2
BLACK INK
October, 1973
“Senator Sam”
Law expert?
Pamela Williamson
Sla[l H'riler
''Political, economic, religious, and intellectual Ireedom "are the
fundamental treedoms which make it possible lor America to endure
as a free society."
So said the Honorable Senator Sam Ervin to an audience of alumni,
faculty, and students as part of the University'^Jay celebration on
October 12. Such a noble statement is characteristic of the 77-year-old-
bible-quoting. Consitution-citing hero of the “Watergate"
investigation.
However, as the saying goes, "appearances." as well as statements,
"can be deceiving."
For instance, of the Constitution. Ervin has been quoted as saying it
is the “finest thing to come out of the mind ol man."
The Constitution's Fifteenth Amendment, ratified February 3.
1872. says “The right of citizens of the U nited Slates to vote shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account ol
race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
Section Two of this amendment provides that “The Congress shall
have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." In
exerting this latter power. Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of
1965.
After allowing thousands of Southern Blacks to be dog-bitten,
water-hosed and police-brutalized out of the vole during the early
sixties. Congress, in the alorementioned bill, suspended the use ot
literacy tests or similar voter qualification devices, and authorized the
appointment of federal voting examiners to order the registration of
Blacks in states and counties in which voter activity had fallen below
certain specified levels.
Other provisions established criminal penalties for interference with
voter rights, outlined a judicial recourse for delinquent state and local
governments, and directed the Attorney General “forthwith" to
institute proceedings against the use of stale and local poll taxes as a
qualification for voting. (Poll taxes were banned in federal elections by
the 24lh Amendment to the Constitution, which was ratified in 1964.)
In essence. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 put the full force of thj
law behind the Constitution’s Fifteenth Amendment. However,
“Senator Sam." the Constitutional expert, voted against the
amendment.
Calling on his other area of expertise, Ervin told his U niversity Day
audience that “God grants liberty only to those who love her and are
always ready to defend her.” It is interesting to see how the Senator
adheres to this idea in the area of civil rights.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964. signed into law by President Johnson.
July 2, 1964, contained new provisions to help guarantee Blacks the
right to vote and guaranteed access to public accomodations such as
hotels, motels, restaurants, and places of amusement.
Assuming that Senator Ervin is correct in assessment of God’s
criteria for the granting of liberty, he is supported in the document
where rests fame the Constitution. Section One of the Fourteenth
Amendment provides that “ALL persons born or naturalized in the
United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the
United States ...” There is no categorizing of citizens on the basis of
race.
This section further provides that “No State shall make or enforce
any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of
the United States ... nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the
equal protection of the laws.”
In voting against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, “Senator Sam” causes
a person to wonder at his reasoning, in light of his statement
mentioned above. Either he believes that Black people do not love
liberty and are not ready to defend it, or he has decided that God was a
bit too liberal with his gifts.
The above examples are just a few of the inconsistencies between
Senator Ervin's voting record and his publicized reputation for
espousing freedom and justice for all Americans. The federal
Constitution does not distribute rights on the basis of race. Therefore,
a Constitutional expert should not try to do it either.
The Senator should be praised and encouraged in his valiant efforts
to preserve American freedoms from perversion and abridgement
through an investigation such as the one being conducted by the
"Watergate” Committee.
However he cannot be praised and encouraged when he sacrifices
the liberites and “inalienable rights" of ten per cent of the American
population and approximately 24 per cent ot his North Carolina
constituency in order to gain and maintain political popularity. Or
perhaps this is not his primary motivation at all.
If one believes that his Congressional voting record is a result of his
expertise on the Constitution, they should give some thought to the
opinion of one northern senator in reference to Senator Ervin: “ There
isn't anyone in the Senate who can match Sam Ervin on the
Constitution as longas you don’t go beyond the I wellth Amendment.
Taxes
Income taxes
^very year due.
Sales taxes.
I pay these too.
Luxury taxes.
Maybe one or two.
Black taxes
On everything 1 do.
Don L. Lee
(ratified September 25, 1804).
