Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 28 December 2001 — Page 7

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2001

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

PAGE A7

Readers Respond

Do Black men fail their families?

By LEE HUBBARD When Michael Alexander Jr. was bom in 1989, his father wanted to make sure he was around to give his son the love and direction that he had lacked in his own childhood. “When I was growing up, my father wasn’t around,” said the elder Alexander. Although his relationship with his son’s mother ended soon after the child was bom, he’s kept the promise he made to himself on the day of the baby’s birth. A constant presence in his son’s life, Alexander provides for Michael financially and, more importantly, spends time with the boy. “I want to be a better father than my father was,” Alexander said. “I want to make sure my son has the right kind of guidance.” While there are millions of Black men who take care of their children without fuss or fanfare, they sometimes seem like an endangered species, at least according to a recent survey conducted by BET and CBS, which found that 56 percent of those polled believe Black men have failed their families. “We were asking Black people what’s going on,” said Retha Hill, vice president of content development at BET.com. “People were very candid.” When asked why some Black fathers are absent from their children’s lives, 31 percent said the reason was nothing more than “irresponsibility”—while 13 percent blamed it on the lack of a parental role model and 10 percent on poverty. The Rev. Amos Brown of Third Baptist Church in San Francisco doesn’t deny that Black male irresponsibility is a factor, but he argues that there are other societal reasons for men’s failings. “There is some truth to the fact that Black men are not functioning as they should,” said Brown. “Unfortunately, many have let racism and the challenges of life break their spirit.” Brown said that because America is a “racist and a unjust society,” it’s especially difficult for African-American men to function in America. Terry Jones, a sociologist at California State University at Hayward, said it is important to look at the big picture and the root causes when discussing the problems of Black men in American society — and the negative perceptions many people, including Blacks,

harbor about Black men. “You have to see there are a combination of factors,” said Jones. “Because of institutionalized racism, Blacks are segregated into poor schools and neighborhoods. In these areas we are producing a number of people who are ill equipped to produce in a technology-ad-vanced society.” This system of inequality, Jones says, can “yield people who fall into dysfunctional behavior and produce outwards signs of irresponsible behavior.” Dr. Willie Mullins, Clinical Director of Counseling and Psychology Services at San Francisco State University, agrees. “People look at what happens today and they do not understand the historical piece connected to why Black men behave the way they do,” said Mullins. “This does not take Black men off of the hook, but what I am saying is that there are a number of things that have to be taken into account.” Mullins saidthe BET/CBSpoll’s findings represent a widely held opinion, but that he has been seeing changes in the perception of Black men since the 1995 Million Man March, at which thousands of men pledged to renew their relationships with their families and children. While academics and other analysts tend to emphasize a broad context in explaining male negligence, those more intimately involved caution against providing justifications for bad behavior. “For some to say that there are other factors involved is an excuse,” said Viola Slocum, a 31-year-old San Francisco native and single parent. “Look at the single woman or single man who is taking care of (his or her) family. They still have to deal with racism and other factors as well. There is no reason to leave your young to the wolves.” Slocum says she believes some of the negative opinions expressed by the poll are valid, but that the state of Black manhood is probably healthier than it is perceived to be, even in the Black community. She attributes negative images of Black males to the crack cocaine drug culture that was prevalent in the inner city in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Partially funded by the Pew Center for Civic Journalism, the survey kicked off Under One Roof, a yearlong look at the AfricanAmerican family, which will appear on BET Nightly News. Its creators polled a random sample of 724 African Americans, and found

that 39 percent of Blacks felt that having children without being married is always wrong, compared to 45 percent who said that it was OK some of the time. The past two decades have seen an explosion of research into divorce and single parenthood and their impact on children. Most social scientists have concluded that absent abuse or other violence, the two-parent family is the best model in which to raise children, followed by shared custody by both parents. According to the National Center of Health Statistics, children who grow up without a father are 75 percent more likely to need help with emotional problems and twice as likely to repeat a grade in school. Fatherlessness has become an urgent topic within the Black community, spawning such books as Whatever Happened to Daddy’s Little Girl, about the impact of absent fathers on Black women. While more than half the people polled felt that Black men were failing their families, Hashim Shomari, author of From the Underground, which looks at hip-hop culture, disagrees. He stresses the importance of factors other than money—nurturing, mentoring and emotional support — in the definition of supporting or failing to support a family. “What does successfully raising a family entail?” Shomari asked. “You have a lot of guys who have the financial wherewithal to take care of their families, but they are not doing anything besides giving up some dough. “Sure, there are Black men who are irresponsible and some who are responsible,” said Shomari. “But there are more that are responsible than most people acknowledge.” Still, Shomari says, whether the poll itself contains some problematic aspects, the issue is one well worth talking about within the community. Amos Brown agrees, noting that the Black church should take a role in helping Black families stay together by providing counseling and guidance. “The Black church and our com-munity-based organizations must take the offensive,” Brown said, “by looking at the reality of racism and taking the attitude that we will excel in spite of the evils of our society.” Lee Hubbard writes on hip-hop culture and urban policy. He can be reached for questions or comments by e-mail at superle @ hotmail. com.

