r Page A4 The Chronicle. Thursday. August 9. 1984 Winston-Salem Chronicle TV?* -=^ ERNEST H. Pin. NDUSISl EGEMONYE ALLEN JOHNSON ELAINE L. PITT MICHAEL PITT ' ' Wu'.ik ' ( (finish"'* ' A silly question It scorns that every time a "scholarly" journal discusses the black press, it asks black publishers and editors to ! . T ^ I- _ - jusuiy mcir existence. In an age of specialization, in which publications focus on special interests ranging from sports to politics to stamp collecting to model railroading, it seems strange that the only one asked repeatedly to defend why it exists is tfie black _? lias the black press crusaded Use tf unoWashington Journalism Review asks in its current edition. What a silly question. You would have thought discrimination had suddenly ended and the mainstream press had decided all of a sudden to give black people a fair shake. Granted, some daily newspapers have made the effort to acknowledge that black people also live in America. But the newspaper business by and large remains lilywhite, especially in management circles, and woefully slow to bring minorities into its newsrooms. The lack of black faces in the newsroom also contributes to a one-sided view of the news and often results in a ' limited, naive perception of events in the black community .. I Al wnen mey are covered. Even, however, if the white dailies did the kind of job they ought to in covering the black community - which most don't ? there still would be a need for strong, relevant htark papprs Consider for a moment that Sports Illustrated as popular as ever even though newspapers everywhere cover sports. The same is true of Fortune magazine and The Wall Street Journal, which have loyal followings, though both offer specialized treatments of business news, which also appears in the nation's dailies. T h P W PV ic that a nilKlipotinn tho# n - - - ? >u >>>mi u puuiiwui IV/II uiai wwwi) a pal I ItUidl I y pC of news exclusively more often than not does a better job than a publication that covers that type of news as well as 15 or 20 others. Taking the analogy to another level, a store that specializes in automotive products should offer a wider variety of parts and services than a supermarket that sells motor oil. Our "store" is the black community, whose rich cultural and social diversity deserve specialized treatment. And, if we are doing as we are supposed to, we will offer our readers something they can't get anywhere else. Apparently, you think so, too, or you wouldn't be reading these words. Beat it - - to death Poor Michael Jackson. All he wants to do is sing and dance but America won't allow him a moment's peace. What are his sexual preferences? Why is he doing Pepsi commercials when he doesn't even drink the stuff? Is he rpallv 3 Hpvnilt loK/M/nV* 'p \17 ~ A u wuv j viv Cli i O ** llllC^^t Has he forgotten his Gary, Ind., roots? Why are tickets to the concert by the curly-tressed wunderkind and his brothers so doggoned expensive? And what about Brooke Shields? Elsewhere in these pages, a black psychologist has even discussed the social significance of Michael's sequinned glove and his nose job. Maybe so many gifted performers die young because we scrutinize them to deaths Crosswinds The NAACP regroups From The Miami Times There are many organizations at the national level which have been serving as a rallying point for the disadvantaged, the neglected, the poor, the dispossessed and the discriminated against. Among them, the National Associa ? *i~_ A _i ^ ^ ? - ? ? iiwu iui iiic /\uvancemeni ot colored People (NAACP) has stood out as a shining beacon of hope. The NAACP has come to be identified inextricably with the struggle by blacks for almost three generations, relentlessly pricking the national conscience to the injustices around and the rampant discrimination practiced against black people and other minorities in a variety of ways. In more recent years, the organization has stepped out of its traditional role as a pressure organization only, to add to its agenda such activities as legal defense to avoid "legal lynching" of blacks and a "fair share" program which has seen 20 corporations