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The Augusta News-Review - September 15,1977
Mallorv K. Millender Editor-Publisher
Frank Bowman General & Advertising Manager
Maty Gordon Circulation
Sharon C. Caldwell Reporter
Mailing Address
Box 953 ■ Augusta, Ga. - Phone 722-4555
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It is reported that President Carter
plans to stick to tlie position that racial
quotas are unconstitutional. The concept
of “freedom and justice for all” should
have made it unconstitutional for most
jobs to have been historically reserved for
white men only.
We find it incredible that a President
supposedly committed to justice and the
eradication of the evils of the past, and
who is fully aware of slavery and such
Supreme Court decisions as the Dread
Scott decision, which said that a Black
man had no right that a white man had to
respect, knowing that there have always
Much has been made of the lower
scores being made in recent years on
standardized tests.
The usual approach is to blame newer
teaching methods or the increased
number of minority students enrolled in
institutions of higher learning.
There are all kinds of explanations.
And most of them ignore the fact that,
particularly where minorities are
concerned, these tests fail to measure
what they are designed to measure-the
student’s ability to do college or graduate
work.
The Educational Testing Service and
other similar agencies are well aware, for
Our new day begun
# w. Jr
My first speaking tour as executive
director of the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People, has
been a heartening one.
Almost immediately after my
resignation from the Federal
Communications Commission became
official, July 27, 1977, I started a
week-long string of speaking engagements
on the West Coast from Portland,
Oregon, to Oakland to Los Angeles,
California.
I was singularly impressed by the huge
crowds that gathered wherever I went
and the enthusiasm they expressed.
More than 5,000 people jammed into
Oakland’s auditorium. Seven hundred or
more crowded into Vancouver Avenue
Baptist Church in Portland, Oregon,
pastored by Rev. 0.8. Williams. Fifteen
hundred swarmed into Rev. Elliott
Mason’s Trinity Baptist Church in Los
Angeles.
More than 700 appeared at a high
school in Sacramento, and 1,200 souls
made it standing-room only in San
Francisco’s Third Baptist Church of
which Rev. Amos Brown is the pastor.
The country outside Washington, D.C.,
where I had spent the past five years as a
member of the FCC, is excitingly
different. I am not going to go around
knocking the Capital City however. For it
is a beautiful urban center, with lots of
interesting museums, public parks, a zoo
second to none and, of course, the
beautiful Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts, that is virtually a Taj Ma
Hal sitting majestically on the Potomac
River. It is also a city that is more than
70 per cent Black that is struggling with
historical inequities and racism.
What I am talking about, however, are
attitudes. In D.C. there is a sophistication
and hustle-bustle that combined with a
heavy layer of political action,
observation and reaction, make it a city
like none other in the country - or the
yorld.
Politics - powerful world politics, are
its principal commodity. The high and
the mighty flock to its National Airport
from all over the world because it is the
capital of the most powerful capitalistic
nation the world has ever known.
When the President speaks, the
international stock market either
trembles with bearish shakes or becomes
Quotas essential
been racial quotas, could take such a
position.
How else do we correct tlie centuries
of injustice heaped upon us with the
protection of the law and tlie support of
the American government? What America
seems to be saying is “We know we
treated you wrong and deprived you of
the chance to advance yourselves. But
let’s just forget about how we’ve maimed
and crippled you. You must now
compete with us on an equal basis
based on merit.
That attitude is sheer nonsense and the
President knows better.
The tests fail!
instance, that a Black student scoring 800
on the graduate record examination will
usually perform better academically than
a white student scoring 1000 on the same
test. The tests simply don’t measure the
student’s ability to do the work. They
primarily measure his exposure to white
culture.
Exposure should never be allowed to
pass for intelligence. Consciously or
unconsciously, the tests serve as a
primary obstacle to minority students
seeking entry into better schools and are
discriminatory by their very design, We
think they should be done away with as a
measure of academic achievement.
Reactions are
heartening
By Benjamin Hooks
exultantly bullish. Countries in the
far-flung corners of the world are often
highly sensitive to the actions or
inactions of our Congress. Because
politics is such a bullish commodity in
the Federal City, one is apt to permit
his/her perspective to get out of joint and
truly believe that when congress sneezes
the country comes down with a cold.
