NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER FORUM MARCH 10-16, 2010 A9
St. Louis provides model Saviors Day attendees were worldwide
Dr. Jason Johnson
for developing Black males
The Muhammad much in common,
Study Group No. 22 in Louis ‘Hop’ Kendrick contrary to what a
Wilkinsburg convinced vast number of people Commentary
me that I needed to at- believe.
(NNPA)—The three major Black Methodist
tend Saviors Day in It was not possible to
denominations—American Methodist Episco-
Chicago. They
To Tell
attend all the work-
pal (AME), African Methodist Episcopal Zion
promised me it would shops, but I did attend
(AME Zion) and Christian Methodist Episco-
be a memorable and Do For Self, Save Our
pal (CME)—emerged from their joint Great
joyous occasion, and
The Truth
Youth, Communica-
Gathering conference here last week with a
they were totally accu- tion and Publication,
Obama finds
plan to establish Saturday Academies in
rate. At first I thought Danger of Drugs Legal
cities across the nation as a way of improving
those in attendance were from every state in and Illegal, and How to communicate With
the plight of young African-American males.
the country, but there were people from all Young Persons.
his inner ‘Neo’
A pilot project is scheduled to begin in the
over the world. I was unable to hear the Minister speak
Washington, D.C.-area in May, with a Satur-
Every person that I met —and I assure on Sunday, but I have ordered his tape. I
(REAL TIMES MEDIA)—
day Academy rotating between three
you there many—were friendly, outgoing, was informed that his message was a mes-
Throughout the 2008 election many
churches in the major Methodist denomina-
and all greeted me with “brother,” “Happy sage to all Blacks no matter what their reli-
people compared Barack Obama to
tions. Organizers say the concept will be ex-
Saviors Day” or “As Salaam Alaikum!” gion and that was a message of “responsi-
Superman. There were pictures of
panded later to 13 regions across the United
I was afforded the opportunity to sit and bility.”
him opening up his shirt a la Clark
States.
talk with proud Blacks from city after city, To those whom I have daily conversation
Kent to reveal a big “O.” There was
If Methodists are looking for a successful
young, old, male and female and I was de- with understand very clearly that I have the
a photo of him posing arms akimbo
academy model, they should study the one
lighted with the common concerns and solu- utmost respect and admiration for the Hon.
in front of a giant Superman
developed 26 years ago in St. Louis, Mo. by
tions that I believe, discuss and write about. Minister Louis Farrakhan. Often when I
statue, not to mention dozens of
St. Paul AME Church under Rev. C. Garnett
It was a good feeling to witness untold make that statement people ask me why?
cartoons with him cut and pasted
Henning, now an AME bishop. It was the
numbers who were so alive when they My answer is easy. Because of the open
onto Superman’s body on YouTube.
brainchild of Bishop Henning and my friend
would say “Happy Saviors Day.” I would ask stance that he takes as it relates to Black
During the Alfred E. Smith Memo-
William J. Harrison, a local educator and
them how often they have attended. One folks in 2010, epitomizing the courageous
rial dinner in 2008, where it’s tradi-
member of the church.
couple said since 1950 and many others Black men of yesterday, religious leaders,
tional for presidential candidates to
The program, which is now a separate non-
said every year. It depended on their age business people, fathers, politicians like
poke fun at themselves and the op-
position, Obama finally got into the
George E. Curry
and when they joined the Nation of Islam. Congressman Rev. Adam Clayton Powell
There were workshops on every subject Jr., Paul Roberson, A. Phillip Randolph,
act with the Superman compar-
from a mother’s lap is a child’s first school Marcus Garvey, and countless other histori-
isons when he said, “Contrary to
to every issue that has the capacity to ef- cal leaders.
the rumors you have heard, I was
fect positive change on the lives of Black Please remember Kingslev Association.
not born in a manger. I was actu-
Commentary
people. It is remarkable that The Nation (Louis “Hop” Kendrick is a weekly contributor to the
ally born on Krypton and sent here
of Islam and the Christian Church have so Forum Page.)
by my father Jor El to save the
planet Earth. Many of you—many
of you know that I got my name,
Barack, from my father. What you
Jim Crow in Silicon Valley is exposed
may not know is that Barack is ac-
profit organization, describes itself as “a man- tually Swahili for ‘that one.’”
