Newspaper Page Text
The Augusta News-Review October 27,1984
Mallory K. MillertderEditor-Publisher
Paul Walker Assistant to the Publisher
Georgene Hatcher-Seabrook X»«neral Manager
Rev. R.E. Donaldson Religion Editor
Mrs. Geneva Y. Gibson Church Coordinator
Charles Beale Jenkins County Correspondent
Mrs. Fannie Johnson Aiken County Correspondent
Mrs. Clara WestMcDuffie County Correspondent
Mrs. Been Buchanan Fashion & Beauty Editor
Linda Starks Andrews... Columnist
Roosevelt Green Columnist
Al IrbyCo umnist
Philip Waring.Co umnist
Marva Stewart Columnist
George Bailey....,Sports Writer
Carl McCov Editorial Cartoonist
Sindo Hamlett...... Photographer
Roscoe Williams Photographer
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PUBLISHERS. INC. W-
Black leverage
in the 1980’s
by Sherman N. Miller
With opinion polls forcasting
four more years for President
Ronald Reagan, I have asked
myself, “Will Mr. Reagan’s vic
tory leave the Black community
still lamenting the return of the
good old days of the Super
Liberals?”
Mr. Reagan’s imminent victory
makes me hurt all over for Black
America’s plight when I see the
Black leadership adamantly
refusing to have a positive working
relationship with the Regan Ad
ministration.
However, I am getting a little
solace from a Black group in the
State of Delaware called, “Con
cerned Americans for Political Ac
tion (CAPA).” This group has a
stated goal to obtain Black
political leverage in the second
term Reagan Administration.
CAPA’s strategy is to present
the Black commuity’s needs from a
positive atmosphere to the Reagan
Adminsitration in return for their
openly supporting the President’s
re-election effort.
These Delewareans argue that
Republicans have occupied the
White House for 20 of the last 32
years and Mr. Reagan’s victory
appears imminent.
They contend that Black
America must pursue socio
economic parity from a very
pragmatic footing and not be blin
ded by emotions.
They also feel that the past
methods of presenting the Black
community agenda from a hostile
enviornment to Republican Ad
ministrations has left this com
munity in the cold 60-plus percent
of thetime since 1952.
One might be quick to condem
CAPA’s motives as merely a
Repulican ploy until they learn
the make-up of its membership.
White women
no guarantee
by Gus Savage
A concept, which foi the better
part of two decades had been con
sidered one
the eternal
truths, badly
need
evaluation,
pecially byWW .
Black citizens.
A concept, My
which for the BH I
better part of two decades
had been considered one of me
eternal truths, is badly in need of
evaluation, especially by Black
The concept which has so per
meated the American con
sciousness goes something like
this: American women represent a
major minority; therefore, to ex
tend equality and equity to white
women is to guarantee that these
benefits eventually will be received
by all other minorities.
This type of thinking has un
dergirded the female drive for
ascendency in the job market and
in sports and has been instrumen
tal in delivering a psychological
blow to the double standard in
social and sexual arenas.
My congressional colleague,
Rep. Geraldine Ferraro, has ridden
this tidal wave into my party’s
nomination for the vice-presidency
of the United States.
In away, the forward thrust of
white women represents progress
for all in that, philosophically at
least, when the line of equality are
Page 4
This group is comprised of people
from many segments of the Black
community.
Some people live in public
housing. Some belong to unions.
Some are professionals. And some
are Black Hispanics. Many belong
to both the Democratic and
Republican parties. There are also
some Independents. CAPA’s rolls
have one hundred-plus member.s
When I studied the efforts of
CAPA, I saw the budding of the
Two-Party System for Black
America. The horror of a single
party system for Blacks haunted
me greatly when I watched Rev.
Jesse Jackson put forth a gallant
effort for the Presidency only to be
caught with no real political
brokering power once the
Democratic primaries were over.
Mondale could merely tell Rev.
Jackson that he had only two op
tions: to support the Mondale-
Ferroro ticket or to stay home.
