1 4 THE CAROLINA TIMES SAT., NOVEMBER 7. 1981
Editorial
To Be Equal
Hope
For A Better Durham
Durham voters elected some new folks to help run our city's
government on Wednesday.
We hope the new representatives will keep in focus the respon
sibility to they owe to ALL of Durham and not just to those
who voted to put them in office.
It is past time for our elected officials to rise above political
shenanigans, pettiness, partiality and selfishness that have ap
peared to characterize some of those previously elected to repre
sent the citizenry.
We believe we've got a chance to show the world that govern
ment can be responsive to ALL of its citizens, irrespective of the
race, color, creed or condition of those citizens.
We're depending on our new mayor and council represen
tatives to use their influence to bring about a better Durham with
opportunities for ALL and more harmonious relationships.
Guest Editorial
Turning Adversities
Into Assets
By Eddie N. Williams. President
Joint Center for Political Studies
It is often said that necessity is the mother of invention. When
I he need for something is great enough, people will be motivated
to find a way to get it. And when pain and suffering get to be too
hard to bear, people will try to find relief.
The needs of black America become painftilly clearer with
every budget cut, with every retreat from affirmative action, with
every rise in unemployment, in inflation, and in the consumer
price index. Those needs stand out in bold print when we read
that the bottom is being cut out of the safety net of social pro
grams and that what funds are left are being put in the hands of
governments and leaders that do not always have our best in
terests at heart.
We realize we are not the only victims of today's bitter
economic medicine. We realize, too, that there are indeed grave
, economic problems and that, all of us must contribute to their
solution and share some of the burden. But those who are on the
lowest rungs of the economic ladder are being asked to bear a
disproportionate share of the burden: Moreovefy this dispropor
donate impact comes at the very time at which the federal govern
ment is stepping back from its promises and responsibilities in the
areas of equal opportunity and equal justice. This convergence of
discriminatory economic policies and the retreat from affirmative
action gives the appearance that what is unfolding is a conspiracy
to renege on this nation's fundamental commitment to equal op
portunity and equal justice.
In the face of adversity and necessity, what are we to do? Dry
up like raisins in the sun? No. We. must dp what we have always
done in the face of adversity and necessity. We must invent ways
to protect our gains and to further advance our social, economic,
and political interests.
Whatever new approaches are discovered, however, our efforts
must be uhdergirded by the exercise of political power. Elections
are still the primary way of achieving popular goals in America.
The ballot does hot always guarantee improvement, but it does
create opportunities for change.
As social; and economic programs are turned over to the states
and localities for administration, we must use political organiza
tion and political action at the state and local levels to make sure
we are not overlooked. To those who say "get the government off
the backs of the people," I say, "put the people on the back of
the government. Make it work for all of us."
If members of Congress vote against our interests, then we
must use political organization and political action in congres
sional districts to elect people who will pay attention to our needs.
. Certainly, we can become a more credible force in the 93 congres
sional districts where blacks are twenty per cent or more of the
population.
If Presidents do not behave the way we think they should, we
have the chance, every four years, to change Presidents. We are
11.7 per cent of the national electorate and have substantial
political potential in a number of major electoral states.
I believe that our leaders knd organizations can turn today's
adversities into tomorrow's assets. They are in an excellent posi
tion to turn black people on to politics the way they used to be
turned on to protest. The motivation now, as before, flows from
our instinct to survive. The goal is quite simple: protect the right
to vote, and then get out and vote.
We must mobilize as never before. This mobilization can begin
in the hearts and minds of each and every one of us and move
right into all of the organizations and institutions in our com
munities. As we mobilize from the grassroots up, as our people
are motivated to help themselves, I think we will rediscover that
spirit which has brought us this far along the way. As we pull
together to fight for our rights and interests - beginning with
votcrcdueation, registration, and participation I think we will
find ourselves in command of a mass citizens movement to pur
sue our political and economic objectives, a movement that can
neither be ignored nor denied.
Sadat: Statesman And Leader
By Vernon E. Jordan, Jr.
The brutal assassination of Egyptian
President Anwar Sadat has led many to
reflect on leadership and On the qualities
that lift politicians and heads of. states to
the , honorable and respected title, (
"statesman."
There is no doubt that Sadat earned the
"statesman" title through his extraor
dinary leadership of Egypt.
A soldier and a man of war, he came to
stand for peace. A man who was expected
to be a short-lived figurehead after
Nasser's death, he became a powerful
force in his country's history. A partisan
in one of the world's longest-lived and
most bitter international disputes, he
became the initiator of a process that pro
mised to end the conflict.
