Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Aug. 23, 1975, edition 1 / Page 4
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Neal To Hold Public Meetings - "CSSftfcl*.. n ? *"* * VI ?ll?i?l W V JBJ This seems to be a good way to determine if our representative performs in-our behalf. If we tell him how we feel and what we want and no attempts to further those goals are made, then we can act accordingly. But, if he does not know our desires then we can hold him accountable for nothing. We can not blame anyone for our laziness...except ourselves. Again, we implore every black citizen in the fifth district to get out and talk with your congressman. Teenage Alcoholics: Adult Problem, Alcoholism among the nation's younger generation is on the upswing. A vast majority of teenagers are hitting the bottle seeking relief from an often frustrated environment. It is a sad situation, to say the least, but one that should surprise no one. The present depressing situation, we contend, has been caused by a general breakdown of morality and poor examples set by many adults. Alcoholism is learned just as are other bad habits. Perhaps if adults would try to set better examples then our teenagers would feel a little less skeptical about bringing their problems to us. It is unlikely that a teenager, would feel comfortable talking to someone who is more unstable than himself. We know how tough things are today. But. that is all the more reason for being firm and determined to stand up under adversity. We have always been faced with "tough" times. We need to teach our young to stand on their own two feet and meet the challenge and the task that life often presents. We can only do this by being firm and determined ourselves. Many times the road is dark and uncertain, but we must look ahead for the light that will enable us to see. Our young . alcholics need our help and we should give it to them. Afterall. they are what they are because we are what we are. II THE WINSTON-SALEM CHRONICLE is published every H I Thursday by the Winston-Salem Chronicle Publishing Co., || I inc. 2208 N. Patterson Ave. Mailing Address: P.O. Box I 3154, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27102, Phone: 722-8624 I Second Class Postage paid at Winston-Salem, N.C. 27102 I Subscription: $8.32 per year payable in advance (N.C. Sales tax included] Editor-in-Chief Ernest H. Pitt I Publisher Ndubisi Egemonye I Business Editor Charles T. Byrd Jr. I Office Manager Mrs. Frances Bradley Opinions expressed by columnist in this newspaper do not I necessarily represent the policy of this newspaper. rum uninmi^ pressman aieve ireet mi! noifl two public meetings here during a two-week visit to HieTlNswi^thrringthe August congressional recess. We hope Mr. Neal's black constituents will take advantage of this opportunity. Mr. Neal appears to be making a sincere effort to find out what citizelfe in the Fifth district want him to do. We are particularly concerned that blacks participate in this open and informal meeting with Mr. Neal. ^ So often we grumble and gripe about things to our friends and neighbors. But, here is a chance to gripe and complain to ? someone who may be able to make some changes. In a press. release from his office, Mr. Neal explained the intent of the meetings. "It is important that 1 know the needs and concerns of the people," Neal stated. "They have every right to participate in tne legislative decisions I make, and the public meetings serve this purpose." First of the two meetings will be held Thursday August 21 at 7:30 p.m. in the old Forsyth County Courthouse. The second, and perhaps the one blacks should make a point to attend, will be held at Kimberly Park Terrace on Oak Street 7:30 p.m. August 26. We encourage people to attend. If you don't, Mr. Neal may have to rely on what he thinks blacks want and need ratH*r than uikat iua < ??> * * .?? * CI 7b - lOH *es, WE <2 A "pit t/tf CBe The Depression has been marked by confrontations over fewer and fewer jobs. Black people, who had been promised a bigger slice of an expanding pie, have now found that when serving time comes around, the pie has shrunk and all we're left with is a piece of the crust. As more employers lay off workers, and as local governments tighten their belts and cut back on essential services and iohs. Mark workers are finding that, as last hired, they're first.fired. Blacks, veterans, women, and young people are told that, . because of the rigid seniority system, they've got to lose their jobs. In this Depression, sacrifices are demanded from ? some while benefits continue to flow to others. Equity demands greater flexibility. It makes more sense for everyone to bear a smaller part of the burden than for some to bear all of it. Shared work, raise freezes, and other devices to avoid lay-offs are unpleasant and if possible, should be avoided. But where this is no alternative, they are preferable to lay-offs that take work and paychecks away from those who can afford to lose neither. And while I recognize the traditional importance of the seniority system, I would urge our friends in the labor movement to recall the title of their old union anthem. "Solidarity Forever", and "forever" doesn't just mean "in good times". True solidarity for working people means sticking together to protect their hard-won gains, but when the crunch comes. \ [9fs:t#es\ ~ ^ 4 , IOE A I-1? OP THE CC CE OF "THE AT)UERTt: ^ h Vernon E. solidarity also means sticking together to insure that some workers won't have to give up their jobs to preserve the jobs of others. Seniority versus affirmative action is typical of the hard, bitter choices- being made today, choices that should be unnecessary in a rational economy. Affirmative action, never really tried, always the sad stepchild of an economy that excludes blacks from full participation, is now all but dead. The private sector is lagging, the public sector all Hilt roiArfc U vm? vjw?a lit auu lll^ commitment to make up for past discrimination is today all but invisible. The moment is ripe for those of us making our separate protests over this situation to come together to map out a strategy to deal with this body blow against black workers. The moment is here for black people and other minorities to come together in unity behind affirmative action and to save this lifeboat from destruction by the jaws of the sharks of unemployment, seniority, and discrimination. The conflict over jobs, the increased reluctance to take bold steps to end the Depression, and the sheeplit l'.ff ?? -? me uiaiTrerence or tne American people to their loss of earning _power and economic livelihood add up to a picture of a country that has lost faith in its ability to control its destiny. Public indifference to the effects of the Depression, like public indifference to black efforts to be truly equal in our society is rooted in a complex set of anti-social attitudes of ft Aft 23, 1973 TXJ i > '9 75" >?MUNiTY A/EU/J yiNd" 7>/?. ' ________ Jordan, Jr. which racism must be considered a prime factor. How else can we explain official assurances that the urban crisis is over at a time when the nation's cities, now lu.L isivi^aaiugiy uiacn, are scenes of suffering unparalleled since \ the thirties? How else can we explain official attempts to convince black organizations that no special efforts need to be made to create jobs at a time when a fourth of our people are out of work? Hov^ else can we explain a foreign policy that neglects Black Africa, places at the head of the African Desk a diplomate African nations object to, and is formulated by Secretary of State Kissinger, who has managed to fly all over the world but has never yet set foot on the soil of a black African nation? 1 do not believe that the ] nation's silence in the face of hard times and racial strife , will long continue. As the Depression drags on, as its effects hit those who are now complacent and indifferent, the situation will change. The direction of that change is in question today. It may find an outlet in the kind of creative leadership that puts through a full employment policy and a minimum income guarantee. But there is also a danger of change from a different direction, the danger that friictratinn A 111 uiiu uiviaiuu will erupt into a negative movement behind a false leader, a# demagogue with dictatorial ambitions. No nation is immune from the kind of mass insanity that brought a Hitler out of a Depression-ridden Germany. i i
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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Aug. 23, 1975, edition 1
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