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PAGE 4 raE TRIBTJNAL AID WEEMESDAY. MAY 21, 1975 EDITORIALS *You re A Part Of The Solution^ Or You*re A Part Of The Problem ’ m IF Tit miEI't ME MT UWW: TIKE If TIE MfEI’J Point by Albert A. Campbell Supporting Block Heroes By SANDRA HILL Are They Really Helpful or... When one looks at the sometimes humiliating circumstances dictating the need to seek the assistance of an outside agency, such aS'Welfare, Social Services, etc., self pity undoubtedly emerges. Whether the pity is justifiable or not, at this point, is not the concern of this writing. What is to be considered, is the dignity (or indignity), of the servicing agency rendering assistance. Unquestionably, recipients must first undergo much agony and soul searching before concluding that their needs require outside assistance. Afterwards, the decision to ask an agency for help come only when it appears that there is no other choice. This then, is done out of desperation, and can only be looked upon as a very personji.t inatter. .’. The question now arises, why then does not the assisting agency respond accordingly. Why should there not be a more dignified and personal approach on the part of the agency? Afterall, the recipients are still humans who simply need temporarily assistance, and should not be considered anything less. However, as in many cases, treating persons like a herd of cattle with ■assigned numbers is unfair, unjust, and most indignant. This newspaper has been informed on a number of ■occasions that many persons seeking financial and food assistance are many times forced to decline further help after making the initial application. Not because they do not meet the requirements, but simply because of agency personnel who are insensitive to their needs. Likewise, the agency itself is often guilty of impersonal treatment. When this writer responded to complaints of various persons, it was discovered that many of the complaints were more than valid. It was found that agency personnel (through no fault of their own) conduct interviews of applicants in the presence of other persons, thereby according the applicant no privacy. Additional, hopeful applicants are standing in lines directly behind the interviewed where they can hear everything about the family conditions of the person in front. This, not only is embarrassing to both the interviewed and persons standing in line, but it also encourages reluctance from others. The condition of a family is personal, and should be treated no other way. For one to sit in an open place and spill out their troubles to the world is distasteful and dehumanizing. Because a family suddenly becomes victimized by world conditions (through no fault of their own) does not in any reduce them to lesser persons. They need help, and not DISCOURAGEMENT. Hopefully these conditions will soon be eliminated. ALXHqUGH THE EDITORIAtS WWTTtlN BY ME ARE NOT INTENHGD TO BE THE OJOiY ANSWER TO THE PROBLEMS AND COM)|[TIONS EXPRESSED, SOME PEl^- SONS STILL MAY DISAGREE WITH MY THOUGHTS. BECi^USE OF THIS, I WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND AN INVITATION TO ANY RESPONSIBLE PERSON WHO WISHES TO REFUTE MY EXPRESSIONS, FREE AND EQUAL SPACE IN THIS NEWSPAPER, IN WHICH TO DO SO. THE TRIBUNAL AID 1228 Montlieu Avenue Post Office Box 921 Phone [919] 885-6519 High Point, N* C. 2 7261 Published Every Wednesday by Triad J’ublications, Inc. Mailed Subscription Rate .$5.00 Per Year Albert A. Campbell Managing Editor Jean M. White Secretary John Williams Advertising ^ [ ASHEBORC^~—__ Vanessa Cross 625-4950 GREENSBORO ^____,I,uila Jessun 299-4402 KERNERSVILLE Mozelle Warren 993-4657 LEXINGTON— .—Jessie Wood 246-6521 REIDSVII IE.Sandra Hill 349-S229 SALISBURY Kd\ Banlis 279-7016 STOKESDALE Shelia Kiui; > n. ^237 THOMASVILLE— .Ruth Farabee 476-4730 Kelly Hoover 476-7472 WINSTON-SALEM——.Velma Hopkins 725-1442 Second-Class Postage Paid at High Point, N.C. >OOOOOQBOOOOQOOOOOOOOOOOeJl "People live in direct relation to their heroes,” the well-known author Maya Angelou once said. Whether he is admired for his courage, nobility, or exploits, a hero is often regarded as an idol or model. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand Ms. Angelou's statement that there is a direct relationship between the way a person lives and the model or idea he admires. Heroes, contrary to some opinions, are people, and like people they come in all sizes, shapes, colors and of varying philosophies. Choosing a person as one’s hero consequently results in the imitation of that person and his beliefs. When our heroes where white, we wanted straightened hair and light (near white) skin. We spent large sums of money on skin lighteners - Bleach and Glow, Nadinola, Arta Skin Cream. We spent an equally large amount on “processes” and “permanents". Trying to meet European standards of beauty cost us money, time, effort, and often times tears. Beauty in dark skinned men and women went unnoticed because we accepted the beliefs of our white heroes: and to them the European standard was the superior one. That fabulous invention, the television, aided in reinforcing us with white heroes - Superman and Billy Graham, Billy the Kid and Jim Bowie, Tarzan and Dr. Kildare, Miss America and Shirley Temple. And then there were the history books, full of heroes, take your pick - that galloping hero Paul Revere, cherry tree chopping George, the great Emancipator Abe, and Patrick Henry wielding his liberty or death ultimatum. God was our greatest hero, but even he was white according to majority