Opinions
Church must be a leader to help blacks in the future
As America approaches another
celebration of national sovereign
ty, there still remains a penetrating
doubt on the part of some Black
Americans that this observance of
fers anything to shout about.
To intelligently understand the
impact of the fact that thousands
of Black patriots fought and died
for liberty, one needs to look at the
status of Blacks in colonial
America and the role the church
has traditionally played in the
shaping and directing or black ex
periences. One needs to further
understand that, although educa
tion and politics are two great in
stitutions, religion has been the
primary factor of influencing the
progress and growth of Blacks in
America; for the church has
historically served as a "gathering
place" for the presentation,
discussion, implementation and
finalization of programs of action
which have greatly affected the
educational, economical and legal
status of Black Americans.
The 20 Negroes who were put
ashore at Jamestown in July, 1619,
were not slaves in the true sense of
the word. They were indentured
servants, the same as their White
counterparts; and listed as servants
in the census count of 1623-1624.
As late as 1651 some Negroes
whose period of service had ex
pired were being assigned land in
the same way as it was being
assigned to Whites who had com
pleted their servitude. During the
first fifty years of existence,
Virginia had many Negro inden
tured servants and an increasing
number of free Negroes. As the
years progressed, the population
of Negroes increased in the new
world, and legislation to control
Blacks was enacted. Although
enslaved, Blacks were an integral
part of the American society. The
southern plantation needed more
field hands, it required skilled
laborers who were Black.
Blacks welcomed the event of
the American Revolution. It meant
a change for the better. It brought
an increase in the number of free
Blacks.
From the establisl^ment of the
American nation emerged the crea
tion of the Afro-American. A
number of Black men and women
begin to gain strength by
demonstrating their own
capabilities.
Soon after independence from
England, as White Americans
began to form one organization
after another, Afro-Americans felt
a great urgency to band together
and form organizations bearing
the word "African" in their title,
indicating a sense of racial identity
and pride.
Significant among all the types
of the organizations was the in
dependent Black church which
promised its members the oppor
tunity for leadership posts, self ex
pression and the assurance of self
worthiness.
In the same year (1787) that
Prince Hall founded the Black
Masons, Richard Allen, Absalom
Jones and a small band of Black
Christians were pulled from their
knees while praying in a segregated
gallery in St. George Methodist
Episcopal Church in the "City of
Brotherly Love," Philadelphia. As
a gesture of independence and for
titude, Richard Allen founded the
first Black denomination, the
African Methodist Episcopal
(A.M.E.) Church, while Jones
directed his energies to the
Episcopalian ministry. Since that
time, the A.M.E. Church (as all
Black denominations who took
Looking On
Ethelyn Holden
Baker
their cue from Allen) has become a
respected segment of the Christian
faith.
The church has become a train
ing ground for Black leadership.
During the Civil War, Bishop
Henry McNeil Turner (of the
A.M.E. Church) was a highly
regarded spokesman for the in
terests of all Black people. Since
Turner, many others have been
highly visible on the national level.
The long and illustrious list in
cludes nationally known figures
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Martin
Luther King, Jr., Ralph Aber
nathy, Jesse Jackson, Leon
Sullivan and many other Christian
leaders in and outside the clergy.
(Our own Dr. Chancy R. Edwards,
a veteran minister and a long time
civil rights activist, has recently
emerged as a State Representative
in the North Carolina General
Assembly.)
The Christian religion has been
reflected in the Black experiences
involving landmark decisions from
President Harry S. Truman's Ex
ecutive Order which required
equality of treatment under the law
in the armed forces to the Civil
Rights Act of August 4, 1965.
Black church leaders were highly
visible when the Civil Rights Bill
was signed authorizing the suspen
sion of literacy tests and the use of
federal examinations in elections in
the South.
Although outraged, hurt and
disappointed on April 4, 1968,
their love, respect and admiration
for such a renowned martyr. Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr., has in
spired Black theologians of today
to continue in the search for more
positive experiences and com
mitments.
According to Cardiss Collins,
Black U.S. Representative from Il
linois, "Blacks need to use their
political participation. They need
to learn to vote intelligently."
It is, in my opinion, crucially im
portant that the church remain
steadfast in its endeavor to com
pletely emancipate Black
Americans; that it continues to be
aware that the key to success in all
jobs will lie in education - that
Black Americans must come to
grips with the fact that BLACK is
only Power when: the B is a
synonym for Brains and the Ballot,
not Brawn and the Bullet:
?The L is synonymous with
Learning and Labor, not Laziness
and Licentiousness;
?The A means Academics and
Achievement, not Athletics and
Apathy;
?The C is synonymous with
Content of Character and Chris
tianity, not the Color of One's
Skin or Conventousness;
?And the K means knowledge
and Know-how, not Know-all and
Knock-down drag-out.
Once this becomes a realization,
many Blacks will be able to give
honest, unbiased appraisal of their
status, as well as their oppor
tunities, in a free society and
proudly proclaim with their
counterparts, "I Too Sing
America."
(Editor's Mote: Ethelyn Baker is
a former Hoke County teacher.
This article first appeared in The
First Baptist Insight, where Miss
Baker is a regular-contributor.)
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STATEMENT OF
OWNERSHIP. MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION
(Required by 39 U.S.C. 3685)
1. Title of publication: The News-Journal
I A. Publication No. 388260
2. Date of filing: October I, 1985
3. Frequency of issue: Weekly
3A. No. of issues published annually: 52
3B. Annual subscription price:
$10.00 in county
SI 2.00 outside count*.
4. Complete mailing address of known office of publication (Not
printers): 119 West Elwood Avenue, Raeford, Hoke County, North
Carolina 28376
5. Complete Mailing Address of the headquarters or general business
offices of the publishers (not printers): 119 West Elwood Avenue,
Raeford, Hoke County, North Carolina 28376.
6. Full names and complete mailing address of publisher, editor, and
managing editor:
Publisher: Louis H. Fogleman, Jr., 316 Glenburney Dr., Fayet
teville. N.C. 28303
Editor: Warren N. Johnston, 602 N. Main St., Raeford, N.C. 28376
Managing Editor: Warren N. Johnston, 602 N. Main St., Raeford,
N.C. 28376
7. Owners:
Dickson Press, Inc.
Paul Dickson, Margaret Dickson
Sam C. Morris, 119 W. Elwood Ave., Raeford, N.C. 28376
Anne Dickson Fogleman, 316 Glenburney Dr., FayetteviHe, N.C.
28303
Robert A. Dickson, 508 Argyll Rd., Fayetteville, N.C. 28305
8. Known bondholders, mortgages, and other security holders owning
or holding 1 percent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages or
other securities: None
As. No. Cps. Ea. Act. No. Cps.
Extent and nature Issue During Sing. Iss. Pub.
of circulation Preceding 12 Mos. Near. Fil. Date
A. Total No. Copies 3750 4000
B. Paid circulation
1 . Sales through dealers and
carriers, street vendors and
counter sales 1825 1955
2. Mail subscriptions 1625 1643
C. Total paid circulation 3450 3598
D. Free distribution by mail, car
rier or other means samples, com
plimentary and other free copies 135 195
E. Total distribution 3585 3793
F. Copies not distributed
1. Office use. left over, unac
counted, spoiled after printing 75 125
2. Return from news agents 90 82
G. Total 3750 4000
I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and com
plete.
Jtv Publisher