4 L THS CAROLINA TIMES SAT, FEBRUARY 19, 1977
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the Opening
. ; A little noted order by Judge Frank
Gray; Jr., of the U. S. District Court in
Tennessee to merge Tennessee State
and I the University, of Tennessee in
Nashville "appears to be the .' opening
wedge whereby traditionally black' in
stitutions of bigher education would
lose all their identity.
Although the judge noted that the
University of Tennessee at Nashville
was relatively new, while Tennessee '
State University (black) was established
more than sixty (60), years ago for the ;
education of . black students, this still
did not stay or slow his rush to the
judgment that Tennessee State should
bear the burden and lose its identity
by being merged into the University of.
Tennessee at Nashville.
U. S. District Judge Frank Gray,
Jr., found this solution to be necessary
even though the United States Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia,
his remanded the case of Adams
versus Richardson with the admonish-
ment that thevburdea, of desegregating ;
': higher education in" the "South should?
not be cast upon the historically and
predominantly black institutions of
higher education.
The harbinger of Judge Gray's
decision was duly noted by" the
National Council of Black College Presi
dents at the time when several states
began building branches of pre
dominantly white state universities,
literally next door to the historically
black institutions of higher learning.
Similar rulings in Louisiana in 1975
declared that all black Grambling State
University and all black Southern Uni
versity in Baton Rouge were fostering
racial segregation and were ordered to
admit more whites. Plans were' dis
cussed for Grambling's merger with
DURHAM CITY COUKCIL RESOLUTION
RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION TO CITIZENS AND ORGANI
ZATIONS ACTIVE IN MEETING THE 1976-1977, WINTER
ENERGY EMERGENCY ; t . "
r-: VyHEREAS? tile wii&e'moftths of 1976M977 will be longremeW
bered for the severely cold .Weather experienced in the Durham area,
and .' ' ..'' s'-':'.'' '' '
, WHEREAS, said cold weather resulted in exceptional demands on
available sources of energy! and
WHEREAS, many citizens in the Durham area were unable to find
sufficient available and affordable sources of energy for heating
homes, and '
WHEREAS, this community experienced the tragedy of citizens
perishing within their homes for lack of warmth, and
V" WHEREAS, the sicknes and suffering occasioned by the bitter
cold. and lack of home heating is beyond calculation, and 1
WHEREAS, citizens of this community rallied to the aid of their
less fortunate neighbors by contributing time and effort in the cutting
of wood for! use in, home heating and in contributing money to a
community emergency fundi all of which were used to provide fuel
for needy persons in Durham, and
WHEREAS, this exceptional community effort was recognized on
nationwide television and in syndicated news articles and is a source of
. heartfelt pride on the part of this Council, now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
DURHAM
Section !. This Council expresses its deep appreciation on behalf
of all of the citizens of the City of Durham to those individuals who
contributed their time and effort in the gathering of wood to furnish
fuel to needy persons and to those individuals who contributed to the
emergency fuel fund, which fund was used and is being used to meet
the energy needs of the unfortunate. .
Sec. 2. This Council expresses its thanks, on behalf of the citizens
of Durham, to Duke University for making wood available from the
Duke University forest; to.the Durham County Social Services De
partment, to Women in Action; to Operation Breakthrough, to Edge
mont Community Center, to the Durham Oil Heat Association, and to
the numerous churches; dvic organizations and citizens who partici
pated in this community wide project. To all of these institutions,
organizations, agencies and individuals, this Council extends its
sincerest thanks and gratitude. .,
i Sec. 3. This Council expresses its particular pride and thanks to
Dr. C. E. Boulware, a member of this body, for his personal efforts
and sacrifices in coordinating the drive to provide fuel and raise
money for providing heat for the community's needy.
BHaj Yea
H SAVANNAH, IN 1796 WHITES
TRIEO TO ABOLISH IT BY WHIPPING ITS MEMBERS AND JAILING
BRYANy BUT IT WENT ON; AND THE SECOND ONE WAS ERECTED
.IN SAVANNAH IN 1799 Couul iw
Hedge
mostly white Louisiana Tech in Ruston
a town with the reputation of conduct
ing .the last reported lynching in the
South, Southern was to be involved in
a merger with Louisiana . State Uni
versity in Baton Rouge; : v.
