A Salute To The Black Press!
in studying America’s freedom, the
Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in
1832, “The press is the chief democratic
instrument of freedom.” Since that pro
nouncement, the American press has pro
gressed from being biased, inaccurate and
arrogant to having gained the respect of the
general public by demonstrating its maturi
ty through objectivity, fairness, self-criti
cism, courage and a sense of human
compassion.
An often too little recognized contributing
factor to relative prestige and respect
of our nation’s free press, is the role of black
journalists on the staffs of white newspa
pers and more significantly, the black press
itself. While minorities comprise a mere 5.8
(of which 1,500 are black) of the nearly
50,000 journalists employed by the nation’s
1,700 daily newspapers, their mere pre
sence is having some quiet but positive
impact on the sensitivity to and less biased
reporting and editorializing when minority
persons or groups are the newsmakers. It is
for this reason that minority journalists
argue, and we fully agree, that it is
- necessary to integrate the nation’s predo
, minately white newspapers simply to make
them better newspapers.
Of greater significance is the fact that in
A ' m im _ _ .
spite of a growing number of white newspa
pers having to discontinue their businesses
because of declining advertising sales, the
black press is strong and growing,
sales, the black press is strong and growing
In a Charlotte Post headline story last week
it was noted that a five-year study of black
newspapers revealed “a constant gradual
upswing” in black press circulation. The
article further notes that “today’s black
press is growing with newspapers number
ing more than 320 and circulation six million
in the nation.”
It seems appropriate too that this status
report on the black press was released in
the midst of our national Black History
Month celebration. The report, prepared by
Dr. James Tinney, a journalist professor at
Howard University’s School of Communi
cations, stresses that black readers have
“feeling(s) of getting a complete story from
a Black perspective” in black newspapers
of a generally overall improved quality in
journalism. Without taking anything away
from the efforts of the white controlled
press, the black press does in fact offer a
perspective on the news that many black
readers want and need. For these efforts, in
the face of sometimes overwhelming adver
sity, we salute the success of the black
press.
_ <yL’| t .
Ano-Smoking Law INot Lhscriminatory
A page one story in the Charlotte Post last
week concluded that the many anti-smoking
•w ordinances being passed around the country
will generally impact more heavily in a
negative way on minorities and the poor
v than on other Americans.
These so-called “nuisance laws” are said
to be hard to enforce. Such laws require
* “selective” enforcement, that is, enforce
ment against a certain group of people -
namely smokers. .;V
The article goes on to say that a veteran of
20 years on the New York City Police
Department argues that the smokers’ laws ~
have been used excessively against blacks
as concluded from a Chicago Survey. The
survey showtrfjthat 90 percent of the people
nratuq^oncublic conveyances
_ ^d brought' Before the Smokers’
The assumption drawn from this is that
the Chicago Police were using a clean air
ordinance as a means of harassing blacks
and arresting them in disproportionste
numbers., v '
While we don’t doubt that some policemen
would abuse the intent of the anti-smoking
ordinance, we would quickly add that this is
no reason to abandon such anti-smoking
legislation in public places. Strict monitor
ing of a police officer’s work with appro
priate reprimands for questionable law
enforcement practices overtime should re
solve the arrest problem.
On the other hand, the anti-smoking laws
are needed to help stop the increasing
concerns over the possibility of lung cancer
among secondary smokers, that is, non
smokers who inhale a smoker’s smoke.
* . j *
After all, when a non-smoker is forced to
inhale a smoker’s smoke against his will
this represents (me individual imposing his
will on another. In effect, one parson’s
freedom ends where another’s begins, thus
the smoker has no right to blow smoke into
air that someone else must breathe.
The harassing and arresting of-blacks in
. disproportionate numbers is undoubtedly
an abuse of law enforcement and one of
the many politically emotional issues that
has and will surface over the freedom to
smoke and where issue. It istlpwever not an
issue of whether smokers may smoke, but
l rather whether a smoker should ^ave the
bright to pollute the air that others must
breathe.
The human environment is already being
saturated with pollution from many
sources, not the least of which is motor
vehicle carbon monoxide. Significantly too
medical research has concluded a non-smo
ker’s constant breathing of a smoker’s
smoke can in effect cause lung damage and
possibly cancer.
