Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 6 August 1999 — Page 10

PAGE A10

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, AUGUST 6,1099

Stop the economic cleansing of the Barton Apartments

Opinions Accepting the challenge of being African in today's world By JUNIOUS RICARDO STANTON (NNPA) - “/ love the challenge of being Afrikan in today’s world; it '.v wonderful! I love digging in my heels against the impossible odds of being black in America! What greater challenge could we have in life today than to be Afrikan? What greater testament to our heroism than to overcome the problems that face us today? What greater opportunity can we have to transform ourselves and transform the world in the process ? Why would we wish to escape this kind of challenge? It’s too wonderful, too magnificent. We should eat this kind of challenge for breakfast. ” - Dr. Amos Wilson Too many of us have an erroneous outlook on life and being African. We have internalized the lies, distortions and villainous depictions about ourselves and African people in general told to us by Europeans in order to maintain their hegemony over us. We think we have been cursed by God. Deep down inside many of us actually believe that a giant White man sitting off in space doomed us to be perpetual hewers of wood and haulers of water for our enemies. Then, we look at the conditions in our community and our world and conclude that our status must be divinely ordained. We forget that the key to our enslavement and debasement is wanton violence supported by planned psychological deception and manipulation in order to execute global imperialism and Subjugation. But, human beings have the ability to define and create their own personal space and environment. The only possible way a minority of the world’s population could conquer the majority of humans, exploit their creativity and expropriate the earth’s natural resources is through brute force and chicanery. That is the history backed by our enemies’ psycho-pathology. Before they did it to us, they had centuries of tradition doing it to themselves! Our biggest problem is we have bought into the lie of White supremacy and the myth of their invincibility. However, independent thought and serious study of our history and theirs clearly reveals they are neither innately superior nor invincible. Our ancestors vigorously resisted menticide andjuifathomable brutality to enable us to be here today. Things are not what they seem. If we were truly beaten and defeated or inherently inferior why do our enemies still go to such great lengths to destroy our families through "welfare” programs, the importation of alcohol and lethal drugs and state-sanctioned programs like COINTPRO. Do sane or moral people do this to folks who are obviously their inferiors? Don’t go for the okey-doke.. Think for yourself. The challenge before us is to awaken ourselves and overcome our lethargy by discovering our divinity, genetic potential and possibilities. This is the awesome task the CREATOR has set before each of us. It is more than a notion. It is a divine calling and a sacred mission/destiny. Only through us can Maat (divine order, balance, harmony, truth, justice, righteousness, reciprocity) be restored. Heroic epochs are opportunities of circumstance, first for the heros and sheroes to accept the challenge of self-actualization. On their journeys they discover their true self and the inner courage that will enable and ennoble them to triumph over staggering odds and overwhelming obstacles to accomplish what once seemed impossible. That is the challenge facing you/me/us today. The first step is to overcome our fears, doubts and the idea I/you/we can’t possibly be the ones to tip the scales from Isfet (falsehood, disorder, injustice, wickedness and alienation) to Maat. What greater challenge could we mount in our personal lives, in our community life or in our interactions with the world, than to stand up for justice, righteousness, truth and divine order? In a society based on, propagated by and maintained by falsehood and illusion, consciously deciding to live in truth and integrity is a declaration of independence of the highest order, an act of defiance against the status quo. It requires great courage, tenacity and fortitude. Once you commit yourself to Maat, the forces of Isfet will array themselves against you in vitriolic and subtle fury. Real heros and sheroes don’t punk out when things get really rough. We may have doubts and fears but we instinctively realize, if it is to be, it is up to me! Accept the challenge.

You may contact Junious Stanton at e-mail address: [email protected]

Gtorg* P. Stewart Marcus C. Stewart Sr.

Eunica Trottar

William G. Mays

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CIRCULATION

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ART A PRODUCTION gfProducdon Tarran Jamas - Jaana Lewie

Eight weeks ago I condemned the economic cleansing of downtown Indianapolis. The apparent policy of our lame duck Mayor * and his bureaucratic sycophants to rid downtown Indianapolis of the homeless, the poor, working class families, senior citizens and the handicapped. Reportedly, the Mayor had a hissy fit when the phrase “economic cleansing” first appeared here. Now, State Representative Bill Crawford and others are using “economic cleansing” to describe Indianapolis’ lack of affordable rental housing. It’s almost hypocritical that Goldsmith’s radio ads extolling the virtues of homeownership, while his Administration is doing everything it can to rid downtown of poor, elderly and working class renters. Goldsmith and the Republicans are adamant on transforming downtown Indianapolis into an exclusive enclave of affluent, quiche eating, cappuccino drinking, SUV driving “yuppies!” The latest symbol of the economic cleansing of downtown is the Barton Apartments. The 1Sstory concrete building at SSS Massachusetts Avenue has become the symbol of everything that’s wrong with Goldsmith’s policy of ambition first; people policies last. For the past year. Goldsmith’s • handpicked housing director, Eugene Jones, has been embarked on a campaign to close down the Barton and sell the property, ostensibly to a developer who’ II raze the building and him it into luxury condos. First they said the Barton was a flretrap. Except the fire department didn’t go along, repeatedly ruling the Barton safe. Then the city and IHA declared the Barton would be sold and the residents moved out by the end of the year. Now, Goldsmith and Jones are backtracking. Now they say if the residents raise or find $25 million bucks they can buy and renovate their building. It’s the ultimate cynical act from ij9! senior citizens, poor ana disabled^ residents of Barton Apartments to’ raise $25 million to save their home. It’s the 1999 equivalent of Marie Antoinette saying “let them eat cake.” Except how many cakes will those residents have to bake and sell to raise $25 million? The Barton issue, the latest egregious example of the economic cleansing of downtown, has now become an issue in the Mayor’s race. Democratic candidate Bart Peterson, along with Congresswoman Julia Carson and other political firepower including the NAACP are riding to the rescue of

