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By: Maria: Wright
Edelman

did we

The increasing
criminalization of children
has become a major crisis.
Children are being
suspended and expelled
from school and
incarcerated in the juvenile
and adult justice system at
alarming rates, and at
younger and younger ages.
This increased incarceration
is not due to an increase in
serious delinquent or violent
criminal behavior by young
people.

Juvenile arrests for
violent crimes grew rapidly
in the late 1980s and peaked
in 1994, but then began
falling. Between 1994 and
2003, the juvenile arrest rate
for Violent Crime Index
offenses " murder, forcible
rape, robbery, and
aggravated assault " fell
48% to its lowest level since
1980. So, if actual crime is
not the cause for the rise in
incarceration rates, what is?

One piece of the puzzle is
the rise of ozero tolerance ?
policies in schools. Schools

Ja Rule blasts trial against
Gotti T Bros............0.

_ Criminalization of
children : How
get here?

began adopting these policies
in the late 1980s, taking the
term from the war on drugs.
Amidst debate in Congress
over osuper-predators ? and
predictions of a coming and
dramatic surge in juvenile
crime that never materialized,
these policies hit the national
level when former president
Bill Clinton signed the Gun-
Free Schools Act of 1994,
requiring a one-calendar year
expulsion for possession of a
firearm and referral of law-
violating students to the
juvenile or criminal justice
systems. Most states and
local school districts
responded to the new law by
broadening the mandate of
zero tolerance beyond the
federal mandate of weapons
to include drugs, alcohol,
fighting, threats, or swearing.

Many schools boards
continue to toughen their '
policies, experimenting with
permanent expulsion for
certain offenses. Others have
begun to apply school
suspénsions and expulsions to
behavior that occurs outside
of school.

ieaeeeeieimemenienenaaiousiint, Tae

While zero tolerance once
applied to serious offenses
involving safety, it is now an
overarching and catchall
disciplinary approach for real,
perceived and imaginary
weapons and omisbehavior ?
that is defined by highly
subjective terms like
odisruption ? and odisrespect. ?
Aspirin, Certs, and Midol are
considered drugs. Paper
clips, nail files, scissors, and
spitballs are considered
weapons. Punishment
through exclusion is the
overwhelming response.

From 1974 to 2000, the

number of students suspended

out of school increased from
1.7 to 3.1 million. While zero
tolerance has a place as a
response to truly dangerous
behavior, it has become a
danger to children and a
potential way to exclude any
student who may need
individualized help. Children
should not be put out of
school for any reason other
than posing a real threat to
themselves or others, Child
behaviors that used to be

-

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SeTTtaussib

NOa aNOUS WANIIONWD :

Hip-hop star Ja Rule (in glasses in photo below) and music mogul |
Christopher (Chris Gotti) Lorenzo outside Brooklyn Federal Court
yesterday for trial of Lorenzo and his brother Irving (Irv Gotti) Lorenzo
(above). The Lorenzos are charged with laundering drug baron Ts "
fortune to start music empire. (right photo) Ja Rule, came to court

Hip Hop Star Ja Rule and Murder Inc. Ts-
Irv Gotti outside the Brooklyn courthouse
where Irv Gotti and his brother Christopher
are on trial pio |

Antonelli NEWS

ee eee
By John weber oIt Ts a war on hip hop, ? Ja crack kingpin Kenneth
ToS NESTLE Rule declared outside a (Supreme) MoGriff ~
Brooklyn Federal Court. laundering his dirty
Hip Hop Superstars Ja:Rule Ashanti, his sexy co-star from money to bankroll their
and Ashanti showed their the Lorenzo brother Ts | businesses and using him
props to music moguls Irving ominously named Murder, Inc., for protection.
(Irv Gotti) and Christopher music label, also was on hand
(Chris Gotti) Lorenzo who for the trail Ts explosive _ oThis case is about
went on trail Wednesday, Nov. _ opening. how the defendants
17, 2005 are being charged helped the drug dealer
with building their hip-hop Prosectors told jurors the masquerade as a big shot
empire on drug money stuffed Queens brothers forged an executive in the
in shopping bags. 4 unholy alliance-swith cutthroat ....-entertainment industry, ?

... Continued pg7

ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA
SORORITY, INC. MAKES
CONTRIBUTION TO KATRINA
EVACUEES

Alpha Kappa Alpha
Sorority, Inc., an
international service
organization, reached out
to survivors of Hurricane
Katrina all over the United
States. lota Kappa Omega,
the local chapter,
committed to providing
relief to evacuees in the
Pitt County area. The
evacuees were identified
through Pitt County
Schools where several
Students enrolled following
the devastating effects of
Hurricane Katrina. While

The Milanos have two
children, Shelby and
Tristan. They are
enrolled in Grifton
Elementary School. Mr.
& Mrs. Milano have been
successful in finding
housing and
employment.

some students have left the
area, two families remain.
The chapter presented Wal-
Mart gift cards to each family.

One of the evacuees
remaining in Pitt County is
Shelton D. Northern, a 6th
grader at E.B. Aycock.
Shelton came to Greenville
from Mississippi to live with
his father and stepmother
who reside in Greenville. The
Milano family also evacuated
from Mississippi to live with
Mr. Milano's sister in Grifton.

Both families expressed
sincere appreciation to
the chapter for the
response to their many
needs.

| The Milano Family ,
Ist Row L-R Shelby Milano, Tristan Milano 2nd Row L-R Gloria Hines, Mrs Milano;
| Helen Harrell, Disater Relief Chairman

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alias ananalinesintiennetahnmeenatimatecamneiin

By George E. Curry

This is the season to be jolly,
but you Td never know it,
considering all the attacks on
Christmas. In a well-intended
but misguided effort to be
more inclusive of other
religions, some government
units, businesses and civic
groups are urging everyone to
stop saying, oMerry
Christmas ? and replace it
with a bland, and presumably
more acceptable, oHappy
Holidays. ?

This is where I part company
with many of my liberal
friends. The purpose o
Christmas " the :
commercialization issue not
withstanding " is to celebrate

_ the birth of Jesus Christ,

which is recounted in the first
chapter of Matthew,
beginning with verse 18.

As a Christian, I make no
apologies for celebrating my
faith. There is no getting
around it: Christmas is about
the birth of Christ. Period. It
would be the ultimate insult
to relegate Jesus to the
background in an effort not to
offend non-Christians. We
can celebrate the birth of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

while wishing our Jewish...

friends, for example, a Happy
Hanukkah. The two are not

mutually exclusive.

Like it or not, the reality is

that this nation was founded

by Christians and established,
at least in principle, on Judeo-
Christian values. The
Founding Fathers, most of
whom owned slaves, did not
always exhibit the Christian
spirit but they at least held it
up as an ideal. So much so
that our currency still reads,
oIN GOD WE TRUST. ? At
Christmas, the last people that
should be offended are -
Christians, But that is exactly
what Ts been happening in
recent years.

A controversy erupted in
Boston recently over what to
call their city Ts 48-foot spruce

Taking Christ out of

Christmas

tree in a December 1
ceremony. The city Ts Web site
called it a oholiday tree ?

instead of a Christmas tree

and that touched off an angry
backlash, especially among
Christian conservatives,

' Evangelist Jerry Falwell told

Fox television, oThere has
been a concerted effort to
steal Christmas. ? ?

City officials finally relented.
Boston Mayor Thomas
Menino told reporters that he
would keep calling the spruce
a oChristmas tree. ? He
explained, oI grew up with a
Christmas tree, I Tm going to
stay with a Christmas tree. ?

Some of the back-and-forth
over what to call the trees,
has taken place with less
fanfare.

Until the late 1990s, the
lighted, decorated tree on the
West Lawn of the U.S.
Capitol was called a
Christmas tree. Someone
came up with, shall we say,
the bright idea of referring to
it as the Holiday Tree. Now,
House Speaker Dennis Haster
(R-Ill.) has instructed federal
officials to return to the old
name " the Capitol Christmas
Tree.

Last year, California Gov.
Amold Schwarzenegger
reversed a decision by his, ,
predecessor, former Gov. -"
Gray Davis, and began
referring to the state Ts
Christmas tree, not a Holiday
Tree.

It Ts astounding how far some
have gone in recent years to
be politically correct " or

oincorrect, depending on your

point of view.

Last year, the Plano, Texas
Independent School District
banned students from wearing
red and green at their winter
break parties because they
were considered Christmas
colors. Students were
forbidden from exchanging
gifts with religious messages
on them, apparently fearing
oMerry Christmas ? and
reindeers might offend others.

While that was happening in
Texas, the Maplewood and

South Orange, N.J. combined
school system was banning
Christmas carols, even those
about Santa Claus. Christmas
without oSilent Night ? and
oHark the Herald Angels
Sing? ? I can Tt even imagine it
and I have a pretty lucid
imagination. I suppose that

- would be tantamount to trying

to have an Easter egg hunt
without eggs. Ooops, I guess
if we Tre not suppose to make
references to the birth of
Christ, then celebrating his
resurrection is really off-
limits. My bad. .

