Augusta focus. ([Augusta, Ga.) 198?-current, December 19, 1996, Image 8

Augusta focus., December 19, 1996, Page 8A, Image 8

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Newspaper Page Text8A December 19, 1996 AUGUSTA FOCUS GOING PLACES By J. Philip Waring An update on recovery and continued progress oyou realize that since the start D of the 20th century in 1900, we have had several large and bloody wars? But thankfully with them, the USA has built and still maintains a huge, well-running system of veterans hospitals. Some call this system one of the finest in the world. Needless to say, this column is being written from the Uptown VA Hospital where I've been for several weeks with a disjointed hip. Medical care here is punctual and given with great care and feeling for us old vets. I have been blessed with a “welcome arrangement,” starting with a big bou quet of flowers each from Senator Charles W. Walker and the Augusta Focus staff lined up on the windowsill. Thankfully, these have been followed with more flowers and assorted cards and other data from community groups. This column is drafted as I eat a deli cious large fish dinner of sturgis fish. (The last sturgis I had was at the fa mous BL’s Restaurant.) May I encourage more citizensto come up and visit these beautiful enterprises for which all of us pay. A great deal of time is spent on infor mal group discussion. Many of the vets have been in several different wars pro tecting the USA. Yes, I get different points of view and all kinds of national and world opinions for Going Places. Just as an example, I got from several old-time Japanese soldiers and good Americans information about the so called “attack plot” on the U.S. West Coast in 1943. = GUEST EDITORIAL By Kendall Wilson Affirmative action ban on hold ffirmative action advocates, in- Acluding civil rights groups and Black contractors, were elated to hear that a U.S. District Court judge in California has blocked enforcement of Proposition 209. Proposition 209 is the newly passed California citizen initia tive that would effectively kill affirma tive action programs in the state and would set the tone for other bills across the country. Following the Nov. 5 election, 54 per cent of California voters voted to amend the state’s constitution to ban racial, ethnic and gender considerations in public hiring, contracting and college admission. However, Chief U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson recently issued a temporary restraining order which bars California Pete Wilson and Attorney General Dan Lungren from acting to enforce the affirmative action ban at least until a hearing later this month. Henderson, a Democratic appointee and former Justice Department civil rights lawyer, said that civil rights groups have a “strong probability” of proving the ban unconstitutional. He said that while no courts would “lightly upset the expectations of the voters,” he was persuaded by the pro-affirmative action coalition that the temporary de lay was justified. The order has created uncertainly among anti-affirmative ac tion forces across the country who were considering California’s lead in abolish Happy Holidays from Augusta Focus At Fe 81 RS Since 1981 A Walker Group Publication 1143 Laney Walker Blvd. The Preacher’s Wife The Preacher’s Wife, a current suc cessful big-screen movie, is giving iots of entertainment vibes, coupled with mon ey and enhanced entertainment and enhanced professional reputations and enlarged pocketbooks. Every little bit helps. Attention to plight of fellow man Yes, that is one of the No. 1 issues we must pay major attention to: How are our neighbors getting along? Are they being treated as family? We must ob serve and discuss thesame in our church es, civic clubs, etc. This is most impor tant, especially for our own Afro-Amer ican community. An 85th birthday salute for Phil War ing by the Episcopal Women of St. Mary’s Parish House will take place on Sun day, January 12, 1997, at 4 p.m. Phil would like to thank both his St. Mary’s friends and his many other friends. His relatives will come in from out-of town, including his brother Lue from San Francisco, Calif.; his niece Anna Down from the University of Chicago, and a cousin who is a lawyer and judge from the family hometown of Waterboro, S.C. Anephew, Andrew Waring Jr. and his also-retired military wife, will fly his own plane up from San Antonio, Tex. All efforts will be made by Phil to get key VA Hospital personnel to his salute party to hear his personal thanks, as well as the staff of Augusta Focus. Phil is hoping this salute will not be the typical (but good) after-church teas but will be for one hour, from 4 to 5 p.m. Mildred Southward and other names of co-chairs will be highlighted soon. ing state-run preference programs. It has also raised questions of how much the Texaco Corporation fiasco and other recent discrimination suits and complaints have dispelled all doubts that racism continuesto thrivein Amer ican institutions ineducational, private and governmental sectors. However affirmative action opponents vowed to continue their fight with what has been described as a “civil rights tool” that