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The Augusta News-Review - Jan. 10,1981 -
®l|e (Augusta Neto«-3Rrtjitto
(USPS 887 820)
Mallory K. Millender Editor-Publfatfier
Paul D. Walker Special Aadstant to the Publisher
Frank Bowman Director of Special Projects
Ms. Fannie Flono . . News-Editor
Rev. R.E. Donaldson ... .Religion Editor
Ms. Maiye M. James Advertising Manager
Harvey Ha-rison Sales Representative
Mrs Rhonda Brown .... -Administrative Assistant
Mrs. Mary Gordon Administrative Assistant
Mrs. Geneva Y. Gibson Church Coordinator
Mrs. Fannie Johnson Aiken County Correspondent
Mrs. Clara West McDuffie County Correspondent
David Dupree Sports Editor
Mrs. Deen Buchanan Fashion A Beauty Editor
Roosevelt Green • .Columnist
Al Irby . .Columnist
Mrs. Marian Waring -Columnist
Philip Waring .Columnist
Grady Abrams Editorial Cartoonist, Columnist
’’ >scoe Williams Photographer
Wt t inot be responUble for uneobetted photo*. menuecripU, and Other meteriab.
Mailing Addrere
Box 953 (USPS 887 8201 • Auguste. Qa.
Phone (404) 722-4556 ygfTK
Second a ass Postage Paid Auguste. Ga. 3000 S
AASAMAMATn Published Weekly
Jfe PUBUSKCM, NIC.
one WHt 'OiMS As •O’WI-L II 11
The Blacks have
become the most
consistent supporter of
he Democratic Party
to mention
progressive politics
generally) can no longer
be contradicted. While
blue collar whites, Jews
and other members of the
so-called “New Deal’’
coalition have been
defecting en "asse,
Blacks gave nearly 90
percent of their votes
once more to the
Democrats.
And while others
have been so befuddled
and disoriented by the
Reagan victory that they
have been reduced to
parroting “me-too’’ to
virtually every hair
brained GOP proposal,
Black voters remained
true to progressive
politics by not only
eturning such sterling
stalwarts as
Congressmen Ronald V.
Dellums, John Conyers,
Parren Mitchell, et. al. to
Washington but also
sending veteran fighters
like George Crockett of
Detroit, Gus Savage and
Harold Washington of
Chicago, and Mervyn
Dymally of Los Angeles
to join them at the
battlefront.
Rev. Joseph Lowery
of SCLC has spoken often
of Blacks being the savior
of the nation. There are
those who may dispute
this but none can question
that Blacks in pursuing
issues of moment to the
black community--
comprehensive, federally
funded health care,
curbing plant closings,
pushing for full
employment -- have
helped the entire nation.
That is why recent
press reports about the
selection of the next
chairman of the
Democratic National
Committee have been so
disturbing to many. For
apparently what is
happening is that Vice
President Walter
Mondale, Senator
Edward M. Kennedy,
House Speaker Thomas
P. “Tip” O’Neill and
AFL-CIO president Lane
Kirkland have been
huddling in smoke-filled
rooms behind close doors
to select the next
chairman of the powerful
Democratic National
Corqmittee. According to
the New York Times,
This U.S.-style “Gang of
four” are trying to agree
among themselves on
who should” lead the
political party that
Blacks have given blood,
sweat, tears—and
millions of votes.
The question is: Why
isn’t Benjamin Hooks or
Coretta Scott King or
Andrew Young or Rev.
Jesse Jaskson in on these
Affirmative Action
Politics and Economics
session? Why is a Lane
Kirkland admitted to the
inner sanction? By his
own account he couldn’t
deliver his own
constituency to the
Democrats as more than
half of blue collar whites
opted for Reagan.
Moreover, his virulently
anti-communist foreign
policy (he has given
thousands to polish
workers and peanuts to
Black South African
workers), his passivity on
the question of organizing
the unorganized and
supporting Dellums’
Health Bill, constitutes
the very kind of
disastrous “me-too”
policies that are destined
to make the Democrats
extinct as the Whig
Party.
It is becoming
increasingly clear that
Black voting support of
the Democrats does not
carry with it a
commensurate amount of
political clout-and such a
development comes at a
particularly bad time
given the parlous state of
the Black economic
condition. For it is well
known nowadays that
politics has* a decisive
impact on economics.
Andrew Brimmer,
the Black economist and
former federal reserve
Board governor,
estimates that total
revenues earned by
Black business as a
percentage of gross
national product will
decline this year to 0.44
percent, down from an
estimated 0.46 percent in
1979, continuing a trend
set in the 1970’5.