hood, leadership and development group.” Obama got it wrong, after a year it
The 9 a.m.-noon sessions are held each Satur- (NNPA)—This is is pretty clear that we are not deal-
day and target Black males ages 6-17. It has Harry C. Alford
cent and 4.7 percent, re-
the age of high tech- spectively—shares that ing with Superman in the White
grown from an initial class of 12 to 100. Ac- nology. IT companies
had declined since 2000. House. But it might be the case that
cording to its website, all seniors participat- are leading the way
Nationally, Blacks and he’s closer to Neo from the “Matrix,”
ing in the program have graduated from high in job growth and
Beyond The
Latinos were 7.1 percent not “that one” but “THE One.”
school and college. high paying jobs as
and 5.3 percent of com- In the “Matrix” films the main
Keith Turner, a member of the original the world does busi-
puter workers, respec- character, Neo, is also referred to
class, graduated from high school in St. Louis ness at the speed of
Rhetoric
tively, shares that were as “the One.” He spends the entire
and enrolled in Morehouse College in At- thought. No place
up since 2000, according movie denying the powers that
lanta, William Harrison’s alma mater. Turner, else in the world
to the U.S. Census Bu- he’s been given. Finally, when he
the owner of TurnGroup Technologies in St. concentrates in this
reau. The share of man- finds that his friends are in mortal
Louis, and two other program participants industry better than the Silicon Valley of Cal-
agers and top officials who are female at danger, he accepts his powers,
graduated cum laude from Morehouse. ifornia (Palo Alto-San Jose area). So with
those 10 big Silicon Valley firms slipped to 26 takes control and saves the day.
“The program provided me with an opportu- California having a minority population of 52
percent in 2005, from 28 percent in 2000.” And in the last month Obama has
nity to have experiences and meet people who percent, logic would dictate that this is a
This isn’t progress but a reversal of our gains finally figured out that he’s Neo
were outside my family’s normal or profes- place of much diversity and opportunity for
during the Civil Rights Struggle. and not Superman.
sional circle,” Turner explained. “That type of Blacks and Hispanics. Sadly, that, according
What these racial culprits are doing should Since Obama got into office he
exposure allowed me to be shaped by the suc- to investigative reporting from the San Jose
be punished by the U.S. Justice Department. lived in a fantasy world where he
cessful people that we met that looked like Mercury News, is not the case. This industry
It is blatant discrimination and must be thought that Democrats would
us.” in this location is probably the most segre-
stopped. Now that it is exposed we must put have a spine and Republicans
There is no charge for enrolling in the pro- gated and discriminatory place in the United
serious pressure on this activity. What they would engage in bipartisan policy-
gram, but the parents or guardians must at- States. The hiring and training by companies
think they can do is import a massive making. He also hired most of
tend an orientation session before a young like Google, Apple, Yahoo, Oracle, Applied
amount of Asians via H-1B visas and count Bush’s old military advisers, ex-
man can join the group. And when he does Materials, Hewlett Packard, Cisco and others
them in their collective minority numbers. tended Bush’s war policies and
join, there is no confusion about what is ex- are acting more like the Ku Klux Klan than a
First of all, only U.S. citizens can be counted failed to take on the banks he
pected: good corporate citizen.
in these numbers and all groups, especially lambasted during the campaign.
•Each young man is expected to attend the It is easy to do when traditional civil
Black and Hispanic, must not be under-rep- Then his party lost key elections
program all year; rights groups give you a pass as long as you
resented. It violates law and should prohibit in Virginia, New Jersey and Mas-
•Proper decorum and discipline will be ob- provide sponsorship money for their
these corporations from doing business with sachusetts. The final blow came
served; fundraising events. Some groups even join
the federal government or any other entity this January when Obama’s ap-
•Each young man is expected to graduate with these culprits on advocacy and legisla-
that receives federal funding or benefits from proval ratings dropped below 50
from high school; tive issues as if these bastions of racism are
a federal program or regulation. percent in some polls. At that
•Each young man is expected to graduate examples of good inclusive governance. This
The NAACP, Urban League, La Raza, etc. point Obama finally decided to
from college; is damaging and has caused these rascals to
should cease receiving money from these choose the red pill over the blue
•Young men are expected to volunteer for go free of public criticism until now.
