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The Augusta News-Review - July 5, 1973 - |t| With fl ■ Dignity jfc -jAm] J • by Al Irby A REFLECTION OF THE MOOD OF OUR NATION, WILL THE “WATERGATE GETHSEMANE” BE A NATIONAL THERAPY THAT WILL LEAD US INTO A NEW AND MORE SUBLIME ETHICAL AND MORAL AWARENESS? Sin is dangerous, a small amount has away of entrapping one, it also will bedome a boomerang. Blacks heretofore have been the epitome of an old fallacious cliche that states in substance that “If you will lie, you will steal”. In this country there has developed an abominable dichotomy in the system of justice. If you re poor or black and were charged with a crime, you will have to doubly strive to prove your innocence. Providence is bringing to light all of these built-in myths and half-truths. The scourge of Watergate seems to be proving, that there is a moral equalizer. It has shown that the rich, the educated and the powerful are super liars and hypocrites. Many rational persons the world over have seriously wondered, why a hgihlyintelligent nation like Germany would tolerate a boss liar and supermaniac like Hitler to lead them down the road of eternal ignominy; such as murdering 6,000,000 innocent Jews, and endoctrinating them with the pseudo-hogwash sophistry, that they were a superior people. The same question rises in the minds of decent people about Watergate. How could men of the calibre of former Attorney-General John Mitchell, Maurice Stans, John Ehrlichman, H.R. Haldeman nd John Dean, among others allow themselves to stoop to such debase acts. We hear so much talk of the far-left in regard to national security, and it must be admitted, that it is reckless; but the real danger, obviously lies in the far-right, who hide behind the coat-tail of respectable conservatism. They are highly educated, have vast sources of wealth in their possessions. The murders of the Kennedys, Dr. King and the cowardly shooting of Governor Wallace, were these really isolated cases? “IF THE PURPOSE IS MERELY TO KEEP WATERGATE IN Historical perspective, well and good, there is a CERTAIN SIDEBAR INTEREST IN HE SCANDALS AND CAMPAIGNS OF GRANT, CLEVELAND, WILSON, AND HARDING. NEITHER IS ANY HARM DONE BY MAK.NG HTE POINT THAT WATERGATE, UNLIKE OTHER SCHANDALS, DID NOT INVOLVE THE THEFT OF PUBLIC FUNDS OR THE BRIBERY OF PUBLIC OFFICIALS. BUT AFTER THESE RITUAL INCANTATIONS HAVE BEEN MADE, WE ARE LEFT WITH WATERGATE STILL THERE. THiS UGLINESS CANNOT BE EXORCISED BY EXHUMING SOME MARY JO.” 1 have great admiration for real conservatives, I guess, because I retain a good bit of that philosophy myself. My question inpoint is an article by James J. Kilpatrick, the noted syndicated columnist, Mr. Kilpatrick belittles certain of his colleagues for trying to play-down the Watergate episode. The famed columnist points out that it is true that Truman, Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson all had their scandals and blunders. All of these fine men had their own trouble, because the presidency is too large for one man to police a hugh bureaucratic complex. Mr. Kilpatrick crossed bat with another arch-conservative, Bill Buckley, editor of The National Review. Mr. Buckley jumped on his Catholic counterpart Senator Edward Kennedy, and brought to the surface, the infamous “Chappaquiddick” affair. But Mr. Kilpatrick shot down all of these unessentials and stuck by his guns, by saying: “These other events may be relevant, but they are not material. Let us stick to the point. Let me try to summerize what is meant by “Watergate”. The charge is that persons highly placed in he Committee for the Reelection of the President early in 1972 embarked upon a patently criminal plan for gathering political intelligence; that the plan included burglarizing and bugging the offices of the Democratic National Committee; that former Attorney General John Mitchell knew of the plan and approved it, that once the burglars were caught, the President’s closest aides conspired to cover up the affair; that the cover-up included acts of perjury and bribery, all intended to obstruct justice; and finally, that the President of the United States knew enough of what was going on to have exposed it long ago.” A SEARCHER OF TRUTH-That is the reaction of a real conservative, who thinks straight and objective; and is willing always to search for truth, irrespective of who and where that search will lead. THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT IN ITS DENVER RULING GAVE A PREVIEW OF ITS LEGAL PROFILE THAT SHALL BE EXPECTED IN NORTHERN SCHOOL SYSTEMS. THIS DECISION WHICH WAS SENT BACK TO A LOWER COURT MARKED ITS FIRST SCHOOL-DESEGREGATION DECISION INVOLVING A MAJOR CITY OUTSIDE THE SOUTH. The high Court held that racially inspired school board’s policies, even if they directly affect only part of a metropolitan-area school system, may infect the entire and they must desegreate root and branch. If it’s proved that a school board deliberately segregate students in a substantial portion of the system, the High Court said, it creates a presumption that other segregated schools within the system also resulted from the school board’s actions. And unless school authorities can prove otherwise, the Supreme Court ruled, a court may legitimately find the entire system unlawful and order it desegregated. Justice William Brennan wrote the majority decision, which was joined by Justices William O. Douglas, Potter Stewart, Thurgood Marshall and Harry Blackman. Chief Justice Warren Burger didn’t join in the opinion, but concurred in he result. Justice Lewis Powell concurred in a strong remand to the Denver board to a lower court for further proceedings, but on different grouds than the majority. Justice William