Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Aug. 28, 1986, edition 1 / Page 5
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August 28, 1986 Page A5 1HE FORUM More opinions, columns and features. On getting serious about our survival NEW YORK - It’s time in the black community that we put our money where our mouth is and Our action in front of our rhetoric. -fWe are inundated by talkers. vThey talk about freedom and eeonomic development - and continue to spend $3 billion a year at conferences discussing white racism and black poverty, fueling the very racism and poverty they meet to discuss, beadership becomes nothing more than rhetoric and the politics of demagogic envy. ioThere are compelling reasons For this process to end. U'The projections for the year aXX), some 14 years from now, lie 70 percent black male inemployment and 70 percent Hack female-headed homes. In jther words, the end of blacks in ^erica as we have known them :ould be nearing, j. It is certainly time for blacks to [et serious about their survival. ii There are signs that we are. TONY BROWN Syndicated Columnist The National Association of Real Estate Brokers followed Presi dent T.L. “Thom” Holmes’ ad vice last week at their annual meeting in Dallas and signed up 150 of their brokers as Freedom Businesses. A portion of their money will go back into black hands. The National Urban League is also making gigantic strides. President John Jacob had pro mised that a portion of the $5 million spent at the League’s an nual meeting in San Francisco would go to black-owned businesses in the Bay Area; i.e., San Francisco/Oakland. Unlike some blacks who head organizations and direct millions of dollars in purchases, Jacob backs up his talk with deeds. Since blacks do not own any of the major hotels and only one or two restaurants there, this was .Winston-Salem Chronicle An independent, locally owned newspaper NEWSROOM: Robin Barksdale, community news editor; Wanda Johnson, typist; John Hinton; Yvonne H. Bichsel Truhon, copy editor; Cheryl Williams. SPORTS: David Bulla, sports editor. PHOTOGRAPHY: James Parker, photo editor; Art Blue, Joe Daniels. ADVERTISING; Julie Perry, advertising manager; Art Blue, Wenna Yvette James. OFFICE STAFF: Stephanie Walls, Fernice Wardlaw, Verisia West. PRODUCTION: Vinson Dewberry, production manager; Tim Butner, Keith Holland, David Irwin, Yvonne H. Bichsel Truhon. CIRCULATION; Jacqueline Hale, Harry McCants, Blandelia McMoore, Angela Ross, James Dixon. iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii rUlerson From Page A4 mil III! ■e the Arabs, because of leftover bunds from France’s defeat by Igeria in 1962. •Moreover, what we would call le black community there Sembles anything but that. iDivision has kept the blacks in lance weak and has made it vir- blly impossible for them to lange any aspect of their lives. For example, the Martiniquais, sthey call them in France, have racial feud with Frenchmen of frican descent. The blacks from ‘artinique were taught by fench missionaries that the otherland they had left was full ' savages and that they should : proud of their European Icestors, who had white skin id golden beards. Though these methods are no hger in effect, the long decades •outrageous lie have taken their ll. And, even though some peo- t try to create black unity with lbs and magazines, etc., there e still some giant steps to be ten by blacks in France. Being black and American in knee is a whole different story, b are considered martyrs of (very and segregation by the Ine people who mistreat Ticans. It is not uncommon to harassed by the police for an :ntity check only to find them ologizing when they’ve looked at the USA stamp on one’s passport. Being American makes it harder to get along with other blacks in France because we’ve also had our own “divisionary education.” Besides that, a lot of blacks have closed themselves in and, whether you are black or white, it’s hard to get close to them. It actually is easier to get along with whites in France than the blacks. They have a much more open attitude toward blacks than whites do in America. Even though their education necessari ly contains some racism, they are able to accept a number of blacks. But being integrated means be ing separated from other blacks and one still feels uncomfortable and without roots. Some say France is becoming more and more like America as far as blacks are concerned. Let’s hope that the black community in France can use the experiences of the black community in America to make France an equal- opportunity country. Next week, Ms. Tillerson’s concluding column discusses the French educational system. iii(iiiiiiiiiiinuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||, i year later From Page A3 l■>lllllllllllllM^llllllllllllll||||■llllllllIllllliili|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ling special family activities.” Joyner said one program feun during the year that has tn very successful is the Senior letch and Fitness Program. One hundred forty-six senior izens are members at