Newspaper Page Text
2A
April 12, 2007
National World
Sharpton: Imus Should be fired,
but blacks should share the blame
&'NHAZEL TRICE EDNEY
PA Corm&ndcn(
WASHINGTON
(NNPA) - New York
activist and former Democ
ratic Presidential candidate
Al Sharpton says radio and
television talk show host
Don Imus should be fired
for calling a team of college
ba.skc(bal% players “nappy
headed hos”. But, Sharp
ton, who has also spoken
against gangsta rap lyrics
lh;l[ dcni&rati Blackpwo'mcn
says Blacis should also be
held accc;]untablc for allow
ing it to happen.
bl'vc alllcu) for his termi
nation and announced that
we're going to start picket
ing the station ... to the
point where Imus publicly
African-Americans facing ‘Digital Dimmer’
?&{,OHN KENNEDY
AM’ Mdem
WASHINGTON
(NNPA) — While the num
ber of African-Americans
who frequent the Internet
continues to grow, White
Web users maintain a good
lead amidst the so-called
digiral divide, according to
a recent Pew Internet and
American Life Project
study.
What was once the “digi
tal divide” has evolved into
the “digital dimmer
switch,” says Pew associate
director Susannah Fox,
referring to various degrees
of Internet access and dif
ferences between popula
tion segments. “I technical
ly don't even use that term,
[digital divide] “because
that almost sounds like
there’s an on/off switch and
that’s less the case then it
was years ago.”
The div?fic is still signifi
cant, but increasing for
African-Americans and
Whites. The survey,
released five months ago,
reveals that 58 percent of
Howard Universitg cuts ties with
companies doing business in Sudan
By NNPA
WASHINGTON
(NNPA) - The Howard
University Board of
Trustees has become the
first at a historically
Black college or universi
ty to pass a resolution
divesting from Sudan
and ceasing to do busi
ness with any company
doing business in the
African nation, says a
statement released by the
Washington, D.C.-based
university.
More than 450,00 have
died from violence and
war-related causes and
2.5 million have been
displaced in the Sudan as
the government has been
engaged in a vicious pro
gram of ethnic cleansing
since 2003.
"Clearly, it is the right
thing to do,” says
called today and said he
wanted to meet with me to
talk about it. I said the only
way | would want to meet
with him would be in front
of a Black audience,” Sharp
ton says in an interview.
“This is blatant racism.”
Sharpton said, “The FCC
[Federal Communications
Commission] ought to take
him off the air” and added
that he was writing a letter
requesting that the agency
does just that. Bur, Sfismrp
ton says Black musicians
and rappers should also be
held accountable for
degrading slurs of Black
women.
“That’s the reason why |
thought someone like me
coul§ take this on because
| &5
T
e ~.,\:f.'
oA ® . dpe}
ikt Al R s
Susannah Fox
African-American adults
use the Internet as opposed
to 72 percent of Whites and
69 percent of English
speaking Hispanics. Pew's
March 2000 poll indicated
that 35 percent of African-
American adults used the
Internet while 48 percent of
Whites did the same. This
shows a seven-year increase
for 66 percent for Blacks
and 50 percent for Whites.
The issue of the digital
divide is crucial because
Internet access is becoming
increasingly essential for
everyday needs, such as the
search for employment
Howard President H.
Patrick Swygert, in the
statement. “The situa
tion in the Sudan is
intolerable and has been
so for a long time. As an
institution that has
always opposed such fla
grant disrespect for
human rights.
Howard joins seven
states and the U. S. in
imposing sanctions
against Sudan as the
movement increasingly
looks like the anti
apartheid protests that
led Black South Africa to
freedom, ;
Among those leading
the cause is radio talk
star Joe Madison, who
last year called on
Howard to divest from
the war-torn nation.
“HBCUs have a close
relationship with coun
tries in Africa, and with
AUGUSTA FOCUS
I've been critical of that,”
says Sharpton. “I took on
the rappers on that...l said
many people are not going
to lizc me jumping (;)nhthc
ngsta rappers. | said then,
%vi’rgcs goin%p to give license
to Whites to do this. Now
that they do it, we don't like
i
On April 4 on his syndi
cated radio show “Imus in
the Morning,” which airs
live on MSNBC, Imus
referred to the Rutgers
women’s basketball team as
“some nappy-headed ‘hos”,
which in gangsta rap lyrics
is commonly used for the
term whore.
Imus’ slur came in
response to his executive
producer Bernard
opportunities.
“Many companies now
no longer rely on or even
use paper application
forms,” says Barbara Craw
ford, director of the AT&T-
National Urban League
Digital Career Academies.
“%X/hen otential employ
ees go to fl;)ll out an applica
tion, they have to filrit out
online.” Educationally, the
lack of Internet access puts
students ac all levels at a dis
advantage for assignments
or distance learning pro
grams.
People are acquiring certi
fications and degrees via the
Internet,” says Crawford.
“It's a major vehicle for
doing research.”
Those with access to that
infinite volume of informa
tion are often able to use it
to well-informed decisions,
including in competitive
situations.
“Internet users feel they
can go online and get just
in-time, customizab%c infor
mation about important
questions in their lives,”
says Fox. “Someone who is
not online does not have
the continent,” Madison
told the magazine,
“Diverse Issues in Higher
Education”. Madison
told Diverse,
“They have a historical
connection. They have
educated post-colonial
leaders. But most impor
tant of all: They're
African-Americans. So
they have a kinship to
Africa and a moral obli
gation to take the lead
on this.”
Says Swygert, “Howard
University has to use
whatever options avail
able to pressure the gov
ernment, and hopefully
bring to an end, sooner,
rather than later, the suf
fering and wanton
killing of so many peo
ple.”
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Al Sharpton
McGuirk, who called the
team, which has eight
African-American players,
“some hard-core ‘hos.
access to that information,”
While some of this online
information may concern
perceptually trivial issues
such as minor purchases,
there are vital resources that
can only be reached on the
Web.
“There are now many
more government services
online than there ever were
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Don Imus
McGuirk then took it a step
further, describing the
teams in which Tennessee
defeated Rutgers in the
before,” Fox says. “So those
who are offline are not able
to access that information
or those services [as easily].”
Populations of people older
than age 55 can be greatly
disadvantaged by this
inability to reach certain
government services, many
of which are related to
NCAA women’s basketball
championship, as “The
Jigaboos verses the
\X%mnabcs", apparently a
take from gpikc Lee's
movie, Do the Right Thing.
Following a firestorm of
criticism, Imus has apolo
rized for the remark and
R'iSNBC has distanced
itself from the remark by
issuing a disclaimer. But,
Sharpton and others say
none of that is good
enough.
John Smith, publisher of
the Adanta Inquirer and
chair of the National News
paper Publishers Associa
tion, says he agrees with
Sharpton that “part of its
Sce Imus, page 8A
healthcare, social security
benefits and retirement.
A 2004 Pew study, “Older
Americans and the Inter
net, revealed that while 58
percent of Whites ages 55
to 64 are online, only 22
percent of African-Ameri
cans of the same age group
See Digital, page 9A