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THE VOICE
MARCH, 1979
THE VOICE
“SPEAKING FOR OURSELVES”
Volume 33, Number 8
March, 1979
Published twice monthly during the school year by students of Fayetteville State
University. To receive THE VOICE please send $4.00 for one year or $16.00 for four years to
THE VOICE, Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, N.C. 28301 to cover mailing and
handling costs.
Lillie Booth
Edith Holloway
Fidele Essono
Shirley Long, Beverly Edge,
Barbara Burns, Vanessa Williams, Valery Frazier, Edwin DeVaughn
Typist Charles Dorsey
Photographers Ronald Spicer, Hubert Cherry
Advisor Dr. William H. Greene
Editor
Associate Editor
Special Reports
Reporters
BLACK HISTORY
MONTH
by Fidele Essono
Negro, Negre, Nigger or
Black. There are various
designations, more than
words, in many languages for
individuals that are solely
dependent on looks, tone and
pigment. History has em
phatically dramatized the
status of Blacks by constant
condemnation.
FSU’s Student Center has
exhibited in its own way some
of the black people who have,
despite all barriers, forged a
past blended with glory and
pain: A Black World History
celebrated, in many in
stances, in memory of our
selves, a deserving people,
even in the midst of
“frustration.” Black History
month or the celebration of
the history of a people is just
taking time to gather facts
that we must remember and
then to consider where we
stand and our future.
Balancing wins and losses
in perspective to coordinate
the future from the actual
experience, knowing where to
go and how far to continue our
long and unterminable
marathon to reach our goal is
what this month is about. Our
motivation must be greater
than “I don’t care” which is
the lack of pride and our
cultural preservation. The
struggle is oriented for
specific achievements. Our
capability is immense and it’s
still badly accepted as
evidence. Our success
wherever it takes place is
always unwelcomed unless we
agree to be inferior. Even so,
it is still a nightmare. The
thesis of difference is the
focus of conflict. The genius of
black people has always been
denied. Many times our glory
SA'*SMC>-
iT^RARer
iFSHecHwees
Ha?M/Ap,ITs
OUST LIKE A
WOMAN!
has changed into frustration.
Witness Jesse Owens when he
won three gold medals in the
1936 Berlin Olympics. The
Furher refused to
congratulate him because he
was Negro. The world
magnified Hitler’s ignorance
and relegated Owens to his
place as a humble servant. A
white spectator in Pretoria
suffered a heart attack as he
watched Roger Bourgarel
play rugby against France’s
white team. A negro had
never performed, on the field
before. The scientific world
owes some black technical
discoveries that have
benefited all of humanity.
They have been used and are
still being used throughout the
world without segregation.
Martin Luther King, Jr. called
for justice from Florida to
Maine and his voice was heard
in Pretoria’s apartheid
leadership via Salisbury. It
reminded a lot of Australian
authorities that it was time for
them to release Blacks from
the “zoo” and time to stop the
perpetuation of the primitive
life of part of its populace and
provide the resources for a
conversion to modernity.
Black History Month is
dedicated to all universal
black communities for a
destined reunion along with
those who have shed tears for
a life free of oppression. On
the other hand, expressing the
joy of being ourselves in the
sounds of a melody blown by
ourselves in memory of
“Satchemo” who linked and
broadcasted love among
people of the world. Let’s
remember one more time our
task, it’s still hard but not far
from possibility.
To Black Americans, and to
everyone who supports full
economic rights for all
minorities:
I am asking the editor of
this newspaper to share with
you my thoughts about
economic rights, and about
full employment for all
Americans, and to address
some concerns that have been
raised about the effectiveness
of the Humphrey-Hawkins Bill
that just passed the Congress
and which will probably be
signed into law by the
President by the time this
letter is printed in your paper.
As many of you know, I
have been carrying on my
husband’s work through the
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Center for Social Change here
in Atlanta. In the years just
prior to Martin’s death-with
many of the battles for full
civil and political rights
behind us he devoted in
creasing attention to the more
complex question of full
economic rights. It was not
enough that blacks and other
minorities could now sit at
lunch counters, now there was
not enough money to buy a
meal. Martin knew it would be
a long and difficult struggle to
effect the necessary political
and economic changes in our
system so that all Americans
could share in the good life of
our society. He knew it would
not be easy to establish the
principles that every person
willing to work has a right to a
decent job.
The Martin Luther King,
Jr. Center for Social Change
has been involved in many
important programs in the
last ten years, but our most
vital and sustained effort has
been to continue the campaign
for full economic rights for all
Americans. We know jobs can
be the key to breaking the
grinding chain of poverty for
our people. We know jobs can
be the answer to solving all
the other problems that
plague our cities. We know
that when the head of a family
has a job, then we can hope to
bring stability and peace and
harmony to that family, and to
that neighlDorhood, and to that
city. We know joblessness
breeds despair and triggers
many of the social and
economic ills that often run
rampant in our ghettos.
