Newspapers / The Carolina Times (Durham, … / Dec. 28, 1974, edition 1 / Page 2
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: cjjjsxjna. was sat, deqstisH I "rvrrrniirv rMr a n . a tmttv! u ' ; u a a COMMENTS Tt:!r faa "Ucrli't2c:i:d Era SICKLE CELL ASSOCIATION DESERVES OUR SUPPORT In 1971, representatives of number of local sickle cell organizations throughout the country embark"! upon a first-that of forming a national organization to combat a health problem in the black community. In the three years since its founding, this organization. The National Association for Sickle Cell Disease, Inc.. (NASCD) has been the only voluntary source of leadership and services in the sickle cell movement on a national basis. The NASCD has set guidelines and standards for local sickle cell programs, has served as an educational resource for many avnmuritRs, has assisted in the organization of sickle cell programs where none existed, has trained sickle celt counselors, and is publishing a series of position papers on key issues and manuals for persons with sickle cell trait and sickle cell anemia. These are impressive accomplishments that need to be continued, and for this to occur financial support from black Americans is essential. Sickle Cell programs provide highly significant benefits for the black community: They provide medical and social services for persons with sickle cell anemia, which can assist them in living more meariingful, satisfying, and fulfilling lives in spite of the disease. Charges that sickle cell is over-funded are untrue. More importantly, there is no guarantee that funds diverted or withheld from sickle cell disease would go to support programming for hypertension or any other problem affecting the black community. Many anti-war advocates believed that a decreased defense budget would mean more funds for domestic ills, but today there is less money allocated for social problems than before the cease-fire in Vietnam. It is true that hypertension is not receiving adequate funding, but the funds needed must be in addition to those for sickle cell anemia- not instead of them. The problem of sickle cell anemia is not diminished by the added awareness of hypertension needs. As wc approach our goal of comprehensive health care for the black community, we must resist all attempts at polarization. Black people cannot afford the luxury of disunity. "We have a history of recovery from setbacks, and resolving problems in spite of overwhelming odds- which can be a source of strength. ; Renewed commitment to sickle cell anemia and the accompanying enhancement of community development should generate vitality which can strengthen efforts to deal with hypertension as well. 'UNEMPLOYMENT 1 'r . i. j Ate AiPi ' 1 1P ! A I TO DE EQUAL 1 By mm l JORDAN, JR. j BIG BUSINESS OWNS FORD We're growing rather weary of the President's smile, and his nice guy demeanor .We 're also growing weary of the smugness and the lack of some humility with which his aides approach all problems, and the cheeky answers they provide the public on the most serious issues. William Simon is a smart aleck! Earl Butz is little better!"1 An& Sawhill got fired because 1&hS?h3Mitu&r waFKamf too many rieadunei Sawhill was certainly not out .'to protect the interests of the consumer- jn fact during the Arab oil embargo he was the co-engineer (with William Simon) behind the attempted oue-dollar-per-gallon-of gasoline caper. The Administration's major effort is to protect the profits of big business and it will go to almost any lengths to do this. The signs of this design are all around us, - beginning with the President's wrongheaded nominations, and unding with his callous disregard for the needs of the six million Americans who are walking the streets trying to finj work. The President wants to "slowdown" the inflation by cutting the Federal budget. His reasoning is that many Federal expenditures in the budget are gross contributions to inflation. He also suggests that cutting the Federal budget, will provide the savings needed to pay for his proposal to resolve some of the inflation and its resulting negative impact on employment. He continues to dodge most of the major causes of the inflation, runaway uncontrolled prices and profits, tax loopholes Jor, big business and m Valfie.iwdnW stance of 'Kb Federal regulatory agencies, the paltry record of the Justice Department and the Federal Trade ; Commission in stopping the American trusts, monopolies and cartels from their illegal price fixing and market manipulations. Some attorneys in Justice suggest that proper enforcement of present antitrust laws could save the American public some $40 to $80, billion dollars per year. If