14TK CA:l:::A TIIS-SATURDAY. MAY 22. 1S82
EditorHi - " "
Ti:2 City Has The Cart
Before The Horse ,
Mayor Charles Markham is wrong when he says that people
who ask serious and even sceptical questions about the city's pro
posed civic center and downtown revitalization concept are trying
to hinder Durham's progress. 1 " '
hfo. The truth is! that city; officials have the cart before the
horse' in this whole question of Durham's urban redevelopment.
The entire concept of urban revitalization is a risky process at
best. It becomes an almost, foolhardy endeavor to accomplish,
piecemeal. And that is exactly what the city is trying to sell a
piecemeal approach to urban progress.
Consider. ;
It is common knowledge that downtown revitalization requires
three major features to fly: institutional development, such as ;
government, finance and commerce centers, as well as hotels and,
a civic center; arts and culture, both as a people magnet and as an
aesthetic relief; and medium density downtown housing to ac
commodate the influx of new people and to give the area a
24-hoW "life". .
In order to understand how all these pieces interrelate, and
what sacrifices the rest of the city must make to accommodate
this progress, the city must present the total concept in one broad
'comprehensive plan.
City officials have not done that.
Rather than take an honest, forthright approach to Durham's
progress, they have chosen to play a number of political games,
trying for example, to minimize the political impact of certain
decisions by pretending that they don't have to be made yet. That
, is quite unfortunate: .
It will -take all of us to pitch in and do tfor part if Durham is to
; progress. But before we can do that,, we must all be in the same
wagon, with the horse in the right place.
Next week, we plan to look at some serious problems with the
city's concept.
The Four Great Lies
Affinitive Action: , ,
Black Workers Reaganomics:
,, By Gerald C. Home, Esquire
As the spector 6f Reaganomics spreads
like a plague from coast to coast, it
becomes increasingly clear that the costs J"
are not just economic. . - .
Dr. . M. Harvey Brenner of Johns
' ' Hopkins University has provided startling
evidence of the effects of depression and
unemployment on those who work for a
living. . . "
v. When unemployment rises one percen-
tage point, Dr., Brenner said, 4.3 o more
men and 2.3 Vo more women are admitted
to state mental hospitals for the first time;
4. lo, more people commit suicide; 5.77
more are murdered; 4 more people
wind up in state prisons; and, over a six-
' year period, 1.9 more people die from'
heart disease, cirrhosis of the liver, and
other stress-related chronic ailments, Dr.
' 1 Brenner estimated that the economic
slump of 1970, with its 1.4 rise in
- unemployment, was linked to 51,570 ad-
; ditional deaths by 1975.
Two points quickly emerge: (1) These
figures are from the rftid-1970's; with the
economic crisis today being deeper, the
situation now is much worse. (2) Second
ly, the depression has hit the black com
munity much harder? Recent unemploy-
not to be taken lightly; but when they lock
. out black workers because of racism, ob
viously something must be done or the
kind of figures that Prof. Brenner cites
will continue to escalate. As if this court1
case were not enough, black workers also ''
.have to contend with other developing:
. negative factors.
' This is particularly true in the Deep;
South where, as the r plague of
Reaganomics deepens, the age-old ques-1
tion of peonage and debt slavery has
begun to rear its ugly head.
, Under the federal anti-slavery statutes,
involuntary I servitude occurs when a '
worker is compelled, by whatever means, .
to keep a job'he or she does not want. If
the worker is prevented from leaving a job
because a debt to his or her employer had
not been repaid, the offense is termed
, peonage. Many black workers, increas-
' ingly desperate for employment, are fall- ,
ing into this eternal trap.
The Justice Department has been com-i
pelled to investigate 46 such complaints
nationwide since January 1, 1980 under,
the Farm Labor Contractors Registration
Act. The Department has received iune
complaints from North Carolina, six
sometimes a peanut butter sandwich for
lunch and an even more meager dinner.1
Coffee costs extra. .
' . Cheap wine 'is more than $6 a bottle,
cigarettes are $1 a pack, soap chips are a
1 dollar a piece. At the end of a week's
.work, the worker probably will owe the;
crew leader money or he may come out
with $5 in net income.
Because these workers owe their bosses
; imoney, they are often prevented from j
' ileaving,-hence debt slavery.
Ua A t Mam f Haitian im.
