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e-mail:chronicle4@aol.com June 16-22, 2010


Make every day Father’s Day


By Dr. Curtis L. Ivery, Chancellor Wayne County Community College District


People all over the country will take a day


to say thank you to their dads on Father’s Day. While that is fitting, and a nice show of appre- ciation, Father’s Day can and should take on a new layer of importance. For too many, Fa- ther’s Day is the one—possibly only-- day men engage with their children. Whether by choice or circumstance, the time spent with them is otherwise limited to non-existent. This applies to men both within and outside of the home.


Society sees and has defined fathers in a


way that is secondary to mothers. And, that’s OK. But, it in no way accurately depicts the importance of fathers to their children, and their outcome. The reality is that fathers are an integral part of their child’s development, emotionally and psychologically. Yet, many men seek to fill society’s defined role of father- hood, and take a back seat in their child’s life. Instead, they need to continue to co-pilot with the mother—regardless of the relationship-- to ensure a successful life journey for the child.


Fathers help to define the image of strength,


character, and integrity at a level beyond that of the mother. For sons, it is crucial to see a positive male image that defines manhood. For daughters, it dictates expectations and areas of tolerance in relationships with men. For chil- dren integral, the father adds balance to the teachings and tolerances of the mother. That is why parenting—from beginning to end—cannot successfully be done alone.


So, for me, Father’s Day can and should be two-fold. It presents the opportunity for chil-


Dr. Curtis Ivery


dren and the benef iciaries of men to say thank you—for shared time, talents and support. Yet, it is that the time that men can revisit and redefine their role as fathers and father-fig- ures. They can break the mold and stereotype of the passive father who is not involved in the lives of their children, biological and otherwise.


Looking at


the conditions of our collective lives, there is no better time than now—this Father’s Day— for men to re-stake their claim in our commu- nities. Starting at home, men can begin by re- committing to their children by spending time, sharing conversation and being dedicated to their betterment. Then, allow that commitment to spread into neighborhoods and surrounding communities, to be shared by those whose fa- thers are truly absent. And then, let this reso- nate beyond the day traditionally celebrated as “Father’s Day” to allow every day to be a day of dads and dedication. Only then, will it truly be “Father’s Day!”


Artur Davis uses post-racial politics in Alabama and loses


By Ron Walters When Artur Davis, savvy


member of the Congressional Black Caucus, filed to run for governor of the state of Alabama it provoked one of the biggest head-scratching discussions among Blacks in Washington, DC. Was he smoking something, they mused, was it a case of un- mitigated arrogance for which politicians are too well known, or was it just a case of taking the new ideology of post-racialism for a ride in one of the toughest arenas in the country?


Davis answered this ques-


tion by crafting a campaign strat- egy that was designed to appeal to general election voters. The first sign of this was his decision to vote against President Barack Obama’s health care plan — the only member of the Black Caucus to do so. Then, gearing up for the primary election, he pro- ceeded to reject the endorsement of powerful Black organizations in Alabama, such as the New South Coalition and the Alabama Demo- cratic Conference, both of which proceeded to endorse Davis’ White opponent, Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks. Sparks had criti- cized some of Davis’ votes, including his vote against the health care bill, otherwise, he was a convenient foil.


Sparks won the primary (63-37 percent) by a


crushing margin of 30 points or nearly 80,000 votes, a resounding defeat for Davis and a strat- egy that was unrealistic from jump street. Why? Alabama is not now and never has been ready for post-racial anything. Several years ago, I had the pleasure of working with Joe Reed, head of the Alabama Democratic Conference and also head of the state teachers union, along with some Black members of the Alabama State Leg- islature. I was very impressed with the fact that they knew where they were, what they faced and practiced a realistic racial politics.


Davis had designed a flawed strate-


gy that flew in the face of the reality that Blacks live with in Alabama every day. So, not only did it violate political reality by rejecting the Black vote which was half of the Democratic primary election vote in that state, but the social reality of a mythical “coalition” that was supposed to move past race never ma- terialized. Maybe it would have worked in the northeastern part of the country, but not Ala- bama.


Davis should have taken a lesson from


the mayoral campaigns of David Din- kins or Harold Washington, or Doug Wild- er’s election as governor of Virginia and


Ron Walters


other Blacks who ran for city- wide or statewide offices where Blacks were in the minority. They also had the necessity to build outward from their base to achieve interracial political coalitions but did not decide to junk the Black vote in the process and go for the White vote hoping that some Blacks would follow and build a coali- tion. Barack Obama, also depen- dent on a multi-racial campaign strategy, appealed strongly for the Black vote in places like South Carolina, Pennsylvania and others.


