SERVING CHARLESTON, DORCHESTER & BERKELEY COUNTIES SINCE 1971

THE THE

CCHRONICLEHRONICLEVOLUME XXXVII NUMBER 25 •1111 King St. •Charleston, SC 29403• FEBRUARY 11, 2009 • .50

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WE ARE PROUD OF OUR NOBLE HERITAGE

By Barney Blakeney

The low voter turnout forthe Feb. 3 special electionto fill the unexpired term ofCharleston City CouncilDist. 6 vacated by WendellGilliard has beendescribed as disappoint-ing. With only 354 voterscasting ballots in the dis-trict of 5,353 registered vot-ers, speculations over rea-sons for the low voterturnout are varied.The low voter turnout hasforced a Feb. 17 runoff elec-tion between TommieCoaxum (172 votes) andWilliam Dudley Gregorie(158 votes). Jeffery Hillreceived only nine votes.Observers listed severalreasons they think con-tributed to the low voterturnout. Some cited littleconfidence elected councilmembers can influence pol-icy in Charleston’s strong

Higgins: “A Silent Kind of Election”

Leonard Higgins

A letter from theSouthern Association ofColleges and Schools sentto South Carolina Statelast month states that theuniversity didn't provideproof it complied with sev-eral accreditation stan-dards. In December,SACS placed S.C. Stateon a 12-month warning forfailure to comply with fivestandards.Former S.C.State Board ChairmanMaurice Washingtonacknowledged the warningcame under hiswatch.Washington said hebelieved the university's

S.C. State Fails to Comply with Accredidation Standards

William Dudley Gregorie, Charleston’s Own:

Worked tirelessly to create jobs and provide critical resources for our community as HUD’s Columbia Director for nearly a decade;

Wants to continue his service as your next City Councilman by expanding economic development, increasing opportunities forsmall business owners, and improving education;

Is a true visionary: as our Councilman, he will seek for us safer, better streets and more measures taken to preserve our community, rich with culture and history.

We need William Dudley Gregorie to be our Full-Time City Councilman.

Let him be your choice on Tuesday, February 17th. Paid for by the Grassroots Committee to Elect William Dudley Gregorie to CityCouncil Seat District 6

VOTE GREGORIE FOR CHARLESTON CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 6TUESDAY FEBRUARY 17TH

CommitmentCompassionCompetence

ENDORSEMENTS

City CouncilmanJimmy S. Gallant, III

District 5

City CouncilmanJames Lewis, Jr.

District 3

City CouncilmanRobert M. Mitchell

District 4

Mr. Clay Middleton,Lowcountry Coordinatorfor Cong. Jim Clyburn

Mr. Arthur Lawrence,Westside Neighborhood

Assoc. President

“He has the temperament and experience to get the job done!”

Maurice Washington-former Trustee

Board Chairman

mayor/weak council formof government, a relativelyunpublicized special elec-tion and lack of confidencein the candidates them-selves.Dist. 6 encompasses eightcity precincts located onthe peninsula’s west sideand a hodgepodge of com-munities along S.C.

Highway 171 West Ashley.St. Andrews precinct 3 atthe W.L Stephens recre-ation center on PlaygroundRoad with 1,164 registeredvoters drew the greatestnumber of voters with 111voters (9.62 percent of eli-gible voters) casting bal-lots. Coaxum garnered 60votes compared toGregorie’s 40 and Hill ’snine.Charleston precinct 13 atBurke High School with998 registered voters drewthe second highest numberof voters with a total of 89voters (9.12 percent of eli-gible voters) casting 74ballots for Gregorie, 14casting ballots for Coaxumand one voter casting a bal-lot for Hill.No other precinct hadmore than 47 individualscasting ballots.James Johnson, a East Oak

report was sufficient todemonstrate compli-ance."How do you gobeyond that to prove you'rein compliance?"Washington said.TheSACS letter didn't outlinespecific instances in whichS.C. State was noncompli-ant.But S.C. State's report toSACS does explicitlydefine one violation.

An independentacademic audit commis-sioned by the board duringthe administration of for-mer President Dr. AndrewHugine was cited. The

Why They Support Ms. CoaxumSenator Ford: “SHE WORKED ON MY CAMPAIGN”

Rep. Gilliard: “SHE’S A GOOD WOMAN”

Larry Smith, Publisher,Community Times.

FLORENCE- This weeka South Carolina Senatepanel approved a bill toforce South Carolina coun-ties, towns and cities togive workers a paidConfederate MemorialDay holiday. The bill wasintroduced by CharlestonSenator Robert Ford, anAfrican-American withgovernatorial hopes.Senator Ford believes thatthe bill will force SouthCarolinians to reflect onthe state’s history. Thequestions are, what has theSenator been drinking, orhas he been blinded by thelights of too many videogames?

In a state where weare forced to cut back onteachers in the classrooms,this Senate leader believeswe should spend more ofthe state’s limited financialresources to teach our chil-dren information thatalready exists in historybooks in our schools.

Yes, as SenatorFord says, we should workfor a better understandingof one another’s history,but this misunderstandingis one of the reasons thatSouth Carolina is facing a10% unemployment rate,third world health statis-tics and environmentalissues like those that lead

What Was He Thinking ?

Sen. Robert Ford Larry Smith- Publisher

FordIntroduces

Bill To Create

AConfederate

Holiday!us toward becoming thenation’s dumping ground.Senator Ford says hewants to be Governor ofSouth Carolina, but whereis the vision and new ideasthat will move SouthCarolina from an outhousestate of mind to a statewhere we use our collegesand university systems tomap out our future.

Today at ClemsonUniversity students andstaff are working on cut-ting edge technology forthe automotive industry.At the University of SouthCarolina-Columbia theyare working on nanotech-nology and biotech sys-tems. While SouthCarolina State Universityengineers are working withthe Savannah River Planton nuclear issues, and allSenator Ford has to add isthat we need to betterunderstand theConfederacy.

Some who readthis will think that this is arace issue, African-Americans versus whites,but this issue cuts to theheart of South Carolina.For nearly 40-yearsAfrican-American childrenand white children havebeen going to schooltogether, working togeth-er, and in some cases goingto church together. If wewant them to continue tohave these opportunities

we need to create a neweconomy in SouthCarolina. One that givesall of our citizens a chanceto work in jobs that pay aliving wage, a wage thatwill support families byproviding economicresources such as healthinsurance and the ability toown their own home.

Senator Ford, youare no President BarackHussein Obama. Yourvision for South Carolinadoesn’t include the greatminds in the state; it onlyseems to be a poor attemptto draw attention for yourcampaign – a page takenfrom the manual used bythe white elected officialsacross the state and thenation who want to dividethe voters across raciallines.

With concernsfrom counties, local munic-ipalities and from the for-mer Chair of the SouthCarolina Legislative BlackCaucus, RepresentativeLeon Howard (D)Richland County, as theycite the 357, 734 people inRichland County and themillions across SouthCarolina. RepresentativeHoward went on record tosay that he was not awareof any public outcry to sup-port another paid holiday.However, Senator Ford

Suppose they had an elec-tion and nobody came?Sadly--no, tragically---that’s what occurred in theDistrict 6 election wherethere are some 5,353 regis-tered voters, and only 349came to the polls. In theSt. Andrews precinctalone, of the 402 registeredvoters, only four took timeto venture out. And whatdose that mean?

Well, it means thatwe complain about ourelected officials not being

accountable. It means thatwe complain hat our elect-ed officials operate on anagenda that seems moreself-serving than represen-tative of the people’s will.It means we complainabout a sort of monarchialpresence of our electedleaders: once elected, theytend to stay. It also meanswe get the kind of electedofficials and the kind ofrepresentation we deserve.

But, at any rate, we havean overwhelming obliga-tion to look closely at can-

didates William DudleyGregorie and TommieCoaxum and then attemptto determine which ofthese aspirant politicianswould have the most tooffer this community.This community has been

plagued for too many yearswith political candidateswho are so impressed withthemselves and their evalu-ation of their own abilitiesthat they have forgottenthat their first obligation isto the people as opposed tothemselves.

Chronicle Endorses Gregorie in Dist. 6 Runoff

Tommie Coaxum, Senator Ford and Rep. Wendell Gilliard

THE CHRONICLE

1111 King StreetCharleston, SC 29403

••••(843) 723-2785

Fax: (843) 577-6099Email: Chaschron@aol.com

J. JOHN FRENCH, SR.President - Editor//Publisher

VALENTINA SMALLSOperations-Business Mgr./Comptroller-Advertising

SIMONA A. FRENCHReceptionist-

Traffic/PhotographerMarketing

Tolbert Smalls, Jr.Contributing Writers-

Hakim Abdul-AliBeverly Birch

Bob Small

DEADLINE:PUBLIC SERVICESFRIDAY PRIOR TO

PUBlICATION DATEMember:

National Newspaper Publishers, Assoc.South Carolina Press Assoc.Amalgamated Publishers

S.C. Chamber of CommerceNO REFUNDS ON SUBSCRIPTIONS

Published WednesdayTRI State Printing-North Charleston

Credo of The Black PressThe Black Press believes that

America can best lead the worldfrom racial and national antago-nism when it accords to everyperson, regardless of race, creedor color, his or her human andlegal rights. Hating no person,fearing no person, the BlackPress strives to help every personin the firm belief that all personsare hurt as long as anyone isheld back

2- February 11, 2009 The Chronicle

Higgins a ---------------------------------------------------cont. from pg 1

S.C. State -------------------------------------------------cont. from pg 1

Forest resident said whilehe saw almost no signs ofcampaigning by the threecandidates - Coakum ofWest Ashley, Gregorie ofCharleston’s west side andHill also of West Ashley -leading up to the electionthe city’s form of governingprobably kept many votersat home.“A lot of people don’t thinktheir representatives oncouncil have any power toinfluence what happensbecause Mayor Joe Rileycontrols everything in thestrong mayor form of gov-ernment. So it really didn’tmatter who got elected,”Johnson reasoned.The thought that electedrepresentation, at least forthis special election, isinconsequential wasechoed by Elliott Blake ofLine Street. Blake said hefelt neither of the threecandidates offering for theseat demonstrated thequalities needed for effec-tive representation.“All of them brought some-thing to the table, but theyall also had flaws. Oneseemed to have no specificagenda, another seemedhandpicked to promote thestatus quo agenda and thethird candidate seemed tolack commitment to anyagenda,” Blake said. “Idon’t think Dist. 6 con-stituents saw the kind ofrepresentation they want in

accrediting agency said the board's audit was conducted"in a manner that is not clearly articulated in itsbylaws."SACS also contended the audit failed to involvefaculty and the administration, which violates SACS stan-dard 3.4.10.That standard mandates faculty is ultimatelyresponsible for a university's curriculum.SACS acknowl-edged a similar audit had been conducted earlier byHugine's administration.S.C. State says the audit wasconducted to assess the effectiveness and productivity ofcertain academic programs and the possibility of addingnew majors.The university said the second audit wasappropriate because the initial one failed to address theconcerns of the board regarding academics. It also includ-ed more faculty representation than the first audit.TheS.C. State report added, "This review provided a frame-work from which the faculty can develop a plan of action toenhance its academic programs and curricula."The audit was done by the Education Commission of theStates. It was the same review the board cited as a reasonto terminate Hugine's contract in 2007.Washington reiter-ated that faculty was involved in conducting the ECOSaudit.

In addition, S.C. State noted faculty have leader-ship roles in multiple councils and committees on campus.SACS also said the university didn't adhere to standard3.2.6, which requires a clear distinction between the rolesof the board and administration.SACS said it received anoverwhelming amount of third-party comments from pressand individuals in regard to the board micromanagingHugine's administration."... there appears to be a seriousdisconnect between the opinions of the public and schoolofficials," SACS said in regard to the allegation.The S.C.State report contended the media contributed to the pub-lic perception of board micromanagement.It also assertedthat Washington, speaking on behalf of the university, wasviewed by some as "usurping the power of the president.However, in order for the board to promote the interestsof the university, there are times when they must bespokespersons for the university." Third-party informationsuggested the board also interfered with the athletics pro-gram. SACS standard 3.2.11 states the president must haveauthority over athletics.

In the report, the university contended the boardonly approves policy and provides a supportive role to ath-letics.The report noted the president assigns the duties ofthe athletic director. S.C. State also has an NCAA compli-ance officer who reports to the president, according to thereport.S.C. State submitted several contracts to showcompliance for SACS standard 3.2.11. One of those was asigned contract between Hugine and University of SouthCarolina Athletics Director Eric Hyman to play two foot-ball games over a five-year period.SACS asked S.C. Stateto submit proof the board wasn't controlled by a minorityof trustees. The agency also requested evidence the boarddid not have any conflict of interest issues.The universityresponded that the board's committee structure ensuredall trustees have an equal influence on policy. The reportnoted that all trustees must sign a statement swearing theyare free from any conflict of interest pertaining to S.C.State.The warning does not affect the institution's currentaccredited status.The university will have to submit evi-dence it is complying with the standards by September orface further consequences.

