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Jessye Norman to perform in Augusta Page 1 Amuwtu •Nnufi-Iteutw VOLUME 14 NUMBER 33 The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. by Dr. Richard Mordi Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. belonged to that category of heroes about whom it is impossible to write without personalizing your account because he practically left no one untouched. He spoke not only to the majority and minority groups in American society, but to the wider world as well. The upper and middle classes of American society (preponderantly Caucasians) have a dispropor tionately large input in the legislative process that shape the laws of this land. To them, King left a moral message: they (the majority group) must not disassociate them selves from the unpleasant out comes of the prevailing laws to level, for instance, the problem of inadequate urban housing, ob stacles to equal access to career jobs and a skewed judicial system on the victim« of these conditions,he manitained, was morally dishonest. Without moral reformation among the power holders, true justice would remain an illusion and there would be neither domestic racial harmony nor respect for America abroad. To Black America, the thrust of King’s message is threefold. First, the youths and everyone alike should be prepared to take advan tage of the opportunities opened up by the civil rights’ successes. In a .speech on “Remaining Awake Through A Revolution,” King noted the improving fortunes (though slowly) of Black Americans. Doors closed to earlier generations were now opening. But people were intellectually, emotionally and phsycially un prepared for the new oppor tunities. The midnight oil was not being burnt by students in their quest for academic excellence. Jackson announces plans for protest on Inauguration Day WASHINGTON The Rev. Jesse Jackson says he is organizing nationwide protests against unem ployment and povert., including a rally outside the White House two days before President Reagan takes his second oath of office. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ " c: • ■ s' ■ afc* ■i ■ T ■- ’ 1 ■a -- ■. **“s*?)? -st' ■ . .. ■ - ' . ’S ■ ' .. S-5 - .. . ■ - ■ « - -- * ’# «■“ -#«vs x'fiyllSfe ■ ■ ' f*' , ’ i 1 M ° . *-. ;■> • . , ' U4C;’" .>’ fc;.' .; • ? '•>R?*S«*. < <S. S3*- **«» '■' ■*• The Legacy of Martin Luther King Page 1 The United States was a com petitive society in which efficiency and productivity hold away. Here, everyone is literally held respon sible for his or her fortune. To the extent that race and gender permit ted, hard working persons suc ceeded while the indolent failed. “There is nothing more tragic,” he aptly observed, “than to sleep through a revolution of social change.” Those without marketable skills are definitely sleeping through a revolution. The second thrust of King’s message is that each of us should strive to be a star in his or her chosen field. Nothing typified Kings personal philosophy and ideals as this injunction. Here, he expressly asked people to strive for the top through duality and excellent performance. “We must set out to do a good job,” he advised, “and do it so well that the living, the dead and the unborn couldn’t do it any bet ter. If you are a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michaelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music; sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry; sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven and earth will have to pause and say, here lies a great street sweeper who did his job well.” The third thrust of King’s message is that the fight against racial evil must continue until justice is uninstitutionalized. Racism, according to his speeches, has two notions. The first flows from the need for some materialisticaly-minded dominant individuals, group or races to feel important and lead the parade of life. He called this phenomenon, the drum-major in stinct-an insatiable desire tor group supremacy. It leads to cleavage in the kindredness of man and intergroup animosity. Unles “This administration has refused to see the growth of pover ty as a serious problem tor our nation, ” Jackson said last week. “It has, instead, pitched its policies toward the rich.” combated, it will, sooner or later, put an end to mankind through “a colossal contest for supremacy between.” In short, a thermo nuclear war. Hence he urged, “We must con tinue to affirm the immorality of racial segregation.” The second component of racism is predicated on the fact that the quality of some people’s goods and services is in ferior to those of others. For lack of a more adequate phrase, let us call this phenomenon—objective racism. Unlike ascriptive racism (or the drum-major instinct), objective racism can be attacked and even tually eliminated. It was the need for a drastic improvement in quality that animated King’s call for hard work and excellence. “If a man can write a better book,” King paraphrased Ralph Waldo Jessye Norman to perform in Augusta ♦SJ • »'.