Speaking of bad, things got so
bad that a public school in
Wisconsin told students to
change religious words in
Christmas carols for an
upcoming concert. In Jackson
County, Ga., they reportedly
banned certain jewelry, which
would presumably include
pins that read, oJesus is the
Reason for the Season. ?

Finally, let me address the
political aspects of this
controversy. Make no mistake
about it: the driving force
behind reclaiming Christmas
is conservatives, through such
organizations as the Alliance
Defense Fund and Liberty
Counsel, both affiliated with
Jerry Falwell. The
televangelist and others at the
forefront of this movement
also aetively-Oppose- =~ -
affirmative action and other
social programs that I
support.

But as a free thinker, I don Tt
take positions only if right-
wingers don Tt take them.
They are not part of my
thought process. We should
take positions because they
are right and not oppose a
view simply because it is
supported by the Right. And if
we get confused, we can
always fall back on: What
Would Jesus Do? -

Merry Christmas!

George E. Curry is editor-in-chief
of the NNPA News Service and
BlackPressUSA.com. He appears
on National Public Radio (NPR)
three times a week as part of
oNews and Notes with Ed
Gordon. ? To contact Curry or to
book him for a speaking
engagement, go to his Web site,
www. georgecurry.com

A Day to Celebrate " December 06:
The ratification of

The Thirteenth Amendment

Special Commentary by
Judge James A. Wynn, Jr.

December 06 marks the
most significant date in
African-American history "
the 140" anniversary of the
Thirteenth Amendment to
the United States
Constitution, the historic

proviso that officially ended
Slavery in America,

On that date in 1865, the
passage of the Thirteenth
Amendment accomplished
something that neither the
Emancipation Proclamation
nor Juneteenth Day could do;
it declared the nonexistence
of slavery in the United States
as the osovereign will of the
people. ? Indeed, Lincoln Ts
Emancipation Proclamation
of Jan. 01, 1863 was no more
than a Presidential
Proclamation which
purported to free only osome ?
of the slaves " those in states
that rebelled against the
Union. And, in at least one of
those states, Texas, the slaves
did not learn of their 1863
granted freedom until the
Union Army arrived there on
June 19, 1865 - thus, setting

off what is now celebrated as
Juneteenth Day.

The constitutional
prohibition of slavery in
America did not come about
until Congress began the
ratification-by-the-states
process with a bill passed in
January 1865. With Georgia Ts
approval on December 6,
1865 (North Carolina ratified
it on December 04, 1865),
two-thirds of the states had
ratified this bill, which
became the Thirteenth
Amendment to the US
Constitution with the
following text:

Sec. 01: Neither Slavery
nor involuntary servitude,
except as a punishment for
crime whereof the party shall
have been duly convicted,
shall exist within the United
States, nor any place subject
to their jurisdiction.

Oppose Tookie Ts

Clemency

By Earl Ofari Hutchinson,
Pacific News Service

The small crowd of clergy, "
community activists and
death penalty opponents that
gathered in front of the Los
Angeles courthouse recently
was no different than other
groups that for weeks have
kept up the drum beat for
California Gov. Arnold

- Schwarzenegger to grant

Stanley oTookie ? Williams
clemency.
oStay

There was one very loud
exception. A young African-
American man shouted that
Williams was a thug and a
murderer and should die. He
was not an agitator or a crank.
He represented a body of pro-
death penalty sentiment
among blacks that has seldom
been publicly heard during
the great Tookie debate.

I was not surprised when |
heard this young man Ts
words, for there are many
blacks like him who want
Williams dead. The instant I
went to bat in my columns for
clemency for Williams and
against the death penalty in
general, the e-mails and .
comments I got flew hot and
heavy. Black critics bitterly
reviled me for advocating
clemency. They were adamant
that Williams must pay for his
crimes, and for the murder
and mayhem the Crips gang,
which he helped found, has
unleashed on impoverished
black communities.

Their hardened attitude
toward Williams flew in the
face of conventional wisdom
that says that blacks are
passionate opponents of the
death penalty. They aren Tt.

During the past decade, even
as more whites have said they
are deeply ambivalent about
the death penalty or oppose it,
many blacks continue to say
that murderers, even black
ones, must pay with their
lives. A Harris Interactive poll
in August 2001 found that
nearly half of black
respondents supported capital
punishment. Three years later,
a Gallup Poll found that black

support for the death penalty
still hovered at close to 50
percent.

The death penalty debate can
no longer be neatly
pigeonholed into a black
verses white racial divide
issue, and with good reason.
Whites generally are not at
risk from black criminals.
Other blacks are. They are
more likely to be victims of
violent crime or to have
friends or relatives who have
been crime victims than
whites.

The Justice Department Ts
annual crime victim surveys
have consistently found that
blacks are nearly twice as
likely to be victims of murder
than whites. The leading
cause of death among young
black males under age 24 is
homicide. In nearly all cases,
other blacks will kill them.

Blacks are scared stiff and fed
up with that continuing surge
in murder violence that tears
at black communities. A hint
of that came in June 1999, A
Justice Department survey
that year found that blacks in
a dozen cities generally
applauded the police. This
confounded some black
leaders who, like many
others, assumed that blacks
are inveterate cop haters,

They aren Tt. They are against

racist and abusive police
officers, and expect and
demand efficient, fair
policing in their communities.

In Los Angeles, New York,
Chicago and other cities,
community activists have
staged anti-murder marches,
held vigils and have lobbied
city and state officials for
tougher gun laws. They have
also taken a step that once
would have been considered
racial treason: They have
repeatedly demanded that
blacks break their code of
silence toward the police and
help them identify the young
shooters.

Then there Ts the myth of the
osoft ? black juror. It goes like
this: Black jurors are so
hateful of white authority that

they will gleefully nullify the
law and let a black |
lawbreaker waltz out of court
a free man or woman, even if
that person is a killer. This is
nonsense. In most big cities,

blacks make up a majority or

a significant percent of those
who sit on juries, and they
routinely convict other blacks ~
of crimes, including murder,
every day. It Ts true that in past
years, blacks were the
staunchest opponents of
capital punishment.

They had good cause to be.
The death penalty was a
blatantly racist weapon
wielded by prosecutors,
particularly in the South,
against blacks convicted of
rape and murder on the
flimsiest of evidence, as long -
as their alleged victims were
white. The death penalty is
still used and handed down in
a racist fashion. However,
crime fears and rampaging
murder rates in many black
communities have partially
trumped that, and made more
blacks than ever regard
capital punishment not as a
weapon to hammer blacks,
but to hartimer violent.
criminals. ~

Tookie certainly no longer fits
the label of the violent
predator. He has tirelessly
worked to redeem his life,

and those of countless other
angry, violence-prone youths.
But many blacks have lost
friends and loved ones to

those gun-toting youths. They ©
are unforgiving and unsparing
in their rage at them, and they
blame Williams for helping to |
spawn them.

It Ts unfair to blame one man
for the sins of some in the
youth generation. But when
the body count rises, people
look to place blame on
someone, and Williams is that
someone. It Ts only a short step
from there for them to loudly
say that Tookie must die.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an

author and political analyst.
He is the author of The
Crisis in Black and Black T
(Middle Passage Press).

How are you?

oYour day goes the way
the corners of your mouth
turn. ? " Unknown

When someone asks

._, how you are? What do you

say? Your answers are
usually no more than a few
words. And yet, that short
response tells a lot about
you and your attitude.

Let Ts examine these three
categories and some
common responses under
each one.

Negative Responses:

Lousy, terrible, I Tm
tired, It Ts not my day; Thank
God it Ts Friday; A day older
and a dollar broken, and
Don Tt ask.

Hanging in there, and fine.

Do you want to spend a lot
of time with someone who
thinks that life is not too
bad? Is that the person you
want to do business with?

Positive Reponses:

dU hs Utibde tye
These are the enthusiastic, wo

people who say:

Terrific, Fantastic, Great,
Excellent, Super, I Tm on top
of the world, and It doesn Tt
get any better.

Those who use positive
words like these have a
bounce in their step and you
feel a little better just by
being around them. Be
honest. How did you feel as
you read the positive list?

oSay you are well, or all
is well with you, and God
shall hear your words and
make them come true. ?
(Ella Wheeler Wilcox)

Ten of the Worst Foods
for Children

1. Soda or pop

2. Whole milk ( over
two years of age)

3. Hamburgers

4. American cheese

. Hot dogs: ,

6.. French fries and
tater tots -

7.- Ice cream
8. Bologna

9. Pizza loaded with
cheese & meat

10. Chocolate bars

Ten of the Best
Foods for Children

1. Fresh fruits and
vegetables
(especially carrot
sticks, cantaloupe,
and Strawberries.

2. Chicken breasts
and drumsticksw/o
skin or breading.

3. Cheerios,wheaties,
or other whole-
grain, low sugar
cereals.

4. Extra lean ground
beef, or vegetarian
burgers (Garden
Burgers or Green
Grant Harvest
Burgers ).

Skim or 2% milk

6. Low fat hot dogs
(Yves Veggie
Cuisines, fat free
wieners or
Nightlife Fat free
Smart dogs.)

7. Nonfat ice cream
or frozen yogurt.

8. Seasoned air-
popped popcorn.

9. Whole-wheat
crackers or Small

World Animal
Crackers.