I have always thought of
America as the land of
achievement with a people hell
on being identified with success. I
am perplexed to hear many Blacks
tell me that they would rather
waste their vote on the losing can
didancy of Mondale rather than
buy some Black political leverage
for tomorrow.
Wouldn’t it be great if Blacks
could make both parties strive for
their votes.
I guess that since Deleware
claims to be the First State, it is fit
ting that they play a leading role in
opening the doors to Republican
Administrations to the Blacks
community.
Black America must hope that
CAPA will accept the respon
sibility for challenging the Reagan
Administration on issues of impor
tance to the Black community.
extended, everybody’s opportunity
to take a step in the right direction
is enhanced. However, in other
and more realistic ways, progress
has been limited to one group
white women.
It is they who receive the lion’s
share of specific benefits. More
than that: in some cases progress
on the part of white women has
directly resulted in lost oppor
tunities for advancement by Black
men, thereby fanning already hot
flames of animosity between white
and Black women.
So before we applaud too loudly
over the nomination of Rep.
Ferraro and label it an automatic
step forward, let us take a look at a
few facts.
The tendency to classify white
women as a minority in need of
special treatment is in error. White
women are neither a numerical nor
a social minority in our country.
I admit that white women are
wrongly denied equal rights in
some circumstances, but the over
whelming majority of them are the
mothers, wives, sisters and
daughters of the ruling white male
majority and as such receive all of
the privileges to which this ruling
clique is heir.
It has neither been proven that
white women in power are more
compassionate than white men,
nor has it been proven they are
more liberal and progressive in
their outlook and actions than
white males in the power structure.
See White women Page 2
To Be Equal
The duty to vote
by John E. Jacob
As the presidential election
campaign goes into its final days,
the Black community and its
community-based organizations
are gearing up
for a massive V
at the
The impor- .
tance of ;• fc
voting, especi
ally for
minority citi-
zens, transcends party loyalties or
presidential preferences. The
Black votes are important, regar
dless which candidate wins it. The
democratic process is more than a
horse race between two candidates
the effect of high registration
and voting rates leaves its mark on
the process and on both parties.
On a most elementary basis,
voting is an affirmation of a per
son’s rights. By voting an in
dividual makes a statement about
himself and about his society-a
statement that says “I have rights,
know my rights, and will exercise
them.”
It is especially important for
Black voters to take this stand
because the right to vote was
bought dearly with the blood of
countless martyrs who sacrificed
so that the Constitution and the
precious right to vote could be ex
tended to all citizens.
And we can’t forget that there
are plenty of people who would
love to take that right away from
us. Not by repealing the con
stitutional guarantees they
know they can’t do that. But by
subverting the laws, by making
Black registration difficult, and by
manipulating the rules to make
Black exclusion easier.
Beyond the rights aspect, Black
interests depend on a large tur
nout. Part of the rason Black
neighborhoods have been neglec
ted and Black interests ignored is
Going places
Bishop Tutu makes history
by Philip Waring
History was made recently when
Angelican Bishop Desmond Tutu
won the Nobel Peace Award. And
this helped
throw hun
dreds of
national and
international
features and
spotlights on
the cruel and
unfair con
ditions in South Africa.
No longer can the apologists
maintain “no this is not so.”
Western civilization recognized
these conditions and subjected
several penalities in sports nad
other fields on this white
supremacy evil empire.
Bishop Tutu has now been
solidly projected into international
history as his nation’s non-violent
hero. He is South Africa’s Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. He’s
already agreed to donate his award
funds for a new scholarship foun
dation for poor South African
youth.
LOCAL FORUM ON SOUTH
AFRICA Some three weeks ago
a unique public forum on South
Africa was held at the historic
Williams Memorial CME Church,
participants included Philip Kent,
because the Black voter turnout is
often far lower than the turnout
for whites.
In 1980, Black voting was ten
percentage points lower than the
white race. A recent poll by the
Joint Center for Political Studies
finds that 61 percent of whites, but
only 55 percent of Blacks say they
will definitely vote on Election
Day. That number has to be raised
if Blacks are to be in a position to
influence the political process.
