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8A NOVEMBER o, Ivy/ AUGUSTA FOCUS Success of women’s march is good omen ast month in Philadelphia, wom en from all over America reded icated themselves to the ideal of family, sisterhood, community and solidarity. The NAACP was O‘Pm“d tobeone of the many supporters of this march as thou sands of our members were represented in the beautiful throng of black women. We participated as an organization because we believe in the goals and ob jectives of the Million Women March. We took pride in supporting the women who gathered in Philadelphia and in each of their personal and collective rea sons for being there. As someone who spoke at and was inspired by the Million Man March, I was equally supportive of the women of color nationwide who came together with a positive plan of action for the future. The stronger-than-expected turnout is another sign of the tremendous well spring of good intentions and motiva tions in our community as we move to gether to seek answers to the myriad of problems facing America and especially people of color. The de-emphasis on politics and the renewed interest in matters of the soul and spirit was both obvious and long overdue. While politics were very much a part of the march, it remained outside of the THIS WAY FOR BLACK EMPOWERMENT By Dr: Lenora Fulani Abolish the FEC! ith all the public furor over campaign finance reform and political corruption, it would also make sense to focuson the regulatory body which is in charge of the entire election process. That body is the Federal Election Commission. And, in a word, this Com mission has got, to go. . —_ The Fcc'm%%.sed in 1974:1ts Strye" ture and design was controversial,'and in « manyrespects, tainted from the very start. It was originally to be a six-member body, with Congress appointing four of the six commissioners, but the Supreme Court invalidated the structure of the Commis sion on the grounds that it violated the doctrine of separation of powers. Since the FEC was set up by Congress to oversee Congressional elections, Congress wanted to choose the people who would be check ing up on them. That would have been nice for Congress. But the Supreme Court didn’t buy it. In 1976, the FEC was restructured to have commissioners appointed by the President and confirr.ed by the Senate. In addition, two nonvoting members—the clerk ofthe House and the secretary of the Senate—were added. Obviously, the Democrats and Republicans wanted to hold on to as much control as possible over the FEC. However, in 1993, the courts struck down the “nonvoting member provision” as violating the separation of powers doc trine once again. The FEC had to recon struct itself for a second time in less than 20 years. By then, it should have been apparent that this was one of the most highly politicized bodies in the history of American government. Today the Commission is a six-member body, made up of three Democratic and three Republican appointees. Any enforce ment action undertaken by the Commis sion requires the vote of a majority of Commissioners—which meansfour. Con sequently, any time one party or the other wants to block an enforcement action, an investigation, a penalty or a fine, it can do so simply by having the Commissioners vote along partisan lines. Right now, some Congressional eyes are turning toward the FEC looking for ways to reform it, to make it ever so slightly AusustalfFQCUS ' Since 1981 A Walker Group Publication 1143 Laney Walker Blvd. main focus. There is a growing realiza tion that many of the problems, chal lenges and aspirations of our communi ties cannot be met or solved by govern ment entities. While government has a role in improving our lot and our lives, many are seeking other avenues for wholeness, that when properly devel oped, ultimately drive the body politic. It is inspiring to me that we are look ing toward the church, our God and each other for a more personal and fulfilling existence. Our nation’s elected leader ship would learn a great deal by spend ing time at events like the Million Wom en March to grasp the intent and spirit of our people and to learn how to reach out to other individuals rather than simply bicker, fight and posture. It may be that the Million Women March with all the exuberance and ex citement will serve as a larger catalystin the next century. As women across the world assume more responsibilities and respect each day, it is empowering to see agathering of problem solvers once again leading the way. Kweisi Mfume is the president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. For more information about the NAACP, con tact them at their web page: www.naacp.org. more balanced and inclusionary. Some of the smarter guys on Capitol Hill have figured out that the contours of American politics are changing and it would be best to be responsive to that. They are feeling the heat from the independent movement. Senater Max Cleland of Georgia has a new bill that would give one seat on the FEC to .an independent from among the indepen ‘:nt parties that garner pver three per mgent of the vote in national electigns. Two would go to Democrats. Two to Republi cans. Two to nonpartisans appointed by the Supreme Court. The truth about the Federal Election Commission is that it is a complete corrup tion, and putting independents on it won’t cure that problem. We need a regulatory body that is completely independent of government and of the parties. It hastobe an independent, nongovernmental appa ratus, since it supervises the process by which governmental officials are elected. Making it multi-partisan creates the ap pearance of fairness. But the body which regulates elections shouldn’t be partisan at all. Wehavetototally