opinion. Despite the fact the Bible states God is a spirit and that God created man in his own image, both suggesting that at most God is every color, artists generally depicted both He and his son with fair skin and straight hair. Biblical iTiterpretors explained this group's and that group's participation in the events related in the Bible, and every interpretation left us out or belittled our contributions. The status symbols -- flashy clothes and cadillacs - sported by pimps and dope pushers made many of us admire them and accept them as our heroes, our ideas, models. After all, the pimp and dope pushers were often smart enough 10 operate illegally and reap many benefits that honest, legal, black businesses failed to reap. Despite a long history of unwisely choosing heroes, we finally progressed to a point where we were able to reject the heroes of the majority for better ones. We discovered minority heroes. We dug into our past and found Benjamin Banneker, Nat Turner, Margaret Walker, and many others who never made the pages of the U.S. history books. We found new strength in Joe Louis' punches and Louie Armstrong’s music. Jesse Jackson taught us we were somebody and Muhammad Ali backed up his talk with action. James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison, and Maya Angelou gave us literature with our people as heroes. The TV screen truely became black and white or color, as actors and actresses of our race broke into soap operas and game shows and ihe variety shows, evening news. Somewhere along the line, someone dared to paint a Black Jesus and got away with it. The influx of these new brand of heroes encouraged the growth of self pride and racial progress. It is significant that we found and embraced these our ow n heroes. It is also significant that we not forget them and that we continue to give them our support. The relationship between a person and his hero is reciprocal. Support your local black heroes and others around the country. They need us as well as we need thcni. INSIGHT * For Teens Only by Miller Carter, Jr. TO BE EQUAL by Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. Executive Director of the National Urban League It is estimated that over 125,000 Vietnamese refugees have come to the United States, setting off a national debate about how they should be treated. The President speaks for a sizeable sector of national opinion when he urges that the refugees be welcomed to these shores and provided with federal assistance in building new lives. America has always been a haven for people fleeing other lands, supporters of this position argue, and it cannot turn away political refugees, now. This is especially relevant in regard to the Vietnamese for we encouraged their ties with Americans, prolonged a war that destroyed their country, and so have an obligation to assist those who fled. On the other side are those who argue against any special treatment for the refugees. They maintain that the U.S. cannot absorb them into the work force at a time of economic Depression, and stigmatize many of the refugees as being part of the elite that stole their country blind, or tiger cage guards and other undesirables. The answer to these points make the opponents of the refugees look mean-spirited indeed. It is estimated that only about 30.000 of the refugees will join the work force, an insignificant number in an economy that has over 80 million jobs even in a Depression. And while some of the refugees may have undesirable backgrounds, the overwhelming majority are innocent persons who may have been in danger because they worked for Americans during the war. The debate goes back and forth, but some of the issues just below the surface are more important for the country to consider. Afterall. the refugees are here, no one is about to ship them back, and there is an obligation on our part to act in a humane fashion that was so noticeably absent from our actions during the war. 1 have misgivings about the way the refugee problem has leaped to the top of our skewed national priorities, about the racist feelings unleashed by their presence here, and about our national double-vision that treats anti-communist refugees with greater consideration than others in our society. The influx of brown-skinnea rerugees has reawakened racist attitudes. From California, which has a long history of anti-Oriental persecutions, have come cries of anger against the refugees and demands that they be “dispersed" throughout the country. It seems that the racial feelings that helped us to bomb their country with impunity are now surfacing in the form of nativist rage against colored outsiders. But another consideration refers to the special priorities given the refugees. Like the Hungarian refugees in the ’50s and the Cubans in the '60s, they are slated for aid that has been denied our own citizens fleeing economic and racial oppression within our own borders. And previous European immigrants who came over in steerage had to fend for themselves. The President is asking for half a billion dollars to get the refugees settled here. In the context of their needs and the already swollen size of the budget that does not sound unreasonable. But this is the same President who wanted to slice a half billion dollars out of food stamp aid to the poor, and out of old people's social security checks and medical payments. It is the same President who wanted to cut proposed Gl benefits for veterans of the Vietnam war. many of whom are black, jobless and in need of better veterans' benefits. It is this inconsistency