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Episode #1714
Media Roundtable
Holloway: Jay Holloway,
Host
Bellamy: Rhonda Bellamy, WGNI-FM and WMNX-FM, Wilmington
Greenlee: Cynthia Greenlee, Durham Herald-Sun
Minter: John Minter, The Charlotte Post
F: Female speaker
M: Male speaker
Holloway: The
latest news and information from the east to the west of North
Carolina as we share the views and commentaries of media professionals
with you, next on Black Issues Forum. You stay tuned.
[THEME MUSIC]
[APPLAUSE]
Holloway: There is
a lot to be aware of in our state as we continue to deal with
the aftermath of September 11th, and America's
new war on terrorism, the upcoming elections, and even the
CIAA basketball tournament, which is going on tonight in the
Raleigh-Durham area. What are the issues, who are the players,
and what do you need to be aware of as the issues unfold?
Good evening. I'm Jay Holloway.
Welcome to Black Issues Forum. We have a rare opportunity
tonight to bring you an open discussion on topics at the forefront
of North Carolina news, with some of the state's most informed
individuals, our media professionals. I'd to introduce tonight's
media roundtable Rhonda Bellamy. She's news director for Wilmington's
WGNI and WMNX-FM, and host of "On the Waveline with Rhonda,"
a two-hour talk show. Rhonda is also the vice-president of
the North Carolina's Associated Press Broadcasters.
Also, John Minter. He is the
managing editor for The Charlotte Post, that's
a weekly focusing on African-American issues, with circulation
of more than 12,000.
And also, last but not least,
is Cynthia Greenlee, arts and entertainment writer, and editor,
at the Hilton, at the Herald-Sun, I'm sorry, in Durham,
and that's a circulation of over 60,000. I said Hilton, I
don't know what I was thinking about, but thank you for being
with us from the Herald-Sun.
Greenlee: Thank you.
Holloway: Let's talk
about the aftermath of the September 11th events.
So much has happened all over the country, but in our state,
but talk about what has happened in your local communities,
and see if there's some consistency across the state. Let's
start in our largest metro area, Charlotte.
Minter: Well, Charlotte
has made, I think is one of the, the nation identified maybe
120 cities that are potential targets for a terrorist attack.
Of course we have a couple of nuclear reactors, major banking
facilities, it's near a major point for natural gas coming
through the state, headed toward the northeast. So our alert
status has been very high. And it has cost a lot of money.
Some of that money has not been refunded from the Federal
Government and probably will not be. So, shortly after the
attack, I guess it was within 30 days, our city manager was
already telling the department heads to start trimming the
budget to cover some of this high alert status overtime for
police officers, firefighters, and that kind of thing. So
one of the impacts is probably going to be from the budget
standpoint. I know it has been in Charlotte. We've gotten
a lot of attention because of that.
But we have maintained a pretty
good state of readiness, and it has cost us, but I think we
have a airport, of course, that has gotten some attention,
there's been some changes involvin' our airline that has.some
people got laid off, for example. There's been some changes
in the airport security that's going to affect local residents
and that kind of thing. But it has had that impact, just in
general, and it's probably a similar situation across the
state. I think one of the concerns that we have at the Post,
and probably among other African Americans is, the divergence
of resources, both at the local level and of course, even
the Bush budget is causing for this year this massive military
build-up. Wars are expensive and they don't really return
much in terms of human services to the community.
Holloway: Let's talk
about those in a few moments. Rhonda, what about down on the
coast?
Bellamy: I think that
we would pretty much echo the sentiments that John has just
expressed. We do have a number of military installations in
the area. We have a nuclear reactor power plant there. We
also have the Sunny Point Military Terminal with an ammunitions
base, so we have been on alert status-high alert status-for
the duration. Now in terms of how people felt, I think it's
the same as people felt across the country. We were shocked,
and after the initial shock wore off, people started looking
for answers as to how this could happen on American soil,
and also, for those who were probably a little more aware
of world events, why the United States had certain policies
toward, particularly, the Middle East, and how that may have
factored into the situation.
Holloway: Are callers
to your radio show still talking about it?
Bellamy: Not as much.
We've moved on to some local issues-taxes are a big issue
right now.
Holloway: Economics
keeps coming up. We're going to get to that. What about in
the Triangle area, Cynthia?
