e
ter'.
VIEWS/OPINIONS
he . d they "pic ed
ld@ 1992 'DG INC.
justice, this verdict represents the
predominate mental state of
Americans, in which
African-American lives are viewed
as less than human. .
The verdict truly represents the
inability of White Americans to
render justice in cases where the
victims are people of color or poor.
Rev. Otis Moss, PUSH Chairman
of the Board said "It is also an
indication that what we faced' in
Selma, Alabama, and Birmingham,
St. Augstine, Philadelphia,
Mississippi, over 25 years ago has
now been legalized in thi verdict in
California and it ends a brutal signal
to the entire nation that its all right
for law enforcement personnel to
beat and brutalize citizens so long as
they' stand behind the badge and
color of state law."
In California today, it's Rodney
King. In Chicago just a few years
ago it was Fred Hampton and Mark
aar.
The President of the Uni ted States
should provide immediate,
unequivocal leadership in this
o hi
4o,,��O S 0 Amed DOt·
in the big citi and not in the foDDer:
Confederate Sta little 0
con ct with B people. Tbey
cl about Black people's
moral and capabiliti only thrOUO
th medi
Except for "Julia," at Kin :
Cole' how, and fe others, the :
media polluted the stream of .
information .by howing only the
obnoxious, misleading tereotypea
in Blac drama until "The Cotby
Show" came.
But ying that thi how pro
all Blac can "make it" igno .
reality, implies that racial eq�ity :
exi ts, th t Blac 'expeclauo .
should be lower, and that m'
nota handicap. It . anefforttodod e
truth and hide guilt
Never have all white people, who
don't face raci m, ever "made it"
More hi tes than Blacks ere
always on welfare.
The need for more truth and better
teaching of Black History in schoo
i alarming!
READERS WRITE
Truth of th
M
YOU MUST show under-
tanding and sympathy even
when you don't agree with
him. If you don't agree with
him, gently discus another
way of achieving his goals.
Listen to his opinions openly.
Be understanding.
If you disagree with him,
try not to attack him. Build
his self-esteem. encourage
him to be strong and not to
give up. No one el e does this,
so you will be providing
much-needed emotional su -
tenance. He is strong enough
to survive in a world that
doesn't want him to succeed.
You, his lady, should ap­
preciate his strengths - and
his weaknesses.
You, the Black man, must
know of the unfulfilled life
that a woman, especially a
Black woman, is forced to
live. She has. emotional and
intellectual needs that society
generally ignores. She can be
your firm support, your
partner, your best friend, but
you must respect her, just as
you respect yourself, just as
you want to be respected.
She is not "one of the
boys." She is like a delicate
flower who can be enticed to
emit her invigorating, sooth­
ing aroma with your kind­
ness. So be gentle with her.
SAY .... CAN ONE OF
YA'LL PLEASE HELP A
PO' BROTH ER OUT?
YEAH. AND H EVEN
DROPPED OUT OF
SCHOOL TOO!
WHAT A LIFE!!
Future ....
,
imeforawa
The time has come for us to
respond to the wake up call from Los
Angeles and other major cities
around the country. We must
respond in a positive and
constructive manner, but these
words come to mind:
"If there is DO struggle, there is no
progre s. Those who profess to
favor freedom, and yet deprecate
agitation, are men who want corps
without plowing up the ground.
They want rain without thunder and
lighting. They want the ocean
without the awful roar of its many
waters. This struggle may be a moral
one; or it may be a phy ical one; or
it may be both moral and physical;
but it must be a struggle. Power
concede nothing without a
demand."
-Frederick Douglass
RACISM IS at seat of Los
Angles police brutality. The verdict
in the Rodney King case i a legal
affirmation supporting police
brutality. Not only i it a trave ty of
Instance. Instead of applauding this
travesty, Bush should issue strong
moral statements condemning police
brutality and human rights violations
for his position is the policy for the
American Public.
OPERATION PUSH demands
that U.S. Justice Department initiate
a full and comprehensive
investigation with an independent
prosecutor.
If the justice department is
sufficiently aroused to empower a
special investigation of alleged
bounced checks in Congress where
no taxpayer dollars were involved,
no money stolen, and no finances
misappropriated, certainly it cannot
look the other way, close its eyes and
ears to the Rodney � incident It
was and incident brutal physical
blows were inflicted and the victim
bound in a manner that results in
irresponsible physical and mental
harm. We are calling for a full
investigation by the Senate/House
Judiciary committees.
