Newspaper Oepan
Durham NC fw .
September Is
United Negro College Fund
Month
GIVE GIVE GIVE
(USPS 091-380)
Words Or Wisdom
So re, l'iere are splinters on Vit ladder of sac
cess, but ou'll never notice I'tern unless you are
sliding down.
Upward, Ho'
We sean'i for traffic solutions, but not'ting is
belter et known t ian to iave a police car rig'it
be'iind ou. T'te F-nforcer
VOLUME 58 - NUMBER 38
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1980
TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913
PRICE: 30 CENTS
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Committee Waeaneles
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Five Council Members
Seek Integrated Slate
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Triumvirate Greets The Chief
President Carter is greated bv (LTRJ Air Force General David Jones, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Army Chief of Staff
General Edward C. Meyer, and Army Command Sgt. William B. Tapp as he arrives in the Cabinet Room to sign the Military Man
power Management Act. UPl Photo
Citizens Speak For Black Appointments
Former Council
members, Clarence Brown
and Mrs. Carolyn I.
Thornton, were among
the persons who addressed
the City Council, Monday
night, September 15, in an
effort to persuade its
members to include blacks
" ByTrellieL.
among the appointments
made to existing vacancies
on the three committees
on the council's agenda.
Brown told the council,
"It is one thing to have
power and control; it is ;
another thing to use this;
power to practice the
Jeffers
To
politics of exclusion
do so is to use power ir
responsibly.
Brown also told the
council, "If you make ap
pointments that will move
blacks from these commit
tees, there will never be a
civic center in Durham."
YOUNG: If One Is Faithful
God Will Lead
Rev. Andrew Young
urged Duke students not
to be anxious about the
future, but to have trust
and faith in God. Rev.
Young, former Am
bassador to the United
Nations, spoke at Duke
University Chapel
September 14, to 1900
people.
Rev. Young said he
didn't have to know what
the future held for him
because he has gotten to
know the one "who holds
the future." He joined the
movement for social
change, he said, after
working with a Bible
school recreation program
. . ., ."I couldn't preach to
children knowing their
talents were being
squandered because a
segregated society denied
them needed oppor
tunities." He encouraged Duke
students to seek the advice
Felicia Cassels
of elderly people who
work in "menial" jobs
with "little monetary
gratification." He said,
"these people have found
deep within some of the
secrets of the meaning of
life that may have escaped
those of us more privileg
ed." People today, he
said, trust man's
technology, but become
critical when it comes to
trusting God . . . ."but if
one is faithful, God will
lead."
As an illustration of
God's work he pointed
out that he had moved
from not being able to
vote to walking into Con
gress. Likewise, he told
students "God hasn't
brought you to Duke to
leave you." But, he con
tinued, the hungry still
need to be fed, the poor
helped . . . ."we must let
him lead us in the paths of
suffering and service . . .
.certainly the paths of
love."
In art interview follow
ing his sermon, Rev.
Young was vague about a
possible mayoral cam
paign in Atlanta, saying,
"any kind of job I take
will have to be something
of a calling,' and termed a
recent nomination to the
presidency of World
Bank" much more of a
challenge than I would
think of anticipating."
He described his com
pany, Young Ideas, Inc.,
as being a small, non
profit organization that
concentrates on foreign
policy issues. Young Ideas
is staffed by six people
who resigned from the
State Department .when
Young left the Unifld Na
tions. The organization
tries to "help American
businesses relate to
African development pro-
(Continued On Page 2)
Mrs. Thornton told the
council, "We are moving
to a regressive rather ihan
a progressive agrea."
She pointed out thai
65 of those who use
public housing in Durham
are black.
"We need persons who
will be sensitive to the
needs of residents of
public housing," said
Mrs. Thornton.
Mrs. Joan Burton,
director of the Edgemont
Community Center,
speaking in support of the
appointment of L.B. Har
rison to the Durham
Housing Authority, told
the council, "you thought
that you could hide us
(blacks) among highways
and expressway. No city
will ever hide its
minorities." She added.
"I hope that when
whatever happens tonight,
we (blacks) will feel a pan
of this city."
Sam Reed, president of
the Coordinating Council
for Senior Citizens, ex
perienced difficulty from
Mayor Harry Rodenhier
when he rose to support
Frank Boyd's appoint
ment to the Durham
Cablevision Committee.
