500.00 receipt from

SEE PITT COUNTY - PAGE 10

te
° Ro.

: Minority Communities Since ey:
|\Complimentag,
Please Take C

IUGETAZ Gr aes
| Vol. 18. Issue #1 Feb. 17 - 28, ;

years, she knows what the foresee-

able future holds, such as a medical
and dental center that will create 15
new jobs, an African-American ,

museum and a new recreation park
for the community,

oWe didn Tt do this all alone, ?
Bullock said. oWe black ones didn Tt

Je Wo Pushed

By Terri Nelson
RICHMOND, VA - Robert R.
Merhige Jr., a federal judge whose
rulings forcing schools to desegregate
made him so unpopular that for a time
he required 24-hour protection, has

Anniversar

come this jway alone. We h

good whité ones to help alc

some bad black ones and b:

ones. But this is a historica,
tunity to feflect on the milestones
that have shaped our community.
Please pay attention, because this

is history alive. ?
_ ion Dies at 86
died. He was 86.

Methige died Friday at Virginia
Commonwealth University Medical
Center after undergoing open heart
surgery days earlier, his son, Mark R.
Merhige, said Saturday.

Named to the federal bench in
1967 by President Lyndon Johnson,
Robert R. Merhige Jr. ordered doz-
ens of Virginia Ts school systems to de-
segregate.

After a 1972 decision to consoli-
date public school systems in Rich-
mond and neighboring counties for
the sake of integration, his dog was
shot to death, and a guest cottage on
his property was destroyed by arson.

Last year, Merhige told the Rich-

See Desegregation Page 2

Priority when there are so many
other issues that they are dealing

with, ? said Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick,.

director of the CDC Ts minority
HIV/AIDS research initiative and
one of the study's authors.

Fitzpatrick noted that black
women in North Carolina had an
HIV infection rate-14' times higher
than white women. oI think this
mirrors a lot of the epidemic in the
rest of the country. This is not
unique to North Carolina. ?

Only heterosexually active

black women between the ages of
18 and 40 living in parts of the state
with the highest AIDS death rates
were included in the study. Those
who admitted injecting drugs were
excluded. . .

Researchers also found worry-
ing similarities in sexual behavior
among the two groups of women,
including high rates of sexually
transmitted diseases. The majority
of both groups, however, felt that
they were unlikely or very unlikely
to contract HIV.

Philadelphia Mayor John Street

spoke about, his Success in using

-@ainority contractors to build two

new stadiums in the City of Broth-
erly Love. Street said he used 19
minority contractors to construct
the sprawling $1.2 billion arenas,
oI represent a city with a tre-
mendous amount of minority and
poor people, ? said Street. ?We need
to level the economic playing field. ?
Manhattan Borough President
C. Virginia Fields said that she has
established an advisory board that
will ensure woman and minority-
owned businesses are utilized if the
Jets get the official go-ahead to build
a new stadium in the ci

Minority and woman owned
businesses must participate mean-
ingfully in the redevelopment of
Manhattan's West Side, ? said Fields,
who is widely considered to be a
canididate in New York City Ts up-
coming mayoral race.

The conference was not free of
controversy. A small group of pro-
testers with the organization Black
United Fund of New

York held a protest outside the
Hilton New York Hotel during
Spitzer's talk. They allege that he
actively worked to dismantle the
Northeastern Urban League and
osensationalized the investigation ?
of fraud at Hale House,

a

MONS ES

a he

PhaterGnius Sima

From left to right Reginald Edwards, Dude Langley, Jimmy Langley, Jr. and Jimmy
Langley, Sr. briefly pose for the camera. These construction specialists are taking part

in a major restoration of the Blount-Harvey b

uilding in uptown Greenville

bie aa

STTtAusedy £
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TAVS.3 Ff. Oe

ON
NOad dnow

by Wilbert A. Tatum ,
Ray Charles is gone. Ossie

Davis is gone. If there were such
things as comfort singers and

comfort actors, Ray and Ossie
would have been two of those. No
matter what they sang, no matter
what role they acted in, it was a
comfort to see and hear them. We
knew that after the show was over,
we would be returned to our own
special place wheré we could sing,
dance, and cry. In other words,
we have had a kind of fix that
made us feel good without intoxi-
cating us with anything more than
a fix of comfort.

These men were good for us.
They were good for our egos, they
were good for us as Black people.
They were good for us as role
models, and they were good men.
They developed and practiced

cir crafts in such a way as to

~ "
i
|

Susie Clemons

About a week ago or so
WOOW Ts William Clark and side
kick E-Jack really had that morn-
ing show going. They really had
folks stirred up and talking.

Is Atlanta

By Hal Lamar

ATLANTA (NNPA) - Atlanta, of-
ten cited by Black Enterprise and
other national publications as the
ideal cel and business cli-
mate for African Americans and
other people of color, is changing
ever so slowly.

In fact, by the year 2009, the
city now called the oBlack Mecca ?
by many of those same publica-
tions will find itself overtaken by
a growing minority of middle- to
upper-class Whites.

That commentary on the city
that birthed Rev. Martin Luther
King Jr., the first Black mayor of
a major southeastern city and sev-
eral bastions of Black business
success such as H.J. Russell, Citi-
zens Trust Bank and Atlanta Life
Insurance, has moved beyond a
mere visionary stage. It is quanti-

The Bonfire of

by Ray Hanania

America is a nation that is in
transformation. Once the pillar of
America Ts greatness, the righteous
values of justice are slowly bein
consumed by a national rage based
on lies, racism and hate.

Many Americans would rather
embrace the lie so they don't have
to come to terms with their own
ugliness or hate. Ugliness becomes
relative. It is acceptable when you
can make the person you hate seem
even uglier.

Today's Americans are culti-
vatin principles based on oNew
Speak." Atrocity becomes justi-
fied with the clever use of labels.
The killer is acceptable as long as
the victim is someone designated
as unacceptable, or today Ts oterror-
ist. ?

oHorrors of war are unavoid-
able, ? Americans scream as they
dance around the flames of hate.
long as victims are othe other

le.

" ven the meaning of the word
oterrorist ? is redefined in the
oNew Speak. ? It is no longer about

ve t

have us believe the charactets they

played and the songs they sq
other words, we believec in them.

Now that they are gone, are
there others for us to believe in?
That is a difficult question which
is going to be very difficult to an-
swer in the short term. How do
you replace a Ray Charles? How
do you replace Ossie Davis?

The other night we watched

~ the Grammy Awards and could not

| walk away without being thor-

oughly disappointed. The singers
in the main could not sing, the
actors could not act, and whatever

one decides to attribute or what

accomplishments had been made
by most of them, it was out of our
time, our space, our realm,
There are those who would say
this is a new era. This is new mu-
sic. And there are understandings
hegé that those of us who are older
simply do not understand. Perhaps
that is true. But, Lord knows I do
understand pretty. I do understand
lovely. I do understand comfort-
able. I do understand thrilling,
heartbreaking, and loving. Most of
these feelings were not brought out
in me by the singers of these

Strange songs, written to a strange

music, that attempted to deliver a
message that most people who
were listening at the Grammys
failed to understand.

Fewer people watched the
Grammy Awards this year than any
other. Although we tried to under-
stand why music was being writ-
ten and played in such a way, it

a Man Bett

This topic was a ringer be-
cause in the majority of instances
this question is only ever asked
hence aimed at reals ohow can
you be happy with a piece a man? ?

Actually what the question
begets: are some Black men okay
offering themselves for piecemeal
encounters versus wholesome and
loving relationships? That's how |
choose to view it. Cleary, there's
more that meets the eye with this
one.

But let's look at this thing from
the male point of doing. Who's
the victim of use in these: in-
stances, the Brotha T or the Sista? T
It Ts not the Sista for she is the pro-
genitor: one who sets the standard

or something. She sets the stan-

dard because she out numbers you
in many cases by as many as 5 and
6 to 1 of you- more or less- de-
pending upon the city.

Sista Ts have for a long time

fied by the 2004 oStatus of Black
Atlanta. ?

The report, issued annually
the past 11 years by Clark Atlanta
University Ts Southern Center for
Studies in Public Policy, is
watched over by center director
Bob Holmes, a 30-year member
of the Georgia General Assembly.
He has shepherded the status of

Black Atlanta report since its T

launching in 1993.

Asked to compare the 2004
report with the 10 others he has
done, Holmes noted that things
haven't changed much economi-
cally for the city Ts poor and lower
class pope

oProgress has been made by
about 30 percent of the popula-
tion, but as many or more than
that experienced a decline in the
quality of life, ? he told the Atlanta

humanity, morality or righteous
rinciples of justice. It is a mob-
like hate-vision.

We see evidence of this in
America every day as we divide
the world not in terms of right and
wrong, but ous ? versus othem. ?

An American soldier kills a
wounded Iraqi in cold-blood,
clearly the tip of an iceberg of
atrocities unreported by the me-
dia. Rather than disgust, many
Americans want to punish the
people who made this atrocity
public.

In stark contrast, there is no
limit to their moral Outrage against
Islamic terrorists who have com-
mitted similar acts of butchery by

ng hostages. There are no
limits to the atrocities and injus-
tice that can be wiped clean in the
new American equation of oys ?
versus othem, ?

We are at the bonfire of
American morality. Nothing burns
brighter in this ceed fusice,
righteousness, morality and prin-
ciples that define human dighity

Atrocity is judged by the races
and politics of the victims and the

unfathomable. oS ee
"Something is happening in the

he wrote, oThey have taken my blues
and gone. ? Maybe that is what
ton was predicti he ac-
cused whites of stealing Black music.
Is it possible that BI
seen their music used, abused and
stolen by those who cannot sing or
act have secretly decided? Is it a pos-
sibility that the new Black song writ-
ers have attempted to create music,
verses and lyrics that whites do not
understand and cannot perform? On
the face of it, it Ts ludicrous. But, do I
hear my song anywhere? Do I hear
my tune being sung?

The new record stars have no
names. Their bands have no name.
It is difficult to record their mu-
sic. Yet, there are those who in-

. if they heard one ora

sist they have come up with some-
thing new and different, and quite
sensational. It is not a thing that I
understand or would pay to see.

- Perhaps it all has to do with age -
the passing of time.

people who seem most fascinated
bk are children, but these chil-
dren come from a generation of
children that never really learned
to read, never really learned to
Sing. Might that not have some-
thing to do with it? Is it possible
that they wouldn't recognize a song
oem if they
were choked by it? Or, is it that
there are those of us who have not

. yet caught on to the new rhythms,

e new beats, the new anthems,
the new music?

Sit in a corner and meditate
about what is lost and will never
return while conjuring up some-
thing new that never will be.

Desegregation From Page 1

mond Times-Dispatch that he was

still amazed, disappointed and
at the Public reactio to his line.

oT thought , We
don't like pe peop be
following the law, ? he said. oThat
didnt Wo

Thee ation order was re-
versed on appeal and made its way to
the Supreme Court. In 1973, the high
court deadlocked 4-4 on the case,
which ended the consolidation effort.

Merhige also ruled in 1968 that
the conflict in Vietnam was a war,
whether or not it was a declared war.

That ruling

er Than The Whole?

been in control of how they
choose to conduct themselves
morally; you on the other hand
have been or are pimped much of
the time. True?

Scandalous to say the least, but
how could you let us treat you like
that, like the hoof of a Pigs feet? |
ask, where Ts your self respect and
sense of decency?

Those Sista in defense of their
actions during such inquisitions of
loving a piece a man will have
some Sistas smiling, others advis-
ing you to talk to the hand, others
more than ready to defend the
part-time worker in their piece
meal employ with a vivid assault
of correcting words.

For the past several decades,
in particular and being ever mind-
ful of the challenging remnants sla-
very has eral upon our fami-
lies, that some if not all Brotha Ts
have come to enjoy their status as

Still The Black Mecca?

Voice in an interview.

One of the key indicators of
how Adlanta is slowly changing de-
mographically is in affordable
housing. A federal housing initia-
tive called HOPE VI ( ousing
Opportunities for People Every-
where) is a well-intentioned effort
by the Department of Housing
and Urban Development to redis.
tribute inner city dwellers out of
public housing projects and other
so-called oreservation communi-
ties ? into better neighborhoods
with single family houses and more
amenities like better grocery
stores, shops and medical ser-
vices. But Holmes says the con-
cept has yet to flourish the way its
creators envisioned.

oWe have yet to see that hap-
pen. ? What we have seen, he notes
in the report, is the increase in

the American

victimizer. When the victim is one
of ous, ? Americans are outraged.
When the victim is one of othem, ?
the atrocity is justified.

The sickness becomes the
norm, especially when the media
surrenders to the mob and em-
braces rather than challenges the
lies.

