.—THE CAROLINA TIMES SATURDAY, FXB. M, 1968
2A
Die Fundamental Right of Protest
. Let there be no mistake about it
anywhere on this earth, the wanton
murder of the three Negro students
in Orangeburg, South Carolina, by
state troopers and National Guard®
men on the night of February 8, will
not soon be forgotten by intelligent
Negroes of this nation. We would likr
for the world to know that the group
of Negro students who were attempt
ing to integrate the segregated bowi
ing alley in Orangeburg were as much
engaged in a battle against the ene
mies of this country as American sol
diers now fighting in Vietnam. That
three of them were shot down in the
attempt of the students to force a
public facility to live up to the tenet?
of democracy should be viewed b;-
every loyal litixen of America in the
same manner as others of our country
who have given their lives in the de
fense of democracy.
Let there also be no mistake abou
it that the day is over, the time i
up when Negroes of intelligence wi
remain satisfied with anything le?
than equal treatment everywhere an
at all levels in of this na
tion. Let it be further understood
all citizens, especially those of th
deep South, who are obsessed wit:
the idea that these United States be
long to whites and whites only, that
such stupid and ill-conceived notion
are the real breeders of the wid
spread unrest, marches, sit-ins and
other forms of protests by Negro stu
dents and others in this nation.
So the three students who were
The General Telephone Controversy
The City of Durham intends to se
cure the services of a Washington,
D. C consultant to make an inde
pendent study of the General Tele
phone Company's request to increase
its rates. According to City Attorney
Claude V. Jones, the consultant would
study primarily the telephone com
pany's fiscal situation, but consumer
service would also be part of the
study.
The City seems to acknowledge the
fact that the quality of the telephone
service provided by the General Tele
phone Company is an important fac
-tor in objections to the rate hike.
Jones indicated that when the city
intervenes before the utilities com
mission, it should subpoena custom
ers to testify on the quality of the
service.
Certainly, there will be no shortage
of »rate customers to voice their com
plaints about the telephone services
which aLoost everyone acknowledges
to be deplorable.
Bad telephone service is a fact.
There will be no problem proving
that. However, there remains the
question why the services of the Gen
eral Telephone Company are so bad.
Our own information indicates that a
major problem is the installation and
maintenance of telephone equipment.
Apparently, the General Telephone
Company uses the same electronic
equipment that any other company
uses in this country. This equipment
is highly complex &od sophisticated.
How the equipment functions, how
ever, depends on how well it is in
stalled, and how well it is maintained.
A Salute to Herald's New Sports Staff
The coming of Alex Crodc«tt to
the sports editorship of the local Dur
ham Morning Herald has resulted in
the kind of comprehensive and object
ive sports coverage of area sports
that has been slowly in the making
over the years. Those of us who fol
lowed Mr. Crockett's predecessor uw
his pages change to reflect the chang
ing times to a considerable extent. But
young Bports editors, attuned to area
coverage and with adequate staffs
can do more than "pillars of relia
bility" who may not be persuasive in
stimulating management to change
with the needs of a changing com
munity.
The Herald's crack photographers
are now matched for the first time by
a group of writing specialists whom
Mr. Crockett has imported to add
strength and versatility to the
Herald's sagging sports department.
By integrating coverage of area col
leges and high schools, Mr. Crockett
and his staff not only show sensi -
tivity to the notion that the sports
of all schools deserve attention; they
also affect aa economy in apses which
mist sorely he appreciated by the
Hearid front office.
By eipwrifng coverage of such
sports as kswWng. hockey, racing, etc..
wantonly murdered by the so-called
guardians of the law in Orangeburp
South Carolina, gave their lives in
the defense and the* protection of
democracy as much as any soldier of
this nation, who has ever died in its
defense at home or on a foreign bat
tlefield. That their fellow students in
other cities across the nation, with ;
few exceptions, confined their pro
tests to orderly marches and other
controlled demonstrations, we think,
is a tribute to their general regard
for law and order.
This newspaper rededicates itself,
again and again, here apd now, to
the fundamental and eternal truth
and belief that it is utterly impossible
to erase one wrong by committing
another, to that truth spoken by the
Son of God, nearly 2,000 years ago
when he declared for the ages that
"all they who take up the sword shall
perish with the sword." So, we oppose
violence in all forms whether it b
three students in Orangeburg, or the
there students in Orangeburg, or the
breaking of plateglass windows by
the throwing of bricks in Durham or
alse where. . - .
