THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 19, 1996 TAG: 9605170226
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Another View
SOURCE: BY VINCENT D. CARPENTER
LENGTH: Long : 121 lines
I recently learned from reading my newspaper that the Board of Visitors of Old Dominion University had changed the name of the African-American Cultural Center to the Hugo A. Owens Center in honor of the first African-American who served as rector of the university's board. My first reaction was one of joy. A few seconds later, I shook my head in disgust and audibly uttered, ``Damn shame!''
Through my many years of Sunday School, I became versed in the biblical passage, ``A prophet is not without honor but in his own country and among his own kin and his own house. . . '' That passage appears in three of the four gospels. Once again, I saw its application.
My mom always told me ``If they did that to Jesus Christ, what do you think they'll do to you?'' But ``Damn Shame'' is my only reaction. It lingers from the decision by the Chesapeake School board in March to name the new school on Cedar Road ``Cedar Road Elementary School'' instead of what many African-American civic groups and community leaders had hoped would be named ``Clarke-Owens Elementary School.''
Dr. Hugo A. Owens and the late W.P. Clarke Sr. were Chesapeake's first African-American city council members. Together, they were elected on a cold, snow-filled day in 1970 and paved the way for future African-Americans to serve on City Council as well as other boards, commissions and task forces. The rationale for the majority decision that the ``Cedar Road'' name would avoid controversy.
Notwithstanding the nine Chesapeake schools currently named after individuals, the School Board in recent years adopted a policy of naming high schools after their geographic locale. This is a reasonable policy even though the ``Oscar F. Smith'' name was grand-fathered both in the form of a high school and a middle school. Elementary schools, however, are a different story. One of the highest badges of honor a municipality can bestow upon the memory of its finest citizens is to name schools after them. Children of future generations would then have the opportunity to learn who that individual was and the magnitude of his or her contribution.
Dr. Owens and Mr. Clarke's talents and contributions were many, but none proved more valuable than their ability to bridge the gap between the races, get more African-Americans on city boards and commissions and to prove that African-Americans could provide exemplary conduct, leadership and savvy on matters affecting the lives of all its citizens. Because Clarke and Owens were good at what they did, Chesapeake's white citizens became more tolerable of having other African-Americans in similar positions. The proof lies in our current mayor, Dr. William E. Ward, who is a Clarke-Owens protege.
The biblical analogy looms large because Dr. Owens went on to attain state and national acclaim. He was the president of the National Dental Association, the rector of the Board of Visitors for both Virginia State University in Petersburg and Old Dominion University, and he served on a host of other regional and state boards and commissions. Dr. Owens also served on the last two School Board task forces created to sell Chesapeake voters on approving multimillion-dollar school bond referendums. He was the chairman of one task force, and he diligently served on the other. Both referendums were successful, allowing the school system the means to finance the construction of future schools. These distinctions barely scratch the surface of a lifetime of achievements by Dr. Owens.
The alarming aspect of the controversy rests in the racist attitudes that once again have surfaced from some of the misinformed white citizens over a school issue. It is regrettable that our School Board members were subjected to telephone calls like: ``You better not name that school after a n-----!'' or ``Why can't you name a school in their neighborhood that name?'' Mr. Clarke lived in Bells Mill, about two miles from the site of the new school. These comments were disturbing to some School Board members and downright intimidating to others. This should not have happened.
These comments warrant greater attention because they follow the recent racially tinged comments from the parents who did not want to have their children relocated from G.A. Treakle Elementary School to Camelot Elementary School under a proposed realignment. Camelot Elementary School, which is located in a predominantly African-American neighborhood and has a predominantly African-American enrollment, became the target of racial comments from some of Chesapeake's new and less informed white residents who felt uncomfortable with the school's racial composition. Fortunately, both black and white Camelot residents spoke up to dispel the myths and allay the fears.
The painful reality is that Chesapeake still has a long way to go to achieve an acceptable level of mutual respect between the races. The danger is that many of these comments are coming from new citizens who are unfamiliar with this region's past and, more specifically, this city's progress on this issue. They have brought the baggage of their experiences here and have applied them to our circumstances. These attitudes, if left unchallenged, may rule the day.
An unwitting ally to such venom was School Board member Larry Brayboy, whose pivotal vote for the ``Cedar Road'' name was a deep disappointment. His subsequent suggestion of the possibility of naming the media center after Clarke and Owens was insulting inasmuch as he is a beneficiary of the legacy of these men. Moreover, as a former Camelot residents, he should have seen the value to be gained in the eyes of all children via a tribute to African-Americans who were and are wholesome examples of excellence. Because of his aversion to controversy, a tremendous opportunity was lost.
Opportunity is the operative word in this matter because controversy always offers the opportunity for mutual understanding. Inasmuch as a smooth sea never made a skillful sailor, controversy should be embraced, not avoided. Controversy is a vital element of progress because it provides the means for discourse, debate and resolution. If we are to win the battle of mutual respect, cooperation and love, our citizens and our schools should shun passive politicians and weak-kneed citizen activists. Wise people indeed become wiser when they realize the attitudes, which are based on fear or ignorance, can be changed with the benefit of additional information.
Chesapeake has wonderful stories to tell about the lives of W.P. Clarke Sr., Dr. Hugo A. Owens, Marian P. Whitehurst, Dr. Juan M. Montero II, Robert G. Bagley, Willa S. Bazemore, Sidney M. Oman and Dr. C. Fred Bateman. Each should have a school bearing his or her name. However, if the School Board members always choose the path of least resistance to avoid controversy, then they forego opportunities for measurable improvement - a threat to real progress. Our children are the losers when this happens. Old Dominion University's buildings are few when compared to Chesapeake Public Schools' many, yet the Board of Visitors deemed it fitting to name a building after a dentist who was their first African-American rector and Chesapeake's first African-American vice mayor. Meanwhile, Chesapeake's School Board could not name an elementary school after two of its own. Damn shame! MEMO: Mr. Carpenter is a resident of Harbour North Drive in Chesapeake.
by CNB