Guys Aren’t Always To Blame
Rewritten From
The Carolina Times
One of the most persistent myths about
this epidemic of teepage parenthood this
country suffers from is an assumption that
sex-erased teenage men tricked these
tender young girls into sexual activity.
Poppycock!
In most instances, the guy is not to blame,
particularly if we are talking about teenage
fathers.
Far too many young girls have become
enamored with the idea of sexual activity,
equating it, somehow, with romance. They
have become turned on by the fantasy-like
idea of motherhood, making it, somehow, in
their young minds the same as playing with
dolls. Only this time it’s a live doll that
grows up and becomes a daily nuisance and
headache.
We must take the blinders off our eyes.
Far too many men are blinded by the
male ego trip of sexual conquest, believing
the lie that their rap and their sexual
prowess convinced the woman to be sexual
ly active.
Poppycock again!
Most women decide long before a man
makes an initial move what will happen, if
anything, when it will happen, and under
what circumstances, based upon her own
vision of romance and so-called love.
The rap, the dining and dancing, the
partying are all part of an elaborate sex
ritual that women force men to play out
because women sort erf like the attention
and the antics.
Here’s what we must realize.
Not only must we teach young men to be
sexually responsible, that is, to desire sex
less, and to control that desire as often as
possible when it crops up, we must teach
young women the same thing.
We must teach our young girls that sex is
neither a reward, nor withholding it, a
punishment. We must teach them that
sexual activity is distasteful and counter
productive, both for the young unmarried
woman and the young unmarried man.
We must teach than that sex does not
prove love. In fact, sex has almost nothing
to do with love, unless love precedes sex,
then sex enhances and intensifies the love,
for the briefest of moments.
Bottom line? We need a program for
young women very similar to the one Ted
Parrish is running for young men at NCCU.
We need to teach our young girls that life
is more than sex. That sexual activity is not
the panacea of popularity. We need to show
them, too, the consequences of rampant and
promiscuous sexual activity.
After all, the guys aren’t always to blame.
Wealth Unlocks Doors Of Opportunity
Rewritten From
The Michigan Chronicle
The recent surge of interest in black
economic development has been most en
couraging and it is hoped that progress in
this area moves beyond the state of exciting
rhetoric that now exists.
The NAACP’s Benjamin Hooks addresses
the matter of economic development in the
most recent issue of Crisis magazine, the
official voice of the organization.
“Wealth,” Hooks contends, “is an essen
tial element in the ability of any group of
people in a capitalistic society to advance
socially, politically, and economically.
“(The) hurdle presented by a lack of
wealth accumulation in the black communi
;mains the final frontier before we can
h the expansive plateau of .economic
parity with white America. Wealth is one of
the keys that unlocks the doors of op
portunity.”
The concerns of the NAACP in economic
development is not a new idea as far as the
organization is concerned. Under Hooks,
the national association has shown in
creased interest in its “Fair Share” pro
gram, developed much along the lines of the
more widely publics zed “Operation PUSH”
program under the aggressive leadership of
the Rev. Jesse Jaekson.
Hooks, in his recent Crisis article, put his
finger on the problem when he, along with
other writers, suggested that there must be
a major concentration of the development
of black businesses and the accumulation of
black wealth. This-ia-a-pix>hlem that has
. *
confounded black leadership since the days
of Booker T. Washington who, at the turn of
the century, was a missionary in advocat
ing the development of black business.
On the other hand, look at the inability of
blacks to establish meaningful businesses in
a community where they represent close to
70 percent of the population and apparently
control virtually every segment pf the city’s
governmental systems.
The same is true in virtually every other
area of commercial enterprises. The gro
cery business alone is indicative of the
inability of blacks to gain a foothold in an
area where there are tremendous oppor
tunities for economic development. The
same is true in the matter of automobile
purchases, clothing and appliances. Only in
the area of automobile dealerships have ,
blacks made an identation on economic
advancement and this has* been at a
minimum in spite of the excellent per
formances of those blacks involved.
The potential is there. Hooks contends
that the dilemma that black Americans face
today is not in having access to public
accommodations, but not having the econo
mic resources necessary to close the
income and the wealth gaps. And yet, when
it is realized that blade Americans have an
income in excess of $200 billion, there is no
question that the potential exists.
