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The Augusta News-Review - November 23, 1977 -
Mallory K. MillenderEditor-Publisher
Frank Bowman General & Advertising Manager
Mary Gordon Circulation
Sharon C. Caldwell Reporter
Mailing Address
Box 953 - Augusta, Ga. Phone 722-4555
Second Class Postage Paid Augusta, Ga. 30903
AMALGAMATED V fl
Jfc— T PUBLISHERS, INC.
NATIONAL ADVCRTtSINO Rf FREMMTATIVCS W
• NfWYORK BCHICAOO
“And he took the loaves and gave
thanks.”
The story of the relationship of the
Black press to the Black American
community bears some significant
similarities with the magnificent story of
Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand.
The similarities are appropriate to bear
in mind as we celebrate this Thanksgiving.
First, the loaves were few. They were
what one small child had brought for his
own lunch. But there was a multitude to
be fed.
That much, we must all agree, is like
the continuing state of our nation’s Black
community. We have had to content
ourselves with the crumbs of the nation,
with what has been left from the masters'
tables.
The Black press has faithfully
chronicled this ever-present and
compellingly unforgettable part of our
nation’s heritage. At no other place is
this powerfully revealing story told with
faithfulness, as by our courageous men
and women publicists through the vigilant
Black press for which we must give
thanks.
But the story from which our
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - My visit here is
as representative of St. Louis and its
Urban League at the funeral of
Commissioner Louneer Pemberton, who
retired last year after a successful 40-year
career with the Urban League Movement.
My last trip here was as a national
officer of Frontiers to help charter a new
Frontiers Chapter of business and
professional men... We note a “billion
dollars worth of growth”... A huge new
international airport in the county, many
new office buildings downtown... a 5250
million dollar “Crown Center” of offices,
and residential areas, all built by
'Lhe local national headquarters of
Alallmark Cards Company.
| There is a live and interesting spirit of
“gwjosterism” in operation... By “tooting
itsqfwn hom,” Kansas City has brought in
scores of new business and industrial
fimifs thereby creating thousands of new
jobs! and a healthy expansion of the
ecofiomic base... As a public relations
person, I have a healthy respect for
“bJosterism” and marketing of
pnZducts... Without it, a business, college,
or/ whatever will have only limited
advancement... And the product may be
superior indeed....
SALUTE TO NEW ORLEANS
As a long time student of the political
life styles of the South, 1 move forward
with warm kudos and congratulations to
the good people of New Orleans of both
races and both political parties... History
was made recently with the election of
Judge Ernest “Dutch” Mortal as mayor...
Both U.S. Senators gave backing and
President Carter sent to the Senate the
name of Judge Robert F. Collins for
selection as a Federal District Judge in
New Orleans...
My Black History tells me this will be
the first Black Federal District judge in
the South (Judge Perrv of Columbia. S.C.
is on the U.S. Court of Military Justice,
etc.)... My contacts in Washington tell me
that there will be a Black Federal judge in
each 11 states of the old Confederacy...
Over the past 30 years of its existence
Going Places has constantly highlighted
the lack of colored jurists on the Federal
bench in the South... We recently had an
outstanding Negro lawyer appointed as a
District Federal Attorney in North
Carolina... Two outstanding Blacks have
been appointed Federal Marshalls (South
Carolina and Alabama).
AUGUSTA LEFT OUT
There are loads and loads of fine
Federal appointments for Atlanta
Blacks... Ben Brown, Bill Allison, John
Lewis, Andrew Young and many, many
more... But my native hometown,
Augusta, which gave President Carter a
grand hit of support last November, has
been left high and dry... There is no
Giving thanks
(Guest editorial from Black Media, Inc.)
Going places
Carter omits Augusta
By Philip Waring
Page 4
theme-setting words of thanks are taken
tells much more. It tells of taking the
little things we have had and having them
suffice.
Without a faithful servant in our
weekly-and often in the past, a monthly
or periodic-Black press, many who had
half a loaf would never have felt at one
with those who had no portion of the
loaf at all.
The Black press has been a mighty link,
a precious cord, which has bound us as
Black people together.
The story of the feeding with the few
small loaves and fishes has an especially
happy ending. It tells that, simply by
having a thankful heart, God blesses the
little that we have and makes it to be like
more.
The Black press has always served to
keep our spirits high, to make us
courageous in the face of formidable odds
and to keep our feet steady in the paths
where bleeding, unshod feet have paved
the way.
In this spirit, our publisher and staff
and all with whom we work to serve your
needs say “Thank You” at this
Thanksgiving time.
reason whatsoever that the name of Atty.