So one must get into this broad land of
ours to appreciate once again the sound
common sense of its people, the
unflappable cool they possess in matters
that seem of extreme political urgency
back there in Capital City.
Well, I was indeed heartened to note
all this but even more impressed in
respect to matters regarding the NAACP
and the expressed desire on the part of
many of a continuing need for the
existence of such a civil rights
organization. There was widespread
enthusiasm.
People stopped me in the streets
everywhere I went expressing this
sentiment. In hotels, airports,
everywhere, not just in the gatherings (I
addressed the National Dental
Association; National Medical
Association; National Association of the
Negro Business and Professional Women’s
Convention; 1 spoke to the Promethean
National Organization of Black Armed
Service Men of Howard University, etc.),
folks expressed this kind of enthusiasm
not just for me or what I had said but for
the NAACP organization, as well. And
they undergirded this sentiment by
giving thousands of dollars.
We raised well over $30,000 on that
trip for the NAACP. And the high point
of tour came when two of my old
hometown friends from my boyhood in
Memphis, Tennessee, walked up and
presented me with SI,OOO representing
10 people who cared enough to give
generously in support of an organization
fighting for our rights.
My heart was brimming, Ms. Verna
'Canson, our able West Coast regional
director, shared my deep appreciation. I
do hope that all this enthusiastic
expression can be translated into
additional NAACP memberships. If it is,
then we are surely on our way to a bright
tomorrow of civil rights triumphs and
equality.
Page 4
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Speaking Out
Reverse
discrimination?
f w There is no
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Mlh r such thing
n. By Roosevelt Green Jr ■
The affirmative action controversy is
quite revealing in many ways. The angry
reactions of white to the special
provisions for Blacks in employment and
education is racism at its worst. The
“lowering of standards” for Blacks and
women to get their fair share is vital for a
just democracy.
“Reverse discrimination” is the
rallying cry for insensitive and racist
whites who only believe in “fairness” for
themselves. Those who scream “reverse
discrimination” had nothing to say about
discrimination as long as it only affected
minority groups.
There is no such thing as reverse
discrimination when one considers the
devastating effects of racism and
discrimination for nearly 400 years. The
historical denial of equal opportunities to
Blacks, other minorities and women must
be granted special efforts to rectify
present and past discrimination patterns.
The issue of lowering standards must
be examined in the context of how those
standards were set in tlie first place. Most
of fee so-called standards were primarily
set or established by white males for their
own privilleged group.
Lowering standards for admission does
not have to mean lowering standards for
exits. Once the so-called standards are
lowered for admission, every effort
should be made to insure that those
admitted will gain equal competence and
excellence.
We have to examine what we mean
when we talk about “qualifications”.
There is adequate research to document
the fact that there is very little
correlation between education and jobs.
Most Americans were not educated for
the particular jobs they now hold.
It would be of great service to all if our
notions about standards, qualifications
and discrimination were enlarged to
greater dimensions. The basic problems
are selfishness and insensitivity to human
needs colored by conscious or
unconscious racism. White racists all over
this country will no doubt get more and
more exercised about what they regard
as reverse dis crimination.
The hue and cry over this issue should
serve to let minorities and women know
that the resistance to equal opportunity
is becoming even greater. There would he
no need for affirmative action programs
and departments if those in power really
believed in justice and equality for all.
One thing should be clear to Blacks as
they watch the Supreme Court attempt to
turn back fee gains previously made; we
must seek to strengthen cur personal
educational and social achievements. The
Nixon-tliinking Supreme Court is no
Likes Hamburg article
Dear Editor:
Let me offer our congratulations to
you for tlie excellent article on The
Hamburg Riot of 1876’. Mr. Jackson was
thorough in his research, and provided us
with a historical narrative which clearly
shows the condition of the Black man of
that era.
We certainly would like to see many
more factual accounts of events
pertaining to Black life in this area so
that we all can know from whence we
came. Many of our youth are not aware
longer sensitive to basic civil and iiuman
rights issues.