Client uses judge to turn $200 into $600 in Small Claims Court

By JAMES BUNTIN Staff Writer Things are not always the way they appear. The old saying, “Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see,” is wise advice indeed. If you are a fan of the popular daytime TV court programs, you might think that this is a true depiction of what real Small Claims Court action is like here in Indiana. Don’t be fooled. I recently had the pleasure to be called into Small Claims court over a trivial incident and let me tell you, I’ve learned first hand that you may never get your fair day in court here in Indiana if your experiences are anything like mine were. Here is a tip for those of you ever facing the same fate. If you have the ability to afford one, get a lawyer. No matter how right or wrong you think the other guy is, get one anyway. It’s been proven over and over again that it doesn’t matter if you are right or wrong, but having a lawyer on your side obviously gives weight to your argument or at least this was true in my situation. I didn’t have one. I didn’t think that I needed one because I thought that the facts were so cut and dried that I would only be wasting money to hire a lawyer. I was wrong. Here’s how it went down. I performed a requested service for a client in the amount of $200.

Editor's note: This commentary is one person's experience and does not substitute a person’s responsibility to obtain legal advice from an attorney or licensed professional when faced with legal issues.

Then upon receiving the resulting work the client got buyer’s remorse because she had ordered the wrong product for her needs. She decided to go to Small Claims Court to get a refund, but that was not the problem. The problem was she claimed three times what she paid for services rendered. Guess she had to pay that lawyer. Then the client got an address to mail me a summons to appear in court but she mailed it to the wrong address. Needless to say I never received the summons. Obviously this is a smooth trick that she must have learned where she works as a legal secretary. When it was returned to sender she called me and stated, “I have a default judgment for $600, pay me!” Note this. She had my phone number to call, but she couldn't figure out how to look that up in the phone book for a proper address. Then I requested another hearing to present my side of the case. This is called a “motion to set aside a default judgment."

The hearing was held but the judge didn’t allow me to say anything in my defense. Then after hearing her lawyer’s 5-minute presentation, the judge allowed no further discussion of the matter. When I asked why I was being treated in this manner, the judge stated, ’’You don’t need a reason.” Consequently the client didn’ t have to present (any) evidence against me. She never produced one receipt or canceled check stub that even proved she ever paid $600 to anyone. She didn’t have to present any evidence that she had even purchased anything from me. As a matter of fact we never even discussed the actual case that day in court. The decision for a default judgment in her favor was upheld. Right or wrong it didn’t matter. The whole thing smelled fishy to me. So was the product defective? Did she pay $600 or $200? The world will never know. In short the deck was stacked against me. She had the lawyer, she knew the judge and she knew the tricks of the trade through her job at the legal office. I didn’t have any of this going on for me. It was her word against mine and she had all the cards, I didn’t. Case closed. At least our Indiana courts have taught us one thing. Life isn’t fair and at times, neither is our legal system.

Charter schools need to bo monitored Recently, Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson announced that he will sponsor four charter schools for the metro area. This announcement represents the next step following the enactment of charter school legislation which was approved by the Indiana General Assembly last session. As the process continues, it will be imperative that community leaders monitor the effects these schools have on our communities and on our children’s education. T wo of May or Peterson ’ s charter school choices are operated by local boards, leaving two to be operated by private for-profit management groups. Although the legislation requires a charter be held by a not-for-profit organization, several local groups who applied for sponsorship partnered with out-of-state private management organizations. Such private organizations produce revenues from fees, often increasing the rate percentages each year. Christel House Academy, which has the largest budget of $4.8 million, will be managed by Sabis Educational Systems. Sabis is an international management organization with 26 schools in over 11 countries. The Imani School for Excellence will be managed by Edison Schools Inc., a New York corporation which boasts revenues of $97.3 million for the most recent quarter. There are obvious concerns when our children’s education is managed by stockholder-influenced corporations that are based out of state or out of the country. Involving for-profit, private firms brings to the forefront the question of public funding for charter schools. As the legislation now stands, funding allocated for each child, approximately $6,000, will follow that child to a charter school within the first year of transfer. If all four approved charter schools successfully recruit and fill the enrollment anticipated, Indianapolis Public Schools stand to lose 1,740 students. That would mean a hit of over $6 million from the IPS budget. In a time of financial crisis, this could be a critical amount for Indiana’s largest school corporation. Will this prove to be an unfair disadvantage to those students remaining in Indianapolis' traditional public schools? In theory, charter schools are envisioned to offer innovation and creative diversity to Indiana's public education. Charter schools have independent control over budget, curriculum and scheduling to facilitate unique and focused curriculum plans that support individual students beyond what is offered in traditional public schools. With multiple proposals based only on a handful of models, the initial selection of charters embodied less than innovative and diverse educational concepts. The four charters which will be supported fortunately appear to be designs unique from one another. However, the possibility of spon-

