Page A4-The Chronicle, Thursday, December 22, 1983
Witiston-Salem Ctir'oriicle
Founded 1974
ERNEST H. PITT,
NDUBISI EGEMONYE
( (i-l imniler
ALLEN JOHNSON
t.xfcuiive tc/iior
ELAINE L, PITT
0/fi e ManuKcr
JOHN SLADE
Assisiani Editor
A Christinas List
Items on a grown man’s Christmas list:
- A large spray can of Cabbage Patch doll repellant.
- A year’s worth of soup line meals for White House
counselor Ed Meese, whose recent comments about hunger,
or the lack thereof in America, are some of the ignorant,
callous and infamous words since Marie Antoinette advised
the French masses to eat cake.
— A G.I. Joe action figure for President Reagan, who’d do
the world and the American public a big favor by playing
soldier in his backyard rather than all over the globe.
- A Monopoly game for those black people in Winston-
Salem who have the money but refuse to invest in such wor
thwhile and lucrative ventures as the East Winston Shopping
Center. Maybe they’ll invest more if the capital is play
money.
— A one-way space shuttle pleasure cruise for U.S. Senators
Jesse Helms and John East.
— The ultimate weapon: a kind of neutron bomb that, when
detonated, only destroys Mr. Microphones.
-- A trip to the principal’s office for our school board, which
deserves a good paddling for coming up with one of the most
unfair school reorganization plans in history.
— A set of Tinker Toys for our school board to use when
renovating Glenn Junior High to become an unneeded eighth
high school. That would be poetic justice: a building as
childish as the idea of creating it.
— A ban on Christmas commercials in September.
— A parking space close to Hanes Mall.
— The recall of all artificial Christmas trees that look like
green pipecleaners or huge killer scrub brushes.
-- A history text for those shortsighted people who say they
won’t support Jesse Jackson’s presidential bid because his
chances of winning are not great. Imagine where we all
would be today if our forefathers subscribed to that illogic.
- All the stories my computer terminal stole from me during
the calendar year.
— A dollar for every liquor house in Winston-Salem (with
which 1 would buy an island chalet in the West Indies and
retire).
- A fresh batch of concerned young black candidates for the
coming elections in 1984 and ’85.
- More coordination and cooperation among local black
organizations and leaders.
— And, very seriously, a safer, .saner, happier world than the
one 1 see right now.
- Allen Johnson
Crosswinds
A Segregated City
From Perspectives (published by the U.S. Commission on
Civil Rights).
Before too many more self-congratulations are heard
about the civilized way Philadelphia went about electing its
first black mayor - compared to the racial undercurrents
that swirled around Chicago’s recent mayorality - check out
a new study by the private Citizens’ Commission on Civil
Rights. It depicts the City of Brotherly Love as decidedly un-
brotherly: Between 1970 and 1980, Philadelphia was one of
two big U.S. cities (Cleveland was the other) that actually
became more segregated. During that same time, such
.sohthern bastions of Jim Crowism as Birmingham, Atlanta,
Jacksonville, Richmond and Nashville became more in
tegrated.
The Citizens’ Commission — comprised, in part, of former
memhers of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights - looked
at those 28 major cities with black populations of 100,000
and up. Its segregation index was based on the 1970 and 1980
Census as well as on how well city blocks were mixed with
blacks and non-blacks.
Oakland, across the Bay from San Francisco, has long
been depicted by the news media as an “all-black” city: In
fact, it may be the most integrated of all 28 cities, with only 2
percent of the hlack poptdatiou living on exclusively “black
blocks.” Dallas, once 96 percent segregated, has dropped to
8.J percent - no doubt due in part to a 1971 “fair housing”
ordinance.
But Philadelphia, which in 1970 ranked 18th in terms of
segregation, now has climhed to fourth place, right behind
Chicago, Cleveland and St. Louis.
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Celebrating Christmas And Kwanza
By CLIFTON GRA VES
Chronicle Colunmist
Kwanza is not necessarily an at
tempt to supplant ^‘Christmas;'’
rather, it provides an opportunity for
African-Americans to reinforce in a
concrete way the historic bonds bet
ween us and our ancestral home.
- Dr. Maulana Ron Karenga
-- A cookbook with a cook included.
- A self-cleaning car that fills itself up with gas when it’s
low, checks its own oil, automatically picks its owner up at
his doorstep each morning and drives him to work, and
cusses at shady mechanics who try to sabotage it.
Ever get the feeling that the true
spirit and meaning of Christmas have
been lost? Well, I encourage you to
check out Kwanza.