Black unemployment
continues to spiral,
helped along by the rash
of plant closings in urban
centers like Chicago, St.
Louis, Philadelphia,
Detroit, etc. A recent
study by the Illinois
advisory committee to
the United States Civil
Rights Commission found
that “racial minorities”
suffer most from
shutdowns and
relocations. Indeed, the
fact of a labor force
becoming increasingly
Black has played a role in
companies’ decisions to
relocate, according to
this study. In Illinois
companies moving from
central cities to suburbs
in the late 70’s,
employment of Blacks
dropped by almost 25
percent compared to 10
percent for whites.
In countries like
France there are severe
restrictions on the ability
of employers to bolt
suddenly from a
community, leaving
disarray, poverty and
unemployment in its
wake. Obviously, similar
legislation is required
Page 4
here but it won’t come as
long as both Democrats
and Republicans are
echoing the current
“party line” that there
must be reliance in the
first place on the so
called “private sector” if
the economic crisis is to
be eased. As the Illinois
study and numerous
others have
demonstrated, it is the
unbridled power of the
private sector that has
led inexorably to the
present crisis. Gregory
D. Squires of the
Midwestern regional
office of the Civil Rights
Commission has called
for more creative use of
the public sector and,
increasingly, his voice
has been joined byothers.
The Black community,
well aware that there is
more Black
representation in the
legislatures and city
halls that control the
public sector than the
Boards of Directors and
shareholders that control
the private sector, has
been in the forefront on
this issue.
Unfortunately, some
Blacks seeking to escape
from the smothering
embrace of the
Democrats have leaped
into the none too tender
arms of the GOP.
Columnist Alfreds
Madison has described
what she calls Senator
Strom Thurmond’s
“Black Kitchen
Cabinet,” consisting of
Ralph Abernathy, Hosea
Williams, Charles Evers,
George Haley (Alex’s
brother), Arthur
Fletcher, et. al. Note that
this is the same Strom
Thurmond who has called
for a repeal of the voting
Rights Act of 1965 (one of
the most signigicant
boosts for Black political
Continued on Page 5
LETTER TO THE
EDITOR
Dear Editor:
... .1 am responding to
Dr. Roger Smith’s letter
supporting The News-
Review (Jan. 3).
I am not agreeing or
disagreeing with his
statement because
freedom of speech still
stands to the be one of the
few things that we have
left.
My concern is the
attack that he is making
on the two men that are
not only “Brothers,” but
are men that are making
great contributions to the
Augusta community.
According to Dr.
Smith, Charles McCann
and George Thomas have
alreaHv been tried and
c. i. I, and he seems
to < judge, jury and
theo.Jv one who knows
TOBY BrOWn S Journnl Ronald Reagan: A Pleasant Surprise
“Blacks today are
deeply concerned about
the insensitivity, the
diminishing share of
financial support, the red
tape, and the
overregulation of the
Black Institutions of
Higher Learning by the
Carter administration’s
Department of
Education. I am
convinced that their
concern is justified. The
Carter administration
in the name of
desegregating Black
Colleges - is forcing them
to become schools for
training everybody but
Blacks.”
So spoke President-
Elect Ronald Reagan in a
statement after a
meeting with me prior to
Black College Day‘Bo, a
march and rally in
Washington, D.C. in
September of last year.
At the beginning of
President Jimmy
Carter’s last year in
office, the money
allocated to all Black
colleges had dwindled
from 5.2 percent of the
total federal education
budget under President
Ford to 4.1 percent. In
addition to dwindling
financial resources,HEW
and subsequently the
Office of Civil Rights of
the Department of
Education, were
implementing a racist
version of so-called
desegregation which
turned Black colleges
into white colleges and let
white colleges remain
white.
Suddenly, West
Virginia State, Bluefield
State, Lincoln University
in Missouri were
“desegregated” - or
predominantly White.
Savannah State College
in Georgia was
emasculated in a so
called “swap” with
nearly Armstrong State,
a white college, resulting
in the loss of one of the
best schools of education
in the country and 50
percent of its annual
graduates. Morgan was
threatened with a “sub
merger” into a new
University of Baltimore
HKI
January 20 marks the
day America changes i
Administrations; the l
White House gets a new
occupant and the nation |
new leadership. It is also 1
an appropriate time to
assess President Carter’s ]
four years of leadership.
That leadership was ]
judged and found wanting '
by the electorate late i
November, but I have a ]
feeling that history will
judge the Carter '
that they are guilty.
Further more, the 1
choice of words, that he ;
used should astound the
Black people in Augusta,
and the so-called political
and economic structure.
