Where’s the Edge?
As a Charlottean and a longtime reader of Creative Loafing, I am really disappointed at your coverage of the CIAA tournament (“It’s Our Thing Now,” by Branna Calloway, Tara Servatius and Kandia Crazy Horse, March 1.) In particular, the article by Branna Calloway was nothing but empty fluff, with none of the edgy attitude I expect from the Loaf. (Note to Ms. Calloway: There’s a huge difference between sassy and truly edgy — please learn it.) I guess the Chamber of Commerce probably enjoyed the article, but I think that kind of media blowjob is best left to the Observer. I think having the CIAA tourney here is a great thing, it’s something I very much support, but the Charlotte media has, as usual, gone overboard in promoting “this week’s big thing.” The Loaf has always been a source of sanity in the local media asylum, and I hate to see that you’ve lost your edge and joined the chorus. I remember when the Final Four came to Charlotte, Creative Loafing printed a satire of the uptown crowd’s hoopla and boosterism that had people laughing all over town. What has happened to the Loaf’s willingness to go against the local media grain? I am very disappointed.
— Jerry Patrick, Charlotte
Racism Still Strikes Nerves
Over the years John Grooms’ articles have always been riveting and moving, to say the least. I especially appreciate the Feb. 22 column about why we need black history (“Clueless in the Non-Fiction Aisle”). Being an African American man, I too feel the need for black history not only for my ethnicity but for all. It is ridiculous that in 2006 we still have bigotry and racism here in what is supposed to be one of the most diverse areas in the US, yet people are still stuck in the 1950s. A lot of anti-black historians are constantly reminding “us,” as you stated in your column, that slavery is over and it wasn’t their fault — get over it. Well, to those people I say, “Some of us could if some people would stop displaying their racist and egregious views publicly.”
— Jeron Howie, Charlotte
Comment on racism in the South (“Still Divided,” by John Sugg, Feb. 22). I read the article, and yes being black in the South hasn’t changed very much at all. We’re now being overtly lynched behind closed doors by the suits that be. The disparity between salaries and opportunities is still the same. Money means power to whites and they are not about to relinquish that power to very many of us blacks. That would mean we could afford to live a decent life just as they do, and that’s just not the American way, now, is it? Daily, working in corporate America, I am reminded of these very differences. While I am barely making ends meet on $26,000 a year, working sometimes 12-hour days and on Sundays, I watch a certain white guy who works here come to work in jeans maybe three days a week about six hours a day and take home a salary of $88,000 a year. I see a white being hired coming in at least $5,000 over what they bring blacks in for. Why? Because they are white, not smarter, not any better at their job, but simply because they are different from me. Yes, the public lynchings have stopped, the cross burnings are at a minimum, the raping of black women by white owners is at an all-time low, but the wounds are just as deep and hurt just as much when you live and know how unjust and unfair things really STILL are. Still waters run deep for me, guess they always will.
— Sharon Geter, Charlotte
I enjoyed John Sugg’s article, because it’s rare to see anything in print that actually acknowledges the true and pervasive violence inflicted on black people. Yes, people mention lynchings and church bombings, but it’s often communicated as the work of a few extremists instead of being revealed as the fabric of many communities. I have personally gone through old newspapers where lynchings were celebrated affairs worthy of front-page coverage.
As a child, I had the benefit of living in both Mississippi and Chicago, and then later in New York City. When I returned to Mississippi to attend Ole Miss in search of my M.A. in Southern Studies, I saw a part of Mississippi content not to change. I was there when Tommy Tuberville, now Auburn’s head coach, asked fans to stop waving the confederate flag. Do I believe he did it out of the goodness of his heart alone? No. I know that Mississippi has emerging football players whose parents, especially those in Central and Southern Mississippi, will not send their children to Ole Miss. Regardless of Tuberville’s motivation, it was a courageous move on his part and I have always applauded him for it.
As much as I’d like to think that truth conquers all, in this country, who delivers the truth means a great deal. Let me give you an example. While living in Mississippi, I worked on My Dog Skip. I mentioned to the director about the lack of black extras, not characters but extras, in the film and, mind you, Canton is over 80 percent black. White people were brought in from Jackson but the black people in the city could not participate in the film. Well, only in the so-called “black” scenes. I was fired. The three other white people who observed as I had were not.
Did the set change? I’m not certain. But I do know this: If we want to see white people in this country acknowledge white-skin privilege and dismantle the institutions that keep us all enslaved, it will have to be white people who light the way. Yes, it’s just as true coming from me, the only problem is it’s not as effective.
— Ronda Racha Penrice, Atlanta
This article appears in Mar 8-14, 2006.