John Ruffin should not be sent forward
in nomination by President Carter... Yes,
I’ve heard the “argument”... Jack is a
“Civil Rights lawyer”... to much involved
in advocacy, etc, etc.... But what is the
real background my friends? Every Black
lawyer advanced upward has engaged in
Civil Rights advocacy... Thurgood
Marshall for NAACP as well as practically
all of the colored Federal jurists present
and past... So that argument about Jack
Ruffin, one of the most outstanding
attorneys in Georgia, still stands...
The following article was picked up
from the Kansas City Star:
A KNUCKLEHEAD CONGRESS
Two recent news items show, in rather
stark items, the unresponsiveness of
government.
In one, Griffin Bell, attorney general,
noted a “law explosion” has
overwhelmed the nation’s courts. Bell
expressed doubt that the courts are equal
to the task of dealing with the continuing
wave of litigation. Reforms, he observed,
are clearly needed.
The other story involves Congress.
Rep. Peter Rodino of New Jersey,
chairman of the House of Judiciary
Committee, has suspended work on a bill
that would establish more than 100 new
federal judgeships because, as he
explained it to reporters, it was
impossible to maintain a working quorum
of his committee.
Admittedly the needs of courts go far
beyond an increase in the number of
judges. But certainly additional jurists
would be instrumental in cutting down
crowded dockets of the federal bench.
That jurisdiction is a very important part
of the nation's justice system.
Yet Congress continues to dawdle over
legislation that would place more judges
in the federal courts. The .natter has been
pending in Washington since 1970. The
impact of this delay is being felt locally.
No judges have been added to the federal
distict court here for 16 years.
The Senate passed a bill to create more
federal judgeships nearly six months ago.
Now it appears House action will be
delayed until next year. There is no
assurance that agreement will be made
then.
The history of the judges’ legislation is
rife with petty politics. Now a legislative
leader admits there simply were not
enough legislators showing up to work on
this important issue.
This is a cavalier, irresponsible way to
approach a very serious matter. Small
wonder that the public estimation of
Congress is so low.
A warm and Happy Thanksgiving to all
of our friends and News-Review readers
and supporters!
— —————-—— —
ill
BDUCAtioNAU
~,
Walking with dignity
<3
What happened to Black activist leader
Steve Biko prior to his death in a South
African jail, is now being unfolded at an
official inquest in Pretoria. This
investigation of the circumstances of Mr.
Biko’s demise is being watched closely by
the outside world and by Black Africans
anxious to learn further details of the
affair, which stirred major controversy in
all of Africa and abroad.
During the first day of the inquest here
in Pretoria, testimony by a South African
security-police official indicated that Mr.
Biko had struck his head during a scuffle
with interrogators six days before his
death in police custody. (The South
Africans have done a good job of
emulating white police officials in
America where Blacks are concerned.) It
also was brought out that Biko was found
naked on the floor of his cell on Sept. 11,
the day before he died. The death called
forth an outburst of international
protests. Before beloved Steve passing on
Sept. 12, Biko was moved by a Land
Rover truck 750 miles from the prison in
Port Elizabeth, where he was initially
held, to other facilities in Pretoria.
BIKO’S HEAD BEATEN SAVAGELY
Autopsy reports made available at the
inquest indicated the Black leader had
died from a head injury nearly four weeks
after his original arrest. Security police
Maj. Harold Sayman told the inquest on
Nov. 14 that Mr. Biko had struggled,
thrown a chair, and attacked another
police officer with his fists before being
subdued during questioning on Sept. 7.
Doesn't that sound like the good old
USA?
Earlier at the inquest. Sydney
Kentridge, counsel for the Biko family
showed photographs of leg irons used to
shackle Mr. Biko; these pictures were
mysteriously taken in prison, and turned
over to the Biko family. These irons were
removed before Steve was questioned, so
says Mr. Sayman. In an affidavit read at
the inquest, Mr. Sayman said: “After
furious wrestling, Biko fell with his head
against the wall." This line of hogwash
ran al! through the inquest. The inquest
began two months and two days after Mr.
Biko’s death before the Chief Magistrate
of Pretoria, MJ. Prims. Mr. Biko’s
mother, wife, brother, and sister were
present, as well as many friends and
members of the now-banned Black
People’s Convention. A Black member of
the United States Embassy staff was also
present, along with other diplomatic
Letter to the Editor
Collective bargaining for unemployed
Dear Editor:
A recurrent theme in the news media
has been its focus on the plight of the
unemployed. Almost daily we read or
hear about the increasing number of
factories, plants, or programs which are
closing their doors, in our own area we
witness the relevation by Uniroyai of
Thompson that they may lay-off
hundreds of w orkers during the height of
their Christmas production.
Many economic contribute this reality
of joblessness to increased competition
within certain production circles, surplus
of workers, and lack of responsibility on
the part of those seeking employment.