conservative forces claim has become “increasingly unpopular.” Governor Wilson said the ruling was “absurd” and “an affront to common sense” against the “will of the people,” which he said will eventually prevail. Governor Wilson also received another setback when a San Francisco Superior Court judge blocked his order cutting off state money for illegal immigrants’ prenatal care. Mark Rosenbaum, legal director of the ACLU of Southern California, said civil rights groups were “thrilled” with the decision to put Prop 209 on hold. The restraining order does not directly apply to the University of California, already taking stepstonotify applicantsthat race and gender will no longer be considered in admission decisions. But civil rights groups feel that a message has been sent that any attempts to enforce the proposi tion will be immediately challenged. The ruling was also welcomed by civil rights groups and affirmative action proponents across the country. Charles W. Walker Publisher Frederick Benjamin Managing Editor Dot T. Ealy Marketing Director Rhonda Jones Copy Editor Derick Wells Art Director Sheila Jones Office Manager Lillian Wan Layout Artist ‘Delores McKevie Account Representative Editorial TO BE EQUAL By James T. McLawhorn Jr., Guest Columnist The flag and the New South ‘ he issue is about a people that ‘ I need to look deep into their heart, deep into their soul, and figure out how we're going to be a better people. Tosay that we can’t resolve this is giving up, is saying to our children we're not capable of compromise, we're not ca pable of working together.” So said South Carolina Governor Dav id Beasley recently in recommending the Confederatebattle flag nolonger be flown above the state Capitol. The proposal, which would transfer the Confederate banner to the Confederate Monument already on Capitol grounds, must be vot ed on by the state legislature, and Gov. Beasley, a Republican, faces significant opposition within his own party. Nonetheless, his declaration that the flag should come down was both forth right and necessary becauseit has clearly drawn the lines between the Qld South, where the attitudes and actions ofthe era of racial oppression exacted an enormous toll on blacks and whites, and the New South, which has the chance to make the slogan “equal rights and equal opportuni ty for all” really mean something. The state legislature ordered the hoist ing of the Confederate battle flag — so called because it is a replica of the flag Confederate troops carried into battle during the Civil War — over the capitol in 1962, as an act of defiance against the Civil Rights Movement. The Confederate banner flies just beneath the Stars and Stripes and the state flag of South Caro lina. Some, such as the Sons of Confederate Veterans, have argued that this flag rep resents only positive things and is an expression of white Southerners’ pride in their heritage. Two years ago Governor THIS WAY FOR BLACK EMPOWERMENT By Dr. Lenora Fulani Will the U.S Supreme Court stand for democracy? ast week the Supreme Court I heard arguments in a case from Minnesota — McKenna v. Twin Cities Area Party. This case will be an important test of the ability of the two major parties to hold on to the unfair electoral advantages they have legislat ed for themselves at the expense of fairness toindependent parties and vot ers. Lawyers for the New Party, a four year-old independent party with branch es in 15 cities nationwide, challenged the right of the Minnesota state govern ment to ban so-called “fusion candi dates” — candidates who run on more than one party line. Two years ago, the Twin Cities Area New Party wanted to list on its ballot a candidate for the state legislature, Andy Dawkins, who had already accepted the nomination of the Democratic Farm Labor Party (as the Democratic Party is known in Minnesota). The state threw the candidate off the New Party ballot, citing a law against such cross-endorse ments. The party sued, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Bth Cir cuit ruled the anti-fusion law unconsti tutional. The state then took it to the Supreme Court. Forty states plus the District of Co lumbia have laws on the books which prevent candidates from running on more than one party’s ballot. Most of these laws were passed by Democratic and Republican state legislatures at the y s IS S “ 1 O P Sy - p Pﬁ‘« o Y & AT\ Q@O"{" o —; & BNE U=9 Beasley, then a candidate for office, sup ported that position. But that view has become increasingly difficult to assert, not only because of the past, but because of a series of racially motivated acts that have roiled South Carolina during the last year. They in clude the opening of the nation’s only Ku Klux Klan museum and gift shop in Laurens, S.C.; thirteen burnings of churches with predominantly black con gregations, a third of the national total; and the wounding of three black teenag ers outside a nightclub after they were fired upon by two Klan sympathizers fresh from a pro-Confederate flag rally. African-American South Carolinians have always viewed the Confederate flag as a symbol of slavery and the doctrine of white supremacy. For the past 22 years state Senator