Newspaper Page Text
8A
January 20, 2005
pinion
GUEST COMMENTARY By Bernice Powell
Unbought, unbossed
and unbridled
The deaths of two African American warriors for justice in
this scason when we lift up the name and legacy of Dr. Mar
un Luther King, Jr. and prepare for African American Histo
rv Month remind us that we stand on the shoulders of men
and women who fearlessly challenged systems of oppression
and those who protected them. Shirley Chisholm was the first
Atrican American congresswoman. James Forman was the
civil rights leader and executive secretary of the Student Non
violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).
M. Chisholm, an outspoken and fiery educator and for
mer state legislator, dared to run for Congress in 1968 with
the slogan “unbought and unbossed,” referring to the fact that
she ran against the Democratic party machine in Brooklyn
and against the men who were uncomfortable with a woman
in leadenship. She served in Congress for seven terms, despite
the fact that even there she tound herself challenging the “old
bovs network™ which had first tried to relegate her to the
House Agriculture Committee. “Apparenty all they know
here in Washington about Brooklyn is that a tree grew there,”
she said at the time, reminding her colleagues that there were
only nine African Americans in Congress and they should be
used as etfectively as possible. Not surprisingly, much of the
legislation she sponsored focused on education and children.
In 1972 Mrs. Chisholm decided to run for President to try
t torce the Democratic candidates to address the concerns of
women, poor people and people of color, becoming the first
Atrican American woman to do so. A film about her presi
denuad campaign was shown at the Sundance Film Festival
last vear and will be broadcast on PBS's Point of View on Feb
ruary 7.
Shirley Chisholm was keenly aware of the battles she faced
becanse she was a woman. “When I ran for the Congess,
when T ran for president, I met more discrimination as a
woman than tor being black,” she remarked.
Near the end of her political career Mrs. Chisholm made
several controversial decisions which were questioned by
many in her community, induding supporting Ed Koch for
New York City mayor and visiting Governor and former seg
regationist Creorge Wallace in the hospital after he had been
\}!l "
James Forman was a remarkable organizer and activist who
became the executive secretary of the Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee during the height of the civil rights
movement. SNCC was the organization of young people
who challenged their elders in both the white and black com
munities and insisted on immediate changes in the segrega
ton policies under which much of the nation lived. Mr. For
man was not nn]".’ the g,luc which held that all together, but,
together with Bob Moses, he also mapped out much of the
strategy for the group and was counselor, friend and instiga
tor for manv in SNCC.
At a major national meeting of black activists in Detroit in
1969, Mr. Forman presented the Black Manifesto which
demanded. among other things, reparations from Christian
and Jewish groups tor their role in slavery. In the spring and
summer following that meeting, he marched into The River
side Church in New York to read that demand publidy, and
then 1o meetings of such denominations as the United
Church ot Chnst. Many of them responded by setting up
programs designed to work in the African American com
munity and to develop new black leaders. The Commission
for Racial Justuce of the United Church of Christ was one
such organization, which continued to operate untl 2000,
when it became part of Justice and Witness Ministries, which
I serve as Executive Minister.
[n his later years Mr. Forman served as the president of the
Unemployment and Poverty Action Committee in Washing
ton, broadening his work to include economic justice issues.
Shirley Chisholm and James Forman. Names unknown by
many but unforgotten by those whose lives they touched.
Warriors for justice. Unbought. Unbossed. Unbridled. May
their work live on.
Charles W. Walker
Publisher
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What Iraqgi elections?
A nation devastated and
made completely unstable
by an unjust and poorly
planned war has left Iraqis
with few choices. Days
before the election there
have been no debates, no
positions made public, and
the voters still dont know
what options they will have
at the polls. A candidate list
has not been published.
The only candidate who
has been able to aggressively
campaign has been the USA
hand picked successor to
Saddam interim Prime
Minister lyad Allawi. s
this going to be an election
or a selection?
Less than five percent of
the public is expected to
vote and they will have to
vote for candidates they
dont know. They don'
know the candidates posi
tions on any significant
issues. They are unsure
where the polling places
will be and which method
they will be using to vote.