Just Tellin'lt | ! By AMOS BROWN

the Barton residents. Peterson wants an immediate three-year moratorium on any discussion of selling the Barton Apartments. Carson and Crawford want to know what strategy the city has towards increasing low and moderate income rental housing. Bluntly, this city has no strategy to increase low and moderate income rental housing. We have a lame duck Mayor that seemingly wants to rapidly empty downtown of apy vestiges of persons making less than $25,000 a year. Republican mayoral candidate Sue Anne Gilroy, normally a compassionate politician with an empathy towards people, seems strangely paralyzed by the crisis at Barton and the larger issue of downtown economic cleansing. Someone needs to tell Gilroy that the number of low-income rental apartments downtown has declined precipitously the past three years, with no new units be-. ing added or planned! If the Barton Apartments are closed, the number of low-income apartments downtown would drop by a third! Those of you who think I’m overstating the problem of economic cleansing, here’s a challenge: tell me what our current Mayor or his successor’s plans (or

even the business community’s plans) are to eliminate economic cleansing of downtown neighborhoods. My number and e-mail address are listed at the column’s end. I’ll be waiting for your response; but I won’t be holding my breath since I know there’s no plan. It’s sad that the man helping George W. Bush create “compassionate conservatism,” doesn’t practice it in his own city. When it comes to the economic cleansing of downtown. Mayor Steve Goldsmith’s and Republicans’ conservatism isn'tcompassionate; it’s cold-blooded! What I’m Hearing in the Street The sincerity and-views of Bill Bradley impressed me. The former senator was here in Indianapolis briefly last week for a speech to the National Conference of State Legislators and a fundraiser. The former New York Knick star’s fighting , an uphill battle for the Democratic Presidential nomination against Vice-President Gore. While Vice-President Gore has been a strong supporter of issues of importance to African Americans, Bradley's been more outspoken on the issue of race. Bradley ’ s chances may seem hopeless now, so were the chances of a man from Hope, Arkansas this time eight years ago. I’m perturbed that Bill Bradley’s iundraiserhere last week ignored African Americans. City County Councilwoman Susan Williams and State Representative Ed Mahem helped organize

the event. I’m told there were 12 “hosts” for the breakfast fundraiser. None were Black. How could Williams, Mahern and the other local Bradley supporters plan a fundraiser that didn’ t include African Americans? I expect such exclusion from Republicans, not from leaders of the Democratic party which our Black community has loyally supported election after election! By contrast, a fundraiser held Saturday for Vice-President A1 Gore, featuring his wife Tipper, was well attended by African Americans from across the state. If the Gore campaign organizers can reach out to Blacks, why couldn't Bradley’s organizers?' The Indianapolis Public Schools new dress code has hit a positi ve home run; sending a strong message to our community. With its crackdown on outrageous ahd scandalous outfits (including sh6rt dresses, revealing tops and outfits and those disgraceful baggy, hanging down pants), the new dress code’s one of a number of positive policies implemented all year by an IPS School Board acting in concert. IPS still has a lot of hard work ahead of it. But with popular policies like the new dress code, making athletes hit the books, and taking a tough stand against violence and increasing academic standards, IPS is moving forward, not backwards. See ‘ya next week! Amos Brown’s opinions are not necessarily those of the Indianapolis Recorder. You can contact him at (317)293-9600or e-mail him at [email protected].

George W. Bush running into turbulance

Some “funny” things are happening on George W. Bush’s cushy ride to coronation and the* White House. Some turbulence has entered the Texas governor’s friendly skies at both ends of the political spectrum. Both the conservative wing of the Republican Party and the minorities that Bush has wooed with great success seem to be concluding that Bush’s vagueness, his refusal to take a stand on certain issues, could eventually show them to be “suckers.” Erstwhile Republican Sen. Robert C. Smith of New Hampshire has bolted the party, charging angrily that Bush “won’t take a position” on such issues as the right to bear arms, abor-

tion and tax cuts. He said GOP moderates have made a “charade” of a party platform that “isn’t worth the paper it’s written on,” so he intends to run for president as a thirdparty candidate. Meanwhile,

Gary Bauer, another conservative candidate for the GOP nomination, was telling editors of the Washington Times: “I do not believe the Republican Party can win if it serves up a

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candidate who tries to muddle all the major issues and will not talk in a clear and convincing way about those issues that motivate conservative voters.” Bush is expected to prevail because a huge majority of Republicans seem convinced that he can defeat any Democrat because he is an unusual Republican who has the support of large numbers of blacks, Hispanics and women. But questions are arising as to how quickly he might lose that support. Minorities expressed serious doubts about Bush after he made only a cameo appearance at a Seattle conference of about 5,000 minority journalists - and this only after he learned that Democratic contenders for the presidency, Vice President Al Gore and former senator Bill Bradley, would speak there. Bush declined to submit to the usual question-and-answer session and handed out his stock double talk about how he supports equal opportunity but is opposed to “preferences” and “quotas.” Bush lost more stature among minorities when it was revealed a few days ago that before he moved into the governor’s mansion, the house he owned in Dallas had a covenant restricting occupancy to “white persons only, not excluding bona fide servants of any race.” Bush’s campaign tried to dismiss that as “irrelevant” because the covenant was “dull and void tinder Texas law.” It is true that this racial exclusion couldn’t be enforced in Texas courts, but it was enforced in the court of public opinion in Bush’s social circles, as witness his aide Mindy Tucker’s assertion that “All the houses in that neighborhood have it.” Bush is still so far ahead that Republicans may wish to cancel their nominating convention; but we still need to hold the election.