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imiiHi Thursday. July 6, 1989 - THE CHARLOTTO POST - Page 5A Blacks Can Help Dinkins Although I am not a Democrat, I have a great Interest in the Democratic race for mayor of New York because of its impact on blacks nationwide. One in 10 blacks (3.2 million) in America live in the New York pietropolltan area, the Census Bureau announced recently. That fact alone makes David , Dinkins' run for mayor of partic- •ular significance. As a black man, Dinkins' strat- .eglsts have had to be ever mind- _|ul of race and racism in a city _that has become in recent years more notorious than Alabama and Mississippi for racially driv en incidents. One news report says that the Dinkins strategy is cautious and .ponservatlve: solidify his base among blacks, union members, white liberals and Hlspanlcs who voted for Jesse Jackson in 1988. Then he must go after enough moderate Jewish voters and white Catholics "to win 40 ."percent of the primary vote Ueeded to avoid a run off... Din kins would win easily if he re ceived 75 percent of the black ,yote, 50 percent of the Hispanic ^yote and 25 percent of the white vote," speculated the New York Times. Tony Brown's Dinkins can't control that fac tor because some fool some where is going to do something foolish. Therefore, to move the focus away from race (and ra cism), Dinkins should concen trate on drugs -- a legitimate concern and equally devastating to all racial and socio-economic Commentaries -«■ Race and racism are givens in today's New York. Even the numbers telTthe story. A poll -showed that 37 percent of regis tered Democrats will vote for Dinkins and 24 percent for Mayor Edward Koch. But in a one-on-one with Mayor Edward Koch, Dinkins gets 32 percent of the white vote while Koch car ries 46 percent (only 14 percent of blacks are for Koch). But black and white New York ers do agree on one thing; they see drugs and crime as the num ber one and two problems, re spectively. Dinkins should see this finding as the possible so lution to the race problem that is almost Inevitable. "As racial tension builds, both blacks and whites are more like ly to vote for people of their own race," commented a white politi cal consultant. That means that the first full-blown controversy over black anti-Semitism or a violent incident of a black against a white during the hot, summer months could devastate Dinkins' chances. groups. The magnitude of the problem is staggering and obvious to eve ryone, it seems, but the politi cians. In 1985, only four percent of New Yorkers said that drugs should be the number one con cern for the mayor. This year, 37 percent feel that way. Crime is a distant second at about 25 per- ceijjt. Dinkins could penetrate this fertile market by explaining that while whites generally regard drugs as a black problem, drug usage is more prevalent among whites. And blacks could be ap pealed to on the basis that they are more frequently the victims of crime which is drug related. These two issues, properly ar ticulated, will appe^ to 62 per cent of the voters and avoid the entrapment of racism. Blacks can help Dinkins most by being cool. TONY BROWN'S JOURNAL TV series can be seen on public television Sundays on Channel 42 at 5 p.m. It can also be seen on Channel 58 at 1:30 p.m. Sat urdays. Please consult listings. Hate Flag-Burning, But Keep It Legal Flags and firecrackers on the Fourth of Juty. They almost made us forget about the furor about the Su preme Court and flag burners. Almost. Some of us are still hot. Too many of us fought for the flag. Too many of us lost loved ones who came back in coffins wrapped in the flag. It means too much to us. We can't forget it I guess that 1 am a nut about the flag. Maybe it is because of all my years in the Boy Scouts and the Army. I get angry if the flag gets too close to the ground, or if it is folded Improperly, or if people don't take it down at night like they should, or if peo ple don't stand up straight and put their hand over their heart when the colors are presented, I checked the rules about the flag. In my mind, a lot of people who claim to love the flag show the most disrespect by ignoring all the regulations and customs about its display. Listed below are some of those rules. Look around today and see how many of them are brok en. The flag should never be used for advertising purposes. (Check the giant flags at some D.G. Martin One-On-One gas stations that fly all the tlme- -to attract the attention of cus tomers.) The flag should not be embroi dered on such articles as cush ions or handkerchiefs. It should not be printed or im pressed on boxes. It should not be used as a cos tume or athletic uniform. It should not be displayed on a car except from a stall. It should not be displayed at half staff except during times of official state or nationeil mourn ing. It should never be carried fiat or horizontally, but always aloft and free. And when a flag wears out and is no longer suitable, it should be destroyed in a dignified way. Ironically, the preferred way is by burning. My pickiness about the flag should put me in the camp of those who want an immediate amendment to the Constitution to modify the First Amendment so that we can put flag desecra- tors in JaU. But I confess that, as much as I love the flag, I love the Bill of Rights more. In fact, one of the reasons I love the flag so much is because It represents our country's freedoms that the Bill of Rights protects. Flag desecrators can never de stroy our flag, no matter how many copies they bum. But we can desecrate our Bill of Rights. We can lose what we really treasure if, in a rush to prove our patriotism, we carelessly tack on amendments each time the Supreme Court interprets the Bill of Rights to protect conduct that offends us. Let true patriots stand up for their country and its Bill of Rights. "Be cautious," let them say. "Be careful and