The voting is scheduled to
take place amongst chaos
and fear. The vale of vio-
The making of Jim Forman
NNPA Columnist
When I learned about
the death of Jim Forman,
the former executive sec
retary of the Student
Nonviolent Coordinat
ing Committee (SNCC),
it brought back many
memories. | spent the
summer of 1966 working
for SNCC in Atlanta. At
the time, I was 19 years
old and stood in awe of
the young warriors who
were on the cutting edge
of the Civil Rights
Movement.
To this day, I can't
think of better examples
of bravery. In no way do
I mean to minimize or
denigrate the contribu
tions of soldiers that go
off to war. Of course,
they are brave. But they
are trained for war and
know about the impend
ing danger. Unlike pro
fessional soldiers,
unarmed civil rights war-
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tions is whose fault? Is 1t
the fault of the poorly
planned war which destabi
lized the country by com
pletely destroying the infra
structure of this sovereign
nation? Was Iraq this out of
control prior to the war?
Was Saddam leading this
type of campaign of terror?
Did we hear of daily mur
der, death and suicide
bombings?
Prior to the unilateral
invasion and occupation
Irag was a stable country.
The sitting president had
his obvious limitations, as
do many leaders. President
Bush’s decision to attack
and dethrone a sitting pres
ident wasn't enough. Presi
dent Bush, against the
advice of some of his most
' |
oy
I Georde Curry |
riors put their lives on
the line without being
backed up by heavy
weapons, troops, planes
and ships. SNCC work
ers went to war armed
only with hope, determi
nation and a burning
sense of justice.
Jim Forman, always
dressed in overalls and
often puffing on a pipe,
was the resident sage of
SNCC. He remained
dedicated to human
rights until cancer got
the best of him at the age
of 76. A shrewd tacti
cian, in 1969 Forman
dramatically interrupted
seasoned advisers, decided
to annihilate the nation
along with its infrastructure
of order and civility. He
attacked their beliefs, secu
rity and way of life. Now at
the end of a gun barrel he is
trying to force upon them a
system that doesn't fit their
culture. President Bush'’s
desire for power was
stronger than his love for
people. While President
Bush touts his faith as the
impetus behind his action |
must admit that | pray to a
different God. My God
would not condone the
policies of this president.
The selection process of
January 30, will deliver
Allawi as the leader. Things
will not get better because
the people of Iraq will not
respect the outcome of an
election process that wasn't.
Just like they were supposed
to be so much happier
when Saddam was removed
from power once again we
will see that President Bush
is wrong. The cultural and
civil infrastructure of Iraq
must be rebuilt. The occu
a communion service at
Riverside Church in New
York to demand SSOO
million in reparations
from white churches and
synagogues as part of a
“Black Manifesto.”
Forman was more com
fortable serving in the
background of an organ
ization brimming with
youthful talent: John
Lewis, the future Con
gressman; Julian Bond,
now Board Chair of the
NAACP; Stokely
Carmichael, later known
as Kwame Ture; Charlie
Cobb, Willie Ricks, Bill
Mahoney, William Porter
and so many others that
I got a chance to meet
and study. I remember
being captivated by the
stories they would tell
upon returning from the
field to SNCC’s head
quarters in Atlanta.
One of Forman’s books,
“The Making of Black
pation, mock elections, and
terror diplomacy will not
achieve these ends. DPresi
dent Bush and his cowboy
diplomacy will continue in
the same direction because
conservatives put “stay the
course simple mind” back
in office. We are now pay
ing for the sins of a tyrant
we elected.
While he marches back in
the White House thousands
of men, women, boys and
girls in Iraq are marching to
jail with no due process and
crying over the graves of
their people and our peo
ple. It is only going to get
worst. As President Bush
said during the debates,
“This s hard work.” Did
you vote for this future? If
vou did do you like what
you see?
Dr. Watkins is a sociology
professor at Augusta State
University and the founder of
Unity Council Inc. He can
be reached via his website:
www.ralphwatkins.org
Revolutionaries,” first
published in 1972, cap
tures both the danger
and excitement of the
19605. The lives of
activists were threatened
on a daily basis because
they threatened the sta
tus quo in the Deep
South.
Forman writes, “In
Dallas County, only 130
black people were regis
tered to vote out of an
eligible 15,115, accord
ing to a 1961 Civi)
Rights Commission
Report.
Adjoining Wilcox
County had never had a
black voter, although its
population was 78 per
cent black. Lowndes
County, which also bor
ders Dallas and also had
a huge black majority,
had never had a regis
tered black person either.
Sec FOorman, page 10A
