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-f4-Tt:scAr.:u?iATi::K SAT..JUKE8.1SS1 a sz::ci of pride in being ' k' f BUCK f iTo Be Equal A if' 7 i?5s T4LL STATED WT7W A BUS RIDE FROM DOWNTOWN MONTGOMERY ALABAMA, BY MRS. ROSA PARKS.FROM TWS'BUS RIDE WITH HONOR, CAMEv ANEW LEADER, WHO MS TV CHANGE THE THINKING OF THE ESTAdLISHncNJi Let Their End Be Our Beginning Last month, black Americans in particular, and Americans in general, lost two outstanding per sons: Miss Mary Lou Williams, renown jazz composer, critic, ar tist and teacher; and Hoyt W. Fuller, founder and editor of First World Magazine. These great Americans devoted their lives to the preservation of black culture. Miss Williams believed and demonstrated that ' the genius of black music, i.e., , i97 chnnlH h Jntrnrinrwl to and enjoyed by the peoples of the world. She believed that this music which springs from the combination of the artistic genius of black Americans and the plight of blacks on the North American continent speaks a message that is well worth preserving; Mr. Fuller believed that blacks should and would have a vehicle for the ex pression of their literary talents. He devoted the last years of his" life to this effort. We mourn our great loss. ; Neither Miss Williams . nor Mr. Fuller can ever be replaced. But we can do more than lament their deaths: each of us can pay tribute to the lives of these great human beings by erecting our own monuments to the services they so amply ana unseiiismy renaerea io mankind. . Each or us can pick up the tasks of preserving black music and black literary thought. We may do this simply by insuring that our institutions begin to teach our children the genius of black music all forms of it and black literature and we may insure that wherever black children raise their voices in song or wherever black pupils play musical instruments that music by black composers is included. We can further insure,4t tlack children know and appreciate the ; creativity of their foremothers and forefathers of literature, visa-vis poetry, the novel, the short story and the essay.' Aside from the fact that there is dignity in a people knowing and appreciating its own music and literature and we can agree that blacks need to exercise more dignity - a people who take the lead in proclaiming the right to support its own genius is looked upon with; greater dignity by others. .One is more respected who respects one's self. Both Miss Williams and Mr, Fuller knew this well. So, let us hot permit the work of these proud and mighty geniuses to be lost. Let us write an important eulogy to their lives stating simply, "Your end is our .beginning,'' Things You Should Know BfiM Ul J2ffL t t mm W ft! AATA ... 1865-1906 M 11 . . Chief of the lowlv Xon- i idi Tribe of Zululand, he was heavily taxed by foreign white, exploiters. , , .Refusing to pay, he led his people in a valiant fight against the British! Mat ching spears and clubs against rifles and cannon, he fared so well that twenty other chiefs Joined him!. J Against overwhelming odds, he waded a nine-month war W that cost the British i I t SIZ OHO nOOl Snnn ftr Ham. baata himself was killed, the rebellion collapsed. 'Ilk - . 'a. , " r ; : : ' , "'! '. v.. 1 iSaving Social Security jjyjyerrion E. JordantJr ) It has been predicted that the social securi-1 ty fund will run put of money in the near future. Long-term, the aging of our popula tion suggests deep funding problems lie tahead.; . ..- ' . jj'-. , ' The Administration's response to that 'situation is a plan that would slice benefits for people who retire below the age of 65, cut pensions of future retirees, and put ; heavy eligibility and benefit restrictions on the disabled. , , It proposed other adjustments too, and the entire package would break faith with the implicit contract between workers and the. government; and would take money away from the elderly. ,That is why the Senate slapped the plan down so quickly in a resolution. But objec tions to the Administration's plan must still be pressed or its features may be incor porated into the ultimate compromise. , The reduced benefits for under-65 retirees would hit especially hard at the minority poor. People who opt for early retirement are disproportionately people who are in ill health or hold marginal jobs in troubled in dustries and face recurrent unemployment. 7.' If the Administration's idea is to keep people in the work force it is going about it the wrong way. Sure, such sharply reduced ' benefits may delay some retirements, but it will work terrible hardships on people who have been burned out by a lifetime of hard vwork at low wages.VjvvvV .':";"' ! For such workers, early retirement is the ., only viable option for preserving a minimum V standard of living and avoiding the welfare rolls, They've worked at mean, hard jobs for many decades,, paying disproportionate parts oLtheir low, wages into the social security trust fund, , . . -. , To deny them now the right to retire at a : liveable income is to lay a new and unfair .burden on people who have had their full i share of such burdens in their lifetimes. ; Tighter eligibility and benefit restrictions , on disabled workers would also be unjust.' Disability insurance is a traditional target of I those who see cheats under the bed, but there is little evidence to support the notion that those who receive such, benefits can hold down a job. Seven out of ten applicants are already re jected, and minorities, who work in hazar dous, low-paying jobs, would be affected most by the clampdown on disability benefits. j There are other major objections to the' Administration's plan as well, and a sign that the Administration may recognize the -deficiencies of its proposal is its willingness Jto compromise. . 