Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 10 January 2003 — Page 6
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THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER
FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 2003
EDITORIAL
Newark woman not the only one to blame
I was deeply disturbed by the actions of a Newark woman who the FBI is currently looking for in connection with the death of one child and the mistreatment of two others. The woman. Sherry Murphy was the guardian of a relative’s three sons. 7-year-old twins and a 4-year- _ W7ll7ams old. The way this situation came to light was when Murphy's boyfriend called Newark investigators when he found two of the boys trembling under a bed in a locked room inside the home that Murphy occupied. The conditions these children were found in are heartbreaking to say the least. The room was a total mess, the hed was soiled with urine, vomit and feces and the two brothers were lice infested and suffered from malnutrition and dehydration. As if that wasn't terrible enough, the children were also burned and scalded. The body of the third child was found in a separate room wrapped in a quilt and stuffed into a plastic storage container. Autopsy reports showed that the boy died from blunt force trauma to the stomach and starvation. The exact time of death was unclear, but investigators say it could have been anywhere from as few as two weeks ago to two months ago. No child, or adult for that matter, should be subjected to that type of treatment. These children have more than likely been put through these types of actions their entire lives. Their mother, Melinda Williams, was jailed in October 2001 for poor living conditions, burning and beating the children and leaving them unattended for long periods of time. Looking beyond the horrendous treatment Murphy allegedly bestowed upon these children, I discovered another equally disturbing problem. How did she get away with it? Well I guess the answer is because most of the caseworkers at Newark’s Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) have enormous caseloads. The caseworker assigned to this particular family was handling 107 cases. That’s a lot of cases considering workers have to speak to the children under their watch every two weeks. That’s a joke, Newark's DYFS hadn't spoken to these kids since early 2001. Their case was closed in February of last year when after only two unsuccessful trips, DYFS workers were unable to contact the family. How many more children are slipping through the cracks not just in Newark, hut across the country? Somebody needs to be held accountable and in this instance, New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey is getting a lot of the heat. Apparently one of his main concerns while campaigning a year ago was his promise to make the protection of children a top priority. Isn't that ironic? As a way to address the problem, McGreevey added S.'l million to DYFS’ budget that will go towards hiring .'100 new staffers. His effort was good, but why now. Obviously this has been a problem in the past, but I guess since it s captured national attention it’s finally deserving of a solution. Even stil l, I hope that this situation in Newark opens the eyes of officials in other states to examine their child protection services and conduct thorough investigations and continuous follow through visits. At Recorder press time, Sherry Murphy had not yet been found. Melinda Williams, who was released from jail last August, claimed she could not find Murphy or the boys. When she learned her children were found, she was struck by a car as she rushed to go see the twins. Williams is in critical condition.
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Frank Anderson’s in, Frank Short should be out. Bob Parker’s back
I watched them walk in. African Americans from all walks of life. Activists, professionals, preachers, precinct people and plain folks. Smiling the quiet smile of victory, of seeing our people take another step of progress. They walked in the Convention Center Saturday to see living history made. To see Frank Anderson become sheriff of Marion County. An African American becoming a county sheriff is an event of great power and symbolism to African Americans. To others it is an event that evokes fear and loathing. There have been instances, as recently as two years ago, when an elected Afri-can-American county sheriff was assassinated. How people react to a Black sheriff was best satirized in the classic movie “Blazing Saddles” written by Richard Pryor and Mel Brooks; especially in the scenes where the whites and Blacks each reacted the first time they saw Cleavon Little ride in as the new sheriff? Knowing the emotions stirred up when an African American runs for sheriff is why scant mention was made of the history Frank Anderson was making in his race for sheriff. His campaign played up Anderson’s professionalism and competence and deliberately played down the fact that he was the first Black with a real shot at winning countywide office in Marion County. But Saturday, the history was there for all to see. To use the soulful definition, Sheriff Anderson was clean, in his dress uniform, with white