If S.C. State fails to comply with those standardsby next fall, it could receive probation. According to theSACS Web site, probation is usually, but not always, thenext step before a university loses its accreditation.TheSACS letter and S.C. State's report were obtainedthrough a Freedom of Information Act Request. S.C.President George Cooper had said the university wouldn'trelinquish the SACS letter, citing it as an institutionalmatter.During Thursday's board committee meetings,Washington said those documents should be made public.Cooper replied the university would release the docu-ments, which it did.Cooper said the university would hirea consultant to assist with its 2010 SACS reaccreditationprocess.

dismissed those concerns saying the benefits outweighedthe costs. As this bill heads to the full Senate JudicialCommittee, I for one would like to know what benefitsSenator Ford sees in this bill, and I mean the benefits thatdon’t include him doing a song and dance for what hethinks is a chance to get the white vote.

Senator Ford is right when he says that we havecome a long way in South Carolina. We have come a longway when one of the most hard lined African-Americanleaders in our state turns to a group he has been fightingall of his political life for support of his run for Governor.What’s next Senator Ford? Do you put on white face andsing “Mammy?”

South Carolina has some big issues facing us thisyear and we cannot afford the lack of leadership thatSenator Ford is offering from any of our elected officials,African-American or white. Isn’t it time we go about thebusiness of growing our state and creating a better qualityof life for the people who live in our state. Senator Ford’sbill should be voted down and the people of Charlestonshould take a long look at who they send to represent themin the South Carolina Senate, because while other Senateleaders continue to “bring home the bacon” for their com-munities all Senator Ford can come up with is a poor planto get himself elected governor of the state. SouthCarolina deserves better leaders and we as citizens shoulddemand more in 2009.

Larry Smith is the Publisher of The CommunityTimes Newspaper and The Times Upstate Newspaper inSouth Carolina. He can be reached by email at lar-ryscafricanvillage@hotmail.com.

What was ---------------------------------------------------cont. from pg 1

Public office is a trust and it is a trust that should not betaken lightly. It takes a certain kind of man or woman toeffectively represent a district.The battle lines are beingdrawn now, with the injection of State Senator RobertFord going all out in support of Ms. Coaxum by financingher campaign, that’s good, nothing wrong with that, butthe question remains who is financing the senator?

It would behoove us to look closely at the candi-dates and then give it only if we are convinced that the per-son can adequately give us the kind of representation wehave deserved for so long and gotten only rarely. It is forthis reason that we endorse William Dudley Gregorie inthe Feb. 17 in the runoff election.

Also, you have to wonder why the endorsers in theabove photo, can vouch for a candidate, Tommie Coaxum,who claims to be an ‘educator’ but has never revealed hereducational background or schools she has served, exceptin the capacity as a substitute teacher!

Further, why would Mayor Joe Riley Jr. agree toendorse Ms. Coaxum, except having a “safe” vote on coun-cil? Perhaps he may have forgotten that it was Mr.Gregorie, as director of HUD operations in SouthCarolina, increased funding for the State to over $ 1.4 bil-lion and $400 million for the expansion of MUSC. Thisincluded another $8 billion for counties across the State,including the City of Charleston. Jim French

any of the candidates,’ headded.Leonard Higgins ofAshleyville said he was dis-appointed about the elec-tion and attributed the lowvoter turnout to a lack ofcampaigning on the part ofthe candidates and publici-ty on the part of the media.“This was a kind of silentelection. A lot of peoplesaid they didn’t even knowabout the election andmany white constituentsWest Ashley didn’t partici-pate at all,” he said.While the candidatesbegan to campaign in vari-ous communities a fewdays prior to the electionhe saw few signs that anelection was forthcomingin the weeks preceding theelection either from candi-dates or the news mediawhich gave the electiononly minimal coverage,Higgins added.“I trust now that people areaware of the Feb. 17 runoffelection those who will beimpacted by whomever iselected will have a hand inchoosing a representative,”Higgins said.

Chronicle endorsements -----------------------------cont. from pg 1

By. George E CurryNNPA Columnist

Five years ago, theSouthern ChristianLeadership Conference,the Atlanta-based civilrights group co-founded byDr. Martin Luther KingJr., was in disarray. It hadjust concluded a conven-tion in Jacksonville, Fla.that was so contentiousthat police had to be sum-moned to keep the peace.Instead of choosingbetween the two candi-dates vying for president atthe time, TV Judge GregMathis and Ralph D.Abernathy III, conventiondelegates picked Rev. FredShuttlesworth to serve asinterim president.But when Shuttlesworthfired longtime staffer Rev.E. Randel T. Osburn sev-eral months later, theSCLC board overruledShuttlesworth and sus-pended him. The civilrights icon fromBirmingham, Ala. quit,saying: “Only God can givelife to the dead.”That’s when the SCLCboard turned to CharlesSteele, Jr., an Alabamaundertaker, to breathe newlife into the dying organi-zation. Taking office withno money in the bank andthe office lights turned out,Steele began rebuildingthe organization. Thegroup’s finances were soshaky that when Steelefirst accepted the job, hecommuted fromTuscaloosa, Ala. and for ashort period, slept in hiscar to save money. But that changed quickly.The former Alabama statesenator raised more than$6 million over four years,including $3.3 million tobuild new headquarters forSCLC on Auburn Avenue.The organization’s assetsincreased 10-fold underSteele. Over that sameperiod, the formerAlabama state senatorincreased the number ofchapters from 10 to 85 andrescued SCLC from irrele-vancy.Steele resigned as presi-

dent and CEO of SCLC,effective this week, andByron Clay, a board mem-ber from Kenner, La., wasnamed interim president.Although Steele left officewithout rancor – BoardChairman RaleighTrammell repeatedly triedto persuade Steele torescind his resignation –SCLC finds itself at anoth-er turning point.And the person the boardselects to lead the organi-zation may determine ifSCLC will build on theprogress made underSteele’s leadership orreturn to its near-death sta-tus.Whomever is selected,along with the board, willface the challenge of com-ing up with vibrant pro-grams to make the organi-zation more effective.Despite being a major play-er in the civil rights move-ment, seeking justice forthe Jena 6 in Louisiana,marching to urge theJustice Department underGeorge W. Bush to bemore aggressive in enforc-ing civil rights and preach-ing economic empower-ment, much of Steele’sefforts were devoted tokeeping the organizationsolvent. He also spent aconsiderable amount oftime making SCLC aninternational force, estab-lishing conflict resolutioncenters abroad and joiningefforts to bring peace tothe Middle East.To attract a crediblenational figure to becomeSCLC’s seventh presidentin 52 years, the board needsto adjust how it interactswith its president/CEO.The role of directors is toestablish policy and allowthe president to superviseday-to-day operations.Although Steele never

cited it as a factor in hisdecision to leave, theSCLC board is deeplyinvolved in daily opera-tions of SCLC. For exam-ple, the organization’s gen-eral counsel reports direct-ly to the board chairmaninstead of the president asis the case under mostorganizational structures.Still, the past several yearshave been uncommonlysmooth for SCLC, largelybecause of the good work-ing relationship betweenChairman Trammell andPresident Steele.Trammell was generallysupportive of Steele andSteele maintained openand regular communica-tions with Trammell, wholives in Dayton, Ohio.Since Joseph Lowerystepped down as presidentof SCLC in 1997 after a 20-year tenure, the organiza-tion has been roiled bypolitical infighting. MartinLuther King III’s 7-yearyear tenure ended in 2004after frequent clashes withthe board. Shuttlesworthquit abruptly in 2004 afterserving several months.And when Steele wasselected to succeedShuttlesworth that sameyear, many were predictinga similar fate for him. In a speech to the NationalNewspaper PublishersAssociation in Phoenix twoyears ago, Steele recalled:“When we got there, thelights were off. The phonewas off. Dr. King’s organi-zation couldn’t meet pay-roll, inherited a $100,000debt from the conventioncoming out of Jacksonville,Fla. and owed the federalgovernment. And now thefederal government owesus. In the last two years,we have raised $6 million.” Trammell, in a statement

announcing Steele’s depar-ture, said, “Charles Steele’spassion for civil rights andhis desire to keep theorganization alive and rele-vant has changed not onlySCLC, but the world’sview of SCLC for the bet-ter.” Trammell added, “Hisdetermination and driverestored the organizationback to our original rele-vance. Because of Charles,our membership hasincreased and he has givena new foundation on whichwe can continue to build.”Steele, who moved his fam-ily from his nativeTuscaloosa, Ala. toAtlanta, said he plans toremain in Georgia and con-centrate on potential busi-ness opportunities, manyof them in the internationalarena. He also plans serveas a consultant to SCLCwhile it seeks its nextleader and build on hisefforts to establish conflictresolution centers aroundthe world.In the meantime, my oldbuddy can be proud ofwhat he accomplished. Inaddition to always criticiz-ing “scared Negroes,” hewas fond of saying thatwhen he took over, “Weweren’t dead, but we wereon life-support.” SCLCcan now breathe easierbecause of Charles Steele,Jr.

George E. Curry, formereditor-in-chief of Emergemagazine and the NNPANews Service, is a keynotespeaker, moderator, andmedia coach. He can bereached through his Webs i t e ,www.georgecurry.com.

SCLC Faces Another Turning Point

“To the ordinaryAmerican or

Englishman, the racequestion at bottom is

simply a matter ofownership of women;white men want the

right to use allwomen, colored and

white, and they resentthe intrusion of col-

ored men in thisdomain.”

W.E.B. DuBois

February 11, 2009- 3The Chronicle

4-February 11, 2009 The Chronicle

Who AskedMe?

by Beverly Gadson-Birchby Jim French

An increasing number of people, including two of myjournalism colleagues – Rochelle Riley and CynthiaTucker – are proposing that we stop celebrating BlackHistory Month. I strongly disagree and, evidently, sodoes Barack Obama, who signed an executive order desig-nating February as African-American History Month.

“I propose that, for the first time in American history, thiscountry has reached a point where we can stop celebratingseparately, stop learning separately, stop being Americanseparately,” Riley wrote in the Detroit Free Press. “Wehave reached a point where most Americans want to gain alarger understanding of the people they have not known,customs they have not known, traditions they have notknown.”

Riley must be confusing Detroit, which is 81.6 percentBlack, with the rest of America.Cynthia Tucker is even farther afield. She says that BlackHistory Month seems “quaint, jarring, anachronistic.”Writing in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Tuckeradded, “Suffice it to say that the nation of Tiger Woods,Oprah and Barack Obama no longer needs a BlackHistory Month.”Suffice it to say that this is sheer nonsense. The America ofTiger Woods, Oprah and Barack Obama is also theAmerica where the Black unemployment rate is twice thatof Whites, where the rate of poverty among Blacks is morethan twice that of Whites and where the median familyincome for Whites is $25,000 higher than that of African-Americans.

The election of Barack Obama demonstrates how littleWhite America knows about Blacks if they think he is thefirst African-American with the skills or education to serveas president of the United States. If students were taughtabout the contributions of Blacks in America perhaps theywould know that W.E. B. DuBois earned a Ph.D. fromHarvard in 1895. That same year, William MonroeTrotter, the crusading editor of the Boston Guardian,graduated from Harvard with Phi Beta Kappa honors, themost prestigious academic recognition in college. Yes, twoAfrican-Americans graduated from Harvard more than 100years ago.

A year after they graduated from Harvard, the SupremeCourt issued its famous Plessy v. Ferguson decision,upholding Louisiana’s Separate Car Act requiring segre-gation on all common carriers operating in the state.Plessy wasn’t overturned until the Brown decision out-lawed “separate but equal” schools in 1954.

The Supreme Court decision notwithstanding, Jim Crowlaws separating the races remained in effect for a decadeafter Brown, prohibiting Blacks from attending desegre-gated schools, being treated in the same hospitals, orbeing buried in the same cemeteries as Whites.

Although many American history textbooks carryaccounts of the Plessy decision, many are riddled with lies,beginning with the notion that Christopher Columbus“discovered” America. First, Columbus discovered landalready occupied by Native Americans. Second, he waslost, thinking he was in India. Consequently, we have twogroups of people called Indians today because Columbusgot lost.

