Community honors King, Jr. and addresses oppression

By: Sharon K. Martin

Asheville, NC, Jan. 16— Beginning with the 20th annual Prayer Breakfast, people of Western North Carolina came together this past weekend to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and examine how his vision lives on today.

Saturday morning, journalist and author Juan Williams gave the keynote address at this year’s Prayer Breakfast, held at the Grove Park Inn. Oralene Simmons initiated this yearly event back in 1981 at the Montford Center. “I thought it was something that would be important to just one community,” said Simmons, who still organizes the celebration for the city’s parks and recreation department. “Back then it was still controversial to some people.”

After the Prayer Breakfast, the Mediation Center facilitated race relations dialogues at the YMI Cultural Center. According to Kathryn Liss of the Mediation Center, the dialogues were begun to give people an opportunity to continue the experience and process information gained from the speaker at the Prayer Breakfast.

The dialogues focused on three main questions: What was the most important thing received from the speaker? What are the current issues here in Asheville? What can each individual do to help realize the equality that Dr. Martin Luther King envisioned? The dialogues consisted of two separate groups, each with approximately 20 people. In one group, the discussion focused on how racism and oppression are institutionalized and pervasive in Asheville and throughout our entire country.

A key concern for this group was the problems of our education system: the drop-out rate for African-American males; the racial/cultural bias of standardized testing; and the inherent cultural bias of a white-dominated public school system. One group member raised the question, “Why do these problems exist?” The answers other members offered ranged from “simple lack of awareness” to “corporate oppression designed to maintain a working poor class.”

Others expressed concern about the privatization of the prison system. One woman pointed out that when prisons become private, the corporations that own the prisons use their financial influence to lobby Congress to pass new laws that will further fill our prisons. Furthermore, she explained that these private prisons contract labor out to other private corporations for pennies per hour, thus creating “legal” slave labor. The group briefly discussed two corporations that currently contract with private prisons to use prison labor: Citicorp/Citibank and Sodhexo-Marriott.

The major local concern for this group was gentrification. In his book, Gentrification: Capitalism and the Paradox of Urban Revitalization, Peter Brenson defines the word: “At its most basic level, gentrification is simply the revitalization of a poor, urban neighborhood. It is characterized by the tearing down of housing and buildings that accommodate the poor, usually black residents, and the building of new, upscale housing and facilities in its place. A new group of residents, usually white, middle class, replaces the former inhabitants of the neighborhood.”

Members of the group used the metaphor of a puppetmaster pulling the strings to facilitate the gentrification of Asheville. The group consensed that a few wealthy businessmen were behind the push to create an upscale, profit-driven city.

When asked what each individual could do to promote social and economic justice, the answers were simple and profound. Almost everyone agreed to attend the upcoming Building Bridges Program that begins Monday, January 29 (please contact Tyrone Greenlee for more information at (828)253-0749).

One woman suggested working together as communities on issues of concern. Another mentioned the importance of spending our money wisely – boycotting those corporations that are clearly perpetuating the oppression. A man volunteered to write letters to public officials when racism is evident. A woman raised in the rural South committed to examining the racist conditioning she had received growing up. The group challenged each other to work through fear, speak out against injustices, redefine what “justice” really means, and get involved.

The MLK birthday activities continued on Monday with the 20th annual Peace March from St. James AME Church to City-County Plaza. Well over 1,000 people participated in the march that began with a short service at St. James led by Cedric Scott of the YMI Cultural Center. At City-County Plaza the crowd listened to a number of speakers, including John Hayes of the NAACP and Terry Bellamy of the Asheville City Council, as well as the magnificent and inspirational singing of Kim Blair. A local minister concluded the weekend activities, stressing that “the dream” of equality was not yet realized and urging each person to continue working towards equality and justice today and everyday.

*Direct quotes and names have been omitted to preserve the confidential nature of the race relations dialogues.

Religious leaders meet with governor, urge clemency

Statement of People of Faith Against the Death Penalty

Raleigh, North Carolina, Jan. 15— A delegation of religious leaders will meet with Gov. Easley today at 4 pm as part of a series of meetings aimed at convincing the governor to use his new powers of clemency to commute Bobby Lee Harris’ death sentence to life imprisonment. Harris is scheduled for execution Friday morning at 2 am.

“This case should never have been a death penalty case in the first place,” said The Rev. Diane Corlett, president of People of Faith Against the Death Penalty.

Four jurors say they would have chosen life without parole had it been an option at the time of Harris’ trial. Harris’ codefendant was not sentenced to death, but is expected to be released in 2006. Two Supreme Court Justices say Harris should be sentenced to life without parole. Harris did not intend to kill the victim, and the victim would have lived had he received standard treatment when he was admitted to the hospital. The jury never learned that Harris’ has an IQ of 73, which is borderline mentally retarded.

A group of legislators will meet with Easley at 5 pm, calling for an immediate moratorium on executions.

Eleven local governments have passed resolutions calling for a moratorium on executions. More than 145 NC congregations, businesses, and community groups have passed moratorium resolutions. More than 21,000 North Carolinians have signed a petition for a moratorium on executions. More than two dozen state legislators have called for an immediate moratorium on executions, as has a state legislative committee, pending consideration of a moratorium bill in the NC General Assembly.

Source: People of Faith Against the Death Penalty: 919-933-7567

Local citizens to protest Bush inauguration

Statement of Asheville Green Party

Asheville, Jan. 15— On January 20, 2001 our nation will inaugurate a new president. As multitudes of citizens flood the streets of our nation’s capitol to march in protest of this inauguration, Asheville citizens will gather at 10 am Saturday morning at City-County plaza, downtown.

After patiently awaiting the results of a controversial election, the American people are forced to accept a new president who lost the popular vote. We have watched the democratic structure crumble before our eyes, while tension, mistrust, and unbalanced scales have formed the state of the nation. Many of us realize the presidential outcome will affect us all on a global scale. George W. Bush has the potential to cause disarray environmentally, socially, and economically, while targeting people of color and women. Those of us with educated minds and heavy hearts, those who feel our system has let us down, those who feel our present system is unjust, must seek transformation. We must transform our system, our nation, our world, and most importantly ourselves.

Here in Asheville we will come together to voice concerns, outrage, beliefs, solutions, and hope. We will acknowledge our anger and mistrust to transform these emotions into positive intent. We will take the stale tastes in our mouths, and turn them into sweetness. With our intent, our visualization for the future, we can create another reality in which to live. We must take all of our hopes and dreams for a peaceful, equitable, co-operative future, and form a common vision. With open hearts and minds, healing is inevitable.

We invite all concerned citizens to gather this Saturday, January 20, 2001 to perform a synchronized vigil with our fellow comrades in Washington, DC. We will come dressed as the colors of the rainbow, and cast a circle with our intent for the future of this country and this world. This gathering is open to all creeds, colors, beliefs, and identities.

For more information: Susan O’Neil: 250-9094