It is sad to think that in a world so
recently led by men of gargantuan pro
portions, men like Roosevelt, Churchill,
DeGaulie, and a handful of others, only
Anwar Sadat among our immediate con
temporaries is likely to stand in their com
pany. Sadat's genius was the ability to look
far into the future while his peers con
tented themselves with short-range objec
tives. He saw the futility of the prolonged
Arab-Israel conflict and the terrible suf
fering it caused his country.
And he did-something about it. His visit
to Jerusalem, the historic flight that broke
the pattern freezing both sides into at
titudes destined to lead, to more wars, was
a stroke of boldness unique in our times.
That extraordinary step went beyond
the conventional rhetoric that passes for
"leadership"; it went to the core of the
problem by creating a new psychology
and a new set of realities that all sides had
to deal with.
Sadat was fond of talking about the
need to deal with the psychological fac
tors in disputes. He recognized that what
people say and what people feel are often
quite different, and that breaking through
psychological barriers was often as impor
tant as purely diplomatic initiatives. '
So it was by force of his personality and
his acute sense of the buried desires of the
people of his region that Sadat was able to
inaugurate a peace process most people
believed impossible.
The glacial pace of that process is hard
ly a criticism of Sadat. Rather, it reflects
the failure of other actors in that fateful
drama to rise above their own ambitions
and rhetoric. It demonstrates the gap bet
ween great leaders who have a vision of
the future and act upon that vision, and
lesser men who muddle through as
prisoners of short-range considerations or
to preserve personal power.
With Sadat's death, a new period of
uncertainty grips the Mideast. The area is
a potential tinderbox, a deadly mixture of
Cold War rivalries, oil politics;
fanaticism, and fragile political struc
tures. -: : :-
But pessimism is something that comes
all too easily. As Sadat understood, an
optimistic frame of mind can help shape
optimistic outcomes. Since his death, we
have been treated to a steady stream of
doomsday predictions that new outbreaks
of war are inevitable. That was the con
ventional wisdom before Sadat's great
breakthrough; Mich predictions may once
again be proved wrong.
Sadat risked all, and in a sense lost all.
since his assassination deprived him of
life. But that awful event merely
demonstrates the force of irrationality
loose in the. world, and the dangers to
freedom and peace of fanaticism and ter
ror. All of the world's leaders, from desert
princes to revolutionary generals, from
the White House to the Kremlin, ought to
heed Sadat's wise words that: "I've been
able to do with my head what I've never
been able to do with guns."
Sadat will be sorely missed by a world
td which he sought to bring peace. We
needed more Sadats, now we have fewer.
Leadership is in short supply.
Spectacles: A Closer Look
North Carolina: A Glorious State
By Ada M. Fisher
It was only in my junior year of college
that I fully appreciated what a marvelous
and beautiful state North Carolina is.
From the mountains to the sandhills to
the sea. North Carolina has it all. Though
many may say Hawaii is beautiful or the
mid-west is breath-taking, few have the
climatic variety of North Carolina
without overdoing it three months of
spring, summer, fall and winter without
too much snow and highlighted with spell
binding autumn foliage.
The red clay soil, through occasionally
bothersome to irate, wet weatherdQYjtfi,;
ndnc(he) profiyeefr rrops .which; ftelp,; ,
sustain us all. Not many people realize the
distinctions the state has in agriculture
which include tobacco, a billion and a
half dollar industry, soybeans, strawber
ries, blueberries, and the : scuppernong
grape. The scuppernong grape is now the
basis for a revitalized wine industry in this
state. Pickles reign supreme as well where
Mount Olive's folks boast of being in the
'pickle capital of the country.
Outside of Durham, going toward Rox
boro are the Long Meadow Farms which
have provided tours and aflQok at farm
life for many city-kids. Now cows and
dairy farms are increasingly dotting the
rural landscape. Few realize that this state "
claims the distinction of poultry capital,
producing One-third of the consumable
fowl for this nation. In addition, turkeys
are king in Duplin County and Frank Pur
due has added a poultry plant to the
state's northeastern landscape; hence,
there must be something to the chicken in
dustry here. Hogs and pigs run a close se
cond in the southeastern areas. It's not
uncommon to see pigs running alongside
cars down some of the southeastern in
terstate. Bassett, Henredon, Drexel,
ThomavUtevnd4nuothariifuriture
companies located in the High Pointarea,
at one time gave this state the distinction
of producing eighty per cent of the fur
niture made in the U.S.A. Burlington In
dustries, J. P. Stevens and Cannon are
leaders in textile production here. The
Research Triangle has opened up oppor
tunities from computers and complex
machinery to pharmaceuticals.
