VOICES
Challenger Community News • t hec hallengernews.com •July 29, 2021
What Happen To The City Of Good Neighbors? Dear Editor: The City of Buffalo, New York has been coined the City of Good Neighbors. For some good reasons. Back in the day Buffalo had a thriving city and the morals of the residents were sky high. Within the last seven months or so the city has erupted in gun violence. How is it that a 3year old boy loses his life while at a family cookout? Or that Buffalo is now on the verge of shattering its homicide record from 1994? What happened to the City of Good Neighbors? There are many contributing factors to violence and or gun violence. Poverty, lack of education, lack of opportunities, lack of self respect for one self or other's. That's just to name a few. How can someone be a good neighbor when they don't respect themselves? I believe a key issue with our youth and young adults today is that they have a lack of respect for themselves. Quite frankly, if they don't respect themselves, how can we expect them to respect others; their neighbors? As a youth I can remember the emphasis put on respecting others. However I cannot recall much about respecting myself. So I conjured up my own perspective. There's was a good chance things would go awry. I eventually indulged in behaviors that led to my incarceration in which I have served now twenty years. Most young adults if asked today would define respect as something that has to be earned. In my 16 plus years of experience in working in youth mentorship programs; A Look For Alternative (ALFA), Community Awareness Program ( CAP) ,Youth Assistance Program (YAP), that is the common response. Even in the Bible it says; Give and it shall be given to you (Luke 6:38). If we can begin to help our youth transform how they view respect it can make a huge impact in their lives. As they begin to respect themselves and others, undoubtedly their actions will begin to change as well. I believe in my city, the "City of Good Neighbors." However when anyone loses their life from gun violence, it is not just the Eastside of Buffalo's problem. It is the City of Buffalo's problem. Let's bring back those glory days, one RESPECT at a time. - Walter Ball
dear editor
BRIEFS Crump Files Lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson on Behalf ofBlack Women Civil rights Attorney Benjamin Crump is filing a lawsuit on behalf of the National Council of Negro Women, alleging that Johnson & Johnson targeted sales of talcum powder products to Black women knowing concerns that it could cause ovarian cancer.
The "N Word' and January 6 The House Select Committee formed a panel to investigate the origins of the deadly insurrection/attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Four police officers who defended the building against a mob delivered powerful testimony on Tuesday, with Capitol Officer Henry Dunn, a 13-year veteran of the Capitol Police force, saying he and other Black officers were subjected to racist slurs and abuse, with many of the white domestic terrorists chanting “f*cking n***er” at him.
Black Lives Matter at Olympics too... Costa Rica gymnast raises fist, kneels for BLM during Olympics routine, Luciana Alvarado ended her Olympics floor routine by incorporating a gesture of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
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India Walton Is A Victim:
Flawed And Biased Journalism: Who's Watching the Watchdog?