PUSH is calling for an emergency
When "Amo 'n' Andy" ho
on the air, m ny people,
including ome BI c ,liked the
how, but were not ware that ci 1,
dam gin tereotypes were being
created and perpetuated. That how
gave ome BI clcs a category of
people to hom they could feel
uperior,
TH SOCIAL tratification
ystem at that time po itioned
Blac , represented by Amo and
Andy, to be lowly and untalented
objec of pity and conde cension,
They had limited education and
humorously made bsurd claims of
having re I tatu without real
u ta.nce.
Blacks who . liked Amos and
Andy and laughed at them evidently
did not realize that policy-makin
whites who control jobs were also
looking and laughing. The e
decision maken eemed to ociate
Black people generally with Amo
and Andy characteristics and .
beaaved negatively toward Black
people on the basis of the fictional
and degrading role models.
One Black man's opinion 011 t�
Rodney King verdict .
On the surface .. it is easy to ingle
out the jurors for bringing a not-guil­
ty verdict in the Rodney King case
which spurred the violence we've
seen across the country.
1be verdict was not warranted.
Prejudice, racism, and pure disgust
with black people has enaendered a
justice system of denial for Blaw.
These were the various responses to
the verdict.
Being a Black man, I understand
the verdict. I know it sounds irra­
tional but the truth of the matter is,
this was a white jury, living in a
predominately white community.
Their view of Blacks has been
shaped by the media, politicians, and
the private sector.
If I'm a white person, here are
some of the images that shape my
perception of Blacks. . Let us ex­
amine the entertainment media first.
r
ly) and "A Different World," you
have the "Fresh Prince," a y­
dressing, hat-cocked-to-the-side,
modern-day, slang-talking incom­
petent. This portrayal is the prevail­
ing view of young Blact maJea on
television.
Let us now look ai the new
media, whose. major focus is
society's most tirring issues, and
the e are the images injected into our
pestle. With "Drugs in America,"
the focus is on Black male . "Social.
programs in America," focUSCI on
Black females having an unheard of
amount of pregnancies, which trans­
.lates to male irresponsibility.
"illiteracy in America," focuses.
on Black children who e schools re
merely safe havens from the stree ,
and are treated as such by local
governments, as funds are allocated
for securi ty guards and metal detec­
tors instead of books andd teachel'l.
One can see how the white psyc
has besome desensitized to proble
facing African Americans. .
desensitization has led many whi
to feel little concern for BIlCb,
S READE .A10
OPEN UP to her. Tell her
your problems, ask her to
give her frank opinion. If you
disagree with her, don't at­
tack. Be courteous. Be logi­
cal in your conversations -
good or bad. Build her self­
e teem.
Praise her, encourage her.
Remember, she was a
second-class citizen, because
of her sex, long before you
were. So make her your first­
class citizen. Make her feel
like your queen.
Dr. Faulkner's address is
P.O. Box.188476, Sacramen­
to; CA 95818.
Send all your
upcoming church
events to:
Michigan Citizen
P.O. Box 03560
Highland Park. MI
48203
•
WITH THE exception of
"Cosby" (which some Blacks said
was a utopian view of � Black fami-
meeting of the national civil rights
leadership, all national religious
bodies, fraternity and sorority
leader and especially student
leaden aero the country.
The King verdict is a sign of the
inhuman mindset of the American
public.
. While we understand the pain our
people are feeling in this hour of
legal blasphemy, we encourage
African Americans to refrain from
violence in the wake of this inj ustice.
Detroit, like many other urban
cities, is a hotbed for violence. The
Federal and state cuts to General
Assistance, the ma sive plant
closings, high unemployment and
the stranglehold of drugs created a
climate of unrest and despair. The
police must demonstrate special
sensitivity in these extreme
circumstances.
PUSH Founder Rev. Jesse
Jackson said, "'The Rodney King
decision must by resisted. It must be
actively and aggressively resisted,
but it must be re isted with
di ciplined non-violence, or an
DR.
JABARIV.
PREMPEH
PUSH
FORU
already terrible ituation couleS
become even worse. Detennine4
but calm heads must prevail througl!
this dar night" '.
. Rev. Henry Williams., National
President of PUSH, said "The Blae
comunmity this nation feels
betrayed and violated by th
immoral conduct of our j tic�
ystem, hich on the one hand
claims impartiality the law;
but whose actio peak 0 • "
It should be noted that the riots aDd
violence did not take place until aner
the "verdict" w rendered.
Operation PUSH i I uing a call
to all religious and civic leaders to
join in a prayer 'ligil for peace and
justice as e call for furthe
inve ligation by the Justice
Department