The American news media are
in voluntary bondage and, worse,
in widespread denial The absence
of ethics becomes promiscuous.
Professional journalism is replaced
by entertainment news that is
based on viciousness and cruelty.
Emotional fantasies replace hard
facts.

From there, it is a mere half.
step to a future when the mob will
demand even more in Roman-like

ee.

At some point, they won't
even pretend. The oguilty ? will be
fed to the lions of our hatred.

Justice will be replaced by

ublic entertainment. The new
Judges will sand behind then
crophones fanning the bonfires of
American morality, cheering on
the viciousness. Gleefully dancing

piece meals- can even be caught
raggin about it. Imagine.

All this because Brotha Ts have
really been duped by Sista Ts into
thinking that they are running
things. Sista Ts know that you
juggle phone numbers and make
as many house calls as is pos-
sible and so on. Trust me, we
know... |

I think perhaps that congratu-
lations are in order for the Sista
who came up with this pi -party
idea in the first place- of fovin T a
piece of man. Much like Heidi
Fleiss, she either locked up, al-
ready served time or still in the
business of educating women on
the beauty, form and function of
piece meal men.

For example, when's the last
time you know of a Sista being
locked up cause she whi ped her
man into acting right- so that there
would be no doubt as to who the

S.O.B., but he Ts _

Thinking in terms of Ossie and
Ray, It is hard to believe that they
conjured up anything, It was so
easy to hear them and to repeat
what they were saying. It was so
easy to watch them as they made
us joyful, as they made us sad,
using words that we knew, rhythms
that we could duplicate from songs
that were for any age or any people
or any time.

Personally, I am saddened by
this loss of my tune, of my song,
of my poem. I am saddened be-
cause they will not return. There
can be no recovery unless the song
is sung the way it used to be. An
by people who could sing.

n your way to the next level
of shatchin voice with an old
song, and playing on the radio,
please don Tt forget to include those

| derstand that they simply want to
understand to

* Laurence Dunbar. And

© what the songs
mean and why they are dedicated |
to something that is so difficult to
understand, .
Ossie and Ray would have un-
derstood all of this beca
ing their poems. Ossie was as com-
fortable reciting the works of Dy|
Thomas. as he was with Paul
was as
comfortable singing oGo Tell It on
the Mountain ? as he was with sing-
ing oAmerica the Beautiful. ?
In many ways there are those
who must be grateful. Because Ray
and Ossie have passed on, we no
longer have to i them about their
strange songs and words and tunes that
have entered our lives. And we say,
oThey have taken my blues and gone. ?

Wilbert A. Tatum is Publisher
Emeritus for the Amsterdam News

who have sung the songs before Ny York T Gj

and who worship them now. Un- oiy

96 Army reservists tried to avoid serv- Carolina and received his law

ing in Vietnam. Merhige denied their from University of Richmond's T.C.

request. Williams School of Law in 1942. He
He retired in 1998 and joined served in the Army Air Forces in

the law firm of Hunton & Williams World War II.

in Richmond. Besides his son Mark, Judge
oHe was a giant in the law, ? said Merhige Ts survivors include his wife,

former Gov. Gerald L. Baliles, whose Shirley G. Methige, and his son Rob.

office at Hunton & Williams was next ert R. Merhige III.

to the judge's, Mark Merhige, a real estate de-
oWhether it was civil rights, or veloper in Richmond, said his father

complicated antitrust cases, or crimi- was a teacher to the end.

nal matters before the court, he called

them as he saw them. He was not
afraid of upholding the law. ?

Born in New York City, Merhige
attended High Point College in North

oHe taught me to live with a cer-
tain code and a certain grace, ? he said,
oHe showed me yesterday that. one
can leave this world with that same

kind of grace. ?

boss is. Additionally guy Ts who
trying to control the actions of
whom on any given day? Where
you at? Hollar-

On an classic note, who bet-
ter than any Sista knows that be-
cause you're stretched so thin on
your diet of women that it may
take four of you to equal a whole
(since bit Ts, pieces and portions is
all some of you value yourselves

-as)?

There again who but a Sista
could treat everyone of her Boo Ts
like he was the only Boo? After

you come in several orders: Mr.
Just There, you know who you
are...hanging on by a thread,
which is how you like it.

Mr. Da T Pimp, his Boo takes
care of him. Mr. Supportive
Companion, good for trips light
bill gas bill, maybe even rent or

?,? mortgage- does great disappear-
ing acts and he Ts too hot for com-
mitment and racks up a lot of
roaming fees.

condominiums and loft housin
which he said is being gobbled up
by Whites moving from other ar-
eas of the country and suburban
Adanta into the inner city.

oNot many Blacks are buying
into this, ? he said. oWhile we are

moving outside the city into the sub-

divisions and housing developments,
Whites are coming into the city and
occupying 95 percent of the con-
dos and loft apartments. ?

He predicted that if the trend
continues, the demographics of the
city will change signi icantly and
with it the political landscape as

l

well.

Speaking of politics, Holmes
said the census data from 2000 sug-
gests that the White-Black popula-
tion could reach parity within the
next three to five years and allow a
strong White candidate to be elected
mayor.

oThat's not to say that a Black

around the bonfires of a corrupt
morality. Spewing hate-talk and

menting greater racism as New
Speak. Listeners will scream men-
tal chants of oDeath! Death!
Death! ?

The evidence is there every
day. The icons of the new media
allow people to foment hate. On
one recent show, Palestinians are
described as ofilthy animals ? en-
couraged by the talk show host
who declares to the coliseum that
it is acceptable to dehumanize
those whom we hate.

But you can never satiate the
hunger of the mob bonfire. Just
calling someone a ofilthy animal ?
will not be enough. If you can de-
humanize a human being, you can
then obliterate that human life.
And then sit with your family and
bounce a child on your knee and
even speak of greatness and a great
world free of fear and violence.
Once you have destroyed all of
othem.

The first casualty becomes the
obliteration of the line between
right and wrong. Morality is re-
defined based on the racial and

Mr. Daddy Man, no children
of his own but shucks out the dol-
lars for all the other baby daddy Ts
who are MIA or missing in action.

And lastly, there Ts Mr. Love to
Make a Baby, very disposable you
are - but is it you or the check she
wants?

That a lot of punch, how-
ever, let me be the first to say, I
love my Black Brotha Ts, no other
man on earth compares to all the
wonderful things you represent.
But are you really okay allowing
us the option of tossing you
aside like an empty milk Carton?
What about all the women; you
ask? We'll figure it out, we al-
ways have.

So I ask the question again,
is a piece of man better than the
whole? My Brotha Ts you decide.
To my Sista Ts go easy. I remain

Yours in the struggle,
Susie Clemons
opinionsandtalk @yahoo.com

person couldn't be elected, ? he notes.
But that person will have to be one
Whites feel will work in their best
interests as well as those of the city Ts
poor and working class. The da
of the incumbent mayor hand-pick-
ing successors is over. That died with
Maynard (Jackson) in 2003. ?

One of the reports T most dis-
turbing finding is the declining rate
of marriage in the Black commu-
nity. According to their findings, na-
tionally the number of Black mar-
ried couples plummeted from 68
percent in 1970 to 46.1 percent in
2000. In Atlanta, the decline was
equally as sharp from 58.5 percent
to 33.7 percent. Black married
couples with kids comprise only
12.4 percent of total Black house-
holds in Atlanta compared to 30.5
percent for Whites. Holmes said
their report cites the low supply of
omarriageable Black men ? as one
cause for the downward trend.

religious origins of the dehuman-
1zed victim.

It Ts in the nature of racism and
hatred.

America is a nation fast be-
coming a coliseum of uniformed
minds. The New Speak is spread-
ing. We wave our American fla
with an emotion that is wei hed
both by love and hate until hate

comes equal and even surpasses
what is aa

The glow of the bonfire of
American morality is a cremato-
tium of hatred where the slaugh-
tered vanish in smoke.

And when the smoke is gone
from the skies, we can pretend it
never happened.

nless a new Moses comes
down from the mountainto and
destroys the idol of the calf fash-
ioned from the charred remains
of a once golden morality.

Ray Hanania is an award-win-
ning nationally syndicated colum-
nist based in Chicago. His col-
umns are archived at
www.hanania.com. This column
was originally published by Arab

erican Media Services, Perms.
sion to republish has been granted
by Ray Hanania.

The report cites the ratio of
Black men to Black women as 597
men for every 1,000 osistahs, ? nearly
2-1. When Black male employment
is thrown in, the figures shrink to
279 eligibles for every 1,000 Black |
women.

oThe impact is devastating, ?
said Holmes. oIt Ts increased teen
childbearing, higher school dropout
rates, more children in foster care,
increases in welfare rolls, more kids
in poverty and greater incarceration
rates. ?

As possible. solutions, the re-
port suggests everything from ma-
jor education efforts to encourage
marriage over cohabitation or
oshacking ? to outlawing no-fault di-
vorce of even sanctioning same sex
marriage (a crime in Georgia).

oThe Status of Black Atlanta
2004 ? is available for $15 and can
be obtained by calling the Southern
Center at (404) 880-8085.

The
Minority Voice
Newspaper
The Minorky von

NCS, INC. |
Jim Rouse

Publisher/Founder
Gaius O. Sims, Sr.
Ope

Jim Rouse Communioatene,

also dba
WOOW Radio Greenville NC.
Wm. Clark: Gen, Mgr. and
WTOW Radio, Washington, NC.

Our Subscription Rates
Are A
seer vew or

| Af.

Ne

omg pba

rica T

pushing creditors to forgive 95 per-
cent ($195 billion) of Iraq debt.*

They argue that it was acquired un-
der a dic ea

Ctatorial regime and the
people of Iraq should not have to

pay for this illegitimate debt. With-

out doubt, the Iraqi le deserve
a reprieve from debt. But Africa's
predicament is more severe than
Iraq's many times over. In Africa
today, millions have been killed, and
are routinely wounded, raped, and
displaced from their homes and
means of livelihood by war. This
breakdown of Africa's social fabric
exacerbates an already desperate
situation characterized b grinding
poverty, famine, dismal health care
acilities, and rising illiteracy and
unemployment rates. It is tragic
that while Africa is the world Ts poor-
est region, the continent carries two-
thirds of developing countries T debt
burden "an estimated U.S. $300
billion. Imagine what $195 billion
in debt reli oA a for ae
egitimate an ous Debt
» It is widely agreed that the bulk
of Africa's crippling debt is illegiti-
mate and often falls within the legal
definition of oodious. ? Africa was
literally snared into debt by credi-
tors in the wake of rising oil prices
and falling interest rates in the
1970s. Banks and other lending in-
stitutions made loans to developin
countries in order to ostop the slide
of interest rates and thus save their
businesses. ding to this, the great

bulk of Africa Ts debt was incurred

Simmons No

By Earl Ofari Hutchinson
The buzz is that hip hop mogul
Russell Simmons should take over
the top spot
i the

tional search
-team is cur-
rently inter-
viewing can-
didates to
succeed out-
oin
NAACH
president
a Kweisi
Mfume, Some veteran, NAACP

Wat

Simmons because they think he can
appeal to the younger generation.
At first glance, that seems
plausible. The standard knock
against the nation Ts oldest civil
rights organization is that it Ts too
old, rae and hopelessly out of
touch with young blacks But it will
take much more than Simmons T
dynamism and purported youth
savvy to revive the flagging fortunes
of the NAACP. The problem is not
an aging membership, but the
NAACP Ts disconnect from activ-
ism, failure to address the prob-
lems of the black poor, its em-

The Bush administration is

chers. and critics publicly tout .

in the context of Cold War politics.
Africa was a hot battle eround for
the former USSR and the West, prin-
cipally the United States. Both East
and West furiously fought for the
continent T political loyalty and dis-
bursed billions of dollars in loans to
any country that supported them,
regardless of how-brutal their lead-
ers were or how bad their govern-
ments. Corrupt leaders and govern-
ments took this opportunity to bor-
row billions.

These lenders had little regard
for the Porrowing countries T ability
to repay or to what use these bor-
rowed funds were being put. Such
irresponsible lending resulted in cor-
rupt African leaders and govern-
ments grabbing as much money as
possible to line their pockets, invest
in useless prestige Projects, buy
more arms, and fortify their brutal
security apparatuses, which they
then used to crush dissent and cre-
ate conditions for violent conflicts
that today ravage the continent.

For example, the criminal apart-
heid regime in South Africa contin-
ued to receive significant loans that it
used to oppress and kill South Africa Ts

lack majority. So did the notoriously
corrupt and brutal Mobutu regime in
the forme! Zale oT the Stace
ublic of Congo). Forcing the poor
a les of these countries to pay debts
to oppress, kill, and leave them
with such bloody legacies is simply
unjust. Present day Africans should
not be forced to pay for the political
chess game of Cold War era regimés.

brace of showy, symbolic fights,
and its repeated bashing by
NAACP Chairman Julian Bond of
President Bush, and its blatant
push of any and all Democrats.