It’s one thing to call
names among ourselves, ;
but to let the public read 1
this in print is really
racist in reverse.
I think that if he (Dr.
Smith) enjoys trying to
destroy the image of '
Charles McCann and
George Thomas, he’s in
the wrong hospital. He
should be at the V.A. ”
Hospital (Linwood Div.)
as a patient.
Marvin E. Curry
101111th Street
and the Justice
Department sued to
force Southern
University, the largest
Black school of higher
education in the world,
and Grambling in
Louisiana, into branches
of the white state system.
Justice attacks Texas his
year.
“The plans are
unacceptable because
they blame the victims.
Separatism never has
been, and is not now, the
reason for the existence
of Black colleges.
Clearly, these schools are
not the evil the ‘Brown
Decision” sought to
eradicate. They were the
product, not the cause, of
the evil identified in
Brown— that is, the
exclusion of Black
students from white
institutions.
“How can any
governmental policy
harm Blacks more than
one which undermines
the institutions which
have prepared them to
qualify for professional
and leadership roles in an
increasingly technical
society?” Reagan asked.
More than 80 percent of
all Black colleges
graduates finished one of
these institutions.
Today, 90 black
colleges graduate as
many blacks as 1,500
white colleges. Overall,
only 30 percent of all
black college students
attend a predominantly
black college, but more
than 50 percent of the
black college graduates
comes from them. About
seven out of 10 blacks at
white colleges never
graduate. The new
President’s reaction:
“The massive support for
the black college day
movement, in response to
the policies toward black
colleges by the Carter
administration, shows
the genuine and well
placed concern of the
black community about
the survival of black
colleges. I applaud this
action by black students,
faculty, alumni,
professional
To be equal
Changing of the Guard
By Vernon E. Jordan, Jr.
Administration more
favorably than fdid its
contemporaries.
Burdened by the
pressing problems of the
day, people tend to bwme
the Administration in
power. Separated from
those day-to-day
problems by the distance
lent by time, we tend to
see the broad outlines of
policies better.
By and large, the
Carter Administration
accomplished much. It
presided over four years
of peace, in itself an
accomplishment in this
trouble world. In the
Middle East, it helped
Israel and Egypt to bury
their long enmity.
However imperfectly
implemented, ihs human
rights policies saved
countless lives and
brought a measure of
morality to the
international scene.
And the Carter team
can be especially proud of
its success in improving
America’s relations with
the Third World, and
especially with the closer
ties with mineral-rich
Black Africa. A major
accomplishment was
helping to bring
independence and
organizations, churches
and grassroots
community leaders.”
Over 30,000 people
showed up and more than
90 colleges were
represented.
However, Ronald
Reagan’s commitment to
black colleges may be the
most pleasant surprise of
1981: “I pledge to work to
increase the share of the
Title 111 budget allocated
to black colleges. I will
work to encourage the
private sector,
corporations, foundations
and private
philanthropists to
continue - even increase -
- their aid to black
colleges.”
But we’ve all heard
political rhetoric before.
The opportunity to raise
this issue again arouse in
late December when
Edwin Meese 111,
Reagan’s chief White
House advisor shared a
panel with me in San
Francisco. I reminded
the audience of incoming
President Ronald
Reagan’s commitment.
Meese followed me later
and in language as strong
as mine left no doubt
where the Reagan
Administration stands on
this issue.
The man closest to
President-Elect Reagan
said they would live up to
the promise to provide
financial support for
Black colleges and would
stop any “zealous
demons” at the
department of education
who would try to stop
such help.
Reagan said, “The
plight of our black
colleges remind us all of
the unfinished work of
bringing all
disadvantaged groups
into the mainstream of
America. These colleges
exemplify the truly
American concept of
self-help for those who
choose to work and study
in them. This is the
message of Black College
Day. I support it, I
applaud it, and if I am
elected President, I won’t
forgetit.”
majority rule to
Zimbabwe.
The domestic
situation was plagued by
inflation and
unemployment. The
President took the
orthodox route to deal
with inflation - slowing
down the economy and
taking a recession that is
still with us.
That was a mistake,
politically and
economically. It probably
cost Mr. Carter re
election, while leaving
inflation essentially
unchanged and millions
out of work.
But even here,
President Carter
governed with a
compassionate concern
for the economy’s
victims. He greatly
expanded public service
jobs and fought to urban
aid, food stamps, and
other measures that
would relieve the
economy’s impact on the
poor.
On civil rights, Mr.