the President is truly serious about . waging a real war against inflation and the mounting recession he already has the necessary legal tools at his disposal. His failure to act. and his attempts to make the public pay for his intransigence in these matters however, is ample evidence that he has been captured, body and soul, by the excess profit boys. Christinas is the time for joy, for neighborliness, for goodwill to all mankind, but this Christmas just doesn't fit the bill. All the forced gaiety in the world can't obscure the hunger and misery rampant on the elobe this season of joy. All the neighborly will in the world, won't cover up the fact that neighbors, here and abroad, are now more concerned with their own survival than with lending 'a helping hand to the fellow nearby. And we can sing "goodwill to all mankind," but what most of mankind needs more than goodwill is food, and hundreds, of millions won't even get that. Yes, it's a sorry world this Christmas season. It's a world torn by strife, stalked by hunter, facing global recession or Depression, ancj .apparency , without the , leadership to see it through. ' , ' .. Tntf Chrlstnaslialf 1 bllon peoplee s number is almost beyond Tour ability to comprehend it, will go to bed hungry. In 1 huge parts of the world, and especially the African Sahel, in South Asia and in Latin America, people, hundreds of millions of people, are near starvation. Here at home, everyone's living standard has been reduced by inflation. But the worst Christmas of all awaits the over six million people and their families who are out of work. And each day Vnewpaper brings news of more plant shutdowns, more lay-offs, and mora homes whose Christmas is plunged into the deep shadows of despair and want. All-in-all, that adds up to a pretty gloomy Christmas season this year. From the outside things don't look all that bf.d-the lights blaze away, shop windows are full( when they're not boarded up), and laughter and good cheer is still in the air. But underneath these external trappings of the season we can hear the low, bitter rumblings of a nation adrift, fearful of the future and losing faith to its ability to surmount present difficulties. Perhaps this is the season to try to recapture that faith. The age-old Christmas story may still be able to inspire within us the determination to overcome national and global misery. The star that rose over Bethlehem almost two thousand years ago foretold of new hope for mankind and this year more than most, we need to see the symbolic star of brotherhood and faith rise within each of us. This is the season to try to overcome the awful prlvatism that has ensnared our countrymen, the placing of private self-interest above the needs of all. It is the season to stress the brotherhood and charity toward all that is the necessary basis of civilized existence. . , It is the season, to renew our faith fa 'the .. equality of all roen,and to, pledge ourselves, . , .,. " ttf'work'aft Vear long for equality anrf'tne''-110 dignity of all. It is the season to find the joy of living and the pleasure of friendship, even In the face pf hard times and struggle for existence. Every Christmas has found many millions without their Chris tims baskets and gifts, but this year finds many more without them. Under such conditions it's hard to be thankful, hard to replace bitterness with joy, anger with forgiveness. But if we wish to see happier Christ nrnses, we must. If we want better days we've got to believe better days are in the offing, and we've got to pledge ourselves to fight to bring them about. This is the Christmas that finds more Americans without jobs, without food on their tables and without the leadership that will inspire the people to overcome. Yet this is also the Christmas in which we give thanks for that which we do have, for the strength to survive in adversity, and for the ever-present hope and determination that will make future Christmases more joyful. Equal Distribution Of Sctool Resources Is The BaiUc lot Busing By AUGUSTUS F. HAWKINS . There is no use pretending that our nation's schools are bastions of the democratic concept, and that our children, who are educated In our schools, are going to be aggresWe advocates for the democratic way of life. That fa, unless we make some difficult new decisions. Unfortunately, the educational institutions in this country, stUl unable to escape the tragic effect of classism, sexism and racism in the classroom, stiU Jack the vigor, courage and leadership to develop the means for providing equal educational opportunity and equal educational experiences for all of its students in a truly democratic environment. Of course professional