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Editorial. . .
From The Editor . . .
The Erosion
of Free Choice
The end of a year and the start of a
new signals a time for reflection. Most
people take out some time to ponder
past actions (both good and bad) with a
desire to put forth a better effort in the
future. Most of this kind of reflection
deals with our personal concerns.
However, in 1982, when we think
about our personalindividual con
cerns let's also make an effort to con
front the issues that collectively affect
all Americans.
With the present mood of ultra-conservatism
clouding the judgement of
those politicians who are supposed to
oversee the needs of all the people,
Black America faces many obstacles as
we enter 1982. Unfortunately, we are
finding ourselves again fighting many
of the same battles that we thought we
had won.
Through the lobbying zeal of 'new
conservatism' advocates such as the
Moral Majority, many gains made by
Blacks and other minorities are syste
matically slipping away. Such organi
zations have shrewdly targeted a sig
nificant portion of their thrust on
'areas that Blacks and minorities have
focused little attention. Maybe be
cause many of us have been preoccu
pied with the present and future shock
of the Reagan budget cuts we have not
clearly perceived the serious erosion
of personal freedom that has taken
hold in America.
In the December 20, 1981 New York
Times Book Review the cover story by
Colin Campbell is titled "Book Ban
ning in America". To many of us the
title of this article is shocking. We have
not heard of book banning since the
reign of Adolph Hitler in Nazi Germa
ny. However, when one examines
more closely the kinds of books that
are being banned and the rationale for
such action it becomes readily appar
ent that our perpetual battle for free
dom now has another front on which
to fight.
Groups of national and localized cit
izen committees along with school
boards have, in recent months, chal
lenged our right to decide what we can
read. A few months ago, the Supreme
Court agreed to review a 1976 case
involving the school board of Island
Trees, Long Island. The school board
sought to remove nine books from its
library which included the following:
Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse
Five"; "Go Ask Alice", the diary of a
young girl who died from a drug over
dose; "Soul On Ice" by Eldridge
Cleaver; Alice Childress' "A Hero
Ain't Nothin' But A Sandwich" and
"Best Short Stories by Negro Writers",
edited by Langston Hughes.
The fact that there are people in
America that honestly believe these
books should be banned is alarming
but when we seek the reasons for such
action the answers are nothing short of
appalling. Quoting from the New York
Times article, "According to one of the
board's press releases, the books were
'anti-American, anti-Christian anti-Se-metic
. . . and just plain filthy."
The New York Times article goes on
to point out that such cases are on the
increase with more than 100 titles be
ing removed or threatened with re
moval from both school and public
libraries in over 30 states. More books
that have either been removed or
threatened include "Manchild in the
Promised Land," by Claude Brown;
"Down These Mean Streets," by Piri
Thomas; "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's
Nest" by Ken Kesey; "1984" and
"Brave New World".
Upon examination of the content of
many books that have been banned or
threatened one will note that most deal
with very real conditions in our socie-
National Scene Magazine Sup
plement. December, 1981 Vol. xi
No. 10 by L.H. Stanton Publica
tions, Inc. 15 East 40th St. New
York, N.Y. 10016 (212) 689-3526,
689-1989. Not responsible for unso
licited manuscripts or art work. L.H.
Stanton: Founder-Publisher, Wm.
Decker Clarke: SecretaryTreasur
er, Roy Kemp: Sales Representa
tive, Claude Reed Jr: Editor: Harriet
Millman: Graphic Artist. Publish
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ty, or in the case of fictional works
potential realities. The value of these
books lie in their elevation of our
awareness to the need to incorporate
compassion and understanding into
our activities as they affect others. Re
moval of such books only serves to fur
ther alienate people of differing back
grounds at a time when we should be
exploring points of commonality and
working together for the benefit of
all.
America has always prided itself on
freedom of expression. It is for this
right above all others that we have
welcomed immigrants (except the Hai
tians) for over two hundred years to
America's shores. But with the current
mood for 'book banning' it is evident
that there are those among us who
would desire to limit free expression.
There are still areas of this nation in
which Whites have no first-hand con
tact with Blacks because Blacks don't
live or work there. However, some
Whites from these isolated parts are
capable of demonstrating a realistic
understanding of Blacks primarily be
cause they have read about us in a
positive sense.
If we eliminate the reading matter
we eliminate understanding and in
turn facilitate mythological, racist
oriented concepts . . . especially when
one is subjected to word-of-mouth in
terpretations at the expense of the
written word.
So, in 1982 let us resolve to lobby,
form citizen groups, watch the actions
of our school boards and public librar
ies and make a concerted effort (not
just among Blacks but all concerned
Americans) to protect our right to free
ly express our ideas. Remember, free
dom can never be taken for granted. It
must be diligently watched over to
keep its true meaning intact.
On The Cover
As we enter the new year one of
America's most influential Black or
ganizations is entering their new year
with a new leader. The man is John E.
Jacob who officially replaces Vernon
Jordan January 1st, 1982 as the Presi
dent of the National Urban League.
We all know of the diligent job that
Mr. Jordan turned in as head of the
Urban League and with John Jacob we
can expect more of the forceful, out
spoken leadership that has become a
tradition with this vital Black organiza
tion. Cover and inside photos by Lisa
Dubois.