Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 20 July 1996 — Page 2

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THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

SATURDAY, JULY 20,19S8

EMfORUIS

Politically correct but morally bankrupt: another execution Capital punishment is nothing more than state organized and state sanctioned murder. The Old Testament speaks of an “eye for an eye;” so we might assume that it calls for a life for a life. On the other hand, another pillar of Christian belief, the Ten Commandments say quite simply, “thou shall not kill.” Perhaps this is one reason that many who claim to be Christians are on both sides of the capital punishment debate. Some Christians call for the death penalty and in fact want it used more often, while other Christians, including whole denominations, stand firmly against it. It is clear vengeance is behind much of the support for the death penalty. People who have seen loved ones die at the hands of another human being can be understood in their need to see their loved one’s killer die by the hand of an executioner. At least this feeling is understandable and certainly not surprising. Others who support the death penalty seem to be a little more than voyeurs who seem infatuated with the idea of vengeance against any and all people who have taken another’s life. In fact, T-shirts celebrating the death of the condemned and cheers when the execution is carried out make the event seem like a sadistic sporting event. The Romans are reported to have cheered as they saw Christians eaten by lions. For much of American history executions were public spectacles which occasioned picnics and which also served as family entertainment. Some Americans have always had an appetite for the self righteous application of the death penalty. In many instances state sanctions were not necessary. Countless Americans have been executed for everything from smiling at the wrong time to mass murder and everything in between. Of course, none of those who have executed people without the benefit of a trial or by benefit of an unfair trial have ever been themselves executed. Perhaps justice is blind — and deaf and dumb. We’ve evolved from these spectacles in the town square to private executions which very few ever see. This is an attempt to provide some civility to a savage act, namely the killing of another human being against their will. In the scheme of things a killing is a killing whether it is carried out by the state or by some bad person. Christians, Muslims and Jews don’t agree, family members don’t agree and newspapers don’t agree on the issue and the substance of the death penalty. That in and of itself is OK. But we’ve said it before and we will say it again. It is wrong to execute only poor people for the crime of murder. This is the way that the death penalty has been realized in Indiana and it is primitive and it is evil. One evil following another. We have managed to write a new version of the old testament admonition. In Indiana we believe in an eye for an eye as long as you don’t have a good lawyer. That’s how our death toll will mount and some people will feel good that we execute a few of the murderers in Indiana because we don’t care much for poor people in this state whether they are convicted of murder or not. We get two for the price of one. One less convicted killer and one less poor person. Or put another way, “a poor man’s eye for an eye”.

• ■ . ! • ', . T VrV ‘■jTfjfcw m -'*-•+ , . 4 " ■ % Plans to end the scourge of bigotry

It has become more and more, apparent in recent months that America’s robustly pluralistic society is at a fateful point in the nation’s history. On the one hand, we have witnessed acts of violence — arson attacks against Black churches; the desecration of schools and synagogues with swastikas; and the wanton beating of unarmed and disenfranchised Latino migrants, which confirm that bigotry and racism remain an ugly reality of American life. However, the exciting and hopeful news is that these cowardly acts have spurred many individuals and groups to redouble their efforts to erase the scourge of bigotry before it shreds the social cohesion that binds our people, and thus, are* nation together. We at the National Urban League have recently joined with several

other human rights and human relations organizations, the AntiDefamation League, the National Conference, founded as the National Conference of Christians and Jews, and the National Council of La Raza, to speak out against intolerance and, even more important, recommend specific ways society can combat it. We’ve called our joint effort the National Voices for an Inclusive 21st Century. That name is meant to underscore the fact that America’s ability to compete in the “global village” of the new century hard upon us, will require a cohesiveness—an inclusiveness —the nation has never before achieved. Some look upon this future with dismay. We regard the challenge it presents to all of us with great excitement, as a manifestation of the wisdom of the words

of Genesis 50:20 — What man meant for evil, God meant for good. In this and the following two columns, I’ll discuss some of the “points of action” to which we in the National Voices coalition have pledged our resources in order to bring this future to America in all

its glory.