While these factors may have
significant hearing on employment and
the employable, the core issue continues
to be: workers exercise relatively little
influence over their ability to find and
Lynched in irons
By Al Irby
observers.
KENTRIDGE MADE LANGUAGE
AN ISSUE
Attorney Kentridge refused to ask
questions of the first witness in
Afrikaans, although he pointed out that
he did speak and understand it himself.
Mr. Kentridge did this for the Biko
family, he said, who understood only
English. After argument and then a brief
adjournment, a qualified interpreter was
brought in by the court. With the first
witness, Police Lt. Kuhn, back on the
stand, Atty. Kentridge asked him which
language he used to speak to Biko,
English, the lieutenant replied, and the
crowd at the inquest murmured.
In cross-examination it came out that
Lt. Kuhn had signed his name to three
affidavits concerning Mr. Biko’s death -
dated Oct. 14, Qct. 20, and Nov. 9. The
last affidavit contradicted that of Oct. 20,
which had listed Lt. Kuhn’s visit to Mr.
Biko in prison.
AFFIDAVIT CHALLENGED
BY ATTORNEY KENTRIDGE
Under questioning, Lt. Kuhn said
Assistant Attorney General of the
Transvaal Province, K. Van Lieres, had
drawn it to his attention that his Oct. 20
was wrong. “So you just signed what was
put in front of you?” Mr. Kentridge
asked. “Yes,” Lt. Kuhn answered.
Halting testimony by the state’s first
witness was an awkward beginning as far
as tlie police case is concerned. The
inquest could last as long as three weeks,
according to lawyers. This could place the
final result after the Nov. 30 (white)
general election, which is expected to
return the ruling National Party to power.
Mr. Biko was the 43rd person, that is
Black person, to die in South African jails
since 1963, when the first
detention-without-trial laws were
introduced for Blacks only. But unlike
the others, Mr. Biko’s death caused a
world outcry which, with the Oct. 19th
detentions and bannings in South Africa,
led to the voting at the United Nations of
a mandatory arms embargo against
Vorster and company.
A not suprising development emerged
in the case, court bars high officials from
testifying in Biko inquest.
A South African court ruling
effectively barred counsel for the Biko
family from summoning Justice Minister
James T. Kruger to testify on how he
came to issue a misleading announcement
that suggested a hunger strike instead of
fatal brain injuries caused the Black
leader’s death.
sustain employment. This fact is most
glaring when we view the lack of
lobbyists, representatives or common
interest groups for the unemployed. The
advent of just one of these three
alternatives could represent at least a
beginning to the age old question of
employment. It . stands to reason,
however, that until workers and those
otherwise employed can be assured of
some form of redress, they will continue
to be at the mercy of unstable and
unreliable production and employment
practices. Collective bargaining should be
considered by workers because of its
usefulness. It has long been used by
professional groups, notice the American
Medical Association and the National
Educational Association. While collective
bargaining should not be considered as a
Redlining is a long-standing practice
that is one of the causes for the
deterioration of inner-cities. Finally, the
federal government is beginning to move
against it.
Simply defined, redlining is the refusal
of financial institutions to make mortgage
loans on homes in certain areas. Needless
to say those areas are usually minority
neighborhoods, or neighborhoods that are
integrated or in transition. The term
refers to the red line that is figuratively
drawn around the affected neighborhood,
with loans refused to property owners
whose buildings are within redlined
section.
A pioneering study by the National
Urban League some years back
documented redlining in the Bronx, N.Y.
Local financial institutions were taking
deposits from Bronx residents, but made
very few mortgage loans in the Bronx -
most of those funds went out of state. In
effect, low income depositors were
subsidizing wealthy distant communities
through mortgages they themselves were
denied.
Since that study there have been many
others, in various parts of the country.
All point to the same conclusion -- that
some financial institutions persistently
refuse to make mortgage loans in
neighborhoods that have large numbers of
minority people, and often redline white
working class sections too.
What happens when an area is
redlined? Cut off from conventional
mortgage credit, owners cannot afford to
maintain their buildings. Houses
deteriorate, people move out, the blight
spreads block of block, and then the final
blow of abandonment occurs.
The devastation of the South Bronx is
now well-known; less well-known is the
process that creates the South Bronxes.
And redlining is one of the steps in that
process.
Federal laws prohibit discrimination in
mortgage lending, but are relatively
ineffective against redlining, since
mortgages are refused on the basis of
neighborhood deterioration, the age of
V »■< *
Jul
Welfare reform needs
Almost everyone agrees the present
welfare system is in need of reform.