He was allowed to speak
after Councilman Ralph
Hunt pointed out to the
mayoi that citizens had
not been given a chance to
address this specific ap
pointment. Reed challenged council
(Continued on Page 3)
u
By Trellie
Despite efforts made
Mo i.tay night, September
IS by five City Council
iv.cmrxrs James
Hrowi, Ralph Hunt, Bill
Smiii;, vis. Adrienne Fox
a'id Mrs. Margaret Keller,
:,.:d despite the appeals by
, ,:;c. iu the Council for
in integrated slate, the
Council oted 8-5 to fill
vacancies on three com
mittees with an all-white
slate sis. males and one
female. Vlrs. Jane S.
Davis and Edward C.
Outlaw were appointed to
the vacancies on the
Durham Housing
Authority; John N. Chat
man, Darcy Paletz and
Robert Sheppaid were ap
pointed to the Durham
Cablevision Advisory
Committee, and Richard
T. Davis and Malvern F.
King, Jr., were appointed
10 the Recreation Ad
visory Committee.
Councilmen who were
most vocal in expressing
their opposition to the ap
pointment were Hunt,
Brown and Bill Smith.
Hani said, "Some feel
thai we can flex muscles
notwithstanding the out
come that it will have on
urlam; some say my
comments 'on the Hillside
pool and the W.D. Hill
Community Center will
affect the outcome of this
Council's vote. My voice
will not be bought or
silenced. I will not rescind
anything that I have
said."
Hunt later added, "This
Council can take the low
road or it can take the
high road. No one is
retreating from what is
rightfully their's."
Brown said, "Since
December, 1979, every ap
pointment has been a race
issue. The most qualified
persons have been exclud
ed from committee ap
pointments." Brown said that
members to the CETA
Advisory Committee and
the Human Relations
Commission will soon
follow Monday night's appointments.
"The bottom line isthat
L. Jeffers
all-white males will be ap
pointed to committees,"
said Brown.
Brown also alluded to
an earlier appointment
that included seven white
males.
Responding to the com
ments made by Brown and
Hunt, Barney West said,
"I hate to see every impor
tant issue coming to this
council become a black
white issue. I think that we
should reduce this issue.
We have made some ap
pointments that happened
to be sic white and male.
If you feel that way, I
f )
1 1 ll tl m I III 1 - I -III m 111, i IwwAjfr fl mm
mm
Going On
In his first public appearance since he was shot by an
unknown assailant in May, Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., president
of the National Urban League, holds a press conference in
New York, September 9. Jordan said he would "refuse to let
the possibility of renewed violence stand in the way of my
beliefs and duties." UPl Photo
Black Social Workers
Meet October 3-4
HARRIS
Chapel Hillian
Security Head
AtOCHSNER
NEW ORLEANS
Arnold F. Harris has join
ed the management staff
of the Ochsner Medical
Institutions as director of
safety and security for the
thirty-acre medical com-
Elex located in suburban
lew Orleans.
Harris, a native of
Chapel Hill, N.C., has
fourteen years of army ex
perience in security, police
operations and provost
marshal assignments.
Prior to joining Ochsner,
the 41-year-old retired ar
my major served as the
(Continued From Page 2)
The'Monh Carolina State
Association of Black
Social Workers will spon
sor its sixth annual con
ference October 3-4, at the
Holiday Inn in Raleigh.
"Black Interventions:
Making A Difference" is
the theme, the conference
will focus on the net im
pact of the efforts of black
professionals, para
professionals, and others
toware changing the con
ditions that affect black
people.
The keynote speakers
will be Reverend Ben
Chavis, Commission for
Racial Justice; Henry
Frye, member of the
North Carolina General
Assembly and Social Ser
vices Study Commission;
H.M. Michaux, Jr., U.S.
Attorney; and Cenie
Williams, executive direc
tor, NABSW.
Judge Karen Galloway
will moderate a round
table general session
.which will examine ways
that black people in
various organizations
across the state-of North
Carolina can com
municate, cooperate, and
work together to max
imize the common good
for black people, and the
total state.
Nine workshops are
scheduled which will deal
with blacks in the criminal
justice . system, black
business, education,
politicians, human service
provider, health, the
minister, in media, and
employment. Each
workshop will have a
moderator and four to
five participants who will
speak on the topic. The
participants come from
across the state of North
Carolina.
A registration fee will
be charged. For more in
formation, contact the
NCSABSW, P.O. Box
15474, Durham, 27704.
Gii Scot-Heron Appears At Duke University
Gil
Scott -Heron, poet, singer
and political activist,
entertained 1100 people at
Duke University's Page
Auditorium September
12. Before his concert he
spoke to the audience
about America, revolution
and other political issues.