■* . -i . . 'd j
This then is a serious issue that focuses on
the rights and freedoms of non-smokers as
well as the equally important question of
personal health. Who is or is not arrested
under non-smoking laws is therefore of
considerably less significance and can be
more easily resolved if a real effort is made
to deal with the issue.
The Charlotte Post
=9Ssssae>esQs=
North Carolina’s
Fastest Growing
Weekly
704-376-0496
‘‘The People’s Newspaper’
106 Years
Of Continuous Service
Bill Johnson Editor, Pub.
Bernai d Reeves Gen. Mgr.
Fran Bradley Adv. Mgr.
Dannette Gaither Of. Mgr.
Published Every
Thursday By
The Charlotte Post
Publishing Company, Inc.
Main Office.
1531S. Camden Road
Charlotte, N.C. 28203
Second Class Postage
Paid at Charlotte
Member, National
Newspaper Publishers’
Association
North Carolina
Black Publishers
Association
National Advertising
Representative:
Amalgamated Publishers,
Inc.
One Year
Subscription Rate
One Year $17.76
Payable In Advance
BLACKS DESTINY IN OWN HANDS...
God Bless The Physical Laborers!
une group of working peo
ple who constantly are over
looked as far as recognition
is concerned are those who
earn a living via physical
labor. These people include
- maids-housekeepers, con
struction workers, import
export dock workers and
the like. The physical
strength and" endurance exhi
bited is fantastic. Simplisti
cally speaking these people
are America’s backbone:
Here is the reason why the
writer has chosqn to step out
of anonymity, and speak
l frankly about the subjedti'^
Recently the opportunity
arose to do some cleaning
around the house; not the
basic everyday chores of
dusting, dishes and the like,
but some true grit cleaning.
The bug bit on a Monday
starting with the rearranging
and cleaning of the utility
closet. Two hours passed
and finally the task was
complete. This, mind you,
required a cool refreshing
drink and a hot shower after
ward.
The following day took on
more meaningful tasks •
scrubbing the spaces be
tween the one square inch
tiles on the bathroom floors.
Over three hours later and
Sajbrina
raw hands made the decision
to carpet the bathroom floors
much more appealing! But
wait,the scrubbing adventure
did not stop there. The
bucket, brush and ammonia
found their way into the
kitchen because a no wax
floor should be scrubbed too
- grandmother says. This
Was also done. Well before
that floor was dry the idea of
renting a carpet cleaning
machine to clean the bed
room carpets took over a
weakened sane mind. Out
the door, into the car, down
the hill, over the river and
through the woods to rent a
carpet cleaner. This ride
-which normally takes 10 min
utes took 47 minutes because
nowing borderline
—but it had to be done
that day. So it was.
Let us recai briefly, it
ted with —4 and
bathrooms!
on the third day me lovely
idea of cleaning and relining
the kitchen-cabinets seemed
bufaron^1 and
Day four arriVes - what
next? The refrigerator! All
kinds of unusual things lurk
there. For example rem«#
ber the pudding that wat
served after dinner on Sun
day, well one dish made its
way to the back, lost its
beautiful appeal, sunk in the
middle and grew a beard!
Oh yes, remember the new
cucumber, onion bacon and
pepper salad dressing that no
one liked last Labor Day - it’s
still on vacation on the bot
tom door shelf growing a
ilhmning green afro. Other
elements that are found In
the wonderful assortment in
clude slices of meats never
used for lunches and snacks
in the last month, the cab
bage head someone forgot
about, one bottle of tonic
without a cap, something in a
jar with no label and some
thing brown in a plastic
gffiaag
are removed, its back to the
ammonia and hot water to
From Capitol Hill ,
-—
_ rf -••■•
I bray Has Displayed Intense Concern For People
£
By Alfreds L. Madison
Special To The Post
Representative William H. Gray,
of the Second District of Pennsyl
vania, is the son of a minister,
grandson of a minister and a very
dynamic minister himself. He is the
pastor of Bright Hope Baptist
Church in Philadelphia, where be
was preceded by the pastor age of his
father and grandfather, consecu
tively.
The 42 year old congressman was
born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but
came to Philadelphia aa a very
young lad. He attended the Phila
delphia public schools, graduating
from Grata High School. Gray
received a bachelors degree from
Franklin Marshall College, master
in divinity from Drew Theological
School, masters in theology from
Princeton and completed graduate
work at Pennsylvania University
and Tomple University.