Benefits to the needy are inadequate,
inequitable and in many cases
non-existent. The Federal government
spends over sl7 billion on three welfare
assistance programs: Aid to Families with
Dependent Children (AFDC), $6.4
billion; Supplemental Security Income
(SSI), $5.7 billion; and Food Stamps,
$5.0 billion.
These programs benefit 30 million
people, although 40 million are eligible
for assistance from one of the programs.
The present welfare system must be
reformed to eliminate the disincentives to
work, but even more importantly to
maintain the integrity of the family.
On September 12, President Carter’s
welfare reform proposal was introduced
in Congress as H.R_ 9030' and S. 2084.
The Welfare-Reform Subcommittee is
holding hearings on the bill and we hope
the expert witnesses will provide some
answers to some very difficult questions
concerning the proposal. However,
because of the complexities of the issues
in question, it is imperative that the
general public provides input into the
legislative process.
To deal with the bureaucratic tangle
and make welfare more responsive to the
needs of the poor, President Carter has
proposed a consolidated program. This
would eliminate the need for over 40
different programs and the requirement
for recipients to enroll in more than one.
The proposed plan will merge AFDC, SSI,
and Food Stamps into a single cash
assistance program.
A two-tiered benefit structure will be
established; those in the upper tier will
not be expected to work and will be
comprised of the blind, aged, single
parent families (with children under 7, or
between 7 and 13, if day care is not
available), and two-parent families with
‘cure-all’ solution to unemployment it
should be considered by those of us who
care about the plight of the unemployed.
DIGNITY AND RESPECT FOR
To be equal
By Vernon E. Jordan Jr.
the building, or other seemingly neutral
reasons.
Now the Federal Home Loan Bank
Board, which regulates the nation’s more
than 4,000 savings and loan institutions,
has proposed new rules to curb redlining.
The Board would require member
institutions to develop written standards
to ensure equal opportunity in home
financing, review advertising and
marketing practices, consider all relevant
factors in considering mortgage loans, and
to keep written records of all credit
applications for review and monitoring by
the Board.
Under these rules people wouldn’t be
denied mortgage credit solely because of
their lack of previous homeownership,
educational levels, or a history of
job-changing. And maintenance of
adequate record keeping will mean that
information often hard to come by will
now be available to the federal regulators.
The Bank Board can enforce its
regulations through ‘‘cease and desist”
orders and court orders forcing an
institution to stop violating them. For the
first time, institutions refusing mortgage
credit will have to document the reasons
for that refusal - in itself a major step
that should retard redlining.
The regulations are still just proposals.
They won’t go into effect for 60 days and
may be altered in the interim. And there
will be plenty of pressure on the board to
ease up both on the regulations and on
their ultimate enforcement.
But if the Administration is at all
serioud about helping the cities, it will
stick to its guns, keep the regulations
strong and enforce them strictly. The new
regulations are to be welcomed, but
cannot be a substitute for other federal
actions to direct reinvestment in the cities
or for a national urban policy that would
upgrade housing opportunities and living
conditions for the poor. Without such a
policy there is a danger that the
anti-redlining steps will just assist the
process of recycling poverty
neighborhoods for middle and upper
income housing.
f A)ll<>rCKI()lhll HL I el'. CaIIUUS
Reports to the People
By. Rep. Harold Ford
young children provided one parent is
incapacited.
Those in the lower tier will be
expected to work and will be comprised
of two-parent families with children,
one-parent families with children older
than 14, single persons, and childless
families.
The job program is expected to end or
lessen the chronic welfare cycle and place
workers in the mainstream of the
economy. The proposal calls for over 1.4
million jobs to be created and annual
employment for two million people. To
encourage workers to seek jobs in the
private sector, a total minimum income
of 20 per cent above the 1981 poverty
line will be guaranteed.
If a job in the private market cannot be
found, a federally subsidized job will be
provided with a total minimum income ol
13 per cent above the poverty line. As a
general rule under this program, a person
who can and does work would always be
better off than a person who chooses not
to work.
While I believe the President’s program
is a step in the right direction, I am still
studying the proposal. I participated in a
public hearing in West Memphis,
Arkansas, November 17 to discuss the bill
and its many problems which must be i
brought to the attention of the Welfare
Reform Subcommittee during the
Congressional hearings.
A number of other public hearing
have been slated throughout the countr JR;
by the Subcommittee. .. n ’
As the Subcommittee comes to you -
the public - to conduct hearings the next
two months, I strongly recommend that
many Americans who are, directly or
indirectly affected to testify and point
out additional problems and solutions
that will improve the pending proposals.
The Congress needs your support on this
complex proposal.
Redlining
rules issued
WORKERS.
Randy Gunter
P.O. Box 1408
Augusta, Georgia 30901