Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 9 January 2004 — Page 7

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2004

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

PAGE A7

2 Americas: Blacks and whiles, divided and deadlocked

By LLOYD WILLIAMS With the presidential A W priman MB'* son to R start, I am ^ ■ ^triu-k In the f fact that V f ^m|| only American candidates, Al Sharpton and Carol Moseley Braun, have basically been dismissed by the mainstream media as also-rans, even though the First vote is yet to be cast. r. Typically. TV pundits don't bother to discuss these candidates’ platforms or to mention what percentage of voters is planning to cast a ballot for either of them. The same can be said of Dennis Kucinich, who

has been similarly overlooked, even though his progressive ideas resonate with me far more than anything I’ve heard from Wesley Clark, John Kerry, Joe Lieberman, Richard Gephardt or John Edwards. And while Howard Dean seems to take many stands which sound sensible, I am dismayed by the widespread concern that he might be unelectable because he is too liberal. In a democracy, majority rules, and what I find so upsetting is the fact that the majority of the populace is apparently very committed to a set of self-interests which remain squarely at odds with much of what would be of,benefit to people who look like me. Blacks and whites, in general, come down on the opposite side

of many issues, not just the OJ, Kobe and Michael Jackson cases as the opinion pollsters would have us believe. I suspect that the groups are just as evenly divided on such hot-button topics as the war in Iraq, profile stops, universal health care and affordable housing. Whites probably oppose a federal guarantee of medical coverage and decent shelter because they already enjoy those basics without the benefit of govern men t interference. But life is very different for the masses of African Americans who have been stuck in ghettoes for generations, an ugly legacy of slavery. This difference explains why Blacks would prefer to spend billions of tax dollars on domestic concerns over anything having to do with defense or the Middle

East. While in white circles, it continues to be considered unpatriotic to question the conquest of Iraq, Black people began wondering what the obviously impatient president was up to from the moment he seemed hell-bent on invading Iraq, and over the protests of most of our allies, the United Nations, and the weapons inspectors. A generation ago, I remember how Muhammad Ali was widely hated by whites for refusing to fight in Vietnam, even though he so matter-of-factly explained, “1 got nothing against no Viet Cong. No Vietnamese ain’t never called me nigger." Easily the most admired Black figure of his day, Ali was, nonetheless, subsequently stripped of his boxing title, jailed and humiliated for simply speaking

his mind, saying something that most other African Americans instinctively agreed with. Today, Islam is the fastest growing religion in America, this despite the fact that the president has all but declared the belief system synonymous w ith evil. Most of the converts are not white. Does anybody wonder what would attract so many Blacks, mostly male and often incarcerated, to a religion which is routinely demonized by the media as godless and violent? Perhaps it has to do with the dire prospects of a sector of society which is routinely railroaded to prison and which feels permanently relegated to an invisible. discarded underclass. Can you blame them, when they live in a country which actually unveiled an ethnically dis-

criminatory fingerprinting and photographing program? Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announced recently that compliance is mandatory for all visitors from non-white nations (except Japan and Singapore) while exempting 26 European and Third World countries where whites rule (like Australia and New Zealand). Such flagrantly racist profiling, while undoubtedly viewed as benign by the average American, is the sort of “nails on the blackboard" insult which forces those of other hues to seek a separate peace with this sweet land of liberty. Who wants to be average anyway? Attorney Uoyd Williams writes an occasional op-ed column for The Recorder.