The Survey says:

Because fairness is our
goal, here, according to our
surveys of parents, are 40
Rude Things Teenagers Say
to parents:

1. oLeave me alone. ?

2. oMind your own
business. ?

3. oGet out of my
face. ?

4. oGet out of my
life. ?

tn

oStay out of my
room. ?

6. oShut up. ?
7. o@S#!%&! You. ?

8. o You Tre the worlds
worst parents. ?

s©

oI wish you. weren Tt
my mother/father. ?

10. oI wish I was never
born. ?

11. oI wish you were
dead. ?

12. oI hate being part of
this family. ?

13. oI don Tt need one. ?
14. oYou don Tt have to. ?
15. oI don Tt have to. o
16. oI don Tt care. ?

17. oYou can Tt tell me
what to do. ?

18. oWhat about you? ?
19. oYou do it. ?
20. oForget you. ?

21. oI'll do what I
want. ?

22. oI'll do it when I
feel like doing it. ?

23. oI don Tt need your
help. ?

24. oYou never do
anything for me. ?

25. oYou Tre so unfair.
26. oYou're a nag. ?

27. oYou're too old to
. understand. ?

28. oI don Tt want to be
seen with you in
public. ?

29. oDon Tt buy me
clothes. You have
horrible tastes. ?

30. oGive me money. ?
31. oIt Ts my life. ?
32. oSo? ?

33. oWho says? ?

34. oFine! ?

35. oYeah, right. ?
36. oBig deal. ?

37. oDo I have to eat
that? ?

38. oThis dinner is
gross. ?

39. oTI hate you. ?

40. oYou don Tt care
about me at all. ?

Neighborhood schools not an option

Letter: Neighborhood schools
not an option

During the 1970s, I had an
opportunity to serve as a
member and chairman of the
Greenville City Board of
Education. The projected racial
student population was
extremely accurate and it was
reflected that the student racial
population would become
increasingly black. It was
known at that time where the
greatest growth would take
place in Greenville and Pitt
County, and that the racial
population would be'very close
to what it actually is.

In spite of the availability of this
valuable planning information,

the Pitt County Board of
Education continuously failed to
use this information to initiate
long-range plans to build -
schools in areas equally
accessible by black and while
students in the various school
districts. The preponderance of
schools has been built in the
south and southeast areas of Pitt
County. No public schools have
been built in or adjacent to black
neighborhoods since the racial
integratign of our schools in the
late 1960s, Naturally, such overt
discrimination has placed the

e

~ preponderance of busing on

those black students and those
white students who live in areas
remotely located from the
schools being constructed.

Neighborhood schools in Pitt
County mean segregated schools
in Pitt County. I am a product of
segregated schools in eastern
North Carolina. No one will ever
be able to imagine what it is like ?
to have to walk miles to school
while white students rode in nice
heated buses and shouted
vulgarities at us. No one could
imagine what it is like to have to
wait for used books from white
schools in order to have books to
use. No, no one should ever have
to stay in school all day without
having anything to eat or drink.
To have a school facility with no
indoor toilets, drinking water, etc,
No, neighborhood schools should
never be an option.
EDCARTER Greenville

Suejette Jones
Licking the Whites "Only
Christmas Stamp |

As Black Santa Clauses
make special appearances at
inner city elementary
schools, supermarkets,

neighborhoods and parades,

the United States Postal

Service has been distributing |

a white-only line of Santa

postage customers, received
in your mail the opportunity
to order stamps through the
local postmaster. I, too, get
this offer from time to time.

Recently, the offer to order
your Christmas stamps
featured various scenes.
There were scenes of several
types of snowmen, the
Madonna, the Hanukkah and
Kwanzaa. Among other
scenes was the white Santa
Claus ornament stamp that
was issued last year and
again this year- " " ".

At one o Tclock in the
morning, five days before
Christmas last December,
Jennifer Sneed was jolted
awake by full-blown labor
pains. Her due date was still
three weeks away, but the
contractions were already
coming two minutes apart.

There was no time to spare.
The hospital was in
Greenville, North Carolina,
20 miles from home. And it
was snowing. As Jennifer
scrambled to get ready, her
husband, Jerry, called to her
with further bad news: The
snow was coming down hard.

oT just looked out the window. "

There Ts already four inches
on the ground. ?

It barely ever snowed in
eastern North Carolina. But
here was an eerie reminder of
another freak snowstorm,
almost exactly a year earlier.
Two inches had covered the
ground when the Sneeds
buried their blond, blue-eyed
five-year-old son Derek,
following a horrific car crash.

Late New Year Ts Eve
morning, while the family
was returning from grocery
Shopping, a car careened
across the center line on U.S.
264 and slammed head-on in
to their Ford Explorer. The
car struck with such force that
the SUV Ts passenger side
wheels ended up on the curb.

The entire family was rushed
to the hospital. Jennifer
suffered multiple injuries
eight broken ribs, a broken
sternum, a bruised kidney),

mill

~ Subsequently stirring much

objection and controversy

among the African American

world.

White-only images can
damage the self-esteem of

_ black children, says a
_ psychologist. oToo many

children already believe that
there is a white Jesus and
white angels " " anything
that we hold in high
esteem. ? She says. oThese
children are later going to
grow out of the Santa Claus
phase, but after they grow
out of it and they Tve only
seen a white Santa Claus,
they internalize that. It
would not have hurt the post
Office if they were going to
put out a Santa Claus stamp
to put both out or not to put
out at all. We do know that
a white Santa Claus would
be scared to go into the
hood T where most of these
kids are anyway. He
wouldn Tt get caught there. ?

Avices

. ; - Asians reject culturally
insensitive images of Santa.
"In most Chinatowns, the

Asians have quietly put

nothing in there but Asian.
- Santa Claus. By doing that,

they Tre subtly teaching the -

children. One spokesperson

asserts that Saint Nicholas,
on whom the character,
Santa Claus is based, was of
Northern European descent,
but was not intended to

_ Slight anyone. Many people

every day petition the
Citizen Stamp Advisory
Committee. They are the
deciding body as to which
stamp do get issued. She
says she believes the Postal
Service Ts White Santa

_ images are offset by A frican-

American stamp images sold
throughout the year and
Black History Month stamp.
She says the public can
influence what stamps are
created and the stamp
subjects must be submitted
at least three years in
advance of the expected
issuance " "according to
guidelines publicized by the
Postal Service. Perhaps
more petitions should be

_ submitted for a Black Santa

Claus for the sake of the
imagecthnfrolacknthi kiveated
pordéedesr Sujette Jones ) °

Real-Life Miracles

th by Faith May

and Jerry fractured his right

"atm, jaw and eye socket,

Eighteen-month-old Kayla,
who was snugly belted into

her car seat, emerged with
arrvrsnereyia, Olly a Scratch. T But Derek T
Faith May

called DJ, suffered a severe "
brain stem injury. He was:put
on life support and died six "
days later. The Sneeds were
devastated.

In the months that followed,
Jennifer, a kindergarten
teacher, had nearly swallowed
up by grief. oDJ had started
kindergarten that year and his
room was down the hall from
mine at school, ? she says.
oEvery day, I would look at
all the-little boys his age and I
couldn Tt help but ask: Why
DJ? ? His father had called
him Monkey because he was

such a sunny, giggling little

boy. The Sneeds thought they
would never recover. Then, in
the spring, came some good
news: Jennifer was pregnant
again.

Now the baby was coming.
As the Sneeds piled into their
Ford Expedition at 1:15 a.m.,
visibility was approaching
zero. oIt was a total
whiteout, ? says Jennifer.
oYou couldn Tt see five feet. ?
When they got to U.S. 264 "
the same highway where they
had tragically lost their son "
theirs was the only car on the
road.

oThe snow was coming down,
and the wind was blowing, ?
Jerry recalls. oI had the fog
lights on and my head right up
to the steering wheel, trying to
peer out. ? Next to him
Jennifer was screaming. The
pains were coming faster.
Finally, without being sure
where he even was, Jerry
stopped in the middle of the
highway and called 911 on
his:cell phone. The operator

urged him to keep driving until

he reached the light at
Greenville Blvd. oNO! ?
shrieked Jennifer, when he told

her. oThere Ts no time! The
baby Ts coming! Tti«: onindeys lege

Dropping the phone, Jerry

raced around to the passenger
side. Reaching down , he
could feel the-baby Ts head.
oO Tkay, push! ? he urged

Jennifer. Two pushes later, he
-was able to get his hands
around his daughter Ts tiny

neck. oOn the third push, I
pulled her out, T hésays. Then
things got scarier. The baby
was not moving but not crying,
oShe looked white and purple,
sort of, ? Jerry remembers.

oThe umbilical cord was
wrapped around her neck. ?
Gently untangling it "he Td
seen the doctor do it when DJ
was born "he took his pinkie
and swiped her throat to
remove any obstruction. When
his daughter cried, he laid her
on her mother Ts chest and:
covered them with his coat.
Both doors were open and
snow was fast covering the car.