' It is reported that Florida A & M
(Tallahassee) has also been given the
order to merge with Florida State,
again literally across the street.
These efforts to carry out the law
of racial integration, casting the burden
of integration on the former victims of
segregation results in the destruction of
black institutions of higher education.
We deplore this not so subtle
method of eliminating or getting rid of
the traditionally and historically black
institutions of higher education. The
great majority of these schools, es
pecially those supported by the
various southern states, have never
received adequate funding that makes
for improved educational instruction
and staff.
v: nd w iplace ,.all: .the ;. burden . on
these historically'" black' institutions of
higher education in the name of inte
gration is "totally unfair. Adequate
funding can, and should be, placed as
the first priority for these schools. For
most reports now show that the tradi
tionally black institutions of higher
education still enroll and graduate,
(and the term ."graduate" is most,
important) the great majority of black
students enrolled in higher education.
Whether the Florida A & M Uni
versity, and the' Tennessee State Uni
versity signals a new trend in affirma
tive action in higher education remains
to be seen. ,
But for the citizens of Black Herit
age - b.eware the opening wedge.
Should Eao7
'tew
. . .A SLAVE, UNDER WHOSE
PASTORSHIP GEORGE UELE BUILT THE
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH FOR NEGROtS
f
Sunbelt Vs.
There are the first glimmerings of a new war
between the states, this one anconomic:war..
Voices are being raised about the way states in
the south and west are growing: fast while those
in. the east and central part of the country are
growing slowly or slipping into decline.' - . .
The economic resurgence of the south illu
strates this, between 1970 and 1975 population
" ;Jhere Increased by. 4.6 per cent1 compared to a
one per cent rise in the north, while, non-farm
jobs increased by 16.7 per cent compared to a
measly 1.3 per cent rise in the north. - . ;
Much of the new business boom in those
states is due to cheap power, weak unions, tax
concessions from state and local governments,
and favorable weather. , - "
But many people claim that the boom is en
couraged by other forces too,. especially federal
favoritism in policies that take tax dollars from
the north and speed them southward in the form
of federal spending. :
Many northern states are in "deficit" whije
sunbelt states enjoy a high "surplus.". The Great :
Lakes states, for example, sent $62 . billion to
, Washington in taxes, but got back- only about
. $43 bulion in total federal spending there;
Southern statest on .the other, hand, got (back
' $11.5 billion more in fedefal spending lhan they r
paid in taxes.
Connrossman
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!
My Administrative Assistant, John W. Smith,
and his two children Erik and Karla in a dis
cussion of the TV epic "Roots" the other day,
came to the conclusion that the heroes in that
magnificent story were black people.
It's about the only plausible conclusion one
can come to, and I'm fairly certain that "Roots"
author, Alex Haley, would agree with this view.
'-. For surely even no one great man or one
great woman in any people's history, carries the
""'weighii'p'f that, people; in thf same sense4hat all
the people do collectively. ' 1 """
And so it-is withSiVRootV'; and herein lies
the greatness of the" black struggle in America,
marked by an indomitable rise, in the fortunes
and status of black Americans, in spite of every
seeming uhsurmoun table bbstacle. In the face of
these things, the spirit of blacks has always found
its way to truth, and has4 so fundamentally im
pacted on the American Way, that the country
would not have progressed in the manner it has,
if it were not for the black presence.
Blacks sometimes being the most despised,
the least loved, have been the primary instru-
Benjamin 1. Hooks
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Guard Against Reverse Bias Claimants
For a . large, part of human history and con
tinuing to the present time, the view firmly held
was that freedom was a thing to be wrested from
the clutches pf,; would-be or actual oppressors.
And fhat it was sqniething that must be zealously
guarded fesVbme war-like neighbor swoop
down and snatch it away or destroy it .
