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V THE VOICE OF BLACK WOMANHOOD
Vol. XXX, No. 4 Atlanta, Georgia January-February, 1987
Professor Comments on the Black Artist on
Iran-Contra Arms Scandal Display at the High
By Kimberly Y. Smith
Dr. Manning Marable is pro
fessor of political science and
sociology at Purdue University.
“Along the Color Line” appears
in over 140 newspapers
internationally.
The Iran-Contra arms scandal
may mark the final chapter of
Reaganism, a political move
ment of the far Right based on
militariam, economic greed,
pseudopatriotism, and racial
bigotry. Its principal spokesper
son, President Ronald Reagan,
no longer manipulates the
public’s condidence. Back in
September, an ABC News-
Washington Post Poll stated that
Reagan’s personal approval
rating was 67 percent. After
news was released that the
President had, in effect, traded
guns for hostages with the Ira
nian regime, his approval rating
slumped to 53 percent. By ear
ly December, his overall public
approval rating slid down to 46
percent, the sharpest one-
month decline ever recorded by
any public opinion polls which
measure presidential popularity.
Reagan was quick to blame all
of his troubles on the media, the
convenient “whipping boy” of all
politicians. But any analysis of
recent opinion polls disputes the
interpretation that “Reagan-
bashers” are the cause of the
President’s problems. A majori
ty of Americans believe that
Reagan is lying about the scan
dal. Fifty-three percent state that
Reagan himself must have been
aware “that money from the Ira
nian arms sales was going to
help the contras”; 65 percent
believe the Reagan’s top aide
Donald Regan also knew; only
36 percent believe that Reagan
has the ability to deal with “dif
ficult international crises”, and
only 27 percent of all Americans
would chose Reagan over the
U.S. Congress to “make the
right decisions on foreign
policy.”
Many have drawn parallels
between the Watergate scandal
and the Iran-Contra arms
disaster. Indeed, 47 percent of
all Americans now believe that
the crisis is “as serious for the
country as Watergate was,” and
10 percent more believe it is
“even more serious.” In both
cases, the scandals were in
itiated by illegal actions commit
ted by presidential employees
and lieutenants inside the White
House basement — the
“plumbers” and the National
Security Council. In both cases,
the press was forced to extract
the truth from conservative
Republican administrations in a
series of investigative reports. In
both instances, the administra
tions tried to deny their involve
ment in crimes, and refuse to
confirm that illegalities existed.
Both Watergate and the current
crisis are logical outcomes of
Republican public policies and
administrative styles. For Nixon,
there was an utter contempt for
the democratic processes, a
desire to bend and break the law
to obtain power. For Reagan,
there is a hatred of Congres
sional checks-and-balances, and
a belief that the ends justify the
means.
Reagan has been called the
“Teflon President”, a politician
so widely popular that virtually
nothing he did alienated the ma
jority of Americans. Between
late 1983 and late 1986,
Reagan’s popularity ratings
ranged between 57 to 68 per
cent. But Reagan has never
been popular among Black
Americans. Nine out of ten
Blacks voted against him in both
1980 and 1984. More than
other Americans, we saw
through the old actor’s verbal
techniques and phony folksy
style. Essentially, white America
is gradually moving to a
perspective which Black
America has held of Reagan
since 1981. What did we know
that whites did not know?
We knew, firstly, that the real
legacy of Reaganism was high
unemployment, factory closings
and deteriorating innercities.
The laissez faire policies of
Reaganomics have destroyed
millions of families, and shut
down thousands of businesses.
Reagan frequently attacked the
“tax and spend” Democrats, but
offered no real alternatives in
fiscal policy. He promised to
balance the budget with an
amendment to the Constitution,
but in practice, he never submit
ted to Congress any balanced
budget.
Reagan vowed to use tough
rhetoric to get the Soviets to
negotiate arms treaties, yet in
practice, he has not eliminated
one single ballistic missile
through negotiations in six
years. Reagan’s charm and
good public relations gimmicks
fooled many people, but now a
majority see that the “emperor”
is vulnerable and immoral. No
suit of “new clothes,” no new
rhetoric, is likely to reverse
Reagan’s fall from grace.
Dr. Hayward Farrar, a
member of the History Depart
ment and newly appointed ad
visor of the Spelman Spotlight
Newspaper has completed a
book entitled See What The
Afro Says: The Baltimore Afro
American 1892-1950.
The book, which began as
Farrar’s doctorial dissertation
from the University of Chicago
took nine years of research. Far
rar decided to follow the history
of The Afro because, he says “I
Jacob Lawrence is widely
considered one of the most im
portant Black artists of the 20th
Century. His work is known for
its vivid depiction of the Black
American experience, from the
Civil War to the Civil Rights
movement and beyond.
Lawrence works are included
in many of the world’s most
famous collections, such as
those of the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, the Museum of
Modern Art, the Whitney
Museum of American Art and
the Vatican.
At present, Lawrence pain
tings can be viewed at the High
Museum of Art here in Atlanta.
This exhibition consists of more
than 140 works from five
decades of “Jacob Lawrence,
American Painter,” the most
comprehensive survey ever
made of Lawrence’s work. His
paintings are known for their
simple, flat forms, bold coloring
and power of emotion. They
also illustrate a broad arrange
ment of moods and subjects
ranging from his impressions of
Harlem street life in the 1930’s,
By Sherrie McGee
taught myself how to read from
reading that newspaper.”
A native of Baltimore, Farrar
also found that many of his
relatives had been mentioned
throughout the years, as well as
himself in the pages of the black
publication, which is still publish
ed today has about 60,000 cir
culation. “The Afro was once
one of the biggest black
newspapers in the country,”
added Farrar.
Sec What The Afro Says is
sequences on Black History and
contemporary life and his recent
reflections on the bombing of
Hiroshima.
These paintings organized
chronologically, represent early
narrative sequences, not only
the remarkable portraits of dai
ly life in Harlem during the Great
Depression, but also works from
his most famous historical series.
Some of these emotionally
powerful sequences such as
“Toussaint L’Overture” and
“Harriet Tubman” are devoted
to important characters from
Black History, while others,
such as the Hiroshima paintings,
recount crucial events.
Lawrence’s work can be view
ed at the High Museum of Art
from December 16, 1986
through March 1, 1987. The
museum is located at Peachtree
and 16th Street in the Robert W.
Woodruff Arts Center. Hours:
Tuesday-Saturday 10:00 a.m.
to 5:00 p.m., and open until
9:00 p.m. every Wednesday,
Sunday, noon to 5:00 p.m.,
closed Monday.
currently being reviewd by the
Louisiana State University Press
and is an in-depth look at how
Black Baltimore evolved to what
it is today. Dr. Farrar thinks that
it is important to know that at
one time Black newspapers such
as the Afro were the mouthpiece
for the black elite of that time
and served to promote a
middle-class standing.
Farrar said he would like to
eventually return home and
take-over the 95-year old
publication.
History Professor Writes Book