signing up to give black workers and businesses a better deal over the past four years. /Please see paQe A10 % WE'P CUT O >-<5 WHAT CAkl V NNE CAM RUKI UP A Hi ON THE BASIS OF A \NF CAN M v Agenda ol By CLIFTON GRAVES Chronicle Columnist Picking up one's roots is never easy ? especially when those roots have been nlantpri in the fertile soil of struggle, and nurtured by the love and friendship of those committed to the furtherance of that struggle. Yes, sister, brothers and friends, it is painful to leave Winston-Salem, painful to leave a community which gave me so many fond, childhood memories. Painful to leave a community which provided me the opportunity to "return" home as an adult and work at its Legal? Aid Society ? an organization dedicated to providing sensitive and effective legal service to the poor and powerless in this community. Painful to leave a community which provided me the privilege to gain meaningful experience at Winston-Salem State University -- an institution with problems, yes ? but, oht with so much promise. Stay true to your mission, WSSU! Yes, friends, it is painful to leave a community which ably supported the Street Law Program, the Haitian Refugee Relief Drive, the People's More jobj By JOHN JACOB Syndicated Columnist Too many people have been brainwashed into believing that unemployment is a necessary evil and that you can't have full employment without wrecking the economy. Both are lies. No evil is necessary, least of all unemployment, which can be solved through a variety of means. ranging. from. to public service job-creation. And rather than wrecking our economy, full employment can save it. It is high unemployment that wrecks the economy and leaves people * and machines idle and unproductive. It is high unemployment that robs the government of tax dollars and costs the Treasury billions in social expenditures. It has been estimated that thp rw^nf rpr<*ccinn ? r?no I vvviii I VWJJIVII iliv WIIV. everyone but millions of jobless of Americans says is over -- cost our economy some one trillion dollars in lost production. That's a permanent jim- I'm ueee wtn out of the tcue w?20ts> of tfese. r?'A Ihmibibiw S\C, If VOO FVOMEV- "THe e we DO7 Jerry Smith Defense Fund and the Jesse Jackson Presidential Campaign. Painful to leave viable organizations like the Black Leadership Roundtable, the East Winston Noon Optimist Club, the NAACP, the Black Political Action League, the Forsyth County Juvenile Justice Council, the Triad United Nations Association, the North Carolina Black Reperatory Company, the Black Family Task Force, the Friends of the East Winston Library, the Patterson Avenue YMCA Board of Manage> would aid loss ? one that represents a decline in our economic base that can never be recaptured. If we had a full employment economy last year, the gross national product would have been $400 billion higher and the deficit, due to higher tax revenues, would have been $125 billion lower. "Our needs have been net aspirations denied for too t for too long," WKir " _ Although the government says unemployment is down, over eight million people are officially considered unemployed. But there are also some six million discooraged workers and 2.5 :11: : 1 ? . imiuuii mvuiuniary pan-nmc workers. So the real unemployment rate in America is double the official rate. And it is concentrate^ among blacks and other minorities. Unemployment is a prime cause of the hardships faced by the black family. Twenty-five years ago, 75 percent of both black and white AWD WEU TALk WITH HWA Scow AS CAUHtS HtS BOEATH <* PROMISE VOU'U. BALANCE .vdgrt, we CAN BORROW "TH6 MONEY we WANT If ocked i! ONALOCENjAW 51 change ment, the Neighborhood Justice Center, and yes, the Winston-Salem Chronicle. Painful to leave friends and comrades in struggle like Larry Little, Carlton Eversley, Patrick Hairston, Bill Tatum, Larry Womble, Velma Hopkins, Lee Faye Mack, Louise Wilson, Mazie Woodruff, Virginia Newell, John Mendez, Earline Parmon, Allen Johnson, Walter Marshall, Ernie Pkfr Tom Eti jah, Khalid Fattah, Norma Smith, Paul Cloud, J. Ray Butler, Carl Russell, Paula Larke, Nell Britton, Kate