thoughtful before you tinker with our Con stitution." In the meantime, the flag dese crators and others who misuse the flag get what they really de- serve--our disdain. Pick Up The BaU Of Civil Rights Dear Editor: "This American nation of ours is great because of its di versity —- because it is a people drawn from many lands and many cultures, bound together by the Ideals of human broth erhood. We must remember these things as we go forward in our efforts for world peace. "Today, as we reach a fuller understanding of the brother hood of man, we are laying aside these old prejudices. We are working with the new na tions of Asia and Africa as equals. Anything less would be a betrayal of the democratic ideals we possess. Better than any other country, the United States can reach out, through our diversity of races and ori gins, and deal as man to man with the different peoples of the globe. "In this way — in this spirit - — we can help other peoples to build better lives for them selves. And we can show that free peoples working together can change misery into happi ness." Jesse Jackson in 1988? Har vey Gantt in 1987? Jimmy Carter in 1976? Dr. Martin Lu ther King in 1968? President John F. Kennedy in 1961? No, actually these words came from the commencement address at Howard University back on June 13, 1952. The speaker: President Harry S. Truman, who is popularly re membered for his "plain- speaking" Midwestern ap proach to government and pol itics but whose record con tains many prominent statements of support for civil rights and human rights both in.our country and around the world. In fact, in his 1948 presiden tial campaign, Truman de clined political advice to downplay his civil rights com- mitmeiits and, instead, gave this platform a top priority. The purpose here is not to single out the Truman civil rights stand of 40-years ago but rather to remind ourselves that commitments to equality of opportunity and human dignity reach back many dec ades in this century. The problem has been that this march toward equality under the law has been inter rupted many times along the way and it has taken such leaders as Dr. King, Sen. Rob ert Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Coretta Scott King and Jesse Jackson to get us all back on the path to promise and ful fillment. Why? Because too often the Republican Party, despite many good people at the local level as here in Mecklenburg, has dropped the ball on civil rights in Washington where it really counts. Or as Harry TYu- man said in 1952: "They wea sel on civil rights." So with a backsliding on civ il rights in the last two Repub lican administrations, what course are we to follow? Should we have a "black rights" group over here, a "wl.ite rights" group over there, a "women's rights" over on ‘he other side, and splinter groi ps all over the place? No, we must not let ourselves be scattered here and yon. Even though the Administra tion is just coasting along on the achievements of others, we should keep the broad banner unfixled before us. By working for equality for all, we won't lose sight of where we're going. DA\TD P. McKNIGHT" Nashville, Tenn. Congrats To Golfer Jim Dent Dear Editor: On behalf of all African- American golfers of Mecklen burg County and the state of North Carolina, we salute and congratulate Jim Dent on his first professional golf victory. Eighteen years is a long time to watch your peers experience the joy of victory while you ex perience the agony of defeat. To wait until you are 50-years- old to experience victory is a long time. I quote, "unless a man be lieves in himself, makes a to tal commitment to his career. and .puts everything he has into it, he will never be suc cessful at anything he under takes." Cc-ngratulatlons, Jim Dent. You have made it. ROOSEVELT MASKE Plagiarizing Is Unforgivable Dear Editor; We do not as individuals, as professionals, or business people, or families have the right to steal and use another person's written work without giving them proper credit and recognition. When I opened the June 18, 1989, Lifestyles section of The Charlotte Post and noticed the title of one of my favorite poems --- Children Learn What They Live, by Dorothy Law Nolte -— my first thought was what a fitting tribute for Father's Day, In a split second, I felt as though someone had dropped a ton of bricks on my head. I could not believe that an indi vidual by the name of Laura Leiden was claiming author ship to this poem. To Laura Leit.en, I simply want to say authors spend many lonely and sleepless days and nights putting their thoughts and ideas on pap>er, pulling papers in and out of typewriters, rewriting, pulling h^rs out and chewing on dirty pencils, all in an effort to present their written work to its audience. You have absolutely no right to steal and sign your name to Dorothy Law Nolte's poem. Hopefully, you and other indi viduals who consider stealing another's written work will remember and appreciate all the labor that goes into the au thor's final written product. It is a lazy, heartless, thoughtless, rude, inconsider ate and monstrous p>erson who attempts to claim ownership of another individual's writ ten work. In fact, this is one of the most dishonest acts one can commit. I put plagiarism in the same category as thiev ery. To The Charlotte Post, this Is a very popular poem and I am sure you will agree that a re print is necessary noting the correct author's name — Dor othy Law Nolte. MATTIE B. MARSHALL Editor's note: We are greatly dismayed that we printed Children Learn What They Live without g^ng credit to the author. The writer of the article was misled by Ms. D i e’en, who in fact had signed her name to the poem which she had printed in calligra phy and was selling. Because Ms, Leldon's name was the only name on the poem, we did not realize the poem was writ ten by someone else. Our deep est apologies to Dorothy Law Nolte. Say No To