Winston fe, he said. pn the other hand, two pro- ims that had strong legacies at person Avenue have been fpped. The YMCA no longer Bnsors boxing and football. Joyner said, because of the in crease in liability insurance. As for its staff, Joyner feels the YMCA could stand some im provement. “Our staff is not where I would like to see it,” he said. “It’s going to take a lot more pa tience on my part to recruit and train staff until we get to the level where we need to be. “I think the staff we do have Please see page A14 not an easy task. The responsibility was given to Howard Mills, one of the best convention coordinators in the country. Buy Freedom Coor dinator Paul Brock provided Mills with prescreened black- owned enterprises that have, in turn, made a commitment to return some of their income to, and provide jobs for, the black community. These “Freedom Businesses” not only sold popcorn, balloons and inexpensive gifts to the delegates, but served as an addi tional resource for the Anheuser- Busch reception. Anheuser- Busch is always there as a “Freedom Partner.” The League hired other Freedom Businesses for security, photography and various other functions. It’s impossible to report the ex act number of dollars earned by black-owned firms in the Bay Area, although the best guess is that the 25 Freedom Businesses earned around $200,000. What is possible to report ac curately is that most of the 16,000 delegates and visitors felt a sense of pride knowing that they were creating jobs and strong black families by recycling their wealth back into their own community. The League, whatever its critics want to say, is practicing economic development while creating the stable black families that were called for in the seminars. None of this would have been possible had San Francisco Mayor Diane Feinstein’s special assistant, Rotea Gilford, and Moscone Convention center General Manager Dick Shaff not made it possible for the Freedom Businesses to operate inside the convention center. These officials even placed some of them under contract to provide services. The point of this story is that a lot can be accomplished from a clear vision, determination and cooperation. That may be the blueprint that this Freedom Team of Urban Leaguers, delegates, blacks in business, city officials and corporations utilized. You might say that $200,000 is not a very large slice of $5 million. But keep in mind that we do not own big moneymakers (hotels, airlines, restaurants, etc.) However, if we continue to nur ture the popcorn, photography and gift stores, they will grow, and we will retain more of our $200 billion income - certainly Please see page A13 Angela Dam: Activists today are ‘more sophisticated’ Black activist Angela Davis, quoted in a USA Today interview with Barbara Reynolds on a variety of subjects: NOTED AND QUOTED Who’s saying what and why • The attention given in the United States to the issue of South African apartheid: “The solidarity movement with people struggling in South Africa is very important. As black people, we have been told to keep our hands out of the in ternational arena. We were told to mind our own business and to worry about our own back yards. What we should do is a combina tion of both. “We should recognize that if we are willing to go out and be ar rested to make a statement against apartheid in South Africa, then we should be willing to take a militant stance on behalf of the homeless, the welfare mothers, the jobless, the victims of the prison system in our communities, and against the Ku Klux Klan violenee in our communities.” munist Party: “I joined the Communist Par ty because I have discovered an organization of people who are really committed to struggling for our progressive change - a multiracial organization that understands the relationship bet ween fighting for the equality of black people and the overall struggle to emancipate the work ing class.” become a yuppie; “... As Dr. King said, ‘There are those who climb out of the swamps on the shoulders of their sisters and brothers, and when they get out of the swamps, they forget the stench from the backwaters.’ I, for one, don’t want to forget the stench of the backwaters as long as any of my people remain in a state of op pression.” Why she joined the Com- Why she feeis she hasn’t • On today's sociai ac tivism as compared to ac tivism in the '60s: “I see a far more sophisticated Piease see page A13 WiateverlSbur Diearns^ Can GiveUiem RoomTbGjow As your family grows, so d^our dreams. Tnat’s why it’s a good idea to talk to NCNB about a simple interest home improvement loan. We (mn help you add a new room toyour house. A play center or deck to your backyard.Or almost anything else you’ve been dreaming about. Why not stop by your nearby NCNB soon,the bank tiiat wants to be the best in the neighborhood. RECKS Home Improuement Loans jEqual Housing Lender
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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Aug. 28, 1986, edition 1
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