JA N . 13, 1999
Page A4
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C IV IL K l L n l 3
1Î-
“The ultimate measure o f a man is
not where he stands in moments of
comfort and convenience but where
he stands at times of challenge and
controversy.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
We quote a man from the ranks of
those whose vision and impact were
a vital force in the world, even, be
fore they were bom - if you can
conceive that. Gifted with a formi
dable and vigorous capacity for
pressing the cause o f mankind, lead
ers like Dr. King have, more often
than not, been labeled as prophets or
charismatic precursors o f change.
But, also, they have been called
“troublemakers,” and have paid the
ultimate price for having dared to
address the collective conscience
o f mankind.
How often have I heard it asked,
“W ouldn’t it seem that there could
be no less controversial message
than a universal call (from the moun
tain top) for equal rights, justice,
A few w eeks ago I was listen
ing to T alk o f the N ation on N a
tional Public Radio and they were
talking about heroes. M any o f
the people who called in were
lam enting that there are so few
heroes today or that our heroes
are often found to be flawed.
W ell, all hum an beings are less
than perfect but at tfiis time o f
celebrating one A m erican hero,
Dr. M artin Luther King, Jr., I am
rem inded that I have been privi
leged to know and work with
some real heroes in my lifetime.
O ne o f them we lost in the past
few days. Like Dr. King he was
an im portant part o f the struggle
o f A frican A m ericans to be free.
But, alas, his name is not as well
known. But he was a hero ju st the
same. His name was Charles Earl
Cobb, Sr.
Dr. Cobb was the first Execu
tive D irector o f the C om m is
sion for Racial Justice o f the
U nited C hurch o f C hrist, the
position which I now hold. But
that title only begins to tell the
story o f Charles Cobb. Bom in
Durham, North Carolina, he saw
h is p a re n ts , p a rtic u la rly his
m other, fight for ju stice as a
sm all child. Indeed, he often told
how she fought Duke U niversity
as it bought up the land o f the
black folks nearby when it was
expanding. He attended North
C arolina C ollege for N egroes
(now N orth C arolina Central I
believe) and then Howard Uni
versity D ivinity School and Bos
ton U niversity School o f Theol
ogy.
He pastored small churches
in K entucky and M assachusetts
and then went to St. John’s Con
gregational in Springfield, MA
&
and acceptance for 'all o f G od’s
children’?” right! And through the
ages, nothing seems more certain
than such a spiritual message will
assure the prophet become a martyr.
Returning to the pages o f “Show
ing My Color” by Clarence Page,
the African American columnist
whose up front’
book on race was
cited here last
week, I consider
several
ch oice
quotes to relate in
particular to those
whose stance is not
supportive oP ’chal-
lenge and controversy.” (Harper
Collins, 1996)
We have it from Deborah Tannen,
a specialist in gender communica
tions gaps. “The biggest Tragedy that
has happened between the races
since the 1960’s its our loss o f hon
est conversation across racial lines.
In contrast to the 1990’s, when ev
ery crackpot you hear on a call-in
radio show talks as if he or she has a
lock on the answers, we seemed in
the 1960’s to be much more con
cerned with the questions,” (P.17)
Is that ever true as we seem to
have more folks than ever tripping a
light over the eloquent but naive
rhetoric of, “our color-blind democ
racy ” and “we
must do more to
ap p re c ia te our
diversity- w e’re
like the rainbow.”
T hat’ll get you
through the per
sonnel agency,or
past the registrar
or pay a justice system- induced
hospital bill the size o f Rodney
King’s. Try it.
All o f those who would pursue
that pitiful little query o f Rodney
King- “Why can’t we all just get
along?” - could very well avoid the
celebration o f Dr. Kings birthday or
honors bestowed upon Rosa Parks.
Much too controversial.
But we need not go so far afield to
look for men (or women) to whom
we may apply that “ultimate mea
sure... not where he stands in mo
ments o f comfort and convenience
but where he stands at times o f chal
lenge and controversy.” We can as
sess our condition, actions, and
rhetoric right here in Northeast and
North, can’t we?
Certainly, there are a multitude of
controversial subjects that are not
being explored by leaders or eager
throngs. We speak of areas of educa
tion, real estate ownership and devel
opment patterns. 1, o f all people, can
attest to a pervasive dichotomy in our
readership as 1 field calls across gen
erations and from a spectrum of back
grounds; parents, students,profession
als, housepersons, employers, crafts
men, officials, racists and liberals.