Rehnquist was the only outright dissenter. The Denver case was brought by a group of Black and Spanish parents, who charged that the board had created segregated schools throughout the system through such techniques as “manipulation” of attendance zones, school-site selection and a neighborhood school policy. PARK HILL, A TOTAL GHETTO COMMUNITY, AND THE CRUX OF THE CONTENTION-The High Court held that the school board should show proof that Park Hill was treated separately from the rest of the system. The Supreme Court said VOTE Page 4 Fgoing gHb] I PLACES I PHILIP WARING This June has been a Gold Letter Period for me. On Sunday, June 24 the local Urban League honored me with a farewell reception which was followed later in the week by one from the United Fund Executives Council. The Sunday affair brought in my brother Lou from San Francisco, my brother Andrew and his wife, Nellie, from Augusta and nine Urban League executives and staffers from four Eastern states. Thank to my relatives the Buchanans and Richardsons in Augusta, and the Warings in Boston and Cleveland for their personal messages. And thanks so much to the many Augusta friends for their telegrams, cards, phone calls and messages. I love you all very much! Special credit must go to my local Urban League staff associates. We still have a long w u ys towards equality like other Americans. May I share two very meaningful editorials from the Amsterdam News. One has to do with the National Newspaper Publishers Association and I am glad to note the participation and attendance of our NEWS-REVIEW publisher Mallory Millender at its recent Texas conference. This kind of association with editors and publishers with two hundred fellow professionals from other cities around the nation keeps our Augusta publication in the first-class, big league status. MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITY The National Newspaper Publishers Association did their homework prior to their 33rd annual convention in Houston, Texas last week. And when the homework was done they called on Pete Roselle, the head of the National Football League, to take the witness stand. The Black publishers told Roselle something that Roselle already knew, but moe than that, they told him it was time for him to do something about it. The Black publishers indicated that 60 percent of the professional basketball players in this country are Black, and 40 percent of the NFL’s professional football stars are Black and 38 percent of the active baseball players in the major leagues are Black. Os the 38 professional basketball teams, the 26 professional football teams, and the 24 national major baseball teams, there are only four Black men employed as head field leaders. These four Blacks are found as head coaches in professional basketball but no Blacks hold positions as managers in baseball and no Blacks hold positions as head coaches in football. Very few Blacks hold assistant jobs in nay of the big professional organizations and one professional team employs a Black man in a top front office position. Roselle did a lot of listening and very little talking. He indicated that in spite of the lack of Blacks in these positions, it could not be traced to racial discrimination, because the competition is so fierc that no team is willing to risk loss of a game because of racial discrimination. But we believe that management has an affirmative responsibility to seek out and upgrade Blacks to management positions. It is unthinkable that a team which depends so heavily on Black stars to win games and to draw people to the box offices cannot find a place for the abilities of these same Black men in the front office of management when they retire from the game. The Amsterdam News commends the Black newspaper publishers for this stand, and as a member of the organization, we gladly accept our role as being one of the watch dogs to help correct this inequity in major league sports. AID FROM WiTHIN If there is anyone who doubts the importance and need of strengthening the economic interest of Black people in our democratic society, that doubt should have been dispelled a few days ago, with the release of he report showing hte performance of Black financial institutions in helping Black people to pull themselves up by their boot straps. For example, the report shows that in 1971 white banks in this nation hud assets totaling S7OO billion, while the assets of Black banks was only S6OO million.. The wide span between S7OO billion and S6OO million is so great that , at first blush , one might suggest that in such a irch country Black banks might not be needed, nad that they are so far behind in total assets that they might as well give up in the fight. But anyone who has that type of thinking should read the next paragraph of the study. The report reveals that white banks, with assets of over S7OO billion, only granted $l5O million in business loans to Black people. Meanwhile the hand full of Black banks, with assets of only S6OO million, granted S6O million in Business loans to Black people. This means that while Black banks had less than one percent of the total bank assets in the nation, they granted nearly 33 percent of the total business loans made to Black people. These figures speak for themselves when it comes to checking out the need of minority groups to create, maintain and support their own economic institutions. the written record in the case so far indicates that Park Hill isn’t a separate part. The Court contended that because of treatment of this section, makes the entire system a dual, and segregated system. BLACK OMNIBUS I would recommend that my readers, listen to “Black Omnibus” every Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. on Channel 6. This is a predominantly black program, that educates as well as entertains. Newspapers as well as radio and television should basically educate, as wellas entertain. It is better to know what’s happening up at Paine and Augusta Colleges, than to know who was caught with somebody’s else’s wife or husband. THE AUGUSTA NEWS-REVIEW PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY Mallory K. Millender Editor and Publisher Mailing Address: Box 953 Augusta, Gt. 