The NAACP can Tt drum up
new members, old or young, be-
cause it has been missing in ac-
tion in recent years on many of
the crisis issues that tear
black communities. A near
textbook example of this is
the Confederate flag fight.
The organization wasted
valuable time, energy and
resources fighting with
South Carolina officials
over whether the flag
should be removed from
the State House. But the flag te-
moval would not have saved one
black farm, improved failing public
schools, increased funds for histori-
cally black colleges, created more
jobs or reduced poverty for South
Carolina Ts blacks. The NAACP Ts
penchant for showpiece battles that
attract rhuch press attention, but do
nothing to solve'the far thornier
ote of the black poor did not

egin with Mfume.

The collapse of the civil rights
movement in the late 1960s
marked the) turning point for the
organization. It became the politi-

and I

| ; programs

In disbursing new loans,. the
International Monetary Fund.(IMF)
and World Bank impose crippling
conditionalities called Structura
Adjustment Programs (SAPs) on
debtors. These required countries
seeking loans to:

Balance their budgets, which
forced them to cut spending and
subsidies on basic public services
such T as health and education,
thereby making them less affordable
to ordinary people.

Cut down the size of govern-
ment by laying off thousands of
workers.

Privatize state owned indus-
tries, which cut tax revenue and of-
ten resulted in increased prices for
essential goods and services.

Devalue their currencies,
thereby increasing the value and
burden of the external debt held in
foreign currency.

pen the country to foreign
investment, thereby subjecting [o-
cal industries to compete with huge
foreign multinational corporations.

romote cash crop or mineral
export industries in order to earn
foreign currency to pay back the
debt, which added no value to local
production and made them vulner-
able to dropping world market
prices.

Both the IMF and the World
Bank claim that SAPs will ensure
that countries grow out of their debt.
After decades of adjustment, there

cal springboard for the newly emer-

ent black middle class. It fought
hard to get more upwardly mobile
blacks into corporate manage-
ment, in elite universities, in front
of and behind TV cameras, elect
more black Democrats to state and
national offices, secure more busi-
ness loans, and, of course, rally

against the Confederate flag.
These battles, however, did

not have the slightest bearing on
the plight of the black poor. They
ave grown more numerous, more
desperate, are trapped in segre-
ated or re-segregated neighbor-
hoods, shuttle their children off to
abominably failing public schools,
are plagued by crime, drugs and
gangs, and are stuffed into bulg-
ing jail cells. Meanwhile, the
wealth and income gap between
the black haves and have-nots has
widened even farther.
NAACP leaders have found

_ What The NAACP Should

By Lana Hampton

ASHINGTON, DC - With a
changing of the guard occurring
at the NAACP, the nation Ts oldest
civil rights organization has an
opportunity for growth and
change.

It would be in the NAACP Ts
best interest to put itself on a
more centrist course than the
one it has been on for the past
40 years. After all, the
protection of people Ts civil rights
is not a left or right-leaning
ideology. It is simply a
responsibility.

The loss of support the
NAACP is experiencing is
undoubtedly due to its lurch to the
left and the feelings of many that
it no longer represents all blacks,
let alone all people.

Few would argue with the
original goals of the NAACP. It
was, and, in many ways, still is an
admirable institution. But it has
not changed with the times. It
seems to be caught in.a time war
dating back to the 1960s. The
issues of relevance 40 years ago
are not necessarily the same issues
that are important now.

Racism was undeniably the |

biggest obstacle to minorities back
then, but now many black
communities are overrun with
crime, suffering from inadequate
schools and are plagued by an
epidemic of single-parent homes
(the leading cause of poverty).
I do not hear enough from the
modem NAACP on these issues.
What the NAACP needs to do is

empower poor blacks instead of

constantly citing a never-ending
list of obstacles they claim hol
blacks back, Ae
ontinuing to perpetuate
victim status ef blacks will only
| ensure that poor blacks continue

to behave like victims " and
victims rarely succeed on their
own. In order to achieve this, the
NAACP must be blatantly honest
about the ills occurring within
some black communities. The left,
however has made pointing out
bad choices a taboo subject.
There are some who rely too
heavily on the government to
sustain them. The NAACP should
work on empowering these so they
can become self-sufficient, It Ts the
old give a man a fish or teach him

The Needy and

by George E. Curry

world-
wide re-
action to
the tsu-
nami
tragedy,
One might
get the
impres-
sion that
generos-

1 et
abounds. Schoolchildren have do.
nated their allowances to victims
of the disaster, "

Glovernments and major
corporations have pledged: mil-
lions of dollars. The American
Red Cross and other charities have

rovided food, money and cloth-
ing. Churches around the world
have taken up special collections.
Millions of dollars have been
raised over the Internet,

But, don Tt . misled, pecond-
ing to a report | nterna-
tienal in Englarid the world Ts rich-
est countries donate an average of

Judg-
ing by the

to fish situation.

There are many bright,
capable people in our inner cities
who just need positive and
constructive leadership. This
includes criticism along the lines
of what Bill Cosby has said.
Cosbv Ts critiaue is not mean-
spirited, as some contend, but
merely an attempt to nudge people
in the right direction.

It would also be beneficial for
the NAACP to avoid su porting

causes which are radical or just

$80 per person to eradicate pov-
erty, the equivalent of a weekly
cup of coffee. Even more disturb-
ing, the wealthier these countries
have become, the less they have
given in aid,

The disturbing findings are
found in a recent report titled,
oPaying the Price: Why rich coun-
tries must invest now in the war
on poverty. ? It observes: oRich
countries today give half as much,
as a proportion of their income,
as they did in the 1960s. In 1960-
65, rich countries spent on aver-
age 0.48 percent of their com-
bined national incomes on aid. By
1980-85 they were spending just
0.34 percent. By 2003, the aver-
age had dropped as low as 0.24
percent, ?

Wealthy nations realize that
it Ts in their best interest, as well
as that of the affected countries,
to help eliminate global poverty,
In 2000, the leaders and heads of
state of 189 countries signed a
Millennium Declaration that es-
mene a earien of goals to re-

uce poverty by 2015.

the key targets were to: 1)

Halve the proportion of people liv-

x
eo

is not one case that proves this
point. /

Shared responsibility
Creditor nations and institutions
claim that Africa is responsible for
the continent's debt crisis. How-
ever, evidence shows that credi-
tors: ,

Made loans without regard to
the use to which the loans were to
be put

Had

no loan evaluation pro-

BEBE ame
Se
ge can

ener

pees T

en

Answer to NAACP -

themselves trapped in the middle
by the twisting political trends
and shifting upward fortunes of
the black middle-class, and down-
ward of the black poor. A tilt by
them toward a hard-edged activ-
ist agenda carries the fearful risk
of alienating the corporate donors
and the Democratic politicians
that the NAACP leaders
carefully cultivate. But
an activist tilt also
would draw even more
fire from the growing le-
gion of pro-GOP lean-
ing blacks that think the
NAACP has squan-
dered any political juice:
it had with its relentless
name calling attacks on Bush.
The irony is that polls show
that many of the young persons
that Simmons T NAACP backers
expect him to appeal to have ei-
ther expressed their disgust with
Democrats, are hopelessly alien-
ated from both political arties,
or openly say they like the pro-
business, self-help, family values
itch of the GOP. That has not
een lost on the GOP strategists.
They are wooing, courting and
dumping millions into youth and
education programs at black
churches through Bush Ts faith

Do Now

plain ridiculous. One example is
its lawsuit against gun
manufacturers. As Project 21
member and civil rights activist
Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson said,
oThe NAACP has filed a class-
action lawsuit against gun
manufacturers, in effect blaming
them for black on black crime,
but statistics show guns don Tt kill
black people, other blacks do. ?
Perhaps the most crucial
change the NAACP needs to
make is to actually become non-

the Greedy

ing on less than $1 a day as well
as the proportion suffering from
hunger by 2015, 2) Ensure that
all children complete primary
school by 2025, 3) Eliminate gen-
der disparity in primary and sec-
ondary education by 2005 and in
all levels of education by 2015; 4)
Reduce the mortality rate of chil-
dren under 5 by two-thirds by
2015; 5) Reduce by three-quar-
ters, the ratio of women dying in
childbirth by 2015; 6) Halt and
begin to reverse the incidence of
HIV/AIDS and other major dis-
eases by 2015; 7) Halve by 2015
the proportion of people without
access to safe drinking water and
basic sanitation and 8) Develop a
non-discriminatory and rules-
based trading system, provide
more generous aid and deal com-
rehensively with the debt prob-
em.

oA vital aim of these goals is
that the poorest countries will
have the finance needed to achieve
them, ? the report notes. oTo do
this, rich countries have promised

_ to provide a very small fraction

of their wealth " just 0.7 percent
of their national income - and to

teen cookie.

cesses

Made no demands concerning
military spending a

ade loans to illegitimate
leaders and governments whose
downfall was a foregone conclusion
According to international law,
people should not be forced to pay
debts that did not benefit them and
that were contracted and used to
Suppress, jail and kill them. Apart
from the fact that much of Africa's

- \\\ Lah \
| TA 7.

do

debt is both illegitimate and odi- .
ous, evidence shows that many Af-
rican countries have paid their
debts many times over. For ex-
ample, according to Jubilee USA,
Nigeria borrowed $5 billion, has
so far paid more than $16 billion
and stil owes $32 billion on that
representative of all indebted Afri-
can countries. Which is why we ask,
whio owes whom? _

- * Note: All figures are in U.S.

Hip Hop Mogul Russell Simmons

based initiative program to appeal
to young blacks.

Mfume recognized the folly
of continuing to escalate the
stealth war with Bush. Before his
departure, he asked for and got
a meeting with him. Some crit-
ics accused Mfume of cozying up
to Bush, but that missed the
point. The meeting had nothing
to do with pandering, kowtow-
ing, or endorsing any part of
Bush's agenda. Before, during
and after Mfume Ts meeting, he
and NAACP officials remained
miles apart from the Bush ad-

ministration on school vouch-
ers, Social Security, universal
health care, affirmative action,
the controversial judicial ap-
ointments, the Iraq war and the
Bush administration Ts continu-
ing infringement on civil liber-
ties protections. The meeting "
was simply a smart and practi-

cal move that recognized that

like it or not, Bush, not Demo-
cratic presidential candidate
John Kerry, won the election.
He will be in the White House
for four years, and there are is-
sues such as greater funding for
HIV/AIDS programs, public
education and health care that
both sides might be able to find
common ground on.
«Simmons, or whomever the
AACP search committee eventu-
$ to run the organization,

all
will ave the tough task of ie to

figure out some way to bridge the
gaping class and political divide
among African Americans, craft
credible programs to tackle black
Poverty, and find a working accom-
modation with the Bush adminis-
tration. A youth movement is not
the answer to those problems.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an
author and political analyst. He
is the author of The Crisis in
Black and Black (Middle Passage

Press) of

v

partisan. They claim to be, but
they're not. One would think the
IRS investigation of the grou
would be enough of a wake-up cal
to the civil rights organization, but
it appears their leadership is in
denial about past comments and
actions.

Anyone reading NAACP
chairman Julian Bond Ts July 11,
2004 speech, which prompted the
IRS investigation, can see the

artisan politics emanating from
fis address. It has often been said
that the NAACP has become the
left wing of the Democratic Party.
More difficulties will arise if the

group continues to endorse a
political party.

At this time, however, the
NAACP has an opportunity to
make a fresh start. It began as an
admirable organization, and it can
once again return to those laudable
roots. But continuing to conduct
affairs in the manner that the
have for the past four decades will
only lead a NAACP to self-
destruction. Lana Hampton is a
member of the African-American
leadership network Project 21.
Comments may be sent to
Project21@ nationalcenter, org.

improve the way in which they
give aid, to make it work best for

overty reduction, and to end the
burden of debt which means that
low-income countries must ay
out $100 million every day to their
creditors.

For rich country donors, mak-
ing this finance available is net
simply an act of charity: it is bot
a moral obligation and a matter
of justice... ?

Those are noble goals, but
like many noble goals, the rheto-
ric exceeds reality,

o...Progress has been
unforgivably slow, ? the report ob-
serves. oOnly one goal " halving
the income poverty " has any
chance of being met, but even this
is due to progress in just a hand-
ful of countries. The first target "
enrolling all girls in primary and
secondary school by 2005 " is cer-
tain to be missed. The poorest
sen will pay the price for this
ailure. If the world fails to act to
meet even these minimal goals,
and current trends are allowed to
continue: 45 million more chil-
dren will die between now and
2005, 247 million more people in
the sub-Saharan Africa will be liv-
ing on less than $1 a day in 2015,
97 million more children will still
be out of school in 2015 and 53

million more people in the world
will lack proper sanitation facili-
ties.

