Open Letter To:

Carol M. Browner, EPA

From: John Burl Smith

Presently, Atlanta is not in compliance with the Clean Air Act. The federal government has stopped all road projects due to the Atlanta Regional Commission's(ARC) inability to solve the problem. Duel roles of county executives and ARC board members, reflect an incestuous governmental relationship.

DeKalb County is an excellent example of why intervention is needed to prevent more environmental degradation. DeKalb County has granted Swift Transportation Co. permission to construct a $7 million 52 acre truck terminal somewhere along Snapfinger Woods Road. Such facilities should be located away from residential areas to minimize their impact.

Placed alongside I-20, a major source of automobile emersion, this behemoth truck stop, will increase truck traffic enormously. The nearest exits at Panola and Wesley Chapel Roads are already gridlocked arteries . This area was constructed for residential vehicles, not eighteen wheelers with double hitches.

With trucks being the worst polluters, it does not take rocket science, nor does it require clairvoyance or any other exotic power, to see the link between an increase in truck emersion and increased health risks for citizens. DeKalb's County Commissioners claim that this project will help residents by providing jobs and economic development, while turning a blind eye to environmental racism.

Air and water quality concerns were moved to the back of the bus by DeKalb CEO Liane Levetan. She feels, "this is an outstanding asset," as well as "a healthy and growing enterprise... our community's newest private-sector partner." How can such a huge paved area (52 acres) have a beneficial impact on water and soil quality with residual fuel and oil run off flowing into nearby streams. A grave concern, this project turns its back on the Clinton administration's "livable communities" concept articulated by vice president Gore.

ARC and County governments sleep in the same bed. Boards and commissions like the ARC were created to obstruct integration through the allocation of resources. Beyond that they had no real function. ARC officials are trying to redefine its role by disguising its diehard segregationist past. To preserve their jobs, ARC is planning to lobby Congress to weaken Clean Air Act standards to permit $ 30 billion in road projects. As with sprawl, ARC's diehard attitude has created Atlanta's air quality problems. When Georgia reverses its segregationist past, environmental racism, and associated health problems will be addressed.

Other Essays by John Burl Smith

The Dark Knight-Batman/White Ninja/Zorro, after much prodding confessed, "Grandma I don't know what else to say, okay?" The Dark One/Ninja/Zorro is on spring break and wants a vacation from his grandma too! Bat Cave

"Let's Make a Slave"

by Dot Smith

Lynching is not only famously associated with Willie Lynch, "Let's Make a Slave," but one of the principals who fought against the practice in print. Ida B. Wells is best known for exposing the myth that black men were lynched for raping white women. Wells' investigative reports found the real reasons were petty offenses from stealing a cow to attempting to register to vote. Between 1889 and 1918, over two thousands black people were lynched, and "no one was punished.." Ida B. Wells wrote about it.

According to a website biographical tribute by Clark Cook, "More than those of any other single individual, Ida B. Wells' efforts were responsible for the worldwide condemnation of lynching that forced the federal government to intercede and take actions to protect the rights of black people in the South."

Lynch Law in Georgia

by Ida B. Wells-Barnett

During six weeks of the month of March and April just past, twelve colored men were lynched in Georgia, the reign of outlawry culminating in the torture and hanging of the colored preacher, Elijah Strickland, and the burning alive of Samuel Wilkes, alias Hose, Sunday, April 23, 1899.

The real purpose of these savage demonstrations is to teach the Negro that in the South he has no rights that the law will enforce. Samuel Hose was burned to teach the Negroes that no matter what a white man does to them, they must not resist."

Economic Welfare?

by Dot Smith

Income from employment is the single most important standard of living measurement for most Americans. As an indicator of economic welfare, economists traditionally look at unemployment. Income from employment is the single most relevant measure of national economic welfare.

April's unemployment rate declined to a three-decade low of 4.2 percent. Historically, black unemployment has averaged about 2.1 times white unemployment. In March, white unemployment fell below 4%, which is considered full employment, to 3.6%. Black unemployment dropped from its March 1998 high of 9.2% to 8.1%. The stable black/white unemployment ratio guarantees income inequality.

Three-Fifths Compromise

The Smith paradigm postulates that the chasm or economic welfare gap dates back to the Three-Fifths Compromise , which established the market value of black human capital. Smith's paradigm shows that the market value of black human capital, expressed in terms of median family income, is impervious to the bust and boom cycles of our mixed market economy precisely because of the stable unemployment relationship. Hence, Smith asserts that black median family income is 60% of white median family income because the black/white unemployment ratio is so stable, the condition can only be explained in the context of institutionalized racism. Bits of Black History

Disgruntled wants to know: Who represents us? Is it our duly elected officials or their secretaries?

Disgruntled feels: Imposed on by the trees and other things having sex on me.

Disgruntled says: While we are not privy to the mental lives of others, we know some people will forever be handicapped by a narrow perspective. Disgruntled

The Grammy award winner Lauryn Hill has reportedly been offered the part of Rita Marley, Hill's future mother-in-law in a Warner Bros planned bio-pic of musician Bob Marley. Warner Bros is speaking with Hill to play Rita, the wife of reggae icon Bob Marley. No doubt, the project can use the singing of Hill to boost the movie sales. Having Hill portray Rita would be a natural fit, because Rita was a singer for the I-Threes, which was the female vocal trio that backed up Bob Marley as part of the Wailers. Bob Marley died of cancer in 1981. Lauryn Hill's fiancé Rohan Marley is one of Bob's and Rita's sons. Congrats to Ms. Hill. YOU GO GIRL. Atlanta Vibe

by Dot Smith

The DISH readers Taurus, Sherise, Shenika and Nikki asked for a response to two items that outraged them. All college students, these young African American women could not believe any male could say "all" black women are "unattractive" and mean it or suggest racism is not a factor in their daily existence.