bigot corporations. Certainly they should stop bill. Ever since he’s been karate
service in the home, church and community; The Mercury News used the Freedom of In-
doing their bidding and representing them as chopping the opposition in his
•Each young man is expected to accept re- formation Act to get hiring data as late as
good, outstanding corporate citizens. They State of the Union speech, taking
sponsibility in every aspect of his life; 2005 from the U.S. Department of Labor, Of-
should be protesting and suing them in the on health care and dodging contro-
•Each young man is expected to strive for fice of Federal Contract Compliance, which
courts. They should put serious pressure on versy and criticism. like
leadership in organizations and groups in tracks this under Executive Order 11246.
the U.S. government to enforce standing civil Consider the House Republican
which he is a participant; Every two years major corporations are au-
rights and equal opportunity laws. If they Conference in late January just
•Each young man is to earn whatever he dited for their racial and gender demograph-
don’t than I guess the National Black Cham- days after the State of the Union.
expects to receive and beg for nothing; ics at all levels of hiring. The News tried to
ber of Commerce will have to go after them The event actually turned into a
•Each young man is to become a man with get 2008 data but companies like Google,
in their absence like we did in the telecom- one-and-half- hour policy debate
all of its positive connotations; Apple, Yahoo, Oracle and Applied Materials
munications and auto industries with success between President Obama and the
•Each young man is expected to average at have successfully blocked access to that data
back in the 1990s. It is not exactly our mis- entire House Republican confer-
least a 3.0 (a B) on a 4.0 scale; in the courts. It is a good reason that they did
sion but someone has to do it. ence. It was fantastic political the-
•Each young man taking the SAT is ex- as the numbers are just un-American.
Remember, there are reasons why we have ater, and the president handled
pected to score at least 1,000 on a 1,600-point Of the 10 companies investigated, here are
triple the unemployment of the national av- them like he was talking to a high
scale and at least 26 points on the ACT 36- the results. Collectively, only 2.1 percent of
erage. This is one of them and no one is school debate class. He knew more
point scale. the workforce is Black while only 5.2 percent
going to change the situation but us. We about many of the Republican pro-
Harrison, the program founder, was a no- of the workforce is Hispanic. The News states
sometimes “sleep” with the enemy instead posals than the Republican lead-
nonsense taskmaster. He reminded parents, “Of the 5,907 top managers and officials in
of beating them upside their heads. As ership did. He was beating back
“We are not saviors. If you want your child the Silicon Valley offices of the 10 large com-
Frederick Douglass taught us long ago, foolish policy proposals right and
saved, take him to church.” panies in 2005, 296 were Black or Hispanic, a
“Power concedes nothing without a demand. left without breaking a sweat. It
But if you want assistance in helping a boy 20 percent decline from 2000, according to
It never has and never will.” Wake up peo- was like that final scene in the
move successfully into manhood, St. Paul U.S. Department of Labor workforce data ob-
ple, they are trying to ruin us and destroy “Matrix” where Neo comes back
Saturdays is the place to be. tained by the Mercury News through the
our children. This is not the time to be nice. from being shot, finally realizes
“I was blessed to have two good, hard-work- Freedom of Information Act. In 2008, the
(Harry C. Alford is co-founder, president/CEO, of the that he’s the most powerful man
ing parents in my life,” recalls Turner. “I was share of computer workers living in Silicon
National Black Chamber of Commerce. website: in the room and proceeds to take
privileged to have a mentor like Dr. Harrison Valley who are Black or Latino was 1.5 per-
www.nationalbcc.org. See halford@ nationalbcc.org.) out all of the enemy agents with
who believed that if young people were one hand tied behind his back—
taught better, they would do better. He dedi- just for fun. Republicans were
cated his life to the cultivation and develop-
I am empowered—are you?
stunned, Democrats and progres-
ment of young minds, all with the hope and sives were thrilled and Obama
expectation that by changing our lives, partic- was just getting started.
ipants of St. Paul Saturdays would have a This newfound Barack has fi-
positive impact on our communities.”