Rarely are the contradictions about the so-calledFounding Fathers taught to students. They were fightingfor their freedom while enslaving Africans. ThomasJefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence,enslaved nearly 200 Africans. Even Abraham Lincoln wasn’t the great liberator he is por-trayed to be in the history books. In fact, he said duringone of the Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858: “I am not, norever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way thesocial and political equality of the white and black races,that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making votersor jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office,nor to intermarry with white people ... I as much as anyother man am in favor of having the superior positionassigned to the white race.”Were you ever taught that about Lincoln in school? Today’s students are not being taught that either, which iswhy we need Black History Month and more. I have post-ed on my Website, my Top 100 Books on Black History.Because the emphasis is on Black history, classics, such anInvisible Man and other works of fiction, are not included.Rather these are books that both Blacks and Whitesshould read in order to be fully educated about African-American history. If you read 10 books on the list – any 10– you will learn more Black history than you covered overthe course of your elementary, secondary and probably col-lege education.

I understand the point Rochelle Riley and CynthiaTucker were trying to make: Our history books should beinclusive and tell the history of all Americans, includingBlacks. But the books aren’t inclusive and simply pretend-ing they are does not contribute to our education nor justi-fy ending Black History Month.

George E. Curry, former editor-in-chief of Emerge maga-zine and the NNPA News Service, is a keynote speaker,moderator, and media coach. He can be reached throughhis Web site, www.georgecurry.com.

Black HistoryMonth Still

NeededBy. George E CurryNNPA Columnist

The Words of Malcolm X(To mark the assassination of Malcolm X, February 21, weare reprinting excerpts from speeches he made in 1964 and1965.)

Malcolm broke with the Nation of Islam in March of1964 because of the group’s policy of shunning involve-ment in the social and political struggles of Blacks. Afterhe left the Nation, Malcolm began to put together a newgroup the Organization of Afro-American unity, thataimed to be a part of and help lead struggles for Blackliberation from oppression.To a large degree, Malcolm’s political development was

also shaped by opposition to the moderate outlook of theaccepted leaders of the Black movement. Unlike them acentral tenet of Malcolm’s thinking was firm opposition torelying on the whims of Congress of waiting for the govern-ment to fulfill its promises.Malcolm castigated liberalism and blasted illusions about

Black progress. He concluded that Blacks would have toview their struggle in a new light and broaden their hori-zons. They would have to organize their own power to real-ize Black liberation.In the face of such power, Malcolm warned, the govern-

ment would use repression. But it would also offer conces-sions, reforms, and Black figureheads as safety devicesagainst social explosions.The ideas that Malcolm warned, the government would userepression. But it would also offer concessions, reforms,and Black figureheads as safety devices against socialexplosions.The ideas that Malcolm was presenting were a major threatto this country’s rulers. He was saying no to segregation,and no to second-class citizenship. They had to go; and ifthe system or any individuals stood in the way, they had toalso go.It is easy to understand why the country’s rulers would

be relieved to see Malcolm gotten out of the way. it is stillnot known to what degree they had a hand in doing it.But on February 21, 1965, assassins removed Malcolmfrom the scene. His ideas, however, remain.On broken promises: “It was the Black man’s vote that putthe present (Lyndon Johnson) administration inWashington D.C. Your vote, your dumb vote, your igno-rant vote, your wasted vote put in an administration inWashington, D.C., that has seen fit to pass every kind oflegislation imaginable, saving you until last, then filibus-tering on top of that.”“And you and my leaders have the audacity to run aroundclapping their hands and talk about how much progresswe’re making. And what a good president we have, if hewasn’t good in Texas, he sure can’t be good inWashington, D.C. Because Texas, is a lynch state. It is inthe same breath as Mississippi, no different; only theylynch you in Texas with a Texas accent and lynch you inMississippi with a Mississippi accent.”“And these Negro leaders have the audacity to go and

have some coffee in the White House with a Texan, aSouthern cracker -- that ‘s all he is -- and then come outand tell you and me that he’s going to be better for usbecause, since he’s from the South, he knows how to dealwith Southerners....”

Look at the way it is. What alibis, do they use, since theycontrol Congress and the Senate? What alibi do they usewhen you and I ask, “well, when ar you going to keep yourpromise?” They blame the Democratic party. TheDemocrats have never kicked the Dixiecrats out of the party.The Dixiecrats bolted themselves once, but the Democratsdidn’t put them out. Imagine, these lowdown Southern seg-regationists put the Northern democrats down. But theNorthern Democrats have never put the Dixiecrats down.Now, look at that thing the way it is. They have got a congame going on, a political con game, and you and I are inthe middle.“It’s time for you and me to wake up and start looking at

it like it is, and trying to understand it like it is: and thenwe can deal with it like it is. “The Ballot or the Bullet,”April 3, 1964.

On Black progress: “When you compare our strides in1964 with strides that have been made forward by peo-ple elsewhere all over the world, only they can appreci-ate the great double-cross experienced by Black peoplehere in America in 1964.

The power structure started out the new year the same waythey started it out in Washington the other day. Only nowthey call it--what’s that? -- “The Great Society?” Last year,1964, was supposed to be the “Year of Promise.” Theyopened up the new year in Washington, D.C., and in the cityhall and in Albany talking about the Year of Promise....“But by the end of 1964, we had to agree that instead of theYear of Promise, instead of those promises materializing,they substituted devices to create the illusion and delusion.We received nothing but a promise...

“Right after they passed the civil rights bill they murdereda Negro in Georgia and did nothing about it; murdered twowhites and a Negro in Mississippi and did nothing about it.”So that the civil rights bill has produced nothing where

we’re concerned. It was only a valve, a vent, that wasdesigned to enable us to let off our frustrations. But thebill itself was not designed to solve our problems.Since we see what they did in 1963, and we saw what they

did in 1964. What will they do now, in 1965?....

“I just read where they planned to make a Black cabinetmember. Yes, they have a new gimmick every year.They’re going to take one of their boys, Black boys, andput hin in the cabinet, so he can walk around Washingtonwith a cigar-fire on one end and fool on the other.“And because his immediate personal problem will have

been solved, he will be the one to tell our people, “Lookhow much progress we’re making: I’m in Washington,D.C. I can have tea in the White House” -- “Prospectsfrom Freedom in 1965,” January 7, 1965. Which meanssegregation is against the law. A segrationist is a criminal.You can’t label him as anything other than that. And whenyou demonstrate against segragation the law is on yourside. The Supreme Court is on your side. “The Ballot orthe Bullet...”

When you look at it like that, think how rich Uncle Sam hadto become, not with this handful, but millions of Black peo-ple.. Your mother and father and my mother and father, whodidn’t work an eight hour shift but worked from “can’t see”in the morning until “can’t see” at night, and worked for

(It Ain’t Always About Race)

It was May 17, 1954 when the Supreme Courtoutlawed segregation in public schools. Segregation wasa part of the ole south that we wanted so desperately toleave behind. We had grown tired of the old hand medown readers where the characters were Jane and thelittle doggie named Spot. If you are a baby boomer orbefore, I am sure you will recall those colorful paperbackreaders with Jane and Spot. “Jane see spot run. RunSpot run.” When I think back to those white educatorswho denigrated black students with insignificant readersand denied them the same access to an education, I feelinfuriated at just how they took advantage of the educa-tional system to dumb down black students.

As slaves, blacks were forbidden to read becausewoe be unto you if you were caught. If graves could talk,the number of blacks who were killed by Massah whenhe found out they could read would be staggering. Incase white folks don’t know what racism is, that’sracism. When innocent Black children are denied theright to a quality and equal education as any other chil-dren, that is racism. Even when books were handeddown from the White schools to the Black schools, therewere never enough books to go around. Some Blacksgot off to a late start in life with little or no education andnever caught up.

Even when the Supreme Court paved the wayfor a “so-called” equal education, Blacks had to work inthe fields picking cotton and tobacco. They couldn’tafford to abandon the fields for the classroom. Blackswho wanted nothing more than to get an education wasfaced with the reality that they had to work if they wereto survive; they had to substitute their dream of an edu-cation with the reality of work to provide for their fami-lies. In many instances, the older siblings in the familysacrificed their education so the younger ones could real-ize their dreams. Blacks were disenfranchised fromwhat should have been one of those inalienable rightsguaranteed under the Constitution.

With all due respect to those teachers at St. JohnHigh School who took exception to the information thatwas reprinted from a 1997 education magazine andpassed out by the Principal Specialist that said “blackstudents learn and behave differently from white stu-dents” and attributed the achievement gap betweenWhites and Blacks, at least partly, to “white teacherswho don’t understand black culture”. I say to you itain’t always about race. Some things are about reality.It’s a fact that “some” white teachers do not have a clueabout black culture and have not taken the time to learnabout it. They live a life that black students can onlyfantasize about. Oftentimes, the truth hurts. While“some” teachers may have thought the PrincipalSpecialist was out of line even to the point of being insen-sitive, I thought he was right on target. The fact is“Some” teachers don’t care that there is a vast differencebetween white and black culture. “Some” teachers knowthat they are there to get their student loans written offfor working with “under privileged” children. Whenthe loan is forgiven, the teacher is gone. “Some” teach-ers are in the classroom getting frustrated because theycan’t seem to “reach” the child. In order to reach achild, you must be able to touch the child. To touch is notphysical act but a mental connection. Teachers must beable to connect. How can you connect if you believe thatall black students are like the criminals you see on tele-vision? That’s a minority representation of the blackpopulace. If “some” of the teachers took the time tolearn about black culture, they would understand thatBlacks live by the railroad tracks and not by theseashores. They have to leave home to get some peace ofmind from the train running by the house all day and allnight. For relaxation, “some” open their windows to theroaring of the waves splashing against the sea wall. If“some” took the time to learn about black culture, theyshould have known that black children have problemswith comprehension because the words they use are notused in many black children homes. How could you“some” have missed this?

According to the newspaper article, one teachersaid she interpreted the article as being “how do youreach kids who come from different backgrounds?” Isay to this educator, you are on the right track. Continueto explore ways to work with all children. The first stepis recognizing that there is a problem and working tofind solutions.

“Some” white teachers are running to Boardmembers with frivolous complaints when they should befinding ways to teach children. The Principal Specialistdid not write the article. He was merely using it as a toolto say, we have a problem and one of those problemsmight be that we are not addressing the cultural differ-ences when trying to reach students. Since all studentsare not alike, it stands to reason that all students cannotlearn the same at the same rate. You see one box doesnot fit all. Sometimes we have to go outside of the boxfor results. And, perhaps the Principal Specialist wassaying if “some” teachers were listening instead of com-plaining about their hurt feelings they would not havebeen so quick to take things out of context. The fact is“we can learn from each other’s culture”. We are all dif-ferent, yet alike. Even within the same race we are dif-ferent, yet alike. If “some” of those white teachers thinkthey know all there is to know about black children, theyneed to shadow a kid from the ghetto and they wouldlearn more in one day than they have learned from thoseIvy League schools in the four years it took them to getthat “Bad (BA) Ass” Degree.

Blacks are so often stereotyped while whites arenot. All it takes is for one black person to exhibit somenegative behavior and then all of them are thrown intothe same bag. I challenge “some” of the teachers to workharder at educating all children. Teaching was nevermeant to be an easy job, just rewarding.

nothing, making the white man rich, making Uncle SamRich.This is our investment. This is our contribution--our

blood. Not only did we give of our free labor, we gave ofour blood. Every time he had a call to arms, we were thefirst ones in uniform. We died on every battlefield thewhite man had. We have made a greater sacrifice thananybody who’s standing up in America today. We havemade a greater contribution and have collected less. Civilrights, for those of us whose philosophy is Black national-ism, means “give it to us now, fast enough.” -- “The Ballotor the Bullet.”

Can I Ask For Mercy?

February 11, 2009-5The Chronicle

AAssIISSeeee IItt

Hakim Abdul-AliBy. Jennifer BihmSpecial to the NNPA fromthe Los Angeles Sentinel

LOS ANGELES (NNPA)- Southern ChristianLeadership Council(SCLC) officialsannounced the resignationof their president CharlesSteele Jr. last week andimmediately afterwards aground swell of rumorsfocused on The Rev. EricLee of the Greater LosAngeles Chapter as hisreplacement.Citing his desire to make''a career change decision.''Steele, 62, said, ''the timeis right to bring on newleadership.'' However, he announced,he would still be a consult-ant to the civil rightsorganization co-foundedby Dr. Martin Luther KingJr.Steele held the positionsince 2004, a time whenSCLC was headed forbankruptcy, it was report-ed. He was able to turnthings around financiallyand he also oversaw thebuilding of conflict resolu-tion centers overseas and anew site for national head-quarters. SCLC Vice PresidentByron Clay will serve aspresident until a replace-ment for Steele is found,officials said.

Steele Resigns, Clay Named Interim President of National SCLC

Charles Steele Jr.