It was 1:42 a.m. .

When Jerry picked up his
discarded cell phone, the 911
operator was still on the line.
Like many operators, she had
been through medical protocols
training. She told him to tie off
the cord with a shoelace. He
was reaching down to untie his
sneaker when, in the distance,
he heard a glorious sound: an

ambulance siren.

oOrdinarily it would have taken
a good half-hour, ? says

. Jennifer, obut they were out on

a call that had been canceled
and were only three minutes
away. There were alotof
miracles that night "and I felt
that DJ, looking down, had a
hand in them all. ?

Jennifer and Jerry took their 6-
pound, 12-ounce daughter,

Perey eee enieetli

naar tne eter ree

DECEMBER 1 - 16, 2005 pag 4_

Dr Andrew Best answers
a question presented to °
him on the advice he
would give to a young
person who would pursue a
medical carrer,

Dr. Best: I would speak in
terms of the realities of
medical service, of producing
medical service, giving

Medical, the realities as it is
today, not the realities like
when I came through because
in the day of all these -
sophisticated tests and the
computers and all the other
things that go along with it,
my advice would be to get a
good, well-grounded and
well-founded education in
medicine; keep your focus on
the delivery of quality care:
don Tt be afraid to call for
consultant help; and above
all, be sure that you are in the
branch of medicine or in the
specialty of medicine that you
yourself enjoy. If you enjoy
people than the practice of
internal medicine with all of
its aspects-sometimes you
will find some internists who
will go off in cardiology and
some confine themselves to.a
certain narrow branch of
what the internists used to see
but be true to yourself. If for
example, if you like research,
if you like the technicalities
of finding out why this or that
in the other and you hate
being bothered with people,
don Tt go in to enter the
primary care specialties,

pediatrics, internal medicine -

or family practice. If you
want to be in medicine and
you hate people, get yourself
a job somewhere like in
pathology or somewhere in
research or something. That
would be my basic advice and
to be true to yourself and lie
to somebody else if you have
to but don Tt tell yourself a lie.
If you are not going to be
happy in doing what you are
doing and feeling a sense of
Satisfaction from the results
you get then you are in the
wrong place.

As an aside, I hope I have
answered that part of the
question. I don Tt know if I had
a son or a daughter who
wanted to go into medicine
right now or today, I would
also advise them that if you
are looking for millions right
now, retiring at thirty-five as a
millionaire, don Tt go into
medicine. Don Tt go into
medicine for that reason, find
yourself another job whatever
it may be, one that you are
happy in and enjoy. Expect to
live for the lives of the people
that you
Serve and it is
in that way
when you die
a pauper like
I am you will
die happy.

Prominent Greenville
physician dies at 89

By Corey G Johnson, The Daily
Reflector .

X

Friday, December 09, 2005

A local physician who
advocated social fairness and
played a key role in the
creation of ECU Ts medical
school died Wednesday at Pitt
County Memorial Hospital,
friends and family said.

_ Dr. Andrew A. Best, 89, was a

Kinston native. He received the
Purple Heart and the Bronze
Star for his service in the U.S.
Amny during World War II.

Funeral services will be held at
1] a.m. Tuesday at Hull Road
Free Will Baptist Church in
Kinston. Officiating will be the
Rev. Amold Coley of Jericho
AME Zion Church in Kinston.
Delivering the eulogy will be
the Rev. George E. Battle Jr,
presiding Prelate of the
Northeast Episcopal District. A

wake will be held from 6-8
p.m. Monday at Jericho AME
Zion Church.

Best established his medical
practice in Greenville in 1954,
serving several generations of

patients until his retirement in
2004.

The Greenville Human
Relations Council established a
yearly banquet in 1990 " the
Best-lrons Humanitarian
Awards " in honor of the joint
efforts of Best and Dr. Malene
G Irons to desegregate Pitt
County Memorial Hospital in
the 1960s.

Irons, a white woman, and
Best, who was the hospital Ts
only black physician at the
time, persuaded officials to
integrate the hospital dining
and nursery areas and to
address minority patients with
the same titles as white
patients.

oThey really were a good team
and loved each other very
much, ? Ben Irons, the 56-year-
old son of Malene Irons, said.
oOur family was very close to

_ Dr. Best and will miss him

dearly. ?

Best earned his medical degree
in 1951 from Meharry Medical
College in Nashville, Tenn,

His willingness to deliver
much-needed h
poor and work behind the

to the

_ THE MINORITY
VOICE |
- HONORS THE
LEGACY OF DR

ANDREW BEST

»&

scenes to advance racial justice
will be sorely missed, said
Calvin Henderson, president of
the Pitt County chapter of the
NAACP.

oDr. Best delivered my only
child in 1960 and was a dear
family friend, ? Henderson said.
oHe was one of the greatest
men to have ever worked in:
this community. ? :

Best served as a member of a
number of organizations. He
was past president of the Pitt
County Interracial Committee
and past chairman of the
Human Relations Council.

' Best also was known for

securing scholarships to help
scores of minority students

He wag appointed to the
iversity of North Carolina
Board of Governors in 1971.

It was during Best Ts tenure on
the Board of Governors that
then chancellor Leo Jenkins,

and others lobbied the state
legislature for the creation of a
medical school at East Carolina
University.

Best is credited for being vital
in persuading six minority
members on the medical
education subcommittee to
vote in favor of the school. The
close vote created momentum
for school Ts eventual approval.

oThere was a significant
minority contribution to the
creation of the School of
Medicine at ECU, ? Best told
interviewer Marion Blackburn
in September 2000.

Best at the time he was pleased
the interview would record the
work minorities put toward the
medical school.

**... Without us, it would not
have been, I am telling you, ? he
said.

Pitt County Commissioner
Dave Hammond said Best, who
was godfather to his three
children, will be especially
moumed in his home.

oHistory will record him to be
one of the greatest local leaders
ever known, ? he said.

Corey G Johnson can be
reached at
cjohnson@coxnc.com or 329-
9565.

J

nd forget it. If your home hasa heat pump "
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e thermostat daily. Set it at the lowest
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Caulking, sealing and
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wiring penetrate exterior walls,
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Progress Energy enfatiza aspectos de seguridad en la instalacién de
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¥ & A

: vaed FP Ots,
. «

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EE. UU. Progress Energy alienta a los clientes a tomar las siguientes precauciones de seguridad cuando
instalan las luces navidefias.

Seguridad en interiores T

* Elija un arbol verde fresco, sin ramas secas ni marrones. Manténgalo en un soporte Ileno de agua para
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Coloque el arbol lejos de chimeneas, radiadores y otras fuentes de calor.
Si utiliza un arbol artificial, elija uno que haya sido probado (homologado) y etiquetado como |

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Siga las instrucciones que vienen con el juego de luces para determinar cuantos Juegos se pueden
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Reemplace los bombillos quemados de inmediato para evitar recarga en los restantes. |

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Para no sobrecargar los circuitos, utilice una barra con protector de picos con varias salidas y un
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Solo utilice luces que estén especificamente disefadas para uso en exteriores.

» oJ ¢ a) q . ; . . ogee
Cuando coloque las luces, tenga cuidado con los cables eléctricos que cuelgan, en especial si utiliza
una escalera.

En exteriores, utilice cables de extension para uso exclusivo en exteriores.
amperaje actual (en amperios 0 oA ?) del aparato que esta enchufando no ex

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Asegurese de que el
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a extensién, el cable podria

Revise todas las extensiones para ver si tienen partes desgastadas,

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En caso de duda, reemplace las extensiones Viejas.

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IN THE NATION.........

a

By JOEL BRINKLEY

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -
Secretary of State

Condoleezza Rice chastised

Europe leaders today, saying
that before they complain
about secret jails for terror
Suspects in European nations,
they should realize that
interrogations of these
suspects have produced
information that helped osave
European lives. ?

In her remarks, the Bush
Administration Ts official
response to the reports of a
network of secret detention
centers, Ms. Rice repeatedly
emphasized that the United
States does not countenance
the torture of terrorism
suspects, at the hands of
either American or foreign
captors,

She offered her remarks to
reporters early this morning,
in a departure lounge at
Andrews Air Force Base, just
before setting off for a trip to
Europe, where she was
certain to be asked about the
growing controversy over the
secret Central Intelligence
Agency prisons believed to be
located in at least eight
European nations. Her
Statement is also to serve as
the basis for the government Ts
response to an official inquiry
from the European Union
over the secret prisons.

Noting that half-a-dozen
international investigations
are underway, Ms. Rice did
not explicitly confirm the
existence of the detentions
center. But that was implicit
in her remarks.

oWe must bring terrorists to
Justice wherever possible, ?
she said. oBut there have been
many cases where the local
government cannot detain or
prosecute a suspect, and
traditional extradition is not a
good option. ?

oIn those cases, ? she added,
othe local government can
make the sovereign choice to
cooperate in the transfer of a
suspect to a third country,
which is known as a
rendition.

oSometimes, these efforts are
misunderstood, ? she said.