America, he said, has
changed from a producing
to a consuming nation. In
fact, he added, "America
underproduces and 6ver-
Felicia Cassels
consumes. Me said peo
ple in the world look at
America and wonder what
kind of stability it has in
mind. Americans, Scott
Heron asserted, are
egocentric, they believe
they are the center of
Planet Earth . . . "If
Walter Cronkite doesn't
say it it must not be
happening."
Scott-Heron said this
country has been an ar
rogant, disrespectful ir
ritating, caustic and im
polite nation, but a "lot of
folks who have been vic
tims of America's ar
rogance are now returning
the favor." He said the
Third World is undergo
ing a revolution Africa
has come from having on
ly four liberated nations to
having only two left to
liberate. Arabs, he said,
used to be in the Third
World, but "have bought
the second one and put a
downpayment on the first
one."
He said blacks have a
tendency not to believe
there is a revolution
because they are not
directly a part of it. But
they can be a part of it, he
stressed, if they don't con
cern themselves with
"what everybody else is
doing." Instead, he siad,
they should ask
themselves, "what are you
(Continued on Page 11)
LACK
MIC CRI
WIDENS
AND
DEEPEN
Even though most
Americans cannot identify
the specific recession
periods of the '70's, they
are well aware that their
take-home pay for that
time was unable to keep
up with the rate of infla
tion. Other Americans can
tell you of their fight to
stay employed. And still
other Americans can tell
you of the indignities they
have suffered going on
"welfare" for the first
time, or . running out of
unemployment insurance,
or trying to receive food
stamps, or just trying to
keep bread on their fami
ly's tables.
The Brookings In
stitute, a respectable,
Washington-based
economic think-tank,
recently referred to the
poor American economic
performance in the 70's
as "the most disappoin
ting decade" since the
Great Depression.
Well "disappointing" is
not a term I would have
used in this instance,
because for certain
segments of this society
the work" devastating"
would be more ap
propriate. Certainly on
closer examination of the
three major recessions in
the '70's, the total popula
tion has yet to recover
from its severe economic
losses.
For Blacks specifically,
these cyclical down-turns
in the economy, have pro
duced a trend which now
seems to be in a serious
developmental stage: a
widening (once again) in
the economic gap between!
black and white,
Americans.
In terms of employment I
for example, when onei
compares over-all
joblessness, to joblessness
for blacks-black
joblessness is double the
overall rate. For instance,
overall joblessness in July
..increased 0.1 per cent to
7.8 per cent of the labor
force. For blacks the
unemployment rate rose
0.5 per cent to 15.2 per
cent.
No better comment on
those factors .can be
noted, than the headline in
the August 21, 1980-Wall
Street Journal, which
read: "Recession Hits
Blacks Harder Than
Whites, Widening the Pay
Gap."
Zeroing in on the pay
gap differential tells
another story. When the
Civil Rights Act of 1964
was passed by Congress,
the median income of
black families was 54 per
cent, compared to white
families. By 1970 it reach
ed 61 per cent. It fell to 58
per cent during . the
1973-75 recession; rose to
a record high of 62 per
'cent in 1976. It has slowly
decreased since then, and
hovers somewhere in the
58 per cent range, with no
apparent' indication that
any upward rise will take
place within the forseeable
future.
Job discrimination in
hiring and up-grading,
certainly contributes to
the plight faced by work
ing blacks in recessionary
periods, but there are
other factors
A most significant fac
tor is the distribution of
blacks in the work force.
Blacks make up more than
fifteen per cent of the
labor force in the hard-hit
steel and auto industries.
They also represent close
to eighteen per cent of the
unskilled laoborers in the
country, and because their
median age (of 24 years) is
six years below the white
level they lack job seniori
ty and thus are generally
"last hired-first fired."
Without' a doubt the
crisis I've outlined here, is
serious-but reparable. In
order to make proper and
lasting resolutions, it real
ly means addressing and
enforcing the mandates of
the Full Employment act.
It also means changing the
Administration's
economic policy-which
would lessen inflation,
promote employment,
defeat recession and
' strengthen the economy. .
Setting reasonable goaUK
and timetables for ending
unemployment and infla
tion is not only the key to
getting blacks back to
work, but it is also the key
to a general, healthy
economic recovery.
The Administration's
response to this curTCrtj
recession, after tremen
dous pressure from many
sectors, is an economic
(Continued on Page 11)