Although the UN established
the goal of allocating 0.7 percent
of national income for poverty re-
duction in 1970, only five of the
22 major donors " none from the
seven most powerful nations " are
meeting the goal. OS

Donating just 0.14 percent,
the-United States is the least gen-
erous donor in terms of aid as a
Proportion of its wealth. At the
current rate, the U.S. will not
reach the 0.7 percent goal until
2040.

Before we dislocate our elbow
while patting ourselves on the back
for the way we've reacted to the
tsunami crisis, let's rise to the
challenge of reducing world pov-
erty when the international spot-
light is not on a graphic disaster.

George E. Curry is editor-in-
chief of the NNPA News Service
and BlackPressUSA.com. His
most recent book is oThe Best of
Emerge Magazine, ? an anthology
published by Ballantine Books.
Curry Ts wee rf radio commentary
is syndicated by Capitol Radio
News Service (301/588-1993), He
can be reached through his Web

site, georgecurry.com.
1)

~ By Martin T Crutisinger

WASHINGTON " The first
week of February saw President
Bush's $2.5 trillion budget is shap-
ing up as his most austere, trying
to restrain spending across a wide
swath of government from popu-
lar farm subsidies to poor people's
health programs.

Vice-President Dick Cheney
on Sunday defended: the plan
against Democratic criticism that
Bush had to seek steep cuts in
scores of federal programs be-
cause he is unwilling to roll back
first-term tax cuts that opponents
contend primarily benefited the
wealthy. .

The budget Ts submission to
Congress on Monda will set off
months of intense debate. Law-
makers
from}
both par-
ties can
be ex-
pected to &
vigor-
ously fight to protect their favor-
ite programs. ,

oThis is the tightest budget
that has been submitted since we
get here, ? Cheney told oFox News

unday. ?

oIt is a fair, reasonable, re-
sponsible, serious piece of effort.
It Ts not something we have done
with a meat ax, nor are we sud-
denly turning our backs on the
most needy people in our society. ?

The president, who cam-
paigned for re-election ona pledge
to cut the deficit in half by 2009,
is targeting 150 government pro-
grams for either outright elimi-
nation or sharp cid. .

Bush will propose spending
$2.5 trillion in the budget year
that begins Oct. 1. For the cur-
Fent year, he.is estimating the
budget deficit will reach a record
$427 billion. That compares with
last year's $412 billion deficit and
is the third straight year the Bush
administration will have set, in
dollar terms, a deficit high.

The five-year projections in
the budget will show the deficit
declining to about $230 billion in
2009, when a new president takes
office.

Those projections do not take
into account some big-ticket
items: the military costs incurred
in Iraq and Afghanistan, the price
of anit: Bush's first term tax
cuts permanent, or the transition
costs for his No. 1 domestic pri-
ority, overhauling Social Security.

Sen. Kent Conrad, the top
Democrat on the Senate Budget

-ommittee, said Bush Ts budget
otalks about the next five years of
reducing deficits, but what that
hides is what happens after that
five-year window. The cost of ev-
erything he advocates explodes. ?
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.,

um eoden ident of the U.S. Conference
of Mayors, and county executives
joined a near deafening chorus of
Democrats and a growing number of
Republicans in criticizing the

ro-
B posed 2006 budget proffer by
President Bush

dent

The $2.57 trillion budget calls for
increases in military spending and
overseas priorities while cutting T do-
| oOn rst review of President

Bush's budget proposal, I find it ex-.

tremely inting, ? said Rep, Mel .
War (ONG yredeee re

ROPOSALS TARGETS Sco

praised the administration Ts will-
ingness to tackle the deficit. oI Tm
glad the president is coming over
with a very austere budget. hope
we in Congress will have the cour-
age to support it, ? he told ABC Ts
Phis Week. ?

Joshua Bolten, Bush Ts budget
director, told The Associated Press
that when the budget is released,
the administration will provide
some estimates of the cost in in-
creased government borrowing for
the president's proposal to allow
younger workers to set up private
savings accounts. ;

But he said the administration
cannot provide total cost figures
for the Social Security overhaul
because all the elements of the
plan have yet to be decided upon.

A would

not con-

firm es-

j timates

=) the over-

aul

could cost. $4.5 trillion in addi-

tional government borrowing over
20 years.

Bush Ts budget will restrain the
growth in discretionary programs
to less than 2.3 percent. But be-
cause defense and homeland se-
curity are set for increases above
that amount, the rest of govern-
ment programs will see outright
cuts or tiny gains far below the
rate of inflation.

. One of the biggest battles is
certain to occur in the area of pay-
ments and other assistance to
farmers, which the administration
wants to trim by $587 million in
2006 and by $5.7 billion over the
next decade.

Those payments go to farm-
crg-prowing a wide range of crops

om Cotton, rice and corn to soy-
beans and wheat.

The United States and other
rich countries have come under
criticism for these agriculture sub-

sidies from poor countries. In the 7
current round of global trade talks,

these nations are pressing for the
subsidies T elimination.

Other programs set for cuts,
the AP has learned, include the
Army Corps of Engineers, whose
dam and other waterway projects
are extremely popular in Congress;
the Energy Department; and a
number of health programs under
the Health and Hunsan Services
Department.

About one-third of the pro-
grams being targeted for elimina-
tion are in the Education Depart-
ment, including federal grant pro-

\
\.
t

those sug.
ions to President Bush on Jan. 26
ona White House meeti
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) was
harsh in his criticism. oPresident
Bush T 2006 $2.57 trillion budger is
perpetuating a hoax, pulling a bait and
switch, T while reflecting hypocritical
religion, ? Jackson said. ofuse bot wee,
in his State of the Union-address, the

grams for local schools in such ar-
cas as vocational education, sup-
porting drug-freé schools and
Even Start, a $225 million literacy
program.

The administration also will
seek to restrain growth in man-
datory spending, primarily by
trimming costs in Medicaid, the
joint program with states that pays
the cost of poor people Ts health
care. |

On Tue Fur Sipe

By Bert Wilkerson
NEW YORK CITY/AM NEWS -
For the last five years or so, China
has been quietly raising its pro-
file in the Caribbean, s owly un-
dermining the influence of Taiwan
and winning friends and influenc-
ing people while American
policymakers looked more to-
wards Eastern Europe and the tur-
bulent Middle East. But it has lef
little doubt in recent months that it
is slowly taking off the veil from its
Prior strategy of stealth diplomacy,
muscling its way through the Car-
ibbean and Latin American via a
combination of dollar diplomacy
and strategic investments.
Chinese Vice President Zeng
Qinghong and several of his min-
isters made a swing through the
region, visiting Jamaica, Trinidad
and Venezuela, among others,
doling out cash for investment
rojects and letting the world
now China is ready to be recog-
nized as an.emerging superpower.
In Venezuela, the ree del-
egation of ministers, rulin
i sealed a

officials and businessmen s

To Busn BUDGET

president spent most of his time talk-

ional ing about reforming Social Security

and winning the war in Iraq. Today,
be oles» binge dat tency ct
ther. Ks @ bu the needy? Sein
and Cuts 3

orks Jaden Chew values, Jack-
son, a minister, quoted Matthew 6:21,
saying: oFor where your treasure is
there will be your heart also. ? Jack-
son said that Bush olikes to use Chris-
tian |
reflect Christian values. ?

To meet the projected cost of the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the

RES OF

Spending on the military, the
biggest part of discretionary
spending, is on target to rise by
43 percent in 2006 to $419.3
billion, according to documents
obtained by the AP. This figure
does not include the $80 billion
the administration has said it soon
will seek to pay for the costs of
continued military operations in
Iraq and Afghanistan.

Even the increase for the mili-

China Raising Its Pro

deal for oil purchases to satisfy its

tapidly growing industrial complex.

In Trinidad, the region Ts largest and
Most prosperous economy, Beijing
approved a $25M soft loan allow-
ing Trinidad businessmen to buy
Chinese products and machinery.
As an indication of how
China is waving paper around as
a diplomatic bargaining chip, a
further $1.1M deal was oh for
rojects to be approved by the
Arinidad government. The inter-
est rate on both concession loans
would be 2 percent, officials said.
The Chinese also agreed to
buy additional amounts of asphalt
from Trinidad as its stops up road
and other construction projects in
time for the 2008 Summer Olym-
pics. The island has in the last
three years sold more than 20.5
million kilos of asphalt to China.
The Tol of the loans
seemed to confirm speculation
among academics and diplomats
that China is on a spending T spree.
In its forays into the Carib-
bean, China has had some spec-
tacular successes in its fight over

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but his budget does not

DomEsTIC

resident is expected to submit a sepa-
fate supplemental budget request to
Congress for $80 million. Had the
$80 million been included, it is pos-
sible that Congress could have re-
duced that expenditure as the budget
was. » Jackson's comments on
Social Security speak to the concern
that the president has not yet identi-
fied, the funding mechanisms that
would cover his proposed changes in
Social Security.

Among the p or entities
whose funding would be cut or elimi-
nated are: the Perkins student loan
program, vocational training, housing
assistance to low-income Americans,

the Responsible Reintegregration for

tary will be below what the Penta-
gon had hoped to receive with sev-
eral major weapons programs, in-
cluding Bush Ts missile defense sys-
tem and the B-2 stealth bomber,
scheduled for cuts from curreit
levels.

Many budget experts believe
Bush's plan will not come close to
achieving his goal of cutting the
deficit in half because Congress
will refuse to go along with the

breakaway province Taiwan.
Beijing has been-able to get
Dominica, athe last 18 Tonths,
and Grenada, in late January, to
dump Taiwan in favor of China,
forcing the Taiwanese to accuse
China of diplomatically bribing its
way through the Caribbean and
Central America. Since 1997, St.
Lucia and the Bahamas also asked
Taiwanese missions to pack it in
and go home in exchange for mas-
sive project financing from China
for everything from cricket stadi-
ums to conference centers.

In Guyana, Chinese engineers
are building a $5M international
conference center next door to the
Caribbean Community Secretariat
as Taiwan fades in the region. Bar-
bados, Suriname and all other

Young Offenders program, fundi
for Amerak, and the Centers for Die
ies tke and ee. The
udget, a blueprint that must

proved by Congrens, does provide
more money for new homeowners,
those wishing to further their educa.
tion at community colleges, veterans
and matters dealing with homeland
security. .

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-
D.C.) said that despite being di
pointed in some aspects of the Bush

udget, she was grateful for a provi-
sion that would add $6 million in ad-
ditional federal funds in her city Ts
Medicaid reimbursement. She also

Continues on Page 12 "

PROGRAMS

cuts, and Bush and the Republi-
can-controlled Congress do not
support tax increases.

oThere is really no way out of
the bind we are in now without
some kind of increase in taxes, ?
said Robert Reischauer, the presi-
dent of the Urban Institute and a
former head of the Congressional
Budget Office.

Martin Crutisinger wites for the
Associated Press

file In Caribbean

coun-tries with diplomatic links to
China have benefited from Chi-
nese investment and project fi-
nancing worth in excess of $170M.

In early February, Caribbean
trade ministers and businessmen
were scheduled to fly to Jamaica
for the first China-Caribbean fo-
rum, a five-day trade fair exhibit-
ing products from all countries. At
least one prime minister, Baldwin
Spencer of Antigua, was scheduled
to attend, an indication of how
seriously China is being viewed in
the region.

oIt is going to be spectacular, ?
said Robert Stephens, local chair-
man of the planning committee.
A total of 400 Caribbean compa-.
nies and 200 from Jamaica were
to attend,

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Author Blast Greedy, Selfish
Actors, Athletes in New Book
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. -
For many celebrities who boast
about their $50,000 bracelets and
multimillion-dollar homes, their
15 minutes of fame is quickly tick-
ing away. For Mark Forsyth, the
only disappointing aspect to their
eventual decline is that the Ameri-
can public has to witness their
antics for even one more second.
He makes his opinion abundant!
clear in his new book, Is Your Fif-
teen Minutes Up? which is now
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A satirical, politically incor-
rect take on pop culture in gen-
eral, his book looks at the reality
ofpavinp celebrities and athletes
millions when there are true he-
toes who rarely receive gratitude.
He rails about ohow totally out of
control these non-talent. lip-

synching idiots are. ? .