He is married to the former
Andrea Da* and is the father of
three pre-teenage sorts.
William Gray has displayed an
Intense concern hr people through
out his entire Hfe. Before coming to
congress he realized the existing
inadequate housing for poor and
low-income people. So ho founded
and was president of a corporation
that constructed more than $M
million in low and moderate income
housing He was also highly instru
mental in designing the Philadelphia
Mortgage plan, which has supplied
inner-city Philadelphia residents
with more than $100 million in home
loans.
Bill Gray has been a civil and
equal right* fighter. The Gray v.
a Semite, a precedent-setting civil
rights oaae, was brought by Gray
• W vl '
i m
against a landlord in New Jersey
who refused to rent him an apart
ment. The court ordered that
financial damages must be paid by
those who discriminate in renting
multi-family housing on the basis of
race.
William Gray came to congress in
197®. His freshman colleagues,
immediately, recognized his expert
ability, by electing him to represent
them on the Democratic Steering
and Policy Committee. During the
®6th congress, which was Gray’s
first congressional term, he served
on the House Committee on Foreign
Affairs, the Budget Committee and
the Committee on the District of
Columbia. During this first term,
Gray waa the only frsahman to
author a program that waa pasted
by both Houses of congress ih the
20th century. This legislation esta
blished the African Development
Foundation to deliver visible United
States’ aid to African villages. He
also sponsored an amemhnent which
called for an increase in the number
of minority and women Foreign
Service officers. This amendment
¥
was adopted by congress and signed
into law by President Carter.
In his first term. President Carter
appointed Gray to chair the U.S.
Liberia Presidential Commission
and to lead talks with Liberia
following that country’s coup. He
represented the United States at the
inauguration of the Zimbabwean
government. Gray.was very valu
able in trade negotiations with Ni
geria.
The rules required that in the 98th
congress Mr. Gray leave the Budget
and Foreign Affairs Committees,
but maintain his seat on District
of Columbia Committee. He then
became a member of the Appropria
tions Committee and the chairman
of the subcommittee on Government
Operations and Metropolitan
Affairs. While on the committees
which makes decisions on the na
tion’s fiscal affaire, Gray has led the
effort to shape Federal policies
which address economic develop
ment, housing, mass transit, urban
development and needs of the cities
youth. While on the Foreign Affairs
Committee, Mr. Gray introduced
legislation to bon new Investments
by American corporations in South
Africa. The bill passed the House,
but was killed in the Senate-House
conference. Gray says he will
introduce the bill again in this
congress, where it appears that
Asncee of its passage seem'more
favorable Especially since the Free
South Africa Movement has prompt
ed mere members of congress to
focus on the evils of apartheid.
Iq the 99th congress, Representa
tive Gray holds one of Its most
important chairmanships - that of
the House Budget Committee. That
position requires him to be the
House’s chief fiscal negotiator in the
House-Senate conference. Gray
says that leadership always pre
sents a challenge. To allay the
sentiments of some whites that he
will be a chairman of Blacks, he
says Black officials have demon
strated competent leadership and
ability to see national interest as
well as Black interest. He contends
that his selection as chairman of the
Budget Committee shows that Black
congreaspersons past and present
have proved their competence.
Commenting on the President’s
statements denouncing Black lead
ers and traditionally Black organi
zations, he says they are deplorable,
insensitive, undemocratic, boring
and rapist. He says Blacks are
intelligent. They will elect their
leaders and hold them accountable.
Gray says the President accuses
Black leaders of misinformation
about his Administration. He says
the information is correct. The
congressman asks, “is the President
prepared to say the same about
Jews and Hispanic* who voted
against him in the 1M4 election? Is
he going to denounce the Jewish fend
Hispanic leaders and organizations?'
The majority of them voted for
Mondale if not, he has a double
standard.
In a news conference Bin Gray
made two very important points;
First is he concerned that the
President's budget does not respond
to the future economic crisis which
is the deficit. Second the need to
maintain a proper balance end
equity in making choices on how to
cut government spending. Surely
BUI is equal to the task and hie
leadership challenges the very high
d|| in our nation