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The Augusta News-Review, February 1, 1973 - ■Walking fl I With I ■ Dignity Ifcjfl I [I by Al Irby black Involvement is a controversial as well as an ambiguous state of being. Some of us talk of it, and use it in a clandestine way, when it serves our purposes. Many local black businesses boycott another black business. Take the Augusta News-Review for an example, we are totally black orientated. But some of the largest black businesses in our city systematically withhold a minimum amount of their advertising fr m us. Can they truthfully say, that they are totally, “Ebony Black?” AMERICA HOLDS A BIAS OUTMODED RELIGIOUS CONCEPTION ABOUT THE POOR AND POVERTY. DOES THE OLD PURITANICAL SOPHISM, “GOD HELPS THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES,” SOOTHES THE NATION INTO A STATE OF “BENIGNED NEGLECT” TOWARD THE POVERTY-STRICKEN UNDERPRIVILEGED? A 1969 survey showed that a majority of Americans held, that poor people themselves are responsible for their penurious plight. The 93rd Congress will be faced with two herculean problems, welfare and busing. It’s a possibility that busing will receive some relief, but not all that its proponents hope for. But welfare will remain the national bugaboo, because a large number of well-educated white Americans accept myths and misconceptions about welfare. Os course this important segment will strongly deny that their antipathy toward welfare has any racial over-tones; but the majority of blacks will indubitably refute that assumption. Early in the last decade most of the affluent society was mildly shocked by Michael Harrington’s book “The Other America,” he pointed out that here in the richest country in the world were some 40 million poor people. Two years later in his State of the Union message, President Lyndon Johnson declared all out war on national poverty. It was brought to his attention that 35 million Americans in 1962 had a per-capita income of only $590, compared to a national average of $1,900 by 1968, according to the Census Bureau. The number of people classified as poor had dropped to 25.4 million. This certainly was a tribute to the Johnson’s “Great Society.” Since 1968 the figures have changed very little. Recent unofficial estimates place the count of the poor in the country at 10 to 15 percent. The Census Bureau reported for 1971 there were 25.6 million persons, who had incomes below the Governement’s poverty demarcation which was $4,137 for an urban family of four. Let it be assumed, that both Nixon and McGovern were sincerely opposed to all forms of penury; but the paramount concern is how to deal with this complex problem. Workfare, welfare, a guaranteed annual wage, income redistribution, in-kind subsidies, could any of these suffice? Os course, the very mention of any of the above suggestions would be met with vociferous cries of outrage. ( APPARENTLY ENDING POVERTY IS LIKE FINDING TRUTH - AN UNATTAINABLE, BUT WORTHY GOAL ) Why is the elimination of poverty such an up-tight controversial issue? Is it our basic Protestant concept, clinging to the puritanical fallacy, that virtue will be irrefutably rewarded. The United States has proven to be the most reluctant provider of all welfare states. But the question is still being asked by all leading social scientists, why does America react as it does toward the poor? It was the opinion of many progressive thinkers, that this nation had lost most of its rugged individualism, way back three or four decades ago. It seems as if economic individualism is just as uglier a social vice as the greedy old money barons of the old days. ( STATISTICS VERSUS HUMAN NEEDS - AMERICANS MUST FACE UP TO THE INEVITABLE, AND FIND SOME WAY TO DETERTHE CONCENTRATION OF THE BASICS OF LIFE.) Dr. Robin Williams, a nationally recognized sociologist from Cornell University has made a comprehensive nation-wide survey, that has been studied with great interest by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Dr. Williams made this statement: “The belief that virtue will be indubitably rewarded, and that success, dogmatically attends upon efforts. This Pauline ethic dies hard in our culture, failure is still more likely to be changed to defect of character, than to fate, capricious accident, or impersonalized social and economic forces.” The major objective of several surveys is to examine beliefs about the causes of poverty in America, to assess the extent to which the individualistic view of poverty, as well as alternative interpretations. A cross section of persons were asked to explain why there are so many poor people in this country. Here is a list of eleven reasons given. (1 Lack of thrift, and proper money management by poor people. (2 Lack of efforts by the poor themselves (3 Lack of ability and talents among the poor. (4 Loose morals and drunkenness. (5 Sickness and poor diet. (6 Low wages, because of no skills. (7 Failure of society to provide good schools. (8 Prejudice and discrimination against non-white ethnic groups (9 Failure of private industry to give, or to provide lucrative jobs or positions to nondescript workers (10 Taking advantage of by the rich and powerful. (11 Just bad luck. Most of these eleven items were paraphrases of explanations given during a set of two dozen pretest interviews, some of them were taken from various public discussions of poverty. About half of the questions stated, that lack of thrift, lack of effort, loose morals on the part of poor people. According to this line of reason, individualistic factors are very important reasons for poverty. 