Deserve Respect I_
We have read with considerable interest
Charlotte attorney Ralph McMillan’s
hTticie on Charlotte’s busing “success” that
appeared on the editorial page of the WsU
Street Journal last week. Mr. McMillan
takes strong exception to otlr lo£al School
system being labeled “a shining example of
how busing can succeed in accomplishing
desegregation without lowering the quality
of. education.,r Likewise, we have read
editorials in the Charlotte Observer and the
Charlotte News that challenge 'Mr.
McMiliian’s viewpoint on the school busing
issue. U'
Nevertheless, these opposing perspec
tives, the historic facts of busing; the merits
of using the diminishing disparity on
competency test scores between black and
white students to judge the success or
failure of' busing, and the plight of those
parents - both white and black - who
oppose busing for their ctiiidrerl all sCem
irrelevant to the real tfhd larger challenge
of the public schools.
f While too many adult Americans cannot
(of" won’t integrate' their neighborhoods,
churches or social organizations; cannot'or
won't quit smoking and drinking alcoholic
beverages; canriot of won’t lead their
children in prayer in the home; cannot or
worft practice honesty and trustworthyness
in their work and priVate lives; and cannot
or won’t instill the work ethic In their
children as itrelates to academic study and
othdr aspects of thd£r yottng lives.
These failings of a large number of
American parents havd shifted an
enormous and unfair burden to the pubic
school system. Thus many public schools
. around the nation are being criticized by
these same parents because df a presumed
lack of adequate academic standards. The
schools are being prtesured to iujslime an
even greater rede in rearing children or
serving as foster parents. The price that
i many schools pay for these pressures are
fe lowef academic standards, i-. . 7 V
' tJsl !
Public School integration has placed the
moral responsibility for creating ,a fairer -
jj^and more just society on the backs of public
;! yokth, teachefs and administrators because
in the larger society adults lack the
courage to assume this responsibility. This
is evident by our still largely segregated
residential neighborhoods that result in the
need for school busing. Similarity, such
adults attend segregated churches and
sbcial functions. How then can we expect
children to believe and understand the
values in the dignity of #11 people.
Recently, television commercials have
been used to remind young people of .the
£jj dangers of smoking and dririking. Unfortun
ately, such commercials are often followed
by other commercials encouraging adults to
dfink beer and making smoking appear
glamorous. Likewise, we adults don’t have
the courage to stop stnoki'ng, arid thus set
examples for our children, so 'again we
place the burden on the school to establish
ways and means to stop students on
School grounds.
f
Recently it was noted in the media that
cheating in the local public schools is an
accepted practice by students. This attitude
of dishonesty is too often encouraged by
indifferent teachers and parents who
practice other forms of dishonesty -
untruthfulness on your income tax return is
one example.
Finally, while much controversy has
arisen over the question of prayer in the
public schools, we have to wonder how
many adults have daily prayer in their
homes With their children.
We have made theSe observations not to
benttle the significance of the school busing.
issue but rather as a defense of school
busing and many social' burdens that are
placed on the public schools. This has
occurred because the larger adult
community refuses to assume its responsi
bility for bringing about Social change.
Then out of its Own sense of guilt for failing
to assume its proper responsibilities these
same adults attack the public school by
saying they don't have high academic
standards. * .V
Thus,' until adult America begins to
assume a true sehse ofresponsibility in its
- values, attitudes and behavior, wC may
have school busing arid the presumption but
not the fact of substandard public school
education.*T • 5>./
Bernhard Goetz !: ,i:
The now well-known “Death Wish” folk
hefo Bernhard Goetz who Shot fotfr youth oh
a New York City Subway train for frying to
rob him was indicted for crfmfnal
possession of a weapon. However, the
grandjury did not lhdict him for attempted
tnurder.
' • T- '
We fully agree with this decision because
it Is utterly foolish to assume through a
court of law that a person does not havfe the
right to protect himself. However, Air.
