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Editorials & Comments Joblessness And The Black Youth As^the-natien’s-euFrent unem - ployment rate rushes toward an expected 10 percent, with black youth joblessness already at 50 percent, conservative columnist James J. Kilpatrick simplisticly suggests that too many teen agers won’t work. In a recent syndicated column Kilpatrick said that while many find it “appalling” that we have jobless rates fo 19.3 percent for white youth and 50 percent for black youth he has little sympa - thy. for them because help wanted 4ads in newspapers -across the country have plenty of jobs that youth even with little skill can qualify for. Mr. Kilpatrick notes, for ex ample, that in Washington, D.C. recently the postal service had opened examinations for clerks and carriers at $9.50 per hour. Also carpenter’s helpers, garage helpers and laundry helpers jobs ranging in pay from $4.50 to $5 per hour were available. Fur thermore, of 500 applications issued in Atlanta for summer _ jobs in 1980 only 80 were returned. It is undoubtedly and unfor tunately true that many black youth are more prideful and -—assertive than in earlier years -and thus are inclined to accept only jobs witff a-career future, not menial jobs. Thus, to this - extent, black youth are no dif ferent than the 700,000 people in 1974 as reported in TIME maga zine, who became so discouraged in seeking jobs that they just gave up any hope of ever finding employment. Human Problems Why then are so many people unemployed if there are all these jobs in the help-wanted ads as Mr. Kilpatrick suggests? First, for these jobs there are usually far more applications than there are actual people employed. Secondly, black teen-age job lessness has been largely un responsive to changing economic conditions. In fact black youth unemployment has risen even during periods of economic prosperity. What Mr. Kilpatrick, and others like him such as black economist ThomasSowell, fail to understand is that no one fully understands the problem behind black teen-age unemployment, .or how to resolve it, because it is so complex. The causes of black youth job lessness ranges from sheer racism to lack of skill, to trans portation problems, to negative attitudes from knowing that _ white high school dropouts often find work at Detier pay than— blacks with a college degree, to the absence of a family rooted commitment to the work ethic, to a prior prison record, to lack of ■■ ■ THE CHARLOTTE POST Second Class Postage No. 965500 •THE PEOPLE’S NEWSPAPER’’ Established 1918 Published Every Thursday by Thfe Charlotte Post Publishing Co.. Inc. Subscription Rate $15.60 per year Send All 3579’slo: 1524 West Blvd.. Charlotte, N.C. 28208 Telephone (704 >376-0496 __Circulation 7,151 104 Years of continuous Service -Jr....,mf-dUor Piihli^Kpr Bernard Reeves GeneT.I Manager ran i-arrer Advertising Director Dannette GaitherOffice Manager Second ( lass Postage No. 965500 Paid At Charlotte. North Carolina t'nder the Act pf March 3, 1878 Member, National Newspaper Publishers’ Association North Carolina Black Publishers Association Deadline for all news copy and photos is 5 p.m. Monday. All photos and copy submitted become the property of The Post and will not be returned. National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers. Inc. s MkhiKan A\e. r, u . I.,th St.. Suite 11<*3 ( hicuKo, III MMilh New York. New York 16036 f olumel .Y-0260 t2121 IM<M226 experience, to biased placement tests, to the movement of jobs from the cities where most blacks live to the suburbs where whites live, to the absence of the “buddy system” in which people often hire the children of their friends, and so on. These factors become real when data from the U.S. Depart ment of Labor, Bureau of Sta tistics shows that since 1954 black youth joblessness more than doubled from 16.5 percent to 35.9 percent in 1975 ancbnearly 50 ~peicent in 1981.— Positive Moves— We believe, therefore, it is past time for Americans to look seriously for solutions to end our nation’s most serious human problem. To do less would be to abandon over a million adults of tomorrow to a human scrap pile that could lead to new and more massive riots and destruction to our already ravaged inner cities. What are the positive moves - the positive steps that might be taken to break the cycle of black youth joblessness. First, there needs to be generated a whole new attitude by blacks toward work, the work ethic, and in the firm belief that in the words of . I esse -m—ttin gnmi». body.” As “somebody” let’s pro ject role models of the 50 percent of black youth who are employed and ask how are they doing it and why can’t I or other black youth