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Editorials Page 4 Clark Atlanta University Panther April 16, 1991 Mali's Downfall By PATRICK BANGUD1 Contributing Writer Mali's leader, Moussa Traore, is the latest African president to have been overthrown. He tried to swim against the political tide of demarcation. Instead, he was captured by the coup leader Lietenant. Col. Amadou Toure at the airport. Mali, a West African country, is surrounded by seven nations: Niger, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Senegal, Maritania and Algeria. Although it had gained its independence in 1960, it was not until 1968 when Traore seized power and about a decade later, he proclaimed himself president. Following years of economic stagnation, Mali was faced with a drought. Traore grew unpopular especially when he failed to pay the salaries of the civil servants. Demba Diallo, the opposition leader, intolerant to the government, mobilized anti-government demonstrations and a general strike aimed at overthrowing Moussa Traore. They succeeded. The weak and unwanted coconuts are being shaken by the winds of change getting rid of the bad ones, while bringing in the good ones. So far, Mali looks promising as opposition and coup leaders have already begun exchanging constructive ideas regarding the future of Mali. Bush A Shoe-in? By PIERCE HUFF Staff writer Just the other day while I was flipping through the channels, I noticed that President Bush was addressing the press in a blue jogging suit. Ordinarily I could care less what our beloved President wears, but this time Bush's attire caught my eye. Somehow it just seemed fitting that the country's toughest leader since Theodore Roosevelt was in athletic attire. Bush wants another war. I can see it in his eyes. It s a little gleam, a slight tingle, but it is there. So I’ve got a war for him, South Africa. The United States is on a roll in the United Nations. Bush has tricked the world into siding with him against Saddam Hussein. Just last week a U.S.-led resolution calling for a cease fire in the Persian Gulf War passed overwhelmingly. Now let's go for the bomb! Let's go for harder sanctions against South Africa. What do we have to lose? U.N. ambassador Thomas Pickering is on one helluva hot streak, so let's ride him. The world is looking to the U.S. for leadership, so let's lead. We must show the world that racial oppression will not be tolerated. Apartheid must be stopped. I'm telling you, Bush had the look of a fighter in training. He was lean, mean and hungry. Although his spoken words said peace, his unspoken words begged for war. South Africa is the perfect target. Bush will have even less trouble getting the world to side with him. He can also win a little support from minorities, like me, who are still angry over his vetoing of that civil rights bill. South Africa is also unassuming and arrogant, just like Mike Tyson was. Let’s do a Buster Douglass and knock their system out. This country, even the world, is begging for an end to apartheid. President Bush wants another war. Need I say more? CAU PANTHER April 16, 1991 The articles on the editorial page are the opinion of the writers. They are not necessarily the opinions of the student body, faculty, staff or administration. Editor-in-Chief Paulette V. Walker News Editor Tonya Latimer Lifestyle Editor Sheryl M. Kennedy Sports Editor Anthony George Photo Editor Derwin Ross Asst. Photo Editor Keith Neal Staff Writers William Blackburn Veronica Fields Pierce Huff We welcome our readers' views in the form of letters to the editor or guest editorials. The Panther office is located in the Communication Arts Center, room 120. Address all correspondence to the Panther Newspaper, Clark Atlanta University, James P. Brawley Drive at Fair Street, S.W., P.O. Box 329, Atlanta, Ga. 30314. The telephone number is 880-8309. The staff meets Tuesdays at 11 a.m. in room 120 of the Communication Arts Center. T*np ypv must ~ TtU. VW Illustration by Anthony Carter The Making of A1 Sharpton By JOEY MERRILL Guest Columnist Today, most blacks and whites are surprised at what is considered black leadership in America. There seems to be very little which one has to do in order to reap a certain amount of kudos from portion of the black community today. Of course, these portions of the black community claim to speak for the entire black community, and the media believes them. A case in point is Reverend A1 Sharpton of New York. In the era of civil rights, the black leader promoted Christian behavior and unity within the black community in order to promote changes which would provide equality for blacks. Today, a black leader’s image may easily become associated with fraud, tax evasion, looting charity, drug abuse, defamation and secret tapes — as in the case of Sharpton. The clarity of purpose seems to have been smeared a bit, to the point that Sharpton can claim to be the victim of some sort of elaborate conspiracy aimed at besmirching "leaders" like him. Wilbert Tatum, publisher of the Amsterdam News, a black New York newspaper, offered this theory about the new black leadership: "[the media] has created a caricature of black leadership. He was fat. He wore jogging suits. He wore a medallion and gold chains. And the unforgivable of unforgivables, he had processed hair. The white media, perhaps not consciously said, 'We're going to promote this guy because we can point up the ridiculousness and paucity of black leadership.'" It is possible that the media is to blame for the attention which A1 Sharpton has received. It is also possible that all the individuals (black and white) who listened to and believed A1 Sharpton's message are to blame. The real question at hand is: Have we (black and white) come to expect the worst in regards to race relations? The editorial boards of the North New Jersey Herald and the News of Passaic, New Jersey, made a decisive and risky move in deciding to no longer report stories associated with A1 Sharpton. The boards believed that the media was giving Sharpton the attention he desired. To be more clear, it was not that the papers did not want to cover news important to the black community; very simply they did not want to help, as the papers put it, "a reverend of racism and a minister of hate." The time has come to stop paying homage to individuals who claim they represent the black community and yet do not live up to solid values. One ought to become a leader of any community only through merit and good works, not through media- .. assisted. .self-apppintmei)t. Sharpton’s. record is hardly one of concrete accomplishments. The Washington Post reported in March of 1990 that Sharpton's organization, the National Youth Movement, has never been anything more than a single room with a telephone and a transient staff. Of course, having a small office does not condemn an organization, but never recording any solid accomplishments does. No one has been able to point to anything actually produced by Sharpton's organization. If an organization can be manipulated for the purposes of opportunism by such a leader, then surely so can the color of his skin. No longer are individuals allowed the luxury of supporting a "leader" simply through allegiance to skin color. When whites do this, it is called racism (e.g., the Ku Klux Klan). Many blacks have found themselves following anyone proclaiming himself a "black leader," with the emphasis on "black," as a result of a solely race-based consciousness. The good news is that there is opportunity for changing this demagogic, harmful trend in race relations. The Daily News polled whites and blacks in New York at the height of Sharpton's heyday and discovered that the majority of the public believed that Sharpton was damaging race relations. It is clear that 90% of whites and 73% of blacks in New York believed that the time for the likes of A1 Sharpton has passed. Perhaps this awareness resulted from their having to feel the wrath of numerous racially motivated incidents and violent demonstrations which occurred during Sharpton's media reign. Another positive signal, weak as it may be, is coming from the existing black leadership. Fact: only two black leaders have dared to even speak about A1 Sharpton. After all, Sharpton puts most black leaders in an awkward position, having to show allegiance to the "fight against racism” while also working within the mainstream political system. Mayor David Dinkins of New York, after being called a "liberal hypocrite" by Sharpton, tried to defend himself, telling New Yorkers that Sharpton's best asset is making "good copy." Congressman Major Owens (D-NY) also supports this sentiment, referring to the reverend as an opportunist who sells papers. Perhaps he result of the poll in New York and the signals from the elected black leadership offer hope or the future. The question is, how many other communities will have to experience what New York went through in order to understand that not all self- professed "black leaders" are true black leadership? The answer to this question can only come from the tjlaqk community's response to such "leaders."