We endorse with all our might th
right of peaceful protest by our st
dents and other citizens of this cou
try, protest against segregation ii.
every form and everywhere, whethf
it be in a bowling alley or a back
alley. Such a right is a fundamental
of a free people that must be guard
ed now, hencefonrth and forever.
For example, when one number is
dialed and another is reached, (fre
quent occurrence) it is due to a mal
function of the equipment. Many of
the complaints of customers imply
problems with the proper functioning
of the equipment.
One major customer indicated to us
that equipment malfunctioning de
rives from the poor training and in
competence of General Telephone per
sonnel who install it, and not from the
quality of the equipment itself. He
said: "You call in a repair man to
deal with a problem, and in fixing
it, he creates a host of other prob
lems. This is because he is not thor
oughly trained in the intricacies of
electronics, and does not understand
that a manipulation to correct a mal
function, may cause other types of
equipment malfunction."
Thus, it would appear to us that a
study of the General Telephone Com
pany must include a thorough exami
nation of how telephone equipment is
installed and maintained, and how
this relates to the quality of the
company's field personnel.
Many of the customers' complaintf
indicate problems in other areas ol
the company's operation: billing pro
cedures (people with party lines being
charged for private lines), manage
ment (long delays in meeting orders),
and public relations (offensive and in
efficient handling of complaints).
The CSty of Durham might do well
to conthe imperative for having
consultants investigate these Prob
lems in depth.
to positions of respectability, the
Herald provides more variety of news
worthy events and at the same time
builds greater spectator interest.
The live, often on the spot cover
age given games of local interest ram
virtually every level of competition
is comforting to coaches, athletes,
and plain fans. From time to time
virtuidly every sports figure of note
on the local scene seems to find him
self reflected in the Herald's sports
section. It is gratifying to welcome
this new combination of Sports Editor
Alex Crockett and a fine group of
knowledgeable young sports writers
and to wish them well in their efforts
to add vigor, variety, spice, sad
sportsmanship to the Durham area.
Jews In The Thirties
A new book has been published
alleging that the United States and
its leaders, including President
Franklin Roosevelt and Secretary of
State Cordell Hull, were guilty of
acquiescing in Hitler's murder of
Bullions of Jews.
The author iaiplies that few in the
United States cared, that we turned
a deaf ear and a cold heart to ref
ugees from Germany when we should
have seized the time and opportunity
to demonstrate moral leadership.
Vultures Of 'Heredity Proverty
TENSION IN THE CITY
Hie events of last Thursday
night emphasized the current
of unrest that lies just beneath
the surface in our city. It is not
something unique to Durham
but a situation which prevails
all over our country. You are
certainly aware of this. It pre
sents s problem which directly
affects you.
Local governmental officials
act as if this tension does not
exist, or it may be that they
recognize It but prefer suppres
sion. rather than positlve\sc
tion. \
Many people claim to ie
plore these disorders and say
"we will not tolerate them"
but few are willing to do any
thing about them. Everyone
talks about acting after things
have broken out. They only
consider better, riot training
and equipment for the Police
and National Guani. For ex
ample, the city of Detroit had
five ahnoured personnel car
riers valued at $30,000 apiece
on the scene during the riots
there, with these you can kill a
fantastic number of people in a
few minutes. With these you
may possibly shorten or stop a
riot but they will not prevent
riots from bracking out or ease
the tensions which lead to
them. This $150,000 could
hsve been much more wisely
deplores them when they
break out Into violent action.
And It may account for the
fact that of all the place* riml
lar demonstrations were held
last Thursday, it was only here
IgJ The Right to Life
—mmmmmxammsmmammmmmm WtlKlM
The black and white complainers about the
racial situation have a chance to do something
besides wail and wring their hands now that the
second session of the 90th Congress has begun.
The first Senate business Is a civil rights bill
designed to provide for the trial and punishment
of persons found guilty of interfering with those
seeking to exercise their civil rights—those rights
already specified In statutes and court decisions
plus those sought to be so specified.
This is necessary legislation, although the
ultraconservstlves and the extreme black mili
tants will join in condemning the move. The con
servatives, largely white, will argue that there
are now enough laws on the books. What Is
required, they say, Is enforcement.
The black extremists will condemn all laws as
anti-black. They win downgrade all laws as "too
slow." The extreme extremists would stage a
revolution, (hrow out the whole American aystem
and start all over with a racially segregated so
ciety, dictated to by violence or the threat of
violence and rigidly controlled by vigilantes.
