Complimentary to churches <,/,< r r and community groups JHfnnrftu ©pporhmftn N^ftis 2730 STEMMONS FRWY STE. 1202 TOWER WEST, DALLAS, TEXAS 75207 VOLUME 5, NO. 12 December 1996 TPA From The Editor Chris Pryer :v^ photo bif Derrick WaUerw Race Matters Teiiaco can ttam sluir debacle Race Matters, the title of Cornel . West's sociological treatise, is succinctly into gsreat opportraiity and appropriately named. The spinal cord of race runs through every aspect of When the news broke that a number aco. He solemnly pledged to stamp out nity needs is real trickle-down econom­ American life, either unmistakable in its of high-level members of management at any vestige of discrimination that exists ics. Just as the years of discrimination brazeness or, in all too rare occasions, Texaco were taped making racial slurs at his company. have had a profound effect on the collec­ conspicuous by its absence. And whether about fellow African American employ­ Eventually, rather than fight a class- tive economic well-being of blacks, vig­ you interpret Mr. West's title as meaning ees during a meeting, it sent Shockwaves action suit filed against it by 1,400 cur­ orous steps taken by corporate America "issues of race" or "race makes a differ­ across America. While the firmly rent and former employees, Texaco set­ in the areas of contract procurement, ence," its painfully, disturbingly and entrenched white business establishment tled out-of-court for the sum of $176 mil­ upper-management opportunities and unceasingly accurate. expressed appropiate outrage and dis­ lion. A princely sum, you think? We think access to capital for business start-ups may, the collective response of African if s relatively paltry. and expansions is the only solution to In the small Tennessee town of Bris­ Americans of all socio-economic strata African Americans realizing the real tol, hard by the Tennessee-Virginia bor­ While $176 million can go a long nodded their heads knowingly. It was as way, it is not inexhaustible. If things go American Dream. der, another example of what appears to if to say, "This is what we've l?een trying be unequal justice is being played ouL according to plan, the larger, more well- Hopefully, the few nationally recon- to tell you all along—this is how corpo­ known national black organizations will gnized African American organizations Lon Pierce, 16, has just been tried and rate America has always felt about us!" convicted of first degree murder and sen­ be deemed the proper custodians of the that stand to gain financially "from Texa­ tenced to life in prison for the killing of a Texaco's CEO, Peter Bijur, immedi­ payoff. These organizations will serve as co's guilt offering will leverage their posi­ county deputy. The crime occurred when ately accepted an invitation to appear on agents for the business establishment tions to help all black Americans gain Mr. Pierce, along with two female accom­ ABC's Nightline and answered every (oops, we mean the black masses), dis­ their rightful access to the opportunities plices, relinquished control of a stolen question host Ted Koppel posed bursing the money as they see fit. But for which they are so richly qualified. van during a police chase and ran into the unflinchingly. Well, almost unflinchingly. isn't that like giving the star\'ing man a Settling for anything less would be a deputy's vehicle, which was being used And he seemed genuinely perplexed and fish? It's an appreciated gesture, but an real pittance—and a pity. as a roadblock. The deputy was standing embarrassed by the revelation that there inadequate one. behind the vehicle with his gun drawn. arealtitudesof out and out radsmat Tex­ What the African Americancommu- The resulting impact flipped the officer in the air. He landed on the hood of a nearby truck before striking the pave­ Ossmi-AsiiericaB Credit ment., later dying from massive head injuries. Then comes the predictable. Young the sliaftJ Mr. Pierce is African American. The The Grinch came early for the pre­ What makes the ruling so unfair for noia? aforementioned female accomplices are dominantly African Americancommuni- Poly is that the banking industry long If it can happen in Fort Worth, when white. They were not charged with first ty of Polytechnic Heights on Fort Worth's had the opportunity to move in and offer does a federal credit union like Dallas' degree murder and, furthermore, have southeast side. This time, however, the financial services. It did nothing. But as Common Ground Federal Credit Union, been detained as juveniles. Mr Pierce has Grinch — appropriately disguised as the credit unions have expanded their bases which last summer got a new sponsor in been bound over to adult court. He was national banldng industry — stole more by serving unserved and underserved the well-organized and highly visible