When asked what is the best way to get more African Americans to vote, Emory trustee and Atlanta City Council President Marvin Arrington '67L gave a simple answer: House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and other congressional Republicans who support cutting social programs to balance the federal budget.
Arrington spoke at Emory on March 20 about what he termed a new wave of conservatism in American politics as part of Kappa Alpha Psi's Kappa Week '95 celebration.
"Newt's going to get [African Americans] out to vote," Arrington replied to an audience member's question. "Cutting back school lunch programs for poor kids is just mean-spirited. I was willing to give them a chance at first. There were a couple of things that I kind of agreed with, like opening up committee meetings. Even with welfare reform, there's nothing wrong with creating new values other than [rap musician] Snoop Doggy Dog. But these people have gone absolutely crazy, and it's going to come back to haunt them."
Referring to Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) as "the meanest man in the world," Arrington told of a study Dole had commissioned several years ago on Affirmative Action and minority set aside programs "to show that there was no need for these programs in the '90s," Arrington said. "That report just came back, and it said that not only had things not improved much for minorities, but we had even lost a little ground. Bob Dole put that report on the shelf to collect dust because it wasn't what he wanted to hear. How can you expect 25 years of Affirmative Action to offset 400 years [of slavery and discrimination]? We need special programs to make sure that people are given a fair chance."
While Arrington disagrees with the majority of Gingrich's proposals, he did not agree with the Atlanta Labor Council's tactics in demonstrating at Gingrich's Cobb County office earlier in March. Some property was destroyed in the incident, and three demonstrators were arrested. "You just can't destroy property and pick fights like that," Arrington said. "You have to know when and how to pick your fights."
When asked how African Americans can improve their economic status outside of the political process, Arrington stressed the value of higher education and intelligent money management.
"We must try harder to accumulate wealth," he said. "My mother was a domestic worker, and she made sure that five of us got postgraduate degrees. We need to do more to put together investment clubs in our communities. I've been so impressed with the way that black females having been doing that. We need to keep working to find out about [investment] opportunities. If we had invested $10,000 in Home Depot 10 years ago, we'd probably be in Hawaii tonight."
Arrington also expressed support for tort reform, although not endorsing any specific guidelines of Republican proposals, which are aimed at reducing the number of so-called frivolous lawsuits in the United States. "If that multi-million dollar General Motors verdict from a few years ago had stood, it would have bankrupted GM," Arrington said in reference to a recent Georgia lawsuit filed by the parents of a teenager who died in the crash of a GM truck. "I don't think you can go that far. Those guys pay salaries and health insurance."
--Dan Treadaway