14-TKE CAROLINA TIMES-SATURDAY, JULY IVIKt
For Black Folks, Two Party i
Politics Often Gets Strange
Greetings From Our 'Triends"!
:To Be Equal! . :., . .
DEMOCRATIC
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..
Editorials
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Black folks historically have tried to make America's two-party
onrd Rut that always seems to leave
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black folks vulnerable to political back-stabbing. ;
Several examples come immediately to mind.
On the National level, it was a knife in the back that ran black
people from the party of Lincoln when Republicans sided with
southern Democrats to end the Reconstruction era. Consequent
ly, many blacks who had been elected to office, and who had
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drummed from office by white voters.
In North Carolina, around the turn of the century, a so-called
reform movement bonded white voters together under a racist
banner and not only drove black elected officials from office, but
also disenfranchised black voters with ridiculous registration
rules.; - - : .-.'.-.'V' '
Aoainst this historical backdroo. organizations such as the
Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People were born.
Seeing clearly that politics is a major facet of successful living in
. - . ' i i ' j a. 1-1 - .( u
inis country, DiacKS usea various sen micicsi piuviaivua ui wc
two-party system, to map political strategy. ;
And while the question of openness rin this i democraticlystem is
important, the most important question for blacks is to guarantee
participation.
The bloc vote is one way of doing that.
The belief that this political survival method is racism and con-
ot tnis nation s msiory.
And while it might be true that "many whites in this com
munity "share the concerns of blacks..." as the Durham Morn
im Herald said in a recent editorial, the "many" apparently are
not a majority. , : -
And right now just isn't the right time for black voters to begin
believing that the two-party system has reformed sufficiently to
be trusted.
Let us say right here that the exception we take with the Herald
editorial is not with either the thesis oMhe conclusion. We, too,
believe that the Committee should function openly. We think that
being totally independent and,supported solely by the black com
munity should be the cornerstone of openness. . ,
But we do not agree with the illogical conclusion that because
the Committee and, by implication, black folks do not trust white
folks politically that black folks are therefore racist.
Quite frankly, the distrust that blacks have for whites is a
distrust born of at least two centuries of horrendous experiences,
manv of which are still around and some of the worst of which
lurk threateningly jjust beneath the surface.
So we believe that while much of what the Herald editorial said
is true, to call black folks racist because we try to survive however
we can in a hostile environment is just another example of vic
timizing people and blaming the victim. ;
The Police Should Reconsider-
I t ,
Durham police should seriously consider changing the current
policy on reporting results of citizen complaints against police of
ficers. ,
The issue comes to mind regarding the case of Ms. Cynthia
Bynum who recently charged a local police officer with making
lewd suggestions to her, among other things, during an interview
after being arrested by the officer.
After making her complaint, MsJ Bynum has been told by
police officials that they can't tell her what action was taken, or
even if any action was taken because it is a personnel matter, and
North Carolina law makes these records confidential.
While it is true that personnel records are confidential under,
state law, it seems that making action on a citizen's complaint a
personnel matter prior to the citizen getting,a report violates the
spirit of cooperation that is necessary for gojpd law enforcement.
Citizens must be able to believe in police, and to feel that the
officer who violates their trust will be dealt with properly. V
Police must also be protected from frivolous charges of im-
propriety, but enshrouding the entire process in secrecy is not the !
way to do it. ' , j
Therefore, it behooves local police officials and city ad
ministration officials as well to begin discussing how both objec
tives can be best accomplished. .
Without a way to clear the air the police department could well
be contributing to a breakdown in the link of trust that must tie.
good enforcement together with good citizenship. "
Time For A New Marshall Plan
. ' ... By John E. Jacob
Executive Director. National Urban League
r History records that the wisest things'
America did in the past 35 years wjere also;
the most humane. ; '' ;':"'V :
-The first of those was the conscious -move
. away , from segregation ? to ;
guaranteeing civil rights. It took Jong;"
hard years of street marching and protests '
before the country moved. But when iti
did - through court decision, laws and"
' executive orders it advanced to a new!
plateau of societal decency.
In the orocess it liberated the energies
of a talented people held down by unjust 1
laws and customs and many were able to :
move into the mainstream, enriching the ,
nation in the process. :. i - "
. The other wise and humane move came
about 35 years ago when the U,S. launch-.
ed the Marshall Plan. Most-Americans i
don't remember what that meant to war-!
stricken Europe. Even Europeans could i.
stand to be reminded. ,
That now-prosperous continent was;
hungry, without fuel and ''with war-1
damaged housing that left millions inade
quately sheltered an3 homeless. Its in-;
dustries now exporting so heavily to
the U.SS were flat on their backs.
But the U.S. stepped in and for four
years shipped a tremendous amount of
goods overseas to help.tput Europe back : :
on its feet. Dead factories were brought to ,
life, homeless people were sheltered, and
hungry people fed by a revived"
..
iff..
Us
agricultural system.