Conveniently altering the rules

By BILL FLETCHER JR. NNPA Any regular reader of my columns knows that, despite my opposition to the invasion of Iraq, I have never been fond of Saddam Hussein. The descriptions of his diabolical approach to mling Iraq are without dispute. I am, however, very perplexed by the stand taken by the Bush administration on Hussein’s status as a prisoner. The administration has announced that Hussein will not be granted prisoner of war status. The justification seems to be that Hussein is so evil that he does not deserve it. I hate to break it to the administration, but there are no indices of evil when it comes to prisoner of war status. If there is a war and someone fighting for one side or the other is captured, that individual is a prisoner of war. It does not matter whether that person is a foot soldier or the president of the Republic of Iraq. It does not matter whether that person took power in a coup or was an elected leader. Saddam Hussein was the internationally-recog-nized president of Iraq. His country was illegally invaded, thus precipitating a war. He was ultimately captured. Therefore, according to the Geneva Convention, he is a prisoner of war. The administration, however, seems to view things a bit differently. For them, basic rules do not seem to apply. It is OK, for instance, for the U.S. to break international law and invade a country if the administration believes it to be OK. It is OK for the Bush administration to concoct a category that no one in the world recognizes called “enemy combatant” as a way of keeping prisoners captive without recourse to either prisoner of war status or

the statusofcixilian prisoners (the situation facing all those in Guantanamo Bay). Thus, the status issue with Saddam Hussein is simply the logical course of the opportunistic use of language by an administration that will not let either facts, or laws get in the way of its objectives. , There is a tremendous danger when one allows a government to play fast and loose with international law and precedent. There is no way to stop it, nor any way of knowing the limits to which it will go. Yes, it is absolutely the case that there are few people on this planet that will shed a tear for Saddam Hussein, but if the administration can unilaterally decide that the rules of war do not apply to Hussein, to whom do the rules of war apply? Is there a particular enemy or set of enemies that the Bush administration will decide should receive the treatment afforded by the Geneva Convention? Or, does it depend on which side ofthe bed the president arises from each morning and who he decides happens to be evil? From the standpoint of evenday citizens of the U.S., there is another important concern. Ifthe U.S. does not recognize international law except when it benefits YOUR VOICE

the current administration, why should any other country? In fact, is this the real reason that the Bush administration did not want to sign onto the I nternational Criminal Court, and was demanding that other countries exempt the U.S.? Could it possibly have been because they feared that some other country might decide to use the same code of conduct which it is using tne next time there is an international conflict? The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word “rogue” as: “an unprincipled person; scoundrel...A vicious and solitary animal, esp. an elephant that has separated itself from its herd.” An elephant? Don’t blame me; I just quoted from the dictionary. Bill Fletcher Jr. is president of TransAfrica Forum, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit educational and organizing center formed to raise awareness in the United States about issues facing the nations and peoples of Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America. He also is co-chair ofthe anti-war coalition. United for Peace and Justice (www.unitedforpeace.org). He can be reached at btletcher(ti transafricaforum.org.

ESPN.com recently ranked Indy as Hie No. 1 pro sports city in t|ie nation. Where would you rank Indy?

Franswa Cruthird

"1 would rank the city last. I’m from Chicago and I don’t hear too much about Indianapolis or see anything on television, but I do see other cities.” - Franswa Cruthird

Jerry Porter

"I think Indy should he ranked number 10 and that is only because of Reggie Miller.” - Jerrv Porter

t: t l W

Michael Dodd “I would rAnk Indianapolis above average. Everybody gets hyped when the city is winning and we’re really supportive.” - Michael Dodd

ICLU director to retire, reflects on battle for civil liberties

By BRYAN CORBIN Dally Journal FRANKLIN, Ind. - He grew up in the heart of smalltown America yet he leads an organization many conservative Midwesterners love to hate. He is a self-described twicebaptized lover ofgospel music, but he passionately asserts that the Ten Commandments do not belong on government property. His organization opposes racial discrimination, yet he’s given speeches to any group that will listen, including a hostile audience of right-wing militia members. John Krull is the head ofthe Indiana Civil Liberties Union, an organization often denounced by conservative politicians. Yet in lobbying the Legislature. Krull hits taken a page from Ronald Reagan’s playbook. Krull hasa way ofconfounding people’s expectations and then winning them over with charm, civility and 1^‘en insight. Those qualities have served the former newspaperman and Franklin native well in his 51/2 years as executive director ofthe ICLU. "People are far more likely to respond to you positively and treat your message with respect ifyou’rewillingtodo the same," Krull said. But after leading the ICLU through legal fights over jail overcrowding, gay adoptions and Ten Commandments displays, Krull is stepping down so be can focus more on being a husband and father. “My kids are at a stage in their lives where they have schedules, and for me to be the kind of father and husband I want to be, I have to find work that’s not quite so all-encom-passing,” said Krull, who has two children with his wife Jenny LaBalme. “I don’t want to be checking my voicemail five times a day when I’m on vacation." x A 1.977 graduate of Franklin Community High School and 1981 graduate of Franklin College, Kriill worked for 17 years as a journalist in Indianapolis. He joined the ICLU in 19.98. He originally planned to leave the ICLU in December to return to academia, but agreed