The cultural celebration of Kwanza
was first introduced in the United
States in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Ron
Karenga, professor of African-
American Studies at San Jose Stale
College and perhaps one of the most
astute scholars of African-American
politics and culture of our time.
Kwanza -- which in the East
African language of Swahili means
“first fruits” - is a year-end celebra
tion, observed between Dec. 26 and
Jan. 1, during which time the
celebrants reaffirm their commitment
to uphold and adhere to the Ngoza
Saba (Seven Principles) of Blackness.,
Each of the seven days of the week-
long celebration is set aside to pay
homage to a principle. These seven
principles are: Umoja (unity), Ku-
jichagulia (self-determination),
Ujima (collective work and respon
sibility), Ujamaa (cooperative
economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba
(creativity) and Imani (faith).
In order to create a more authentic
atmosphere, celebrants of Kwanza
use certain items such as
candleholders (a candle is lit daily),
straw mats and a “unity cup,” sym
bolizing respectively the strength of
parenthood, cultural tradition and
homage to our ancestors.
The beauty of the Kwanza is not
just in its re-
Cllfton Graves
affirmation
of our Afri
can heritage,
but more so
in the fact
that it stresses
values of
love, sharing,
peace and
justice, which
those of us
who celebrate
Christmas
have apparently lost track of.
Jfms, iri a large sense. Kwanza
serves not necessarily as an alter
native to Christmas, but as a comple
ment to the “season of peace.”
While many in our community still
ignorantly reject any association with
their African ancestry, it would be
wise for them to remember that
Africa is the birthplace of all civiliza
tions, and that ours is a heritage to be
proud of.
Indeed, Dr. Karenga’s introduction
of Kwanza in the 1960s was, in effect,
a culmination of centuries of African-
American attempts at political,
economic and cultural linkage with
the Great Continent. Historians,
scholars, writers and Pan-Africanists
such as Martin Delany, the Rev.
Henry McNeil Turner, Paul Cuffee,
Marcus Garvey, Dr. W.E.B. Dubois,
Paul Robeson, Langston Hughes,
Chancellor Williams, Malcolm X and
Maya Angelou (among others) con
sistently have attempted to present a
positive, accurate, yet not romantic,
picture of the Africa that was, as well
as the Africa that will be, with par
ticular emphasis on the role of
African-Americans in the present and
future political and economic
development of our Motherland.
Kwanza attempts to link us with the
past, as well as provide a bridge for
the future.
Below are listed in more detail the
fundamental principles of Kwanza,
principles which should be adhered to
not for one week, or one year, but
rather for one’s lifetime:
•Umoja (unity): To strive for and
maintain unity in the family, com
munity, nation and race.
•Kujichagulia (self-determination):
To define ourselves, name ourselves,
create for ourselves and speak for
ourselves rather than allow others to
do these things for us.
•Umima (collective work and
Please see page A 5
^UnfinishedBusiness': Part Two
DR. MANNING MARBLE
Guest Columnist
From the vantage point of the vast
majority of blacks, the past decade
has been a period of economic chaos
and political reaction. We can best
comprehend the current level of black
unrest by reviewing the economic
data.
In 1969, non-white unemployment
in the U.S. stood at 6.4 percent, com
pared to 3.1 percent for whites. Black
married men experienced unemploy
ment rates of only 2.5 percent that
year, and only 10.5 percent of all
black families had no income earners.
By 1977, 13.1 percent of all black men
and 14.8 percent of black women
were unemployed. Nearly one in five
black construction workers was
jobless; 18.5 percent of all black
households had no income earner.
After several years of Reaganomics
in the 1980s, the situation became
critical. Black youth unemployment
in some ghettos exceeded 80 percent
this summer. During Reagan’s first
year in office, the real median income
of black families declined by 5.2 per
cent. In two years, the percentage of
black families below the federal
government’s “poverty level” in
creased from 32.4 percent to 36.5 per
cent. About one-third of all black
voters will be jobless for some period
of time during 1983. Even Reagan’s
“lax cut” passed two years ago to
stimulate consumer savings actually
perpetuated racial inequality. The
average white household was schedul
ed to receive $1,019 in tax breaks in
1983, and $1,369 in 1984, whereas
black households average $542 in
1983 and $632 in 1984.
This steady deterioration of blacks’
economic basis within American
society has produced devastating
socioeconomic consequences: an alar
ming increase in alcoholism, drugs,
crime and juvenile delinquency. By
the late 1970s, over two million Afro-
Americans were arrested every year.