42% said that low wages played a key factor, and that brought into focus, lack of training, but only 18% stressed exploitation by the rich. The fatalistic factor varied greatly ; only 8% emphasized the role of just plain bad luck in poverty. More than half indicated the lack of know-how and lack of training, were synonymous to the answer of this question. It is crystal clearn that an individualistic, blame-the-poor view of poverty is firmly entrenched in the American value system, structural interpretations may be gaining some ground. (SOCIO-RELIGIOUS GROUPS VIEW POVERTY) The views of religious groups deserve some comment, bucause religious background has been considered a very important source of individual perspectives. Max Weber, a prominent social-scientist in his book, “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism,” inspired by Weber and Gerhard Lenski, in their 1961 study of Detroit religionists. They found that white Protestants and Jews were more individualistic and competition-oriented than white Catholics or black Protestants, who tend to have collectivistic, security-oriented attitudes. This means white Protestants, Jews and upper-class black Protestants are a bit intolerant toward the hard-nosed poor. These adverse attitudes give understanding, why America agonizes with the welfare problem. Page 4 I Speaking I I EjjK From I I Athens I jjy ■- Roosevelt Green, Jr. Eg The mood of white America is one of frustration and anger at Black Americans. The Civil War is now being fought on a psychological battle front. The South has now defeated the North by baring the soul of Northern hypocrisy. Blacks now represent a troublesome presence because of our demand for desegregation and equality. It is tragic to witness the degree of racial polasity in this so-called democracy. Whites are no longer generally committed to desegregation for the moral outrage at segregation raised by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has now virtually disappeared. White liberals are no longer defending Blacks, other minorities and poor people since they too (white liberals) have grown weary of struggling, apparently. It is interesting to see how much the nation has changed since the heyday of the civil rights movement. White politicians who were regarded as friends to Blacks in the past have now given up to a certain extent as this country grows more racist and conservative. A small minority of whites continue to stand up for what they know is right and just but at great personal cost and sacrifice. It is understandable how whites give in to their peer group pressure because Blacks are angrily demanding their share of America. There are no more Ralph McGills in journalism because the press has given in to the intimidations of the president and vice-president. The “white conscience” has all but disappeared since it is popular to take the course of “tokenism” or least resistance. Blacks are very angry and frustrated today. Whites who encounter Black rage usually react with little patience and understanding. The rage and anger of Blacks toward whites are sometimes directed toward the wrong targets. Blacks either take out their rage on each other or murder and by attacking the white minority that happens to be safe targets. It is one thing to be angry and raise hell but quite another thing to perform constructive and progressive activities. It is sad to see the so-called radical and militant Black organizations fighting each other. And it is equally sad to see whites buying off good Black leadership. A true sense of Blackness helps one to work at developing “peoplehood.” Black unity is needed as the struggle grows more difficult with each passing day. We must develop a sense of history and begin to assess and study the present more clearly. Sometimes our worst enemies are ourselves and that reality is a luxury we cannot afford. There is a critical need for Black and white leaders to transcent the present conflict. We must rise above our selfishness and see that we are all in this thing together. It often seems that potential and actual white leaders are the ones most dedicated to stupidity and foolishness. Unless courage and convictions about justice and equality emerge from Black and white leadership there is bound to be increasing violence and civil disorders. There is basically a white problem in America since whites have the power to correct social ills if they really so desire. Blacks must wage a stronger battle for Black liberation if victory through survival is to become much of a reality in the future. All things being equal, this country must live up to its ideals of freedom and democracy or facism and Black genocide will become increasingly a horrible reality. We must move beyond anger and frustration coupled with retreat from racial progress to the reality of the Rev. Dr. King’s dream. To retreat from that dream is to wake up to a nightmare of hate and fear. The worst tragedy is that this so-called Christian natiion does not even begin to practice the teachings of Christ. God must weep to see what fools we mortals have become. The Christian faith and other religions are the tail lights rather than the