Newspapers / The Carolina Times (Durham, … / Nov. 12, 1977, edition 1 / Page 4
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... T 4-THS CAROLINA TIES SAT.. NOVEMBER 12. 1977 UnGmplpymcnf Is Killing ;-- V " - v . V ( ( 1 1 i ! ; i ; . t ' i i ...... . :. , It l - ) - I, : ... .. " : . . - 1 EJiaCK OOMTEM ;;- - 4. ..' ; .r . ' ' ' - :X '.A- 0G3 Sklffl ,yje sruqqled for freedom ;4fe fl vvas oqainsi racfsm and daeru. OKI Y fcil c recognize 4beir slaveru or would .flleij uoorn -4o be free even if 4heij did. Back To College? Why Not? Governor James B. Hunt, Jr., commended North Carolina Central Uni versity last week for it$f interest in pro viding college training to mature adults, through its evening college program and other programs. This newspaper would like to add its commendation, and. to urge our readers to take advantage of the programs offered byCCU and other , area universities. , . ' V , . No one can guarantee that returning to coUege will mean more pay, or a better job. Nevertheless,' most employers are impressed with people who do go back to complete their education. And there are many positions which require both maturity and a. college education a a- couege education. . The fotty-yeawaarii'raeja well equipped fot1&6ii'pbsofls ihe person who received his degree twenty years ago. Programs like NCClTs evening BUSINESS IM THE BlACIl By charles ueue -u RISING BLACK UNEMPLOYMENT - THE UNDERCURRENT OF RACISM The best one can brag about the economy, is that it is now advancing along the more moderate path projected in -most forecasts. One government economist says if he cbuld collar President Carter by the lapel, he would tell him that the economy is flat, flatflat, flat. The' national unemployment rate has halted its decline. It has beeii holding at an average Of seven per cent since April, following t: rapid drop from eight per cent during the business resurgence of last fall and winter. The continuing ; high level of the national joblessness, is a reflection of the slower growth in the business condition to keep up with the growth in the labor force. There are simply hot enough jobs being created for the country's work force. Black and other poor people are paying for this disparagement in the job market. The U. S. Commerce Department estimates that the nation's economy grew at an annual rate of J 5 per cent fa the first three months of "the year, then slowed to a rate of 6.1 per cent in the next three months For the last half of the year only five per cent is predicted by the government. ,.y - , r The black population has been . slowly, eased into the last place In the highly competi tive job market. -.while total employment has been steadily rising, black employment has not ' kept pace with its population growth. The average jobless rate, between 1974 and 1976 in creased from 99 per cent to 13.1 per cent for blacks, and over 30 per cent jump in just two years. ',' M ' In the meantime, a record number of 95 million people are employed according to the TII1I16S YOU SHOULD KtlOW ........ - f:X;-' y"'-'.' J. :piyp.,l .... A SLAVE OWNED BY W. K GATE-' WOOD OF BEOFQRQ, KY.. WHO ESCAPED TO CANADA. iN 1849 HE PUBLISHED HIS LIFE STORY PLEADING THE ABOLITION IST CAUSE. BY 1851 HE HAD ORGANIZED THE REFUGEESHQM COLONY; BUYING SOME I3QO ACRES OF LAND FQRTHS SETTLEMENT OF ESCAPED SLAVES lN 1853 HE ATTENDED A NATIONAL COUNSEL OF NEGRO LEADERS DISCUSSING THE QUESTION OF AFRICAN COLONIZATION. college program ofjer adults the oppor tunity to go back to college and hold a job at the same time. That opportunity is very important if one isn't sure what one wants. ? There are other benefits to a college education, benefits which don't always understand the world around us, to find new wavs to solve oroblems. to commu- nicate With others and to understand what others Mv to vou If Qna is th. age of thirty, then one has begun to un derstand how important those skills are. If you think you would like to samtie college and a oolleee erlncatinn Dft'Waltt Mav- -n6"rrdirecT5i''5f c0ntmuing education at NCCU, or the continuing education and extension programs of other universities near you, " vftffim Hntfin vnnmivM'iiMftfffniiiniHij HWHMUIIIIttlMIUMIWiUltWaWIIIIWIIIMIMUl U. S. Labor Department. The department also' found, for" the first time in several years, that the unemployment rate for the elderly,' aged 65 and over, exceeded five per centup from 3.4 per pent, in 1974, a jump of almost fifty per cent over the same time span.' " Ten point seven (10.7) per cent of the nation's population is now 65 or over. An estimated 22.9 million senior citizens in 1976. Blacks who are able to live until the age of 65 tend to live longer than white senior citizens. Blacks, young or old, are not in demand in the current job market. PLAN FOR THE EMPLOYED