The Oklahoma Eagle (Tulsa, Okla.), Vol. 85, No. 24, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 8, 2006 Page: 4 of 12
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EDITORIAL
I
Jaramillo
tor today.
I
The religious leaders,
OPINION
7
Kane
Gawd-awful "singing" I've ever heard
!f
you
ZZSZZ_____ I
ffl)
r.
«
See TAYLOR HICKS, P.5
FROM THE EDITOR
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*
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e-mail: news@theoklahomaeaglejiet
Voting Rights Act
Of 1965 Should Be
Reauthorized in 2007
stitution.
Rather than concentrate
the crisis of the war in
Amendment to the U.S. Con-
stitution would limit the def-
allow equal marriage rights
for same-gender couples.
UCC members and churches
are free to differ on important
social issues, even as the
UCC remains principally
committed to unity in the
midst of our diversity.
SIMON COWELL, one of the judges on
“American Idol." said early in the season
that the show's winner Taylor Hicks (above)
sounded like “a drunken father singing at a
wedding," according to Time magazine.
BIBLE VERSE
"The Lords wisdom founded the earth; his under-
standing established all the universe ano space.
Provs 3:19
HISTORY
The fisrt Black Power conference opened in Newark,
N.Y.
’ *3
I
1
Vi
ing critical issues, the U.S.
Senate should not be fo-
cused...on treating an entire
group of Americans differ-
QJJOTE
"Advertising has done more to cause the social un-
rest of the twentieth century than any other single factor."
- Clare Barnes, Jr.
The politics of polariza-
tion and distraction are
emerging once again as the
November elections draw
near, with <
A
and Puerto Rico. Rooted in
the Christian traditions of
religious lib- congregational governance
and covenantal relationships,
House and the Senate in representatives of Clergy for
2004. Never before has the
U.S. Constitution been
amended to deny the civil
KM
or TMf-
I Wl
. O4*|
r ask*
Uoutyf lx So Wf
'----~j mouaih r
It focOf
to prefer one religious defini-
tion of marriage over an-
other. Rather, religious
denominations should de-
"We make America better when we aid our people."
E.L. GOODWIN, SR. (1902-1978), Publisher; 1936-1978
Edward L Goodwin, Jr., and James O. Goodwin
Co-Publishers
Eddie L. Madison, Jr.
Editor Emeritus
1
to address this issue.
On May 22, 2006, the
United Church of Christ was
represented in a group of
ing warm air. Using my finely honed
perspicacity, 1 immediately concluded
the air conditioning unit should not
have been blowing warm air. I took the
You might call this the most flagrant I
case of affirmative action for white folks
ever, but it's actually a
lot worse than that It's a
case of affirmative action
for ugly guys who can't
sing worth a tinker's
dam. Somebody please
tell me: How did Taylor
Hicks win the "Ameri-
can Idol" contest? This
needs explaining to me.
1 don't watch "American Idol." 4. >
don't watch any reality TV shows. I like
the dramas, you know, those things
with actual plots. I was hooked on
watching "24" this season, as Jack Bauer
tracked down the folks responsible for
killing my main man President Palmer,
played by Dennis Haysbert. The first
black presidential character on a televi-
sion show and he gets killed? Oh, some-
body was going down.
Last week. Jack Bauer caught up
with the culprit and capped him a cou-
ple of times in the chest. Way to go, Jack. Cowell was dead wrong in that
So I missed the furor about who won assessment, opines columnist Gregory
Kane: Hicks doesn't even sound that good.
A coalition of national civil rights and justice orgamza- :
tions has announced the goal of collecting one million signa- I (
tures in a petition drive to encourage Congressional (
reauthorization of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. i
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, president of the Rainbow-PUSH
Coalition, discussed the petition as one of several strategies <
to ensure the reauthorization of the Act at a news conference
convened in Washington, D. C.
"There will be three critical parts of the Voting Rights
Act to expire in 2007 unless reauthorized by Congress," said
Jackson. "We must be ever vigilant to protect our right to
vote and not be swayed by media campaigns highlighting
events that divert our attention from our mission."
Major L. Jemison, president of the Progressive National
Baptist Convention, Inc., another group represented at the
press conference, said: "The coming together of these major
civil and justice organizations shows we are not being pas-
sive on this issue. This is a great moment. The result will be
the preservation of the Voting Rights Act."
There has been a great deal of misunderstanding about
the expiration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in 2007. In
fact, we have reported editorially on this issue in the past.
This confusion resulted largely from accounts appearing on
the Internet saying that African Americans would be denied
the right to vote in 2007, if the 1965 Voting Rights Act was
not reauthorized. The most widely publicized account of
this ri pe was based on an article, appearing in USA Today,
written by Camille Cosby, wife of comedian-actor Bill Cosby.
African Americans are guaranteed the right to vote
under the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Howeve., prior to the passage of the Voting Rights Act by
Congress a.id support of that legislation by President Lyn-
don Johnson, blacks were being denied the right to vote.
