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Page 2— EDITORIALS; Spelman Spotlight Save Our Children November 3,1980 Special to the Spotlight By Evelyn Lowery President of SCLC/WOMEN The recent rash of murders of ten black children, the disappearance of four other children, and the tragic deaths of four children and one teacher at the Bowen Homes Day Care Center have touched all of us Initially, there appeared to be some lack of involvement and concern by cer tain segments of the Atlanta community. Many people close to the missing and murdered children felt that the Atlanta community didn’t care All of the child ren were from lower income areas There may have been a tendency on the part of the middle class Black community and the White community to subconsciously feel that such tragedy could not happen to “their” children because they took bet ter care of their children. The fact is that the majority of the missing and murder ed children were abducted during the daytime There is nothing to suggest a lack of love, protection or caring by the families involved The recent explosion at Bowen Homes alarmed the community because while from all indications, this was an unfortunate accident, it did strike fear in the hearts of the Black community that the possibility exists that our children, our most precious possessions, can be snatched from us, even when we send them to a haven of protection. It awak ened the White community to the possi bility that Atlanta, “a city too busy to hate”, could turn into a Buffalo or a Miami It demonstrated the need for the love, care and concern that is necessary for all Atlantas to express to protect all of our children. We cannot view the Bowen Homes situation without reminding the com munity that because people live in low income housing they don’t have to have low level maintenance and low level in come equipment. While we do not say the murders are tied to racism—we must see them in the context of violence and brutality against the Black commu nity in Buffalo T. Wayne, Chattanooga, Miami and other parts of the nation. The nation is too violent We must put an end to violence or violence will put an end to us. As my husband Joseph says, “put of the ashes of grief can come re newed and organized determination to build community—Whether justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.” We are the city with the biggest airport; but we must be the city with the biggest heart.” Francis Bacon once said “Adversity is not without comforts and hope” As tragic as the Bowen Homes explosion was for all of us; as much as we wish those four young lives and the live of the teacher had been spared the explosion did serve as the catalist to unite all Atlantans to the need to work together to protect all of our children. Those who gave their lives need not have died in vain. SCLC/WOMEN joined the victimiz ed mothers last July and has worked with the coalition to Save Our Children, i one of the early supportive groups. We v'orked with the Prayer Rally at Central City Park on October 5 to arouse in terest and support from all segments o the community, we worked with the families of the Bowen Homes victims to try to help bring some comfort and finan cial relief from this major tragedy. We apploud the way the Atlanta community has unified in the last few days in the universal recognition that these horren dous crimes do not represent crimes against Black children, but crimes again st 10 of Atlanta’s children, the life blood of our community. We applaud the hundreds of volun teers who came out to search for the missing children. In spite of the criticism, we applaud Mayor Jackson’s use of the police and firemen to visit homes seek ing informatioa We feel he is correct in the utilization of these resources to knock on doors, to pursue as aggressively as possible, whatever is necessary to resolve this problem that is plaguing our community. Hopefully, this aggresive pursuit will leave the killer (s) no hiding place Some information disclosed, while insignificant to you or me, may serve as the needed link for the police to resolve the murders. We applaud the Coca Cola organization, the Atlanta Falcons, and other groups who have joined together to provide funds for the distribution of football cares to Atlanta’s children. This may appear a small gesture but the car ds will be of interest to the children, and, more importantly, they will help to build a rapport between the police and the children of the community as well as provide safety tips. We applaud those in the A U Center who are identifying with the community’s concerns but we are alarmed at the apathy on the part of those who still haven’t found it con venient to join these efforts. You may wonder as college students how all of this involves you Many of you have younger brothers and sisters or nieces and nephews who deserve to live in an environment where they will be sheltered and allowed to grow into healthy wholesome individuals. You owe it to yourself and your community to be concerned citizens. We are our brother’s keeper. We are our sister’s keeper. No man is an island Each mein’s grief is our own. While we applaud the wonderful way the community has unified during the last few days, we remember another Bacon quote, “A wise man will make more opportunities than we finds.” It is our hope that the Community’s concern will not die out after a few weeks as the reaction to the Bowen Homes tragedy begins to lessen, or even after the mur der (s) is apprehended, thouc^i we pray! for swift apprehension. The community must make opportunities to prevent these type social ills. The community must continue to work together and provide the impetus to assure that we don’t give up any more children to this type depravity. SCLC/WOMEN will be working to develop program to assure the healthy development of our children and is 1 , developing an agenda for action. We will be working with the Mayor’s office on a citywide Christmas party for children. We have a national conference schedul ed for next spring where we will deal with systemic issues affecting the survi val of the Black Child both emotionally and physically. We are also in the process of developing other ongoing projects. College students, sororities and fraternities can lend a hand Mrs. Evelyn Lowery “Weeping may endure for a night, but working together to prevent conditions joy cometh in the morning” Joy will be that will allow tragedies of this the continued efforts of the Community magnitude to happen again I SEE YOU VE OVERCOME / v" ( ° ° C LOOK! '**— 1 - ■■ 1 i ■ black media co-op. Editor-in-Chief - Pamela D. Moore Associate Editor - Kiron K. Skinner Voice of Black Womanhood Acting Managing Editor - Rosalyn Cary News Editors - Bridgette Davis Vivian fannings Feature Editors: Lisha Brown LaRhonda Morris Photography Editor. Whitney Young Art Editor. Mary Barkley Advertising Manager. Janice Tillerson Asst Advertising Manager. Elaine Terry Business Manager. Betty Jackson Circulation Manager. Lisa Vaughn Office Manager. Susan Hart Public Relations Manager. Sonja Washington The Spelman Spotlight is produced regularly by the Spotlight Staff, composed of students from Spelman and Morehouse Colleges. Primary control, however, is vested in Spelman students. All questions and concerns from the public concerning this paper should be directed to the Editor- in-Chief, Spelman Spotlight, Box 50, Spelman College, Atlan ta, Georgia 30314. The office phone number is 525-1743.