14 THE CAROLINA TIMES SAT., NOVEMBER 28. 1981 '
WE SHALL OVERCOME
Of
t .Av; Q
hTb Be Equal
i The Private Sector's Role
By Vernon E. Jordan, Jiv;
Affirmative Action:
Reagan and Anti-Black Violence
By Gerald C. Horned Esquire
Groups active on military bases include the KjiKIux Klan, the white
Gestapo, the white Activist Militant Society. Tarver warned the U.S. Array
VII Corps of these groups' activities in detail but their response has been
silence. In one case they reported a cross burning as "destruction of govern
ment property."
More ominous was the involvement of the Klan in an attempt to overthrow
the government of the black island in the Caribbean, Dominica. After setting
up a puppet government there, they intended to move next against the
neighboring black island of Grenada.
Unfortunately, the child slayings in Atlanta have left the public eye and all
of the green ribbons have been removed. But the fact is that the young man ar
rested, Wayne Williams, has not been charged with all of those slayings, which
once again raises the question of. whether police officers have been asleep at
the switch because black victims are involved.
The fact is that, in addition to the child murders, between November 1980
and February of this year, eight black women were brutally murdered in
Atlanta through strangulation,, stabbings and shootings. The victims, ranging
in age from 1 5 to 38 have been primarily from low-income communities.
These slayings underscore Georgia's role as a hell on earth for blacks. In
tiny Willacoochee, Georgia, four months of hate letters, cross burnings and
shotgun blasts into houses and automobiles, caused a target of this criminal'
harassment o flee. No one has been arrested and the Federal Bureau of In-"
vestigation began an inquiry only weeks ago.
Julian Bond, State Senator, and president-of the Georgia NAACP, alleges
; , The Reagan Administration is commit-,
ted, on philosophical, political and
economic grounds, to private sector solu
tions for our nation's problems.
By overselling the capacity of the
private sector to meet fhose challenges,
the Administration strains its credibility,
'raises public expectations, and weakens ,
the nation's ability to act constructively. ,
. For there are limits to what the private
sector can do. Voluntarism can never be a
'substitute for welfare, food stamps, and
many other vital forms of income sup
ports. NoTNEhould it supplant-government's
proper role in meeting national needs.
. Just as no one in his right mind would , .
want to see national defense turned over
to a private, profit-making venture, so;
too it is wrong to turn public functions;
such as education, police and many social
' services to the private sector.
But if the central thrust of dealing with
social problems must come from govern
ment, there is still a vitally important role
for the private sector. Instead of looking .
to the private sector to replace govern-,
ment, the Administration should imple-
ment a public-private partnership that will
make a difference in peoples' lives.
For its part, the business community
will have to understand what many of its
leaders have been saying that without a
t stable social framework, business cannot
'survive.
That means a top priority for the
private sector should be job creation a
determined effort to hire and train disad
vantaged people. That effort cannot wait,
until the long-promised prosperity comes'
about.' The Administration's policies are
leading to another recession and higher
unemployment. Business should be urged, perhaps with
-targeted financial incentives from govern
ment, to hire and train the disadvantaged,,
recession or no recession. Business got1
. lavish tax breaks for capital investments!
and for transferring otherwise unusable
tx credits and depreciation allowances.
Indeed, the tax legislation might have bet
ter been labelled the "Corporate Welfare
Act of 1981."
That suggests a corporate responsibility
to invest some of its tax savings in training
and hiring the disadvantaged jobless. And
it also suggests that the tax system might
; be better used to encourage investments in
our long-neglected human capital.
The private sector can also plug some
of , the gaps opened by the
Administration's ruthless cuts in social
programs. By aiding community groups
i and non-profit social welfare agencies, it
can alleviate some of the pain caused by
' the cuts.