Rev. Eric P. Lee isPresident/CEO of theSouthern ChristianLeadership Conference ofGreater Los Angeles andChairman/President of theCalifornia ChristianLeadership Conference,the parent organization forseven the California SCLCChapters.Lee has been instrumentalin increasing membershipand managing the largestfinancial budget of anychapter outside of thenational headquarters.''There is no other personthat I can think of to leadthe national SCLC intothe new millennium thanEric Lee,'' stated LosAngeles City CouncilmanBernard Parks.A Diversity Task Forcemember, Lee has beenworking to reintegrate

African-Americans into thehotel and restaurant indus-tries in California. He's afounding member of theAlliance for EqualOpportunity in Education,a collaboration of organi-zations in Los Angelesleading the fight againstUCLA's admission poli-cies for Black students. Iaddition, he is a co-founderof the Knowledge TransferSummit, an African-American LeadershipForum.Lee has a B.S. in PoliticalEconomies of IndustrialSocieties from UCBerkeley and a Masters inPastoral Studies fromAzusa Pacific University.He is an affiliate memberof the Black BusinessAssociation, RecyclingBlack Dollars, 100 BlackMen of Los Angeles, andKappa Alpha PsiFraternity.''At this time my primaryfocus is on the chapter thatI have been selected tolead, but my commitmentfor the SCLC would notprevent me from doingwhatever I'm asked of onany level,'' Lee said.Treasurer of the LosAngeles SCLC BoardDanny J. Bakewell Jr. sug-gested that, ''Eric Lee iscertainly qualified becausethe Los Angeles chapter is

as large as the nationalchapter and he has done amagnificent job in thatpost.''SCLC is a now a nationwide organization made upof chapters and affiliateswith programs that affectthe lives of all Americans:north, south, east andwest. Its sphere of influ-ence and interests hasbecome international inscope because the humanrights movement tran-scends national bound-aries.Past National Presidentshave included, Rev. Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr.:1957 to 1968Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy:1968 to 1977, Rev. JosephE. Lowery: 1977 to 1997Martin L. King, III: 1997to 2004, Rev. FredShuttlesworth: February2004 to November 2004and Steele, Jr. Will Lee benext?Reverend Lee is one of LosAngeles' most vocal andvisible civil and humanrights activists. Fromaddressing the right ofAfrican-American securityguards to organize intounions to addressinghomophobia, Lee hasalready leading the SCLCinto the 21st Century.

By. Marian WrightEdelmanNNPA Columnist

Child Watch®

Incarceration is becomingthe new Americanapartheid and poor chil-dren of color are the fod-der. It is time to sound a loudalarm about this threat toAmerican unity and com-munity, act to stop thegrowing criminalization ofchildren at younger andyounger ages, and tacklethe unjust treatment ofminority youths and adultsin the juvenile and adultcriminal justice systemswith urgency and persist-ence.

The failure to act now willreverse the hard-earnedracial and social progressfor which Dr. MartinLuther King, Jr., and somany others died and sacri-ficed. We must all call forinvestment in all childrenfrom birth through theirsuccessful transition toadulthood, rememberingFrederick Douglass's cor-rect observation that ''it iseasier to build strong chil-dren than to repair brokenmen.''So many poor babies inrich America enter theworld with multiple strikesagainst them: born withoutprenatal care, at low birth-weight, and to a teen, poor,and poorly educated singlemother and absent father.At crucial points in theirdevelopment after birthuntil adulthood, more riskspile on, making a success-ful transition to productive

adulthood significantly lesslikely and involvement inthe criminal justice systemsignificantly more likely. As Black children are morethan three times as likely asWhite children to be poor,and are four times as likelyto live in extreme poverty,a poor Black boy born in2001 has a one in threechance of going to prisonin his lifetime and is almostsix times as likely as aWhite boy to be incarcerat-ed for a drug offense. The past continues tostrangle the present andthe future. Children withan incarcerated parent aremore likely to becomeincarcerated. Black chil-dren are nearly nine timesand Latino children arethree times as likely asWhite children to have anincarcerated parent.Blacks constitute one-thirdand Latinos one-fifth of theprisoners in America, and 1in 3 Black men, 20 to 29years old, is under correc-tional supervision or con-trol. Of the 2.3 million injail or prison, 64 percentare minority. Of the 4.2million persons on proba-tion, 45 percent are minori-ty; of the 800,000 onparole, 59 percent areminority. Inequitable drugsentencing policies includ-ing mandatory minimumshave greatly escalated theincarceration of minorityadults and youths.

Child poverty and neglect,racial disparities in systemsthat serve children, and thepipeline to prison are notacts of God. They areAmerica’s immoral politi-cal and economic choicesthat can and must bechanged with strong politi-cal, corporate and commu-nity leadership. No single sector or groupcan solve these child- andnation-threatening crisesalone but all of us cantogether. Leaders mustcall us to the table and usetheir bully pulpits toreplace our current para-digm of punishment as afirst resort with a paradigmof prevention and earlyintervention. That willsave lives, save families,save taxpayer money, andsave our nation’s aspiration

to be a fair society. Healthand mental health care andquality education cost farless than prisons.If called to account today,America would not passthe test of the prophets,the Gospels, and all greatfaiths. Christians who pro-fess to believe that Godentered human history as apoor vulnerable baby, andthat each man, woman andchild is created in God’sown image, need to act onthat faith. The Jewish Midrash saysGod agreed to give thepeople of Israel the Torahonly after they offered theirchildren as guarantors,deeming neither theirprophets nor elders suffi-cient. It is time to heed theprophets' call for justicefor the orphans and theweak. America’sDeclaration ofIndependence says, ' 'Wehold these truths to be self-evident, that all men arecreated equal, that they areendowed by their Creatorwith certain unalienableRights….''

After more than two cen-turies, it is time to makethose truths evident in thelives of poor children ofcolor and to close ourintolerable nationalhypocrisy gap. America'ssixth child is waiting for allof us to welcome him orher to the table in our richland and show the worldwhether democratic capi-talism is an oxymoron orwhether it can work. Ournational creed demands it.All great faiths demand it.Common sense and self-interest require it. And ourmoral redemption andcredibility in the world weseek to lead compels it.Ending child poverty is notonly an urgent moral neces-sity, it is economically ben-eficial.

Dr. Robert M. Solow,M.I.T. Nobel Laureate inEconomics, wrote inWasting America’s Futurethat ''ending child povertyis, at the very least, highlyaffordable'' and would be aboost to the economy. Ahealthy Social Security andMedicare system for ourincreasing elderly popula-tion need as many produc-

tive workers as possible tosupport them. We can illafford to let millions of ourchildren grow up poor, inpoor health, uneducated,and as dependent ratherthan productive citizens.What then can leaders doto help build the spiritualand political will needed tohelp our nation pass thetest of the God of historyand better prepare forAmerica’s future? Whatsteps can you take to heedDr. King’s warning not tolet our wealth become ourdestruction but our salva-tion by helping the poorLazaruses languishing atour closed gates? How canour nation use its blessingsto bless all the childrenentrusted to our care andrekindle America’s dim-ming dream?As President Obama andCongress contemplateways to stimulate our econ-omy, let them begin byinvesting in a healthy, fair,head, and safe start forevery American child andmeasures to ensure theirsuccessful transition to col-lege and productive adult-hood.Learn more about CDF'sCradle to Prison Pipeline®Campaign.

Marian Wright Edelman,whose latest book is TheSea Is So Wide And MyBoat Is So Small:Charting a Course for theNext Generation, is presi-dent of the Children'sDefense Fund. For moreinformation about theChildren's Defense Fund,go to www.childrensde-fense.org.

The Cradle to Prison Pipeline: America’s New Apartheid

Marian Wright Edelman

Celebrating Afro Thought (Part One)It’s Black History Month time again for some seasonal-minded

“colored” folk in America.For many others, like yours truly, it’s a daily happening. As such, Ifeel that I’m obliged as a student, collector, writer and reminder ofsoulful occurrences, both past and present, to tell it like it is, atleast “As I See It.”

I feel very honored to have written for so long for this highlyregarded African-American newspaper called “The CharlestonChronicle.” This great news outlet has served as a vehicle to deliv-er the bold Black thoughts of the struggles, hopes and aspirationsof many known and unknown people of color without fear.While thinking on that vein today I’d like you to join with me as Iput some words, phrases and thoughts from the African andAfrican-American experiences worldwide for us to reflect on. Ihope to make you think that about the reality of where “we” are asa culture, and it’s “our” celebration.

After all, it is “that” time of the year, so, let’s get busy and learn somore about the brilliance of the Black Experience. It’s somethingthat we should all celebrate and be immensely proud of. I do, and I certainly am. I also feel that, if you’re of color, youshould be too, because Black is Beautiful all year round. That’snot nationalistic in deliverance, but only a statement of a deeplyfelt God Alone creative fact, and now I’ll begin my “Celebration ofAfro Thought.”

I’ll start with words and thoughts of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,made in 1968 in his book, “ Where Do We Go From Here?” Hesaid, “When I see the leaders of nations again talking peace whilepreparing for war, I take fearful pause. A nation that continuesyear after year to spend more money for military defense than onprograms of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”Mary Prince in “The History of Mary Prince” said, “How canslaves be happy when they have the halter around their neck andthe whip upon their back? and are disgraced and thought no moreof than beasts?—and are separated from their mothers and hus-bands, and children, and sisters, just as cattle are sold and separat-ed.” These poignant thoughts were written in 1831.

Novelist Frank Yerby in his 1967 book, “Judas, My Brother,”offered, “A man must live in this world and work out his own sal-vation in the midst of temptation.” A traditional Southern African-American saying my late grandmother, Mrs. Mamie J. Simmons,would always remind me was that “People may think that you’re afool. But open your mouth and they’ll surely know it.”

Frederick Douglass boldly dictated in his classic autobiographyof 1881, “Life and Times of Frederick Douglass,” that “You are notjudged by the height (that) you have risen, but from the depth(that) you’ve climbed. “ Harlem’s own James Baldwin said “A ghet-to can only be improved in only one way: out of existence.” Thisthought was a prevalent theme in his 1961 blockbuster “NobodyKnows My Name.”

Zora Neale Hurston wrote “Roll your eyes in ecstasy and ape hisevery move, but until we have placed something up on the streetcorner that is our own, we are right back where we were whenthey filed the iron collar off.” This line appeared in her book“Moses, Man of the Mountain,” which was written in 1939.There’s a an African saying that states “The legs in chains withfriends is better than to be with strangers in a garden.” In Egypt afavorite comment is “If you desire that your conduct is good, fightagainst the fault of greed, a severe disease which is incurable. Italienates fathers, mothers, as well as uncles and makes a dearfriend bitter.”

Claude McKay wrote many acclaimed masterpieces, and amongthem was his 1937 gem, “A Long Way from Home.” In this bookhe wrote, “Color consciousness was the fundamental of my rest-lessness. And it something which my fellow expatriates could sym-pathize, but which they could not altogether understand. For theywere not Black like me. Not being Black and unable to see deepinto the profundity of blackness, some even thought that I pre-ferred to be white like them.

“They couldn’t imagine that I had no desire merely to exchangemy Black problems for their white problem. For all their knowl-edge and sophistication, they couldn’t understand the instinctiveand animal and purely physical pride of being a Black person res-olute in being himself and yet living a civilized life like themselves.Because their education in the white world had trained them tosee a person of color either as an inferior or as an exotic.” If you’re of color, I believe that should make you think of theracism issue, and so should my next “Afro Thought.” It’s powerful.“We did not come into existence on the auction blocks ofRichmond, Charleston and New Orleans. Nor did our religiousconsciousness begin with the preaching of Christianity. The mis-sionaries tried their best to stamp out the survivals of African reli-gions…but they couldn’t quite pull it off.” These explosive senti-ments were voiced by Gayraud Wilmore, “Black Theology,” inPhilot,ed., Best Black Sermons, 1972.Haki Madhubuti related in a 1986 “Crisis” magazine article “Onlya Black man can teach a boy how to be a man, and Black men sel-dom talk to their sons.” Kwame Kkhrumah said in “I Speak ofFreeedom” in 1961 that “Freedom without law is anarchy.” Thegreat performer Leontine Price once said in 1990, “Be Black,shine, aim high.”

Author and educator Dr. Nathan Hare often said in 1968 that“Black consciousness is the state of being conscious of one’s black-ness viv-a-vis white racism…awareness of membership in theBlack race and then struggle including the state of being void ofdreams of one day waking up white.” In Jamaica the locals say “sharp spur mek mauge horse cut caper. (The pinch of circum-stances forces people to do what they themselves thought impos-sible.)

Nnamdi Azkikiwe said, “Originality is the essence of true scholar-ship. Creativity is the soul of the true author. This brother of wis-dom uttered this in a speech delivered in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1934.From this same country comes the famous expression that “Ittakes an entire village to educate the child.”