educational leadership cannot be ladened with all the blame. Political opportunists continue to roU out anti-busing stands when they have little else to present. The business community, only interested in profit-making, promotes the status quo. Connunity leaders, fearful of losing power, and afraid of change, preach a kind of community isolationism called the community school concept. Boards of education, coming ; from the upper middle class and usually representing interests other than those of children, tend to provide insignificant guidance and leadership, thus taking their cues from milk-toast educational administrators who are generally fearful of saying . what they think. Caught in the dilemma of all this are the children, who deserve something better than mediocre education. Also caught in this dilemma are parents of school-age children, whose major priority is to help their children develop the skills necessary to competitively survive in this society. If one takes the time to examine the history of public education in this country, one must come to the conclusion that the visionaries who fought for free, public, mass education did so under an allusion that such education would lead to a strengthening of our democratic value systems. They made two major blunders, however. They neglected to include Blacks in this plan. Later when the immigration waves from Europe hit these shores, the education of immigrant chfldren was forced-fed, and produced robot-like youngsters who mouthed .democratic ideals, but were not committed to such, ideals; The issue enjoins the idea of the democratic principals of education in America, and the inalienable right of all pubUc school children to be treated equally in all matters pertaining to public education and to the equal sharing of all school resources. The Black parents of Boston are not stupid, and in their case before the Federal Court in Boston they presented Indisuputable evidence that the unequal distribution of educational resources in that system (that is, white schools getting more of everything and Black schools getting less), has resulted to overwhelming educational disadvantage for Black school children. i t White schools are not inherently, superior nor are Black schools inherently inferior but' this may be the case, if an educational system determines that its per capita costs per child, must be based on the ethnic background of that child. And the system therefore spends a disproportionate share of its dollars on the white.child, to the detriment of the Black child.' We ought to know this, but-lfuestweeithei tfontr else (we re too dumb to change. Inflation Jfa By ROBERT B. HILL EDITOR'S NOTE: Mr. Hill is the director of research for the national urban league branch in Washington, D.C. The inflation of 1973, coupled with the onset of the energy' crisis near the end of the year, resulted in an increase in the Nation's unemployment rates - especially among black workers. Between March 1973 and March 1974, the (unadjusted), unemployment rate for black workers rose 3 per .cent (from 9.0 to 9.3),. while the unemployment rate for white workers increased I per cent (from 4.7 to 4.8). Or, the number of, unemployed black workers increased 1: per cent (from 887,000 to 948,000), while the number of unemployed white workers increased 6 per cent (from 3.6 to 3.8 million). Black teenagers, with an unemployment rate of 319, were undoubtedly one of the hardest hit groups of workers. White teenagers had an unemployment rate of 13.3 per cent. Furthermore, -black men had the largest Increase in the ' h m h r of orkiri unemployed 15 weeks or more. While all other groups of workers (including black women) showed decline in long-term unemployment oyer this period, the number of long-term unemployed black men leaped 41 per cent from 105,000 in March 1973 to 148,000 in March 1974. These findings are consistent with unemployment patterns since' the onset of the energy crisis hi October 1973. The black male breadwinner appears to have been disproportionately hurt by inflation and the energy crisis. Consequently one can expect a decline in the earnings capacity of thousands of black families But adult males were not; the only breadwinners to black families hurt by inflation and the energy crisis. Women heading their own . families were equally affected, if not more so., .. The civilian labor force' participation of black married , women (with husband absent) dropped from 57 per cent to 1S69 to 49 per cent to 1973. Not only were these women more likely to have to withdrawnfron the labor force! jver this period, but those remaining In the labor force experienced longer periods of unemployment. In 1969, only 6 per cent of