1 'r:,l:f ' Alternatives now peiore vngcs we flawed too. they too; make budget cutting the top priority and put protection of the in terests of the elderly lower on thescale. Two wh nianc rail for raisin? retirement from age 65 to 68, and for lowering cost of living ' - increases: . . - y -v - - Such proposals amount to a massive over eaction.to the problems with social security ! Inancmg. They ' would make permanent Ganges impacting negatively pn jthe poorest I f the elderly, while neglecting less painful, lore logical approaches. 6 I, ,' : j No one, for example, talks about the basic vjreason for the system's cash problems the ' persistently high unemployment that reduces the take from social security taxes. If we had j full employment, we would also have, a sol- j vent social security system. ' . ,i There are other promising approaches: j mandate government employees' participa-. tion in the system, use general revenues to , make up for shortfalls, and separate! Medicare from the retirement fund. . Instead of trying to balance the budget on ' : the backs of the poor and the elderly, we " should be creating the jobs that will fund the i t system's future. Affirmative Action Warning! Reagan Trying To Strangle Affirmative Action Gerald C. Home, Esquire The Reagan Administration has proved to be the nightmare that the wildest dreams had imagined. Food stamps are on the chopping block, Social Security is under seige, Medicare and Medicaid are being heavily bombarded. But jobs are the bottom line and affir mative action over the years has brought thousands of blacks jobs. But now, accor- ding to the major corporate organ Business Week (May 25, 1981), "a historic turnabout in Washington's enforcement of equal employment opportunity laws and regula tions the first such major shifts since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 has been set in motion by the Reagan Ad ministration and a conservative Congress." What these fiendish minds have come up with is to "eliminate the entire concept of af-: firmative action." If this malevolent plan is carried through, blacks would receive their - -gravest setback since the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act. Indeed, if this plan is car ried through, some might begin to look back . , on the 19th Century as the "good old days" . because our reality would become and un fortunately, this is no exaggeration a Ku KIux Klan dream, where blacks would have no rights that whites were bound to respect. This "historic turnabout" was kicked off by hearings called on May 4 by chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitu tion, Senator Orrin Hatch, (Repub.-Utah) an unreconstructed foe of affirmative ac tion. ' Hatch has asserted falsely that affirmative action programs have undercut the Four teenth Amendment's guarantee of equal pro tection of the laws for every citizen. As any school child could tell you, the exact op posite is the case for it is goals, timetables and, yes, quotas that have brought us closer to that distant oasis of equality. In these hearings, Senator Hatch who also holds down the powerful post of chair man of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee denounced in un duly harsh terms policies that allow ;mployers or institutions to be labeled discriminatory "on the basis of purely statistical evidence and disparate effects ' rather than on the basis of some demonstra tion of discriminatory intent or purpose or , motivation." He was joined in that criticism by Morris Abram, fat cat New York lawyer, former president of Brandeis University and .former friend of civil .rights, who testified that Congress should pass legislation requir ing that under civil rights laws proof of discriminatory intent or purpose be provided to establish bias not just proof that a law or policy had disparate impact on blacks. Here, wittingly or unwittingly, these two white males let the cat out of the bag. For the Dixiecrats have been praying for such a stan dard that would make proving a claim of ; discrimination well nigh impossible. Even a lawyer who is barely literate can tell you that if victims of discrimination have to show.in tent on the part of employers, they're going to have to find letters and documents i .e . , material in writing where the employer says, "I intended to discriminate against X" 'or the like. Although racist employers have never been known for their brilliance, it is ' submitted that, in these times even they have' enough sense not to put racism in writing. Senator Hatch has gone Attorney Abram one better by pressing for a constitulonal ' amendment directed against affirmative action- He has Introduced S.J. Res. 41, which i would amend the Constitution to state that federal and state laws against bias "shall not be construed to permit the establishment or maintenance by private individuals or enter prises of any program or policy that makes , distinctions on account of race color; or na-, tional origin.' , : . It would bar the establishment of "goals, ' quotas, timetables, ratio's or numerical ob 1 jectives which make distinctions on account , of race, color or national origin." William Van Alstyne, professor of law at. Duke University and former president of the American Association of University? Pro fessors, also blasted affirmative action oro-, . grams. This somewhat distinguished gentleman, who has never been noted for his solicitude or friendliness toward blacks, had the cheek to allege that recipients of affir mative action are considered inferior! "This is deeply stigmatizing," he hypocritically in toned. What audacity! Come now, Herr Professor, does the same "stigma" attach, to those alumni sons and daughters, children of fat cats, etc., who admittedly receive "special preference" in admissions to Duke? Thanks a lot, Bill. In fact, we're so over--joyed that the only appropriate response : would be for the progressive folk of! Durham, North Carolina to