Goetz now may face the equally foolish
. ‘r/u S1, fAs- ■ ■ tj*
■ -J“- >
Charge of having violated “the civilrights of
these youth.” We have' to wonder how a
person'acting in self-defense can be said to
be violating4iis attacker's civil rights. '
It is high time that We got some Sense into
our laws so that citizens can feel secure and
safe ill their travels especially in these large
dues.
New York City is a dangerous place to live
arid work. Thus, if the police are not around
to protect citizens, citizens must protect
themselves, if this is not Justice and fair
play nothing else is.
mzwwwwz- I fife/
STOP OA/lYFUGHTSOF i
FMH BLACK COM
WHITES APPEAR DETERMINED TO FORFEIT THE CITIES VO BLACKS
FT IS INCONCEIVABLE THAT THE PEOPLE WHO THROUGH FORCED SLAVE
...
f BLACK PRESS
POLITICIAN^
BUSINESSMAN
DOCTORS
LAWYERS
ARTISTS v
TEACHERS ; |
MINISTERS
’ yOR HERS
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS
SOCIAL WORKER 55
FRATERNAL 6R0U
It's a phenomenon so new
that the census bureau hasn’t
started collecting data about
it — women who bear the
costs of child support. It has
happened so gradually that
most jurisdictions have not
found it necessary to take
note. Even estimates are
hard to come by.
Still, the topic is attracting
a great deal of national atten
tion. A general backlash
against feminism is being
played out in the family
courts of this country and un
fortunately, its happening
away from all; public
scrutiny. All this grows from
the gradual erosion of one of
the cherished assumptions of
contemporary American life
that the mother almost
invariably gets custody of
the children. In the 1970s the
courts and the legislatures
began mandating equal
treatment of the sexes.
Fathers’ rights groups arose
to contest the traditional pat
terns of granting custody.
In approximately 90 per
cent of divorces which
custody is uncontested, the
children continue to end up
with the mother. However in
contested cases a different
story arises. Recentstudies
* • '
-4 Sabrina Johnson
have found that fathers who
ask for custody win 90 to 63
percent of the time.
Since women no longer feel
assured of getting custody
the fact remains that the im
pact outside of court is the
most difficult to cope with.
The bargaining climate in
uncontested cases has chang
ed substantially: women who
are afraid of losing custody
will trade away anything else
— child support, property,
alimony — to keep it from
happening. They end up
bargaining away substantial
amounts of their potential
financial recovery.
In the cases where the
Irk
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In the tenth National Urban
League report; “State of Black
America,” League President John
Jacob* released the report at the
time when the country is enjoying a
strong economic recovery, and Just
before the inauguration of President
Reagan who won a landslide victory.
Jacob* said that Black people are
not included in the recovery, they
were not Included in Reagan’s
landslide. He only received one out
of every ten Black vote*. The
League President stated that there
is a campaign to convince the
American public that the failure of
Black* to vote for Reagan lies in
their proDemocratic allegiance. He
denies that fact, and said the answer
is found in the Administration’s
policy Which is damaging to their
deepest interests.
“There has been retrogression in
the Civil Rights arena, with the
government waging war on
affirmative action programs respon
sible for Black breakthroughs in
education and in em ployment There
have been persistent cut* In social
service programs that the poor iWly
on for survival. The numbers of poor
people have inersesed, in part
because of those policies cuts,” said
Jacobs
The report states that white
unemployment which is now six
percent is considered full
employment, contrasted with Black
unemployment which ly above
fifteen percent, considered
deoresshm-ievel. Blacks made rapid
Stride* towards parity in th* sixties
and seventies, but they have bean
sliding, luck m the eighties The
report emplores Stacks to reverse
that trend In IMS.
• tiacons gave signs of hope for SB.
The American spirit refvwes to
accept the fact that this nation
ia divided between a prosperous
majority and an impoverished
minority, the revival of the inte
racts! non-partisan movement for
racial Justice, the Free South Africa
Movement which croaaee religious,
conservatives, liberals and non-par
tisan groups, increased political
participation which was fueled by
Jesse Jackson’* campaign, Repre
sentative William Gray’s election as
chairman of the House Budget
committee which places him in a
moat Important budget making
position end’s new spirit of concern
by the Black community itself.
