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A Closer Look
African History is Black History: Part 111 '
The myth of reverse discrimination
i If we trace the struggles of
iourblack Africanbrothersand
'sisters from as far north as
‘Tunisia to as far south as
‘South Africa— from Ghanain
‘thewest to Somaliain the east
— from the shores of the Car
ribbean to the United States,
'we will see thelegacy of coloni
rzation. The colonized and the
rcolonizers still stand at differ
‘ent extremes in today’s socio
‘economic world hierarchy.
' Whenwefightback and point
.totheirracist past and present,
‘by demandingjustice, they say
:we are practicing reverse dis
.crimination. My question is:
how can we practice reverse
‘discrimination, when we have
‘neverreached parity? They are
istill building on the legacy of
itheir racist past by the con
‘tinuation of a racist present
‘that is progressing toward a
ILETTERS »
The public has a crucial role to play in school bus safety
* Numerous concerns have
come forth over the past year
withregard toschool bussafety;
such as bus equipment, driver
training, studenteducation, etc.
However, another major com
ponent to school bus safety re
sides with the general public’s
adherence to basic trafficregu
lations, particularly with re
gard to bus stops, loading and
‘unloadingofchildrenalongthe
‘various streets and roadways
‘throughout our county.
Thisissue wasoneof concern
‘tothoseschool busdrivers with
‘'whom I rode on their various
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Special Edition of 26 Action News at 5
with Danielle Reese and Rich Everitt
.Live reports from Salt Lake City
. Exclusive interviews and behind the
scenes look at the 2002 Games
By Rich Everitt in Salt Lake City
: Complete coverage of the
days top stories and weather
FEBRUARY 11*-22"¢
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ACTION AN
black &
Raiph C. Watkins ,@ ’
future that looks more like
the same old thing.
We can’t move in reverse
until racism stops moving for
ward.
Americans are quick tosay,
“Why am I blamed for some
thing my grandparents did? I
didn’t own slaves!” Our re
sponse must be, “if you are
willing to renounce all of the
undeserved enrichment as a
result of America’sracist past
andpresentthenwecantalk.”
Americansstill benefit from
a racist America, but they
choose to be blind to this un
routes last year. Far too many
timesdriversof vehiclesdonot
stop when the school bus stop
sigr. is raised nor is caution
used in approaching bus stops
where children are standing
near a street or road. It was
only a month ago that an el
ementary student was hitby a
car while preparing to get on
his bus because the driver of
the car did not heed traffic
safety rules. It was a miracle
that this child was not more
seriously injured in this inci
dent. Prior to this, nearly two
yearsago, another youngchild
deserved enrichment because
they think they somehow
worked for it. They think that
they worked harder than the
black kid that sits across from
them in a classroom, not real
izing they inherited their seat
atthetable whilethe black kid
fought for his. Their seatin the
classroom and the boardroom
is a living reminder and an
actual outcome of their unde
served enrichment. Thelegacy
of race, racism and colonialism
isn’t about actions in the dis
tant past, but rather it isabout
the discriminatory, oppressive
acts of the present.
When you study Afriga and
her nations as they stand to
day, you see the same thing
you see in America. You see
nationsdevastatedby theblows
of a world economic system
that is intent on holding them
was severely injured by a car
while waiting at the bus stop
and that driver has yet to be
apprehended.
Childrenarenowbackinschool
following the holiday vacation.
While there are many aspects to
bus safety, I would like to remind
the general publictodo their part
by adhering to safe driving prac
ticesandgivingattentiontothose
areas in your community which
serveasbusstops. Perhapsmore
stringent penaltiesshouldbecon
sidered for violation of bus stop
signs. Also, I ask that parents
continue to stress to their chil
in bondage. What we see hap
pening on a global scale to
African nations, we see hap
pening to African Americans
in this nation. We see people of
color colonized tocertain parts
of the city, denied access to
quality education and eco
nomic empowerment. We see
black colonies in all of our
major cities throughout this
country. The connection is
clear. Thetrend hasneverbeen
reversed. The power of race
and racism rolls on.
How can you put a car in
reverseuntil you have stopped
going forward?
Dr. Watkins is a professor of
sociology at Augusta State
University and can be reached
at (706) 737-1735 or email:
rwatkins@aug.edu.
drenthesafetyaspectsofridinga
bus as well as exhibiting appro
priate behavior while on the bus.
One advantage is that school
busesareratherlargeandyellow
and should be easily seen; but
thenitusuallyindicatesthereare
some little people nearby who
mightnotbesoeasilyseen. Drive
with caution.
Helen Minchew
Augusta, Ga.
Richmond County Board of
Education Trustee District 10
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Hungry child
From page 8A
speech he gave half a century
ago.
The Act to Leave No Child
Behind will expand existingfood
programs to more preschool
children and toddlers, increase
thenumber of after-school pro
grams providing snacks and in
some cases dinner, restore food
stamp eligibility to legal immi
grants, and increase food
stamps for low-wage families
with children, particularly fami
lies with high housing costs.
Making sure Congress passes
these provisions will help all
kinds of families, but because
Black children are dispropor
tionately at risk, they are espe
cially important for Black chil
dren and families. They will
ensure that at least 400,000
more Black children will re-
Feature your house of
worship news in the Amen
Corner. Fax data on your
upcoming revivals, church
anniversaries, pastor
installations, temple hours,
and other information to
(706) 724-8432.
FEBRUARY 14, 2002
ceivefood stamps, more Black
children will participate in
school or child care based
food programs, and ulti
mately, fewer Black children
will go hungry. And they will
helpmotherslike Angela Tay
lor make sure she has more
to give her children than just
a can of soup — and that
neither she nor her children
will have to go to bed hungry
another night.
(To learn more about the
Movement and the Act to
Leave No Child Behind and
what you can do, call 1-800-
CDF-1200 or visit
www.childrensdefense.org.)
Marian Wright Edelman is
president of the Children’s
Defense Fund (CDF), which
coordinates the Black Com
munity Crusade for Children
(BCCC). CDF’s mission is to
Leave No Child Behind.
9A