by Marc H. Morial
important campaign reminds us of the nally gone through with his
It is a lesson that another former partici- power of the individual to become a force for promise to end the ban on gays in
pant, Jay Rhodes, learned well. He returned
(NNPA)—“I pledge to responsibly commit change by galvanizing collective action to the military, pushed through a
as a volunteer 15 years ago and is now co-di-
my time and talent to ensure that the na- uplift entire cities and communities. jobs bill in record time and now
rector with Vince Pierce, who began volun-
tion is empowered to eliminate racial gaps But that’s not all. The new website will be he’s forcing a vote on healthcare
teering when Rhodes returned. Other long-
and disparities in housing, education, em- a social mobilization platform that connects, through reconciliation, bypassing
time volunteers include Turner (14 years),
ployment and health care by 2025...” engages and serves the National Urban the obstructionist Republicans in
Byron Price (15 years), Henry Graham (15
Last week, the National Urban League of- League’s growing community of con- Congress and fulfilling a promise
years), Alan Green (10 years) and Don Hen-
ficially kicked off its centennial celebration stituents and partners like never before. he made over two years ago.
ning (eight years).
and takes its century-long fight for equal The “I am empowered” Social Mobilization There may be controversy sur-
No instructor receives a salary and all dona-
opportunity and empowerment to the next Platform uses 21st century technology to rounding his health care proposal,
tions go directly to the program to help fi-
level. The centerpiece of our celebration is a unite people from all walks of life with the but Obama believes in it, and it is
nance college tours, trips to hotspots of the
bold, new social mobilization campaign Urban League, its affiliates, coalition of his job to pass legislation he be-
Civil Rights Movement and other activities.
which we are calling “I am empowered.” supporters and one another in one location. lieves will help the country. In
St. Paul Saturdays has made cleaning up
Today, we are launching a new, interactive Members can access information, services short, he’s finally acting like a
Father Dickson Cemetery, a Black cemetery,
website: www.iamempowered.com, which and share ideas to advance the cause of president instead of an icon.
a special project.
asks citizens across the country to join us in equality 24 hours a day, seven days a week Superman is a hero, but a bit
An examination of recent schedules reflect
a pledge of time and talent to achieve four in real time, on line. naïve. He lectures bad guys while
the range of group activities: Black History
empowerment goals by 2025: The “I am empowered” cyber community he throws them into jail only to
Saturday, Rites of Passage services, Academic
•Education: Every child is ready for col- harnesses all social media vehicles, includ- have them break out and commit
Goal-Setting Saturday, Community Health
lege, work and life. ing Facebook and Twitter, to let members the same crime in a month. Then
Saturday, a tennis clinic, Entrepreneurial
•Jobs: Every American has access to jobs customize their experience, create profiles there’s Neo from the “Matrix,” who
Saturday, Aviation Day (flying a plane with
with a living wage and good benefits. and sub-groups, advocate on issues and up- took awhile to figure out his job
professional pilots) and computer literacy.
•Housing: Every American lives in safe, load and share videos, content and informa- and his powers, but when he finally
All participants are expected to excel.
decent, affordable, energy efficient housing tion with others. saw his friends (and by allegory
Turner said, “This program helped instill
on fair terms. “I am empowered” has the support of an policies) in serious danger he ac-
within me that the only limitations that I
•Health care: Every American has access honorary centennial committee whose mem- cepted his role and led his people to
have are the limitations that I place on my-
to quality and affordable health care solu- bers include former President Bill Clinton, victory. Americans may love a Su-
self.”
tions. Bill Cosby, Condoleezza Rice, Quincy Jones, perman, but Neo got the job done,
(George E. Curry, former editor-in-chief of Emerge
Individuals can also text EMPOWER to Dorothy Height, Magic Johnson, Iman, and it looks like Obama has finally
magazine and the NNPA News Service, is a keynote
69866 or download the IAE mobile applica- Muhammad Ali, Colin Powell, Linda John- figured out which hero he wants to
speaker, moderator and media coach. He can be reached
tion, available at the Apple App Store, An- son Rice and Spike Lee. be.
through his website, www.georgecurry.com You can also
droid Market and coming soon, the Black- (Marc Morial is president and CEO of the National (Dr. Jason Johnson is an associate pro-
follow him at www.twitter.com/currygeorge.)
berry App World to take the pledge. This Urban League.) fessor at Hiram College in Ohio.)
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