One answer President James Earl Carter ' has for the call for help by blacks is a tax re form plan for the employed. The proposal for the tax reform will cut; to fifty to seventy per cent at the top rate and trim to , ten from four teen per cent tor the bottom tier. The problem for unemployed poor people is a lack of jobs or programs which will pro vide them with the skills to find employment. There is no shortage of desire in the black community to obrain equal employment. ? College enrollment of black students in creased nearly three-fold since 1966, reaching 1 .1 million in 1976, or about eleven per cent of all college students under 35. The Bureau of the Census, U. S. Department of Commerce, re , 'cently released its profile of the people of the United States indicating that Black Americans made up eleven per cent of me U. S-rpopula-tioninI976. -.r . ,. -ri:"1'.-.tY-:-. , - . The forced integration of schools allowed black people to present themseves to institu tions of higher learning. Only similar types' of forced employment mandates by Congress and the President will provide equal 'employment opportunities. : ; : .v mm ITEM: Homicide la ted, has', accidents as among black males between the ages of til teen and 44. In the ten-year period, 1960-1970, the average life expectancy for black males who were twenty years of age or younger declined by one whole year, mainly thi? result of the increase in homicide in inner cities. -". f . ITEM: There are at least 500,000 heroin addicts and nearly two million more use heroin occasionally. Of the 1 25,000 addicts in New York City,, it is estimated 46 per cent are black. , ITEM: The prison population is in creasing ten per cent each year and by 1986, if present trends continue, over half a million persons will be incarcerated 70 per cent of them black. The United States has the. largest prison population per capita of any western, industrialized country,-;..; ;i, ... '. v .:'"?" ITEM: Young people, under the age of 25, comprise. 63 per cent of total police arrests. The highest rate of increase in the commission of .''felonies ; has occurred among teen-agers; and the next highest among the age group of twenty to 24. Is there any connection in these cir cumstances that are so destructive to the . black community? Of course,' there is. The single most ' important cause of the homicide, narcotics addiction," teen-age crime, and over-flowing prison population is the incredible desperation of millions who are without jobs, income; self respect, and . hope. Their frustration triggers aggression and violence. Strange -as. it may sound, crime is not primarily caused by criminals, but fundamentally, is the product of social and economic decay. Why must this be in the most affluent society the world has ever known? Because wealth, power and other resources in America today are not exceeded heart-attack, and , .., tbehandsof th few. ; ' "..;i,si-''i:-'" iiid tafl-dekbtte the fac the , leading cause of death I is no coincidence that the rate or gun - h . -' JBt!.' " ' ' -i 9 J IWWBMIHMMnApllMWC MHMNMMHMMft M9MM1 MMHii ... yj ., Congressman SliBS $'r$Zi JPeople! -Jaemories are notoriously, V - t. from1 hurting At bo much when we are . forced to Recall very difficult times. ' But as easy as t is to erase the past, " especially . the lessons of the past can . help us better manage the present and j, : assist us in making more effective plans for tlie future; f , ' Unfortunatejy mis nation is presently r ; engaged in a seriesof actions, which will ' almost totally negate all we have learned (or were supposed to have learned) about the sixties, and the enormous racial strife of that period. ' - A case" in point: On October 31J977, ': a U.S. Dist rict Court judge in Los Angeles ruled that it is unconstitutional to set . . . aside ten per ceni of the funds in the : 1977 Public Works Act, for , minority . firms. . t -I The judge ; likened the public works set-asides as being similar to reserving spaces for minorities in college admission : -v which thjs: 'appears to oppose . and . which iscurrentiyj ; under attack m the ' Bakkecasei-i- .