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The Aueusta News-Review March 9,1985
Mallory K. Millender Editor-Publisher
Paul Walker... Assistant to the Publisher
Georgene Hatcher-Seabrook(General Manager
Rev. RE Donaldsoi, Religion Editor
Mrs. Geneva Y. Gibson Church Coordinator
Charfes Beale Jenkins County Correspondent
Mrs. Fannie Johnson Aiken County Cbrresjxmdent
Mrs. Clara West McDuffie County Correspondent
Mrs. lleen Buchanan Fashion & Beauty editor
Linda Starks-Andreas - e P orter
Roosevelt Green Columnist
Al Irby,Columnist
Philip Waring-*...... .Columnist
Marva Stewart Columnist
George Bailey....,Sports Writer
Carl McCoyEditorial Cartoonist
Oiando HamlettPhotographer
Roscoe Williams. t . ..Photograpljpr
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Thanks to the Mini Theatre
Dear Editor:
We, the members of NAUW,
annually showcase the Negro Con
tribution in the the field of Art
during Negro History Month.
We wish to express our ap
preciation to the Augusta Mini
Theatre and their drama students
for making this years celebration
uniquely successful through
Jim Brown: The man
From Page 1
Jim was one of the greatest
atletes in sports history, a back
field superstar whom many foot
ball auditors say was THE greatest
of all time.
In only nine years with the
Cleveland Browns in the NFL, he
gained 12,312 yards
rusing—averaging 5.2 yards per
carry—anti that career rushing
record until last
season when Walter Payton,
superstar runner with the Chicago
Bears, broke it.
But Pay ton needed 10 years, and
his per-rush record does not match
Brown’s. On the other hand, while
Payton was at it, he also broke
Brown’s all-purpose record in of
fensive gains.
Prior to the 1984 season, it
seemed that Franco Harris,
longtime star with the Pittsburg
Steelers, would become the first to
break Jim Brown’s career rushing
record.
But Harris and the Steelers
Czvfl Rights Journal
- ■ ~
By Charles E. Cobb
“I will return.” These were the
closing words of South African
Leader Nelson Mandela as he
showed, once again, that more
than 20 years in a South African
prison have not broken his spirit...
nor his commitment to this people.
Bishop Tutu, this year’s Nobel
Peace Prize winner, has said that
Mr. Mandela will be South
Africa’s first Black prime minister,
that ‘‘he represents all our genuine
leaders, in prison and in
exile... Hence our call, ‘Free Man
dela’...”
But who is Nelson Mandela? It
is a sad commentary on American
foreigh policy and on our media
Walking with dignity
By Al Irby
It has taken the George Gersh
win-Dußose Heyward opera
“Porgy and Bess” a half century
to finally reach the stage of the
*High-n-Mighty’ Metropolitan
Opera. If any
whether or not TBB
‘Porgy was. an
opera, -the
prestigious . Wy* *’’’ |
“Met” dispell- fw I
ed them on fest aHk
Feb.
On that
evening, the Gershwin mast
erwork was finally given its first
Met performance—nearly 50 years
after the work first premiered in
Boston. Granted the Houston
Grand Opera production in ’76
showed the musical world that the
work belonged in an opera house.
Letter to the editor
dramatic readings choregraphed
by Mrs. Alice Davis, NAUW
chairman of the observance.
The talent and self-confidence
of these young people were rewar
ding to many.
Delores Walker, President
National Association of University
Women
couldn’t get together on salary and
the Steelers dropped him. He
signed on with the Seattle
Seahawks. But, after several
games, they also released him.
Meanwhile, Brown had
challenged the 34-year-old Franco
to a duel of sorts. They finally met
several weeks ago in four events in
Atlantic City. They each won two,
but Franco won the 40-yard dash,
which was “weighted” more
heavily than the other three events.
The events were televised (Jayne
Kennedy, formerly on “The NFL
Today,” was the hostess).
The television show was called
“I Challenge You.”
Jim Brown owns 33 1/3 percent
of it. He had high hopes that it
would become a syndicated
television serial. It may still be
syndicated. But, being snakebit,
Jim suffered this setback—just as
he had suffered others at inap
propriate moments in previous
time.
that most Americans can recite the
name of Poland’s recent hero,
Lech Walesa, but have never heard
of South Africa’s legendary
freedon fighter Nelson Mandela.
Mr. Mandela was a practising
attorney until he became a leader
of South Africa’s now-outlawed
African National Congress (or
Anc). For years he and the Anc
peacefully petitioned the minority
white ruled government for basic
democratic rights for the African
majority.
In 1960, however, the Shar
peville massacre put an end t these
peaceful requests. At Sharpeville,
the white South African police
opened fire on an unarmed
Porgy and Bess 9 make the Met
Black bourgeoisie throughout the
“Porgy and Bess” history has
never given complete loyalty to
Gershwin’s Porgy.
