iCionM tcoMU'l - To Be Equal Seek Excellence By Hoyle Martin Sr. Post Executive Editor “The economic reality of most adult Blacks’ lives is still more discourag ing than that of whites and at virtually all income levels. This discouraging reality profoundly sha pes Black children’s skills and atti tudes, including their skills and attitudes for learning. “Even very young black children pick up discouraging but quite real istic messages about the comparat ively poor payoff that education is likely fo have for them. They live everyday surrounded by adults whose education is connected only dimly to their jobs, or who cannot find jobs at all. ” As reported by the Associated Press this statement is from a Carnegie Council study on children prepared by John Ogbu, a Nigerian born anthropologist and associate professor at the University of Cali fornia at Berkeley. Ogbu contends that black students failures onSTA NDARDIZED...TESTS IS NOT STUPIDITY, NOR GENETIC FAILURES BUT“rather it is a functional adaptation to reality” While we applaud Ognbu’s challenge to the suggestion that blacks are genetically inferior, we disagree strongly with his ‘adaptation to reality’ theory because it implies that blacks have abandoned all hope and have surrendered to the white racist forces that would deny them “ 7 even the right to pursue equality of opportunity. We prefer to follow the line of thinking of the National Urban League’s Vernon Jordan who said early last year that while high unemployment, poor health care and crime are still plaguing black Americans, the dominant feeling amongs blacks today is hope." U. S. Secretary of Labor Ray Marshall put Jordan’s words into a clear perspective when he told the graduating class of Huston-TiUison College last spring,“some of you will experience unemployment ... a ter rible experience ... which you may never forget ... the important thing to remember is not to lose confi dence in yourself and your potential, don’t lose hope.” Ogbu’s Observations In order for blacks - both youths and adults - to have hope and in order to place the nature of Ogbu’s observations in perspective, blacks must understand what has happened in public education over the past 12 to 14 years. By way of background, and before the advent of so-called integrated education, at least in the quasi-lib eral North, public education was unaracierizea as naving aeaicated teachers; economically, socially, racially, and at least semi-culturally integrated student bodies sufficient ly motivated to the pursuit of know ledge ; and school boards committed to quality education while being unintimidated by political ideologies or a preoccupation with personal political ambitions. Last, but certainly not least, par ents gave their wholehearted sup port to the educational system by encouraging discipline, participat ing in PTA activities that supported the learning process, and making homework a family learning exper ience. However, today, some 14 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, American public education, primarily below the university level, is straining to carry the task of bringing about an inte grated society while housing patter patterns, the church, employment practices and most other institutions and practices in our society remain largely segregated. Cope With Prohleim This paradox, some knowledge able experts believe, has created a near-catastrophy in public educa tion. School boards cannot seem to cope with problems. Teachers are too often pre-occupied with joining unions, teaching only the quick lear ners ana in general not interested in the students’ needs. Furthermore, too many parents are often apathe tic and favor “social promotion” which has dampened the motivation of our youths to learn. Considering this state of affairs, is there any wonder that Dr.Ogbu has concluded that many black youths have em braced a “functional adaptation to reality.” - Such an adaptation is a self-defea ting surrender to the forces of racism and a form of genocide for. black Americans. In order to escape this racial death, blacks must em brace Jesse Jackson’s philosophical and practical ‘Push For Excellence. The pursuit of excellence means that in spite of racism, sexism or other road blocks to the better life, black youths will have such a de termination to succeed academi cally, economically and politically that the apathy and indifference of those who follow will be desolved into a hope that says I can, I will, I must and I shall succeed. We can, in the final analysis, only be equal if we are individually and collectively in pursuit of excellence. Kights Movement Is Not Weak By Bayard Rustin Recently a great deal of attention has been focused on the civil rights movement. According to many com mentators its condition is far from healthy. An article in the New York Times talked about “murmurs of deep concern” for the future of the NAACP in the Black community. NAACP’s national energy po sition, which broke with the stands of its traditional liberal and labor allies as well as with other civil rights organi zations, provoked a storm of controversy that has not yet subsided. As a result, the movement seems disoriented and fragmented. Washington Post columnist William Raspberry recently wrote that the differences between the the Carter administration and Blacks are not only large but “may even be growing" and concluded that Blacks have little political leverage to gain results from the Presi dent. And another writer ob served that “the movement is unsure of its tactics.” ALL IN ALL,a pretty dis couraging picture. Yet, on examination, the portrayal of the civil rights movement as isolated, confused,weak, and ineffective is misleading. It exaggerates the difficulties, overlooks the achievements, and underestimates the strengths. There is no doubt that this is a time filled with challenges for the Black com munity. But without an accounting of the pluses, as well as the misuses, we cannot oope to understand, much less overcome, the formidable problems that do exist. It is too often forgotten that the difficulties facing the civi1 rights movement today