The highly respected novelist Ralph Ellison said in his piece“Richard Wright’s Blues” in 1964, “The blues is an impulse to keepthe painful details and episodes of a brutal experience alive in one’saching consciousness, to finger its jagged grain, and to transcendit, not by the consolation of philosophy but by squeezing from it anear-tragic, near-comic lyricism. As a form, the blues is an autobi-ographical chronicle of personal catastrophe expressed lyrically.”From the general continent of Africa it’s believed that “A manwithout culture is like a grasshopper without wings.” To that Imay the thoughts of J.A. Rodgers wrote in his book “NatureKnows No Color Line” way back in 1952 that “We are blossoms ofthe sun, and as blossoms owe their to sunlight so do humanbeings.” Do you understand that “Afro Thought?”

Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the founder of Black history Week, nowcelebrated as Black History Month, said, in 1935, “Let the light ofhistory enable us to see that enough of good there is in the lowestestate to sweeten life, enough of evil in the highest to check pre-sumption; enough there is of both in all estates to bend us in com-passionate brotherhood, to teach us impressively that we are ofone dying and one immortal family.”

Finally, please run this next quote from Ethiopia past your Blackconscious mind-set and try to reflect for more than an instance onits relevance. It simply says that “Then a spider webs unite—theycan tie up the lion.” On that note, I’ll conclude my “Collection ofAfro Thoughts” for today, and that’s, “As I See It.”

BARACKOBAMA-

APART

OFBLACK

HISTORY

6- February 11, 2009 The Chronicle

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The ante-bellum period ofthe old South is often con-sidered the pinnacle ofSouthern aristocracy.Although the aristocratsowned a majority of thewealth and land, it wastheir slaves who made theplantations a success.

The Work: Slavery becamethe most absolute involun-tary form of human servi-tude. Their labor servicesare obtained through forceand their physical beingsare regarded as the proper-

Antebellum Slavery: Healthty of others.

*Most slaves were giventasks to perform accordingto their physical capability.

*A work day consisted of15-16 hours a day, duringharvest time and, could goon during harvest andmilling for 16-18 per week 7days a week.

*Their was little sex differ-entiation in the field work.Women who were well-along in their pregnancies,were still sent to work atplowing and hoeing.

*"Hard driving" was quitecommon, and consisted ofworking slaves past theirphysical capabilities, aswhat they regarded as nor-mal.

*In the South there was norest season, the climatewas always consideredgood enough to work inand, so, everyone was eco-nomically active all yearround.

*Children between theages of six and ten mightbe active as water carriers.Children between the agesof ten and twelve wereorganized into gangs andput to weeding.

Punishment was an inher-ent part of the slave sys-tem. Not only was physicalpunishment brutal but themental and sexual abusewere also an inherent partof slavery.

The Punishments: Whileeach plantation had itsown set of social, religious,and labor codes, all had thebasic format for an instilledhierarchy in which theslavemaster reigned as gad.He maintained the elementof slave misery, by control-ling the degree of pain.

*Treatments were givensuch as mutilation, brand-ing, chaining, and murderwhich were supposedlyregulated or prohibited bylaw.

*Whipings, beatings,drownings, and hangingswere as unpredictable as

they were gruesome.

*It was clear to plantationowners that slavery coldnot survive without thewhip (even though ownerswere forbidden to deliber-ately kill or maliciouslymutilate a slave). Malesand females were whippedindiscriminately. Theseverity of whippingdepended on the number ofstrokes to the type of whip.Fifteen to twenty lasheswere generally sufficient,but they could range muchhigher.

* Other items used for pun-ishments included stocks,chains, collars, and irons.*Slaves could also behanged or burned at thestake.

*Women could be raped bythe owner of the planta-tion, his sons or, any whitemale.

The slave standard of liv-ing started with a poor,and often, inadequate diet.

The Food: The food wasgenerally adequate in bulk,but imbalanced and monot-

onous.

*Typical food allowancewas a peck of corn mealand three to four pounds ofsalt pork or bacon perweek per person. This dietcould be supplemented byvegetables from their gar-

dens, by fish or wild game,and molasses (not usually).

*The slaves prepared theirown food and carried it outto the field in buckets.

*Lack of variety and vita-mins made the slaves sus-ceptible to nutrition relat-ed diseases.

The Clothes: Slaves werenot well-clothed. They hadinadequate clothing forpeople engaged in heavylabor all year.

*Children would dress inlong shirts.

*Make slaves were provid-ed with two shirts, woolenpants, and a jacket in thewinter. Along with twoshirts and two cotton pantsin summer. Women wereprovided with an insuffi-cient amount of cloth andmade their own clothes.

*The cloth was cheapmaterial, produced inEngland ("Negro cloth").

The Home: Plantationslaves were housed inslaves cabins. Small, rudelybuilt of logs with clap-board sidings, with claychinking. Floors were

packed dirt. They wereleaky and drafty and thecombination of wet, dirt,and cold made them dis-eased environments.

The Diseases: The Southwas a disease environmentfor everyone due to the hot-ter weather and the swampand marsh. Physicianswere in short supply, andmedical knowledge poor.There was no concept ofbacterial transmission ofdisease, or insect bornediseases.

Life expectancy forSoutherners was lowerthan Northerners and lifeexpectancy of slaves waslower than whites.

*Diseases included malar-ia, Asiatic cholera, dysen-tery, pneumonia, tubercu-losis, tetanus, pellagra,beri beri.

*Deaths in child BIRTHWERE many due heavyexcess labor.

The only thing that easedthe pains of slavery wasthat they were allowed tohave families and that theycould but their freedom,which was not likely, but itgave them hope.

ShirleyChisholm

runs forpresident

By the early 1970s, theadvances of the civil rightsmovement had combinedwith the rise of the feministmovement to create anA f r i c a n – A m e r i c a nwomen’s movement. —There can’t be liberationfor half a race,” declaredMargaret Sloan, one of thewomen behind theNational Black FeministOrganization, founded in1973. A year earlier,Representative ShirleyChisholm of New Yorkbecame a national symbolof both movements as thefirst major partyAfrican–American candi-date and the first femalecandidate for president ofthe United States.

A former educational con-sultant and a founder of theNational Women’s Caucus,Chisholm became the firstblack woman in Congressin 1968, when she waselected to the House fromher Brooklyn district.Though she failed to win aprimary,

Chisholm received morethan 150 votes at theDemocratic NationalConvention. She claimedshe never expected to winthe nomination. It went toGeorge McGovern, wholost to Richard Nixon inthe general election.

The outspoken Chisholm,who attracted little sup-port amongAfrican–American menduring her presidentialcampaign, later told thepress: —I've always metmore discrimination beinga woman than being black.When I ran for theCongress, when I ran forpresident, I met more dis-crimination as a womanthan for being black. Menare men.”

Shirley Chisholm

The Chronicle February 11, 2009-7

Around 1739 or 1740 in South Carolina, Black slaves outnumbered White plantation

owners. Runaway slaves headed for Florida, the Spanish military ruled Florida,

the Spanish hated the English colonists, and offered the runaway slaves their freedom.

Hundreds of Negro slaves escaped into SpanishFlorida. The escaped Negros joined the Indians andSpanish in raiding and robbing the white plantationowners in South Carolina, they freed the slave victimsand killed the cruel and brutal white slave owners andescaped back to Spanish Florida and FREEDOM.

Ever notice that you seldom hearabout what goes on in Charleston --except during an election or run-offelection that will decide who willserve in Charleston City Council.

That’s when your state senator makeshis once-ever reappearance to tell youthat his support for a certain candi-date will further the goals of Blacksand give our mayor another vote tokeep supressing the minority commu-nity.

He usually cites a list of things heclaims to have done for you as a statesenator, but he refuses to say the can-didate he is pushing, will just beanother “yes” vote for the presentadministration that has blotted outany real concern for us.

After the run-off election February 17,and if you vote for the senator’s candi-date, you’re back in the dark again.Somehow, your state senator isnowhere to be seen or heard fromagain, unless he’s promoting the gam-ing industry who writes his paycheck.Strange, no one will ever ask the ques-tion: With no professional skills andno visible employment, how can thesenator be noted as the best “Well-dressed Senator in the S.C. GeneralAssembly?” Just asking.

The most obvious reasons thatSenator Robert Ford is endorsingTommie Coaxum for Charleston CityCouncil in District 6, is just another‘safe’ vote for - the present administra-tion who fear that William DudleyGregorie will challenge and notremain silent in opposition to thosewho support the status quo. If thissounds like better representation, voteFeb. 17 for William Dudley Gregorie.

AA SSttrroonngg VVooiicceeAA CClleeaarr CChhooiiccee

WWiill lliiaamm DDuuddlleeyy GGrreeggoorriiee

You can Tell the Election Is Tuesday..........You’re Starting to Hear FromYour State Senator Again

Paid for by the Committee to Elect William Dudley Gregorie

Jim French Says...

8-February 11, 2009 The Chronicle

I believe saving the planet is impossible.

The Chronicle

The Chronicle

-----Lowcountry Connection -

February 11, 2009 11 bb

WE ARE PROUD OF OUR NOBLE HERITAGE

By Barney Blakeney

Avery Institute is a jewel ofCharleston Black history.Established in 1865 as the city’sfirst accredited secondaryschool for African Americans,for nearly 100 years AveryInstitute prepared leaders whoexcelled as educators, businesspeople and communityactivists. Today Avery contin-ues its history as a reservoir forLowcountry Black History asthe Avery Research Center forAfrican American History andCulture.After the Civil War, the NewYork-based AmericanMissionary Association found-

Avery Institute A Repository for Lowcountry Black

ed what became AveryNormal Institute and namedthe school in honor of NewYork abolitionist LewisTappan. It was staffed withnorthern white missionariesand members of Charleston’sfree Black community.Thomas Cardozo, a memberof the local free Black commu-nity was Avery’s first principal.Cardozo’s brother Francis wasAvery’s second principal (1866-68) and campaigned to con-struct a permanent building tohouse the school which previ-ously had been located in sev-eral buildings confiscated bythe federal government.

The structure located at 125Bull St. was financed withfunding from the Freedman’sBureau and the estate of Rev.Charles Avery of Pittsburgh,Penn. for whom the schoolwas renamed. In addition tosecuring a new structureCardozo also expanded theschool’s mission of primaryand secondary education toinclude teacher training.Avery remained a privateschool serving Blacks until1947. It closed in 1954 havinggraduated scores of studentswho went on to make theirmark on the local and worldstage.

Among them were HowardUniversity biologist Ernest E.Just, Liberian Supreme CourtJustice T.M. Stewart, NewYork YWCA ExecutiveSecretary Cecelia H.Saunders, Los Angeles, Cali.District Attorney Hugh H.McBeth, Charleston artistEdwin Harleston, educatorand civil rights advocateSeptima P. Clark, Charlestoncontractor H.A. DeCosta,publisher John McCray,North Carolina MutualInsurance Company PresidentArthur J. Clement, CharlestonNAACP icon J. ArthurBrown, S.C. Rep. LucilleWhipper, educator AmandaG. Lee and JenkinsOrphanage ExecutiveDirector Johanna Martin-Carrington.

In 1978 the Avery Institute ofAfrican American History andCulture was established tosave and renovate the buildingat 125 Bull St. as a repositoryfor African American historyand culture. In 1985 membersof the institute cooperatedwith the College of

Charleston to found the AveryResearch Center for AfricanAmerican History andCulture.As the only research center ofits kind in the SoutheasternUnited States the center col-lects, preserves and makesavailable to the public theunique history and culturalheritage of African Americansin Charleston and theLowcountry.Georgette Mayo, the center’sinterim director said Averyserves a unique function inthat an estimate 40 percent ofslaves coming to the UnitedStates came through the portsof Charleston.

Researchers from around theworld regularly use the cen-ter’s resources, yet surprising-ly, many in the local communi-ty, “Don’t know what’s in ourown backyard,” she said.In addition to its invaluablewealth of manuscripts, docu-ments, pictures and illustra-tions the center also makesavailable to the public itsmuseum galleries and archivesreading room. Its microfiche

and microfilm collectionsinclude the Booker T.Washington speeches (1912-1915), Black abolitionistspapers, W.E.B. DuBoispapers, Freedmen’s Bureaurecords and records of antebel-lum Southern plantations.Through its Saturday forYouth Program begun inJanuary the center hopes togive young people somethingthey can take and run with intothe future, Mayo said. OneSaturday each month the cen-ter will focus its programmingtoward a youthful audience.