Kay Patterson, a member of the South Carolina Legislative Black Caucus, has been outspoken in pressing for the removal of the flag from state property altogether. Now, in support of Mr. Beasley’s willingness to compromise, he has endorsed the governor’s proposal. And more white South Carolinianshave stated that it is time'for the Confederate banner to come down as well. Two of them, both descendants of men whofought for the Confederacy, recently wrote let ters to The State newspaper of Columbia, South Carolina’s largest daily. Riley A. Bradham Jr., whose great grandfather served with General Robert E. Lee in the Army of Virginia, said, “The Confederate battle flag flying atop the State House does not represent any gov ernment, as dothe United States flagand the South Carolina flag. It should come down. It only contributes to dissension and misunderstanding.” beginning of this century, during a time when independent parties with strong reform agendas were sprouting up around the country. A candidate from a major party willing to subscribe to an independent party’s platform of reform might run on both ballots. Such “fusion tickets” broadened the base of the inde pendent party, gaveitleverage with the major parties, particularly if their vote provided the candidate with the margin of victory and promised to help break independent parties into the political “big time.” No wonder most states banned fusion. Republican and Demo cratic legislators wanted to hobble inde pendent opposition. By banning fusion tickets, the major parties successfully insulated themselves not only from third-party challenges, but from insur gents within their own parties who may challenge the party machine and seek independent support outside the party. Now thecenturyis abouttoturnagain, and there is an upsurge in third-party activity. The Reform Party qualified as a national minor party this year, off of Ross Perot’s 9 percent of the vote, and legally recognized state parties were created in 31 states. All told, close to 10 million Americans voted for indepen dent presidential candidates. Itisin the context of this upsurge that the Su preme Court will decide the New Party case. The implications of the decision are awesome. Chief Justice William 'And Ned Crosby, whose great-grandfa ther also fought for the Confederacy, said, “The Confederate flag is a symbol of the chains of slavery to many people, both black and white. We cannot hide from the historical fact that the banner was lifted up to keep millions of our black brothers in the chains of slavery.” These men have seen that the Confed erate flaghasa symbolism that continues to be effectively used to promote an atti tude of white supremacy and acts of vio lence. That is not the kind of attitude that South Carolina, which has aggressively and successfully recruited domestic and foreign-owned corporations, can afford. Thatis one reason Gov. Beasley’s propos al has drawn support from the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and the Palmetto Business Forum, which include the chiefexecutives ofleading South Caro lina companies; and why it’s‘also backed by Senator Strom Thurmond, Represen tative Bob Inglis, and five other gover nors. They know that Gov. Beasley is seeking common ground and reconcilia tion. We at the Columbia Urban League realize that, too. Our board of directors, which is racially mixed, stated in a letter to the governor, “that for the sake of our children, we need to find an honorable way to resolve this matter and in the process openly discuss the concerns and fears that pull us apart.” The disagreements about the Confed erate banner remain. But Gov. Beasley’s decisiveness is the right step forward. He has shown that compromise can be a conduit for positive change. James T. McLawhorn is president of the Columbia (S.C.) Urban League Rehnquist said to attorneys for the New Party, “If we were to rule for you, it would result in quite sweeping changes inagreat many states.” And those chang es could help propel the emergent third party movement to greater visibility and clout in the outcome of elections. Whilesomeindependents are wary that cross-endorsement can actually act as a brake on third-party growth, in that it encourages independent parties to re main junior partners in a patronage laden partnership with a major party, there is uniform support for overturning the legal barriers which prevent it. Justice David Souter went to the heart ofthe matter, pointing out the real reason for the ban: Its purpose was “simply to maintain the hegemony of the two par ties. They weren’t worried about voter confusion. They didn’t want new parties.” Unfortunately, this undemocratic impulse of the major parties to squash their independent rivals has been ele vated to a hallowed objective: “To pre serve the two-party system.” Though the Constitution does not even mention parties, let alone the two par ties we have now, both lawmakers and courts have consistently acted to pre serve the monopoly held by the Demo crats and the Republicans. The alterna tives posed by McKenna v. Twin Cities Area New Party are clear: Will the Jus tices choose democracy or the two par ties this time? ;