are largely the consequence of its successes. The elimination of racially discriminatory legi slation and the introduction of anti-discriminatory programs has substantially altered the requirements for achieving racial equality. It is not sim ply that the issues have be come more complicated. The change is actually much deeper and far-reaching. While there has always been an economic dimension to the civil rights agenda, today the central issue is no longer the elimination of racial discrimi nation, but of economic in equality. The task is to begin a process of economic pro gress not only to the “talented tenth," who have continued to make significant strides, but to the overwhelming majority of Blacks, who are increasingly falling behind. THIS REQUIRES a tran sition from a movement for equal rights for an oppressed minority to a movement for social justice that encom passes the needs of a con stituency far broader than just Blacks. Such a transition is in herently disruptive, painful, and awkward. Thus, it is most encouraging that the leader ship of Black organizations recognizes that ecomomic issues form the new agenda for racial progress. That does not mean that there is agree ment over the content of the economic agenda. Obviously, there are significant differences. But once the pri macy of economics is fully understood, the possibilities for progress are immeasurably enhanced. The past year, despite its olentiful disappointments, snows that this process of tran sition has considerable promise in addition to the often noted complications. Two developments in parti cular encourage the belief that the energy of the civil rights movement is far from ex hausted. First, there was a growing practical unity and cooperation between Black or ganizations. Second, there has been a conscious solidification and strenghtening of the ties between organized labor and civil rights community. This was demonstrated by the im pressive support from the Black community for labor’s legislative initiatives, parti cularly labor law reform, and labor’s strengthened de termination to organize the South. This reflects the spreading and correct per ception that labor’s pro grams for economic justice are essential to realizing the hopes and aspirations of mil lions of Black workers and their families. TAKEN TOGETHER, These developments give a new impetus to the political dynamic that is our central hope for social progress and economic justice. The po tential impact of this dynamic has already been demon strated. In conjunction with labor and liberals, Blacks have been able to apply pres sure to the Carter Admini stration with significant, though far from satisfactory, success. What seems to be confusion and uncertainty in the civil rights community may emerge as the surface reflection of the creative process P—ggBy Vernon E. JordaniJres^s^^^M TO BE EQUAL ,1 _ Jobs—How High A Priority? Just how high a priority the Administration and the Congress give to assuring jobs for all who want to work is in doubt. The President unveiled his request for a continued public service jobs program recently, and while it contains many positive features it stops short of making full employment the nation’s number one priority. The Administration wants the public service jobs program extended to 1982, and for the first time is asking for a basic minimum public service jobs commitment. It wants at least 100,00 such jobs in each year through 1982, and would tie creation of more jobs to the unemployment*' rate. The idea is that for each half a percentage point that unenqjloyment goes over four and three-quarter percent of the work force, the government would create another 100,000 jobs. It makes sense to tie federal job creation levels to the unemployment rate, but the figures just don’t add up. Right now, there are 725,000 public service jobs, but if the formula the Administra tion is asking for were in effect, it would mean only about 400,000 public service jobs. So the plan to have a basic minimum of public jobs is good, as is the built-in escalator clause of increasing the numbers of those jobs as unem ployment rises. But the formula doesn’t provide anywhere near the numbers of jobs it should. And that becomes even more apparent when we realize that the current level of 725,000 jobs is far from adequate. It provides work for only about a tenth of the unemployed. The AFL-CIO has issued a call for sharply expanding the numbers of public service jobs. My own view is that doubling the number to about one-and-a-half million in the coming year would do a lot to alleviate unemployment and to improve public services at the local level. But the Administration is only asking Congress to maintain the 725,000 level in the coming year - no increase at all. If that stance is based on the recent drop in unemployment rates, it’s wrong# Black unemployment actually increased in 1977, while white joblessness feD. Without those public service jobs, black unemployment would have been even higher last year, just as it is bound to increase this year unless more vigorous action is taken. une encouraging initiative in the President’s job proposal is his plan for creating local Private Industry Councils to provide about 100,000 job training slots in the private sector. Important as public employment is, especially in the short run, the private sector is where most of the jobs are, and it is there that much remains to be done. The Administration will foot much of the bill for the private sector job training - it’s asking for $400 million. Private sector spokesmen have been eloquent in expressing their concern about involving private industry in job creation. Here’s a chance for industry to show it can respond creatively to the challenge of training and employing the unskilled and the jobless. The proposed job legislation, along with the Humphrey-Hawkins Bill, will determine whether the Congress is going to act responsibly to put the country on the road to full employment. m Black Leaders Ought To Get It Together ? oy vrerara u. jonnson Black politicians an36 Chicago, 111. 60616 (212 ) 489-1220 Calumet 5-0200