During February the centerwill feature a poetry reading byrenowned poet NikkiGiovanni Feb. 19 in the SternStudent Center at the Collegeof Charleston and the Feb. 21opening of “Mermaids andMerwomen of Black Folklore”exhibit to run through Feb. 28.Avery will continue creatinghistory through groundbreak-ing activities that foster theeducation of young people as itmoves into the future, saidMayo.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY

John Brown’s raid - October 16, 1859A native of

Connecticut, John Brownstruggled to support hislarge family and movedrestlessly from state tostate throughout his life,becoming a passionateopponent of slavery alongthe way. After assisting inthe Underground Railroadout of Missouri and engag-ing in the bloody strugglebetween pro– andanti–slavery forces inKansas in the 1850s, Browngrew anxious to strike amore extreme blow for thecause.

On the night ofOctober 16, 1859, he led asmall band of less than 50men in a raid against thefederal arsenal at Harper’sFerry, Virginia. Their aimwas to capture enoughammunition to lead a largeoperation againstVirginia’s slaveholders.Brown’s men, includingseveral blacks, capturedand held the arsenal untilfederal and state govern-ments sent troops and wereable to overpower them.

John Brown washanged on December 2,1859; his trial riveted thenation, and he emerged asan eloquent voice againstthe injustice of slavery anda martyr to the abolitionistcause.

Just as Brown’s courageturned thousands of previ-ously indifferent northern-ers against slavery, his vio-lent actions convincedslave owners in the Southbeyond doubt that aboli-tionists would go to anylengths to destroy the —peculiar institution.”Rumors spread of otherplanned insurrections, andthe South reverted to asemi–war status.

Only the election of theanti–slavery RepublicanAbraham Lincoln as presi-dent in 1860 remainedbefore the southern stateswould begin severing tieswith the Union, sparkingthe bloodiest conflict inAmerican history.

2b-February 11, 2009 The Chronicle

Week of 02/11/09 thru 02/17/09

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We reserve the right to limit quantities and correct typographical and photographic errors. Rainchecks unavailable on alcohol and tobacco products. All Stores Accept

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CHURCH

- SOCIALWALLINGFORD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH,Invites You To COME, SHARE and FELLOWSHIPwith The Seniors Activities Bible Study, Physical Fitness,Arts & Craft Projects, Health Education, EnrichmentPrograms, Speakers, Community Resources, Trips,Recreation, Nutritional Lunch and lots more fun . ..When: Every Thursday, Where: 705 King Street, Time:11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Cost: NO CHARGE~~FREE,(843) 723-9929

FRIENDSHIP MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH-

Sunday School - 10:00 AM-Sunday Service -11:00 AM

Thursday Night Bible Study and Prayer Service- 6:00 PM-The church is located at 75 America Street, Charleston,

South Carolina

We are the church where Christians are at work!

The Honorable L.B. Fyall- Publicity CommitteeReverend Leroy Fyall – Pastor

LIFE CHANGING MINISTRIES- "Come joinus...and watch your life change" -

1852 Wallace School Rd. Chas., SC 29407 (Road that runs directly behind the Marshalls/T.J.

Maxx shopping center)Sunday service-

10:00 a.m.Bible study-Wednesdays

@7:00 p.m.Glenn Scott, Pastor

REV. CHARLES GREEN

HOLY ROCKMISSIONARY

BAPTISTCHURCH

SUNDAY SCHOOL - 9:45 AMSUNDAY SERVICE - 11:00 AMWED. NITE PRAYER - 7:00 PM

WED. NITE BIBLE STUDY - 7:00 PM

2111 RONDO ST.CHARLESTON, SC

29414(843) 763-1005

“WE ARE THE

CHURCHTHAT SITS BESIDETHE ROAD WHERE

EVERYBODYIS SOMEBODY & GOD

THE HOLY ROCK MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCHwill be hosting their annual Black History Tea and program on

Sunday, February 22, 2009 at 4:00p.m.During these services the church will honor several African

Americans who have contributed greatly in the areas of CivilRights, Equal Rights, Education, and Justice.

Our Honorees for this year are as follows:South Carolina State Senate, Robert Ford

Former City of Charleston SC Police Chief, Chief Rueben Greenberg

Retired Educator from Trident Technical College, Mrs. Vertell M. Middleton

The speaker for this occasion is Mrs. Gloria G. Lambright,Dean of Charleston County Baptist Association Sunday School

BTU Congress of Christian Education.The public is cordially invited.

Yours in Christ, Rev. Charles A. Green, Pastor

Sarah Mae Flemming’s Challengeto SCE&G Changed Face of

Civil Rights in the South

Sarah Mae Flemming,

Sarah Mae Flemming, theforerunner of Rosa Parks,for many years remainedan unsung hero in theannals of civil rights. Itwas a little-publicizedcivil-rights case involvingpublic transportation inColumbia that helpedRosa Parks and herlawyers prevail in a law-suit challenging segrega-tion on buses inM o n t g o m e r y ,Alabama…this casebecame the Flemminglegacy.

Flemming was born onJune 28th, 1933, in themidst of the GreatDepression, the eldest ofMack and RosettaFlemming’s seven chil-dren. The granddaughterof slaves, Flemming grewup on her family’s ownland - 130 acres, fivemiles north of what is nowdowntown Eastover. Shewould eventually die of aheart attack on that sameland, just shy of her 60thbirthday.

Flemming slipped intohistory the morning ofJune 22, 1954 when she, ablack maid, took a frontseat on the then segregatedcity bus operated by SouthCarolina Electric and Gas(SCE&G). The line divid-ing the races on SouthCarolina buses served asone of the most visibledaily reminders of segre-gation. Enforced by busdrivers vested with the

powers of a deputy sheriff,the line was inscribed into abody of state laws that hadfor three generations sepa-rated blacks and whites.

On Columbia buses, thecolor line shifted, depend-ing on whether more blackor white people were riding.One thing remained firm-whites never sat behindblacks. On that historicmorning Flemming took aseat in what she deemed anappropriate area.

After taking her seat, awhite Columbia bus driverhumiliated the 20 year oldblack woman fromEastover, blocking her withhis arm and accusing her ofsitting in the “whites-only”part of the bus. This inci-dent, occurring 17 monthsbefore Rosa Parks took herstand against segregationon city buses inMontgomery, Alabama-Flemming challenged seg-regation on SCE&G busesin Columbia.

Encouraged by severalwell-known civil rightsactivists and attorneys, shefiled suit against SCE&G.Rebuffed in federal court inColumbia, Flemming’s casetraveled to the 4th USCircuit Court of Appeals inRichmond, which struckdown segregation on citybuses. The ruling was wide-ly ignored, but is cited inthe decision on the far-bet-ter publicized Rosa Parkscase - which led to the endof segregated buses.

In 1955, Flemming’s winin court was big news inblack newspapers acrossthe country. The biggernews is that this youngwoman, in the face ofsouthern Jim Crow politicstook a step that foreverchanged the face of civilrights in the South.

WASHINGTON,PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- TheCampaign for High SchoolEquity (CHSE), a nationalcoalition of civil rightsorganizations focused onhigh school reform, is look-ing to Congress duringBlack History Month totake the action necessary toclose the achievement gapfor African American stu-dents.

According to the NationalCenter for EducationStatistics, only 53 percentof black students graduatefrom high school eachschool year compared withan average of more than 70percent of all studentsnationwide. Among thechallenges to black studentachievement, two out ofevery five black studentsattend drop-out factories --high schools where nomore than 60 percent ofthe entering freshman classmakes it to their senioryear three years later.

"As a community, AfricanAmericans cannot stand byignoring the devastatingimpact of ineffective educa-tion policies that cause toomany of our high schools tofail in providing high-qual-ity education to our coun-try's future workforce andour next generation ofbusiness and political lead-ers," said MichaelWotorson, executive direc-tor of CHSE. "We need tohold our new president andCongress responsible forensuring that all studentsare prepared for collegeand the 21st century work-place by enacting policiesthat hold schools account-able for student success."

The achievement gap ismost prevalent amongblack male students. In2007, only 47 percent ofblack males graduatedfrom high school, com-pared to 75 percent ofwhite males, and researchshows that these men aremore likely than theirwhite peers to live inpoverty, experience poorhealth and be incarceratedlater in life.

During Black History Month, Civil Rights Coalition Calls for

Change in America's High Schools

CELEBRATEBLACK HISTORY

EVERYDAY

Package for the MUSC Center for Advanced Medicine will be received from qualified bidders, properly licensed under the properly licensed under the Package for the MUSC Center for Advanced Medicinewill be received from qualified bidders, properly licensed under the properly licensed under the Package for the MUSC Center for Advanced Medicine will be received from qualified bidders, properly licensed underthe will be received from qualified bidders will be received from qualified b--__idders,properly licensed under will be received from qualified licensed under the wil will be received from qualified bidders Package forthe MUSC Center for Advanced Medicine will be received from qualified bidders, properly licensed under the Package for the MUSC Center for Advanced Medicine will be received from qualified bidders, proper-ly licensed under the will be received from qualified bidders, properly licensed under- from qualified bidders, will be received from Advanced Medicine licensed under the properly under the will be be received fromqualified bidders,properly licensed under will be received from qualified licensed under the wil will be received from eceived from qualified bidders, dvanced Medicine will be received from qualified bidders, proper-ly licensed under the properly licensed under the Package for the MUSC Center for Advanced Medicine will be received from qualified bidders, properly licensed under the properly licensed under the Package

for the MUSC Center for Advanced Medicine will be received from qualified bidders, properly licensed under the will be received from qualified bidders will qualified biddersackage for licensed

Classifieds

4b-February 11, 2009 The Chronicle

ESTATES’ CREDITOR’S NOTICESAll persons having claims against the following estates arerequired to deliver or mail their claims to the PersonalRepresentative indicated below and also file subject claims onForm #371PC with Irv Condon, Probate Judge of CharlestonCounty, 84 Broad St., 3rd Floor, Charleston, SC 29401, before theexpiration of 8 months after the date of the first publication of thisNotice to Creditors, or else thereafter such claims shall be and areforever barred.

Estate of: FRANK HOLMES 2008-ES-10-1205

DOD: 02/25/99 Pers. Rep: BERNETHA ODOM

2219 FILLMORE ST., NO. CHARLESTON, SC 29405

Atty: THAD J. DOUGHTY, ESQ.2175-G ASHLEY PHOSPHATE RD., NO. CHARLESTON, SC 29406

**************************************************************************Estate of: WILLIAM WEATHERS

2009-ES-10-0084DOD: 11/30/08 Pers. Rep: ROBERTA C. WEATHERS

6 MOOREMONT AVE., GREENVILLE, SC 29605

Pers. Rep: LOUIS N. WEATHERS7613 IRELAND AVE., CHARLESTON, SC 29420

Atty: JONATHAN ALTMAN, ESQ.PO BOX 600, CHARLESTON, SC 29402

**************************************************************************Estate of: NEOMIE ANTHONY

2009-ES-10-0132DOD: 04/01/08 Pers. Rep: NANCY PIERCE

1310 VARDEL ST., CHARLESTON, SC 29412**************************************************************************Estate of: LOTTIE H. JENKINS

2009-ES-10-0143DOD: 09/23/08 Pers. Rep: SANDRA R. HOLMES

8184 WINDSOR HILL BLVD., 300G, NO. CHARLESTON, SC 29420

**************************************************************************Estate of: EDITH FULTON BARR

2009-ES-10-0168DOD: 01/19/09 Pers. Rep: CHARLES E. BARR

9532 LAWNSBERY TERRACE, SILVER SPRING, MD 20901

**************************************************************************

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Invitation to Bid

Exterior Painting and Wood Repair at Meeting StreetManor

The Housing Authority of the City of Charleston willreceive sealed bids on A General Contract for theExterior Painting and Wood Repair at Meeting StreetManor until 2:00 p.m. local time on March 10, 2009at 550 Meeting Street, Room 114, Charleston, SouthCarolina. Bids will be publicly opened.

Copies of the bidding documents may be obtainedafter 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 atthe CHA Capital Fund Office, 545 Meeting Street,Charleston, SC 29403. Contact Ed Donnelly at (843)720-3983.

A voluntary pre-bid conference will be held at 545Meeting Street on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at10:00 a.m.

This Federally funded contract will obligate the con-tractor and subcontractors not to discriminate inemployment practices and comply with the DavisBacon-Act and Section 3 of the Housing and UrbanDevelopment Act of 1968.

CHA reserves the right to wave irregularities and toreject any and all bids.

Donald J. Cameron, President & CEO.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS

Notice is hereby given that Charleston County Council willhold three public hearing on:

Tuesday, March 3, 2009 at 6:45 o_clock p.m., in CouncilChambers, second floor of the Lonnie Hamilton, III Public ServicesBuilding, 4045 Bridge View Drive, North Charleston, S.C.