The problem that must be answered is
how this potential can be tapped effectively
to bring about accumulation of that black
wealth which is unquestionably the next
phase in the quest for freedom._
Malingering ^
Hanging Out In Malls After School?
Malingering • America’s
new name for something
teenagers are doing more
and more: Hanging out in the
mall after school day after
day. The idea is not un
usual. In fact, it is quite
common for a majority of
American youth; most likely
they have been going to the
mall all of their lives.
Many of life’s experiences
have taken place within the
walls of this closed en
vironment called a mall.
Everything from the first
run, seeing a fountain, buy
ing a toy or reading a book
has taken place in a mall.
Teenagers may have been
exposed to smoking a ciga
rette or joint or turned it
down. A first kiss was be
gotten there. American teen
agers spend more time in the
mall than anywhere else -
with the exception of home
and school.
Most often it is by choice.
However, due to two pay
check and single parent
homes, it has become the
"other” viable alternative to
hanging out on the street,
that the malls have become
"clubhouses” for teens. The
-- - — - - - i , ■
■ Sabrina Johnson
- *_v.„ v»r,'C
big question is how is this
affecting teens?
Being a popular teen hang
out Is something mall de
velopers never thought of. It
is a surprise. Kids become
acquainted with the mall
early in life, says the Inter
national Council of Shopping
Centers - which has found it
necessary to publish a guide
for mall managers on how to
handle teens.
The Council has found that
teens are bpred and seek the
shopping centers as enter
tainment or a place to go;
especially since many malls
have game arcades, rne
Council suggests that mall ;
managers tolerate and en- !
courage teens because it pre- !
programs the kids. Many of
them support the same j
values as mall managers.
The values being the kids are j
programmed to be consum- ;
ers. Teenagers find little that "
challenges the conclusion
that the primary goal in life
is to make money and buy
products.
Growing up and being ex
posed to such ideas of high
consumption from the socie
ty puts an enormous amount ,
of pressure on the.youth and
their lifestyles. Clothes con
sciousness has taken over
elementary and middle
schools. Acceptance equals
stylish or popular dress.
Reading material is affect
ed by style - Nancy Drew was
never concerned but today’s
fiction heroine worries about
how she looks. Shopping is a
survival skill and the best
place to learn that skill is in
the mall: A place where he
importance of the skill is re
enforced and not questioned.
The university of suburban
materialism - that’s what a
mall .is. Girls and boys en
roil to educate memseives on
consumption. Other depart
ments are the change in fa
mily life, sexual mores and
their economic and social
ramifications. Super abun
dance of products and goods,
and the pressure to buy
contribute greatly to malin-'
gering.
Why do kids spend so much
time in malls? Partly be
cause their parents allow
them to and sometimes en
courage it. To a parent the
mall is safe, does not offer
noticeable unsavory ele
ments and there is adult
supervision, In essence, the
mall becomes an invisible
babysitter. It is a controlled
environment. On the flip
side, mall rats (people who
spend day after day in
malls), lack in their funda
mental sense of home life.
Many companies are at
tempting to take advantage
of that fact by offering pro
ducts warm and cuddly, or
just like mom used to make.
The new advertising gim
mick of malls is to be “just
like home.”
One problem. While fami
lies encourage children and
teens to be responsible and to
rely on the bosom of the
family and grow from that,
malls encourage the opposite
- passivity and consumption
! i Thus meaning that kids
equate adulthood with how to
act and how to consume*
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From Cat* tol Hitt
Reagan Fighting For Ooser South African Ties
By Alfreds E. Madison
V; Special To The Post
The “Free South Africa Move
ment," which began in November
with daily picketlngand jailing by a
cross section of Americans in
front of the South African embas
sy and consulates around the
country, has President Reagan put
ting the full force of the Adminis- '
tration behind maintenance of its
constructive engagement policy.
There is a growing mood in Con
gress and throughout the country for
placing economic sanctions against
South Africa. The Anti-Apartheid
Act has been introduced in both
Houses of Congress with around 190
bipartisan co-sponiors. and the
African Affairs Committee in both
the House and Senate which are
holding hearings of&he bill.