Today, about 55 percent of all
black families have only one parent
or guardian. Over half of all black
children are born out of wedlock, and
the number of black women who are
divorced has more than doubled in
the past 15 years. Many of the older
social institutions which provided
stability and order within black
neighborhoods during the segregation
era - churches, civic clubs, communi
ty associations -- have been seriously
weakened if not destroyed.
The vast majority of blacks are
now trapped within either the lowly
People Don’t
Prefer Povert
By MARIAN EDELMAN
Guest Cotumnisl
“I never imagined that
be poor," says Cathy Baker,
grew up in a comfortaj
Maryland community. “Even fa,
ther from my mind
thought that my children
4,
woau
ever be without a father, wiifij,,
money, without a home.” Bn,
January 1982, after nine
years of
marriage, Mrs. Baker took In,
three children and fled from Ij
upper-middle-class home
and k.
physically abusive husband. Soo,
after, with no money, no home
job, three small boys to feed
anil
. rising feeling of panic, Mrs.
turned to the welfare system.
Although many people belie,,
that those on welfare are diffe,,,
from, and somehow worse, ibj,
the rest of us, it’s simply not tni.
Recent testimony by Mrs. Bah,
and three other welfare mothersn
a House Budget Committee h
ing shows that many women art
one husband away from povenj
and the welfare bureaucracy,
was devastated,” Mrs. Balt,
recalls, “but to them, I was
one more person asking 4,
money.”
She is not alone. Sadie Moblq
vas forced to go on welfare when
her husband left her with two
daughters to raise after 15 yearsof
marriage. A housewife and 1
mother, with only a seventh-gradt
education and limited job skills
she has few choices about whereto
turn for financial support.
Contrary to the belief that most
people on welfare are adults who
could be working, 68 percent of
the welfare population consists hi
children. Most adults on welfait
are single mothers like Mrs. Baket
and Mrs. Mobley who are trying
their best to bring up childrei
alone amid countless obstacles
toward getting a job.
Women who have no skills fre
quently can’t get the education and
training they need to find work,
Mrs. Mobley’s “job training” con
sisted of looking through a com
puter job bank listing until she
found a job cleaning the welfare
offices at night. And she had ti
give that up because no child care
was available for her youngest
daughter. She later found 1
daytime job on her own.
Women with skills who earn
above a certain income are caught
in a no-win situation — they stand
to lose essential food, cash and
health care benefits as soon as the;
earn a few extra dollars. Because
of this, Mrs. Baker says a wotkei
at her local social service agent;
suggested she quit her three-day-a-
week job and stay on welfare. Mrs.
Baker kept her job but says, “It
was discouraging and depressini
being shoved back while 1 wJ
struggling to go forward.”
Anita Shepard, another welfare
mother, feels the same. “I don’t
want to stay down and sit waiting
for a check,” she says. “I wanta
job. I want a place to call home.’’
But she believes that because she’s
poor she “will not be given a
chance.”
It’s not hard to see why she
Please see page AS
“The vast majority of blacks are now trapped within either the
lowly paid blue-collar work force or are in the the growing
‘underclass’ of the poor. ”
Chronicle Letters
Happy Holidays
To The Editor:
About half of the 600,000 American
men behind bars and the 1,300
awaiting execution on death row are
black. Over 10,000 black men are
murdered every year. Black male
homicide rates are eight to nine times
higher than for while males.
The black family has been fun
damentally transformed by this pro
cess of social chaos. In 1960, for ex
ample, 75 percent of all black
children lived with both parents. By
1975, only 54 percent lived in two-
parent households; for families earn
ing less than $4,000, 83 percent were
living with a single parent.
paid blue-collar work force or are in
the growing “underclass” of the
poor. Their world is filled with crime,
decaying housing, inadequate social
services and a constant fear of
unemployment. The small black elite
usually lives outside of the sprawling
ghetto in the residential
neighborhoods of upper-middle-class
whiles. The black elite worries about
interest rates and tax deductions,
while the ghetto contemplates police
brutality and a lack of public medical
care.
The black elite forms part of the
Please see page A 5
(This letter vjm addressed to sh
the readers of the Chronicle, ad
especially to those in the
Ward.)
Thank you for reading, thanl
you for caring, thank you for help '
ing me to be a responsible aldeL
man. We must do more in ’84.
To each and every one of
have the merriest Christmas ever
and a New Year filled with boun
tiful blessings.
Virginia K. Newell
Eastward AldermnJ
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