The first two public hearings will be on the granting of utilityeasements on portions of County Owned Property:

The first being located at 3841 Leeds Avenue identified byparcel identification number 412-00-00-011 and thesecond being located at 3715 Leeds Avenue identifiedby parcel identification Number 412-00-00067,

The third public hearing will be on a proposed Ordinance,extending the period of time that a boat not used exclu-sively in Interstate Commerce can be in Charleston County from 60 days consecutively or 90 days in the aggre-gate to 180 days in the aggregate during a property taxyear

Public comments, written and oral, are invited.

Beverly T. CravenClerk of Council

CM0902C INVITATION FOR

CONSTRUCTION BIDS

The City of CharlestonDepartment of Parks issolicit ing bids frominterested marine con-tractors for CM0902C:Charleston MaritieCenter – Annual DockM a i n t e n a n c eContract. The budgetrange is $20,000 to$40,000. •Bid Documents will beavailable on or afterFebruary 17, from theDepartment of Parksoffice at 823 MeetingStreet. There is noplan deposit. •A mandatory pre-bidmeeting will be held onsite at 2:00 PM onFebruary 19, at 10Wharfside Street. •Bids will be due onMarch 3, 2009, at 2:00P M .Interested partiesplease contact Bil l Turner, ProjectManager,at 843-720-3 9 1 0 ,Turnerb@ci.charleston.sc.us.

COMMERCIALCORRIDOR DESIGN

REVIEW BOARDCITY OF CHARLESTON

A meeting of theCommercial CorridorDesign Review Board willbe held Thursday, February 12, 2009, at 5p.m. in the Meeting Room,Third Floor at 75 CalhounStreet (Charleston CountySchool District Building).The following applicationwill be considered:

1. Riverlanding Drive –TMS# 275-00-00-114Request preliminaryapproval for new construc-tion of a marina as per doc-umentation submitted.Owner:Daniel Island CompanyApplicant:Stubbs Muldrow HerinArchitects

Neighborhood:Daniel Island Town Center

Files containing informationpertinent to the aboveapplication are available forpublic review at theArchitectural/PreservationOffice, 75 Calhoun Street,(Charleston County SchoolDistrict Building), ThirdFloor, during regular work-ing hours, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00p.m., daily exceptSaturdays, Sundays, andholidays.

NOTICE OF PUBLICHEARING

MODIFICATION OFEXISTING TRAFFICOPERATIONS ONSPRING STREET ANDCANNON STREET.

The publicis hereby advised that theCity Council of Charlestonwill hold a public hearingTuesday, February 17,2009 beginning at 4:00p.m. in Council Chamberat City Hall, 80 BroadStreet, to receive publiccomment on the possibleconversion of SpringStreet and Cannon Streetfrom one-way traffic oper-ation to a two-way trafficoperation.

VANESSA TURNER-MAYBANK

Clerk of Council

In accordance with theAmericans withDisabilities Act, peoplewho need alternative for-mats, ASL interpretation,or other accommodationplease contact DeniseGriffith at (843) 724-3730or mail togriffithd@ci.charleston.sc.us three days prior to themeeting.

PUBLIC HEARING

The public is hereby advised that the City Council ofCharleston will hold a public hearing Tuesday, February24, 2009, beginning at 5:00 p.m. at City Hall, 80 BroadStreet, on the request that the Zoning Ordinance of theCity of Charleston be changed in the following respects:

REZONINGS

1. To rezone the corner of Fort Johnson Rd,Harbor View Rd & Sterling Drive (James Island)(0.35 acre.) (TMS# 454-07-00-005 from Single FamilyResidential (SR-1) classification to CommercialTransitional (CT) classification. The Planning Commission

recommend disapproval. Requires ? vote ofCity Council for approval.2. To rezone 1000 Fort Johnson Rd & Dills BluffRd (James Island Charter High School - JamesIsland) (12.918 acres) (A portion of TMS# 428-00-00-011)to include the property in the School Overlay(S) classification.

ZONINGTo zone the following property annexed into

the City of Charleston January 13, 2009:1. 20 Rosedale Drive (Avondale - West Ashley)(0.19 acre) (TMS# 418-14-00-176)

Single-Family Residential (SR-1).

ORDINANCE AMENDMENT

1. To amend Chapter 54 of the Code of the Cityof Charleston (Zoning Ordinance) to reviseregulations for electronic message board signs.2. To amend Sections 54-299.1(d), 54-299.1(f),54-299(b), 54-299(c) 54-299(d) and establish 54-299.1(g) of the Code Of The City Of Charleston (ZoningOrdinance).3. To amend Chapter 54 of the Code of the Cityof Charleston (Zoning Ordinance) by amendingSection 54-213 Sidewalk Café Regulations and the exhib-it attached to Ordinance 2004-102 to revise the regula-tions, eliminate the requirement for a damagedeposit fee and make the annual user fee optional at thediscretion of City Council.

VANESSA TURNER-MAYBANK

Clerk of Council

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act,people who need alternative formats, ASL interpretation, orother accommodation please contact Denise Griffith at(843) 724-3730 or mail to griffithd@ci.charleston.sc.usthree days prior to the meeting.

The Chronicle February 11 2009- 5bPackage for the MUSC Center for Advanced Medicine will be received from qualified bidders, properly licensed under the properly licensed under the Package for the MUSC Center for Advanced Medicine

will be received from qualified bidders, properly licensed under the properly licensed under the Package for the MUSC Center for Advanced Medicine will be received from qualified bidders, properly licensed underthe will be received from qualified bidders will be received from qualified b--__idders,properly licensed under will be received from qualified licensed under the wil will be received from qualified bidders Package forthe MUSC Center for Advanced Medicine will be received from qualified bidders, properly licensed under the Package for the MUSC Center for Advanced Medicine will be received from qualified bidders, proper-ly licensed under the will be received from qualified bidders, properly licensed under- from qualified bidders, will be received from Advanced Medicine licensed under the properly under the will be be received fromqualified bidders,properly licensed under will be received from qualified licensed under the wil will be received from eceived from qualified bidders, dvanced Medicine will be received from qualified bidders, proper-ly licensed under the properly licensed under the Package for the MUSC Center for Advanced Medicine will be received from qualified bidders, properly licensed under the properly licensed under the Package

for the MUSC Center for Advanced Medicine will be received from qualified bidders, properly licensed under the will be received from qualified bidders will qualified biddersackage for licensed

Classifieds

Invitation to Bid

Reroofing at Meeting Street ManorJob# 3090301

The Housing Authority of the City of Charleston willreceive sealed bids on a General Contract for Reroofingat Meeting Street Manor until 2:00 p.m. local time, onMarch 3, 2009 at 550 Meeting Street, Room 114,Charleston, South Carolina. Bids will be publiclyopened.

Copies of the Bidding documents may be obtainedafter 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 4, 2009 at theCHA Capital Funds Office, 545 Meeting Street.Charleston, SC 29403. Contact Ed Donnelly at (843)720-3983.

A voluntary pre-bid conference will be held at 545Meeting Street on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 at 10:00a.m.

The Housing Authority encourages minority ownedbusiness to participate in its on-going purchasing ofgoods and services.

CHA reserves the right to waive irregularities and toreject any and all bids.

Donald J. Cameron- President and Chief Executive Officer

CP0515C City of Charleston Invitation for Construction Bids

PROJECT: CP0515C: NEW GYMNASIUM AT HAR-MON FIELD

DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT: New 24,000 SF Cityof Charleston multi-use recreation facility located atHarmon Field on peninsular Charleston, adjacent tothe existing Herbert Hasell Aquatic Center onFishburne Street. The facility is of concrete block /brick veneer construction on piles, with steel barjoist roof framing. It will be LEED certified. Thisproject may be funded in part with Federal funds,and will therefore be subject to the requirements ofFederal Acquisition Regulations.

CONSTRUCTION COST RANGE: $5,000,000 to$9,000,000

BID SECURITY, PERFORMANCE AND PAYMENTBOND ARE REQUIRED

QUALIFICATIONS OF BIDDERS: Bidders must begeneral contractors registered in the state of SouthCarolina, with a minimum of five years in businessand five successful projects of this construction typeand magnitude. Prior to award of the contract, thelow bidder will be required to complete a qualifica-tion questionnaire indicating experience of firm andpersonnel, financial and trade references, and a listof similar projects. The City of Charleston retainsthe right to reject any or all bids and to waive anyinformalities in bidding.

AWARD OF CONTRACT: Award of contract will beto the lowest qualified bidder, contingent upon avail-able funding.

A/E: Thomas and Denzinger Architects; 73 1/2State Street; Charleston, SC 29401 A/E CONTACT: Michelle Smyth PHONE: 843-577-5373FAX: 843- 577-9503 E-MAIL: michelle@thomasanddenzinger.com

PLANS ON FILE AT: AGC: 2430 Mall Drive, Suite165, North Charleston SC 29418

Dodge: 1180 Sam Rittenburg, Suite 350,Charleston SC 29407

Other: Department of Parks, 823 MeetingStreet, Charleston SC 29403

BID DOCUMENTS will be available on or afterFebruary 16 for view and order on Planwell PublicPlan Room hosted by A & E Digital Printing (anedig-ital.com); 517 King Street; Charleston, SC 20403;843-853-5066. Refundable plan deposit is $350 (forgeneral contractors only); place orders in advance.

PRE-BID CONFERENCE (MANDATORY):February 26, 2009. 2:00 PM. LOCATION: City of Charleston Department ofParks, 823 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC. 2ndFloor Conference Room

BID OPENING: March 19, 2009. 2:00 PM.

BID DELIVERY ADDRESS: City of CharlestonDepartment of Parks, 823 Meeting Street,Charleston, SC

29403

PROJECT MANAGER: Bill Turner PHONE: 843-720-3910 FAX: 843-724-7300EMAIL: turnerb@ci.charleston.sc.us

RESIDENTS OF CITY OF CHARLESTONPLEASE TAKE NOTICE OF THIS REMINDER

Presidents’ Day (Monday, February 16, 2009) willbe observed as a city holiday.

In order to provide service to everyone in a time-ly manner,

garbage and trash collections will be as follows:

RESIDENTIAL GARBAGE & TRASH COLLECTIONS

Monday routes will be collected on TuesdayTuesday routes will be collected on Wednesday

Wednesday routes will be collected on ThursdayThursday routes will be collected on Friday

Daniel Island and CainhoyNo changes in the regular schedules

Please place your garbage and trash curbside by7:00 AM the morning of your pickup day.

City of CharlestonDepartment of Public Service

ESTATES’ CREDITOR’S NOTICESAll persons having claims against the following estates arerequired to deliver or mail their claims to the PersonalRepresentative indicated below and also file subject claims onForm #371PC with Irv Condon, Probate Judge of CharlestonCounty, 84 Broad St., 3rd Floor, Charleston, SC 29401, before theexpiration of 8 months after the date of the first publication of thisNotice to Creditors, or else thereafter such claims shall be and areforever barred.

Estate of: ANDREW GATES CREAMER 2009-ES-10-0003

DOD: 11/08/08 Pers. Rep: JAMES A. GRIMSLEY, III

PO BOX 2055, BEAUFORT, SC 29901-2055**************************************************************************Estate of: ALFRED H. WILLIAMS

2009-ES-10-0014DOD: 05/02/07 Pers. Rep: GLORIA W. HAUGHTON

1582 WESTWOOD DR., CHARLESTON, SC 29412**************************************************************************Estate of: ETHEL MAE DEBERRY

2009-ES-10-0072DOD: 09/24/07 Pers. Rep: CAROLYN B. DENT

PO BOX 98, ADAMS RUN, SC 29426Atty: ROBERT D. FOGEL, ESQ.

720 ST. ANDREWS BLVD., CHARLESTON, SC 29407

Etta’s Pique at Obama Comes With theTurfBy Earl Ofari Hutchinson

Soul singing icon EttaJames has never been oneto bite her tongue over areal or perceived insult.But Etta outdid herselfthis go round with hername call at a part of thepresident’s anatomy (hisears), and then cavalierlyblew him off with the he’snot my president line. Thereally surprising thingabout what otherwisewould be laughed off asnothing more than thepetulant loose lipped piqueof an icon actually gotsome news legs.

This has less to do with herinsulting jibe at Obamathen that a noted African-American, a legend if youwill, would have the temer-ity to take a shot at Obama.Two weeks ago that wouldhave been unthinkable.James of all people shouldif anything fall down on herknees and shout Hallelujahto Obama. The slow dancehe and Michelle did toEtta’s enshrined standard“at last” brought a warmglow to millions and muchpraise and adulation, andprobably more jingles tocash registers for the CDsof the song. That fattenedJames’s reputation andbank account.