Four-Year Terms Dear Editor: Article I Section 9 of the Constitution of North Caroli na reads. Frequent Elections: "For redress or grievances and for amending and strengthen ing the laws, elections shall be often held." For more than 200 years, this basic philosophy has been the very basic foun dation of our state. Never in the history of the General Assembly have we ever seen as many proposed amendments to the state's Constitution. Among the 29 proposed amendments are two Senate passed amendments that would change the terms of po litical offices. Including four- year terms for legislators and one sLx-year term for its gov ernor and Lt. Governor and we would be one of only four states (Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Maryland) in the nation with four-year terms for both houses. But North Carolina would become the only state with four-year terms that would not elect the legislature in the same year as the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the members of the Council of State. This proposed change is not in the best Interest of the peo ple. Voters would be giving up one-half of their ballot, one- half of their right to re-elect those legislators who were do ing a good job, and reject those who were not. Four year terms won't make a good legislator better, Imt it might make a bad legislator worse. be safe to the liberty of the peo ple." Madison, Jefferson, Jackson and others were deeply con cerned with the tendency of lawmakers to become too pow erful and remove themselves from the poople. For government to be fairly responsive, it must p>ermlt the electorate to participate regu larly. Our forefathers understood the potential for legislative ex cess. They wisely decided to hold legislators accountable by putting a two-year term for U.S. Congressmen in the con stitution. James Madison felt so strongly about this issue that he affirmed that "biennial elections will be use ful to the affairs of the public as we have seen that they will I would urge the tax payers of this state to demand a public hearing on this issue to urge members of the N.C. House to say "No" loud and clear. We do not need a full time professional General Assem bly but we need to continue ac countable and responsive gov- • emment. As a former member of the Ger eral Assembly and a can didate for congress, I under stand the high cost of cam paigning and the enormous amount of time and energy it takes. But I stand firm in my opposition to the four-year- term. Let's keep the two-year term. TOM GILMORE Julian, NC While Politicians Profit From Housing Deals, Poor Americans Can't Get Homes Guest Editorial By Cong. Gus Hawkins A Congressional committee is now probing into the misman agement at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Affairs (HUD) during the Reagan Ad ministration, and ft-om the looks of it, the scandal is not a pretty picture. At the center of the con troversy is the Influence ped dling, abuse and favoritism in HUD'S administration of the Section 8 rent subsidy program to rehabilitate housing for low- income families. It is ironic, in a sense, that the Reagan Administration almost succeeded In abolishing the Section 8 Rehab program while at the same time many former top officials profited from it. In some instances, a few minutes of conversation of talking to the "right p>eople" yielded thousands of dollars to consultants from these scarce housing funds. One consultant, who was a for mer special assistant to Secre tary Pierce, received $1,3 million in consulting fees. As Chairman of the Congressional Investigat ing Committee Tom Lantos stat ed, "the game played at HUD headquarters in Washington was "'Let's Make A Deal.'" This scandal is particularly disturbing because it surfaces at a time when housing and homelessness are serious na tional problems. Low Income people today face an unprece dented housing crisis due to the severe lack of affordable hous ing. A 1983 housing survey, con ducted by the U.S. Census Bu reau. found that 8.4 million renter households earned less than $7,000, or little more than 50 percent of the renter median Income of $12,000. But just as difficult as it is to afford hous ing, it is equally difficult to find it How serious is the lack of af fordable housing? In 1970, there were almost 15 million housing units affordable for a family earning $5,000 or less a year. By 1980 this number had shrunk to less than 3 million. Most of the focus of federal housing assistance is now placed on subsidizing rents in existing housing...and very lltt.'e, if any, on building new struc tures. Added to this housing shortage, is the displacement factor. In the Section 8 pro gram, displacement can be caused by the simple refusal of the project owner to renew the Section 8 contract with HUD. In other HUD assistance programs (Section 236 and Section 221 (d) (3) the housing stock is threa tened by contracts which make it easy for owners to pre-pay their mortgage and then convert the property to a condominium or demolish the project to put the site to some other use. Decent housing is a human right. We simply can not afford to drop this enormous responsi bility. 'Whether its the federal government, a state economic development entity, or a local community redevelopment agency, this right must be up held. Hopefully, the HUD scan dal will motivate political lead ers to take an acute Interest in the problems of affordable housing in our nation. We must ft Decent housing is a human right. t! champion the rights of those who live in congested ghettos, or have no home at all, as much as those who live in comfortable housing. If we are to live up to our national ideal of fairness and "promoting the general wel fare" then we must begin this task now.
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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July 6, 1989, edition 1
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