aolish the FEC, create acompletely independent and nongovern mental alternative and turn over any and all investigations it is currently conduct ing for review by the equivalent of an independent counsel. I know what it is to be an independent candidate thrust into the investigative net of the anti-indepen dent bipartisan Federal Election Commis sion. I've been under investigation by the FECsince my 1992 presidential campaign. I'have been accuse—and the exonerated— of being part of a criminal conspiracy to commit fraud and embezzlement of gov ernment funds. I've had to supply thou sands of pages of documents. Contributors to my campaign have been questioned by FECinvestigators; vendors whom my cam paign hired were subpoenaed for docu ments pertaining to their private business interests and not the campaign. There havebeen five years and hundreds of thou sands of taxpayer dollars spent on investi gating the crime of being an independent. Lenora B. Fulani twice ran for president of the United States as an independent, making history in 1988 when she became the first woman and African American to get on the ballot in all 50 states. Charles W. Walker Publisher Frederick Benjamin Managing Editor Dot T. 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(I" "‘} ""’,l.l\Cw. } y )% S TN -~ iAo . 1 | ‘l,’v’,’ / ',' e ‘ \ M ’2 HE BUCK STOPSTHERE “7\ ’:/' l’,‘, el" \.:,)\“\‘v\\ ; . - / o g Tl Y LW : . get v ~ . - ViM SR ] " 4 o \:\\ \\.:‘\ "\ f‘ -:‘\\‘ Pg,| -s - S e-y . ,’ "’;"“"' . ‘ ""‘ \"\‘\\\ g . ,%’_-—--. : N \\\Z\\\lfl\\h\‘.‘:\;‘__\‘_‘ _“s“_‘ ‘\., Tl _4:;;-‘ mlfiri' "'él‘l', ”: q\ )\\\ 7 ] Ve i AN : g . . R LY - 2 .’:.-:\'\ lv e S ? ! | oty ity e st ' AL _/L___fi__;_ CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL By Bernice Powell Jackson g Remembering the Little Rock Nine or young people, 40 years ago may be history, but for some of us, it seems like yesterday, or at least yesteryear. In the news these days is the reminder that it was only 40 years ago that a governor defied the federal government in a much publicized event in the civil rights move ment. It was all about the right of black children to attend public schools—the same public schools that whites attend ed, instead of the inferior, segregated ones they had attended for generations. The place was Little Rock, Arkansas, the home state of President Clinton and newspapers and televisions carry pic tures of the governor standing in the doorway of Central High and defying the court-ordered desegregation of Central High. It was only when President Eisen hower ordered in federal troops that the nine black students, dubbed the Little Rock Nine, were able to enter the build ing. Escorted by members of the 101st Air borne, the nine teenagers braved mobs spitting on them, shouting epithets and threatening them and their families. Most of uscan hardly imagine how fright ening, how disgusting, how exhausting it must have been for those nine chil dren. One recalled never once having gone to the bathroom at school since the soldiers couldn’t go in with her for pro tection. One remembers her dress so wet with spit that she could wring it out. Another recalls the FBI asking her par ents for permission to fingerprint her so that they could identify her body when it was found. Several still are uncomfort able in crowds and at least one admits to spending thousands of dollars in thera py. Miraculously, the Little Rock Nine TO BE EQUAL By Hugh B. Price Actions speak louder ast June, President Clinton urged our nation to lay the groundwork for becoming what he calls “One America in the 21st century” by confrontingits lingering tensions over race. America must heed his advice. We all have an enormous stake in that effort because ourracial difficulties undermine our many strengths. On amoral level, America can’t preach human rights to other nations when racial injustice continues to fester in our own. On a pragmatic level, we won’t be prepared to compete in the global mar ketplace if the dynamics of race and ethnicity continue to deny millions of people a first-rate education. The Urban League has acted to pro mote racial harmony and inclusion for nearly a century; and we've recently joined with the National Conference, Anti-Defamation League, National Council of La Raza and Leadership Ed ucation for Asian Pacifics in the Nation al Voices coalition to more effectively do that. - We salute the President and the early steps his task force of distinguished cit izens has taken. But, to be blunt, we worry that the initiative is too long on dialogue and too short onaction. Talk is not enough. Now .is the time for actions to speak louder than words—in order to empower the words with real meaning. For one thing, the President can react swiftly to the dismaying recent an nouncement by Gilbert Casellas, chair man of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, that he’ll re sign at the end of the year. Casellas is widely admired in the civil rights community for trying to effective ly lead an agency burdened with a huge members survived and even flourished after their frightening experience. They include an accountant, a social worker, a real estate salesperson, a clinical psy chologist, a teacher, a journalist and an investment banker. But only one re mains in Little Rock; two no longer even live in the U.S. The lessons of the case of the Little Rock Nine could be many, if the city of Little Rock and if our nation chooses to learn them. Clearly, the case proved that the federal government did have the authority and the right to make sure that constitutional rights overrode so called “states’ rights.” Indeed, the term “states’ rights” is a code word even today for African Americans, who remember the use of