-ll'v 1 .:'- ' WW We're known as a nation that worships the gross national product. The bigger the better, is our hallmark. Somehow people really believe that the GNP is a true measure of improvement in our lives. Well, the GNP keeps going up and up, but it is Very arguable whether the qu ality of bur Jives is improving. In fact, the GNP includes a lot that is positively bad. The GNP is the sum total of the value of goods and services produced. So it in cludes the dollar value of bombs and guns along with hospitals and schools. It's a total flop as a useful measurement of well-being. . . Experts at the Overseas Development Council sought to provide just such a measure. By ' combining statistics for infant mortality, life; expectancy, and literacy, they came up with something they call the PQLI - Physical Quality of Life Index. It is a very, rough measurement since it doesn't Include housing quality, work opportujQties or Other standards. But since the (DC is primarily interested in improving life jn the world's poorer . countries, it decided not to use elements that are culture-bound. The. shocker is that the PQLI, which might be seen as a narrow development economist's tool or as an academic exer cise, reveals major weaknesses in our own . society . The United : States, with its enormous GNP, might be expected to lead the world in such basic areas as infant - mortality, life expectancy and literacy; . f,r,suring Quality Of Life , mosi oi h gun-re- snareu equauy, dui aie cuncenuaicu in ' '(o wtW nn i, anl related homicide among black males rose 26 between 1968-75, while their un employment -rate more .than 'doubled, from 5.5 to 13.7.. Unemployment has been a fact of life for whole generations of black Americans. In the ' past thirty . years, the lowest level of unemployment ' in the best year exceeded the highest level., of white unemployment in their worst,! , lAir ' an4 rtlr 1 AHA Laam ilinkiMMlniMfl ii lv Z I"r3 1$L"$; it is estimated that, currently, 24 of the black adult labor force is jobless, and 75 of black - teen-aeers. unless iV sweeoinR changes occur in the economy, there is little reason to expect significant reduc tion in unemployment for several years, , . What is government at all levels doing about these conditions? Instead of redis-: tributing wealth and providing jobs to ail citizens. who want .to work, we arrest) . those who make the effort on -their owiju , I by the jfneans they think are necessary and put them in prison - despite all the evidence that stricter law enforcement . ' has little effect on,, the crime rate. The ; nation is now spending in the, ; neighbor- hood of $22 byiion, oi? criminal; justic?,y five times me amount t spent' in years i," ago, and yet the problem ot' crime and!, ; response is more punishment and mofes' repression. Even law-abiding citizens kre' the victims of the crime-fighting zeal and the massive build-up of police that: have grown to ' resemble . occupying ; forces in the ghettoes. Since $22 billion doesn't control crime, politicians call for ; reinstitution of ' the death penalty, manda tory sentencing, and. the building of yet more prisons. If they " have their way ; federal and state governments over the ' next , ten years will be spending between; lanuinuiioBuii:: i . .. . .-' ... .1 1 i 'M'A siuii in mc-Aci: mviaious ana uncon- : stitutional," and a violation of the equal protection clause of the Fifth Amend ment.''' ' . ': This judge has obviously forgotten the history of our past, and all the events ' which led to a. need for a minority pro vision in the Public Works Acts. He also seems to have forgotten that the Fifth Amendment was designed to protect the 1 minority - as well as the majority. He needs ,to read the history of the Los Angeles area, as it pertains to race; he especially heeds to read the McCone Commission Report which studied the conditions in Watts that led up to the riots in 1965. Those conditions still exist in Watts - and most other ghettos and barrios of this nation: Lousy police community . relations; immorally high unemployment; anti-human welfare systems, a continually -eroding educational system; the absence of an employing business community;, and the lack of sensitive, responsible . leaaersmp. 1 p1; VI t N jitvioeslJthe United Suites lags behind'Sweden. the Netherlands, and1 several Mother European countries, in cluding some that have lower per capita incomes. And while the nation as a whole has a fairly high PQLI rating compared' with most countries, there is considerable variation among the states. ! As might be expectedthere's also a big difference between whites and blacks in the Index. White Americans have an Index score of 96 (on a scale of 100) while black Americans only score ' 89 well below a country like Poland, which has a 93 score, and not far above impov erished Sri Lanka, which has an 83 Index rating. The Index score is not determined, by Z K' n, D.C., which v income, either. Washingto has an average income of over $7,000 actually has a lower life expectancy .rate than Sri Lanka, where the average income is only $ 1 30 per year. , r - -t Part of this is due to high infant mor tality rates in the District, affecting both whites and blacks. Nationally,, black in fant mortality rates are double those for .whites. ; r:t'...i .. ;,' What the PQLI shows us when we compare America's vast wealth With' the IC ' in'J quality of life. Is that in key areas Ameri- .7 ca resembles an underdeveloped