The spotlight on the presidential
election tends to obscure the fact
that more is at stake on Election
Day than simply choosing the next
occupant of the Oval Office.
A host of state and local offices,
Congressional and Senate seats are
at stake. Whatever the outcome of
the race for president, these of
ficials also make decisions that af
fect our lives, from tax laws and
social security benefit levels to
street lighting and filling in pot
holes.
Even the 1980 presidential elec
tion was decided by a bare handful
of voters, comapred to the many
who stayed home. In many states,
Black non-voters could have
changed the results had they
bothered to exercise their right to
vote.
A barrier to voting is often the
defeatism of the poor who feel
they have no stake in the society
and no responsibility to vote. In
1980 over three-fourths of people
earning over $25,000 voted, but
less than two out of five earning
less than $5,000 voted.
But the poor have amajor stake
in making the system more respon
sive to their need for jobs, training
and opportunities. And the way to
advance their interests is by voting
for the candidates most likely to
help achieve their goals.
Black citizens have to make
sure, not only that they and their
families vote on Election Day, but
that their friends and neighbors
editorial director of the Augusta
Chronicle-Herald, Dr. Louis
Greenstein, professor of history
and development director at Paine
College, A.K. Hasan, board of
education president, who did an
excellent job of moderating,
coupled with out of town represen
tatives from South Africa, Yale
University and other cities. It was
an excellent and informative
program.
It was put together by the Com
mittee of Concerned Citizens
which was represented by com
munity activist Wilber Allen and
the social concerns committee of
the Williams Memorial church
headed by Mrs. Kingsley Riley,
board of education member.
It is good to note that this gourp
may organize a local committee to
work in support of the aforemen
tined South African situation
thereby joining up with scores of
such groups which I understand
are active in other cities around
our nation.
BRAVO DR. GREENSTEIN
It was Dr. Greenstein, however
who captured the prose for the fir
st section of this forum. He has
worked in various parts of Africa
and was once able to get into South
Africa as an observer. Louis stood
vote as well. Voting is everybody’s
responsibility. Not voting,
especially in this crucial election, is
a betrayal of self-interest and of
our hopes for a better world.
112
Ten percent of all registered
Black voters and more than one
fourth (26 percent) of all young
Black voters between the ages of 18
and 24 have registered since
January 1984, according to a
national survey whose results were
released today by the National Ur
ban League.
These findings, according to the
NUL, reflect the effectiveness of
the various registration campaigns
that have been conducted in
various communities across the
countrya s well as the increasing in
terest in the political system that
has been fostered among Blacks.
One thousand individuals were
interviewed for the survey which
was conducted for the NUL by
EVAXX, Inc., a Black owned New
York City based evaluation grouo
using the polishing mechanism of
the National Black Omnibus.
Among other findings was that
the percentage of registered Blacks
has increased from 75 percent in
1981 to a current level of 79 per
cent.
The survey also reported that
when non-registered Blacks were
asked why they did not vote, 14
percent said “I’m not eligible”;
and 12 percent siad “I don’t really
understand enough about the
voting process to get involved.”
Another 7 percent found it too
difficult to get to the polls; 5 per
cent reported the attitude that
voting is “somebodys else’s
game,” and 3 percent said they
had stopped trying to vote because
of past problems connected with
voting. Some 48 percent listed
“some other reason,” but did not
specify the reason.
The survey is subject to a 5 per
cent margin for error.
flat footed and for fifteen minutes
brought to us am excellent sum
mary of the history of South
Africa.
I mean its 300-odd years from
the landing of the Dutch at the
Cape of Good Hope to the present.
Mos persons there praised him for
calmly but interestingly putting all
the pieces together. He really set
the pace for the evening.
There were many spirited and
lively questions from the floor
largely directed towards Mr. Kent
who was over the years maintained
a special interest and sympathy for
the government of South Africa
and its lifestyles.