. But the time is 1968 where the violent mil
lennium has not yet been substituted for Congress
and the rest of the governmental structure. The
nation recognizes that certain challenges are being
TO HOLD ROAD FUNDS
Secretary of Transportation
Alan 8. Boyd haa announced
that feOO-miUios in Federal
highway moaty would be held
back to light inflation during
tUs calendar year.
ON CREDIT PROTECTION
, The Boose baa passed a btll
tbat would (ive customers and
bono we ra an explanation of Be
interest aad other finance
charges they sign for. The hill
Is knows as the "Consumer
Credit Protection Act."
TOE WAY
I SEE IT
By OAVID W. STITM
(i
•pent on efforts designed to
esse the tension and thereby
prevent any outbreak. Tills
money wisely spent could pos
slbly have prevented the loas of
several millions of dollars In
property destruction and man
power use.
We have too many people
who like to make popular
statements shout being free
from fear and safe from vio
lence but who do nothing con
structive about it. They talk of
building meaningful under
standing but do not work to
wards establishing it. While
Durham seethed, the Mayor's
Bi-Racial Committee on Hu
man Relations was totally Inac
tive sitting on the
The Bi-Racial Committee still
has not met now almost a
week after the disorders.
It is enlightening that the
North Carolina Good Neighbor
Council has attempted to set
up a local branch of that orga
nization in Durham but were
told by the city government
that It was not needed because
we had the Mayor's Bi-Racial
Committee. One has to won
der seriously if the city govern
ment wants to esse the ten
sions.
uttered and that threats of violence are more
than vocal exercises. The country can choose to
meet these either with armed suppression or with
a strengthened functioning of the existing ma
chinery. .
?
* a a
Men have been killed In the United States for
seeking the right to register and vote. Harry T,
Moore and his wife were bombed to death In 1951
after Moore had made statewide tour of Florida
to Increase Negro voter registration.
No man has been arrested for this double
murder. If one had been he would haVe been
acquitted of the state charge of murder. He could
not have been arrested under federal law for any
thing except "conspiracy" to deny a person his
civil rights, that Is, in the Moore case, their lives.
Proving conspiracy, as all lawyers know, Is a
difficult task.
Under the pending bill, a man charged with
killing the Moores or Vernon Dahmer In Hatties
burg. Miss., In 1966, or a dozen others, would be
tried in a federal court, not for conspiracy but
for the crime alleged.
Publkhad ovary Saturday at Durham, N. C.
bp (/fitted Publishers, Inc.
L. E. AUSTIN, PubiisUr
SAMUEL L. BRIGGS— MANAGING Editor
J. ELWOOD CARTER. JukxrtUng Uonager
taoami Clam PoeUge Paid at Durham, N. C. 27708
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
4MS far year pint (15c tax in N. C.) anywhere in tha
VS., mad Canada and to servicemen Oversea*;
Foreign, $7.80 per year, Single copy 20c.
PTAMOTAL Ormx LOCATED AT 436 E. Prrncxrw Smrr,
Do—AM, NOTH CMCUM 27702
This is irresponsible leader
ship which Ignores potential /
problem situations and then
in Durham that disorders re
sulted. Was there a different
Intent on the part of the de
monstrators or was there a
poor reaction on the part of
the police? Effigies were
burned in at least one other
city and there it did not re
quire the Intervention of the
flro and yplios departments.
Riot training may be neces
sary for our police department
but they need to learn much
more than how to break up
crowds and carry out military
action. They also need to learn
to be aware of tensions and
work toward lessening these
tensions rather than contribut
ing to them. And the police
man must continue to be a
protector not a prosecutor.
Unless we build bridges of
communications across the val
leys of race which aeparate us
from one another, we will be
unable to resolve the tension
and bring real peace to our
city and nation. A heavy re
sponsibility lies on all of us to
build these bridges. We cannot
exist in Mother America, apart
from the rest of the country
and world.
To Be Equal
* By WHITNSY M. YOCNG, J*.
Studying Sic
rj-WIS IS A presidential election year, and that meana that
everybody and hit brother will come up with plat
forms and plana for 1888. I've |ot one too, but it's pretty
simple. In fact, it takea only one line.
My plan is for no more studies of Negroes this year.
Think about it. Studylr* Nefroes threatens to become
one of the biggest industries in the U. S.» God knows how
« many different commissions and study
■ groups are atudyinf last year's riots. Books
and articlea reporting new studies of dif
ferent aspects of Negro life are arriving
dally.