. ese morons continue to
make millions and remind us how
the music industry itself would col-
lapse if they weren Tt around to
grace us with their massive tal-
ents, ? Forsyth writes. oMovie
stars who cell us how to vote, over-
paid, under-producing cry baby

athletes, dimwitted hotel bimbos,

politicians, supermodels and te-
ality show (stars) are so out of
touch with mainstream America, ?
In an often fynny and caustic
style, Forsyth says what many
Americans are thinking as they
watch celebrities complain about
low pay or treat the world like a
doormat. Is Your Fifteen Minutes
Up spares no love for the op
princesses and millionaire athletes
who litter magazines and televi-
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"Our Banquet Facilties are ideal for Business
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Events, Family
Functions or any Festive Ocassions,.."

From left Tarboro Town Councilman Roland Clark, Edgec
igecombe County Sheriff James Kni
son, Edgecombe Clerk of Court Carol Allen White,
Edgeronibe County Councilman wayne Hines and

son. Back row Edgecombe County

unty Commissioner Leonard Wiggins

sioner Viola Harris, Ede

Smoot,

Board of Education Chairwoman Evelyn Wi
Manager Lorenzo Carmon and Edgecombe Co

By Calvin Adkins

Daily Southerner

TARBOROQ, NC 7 Tarboro and
Edgecombe County elected officials
applaud as artist Richard Wilson un-
veils his portrait of George Henry
White during a ceremony Saturday
at the county courthouse. Photos/
Calvin Adkins
Edgecombe County gave a
hearty owelcome back home ? Satur-
day to one of its otrailblazers ? who
fought against racial injustices as a
United States congressman more than
a cen 0.
The unveiling of a 24 inches x
30 inches pastel painting of George
Henry White drawn by Greenville
artist Richard Wilson drew a stand-

ing ovation.

' y x : % saga

it, Artist Richard Wil
Tarboro Councilman David
mmbe County

While a resident of Tarboro,
White was elected to two terms (1896
-1901) in the U.S. House of Repre-
sentatives. He sponsored a bill that
would make lynching a federal crime,
which did not pass. White was the
last black to serve in Congress until
1928.

For White's accomplishments,
the Edgecombe County Board of
Commissioners and Tarboro Town
Council declared Jan. 29 as George
Henry White Day. That day was sig-
nificant because White gave a fare-
well speech to Congress on Jan. 29,
1901, choosing not to seek a third
term in office.

He left the state and came back
only to visit. White, who was born in
Bladen County in 1852, died in Phila-

Local Broadcaster /Publisher
Receives Best Business Award

Pictured |-r: Barbara G. Brown, Chairwoman, Social Action Committee, Greenville
(NC) Alumnae Chapter Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Jim Rouse, Owner
WOOW Radio and the M Voice Newspaper and Mavis G. Williams, President,
Greenville (NC) Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

The Greenville (NC) Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorpo-
rated presented its Best Business of the Quarter Award to Mr. Jim Rouse, Owner of
WOOW Radio and the M Voice Newspaper. Mr. Rouse is cited for his commit-
ment and outstanding service to the Greenville Community. He provides vigor-
Ous support, and he uses passionate gifts of time and resources to improve the lives

of others utilizing the media of mass communication.

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aie tal Phas Fe Nov eo a

and the

blazer T home

unction with George

In Tcon an
Henry White Day, Wi on, a
tht Edgecombe High Schoo

of portrait of White. Wilson is a

member of the elite Portrait Society

of America.

White Washington
| oDreatvaking ? was one of the
many adjectives used to describe the
painting. Combining highlights,
middle tones and shadows made the

' rea and white picture resemble a
0

White's neatly cut hair,
parted on top of his head, helped to

~ define his smooth face. His clothi
~ articulated a person of high soci

class

oThis day is long overdue, ? said
Superior Cos nee Fitch.
oWhen a man is a. great man then he
shouldnit have to: wait 104 years be-
fore he is given his props. It Ts an
-honor to have a man of hi integ-
rity to hang in this courthouse.

oI hope they hang this picture

romptly, and I Tm not talking about
ae: in the back, (of the court-

house).

White Washington, a his-
tory t at Kinston High School,
said she was the great-great-great
niece of White. When her family was
told about the event they encouraged
her to attend.

oMy mother told me I had to
go, ? she said. oI'm humbled to be
related to a man so brave when brav-

er a capeaed of blache dur-
ing that time. This is a great day for
our family. The painting is outstand-
in

g. .
The painting and the proclama-
tions naming George Henry White
Day was the brainchild of Phoenix
Society for African-American Re-
search Inc. The group pushed for
White's recognition since the birth
of their organization. They also

fought to rename Tarboro Post Of

fice to be renamed in his honor,
which was passed in Congress last
year.

. Rudolph Knight, acting presi-
dent of the society, was one of the

front-runners in the projects. Knight

did not attend the event due to an
out-of-town death in his family.

Jim Wrenn, vice president of
Phoenix Society, said this day would
not have been possible without Knight
and the late Helen Quigless Jr.
Quigless, who was ?,? Organization's
fat iden died last year.

This was a big day for Tarboro
and Edgecombe County, ? Wrenn
said. oGeorge Henry White came
home today in more ways than one.
His return home will open a period
of history that has been wiped off the
map by white supremacy.

oTe is a wonderful painting, We
couldn't have asked anything better. ?

Tarboro Mayor Donald Morris
said, oThis is a part of history, im-
portant to all citizens of Edgecombe
County. George Henry White gives
us al hope in our lives today. ?

Edgecombe' Ts black political lead-
ers were special guests at the event.
County Commissioner Viola Harris
read a proclamatio n proclaiming Jan.
29 as George Henry White py She
said White paved the way for blacks
in the political arena.

~ oBecause of George Henry White
as a black lady from I can

_ stand here and say that I'm a mem-

ber of the Edgecombe County Board
of Commissioners, ? she said.

Other black political leaders who
attended the event included, County
Commissioners Leonard Wiggins and
Wayne Hines, Sheriff lamas Kalbe
Clerk of Court Carol Allen White,
Tarboro Council members Roland
Clark and David Smoot, County
Board of Education Chairwoman
Evelyn Wilson, Board of Edgecombe
member Florence Armstrong and
County Manager Lorenzo Carmon.

Tarboro native Dr. Michael
Armstrong, of South Caroolina
a brief history lesson on White T life.
Armstrong who is the son of Florence
Armstrong, said White was a trail-
blazer on a solo expedition.

oWe are here today to celebrate
the vision, work and spirit of George
Henry White, for the black recon-
struction South had no room for his
contributions to humanity, ? he said.
oHis life was dedicated to the cam.
paign against racial discrimination,

en in Congress, he was anythi
but a silent member. He was
and in the African American com-
munity, heralded. Politically he was
ingenious and a He always

stood for civil liberties of blacks and
the poor,

oWhite was one of the most im-
pores African-American political
caders during the last of the
nineteenth century, and has been one
of the least remembered, Today he is
coming back home, to rise, like the
Phoenix. ?

State Sen, Clark Jenkins, D-

| *
ae a

ofthe Atiat-Amer
can comm: , ,
epee
oGoonge Henry White was'a trail-
U.S. Post Office will be named in his

honor, ?

UVOCCOIT

,
this-is.ay. ..

val R dolr I a

x PT ha,

When Marilyn Thompson and
Jack Bass published their book Ol T
Strom (an unauthorized biography)
. anew several

years
ago, they
tevealed

the long-
standing
tumor
of a

daughter
Strom Thurmond had fathered by
his 15 black household servant. He
was 23. They went through the

i en mentioning the names
of the daughter and her mother, Last
yea, at age 79, the secret daughter
came on television and publicly
announced: oMy name is Essie Mae
Washington-Williams. Strom
Thurmond was my father. ? She had
held this secret for almost 60 years:
or rather she had denied it for 60

ears. Actually it was no secret
because black folk in South Carolina
had known for years as so had
Strom Ts brothers and sisters. Even
the president of South Carolina
State College at Orangeburg where
Essie Mae attended, knew " as
Strom made frequent visits to Essie
Mae chroughout her college days and
always generated large amounts of
cash money in an envelope when he
left. Driving up on campus in his
chauffer-driven limousine, he went
straight to the president Ts office
where the two of them talked briefly
about politics and his support for
the state-supported all-black college
at that time. Eventually he would ask
to see Essie Mae whom he
identified as oan old family friend ?.
The president knew better than to
inquire. That was hush-hush when
it came to a powerful man like
Strom Thurmond, so it was
necessary to comply with orders and
olook the other way ?.

I was so eager to read the
innermost secrets of her life's sto
(which could only be told by Essie
Mae herself since both Carrie and
Strom were both deceased) I rushed
to Barnes and Noble to pet my copy
of Dear Senator as soon as it reached
the bookstands " "only to discover
they had sold out tin the first day or
two. Immediately | placed my name
on the reserved list in order to obtain
the book when the next shipment
arrived. When the call came from
Barnes & Nobles to pick up my book,
I rushed down to the store to retrieve
it lest it would get into some other
hands by mistake. I read the book in
its entirety before putting it down. It
was the most emotional, poignant, and
compelling true story | fa ever read
and | heard that several people at the
book signing for her at Quail Ridge
Books in Raleigh where she appeared
in person for the signing February 3rd,
actually sobbed and cried.

ere were many memorable
events which seem to stand out in this
book more than others; for instance,
when Carric (her mother) first
introduced Essie Mae to her father
in his law office in Edgefield, S.C. (at
age 16) Strom remarked, oOh what a
lovely daughter you have. She thas my
sister Gertrude Ts cheekbones.
Another moment was when Essie told
him her mother, Carrie, had died. (At
time Strom and Carrie had lost
contact to which he attributed to oher
interest in another man ? and he at
e¢ 46 had recently married Jean
Crouch, his first wife (some 20 years
younger). When Essie Mae revealed
to him that her mother had died (at
age 38), her words were that, ohis
normal ebullience was knocked
completely out of him. He sat stunned
for a long time and said, oWhat did
say, Essie Mac? Did | hear you? T
To which she repeated, oMy mother
is dead, She died in October of kidney
failure. ? She said Strom bleated like
a wounded animal. He didn't cry, but
tears filled his eyes. oFor the first
time, Essie said, o] had

life before he took up with Jean. ?
Essie Mae consoled herself by
thinking that he sought refuge in Jean

Crouch only after it had ceased to
be available with her mother, Carrie
Butler. 4
NO PICTURES OF ESSIE...
There were several pages of
Photographs in the book; one of Essie
Mae at 17; her cousin Calvin; her
childhood aie satel,
Pennsylvania; her half-brother Willie
Clark, who was 7 years younger than
she and was Carrie's son by a
husband; Strom at 20; her husband
Julius
Williams
with his
Alpha Phi
Alpha
fraternit
at Sout
Carolina
State;
Strom and
Jean
Crouch Ts
wedding;
Essie Mae
and her
three
children;
Strom with
his second wife.
Nancy (whowas25
eats youfiger than ®
im) and their 4
children; and a picture of :
Essie Mae and her daughter *
visiting Strom Ts sister Gertrude at
her home in Edgefield, S.C. I began

to wonder why there was no pictus. . :

of Carrie, her mother. But I assumed
out of honor and respect for her
deceased mother, it was omitted.
However, in the book she described
her mother the first time she saw her.
Her words were:

oOne lovely, crisp fall day, a very
beautiful woman came to visit us
(in Coatesville, Pa. where she had
lived with the woman she had always
thought was her real mother). She
was the most amazing woman | had
ever seen. She was about five feet
eight inches tall and moved and
dressed like a fashion model. She
wore a plain cotton dress with a
string of pearls, but the way she
carried herself in them was regal "
and she looked as elegant as any of
the rich swells in the high-society
films, as naturally aristocratic as
Katherine Hepburn, living proof
that a black woman could hold her
own against any Hollywood ideals,
She was dark-skinned and had thick,
lustrous wavy hair and coal-black bi
eyes that would light up any dark
night. She carried herself like a big-

to Commemorate the

grave.

? city sophisticate

A TRIAD: Strom, Carrie, and Essie Mae

Now is the time

ybe there was so
much to do at the time... but, now, we can
help you select a fitting way to mark the

Come in and let us assist you.

Affordable Rates.
Layaway Plan available.

wed, it

In the course thar foll

was then that Carrie said to Essie

Mae, oI'm your mother, you know. ?

