Newspapers / The Carolina Times (Durham, … / Feb. 14, 1981, edition 1 / Page 14
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ACLEANER NEIGHBORHOOD 15 UP TO VOU- 00 Hot Mutter fill f l?MWL Affirmative Action: The Atlanta Children The continuing disappearance and subsequent strange deaths of children in Atlanta, Georgia must be stopped. A cpuntry which can put men on the moon with enough money behind them should certainly be able to put a halt to the repetition of such heinous crimes in Atlanta with enough money behind the in vestigators. Certainly the lives of these children, and others who are subject to fall victim to a warped mind, are valuable enough in a country which con siders itself so concerned with human rights and needs, that the (or those) criminal(s) can be apprehended. The Atlanta situation is tragic enough, as it stands, but, unfor tunately, it will riot be long before some other misguided individuals decide to repeat the scenario elsewhere if it isn't halted. A 'copycat' theory has already been proffered by some seasoned in vestigators in Atlanta. Atlanta black parents must be developing paranoia about their own children by now. It's been a year since the current count of disappearances began mounting. We join with people all over the nation, and hope our readers will, too, in praying that the kidnap pers) isare soon brought to justice. , . If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who propose to favor freedom find yet depreciate agitation are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean's majestic waves without the awful roar of its waters. Frederick Douglass Things You Should Know ADA , CLAYTON AfettU WnitST ONE OUR CHILDREN A SENSE OF PRIDE tN BEING BLACK. THE GLORY OF OURPAST AND THEDUiWTVOF OUR PRBSENTMUST LEAD THE WW TO THE POWER. OP OVRFUTURB." l J DR. MARTIN LUTUFffKiun H PIP NOT EMBRACE NON VIOLENCE OUT OF PEAR ORCOWARDICE,HE . CHALLENGED INJUSTICE WITHOUT A OUhl." PA.0ENJAMIH MAYS DOUGLASS KCAABAMBAT ADOLtJIONlST ORATOR, ADVISER f UNMLU 1 ! I Racism, Tho , ; Struggle Continues... ; IT.';' By Gerald C. Home, Esquire It has become fashionable in certian circles to frown upon the word "racism". The underlying idea is that the mere use of this term is inflammatory and constitutes some form of "baiting." One who charges racism is frequently told that heshe is "paranoid" or "tdo sensitive". As is readily apparent, it is easy to understand why the thief would yell "Stop thief" and try to deflect attention from his misdeeds. And in an era when a right-wing celluloid cowboy i can become president, raising the cry of racism will not be universally popular. Yet it would take a peculiar ostrich with ; head buried quite deep in the sand to ignore the disproportionate number of blacks on death row or higher infant mortality rates or lower life expectancy tor higher rates of unemployment in the black community. Are the voluminous statistics, reports, studies, etc., detailing the perilous nature of the black condition merely accidental or coin cidental? Or are more sinister forces and elements e.g. racists and racism at play. Yes, history is not conspiracy but there decidedly are. conspiracies in history and it would be naive to ignore the fact that it is in the economic interest of some to, for exam ple, pay blacks at a lower wage rate than whites. All this serves as a backdrop to an ex amination of the question of blacks and prisons, for this lamentable situation serves as a microcosm for the entire community. For here are "dumped" the blacks that the economy cannot absorb in an era when . robots and computers are rapidly replacing human beings. Is it accidental that there are more blacks in California prisons than col leges or that in the large prisons from Soledad to Attica there is a disproportionate number of people of color? This volatile bundle of contradictions recently came to a boil in Marion, Ilinois where the longest work stoppage by inmates in the history of the federal prison system recently came to a screeching halt. The strike began last September 15 when inmates refused to report to job assignments in the prison print shop and furniture fac tory. It is virtually astonishing that inmates working in prison industry earn wages rang ing from 43 to 94 cents-an-hour. Some might argue that this is only a just way of inmates "repaying their debt to socie ty" but when one considers not only the fact that many of the inmates especially the black ones are incarcerated principally because they couldn't afford a lawyer and are most likely innocent but that in an era of unemployment a "reserve army of labor" working for peanuts presents a grave threat to all those who work for a living. It should be obvious that it makes sense from an . employer's view lo seek employees r at ,50 cents an hour rather that $4.