Greenlee: Well, think
I look at it from a slightly different stand point in that
I think we saw immediately after September 11th
what I like to call "an epidemic of kindness." People
really were interested in elevating the level of the public's
ability in public discussion. People in the grocery store..I
went to a little town in Davidson County and I heard someone
talking about Afghanistan. I think, you know, it raised the
level of current event knowledge in our area. I'm certainly.it's
changed the way we even work at the newspaper, the way we
even open our mail. We saw so many false alarms in our post
offices here in this area, so I think there's a general change
in how we feel as a people. I think we've had a lot of valuable
discussion about the African American role in our military
and in defending our country. A lot of people don't realize
that a large number-maybe a quarter of the people in the armed
services are African American or people of color-and there
have bee a lot a questions about our role, and whether or
not African Americans feel we are Americans first or African
Americans, whether our allegiances are to nation or to race.
I think we've answered that question. I've been very happy
to see Durhamites and people in Charlotte and people in Wilmington
say that we are Americans, but also people are saying, you
know, "Let's step back. Let's examine this. Let's examine
our policies. Let's not just be blindly nationalistic. What
are we here to defend, if anything?"
Holloway: Has race
come also in Charlotte?
Minter: Yes, one of
the discussions underlying the whole post 911 tragedy has
been, why would someone do that to the United States? I think
that many African Americans have expressed the view that we
can understand how the United States as a nation, as a major
power, could be, I guess, hated or detested, even to the point
of someone wanting to do something like blow up a building
with thousands of civilians involved. So I think that has.there
has been a lot of frustration in some areas about why would
anybody hate us this way? I think that African Americans have
a.maybe have a better sense because of the way historically
we have been treated in this country of why people would be
that angry. I think that's probably come up in a lot of discussions.
And it's been. Not that African Americans are any less patriotic,
but just an appreciation of what's going on in the rest of
the world. One of the things I've said to some people is that
we have got to be more aware of what's going on, not just
in your own city or state, but around the world. There are
some major problems, some major issues out there that we're
going to have to deal with, but other people in other countries
are, and it's very frustrating that you're talking about things
that are going on in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, that
a lot of little wars are going on. This one just happened
to touch on our shores.
Holloway: Now, the
economic point has come up in many of the conversations, and
since then, we've had.we've gone into this recession. African
Americans have always, for a long time, have had great disparities
in education, economics, health care and so on. I'd like to
talk about some of those issues now. Let's talk about some
of the economic issues. Now that we're in a recession the
state is in this serious budget crunch. How is that affecting
people in your local communities, specifically African Americans?
Let's go back to Wilmington.
Bellamy: One of the
things I find.one of the issues that I find to be of concern
is the whole notion of payday lending. When the General Assembly
didn't provide for some discussion about that, and instead
allowed the provision to expire without comment, it left a
lot of people in the lurch. People who were recycling those
loans, going in and paying the fee that was assessed in order
to continue to have that amount of money each month, which
was, of course, the very reason why the General Assembly wanted
reform, but there has been no discussion as to how you reform
it from this point. And we've seen a number of outlets being
sued by the state as a result of trying to skirt the laws
by aligning themselves with Federally chartered banks and
the like. But it also raises the important question of what
do people of meager means do when they are living from paycheck
to paycheck like many are, and need a short term infusion
of cash, and are not able for many reasons-credit worthiness,
what have you-to go to conventional lending institutions and
get money. What do you do? So that was a big problem that
we dealt with down in the East, and I'm sure, across the state.
Holloway: So, are there
quite a few of those payday lending institutions in the Wilmington
area as there are in the Triangle?
Bellamy: Yes. I think
there are 1100 statewide and we have our fair share of them,
yes.
Holloway: Charlotte.
Minter: Just to touch
on payday lending, it is something that is going around. The
concern, I think, of the Legislature has been the high-I guess
you would call it-interest rate that people are paying. The
service charges are so high, and so what you get is if you
get into the horror stories that I've heard involve people
who kept rolling over the checks, to the point that they actually
owed back almost much more than they could ever really repay.