News reports starting early
last month said the Central
Intelligence Agency began
holding dozens of terror
suspects in secret prisons in
as many as eight European
nations shortly after Sept. 11.
The Administration has not
confirmed the reports but has
repeatedly maintained that it
is abiding by American law
and international agreements.
Officials have also repeatedly

Rice Chides
Europeans on
Detention
Center |
Complaints
said that the United States
and the European states share

a common concern about
terrorism.

_ oThe terror threatens all of

us, ? Stephen Hadley, the

National Security Advisor,

said on CNN on Sunday.
oYou had seen terror attacks
in Britain, in Spain, in Italy,
in Turkey, in Russia, in Egypt,
in Jordan, in Saudi Arabia.
This is a threat, really, to the
civilized world. We need to
cooperate together to deal
with this terror threat that
threatens all of us. We are
cooperating with a number of
countries. ?

The administration Ts secret

_ detention policy has come

under attack from the United
Nations, the European Union
and Democrats in
Washington. Jack Straw, the
British foreign secretary,
wrote Ms, Rice the letter from
the European Union last
Tuesday, demanding an
explanation.

In Congress, Democrats are
calling for an investigation of
the prisons and the treatment
of suspects held there, while
Republicans are pushing for
an investigation to determine

..who in the government leaked

the information to the news
media.

_ The Bush Administration

began drafting Ms. Rice Ts
statement last week. -
Consultations between
agencies including the White
House, the State Department
and the Central Intelligence
Agency continued through the
weekend and culminated with
a conference call Sunday
night.

Ms. Rice insisted that the
United States had done
nothing wrong.

Many of the imprisoned
suspects oare effectively
stateless, ? she maintained,
oowing allegiance only to the
extremist cause of
transnational terrorism. Many
are extremely dangerous. ?

She made an effort to frame
the debate as one over the
effectiveness of terror
enforcement and not over the
propriety of holding suspects
indefinitely in secret prisons.

oWe consider the captured
members of Al Qaeda and its
allies to be unlawful
combatants who may be held,
in accordance with the law of
war, to keep them from
killing innocents, ? she said.
oWe must bring terrorists to
justice wherever possible, ?

»

The European nations must
decide, she added, whether
they owish to work with us to
prevent terrorist attacks
against their own country or
other countries. ?

York Times Company

Nigeria Plane
Crash Kills
103; Most
Were Children

_By LYDIAPOLGREEN
Published: December 11, 2005

ELMINA, Ghana, Dec. 10-A

plane carrying 110 passengers
and crew members crashed
Saturday in Nigeria Ts main oil

_ city, Port Harcourt, killing all but

7 of them. It was the second
deadly airline crash in Nigeria in
less than two months.

Most of the passengers were
schoolchildren on their way
home for the Christmas holiday,
according to family members at
the airport interviewed on African
Independent Television, a private
television network in Nigeria.

oAll of them are gone, ? one
distraught woman waiting at the
Port Harcourt airport screamed

_ before the television cameras.

Femi Fani-Kayode, a spokesman
for Nigeria Ts president, Olusegun
Obasanjo, said, oIt is a day of
mouming for us. ? -

oThere are a few survivors, ? Mr.
Fani-Kayode added.

Bereaved relatives awaiting the
arrival of the flight, operated by
Sosoliso Airlines and coming
from the Nigerian capital, Abuja,
told The Associated Press that 75
of the 110 passengers on board
were students at a Jesuit school
on their way home.

Mr. Fani-Kayode said he had not
seen the passenger manifest and
could not say who was on the

flight

DECEMBER | - 16, 2005 page 5

Merry Christmas ..... pictured above is Charl
in Chief, Roanoke Consistory and Kimble Willi
servants of the people overseeing the d

The Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority spokesman, Sam
Adurogboye, said the plarie
crashed at 2:08 p.m. while in the
course of landing, hitting the
ground about 1,300 yards from
the runway. He said the seven
survivors had been taken to the
hospital for treatment, but he did
not specify their condition.

Earlier, Mr. Adurogboye had told
The Associated Press that the
weather in Port Harcourt at the
time of the crash had been
stormy, and that witnesses
reported seeing lightning flashes
as the plane approached the
runway.

The crash on Saturday comes
less than two months after the
crash of a jet in October while it
was headed from Lagos, the
commercial capital, to Abuja.
That crash involved a plane
operated by Bellview Airlines
and killed 117 people, including
several high-ranking government
officials. It caused both
constemation and
embarrassment as the authorities
scrambled to locate the
wreckage.

RESPONSIBIL

Lg f | &, f f-2

j

fa J

ic Barrett, Jr Warden of Mt Calvery 669.James Atkinson, Commander

ams, Worshipful Master, Mt Hermon Lodge 35 Greenville honorable
onations given to the Red Cross to help those in need in this season of giving.
One state govemor had told With its long-neglected, battered
reporters that the wreckage , Nigeria Ts economy is
from that crash had been far to highly dependent on air travel to
the north, close to Abuja, and move people between Abuja,
that nearly half the passengers "_the political capital, Lagos, the
had survived. He had also commercial capital, and Port
issued a frantic call forahuge Harcourt, the center of the oil
rescue operation. But the industry that makes Nigeria the
wreckage was later found in a second-largest economy in sub-
village near Lagos, and all the Saharan A frica.
passengers were dead. The
black boxes for the plane were The flights linking the three
never found. major cities are often packed
with politicians and
The episode prompted Mr. businessmen. Driving between
Obasanjo to say thathe would "_ any of the three cities could take
push for reform of the aviation a day or more. By air the
industry and the government Journey is less than an hour.
agencies responsible for air
safety. To respond to the huge demand,
half a dozen airlines have
Mr. Fani-Kayode said that sprung up in the past decade.
several steps had been taken in Most of them use second-hand
the wake of the Bellview crash, _ planes that are two decades old
but he acknowledged that yet or older, and runways are .
another crash could undermine frequently in disrepair.
confidence in Nigeria Ts
aviation safety record. Tony Iyare contributed
reporting from Lagos, Nigeria,
oWe will do everything inour _for this article,
power to ensure it stops
happening, ? he said. oIt is

critical people feel safe. ?

ITY MATTERS

DECEMBER | - 16, 2005 page 6

*

- J Nettie

gy

iS

Surprise Surprise ees pictured above in front of the studio of WOOW Radio Staon and
The Minority Voice newspaper is Brenda Rouse alon
prised Bro Rouse ,CEO of Jim Rouse Communicati

ment wish you many more Bro Rouse

g with her Mother Elsie as they sur-
ons on his birthday. Staff and manage-
Photo by Bro Adams

CEREMONIES AT NCCU
ACKNOWLEDGE THE PAST

NCCU honored photo
journalist Alex Rivera with
the naming of the Alex M.
Rivera Athletic Hall of
Fame housed in the
McLendon-McDougald
Gymnasium on campus.
Next, the assembled crowd
moved to the historic
Alexander-Dunn Building to

_take part in celebrating the

completion of renovations
totaling $1.69 million.

In 1939, Founder Dr.
James E. Shepard brought
Rivera from Howard
University where he was a
student and from the
Washington Tribune where
he was a part time photo
journalist to NCCU to
establish the news bureau
for the university.

Later, as a journalist for
the Pittsburhg Courier
Rivera became famous for
his coverage of the last
lynchings in South Carolina
and Alabama, the legal
challenges to school
segregation, and the
aftermath of the landmark
Brown v. The Topeka Board
of Education decision that
garnered him a Global
Syndicate Award in 1955.

oIn our memories we hold
a number of remarkable
photographs that captured
the truth in the victories and
tragedies of our modern
history and culture, ? said
Chancellor James H.
Ammons. oThe men and
women who recorded those
moments, sometimes at risk
their own lives, are unseen
and largely forgotten.

. North Carolina Centra

| University Ts former Director of Public
Relations Alex M. Rivera and Chancellor James H. Ammons at
the naming of the Alex M, Rivera

NOCU's Chair of the Board of Trustees, Attorney Cressie H. Thigpen, Jr., |

Naming the hall in honor of
Alex Rivera seems a natural
choice. ?

Rivera Ts passion was
athletics and at NCCU, he
photographed some of the
world Ts greatest men in sport
including basketball coach
John B. McLendon whose
mentor had been none other
than the architect of
basketball, Dr. james
Naismith. McLendon had a
winning collegiate coaching
record of 523 wins to 165
losses and invented the full
court press, the zone press,
the open center offense
including the ofour corners, ?
the rotating pivot, and the
double-pivot.

Thanks to Rivera, images
of McLendon with his
players, including five-time
NBA All-Star Sam Jones,
have been preserved for the
historical record. Similarly,
Rivera captured former
United States Olympic
Committee President and
NCCU Coach and
Chancellor, Dr. LeRoy T.
Walker with his gold medal-
winning hurdler, Lee
Calhoun.

oWhat good is it to have
the fastest hurdler in the
world if no one knows about
it or can see that Lee
Calhoun was a black man? ?
asked Ammons. oThe
publicizing of the
accomplishments of A frican-
American should be
considered as important as
the victories themselves in
making the case for
equality. ?