$lror 1&$0 W! hour, hence, there is a matetiaf; objective' force propelling so many to prison. It was this recognition that fueled the bit ter struggle at the turn of the century to abolish the notorious "convict-lease" system which allowed inmates to work in the mines, on the farms, etc., and drove the labor movement to virtual starvation. Apartheid South Africa, whose history is so similar to that of the United States, also offers instructive parallels. Blacks there must carry a "passbook", i.e. and ID card at all times and the slightest violation leads straight to prison. There, it is openly recognized by the country's rulers that this system allows, for a cheap labor force. In deed, the big farmers there are allowed to mantain "prisons" on their land, which ' facilitates their crass exploitation of black labor. In these steaming cauldrons that arc this nation's prisons, it should come as no sur prise that violence has become a way Of life'. The prison at Marion, which was built in 1963 to replace Alcatraz and now holds 549 inmates serving the longest sentences in the federal system, has been the scene of numerous blood-lettings. Within a twelve month period there have been six reported suicides by prisoners in solitary confine ment. Even according to the conservative statistics maintained by Warden H.G. Miller, since 1963 there have been sixteen prisoners slain in this "slaughter-house". The question of prisons should be on the minds of all not just, because inmates' cheap labor undermines the overall wage structure; and not only because some of the most elec trifying and politically significant struggles are occurring in prisons from Lewisburg to Folsom to Stillwater. All these elements are important but equally compelling is the fact that since the post-World War II Nurenburg trials, it has , been a firmly established principle of inter national law that it is no longer sufficient to claim "I was following orders" or "I didn't know what was happening". Direct com plicity lies in fact with all those who do not raise their voice against the Outrages being committed in our names behind bars. And perhaps the situation where all eyes should collectively turn now is the Pontiac State Prison in Illinois. Here on July 22, 1978 a rebellion occurred leaving three white prison guards dead, two others wounded and ten blacks charged. According to Gary Thomas, a staffer for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, "Not since the famed Scottsboro case of the 1930's have so many blacks been on trial for their lives in the same legal proceeding". It is evident at this point that the state is taking this case quite seriously. The cost for launching this trial has exceeded already over $1 million. Since the trial began in Spr ingfield, more than 245 persons have been called forward as possible jurors but only . four have been seated. The presiding judge;' thbUgfi IHHWatlstaHfaW stages, cited fleferisriaw'yers Wfontelttp of coUrP on three occasions and another contempt charge is pending. Some have decided at this point that the solution for burgeoning youth unemploy ment and unrest is not jobs but jails. And when Inmates rebel against intolerable, con ditions and peanut ; wages, the solution is capital punishment. This is why the whole world is watching Pontiac and why Pontiac ; ':t 10; Defense Committees haye sprung, up . across the nation to raise funds and mobilize JsupportV ... f The PoniaC case is a microcosm of he perilous relationship of blacks to the criminal justice system generally. The Na tional Minority Advisory Council on Criminal Justice, established by the Justice Department in 1976. has been surprisingly candid in blasting what they've termed the "white racist ideology" that permeates the system. The NMACCJ, chaired by Atlanta's Commissioner for Public Safety Dr. I ec Brown and including such distiiVJM. i-cJ figures as Lennox Hinds, (founder . t ;.o National Conference of Black l awyers) ami Ms. Ethel Payne (nationally syndicated col umnist), in its 302-page document scored the fact that "Masses of minorities. . . .remain. "' with few exceptions, segregated, ' powerless result of our nation's socio-economic system and practices." A chapter on police brutality points out of 6,000 persons killed by police gunfire bet ween 1950 and 1973, over 45 7o were black though the black comunity is estimated to be 12 of the national population. Those who feel that prisoners are receiving the "just desserts" should note that this Justice Department sponsored report scores the use of "plea bargaining" to extract "confessions" and sentencing millions to long prison terms without parole. But throughout the report is the basic acknowledgement that racism is the reason for so many black faces staring out from behind bars; that racism is the reason why so few black defendants stand before black judges or are defended by black lawyers or, ultimately, attended by so few black prison guards. In essence, no more compelling area for affirmative action can be found than the criminal justice system. What needs to be done is no mystery but what must be reinforced is that this is no time to disappear into the bunker in fear of a right-wing tidal wave. Indeed, such misguid . ed thinking helps to account for the present ' deteriorating situation. In fact, what is need ed is even more pressure, more agitation, more education. Those who've organized to secure a na tional holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that very symbol of anti-racism hav illuminated the way. Though ignored by much of the nation's' press, the nation's rulers cannot ignore 200,000 protestors in the streets; just like " 250,000 demonstrators at the 'March on ' l"nttbW'oT 1903-cBe!a"nOt 'lgrtcfrtf t v rt wheri thvCttvtt'Rightff Act was voted upon in 1964. f More actions of this type will have to oc cur if that vile pollutant racism is to be extinguished finally from the body politic. (SB To Be Equal Human Rights An Important Policy Factor By Vernon E. Jordan. Jr. HOOKER T. i WA5MH6T0N WHAT iSTHEAusuea. UHttEAUOmODATiONX CCQNOHKINDE PENOENCEPOR THE BLACK COHHUNtT MARCUS GARVEY CLACK NATIONALIST M RACE WITHOUT AUTHORITY AND POWER ISA RACE . , WITHOUT RESPECT." IB. DUBOIS l86$pmOSOPHSf EDUCATOR pUBUSHtR AUTHOR ORGANIZER, A nation's foreign policy amounts to more than military and economic moves. It has to reflect what that country is all about its strategy for maintaining its proper