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By Arthur J. Giacalone
he Buffalo News displayed its flawed and biased journalism – and willingness to engage in junkyard-dog politics – with its July 19 through 21 articles aimed at undermining India Walton’s mayoral campaign. Under the ironic caption, “Buffalo News Watchdog,” the newspaper splashed across the top of its June 20, 2021 front page the following headline: Drug complaint probed at Walton’s apartment in ’18 – Man who stayed at house did time for selling coke.“ and her sons celebrate her mayoral priNot only does the ambiguous subheading imply India mary victory on election night.Street Legacy a non-existent link between the 2018 “drug com- Photos by Darvin Adams plaint” at the mayoral candidate’s former apartment and the cocaine conviction, it is not until the third paragraph of the article that readers are told that the police found no evidence of drugs being sold at Walton’s house, and that neither India Walton, nor the “man who stayed at [her] house,” were charged with any crime. [The on-line version of the article, was published July 19, 2021 under the tamer headline, “Mayoral candidate Walton left rental in ’18 after landlord accused friend of dealing drugs from house.“] This sensationalized “story” was based on the allegations of a landlord “who did not want his name used,” who admits that he never saw drugs or drug activities at the house, and who based his concerns on the word of an unnamed “lady next door.” Most significantly, as noted above, the police reports obtained by the Buffalo News “do not indicate that police had proof of drugs being sold in Walton’s home.” In a nutshell, proof of any wrongdoing by India Walton is totally absent. And, the public has no way of knowing what if any connections may exist between the anonymous landlord and Byron Brown. In such a situation, an unbiased and responsible news organization would not have published the original article. But, irresponsible accusations and innuendo have a life of their own. Equivocation by Erie Democratic Party Chairman Jeremy J. Zellner, regarding the Democratic party’s continued support of Ms. Walton’s campaign, provided the Buffalo News the opportunity to print a second story on July 21, 2021. This time the headline adorned the top of its local section: “Dems mull questions over Walton friend – Zellner to weigh input on party’s ‘concerns’.” The article that followed began in an intentionally eye-catching fashion: “An allegation of drug activity at a house rented by Democratic mayoral nominee India B. Walton three years ago cast new perspective on her campaign…” Zellner, as Democratic Party chairman, should have expressed outrage at the Buffalo News for its irresponsible front page accusations against the winner of the Democratic primary for the Mayor of Buffalo. City of Buffalo residents deserve stronger and more forceful leadership than what the chairman exhibited this past week. The biggest problem we have in Western New York, however - if we wish to see a fair and honest mayoral campaign - is the reality that our region’s self-appointed “watchdog” needs a watchdog of its own.
Recalling the Hatred for Black Women in Power: From Michelle Obama, to Local Female Elected Officials, to India Walton
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ho among us can ever forget the venom and hate, that one of Buffalo's most prominent developers, expressed publicly against then first Lady, Michelle Obama? Who remembers cringing with shock and outrage, when this so called civilized man uttered the vile , racist statement, proclaiming that Mrs. Obama should be exiled, with a gorilla named Zeus, to a cave in the backwoods of Africa? It was not just Michelle Obama, this 'gentleman' verbally attacked and berated. From former Buffalo Public Superintendent, Dr. Pamela A. Brown, whom this racist called incompetent, to the Black women on the board of education, who he called the Black Sistahood, this receiver of corporate welfare has made his disdain of Black woman known far and wide. This rich developer, who grew up poor, is now one of the biggest landlords in the City of Buffalo. At one time, in the 1990s, he owned half of the real estate in the city. During this time frame, Buffalo elected four Black women to the Buffalo Common Council. They were Beverly Gray- At Large, Barbara Miller Williams- Ellicott District, Karen Ellington-Fillmore District and Betty Jean Grant- University District. This man, who I shall call Mr. Angry White Man, attacked us almost on a daily basis. I must say that I earned a portion of his wrath when I found out that he was un-
derpaying his Garbage User Fees because the city of Buffalo was charging him a price based on address, not by the number of units or apartments located at that said address. So he went from paying $129 a year for an apartment building to paying over $34,000.00 for each of his multi unit buildings. I wrote the City of Buffalo Common Council resolution to charge the user fee by units and not by address and he never forgave me for that. So now, here we are, with India Walton, the first woman to win a Primary for Mayor of Buffalo! I can only imagine how livid Mr. Angry White Man is and I will bet the house that it was her color more than her gender that caused him to say, " I will destroy her politically," when Ms. Walton was declared the winner of the June 22nd Democratic Primary. He was so beside himself, that he insisted that the current mayor conduct a Write In campaign for the November General Election. And he threatened that if Byron Brown did not run on the Write In, he would do it himself! And all this happened because somebody let a diminutive, not quite 5 feet tall, hard working, powerhouse of a strong Black woman out work and out campaign him. My advice to this man's threat would be:"Please go ahead, Mr. Angry White Man. It has been almost 20 years since another strong, Black woman caused some of your ill gotten windfall, from the city's garbage user fee accounting error, to be diverted from your deep pockets brimming with CDBG and poor people's monies!