Simply put, our purpose is to call Americans to action on behalf of social justice. No society can be open, free and cohesive end economically strong if its people are constantly at war with each other. We are all diminished by any act of violence and discrimination against any of us. And the reality is that none of can afford to pretend that the bigotry directed against others won’t touch us or our families sooner or later. Thus, one of the most important task for us all is to call to an account those elected officials and other

opinion leaders who play the tawdry game of “wedge politics” — pitting people against each other based On race, ethnicity, culture, faith, other differences. Our new initiative, “Bigotry Watch,” which is getting under way this summer, will monitor the public discourse in order to challenge those who irresponsibly use their positions to fan the winds of intolerance. In that regard, we consider it imperative that in this national election year the presidential candidates vigorously present specific proposals to eradicate the racism and other “isms” which are tearing at the nation and foster a spirit of tolerance and inclusiveness. America needs to hear from them the country can make its economy more efficient profitable for everyone with minimizing the “downsizing” that has brought so much pain and anxiety to so many. America needs to hear their proposals for reducing the unacceptably high rate of unemployment among the nation’s youth, especially those who are Hispanic and African American, which is such a significant cause of the skyrocketing increase in juvenile crime. America desperately needs to hear the proposals for improving our public schools, and thus, improving the chances that millions of youth who will go on to lead

productive lives.

And we also need to hear from them how they intend to help renovate the nation’s decaying infrastructure—its bridges, roads, water and sewer tunnels, railroad beds, mass transit systems, and so on. You may ask what these thing have to do with our goal of promoting community healing and harmony. I say they are critical components of it for two reasons. One is that unless we attack and resolve these and other “quality of life” problems, we’ll have no chance of improving the spirit of tolerance and the sense of common purpose which Americans have always boasted defines our nation. The second reason flows out of the first. It is that by working together on these problems, which affect us all regardless of who we are and where we live, we can rediscover and renew the communal spirit which has indeed defined

America at its best.

Thus it is by pursuing a vision of social and economic inclusiveness —of opportunity for all—that we can, to paraphrase the words of the famed poet, Langston Hughes — help American be America.

Finding the good and praising it

I recently received a letter from Rodney Slater, the administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, who wrote of visiting the grave of Alex Haley, the author of “Roots.” Mr. Slater recalled that on Alex Haley’s tombstone are the words, “Find the good and praise it.” It’s been a difficult summer already and we’re only at the beginning of it. Churches burning across this land. More Supreme Court decisions setting back voting right for African Americans in the South and affirmative action for students in Texas. But there have also been some good things which have happened and we need to praise them. There have been some moments when human decency and love won out. We must celebrate those signs of hope in order to go on. There were few reports about her. “NBC Evening News” did a

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focus on her, but I didn’t see or hear or read any other mentions of Keisha Thomas. But Keisha Thomas is an example of the good. Maybe you saw a few seconds of footage on television news showing a scuffle between Michigan (Clansmen and antiKlan marchers a few weeks ago. It happened in Ann Arbor and the marchers soon were battling on the streets. And when the anti-Klan marchers began to pummel and kick a man who had tripped and fallen in the melee and who was dressed in a Confederate flag T-shirt; Keisha

Thomas, an 18-year-old Afri-can-American woman, threw herself over him to stop the crowd. “He was just a man,” was all Keisha could say, in explaining why she protected . him. He didn’t deserve to be beaten for his beliefs, even those she disagreed strongly with, she implied. The picture of this young woman called to mind a similar picture of Archbishop Desmond Tutu a few years age throwing himself over a man believed to be an informer by an angry crowd of Black South Africans. It was only Tutu’s action which stopped this man from being killed. I doubt whether the Ann Arbor crowd would have killed this Klan supporter, but they certainly could have done great injury to him. My prayer is that this man will be changed by that day and come to see African

Americans in a new light and that he will never again wear a shirt with a Confederate flag on it. The other sign of hope grows out of the church fires still being started across this land. Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of Americans have been touched by these beinods crimes. Money has poured into the National Council of Churches; mote than 1,000 have indicated their desire to join work camps; and many of us have been deluged with requests to develop relationships with the burned churches. Some local churches have taken this as an opportunity to open discussion between the races in their communities and to join in projects at home. Perhaps we will now begin the hard work, the difficult dialogue about race in this nation which we must do if we are to survive in the 21st century. Thst is my prayer and my hope.