headlights of our time in America and the world. God belongs to all religions and not just Christians. Hopefully, the day will come when we can move down the pathways to the reality of God which insures and assures the brotherhood of all men. ' LETTERS TO Dear Editor: The staff of the Maternal and Infant Care and Family Planning Projects of the East Central Health District and the Medical College of Georgia would like to express appreciation to the Augusta News-Review for the assistance your publicity has given us in serving this community during the past year. I would especially like to cite the article in your December 14, 1972 edition entitled “Babies Need Food and Clothing.” People in the community certainly did respond to our plea for held in this article. As a result we ill be able to provide some milk and THE AUGUSTA NEWS-REVIEW PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY Mallory K. Millender Editor and Publisher Mailing Address: Box 953 Augusta, Ga. Phone 722-4555 Second Class Postage Paid Augusta, Ga. 30901 SUBSCRIPTION RATES Payable in Advance One Year in Richmond County $5.00 tax incl. 6 Months $2.50 tax incl. Ohe Year elsewhere $6.00 tax incl. ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT Classified Advertising Deadline 12 noon on Tuesday Display Advertising Deadline 12 noon On Tuesday News Items Printed Free BLACK POWER is in the voting box this year. food to some babies who might otherwise starve. We also received some new and used infant clothing and have already given all of it out to babies. Our patients’ needs for such help continue and we do hope the public will continue to respond to their needs. Thank you ever so much for this help. Sincerely, Charion Seegar Chief Social Worker Maternal and Infant Care Project Family Planning Project East Central Georgia Health District Medical College of Ga. Augusta, Ga. 30902 I! "GOING Wll I PLACES” I ■ ’ USsrjJh If fl With Philip Waring Lyndon Baines Johnson History most assuredly will view the leadership of the late President Lyndon B. Johnson as having achieved monumental strides in civil rights, education and human betterment for his fellow Americans. He did more than any other person, including Abraham Lincoln, to remove the harsh barriers of prejudice facing Black Americans. My Memories Os LBJ I first met Mr. Johnson back in the early 1960’s when he was Vice-President and I was serving as a member of the Missouri Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. On another occasion, a group of our St. Louis Frontiers International (business and professional service club) flew out to Washington for a day to participate in the Vice President’s Conference On Equal Employment Opportunities (this was prior to passage of current Federal Civil rights laws). My last meeting with Mr. Johnson was at the National Urban League’s “Community Assembly” in Washington, D.C. in 1964. This was one of the late Whitney M. Young’s greatest community organization accomplishments. Over two thousand community leaders gathered for three days to hear the President and his Cabinet members give out guidelines on the newly enacted Equal Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (War On Poverty). This was the first public occasion for these announcements and was of great help in advancing this new program throughout the nation. Two pictures which I treasure very deeply are those taken in Washington, D.C. in which I appear with Mr. Johnson. I have mounted at the Urban League office an , exhibit of pictures, clippings, program material, etc., on “The Civil Rights Thrust of LBJ”. This is open to the public. On the race relations front he made solid history: (1) the appointment of Thurgood Marshall to the U.S. Supreme Court, (2) Robert Weaver as Secretary of HUD and (3) Dr. Andrew Brimmer as a Governor of the Federal Reserve Bank. His brilliant political skills aided in the passage of significant civil rights laws which were decades overdue. To Black women Mr. Johnson endeared himself when he danced with Mrs. Lynette Taylor, Executive Director of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority at his Inaugural Ball. The Good Lord has a particular way of making it possible for great men to speak significant “last words” before their immediate death. The late Dr. Martin L. King’s “I’ve Been To The Mountain Top” just before he was cut down in Memphis and Jackie Robinson’s dramatic plea at a basketball game and on national television for opening managerial ranks to Blacks. One of President Johnson’s last statements at the recent civil rights convocation in Texas was “We Shall Overcome”. God bless vou President Johnson... and thanks! LBJ 1908 - 1973 "I want to be the President who educated young children to the wonders of their world. "I want to be the President who helped feed the hungry and to prepare them to be taxpayers instead of tax-eaters. "I want to be the President who helped the poor to find their own way and who protected the right of every citizen to vote in every election. "I want to be the President who helped to end hatred among his fellow men and who promoted love among the people o f all races, all regions and all parties. "I want to be the President who helped to end war among the brothers of this earth." "To hunger for use and to go unused is the worst hunger of all. Few men have the power by a single act or by a single lifetime to shape