The most enlightened sectors of cor- '
porate America will respond creatively to
these ew challenges. . Indeed, there are
- signs of real concern on the part of
business leadership.' v ; -r,- A ,
1 The prestigious Business . Roundtable :
y't has recently called for increased corporate
contributions , to. charities. The life in-"
4, surance industry has formally announced
a campaign to help create jobs. Many
companies plan to increase their activities
: . in the social arena. ;
' One concrete idea that should be acted
: on was made by David Mahoney, chair
Iman of Norton Simon, Inc. He recently
.. called on large national and regional com
panies to pursue a "one per cent plan" of
adding one per cent to their budgeted
manpower costs to hire and train the;
disadvantaged for entry level jobs. i
So it is likely that increased business ac
tivism is in the cards.' But it is also likely
' that oivpn ihp linrrv rwnrA rimnilH hu
large parts of the corporate community in
the past, the private sector will fail to'
meet the public's needs and expectations.
But even if the private sector's deeds
surprise the skeptics, it can do no more
than alleviate some of the pain caused by
the budget cuts. Without a strong federal
commitment to restore government's i
responsibility to meet national social pro-:
blems, those problems will continue to
fester. Meanwhile, Americans will be
looking to business to do what it can to
meet its social obligations.
The Power of the Black Vote
Congressman Augustus F. Hawkins
Though politicos will be mulling over
the results of the recent off year elections
for some time to come, one satisfying fact
comes shining through: the growing
power and effectiveness of the black vote.
Perhaps nowhere is this more clearly
demonstrated than in the Virginia guber-
natorial race. Considered to be a close
and hotly contested race from the start,
and one in which President Reagan active
ly campaigned for the Republican con
tender, the large turn ur of black voters
for the winner rdemohstratefe to
Republicans and ,rmbcratsiue5t;hat
fell on deaf ears in communities which are
vitally concerned with the actions of a
President who has remained unsupportive
of the full arid unweakened extension of
the Voting Rights Act of 1965; who would
considerably shrink the size and enforce
mentpower of the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission; who has
already begun a major onslaught to
weaken and nullify affirmative action re
quirements for government contractors;
who is in opposition to the ratification of
the Equal Rights Amendment; who has
decreed that the Federal government will
that suBcfer;(jcUfing alfeover ttwwouatry. Wcyfjll& ihaj sacism 4s'sjjl
and complaints about similar incidents in Virginia, South fcratitfafijt poTS:aj?Ific&;S
.- . A .i - - i L "i e L.m ' . ....'it A.r a
and Louisiana
Christopher Coates, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, says
the actions and attitudes of the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Warren E.
Burger encourage local judges, law officers and politicians to ignore the rights
of oppressed blacks.
' Tyrone Brooks, State Representative from Atlanta, alleges that those who
would ride roughshod over the rights of others are encouraged by the views of
the Reagan Administration which seeks to reduce federal intervention by all
branches of Government, including the Justice Department.
It is not surprising that the finger would be pointed at the government,
which has been derelict in protecting black rights and aggressive in placing
blacks behind bars.
But perhaps the most spine-tingling and ominous development of all is the
recent revelation of the government's involvement in ethnic warfare.
Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that beginn
ing thirty years ago, originating at the Mechanicsburg, Pa. Naval Supply
Depot, the government experimented with a fungus that infected black people
while leaving whites relatively unaffected.
The fungus is "Aspergillus Fumigatus Mutant C-2" which stimulates coc
cidioides (Valley Fever) among blacks; allegedly blacks are "more
susceptible" to cocci than whites. The Long Island (NY) newspaper Newsday
broke aspects of this story as early as 1976.
When a bfyck security guard at the Naval Biosciences Laboratory contracted
cocci while employed at the West Oakland naval facility recenlty, this
troublesome issue arose once again.
The Navy denied that he received this disease in the lab. but it was undeniable
that cocci was one of several infectious agenis being researched.
On the Greek Island of Corfu in the Spring of 1980. a "U.S.-NATO forces"
conference on skin diseases took place which, allegedly, took up the issue once
nuke of ethnic warfare methodology.
One doe not have to be a raving paranoid to be quite concerned about such
activity. Its ipplicabiliiy in Namibia and South Africa not to mention
Harlem. Wajts and black communities nationally is clear.
Moreover; a government that could build a neutron bomb, that kills people
and leaves buildings intact is capable of such. It is just a short step from a
government! hat ignores racist violence against blacks to initiate it.