that is so irritating to so many people who would like to be able to be more whole-hearted in their welcome to the refugees. The concern and the generosity the Administration proposes for the refugees would be much more convincing if a similar concern were shown to our own poor and minorities, and to the suffering masses in drought-stricken regions in Africa. Anti-communism should not be the only prerequisite for national generosity. The Vietnamese will not have an easy time adjusting, especially in view of America's traditional racism. They’ll need some help, but it should be in addition to. not in place of. federal expenditures and programs urgently needed by our own poor. Many of todays teens get offended when called "boy/girl". They get fighting mad even when called that in jest. They feel that this name is an insult to their maturity. But let's face the facts, we all, at sometime or another, act a little immature no matter how old. The times when we should act like gentlemen or ladies, we don't. You can't fight it because we are all guilty, even myself. The things we should take seriously, we make a big joke of it, and in some cases we do the direct opposite with something that is usually funny. For instance if someone made a statement like; “Hey boy. I'm talking to you," we would probably burn up inside and be ready to fight. These situations and others bring one question to my mind. What makes a man? Is it the hair on his face or chest? Is it the broadness of his shoulders? As for being a woman, is it the time when she stops wearing plaits and pigtails or do we determine it by what size bra she wears? What is it that makes us grown? Most people would say they consider a man as someone who is twenty-one or someone who is married. Others would say that it's just a matter of opinion by different people. But what is it that we use to form our opinion. Age is not always the determining factor of whether a man is a man or a woman is a woman. Many teens in this day and time mature before they reach the age of fifteen or sixteen and on the other hand some don’t mature until they are much older. There are numerous reasons for this. The most dominating factor is their environment. These environmental factors include: home, school, church, social and leisure conditions. If a child (teen) grows up around an environment that is wholesome, they are more apt to mature a little faster. If a child grows up in a bad environment where there is alays cursing, fighting, etc.. they are bound to grow up the same as his surroundings. Why? Because this is the only way one knows how to act and the only way he can deal with himself and the people around him. If he grows up different from what his environment calls for. he could be looked upon as a strange person. Whether a boy is really a man should be determined by more than just age. We should look at two very important qualities that make up manhood. They are his attitude and his aptitude. His attitude is the way he acts in different situations and the way he carries himself. Attitude also includes his outlook on life and being able to laugh or act seriously when the time presents itself. Aptitude is knowing when, where and how much to act in the situations 1 have . just mentioned. Aptitude is simply the ability to put his knowledge into action. Not just sitting around letting his talents go to waste but to use them to the best of his ability. There is another thing that brings out the man in a person. Many boys (men) don’t realize this but I can speak from experience: "clothes make a man." When a boy puts on his jeans and tennis shoes, he feels more relaxed and free to act "wild". When he puts on a suit or dress clothes, he tends to act more mature and civilized. Let's say that a boy had to go to a party wearing a suit. He would act more mature but put that same boy in jeans and tennis shoes and let him go to the same parly. Immediately, you would notice the change in his activities and attitude. No matter how old a boy becomes, he won't become a man until he is ready to see himself just as others see him. He must see his own faults and mistakes as others see them; but just seeing them is not enough. He must be ready and willing to change and willing to change some of his ways for the bettermeni of himself. No matter how hard he tries, no matter how muchg he smokes or drinks to try o be grown, he can't do it until his mind tells him it's time. Being a man is all in the mind. When we were al the age of five or six. we probably used to play "man and woman”, or "mother and daddy": but now that we have gained a little bit of age it’s time to grow out of fantasy. Why play like men and women when all il takes is a little self discipline to become a real man or woman. So the next time someone says “Hey boy!" don't say. "1 ain't no boy” until you have checked yourself out. You just maybe a boy/girl instead of a man/woman. Only you can tell when you have become a real man. Check it out. arc you a man or a boy? Thought for This Week: A man is he who knows the difference between courage and wisdom and when to exhibit both. IT’S TIME FOR BLACKS TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT /r/S UP TO us, BLACKS mO CARE ABOUT TUE BLACK FUTURE, TO IMPOSE ORDER WHERE NONE EXISTS TODAY.— WE CANNOT ASK OUR OLD PEOPLE TO SPEND THE REST OF THEIR LIVES PASSING THROUGH A GAUNTLET 0FMU6GERS. ORDE COMBS N.Y. MA6AZINE
The Tribunal Aid (High Point, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
May 21, 1975, edition 1
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