Nevertheless, sitting in the front
row of the orchestra were the
original pair of principals, Anne
Brown (Bess) and Todd Duncan
(Porgy), who sang at the opera’s
New York premiere on Oct. 10,
1935 at the Alvin Theatre. The
chorus, hired specifically for this
opera, numbers 70 adults, plus
children and dancers (the
Workshop Ensemble of the Dance
Theatare of Harlem).
The opera was presented
without cuts —a solid three hours
of music, plus two intermissions.
Porgy is an extraordinary opera.
The choral writing is a skillful and
lavish as anything in Verdi and
Page 4
Free Nelson Mandelin
u Hometimes
Jjg* HELPING
YOURSELF
■ CAN BE AS
EASY
AS JUST
UAlil ■■•Sitl STANDINS
UP!
BUCK PESoUQLES \NC
From The Wilderness
Open season on Blacks
By Marva Stewart
Recently, segments of the Black
community have questioned a
number of shootings involving
alleged Black crime suspects. The
question seems to bewhether or
not law enfor
cement officers
are deliberately gu ... 1!
fatally shoot-
Black
suspects or are * ”
the officers in
the performance of their duty,
giving both the Black and white
community a feeling of a «ense of
protection and security in knotving
that action will be taken’against
those who victimized our neigh
borhoods?
This business of race relatiqns’is
quite tricky. You see, Blacks do
not trust whites and whites do not
trust Blacks. Os course, Blacks do
gathering of Africans, killing 67
and wounding almost 200, mostly
in the back. Mr. Mandela and the
ANC, as well as another African
organization, the Pan American
Congress, then organized a
peaceful march in which 20,000
Africans participated. The South
African government reacted by
outlawing both the ANC and the
PAC and jailed over 11,000
Africans.
Mr. Mandela and other ANC
leaders then went underground.
When he surfaced again in 1962,
he was arrested and sentenced to
life imprisonment on brutal Rob
ben Island. At his trial in 1962,
Mr. Mandela uttered these
prophetic words: “Throughout 50
Wagner. The big tunes hardly need
introduction, but one is constantly
amazed at their variety and com
municative range, the superb way
they build up and arch, and how
effortlessly they follow one
another from overture to finale.
Fifty years ago, Dr. Hall John
son pointed out: “Mr. Gershwin’s
much publicized visits to
Charleston for local color do not
amount to even a matriculation in
the preparatory school that is need
for his work.” Duke Ellington
said: “The times are here to
debunk Gershwin’s lampblack
Negroisms.” The present
Metropolitan Opera cast is too
young to remember life in ‘Catfish
Row’ or the social conditions in
1935. One can take the
enlightened view that the
not trust Blacks, and whites do not
trust whites. A sad commentary on
so called modern society.
Suppose a Black rapist
brutalized a Black mother and her
daughter qnd a white police officer
shot this Black rapist as he was
running away from the crime.
What would be said? Did the of
ficer stop a brute from escaping
justice or did a white cop shoot
another brother?
Suppose a white youth was van
dalizing a white grocer’s store and
a Black policeman had to wrestle
and scuffle with the youth in order
to subdue him. Is this police
brutality, a “nigger” cop attacking
a white youth, or an officer per
forming his duty and protecting
the life and property of the white
grocer?
Finally, suppose a Black man
was just driving his car one day
years of existence the African
National Congress has done
everything possible to bring its
demands to the attention of suc
cessive South African governmen
ts. U.timately, if there is not
drawing of sanity on th part of the
government the dispute between
the government and may people
will be settled by force.”
Now, after 20 years imprison
ment, Mr. P.W. Botha, the white
president of South Africa, says the
government will release Mr. Man
dela if he will just disavow violence
in any form. Mr. Mandela replied
to Botha with these words: “Let
his renounce violence. Let him say
that he will dismantle apartheid...!
cannot sell my birthright nor am I
inhabitants of the original or
present day “Row” are no more
authentic than Bizet’s gypsies in
“Carmen” or Mascagni’s Sicilians
in “Cavalleria Rusticana.”
As Porgy, Simin Estes poured
out glorious sounds and had just
the right mixture of toughness and
lyricism. Grace Bumbry as ‘Bess’
sounded and acted like the brazen
sweet hussyjif the original Dußose
and Dorothy Heyward novel.
Gregg Baker’s Crown was as sen
suous as any that have been seen.
But, it was Florence Quiver as
Serena who brought down the
house with a magnificently ren
dered “My Man’s Gone Now.” I
was in the ‘Big Apple’ on a sad oc
casion, but I just had to~see the
greatest American opera ever writ
ten.
George Gershwin would have
and for no apparent reason he is
pulled over by a Black policeman.
This policeman’s only purpose is
just to let him know indirectly, of
course, that he has the
“authority” to stop and body
search at any time for any purpose.
Isn’t this a policeman abusing his
power? Isn’t this a brother vic
timizing another brother?
