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The Augusta News - Review January 5,1985
Mallory K. MillenderEditor-Publisher
Paul Walker Assistant to the Publisher
Georgene Hatcher-Seabrook. General Manager
Rev. R.E Donaldsoi Religion Editor
Mrs. Geneva Y. Gibson Church Coordinate;
Charles Beale Jenkins County Correspondent
Mrs. Fannie Johnson Aiken County Correspondent
Mrs. Clara WestMcDuffie County Correspondent
Mrs. Been Buchanan Fashion & Beauty Editor
Linda Starks AndrewsC . .
Roosevelt Green Columnist
Al i r byColumnist
Philip Waring-Columnist
Marva Stewart.... Columnist
George Bailey....,Sports Writer
Carl McCoyEditorial Cartoonist
Oiando Hamlett Photographer
Roscoe Williams Photographer
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Blacks value life
EDITOR’S NOTE: This
statement on “Abortion and Black
Values” was released recently as
part of the American Catholic
Black Bishops’ First Pastoral Let
ter entitled “What We Have Seen
and Heard.” The 10 bishops who
met in Cleveland, Ohio on the
Feast of St. Petet Claver have
released a document which accor
ding to the Diocese of Cleveland
“encourages Black Catholics to
share their Faith as others both
white and Black have share their
faith with them over the centureis.
Today the Black family is
assailed on all sides. Much has
been said by others about the
economic plight of the Black
family. We would like to add a
word regarding the moral aspect of
this plight.
The acceptance of abortion by
many as a common procedure and
even as a right is a reality not only
in our American society as a
whole, but, also within the Black
community.
And yet life, and especially new
life within the mother, has always
been of value to Africans and to
African Americans.
Historically, even children con
ceived outside of marriage were
cherished and given a place in the
extended family.
Black cultural tradition has
always valued life and the mystery
of its transmission and growth.
Are American comic strips a
white only haven?
As Black Americans watch their
civil rights leadership titillate the
Nation’s media with their public
demonstrations against the Apar
theid Nation of South Africa, they
must hope that these efforts do not
send out the wrong signal about
the future course of the current
Black American socioeconomic
struggle.
Every American Black should
feel compassion for their Arican
kindred, but the black American
socioeconomic battle can ill-afford
to suffer a leadership crisis at its
current critical juncture. I believe
there are some seemingly small
but unnoticed issues at home that
should also be factored into any
major media blitz by the National
civil rights leadership.
My two younger children have
reached the age where they find
reading newspaper comic strips
fun. Their interest has evolved in
to spending their allowance for
books on such characters as “The
Wizard of ID”, “Garfield,” and
so on. However, I am appalled
that these comic strips have been
permitted to remain a white
bastion. I think that many Black
children may be using these comics
as a basis for value development
during their critical formative
years.
Harold H. Kassarjian, in an ar
ticle entitled, “Male and Female in
the Funnies: A Content
Analysis,” substantiates the slow
rate of social progress in the fun
nies. He reports, “...In 1959, 87
percent of the characters were
American and of Anglo-Saxon
heritage...some change did occur
in the following two decades, with
the number of Anglo-Americans
dropping to 71 percent.”
However, Mr. Kassarjian points
out that American minorities
remained an insignificant percen
tage of the comic strip characters
over the same 20 years. He gave
only two comic strips with black
characters: Donnesbury (1976)
Page 4
Children have always been for us
a sign of hope.
The loss of this perspective is a
cultural and spiritual impoverish
ment for us as a people.
From our point of vies as
Catholics and as Black people, we
see the efforts made “to provide”
low-cost abortions as another form
of subjugation. Indeed there are
those who would even characterize
it as a form of genocide.
As a people of faith, it is our
task to fight for the right of life of
all of our children and in all cir
cumstances of their existence.
It is our duty to reassert the gift
of our traditional African-
American values of family and
children to our own people and to
our society as a whole.
It is equally our duty, however,
to those practical concern and
honest compassion for the many
mothers-to-be who are too often
encouraged to seek an abortion by
the conventional wisdom of our
society today.
Finally, we add this unfortunate
observation: If society truly
valued our children and our
mothers —mothers who have
already made a choice for life —
they would have day care centers,
good schools and all else that a just
society should offer its people.
Sadly we observe that if abor
tion were abolished tomorrow, the
same disastrous ills would plague
our Black mothers and children.
and Beetle Bailey (1979).
Mr. Kassarjian’s article does of
fer a performance review for the
black civil rights leadership. He
writes, “With the changes that
have occurred in American society
since 1959, one surely could have
expected that greater numbers of
Blacks and other minorities would
appear in the comics, but that did
not happen.”
I believe the symbolism that the
Black leadership is attempting to
gain from its current anti-apar
theid push will be lost at home if
they fail to show progress on win
ning the Black American
socioeconomic struggle. One
might read their present leadership
thrust like a good marketing
manager who gets an ill-fated
promotion to perhaps president of
a corporation but lacks the
necessary skills to successfully per
form the job. This president may
still find the marketing job very
rewarding so he abdicates some of
his presidental duties in favor of
having fun. This shirking of the
presidential responsibilities health
of the corporation.
