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Volume 2 Issue 28… Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race… July 23, 1999

by John Burl Smith

The mayor's affirmative action rally last Thursday, July 15, 1999 caused an explosion of articles in Sunday's AJC. Making the case that minorities in general, and African-Americans in particular reflect a history of discrimination, they offered no solutions. Jim Wooten revealed, "Only four black high school graduates per county qualify for admission to UGA." Cynthia Tucker stated "20 per cent of applicants who don't quite meet academic standards" are still admitted, because their white parents are "well-heeled graduates and donors." Peter Mantius exposes Gov. Roy Barnes' tokenism toward blacks while continuing white control of government.

Mayor Bill Campbell's article and rally failed to address how and why African-Americans remain mired in the chasm of inequality. Specifically, with historical and economic data supporting African- American claims of institutionalized racism, the Mayor relied exclusively on appeals to conscience and moral indignation to motivate whites to throw crumbs from their table to African-Americans. Dot M. Smith's paradigm provides scientific evidence, which illustrates institutionalized racism, just as Carter G. Woodson's sociological data did in Brown v. The Board of Education.

Atlanta has been treated like a beehive for honey gathering white developers. Harvesting resources from Atlanta, the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) allocated the funds to develop surrounding counties. Publication of the formula allocating transportation funds by GRTA validates The DISH's series on sprawl. Proving Atlanta has been robbed to pay for sprawl, the formula reveals Governors and legislators funneled money to surrounding counties, like Cobb and Gwinnett, even though their populations and tax revenue did not justify it.

Atlanta's fight to keep its affirmative action program should include the affirmative action of going to court against the State of Georgia to recover tax money it deserved, but did not receive. Furthermore, that suit should seek to extend the formula for allocating transportation funds under GRTA to all such discretionary funds.

A City Hall summit bringing together interested political, business and community people to develop a strategic plan to accomplish these goals should be the next step. Whole-heartedly in support of efforts thus far, The DISH offers its services in this long overdue campaign, reporting regularly on the sincerity of the efforts. If you are interested in supporting the Affirmative Action Campaign, log on to http://www.thedish.ws/ or e-mail: icim@bellsouth.net and sign up. More by Mr. Smith - This issue below.

by H.F. Chatman, II

 The Black Holocaust occurred when millions of Blacks died in slave ships coming from Africa. Victims of more than 400 years of oppression, our experience in America is an example of a holocaust and genocide as defined under the Geneva Convention definitions. A series of international agreements, the Geneva agreements provide for humane treatment in war and outlaw unjust deportations, torture, collective punishment, reprisal and racial discrimination, etc.

Well, my ancestors paid a "HELL-of-a-Cost," black victims of a spiritual, mental and social holocaust. Our disunity, self-hatred, MIS-education and direct and indirect worship of whites are proof that we have been destroyed as PEOPLE OF COLOR. Most of the holidays we celebrate are not for us, because we had NOTHING to do with them.

An understanding of black history illustrates that we have maintained a set of cultural values, which have shaped and continue to define our very existence as a people. Know your history; it will empower you. HCHAPS@aol.com Other Venues for Artists

Southeastern Legal Foundation (SELF) wants to end Atlanta's affirmative action. They cite mismanagement under Campbell and his predecessors, in addition to reversed discrimination. Headed by Matt Glavin, SELF has threatened to sue the city. Though no suit has been filed, Glavin has expressed a desire to sit down with Campbell to negotiate a settlement. Glavin seems to think he and Campbell can hammer out an agreement to avoid a legal entanglement. Mayor Campbell enjoys the support of a broad cross-section of the African American community, because most of us see affirmative action as interest on the debt, i.e., reparations. We will back the Mayor in a court battle and/or fight with him in the streets, but he does not have our support to negotiate affirmative action away to Glavin or SELF. See more Phantom Scribbler

Lorraine Hansberry, one of America's premier playwrights was born in Chicago, Illinois May 19, 1930 at the beginning of the Great Depression. Fortunately, she was the daughter of well-to-do activist parents, who sent her to the University of Wisconsin to become an intellectual. After only two years, Lorraine moved to New York in 1950 to become a writer. Steeped in the Harlem Renaissance, she exploded on the scene in 1959 winning rave reviews for A Raisin in the Sun. Loosely based on events in an anti-segregation case her father won before Illinois' Supreme Court, the play tells of the frustration and desperation of black families trying to survive.

Set in the early 1950s, Lorraine Hansberry's play freezes time and capsules a reality that is truer today than then. Deja vu? Presently, young black men struggle as Walter Lee trying to find success in a world of closed doors. A tragic hero, Walter's only chance to elude poverty clashes with the family's opportunity to escape a rat infested tenement. A Raisin in the Sun won the New York Drama Critic's Award for its realistic portrayal of an African American dilemma. Hansberry was the first African American woman to have her work produced on Broadway. The film, starring Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil and Ruby Dee, received a special award at the Cannes Film Festival. Raisin, a musical adaptation also received critical acclaim. Though Hansberry's work was of another time, it reflects the same lost hopes and empty promises of Walter's dreams today.

Instead of reparations, affirmative action was implemented to help black Americans overcome the uneven economic playing field created by slavery and institutionalized racism. Affirmative action grew out of civil rights legislation, an executive order and court decisions. It dates back to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which contained a section on equal employment opportunity that made it illegal for employers with "25 or more employees to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge an individual...because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex or national origin."

In 1965, President Johnson strengthened the Civil Rights Act when he issued Executive Order #11246, which required each federal department to develop a "positive program of equal employment opportunity" regardless of race or color. It also required federal contractors to take "affirmative action" to ensure non-discrimination in recruitment, hiring, promotion and rates of pay."