to stay until a new executive director starts. His replacement hasn’t been chosen yet. Looking back on his years, Krull said, he learned how fragile American constitutional rights are, how easily they could be taken away, and how only a private organization such as the ICLU can step in to file a lawsuit and block such infringements. “In this country, before a fundamental right is abridged, redefined, curtailed or eliminated, there has to be a diseussion. Since government is going to be the force calling for abridgment, it’s got tobea privateentit)’that forces the discussion," Krull said. Explaining the organization’s role and its often-controversial positions to the public and lawmakers has been Krull’s task at the ICLU. That duty has taken on a new u rgency after Sept. 11,2001. Oddly enough, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft has become one of the ICLU’s best recruiting tools, Krull said. Since Ashcroft pushed for expanded federal law-enforcement powers, membership in the ICLU has increased +0 percent, to 4,200. Membership in the ICLU’s national umbrella organization, the American Civil Liberties Union, has soared from .‘300,000 to 400,000 after 9/11. he said. “He scares people," Krull said of Ashcroft. “In part because they sense appropriately that he just doesn’t get it." Apart from Ashcroft-related concerns about civil liberties, the ICLU under Krull continues to litigate issues that predate 9/11, including jail overcrowding, gay rights and separation of church and state. Last year, the ICLU settled its lawsu it wi th Joh nsbn Cou nty over conditions at the county jail in Franklin. Johnson County taxpayers spent $9-5 million to renovate and expand the jail and end inmate overcrowding. The ICLU has lawsuits pending against six other county jails, however. The ICLU also has sued to remove Ten Commandments monuments from government buildings. In the best-known case, it sued to overturn a state law that had authorized a Ten Commandments display on the Statehouse lawn. A federal appeals court ultimately sided with the ICLU, ordering the governor not to display the marker. Krull noted that some clergy

members joined in the ICLU’s lawsuit because they objected to the state using the sacred text of the Ten Commandments as a political football. Not that Krull has anything against the Judeo-Christian tradition. He described himself as a twice-baptized lover of gospel music. «• “Part of the reason the founders established the wall between church and state is they know people take questions of faith seriously,” Krull said. One lawmaker who agreed with the ICLU’s position on the Ten Commandments bill was Senate President Robert Garton, a Republican from Columbus. Garton voted against the bill that was later overturned. “I think their side was right, and the court’s decision has since proved it right,” Garton said of the ICLU. When Krull took control of the ICLU in 1998, one challenge was to make it more effective in lobbying at the Statehouse, to defeat bills the ICLU opposed before the Legislature passed them into law. Garton said Krull has improved the effectiveness of the ICLU. “John will be missed. He’s solid,” Garton said. “I trust his judgment. Even though I may not agree, I still trust it because it’s an honest judgment.” As a lobbying presence at the Statehouse, the ICLU is still small compared to the Indiana State Teachers Association and gaming interests. But Krull cites one legislative accomplishment in particular: the 1999 defeat of a bill restricting gays and lesbians from adopting children. The ICLU contended no change in state law was needed and that adoptions should be decided on a case-by-case basis. The bill did not get a hearing in the Indiana House and was defeated by the state Senate. Now, the ICLU is suing to overturn the state’s ban on same-sex civil marriages. Defeated at the trial-court level, the ICLU is awaiting a ruling from the Indiana Court of Appeals. “As a happily married man, I have yet to figure out how allowing two people ofthe same gender to enter into a contract to love and support each other affects my marriage in any way whatsoever,” Krull said. Distributed by Associated Press

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