= Seemingly, it appeared that

q| i

Strom continued to see Carrie down
throughout the years. When she had
moved to Chester, PA. after leavin
left Rock Hill, S.C. where she had
been living with her husband,
Philadelphia seemed to be the ideal
place for Strom to visit her. She
seldom worked but always had
money. She even had an account at
John Wanamaker Ts in Philadelphia
and Strom had promised her that
he would always look out for their
ter.
hen
| Essie Mae
| married in her
" junior year in
college to an
aspiring
lawyer, Strom,
through his
ower in the
egislature,
made it
pote for a
?"? law school.to
be established at
South Carolina
State so that her
husband
. could oeain
a law e
there. Strom
also funded
her son Ts medical
schooling and he
became a doctor. Essie
Mae had no choice but to
respect the man whom she called
a dear Senator, so much Tso that she
kept a secret legacy throughout his
lifetime. But now she exclaims, oI Tm
free at last! ? a
Note: This book not only tells
of a lasting love that transcended
race that was divided and bound by
the tradition of culture and customs
of the Old South but it also focus
on South Caroilina History and its
journey through the Civil War,
Reconstruction, the Jim Crow Era,
and World Wars I and II.
Book Review prepared by Suejette

lones

CODA: Today, the whole
Thurmond family has publicly
accepted Essie Mae into their family.
Her.name has been added to his list
of children inscribed on the senator's
monument at the Capitol in
Columbia, S.C. She is now a
candidate for membership in the
United Daughters of the
Confederacy and the National
Society Daughtets of the American
Revolution of which she is entitled
othrough her father Ts lineage ?.

sacred memory of

ae

of higher learning
daunting res
| C

From the Chancellor's Desk

Making sure students are safe
while in the care of an institution
is a critical yet
nsibility.

At , the number of stu-
dents on campus during the week
varies from about 50 in early
morning classes to more than
5,500 at mid-day. Many students
live on campus, or in aad
houses and apartments and wal
to class. Many others drive into

Greenville for the day. But in all

cases, the families of these stu-

dents expect them to be safe and
- Secure w

ile they are here, and it
is our responsibility to provide as
safe a learning environment as pos-
sible. ,

We remember the tragic mur-
ders last year of two students at
one of our sister institutions.
Through the years, we have had a
number of serious offenses against
students, both on campus and in
the downtown area.

While we in the university
community cannot be totally in-
sulated from the increasing vio-
lence in society all around us,
we can make a difference in the
way we provide a safe home
away from home for our stu-
dents.

Under the guidance of UNC
President Molly Corbett Broad, a
task force has offered recommen-
dations for improving safety across
the 16-campus university system.
Dr. Garrie Moore, ECU's vice chan-
cellor for student life, represented
the university on that task force His
subcommittee focused on the safety
of the overall campus environment.

The task force came up with
several excellent recommendations,
including:
® More thorough background
checks on students applying for ad-
mission;

@ Training campus staff to identify
and respond to applicants who may
be a threat to the safety of the cam-
pus if admitted;
® Maintain a campus safety com-
mittee;
Assess campus safety threats, inven-
tory current safety practices and re-
sources; and ,
Train faculty to be aware of stu-
dent behavior that might indicate

otential danger.

he task force agreed that provid-
ing a safe and secure university com-
munity requires an ongoing partner-
ship that involves the campus, sur-
rounding communities, public
schools and other colleges. ECU is
committed to doing its part to en-
sure that each student can attend
class and live on campus without
being afraid of violence.

Since early last year, ECU also
has put in place a number of safety
measures, including video moni-
toring for all residence halls, in-
creased police patrols and re-
stricted access to residence halls.

One of the many ways we are
addressing this safety issue is by
testing a new device designed to
increase personal safety. About
the size of a silver dollar, this new
Personal Alert Device is small
enough for a student to carry on a
key chain or wear as a necklace.

Yet, this device is powerful

enough to connect the student with
campus.

erson within 12 feet o
ime This small piece of tech-

nology is more effective than a cell -

phone, because cell phones cannot

identify a caller's location as accu-

rately.

bers are testing this technology to

identify and minimize potential
problems with its use, such as false

alarms and human errors. If this

device proves successful, it could

potentially expand to other UNC

campuses, as well as across the

country.

But along with use of such |
measures, the entire ECU fam- "

ily should be mindful of the need
for attention to personal safety.
For ECU to grow and attract the

highest caliber students, faculty

and administrators, our safety
record becomes part of wha we
are.

We all must work together to
build a strong, healthy university
community that reflects the best
we have to offer. In return, we
will build our own legacy as an
outstanding institution:

Open dialogue can go a long

lice in case of an emer-
gency. The device can Pinpoint a
his or her -

Some of our ECU staff mem-

Dr. Steve Ballard, Chancellor

way in helping us identify the
sources of some of this unnec-
essary violence. With construc-
tive discussion and a commit-
ment Co serve our community, .
ECU will become a preat place
to learn, to work and to live
because oTomorrow Starts
here. ? .

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=

Mrs. Beatrice Maye
Carmen Maye of CRarlotte,
North Carolina, daughter of John

_ W. Maye, 3rd. and Jeanette W. Maye

and granddaughter of Mrs. Beatrice
Carr Maye and Ms. Emma Wilson,
has completed her college studies at

East Carolina

Carmen Maye
years, graduating on December 11,
2004 with Deans List honors. She
obtained a Bachelor of Science in
Business Administration specializing
in Decision Science with a con.

University in 31/2

_ centration in Management Infor-

mation Systems. She is currently
working as a full-time mar

_ for East Carolina's Head Footh
Coach, Skip. Holtz. Although an
_ extreme blessing to be emp joyed

upon graduation, she is ultimately

| looking forward to beginning a

career with Wachovia on June 13,
2005 where she will serve as a Fi-
nancial Center Manager. This will

~ consist of one full year of raining

in Charlotte, North Carolina an

will follow with relocation to
Wilmington, North Carolina.
Carmen is currently 21 years of
age, and her passion jis to be the
best role model as possible to her
younger sisters, Johnelle, a fresh-
man at Carolina and Kristen, a
freshman at Independence High
School in Charlotte. She states
that, oFor none of my accolades
do I give myself the credit because
it unequivocally would not have
been possible without God. ?
Carmen looks forward to her fu-
ture endeavors and says that in

_ addition to her family, her church,

Koinonia Christian Center is the

- part of her college experience that

she will miss the most. She would
like to extend her appreciation to
all of the people in the commu-
nity that she has encountered that
have positively impacted her life.
Fathers

Fathers must make their pres-
ence known in the home. But what
about the African American women
who are heading households with-
out a man present in the home?
There are approximately 44% of
African American households that
are headed by females "either
through out-of-wed lock births,
death, or divorce. The 2000 U.S.
Census Data indicates that 62% of

African American children live in
single-parent households, more than
90% of them headed by. females.
Nearly 40% of those households are

at or below the poverty level. .
The African American Male
and the Church |

Many African American males
won't even consider the saivegon
message that Jesus is the only way
to God, because today Ts church does
not address their needs. The Afri-
can American male needs money,
job opportunities, business re-
sources, and relevant skills training.
The church collects money, but does
little to create opportunities through
which he can make more money.
People often criticize men because
of activities they engage in outside
the church. If a lottery man, gam-
bling man, or dope dealer toss out
an economic life line while the
church stays on the shore, closed
behind stained glass windows, re-
peating a sanctimonious agenda, it
cannot expect to reach and save Af-
rican American men. When our
churches provide self-esteem lead-
ership development, economic rel-
evance, and other positive initia-
tives, African American men will
come.

Alarming Statistics

er the course of a lifetime,
28% of African American men will
enter a state or federal prison.

A big part of the problem is re-
cidivism-the frustrating phenom-
enon of prisoners who are freed to
live in society but go back to their
old ways, and once again end up in
prison.

We believe that many African
American men and fathers who are
serving time in the nation Ts correc-
tional institution want to become
productive participants in society
upon release. However, well over
half of them fail to make a success-

transition back into society after
release.
From: Teaching Our Mean: Reach-
ing Our Fathers by Mathew Arnold

What is the most Christlike at-
titude on earth? Think before you
answer. Many would answer love.

That is the most Christlike attitude *

on earth? Think before you answer.
Many would answer love. That is
understandable, for He indeed love
to the utmost. Others might say
patience. Again, not a bad choice.
Grace would be a possibility. No
man or woman ever modeled or ex-
hibited the grace that He demon-
strated right up to the moment He

breathed His last .

As important as those traits
may be, however, they are not the
ones Jesus Himself referred to when
He described Himself for the only
time in Scripture: ;

oCome to Me, all who are
weary and heavy-laden, and I will
give you rest. Take My yoke upon
you, and learn from Me, for I am
gentle and humble in heart; and you
shall find rest for your souls. For
My yoke is easy, and My load is
light ? (Matthew 11:28-30).

Did you catch the key words?
oI am gentle and humble in heart, ?
which might best be summed up in
one word "unselfish. According to
testimony, that is the

Jesus T

(NAPSA)-Better a late fee than
never, but no late fee at all is better
still. Unfortunately, traveling and
busy schedules often lead to unpaid
bills and credit woes. A recent study
showed that one in five travelers were
hit with late fees for unpaid bills
while they were away from home;
another 20 percent said their con-
sumer credit rating was negatively
impacted because of late payment.
The survey ee | by Wells
Fargo & Company of 2,200 random
US adults also found:
@ 22 percent had a delayed pay-
ment because they were too busy
@ A quarter overlooked an im-
ortant statement amidst all the
Ne Neal ¢chind fal peop
a third of all people
simply forgot to make a household
payment

Protecting Your Credit With Online Bill Pay

Christlike attitude we can demon-
strate. Because He was so humble-
so unselfish-the last person He
thought of was Himself
t seems that today Ts world is

filled with self-promotion, defend-
ing our own rights, taking care of
ourselves first, winning by intimi-
dation, pushing for first place, and
a dozen other self-serving agendas,
That one attitude does more to
squelch our joy than any other. So
busy defending and protecting and
manipulating, we set ourselves up
for a grim, intense existence-and is
not totally modern problem.
Greece said, oBe wise, know your-
self. ?
Rome said, oBe strong, discipline
yourself. ?
Religion says, oBe good, conform
yourself. ?
Epicureanism says, oBe sensuous,
satisfy yourself. ?
Psychology says, oBe confident, as-
sert yourself.
Materialism says, oBe possessive,
please yourself.

tide says, oBe superior, promote
yourself. ?
Christ says, oBe unselfish, humble
yourself.

Happily, this last line is the se-
cret of a happy life, fixing our eyes
on Jesus, the author and perfecter
of faith, who for the joy set before
Him endured the cross, despising
the shame, and has sat down at the
right hand of the throne of God ?
(Hebrews 12:2).

Look at that! He saw those of us
who benefit from his sacrifice as othe
joy set before Him.. ? He did not

- come to us grudgingly oF nursing a

bitter spirit. He came free of all thar.
While it was certainly not a pleasur-
able experience, He accepted His
coming among us and His dying for
us willingly and ;
oTherefore also G highly ex-
alted Him, and bestowed on Him
the name which is above every

@ In addition, 13 percent had
their services or standing with a
biller negatively impacted because
of a late payment.

Managing your finances online
is an excellent way to get greater
control over your expenditures, ¢s-

ecially when you're away from
eae oUsing online bill pay can
turn a at chore into a 15-
minute task as simple as checki
off a to-do T list, ? say experts at Welle
Fargo.
Interestingly, experts also re-
ort that the average American
fousehold spends two to four hours
every month paying bills. Switching
to an online bill payment service can
decrease the time you spend on bills
by 60 percent. In fact, it Ts now esti-
mated that by the year 2008, more
o 68 million households will pay

EDIFICATION OF A GENERATION

WITH FAITH MAY

name, that at the name of Jesus ev-
ery knee should bow, of those who
are in heaven, and on earth, and
under the earth, and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father ? (Phili pians 2:9-11).

No one else deserves that title.
Only one is Lord. All knees will
ultimately bow before Him.

My emphasis here is on the at-
titude that releases joy and
launches it from our lips, the se-
cret of a happy life on earth-an
attitude of unselfishness. My en-
couragement to you is that you not
put if off until it is a little more
convenient. Many will tell you
that you will be taken advantage
of if you begin to live for others
or if you don Tt defend your rights
and oget even. ? I offer the oppo-
site counsel; God will honor your
decision to demonstrate an attitude
of humility. You will find that
feelings of | hate will be replaced
with a relieving flood of peace and
happiness.. As Solomon has writ-
ten, oWhen a man Ts ways are pleas-
ing to the Lord, He makes even
his enemies to be at peace with
him ? Proverbs 16:7).

Actually, it all begins with your
knowing Jesus Christ in a personal
ae allowing Him to take the
blows of life for you.

When we acknowledge that
Jesus. Christ is Lord and begin to
release our cares, our disappoint-
ments, and our heartaches to Him,
we not only keep our equilibrium,
we keep our sense of humor. Joys
multiply when we have Someone to
bear our burdens.

By Charles R. Swindoll

Resource: Positive Thinking/2004
You can bank on this; Experts
estimate that by the year 2008, more
than 68 million households will be
banking online.