place in the world and its strategy for maintaining the values and ideals it lives by. America's strong identification with democratic ideals, however imperfectly they may be practiced, ought therefore, to be a fundamental part of its foreign policy. Our national ideals are at least part of the reason why we respond so strongly to Rus sian imperialism, and why we have so often been uncomfortable with "friends" who trample on basic human rights in their own countries. The Carter Administration embraced the concept of a strong human rights plank in its international policies. It shocked many by publicly condemning acts by some long-term allies, leading to strained relations with those countries. And it was charged with helping . bring down some regimes that had been close to the U.S. f But that human rights policy won a new respect and admiration for.the U.S. from people all over the world. When America cut off aid or military assistance to an op-. pressive, deeply unpopular regime, it was able to deal with the successor government with clean hands. J V While some authoritarian leaders grumbl ed about the policy and even publicly de nounced the U.S., many also quietly jeleased political prisoners, stopped abhorrent forms of persecution, and restored some personal freedoms. Our strong human rights stand impelled us to successfully work for majority rule in Zimbabwe and to apply pressure on South Africa. A viable human rights policy clarifies the rivalry with Russia. In the eyes of most of the world, it separates us from being just another superpower out to dominate far-off places. Instead, people everywhere can res pond to and admire our vision of freedom. Ditching human rights as part of our foreign policy would be negative. It would again tie us to dictators who are doomed to fall victims to their people, and their un popularity is bound to rub off on us. Because such explosions are inevitable, dictatorships are unstable allies. The services they provide us are unequal to the energy and -resources it takes to prop them up. That does not mean we should break with every government that violates human rights, or even with every ally that is undemocratic. Unfortunately, the world be ing what it is, that would leave few countries we could talk to. But it does mean keeping, out; distance from extreme human-rights violatdrs, refus ing to become too closely identified with op pressive dictatorships, and pressuring for change to make them less repressive. That would help give moderates a chance in coun tries otherwise polarized between the anti democratic extremes of left and right. Because of various statements made by the new President and key figures in his ad- - ministration, both before the campaign and after, some commentators have hastened to assume signals are being sent for penny-ante dictators to start up torture chambers. But the Secretary of State has affirmed that "human rights is an essential and fun damental aspect" of our foreign policy. And , that may shed some light on the recent Korean commutation of a death sentence on a prominent opposition leader and the lifting of martial law in the Phillipines. It appears that the rulers of those nations felt it advisable to comply with human rights principles early in the Reagan Administra tion. It is likely that there will be less public posturing on human rights in the next four years, but those acts offer hope that an ef fective human rights policy will remain an integral part of our nation's foreign policy. Educational Testing: Cause For Community (USPS 091-380) L.E. AUSTIN i Editor-Publisher 1927-1971 Published every Thursday (dated Saturday) at Durham N.C. by United Publishers, Incor- S orated. Mailing Address: P.O. Box 3825, urham, N.C. 27702. Office located at 923 Fayetteville Street, Durham, N.C. 27701. Second Class Postage paid at Durham North Carolina '27702. POSTMASTER: Send address change to THE CAROLINA TIMES, P.O. Box 3825, Durham, N.C. 27702. . Concern By Congressman Augustus Hawkins There are substantial indications that this nation is experiencing a changing mood in its attitudes towards helping those least able to help themselves. i It is a mood led by ultra conservatives that threatens dire consequences for. the still tenuous political, economical and social hold that black Americans t now have in many areas of this society. ' Attacks are being made on affirmative ac tion and equal opportunity, on govern ment's role (and programs) in assisting the economically deprived, on voting rights and civil rights, and on the need to complete school desegregation efforts mandated by the 1954 Supreme Court decision. A prime and continuing target of these at tacks has been leveled against the attempt to equalize educational opportunity for black and poor youngsters. These attempts have come in one form as a demand for tuition tax credits and educa tional vouchers. Those that espouse these proposals are mostly the affluent. They see these vouchers as 9 way of avoiding school desegration and school integration by letting (Continued on Page 11) - SUBSCRIPTION RATES: One year, $12.00 (plus $0.48 sales tax for. North Carolina' residents). Single copy $.30. Postal regulations REQUIRE advanced payment on subscriptions. ddress all communications and make all checks I and money orders payable to: THE CAROLINA IIMCd. NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE: Amalgamated Publishers, Inc., 45 West 45th Street, New York, New York 10066. 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The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
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