Athletic Hall of Fame.

Provost Beverly Washington Jones, and Chancellor James H, Ammons cut
the ribh
OnCAan u..

he newly renovated and historic Alexander-Dunn Building

Rivera was instrumental
in establishing the Athletic
Hall of Fame at NCCU and
managed the annual
induction ceremony for 15
years. It is housed in the
upper corridor of
McLendon-McDougald
Gymnasium and offers an
impressive display of larger-
scale photographs from
NCCU Ts athletic history that
are predominantly the work
of Rivera himself.

Surprised and visibly
moved at the sight of his
name cut in steel, Rivera
was magnanimous in his
acceptance saying, oIf you
ever see a turtle on top of a
post, you know that he
didn Tt get there all by
himself. He had help. ?

From the Gymnasium, the
Chancellor and the Board of
Trustees moved to the
ribbon-cutting ceremony for
the Harold W. Alexander/
Wayne M. Dunn Building.
Built in 1930, it is on the
National Registry of Historic
Places and presents the
eastern face of the oldest
quadrangle on campus. It is
named in honor of |
Alexander and Dunn, for
their services and
contributions to the
Academic Skills Center, a
tutorial program for students
whose academic preparation
was insufficient for college
level work. So it is fitting
that the building, which was
originally a cafeteria, will
now house a range of
academic support service
programs. The migration of
these students services to
this facility makes it a center
for student activity.

oThese men were known

for their vision that will

never die, ? said Chancellor
Ammons.

The ribbon cutting
celebrated the most
extensive. renovation to date.
All interior spaces and
infrastructure were renewed
as the 17,716 square foot
building received new
offices and a conference
room, window and roof
repairs, a fire suppression
and notification system and

upgraded heating and

cooling systems. The upper
and lower floors have
separate entrances with the
addition of a chair lift to
meet accessibility standards.

oThe $1.69 million project
came in on time and under
budget, ? said project
manager, Duane Johnson.

é

Ma blames Ki

death.....

BY NANCIE L. KATZ, TONY SCLAFANI and ADAM LISBERG

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

A Brooklyn mother who
left her two young sons
alone in a bathtub in the
dark blamed the older boy
after the other drowned, it
was revealed Tuesday, Nov.
08, that she was ordered
held without bail.

oTt Ts the baby Ts fault!! It Ts
the baby Ts fault! ? Tracina
(Tracy) Vaughn, 25,
blubbered after her 16-
month-old son, Dahquay
Gillians, died in her filthy
Bedford-Stuyvesant
apartment Sunday night,
sources said.

The obaby ? she blamed
was her 3-year old son,
Tramel Vaughn, ho was
badly burned in a tub
scalding last year. Vaughn
was held without bail and
put on suicide watch
yesterday as prosecutors said
they expect to charge her
with murder for ignoring the
boys for Tup to 20 minutes as
Dahquay slipped
underwater. The lights
didn Tt work in the bathroom

of Vaughn Ts basement
apartment, sources said.

But that didn Tt stop her

from plopping Tramel and

Dahquay in the tuib "

T telling the older boy to

bathe his little brother and
walking away, the sources
said.

As Dahquay struggled to
breathe, Vaughn got
sanitary pads for herself
and even changed the CD
on the stero, prosecutors
said. And when her
boyfriend came back from
getting her a soda, she told
him the children were safe.

? The unindentified
boyfriend even looked in
the bathroom " but when
he only say Tramel, he
assumed Dahquay was
hidden by a shower curtain,
prosecutors said. oHe
went out again, o saying he
would get a diaper but
instead came back with
beer, said Prosecutor
Wilfredo Cotto.

first home. second family.

d in Tot Ts

-Tracina Vaughn with sons

Dahquay Gillians and Tramel
Vaughn. .
Eventually, Cotto said,

Vaughn owent in. The 1-
year old was face-down in
the water. ? Vaughn called
911, but EMTs who tried to
resuscitate the helpless boy
found his lungs full of water.

She was hit with felony
reckless endangerment and
endangering the welfare of a
child raps, but Cotto expects
those charges will be
upgraded to murder when
the medical examiner Ts final
report in finished. oWhat
can I possibly say that would
do any good for her? ? her

_ defense attorney , Larry

Rothstein, said outside

court. oThere Ts already one
dead kid. ?

Aameadl
7 Make it real

RE Aa RRS Sar gsi aaa,

\

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE MINORITY VOICE NEWSPAPER

...-War On Hip Hop

Assistant US Attomey Sean
Haran said in his opening
statement. oAll of it:was a
fraud. ?

Haran contended that in the
mid 1990s, before Irving
Lorenzo founded Murder Inc.
records, he hitched his star to
McGriff, who was powerful
and cash rich after wreaking
crack havoc in South Queens
for years. .

Philip (Dahlu) Banks " a
former member of McGriff Ts
so-called Supreme Team "
testified that on two occasions

~ around 1994, he delivered

bags full of cash to Irving
Lorenzo on the drug lord Ts
orders. The first bag
contained $9,000, all in
singles, and the second was a
$10,000 roll of various
denominations, he said,
Asked if it was drug money,
Banks replied, oThat Ts the

L pnly kind of money we had. ?

ECU Community recalls
Rosa Parks T legacy...

Getting the right people on the bus ........ State President of the SCLC, Mr Bennie
Rountree (2nd from the right); was on hand to

African Americans here in Pitt County on cam
Dr Lathan Turner, director of ECU Ts Ledonia Wright Cultural Center, stated oWhat would she
think, if she knew how we can sit by each other, and speak to each other, and walk with each

other, almost 50 years after she made that historic decis
Turner said. oWe hope she would be proud of our acco

Banks, 43, identified other
Supreme Team members
employed as bodyguards or
drivers at Murder, Inc. He
also claimed the Lorenzos
gave him expensive new
threads when he was released
from Attica last year.

But under cross -
examination, Banks conceded
he would lie about Irving
Lorenzo if he thought it
would help his own cause.
The admission reinforced the
Lorenzos T contentionthat

overzeatous prosecutors will ~~
go to any length to odirty ?

their reputations.

Irving Lorenzo Ts lawyer
Gerald Lefcourt, evoking the
words of the Rev. Martin
Luther King, Jr., said federal
agents had their oeyes on the
prize ?: A young man from a
hard-scrabble Queens
neighborhood who had
achieved osort of an
American dream ?.

'
.

proud of the contribution she has made to this nation. ?

~~ O10 West Wilson Stre
Farmville, NC 27828

give first hand accounts of the struggle for
pus which took place on a bus.

ion not to get up from that seat, ?
mplishments, in as much as we are

continued from front page |

o

_At one point, the courtroom
erupted in laughter when _
Chris Lorenzo Ts lawyer,
Gerald Shargel, scribbled
oSays Who? ? on a poster and
asked the jurors to remember
those words when they hear
the claims the Lorenzos T
acceptéd drug money.

The defense lawyers said

that their was nothing illegal

about the Lorenzos*
relationship with McGriff "
nor nothing wrong with the
gangster Gotti monikers the
brothers adopted. ~~

Ja Rule, who came to
court with Ashanti\to support
the Lorenzos, said/afterward
that the government odoesn Tt
like to see young black men
help others who have
criminal records. ?

If convicted, 34-year old
Irving and 38 -year old Chris
Lorenzo face up to 20 years
in prison and the forfeiture of
millions.

ie

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DECEMBER 1 - 16, 2005 page 8

ESCAP he world of. . iy o Though now I look back, I Tve
K uw T E Xcerp t: Come to realize The decision

Michelle Crandall Little has _\yichelle Ts ose for ise.
been married for 15 years to ce Seer a a form of Thank You | you made was very wise
a wonderful man named healing and release from all But how I Tve since moved on, and I
Randy. She livesin emotions. Her main goal is to I am the one you let go wee have found That you were the
Greenville, NC. They have 6 have her words reach millions 4" ! blame you, you didn Tt one who had me bound. But

children and | grandson and and say what they would want now. aa ve ne pride a thank you my friend, for
a daughter-in-law they think " g say but couldn Tt find the ?"?any laces And they rear Setting me free .
words. Through it all: she heads in different places. | |

wants you to be blessed. .

CELEBRATING W/ BEAUFORT COUNTY SCLC

3
oF

Court rejects suit
against Philip

Morris
The Supreme Court of Illinois
threw out a $10 billion class-
action lawsuit Thursday that
had accused Philip Morris
USA of fraudulently
misstating the amount of tar
and nicotine in olight ?
Cigarettes. Because the
labeling of the cigarettes was
specifically authorized by
U.S. federal regulators, the
court ruled, the claim against
Philip Morris could not stand.
The 4-to-2 decision overturns
a lower court ruling made in
2003, which found Philip
Morris liable for $10.1
billion.