So your actual income is reduced because off the top you're
paying so many service charges. So I think that's the concern
of the Legislature. I don't the solution, other than the usual
solutions of making people more viable in terms of their incomes,
but it is something that is out there and there are a number
of suits being filed. I think there was someone that was actually
doing it over the Internet, so.it's out there. It's one of
those things though that is good or bad and we have that discussion
a lot, particularly around.when we were talking about the
lottery, which has just started in South Carolina and a lot
of our people from Charlotte and surrounding areas are making
their way down to Rock Hill, South Carolina-if they get that
far-just to buy tickets. That's something that North Carolina
has also avoided getting into, that could provide some help
to the budget and maybe target some funds to-as in other states-they'll
target things like education, particularly.
Bellamy: Well, they're
saying that's why they won't.is because people of meager means
are going to be the ones that go after that, looking for that,
you know, "pie in the sky." But North Carolina is
boxed in now. We have a lottery on all sides, and all of our
money-all of the border counties in those other states, including
South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee-are all the ones doing
very, very well.those outlets in the border towns.
Holloway: Cynthia,
what about your thoughts on this lottery?
Greenlee: Well, on
the lottery, I think one of the arguments that you've reiterated
is that people are concerned that the people who have the
least means are the people who are going to be most likely
to use the lottery. I think that really underestimates the
power of people's thought. Just because you're a low-income
person doesn't mean you're low intellect. And I wanted to
say, in terms of our budget shortfall-we've got about a $90
million dollar budget shortfall here-we see it in Durham County
in lots of things. We see it in that the libraries are able
to order new books. They're a tremendous free resource to
our community, to African Americans and everyone in the community.
We see it in the fact that the Department of Social Services
doesn't have money left in a heating fund so that people who
can't afford to pay their absolutely exorbitant heating or
gas bill have no recourse. They have no other place to turn.
It is going across the board, but there are so many small
things, and when you add them up, they just.they're devastating
to people in the community.
Holloway: Another side
of the issue is that no business part of it, and from an entrepreneur
point of view, all of these investors in these payday loan
institutions can't be white, and I'm sure that some of them
are black. So it brings to mind the question: what about the
entrepreneur side? But also where are our black leaders on
this-the Legislative Black Caucus, locally elected officials-in
this payday lending situation and the whole economic situation
for African Americans?
Bellamy: I've not heard
from them, actually. I really haven't, but because a business
owner is white or black is irrelevant if you're charging rates
that are clearly usurious. Now some would argue that their
rates, when they're annualized, are actually no worse than
credit cards, and there is something to be said for that.
But again, these are people who cannot go to a conventional
lending institution.
Holloway: John, do
you hear from the leaders or entrepreneurs?
Minter: Not too much
in terms of this being a black/white issue. I'm pretty sure,
like you said, that there are probably African Americans in
this business, but I don't think it's become a black/white
issue, and I don't think any black groups particularly have
stepped out, either pro or anti on the issue. But I think
it is an issue that is out there, and it is something that
people are using. I don't know the value of it beyond maybe,
you know, help for a month or two, or a check or two, but
the idea is that if you repeat the process over and over again,
it really does cut into your actual spending income.
Holloway: We were talking
about the elected officials. You said you hadn't heard much
from them. Well, just recently people are beginning to file
for the elections coming up, and a lot of people in the African
American community and others are running for positions. One
of the elections that a lot of people are going to be looking
at from this area-the Raleigh-Durham area-is Dan Blue running.
What are your thoughts in terms of the whole redistricting
issue, African Americans in this, the opportunity to have
an African American US Senator. Let's start with you.
Greenlee: Well, I think
we have to start, too, at the local level in Durham. We're
very unusual in that we have a black mayor, a black female
city manager, we have an acting police chief who is African
American, so we've had a long history and a present of having
black representation. In terms of the Senate race, I think
it's going to be interesting, even though I find that most
of the candidates aren't interesting themselves. I think that,
of course, Liddy Dole has been pretty much anointed as the-no
pun intended-"Great White Hope" of the Republican
Party, and the Democratic field is not very attractive. Dan
Blue, you know, obviously as the first black Speaker of the
House, will have, to some degree, an instant following. He
does have some name recognition. We have Erskine Bowles who
has the Clinton connection, which could hurt or help him depending
on how he plans to play it if he's going to do an Al Gore
and distance himself from Bill Clinton. And then we've got
Elaine Marshall who is one of the highest ranking women here
in state government, and we've also got another candidate-an
African American candidate-Cynthia Brown, who has gotten absolutely
no press attention. Is she a viable candidate? Probably not.
Holloway: She's a former
city councilperson in Durham.