I'onunately. the light back against all forms of racist violence is proceeding
rapidly. Th1 National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression has
been quite active in this regard, especially in monitoring the situation at the
Naval Biosciences laboratory.
Legislation against paramilitary camps a particular KKK activity has
been passed in Connecticut. Both Klan Watch and the National Anti-Klan
Network have been diligent in filing lawsuits and engaging in mass actions
aya:n. the racist right-wing. Yet. clearly if these Nai fantasies and dreams are
l bv ' ncau'if back, 'more mass action by all people of good will is required.
I'll fact that it Costs more to jail a black youth than send him to Princeton
lias Ifiir been known, Equally familiar is the fact that the flames of unemploy
ment fanned by Rcaganomics will be sending more black youths behind bars.
Every day more and more blacks are consigned to a life in prison that rivals
Dante's Inferno for degradation.
Already blacks are disproportionately on Death Row. Though 1 1 of the
U.S. population is black, a staggering 40 of the inmates on Death Row arc
black. 43-;.; iv-:-';- '' " ' '
: Blacks who kill whites arc far more likely to be sentenced to death than
other racial combinations of murderer and victim. It is estimated that 60 of
the victims of homicide in this country arc black, yet over 80 of the people
who are sentenced to death had white victims. . ' . ;
Blacks arc disproportionately located in the Deep South and, not surprising
ly, f his is where the largest number of Death Row inmates arc located. Florida.
Texas", Georgia and Alabama lead the count ry in this grisly category. Seventy-'
five percent of those on Death Row are in the Deep South.
, The small minds that run this country fully intend to continue their policy of
jailing black's. The planned conversion of the dormitories used for athletes at
the 1980 1 4ke Placid (NY) Winter Olympics into prison facilities that will
mostly house blacks speaks volumes. "
Striking is the fact that the value of contracts awarded annually for con
struction, expansion, and renovation of jails and prisons increased 60 dur
ing the last ten years, from $73.9 million in 1970 to $529 million in 1979. In
dicative is that 370 jails are being buill or expanded right now and you can
expect more black faces staring out from behind bars
Though police authorities act like Sherlock Holmes when it comes to track
ing down blacks, thcy: revert to Rip Van Winkle when it comes to arresting
racist whites. '
, Thus emboldened, the KKK, the' Nazis and their ilk have decided lo go inter
national. There, have been sharp increases in anti-black activities on U.S.
military bases in West Germany, according to a study conducted by Sgt. First
Ciass Jawe 1 an a of Philadelphia. '
Consider the surprising!., admission of
Richard Richards, GOP national chair
man: "Any Republican who runs in an
area with a substantial blick vote is in
jeopardy of being defeated by that black
vote."
The Virginia election demonstrated that
the black vote is increasingly being
recognized as a force that must be reckon
ed with - and by both partiesThis idea is .
given support when one considers that in
the face of a Republican spending spree
which, in this case, outpaced Democratic
expenditures by a margin of 6 to 1 , black
voters were not fooled by the rhetoric and
managed to deliver a strong message of
their own by turning out in large numbers
against a candidate who campaigned on
issues hostile to their welfare. Estimates
are that fully 65 of the registered blacks
in Virginia voted on election day. Of this
large turn out approximately 90 turned
their backs on the conservative
Republican candidate.
Undoubtedly, the slickly-produced
campaign commercials and sloganeering
bat ' same with systematic solutions and
who has characterized the recent jump in
the overall unemployment rate as "a con
sequence, of unwinding the deeply rooted
inflation that is embedded in the
American economy" in regard to
which the Administration has decided to
do nothing. It is clear that in a community
which is plagued by high unemployment
and where many are the victims of the
"last hired, first fired" syndrome there
could be no support, even vicariously, of
a man who once called unemployment in
surance, ". . . .a prepaid vacation plan
for freeloaders."
