Things may have improved, but blacks still haven't achieved true equality

Things

may have improved, but blacks still haven't achieved true

equality

I have only been reading The Citizen

for a short time, but upon reading it I came across an

article that was of great interest to me, "Is there

a double standard favoring blacks in racial issues?"

First, I can't believe someone would be so bold as to let

that statement come out of their mouth, let alone put it

in print and sign their name to it.

The author

claimed injustice and unfair treatment on the decision to

suspend both students, but since I haven't heard both

sides of the story I won't comment or pass judgment, but

I will say that they apparently found just cause for the

suspension of both students.

I believe

Sandy Johnson fully understood the power of the press and

has used it to her advantage. The boy who was suspended

for hitting her has not yet told his story, and therefore

it appears one-sided. Anyone can manipulate an event to

portray themselves as innocent and often people cannot

truly see their own faults because they lack an objective

perspective.

In her

testimony, Sandy looks like an angel, but think about it,

would she really portray herself as the villain? No! And

if she felt that she had been treated so terribly wrong,

why didn't she fight the decision or appeal the ruling.

Now, to

address the comments about our black television station,

our black circus (both of which are singular, meaning

only one), black magazines, colleges, and so on, how

selfish can someone be? Aren't the other 52 channels

enough for their entertainment selection?

Black

entertainment is about marketing, not exclusion. There is

something distinct about black culture, and therefore

blacks need a television station to capture what the

network stations cannot. Who says there isn't "White

Entertainment Television?" What would one call CMT

(Country Music Television), TNN, and the WB (excluding

the one night we're given)? Where do people get off

getting bent out of shape about the one hour we get on

HBO?

Also, with

my cable provider I receive a channel called Lifetime,

Television for Women. Does it bother anyone that women

are the target audience of a TV station? So why does it

bother people that there is a station that targets a

black audience?

In response

to her statement about the "UniverSoul Circus,"

I'm wondering, what does Sandy consider the Ringling

Bros. Barnum and Bailey? And who said there are not white

magazines? What about the number of predominately white

magazines that pervade the news stands? Do Seventeen,

Cosmo Girl, Teen, or YM, ring a bell?

And lastly,

she wants to knock our colleges. No one ever said a white

person couldn't attend. Did it ever occur to anyone that

the reason black colleges were established is because

blacks were denied admission to white colleges? How could

anyone object to an education just because pride in a

heritage is incorporated with higher learning? Or could

it just be that everyone's upset because they're arming

and dispatching America's worst nightmare - an

educated black nation?!

Furthermore,

did it ever occur to anyone that there has never been an

NAAWP (National Association for the Advancement of White

People) because many other organizations, such as the

U.S. Government or the Congress, already take care of the

advancement of the causes of white people?

I can't

help but to believe that many of the advantages were also

gained through cruel and illegal tactics. Many felt no

need to go through courts, yet instead rode with

sheet-covered faces burning crosses in the night and

identifying themselves with three letters.

Advocacy

groups exist to uplift the oppressed and disadvantaged.

Whites in America have not been oppressed, and as a whole

represent the group with the most advantages. Minorities

face discrimination, are often excluded from media, and

experience obstacles in the entertainment business.

Within this society, whites were born at the top, while

blacks had to work there way up from the bottom, from

slaves, and continually have to strive for the top today.

Just

because things have improved greatly, does not mean

blacks are equal. Advancement does not mean advancement

to the top because of alleged superiority. Advancement is

needed for those held at the bottom because of alleged

inferiority. The rights, freedom, and opportunities of

blacks and other minorities have been systematically

denied in America. Therefore advocate groups exist. If

the same were true of whites, there would be a need for

similar organization.

Even though

the Emancipation Proclamation was signed nearly 140 years

ago, black people have never been free in America. All

the television stations, magazines, circuses, and

colleges in the world will never make up for 500 years of

captivity. Maybe I've been mislead, but it seems to me

that some fail to realize that the reason the NAACP

(which may I mention I'm a proud member of) is constantly

showing up is because they are only looking for fair and

equitable treatment for races that have been denied it

since the establishment of America.

So when the

last man is denied a job because of the color of his

skin, locked up for walking after dark, or driving while

black, hanged, beaten, or dragged behind a truck, when

the last church is bombed, the last cross burned, when

the sheets come off, hair grows back, and the flags come

down, then maybe the NAACP won't "complain" so

much.

But until

then, I have some advice for Sandy Johnson: Stop hating

on the "biggest, baddest, boldest, blackest,

big-dog" organization that has ever existed. So she

can keep counting pennies, because she will be hearing

more and more about the NAACP.

Elana

Landry

Fayetteville