So this is an example of how
modern man in 1985 lives? Just
think, space shutttles travel back
and forth into space, test tube
babies and mechanical hearts are a
reality! It’s sad. With all of this
technology and knowledge, Black
people and white and other
racial and ethnic groups cannot
coexist peacefully. Too bad.
because it’s an oj>en season on the
destruction of modern society, and
worst of all, it’s an open season on
all of us.
pepared to sell the birthright of the
people to be free.”
Mr. Mandela also referred to his
wife, Winnie, a leader in her own
right. For the past 17 years she has
been banned by the government
and forced to live an isolated life,
apart from her people.
Yet, in the midst of new
outrages by the South African
government, there are alsosigns of
hope. For the first itme in over 20
years, the words of Nelson Man
dela were printed in a major South
African Newspaper, indicating the
effect of worldwide pressure.
Nelson Mandela promises to
return. We must all keep up the
pressure so that he can make good
on that promise.
been pleased. Like not other Tin
Pan Alley tunesmith, he aspired to
come up in the world with “Rhap
sody in Blue” and “Concerto in
F,” he brought jazz—or his ver
sion of it—off the streets and onto
the concert stage. With “Porgy
and Bess” his self-styled “folk
opera,” he converted his hit tunes
into “arias” and by his semantic
legerdemain moved his
music—and himself—even further
up into the dress circle of the
American arts.
Publicity was not the least of
Gershwin’s talents, and just in case
nobody else noticed, he clued in his
audience on the genius of “Porgy”
a combination of the drama and
romance of ‘Carmen’ and the
beauty of ‘Meistersinger.’ In fact
Gershwin knew almost nothing
about opera. He condescendingly
ToßeEguaL
Black infant
mortality a
grave issue
By John E. Jacob
Infant mortality rates in the
United States are relatively high
compared to other nations, and
there is a serious racial gap as well.
White infant mortality throughout
the U.S. is around 12.6 infant
deaths per 1,000 births, but the
rate for Black Americans is two
thirds higher and in some cities
over double the white rate.
More to the point, we are now
seeing a reversal of the trend of
falling infant mortality rates and in
some cities the Black child death
rates are escalating rapidly. This is
a major national public health
problem that must be addressed
with a sense of urgency.
The federal government con
tinues to think that infant mor
tality and public health are local
issues. Federal withdrawal has left
a gap in available health resources
for the poor and that policy is a
factor in the alarming rise in infant
mortality rates.
Federal maternal and child
health care programs are being
turned over to the states, but in
creased state responsibility has not
been matched by increased resour
ces; the fifty states give different
priority levels to the problem. Fur
ther, there have been cuts in
federal programs that provide
nutrition and health care assistance
to disadvantaged pregnant women
and their infants, the group most
vulnerable to high mortality rates.
Infant deaths can be prevented
by adequate nutrition and quality
health care. But manv Door oeonle
lack access to them. Nationally, for
example, almost eight million
children have no form of medical
insurance, private or public. In the
South almost a fifth of all children
are not covered by medical in
surance.
That means many poor families
delay seeking medical care because
of the cost, and large numbers of
pregnant women do not get the
pre-natal care necessary for com
plication-free births and healthy
infants.
Teenage mothers are especially
at risk. In addition to being more
vulnerable to pregnancy-related
nealth problems, they are
especially prone to deliver low
weight babies. And low-weight is
strongly associated with infant
mortality.
Such babies are twenty times
more likely to die in their first year
than babies of nomral birth
weight. A variety of handicapping
defects, including learning
disabilities, vision and hearing
problems and mental retardation
are related to low birth weight and
lack of prenatal care.
Such disabilities are preventable
with adequate care for mother and
child, and the failure of the
world’s richest nation to take ap
propriate measures that ensure
equal access to prenatal and
newborn care is scandalous.
It is not only bad social policy
but bad fiscal policy as well. In
trying to save pennies today by
short-changing such programs,
governments will only spend many
dollars in the future to pay for
caring for the victims of preven
tible disabilities and diseases.
„ Fortunately, many state gover
nments and voluntary
organizations are making an effort
to deal with the problem. The
Southern Governor’s Association,
for example, has set up a task for
ce, on which I serve, to en
courage more effective programs.
Many Black organizations with
roots in the community are making
teenage pregnancy a priority issue,
with efforts ranging from preven
tion to infant care. This is
especially important since teenage
pregnancy rates are high, and in
creasing among younger teenagers.
More needs to be done on both a
local an a national basis, for this is
literally a life and death problem.
regarded opera as “just singing in
costume.” Gershwin was not that
much more knowledgeable about
jazz. That’s why the great SBlack
jazz masters in Harlem rose up
against him, they saw his
shallowness in their field. But if
one can forget the opera and the
jazz and forget too, the out-of
cotnrol dialect of “Oh, de Lawd
Shake de Heavens”—how “char
med” everybody’s ear can be
satisfied by the melodies of
“Summertime” and “It Ain’t
Necessarily So” and “My Man’s
Gone Now”—then you would
know the real George Gershwin. .