This came on the heels of the murder of voting rights ac-
tivists in Philadelphia, Miss., and the attack on peaceful
marchers crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala.
"Congress determined that the existing federal anti-dis-
crimination laws were not sufficient to overcome the resist- I
ance by state officials to enforcement of the 15th
Amendment," as explained in the US. Department of Jus- I
tice, Civil Rights Division, webpage. The, explanation con-
tinues: "The legislative hearings showed that the
Department of Justice's efforts to eliminate discriminatory
election practices litigation on a case-by-case basis had been
unsuccessful in opening up the registration process; as soon
as one discriminatory practice or procedure was proven to
be unconstitutional and enjoined, a new one would be sub-
stituted in its place and litigation would have to commence
anew."
President Johnson signed the resulting legislation into
law on August 6, 1965. Section 2 of the Act, which closely
followed the language of the 15th Amendment, applied to a
nationwide prohibition against the denial or abridgement of
the right to vote on the literacy tests on a nationwide basis.
Among its other provisions, the Act contained special en-
forcement provisions targeted at those areas of the country
where Congress believed the potential for discrimination to
be the greatest.
Under Section 5, jurisdictions covered by these special
provisions could not implement any change affecting voting
until the Attorney General or the U.S. District Court for the
District of Columbia determined that the change did not
have a discriminatory purpose and would not have a dis-
criminatory effect. In addition, the Attorney General could
designate a county covered by these special provisions for
the appointment of a federal examiner to review the qualifi-
cations of persons wanting to register vote. Further, in those
counties where a federal examiner was serving, the Attorney
General could request that federal observers monitor activi-
ties within the county's polling place.
We are not saying there should not be reason for con-
cern. First of all, we are dealing with a different Congress,
one dominated by a conservative Republican majority in
both the Senate and the House. We have a president who
told the Congressional Black Caucus in a rare meeting that
he was "unfamiliar" with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
To be sure, the Voting Rights Act was designed to give a
more forceful method of implementing the 15th Amend-
ment to the Constitution.
In light of reported disenfranchisement of African
Americans in the last two elections, there Is a continuing
need for reauthorization of the Act.
As noted on the Justice Department's webpage, Con-
gress renewed in 1982 the special provisions of the Act trig-
gered by coverage under Section 4 for 25 years. Congress
also adopted a new standard, which went into effect in 1985,
providing how jurisdictions could terminate (or "bail out"
from) coverage under the provisions of Section 4. Further-
more, after extensive hearings, Congress amended Section 2
to provide that a plaintiff could establish a violation of the
Section without having to prove discriminatory purpose.
In addition to Jemison, Rev. Jackson was joined by,
among others, Barbara R. Amwine, executive director,
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Laura W.
Murphy, legislative director, American Civil Liberties
Union; Stephanie Jones of the National Urban League;
Richard Womack, AFL-CIO; T J Michaels, Service Employ-
ees International Union; Brenda Girton-Mitchell, National
Council of Churches; Julie Fernandes, senior policy analyst
Leadership Conference on Gvil Rights; Olga Vivies, vice
president. National Organization for Women; Merwyn
Scott government relations, National Education Associa-
tion, and Tanya M. Chy, deputy director, People For the
American Way.
out! tmx
I* AMb <-M
?>,. 11
So I missed the furor about who won
"American Idol."
But this past weekend, 1 noticed my
The opinions nf onr guest mhtmnisH do not
necessarily reflect the views of this newspaper, its
advertisers or its staff. Submissions may be edited
fur considerations of space, clarity or liability.
Please send comments to: Letters to the Editor,
The Oklahoma Eagle, P.O. Box 3267, Tulsa, OK
74101 or fax them to (918) 5R2-R9OS.
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full name, address and telephone number.
fot; *•
AW C-y/VoU
Here’s a question for 64 million Americans:
You really think Taylor Hicks can sing?
By CniiryKm
Guest Contributor
visited Senate staff members
to oppose the FMA as an in-
on
i a letter sent to the
Marriage Senate by the group, reli- each UCC setting speaks only
gious leaders stated, "at a for itself and not on behalf of
1 care<
hospitafvisitation and family of same gender-loving
medical leave.
_________ There is strong agree-
municipal laws or ordinances ment even among those with and urge
P-4 THE OKLAHOMA EAGLE ■ THURSDAY. |UNE 8. 2006_________
I COMMENTARY
eagle | Civil Rights are for everyone, not just some
lv M Lllfl JlPIMiKl The politics of polariza- House and the Senate in representatives of Clergy for
tha iinit»d Church of Christ tion anc* distraction are 2004. Never before has the Fairness, a broad coalition of
emerging once again as the U.S. Constitution been religious voices opposing
Individual civil rights November elections draw amended to deny the civil FMA, contend that it is not
are at the core of this coun- near, with congressional rights of citizens. The FMA the federal government^ ro e
try's values. We continue to leadership poised to intro- would mark an unprece-
tout our com- duce the Federal Marriage dented shift away from ex-
mitment to Amendment (FMA) in early panding citizens' rights in
civil rights lune. The Federal Marriage the Constitution. At stake
generation
after genera-
tion. How -
Ml ever it seems
decade
decade
new" group
RS#
Mpi I*”’
pies.