gloves and shiny stars. He looked like a sheriff He was now the sheriff. Now comes the hard part. Former Sheriff Jack Cottey left a real mess for Sheriff Anderson to clean up. Sheriff Anderson will have to do things and take actions that people won’t like; including our African-American community. Maybe even this columnist. The difference is that lines of communication are now reopened between the sheriff of Marion County and all segments of the city/county our sheriff serves. Our community, Black and white, Republican and Democrat, must give the new sheriff in town our prayers and our support. It’s great to be with him when history is made. It’s better to be with him when he makes those tough decisions. Another group faced with a tough decision is the leadership ofthe Marion County Democratic Party. They’ve got a big problem. And it isn’t w ho’s running for governor. The problem is CityCounty Councilman Frank Short’s apparent attempt for a Democratic at-large council member. Short, w'ho currently represents near Southside District 21, is reportedly moving to a tony Northeastside neighborhood. Numerous sources report Short is buttonholing Democratic leaders, in advance of next month’s
slatingconvention.positioningfor one of the four Democratic incumbent at-large seats. The problem is that the four, Lonnell “King Ro” Conley, Ron Gibson, Joanne Sanders and Karen Horseman, have all performed admirably and have done nothing to merit being dumped by the Democratic Party. Sources I’ve talked to aren’t sure which ofthe four Short is trying to knock off at the slating convention. Any attempt to force one of two African-American councilmen, Lonnell Conley or Ron Gibson, off the ticket would cause an open revolt among African-American party leaders, elected officials and Black media. It would guarantee a vicious primary fight that Short would lose. If Short tries to dump Joanne Sanders, who is strongly supported by organized labor, they would team with Blacks to shortcircuit Short. Some sources think the target is Karen Horseman, the council’s lone Hispanic member. In her three years on the council, Horseman has fiercely fought against the excesses of the council’s Republican Neanderthals. Horseman has stood strong with our African-American community. In fairness, others are saying that Short, while wanting to run at large, doesn’t want to do anything that would impede Democratic Party unity and the chances of the party to wrest control of the council from the Republicans. And therein lies a solution. Short should run for council from his new neighborhood. With the huge campaign war chest Short’s amassing, he could mount a serious, well-financed campaign
against one of the Northside Republican Neanderthals. With hard work and campaign cash, Short could wrest the seat from the GOP, helping give Democrats control of the council. Mayor Bart Peterson and County Democratic Chair Ed Treacy should get together with Short and convince him to run for council in his new neighborhood and leave our hard working at large councilpersons alone. Four years ago, wealthy, Republican businessman Bob Parker entered the mayor’s race against Sue Anne Gilroy and two no-name candidates. Parker lost by 13,000 votes to Gilroy in a primary marked by Gilroy’s refusal to engage Parker in debates. Now, Bob Parker becomes the first Republican to “officially” enter the mayor’s race with a public announcement of his candidacy. Parker will be joined by at least twoother candidates. CountyTreasurer Greg Jordan who’s told the media he’s running, but has never held a formal public announcement. State Rep. Phil Hinkle says he’s running, but also hasn’t formally and publicly declared. The owner of Parker Machinery, a business in the heart of the hood on Hillside Avenue, Parker hasn’t shied away from issues affecting the inner city and our Af-rican-American community. He worked at preserving the Mozel Sanders Apartments on East 38th Street. Parker’s been outspoken that Indianapolis must do more to redevelop its older neighborhoods and bring employment and economic opportunity there. Four years ago, Parker entered the race in mid-February and spent thousands in a media blitz, but lost to the well-known Gilroy. Now, he’s starting earlier against two candidates virtually unknown to voters. If Parker can articulate, in plain, simple language, what he would do as mayor and outlines his vision for Indianapolis; and with the money he plans to spend, Bob Parker could be the New York J ets of the GOP primary. He could humiliate the Republican leadership the way the Jets did the Colts and give Mayor Peterson an unexpectedly vigorous general election campaign. See ‘ya next week. Amos Brown s opinions are not necessarily those of The Indianapolis Recorder. You can contact him at (317) 221-0915 or email him at ACBROWN @AOLCOM.