It was a massive undertaking. Ten per
cent of the federal budget was earmarked
; for Marshall Plan aid. In its first year, ;
'jhat aid took almost three per. cent of our ;
1 gross national prod,uct the equivalent 1
today would be about $100 billion! a "U
' By the end of the four years Europe was,
'oh the road to prosperity.Today the na-r
ftiohs of western Europe, taken together,;
are as prosperous as we are. Some even
have higher living standards today than
we do. - -' ' , , '
The Marshall Plan was no act of chari
ty, Policymakers of the time knew that ?in
economically dormant Europe would not
be able to buy our goods and that the way
to avoid a return to the pre-war Depres I
sion : was through pumping' up their :
economy so that r Europe could be a ,
trading partner and American factories'
could be running full blast.
That shows that sometimes the best
self-interest lies in helping the other guy.
Ten years after the Marshall Plan ended:
its work successfully Whitney Young,
i proposed a domestic Marshall Plan to do
for America's own poverty-ridden areas
what we did. for foreigners. .
Had a domestic Marshall Plan been!
adopted then we would has escaped many
of the problems that afflict us today. In
stead our cities declined still further until
today Darts of the U.S. are as devastated
as were bombed-out parts of Europe dur-
ing the war. Pockets of abandoned
buildings and deserted . areas in big cities
are an outrage but so too is the tragic,
decline of America's industrial heartland.'
i Abandoned plants that once 4 offered,
1 productive ' work to thousands stand
lifeless. Stores are empty, unemployment
offices crowded. Unemployment checks
iare running out and no work is in sight.
iAnd this was the 'area whose industries
helped put Europe back on its feet? To
day, it is slowly sliding into hopelessness
born of the Depression of the 1980s.:
So this is the right time to start thinking
about another Marshall Plan a Mar
shall Plan for Americans, as ; wjjitney
Young proposed twenty years ago. A
Marshall Plan for the, 1980s would, rebuild
' the cities and get ourdying industries pro-,
ducing again for the benefit of all.
Most important, it would reach out lo
the poor and the unskilled with job train
ing opportunities so that they too could
share in the benefits of a revived
economy. -: '
Like the original Marshall Plan, doing
good for the poor would wind up with
America doing well again. We'd have full
employment instead of over ten million;
-jobless.1 And they would be paying taxes'
. and using fewer resources jus to survive.
Our cities would be strong centers of
meaningful activity again, instead of
decaying remnants of greatness. ,
Business In The Black
1
No Nippon Policy At Versailles
President Placated
By Charles E. Belle
If it pleases the President, the wool has '
been pulled over his eyes. Even play ,
soldiers can see decoys for dummies these
days. Unemployment is destroying the
U.S. domestic and foreign economies
everywhere. Each nation attending the
Versaille European economic Summit, in-'
eluding the U.S., West Germany, France,
Great Britain, Italy, Canada and Japan '
justifiably, felt unemployment was too !
high, around the world and most par- i
ticularly in their own country.
- Consensus was first to discuss the ,
development of new technologies on a
global basis to create new employment'
opportunities, followed quickly by the
realization that "curbing inflation and?
reducing unemployment are urgent"
needs of . the entire world economy,
Evidence, indicates Japan was, the, enemy,
from within the Seven Ration4 Economic
Summit. ? '
Unemployment hit a record high earlier
this year in the European Common
Market. Marking the worst combined
monthly figures for those 10 nations since
record-keeping began after , World War II.
Great Britain being a purveyor of the cur
rent U.S. conservative party's program
today is best summed up as "the most,
tragic day in peace time that Britain has
- seen for half a century." Comparisons are
apparent considering the U.S. also has a '
conservative administration and currently ;
the highest unemployment rate of 9.5 j
since 1941 . , One can see why the
"Westminster Ripper", Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher and Reaganomics -were
happy with each other at the
economic summit. Misery must indeed
love company. Compared with these'
' Western sleeping giants, Japan just1
played it cool at the summit, hopping by,
as if hurt, with just a little over two per
, cent unemployment. ,,
i Japan just sent up a smoke screen,
around-her stinking trade policy. It's a
"take all and give little" lesson. Like the
masters of double talk, Michio
Watanabe, Minister of Finance of Japan,
a Versaille Summit participant pretended
' to give yivhile faking. Talking in Japanese, '
while goading Americans for riot speaking
his language in Japan, before the tame
members of the Commonwealth Club of
California immediately following the
Summit, Watanabe said he had defused,
the devastating effect of Japan's selfish1,
import restrictions on foreign products.
Pronouncing prior to the Summit that
some foreign produced products such as
refrigerators, vacuum cleaners and TV
sets will finally be allowed to be sold in
Japan, knowing full well the folly of
foreigners to penetrate the Japanese
market with those products.
Japanese products available at below
competitive cost abroad, built protected
in Japan, have permitted mass production
cost savings. In addition, tax breaks cut
Japanese cost for cars and other products,
not available to U.S, manufacturers. The
Japanese government forgives a 17.5
ihome-country tax on exported cars of the
subcompact size. To return the U.S,
(bound Japanese car, export-valued at
$3,500 to its Japanese home-country
'value requires the reapplication of the
forgiven 17.5 or $3500 plus 17.5 for a
total of $41 13! This effectively stops U.S.