soring nearly identical charters would go against the original intent of the General Assembly’s legislative vision and would undermine the benefit charters could provide to any community. If charter schools are to be successful in Indiana, those who propose and continue to hold the charters must be committed to the education of Hoosier children first and foremost. We must look beyond religious and social ideology and private revenue to seek what truly innovative and creative designs can be offered to improve upon the existing education system. Charterschools must fill an educational gap in public education without hindering those students who remain in traditional publicschools. The legislative intent for charter schools in Indiana is to offer our children the best possible public education, whether families choose to pursue this in traditional or charter schools. State Sen. Billie Breaux D-Indianapolis Defend the Constitution We have a patriotic duty to defend the Constitution (the law) and its restraints upon government power now, while it’s unpopular to do so. We are a republic (ruled by law) not a democracy (majority rule). Karl Marx wanted to be “a champion of democracy" not our founding fathers. Senator Webster warned. “It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions.” Attorney General Ashcroft said, “To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve.” Bill Clinton declared, “If you say the government is in a conspiracy to take your freedom away, you are wrong. There's nothing patriotic about hating your government or pretending you can hate your government but love your country." James Madison said the “first duty" of Americans is to display a “prudent jealousy" regarding our liberties and must “take alarm at the first experiment upon our liberties, and they avoided the consequences by denying the principle." Ashcroft said, “Others have simply rushed to judgment, almost eagerly assuming the worst of their government before they’ve had a chance to understand it at its best.” Thomas Jefferson warned, “confidence (in men) is everywhere the parent of despotism. In questions of power let no more be heard of confidence in man. but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution." Jason Hazlett Greencastle Facts about v franchise tax Just over two months ago. Gov. Frank O'Bannon and I released our plan to protect Hoosier

homeowners from the 33 percent average increase in their property tax bills that will result from courtordered reassessment. Today, our tax restructuring plan — Indiana’s 21 st Century Tax Plan — still stands as the only comprehensive solution that has been offered to address the looming property tax crisis. In addition to keeping residential property taxes, on average, where they are now, our plan also tackles another important issue facing our state: the future of our economy. Included in our proposal is the elimination of the inventory and gross income (receipts) taxes, an increase in the research and development tax credit and the creation of a new personal property investment tax credit. All of these things will not only lead to more new companies locating here, bringing quality jobs with them, but also encourage our current businesses to grow and add workers. To make up for the revenue that would be lost through the removal of the inventory and gross receipts taxes, and to help offset homeowners’ property tax increases, a new business tax is proposed in our plan. It's called the franchise tax, and while it would be new to us. it’s familiar to many others across the country: 23 states currently utilize one. The proposed business franchise tax is a .3 percent tax on a company's net worth, and it would apply to all organized business entities in Indiana. The maximum a company would pay would be $100,000 a year and the minimum would be $50. Because it would apply to all companies, the franchise tax would be a more fair tax than the gross receipts tax, as 87 percent orbur nearly 150,000 businesses don’t pay that tax — or any other corporate income taxes, for that matter. An analysis recently completed by the State Budget Agency shows that 92 percent of the franchise tax revenues would come from entities with more than $1 million in net worth. As you would expect, that means the state's largest businesses would be paying the majority of the franchise taxes. Only 5 percent of Indiana's companies have a net worth in excess of $1 million. Some inaccurate claims have been made about the franchise tax since Indiana’s 21st Century Tax Plan was unveiled in October. Before those inaccuracies became regarded as the truth, I wanted to give you the facts so you can make up your own mind. I look forward to working with the Indiana General Assembly in the coming months on both tax restructuring and the O'BannonKernan Balanced Budget Plan. I am confident that we can get the job done and do what’s right for the people of Indiana: protect them from huge residential property tax increases and promote economic growth. For more information on Indiana's 21st Century Tax Plan and the proposed franchise tax, go to www.in.gov/lgov. Lt. Gov. Joe Kernan

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