- READERS WRITE -
RS. PARKS:
"_'--' -- .
pl .
III .
You, of my
mind, I lw ys imagin th t if
J us were to com back to arth
now, it would a someon lik
you. As a wis and dignifi and
elderly Black woman, on
who knew life's suffering and
orrows as well life's joy. And
I keep remembering Jesus'
conti nued from page A6
L U T do i do!
omething po it iv with ourl
young people in our own commu-I
niti . All w must do i t k on
those whose only answ r ito!
build prisons. All we mu t do .
stand for what is right and oth-l
ers willjoin us. But we must take
that first step lik you did -
alone and in faith.
You taught us that, Mr .
Parks. May we be strong enough
and brave enough to once more
follow your lead.
May God grant you peace and I
a feeling of safety and comfort
and may God grant U$ th rour-I
age to help "so many of our chilo,
dren who are going astr y." I
I
ONCE WE WERE a people
of principle, who served as the
conscien of this nation. That's
why the whole world stopped for
a moment on that day wh n you
wouldn'tgiveupyour eaton he
ow, .p r ,I liev we
re a people struggling for our
v ry oul . Your muggin is but
the visibl and very sad evidence
of that struggle.
The brief life - and death -
of 11 year-old Robert Sandifer is
noth r tangibl eviden of it.
A child not yet fiv feet tall who
murdered another child and who
was murdered, in tum, by other
childr n.
An l1-year-old who wa
abus d nd neglected by the
time he was only th months
We n ch d th for our
people. We can continue to 110
other people to decide our future.
W can conti nue to I dru and
guns be sold to our children. We
cancontinu to pretend that just
bees our own nuel r family
isn't in jeopardy that there's re
ally no problem.
We can continue to blame
white people, foreign people,
rich people, poor people, conser
vative people or liberal people.
We can continue to spend our
own money for the here and now
- at fancy conventions and
meetings, at soirees and parties
instead of on our children and on
our future.
Or we can choose life for our
people, a nurturing life of com-
J.: 1\ t(1 •
a
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dir tor. D pite th lack of any genuine support or recognition
by t.he black community in New York City or anywher el ,
Meyers was r peatedly £; atured on national television and on
th op-ed pa of The New York Times. Meyers' main criticism
was that Chavis' qu t for black olidarity dir. ly contra-
dicted h. c ntr 1 pur e of the iation. Meyers rt
"Th NAA P ha n ver purported to be an all-black 'big
organization dedicat d to racial unity."
The Jun , 1994 "ummit of African-Am rican Lead rship
al 0 ipc the litical attacks agai t Chavis. The .
ity of 'h''''A�tri '''''n: mer I rile ectad officials, trad unid '1
e and" r dltional" civil tight 1 d uch ru .J ,
head of the outh rn hristian Leadership Conf rence, and
oretta cott King, refu ed to show up. By contrast, aboutone
hundr d black I ders repr entingorganizations totaling mil
lions of people did attend the historic gathering.
Dr Manntn� Marable L Prof, sor of History and Poliucul • cience.iand
Director of thv In. titute [ur ill'S arch lit IIfruYl17-lImprICun • twit .L'olumbui
Unw r: tty, N w York City "lIlflnR th '()lor Line" uppears in ooer 250
publtcatum and LS brtxulcast by more thun 75 rodio stauon tnt. rnatumall .
READERS WRITE
Midnight Basketball
.• -
,
k birt ,and gang- and drug-
lat le hal viol n in U.S.
By Walter C. Farrell, Jr.
. '
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