J
-A Challenge To -Gollefre-XLrflrliiatfs
Black college graduates today have the unique
distinction of being among some of the best
educated young people of our times. It would
appear that you are indeed challenged to be
responsible first to the Black community and
through that community become responsible to
the rest of society as a whole;
For tf the academic degrees you have earned
after serious and diligent study mean anything-if
what you have indeed become means anything at
all-it should mean that you are now dedicated to
the service of the Black community and through
that community to the rest of the world.
You cannot afford to accept the platitudes by
Wattenberg and Scammon as reported in the
Commentary Magazine and many others who
may think so that the great majority of Black
Americans have put poverty behind them and
have become middleclass Americans. Even now
the -traditional patterns of two blacks being
unemployed for every one white has returned to
haunt the economy. There is also the continual
exclusion of blacks from an equitable share of
managerial positions just to mention a few.
So, no Black college graduate can afford to ever
forget that your training represents tremendous
investment-Black investment-for the future.
We submit that the great majority of Black
Americans are not in the “so called” middleclass;
but If being a college graduate makes this a
reality, then you must accept middleclass
responsibilities with a deeper and more pervasive
sense of responsibility, not only for your own
selfish and personal aggrandizement, but that
true responsibility by which all we do must be
marked.
YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO THE BLACK
COMMUNITY.
- When we speak of such responsibility we mean
responsibility to the Black parents who have
sacrificed so that you could be where you are
today and the responsibility to those other Black
youths who, instead of receiving degrees or
“sheepskins” today, now languish behind prison
bars in greater numbers perhaps than many
Blacks who are in educational institutions today
and even the expellees who could go no place,
become college pushouts.
Remember always the revolutionary spirit of
the far-reaching "60’s which "totally aroused the
conscience of the nation with their cry of “Ain't
Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around”; and
remembering always the wisdom of that great
leader. Dr. King that “We Shall Overcome
Someday.”
That day can become a reality if you, the Black
College graduate of today’s turbulent times will
become truly responsible, first to the Black
community with your services and know how and
through that community responsible to the rest of
the greater society. ' -
i The greatest test of this challenge will be how
well you and you and you Black college graduates
- accept your responsibility to the black com
munity first and to th^ greater society at large.
Guest Editorial From the Carolinian.
The Watergate Scandal -
President Nixon made a decision to face the
people of this country and accept the respon
sibility, at least in part, for the Watergate scan
dal. In light of this and other recent developments,
we have a few suggestions to makeN$/e suggest -
the President offer any legitimate independent
; investigation of Watergate his fullest cooperation
and_support.
We suggest that the news media refrain from
trying anybody implicated in the case before they
\ have their day in court. Leave the trial to the
j authorities. When the President or other high
i government official speaks on an issue as critical
as Watergate, we suggest that network newsmen
} refrain from giving an instant analysis of the
I remarks. If opinions are formed, let the public
| form them from facts and facts alone.
It was a free press that brought this situation to
j light in the first place. With freedom goes
responsibility. We hope that the press now accepts
[its responsibilities as willingly as it does its
j freedom.
Guest editorial from -WSOC am-fm-tv.
! «-:--- -
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To Be Equal
Sickle Cell: The Political Disease
D>
Vernon E. Jordan. Jr.
Sickle cell disease has
gotten out of hand. I refer not
BF the actual Illness, but to the -
public excitement that has
come to surround it.
Approximately 10 percent of
- American hlnrln hnvr_ijrklp
cell trait, an essentially
benign condition. However, if
both husband and wife have
sickle cell trait, there is one
chance irufour with each of
their pregnancies that the
child will be born with sickie
cell anemia. Because the
victims of sickle ceil anemia
are primarily black, the
disease can result in ad
ditional discrimination
against black people.
Before we get into ways in
which this occurs, let’s
examine some of the myths
that have sprung up around
this once-neglected disorder.
The myth is that only blacks
suffer from sickle cell disease,
when in fact sickle cell does
affect other racial groups.
A high incidence of sickle cell
disease is found in
Mediterranean and North
African countries.
Secondly, far too little has
been done to inform the
public that the mere presence
of the sickle cell trait is far
different from actually having
sickle cell anemia.
Thirdly, there has been far
too much sensationalism
surrounding— sickle_cell^
anemia. The extent to which
people with sickle cell anemia
are affected in their daily lives
has been blown up put of all
proportion,_
Perhaps none of this would
mallei much, butthepublicity
about the disease has
frightened many blacks, as
well as whites, and the
passage by some states of
laws requiring testing for the
trait opens the door to all
kinds of abuses. The politics
of this disease could well
become more dangerous tham
the disease itself.
That all this is taking place
at a time of increased interest
in racist claims that blacks
have genetically-based low
IQs or. are inherently inferior
for other genetic reasons,
makes it especially
dangerous.
It is disturbing that in some
states black children are
being singled out as the only
ones required to be screened
for sickle cell disease, Until
-uihita« rnpiirrri tn tnhr
tests for genetic diseases to
which they are particularly
susceptible, mandatory
testing of blacks is
discfTm inaTory~tn, and of,
itself.
Through testing, a diagnosis
may be made of either the
trait or of the disorder, but
"testing accomplishes little -
unless it is integrated into a
definitive^_program of
education, counseling and
treatment. The danger lies in
the reckless use of test results
which can lead to
discrimination against black
people. In some instances,
trait bearers have faced
higher insurance rates as the
result of testing programs ,
despite the fact that there is no
evidence that individuals with
sickle cell trait die
prematurely or are ill more
frequently than other persons.
Remember, the presence of
the trait, alone, can be used to
justify discrimination.
The armed forces already
ban trait bearers, who are as
healthy as you and I, from
certain kinds of activ» and
hazardous duty. Most airlines
ground personnel with sickle
cell traitr'llus is h dUllgeryur
and punitive trend resulting in
penalties for blacks who are
healthy and capable of any
kind-ef ac-ttvityj_
There are other instances of
abuses, enough to justify
blacks calling for better un
derstanding and monitoring of
—the imp.mt nf this nwt interest
in sickle cell disease...
There is a need for a more
appropriate emphasis on
testing for the trait and for far
greater effort to be spent on
I
further research on treat
ment. management and a
possible cure. The interest
that has been inspired in this
disorder should fade without
~TmHiing nrrrnnary finanrinl
support. The needs of the
victims of this disorder should
be placed in perspective to
avoid usurping attention and
funds for research on ~olRer
diseases that affect black
people disproportionately,
Hypertension; for example,
killed over 13,000 blacks last
year, while less than 400 died
from sickle cell anemia.
It is clear that black people
must be wary of the hue and
cry about sickle cell disease
and prevent manipulators
from turning a medical
problem into yet another -
vehicle for discrimination.
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