Greenlee: Yes, she
is. Probably not.but she is doing something that I have not
seen any of the candidates doing to this moment, which is,
she is really going out and meeting people. She is not doing
it in the stretch right before the election. She's going out
to community centers and really talking to people, and it's
an old-style campaign that, I think, is wonderful. Now Dan
Blue.there are people who say that he's not necessarily representing
the African American community, but I think that we shouldn't
make the mistake of thinking that the black community is a
monolithic community. Let's remember that the Republicans
were the party of blacks until recently.I mean, fairly recently
in history, and there's been a sudden swap that now, we as
black people have some love affair with the Democratic Party.
Holloway: John, what
are the issues in the election in the Charlotte area?
Minter: Well, I think
that you know, of course, that Mr. Bowles has a Charlotte
tie. I think, obviously, we're familiar with Dan Blue. I think
that the way to start looking at this election, start with
the fact that this is an opportunity-a rare opportunity-for
the national Democrats to steal a Senate seat. It doesn't
come up very often, particularly one that has been held for
so long by as staunch a conservative as Jesse Helms, who has
done, for all his conservative speeches and things he may
have done on a national level.my understanding and what I
know of him has been a very good servant to his constituency
in terms of constituent services. There are a number of people
who have gone to military academies and gotten social security
checks and.
Holloway: Black and
white.
Minter: .Black and
white because of Mr. Helms, so you cannot take that away from
him. Of course, he is stepping down. The Democrats.a lot of
money is going to flow into this race, both because of Liddy
Dole, but because this is the chance to.for the Democrats
to take a Republican seat. If you know.it's what? 49? 50 and
1?.so it's definitely a split Senate is why it's important.
For one thing, the Senate-if for no other reason of importance-it
appoints judges, Federal judges. There will be some Supreme
Court judgeships coming up pretty soon over the next decade,
where a Democratic vote out of North Carolina could make a
big difference. So it's a very important race. Lots of money
is going to flow in. I can't pick a winner now, obviously.
I wish I could. But I think that, obviously, Liddy Dole-I
think that may be unfair. I think someone said she doesn't
want to be called Liddy, but Ms. Dole has a lot of name recognition.
She has, you know, some North Carolina ties that she is holding
onto for dear life, but I think that she could be possibly
labeled as the front runner. Now on the Democratic side, Dan
has wanted to run for this office for a while. He toyed with
the idea of running for governor, I understand. But in my
mind, I would think that Mr. Bowles is probably has a good
chance to come out of this. Before I start.
Greenlee: He certainly
is the top fundraiser among the field. Definitely.
Minter: Oh, well, and
fundraising begins at home, Mr. Bowles! But the other thing
is that we've got to understand is that the Democrats always
have a problem in North Carolina. That is that they have to
win a Democratic primary in May.generally a very liberal voting
pool, and then turn around in November and run in a very conservative,
larger electorate.
Holloway: .Let me ask
one.
Minter: and that's
a difficult process.
Holloway: .and he's
right because both Harvey Gantt and former Governor Jim Hunt
tried and lost. What are your thoughts on this political scene?
Bellamy: Well, New
Hanover County, which is where Wilmington is located, is a
bell weather of sorts. We've been pretty much right on target
in terms of who gets what. I agree with the earlier assessments
that it's apparent that Elizabeth Dole is enjoying the favor,
of course, of Senator Jesse Helms, who had his own following.
I think that her biggest thing is going to be overcoming the
distance that she's had for the past.most of her adult life.
Holloway: From this
state.
Bellamy: .and showing
that she can connect to North Carolina. I mean, it's more
than just taking up residency in the year that you decide
that you want to run for an office. In terms of the Democratic
side of that equation, I think it's still fairly early to
tell. It's too early to tell, but I'm getting a lot of feedback
on Dan Blue, not as much on Erskine Bowles because, again,
he has to decide whether or not he wants to use President
Clinton's administration as a crutch or as something to be
as far away from as possible. So it's too early to call.
Holloway: Go ahead.
Greenlee: I think the
other side of this is that it will be the first time in a
little while that our senior Senator is going to be a Democrat,
and that's going to be John Edwards. You know, there's so
much speculation about him and what his political future will
be, and it will be interesting to see what he does once he
is able to wield that more powerful hand of cards.
Holloway: Interesting
angle.senior Senator. I hadn't thought about that.