And we know that any
society which tolerates
joblessness for large numbers
of its youth is a society which
is doomed to grapple with the
flames of hatred and violence.
As unemployment rose to
alarming heights during the
Nixon-Ford administration,
the King Center called an
historic meeting in the Spring
of 1974 to address the question
of full employment. From that
meeting sprang the Full
Employment Action Council,
which I have proudly served
as one of two co-chairpersons.
The Council is composed of 85
Lillie Booth
Editor
IVote From
The Editor
You’ve heard my com
plaint often enough; “People
just aren’t concerned about
the paper and consequently
they do not become involved
with it.” Today, however, I
have news contrary to the
above statement and I will
gladly share it with you.
Seemingly the new year
did bring about some
miraculous changes. Interest,
participation and productivity
have all improved an out
standing 100 percent. This
issue reflects the hard work
that was expended by the
members of the staff. I will
not single out anyone but
simply say that each one is to
be commended for their
professionalism and
dedication to THE VOICE. We
have all agreed that the best
way to get the job done is to
work together. This attitude
apparently seems to be paying
off and hopefully it will con
tinue to do so in order that we
may serve you more ef
fectively.
As always, we welcome
your comments and
suggestions, Our motto,
“Speaking For Ourselves,”
we take seriously.
We still have available
copies of the pre-Christmas
holiday edition, which many
of you may have missed, and
also our last edition. If you
would like any of these past
editions, please stop by the
newspaper office and ask for
one.
In the meantime, don’t
forget to speak for yourself.
We look forward to hearing
from you.
national organizations,
representing a broad cross-
section of groups who care
deeply about our people and
about our country’s future-
women’s groups, organized
labor, religious organizations
of every faith, civil rights
groups, and others. This
dynamic coalition brought
together for the first time
since the 1964 Civil Rights Act
all of the progressive forces in
our country, all concerned
with establishing a true full
employment economy.
Shortly after the
coalition was formed.
Representative Gus Hawkins
of California and the late
Senator Hubert Humphrey of
Minnesota introduced the Full
Employment and Balanced
Growth Act, commonly called
the Humphrey-Hawkins Bill.
Our coalition has vigorously
supported the bill at every
step along its difficult path to
passage. Unfortunately, the
bill has undergone a number
of revisions and changes since
its introduction-some but not
all for the better-and has also
picked up a number of critics.
Some claim the bill will
get government too involved
in the free enterprise system
and that the “solution” to full
employment is to give cor
porations more tax relief and
let the benefits of that tax
relief “trickle down” to those
at the bottom of the pyramid.
History has shown, of course,
that the “trickle down” theory
simply doesn’t work. That
relief never gets down to the
people who need it most.
Others, particularly our
friends on the political left,
complain the bill is not strong
enough and that there are not
enough specific programs
within the legislation to get
the job done. As many of you
know, the bill was amended
during the past few weeks as it
went through the U.S. Senate.
As a result, some people
believe the final legislation is
largely “symbolic” and that it
will not be effective in the
struggle to achieve full em
ployment.
Nothing could be further
from the truth. As one of the
people who worked literally
night and day during the past
few weeks to bring Hum-
phrey-Hawkins into law and
as one of the persons who
negotiated with our sup
porters and with our op
ponents and with the
Democratic leadership to get
the bill through, I can assure
you that the Humphrey-
Hawkins Bill is so significant
that it rivals the 1964 Civil
Rights Act and the 1965 Voting
Rights Act in its importance to
the nation.
Despite the criticisms of
many who do not understand
the bill and despite the fact
that we did not always have
the support of our political
“friends” when we needed
them, I believe the new
legislation is a major
achievement in the area of
national economic planning.
For the first time ever in
our nation’s history, full
employment is now a national
priority. We have clearly
established the principle that
every American willing to
work has a right to do a job.
Sure, we would have liked an
even stronger bill, but this one
is the best possible one we
could get through this
Congress. An alternative to
Humphrey-Hawkins would
have been no legislation at all.
In addition to establishing
full employment as a national
goal, the bill sets a specific
target of three per cent adult
unemployment and four per
cent overall by 1983. Matched
against current jobless
futures, that means an ad
ditional three million
Americans who are not now
employed will be working
within the next five years. The
new law also requires the
government to specify each
year what steps it plans to
take to reach these numerical
goals. It also forces the
Federal Reserve Board to
work toward that employment
objective. In the past, the
Federal Reserve Board has
often taken fiscal steps which
forced up the jobless rate. Not
any more.
I understand the
unhappiness some of our
coalition supporters have felt
because the opposition suc
ceeded in including specific
targets for controlling in-
flation-without defining any
program to achieve them-in
an obvious effort to negate the
bill’s effectiveness. However,
those inflation goals-while
laudable objectives in their
own right-do not have the
same priority as the em
ployment goals.
The important thing to
remember is that it is
necessary to start
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