also convicted of felony theft of an auto­ African American Pastors Coalition, mobile, petty theft and felony evading than Christmas. It effectively quashed communities, suddenly they have been arrests and sentenced to life imprison­ the hopes of a community become a threat? In attempts to ment with no parole for a minimum of 25 disproportionately impacted keep African Americans from calendar years. They all were 15 years old by redlining and bad credit controlling their financial futures, at the time of the crime, which took place reports to take some control will a new Grinch surface, pre­ back in November of 1995. of its financial destiny. senting a myriad of superficial issues to the federal courts to keep The trial look place in Kingsport, In October, a federal ^'^• Common Ground in its place? Tenn.The jury was white—all white. Mr. judge ruled that credit unions By stymie! ng consumer choice of Pierce testified, during the trial, that it like OmniAmerican Federal was not his intention to ram the police- Credit Union, which would r^> financial institutions, the banking have been able to offer to ^^ f.' industry has truly become the car roadblock and kill the officer. Facing a iStme^: drawn gun, he panicked and ducked. Poly residents many of the i '•^tlT^^^iS Grinch for Polytechnic, which The two white females, who corroborat­ financial services banks i^J^f stood to benefit greatly from ed Pierce's story, have gone through the ei ther tiave been unwilling to OnmiAmerican's services; per­ legal process relatively unscathed. April provide at a reasonable cost haps, pumping economic life into Worley, Pierce's girlfriend, and Sarah or at all, were prohibited a community starving for just Camacho, who originally stole the van in from serving anyone outside that. Admirably, U.S. Rep. Martin Orlando, Fla., seem equally as culpable. the businesses, industries or Frost has pledged to introduce Even the daughter of the killed deputy geographical areas they were aealcd to perceived as a competitive threat — legislation enabling aedit unions such as said she thought the trial was unfair. serve. In effect, OmniAmerican could which might be all in the nunds of top OmniAmerican to continue serving Reaction to the seemingly partial move into Poly, but it couldn't secure any banking officials. In fact, some data show unserved communities like Poly, and verdict does not fall totally along racial "new" business there. That action came the nation's banks have grown faster some local officials are working with the lines. Many local whi tes confess that they only days before OmniAmerican had than credit unions for the last two years credit union forareversal. Anything less are witnessing an obvious injustice. planned a daylong celebration marking and that the banking industry has would be more than stealing Christmas, Race Matters? What do you think? the opening of the first financial institu­ enjoyed record profits each of the last it would be downright criminal. MON tion in Poly in two decades. four years. Competitive threat or para- mhrr^fr;<7rn^=CT^rm-te^PTO3-^ r c^r^x^ g c .Thr.rh^^. ^'^^ Wl^(s]?®5iMi$ LETTERS... Cover Story 18 ...WiUiam McDonald PromiseKeepers: - Let's Reconcile Editorials 02 .Texaco I prayed thai God would allow His Holy 02 ..Omni American/Common spirit to convict PromiseKeepers Ground Credit Unions throughout the Metroplex and those Features from around the U.S. lo get energized 08 Kwanzaa and make racial reconciliation an objec­ 10 Revelation Corporation tive to be obtained in reality here in our 12 MON's Reviews the Year country. God answered my prayer this 26 Pen Notes Year End Review weekend by the focus of the Texas Special PromiseKeepers conference being racial ^ mssm 06 Viewpoint:Personal Parental reconciliation. & Comm. Responsibility It is not by coincidence that Mr. Bill 14 Ethnic Notcs:Black Madonna McCartney, founder of PromiseKeepers §L 15 Proprietary Information made the comment that the "while IMI* fMHSU 28 Radio Notes church" must reach beyond any racial 29 Enlcrtainmcnl:Howard Rollins in Kwanzaa Special barriers to demonstrate the power of bib­ 30 1996 Bachclorette Contest lical unity. The fact that 86% of the men Finalists attending the Texas conference were 33 The Power of Beauty white is also not a coincidence. I believe 34 Sports:AlvinRayIII God is calling on the white churchy espe­ 35 Michael Johnson's Book cially its ministers, to reach out to others 36 Electronic Urban Report (paslors and men) of color to forge rela­ 37 Fairy Street Mama tionships that will begin the healing 43 Spinning Wheel process of racial reconciliation. 44 Umphrey Lee Elementary I am an Ambassador for Promise- Columns Keepers and an African American who m Editor 05 Community Pulse has experienced the joy that comes with 07 Pen on Fire racial reconciliation.