Persons who must literally tighten their
belts in the wake of their loss of food
stamp benefits, parents who must now dig
deeper into their already ravaged pocket
books to finance their children's college
educations, elderly persons who have
shivered in fear through the President's ,
nearly defeated plan to cut off the
minimum Social Security benefits, union '
"members who have seen one of their own
organizations crushed by the Reagan Ad
ministration and many others who have
been adversely impacted by the budget
cuts and a tax package, which literally
takes from the poor to give to the rich,
rose up to give the President a startling
vote of no confidence' in his programs.
It seems that after all the years of mar
ching, being beaten and clubbed, jailed
and mauled by police dogs, black people
are beginning to realize some tangible
results from their efforts to gain and keep
the right to vote.
. As the days of the Virginia guber-
nptotaUafRpqigr dvpndle.down. issues
Such,,-asrippsjjcard, voter, rj WWnJlofr, '
I I . Yt If I 1 v. a
poseu oy me itepuoiican canaiaaiej anq
of course, the extension of the Voting
Rights Act of 1965 began to be the
decisive issues for black Virginians.
There is a lesson to be learned from the
recent Virginia gubernatorial election.
That is, if not for the existence of the
Voting Rights Act of 1965, fewer black
persons would have been registered to
vote. Clearly, each time a black voter goes
to the polls, especially in one of the
covered jurisdictions, they have to thank
the existence and enforcement of the
Voting Rights Act.
As stated, the Reagan Administration
and its supporters in the U.S. Senate are '
not committed to the full and undiluted
extension of the Act. We cannot allow the
Act to be weakened in any way. Concern
ed citizens across the country must write
'.directly to the President and the chairman
of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Strom
Thurman, to register their support for this
vital bill. The law works just take a
look at the recent governor's race in
Virginia!
Coping
7
Racism: An Over view
When I began to write this
scries of columns on the
Psychological Dynamics of
Racism, my intention was to
write only five columns on
this issue. It became clear
after having written the first
three columns of this series
that many, many more
would be needed in order to
present a reasonable insight.
If you have followed my
column the last two years,
you will know that I focus on
basic human problems
without regard to race. This
issue of racism suggests the
magnanimity of the problem.
As a human bchaviorist and
philosopher, I desire to im
prove our society by pro
viding advice to all people,
black, .while, yellow and
brown.
.Yet. I was called upon to
black existence in this coun
try. The life expectancy for
blacks in America is ten years
shorter than it is for whites.
The psychological trauma of
racism makes the very life
that is lived by blacks tor
tuous, demeaning and emo
tionally punishing.
But. racism is not likely to
disappear in the foreseeable
future; certainly not in our
life-time. The kind hearts
that broke through the racial
barrier in the I960's are no
longer present.
The loud voices of black
and white dissent in response
to an unfair system are
silenced, it is now "every
man for himself." It is a
system in which it appears
that the oppressed ge poorer
and the rich get richer.
uiacks must torse new
focus on the specific issue of alliances with open-minded
racism because of the cnor- and open-hearted whites who
roity of the ---problem. Until view the American way of
this issue is properly address-; ,lifc from the same perspec
ed and resolved, none of us, jive as they. Blacks must
black white, brown or yellow work hand-in-hand with
will be able to endure and other oppressed minorities in
progress as decent human be- order to make their presence
: ings with a clear conscience. , felt and their voices heard.
t Racism overwhelms us.. It 1 The strong alliances of the
is the leading factor that 1960's are not likely to be
determines the nature of reborn. In a society in which
everyone is seeking sbme
specific return for his or her
endeavors, blacks must .
search deeply to see what it is
that they have to offer socie
ty in return for its help. The
current status of blacks in
dicates that society feels that r
blacks have little to offer to
those who can change things.
Blacks have almost been
beaten to a psychological '
pulp. ;
Yet, we are not dead.
There is still life in the body'
of the sleeping black giant..
Perhaps this giant will some-,
day awaken. One thing is cer-!
tairi, however: Blacks must!
throw down the gauntlet and
do it themselves rather than1
wait for a mystical angel of
incrcy and goodness to
awaken this slumbering
black giant, take it by the
hand and lead it to freedom.
By Dr. Charles W. Faulkner
fliTVnthl'TBy
L.E. AUSTIN
Editor-Publisher 1927-1971
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