Sports still no ticket out of ghetto
The sports world buzzed with the recent news that Blaek Entertainment Television founder, Bob Johnson became the first African American to purchase a majority ownership in a professional basketball team in Charlotte. But a fewdays later with little fanfare the NCAA issued a report on the academic performance of Black athletes. While Johnson’s acquisition was widely hailed as proof that Blacks had finally cracked the clubby, and many say bigoted, world of white billionaire pro sports owners, for most Blaek college basketball players, their dream of stocking his team remains a cruel pipe dream. Only a microscopic fraction ofthe thousands of Black male college basketball and football players will ever don a professional uniform. Even more embarrassing, tin- majority of them won’t graduate. The NCAA report found that though 1)0 percent of athletes at Division I schools graduate in six years, only slightly more than 40 percent of Blaek male athletes graduate. For baskethall players, the figure is a dismal 3a percent, mid even more embarrassing, many of these athletes will skip through three or four years at colleges and still emerge as educational cripples. The low graduation rate for Blaek male athletes comes at a time when the enrollment for Black males at many colleges has sharply declined due to the
The Crisis in Black and Black By Earl Otari Hutchinson
gut of affirmative action, special education, diversity outreach programs, and budget cutbacks. At the University of Southern California, for instance, many Blaek males on campus repeatedly complain that they are constantly asked whether they are an athlete. The question is not necessarily racist since nearly oneout of seven Blaek male students on the campus are football or basketball playersonan athlete scholarship. This compares to 2 percent or less of the white, Asian, and Dttino males on campus. The aspiring Michael Jordans in basketball and Fanmit Smiths in football spend • mintless hours mastering their dribbling or hall carrying skills with little thought to their future after their sports days are finished. They live for the day when they will sign mcguhuck pro contracts. Few ever will. In 19.94, the Washington Rost did a 10-year follow-upon 3fi basketball players who played for < Jeorgetown and the Universities of Mary land and Virginia in the 1980s. Most told sad talcsoffailcd careers, part-time jobs, unsuccessful tryouts with NBA teams, and barnstorming; tours with
semi-pro or European teams. Twenty-eight eventually got their degrees and settled into careers as salesmen, teachers or counselors. Even though the story is repeated by thousands of other ex-athletes, illusions die hard today. A group of Black high school athletes were told that the odds of making a pro team were nearly impossible. Fifty-one percent still believed that they could beat them. The late tennis great Arthur Ashe was deeply troubled by the slavish adulation of athletes by manyyoung Blacks. During visits to Black high schools, he was thunderstruck by “the obsession” with sports that borders on pathology. The sports obsession that Ashe spoke of tells much about the otherworldly intoxication of sports. For many it blurs the line between reality and fantasy. Coaches know this better than anyone. They wheel and deal to ram as many Blacks as they can into their school’s uniforms. The name of the game is not study, baby, study; but win, baby, win. Major colleges have a huge vested interest in keeping their well-oiled athletic assembly lines moving smoothly. It means hard dollars. Major NCAA universities hag millions in revenue from athletic programs. In the two major revenue-generating sports, basketball and football, Blacks make up respectively 30 and 7<> percent ofthe college players. The message in this shameful sports saga is that Black parents whose sons are involved in ath-
letic programs, and who harbor delusions of pro sport fame and fortune, must hold coaches, teachers and school administrators accountable for their children’s courses, grades and campus activities. They must make it clear that if their sons or daughters don’t perform in the classroom, they don’t get to perform on the field or the court. Black professionals and educators must create academic selfhelp programs to recycle young Blacks from sports junkies to serious students. They can provide educational scholarships for academically sound athletes and establish career counseling, job and skills training programs. The ultimate responsibility, though, is on the colleges that reap fortunes off of Black athletes. They must do much more to ensure that their “student-ath-letes" graduate, or at least better prepare them for a business or professional career. This means providing them counseling, tutoring and financial assistance to encourage them to complete their studies when theireligibility ends. Sports can he a rewarding, and even profitable experience for many Black athletes. But if’NCAA I )ivision 1 schools don’t sto|) solely exploiting Black athletes its athletes and start educating as students, sports will never’be their ticket out ofthe ghetto. Earl Ofuri Hutchinson is a noted author of nine books about the African-American experience in America. His Web site is: thehutehinsonreport.com.
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