the black married women with husband absent were unemployed. Declining job opportunities apparently forced many of these women! to withdraw from the labor force. Another factor responsible for this decline to labor force participation was the unavailability of low-cost child care services and the spiraling . price increases : for those currently existing. Thousands .of ' working mothers either! could, not find a chUd care facility for their ,children or could not afford those that did exist Between the fourth quarter of 1972 and the fourth quarter1 of 1973, the proportion of black women withdrawing ; from the labor force because of home - responsibilities ; and ' school jumped from 44 per ' cent to 64 per cent. Consequently, a decline In' their labor force participation led to an increase to the number of female-headed on some' families dependent public assistance. According to a recent Census Bureau report, theo median family income went ;froiri j59, per cent to 58 per cent 'between 1972 and 1973. This v represented a sharp labor force participation of- dron from the black to white working wives in black family mily;Jncome ratio of 61 per declined between 1970 anAjrint: "1969. 1973 as well This decline led isr . iThe decline in black income to a sharp drop in the purchasing capacity of most, black families, which are dependent on a wife in the labor force to keep them above the poverty level. WIDENING INCOME! GAP The steady decline ic 'gainful job opportunities for female heads of black families1 is a major factor to widening the income gap between black1 and whit families. , . , :- Between . 1972 and. 1973, the median income in black families increased by only, 6 -per cent (from $6,864 " to $7,269), while white median family Income rose by 9 per cent from $11,549 to $12,596). This slower increase' in black family income widened the gap between black' .and white families. Black median family Income as a .proportion of white relative to whites, as a result of the 1973 inflation, was greatest among black families in the Northeast and West. Between 1972 and 1973, the Black to white family income ratio in ;he Northeast dropped from 64 per cent to 59 per cent, while the ratio in the West dropped from 71 per cent to 65 per cent. ' . ,t This represents a significant' worsening in the relative ' economic status of blacks to these regions since 1969, when' black family . income was . two-thirds of white family income in Northeast and three-fourths of white family income in the West. , Apparently inflation and the energy crisis 'accelerated the ' decline for Macks in these regions over the past year. , , ; Interestingly, it is the South' where the black to white ratio ' of famUy Income has remained; almost constant over the past four years. ; The black-white family income ratio of 56 per cent in 1973: was not significantly different from that In 1972 (55 per cent) or the ratio In 1969 (57 per cent.) At the same time although the black to white income ratio of 69 per cent to the North Central region in 1973 remained virtually unchanged from 1972, this dki constitute a ' ; sharp drop - to the relative economic status of blacks to that region from 1969, when black median family income was 76 per cent of white median family Income. These data strongly indicate that' the relative economic status of black families in most regions of the country has significantly . worsened since 1969 and that Inflation And the energy crisis have accelerated the descent. Whether this decline to economic status is a consequence of a deliberate ' "benign neglect" policy ' regarding blacks and other ' minorities is open to debate. But the tact of the decline is not I'm for change - how about you? tings You Should Kno'J A SLAVE OWNED BY W1UIAM iS - - ESCAPED ON SEPT. 30,1750 AT AGE 27 TO BECOME A SEAMAN AT THE FAMED BOSTON MASSACRE IN KING STREET ON MARCH 5I77P, WHEN THE 29h.REG.OF BRITISH TROOPS FIRED ON AMERICAN CIVILIANS, THE FIRST TO DIE WAS THIS SLAVEWHO HAD RUNA WAY TWENTY YEARS BEFORE . iVKiiMiaST , L. E. AUSTIN ' Edltor-hiblkher 1927.1971 Published every Saturday at Durham, NA by United Publkhers, Inc. MRS. VIVIAN AUSTIN EDMONDS, PubHsfast :MALVIN B. MOORE, ffl, .............. Editor CLARENCE BONNETTE, .Business MansfSf J. ELTOOD CARTER, . . . , . . . .AdnrtHtof MaJMQK. Second Class Postage Paid at Durham, K. C 27702 SUBSCRIPTION RATES ' United States end Canada . ........ ...I Year $150 United States and Canada 4 Yean $1544 Foreign Countries 1 Year $10.00 Single Copy JO Cents - Principal office located ! at 436 East Pettigrew Stitet" Durham, North OraUna $7703
The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
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