Carey Ts
Comeback
Comes Full

Circle at
Grammy

Nominations

Mariah Carey

NEW YORK " Mariah
Carey Ts comeback came full
circle Thursday as she was
nominated for eight
Grammys, including album
of the year for oThe
Emancipation of Mimi ? and
song and record of the year
for her torch ballad oWe
Belong Together. ?

Carey Ts eight nominations
tied John Legend and Kanye
West. Soul crooner Legend Ts
nominations included best
new artist, while his mentor
West is up for album of the
year for oLate Registration ?
and song of the year for
oGold Digger. ? Other
multiple nominees included
50 Cent, Gwen Stefani, U2
and Bruce Springsteen.

National News: Ham

While many Hampton University
students were still asleep or
getting ready for an early
morning class, about 40 others
gathered on Dec. 2 to support
seven students who faced
disciplinary charges after
distributing unapproved fliers
last month that advertised an
anti-war protest. Some wore
strips of dandelicn-yellow cloth
tied around their arms, wrists,
legs or, for.one young woman,
her neck. =

That evening, thé seven students
received the verdicts: For at least
five, it was performing 20 hours
of community service, said two
of the accused students, Iyabo Ali
and John Robinson. Ms. Ali said
she received only a warning.

The students learned their fate
after being called into the office
of the Dean of Women to pick up
letters revealing the university Ts
decision.

However, one of the women
students chose not to come for
her letter, Mr. Robinson said,
though he assumed she was .
asked to do community service as
well.

Mr. Robinson said that any
punishment was unreasonable,
but that they didn Tt have a
problem doing it. oWhat we did
was community service in the
first place, ? he said.

The seven were part of an anti-
war protest on Nov. 2 at the
Virginia school.

The hearing before the board of
administrators garnered national
attention. An online petition by
the World Can Tt Wait, an
organization that sponsored the
nationwide anti-war protest, drew
more than 1,000 signatures, many
from university professors, and
from such well-known writers as
Michael Eric Dyson, Jill Nelson
and Howard Zinn.

Three students from Howard
University in Washington, D.C.,
came to support the students. Mr.
Robinson said the group had
received words of support from

RED TAG 9
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as far away as Spain. Bryan
Ogilvie, another accused Student,.
appeared on Pacifica Radio Ts

ee

Democracy, Now! ?

In that forum and others,
interviewers referred to the
administration Ts 2003 seizure of
the student newspaper, The
Hampton Script, after it did not
publish an administration
Statement on the front page.

On Nov. 18, Mr. Robinson,
Brandon King and Aaron Ray, a
sophomore History Education
major from Columbia, Md.,
received a summons from the
university to attend a hearing
over what was called their
possible expulsion, because they
had not followed proper protest
protocol as outlined in the
university Ts student handbook.

Mr. Ogilvie, a sophomore from
Long Island, N.Y., called it
ridiculous for the administration
to attack the students over rules
in a handbook that is regularly
updated, but given out only to
freshmen.

Like other students, he said he
did not understand why it was
acceptable to hand out fliers with
half-naked women that
advertised parties, but not for
students to distribute fliers
encouraging activism.

oIt Ts inconsistent as far as the
application of the rules, ? he said.

The hearing was originally
scheduled for Nov. 21, but that
date gave the accused students
little time to seek legal
representation. It was moved to
Dec. 2 after administrative
Officials were pounded with
phone calls from outraged
students and organization
representatives.

Four more students faced similar
charges. University T6fficials
maintained that the students were
ocajoling ? and oproselytizing, ? as
well as posting fliers unapproved
by university officials.

The hearing, closed to the public
and news media, began shortly

pton University students punished for

DECEMBER | - 16. 2005 page 9

protesting war |
By Bravetta Hassell

stated in the Hampton University
- Official Student Handbook (2004
Edition). ... .

after 9 a.m. The seven students,
along with parents and lawyers,
a few faculty members and a
representative of the American
Civil Liberties Union, sat
straight-faced before the panel
of administrators.



oNo students were disciplined for
their beliefs. ... Hampton
University has always and
continues to be a champion of
free speech and free expression.

_ Hampton University believes in
the free flow and sharing of ideas
among our faculty, staff and T
students. ?

Outside, students waited,
discussing the-case and
handing out yellow strips in
support. Inside the glass-
enclosed room, the panel
explained the rules and
regulations before releasing the
students and calling them back
separately for individual
hearings.

oThe process looks flawed, but
we're going to stick with it, ?
said Folabi Olagbaj, director of
the Mid-Atlantic regional field
office of Amnesty International.
oThe students-are not fully
aware of what they are being
charged with. ?

L-R): Brandon King, John Robinson
and Aaron Ray wait for their disciplinary
hearings at Hampton University. Mr.
King said students were not able to
question panel members or serve as
witnesses for each other.

« Photo: Bravetta Hassell

The hearing involved a lot of
fact-finding, said Mr. Olabaju,
who informed that he did not
see a policé report of the
incident or alleged videotape
footage showing some of the
students posting unapproved
fliers in a university building.

_ Wilson: (252)

oNobody asked for approval
during the Civil Rights
Movement, ? said Arthur Ray,
Aaron Ray Ts father, who had
arrived in Hampton Dec. 1.

A lot of parents objected to the
students T not being able to
question panel members or
serve as witnesses for each
other, said Mr. King, a senior
Sociology major who talked
with students as he waited his
turn to be called inside. The
students were allowed only to
read their prepared statements.

The university issued a
statement saying, oThe matter
was simply an issue of
compliance with University
policies and procedures. The
University certainly permits
peaceful protests; however, all
policies and procedures must
be adhered to by students as

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ocused

§ Richard Pryor, Stand-Up Comic Who

concert films including the

Pryor began performing

In 1972, he introduced a

! Ze ° @ - | f New stand-up act and won an ae tat dive they engaged
on a | ace : es . a x Oscar nomination for Best On June a 1980.
9 " ppPorting nthe Lado Pryor accidentally
erg) " we _ stand-up comedy at'a lano Man in oThe ings 5, "
Richeed rye heey major oRinrary Praimed 1979 popular black nightclub in the Blues, ? a film biography of body wie
ae atte one y on i - 1 Pryor Live in Peoria and was regularly Billi Holliday starring Di freebasing cocaine
in hi | appearing on the " Oss. He continued to perform heatine it with
as saew beans HewonGrammys,Emmys _, Blackbelt ? Midwest circuit comedy on oThe Tonight ether. He later m
raunchy, expletive-laden and an Academy Award by the early 1960s. He Show ? and hosted oSaturday entered drug
comedy in the 1970s and nomination. Pryor influenced moved to New York in 1963 Night Live ? " on five-second rehabilitation.
early 1980s, died today. He a generation of black and and debuted on TV the next tape delay " and the Oscars.
, . ~ whi ians. includi year, doing stand-up on A He retumed to
ve vai Murphy, Chis Roe oThe Ed Sullivan Show ? Pryor wrote for situation comedy parodying
Pryor died of a heart attack Whoopi Gul dberg, Robin and oThe Merv Griffin vomnedies aan shows his drug use and
this moming at a hospital near Williams and Arsenio Hall. Show. ? Pryor emulated accident in the
his home in Encino Cosby and Dick Gregory in Guild Award in 1974 for 1982 concert
California, spokeswoman Cosby once said, oFor his wholesome, inoffensive Melee Saddles" with novie oRichard
Karen Finch said in a Richard, the fine between routine. ~ 5o Live on ©
statement. oon a tragedy be % fine He relocated to Los Angeles Silver Streak T Pryor a -y
He found comedic material in became almost as famous for i the mid-1960s and won In 1976, Pryor wrote and million to playa "_
the often-harsh realities of his six divorces and violent it parts in films. He | appeared in oCar Wash ? and comic villain in r |
African-American life, when "_ incidents surrounding cocaine orpped his tame, Cosby- oThe Bingo Long Traveling 1983 Ts oSuperman HII, ? a Pryor eventually needed a
black comedians like Bill ddiction as his comedy. He fluenced act and All-Stars. ? He received record salary at the time for a Motorized scooter and spoke in
Cosby avoided race and ' ked his illne eee developed a more raw, fave aah ae first ~ black ee a whisper.
polities to appeal to white yaa sil setbacks int oumageous act infused with matic lead in oGreased | cect He published his
audiences. He became known _ his act. ord umor and four-letter Lightning, ? (1977), about the !n 1986, Pryor wrote, directed autobiography, oPryor
for his rubbery facial | | : first black racecar champion. In Nd starred in the Convictions and Other Life
expressions, scathing humor, Pryor was diagnosed with 1978, oBlue Collar, ? about autobiographical oJoJo Sentences, ? in 1995. Pryor won
ae quiet, Sombastic multiple sclerosis in 1986. Detroit autoworkers was a hit, eae ue is ed
elivery. In his routines, Pryor oy , While the musical oThe Wiz ? en
corel (ites | Childhood in Brothel flopped. roo ( l " ), ; rita
: _ eh De i i 6 : 99
deadbeats and drunks evoked chard Franklin sn He began an on-screen Harlem Nights, ? (1989), co-
sympathy and ridicule. Pet on Dec. 7 partnership with Gene Wilder _ starring Murphy.
oHe created a biting, 1940, to an unwed mother. He " ies epee grossed Pryor Ts film and stand-up
scatological comedy defined Claimed to have been raised in $30 million. Pryor and Wilder ©reer ended due to multiple
by the linguistic and stylistic ns eet ie would also team up in 1980 Ts ie sar pent) hes vs ie
tt ino. 66Qg: 99 66
ned Folks ? wre ° prostitute and married the . at ne nr boy *s in 1990 and 1991, when he
Salon Ts Jill Nelson in 1998, madam Ts son. At age 11, Won Oscar Nomination oAnother You. ? underwent a quadruple bypass.
oHe was often raunchy, Juliette Whittaker, a teacher, honed hi .
"sometimes bitter, frequently cast Pryor in a community eee a a Pryor released a 1974 record
political and always lionest, theater production to channel __PeTs da follows by th that went platinum, selling
times painfully so. ? us manic comic skills He Te ins by the ver 1 million copies, ang |
AED] EU ED later gave her the 1974 Emmy _ late 1960s, releasing his first won the Grammy for Best the Kennedy Center Ts Mark
Off stage, Pryor Ts personal he won for writing a Lily comedy album in 1969. He Comedy Album tho Twain Prize in 1998 for his
problems with women, the Tomlin special. developed a cocaine Grammy -winning albums uniquely American humor. II]
Internal Revenue Service and addiction and was accused soon followed Cutie raised health prevented him from
drugs " he burned half his He was expelled from high of fighting with managers his 1979 concert film P attending the ceremony.
body while freebasing school and fathered his and landlords in Las Vegas. oRichard Pryor Live in 7
cocaine " added to his daughter, Renee, out of C » which also eamed He remarried fourth wife
notoriety, £* =i samics »-awedlock at.age.]7.Pryor A wife accused hitn of Satta en ato cats : i
nee ee worked in a meat-packing battery and the Intemal 90 million 3
Influenced Eddie Murphy _plant before joining the Army Revenue Service audited Addiction
| in 1958, After his 1960 him for not paying taxes
Pryor released more than 20 discharge, he married his first ftom 1967 to 1970. Pryor Health and drug addiction
comedy records, appeared in _ wife, Patricia Price, andhis _ led to the Berkeley, soon derailed his career.
more than 40 films, second child, Richard Pryor California, counterculture Pryor suffered a heart attack
performed on numerous TV Jr, was born. lor several years. in 1978. He shot bullets into
shows and made several his wife Ts car on New Year Ts

