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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.