Though the job market is currently
tight for many areas, with some hustle,
and ingenuity, the diversified options in
North Carolina are fascinating. The
medical industry is a leader here with
North Carolina having the distinction of
four medical school complexes
Bowman Gray. Duke. East Carolina
University and UNC-Chapel Hill. The
significance of this feat isn't appreciated
until one realizes that many states don't
have even one medical school. General
education at the college level is excellent
from the state to the private universities
- which are numerous. The major role of
the traditionally and historically black in
stitutions is one North Carolina can be
proud of. It is delightful to take a ride and
visit the universities here many are
steeped in tradition, southern charm and
traditions of excellence.
w-Nowhat business and4ndustryare: in "
WJ5$&ihe arUjwfll bQ5somanii,xRafln. v
The cultural diversity of its people from
the native American Indians to the influx
of migrant workers provides rare and
often electrifying combinations for the
North Carolina populace.
The tragedy of this state is that many of
its people know so little of its beauty and
its bounty.. Whether black or white, for
many, opportunity here is just a step
away. For those who've tried it, gone
elsewhere only to return, they have to ad
mit. North Carolina is a hard place 10
beat. When you stop and think about it a
moment, the jingle has relevance. "I like
calling North Carolina home."
Affirmative Action Retreat From
By Congressman Augustus F. Hawkins
there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who pro
pose to favor freedom and 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 ma
jestic waves without the awful roar of its waters.
' Frederick Douglass
It was the dawning of an era of un
paralleled hope on the part of the
downtrodden and oppressed. A Presi
dent, Lyndon B, Johnson, Was addressing
the 1965 graduating class of Howard
University. ,
i "But freedom is not enough," he
declared, "You do not wipe away the
scars of centuries by saying:. Now you are
free to go where you want, and do as you
desire, and choose the leaders you please.
You do not take a person who, for years,
has been hobbled by chains and liberate
him, bring him up to the starting line and
then say, 'you are free to compete with all
the others,' and still justly believe that
you arc being fair."
But more than addressing a graduating
class, he was enunciating the principles of
the Great Society principles which
would commence the task of alleviating
the poverty and oppression of a group of
Americans who had few, if any, glimmers
of hope for a belter life as, first class
citiens. The President continued: "In far
loo many ways American Negroes have
been another nation: deprived Of
freedom, crippled by haired, the doors of
opportunity closed to hopc.V
Nearly twenty years have passed since
President Johnson delivered his address.
Minorities and women have made pro
gress in the areas of voting rights, employ
ment and education; yet there is still much
ground to be covered. The black college
graduate who is able to find work earns
about the same annual income as a white
high school graduate. The median income
for all black families in the U.S. in 1980
was SI 2,674.00 as opposed to a median
income for white families of $21,904.00.
the unemployment rate for black workers
is twice that of white workers. The
number of blacks in poverty, which had
been declining under the Kennedy and
Johnson Administrations, is again rising.
Unfortunately, equality of opportunity is
still being systematically denied to women
and minorities across our great nation.
Such obvious facts are bei'igjgnored by
the Reagan Administration. Like the pro
verbial ostrich, the administration would
rather bury its collective head in the sand
in the hope that the nation will regress to a
time when, as President Reagan asserted.
"We didn't' have any racial problems."
An obvious reference to slavery when
blacks were completely shackled.
In recent Congressional hearings,
representatives of the administration
delivered the foreboding message: We will
no longer insist upon or in anv respect
support, the use of quotas or anv other
numerical statistical formulae designed to
provide to "non-victims" of discrimina
tion preferential treatment based on race,
sex. national origin or religion.
It wasclear that the issues and goals so
well outlined in President Johnson's
historic speech had" been lost. There are
several misconceptions in the Reagan Ad
ministration's policy statement which
have been stated and restated to the extent
that many people believe them to be true.
One of the most maddening misconcep
tions has centered around the question of
"quotas". In past years, "quotas" has
been used as exclusionary ceilings design
ed to limit the participation of various
groups in certain specified activities such
as us use in the now defunct practice of
limjtjng the number of Jewish students
,. who 'could matriculate at universities.
Despite the fact that no responsible per
son who was truly concerned with equali
ty of opportunity ever advocated the use
of quotas, the foes of affirmative action "
V branded its backers as supporting quotas.
Race and sex discrimination are by
definition class discrimination.
Therefore correction of these problems
' must not be on an individual by individual
basis, as advocated by the Reagan Ad
ministration, but rather on a systematic or ,
group basis. It is patently idiotic to at-,
tempt to ignore race or sex in providing a
remedy for these societal ills. For not only
is the individual victim of discrimination
hurt, the entire group to which the victim
belongs is grievously wrdngetj. .Numerical
statistical formulae or goals and
timetables have been common tools in
American policy formulation. Putting a
man; on the moon and reducing
unemployment to four per cent were
(Continued on Page 15)
' LE. AUSTIN
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