.migrants that have entered this country,;
they have become a frequent target of
these recruiters. Ironically, Haitians
.escaping their home land in search of
freedom, often find themselves in chains
-in the United Suites. J
: While debt slavery spreads like cancer
across the South, Mac workers across the
country are affected by another plague '
' "runaway shops", i.e. factories closing
down here and fleeing to low wage havens
in , South Africa, South Korea and
- elsewhere....-,i:
In 1979, there was a 23 increase in the
flow of U.S. capital to other lands. In
primary and fabricated metais, me m-
ment statistics released by the government trom boutn Carolina, rour trom nonaa .ease Was 1 15 over the year before, to
confirm that this social plague, far from, and two from New York. Sadly, many of, .'the tune of $1,8 billion. The outflow of
It is sad to see that even in 1982, as we approach Century 21, so
many of. our decisions as a people are based in the self-defeating
concepts of what we Call the four great lies of control.
The four great lies of control are the basic tenets of racism that
have seriously warped ottr perceptions of ourselves and this
ill nmui nb iiiwi iiv uw wn
! That whStA rurr1 br rmninrpcnt all-tnnwino nrartirifllv
infallible, and that racism is an aberration of character, ,MWM
That success for blacks in this country is based more on our
abilities to keep secrets from whites than upon skill and execu- 1
tion. But, of course, if you believe this lie, along with lie number
one; success is impossible.
That progress for blacks in America can be measured only in
the jight .of white benevojencew Thus, there are no really talented, ii:
skilled or committed blacks, only blacks upon whom whites have F?f
smiled. kl '
That above all things, blacks cannot trust each other, which,
of course, leaves us in the psychologically suicidal position of try-
. ing to trust whites.
x Our pathological belief in these lies, fueled greatly by the insis
tent preaching of them from America's three major institutions
of control the schools, mass media and the church causes us
triTnot-.lo rAcsviiwc trt i4onu on1 rtteni V"ntrJ1iiiHnc
; that we can make to each other, and to spend our energies curry
ing favor rather than developing winning strategies.
..i v a vw . .. b. j . WW . nia a l i aiiii mr 1111 a f ww ii..,.... - f ji iil v u
local current controversy.
declining, is .rising unabated. A case
decided by the U.S. Supreme Court just
days ago, American Tobacco Company v.
Patterson, insures that this trend, will con
tinue to afflict blacks,: Because of per
vasive Discrimination"? blacks are usually
the last to be hired. And as the depression,
deepens, they are the first to be fired.
In this case, the Supreme Court made it
more difficult to challenge the fairness of
seniority systems that have been in place ,
since the Civil Rights Act of 1964. By a
vote of -5 to 4, the Court held that such
seniority systems were legal, regardless of
their effect on women or blacks, as long
as they were not ; adopted for a
( discriminatory purpose.'
Once again, the 'critical area of civil,
rights law is being bogged down in the
muck of attempting to divine what is the
intent Or "purpose" of racists.
Psychoanalysts have devoted years to this
subject without making headway, while :
black plaintiffs, .are supposed to
demonstrate evidence of "intent,, in
these cases more often than hot
black crew leaders persecuting black farm
workers. North Carolina dramatize! and
,. illustrates all of these unfortunate tenden
cies. ' v.--.':.
In the "Tarheel State" the migrant
season generally begins in April with the
cabbage ; crop, which is followed by
! cucumbers, peppers, tobacco, apples and
sweet potatoes. The season ends about the
-first week of November, usually after the
first frost. f v;J;?' ' :
v Crew leaders begin recruiting laborers
in Florida after the citrus season ends,
telling them there is plenty of work
.available in the Carolinas. Yet, the
recruiting is not limited to Florida, and
.the workers are not always accurately told
.where they will be working. The recruiters
' go to such major cities as Atlanta,
Philadelphia and New York and make a
jbeeline for half-way houses and mission
shelters, seeking men who are down and
uu '
.Wages are customarily $45 per week;.,
the worker usually lives in a sub-standard
, shelter, gets eggs and grits for breakfast,
court!
Seniority systems fire an important tool
capital in petroleum, totalling $16.2, was
a 36ft hike over iy8.
McGraw-Hill pointed out the increase;
in the flight of capital abroad is about
four times the increase that was forecast.
All the while U.S. industry is withering on
the vine and black workers are suffering
even more '
About 200,000 autoworkers alone are!
on "indefinite" layoff. Chrysler workers
were forced to vote approval of a 13 cut
in wages amounting to $622 million. Ford
and GM workers are being coerced to
'.follow suit. And the auto industry is
becoming a model for all labor contracts
with employers demanding! "give backs"
and concessions no matte? how much in
profits has been earned.
President Reagan has not lifted a finger
;to halt this tide and, indeed, has en
couraged it, bizarrely seeing unemploy
ment as a cure for inflation. But black
workers know that the most immediate
cure for unemployment and inflation is
retiring the laziest President in recent
times.