But most important, when I


think about the legacy of strug- gle that Black people in Alabama


waged for the right to vote, even if Davis were to have gone all the way and won election as governor, that legacy would have been deval- ued. Is that a post-racial event to be proud of? Sometimes, it isn’t whether you win or lose, but how.


I am proud of the way in which Blacks in Al-


abama used their vote to restore their sense of power over part of the political process in that state. At the end of the day, politics also asks a question more fundamentally than perhaps any other profession: “What do you stand for?” If a Black candidate’s only answer is that one wants power with no connection to the histori- cal legacy that allowed him or her to stand for office and to win, then perhaps the project was not worth supporting in the first place. I say this because of the tendency of post-racial poli- tics to downplay the legacy of African-Ameri- can history as though it is no longer relevant. Given that, if such candidates are successful in their pursuit of elected office, there is no hint of predictability about whether their power will be used to deal with the unfinished agenda of Black inclusion in American society.


Ultimately, one wished Davis could have


become governor of Alabama, but not at this price. This result is a huge nail in the coffin of the new post-racial political phenomenon, de- scribed as the next big thing by authors such as Gwen Ifill, PBS television anchor, in her new book, “The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.” This election shows that it is bound to fail if it does not follow the first rule of politics, the nature of the constituency is fundamental, and the science of campaigning for office is about choosing the right numbers to form a winning coalition within that base.


Dr. Ron Walters is a political analyst and


professor emeritus at the University of Mary- land College Park. His latest book is “Demo- cratic Destiny and the District of Columbia.” Reach him at rwalters@umd.edu.


Keeping one’s name untarnished Letter to the Editor


Dear Editor: I have been wondering


about all the scandals going on in our city and how that af- fects the names and legacies of the individuals connected.


Every so often we are re-


minded that all we have as human beings are our names and integrity, and once those


two are gone it is difficult to really recover. That is why we owe ourselves to really keep our names clean from public scandal and corruption be- cause it will affect our chil- dren and how they are viewed in the public light.


Our children should not


have to pay for the mistakes, deliberate or otherwise, we


make when we are in office. Yet we all are reminded that whatever we do will greatly impact the name we have and the legacy we’ll leave behind for our children.


I’m working hard to keep


my name and nose clean. — Joe Johnson, Detroit


Hate-monger Beck’s attack on Malia shows depth of depravity


By Dr. Barbara Reynolds Glenn Beck, Fox News’ most


notorious hate-monger, has sane people incensed because of his racist attacks on Malia Obama, the 11-year-old daugh- ter of President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama, on his national radio show.


Beck’s attack is below the


belt and stomach wrenching. On one level it is a reminder that while racial terrorists no longer bomb churches and kill Black children as they did in Birming- ham in 1963, their hatred is still simmering. And if not checked, who knows what could be the outcome.


Fox News and the Post are owned by Rupert Murdoch, a dangerous man. Are we looking at an institutional death wish?


The Beck attack is cut from


the same cloth as the Rush Limbaugh attacks, who have blatantly said they are poised to make Obama fail. The Beck attack is also a more sophisti- cated version of the poison that is being spewed on conservative websites.


Recently on the Free Repub-


lic Website, Malia was labled “ghetto street trash.” The story which reported on the family’s return from Ghana was accompanied by a photo


Moreover this should be a Barbara Reynolds


shakeup call for those who think Blacks have arrived because President Obama is in the White House. This attack shows that no matter how brilliant you are and how high you fly, if you are Black in America, the racists are still there to harass and ridicule our children. It also shows the depths of hate for the First Family which must be countered by the depths of love and support from fair-minded Americans.


The latest brohuha erputed over the BP oil


spill when the President made a casual remark in a news conference that his daughter Malia had asked him, “Did you plug the hole yet, Daddy?”


Never missing an opportunity to dish up


dirt against the President and his family, Beck, mimicked Malia on his radio show with his radio pal playing the part of Obama. He at- tacked Malia’s intellect for asking the question and also put words in her mouth to suggest her father was a mere puppet and a man who didn’t like Blacks.


“Why don’t you like Blacks, Daddy?” Beck


said imitating Malia in a silly childish southern drawl..


“Because I am half-White,” the faux-Obama


replied. Malia, a student in good standing at Sidwell


Friends Schools, one of the best in the nation, has done nothing to deserve such contempt- ible venom. And even when President George W. Bush’s daughters Jenna and Barbara were hauled into court for under-age drinking of- fenses, the media reported the facts but did not make a federal case about it and the issue qui- etly disappeared.


Remember all the millions of dollars George


Bush’s son Neil was accused of stealing? In the late ’80s and early ’90s, Bush embarrassed his father, George H.W. Bush, with his shady deal- ings as a board member of the infamous Sil- verado Savings and Loan, whose collapse cost taxpayers $1 billion. Yet, during the presidency of George W. the media rarely tracked Neil, nor followed the money.