Bellamy: Yeah, that
is interesting because how long will he be senior Senator
Edwards? I mean, he's obviously on the Presidential track,
according to many, and going to many of the states that hold
the early caucuses.
Holloway: Let's move
on to one other quick big issue.is education. One of the things
from the Bush Administration down to the state level has been
closing this achievement gap, and also in Charlotte you have
a unique issue about districting and school choice. But let's
start here in Durham. What are the issues-of the issue of
closing the achievement gap? Still a big issue?
Greenlee: Oh it's a
big issue. It's so big that I think the achievement gap-'gap'
is too small a word-I think it's a major fault line like the
Marianas Trench. If you look, we have had a lot of improvement
over the past ten years in narrowing the gap, but still on
standardized testing, there is about a 30-point percentage
gap in the passing rate. So let's say 90% of the white students
in the Durham public schools, which used to be two systems
which merged, 90% of theses students-white students-are passing.
Only 60% of African American students are passing, and you
know, education is probably the most divisive issue in Durham.
When you go to a School Board meeting, you will just experience
the most venom and vitriol that you have ever seen in local
government, and I think that our community is very concerned
about it. They're concerned about it from a standpoint of
our children. Are they getting what they need? Are standardized
tests an accurate measure of success in the future, or what
they're going to do? But there are also concerns that our
public officials can't seem to work together.
Holloway: John, this
has been a big issue in Charlotte.
Minter: It's a big
issue in Charlotte for lots of reasons. For one, as you know,
Charlotte has over the years in the past couple of decades
grown very fast. It attracts a lot of new businesses, a lot
of new people. It's hard to find anyone who's been in Charlotte
more than five years nowadays. You know you go out and they
say that "Well, I came down recent." These people
come from a lot of different areas, a lot of different school
systems, smaller school systems, mostly white school systems
in suburban areas, so when they come to Charlotte, they sort
of have these expectations that are a bit higher. As a result,
we wrestle too with the achievement gap, technology gaps,
this kind of thing. We have a..because of the growth of the
city, we've had to build a lot of new schools in the suburbs,
while inner city schools have not done as well. So you have
that gap between the actual quality of the facilities. Closing
all that is going to cost a lot of money and it's a very sensitive
subject. We have, I think, solved the bussing controversy
because we no longer are under a bussing order, and we have
a choice plan that's supposed to help people to make their
own decisions about where their children go to school. There
will be some choice. There's some concern that the schools
are so crowded that choice is not going to play out the way
people expect it to.
Holloway: Rhonda, are
some of the same issues going on in Wilmington?
Bellamy: Not to that
extent. Not to the extent of Charlotte, certainly, because
they of course have come from under that court-ordered measure.
I, too, am concerned about the disparity in test scores, primarily,
and I guess I was disheartened by a major.the major conclusions
that came out of a huge conference they had last year. They
said, "Turn off the television." Well..
Holloway: As if that's
going to make the difference?
Bellamy: Right. I'm
really not sure where the problem lies, but I think it's more
than just television, and it's more than just these little.there's
something that's not happening.
Holloway: Speaking
of TV, we're about to run out. I want to get some real quick
comments and maybe from you, John, tonight. One of the biggest
black gatherings in our state is the CIAA Basketball Tournament.
One of your hometown teams is the defending champions.
Minter: Yes, the defending
champion Golden Bulls from.and of course my other home town,
the Fayetteville State Broncos will be there. I think though
that people in North Carolina should really realize just what
a great tournament this is. It's the oldest conference tournament,
it attracts-oh, you know-50,000, 60,000, 70,000 people. They
all come out. They have a great time. It's a good experience,
and I think that-one of the interesting things about it though,
is that it should be in Charlotte. [LAUGHTER]
Holloway: Time has
run completely out. Thanks to those of you visiting our state
for the CIAA Tournament. I'd like to thank our guests for
journeying out tonight and joining us for the discussion.
Thank you for watching. Next week Black Issues Forum
will not be shown in order that we may bring you a special
live presentation from our Festival. Black Issues Forum
will return, though, to our regular schedule, the following
week of March 15th. That Friday night at 9:30,
so be sure to join us then, and remember also, that because
this is the month of Festival at UNC-TV, we need to hear from
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And when you do, let them know that you enjoy Black Issues
Forum. I'm Jay Holloway. We'll see you again Friday after
next at 9:30. Have a blessed evening. Good night.
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