The above scenario is an inten
ded signal that the National Black
leadership is sending out when they
rush out to exploit the demon
stration tactics of the 1960 s to con
front the overt issue of apartheid
because it is easy and fun to attack.
The current Black leadership must
have the guts to bring forth those
persons with the 1980 s
socioeconomic parity skills so that
Black Americans can evolve into
the economic mainstream.
If Black American leaders really
want their youth to stand up and
be proud, they must accept the
challenge of making sure that the
cartoons in the maninstream media
are indicative of the current social
state in the United States. They
might also recommend that the
National Media carry more ethnic
cartoon characters and run car
toon strips by Black artists.
HI I I
„ J J AFRICA d
( 1 »
BUCK RKouracSS INC. WHISTLING DIXIE
Walking With Dignity
Beverly Hills Cop—a real crowd pleaser
“Beverly Hills Cop” is a movie
about blatant contrasts-between
Black and white, rich and poor,
111
rules and in
stincts, inner
city and sunny
coast. Its story
is ordinary
stuff, but with
all those over
tones and un
dercurrents, there’s
plenty to keep your attention.
The picture begins not with airy
shots of California comfort, but
gritty views of down-and-out
Detroit neighborhoods, where
Axel (played, by Eddie Murphy) is
a street-wise, foul-mouthed
policeman with methods too ram
bunctious for his own department
to put up with.
Loyal to a fault, he’s delighted
when an old pal visits from out
West, even if the friend is mixed up
in some crooked scheme. When the
visitor is killed by a fellow
hoodlum, Axel heads for Beverly
Hills to track the culprit
down—angering not just the un
derworld, but the police in both
cities, who don’t like his theory
that the best sleuthing comes from
gut feelings, not rulebook
procedures.
To Be Equal
Making 1985 a better year
By John E. Jacob
Racial polarization and growing
alienation are part of the heritage
of the national withdrawal from
11*1
K
tackling Amer
ica’s social and
economic ine
quities. The.
atmosphere has
become more
strained over
the past four
years because
of higher Black poverty levels and
by the perception that the Ad
ministration doesn’t care about
Black hopes and aspirations.
That perception has been
challenged by key figures in the
Administration. Eut in the absence
of policies that draw Blacks into
the mainstream and demonstrate
fairness to all, those disclaimers
have not made headway.
So 1985 looms as a crucial year.
It can be a significantly better year
for Black Americans if the
President firmly decides that he
will take steps to convince Black
citizens that their perception of his
Administration should be
changed.
This can be done even without
the massive job programs and im
proved social welfare programs are
at the top of the Black agenda and
which must be implemented if
Blacks are to have the oppor
tunities to make it into the main-
This plot packs few surprises,
and the supporting characters are
familiar types; a wealthy art dealer
with shady connections, a high
spirited young woman who helps
Axel, a fresh-faced California cop
who learns from him. Also
familiar are Murphy’s four-letter
outbursts, which come so constan
tly that even a fellow policeman
complains. (The rating is R,
reflecting this language and several
violent scenes.)
What makes the movie soar at
times-and will surely make it a
winner at the box office—are the
ironic confrontations between
freewheeling, freeswinging Axel
and the button-down Beverly Hills
world that he invades. Without
much overplaying, Murphy brings
out endless incongruities in this
situation, savoring Axel’s sassy
responses to the uptight attitudes
he finds at every turn in a very
white, very correct, very privileged
domain with few similarities to his
own funky background.
Carefully blended with the slim
plot, the built-in contradictions
between Axel and “The Coast”
allow him to grow into one of the
most engaging characters in recent
memory—a rescourceful and in
tuitive good guy whose ethics come
stream.
For starters, the President could
lay down the law to his Ad
ministration’s officials that they
cool the rhetoric. Some top of
ficials have made ill-tempered at
tacks on Black leaders who reflect
the opinins of their constituents.
Others have been polarizing in
fluences through their refusal to
enforce civl rights laws.
Another positive would be for
the White House to open channels
of communication with Blacks.
This is the first Administration in
memory in which the President
and his key advisors do not have
regular contacts with represen
tative Black leadership.
Still another step would be to
pass enterprise zones legislation,
a worthwhile experiment that
should be tried. Although the Ad
ministration first floated the idea,
it has not fought for it as strongly
as it fights for cuts in social
programs.
Perhaps the most positive step
the President could fight for right
now is elimination of taxation of
poor people. Many of the working
poor pay higher taxes than the aff
luent who benefitted from the
Administration’s tax cuts.
The Treasury’s new tax reform
plan would do away with taxes on
the poor. Whatever the merits of
the rest of the plan, this feature
should be made the centerpiece of
from the heart rather than a
memorized code, and whose scruf
fy manner conceals more good
sense than all the natty suits and
computer banks of his befuddled
Beverly Hills counterparts. He’s a
people’s hero all the way, running
circles around friends and foes
alike, and it would be hard not to
like him.