.workers from selling their labors in
; Japan, while permitting Japanese produc
i ed products, to. perpetuate U-S. unemploy
ment lines. Protection of the Japanese
market place is apparently still the aim of
the Japanese government at the expense
of high U.S. unemployment and other ex
ternal citizens. Countries should come to
a summit and at least attempt to come to a
just common concensus but obviously not
negative Nippon types.
Affirmative Action:
Enterprise Zones Bringing The :
Third World Home By Gerald C. Home, Esquire v
Though Reaganomics has proverrftself ;
to be as worthless as snake oil, some of its
ideas still die hard. -
One of the most enduring myths of
Reaganomics has been the concept of free
; enterprise zones. As W.W. Goldsmith has
'demonstrated forcefully in the' journal
i Working Papers, this - mirage f has
"I somehow captured the fancy and atten-'
jtion of many who ought to know better.
; Enterprise zones would grant further
tax and regulatory concessions to entice
corporations to invest in the ghettos and
; barrios of this country. Yet, Reagan's tax
policy has given away the store to business
' already, so the query naturally arises,
"what's left to give?" , '
Strangely , enough, this'-., potential
; cataclysm known as "free enterprise
zone" has been endorsed' Hot only by
' South Bronx Congressman Robert Garcia
(who's co-sponsoring the main congres
sional version with top Reaganaut Rep.
Jack Kemp) but by mayors, city councils'
and state administrations across the coun
try. What lies behind this explosion that
has made enterprise zones the new gospel?
In the U.S. today the major trans
national corporations find it more pro
fitable to move abroad than td stay at .
. home. The colony of Puerto Rico was an
early model for what has happened to
other Third World nations and what is in
! store now for this country.
There "Operation Bootstrap" was !
. j bally-hooed the way enterprise zones are
.now. Business argued that if obscenely,
favorable tax concessions were granted, .
I health and safety regulations relaxed or .
abolished, they would set up shop on the
' island and drive out unemployment. ,
This Shangri-la did not occur. In fact,
; today the Puerto Rican economy is on its
' last legs with much of its population fore-;
I ed to move to the barrios of the Northeast
; U.S. because of a lack of jobs and those ,
who remain barely subsisting on food
. stamps. .
Another U.S1 neighbor, Mexico, is
j another example of what business has in ;
1 store for the rest of us. Along the border
more than 100,000 workers, almost ex
clusively young women, work in scores of
factories that export goods to the U.S.
In Cindad Juarez, cheek by jowl with .
El Paso, Texas, these poverty-stricken
laborers toil long hours at little pay under
dangerous conditions for many 9f the in
dustrial giants that have been shutting
down plants here G.E.', Westinghouse, ,
RCA, Sylvania, to name a few.
, In Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan South
, Korea, Hong Kong and South Africa one
finds a similar pattern. U.S. business in
duces or coerces governments to basically
provide "enterprise zones" and they pro
mise jobs. The daily stream of Mexicans
1 across the border to look for work in the
U.S. is the ultimate commentary on the
failure of their effort.
This pig in a poke is now being foisted
off on the black community in particular
as a panacea. Yet, the idea has been pro-,
moted fervently by that long time foe of
blacks, the ultra-conservative Heritage
foundation.
i Their advocacy has taken hold to the
point where it is now embodied in at least
five federal bills and in proposed legisla
tion in more than 20 states.
An Illinois bill,- for example which .
nearly passed in September 1981, would,
have suspended all zoning and building.
Codes, done away, with, the minimum
wage, eliminated property taxes, 'gutted
health and safety laws and weakened
trade unions to the point of extinction.
This latter point is striking because many
see low wages as what enterprise zones are
all about.
Again, a look abroad is instructive. In .
Singapore, $17 per week for a 44-hour ,
week is not unusual. Hourly wages in
Haiti and Thailand are a measly 15C per '
' hour; Indonesia, Liberia and Lesotho, :
25 per hour,
In many of these cases the trans
! nationals keep in power brutal dictators !
jlike "Baby Doc";jn Haiti, who repress j
itrade unions so as to keep working condi-.
jtions terrible and wages low. But the fact f
is, as the, trans-nationals see it, the
'governments of these Third World na t,
'tions are "unstable". j
j i In plain English what this means is that j
.'ultimately there are mass rebellions and !
revolutions against such gross systems pi
inequality and injustice witness Iran
and trans-nationals : are often forced tc
'abandon ship, .frequently, at substantia
financial' loss, K as businesses . are na
tionalized by host governments.
With the advent of free enterprise zones
(Continued on Page 16)
L.E. AUSTIN
Editor-Publisher 1927-1971
USPS 091-380)
(Mrs.) Vivian Austin Edmonds
Editor-Publisher
Kenneth w. Edmonds
' General Manager .
, L.M.Austin '
. Production Supervisor
' ' ' Milton Jordan ,
' v Executive Editor
. Curtis T.Perkins
Contributing Editor-Foreign Affairs
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