it during the Little Rock Nine case and therefore many of us are dis trustful of recent moves by states to take control of welfare. But what have we learned about schools and integration? In most large cities, students of color attend schools which have few white students. Mean while, the Supreme Court have been overturning desegregation orders and has ruled that suburban school districts cannot be forced to accept urban stu dents as a means of redressing segrega tion. Terrie Roberts, one of the Little Rock Nine comments, “It’s not about separating or integrating; it’s about try ing to find a formula that’s going to supply black children with what they need to succeed in society.” He also recalls that their hope was that when whites saw that not all blacks carried weapons and that they were real human beings that they would accept the black students. “But after they knew us, they still didn’t like us,” he said. - And what have we learned about how caseload and a too-small budget. His own assessment—that the agency “could do a lot better if we had more money, more people, more support”—ought to galvanize the White House to take the action necessary to eliminate its backlog of 80,000 cases and enable it to stay current with its caseload from now on. Secondly, Clinton and the task force must continue to remind the nation that by the middle of the next century, half the population will be people of color. That reality underscores how important promoting inclusion and equal opportu nity is. America’s economic and civic vitality will increasingly be dependent on non white workers, entrepreneurs, taxpay ers and customers. The better educated this growing segment of the American population is, the more robust our econ omy, the more harmonious our society and the more secure the entire popula tion will be. Court decisions and state ballot initia tives may alter some of the tools and mechanisms used to reach that goal. Butthe President’sinitiative should keep the nation’s eye on the prize of inclusion —in the neighborhoods we live in, in the schools and colleges we attend, in the companies we work for or own—even if the mechanisms used to achieve it have to evolve. The President can drive that point home by inviting corporate CEOs, Cham ber of Commerce leaders and university presidents to high-profile meetings to affirm their commitments to inclusion. Similar summits involving grass roots organizations like the Urban League and our partners in National Voices and other community and religious institu tions could be held 'simultaneously all across the country to shore up the na we mug all actively participate in end-, ing ralclm? In a recent CBS Sunday Morninginterview, a white citizen of Little Rot, who was a student during the time € the Little Rock Nine, com-, mented thit most people believe that, the near-n’r which accompanied the: desegregatity were the actions of a small minority of he people. He was then. asked by the gporter, “Well, why didn’t the majority Bfak out and say this was| wrong?” He Yad no answer to that question. Indeq, what might have hap-' pened if white hildren walked next to! the black childl\fi? What would have. happened if whie clergy had walked| with them? Whatwould have happened| if white mothers a\d fathers had been at their sides? Finally, what hae we learned about the toll taken on thee who dare to chal lenge racism, to bepn the front lines? Young people were dten in the forefront of the civil rights aovement—at the lunch counters, on he Freedom Ride busses, in desegregasd schools. Many of them, like that meaber of the Little Rock Nine, have needd extensive psy chological treatment; rany others have needed long-term medial care for dam aged kidneys, crushed kulls and other injuries. The Little Rock Nine blieve their par ents’ bravery and detemination have never been recognized ether. At least one family had their hous bombed and one father lost his job. [ave we ever really acknowledged the szrifices these heroes and sheroes made »r all of us? As we carry on this natioml conversa tion on race, the Little Roc Nine case has lots of lessons for us. Wéust have to .ask the right questions to larn them. tional commitment to inclusia. The President’s initiative rust also squarely confront the festerinjissue of police misconduct and brutalit; toward minority civilians. The 1996 klling of Jonny Gammage by white policeofficers outside Pittsburgh, the viciousassault on Rodney King and, most recettly, the barbaric attack on Abner Louina are just the most notorious of a widapread pattern of law enforcement tactig that often ensnare civilians who've dae lit tle or nothing wrong. Of course, we must catch andpunish criminals and maintain order byenforc ing “quality of life” laws. But feating trivial offenders and true innocedts like hardened criminals is dangerousy coun terproductive. If there’s oneflesson America should have learned ly now, it’s that race relations won’t ipprove until there is peace between polpe and the minority civilians they are syorn to serve. The President and the task force should summon governors, mayors and state and local police chiefs in order tdfocus public attention on the urgent nded for reform. Clinton should insist thit the Justice Department investigate and pros ecute any patterns of abuse found in police departments. Finally, he should instruct the U.S. Solicitor General to urge the courts to scale back the run away discretionthat has encouraged this abuse of power. ‘ These are just some of the tests the President and the task force must pass if their work is to extend the Anerican Dream to all Americans. Only taen will the country embody the slogan of the President’s initiative on race: “One America in the 21st century.”