, The contradiction or paradox of our times,
the thing that so disarms us, I guess, is that this
nation which pays such eloquent lip service to
the ideals of democracy, to the concepts of
Christianity and of its founder, Jesus Christ, has
not lived up to these moving ideals and sacred
concepts. 1
' Were it nqt-'tor this, there would not be this
schizophrenia our national psyche. Had this
nation at the outset declared we do not recog- '
nize the equality of man; we do not recognize
the concept that every; man has certain inalien
able rights, we simply maintain that 'those -of us
who own land, or have finished college, or were
born to wealth and privilege, or with white skin,
or whatever the arbitrary classification, will
forever hold the reins of power and dominance.
Then, when the subsequent revolution came
to change, this ridiculous imbalance, one would
have surely talked about the arrogance of such a
creed, but not the hypocrisy of those who held
it.
But all this is philosophical. The fact re
mains, Jefferson and his colleagues under what
I believe was the inspiration of God, did write
this moving document, the Declaration of In
dependence. They did proclaim it. They did
publish it. . And for 200 years, no matter how im
perfectly, we have been as a nation moving more
or less toward that lofty goal. v
The most bloody war in 1 S. history, was
the Civil War. and no matter how one views it, it
stemmed directly from the hard irritractable
issue of slavery. Some may say it htemmed from
freight rate imbalances, from tjie struggle for
dominance of the -industrial (north) over the
agrarian (south). But the fact remains the end
result of that conflict was the abolition of
slavery.
Snowbelt
Those .figures had tremendous impact in
r places like New .York, Boston, and Detroit,
where fiscal problems have caused cutbacks in
public services. And the impact. was deepened,
when it became clear that much of the inflow of
federal dollars to the Sunbelt is for defense
spending - army bases, shipyards, electronics ;
and others. ... 4 .
: The defense share of the, total of all wages '
and salaries in the South ant. West is 15.6 per
cent , but in the Northwest and Midwest, it is
5.7 per cent. Other sources of disparity include
disproportionate federal funds going to public
works projects like highways, and social security ,
payments to northerners who -migrated south.
So it's all shaping up as a new economic war
between the states, and that's a big mistake, for
the sunbelt is not as rich as some would make
out, while .the north is not as poor. The facile
assumptions that one region is getting fat while
another is dying are without basis. ' ;
The South, for example, Is stflT behind other
regions in per capita income. Yes, it is growing ,
a lot faster than the rest of the country, but it
starts from so fa; behind that current arguments
on regional favoritism are flawed. A larger pro
portion of the nation's poor still lives in the
South and there's little indication .that the dra
' matie ecohbiriic cxpatiswri hiscut their numbers:
The regional economic boom has not reached
lawtims
Qton
And Mow "Roots"
ment in forcing America to live up to its own
dream of itself; a society committed to the ideal
of human dignity for all of its people.
There, are other part to this story of course;
they all relate to the same quest.however - one
which continues for blacks - and as stated in , -"Roots",
one which will noVend?Wrcfla11 Ameri
cans are free from the traps inherent in no-win .
racism. - .
Should the country be grateful then that for
eight days,,; Us. , TV screens were deep into
"Roots,'' ;,anjj iack. "history "T believe so.because ,
"Roots" is essentially the ' story, ttf all men and, t ,
women searc!hihg for that rtionieW iri time-when
all men and women will be free. t
. Free to live and breathe an air not tainted
with the, pollution of race discrimination and
race prejudice.
Its real impact however even at this point, is
still hard to assess, because most of us are still
grappling with all of its meanings.
. But its fundamental message came across;
and America got the message.
Where do we go from here?
The truth of the matter, however, Is that
after the Hayes-Tilden compromise of 1876
which entailed the withdrawal of federal troops
from protecting newly-freed slaves in the south
we sank into a despicable period of disfranchise
ment of blacks that was virtually unrelieved until
the period immediately following World War II,
in the 1940's. In many southern states blacks
simply could not vote in-JtheDemocratic pri
maries at that time. .
