Newspaper Page Text
Life after the Simpson case
Today’s Going Places is a re
print from the Oct. 8 edition of
The Atlanta Journal & Constitu
tion, and is by one of its senior
business writers. Ernest
Holsendolph is a highly respect
ed and nationally known eco
nomic writer.
Both blacks, whites could
benefit by discussing
Simpson case
It was a striking but uncom
fortably familiar scene. A news
picture of the O.J. Simpson ver
dict showed black and white tele
vision viewers watching the pro
ceedings together. But their body
language placed them worlds
apart.
And then there were the com
ments: “How could they let that
killer go!”
“Hooray for O.J. — I knew he
would get free!”
The first comment was typical
of the mostly white public at
large, the latter a common reac
tion in black communities.
Various polls during the last
ninemonthsindicated there were
two separate and strikingly dif
ferent perspectives, but none
dramatized it as did the pictures
and televised scenes.
Contrasting views
In instances in which the con
trasting views were played out
in the workplace, there was the
unsettling sight of black and
white co-workers gathering in
separate places to witness the
verdict.
What does this all have to say
about relationships in the work
CSRA CLASSIC ’'9s
Saturday, October 21, 1995, 8:00 p.m.
Official “After-Game Celebration” at BL’s Restaurant — Come wine, dine and
dance with your friends at BL’s. .
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place? Or the condition of team
work? Or the hope for smooth
relations among people who must
provide the service or get out the
product? Is diversity really good
for us?
“It was troubling to see those
lines drawn,” said Dick
Yarborough, a former corporate
executive at Bell South, and now
public affairs director of the At
lanta Committee for the Olym
pics Games. f
“It reminds us, though, that
race remains a significant issue,
including in the workplace,”
Yarborough continued. “There’s
also some economic basis to it,
too —the more well-off people
are, the less divisive they find
these issues.”
Re-creating boundaries
A manager of an investment
firm, who also found the discord
depressing, told a reporter the
verdict and the different reac
tionsitevoked “just re-create the
boundaries we’ve been trying to
break down.”
It is significant, perhaps, that
the boundaries are not so clear
cut. Many people, especially
black and white middle-class
people, believed Simpson proba
bly was guilty. But black respon
dents tended more than others
to give the former football star
the benefit of the doubt in the
case marked by circumstantial
evidence.
For many whites, the undis
puted evidence of spouse abuse
indicated probable guilt. And
many blacks found the evidence
of racism by star police witness
Closer Look
Mark Fuhrman just as compel
ling a reason for doubt.
One journalist friend angrily
accused media colleagues of cre
ating an O.J. soap opera that
predictably divided people along
racial lines and stirred bad feel
ings among people who must
work together.
Underlining the point that
middle-class people find it easier
to bridge differences, sometimes
across a racial divide, is the ex
perience of Patrick McElroy, who
is black.
McElroy and a black colleague
were in a management meeting
with a dozen white colleagues in
AT&T’s Midtown offices in At
lanta as the Simpson verdict was
rendered Tuesday afternoon.
“Sometime after 1 o’clock some
body stuck their head in the door
and told us about the verdict,”
said McElroy, “and there were
expressions of surprise.
“I spoke up and said I wasn’t
surprised —the state didn’t prove
its case. ... And then there was a
brief discussion, and we went
back to work.”
Among many employees, how
ever, especially below the man
agement level, there was anger,
hostility and chilly relationships.
In the best of worlds, co-work
ers will take last week’s experi
ences to mean they simply don’t
know one another. Many will
acknowledge they have given lit
tle consideration to the reasons
why white and black communi
ties have different conceptions of
law enforcement and the crimi
nal justice system.
Conciliatory groundwork
By week’s end some ground
work for conciliation was being
laid, some by unexpected sourc
es. Neal Boortz, who makes a
living tossing race-loaded hand
grenades into his radio discus
sions on WSB, allowed that, if
police departments rooted out
the Mark Fuhrmans and became
more professional, there would
be less reason for anybody to
doubt the testimony of police of
ficers.
And Rush Limbaugh, the na
tionally prominent radio talk
jock, surprised many among his
mostly conservative white audi
ence on WGST Thursday when
hesaid: “Just because a personis
a wife-beater does not necessar
ily mean they would murder.”
It has never been crucially
important that people who work
together care for one another, or
even have a common understand
ing. Our country’s historic suc
cessinthefaceof diversity proves
that.
But subsequent talks among
employees, from the assembly
line to management boardrooms,
might well bridge misunder
standings over social issues, but
also put more force behind im
portant issues that languish on
back burners — like criminal
justice reforms, improvement in
police standards and other poli
cy matters.
That would not be a bad out
come.
Ernest Holsendolph’s column
appears in the Journal & Consti
tution every Sunday.
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AUGUSTA FOCUS
Computer seminars to be
offered at Laney Museum
Did you get your brand new
computer home to find you don’t
know what to do with it? Pre
senting your personal cure for
technophobia: Introduction to
the Personal Computer seminars
presented by The Lucy Craft
Laney Museum of Black History
and Idea] Systems - Computer
Education, Training and Servic
es. Seminars will be held on
Saturday, October 28 at 9:00a.m.
to 12:00 noon and from 2:00 -
5:00 p.m. at the Lucy Craft Laney
Museum at 1116 Phillips Street.
Sybil Ward is the senior train
er for Ideal Systems, a computer
education and training compa
ny. She has been involved with
technology and training for al
most twenty years, with experi
ence teaching such technical sub
jects as basic electronics and in
tegrated communications sys
tems; design and development of
interactive videodisc and com
puter based training; and, for
the past five years, personal com
puter applications.
Three areas will be covered in
the seminars. The first topic will
be the hardware, the computer
Got
News?
Call
1724-7867
October 12, 1995
system — its components and
what to look for when you pur
chase a computer. This is an
overview of the system, from the
system case to the mouse. A
demonstration of equipment is
provided. The session is infor
mal, with answers to questions
from the audience.
The second subject covered will
be the software on Windows and
how applications function in the
Windows environment. Fea
tured software includes products
from Microsoft Office: Word,
Excel, Power Point, and Access.
A demonstration of Microsoft
Publisher is also included.
The third topic covered will be
an introduction to online com
puting. The discussion will cov
er the purchase and use of mo
dems, setting up the hardware
and software, and selecting a
service provider. It includes a
demonstration of e-mail, elec
tronic file transfer, America
Online, the Internet, and the
World Wide Web.
Formore information about the
seminars, please call (706) 724-
3576.
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