THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 24, 1994 TAG: 9411220302
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Ida Kay Jordan
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
What a nice way to start Thanksgiving week!
Church and Community in Action, an organization of black ministers and community leaders, gathered hundreds of residents Sunday night to honor about 150 persons for ``improving the quality of life in Portsmouth.'' About a third of them were white.
I was honored to be one of them. More important than the honor, however, was the fact that the organization was bringing together people from all walks of life and all segments of the population to share a tasty meal at Temple Beth El.
The gathering, dubbed ``First Annual Awards Banquet,'' was spearheaded by Elder Charles H. Bowens II, the organization's president.
Church and Community in Action was organized in 1990 ``to help solve community problems and improve the quality of life for all citizens'' in the city. It is the first non-profit African-American organization of its kind in the city.
The organization became involved with the schools early in its history and has placed great emphasis on education of black youngsters. Its summer program for students is outstanding.
At Sunday's banquet, the group's former president, the Rev. Joe Fleming, spoke. He ended his speech with a quote that has been sitting in my computer queue for some time, the basis for an editorial comment.
``A house divided against itself cannot stand,'' he told the group.
From Biblical times to Abraham Lincoln to now, those words never have lost their meaning. Certainly, one has to apply the thought to Portsmouth, where it sometimes seems that factions will ruin every good idea that comes along.
Portsmouth folks have to start communicating with each other about what is good for the city.
We cannot think only in terms of what's good for one group or another, especially in terms of black and white. That is why I was happy to see so many white residents at the Church and Community in Action banquet.
People from all segments of the city need to sit down together from time to time if we ever are going to understand each other.
We need to say openly how we feel about each other, about the city and the future. As long as there are hidden agendas on anybody's part, we'll be in trouble.
In addition, we need to get beyond personal agendas, a difficult accomplishment in a world where the main pronouns are I, me and mine. Because of this self-oriented society, people often unconsciously seek personal power out of community issues.
By talking together, we frequently can sort out the broad issues and move on with them, rather than getting mired in unimportant details that generally are on personal agendas.
This city never will get beyond it problems unless we can get beyond racism. Both black and whites must be open and without malicious bias toward each other. Playing games with each other only will hasten the demise of our community.
Anybody who knows me personally knows I say what's on my mind. It's been that way since I became very outspoken on racial issues as a college student back in the 1940s.
Back then, some white acquaintances took offense at my views. Today, that same outspoken attitude probably is offensive to some blacks in the community.
Still I think we must be open and outspoken about race issues in Portsmouth if we're going to be successful. We can't stay bogged down in some sort of unspoken animosity. We must bring it to the table without fear of any consequences from being honest.
The Church and Community in Action banquet could be a good beginning for easier relations between various factions in the city. It certainly was a good beginning for the holiday season we will be celebrating for the next five or six weeks.
Let's give thanks today for those in our community who will continue to work toward better understanding among us all. by CNB