If some thought I have been very
controversial at times, it is because
the truth has always been o f that
nature. Sit back and relax for the
1999 trip - if you can!
Let’s encourage students to achieve academic excellence in the New Year! As an incentive, tell them about the Independence
Essay competition, which will award up to $5,000 to Oregon high school students for the best essays on the foundations ot
freedom.
Organized by Cascade Policy Institute, the fifth annual Essay Competition is open to all Oregon public, private, and
homeschool students o f high school-age (winners to date include sophomores and juniors, as well as seniors). Students compete
only against their in-state peers.
To receive the guidelines interested persons should call (503) 224-1737, or review them at www.CascadePohcy.org/essay/
essay99.htm. The deadline for entering is March 16. The Independence Essay Competition is an opportunity for Oregon students
to be recognized—and rew arded-for extracurricular academic excellence. Please spread the word.
Sincerely
Ms. Tracie Sharp
Executive Director
\d \e rtis e In
lie jJnvtLinH
(Db evu r r
Call 5O3-2SS-(H)33
JL7U1V1NZM -
in the 1950’s. There he took on
the police departm ent because o f
its treatment o f black citizens and
the education departm ent because
o f its treatm ent o f black children
and finally challenged the power
structure by running for mayor
himself. He lost that race but the
black community won by virtue
o f its new-found political clout
and its new ly-organized people.
In d e e d , s tr a te g ic p o litic a l
skills and organizational capabili
ties were two o f the gifts that
Charles Cobb used on b ehalf o f
his people throughout his life. Not
long after he ran for m ayor, he
was called to the position which
he held for 20 years at the Com
mission for Racial Justice. There
he confronted the churches, par
ticularly the U nited C hurch o f
Christ, w ith their participation in
racism and challenged them to
work to end all forms o f injus
tice. He challenged the crim inal
ju stice system ’s inequities and
promoted program s for the A fri
can American family. He started a
scholarship fund which resulted
in th o u sa n d s o f young b lack
people receiving a college edu
cation. The Com m ission for Ra
cial Justice hired com m unity or
ganizers who worked in com m u
nities across the country, helping
people to challenge all kinds o f
racism .
One o f these organizers was a
young man in North Carolina, Ben
jam in Chavis, who along w ith nine
others was falsely accused o f set
ting fire to a store in W ilmington.
They became the W ilmington Ten,
recognized by Amnesty Interna
tional as political prisoners.
Charles Cobb stood by these
young people, urging the church
to provide bail for them and then
<?
f
Letter To The Editor:
REM EM BERING HEROES
B y B ernice P owell J ackson
s
Showing My Race: Politically Incorrect
Essays On Identity
B y P rof . M c K inley B urt
(USPS 959-680) Established in 1970
Charles Washington
(?'
pressing for their appeals, which
finally won them an acquittal.
Indeed, Charles C obb’s life
time was spent leading the fight
for racial justice him self and then
supporting others as they chal
lenged the systems o f inequity.
W hether it was supporting young
people in the Student N on-vio
lent C o o rdinating C om m ittee
(SNCC) or supporting com m u
nities o f color in the earliest
days o f d isco v ery th at toxic
wastes were being dumped in our
communities across the nation,
Dr. Cobb was a fearless advo
cate and supporter o f ju stice.
W hen Springfield police chal
lenged the right o f Black M us
lims to sell their newspapers on
the streets o f that city, he chal
lenged the city and when W ill
iam F. Buckley criticized Vernon
Jordan’s leadership at the N a
tional Urban League, Dr. Cobb
took him on as well.
A t his funeral R ev. D ouglas
M oore, the w ell-know n D.C.
a c tiv ist, c alled D r.’C obb “O ur
G reat A n c e sto r,” an ap p ro p ri
ate title o f re sp e c t. C h arles
C obb stu d ied at B oston U ni
v e rsity , as did Dr. King. And
w h ile D r. K in g ’s nam e w as
w ell-know n around the w orld
for his lead ersh ip in the civil
rig h ts s tru g g le , D r. C o b b ’s
nam e was not as w ell know n,
b u t h is c o n tr ib u tio n s w e re
m any. H is legacy is in the hun
d red s o f young peo p le w ho
w ere infused w ith his sp irit o f
fearlessn ess and his com m it
m ent to ju s tic e . A freedom
fig h ter, a c h allen g er o f stru c
tu res o f in ju stic e , a m an o f
G od, C h arles Earl C obb, Sr.
w as one o f my heroes. He is
already m issed
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