Contact your senators
> them not to en-
shrine discrimination in the
nition of same-sex unions U.S. Constitution; click
that a constitutional amend- http://www.ucctakeaction.o
It could also endanger ment is an inappropriate way rg / fma to contact your sena-
the extension of domestic
The United Church of Christ
has more than 5,700 churches
on the crisis ot the war in Church of Christ, give to over 50 religious leaders who throughout the United States
Iraq, the rebuilding of the same-gender couples em-
Gulf Coast, and fair immigra-
tion policy, the U.S. Congress
chooses to spend their time
on the tearing away of peo
pie's civil rights. Rather than
refer a controversial amend-
ment on marriage rights to
the states as has also been
our
1 HU- T’
UK jftui. *
in my life. I looked at the screen and de-
manded to know who this screecher
was.
"Lordy, he sounds bad enough to
have won 'American Idol,'" I said. An-
other customer confirmed that the
singer was none other than Taylor
Hicks, who won the "contest" -- and
boy, do I use that word guardedly - last
week
Simon Cowell, one of the judges on
"American Idol," said early in the sea-
son that Hicks sounded like "a drunken
father singing at a wedding," according
to Time magazine. Cowell was dead
wrong in that assessment: Hicks doesn't
even sound that good. In just a couple of
years, we've gone from Fantasia Barrino
to this guy?
You all know 1 have my problems
with Fantasia, especially that danged
"Baby Mama" song. But, as much as I've
criticized her choice in music, I have to
admit that Fantasia can at least sing. I
mean, girlfriend can blow.
She's still not as good as the singers
you can find in any black storefront
church in America, but at least she's bet-
ter than Hicks. Whoever voted for this
guy must have some serious hearing
problems, which means there's a crisis
in America.
car's air conditioning system was blow- car in for a look Tuesday morning. Apparently there s a severe short-
A television in the car repair shop age of otolaryngologists, the doctors
was on, tuned to a talk show. All of a who treat ear, nose and throat ailments,
sudden I heard what was the most According to Time, just under 64 million
people voted in the "American Idol" fi-
nale. So apparently, at the very least,
over 32 million pairs of ears found noth-
ing wrong with Hicks' voice. That's a lot
of bad ears out there.
But there's another problem. Time
reported that the 64 million votes cast
for "American Idol" were "more than
any U.S. President has received." Hicks'
± winning on "American Idol" was a big-
ger news story than the one that came
J out of Iraq about some Marines who are
* being investigated for killing Iraqi civil-
11 ians.
You read that right - apparently
more Americans were concerned about
| some no-talent hack winning a singing
contest than their tax dollars being used
to fight a war in which Marines al-
legedly slaughtered a bunch of civilians.
Ain't there something wrong with that
picture?
Whether you're against the war in
Iraq or think President Bush is a knight
in shining armor vanquishing the forces
of terrorism and despotism by installing
-- at gunpoint - a democracy in Iraq,
you have to find this news troubling.
There was a time in America when war
news was considered much more im-
ployed by them.
On May 18, the Senate fringement
Judiciary Committee passed erty. In
the Federal 1 w .
Amendment out of commit- gious leaders stated, "at a for itself and not on behalf of
tee and paved the way for time when our country is fac- every UCC congregation,
full Senate consideration.
Senate Majority Leader Bill
custom, the U.S. Con- Frist has pledged to bring the
gress is planning to enter into FMA to a vote the week of
a debate that will surely po- June 5. A similar proposal ently."
larize this nation. was defeated in both the
7 £
■
Z. _
i intro-
duce the Federal Marriage dented shift away from
Amendment (FMA) in early |
June. The Federal Marriage the Constitution.
are over 1,000 federal bene- cide, based on their own doc-
fits of marriage including trines and teachings, whether
inition of marriage to only laws regarding health care, or not to sanctify marriages
one man and one woman. hnsoital visitation and family of same Render-loving cou-
that decade As a federal amendment,
after decade it would jeopardize state and
we designate a "new" group i ,
of citizens to target for dis- currently in place, which differing views on the recog-
crimination. The very docu-
ment that is to ensure our
individual rights is the one
that will be used to institute
discrimination; the U.S. Con- partner benefits which many
companies, cities and organi-
zations, including the United
4
1
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The Oklahoma Eagle (Tulsa, Okla.), Vol. 85, No. 24, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 8, 2006, newspaper, June 8, 2006; Tulsa, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1807640/m1/4/?q=+%22Latimer%22: accessed July 1, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.