throw up a neat little picket line at your office. No more "Mr. Nice Guy," time to play "hard ball!" That's right, it is way past time to get tough with these characters. Senator Hatch will hold further hearings on affirmative ac tion in June. He should be greeted with a hailstorm of letters and resolutions from in dividuals and organizations.. The National Education Association is a big force in Utah. Thus, black teachers should lobby their powerful union to force abortion of the Senator's designs before they hatch. The Senator feels that because there are not many blacks in his state, he can thumb his nose at affirmative action. We need to show him that he's dead wrong. Another frisky congressman who needs to be reined in is Representative Robert S. Walker, Republican of Pennsylvania. He has introduced legislation that would bar the use of numerical quotas to increase the hir ing or school enrollment of blacks and other affirmative action beneficiaries. Walker claims that he had discussed his bill with White House officials before introducing it. "They agree in concept with the bill and said it was in line with the President's view on quotas," he announced. Blacks in the United Steelworkers of America (USWA), blacks in the United Mine Workers, blacks in all Pennsylvania organizations with muscle need to lean heavily on this character. There are promi nent blacks in the state who have joined the GOP. Well, the time is now for payback and if they have any leverage in that clique, they should use it. Thefigh. !,1 be rough though because the Reagan Administration is determined to return blacks to the 18th Century. Secretary of Labor Raymond Donovan told a National Press Club meeting that he will take less of a "police approach" on discrimination mat ters and that they'll "get off the backs of people.' But when the government gets off the employers' backs, who's going to get the employers off our backs? Donovan says that he doesn't believe in "push-pull, slap- punch" affirmative action. But he doesn't recognize that it is necessary because employers take the "push-pull, slap-punch" approach to blacks. Reagan is angry because in the past few years mass pressure has forced federal agen cies to award tens of millions of dollars in back pay awards, tighten procedures for fin ding and correcting abuses, and cut into case backlogs. Reagan has had trouble finding an executioner to head the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Labor Department's Office of Federal Con tract . Compliance Programs (QFCCP). Because . nobody has been . picked to head either agency, many believe that the Ad ministration does not give job bias a "high priority," , Preliminary drafts show u that i Reagan policy, will include total elimination of back pay awards by, the OFCCP. Allegedly they want policy to focus on "future behavior of, employers." But the fact is that the back pay club is needed for recalcitrant, hard-headed, employers who only understand when you hit them in the pocketbook. ! ' , Reagan policy will exempt many Small businesses from affirmative ' action; goals will be dropped for the construction in dustry. In short, Reagan and Company are planning a bloody massacre of affirmative action. Their minds dazed with mayhem, they salivate at the thought of strangling the whole-notion of equality. . , " But Hatch, .Walker, Reagan ' and .Donovan, whether they know it or not are cruising for a bruising at the polls. The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, who will be convening soon, have a special role to play in not only grabbing the GOP by the lapels and shaking furiously but also insur ing that the "Republocrats" the Dem GOP axis is smashed for all time. A Ford Foundation report on the 1980 rebellion in Miami has termed it "unprecedented in this century.'' It added that not since the slave .uprising before the Civil War had blacks j risen spontaneously with the sole purpose of beating or killing whites. If this unfortunate ; fact be true, it dramatizes the unavoidable ; fact that the strangling of affirmative action : will make this one of the longest, hottest summers this country has ever sweltered through. i INTERESTING PEOELE Knpwn as "The Master", was one of the greatest off all Latin scholars ana one or Spain's leading poets.- A balck African slave bora in Guinea in 1516. At 12 he and his mother were taken to Baen, Spain to work in the house of Duke De Sesa. the boy seemed bright. The Duke had bim educated, Juan excelled In Latin and Greek. He was sent to the Univ. of Granada with such rare talents he became the tutor of young nobility. In 1565 appointed the pro fessor of poetry at the University. Married one of his pupils, Lady Ana De Carjaval and had four girls. After his friend Don Juan of Austria won a military victory over the Turks in The Battle ol Lepanto fn 1571 he wrote a remarkable book. It was his most famous work "The Austriad", a poem of Don Juan's victory, Published in Granadi 1C?1 HUI BTAH hlM p respect . A scholar, and one of the rarest literarj prizes in the world . Latino Died in 1599. jUAti LATINO gHJEiafifijHiJ I.E. AUSTIN Editor-Publisher 1927-1971 1 USPS 091-380 " Published every Thursday (dated Saturday) at Durham- N.C. by Unite'd Publishers, inoor- 8" 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. " ';vV--:'j;;;V:i '! ' SUBSCRIPTION , RATES : ' One year, $12.00 j (plus $0.48 sales, tax for North Carolina, residents).. Single copy $.30. Postal regulations , REQUIRE advanced payment on subscriptions.: Address all communications and make all checks ; and' money orders payable to: THE CAROLINA. TIMES. 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The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
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June 6, 1981, edition 1
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