Inks needed
Urgently needed! Old copies of
Black Ink, especially 1969, ’70 and
’71. The graduate library is in the
process of compiling photostatic
copies of back issues of the Black
Ink, These copies will be returned.
Senator speaking in Carmichael Auditorium. The “constitutional expert’s” views on civil rights
are questionable. Ervin is the chairman of a special Senate committee investigating the Watergate
affair.
Incarcerated Blacks
Need our support
Valerie Batts
Minister.of Information
Bloods,
A severely crippling problem
which Black America faces is the
incarceration of its people. Jails
across the country are filled with
black folk, particularly black men.
Consider, for example, the N.C.
Correctional system. Statistics on
admission rates given. December,
1972 are as follows:
Men: 6534 white Women: 63 white
Men 5645 black Women: 271 black
remember too, that blacks are
reported to be only 25 per cent of
the state population.
1 wonder if we understand the
above stated problem. There are
numerous sociological,
psychological, economic and
biological factors expoused by the
“learned” in these respective fields,
about why blacks and other
minorities are lawbreakers in such
numbers. The people may too
ignorant, uncivilized, too poor to
survive without crime, too
unmotivated to pull themselves up.
frustrated, hostile, lacking in self
appreciation, born with criminal
minds, etc. etc.
It is not my objective here to
dispute or elaborate on any of these
theories. It is my sincere hope that
our educational experience here at
the university will allow us to
individually reject (or accept ...)
these various philosophies after
investigation.
My concern is definitely,
however, that we investigate; that
we are moved beyond various
intellectual discussions to checking
things out. I want you to think
about your physically incarcerated
brothers and sisters. Face it bloods,
we are all one.
It is distressing to witness the
apathy we black masses have
toward working the prisoners
How can we know what’s
happening if we do not deal with
them? Every blood could learn a
real 'lesson- by merely
corresponding with an
incarcerated brother or sister! In
addition, each black student would
be making a vital contribution to
our liberation struggle, by
communicating and creating a
bond with another blood.
Let all of us think about it,
especially those of us who have had
some contact with black folks who
have been or who are in prison.
Why have these folks been locked
up? Could you have done some of
the same thing?
When a system of government is
constructed by laws and norms
unnatural to and ineffective for a
large segment of its popluation it
follows as a logical consequence,
that there will be “law breakers”
from that segment. 1 would go so
far as to say that it is the natural
tendency of these people to deviate.
Those of us who have so far
“adapted” to the existing societal
laws and norms are then in effect
behaving “unnaturally” in our
dealing with them.
And 1 get into theorizing. The
point I want to stress is this; black
folk in prisons across this state and
nation need us and we need them.
Our survival is in no way separate
from theirs. All of us are studying,
let us hope, to contribute our part
in the development of a new world
order; we surely cannot afford to
adopt the role of our oppressor,
seeing classes and categories
among our people. Disassociation.
toleration, and apathy toward our
incarcerated brothers and sisters
negate, in my mind, a black
students belief in the fight for
liberation and justice.
Bloods, please check it out. The
BSM has access to names of
prisoners in North Carolina’s jails.
Your correspondence with one by
mail could mean the only letter for
many prisoners. The off-campus
staff wants a group of black
students to visit the Hillsborough
Correctional Institution weekly.
Similar arrangements can be made
at Central Youth and Polk prisons
in Raleigh. The mechanisms are
avialable for you to begin your
investigation; will you?
BLACK INK
Emma Pullen
Editor-in-chief
Sterling Swann
Associate Editor
l^eonard Lee
Sports Editor
Linda Williams -
iMV-out Editor
Janice IVIills
Mana^inf’ Editor
Gwen Harvey
Eeatiirc Editor
Russell Davis
Photof^raphy Editor
Valerie Batts
Minister of Information
Mae Israel
News Editor
BI.ACK INK. published monthly by the L'NC BLACK
STUDENT MOVEMENT. All unsigned editorials represent
the opinions of the editor. All columns represent only the
opinions of the individual contributors, l.etters to the Editor
may be addressed to BLACK INK. 261 B, Carolina Student
Union, University of North Carolina. Chapel Hill, N.C. 27514.