However, it is obvious that in order to
rectify current racist standards and
qualifications, some whites will have to
learn to be patient and long-suffering just
as some Blacks used to be. One
consolation to long suffering and patient
whites should be fee fact that they still
have more career options and
opportunities than Blacks, other
minorities and women.
Two tricks being used by
contemporary racists must be noted. The
first is that white women are given jobs
previously offered to Blacks. Secondly, a
Black female is counted twice in the
“quota game” - as a woman and a Black
The end result is hostility between Blacks
and the white women, and between Black
males and Black females. However,
Blacks and women must not be deceived
by those tricks.
Present day white women libbers are
greatly insensitive to the race issue. This
leads me to conclude that women’s
liberation is largely a white women’s
movement. Perhaps this fact will change
in the near future.
It would be fair to close with a word
about “quota” systems. While quotas are
no doubt necessary in many instances,
the use of this approach also serves to
limit tlie efforts of the agency or
institution using it. Having achieved
whatever quota is established, there is the
tendency to be self-righteous and
virtuous in a hypocritical manner.
Rather than talk about quotas I would
talk about “goals”. The goals approach
would be more inclusive, in that greater
effort would be made to recruit as many
Blacks and others as possible. The basic
goal should be equality at all costs in
terms of admission and advancement
without regard to an artificail number in
the quota sense.
The “reverse discrimination” nonsense
should be dropped by right thinking
whites. Blacks must get their fair share of
the American “pie” even if tliose who
used to eat pie alone now have to “eat
crow”. Past and present discrimination
and segregation can never be fully
compensated, but corrective measures
must include special assistance to the
victims.
White America must mature with the
milk of justice and equality. The meat
and bread of racism and discrimination
must be rejected for a nutritious
affirmative action diet. The only other
possible alternative is starvation for all in
a land of plenty.
HARAMBEE!!!!!!!!!
of what has happened to Blacks during
the last 360 years in this country, and
articles such as this one certainly serve a
useful purpose.
Again, we congratulate you as you
carry on the marvelous traditions
established by the pioneers of the Black
press.
Most sincerely yours,
James E. Carter, 111
Black Heritage Commission
P.O. Box 313
JSd
The credibility of American foreign
policy and our position of enlightened
world leadership are at stake in the
recently concluded Panama Canal Treaty.
If the Senate fails to ratify the treaty,
this country will be in deep trouble. One
possibility might be a prolonged
Vietnam-type guerrilla war in Panama.
The Canal, always vulnerable to
sabotage, could be closed. And America’s
prestige among South American and
Third World countries would go down
the drain.
Despite this, the treaty has become
one of those emotional issues tailor-made
for demagoguery. We’re hearing wild
charges that the Treaty is a
“giveaway ,”that it endangers national
security, and that it involves territory we
own.
None of these charges hold water. The
Treaty is no giveaway. It assures U.S.
operating control of the Canal and an
American military presence there until
the year 2000, and we retain freedom of
action to assure the Canal’s neutrality.
It’s a sound agreement that will mean
continued access to the waterway for all
nations and continues America’s strong
position there.
Rather than endangering national
security, the Treaty strengthens it. The
Joint Chiefs of Staff and U. S. officers at
the Canal all endorse the Treaty. They
know it means stability of the Canal’s
operations and that the agreement is the
best defense against sabotage because
Panama will have a major economic stake
in its operations. Even after the Treaty
ends, if our defense interests required it,
our armed forces would still be in a
position to defend the Canal.
And it is incredible to hear people say
that the U. S. owns the Panama Canal
Zone. We have rights there, but we don’t
own the place. The Canal Zone is not like
other territories the U. S. purchased and
owned forever thereafter.
Our control - not ownership - is based
on a 1903 Treaty that was rammed down
the throats of the Panamanians during
the heyday of colonialism. By
renegotiating that Treaty we put our
If someone offered you an
opportunity to reduce the number of
cavities in your child’s teeth by 65 per
cent for the amazingly low cost of 10
cents a year, would you take it?
Fluoride is a mineral that exists
naturally in all community water supplies
and much of our food. The natural
fluoride in the water supplies of some
communities is about one part per
million, the ideal level for preventing
tooth decay. Other communities have to
add fluoride to the water to bring the
level to one part per million parts water.
