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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 Aungnste Q Theresa Minor ‘FOG 5 Editor-in-Chief Stnee 1981 v Walker Group Publication 4(fl \ 1143 Laney Walker Blvd N A ' G Ebony Brown Marketing Manager Mary Kangal Subscription Coordinator James Wilkins Circulation Manager Jessica Baptiste Staff Writer Reneé Norris Graphic Designer Jason Vitello (;nphjc Daigtr /. ’%3:’//,/_"',& WWV‘M‘M'\U‘:&A‘; a 7 % 3 7§ N <l7 # ?‘ Py 2 1 if® . A I# (//Z{ ¥ QELIA N ////% ) G * 3, ,% ‘ °°° ‘b/ e “.VA- .t //, / P Y 91Y<C FO 1 « N\ 5 P 4 TR g A T e | 5, S W W e MlmAly o 7 e — e’ Y/ . = r Ao | 40 K. ‘ (* /4 ’/// q/( o | AeS=(E5 u 27 73, ? &“P‘, ol FA DU !,1( £ ‘///,({ 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- AUGUSTA FOCUS T TGN ) Mackun_thwty "?\ . Or. Ratgh €. vmahirn TR 4 lcncu (h.ll covers lhc Cl(.'(" 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