do it. Secondly, let’s abandon our allegiance to the philosophy of entitlement so wide-spread in the nation in the belief that govern ment or someone else owes black youth a hand-out. Thirdly, let’s renew our com mitment to support black owned businesses, a potential resource for hiring black youth. Fourthly, Jet’s s/top using racism as an 'excuse for securing gainful em ployment. If one black with a positive attitude and self determination can overcome racism in the job market, others can too. Finally, the attitude that black youth have so much pride that they won’t accept menial, low paying jobs is in itself self defeating. All successful people start at the bottom of the income ladder with a determination that I’U move np in time, and those who maintain that sense of determination do move up. In summary, persistently look ing at the negative side of the black joblessness problem simply reinforce negative beliefs that we can’t get work; there ~-ft)ie. wr rinn’t prt work ft shift to the positive “can jio” phi losophy will bring new rewards and jobs we thought were never there. “Try it, you’ll make it.” I -—I BLACK BUSINESS MEN AND POLITICIANS „.„****** SHOULD BE IN THE FOREFRONT OF LONG- 3B&V8X’ RANGE PLANNING, FOR ITIS ONLY THROUGH &5Eg"\ ECONOMfC AND POLITICAL CLOUT THAT ETHNIC GROUPS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MOVE UP THROUGH SOCIETY. MICHIGAN CHRONKLE __ , I UNITED COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP- NEEDED NOW Tony Brown’s Comments ■I Black Women Speak Out One of my most exciting television programs this year is “The Struggle Within The Struggle,” which deals with the ap -piliwill nllllll Ul()inwi am taking toward opportuni ties - and problems. Black women today con stitute a major political and economic force in the country. However, their ascent up the economic and social ladder has not been easy. Black women have hi storically evolved in an op pressive environment. Caught up in the shackles of slavery, they were forced to toil in the fields or care for someone else’s family. But the evils of enslavement - the physical pbuse, separation from family and inhumane con ditions - did not break her spirit. Throughout the years, she has remained the cornerstone of her community. And as Black women move into the 80’s, they continue to struggle against racism and sexism. On. the average, black women still earn less than white men, black men and white women. Along with these pro blems have developed new dimensions: a redefinition of sexual roles, a break down of traditional family structures, new systems of child rearing and new strains on their relation ships with black men. Women today are con fronted with a broader spectrum of options and op portunities, particularly in -nnraor rhmrre Anfl a new psychographic profile of the black woman is emerg ing. To bring these dyna mics into clearer focus I talked to a representative group of black women. —One, member of the panel, Jewell Jackson McCabe, the Director of Government and Commun ity Affairs at WNET-TV in , New York and also presi dent of the National Coali tion of 100 Black Women, gave this overview: “There are one to one relationships that one nas and then professional re lationships that one has, whether it be with indivi duals, groups or whatever. “To break it down, to be clear, we’re talking about organized politics some times in the private and public sectors. Ana sometimes we re talking about in our home. Dealing with the dilemma of society that is a patri arch, a society that econo mically looks to the male as the breadwinner and the male as the image of suc cess, and then dealing with... our own society, which has limited the success of black men. Certainly if the issue becomes black women, it puts black women in a peculiar position." As black women move into more visible leader ship roles, the question emerges, "Will black women replace the tradi tionally male-dominated leadership?" Panelist Wanda Bolton, an editor at "Glamour" magazine, answered that question. "I think there’s opportunity for black men and Mack women to work together in terms of leadership kinds of things. “I don’t think that that HM happened as much as we’d like to, but I think black women are now be coming a more visible focus, a more visible group of people saying some things about what needs to happen for black women.. I don’t think it’s a matter of whether or not we’re taking leadorohip roles away from— black men. I don’t think that that’s the tactic many of us would want to take. I think it’s a matter of sharing.” Pam Moore, a new an chor at KXAS-TV in Dallas, Texas had this to say about marriage: “I think most women would like to have a nice one-on-one