ac's_page
News

Home
Contact Me | blond jokes | FREAKY! | News | AR for AE | links to kool stuff | games | FREE E-cards

coollogo_com_133791092.gif

Note: All articles were taken from www.limanews.com

Local

King inspired many
By GREG SOWINSKI
419-993-2090
gsowinski@limanews.com
01.18.2004

   LIMA As the nation pauses this week to remember the life of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., some members of Limas black community said although they may have been children or not born during the civil rights movement they see the effects his work has had on their lives.
   King motivated them to strive to live greater, more fulfilled lives, they say. It also opened doors to opportunity that otherwise might not have been opened. They speak of his selfless striving toward equality for the black race through a message of nonviolence.
   Monday is the official national holiday to celebrate Kings life. He was born Jan. 15, 1929, and was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tenn.
   Although the five interviewed had different thoughts on what King would say if he could see society today, they collectively said everyone needs to work to achieve a colorblind society where the color of a persons skin is not the first thing someone notices or used as a reason to hold a belief against someone.
   Farley Banks
   I think he gave us a sense of hope and empowerment. I think he tried to get us to be better people than what we are. He spoke out against equality, said Farley Banks, who today is an attorney in Lima.
   King inspired Banks particularly by everything he did especially since he was a little reluc-tant to be viewed as the leader of the civil rights movement.
   He was called to action. I dont think he set out to be a great civil rights leader. I think he was a product of his time. He was the right man at the right time and he ultimately gave his life for the movement, Banks said. I think he tried to nudge us onto becoming a more color-blind society, Banks said.
   Banks will not say racism in gone from society. He knows its still there but its more subtle than during the civil rights movement. Racism exists in hiring opportunities, promotions and financial lending, he said.
   The 46-year-old Banks is trying to do his part in the modern-day civil rights movement by serving as a role model. He volunteers for causes such as the YMCA Black Achievers that serves children and hes a member of the local branch of the National Association for the Ad-vancement of Colored People and is on the board of the local American Red Cross.
   I guess I dont look at myself being part of a movement. If I am, its certainly not part of an organized movement. Im out here trying to make a living like anyone else, he said.
   Lorenzo White
   When I look at Dr. King, he brought a lot of hope for the black community, Lorenzo White said.
   King suffered immensely and was not distracted by being placed in jail or hounded by people trying to harm him. And, King never gave up his belief in nonviolence, White said.
   Its just hard to imagine someone could stand there and allow them to sic dogs on them or spray them with hoses, White said. Its unbelievable, but he did it. Hes an example for all of us to follow. Violence doesnt solve anything.
   White wants people to continue to work toward Kings beliefs including not defining others by the race.
   Its really sad that we spend more time in this country trying to put people in certain cate-gory groups, he said. We need to view people for what they are and not try to break them down into groups.
   The 42-year-old White said he is doing his part to encourage equality in the every-day way he lives his life. White is the owner of L. White Consultants, an insurance company that primarily handles group health insurance. Hes also an associate minister at Fourth Street Missionary Baptist Church.
   Treat people the way you want them to treat you. Be respectful of everyone no matter what, he said.
   If King were alive today or could comment on todays world, White said King would say the nation needs to continue to work toward unity of all people.
   He said it best in his march on Washington speech, where we can all come together to be one.
   Warren Pughsley
   When I look at the things he did, accomplished and the people that surrounded him, it gives me pride, Warren Pughsley said.
   But Pughsley also is thankful for the opportunities King helped the black race collectively achieve during the civil rights movement.
   My job and a lot of the jobs my friends have, we might not have the opportunity to have those jobs if it wasnt for him fighting for equal rights for all human beings, he said.
   King motivated Pughsley to work toward the good of society. Pughsley has taken that to heart not only in his job as a Lima fire inspector but also in volunteering for causes that bene-fit youths such as the Team Lima basketball program.
   The 33-year-old Pughsley said many blacks are spoiled by the freedoms or opportunities they have today that werent around not long ago. There is a lot younger blacks can learn from the elder black population, he said.
   He also believes King would be upset with the progress since his death, he said.
   I really think he would be angry and frustrated. I think he would see blacks have not come together as a whole, that we still envy each other instead of coming together, Pughsley said.
   He also knows King would be upset with the disrespectful way some children talk to adults and the nonchalant attitude some children have toward education.
   I have mixed feelings. I look at the disrespect we show his efforts through todays music videos and other representations of what it means to be an African American, he said.
   Pughsley also gets upset when people divide others by race.
   There is only once race, the human race, he said.
   Shahidah Saafir
   He was a very courageous leader for all humanity. He was an equal rights leader for every-one not just African Americans, Shahidah Saafir said.
   King was a leader who empowered a generation and showed people how to do what was right, the 21-year-old Saafir said.
   He gave (blacks) a lot of encouragement, an uplift to be more involved in the community, she said.
   Saafir said racism exists today, although not at the same level as it did 40 years ago. A big difference from Kings era is that blacks today have a great chance for equal treatment, educa-tion and job opportunities they didnt have before, she said.
   One of the problems society needs to overcome is people who were taught to have a negative mindset or taught an ignorant set of values, she said.
   King has been an influential figure in Saafirs life and has inspired her to be the best person she can be, she said.
   After Saafir finishes college she plans to play an active role in the community to help improve it, she said.
   Im trying to get an education to gain more knowledge about my environment and every-thing so I can become a leader, she said.
   Saafir also believes, as a member of a younger generation, she owes it to the older genera-tion.
   They paved the way for us, she said.
   Regina Dansby
   I think there has been a lot of changes for the good. I know that there are still struggles but for the most part, I think its been a very positive change, Regina Dansby said.
   Dansby said King would be proud of society today and what his work helped to achieve.
   Even though he wasnt here to experience the fullness of that it has become a reality, she said. I think he would say we have reached the promise land, yet theres still work to be done. We still have a ways to go.
   King also inspired Dansby and helped mold her into the person she is today, she said.
   Dr. Kings life has inspired me in a way that I believe that anything is possible if I set my mind and my heart to do it. Here was a man that, against all odds, had a determination to accomplish a certain goal. He set his mind and his heart to do it, she said.
   Dansby said she has a responsibility to look out for a future generation, and thats not just talk. She helps coordinate the Ms. Bronze Pageant and serves on the YWCA board.
   But Dansby, who works for the Allen County commissioners office as the accounts payable clerk, said the younger black generation does not understand the struggles an older generation overcame.
   King also taught Dansby to look at the positive side of things even during times of struggle.
   You can make good out of your bad situations, she said. We have to be able to look beyond what we are going through.
   The 47-year-old Dansby said there is racism remains in society but she tries to do her part to fight it.
   Today, I think its still being done in some instances. Its smoothed over, she said.
   Dansby also said its wrong to categorize people by race.
   I dont see race. I see people. It doesnt matter what their race is or what their credentials are. I just see people for people, she said. Were all people. Were all the same.