You can bank on this: Experts es-
timate that by the year 2008, more
than 68 million households will be
banking online.

most of their monthly bills online.
For more information about

bankin online, go to

www.wellsfargo.com.

February 17 - 28, 2005 The Minotity Voice Newspaper Page 7 ;

Music Department Welcomes The Branford

DURHAM N.C. - North Caro-
lina Central University Depart-
ment of Music is proud to an-
nounce The Branford Marsalis

Quartet will serve as artists-in- P
residence from January to De- {fj

cember, 2005 at the university.

oWe are honored to have per-
formers of this caliber on our
faculty, ? said Chancellor James

- Ammons. oWith their inter-

national acclaim and talent, they
will provide immeasurable expe-
rience and opportunities for our
students. ?

_and well at NCCU. ?

The newest faculty members
are Branford Marsalis, tenor
saxophone; Jeff oTain ? Watts,

tums; Eric Revis, bass; and.

Joey Calderazzo, piano. The art-
ists will spend 24 full days teach-
ing private lessons and master
classes to NCCU music students
during the spring and fall semes-
ters in 2005.

oThe guys (the quartet) and
I are looking forward to work-
ing with the students, ? said
Marsalis. They (the quartet)
have called me more in the last
two months about when do we
start teaching than they have in
the last five years. ?

oIn addition to the education

component, which is very impor-
tant, we will focus on what it takes
to be performer, ? added Marsalis.

The 43-year-old Gtammy
award-winning Marsalis has con-
tinued to exercise and expand
his skills as a performer and
composer. He has his own label,
Marsalis Music, and serves as a
producer for both his own
projects and those of the jazz
world Ts most promising new art-
ists.

The New Orleans native was
born into one of the city Ts most
distinguished musical families,
which includes patriarch/pianist/
educator Ellis Marsalis and three
of his five brothers, trumpeter
Wynton, trombonist Delfeayo, and
drummer Jason Marsalis,

Known for his innovative
spirit and broad musical scope,
Marsalis is equally at home on
the stages of the world Ts great-
est jazz clubs and classical halls.

His recording career as a
leader encompasses 14 jazz al-
bums and two classical albums
under his own name, plus two

Buckshot LeFonque pop re-

The arts are alive ©

NCCU Ts Chancellor James H. Ammons presents Br. .
the newest member of the faculty, with a NCCU sweatshirt.

Le", baw ila

=eechteeneenemensnenenraceseeseee ee

ford Marsalis,

leases. His final recording for
Columbia Records,. Contempo-
rary Jazz, garnered the
saxophonist Ts third Grammy
Award, and captured what
Howard Reich of the Chicago
Tribune described as oa new
level: of emotional intensity and
instrumental brilliance. ?
Marsalis is also dedicated to
changing the future of jazz in the
classroom. As T both visiting
scholar and part-time faculty
member, he has shared his
knowledge at such universities
as Michigan State, San: Fran-
cisco State and Stanford. Beyond
these traditional avenues,
Marsalis is bringing jazz to a
wider audience and providin
opportunities for colle e-aged
musicians to interact with estab-
lished players before live audi-
ences through oMarsalis Jams, ?
an educational initiative of his
new label that held its first ses-
sions at. Smith College and the
University of New Hampshire.
Calderazzo, a pianist with
the Branford Marsalis Quartet,
has produced five previous al-
bums under his own name. His
energy, technique and rapid fire
imagination have marked him as
one of the most exciting jazz pia-
nists to emerge in the past two
decades. Calderazzo has docu-
mented his commanding mas-

tery of group interplay on five.

albums that matched his ideas
and passions with those of such
imposing artists as Marsalis,

Jerry Bergonzi, Jack DeJohnette,
Dave Holland, John Patitucci
and Jeff oTain ? Watts.

_ In the jazz worlds, Watts has
played with George Benson,
Courtney Pine, McCoy, Stanley
Jordan and Kevin Eubanks.
Moviegoers heard him on the
soundtracks of oWhen Harry
Met Sally, ? oDo The Right
Thing, ? and Spike Lee Ts oMo T
Better Blues. ? However, it was
his move to Los Angeles for a
stint with Branford Marsalis To-
night Show Band with Jay Leno

that really put Jeff in front of the -

jazz audience.

Eric Revis, a Grammy award-
winning musician, started his pro-
fessional career laying with Betty
Carter, and has been a member of
Branford Marsalis T quartet for
seven years. Revis draws from his
life to create his music, He grew
up in Fresno, Calif., where he lis-
tened to Parliament, Kiss, and
Earth, Wind and Fire.

He studied jazz with Ellis
Marsalis at the University of
New Orleans, where he layed
with Nicholas Payton and Brian
Blade in the local clubs. He has
had a diverse career performing
jazz, funk, rock, and hip-ho
that has taken him from small
jazz rooms to Carnegie Hall and
around the world. Revis has de-
veloped a rich musical palette
from which to draw.

For more information, call
the Department of Music at (919)
530-6319 or (919) 530-7214.

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crowded, the bus driver ordered
Parks to give up her seat to a white
passenger. Montgomery's buses
.were segregated, with the seats in
the front reserved for owhites
only. ? Blacks had to sit at the back
of the bus, Bur if the bus was
crowded and all the owhites only ?
seats were filled, black people were
expected to give up their seats "a
black person sitting while a white
person stood would never be tol-
erated in the racist South. Rosa
had had enough of such humilia-
tion, and refused to give up her
seat. oI felt I had a right to stay
where I was, ? she said. oI wanted
this particular driver to know that
we were being treated unfairly as
individuals and as a people. ? The
bus driver had her arrested.
Martin Luther King, Jr., heard
about Parks Ts brave defiance and
launched a boycott of Montgom-
ery buses, The 17,000 black resi-
dents of Montgomery pulled to-

The wandering workers were
omasterless men, ? not attached to the
land, or beholden to landlords. Their

any strange black man. One
white man took, oIn all communi-

/

of the Ci

pt the boycott going

ether and ke
for more T
than a year.
Finally, the
Supreme
Court inter-
vened and
declared seg-
regation on
buses un-
constitu-
tional. Rosa
Parks and
the boycott-
ers defeated
the raciss
system, and Semen
she became known as othe mother
of the civil rights movement. ?

Martin Luther King, Jr.

It wasn Tt just that Martin
Luther King became the leader of
the civil rights movement that
made him so extraordinary "it was
the way in which he led the move-
ment. King advocated ¢ivil disobe-

Memoirs of Convict Lease Camps

bare ground, withour blankets and
mattresses and often without clothes.
Beatings never ceased. On one plan-

tation farm, a man was given ten

lashes for oslow hoeing, ? five for osorry
planting. ? Those who tried to escape

ee

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE?? The above
well as adults were sent to work un convicts lease gangs for misdemeanors or simply

children pictured in chains as

Ae |
a

Wi
ee i

dience, the non-violent resistance
against un-
just laws:
oNon-vio-
lence is a
powerful and
just weapon
which cuts
without

and ennobles
the man who
wields it. ?
Civil rights
activists orga-
nized demon-
strations,
marches, boycotts, strikes, and
voter-registration drives, and re-
fused to obey laws that they knew
were wrong and unjust. These
peaceful forms of protest were of-
ten met with vicious threats, ar-
rests, beatings, and worse. King
emphasized how important it was
that the civil rights movement did

circus animal, fed the worst food,
denied medical treatment, men died
from malaria, scurvy, frostbite, sun-
stroke, dysentery, snakebite, shackle
Poisoning, and murder by violent and
sadistic guards. At a time when more
thean a hundred men a year were
lynched, thousands died in convict
camps. Convict leasing, one former
government official said, was a death
sentencee. George Washington
Cable, a Southern writer, investigated
several camps and found that though
many men had sentences longer than
ten years, no one survived a camps
and found that though many men had
sentences longer than ten years, no
one survived a camp more than ten
years. Death rates in some camps
were as high as 45% percent, seldom
below, In the North, the death rate
was about 1 percent.

One prisoner described his con-
dition: oWe leave the cells at 3 o'clock
AM and return at 8 PM, going the
distance of three miles through rain
and snow. We go to cell wet, go to
bed wet and arise wet the following
morning and every guard knocking
Peating yelling and every day Some
one of us were carried to our last rest-
ing place, the grave. Day after day
we looked death in the face and was
afraid to speak. ?

Inspection reports often de-
scribed the horror of the camps. The
Mississippi Board of Health re-
ported, Most of them have their

acks cut in great wales, scars and

because their labor was needed. Sorite children were sentence as long as twenty
years for a relatively minor crime. ay ranateeat Ae od The Rise and Fall of |
Jim Crow by Richard Wormser/St. Martin's Griffin Publshers |
ties, there are Negroes of whom rione and were captured were whipped until
knows the coming, going or real _ the blood ran. One guard inal
names. The Negroes are restive, the commented, oKill a Nigger ... get an-
whites apprehensive and both are other. ?

ing more and more suspicious. Sometimes [black convicts]

uch a status is already half hostile housed in rolling cages like those for

even, before an overt act is commit- = a aaainaaaTETE
ted. ;

Whites minimized their fear by

maximizing their control. Police ar-
rested unemployed men without
t

cause, charging them as ts or

hades scouts them ) Sart
udges passed extremel
sentences, Blacks received far more
Seyere sentences than whites for the
same crime. In some states, whites
received two years for stealing a cow,
blacks five. Whites were sentenced
to five years for burglary, blacks
to forty.
Leasing Black Convict Labor
Most blacks were sent to con-
vict lease camps, which were orga-
nized on ad combination of rac-

ism and profit. Owners of mines,
plantations, railroads, and other in-
dustries would contract with the state
to lease the labor of men sentenced
to jail. The prisoners would then be
sent to work camps where they would
work six £0 seven

a week from

os

amahenee

See MEMOIRS - Page 10

| CORNERSTONE LOAN CENTER, INC

T

Rights Movement

wounding |

foto

not sink to the level of the racists
and hate mongers they fought
against: oLet us not seek to sat-
isfy our thirst for freedom by
drinking from the cup of bitter-
ness and hatred, ? he urged. oWe
must forever conduct our struggle
on the high plane of dignity and
discipline. ? King Ts philosophy of
otough-mindedness and tender-
heartedness ? was not only highly
effective, but it gave the civil
rights movement an inspiring
moral authority and grace.
Thurgood Marsball
Thurgood Marshall was a cou-
rageous civil rights lawyer during
a period when racial segregation
was the law of the land. At a time
when a large portion of American
society refused to extend equality
to black people, Marshall astutely

realized that one of the best ways
to bring about change was through
the legal system, Between 1938
and 1961, he presented more'than
30 civil rights cases before the Su-
preme Court. He won 29 of them.

Read about | v Feguson,
the Supreme Court's oseparate but

¥y

equal ? doctrine that was over-
turned by Brown v. Board of Edu-
cation of Topeka, :

His most important case was
Brown v. Board of Education of
Topeka (1954), which ended seg-
regation in public schools. By law,
black and white students had to
attend separate public schools. As
long as schools were oseparate but
equal ? "providing equal educa-
tion for all races "segregation was
considered fair. In reality, segre-
gated schools were shamefully un-
equal: white schools were far more
privileged than black schools,
which were largely poor and over-
crowded. Marshall challenged the
doctrine, pointing out that osepa-
rate but equal ? was just a myth
disguising racism. He argued that
if all students were indeed equal,
then why was it necessary to sepa-
rate them? The Supreme Court
agreed, ruling that oseparate edu-
cational facilities are inherently
unequal. ? Marshall went on to be-
come the first African-American
Supreme Court Justice in Ameri-

can history. :
The Little Rock Nine

_ The Little Rock Nine, as they
later came to be called, were the
first black teenagers to attend all-
white Central High School in Little
Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. These
remarkable young African-Ameri-
can students. challenged segrega-
tion in the deep South and won.

Although Brown y, Board of

Education outlawed segregation in
schools, many racist school sys-
tems defied the law by .intimidat-
ing and threatening black stu-
dents "Central High School was
a notorious example. But the Little
Rock Nine were determined to at--
tend the school and receive the
same. education offered to white

students, no matter what. Things...

rew ugly and frightening right
away. D the hn ine of school,
the governor of Arkansas ordered
the state Ts National Guard to block
the black students from enteting
the school. Imagine what it must
have been like to be a student con-
fronted by armed soldiers! Presi-
dent Eisenhower had to send in
federal troops to protect the stu-
dents.

~ But that was only the begin-
ning of their ordeal. Every morn-
ing on their way to school angry
crowds of whites taunted and in-
sulted the Little Rock Nine "they
even received death threats. One
of the students, fifteen-year-old
Elizabeth Eckford, said oI tried to
see a friendly face somewhere in
the mob. . . . I looked into the
face of an old woman, and it
seemed a kind face, but when I
looked at her again, she'spat at
me. ? As scared as they were, the
students wouldn't give up, and sev-
eral went on to graduate from
Central High. Nine black teenag-
ers challenged a racist system and
defeated it.