Mewhinney, Warnie Hay, Jerry Smith, Evelyn Terry, Vivian Burke, Ann Simmons, Herman Aldridge, Richard Glover, Robert Brown, Willard McCloud Jr., Kaye Vives, Lester Davis, Betty H^nes, Larry Leon Hamlin, Timothy Jackson, Dwayne Jackson, Mutter Evans, Rudy Anderson, State Alexander, jae Jackson, Charles Davis, Herman Eure, Beverly Mitchell, Annie Kennedy, Mary Powe, Garther Roland, Khalida Lovelle, Elaine Brown, Hansel Hentz, Rip Wilkins, Neil Wilson, Linwood Oglesby, Marcella Oglesby, Howard Wiley, Please see page A5 economy men were u/nrkino In 1 Qfi^ - - -V V V - VI r% ? II ^ t III A about the same percentage of white men were working, but only 54 percent of black men had jobs. Unemployment is not color blind - it has a differential effect on the black community. The black worker is far more vulnerable to joblessness. fleeted for too long, our ong, our misery extended ^w.i.wui-1.infill? ! ummi nini Not simply becatise blacts are still in the last hired, first fired category, but because discrimination, lack of educational and training opport II n i t i AC r% r\ A a ?% nl At>? IU IliV J O II U bill resistance to hiring blacks is so strong. Anyone concerned about the rise of single-parent families in the black community doesn't have to look further for a reason. Men without jobs and the ability to exercise their economic responsibilities can't raise families - a problem worsened by welfare Please see page A10 Vte'S TUCNED IV/ * "1PVLV \V/SP\CSD, Wl 8eCOQD-BCEA*lN6r PfcCfoQ?AANC? - 1$ Q . k Letters No guilt felt over tobacco To The Kdilor: In the July lc>84 issue of the Kcudcr's Digest maga/i ne there is a story entitled, "Letter To A Tobacco Company," directed at the R.J. Reynolds Company in Winston-Salem, N.C. The writer is taking issue with an announced advertising program casting doubts on medical reports that cigarettes are a public health hazard. He says his wife died after smok ing a pack a day of Camel rigareUesTOT Wyear*: Ttriiij 1 old brother died after bearing pain as a heavy smoker. His father died suddenly in 1958 after a cardiovascular ailment. He had been a two-packs a day smoker for years. He was a pharmacist, but refused medical advice to stop smoking by medical friends. This individual also has a daughter who is so "hooked" on cigarettes that she cannot stop because of lures from others around her. I am sure this individual feels justified to vent his anger because of the suffering of his family, but since this famous magazine does aid and assist in getting his view across, I think I* ^-i.. ! J ai ii umy i air tu consider me other side of the coin Smoking cigarettes, cigars or pipe or even chewing tobacco, in my opinion, is not the real culprit in any situation. The culprit is over-indulgence. Pardon me, 1 did not mean to omit dipping snuff, for believe it or not, there are many lips kept closed and smiling every day by this use. Considering human frailties, the human being can become "hooked" on many ?u: ? - ? nun*** wunMuenng overeating, over-drinking, oversexing, overworking or even over-sleeping. For those whose livelihood depends on the tobacco business, and I am among that number, I have no guilt complex for others who overindulge. Don't put the blame on others when you create the problem yourself. The makers and sellers of alcoholic beverages, tobacco, autos makers, sugar mills and salt mines don't want to give you high blood pressure or diabetes from over-use of these products or cause death on the highways. It is the user and the drivers that control the situation, at least as far as humanly possible. Moderation gives pleasure. Over-indulgence only brings grief and pain. So from the tobacco world we say, "We hold no guilt complex," and have a good day. Dr. Ralph Shell Kinston Historicrote __ (The following letter is addressed to Chronicle Publisher Ernest Pitt and Executive Editor Allen Johnson.) ) To The Editor: First of all, let me extend congratulations to you for being recently honored as the best black newspaper in America!! While the two of you (and I) have known this to Please see page A10 c'<; WATfUcfi \7A'A fiC A Orscciote io HOUGS OUO OlVMPlC CCV32A6