Item one is an e-mail from jw43@cornell.edu,who identifies himself as a white male college student. He finds black women "unfeminine and unattractive" by Western standards. For him, these unflattering characteristics explain why black women are mostly single and lonely. Among other flaws, his analysis incorporates neither the number of black men in prison, poverty and the welfare system nor the racism inherent in his standard of measurement. The second item is an article written by Neal Boortz (Creative Loafing "The blame game," 3/27/99). In responding to the Surgeon General's findings on infant mortality, Boortz believes the inclusion of racism among the factors explaining the higher death rate among children born to black women as another in a series of what he calls "the blame game." In a capsule, institutional racism is not a factor in infant mortality, rather Boortz believes it is "explained by a higher percentage of irresponsible mothers" among black women.

The DISH sees white men, like these, as victims of linear secularism. Only someone with such a narrow perspective would dismiss racism as a factor in the quality of life of black people.

During slavery, black women were the cows for the South, used to breed slaves to man southern plantations. After slavery, black women bore the many children needed for sharecropping. Black women cared, not only for their own children, but raised the masters' brats. What little nurturing done in this society is provided by black women.

As far as black women being attractive, black women come in a wondrous variety. We range in character and makeup from small, dainty and feminine to linebacker for the Forty-Niners. Like women of all races, Caucasoid, Mongoloid, Negroid and their cross-bred offsprings, we come in different sizes and have distinctly different personalities.

It is asinine, unexposed and racist to call all black women undesirable based on any single concept of beauty and femininity. Obviously, all white men do not share the college student's narrow viewpoint. Had they done so, black people would not come in such a rainbow of hues from the ebony of Africa to manila folder ivory. To achieve this shade variety, some white men must have found something desirable in black women and/or black men raped countless white women who bore black babies. The latter is easy to disprove with the research and writings of Ida B. Wells. The former can be shown clearly with an examination of the life and times of our President and founding father Thomas Jefferson. DISHing It Up Hot!

By: D.J. Williams

How lonely is lonesome?

Is it when you cry to be understood,

or when you ache to be rocked in a bosom.

A companion, someone to confide in,

Can you find, in this cruel world, a true friend?

Furthermore, does real love even exist?

If so, why can't I find it in this big, black abyss?

I just need a light for this lonely soul,

With a life companion,

One will never really grow old.

You may have everything in the world,

But if you don't have a love to share it with,

then your wealth is just a myth.

About Me: Called Lonely here, the untitled poem was written by a teenage son who sees and understands his mother's lonely existence. Desherick Jamaal Williams (DJ) is a 14 years old freshman at The Colony High School, in The Colony, TX ( a suburb of Dallas). DJ enjoys reading, computers, writing poetry, writing, music, singing and is now forming a gospel musical group called INFINITY, which is comprised of area high school students. Watch out Kirk Franklin! According to DJ's mom, "they sound pretty good acapella, they need a sponsor and musician.) Venue

by Yohannes Sharriff Smith

It's about character, the heart of soul,

Where truth lies deep beyond espoused belief

Beyond great ideal,

It's what you live.

Could you set aside pride?

Could you sacrifice ego to dwell within the divine?

This is your chance.

Everyday pray and sing for God

Scream in the silence of hope in the shower of mercy

Eloheem. Find within yourself

The faith to fight the fear

And hear the tears of love radiate salvation.

Unfold your arms and hold out your heart.

Receive the all above, below, around and within

Talk to the earth, she is listening. Intuit

by LaTonya McNeil

It is better to be safe than sorry! This report comes from a Dallas Police statement; it is not a joke. A couple of weeks ago, in a Dallas movie theater, a person sat on something sharp protruding from one of the seats. When she stood up to see what it was, a needle was found poking through the seat with an attached note saying, "You have been affected with HIV". The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta reports similar incidents in several other cities. All the needles tested HAVE been positive for HIV. The CDC also reports that needles have been found in the coin return area of pay phones and vending machines. The DISH is asking EVERYONE to take necessary precautions to remain safe. Tell friends and family members of the potential dangers. Pass this on to as many people as possible. All public chairs should be safely inspected prior to actual use. A visual inspection is considered a worthwhile precaution. Remember, it is always "BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY"! Hood Notes

"Workplace Drug Testing: Legislative Briefing Kit on Drug Testing. Today, in some industries, taking a drug test is as routine as filling out a job application. In fact, workplace drug testing is up 277 percent from 1987 -despite the fact that random drug testing is unfair, often inaccurate and unproven as a means of stopping drug use. But because there are few laws protecting our privacy in the workplace, millions of American workers are tested yearly - even though they aren't suspected of drug use.

Employers have the right to expect workers not to be high or drunk on the job. But they shouldn't have the right to require employees to prove their innocence by taking a drug test. That's not how America should work." Partial email message forwarded by rumba2@earthlink.net from the ACLU. For more info contact the American Civil Liberties Union at KearneyCLU@aol.com.

"I agree with The DISH. We are all special. Each of us was created to achieve something unique in the grand scheme of things. One life shortened before its time or unnecessarily hampered by whatever forces exist in the environment jeopardies the welfare of everything.

While I can empathize with the desire to end pain and suffering, I cannot agree with Jack Kervokian or proponents of euthanasia. Obviously, they do not share our perception of an individual life. For surely, if they did, they would be fighting to preserve life, not fighting to end it." A faithful DISH reader. Mailbox

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