In a series of decisions, the Supreme Court helped define what constituted discrimination and what could or could not be treated as affirmative action. With the appointment of more conservative Justices to the Court in the 1970s and '80s, the court's decisions have generally sought to narrow or back away from affirmative action as originally intended, that is, "to help black Americans overcome past discrimination." (Http://www.lm.com/~jdehullu/action/aahist/htm). Bits of Black History

Disgruntled wants to know: Can a civilian give a policeman a ticket?

Disgruntled says: Thank you Lord for giving me a brain. I don't have to behave like a sheep or a dumb turkey stupid enough to drown in the rain.

Disgruntled feels: up to the new millennium. Disgruntled Home

The Dark Knight/White Ninja/Zorro will not be rushed in making his comments. However, for the right combination of bribes, the Dark One/Ninja/Zorro replied, "Don't worry grandma, I'll think of something for you." More BatCave Comments

by Dot Smith

When you T.H.I.N.C. about it, we are all works in progress. We all make mistakes. Accidents are bound to happen as we interact with one another and our environment. The DISH Vol.2 No.26 reported on such an incident involving a patrol car and a civilian vehicle.

"Look! That patrol car just hit another vehicle!" The patrol car's emergency lights came on without the accompanying siren. "I bet he's gonna give them a ticket," Jimmy sounded confident of his prediction. "That's not right! Clearly, the police caused the accident," I smartly countered. "Dot, you still don't get it. Right has nothing to do with this either. That cop is not gonna admit he caused that little fender bender. The system will side with his version of what happened; he'll be made to look like the good guy. All that person can do is pay the ticket and get over it." "Well, that's just downright wrong! Of course it won't happen like that!" "Wanna bet?" he asked facetiously.

On a bet and with some encouragement from a fellow co-worker, Eleanor, I went out to the street to make sure Jimmy was wrong in his assessment of the situation. James, another co-worker, stood out front laughing about the freaky little accident he just witnessed; he was not thinking about getting involved.

At the scene, Jimmy's prediction was coming true; the civilian driver was being blamed for causing the accident. A responsible citizen, I informed the woman driver and the officer that I saw what happened. I offered my testimony; the officer replied, "We don't need no witnesses; I've called my supervisor. He'll be here in a minute." The driver wanted my testimony, so I gave her my name and telephone number. While doing so, the officer rudely instructed me to "Get out of the street," preventing any further contact between us. Moments later, my ride came. When we left, the woman's car was surrounded by patrol vehicles with their emergency red and blue lights flashing -a frightening scene for a minor accident. More Hot DISHes

Still no word from Public Works Director Tom Black on the South DeKalb meeting to discuss groundwater contamination at Seminole Landfill. See next week's Funky Hood Update.

Stating that "the average wealth of African American and Hispanic families is one-tenth the average wealth for majority (white) families. For Native American families it would be even worse still," Vice President Al Gore urged support for affirmative action while speaking to minority journalists in Seattle. Begging the question, he asked, "If a young African American or Latino child graduates from college, wants to become an entrepreneur in this innovative economy and has a great idea, how do you raise the capital? In a majority family, I'll tell you what the first move is: Pick up the telephone and call a member of the family and start working that network to find some capital that can be invested, " 'ala Ted Turner, Bill Gates, George W. Bush, Jr., etc.

Vice President Gore did not provide an answer to this everyday dilemma of the author of T.H.I.N.C. (Teaching Humanity In New Consciousness): The Chrysalis of Evolution, Yohannes Sharriff Smith, founder of Intuit Creative Ideas Manifested (ICIM), Inc. For Yohannes and thousands of young black entrepreneurs fighting to save their cash strapped dreams from withering like "A Raisin in the Sun," talk is meaningless. For the grandsons of sharecroppers, Gore's admission does not bring slave descendants reparations to provide the capital needed to fund young black dreams.

While generations of slaves and their descendants provided free labor, white families accumulated wealth. Al Gore, like most whites, dismisses African enslavement and segregation by ignoring the collateral fact that they directly benefited from their fore-parents' roles as slave masters and the Bull Connors who made enslavement and segregation possible. So whose fault is it? Slaves or slavery? Essays by John Burl Smith

Oops!

The DISH Kudos to Spree in last week's issue contained a spelling error. The correct spelling of Sprewell's first name is Latrell. Thanks to another Spree fan, The DISH can give Kudos to Spree's natural hairdo again!

As I sit and write this, I am pissed off. Truly, when you think that things are on the upswing, you see the pendulum is swinging backwards, which really sucks. This information comes from not 1 or 2, but 5 employees of the Marriott Hotel Chain. The company's policy on its African American guests really disturbed me. Without ever coming out to say so, there is a double standard in several of the company's policies. You should be aware of these before choosing to do business with the Marriott ever again.

Prices change dramatically for black conventions. These are not seasonal changes, but total up-charges. Room rates can skyrocket during events such as the Bayou Classic football weekends and Essence Festivals. There are mandatory supply counts after black guests, i.e., counting towels, robes, etc. Availability of materials and amenities, such as shampoo, soap, ice, etc., is severely limited; management generally cites overcrowding. Charges apply for items non-black conventioneers enjoy for free. For example, a refrigerator that is free for a white fraternity or Shriner Convention costs black guests $5.00 per day. Limitations on rooms: African American guests are told frequently, when making reservations, that rooms are not available when in fact they are. Inaccessibility of certain hotel areas: Usually, additional areas are opened to accommodate unusually large crowds; this is not done for African American conventioneers. Frequently, the hotel cuts back on employee hours and number of employees, guaranteeing poorer, much slower service for black guests. Do not give this company any of your hard-earned money! Pass this along to everyone. We all need to know what is truly going on. Email forwarded to The DISH by Tanya627@aol.com More HoodNotes

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