It was Dr. Greenstein, however,
who was able to interject names,
historic dates, social and economic
process, change of the ethnic direc
tion, wars, governmental changes,
etd. into the overall discussion. Dr.
and Mrs? Greenstein are now in
their second year at Paine College
and both have made a pleasant and
positive contribution to the
academic life of our community.
Yes, the selection of Bishop
Tutu should give added life to
American religious, educational
and civic groups to support
freedom and democracy for the 18
million Blacks in South Africa...
Walking with dignity
Demos
on the
attack
by Al Irby
Decisive action by Walter Mon
dale apparently has brought the
good Rev. Jackson into his fold as
a working supporter of the Mon
dale-Ferraro BP r
Democratic
Party ticket for
president as a ■
first step to ' mm* ■
revive sagging
Black interest I
in the Mondale | ;
campaign.
Many Black voters have express
ed disinterest in the Mondale cam
paign since last July’s Democratic
National Convention.
Restless, newly registered
“Rainbow-Coalition” backers of
Mr. Jackson say the Mondale-
Ferraro campaign organization has
“neglected” both Jackson, who
ran third in the Democratic
primaries, and “Black-issues.”
Such Black leaders as Mayor
Andrew Young of Atlanta have
labeled the Mondale drive “insen
sitive to the hopes of • Black
people.” Mr. Mondale made his
key move Sept. 29 when he broke
his schedule to fly from Atlanta
with Jackson to make a surprise
appearance before 3,000 diners at
the closing banquet of the 14th
Congressional Black Caucus
Weekend in the nation’s capital.
The Democratic presidential
candidate made a positive im
pression on an audience that was
honoring Rev. Jackson as recipient
of the Adam Clayton Powell
Award, bestowed by the nation’s
21 Black members of Congress.
Since that meeting Jackson,
showing the spark of his fiery
primary campaign, has spoken out
strongly for Mondale. “I support
Mondale because he supports
social justice,” Jackson told a
campus audience at the Memphis
State University field house Oct. 4.
He shared the platform with
Democratic vice-presidential can
didate Geraldine Ferraro, who has
since appeared with other Black
leaders as she tours the South.
Rev. Jackson also aroused
audiences at a sl-a-plate bean sup
per in Houston Oct. 2, and at
various stops in Mississippi. These
appearances contrasted with the
lukewarm backing, the country
preacher, had delivered since the
party convention. He was em
phasizing Black support of local
and state candidates, mentioning
Mondale only once or twice in his
speeches.
The Democratic National
Committee also took steps to
recover waning Black support,
publishing a guide (“Blacks and
Democratic Politics”) and holding
a briefing session for Black cam
paign workers.
Key Black leaders in the Mon
dale-Ferraro campaign among
them Mayor Andrew Young of
Atlanta; Maynard Jackson, for
mer mayor of Atlanta; US Rep.
Charles Rangel of New York, and
Ernie Green of the Jackson cam
paign gave pep talks to 1500
Black workers from around the
nation Sept. 29.
They assured them that Mondale
can win “in spite of what the polls
say.” Larry Little, a city aiderman
in Winsston-Salem, N.C., is the
kind of person whose support the
Democrats are trying to solidify.
He says, “The (Democratic Party)
convention disappointed me as a
Blackperson. It gave other special
groups women, Hispanics, the
Hart people something. It left
us Blacks out.”
The pace of Black voter
registration has slowed drastically
in most heavy-populated Black
communities. Take North
Carolina for instance, prior to the
North Carolina presidential
primary in May the number of
Blacks registered int he state
skyrocketed. Since July, the Black
registration statewide is shamefull,
says Mr. Little.
Black support w jn rally behind
Mondale, asserts George Dsalley,
deputy campaign manager for
issues development, the highest
ranking Black in the original Mon
dale organization. “Our basic
problem is to get rid of the
defeatist attitude, ” he says, ad
ding that, .with the renewed activity
of Jackson and other leading
Democrats recently, “everything
looks brighter to me.” Yes, just to
him.