• Every university has its "Negro ex
pert," usually white. Every foundation is
swamped with requests for funds to study
this Negro ghetto or that one. We've had
studies of the "souls" of black people, the
*pathol*gy" of the Negro family, and
others. You name It, and its been studied.
Mr. Young Of course, if you study something, you
don't have to do anything about it. Just wrap it neatly
between fancy-looking covers snd put it on the shelf. It s
much easier to study unemployment thsn it Is to create
new jobs; much easier to write sbout bad housing than it Is
to build decent homes. j
Studying The Situation
Almost 50 years ago there was a terrible race riot in
Chicago. A commission was appointed to study the situation
snd It came up with a load of recommendations for chang
ing conditions. Do you know that those recommendations
are almost identical with the ones coming out of the current
studies?
How many studies does H take for people to understand
that Negroes are suffering from prejudice and econom ";
hardships? Are all these PhD's so stupidl that they need to
do all over again what has been done hundreds of times
over the past 40 years?
Don't get me wrong. I'm all for good scholarship. In
fact the Negro-studying business has become so big that I'm
afraid if we Just end It quickly, too many people will be
thrown out of work.
So I'd like to propose a different kind of study. I think
we should study white folks. After all, Negroes didn't create
the ghetto, white folk did. The siokness of racial hatred
is a problem white people have had to live with for years,
without the benefit of anyone studying it.
TEU IT LIKE IT IS ?
By KENT R. AUTOR
Mr. Kent Autour
The! Carolina Times
Durham, North Carollria - ° 'i
Dear Mr. Autour,
I am sending the enclosed poem to you, which I Just
wrote, because of my expectation that going through normal
channels, the poem would not get printed in your paper.
You claim to be a white man concerned about the black
man's plight. Well, this poem is too, in its own way. Per
haps its message is too bitter. Perhaps it is too strong for
your blood? I hope not. I hope you are what you claim to be. „
ANONYMOUS
OUT OF EGYPT LAND
(For the martyred dead of Orangeburg)
Creatures of shame and despair,
Born of the dark womb of Night
Wolves slashing at your children's throats.
Spatterings of luminescent blood sparkle on your dark skins
And stain the pure, white, hypocritical snow
That burns and lashes your naked feet.
Where is your refuge? Where is your escape?
Why do you run so, black Mother,
Yellow eyes rolling in terror
As you squeeze the guilty babe to your breast?
Who shall hear your whimpering cry, except the AvengerT
No wise men shall succor you.
No God will protect you
However earnestly you whisper frenzied pleas
and incantations for his mercy.
You have been deceived in your choice of Gods.
You have sought the Merciful-God "
Not knowing that his cold, brilliant whiteness
Hates your warm blackness.
Black mother, Oh, black mother!
Cease your insane, cowardly flight.
You cannot escape the hatred of the White God by running.
For he is everywhere, like the bitter snow.
Nor can you placate his wrath with obedience and Love.
For the Snow-god scorns your humility and fears
the consuming warmths of your love.
Stop! You cannot escape and you cannot placate.
Now is the time to scoop up the snow and melt it in your
breasts.
Now is the time for fire screaming, and madness.
Now must you sink your teeth into the snow's white throat
And discover that the watery blood is no match for your own.
Now Is the time to unmask the terrible White-God
And to learn that his substance is fragile, cold,
unsubstantial snow.
In madness must you eat the guilty babe,
who is not really your own.
Come. Look Into the face of the Avenging-God
who awaits your courage.
Learn—that he Is fire, full-breasted—and Black
The lady who submitted this
poem for publication erred In
her judgement that "going
through noimal channels, the
poem would not get printed in
(this) paper." She seriously
underestimates the Publisher-
Editor of The Carolina Times.
It is ironic that the author,
a Negro would ask a white man
who writes for a Negro news
paper, to publish her poem be
cause she believes it would not
otherwise have been accepted.
She displays little trust in her
own race, and puts herself in
the position of asking a white
man to do tor the Negro what
the Negro can and should do
for himself. After all, the pa
ternslism of the white man to
ward the Negro, is one thing
the Negro Is fitting. To ask
for patronage is blatant Uncle
Tom-ism, As a proponent of Ne
gro self-advocacy, the lady has
something to learn.
Finally, the movement and
the times call for people to
stand up and be counted. It
Is wrong for anyone to attempt
to say his piece, while remain
ing ananymous. If fa author
Is what the poem Implies, the
author should have the cour
age to sign it. What is said in
the poem needs to be said—
publicly and unabashedly.