“Beverly Hill Cop” was directed
by Martin Brest, who gave us the
delicate “Going in Style” five
years ago and the weird but in
delible “Hot Tomorrows” before
that. His career went into eclipse
when he was fired from the
production of “War Games” after
investing much time and energy in
it, and it’s nice to see him bounce
back with a large-scale picture that
reflects the same values as his
earlier, more intimate films; strong
characters, a vivid sense of
location, and a keen awareness of
how funny and sad it is to find
yourself a fish out of water with no
clear idea of what’s going to hap
pen next.
“Beverly Hills Cop” is an action
movie and an Eddie Murphy
vehicle first, but Brest’s dramatic
intelligence surfaces often enough
to make a welcome difference in
what could have been an ordinary
crowd-pleaser.
the Administration’s economic
program in 1985.
A related step would be to
restore planned cuts in social
programs. They have already been
cut far more than is fair or
reasonable and unless the
President leaves these programs
untouched in the budget process he
can never win even a minimum of
Black support.
A reappraisal of U.S. policy
toward South Africa would also
help change perceptions. The Ad
ministration’s friendship with a
racist regime whose policies offend
the moral sensibilities of the
civilized world, should change to a
tougher attitude toward South
Africa, with sanctions that punish
its inhuman behavior.
Finally, the Administration has
shown little interest in working
closely with the voluntary sector. I
suggest the President convene a
White House conference of agen
cies that deal with America’s
jobless, homeless and hungry to
determine how current federal
programs can be improved
through closer partnership with the
voluntary sector.
If the President follows through
on these suggestions he can win the
respect of those who disagree with
his broad policies, while ensuring
that 1985 is a year that defuses the
dangerous polarization in our
land.
Civil Rights Journal
India —a toxic
catastrophe
By Charles E. Cobb
“How can we live in the shadow
of death?” asked a student from
Bhopal, India in the aftermath of
■
the massive
leak of highly
toxic methyl
isocyante gas
from a Union
Carbide insec
ticide plant.
With over 2000
people dead
and 50,000 permanently injured,
this now ranks as the worst toxic
industrial chemical accident in
history.
It is no accident that this disaster
took place in one of the most im
poverished communities in the
world. Nor is it a coincidence that
the only other Union Carbide plant
producing methyl isocyante is
located in Institute, West
Virginia—a community which is
over 80 percent Black.
As we have become painfuly
aware since initiating our Special
Project On Action Against Toxic
Pollution In Poor Communities,
corporations involved in the
production and disposal of hazar
dous materials are able to take ad
vantage of the political
powerlesness of poor and minority
citizens. A recent study by the U.S.
Government Accounting Office
found that 3 out of 4 toxic waste
landfills were located in
predominatly Black and poor
communities.
In a very real way, all of us live
under the “shadow of death”
from toxic materials. Union Car
bide’s plant in West Virginia was
immediately shut down after the
incident.
Needless to say, workers and
residents there are apprehensive.
How true are Union Carbide’s
claims of safety if it was recently
fined $50,000 by the state for
illegally burning hazardous
wastes?
A Congressional subcommittee
last week began investigating the
possibility of a similiar disaster at
the West Virginia plant.
Congressman Henry Waxman (D-
Calif.), chairman of the Subcom
mittee on Health and Enviorment,
cited a 1981 report from Union
Carbide in which they admitted to
periodic leaks of methyl isocyante
and other chemicals. Studies have
shown cancer rates to be twice the
national average in some areas
near the plant.
The Bhopalo catastrophe could
take place almost anywhere in the
United States. Just last month, a
methyl isocyanate leak forced the
evacuation of 600 school children!
in Middletown, New York.
Toxic emissions, too, take place
with disturbing frequency. For
example, when the United Church
of Christ Commission for Racial
Justice was in Sumter County,
Alabama, -an acid cloud was
released from the nation’s largest
hazardous waste landfill located
there.
Sumter County has a population
that is 69 percent Black. Due to lack
of proper inspections and enfor
cement by the governmental agen
cies, we simply cannot know where
such accidents may occur next.
The Bhopal catastrophe reminds
us of many incidents which could
have led to loss of lives. The recent
sinking of a ship containing
uranium off the Belgium coast
could have caused damage sur
passing that of Bhopal. Three Mile
Island will forever remain as an
example not only of what hap
pened, but of what could have
happened.
Similiarly, the 1983 gasoline
storage tank explosion and fire in a
Newark, New Jersey was minutes
away from becoming a chain ex
plosion in a heavily populated
metropolitan area.
How and why the Bhopal
took place are
questions a judicial commission is
now trying to answer. In addition
to the operatin of the plant, atten
tion should be focused on the in
ternational abuse of toxic substan
ces..
Multinational corporations have
made it a standard practice to ex
port the production, sale and
disposal of hazardous substances
to underdeveloped Third World
countries. Many of these substan
ces, including pesticides, havb been
outlawed in the US but are
produced overseas by American
based companies.
Indeed, there are many
questions which must be answered
in this tragedy. However, the
needless death and suffering of
thousands is a clear indictment of
See Catastrophe, Page 2