Community concern takes form in
focusing on teen-age pregnancy,
education, crime and stratfhenirW
the Black family.
The report states that some
problems can only be solved by
Rlaeks themselves, and others
require cooperation of both
government and the private sector.
Without government and private
involvement, poverty win continue
Jacobs calls on corporate America
to accept iti social responsibility by
providing a training program for
skilled workers that it needs.
Business cannot thrive in the midst
of urban decay, widespread poverty
and social alienation. He stated that
ghetto problems are not insoluble as
some economists are trying to
portray. Jacobs considered these as
rigid views of fundamentalists, and
he calls it a mean spirit. He says that
President Reagan should end tMs
mean spirit.
Jacobs stated that while he H
hopeful that Reagan in his second
term will be more forthcoming
in reaching out to Blacks and the
poof, he sees Very little evidence
that taking place.
Jacobs listed some steps the
President must take to demonstrate
his concern for racial Justice:
Support the '86 Civil Rights bill
now before congress, which protectr
minorities and woman from discrim
inatlon that corrects the Supreme
Court’s Grove City decision.
Reappraise his ’’Constructive
Engagement” South African policy
which secures America's apartheid
friendship The President should
instruct Administration officials to
cool their rhetoric and stop fanning
the flames of racial polarization by
attacking Black organizations and
affirmative action principles.
Ending the shameful exclusion of
Blacks from key positions TMs is
the worst appointment record of
minorities in 38 years Order a
moratorium on budget cuts of
successful programs that help
America’s 35 million poor. Order
Cabinet and agency heads to
institute regular meeting with
leaders of the Black and the
voluntary sector, and also to meet
with those Individuals himself.The
purpose of these meetings are not
political stroking but a dialogue
between those who have power and
their constituents who are deeply
affected by that power.
Jacobs says, “If this Administra
tion can institute a new dialogue
with Russia which it has called an
evil empire, it can institute a new
dialogue with that part of America
that has time and again proved by
its blood, sweat and tears its loyalty
to America and to the principles of
freedom and justice upon which otr
nation is based.”,
• f' r
Jacobs calls on Mr. Reagan to
break the racial pattern that keeps
white end Mack Americans in a
state of self-defeating polarisation
and to begin the process that will
make ’» State of Mack America a
more hopeful report.
The Urban League panel stated
that it Is allright for the President to
mast with many groups, including
the Heritage Foundation but ha miat
also mast with groups that question
his policies. They said that schools
cause white children to master
technology while Black children are
mastered by technology.
Both the electronic and priat
media are underrepresented by
Blacks end they continue to
misrepresent Blacks, except
occasional laudableness of
minorities The media undermine
Black children’s image, causii*
them to be deprived educationally
and culturaRy, Black JfeMhrs are
subjected to harsh media treatment
The news madia employ a double
standard which results in more
negative treatment of Blacks than
whites.
the ex-spoude had
money and could
child a “better” life,
support payment take up
percent of the average
salary. There is no
parable figure for
however it has been
that $40 plus per week
much bigger bite
woman’s salary
man’s.
data that proves how good
bad female or mala,
is, but one conciu
mains somewhat
everybody’s Impression
mothers who are required to
pay support, they risk
greater hardship. The at
titude of “equal rights means
you are going to pay too” and
wage Inequity is hurting
women rather hard.
A general stands
gests the parent's abi
pay versus the child’s
works in theory
necessarily in practice
courts use guidelines
charts but even they lose
uniformity in this matter; i
•walon workahop on “Angr-r-*»
beginning February • (Wedneeda
from 10:M a.m.-l* noon at]
WoraanReack Center. We I
discover our angry feeling* 1
learn to make the beet tme o< ti
... thia will he tie foeae efl
workahop.
Thla unique workahop win
facilitated by Betty Creek and l