Why You Should Vote
Jt. ,
By Congressman Augustus F. Hawkins
there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who propose
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 majestic waves .
without the: awful roar of its waters. '
. " . , Frederick Douglass
" NORTH CAROLINA
BLACK PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
During the past few years, blacks and
other minorities have begun to seriously
question the effectiveness of their par-,,
ticipation in the electoral process. Indeed,
today as at no time in our history has
there been such widespread skepticism,
about whether and to what extent exercis
ing the right to vote makes any difference'
in the efforts of blacks o improve their
economic status or to obtain a more
equitable allocation of public benefits.
After playing such a critical role in the ,
election of President Carter in 1976,
blacks expressed considerable disillusion
ment with the benefits that accrued from
that critical support. Nevertheless, I firm
ly believe that blacks, as Voters, can in
fluence policy direction through a choice
of candidates and issues.
Today, many American say: What dif
ference does their vote make in the level
and kinds of benefits they receive from
government? In fact, there are those who
sincerely ; believe that the government
benefits and services: that they receive
andor lose have no . relationship . to
whether or not they vote. Yet, according
to a recent report ; by the Rockefeller
Foundation, all of the major studies of
the relationship between black electoral
participation and the distribution of
public benefits suggest that electoral par-'
ticipation does indeed make a difference. .
One study conducted by William Keech
found that black participation brought
about changes in the outcome of elec
tions, "in the distribution of public ser
vices, including garbage collection, street
paving, recreational facilities, and fire
stations; in the employment of blacks by
the city government" and in the elimina
tion of some forms of discrimination.
, To put the strength of the black voter
into perspective, one need only consider
the 1976 Presidential election in which
President Carter," who was the over
whelming choice of black voters, received
,90 of all black votes cast. As a result, in
13 states, black votes for Carter exceeded
his margin of victory -r these same 13
states accounted for 216 electoral votes.
This fact takes oh even greater
significance when one considers the fact
that President Carter won the presidency
by a mere 36 electoral votes.
Moreover, while blacks did not have
the same impact in the election of Presi
dent Reagan, it should be noted that in a
few southern states, the black vote
Reagan received exceeded his margin of
victory. For example, in Arkansas, Presi
dent Reagan won the state by only 4,285
votes blacks in Arkansas cast 8,000
votes for Mr. Reagan.
Over the course of the last 18 months
President Reagan, supported by his Con
gressional allies, has systematically begun
to dismantle - programs which benefit
minorities, women and the poor. This
process was undertaken on an "alleged"
mandate by the people: for change. If
voters, particularly black voters, do hot
send the President and the Congress
another message the only change the poor
and the middle class will feel is the other
side of the Administration's budget cut
ting axe. ;
Every change which Reaganomics has
brought about thus far was made possible
because too few elected officials on the
local, state and federal level refused to
take a stand. However, this year the
hands that once picked cotton can if we
;want to to pick public officials who
Vill be responsive to our needs. We can
'Select people who are concerned about a
fair tax system, rather than one that
favors big business and the rich. We can
select officials who are concerned about
our children's education. We can select
"officials who have compassion for the
elderly and the poor.
. As Maudine Cooper, a vice president of
the National Urban League, recently said,
we have to let people in our community
know that one vote counts, whether they
cast it for a Republican or a Democrat.'
iiOne snowflake might not make a dif
: ference, but it takes a bulldozer to move a
Jot of snowflakes sticking together.
VALUE FORUM
-:
realizing the worth
of your possessions q
Bimgo You SiiouH Knoi?
COTT...
M
Served as secretary to Booker L Washington
at Tuskegee. In 1917, during World War I, he became
Assistant Secretary of War, dealing with army
segregation here and abroad. Under his guidance was
set up the first Jraining camp for negro officers at Ft.
Des Moines,' Iowa. The south reacted with race riots .
? and in Houston, Texas, 64 negroes of the 24th intan-
try were court-martialed on November, , 1977.
Continental Features
Is Your Appraiser
A Professional?
By Dexter D. MacBride, ASA '
Executive Vice President
AmericanSociety ofAppraisert
Your accountant it a CPA; r
your lawyer has pawed the'
State Bar; your doctor is
an MD. What about your
appraiser?
Does your appraiser have
a designation such as ASA?
That designation tells you
the person using it has been
tested (intensive, written tests)
and certified, is a Senior, -Member
of the American
Society of Appraisers. He or
she has a minimum of five
'years, fulltime, appraisal
experience.' ,
Neither federal nor state
governments test or certify
appraisers,, although some
states require real property '
appraisers to hold real estate
brokers licenses.,. Other than
that, the appraiser, in order to '.
be classed in the professional
ranks, joins an organization
that tests and certifies and,'
when he or. she is qualified
(sufficient appraisal exper-'
ience), willingly submits to!
(Continued on Page 16) v
1-
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