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. One 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 Jwr-- —MM aS * I Speaking |; _ th JHEf From I Athens 1 1 « * K By Roosevelt Greea, Jr. i#: InMMmMMMiMmi It may be helpful to comment on a number of issues this week. Writing a column helps me to try even harder to stay abreast of current events. There are many issues that must be viewed from a Black as well as the usual white perspective. Color blindness with regard to any issue results in a one-sided assessment. Governor Jimmy Carter is to be commended for the appointment of Blacks to some key positions in state government. The most notable appointment is that of Atlanta insurance excutive, Jessie Hill,Jr. to the University System Board of Regents. The Board of Regents governs the University of Georgia and other state colleges and universities. Black representation is vital for that body and Brother Hill is a good man for the job. Evangelist Billy Graham, spiritual advisor to the president, expressed disappointment about the lack of Black attendance at his recent Atlanta “Crusade” for Christ. The Reverends Ralph D. Abernathy and Hosea Williams protested Graham s appearance in Atlanta in an effective manner. Blacks apparently are wise to Graham but a few Atlanta Black ministers and “leaders” supported the crusade. The advocate of castration for rapists just does not have any significant appeal to Blacks who are already psychologically castrated. The evangelist should conduct a crusade in the White House for the amoral President and other hard core sinners. Instead of singing Shall We Gather at the River, it would be helpful to sing “Shall We Gather at the Watergate” with a chorus of “Yield Not to Police State Temptations”. Whatever happened to the massive Augusta “boy hunt” for Brother Lendell Hunter? Is Hunter still alive? What is the status of this law and order goose chase aside from the large scale buying of guns by projecting white citizens? Who will answer or is this issue “blowing in the wind”? A shoot-out occurred in Atlanta last week as a result of the continuing oppression of Black Muslim newspaper sellers by the Atlanta Police Department. One policeman was killed and several persons were injured in the melee. This is only one in a series of police-Muslim confrontations designed obviously to harass the Black organization and stop it from selling newspapers that document the evils of white Amerikka. Any non-white controlled organization is subject to extermination by white racist police organizations. The F. 8.1., C.1.A., and Army Intelligence are carrying on a massive campaign to destroy all Black so-called militant organizations. The law and order without justice zealots serve as judge, jury, and executioner of so-called Black and white radicals, and organizations. The strong conservative lunatic fr9nge wraps up in American flags and shuffle to the music of white racism with a violent Wagnerian beat that super-patriot Amerikkans orchestrate. The Muslims may be wiped out unless the rest of us demand constitutional protection for them as well as the rest of us. If they come for the Muslims in the morning, they will come for the rest of us in he evening. A matter of serious concern is the role of the communications media in Amerikka. It must be recognized that all white daily newspapers in this country do not begin to represent the views of non-whites to any worthwhile degree. The newspapers in the South and West are worse than those in the East and North. To get a balanced view of the news, Blacks and whites must buy newspapers from usch cities as New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., as well as Black newspapers. Nearly all of the Southern white newspapers take a conservative stance in news reporting and editing. The death of the ate Ralph McGill left the Atlanta newspapers with an escapte to conservatism and the control of the so-called establishment. Those papers used to take the lead in Georgia with regard to an alledged liberal stance in race relations. They are now reactionary except for a frequent “lashing at Lieutenant Governor Lester G. Maddox. Georgia is now without any adequate white newspaper leadership. The Great Speckled Bird newspaper in Atlanta is the only white newspaper in this state worth reading. Even the comic strips in most of the papers have become soun ding boards for right wing super patriotic law and order protangonists. The role of Black newspapers and the Black news media is gaining increasing importance. Communications shape our lives more than most of us imagine. Marshall McCluhan’s book entitled “The Media is the Massage”, is very worthwhile reading as it documents this fact. A steady diet of conservative and racist slant of the news will cause a nutritional deficit in one’s mind. Anemia with he possibility of starvation sets in and one’s humanity soon dies as a result. The reading of Black newspapers and magazines restores vitality and balance. The black news media has a primary responsibility to inform Black and white readers about the Black perspective on issues. Such media should offer more than the police blotter indicating who shot who and narrow minded gossip. Crime should not be the main focus of any newspaper for there are