SWZ
NV

Zhe Annual MLK/SCLC Program at St. Peter Ts |
Church and Protest March at Pitt Gaurt Hinnee,

maces encase

LE "From comical to

musical to utterly emotional, Pitt

Everyone who particig ted and watched thie Feb. Sth poetry competi im came
away a winner, but only the five pictured took home the prize money. The top five
winners from the competitio ictured from left to right: They are Jason

PCC Instructor Don King, King said
the competition was meant for POC

~ ence with the subject of his

Parson,
Nathaniel Lich, Kona Wiliam, Riche Joes and Chevaugan hrs " si

a Ritchie Jones, 32-year-old a, | Br Ron Wale
_ in Communications, won this year Ts f
hi din |
both of the previous two events. |
_ Jones, who hails from New York, |

competition after finishing: third

kept the audience in stitches with his

» oImperfect, ? in which he shed |
s hunmotins ighe oa te. saat:
able and often difficult aspects of end. af

Jones just smiled eoadly and said,
oTve gota litle insight on ie ?
_ Finis hing

a powerful
plained how much his mother means
to him. Calling her a ocool, cool

behind: Jeunes foo
son Parson with oPrime. Necessity, ?

poem in which he-ex- | oedit, voiced

a slave sale in Georgia- circa 1857,
lettered accomplishments of distin-
uished Black Americans such as
alia Jackson and Paul Roberson,

also a 1958 edition of Ebony maga-
ozine featuring the nation T first Black
millionaire William Leidesdorff- as
well as several first edition Sambo

children's books, porcelain mammy

blisters, some of the skin peeling off
a eaee praia :

were lying there dying, so poor and
ee) that theit bones elds
came through their skin. We actually
saw live vermin crawling over their
faces. ?

Children were not exempt.
Twelve-year-old Cy Williams was sen-
tenced to twenty years on a convict
lease gang for taking a horse he was
too small to ride. Eight-year-old Will
Evans received two years for stealing
change off a store counter. And Mary
Gay was sentenced to thirty days for
raking a hat. She was six years old.

y the turn of the century, an
estimated twenty thousand to thirty
thousand African Americans, one
quarter of whom were children, were
condemned to hard labor in convict
lease camps. Convict leasing had be-
come slavery Ts replacement. To sup-
ply the demand for convict labor, sher-
ifs arrested blacks for misdemean-
ors and vagrancy.For some men in
the convict camps, a quick death was
better than a slow one.
to escape, knowing they would prob-
ably be killed. But they also knew that
if they escaped the dogs and the
guards, they could count on help
rom the black community, Many
black farmers hid, fed, and clothed
escaped convicts, breaking and bury-
ing their chains. To help a black man
to freedom was a victory over their
oppressors,

Source: The Rise & Fall of Jim Crow

.Ang.their reflectio,

attempted #9

southern hospitality at its best. Simi-
larly, Pitt County, just as Cheyney
University and the surrounding Penn-

sylvania area could benefit from amu-

seum of epic cultural

There is no doubt that younger

generations are much in need of see-

cit reflections, cultural experi-
the eyes of Black history in America
and Africa, defined and organized into
a educational monument by those
who look like them, who love them,
and support of their forward progres,
sion.

This degree of learning, sharing
and cultivating could only give rise to
a swell of ip of a peoples T col-
lective struggle and the new enge
to move towards the opportunity of

Community College students put students who wanted to T showcase breeze in 100 Jegree heat ? atone |
their artistic skills on: display for a their aptitude for writing and per- point, Parson received a standing T
crowded auditorium as part of the forming. He began. organizing the ovation from many in the audience
oPoetic JustUs: Vol. If ? poetry com- event in October and dulled it as _ at the conclusion of his performance.
petition on Feb, 9. pare of the college's Black History Rounding out the top five were
Nearly 100 students and em- Month celebration. rok cain. Konja Williams, Nathaniel Lynch and
ployees gathered in PCC Ts Fulford With WNCT-TV9%s Phillip chem job But, as King stated, _
Building and were treated to an im- ee dns and Kongji Anthony emcee everyone who participated in the po-
pressive array of poeti¢ performances. ing the program, four PCC employ- etry competition was a Winner.
In all, 12 students participated in the ces "Revi | Garcia, Jeff Robinson, PCC student Carlise Carter, who
event with the top: eivingmon- Kimberly Williamson and Greg has published a book on poetry en-
etary awards provided by the PCC Baldwin "judged the event. The ttlol oWord Songs, ? did not com-
Foundation. , | judges evaluated competitors in four ¢ in the poetry competition but
oPoetic JustUs:Vol. II, ? which areas: composition, creativity, stage Licked off the program with her
was the third such program to be held _ presence, and message clarity. A poem, oBreathe In. ? Carter said it
at PCC, is oa venue of positive ex- category, audience connection, served was a poem about truly appreciating
Pression for students, ? according to as a potential tiebreaker. time spent with loved ones.
| . dolls and no doubt other items of his- a new day in unison.
Continues fre torical significance - _ Perkiris; when asked for last
, Since moving back home a few words of wisdom, offered the follow-
years ago to Pitt County where she _ ing:
now resides in Winterville, Perkins, 1) I Tm not in control GOD ois.
when not teaching at ay oe There T a lesson in everything, in ev.
pniimaniey College, ey ex- ory encounter or experience good or
riers ibility of having the bed
| Mame Days Parlor | io the 2) I'm thankful for the poverty expe-
Anently housed at a undisclosed loca- rienced in my life in all of its forms.
Wy _ ton in Pitt County. Perhiaps the new . For in it, its served as the
Til | _ museum will be permanently named ground from which I would propel
"se) SP hoes: |G Sims oRediscovering Our Heritage Mu- myself and from which I could in-
iach iN seum ?, as it was while oa ealabis in spire others,
Ruby as Moms Mabley at the Parmele, NC, a few years ago. 3) I'm thankful for my mom, for she
Hilton Hotel - Greenville A visit to her home is to enjoy taught me Perseverance, endurance,

and resilience. She taught me how
to embrace the good and how to
weigh the assault of the bad objec-
tively,

4) 1am thankful for learning the dif-
ference between losing and loss, alone
and lonely. There's an ocean of value,
wealth and difference between the

two.

5) Tam thankful for learning to handle

all forms of rejection- the lack of
ich leads to unnecessary emotional

drain and physical trauma.

On that note, Perkins advises
that she is forever open to the spirit.
Please feel free to send your com-
ments and or inquires, in support of
the oRediscovering Our eritage
Museum ?, to Dr. Ruby L. Perkins
at: RLPER@AOL.COM

_ Sereen Printir
_ Reunion Ts

the Lott affair has put a dam

&

aiiiiiaiiaiinaeiaias 4 held in
Washington

Opening of
the new Con-
gress is one
planned for
| mid-January
by Black con-
oiddedi
The meeting
- will be led by
". Conservative

~ Ron ¥

| D.C., media personality Armstrong the Co

Williams, who was at the dinn
Sen. Strom Thurmond, where
ct made his commen; dos A

parent support of oe 1948
tionist presidential campaign.
oeNFlack Republicans, to ger

retiri
Trent

strong opposition to the
remarks and to Lots tonsinvard role

-as party leader in the U.S. Senate. This

included Black Conservatives such as

Williams, among the first to express wh,

his upset with the statements made
by, Lott. Black moderate Republicans
such as Ken Blackwell, Ohio secre-
tary of the state, also expressed the

sentiment that Lott should be re-

has been a protégé of Strom
Thurmond since his days as a college
student, and has sought to participate
in his public rehabilitation. Williams
accompanied Thurmond to a men-
tor/protégé event sponsored by the
Washington, D.C., Urban League
several years ago and generally apolo-
gized for Thurmond Ts conservative
Position on issues. How does one
square the role of an apologist for a
racist with being sensitive to com-
ments uttered by racists? After all,
when it was discovered several years
ago that Trent Lott had ties to the rac-
ist organization, the Conservative
Citizens Council, we watched to see
if this would so embarrass Black Re-

ublicans that they would repudiate
Pott, Narry a word was uttered in
opposition. In fact, I could find no
critical statements that Black Repub-
licans had eee a

I sus t this new meetin

comes because they are eee
Ken Blackwell has suggested that the
Republican ooutreach ? strategy to
Blacks had been going well, and that
per on it.

to si the T

Cover progress on what some Black
" Reput consider their initiative
camer ceria
; t has at least :

me thus far. This meeting then,
amounts to more strategic position-

ing by Black Conservatives, since
Black moderates, like other moder-
ates, seem to have little difference in
their agenda from the Con-
~ Black: cepenceet cannot be
meeting T to put forth an agenda any
different from that which port lead
Tom DeLay has authored, because
they have functioned as front men for
ne Conservative revolution since the
emergence of Ronald Reagan and
Newt Gingrich. Where is the differ-
on between Black Republicans and
te

an

? Blacks had a number of dis-

agreements with the Clinton admin- "

istration. The only crack in the Re-
publican dike was momentary, when
Colin Powell voiced caution on an in-
vasion of Iraq in the early 1990s and
en he voiced support for affirma-
tive action. Otherwise, Black Repub-
licans have been in lock-step with their

?,?rs on issues such as vouchers,
faith-based initiatives, reduction in
taxes, belittling civil rights, the war

moved as the leader of the Senate. against Iraq and whatever else DeLay

But does this mean that the Conser- serves up.

vative agenda will prevail at this meet- Just as this moment, created by

ing or that one posed by the Black the racial thuggery of Trent Lott, is an

moderates will? opportunity to fashion a more pro-
The irony in this is that Williams gressive governing agenda on civil

rights issues for the majority of Blacks

and even Black Republicans who are

not Conservative, it is also an pp =
tunity for Black Republican T spokes-

blican Party leaders on =

Coming Home?

and-trade vilification of mainstream
Black leaders and to accept some real
responsibility of their own, given the
strategic power position they now |

7 The sowisiion of the con-
trol of the entire governmental appa-
ratus by the Republican Party also
places Black blicans in an his-
toric position of accountability to the
Black community. How will they ex-
ercise this accountability?

This should be a moment for the
Ken Blackwells, Colin Powells and
eens |

ip of Blac icans, but they 3
fv been send ched between the
power of White Conservatives and
their Black representatives whose
voice was the voice of Blacks in the
party. Moderate Black Republicans
are in a position to exercise leader-
ship on issues such-as health insur-
ance coverage; Title I funding; sup-
port for Black colleges, affirmative
action and economic development of
depressed Black communities; and on
moderate approaches to foreign
policy. |

The public actions of these Black
Republicans in the policy arena will
provide the opportunity for history to
judge not only the outcome of this
meeting they are planning, but their
actions on subsequent issues vital to
the well being of the Black commu-
nity with the proximity to power they
NOW possess.

Ron Walters is Distinguished
Leadership Scholar, director of the Af-
rican American Leadership Institute
and professor of government and poli-
tics at the University of Maryland. His
latest book, with Robert Smith, is
Africa American Leadership. °

ns to move beyond the stock-

Greenville Housing Authority
Beginning February Ist, the Greenville
Housing Authority will open the Section 8
aiting List and be

tions for the Housing Choice Voucher
Program. Applications will be taken every
Tuesday and Thursday in the month of
February from 9am until 3pm (ending
February 24th) at
Eppes Recreational Center located at
304 Nash Street.

You must be 18 years or older to apply.

gin accepting applica-

the

"So, the meeting is an attempt to re- _

beer with something extra

February 17 - 28, 2005 The Minority Voice Newspaper Page 11

the BEST...!!

the

RECOGNITION

Onoring

The Pictorial below consolj:
dates photos from the 22ND AN.
NUAL DR. MARTIN LUTHER
KING, JR. SENIOR RECOGNI-
TION BANQUET that pays tribute

to Dr. King and honors senior mj-

nority medical students graduating
from the Brody School of Medicine.

For the past several years, this
event has been utilized to endow a

scholarship fund to honor Dr. An-

drew Best, tireless work as a civil

rights leader, humanitarinin and role
model in the communuty. Dr. Best
practiced medicine in Greater
Greenville for 50 years. Dr. Best
played a key role in the establisment
of the Brody School of Medicine

during his tenure as a member of
the University of North Carolina
Board of Governors and the East
Carolina University Board of Trust-
ees.

This year the MLK Recognition

Event was held at the Greenville
Hilton on January 22nd and the
goal was to raise $25,000 for the
Scholarship Fund. Seated in the
very top row are this year Ts gradu-
ating medical students.