country f. . Ihe fact that the Index is so limited -measuring .only, three core items; that are absolutely basic to well-being - i makes this result even more troubling. Asa natipri we have been so concerned with out-prodycing and out-buymg everyone Hawiins Colonn I'Je Survve expanded prisons , i that the cost of ' mairitaiiiihg inmates i is .soaring, in N.Y., , Stat $26,006 per initiate per year... 1 1 . lTM It ' should be dear by ' now that the : -criminal 5' justice u eslishmeht; "Mother ;'r:(.fluui being generously j financed,'; has ' not Ihe' lightest notion how to control H crimsi Jtef alone preyent it. They onfy know how to punish offending indivi duals', if' thev can catch them. Only 45 ' of violent crimes, 22 of personal thefts ;" andof burglaries are reported tq the ' autlwMsV-aSing Pthet latest studies. Crime remains a' built-in part of ' 'f, the system which no amont of money ' can olve, so' long as its root causes aire 1 -o Whfle crime, drug addition, and vio lence were contained within the ghettpes; ; the rnajority white population viewed it ?asElg7edtteble - even deplorable - but nonetheless tolerable -as, long as theiT'own ;lives and property; were spared. But the contagion; of crime u and violence is . spreading: i' for example, the greatest relative increase in homicides has occurr ed among white males. We have permitted . an Incendiary situation to arise of massive .frustration, coupled with an alarming ! .; ; :;. i J 't- :mctease in the number of firearms - 44 xmilUofTifihandguns along exist in the ' country .'.This explains the soaring homi-cidej-otesIJEhe real issue is whether the : Fflderal$ Gdvernmeht will provide, hope J;jjthreughexpanded economic opportunity and the redistribution of the resources of .;;'scie,'.-The'';test. is whether it is willing Ospend more on. creating jobs than is currently ! spent '. oih, combatting crime. Enacting the Hawkins-Humphrey Full Employment Bill which mandates the j; Federal Government to provide jobs to every citizens who is able, and willing to Work, Is'-my J idea for fighting crime. Until ! this is done, fConomic despera tion is taking a terrible toll, ..;' r , ' " ' : ;.v'8';;..-' " ; ; ... . I .cr'W", -ni-t- '. .' - 'Mil Oaltlte? y IRAS nil i. - lT-.ll--J tor Human, rig rights tnat occurred as a result of the civil rights struggles in the 60'. " ;i .. But-the consequences of such nega tions will come back to haunt us, if we don't follow a sensible path - which provides law with justice. , dAny acts by this nation which ignore the' sensitivities of blacks and other . minorities, are going to cause the nation untold harm. ' ' We are potentially looking down the gun barrel of enormous national up ' heaVak if we allow minorities to sink (or : get pushed) further into the quagmire of Social depression and economic disadvan tage. , rThe seeds of our own construction or ' destruction are embodied in how we handle these sticks of racial-ethnic dynamite. nfd like to see ussurWe? -: ;I hope we can. . By Vernon Jcrdzn 'fin EXECUTIVE OIUCTOt AT ION AL'UKBAN L EAGUE lse that we've neglected the rudimentary elements of a decent life. . simply unacceptable for residents' of 'the capital of the world's richest coun try to have lower life expectancy than the residents of one of the world's poorest counfries.1 And it is just as unacceptable fdr'Airlerlca's white population to enjoy one of the 'world'! higher Index ratings while the black population has an Index - scow comparable to middle-rank nations. trr; .!;(a;! 1 ' Witoj hick ja .2 , i. -r L E AUSTIN , , .fubllsher-, 1927-1971 td ruflVfnea every Tnuisday (dated Saturday) it ...lM N-.C.. by y United PubUshen. IncorDornted. .("Mamng'AadreMj P. O. Boi 3825 nilrhnm Nnrth U "ifiCiialiiii; 27701 nfftn VimmA . ai. r-.. d..i ,StreffcDvffham, North Carolina 27701. Second Oan ; C5!!&ftL DurM". North Caroiina 27701 1 ! t r . wiiej; vne year, .u tpiui ; i $0.34 HOn ta 'for North Carblina residenta). Single I copy, $0.20. Portal , regulation! REQUIRE . advanced payment on aubicripttonto Addresi ali i .coramunicatipns and mak all check and money , ? Z, 1 "auuha lines, 'utotaa Advertising Rebreaentotive: Amalgamated ; . 1. PMIA.i. I At :. VpSIom 7 wen 5tB street. New Xork, New ( , r: l Meraoeri United United Iif v "r!' uuuwu Association, .norm; s Carolina. Black Publiihen Association, Carolina i i Cerrnnnnity Newt Service. ,:.v-t;--. v.-;' : , .? .4 OpihioM expressed by columniita in this newt- paper do not necessarily represent the policy of this newspaper. This newspaper will not be responsible' for the return of unsolicited pictures. :V'.V M I
The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
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Nov. 12, 1977, edition 1
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