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EDITORIAL
by Yolanda D. Jones
For the graduating seniors who are ready
to join the working world this year, past
high school dreams of being a “swinging”
career girl may be dimmed by the realities
of how things are in the world today.
Usually it is planned that as soon as one
receives their diploma, books. Cliff Notes,
slide rulers, thesaurus, and other parapher
nalia are traded for a car, an apartment,
clothes, and of course — a job! And if one
chose, they could follow the “traditional”
route as depicted on the Hollywood screen.
They could abandon their career and say “I
do” and live happily ever after!
Well, moviegoers and dreamers, seniors or
not, it is time to turn the projector off, wake
up and focus on what is really happening in
the world today and how it affects your
world.
What is happening are nightmares such as
an infinite energy crisis, a “renewed” third
war in Viet Nam, disruption in African na
tions, domestic inflation, terrorism here and
abroad, Watergate, a deadlock in the success
of black people brought on by a rising rate
of Black homicides and Black non-involve
ment, and other social and political factors
too numerous to name here.
Sure, it is easy for us to think that we can
ignore what is happening by turning off the
six o’clock news and bypassing the front
page of the newspaper to get to the comics.
But like everything else, it will catch up with
you.
The energy crisis and environmental pol
lution are two examples of man’s mistake in
ignoring what he usually takes for granted
and forgetting nature’s plea to “leave me
alone.” Factory wastes, manmade inventions
(such as the automobile), thirst for oil, and
technology’s demands on nature are affecting
everyone’s world whether he is responsible
for it or not.
Turning a deaf ear to international prob
lems will not assure you security. In the 60’s,
many persons probably didn’t listen to news
about Viet Nam until a brother, son, hus
band or lover were assigned to active duty
there. If he didn’t return home the way he
left, their world was in some way altered.
Domestic problems such as murder, hi
jacking, kidnapping, and other forms of
terrorism don’t matter to us until we are
raped, assaulted or mugged or someone close
to us is the victim of a crime.
This article is not intended for anyone to
drop whatever they are doing and go and
conquer the problems of the world. As this
article is not intended for initiating persons
to act and rally, it is also not intended to
shower pessimism over the reader. People
should feel free to contribute to humanity
and right the wrongs of society. It shouldn’t
take a newspaper article to get you moti
vated if you really want to help.
But whether one wants to help or not,
they should be aware of the problems in our
changing society and how they will affect us
as individuals.
Imagine . . . receiving a car after gradua
tion day with the car keys in one hand and
gas coupons in the other . . . seeing fewer
soap operas because television stations had to
cut their program schedules to comply with
an energy crisis requirement that stations go
off the air at 10 p.m. . . . being restricted
next year to going home on the bus because
commercial airlines don’t have any gas (too
bad if you live in California!) . . .
Sure, some of the things listed above may
not happen this year or ever, but there is an
equal possibility that they could and other
things even worse.
To adapt to the situations changing our
lifestyles, we must be aware and act. As
citizens, we may not have such a strong
political voice to correct all the problems of
government at the initial start — if we start.
But even Kissinger has to make several tries
before he usually achieves. The late Rev.
Martin Luther King endured several years of
marching and demonstrating before he was
successful in getting the Civil Rights Bills of
the 1960's enacted. And so we, like others,
have to try.
As Black people, we must try to make
sure that we do not become the victims of
another world problem. We must make sure
that our goals of attaining equality are set
and we must try to achieve those goals.
During the Nixon administration, the
problems of Blacks have been neglected by
the government. Agencies, such as Model
Cities, which received federal assistance in
the past, will be terminated in the next few
months. These agencies were instrumental in
supporting poverty-stricken Blacks economi
cally, socially, and politically.
But all the problems of the Black com
munity, such as federal aid, cannot be com
pletely blamed on the government. If we
study the news reports and analyze what we
see, we could see that we are on the brink of
a crisis and that we may have to adapt to
more than a lack of fuel oil if we don’t get
ourselves together.
The world is changing, and as some old
folks may say, “things just ain’t what they
used to be.” We may not return to the “good
ole days” because there may never be any
“good days” to return to. We must accept
that the world will have to adapt to these
changes. We must adapt, and most important
of all, we must change.
Our dreams can be reached. If we only try.
BLACK
EXPERTISE
Right On!
by Debbi Newton
Violent usurpations of power and the
willingness to “. . . accept responsibility but
not the blame” precludes for America a
period demanding not only moral restitutions
but also a sincere commitment to a funda
mentally human theory of moral responsi
bility. It is disheartening to discover that
leadership at home has been given to mis
calculated corruption, while simultaneously,
we are proud that such corruption was
stunted by the efficiency and adeptness of a
Black security guard a symbol of Black
expertise.
Recent political developments combined
with a penetrating concern for ourselves and
the future of all Black people has ignited a
deeper awareness of the need for quality in
the education that Black students receive.
The entire Atlanta University Center and
Spelnran College in particular profoundly
reflect Black excellence in Black education.
The time has come, however, for all Spelman
women to not only acknowledge but to also
come to grips with the dynamism mirrored
in our classrooms. We cannot allow the moral
regression of Watergate to haunt us like some
gruesome specter; to overwhelm us in our
preparations for the future. Academic rape
oft times lends itself to illegitimate ade
quacies. It is the honesty practiced within
the walls of our own Black academic insti
tutions which will decide the viability of our
decision-making velocity. Long after Water
gate is submerged we will, if we do not heed,
be forfeiting our opportunity to “. . . stop
the clocks and seize the time.”
As Black people and more importantly,
as Black women, we are obligated to become
more than mere components in a vast wheel
of cogs. Let us address ourselves to a concept
that lies close to home “. . . when you
educate a woman, you educate a nation.”