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DECEMBER I - 16, 2005 page 12

UND

SEU nYS COMMERCIAL TV

WASHINGTON (NNPA) "In the face

of mounting criticism over a plan to do

tetdespes nape
300 percent. Al Sharpton says he has
now placed his plans on hold until he _
Gan obtain more financial data from the

oWe're putting everything on hold in
aiveriangs rari Aen Were
ising and marketing. We put it o
until he gets me this data, ? Sharpton
Says in an interview, referring to an
agreement he has been doing for
LoanMax. oOut of respect to him, I'm
giving him time to show me. But, if he
doesn Tt have it, then I Tm definitely oing
to tell the world that he had time and he
didn Tt come through with nothing. ...If
he Ts got the facts, then I will make the
Suspension permanent. ?
Keith Corbett, senior vice president of
the Durham, N.C.-based Center for
Responsible Lending, a non-profit think
tank, told Sharpton in a letter that his
moming news shows in the Washington,
D.C, Virginia and Maryland areas was
deeply disappointing.

oOver the last few years you have been
instrumental in the fight to end
predatory lending. Specifically, you lent
lending in North Carolina by urging our
Black Caucus leaders to work to put an
end to these abusive practices within our
state. ? Caan, Theschive, I
was surprised to he you are a
spokesperson for car title loans... Car
title loans are just as abusive as payday
loans in that they charge triple digit
interest rates and trap them in a cycle of
debt. Moreover, title lenders structure
their loans to evade state usury or small
loan rate caps, and they are over-
secured. ?

Corbett continues, oToday we have
access to credit, but the oterms ? are
abusive and discrimi . Like we
rallied with Rosa Parks, all Black people
need to come together to end these
practices. ?

In the commercial, Sharpton stands on a
stage by a podium and a United States
flag, as if e's still running for president.

oFinally, there Ts someone in Virginia
who will loan money to people the big
guys won't loan to! ? he declares

boisterously as if doing a campaign
aoe ane cummnetcal was set to
read around the country during the
Christmas season. .

Corbett said in an interview that in
response to his overtures, Sharpton
invited him to teleconference on the
issue.

oThey take advantage of poor people
who are desperate, ? Corbett says.
oThey charge triple digit interest rates
Just like pay day lenders. In fact, it Ts
worse because the people Ts mode of
transportation is at risk and their most
valuable assets. ?

After the teleconference, Sharpton said
he decided to wait for even more
specific information from Corbett, but
retains doubts about LoanMax.

oYou cannot have a country where only
people with credit can go to banks. I Tve
got busi that can Tt get a bank
loan and they have lucrative businesses, ?
Sharpton says. oThat's exactly my
point. Now, if this company is the
Wrong company, we can debate that and
I will not go forward. But, I Tm not
going to back down at all if the banks
have driven people with altemative
lending services out of business, That
ionately hurts our community.
We have found nothing on the record
against it, nothing to this moment. ?

Rod Aycox, president of LoanMax,
based in Alpharetta, Ga., says he makes
loans to a half-million people a year at
200 stores in 21 states,

oMy product highly competes with
Cvery product out there. It Ts a very
Competitive price and we deal with
hundreds of thousands of customers
Cvery year who are very satisfied, ? he
Says.

veal aay ave ait toa car, so
we t loan to poor people. ..
They have to have atte that they have
paid in full for. ?

AYCOx says his interest rates are from 22
cents to 30 cents a month, For example,
the average $400 loan would cost $88
for one month, he says. If a kept
the money for only two it would
cost them $44, he says, However, that
same $400 loan becomes a $1600 debt,
300 percent, in just one year if the
person is unable to pay it back.

Aycox says he does not have stats on
how many customers do not pay back
their loans on time, but he says sa

very small number, He says the actual

oThe thing about title loan companies is
that they don Tt take many cars, ? Corbett
says. oAnd the reasons why is because
they get the people trapped inito debt.

_ And they just continue to roll them

Over.

Aycox says customers who find
themselves unable to repay a loan
always have an out. oTf a customer is,
by chance, not able to pay back their
loan, all they have to do is take their car
down, sell it, pay me off and keep the
difference, ? he says.

Even before his presidential race,

Sharpton had long advocated against
unfair leriding practices. Ina 1999 panel

loans to those that seek mortgages

ERFIRE, SHARPTON DELAYS

oWe want faimess; we want equity; we
want parity. (Applause) We want to see
business loans that are not at rates that _
are unbearable and not set up with
clauses that are unachievable. ?

Aycox declined comment on Sharpton Ts
decision to end the commercials while
awaiting more information.

o| hate not to give you any information

on that, but if you would, just call Mr.
Sharpton on all of those questions, ? he

says. oI would welcome Mr. Corbett to °

give [Sharpton] any information. |
would welcome Mr. Corbett to call me
any time and discuss my product. ?

Sharpton says he has never met Aycox.
He says he was recruited todo the
commercial by a fellow activist anda
personal friend of Aycox T, Lamell

McMomnis, a former executive director
of the Southem Christian Leadership
Conference under theadministration of
Martin Luther King, III.

oT know his track record of working the
movement with me and quote-unquote,
the little guy, ? says McMornis. oI
knew that he would understand the
concept of people with bad credit and
needing access to cash. I know a great
deal about LoanMax because the owner
of the company is my best friend.
LoanMax is not a predatory lending
institution. As far as I Tm concemed,
they Tre greenling a redlined America. ?

oCorbett says the use of Black
spokespersons for predatory lenders is a
part of their strategy.

oTf they can divide Black people on this
issue, they can win over Democrats who

are desympathetic to ruling against
them, ? hesays, .

beleaguered with discrimination
lawsuits, after he was criticized by

He says he is not surprised that the
commercial is controversial.

oThoped it would be because | think that

_ itis an outright disgrace that people that

own things like cars and homes with no
credit cannot get bank loans and there Ts
nothing that anybody is doing about it, ?
he says,

Sharpton says he is also concemed__

faimess to LoanMax.

oYou've got banks that repossess
thousands of cars. So who decides
who Ts a predator? A student loan can T
accumulate to 500%. I know people 20
years later paying student loans. That Ts
not predatory, ? he says. Much of it is .
wrong, says Corbett: oThese are the Jim

._ Crow laws of today " that you charge

poor and disenfranchised people triple
digit interest rates. These are the Jim
Crow laws of the 90 Ts and 2000. ?

He says, oSomebody needs to figure out
a way that our community has
altemative lending. That Ts my point. ?

SALUTE TO oDON DAVIS ? MAYOR OF SNOW HILL