many vital issues that need focusing on, and the emphasis on crime plays into hwite stereotyping of the Black community. Many whites are eager to believe that Black communities are cess pools of crime and violence. Black newspapers and magazines must be committed to Black liberation struggles and not be captives to white leaders and advertisements. Thank God for the News-Review. The issues discussed now merit our concern and commitment. The question before us all is what are we going to do about our present situation. We can learn to live together or die like fools. Harambee!! MR. & MRS. HOME OWNER Do you employ a cook, cleaning woman or other domestic worker in your home for one or more days per week? If so, you are paying them more than fifty dollars per quarter in wages, and you should be withholding and paying Social Security contributions for them. Your failure to do this denies your employee his right to receive Social Security benefits for themselves and their dependents in later years. We urge you to obey the law and help us to improve human relations in the Augusta Area. ...Human Relations Commission TOBE EQUAL 1 —”— Vemt»lLJ<*dM, Jr. Jy K A MATTER OF PRIORITIES Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev did what nothing else has been able to do for weeks -- he bumped Watergate off the front pages. Now that we know it can be done, it gives heart to those of us who feel that, important as Watergate is, it should not be allowed to obscure the larger issues of domestic social policy that have an immediate, direct impact on every single person in the country. In the past few weeks several important things have occurred that point up the mistaken federal domestic policies and the need for re-ordered priorities. One was the meeting of the nation’s mayors in San Francisco. The mayors, including officials of both parties, complained bitterly that special revenue sharing only shared problems, not solutions, with the cities. Nearly all said that they would lose resources because the present federally-administered programs in health, housing and manpower pumped more money into their cities than the proposed special revenue sharing would. It’s hard enough trying to cope with the special problems of the cities now, the mayors said, but it will be worse after federally-funded programs end. A second notable event was the release of a survey by the Federal Revenue Sharing Office of how funds already given cities under general revenue sharing were spent. Over five billions out of a projected 30 billion has already been sent to local governments.’ The federal report documented what many have suspected all along. The money has been used to reduce taxes and to build golf courses and tennis courts. Social services for the poor and the aged ranked last among the priorities of the local governments -- only eight percent mentioned it as a top priority. So what justification can be made for confidence in local ability to deal with national social goals? Another recent event buried by Watergate publicity was a special Senate hearing on the budget, called to put a spotlight on the proposed end of important federal social service social service programs. I went to Washington to testify before this Committee and among the things I pointed out was a special little secret too long kept from the American people. You may recall that a while back two writers, Richard Scammon and Ben Wattenberg, made a well-publicized charge that black leaders were keeping significant black progress a big secret. Well, it seems that white leadership is keeping an even bigger secret - that the social service programs have benefited whites far more than they have blacks. Just consider: The majority of welfare recipients are white; two out of three families that got housing under the now-frozen 235 subsidy program were white; two out of three trainees in the federal manpower development program are white; three out of four On-the-Job Training program participants are white; four out of five people employed in the Public Employment Program are white. These are all programs that are either frozen or due for cuts or for transfer to local, and less effective, control. The silent white majority may be reluctant tc help people and may tolerate the death of these programs because they think they are for blacks, but the big secret today is that these programs have primarily benefited whites and whites will be hit hardest by the budget’s reversal of priorities. Congress will have to fill the vacuum created by Watergate and there are some small signs that it may do so. t passed, by overwhelming majorities, entensions of some federal health programs slated for extinction. These may still be sabotaged by executive impoundment and by bureaucrat’s failure to administer the programs properly but it shows that faith in Congress is not misplaced. There seems nowhere else to turn these days. AUGUSTA FLOWER & GIFT SHOP Member F.T.D. FLOWERS “For All Occasions” Artificial Arrangement Our Specialty 2232 PEACH ORCHARD ROAD PHONE 798-2346 NOTICE You’re a serviceman, troubled because some member of your family could use the counsel of a licensed psychologist, but it’s too expensive. Under a recent directive, The Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) will help you pay the bills for this counseling. You do not need a referral. Why not look into it? Get a copy of the revised pamphlet “Uniformed Services Health Benefits Program”. £ SUBSCRIBE K TODAY B* THE NEWS-REVIEW ■1 FXXBOX9S3 AUGUSTA, GMMOA 30m Nmm ' MJ K City U One yw (In county) (S.OO Ont yttr (out of county) MOO NEWMAN’S Discount Music Name Brand Striae It Band Instrument • Musical'lnstruments Repaired » Buy Used Instruments 1159 BROAD ST. Phone 724-9773