These attacks from high-powered conserva-


tives on the Obama family are not laughable. Remember the New York Post cartoon that showed Obama as a monkey being shot down by police? Is this not dangerous intent? Both


of Michelle Obama speaking to Malia that featured the cap-


tion, ‘’To entertain her daughter, Michelle Obama loves to make monkey sounds.’’ Though this may sound like the garbage on a KKK or White power website, it actually ap- peared on what is commonly considered one of the prime online locations for U.S. conservative grassroots political discussions and organiz- ing.


For any Black politician to gain political


mainstream support it has become standard practice for Whites to call on them to denounce Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan. And most obe- diently tow the line. Yet when conservatives such as Beck insult and trash our president, there is little outrage from White Republicans who, after all, are citizens of one nation indivis- ible and under one president.


If the hatred of President Obama were only


about race that would be chilling enough, but it is methodical more than mere madness. The hatred is the result of the rich White male aris- tocracy reeling from the first real challenge to their entitlement to reign and rule America’s economic power structures. If you really want to know what the fight is about, keep your eyes on the money flow and how the President is trying to regulate and restrain the greed that has resulted in millions of hard-working people being unemployed and facing foreclosures.


“Corporate America hates the Obama ad-


ministration,” New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has reported. The oil and gas compa- nies of which BP is a mainstay gives 76 percent of their largess to the GOP which, of course, ex- plains the zeal of the Sarah Palin crowd chant- ing “Drill, baby, drill!” and Beck, who carries their baggage.


The attack on Malia is beyond contempt.


And every political, social and and spiritual leader, no matter what religion, political or ethnic group, ought to add their voice against this assault on a child. This is not the kind of America this generation must will to our chil- dren, so we must all lift our voices now.


Dr. Barbara Reynolds is an ordained min-


ister, a seminary and Bible college professor, author of several books and writes on religion and political issues for the National News- paper Publishers Association. Her website is www.Reynoldsworldnews.com.


Pulling the plug on ‘The First 48’


By Peggy Goodwin Just weeks after Detroit was brazenly ex-


ploited by “Dateline NBC,” we learned an- other show was in town following police offi- cers around. A craftily edited “show” as it is called by A&E (Arts & Entertainment) TV with a dark soundtrack and a trained actor as the voiceover, “The First 48” does an exemplary job of blurring the lines between reality and enter- tainment for its viewers.


But I am not as much concerned about the


effect of this show on its viewers as I am on its participants. “The First 48” is like the TV show “Cops” on steroids. It takes place, pre- dictably, in the poorest neighborhoods of major cities like Detroit, Miami and Dallas, exploiting mostly Black and Latino victims, witnesses and suspects.


While they place a disclaimer at the end of


the “show” stating that all suspects are inno- cent until proven guilty in the court of law, I fail to see how unveiling the identity of an appre- hended suspect for the nation to see enhances justice


As the show’s name implies, police detec-


tives’ ability to apprehend a suspect in a homi- cide diminishes greatly after the first 48 hours of the incident. But, as we saw with the horrific accident that unfolded during a police raid that “The First 48” crew was taping on Lillibridge Street in Detroit, some matters are far too seri- ous, far too dangerous and potentially devastat- ing even for reality TV.


Do police officers, already under great pres-


sure to solve a homicide, act differently when cameras are following them?


Certainly the pressure was on and the police


meant business with the use of a flash grenade before entering the house. The raid resulted in the apprehension of the suspect and the tragic death of another innocent youth, 7-year-old Aiyana Jones, who was asleep in the house at the time of the raid.


Would this horrible incident have been


avoided if “The First 48” crew were not taping the raid for a national TV program?


Did the officers feel compelled to “perform”


for the cameras and feel more pressure than usual?


We may never know. What I do know is that


“shows” like “The First 48” rarely advance jus- tice, nor enhance our understanding of police work. Rather, they sensationalize it.


“The First 48,” like “Cops,” does little to


educate but does succeed in exploiting people, especially poor people.


I commend Mayor Dave Bing for pulling the


plug on “The First 48” in Detroit. Peggy Goodwin is an award winning public


relations consultant and mediator who has worked with federal, state and local law en- forcement on Project Safe Neighborhoods, Operation TIDE, Fugitive Safe Surrender and many other initiatives in Detroit. She can be reached at peggygoodwin@goodwinconsult- ing.us.


JACKIE BERG Chief Marketing Officer


BANKOLE THOMPSON Senior Editor


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JOHN H. SENGSTACKE


Chairman-Emeritus 1912-1997 LONGWORTH M. QUINN


Publisher-Emeritus 1909-1989 Page A-6


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