The thing I am trying to emphasize, how- -'
ever, that in this third century, of , our
founding, we are now presented the Golden
opportunity to break free 'from this debilitat- .
ing past. I have tried to say this in many places '
throughout our country: "There are things in our
country that transcend race, or color, or creed or
previous condition of servitude.".
' " What we must be on guard against are those
people who look now . with disdain unpon ,
the feeble efforts of blacks to acquire the rights
of citizenship. They decry these efforts with
sneers of "reverse discrimination." ; , f
A few years ago 'irwSpbssirile' fdr banks,
for example, to advertise for . clerks and tellers
and say that no blacks need apply. This did not
violate any law at that time ., '
r The Civil Rights Act's affirmative action sec
tion now not only prohibits this kind of recruit-
ment, but tells, the employer that he must make
positive efforts to seek blacks and other rninori
. ties and women for potential employment, and
he must present some plan. in respect to how he ,
plans to seek these minorities. , '
vWhen this didn't work, other remedies had
to be sought. In' Alabama, for instance, a federal V
judge noted that there were no black state
troopers. His court had held the case for five
years under advisement. He then placed Alabama
Highway Patrol Department iunder goals, quotas
and timetables'r constraints, declaring that "at ..
some future date this department would tuive to ;
" have a certain number of blacks employed. This
was a remedial measure only.
Executive Director,
National Urban League
i n i
southern blacks, who still lag far behind other-
Americans in income and jobs. i r j 1
- Instead of arguing about where federal funds i
are spent it would.be more fruitful to concen- ,
trate on who gets them and for what purpose. 1
With the exception of a handful, of sttes,,V
most of the country shares alneed for federal job ,
programs, a mix of training, public services; and
stimulation of private sector : hiring.' Scrapping
over the geographical distribution of needed pro- ;
grams is fruitless; the measure should be need,
.. not place.. ' ''' ' . v '. . '"V
Such a program would funnel federal funds
into poverty belt areas,, be they rural, or urban,
north, or south. And it would lead to rational
national priorities and comprehensive, planned
economic development.
Northern cities suffering job losses should be
helped, but so too should rural southern job
less poverty ..pockets. Put the money where the
need is and not, as in the revenue sharing prov r
gram, by simple population formulas that move
money to rich suburbs.
The prospect of sectional strife over the
scraps from an insufficiently large economic
pie is dismaying The government's job is to see
that the pie is large enough and the distribution
fairVehough;jFbr;jusce?'and sound, 'national eco
nomic policy to be served.'
...H.. Ik luaiifliii C UauilrSiit
Df KCp. MUf U I . naw niiu
Well we obviously can't go back to the days
before the TV "Roots", since most of us now
realize that that period is a point of no return.
America has seen the devastation that the
impact of slavery, and. its aftermath had on
blacks, and" orrwhifTsr
America also knows," m 'qufte graphic terms,
that American blacks descended from intact,
healthy African cultures, came to this country
from a land where the social environment was re
latively free of man's potential for cruelty
towards other men. :;?;;7Jhi,' 7,1.' , '
aI7 MuSlfehtiritM itPstiUfct&tiiow toward
that kind of goodness, where the best in us sur
vives. .. . ' -
"Roots" shared a view of the best, in its de
piction of the uncompromising nature of hu
mans to be free, to live in peace, and to prosper
in the fruits of the good life.
That heroic story will continue as long as
men live; and as "Roofs" shows, Blacks have con
tributed to that herpism , ,
FCC
Commissioner
Yet there are some members of the majority
race who still believe that there are rights that
should have no remedies. This despite the fact
that it is unthinkable in a country of law and not
of men, that there can be a right without
remeay.
'J. ,.:vr''i"'.''.iv?,
Carrying Ahis theme ' to a ridiculous con
clusion. this would be as if after enacting a law
1 declaring there will be a speed limit of 55 miles
per hour, State and local authorities could only
say, "Tut, Tut" as.vldlators sped by at 75 miles
an hour, flaunting the legal restrictions. (NNPA)
L. E, AUSTIN
t-ditor- PubUsher, 1927-1971
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