relation ship with somebody with out all the competition of who gets the job, who makes what money. You’re still looking for the old traditional companion, but you Ire also wanting some one to build and work to wards something with. Some of these things still exist. I mean the family and those kind of feelings. Aijd a lot of women I think today Heel like it’s very difficult to find a black man who they can establish that kind of relationship with.” Nationwide, women are changing the familiar out lines of society’s social and -economic makeup. Black men should not feel threatened by this new emerging role. On the con trary, blade women have always been the pillar of strength that held our com munity together. They are our mothers, teachers, pro viders and inspirations. "Tony Brown’s Journal,” the television series, can be seen on public television Saturday on Channel 42 at 8 ■f1" 11 r'r‘n "‘go ^ tffn on Channel S8, Tuesday, at 7:30 p.m. Please consult listings. ! By Rev. John Perkins Walk Your mtk*■ ■» Rev. Perkins Needed? Pastors Commit ::1 To Community ' : »r. As the black community faces crises on every side, our need for creative leadership becomes ever greater. I believe that God calls and ordains leaders. Through Biblical history we can see that God raises up spiritual leaders to lead the people out of crises and help them to lead better lives. Just as God ordained the family under the leadership of father and mother to reacnj nurture and discipline the children, so he ordained the pastor-the spiritual leader-to be responsible for developing the growth and moral fahrkLQf the. community._ What is the picture ofapastor whdTulfills this role? First he must have love and compassion for all the people in the geo graphical community that surrounds his church, as well as for all the members of his church. This love and compassion is essential if the minister is to win people to Jesus Christ, create a strong, nurturing church body, and reach out to meet the physical and social needs of the people in the community. in order tor a pastor to provide ef fective leadership in a community-in order for him to build up the community’s moral fabric and reach out to meet the people’s needs, the pastor needs to live in that geographical community. I believe an important factor in the deterioration of our communities is the absence of many pastors from the com munities in which their churches are ~iucated.--The—two-Sundav-a-month pastor who lives miles awaycanhotprovide active and continuing spiritual leadership amid the daily needs of the community. It frightens me that especially in our rural areas many of our black communities do not have a full-time pastor. I look at my own home town in rural Mississippi. It’s sur rounded like the spokes of a wagon wheel by seven churches in a five-mile radius, each serving a particular geographical area. Each church has 300 members or more. But not one of them has a pastor that lives in the community. Hie pastor of one church drives up from Louisiana, 150 miles away. Others drive from different parts of Mississippi-50, 75 or 80 miles. Even worse, perhaps, is that pastors wh<g| do live in my home area drive out of the community to pastor churches in other areas of Mississippi. One of these pastors is a good friend of mine, and I’ve talked with him about his inability to take leadership within his own community. If he did, it would seem as though he were trying to take over the position of the out-of-town pastors who are officially in charge of the people. As a result, this pastor has no daily responsibility for people anywhere. He has no daily responsibility for the lives and needs of the people he officially pastors 50 miles away. And he-can exercise no pastoral responsibility for the people right around him at home. Neither community then, has the kind of spiritual leadership that it desperately needs. And the children of both communities grow 14) in whatever moral climate develops. So it’s vitally important that a pastor live -within tile community tiiat l^ is shepherd exceeds 25 adults ought to have a resident pastor. From Capitol Hill Reaganomics Have Caused Reaga-Mortis To Set In! Alfreds L. Madison Special To The Post At present there are ten million people out of work in the United States and fifty thousand small busi nesses folded in the past year Over fifty percent of employment in the United Sates comes from small businesses. Two million people have lost jobs since July imi and it is predicted mat unemployment will go higher. '* The Reagan Admlnistra tion has adopted a policy of fighting inflation by In flating the cost of money. People can’t buy houses because interest rates are too high, as a result, all