Secretary of State George Shultz,
speaking at the National Press Chib,
appealed for support of the Presi
dent's constructive engagement
policy, stating that* the Reagan
- policy has produced progress in
South Africa. The Secretary de
. nounced the Anti-Apartheid Act.
Representative BUI Gray, testify
ing before the House Subcommit
tee on African Affairs, criticised Mr.
Shultz’s press club speech. Con
cerning the Secretary’s statement
about American Influence In South
Africa, he asked does the Secretary
call wide spread boycotts of class
es by South African students, daUy
violence, and more than 400 deaths
in the past year, the largest Mack
labor strike in South Africa's his
tory, a ban on aU meetings by those
seeking the right to vote, Febru
ary's round up, imprisonment, and
treason charges against the lead
ership 'of the largest non-violent
anti-apartheid coalition - does the
I Administration call these progress7
Alfreda l.. Madiera
The AntJ-Aparthled Act and ac
companied amendments call far
prohibition of ne* Mastments In
South AfrhiL bait on the sale of gold
cattle prods, require American
firms doing bqslifpif; iru South Afri
ca to follow fair labor standards, ban
the sale of computers and a ban on
South African consulates in this
country.
Chester Crocker, assistant secre
tary of state for African Affairs,
defended the constructive engage
ment policy. He stated that debate is
not about apartheid, but what we
can do to support change toward a
just society wheat system is baked
on the consent of the governed. Ha
spoke of the American protests as an
expression of indignation, but laid it
is not foreign policy. Crocker stated
that the American people vote for
leaders in Congress and the Execu
tive Branch to shape our foreign
policies without regard to the prac
tical results of those policies. He
criticized sanctions against South
Africa as sending signals to black
South Africans that their voices are
heard and that the signal to whites
that time has come for a basic
change. Crocker said stopping new
investments will hurt employment
of blacks. The secretary seems ig
norant of the fact that only less than
one percent of the black population
is employed by these big corpora
tions, while M percent are either
unemployed or are at the unlivable
wage category. Crocker said that
placing sanctions against trade with
South Africa will not hurt, be
cause they will get electrical equip
ment and computers from other
countries.
South Africa’s exports are con
fined to a few countrieSt-Fifteen
percent comes from the U.ff Theae
countries consume 28 percent of
. South African exports, which com
prise 25 percent of the South Afri
ca’s gross national product. The
United States bought 9490 million
worth of krugerrands last year,
which is 90 percent of the totAI sale.
Representative Ron Dellums re
commended prohibition of landing
rights of South African aircrafts and
prohibition of U S tax credits and
deductions from money paid to the
South African government. He re
commended total sanctions, against
South Africa because it is the only
nationJf' the world that Constitu
tionally provides that the over
whelming majority of the popula
tion shall not be eligible to partici
pate in the affairs Of state, solely on
the basis of race. Dellums closed
with a quote from Martin Luther
King: “South Africa's national
policy and practice are the incar
nation of the doctrine of white su
premacy In the midst of a popu
lation that is overwhelmingly
black. But the tragedy of South
Africa is not simply in its own
policy; It is in the fact that the racist
government of South Africa Is vir
tually made possible by the econo
mic policies of the United States and
Great Britain, two countries which
profess to be the moral bastions of
the world.”
The witnesses stated that the
President’s policy has given comfort
and aid to the apartheid by only
recently verba Using the horrors of
apartheid, but ny refusing to take
any actions against it. Representa
tive Solan questioned the Admin
istration’s witnesses on the differ
ence in placing sanctions against
Iran and South Africa. The wit
nesses seemed lost for an answer.
Solarx responded that one was Is
lamic and the other was black.
It was noted that the freedom
struggle cannot be held hack be
cause when people ere backed
against a wall, there la no stopping
until they are freed of poverty and
rights. The U.S. was warned that It
should not be on the right side for its
own benefit. The question was asked
why la it that this country has
sanctions against 20 countries but
will not place them against South
Africa.
Representative Don Bonkers
stated.that if the Administration
does not take action against South
Africa, then it is encumbent upon
Congress to take steps against in
humane South Africa’s apartheid go
vernment.
It was strongly emphasized that
democratic principles are the Ame
rican.way(- that the black South
African zest for freedom can b<
easily understood,, because of oui
country’s freedom desire which wai
won by the Revolutionary War.