Worldwide

Jan 18, 4:06 PM EST

Bomber Kills 20 Near Coalition HQ in Iraq

By NADIA ABOU EL-MAGD
Associated Press Writer


This Iraqi man says he was just outside the palace when the bomb went off. (Audio)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A suicide driver set off a truck bomb at the gates of the U.S.-led coalition headquarters Sunday, killing about 20 people and wounding more than 60 in the deadliest attack here since Saddam Hussein's capture last month.

The bombing, which occurred during rush hour on a chill foggy morning, came on the eve of a meeting between U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to discuss Iraq's future, including whether Iraq is safe enough for the world body to return.

Witnesses said that at about 8 a.m., the driver of what the U.S. military described as a white Toyota pickup truck tried to bypass a line of Iraqi workers and a crowd of U.S. military vehicles, coming as close as possible to the entrance American troops call "Assassins' Gate."

The attack was the first vehicle bombing inside the U.S.-controlled "Green Zone" along the west bank of the Tigris River, which insurgents have targeted in the past with mortar and rocket fire. The force of the blast, from a bomb containing 1,000 pounds of explosive, rattled windows more than a mile away.

Most victims were Iraqis, waiting in cars or lined up for stringent security checks before going to work or attending other business inside the high-walled coalition compound, housed in what was once Saddam's Republican Palace.

Mohammed Jabbar, who works at the Ministry of Planning, said the blast "lifted us into the air" and people "fell on top of one another."

Several cars caught fire. Charred metal remains of the truck were hurled hundreds of yards away. Thick black smoke merged with the milky morning fog as armed U.S. soldiers tried to keepback crowds and help Iraqis escape the flames.