housing concomitants, such as; building, selling and manufacturing of fur niture and all household products have greatly reduced, so there is a loss of jobs The big Reagan tax give away to the rich has re duced revenue by $750 billion. This was done under tlie guise that tax breaks for big corporations would create new invest ments and provide more jobs Out of $95 billion invested, over $55 billion a was invested in foreign countries. The major coun tries being Japan and apartheid South Africa where these businesses can exploit cheap labor. They have also invested these huge tax credits in buying stock in other businesses. All of this has added to the homefront unemployment rolls. The American people have been suffering from a Fteaganomic progressive cancer and with the Ad ministration’s 1983 budget proposal it seem that Reaga-mortis has set in. Because ot tnese con ditions. the Congressional Black Caucus is again coining forth from its re search center with a pre vention for those with this economic cancer signals and a remission for those who already have the dis ease At a recent press conference, Represent ative Walter Fauntroy, Congressional Black Cau cus Chairman gave an overview of the Caucus' 1963 Constructive Altern ative budget that will be presented in detail around the 23rd of April. Unlike the 19B2 Caucus Constructive Alternative budget which Alfred* L. Madmon produced a government surplus, this 1963 budget recognizes tne need for lowering the deficit. IU first objective is to reduce the deficit substantially. The Reagan budget, which the Congressional Budget Office says could go as high as 9121 billion in 1962, 9129 bilUon in 1964 and 9140 billion in 1965. The Caucus budget deficit will fall be^ tween 980 and 990 billion for 9963, 960 and 970 billion for 1984 and between 940 and 160 billion in 1985 The second objective is to adopt a fair, humane and economically balanced budget The Administra tion budget will produce excessive waste and unnec cessrv growth in defense. excessive tax reduction for big corporations and rich individuals, reduction in basic public services, while placing devastating cuts in basic aid to the working poor and unemployed. The Caucus budget plans to correct these inequities and compounded burden on the poor. It will restore funds to the social programs. —__ The third, to reform the tax system. The Caucus budget will close the egregious give away tax loopholes that give excess ible benefits to the rich and places an almost 'mpos sioie tax burden on the middle and lower Income people. The fourth, It will estab lish a saner and safer national defense It recom mends that defense spend ing will be held at FY 1962 level. These budget makers feel that the defense should not be considered so socrosanct that it cannot receive the economic hatchet The Constructive Alternative budget calls for a re-examination of some of the proposed nuclear weapons. > The fifth, it will ensure adequate social security and support for the poor and elderly. It maintains cost of living adjustments for the elderly on fixed income and calls for 39 weeks’ compensation for the unemployed. i in Biaui, me Duagei Will redesign our foreign aid and military assistance budget. The Congressional Black Caucus has continu ously insisted that the Administration must real ize that military aid cannot solve the political and eco nomic problems that many of the foreign countries face. In its budget the Caucus win continue to press for more equitable foreign assistance to nations of the world. Representative* Gray, Fauntroy and Mitchell, who were preaent at the preea briefing feet that the congressional climate is more susceptable to its 1983 budget than it was to the 1982 budget Failure of the Reagan Administration to create jobs, reduce the deficit, and lower interest rates have brought a strong hue and cry from the American public. So the Reagan 1962 congressional coalition is falling apart. No longer is there a strong Republican Administration economic support. Last year, the Black Caucus budget received only minimal attention. Yet, the Democratic Study Group said that of all four budget plans that were pre sented, toe caucus con structive Alternative bud get was the only one tA really came up with ideas for improving the eco nomy. Mr Faun troy said, recently, House Speaker O’Neill and several others said to Mm that they, really came forth with the only plan tliat would have set this country on the road to economic recovery. Faun troy said his response was, "I wish I had you last year.” Main DUi A m«al'« main dish should he-protein, since it helps with a body’s growth, maintenance and raooir
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