And there is no record thatJames objected to pop

megastar Beyonce serenad-ing Obama with her stan-dard. In fact the report isthat she applauded thesong and the president andthe first lady’s dance duetto it at the NeighborhoodInaugural Ball on January20.

But that was two weeksago. In that time Obamahas suffered through theembarrassment of three taxcheating nominees, theprolonged legislative armwrestle with Republicansto get his stimulus packagethrough, and some lowintensity carping and pick-ing at his decision to keepBush’s Faith based initia-tive intact complete withthe odious provision thatessentially permit churchgroups that receive federalcash to discriminateagainst any and everyonebut their own in hiring.The slight dull on Obama’sglow was topped by a dou-ble digit drop in his popu-larity rating.

This was inevitable. Thehoneymoon for all presi-dents, even historic presi-dents, doesn’t last. Thereality of governance andthe hard knocks that comewith it come with theWhite House turf. The sadthing about that is thatsome of the knocks and theones who do the knockingcan get personal, even

R&B Singer Beyonce starred as Etta Jamesin the film “Cadillac Records” this past year.

ugly.James could have just aseasily chided Obama fornot inviting her to sing hertrademark song, at theinauguration festivities,without the personal digand then the blow off. Butthat wouldn’t have madeheadlines, got the tongueswagging, and surprisinglygotten more than a fewheads nodded in agree-ment with her.

Obama wisely let it pass. Acrack from a pop singer,even a legendary one, palesin importance to the titanicfight to rescue the econo-my, cut a deal with theRussians on its nukes, andfiguring out the next movein Afghanistan. There sim-ply will never be an at lastto the verbal hits on who-ever sits in the WhiteHouse, no matter what thesize of his or her ears.

Special to the NNPA from GIN

(GIN) - More than 7,000 people have been left homeless inCameroon’s capital, Yaounde, since city officials begantearing down slums to make space for development proj-ects, reports the Voice of America.At least three shantytowns have been pulled down thisyear in what city officials are calling a cleanup operation.The former slums most likely will be sold to private devel-opers.Many of the city’s poorest residents have lived in the slumsfor years. Humanitarian groups now consider themrefugees and are providing aid – among them, the U.N.refugee agency and the Cameroon Red Cross.One inhabitant, John, said he had a land title but his housewas demolished without any compensation. ''We are notrefusing that they are beautifying the town but they shouldrealise that we are Cameroonians,'' he said. The demoli-tion included houses, shops and other businesses.Meanwhile, at a recent meeting of the National EpiscopalConference, Cameroonian bishops described the countryas a hell of insecurity. In a press release, the bishops con-demned corruption, tribalism, unemployment and spiritu-al barrenness.Pope Benedict XVI is planning a visit to the country fromMarch 17 to 20.

Apollo Theater Marks75th Year of Amateur Night’

By The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) -- Harlem's Apollo Theater is celebrating the 75th anniversary of its "Amateur Night" - a starting stage for some of the biggest stars in entertainment, including Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Wonder and the lateJames Brown.

The first 75 tickets to Wednesday night's show are goingfor $7.50, with rapper Ron Browz as the featured per-former.

The theater, built in 1914 in the heart of Harlem, was orig-inally called Hurtig and Seamon's New BurlesqueTheatre. Blacks were not allowed in the audience then.

In 1934, Ralph Cooper Sr. launched a live version of hisradio show, "Amateur Nite Hour" at the Apollo.Fitzgerald was among the first winners of the show, whichallows young performers to test their talent, with a toughlive audience booing bad acts off the stage.

The Apollo Theater was a starting stage formany legendary entertainers such asJamesBrown (shown above)

Special to the NNPA from GIN

(GIN) – Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi has beennamed chairman of the 53-nation African Union for a oneyear term.Gaddafi was handed the chairman's gavel by outgoing AUleader and Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete, toapplause from other leaders on Monday.Gaddafi has promoted the idea of a “United States ofAfrica” - a single currency, one Army and a single passportfor Africans to move within the continent.A pan-African government was first advocated by KwameNkrumah, during his fight for the independence of Ghana.In his farewell speech, President Kikwete appealed toAfrican leaders to restrain from seeking greater politicalpower and influence for themselves, while urging them tofocus on improving Africa's economic status.

Gaddafi Takes TheReins at the Africa Union

Slums Come Down in Yaounde,Leaving Thousands Homeless

6b- February 11, 2009- The Chronicle

We Reserve The Right To Limit Quantities And To Correct Printer’s Errors. We Gladly Redeem USDA Food Stamps. Prices Effective 2/9/09-2/15/09.

1133 Savannah Hwy., Charleston, SC • 1750 Remount Rd., Hanahan, SC

On The Butcher BlockThis Week’s Specials

Produce

Red Ripe Roma Tomatoes

99¢lb.

Idaho Baking Potatoes

15 lb. bag$498

IGA Long Grain Rice

3 lb. 2/$300

Dairy and Frozen Food

Tropicana Punch

64 oz. 4/$500

Country Love Ice Cream

5 qt. pail$399

Grocery Specials

Charmin Bath Tissue

24 roll$599

Chef Boyardee PastaSelected Varieties

7.5 oz. 5/$500

Dixie Crystal Sugar4 lb. bag 3/$500

Pink PridePink Salmon

14 3/4 oz. 2/$400

Argo Sweet Peas

15 oz. 2/$100

Coke Products8 pack cans 2/$500

2 Lt Bottles 4/$500

32 oz. Powerade 5/$500

Yuengling LagerRegular or Light

12 pk. bottles$899

Hershey Kisses8.5 oz. 2/$600

IGA American Chunk Cheese(mild, medium, sharp)

8 oz. 2/$400

McKenzie Okra, Collard Greens,Blackeye Peas

16 oz. 4/$500

IGA Corn, Peas,Cut Green Beans

14.5-15.25 10/$600

Fancy Yellow Squash or Zuchinni$129

lb.

Fresh FryerLeg Quarters

39¢lb

Sold in 10 lb. bag(Limit 2 per order)

Cottage BrandSliced Bacon

12 oz. 3/$500

Jumbo PackBreast Pieces

88¢lb.

London Broil$289

lb.Top Round Roast

$279lb.

Top Round Steak$349

lb.

Carolina PrideMeat Hot Dogs

or Bologna

12 oz. 5/$500

Roll Sausage

16 oz. 4/$500

Smoked Picnic99¢

lb.Center Slices

$169lb.

Boneless Pork Loin

Whole or Half$199

lb.

Boneless Center CutPork Chops$299

lb.

(A Member of the Independent Grocers Association)

IGA

WE ARE PROUD OF OUR NOBLE HERITAGE

Back in this era, mostAfrican men were farmers,cattle raisers and fisher-men. Planting, sowing andharvesting crops were con-sidered women's work.Cooking was one of themost important skills ayoung girl needed to learn.One traditional dish calledfufu was made of poundedyams. Fufu was servedwith soup, stew, roastedmeat and different sauces.During this time in history,cooking was done overopen pits. Africans werevery skilled in roasting, fry-ing, stewing, boiling andsteaming their foods. Theirnative foods were yams,okra, watermelon, cassava,groundnuts, black-eyedpeas, and rice.

Indentured Servants andSlavery - 1619In August, 1619, the firstgroup of Africans landed inAmerica at Jamestown,Virginia. These Africanswere indentured servants.They gave up four to sevenyears of labour just to payfor transportation toAmerica. Southern planta-tions consisted of Africansfrom many different tribalnations. These Africansmade up the slave popula-tion in southern America.Verbal exchanges ofrecipes on these Southernplantations led to thedevelopment of an interna-tional African cookingstyle in America. Theslaves enjoyed cookingpork, yams, sweet pota-toes, hominy, corn, ash-cakes, cabbage, hoecakes,collards and cowpeas. Onthese plantations, cookingwas done on an open fire-place with large swingblack pots and big skillets.

African Canadian cookingtechniques and recipeswere also influenced byNative American Indiansall across the UnitedStates. When Africanswere first brought toAmerica in 1619, they lived

on farms. In many areas,local Indians taught themhow to hunt and cook withnative plants. Indian cook-ing techniques were laterintroduced into the south-ern society by blackAmerican cooks. Dishessuch as corn pudding, suc-cotash, pumpkin pie,Brunswick Stew andhominy grits are a fewexamples of Native

American dishes found inAfrican Canadian cooking.

American Revolution -1776Between 1773 and 1785thousands of Africans werebrought to America. Theywere brought ashore inVirgina, Georgia, and theCarolinas (Sea Island). In

America, slaves werecooks, servants and gar-deners. They worked in thecolonial kitchens and onthe plantations as fieldhands. At the Big House,slaves cooked such foods asgreens, succotash, cornpudding, spoon bread,corn pone and crab cakes.These foods were cookedon an open pit or fireplace.On the plantation, break-fast was an important and

an early meal. Hoecakesand molasses were eaten asthe slaves worked fromsunup to sundown.

Reconstruction - 1865Both the northern and thesouthern armies hiredblack Americans as cooks.Most of the cookingthroughout the South was

done by black cooks.Slaves created their ownrecipes and made the bestof hard times and scarcesupplies. Cajun and creolecooking developed duringthis period. These foodsincluded jambalaya, breadpudding, dirty rice, gumboand red beans and rice.Cooking was done on agreat big old fireplace withswing pots and skilletswith legs.

Post Reconstruction -Westward Movement -1865At the end of the CivilWar, black Americansbegan to move westward.They migrated to Kansas,Nebraska, Oklahoma, andTexas. Black Americansbecame cowboys and cookson the cattle drives. Manyblack Americans were alsopioneers and as farmersthey survived off the land.They adapted their cook-ing habits and formed newones when necessary. Itwas a great challenge tocreate good food withprimitive tools and verylimited ingredients. Theycooked such foods as: bis-cuits, stew, baked beansand barbecued meat.

The Great Migration 1900-1945

During this period, a largenumber of black Americansworked as cooks in privatehomes, shops, restaurants,schools, hotels and col-leges. Many moved to suchlarge cities as Chicago,New York, Ohio, Detroitand Pennsylvania to work.Black cooks, chefs andwaiters also worked inpullman cars of the old rail-roads and on the steam-boats. Many blackAmericans also startedsmall businesses such asfish markets, barbecue andsoul food restaurantsthroughout the UnitedStates. These establish-ments specialized in friedfish, homemade rolls, pota-to salad, turkey and dress-ing, fried pork chops, rice

and gravy and southernfried chicken. Cooking wasdone on wood burning andgas stoves.

Civil Rights Movement1965 - Present

In the early 60's and 70's,soul food, the traditionalfood of black Americans,was very popular. Soulfoods were candied yams,okra, fried chicken, pigsfeet, chitlin's, cornbread,collard greens with hamhocks and black-eyed peas.Today soul food prepara-tion has changed. BlackAmericans are becoming

increasingly health con-scious, thus, they areavoiding foods with highlevels of fat and choles-terol, and increasing theirintake of fruit, vegetables scious, thus, they areavoiding foods with highlevels of fat and choles-terol, and increasing theirintake of fruit, vegetablesand fiber. Black Americansare still in the kitchencooking, but now they areowners and managers ofrestaurants. Today cook-ing is done on electric, gasmicrowave stoves, and avariety of grills.

The History of African Canadian CookingAfrican Heritage (300-1619)

D r e d S c o t t c a s e - M a r c h 6 , 1 8 5 7

During the 1830s, theowner of a slave namedDred Scott had taken himfrom the slave state ofMissouri to the Wisconsinterritory and Illinois,where slavery was out-lawed, according to theterms of the MissouriCompromise of 1820.

Upon his return toMissouri, Scott sued forhis freedom on the basisthat his temporary removalto free soil had made himlegally free.

The case went to theSupreme Court, whereChief Justice Roger B.Taney and the majorityeventually ruled that Scottwas a slave and not a citi-zen, and thus had no legalrights to sue.

According to the Court,Congress had no constitu-tional power to deprivepersons of their propertyrights when dealing withslaves in the territories.The verdict effectivelydeclared the MissouriCompromise unconstitu-tional, ruling that all terri-tories were open to slaveryand could exclude it onlywhen they became states.

While much of the Southrejoiced, seeing the verdictas a clear victory for theslave system, antislaverynortherners were furious.One of the most prominentabolitionists, FrederickDouglass, was cautiouslyoptimistic, however, wiselypredicting that —This veryattempt to blot out foreverthe hopes of an enslavedpeople may be one neces-sary link in the chain ofevents preparatory to thecomplete overthrow of thewhole slave system.”

For related articles oradditional information onblack history, visitwww.blackhistory.com orwww.blackfacts.com.

On March 6, 1857, the U.SSupreme Court handed down its decision in Scottv. Sanford, (Dred Scott,famously known slave forattempting to sue for hisfreedom) delivering aresounding victory to

Dred Scott