Dead and injured lay on the pavement. Others - dazed from the blast - shuffled silently and aimlessly down the street, blood streaming from their faces.

The U.S. military command said about 20 people were killed and more than 60 wounded, including three U.S. civilians and three American soldiers. The military initially reported two of the dead were Americans working for the Pentagon but later said their nationalities were unknown and they were not Defense Department employees.

No group claimed responsibility, but anti-U.S. insurgents that the military links to Saddam supporters have targeted both Americans and Iraqis who cooperate with the U.S.-led coalition in previous bombings.

The death toll surpassed that of a suicide bombing in Khaldiyah, west of Baghdad, which killed 17 people on Dec. 14, the day after Saddam's arrest. It was nearly as deadly as the 2,200-pound car bombing blast at U.N. headquarters in Baghdad on Aug. 19, which killed 22 people including top U.N. envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello.

Brig. Gen. Mark Hertling, deputy commander of the 1st Armored Division, said the blast was caused by a suicide bomber. "It certainly was a vehicle-borne bomb, suicide bomb. There was evidently someone in the car," Hertling told CNN International.

Col. Ralph Baker, commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Armored Division, said the white Toyota pickup carried the explosives and discounted witness accounts that more than one vehicle was involved.

U.S. soldiers scurried for cover as they saw the vehicle approach the entrance, witnesses said. The bomb-laden truck exploded within 50 to 100 feet from the checkpoint.

"My friend was standing behind me in the line when the explosion happened," said Nabil Abdul Zahar. "There were lots of injured. I called for help, and no one came to help me. He died right there on the ground."

Iraqi police announced on loudspeakers that coalition forces would pay $2,500 to anyone providing information on the perpetrators.

Also Sunday, the military reported that an explosive device being transported in a car exploded Saturday near a U.S. Army patrol in the central city of Tikrit, Saddam's hometown, killing two Iraqis in the vehicle including a relative of Saddam. There were no U.S. casualties, and the military did not draw a connection between it and the truck bomb in Baghdad.

Baker said he was unable to say what type of explosive was employed but that "typically we see PE4 as the principal explosive that they use." PE4 is a military-grade plastic explosive difficult to obtain from civilian sources.

He said the fact that the bomber was unable to penetrate the security cordon "speaks highly of the level of security that we maintain" but that "anamolies like car bombs" are likely to continue.

U.S. and Iraqi authorities were quick to point out that the victims of the Baghdad bombing were mostly Iraqi civilians rather than American occupation troops.

"Once again, it is innocent Iraqis who have been murdered by these terrorists in a senseless act of violence," Bremer said in a statement. "Our determination to work for a stable and democratic future for this country is undiminished."

The U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council blamed the "heinous crime" on terrorists allied with Saddam. "This is yet another stigma on the foreheads of the mass grave regime and its terrorist allies inside and outside (the country), who have no value for sacred things or human lives," the council said in a statement.

The attack occurred one day before Bremer, Annan and U.S.-appointed Iraqi officials are to meet at the United Nations in New York to discuss possible solutions to a political deadlock over a U.S. plan to hand over power to a provisional Iraqi government by June 30.

The Bush administration, which had shunned U.N. involvement in Iraq, has signaled it is now anxious for the world body to play a role in as Washington prepares to hand over sovereignty to a new Iraqi leadership by June 30.

Annan withdrew all international U.N. staff from Iraq after two bombings at U.N. headquarters and a spate of attacks on humanitarian targets. Annan's concern has been whether the situation was secure enough for the world body to return.

The bombing may have been a signal to the world organization to stay out of Iraq and a warning to Iraqis against cooperating with occupation forces. The blast occurred at the main gate used by Iraqis to enter the sprawling palace compound.

The coalition headquarters is one of the most heavily protected areas in Baghdad. U.S. soldiers guarding the gate usually stand about 20 yards from the road behind coils of barbed wire and concrete barriers.

Last fall, the Green Zone saw several mortar and rocket attacks, including the Oct. 26 rocket barrage against the Al-Rasheed Hotel in which a U.S. lieutenant colonel was killed and 18 people were wounded

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, one of the architects of the Iraq war, was in the hotel at the time but escaped injury. The last large explosions in the center of Baghdad occurred Monday when mortars exploded near the river.

Last updated on