>• • b £ » ' m **" • Xj Jessye Norman Jackson, joined, by Rep. Ron Dellums D-Calif., District of Columbia, Mayor Marion Barry and local labor leaders, announced plans for nationwide demon strations Jan 18 in industrial cities hard-hit by unemployment. Hall of Fame enshrines ; new lege : Page 6 j January 12,1985 Emerson, “or preach a better ser mon, or make a better mouse-trap than his neighbor, even if he built his house in the woods, the world will make a beaten path to his door.” Racism comes into the foreground only when cultural quality is deficient. Besides the majority and minority groups in America, King also left mankind a legacy. A close look at his personal philosophy and style will not only uncover the substance of this legacy but also enable us to understand why he succeeded (despite awesome ob stacles) in his crusade against racial injustice. King’s philosophy combined the powerful elements of love, self control and a scrupulous use of the opportunity to lead. With an enlightened mind and a value See Dr. King page 6 'Augusta native Jessye Norman will sing at President Reagan’s inauguration Jan. 21, then fly to Augusta to do a benefit concert at Paine College the same evening. The Dance Theatre of Harlem will appear with Ms. Norman at Paine College. The concert was originally scheduled for the Martin Luther King Chapel at Morehouse College in Atlanta. A reception will follow at the home of President and Mrs. William H. Harris. The concert will be held in the Gilbert-Lambuth Chapel at 8 p.m.. Ticket prices will remain un changed, S3O for the concert and SSO for the concert and reception. Another protest has been scheduled for Jan. 19, two days before Reagan’s inauguration, across from the White House, the former Democratic presidential candidate said. Jackson said his national Rain bow Coalition also will lobby Congress to resist cuts in domestic spending pronosed by Reagan. Blaming “slave labor” in South Africa for a loss of jobs in America’s steel and mining in dustries, Jackson said Reagan ad ministration’s policies are en couraging U.S. firms to do business in the white-ruled nation. “Where white and Hispanic copper miners in Arizona are struggling for $9 per hour, they are losing their jobs to slaves in South Africa working for 37 cents per hour,” he told reporters at the Shiloh Baptist Church. Jackson praised the recent series of South African Embassy demon strations against that country’s system of racial separation known as apartheid. “The new visibility being given to apartheid has allowed a volcano to explode. Ana now we see tne up of the iceberg as we develop a solid policy against South Africa,” he said. Jackson said he plans to travel to South Africa to visit Nobel Peace Prize recipient Bishop Desmond Tutu in February and is scheduled to meet with Pope John Paul 11 to ask for more help in protesting South African policies. I UNCF raises J ,1,0.1 million for "jges IL. Less than 75 percent Advertising Let fairness prevail We believe that Mayor Charles A. DeVaney has a bound duty to appoint a Black to fill his unex pired term on City Coun cil. DeVaney must know that the First Ward, which he represented un til being sworn in as mayor this week, has been 60 percent Black or better for decades. He must also know that no Black has ever been elec ted to represent that ward. It is the only predominantly Black ward that has never had Black representation on City Council. The appointment of a Black to represent that ward would be proper based on the simple majority Black composition of that ward. But given the historical denial of representation, then the appointment of a Black becomes imperative. The intensity of the Black community’s desire for Black representation can be seen in the fact that Black City Coun cilman Willie Mays beat DeVaney in the First Ward in the October mayoral election. And Mays does not live in the First Ward, while DeVaney does. The point could be taken even further when one considers that in the Black community Mays DeVaney sworn in as Augusta’s 65th mayor by Linda Starks-Andrews The inauguration of Charles DeVaney as the mayor of Auguta brought to an end a chapter in the city’s history which reached a peak last April 28 with the resignation of former Mayor Edward M. Mclntyre. DeVaney was appointed by the City Council as mayor pro tern to serve the remainder of Mclntyre’s term. DeVaney was elected without a run off, defeating councilmem bers Willie Mays, and Inez Wylds and former councilman J. W. Spence. V. “I am sure that the Savannah River is not so wide that we cannot cross it together,” DeVaney said, as he presided over the City Coun cils first regular meeting of 1985 [Don’t forget to turn on your i headlights Jan. 15 in honor of* tMgrtjn Luthej King Day i Editorial trounced DeVaney and the other two mayoral candidates by carrying 72 percent of the vote. It is no mystery why no Black has ever been elec ted in the First Ward. It is because of the at-large voting sytem in the city. It is the same system that kept Blacks in Burke county with no represen tation. And since the Supreme Court struck down at-large voting in Burke County, its gover ning body now has a Black majority. The mayor can no longer hide behind “color-blindness” in his appointments. To ignore the deliberate, historical discrimination is to per petuate the racism that has blinded this country and robbed it of the con tributions of its excluded citizens. The mayor has an op portunity to make a selec tion that is truly represen tative of the majority of the people of the First Ward or he can continue to deny them represen tation. We hope that the mayor will move in the interest of fairness and the well-being of all of the citizens of this com munity, partculrly those who have been denied the most —the majority of the residents of the First Ward. which began immediately following the inauguration. Delivering the traditional State of the City address, DeVaney said, “The time is right, the cir cumstances are right, the spirit is right for this city to move for ward”. DeVaney added, that the leaders of Augusta must “grasp the initiative and put behind us any and all selfish interests than can so easily cause progress to come to a swift halt”. During the meeting, Carl C. Brown was reappointed as judge of the Recorder’s Court. Brown, a local lawyer, was first appointed judge under the Mcln tyre administration three year ago. DeVaney concluded the meeting telling City Council, “While I feel that 1984 was a good year for our city, there is much work that remains for our future” 30C