Carter will go down in
history as a leader who
cared, a man who
demonstrated in his
public and his private life
that he believes in racial
equality and in the
Getting Smart
BY WALTER L. SMART
Many minority
citizens have expressed
concern as to whether we
will lose hard won gains
relative to civil rights
with the Reagan
Administration. Even
though, President- elect
Reagan has indicated
that blacks have no need
to fear his
Administration, the horns
of forebodings still
resound - .
One of the major
reasons for blacks
uneasiness emanates
from the increased
number of conservative
Senators and
Representatives in
Congress. Blacks will
have to be careful not to
confuse conservatism
with racism, although at
times such distinction
may be difficult to
discern.
Senator Jess Helms,
a conservative
Republican of Nort aais
an outspoken foe of
affirmative action,
busing, voting rights act
and other legislation and
policies that minorities
feel are necessary to
sustain their current
status quo and to continue
the struggle for equality
in the American system.
Sen. Helms and his
supporters were
narrowly defeated in
their efforts to block the
federal government from
entering cases involving
litigation to enforce
busing. Even after his
loss, Sen. Helms warned
with new found vigor that
the fight would be
BLACK FOLKS IN AMERICAN CIVILIZATION
The End of 1980
By Howard J. Jones
Nineteen-eighty is
about to come to a close.
Some are probably
saying thank God. “I
thought it would never
end.” Unfortunately
many of the things
started in this decade are
not ending. During 1980,
we saw a new birth of the
Ku klux Klan. It seemed
to have been revived with
new energy. Some of us
have probably sworned, I
hope, it will never roll
back the years to the way
it used to be.
We saw busing being
attacked in the courts,
the legislative halls,
executive chambers, and
even on buses where
students were being
bussed. Yea, some of us
do not want our children
taken out of the
neighborhood to receive
an education, but it is
seemingly OK if black
children are taken out of
the neighborhood to sit
next to a white youngster,
or a white kid is bussed to
sit next to only white
students, but there is
something very wrong if
white kids are taking
from their neighborhood
to sit in a predominantly
black cjass.
When we looked at
the courts, we saw all
white juries deciding the
fate of black men in rape
trials where white women
were supposedly raped.
The communities where
these juries sat were not
all white. But there
seeming were a serious
lack of qualified and non
orejudicious blacks.
Sometimes these juries
were deciding the fate of
black men who were
accused of killing
“innocent” white men.
One wonders if we are
returning to the day when
One of his last acts in
office was a courageous
veto of a money bill that
contained an anti-busing
amendment. He fought
for putting teeth in the
fair housing law and
presided over the most
resumed after the new
Congress convenes in
January.
There is no reason to
despair. But, there is all
the more reason to be
alert and aware of what’s
going on. Blacks should
lend their efforts to other
groups in their
communities and beyond,
who will be working to
maintain the gains which
have been won. These
gains, won all too often by
deaths of many valiant
men and women of both
races, are too precious to
be allowed to wither in
the ashes of apathy and
lethargy.
One must move into
the *Bo’s with a
determination for
increased personal
striving and
development. Great
gains must be made
during this period
through individual
commitment to
education, training and
employment. Agencies
like settlements and
neighborhood centers
must and will be
providing innovative
support services that will
have a greater impact on
economic and social
problems. But no
program can supplant
and or be a substitute for
personal commitment,
personal strivings and
personal development.
The outlook will be
grim only if black and
other minorities continue
to look for sal. vation
outside of their own
resources.
only whites will be called
for jury duty.
We read about whites
preparing themselves for
the day of the
Armageddon--when
whites and blacks will
fight tooth and nail over
the control of this country
of Ours. Do we really
forsee that happening?
Camp Puller is not the
only one. There are
places all over this
country where such is
taking place.
Unfortunately, we-
We have our minds on
boogeying and have
radios up to our ears and
could care less about
tomorrow.
We are losing jobs
mighty fast. Our country
is going deeper and
deeper into a recession
while we are going
deeper and deeper into
debt. We had better wake
up to what is happening
around us. When will we
realize that there is
meaning to the old adage
about the last hired and
the first fired. How do we
expect to financially
support our family
without a job?
Finally, we elected a
president. He is a
Republican. We voted
Democratically. He does
not owe us a thing! Os
course Jimmy Carter
didn’t give us a thing. The
jury is still out on Ronald
Reagan. He appointed a
black man to his cabinet,
but please do not let that
fool you.
If we are going to
make 1981 better than
1980 we will have to
remember only we can
save us. Let us
individually decide to do
whatever-whatever—is
necessary to make life a
little bit better for all of
us.
government’s duty to
defend the rights of
minorities.