history for themselves. Presidents, for example, quickly realize that while a single act might destroy the world they live in, no one single decision can make life suddenly better or can turn history around for the good." WANTED NEWS BOYS Good Pay CALL News—Review Office 7224555 A MINI IS A TERRIBLE THING TO WASTE. There are people bom every day who could cure disease, make peace, create ait, abolish injustice, end hunger. But they’ll probably never get a chance to do those things if they don’t get an education. Were educating over 45,000 students at 40 private, four-year colleges every year. Most of these young people would never get to college on their own. Three quarters need some kind of financial aid. Well over half come from families earning less than $5,000 a year. You can help us help more. By sending a check. To UNCF, 55 East 52nd Street, New York, N.Y. 10022. Whatever you can afford. Because we can’t afford to waste anybody. GIVE TITHE UNITED HEGRG CDHEGE RIND. f SUBSCRIBE I TODAY JI THE AUGUSTA NEWS-REVIEW P. O. BOX 953 AUGUSTA, GEORGIA 30903 ■W—JWWVrTrCtTII ADDRESS CITY One year (in county) $5.00 -T One year (out of county) ...... $6.00 ’ k 5 years (in County) $20.00 5 years (out of county) $25.00 TO BE fjjggM EQUAL /MW J z (fSWJt Veroo"E. Jordaa,Jr. K > BLACKS DISAPPOINTED IN INAUGURAL The inauguration of a President is a colorful and exciting spectacle, but beyond the surface appeal of the bands, the balls, and the baton-twirling is the deeply serious business of the President telling the nation what to expect in the coming years. From this standpoint, many people found the Inaugural Address lacking in information and also in the inspiration a nation needs if it is to think greatly of itself. For black people and for all the country’s poor and minorities, there was little encouragement for change. The theme of the President’s Address seemed to be that we shouldn’t look to Washington for the resolution of the country’s ills, but that local communities and individual initiative should be the order of the day. This is a theme that has great appeal for many Americans who yearn to return to the days when social problems seemed less comples and less intractable than they do today. But others would argue that without bold, afffirmative leadership from the national government, our problems will continue to fester unsolved and worsening. Certainly, the items the President listed as major challenges at home - better education, health, housing, transportation and environment -- demand federal initiatives, federal resources and federal leadership. And what the President rightly called “the God-given right of every American to full and equal opportunity” has depended, insofar as it has been partially achieved, on vigorous federal action. The shift in emphasis away from federal programs strikes fear into minorities who are well aware that white people got out from under the terrible Depression due to the bold federal programs of the New and Fair Deals. Now that Washington has finally begun to initiate programs to improve the lives of black and brown citizens, they’re told to look to local governments notorious for their historic insensitivity to the poor, and to individual initiative. For those who haven’t had the individual initiative to inherit wealth or to be provided with the education and skills necessary in our technological society, and for those who are the victims of a malfunctioning economy with high unemployment and a society that continues to be marked by racial discrimination, the President’s message offers few hopes. Aside from the phrase, “equal opportunity,” there was no specific reference to black people in the speech. Yet many of us had hoped that the President would make some concrete indication of awareness of the sufferings of a tenth of the nation and would, even if not endorsing new programs, at the very least tell the country that the clock would not be turned back in race relations, and that America would fulfill its promises of freedom and dignity. When the President suggested we ask not “what the government will do for me, but what can 1 do for myself?” I thought of the many millions of poor people today who have done everything possible to survive and endure without the government favors bestowed on better-off people and interests. But despite their efforts, they’ve got to depend on governmental actions to create job opportunities, to build housing, aid education and construct hospitals and health clinics. Such people ask not what their government can do for them, but why their government neglects their needs while spending billions on war, on tax subsidies for the rich and on direct subsidies to businesses. They are asking of the government not to embark on programs to satisfy selfish objectives, but to do those things that are clearly beyond the reach of individuals and beyond the desires of local governments shaped in the image of entrenched local interests. They are asking their government to exercise the moral and programmatic leadership that will indeep usher in what the President called “a new era.” The President was right when he said that this is a “time of great responsibilities greatly borne in which we renew the spirit and promise of America.” The great spirit has been too long dormant and the promise too-long delayed to be brought about with anything less than bold moral leadership.