Others remove fluoride to bring it to the
ideal level. A couple of years ago a
classmate of mine at the Medical College
of Georgia’s Dental School indicated
after a study that water in the city and
county of Richmond County both had
fluoride added. At that time, the report
indicated the recommemded level in its
water supply.
Fluoride is chemically incorporated
into the tooth enamel crystals making
them more resistant to decay. The
protection is particularly effective in
children who drink fluoridated water
from birth, since tooth enamel is formed
during the early years of life. The
benefits are lifelong.
Older children who begin drinking
fluoridated water also can benefit from
fewer cavities during their lifetime,
although the protetion may not be as
great as for those who drink fluoridated
water from birth. Some studies have
indicated that even adults introduced to
fluoridated water can realize some degree
of protection.
Although fluoridation is widespread,
still 40 per cent of Americans on public
water supplies are not getting this
protection. A l umber of states have
statewide fluoridation laws, and the
Support our advertisers
-To be equal
By Vernon E. Jordan Jr.
Dentistry and you
By Dr. W.J. Walker
Canal treaty
is sound
presence there on a legal and moral basis
far superior to that now governing our
control.
Ratification of the Treaty is essential
to avoid bloodshed. I often wonder
whether the people so loudly opposed to
the Treaty are willing to put their own
lives on the line in fighting any war that
might result from its rejection.
It should not be so hard to understand
the Panamanian feelings about the Canal
Zone. How would we as Americans feel if
a foreign country controlled a broad strip
of land cutting through the heart of our
country? And how would we react if that
control was based on a colonial era treaty
forced upon us and if the foreign power
refused to grant us sovereignty over our
own land and operating participation in a
canal on our own territory?
It’s as if Great Britain had granted
independence in 1776 while still holding
on to a big chunk of America and refused
to give it up 200 years later. We’d be
pretty hot about that, and that’s the way
most Latin Americans feel today.
The real question is not whether we
will continue to control the Canal and
the Zone in all aspects. We can forget
about that. If the Treaty is rejected by
the Senate then the Canal may be closed
down anyway by military action or by
sabotage, almost impossible to stop.
So the question becomes, how can we
arrange for the Panamanians to have a
stake in the Canal’s operations and
sovereignty over their own land while
protecting our best interests.
The answer to that is the Treaty. It is
fair, honorable and workable. It took 13
years to Negotiate. Four Administrations
have worked for an agreement that
supplants the dishonorable 1903 Treaty,
and all have started from the assumption
that Panama’s rights have to be honored.
So this is not a partisan issue. It would
be irresponsible to endanger America’s
international position and her relations
with other ountries for whom the Treaty
is a key indicator that our nation is
willing to deal with poorer and weaker
nations on a basis of mutual interest and
mutual respect.
Fluorides are
effective
residents of such large cities as New
York, Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia,
Cleveland, Washington, St Louis and
Detroit have had fluoridated water for
many years.
The United States Public Health
Service estimates that the delay in
extending fluoridation throughout the
country costs more than $450 million a
year in cavity repair in children that
could be prevented.
Just how effective fluoridation is was
dramatically shown to the residents of
Antigo, Wis., during tlie four years after a
vote to end fluoridation in 1960. They
had previously benefited from
fluoridation for 11 years. By 1964 the
number decayed teeth shot up an average
of 92 per cent in kindergarten children,
183 per cent in second graders and 41 per
cent in fourth graders.
More than 80 million Americans are
benefiting from such an opportunity. Not
only have they been able to dramatically
reduce the decay problem but they have
also saved themselves a considerable
amount of money in dental repair bills in
the process.
The 10-cent remedy is water
fluoridation. The fluoridation of public
drinking water - costing approximate l
10 cents per person per year - is regards
as the most important public heal I
measure ever taken to help prevent too |
decay - in fact, one of the greatest pubL
health measures of all time. It is safe -
not a single case of ill effect fror
fluoridated water has been found in
America - and it effectively reduces
decay.
As with any public health measure,
fluoridation has met with some
opposition, usually based on emotion
instead of fact.