14-THE CAROLINA TIKES SAT.-; WVEMBER 1. 1880
-YOU MUST VOTE
To Be Equal
I 7 F
WE HAVE BEEN AWAKENED TO
JUSTICE BY THE SOUND OF SONGS
AM SERMONS, SPEECHES AND
PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATIONS. BUT
THE NOISELESS, 5ECRET VOTE
WILL THUNDER FORTH A HUNDRED
TIMES MORE LOUDLY. "
erSioenT johhson
The Rise of the Far Right
By Vernon F Jordan. Jr
Ii is no longer possible lo neglect the
rise of right-wing extremism and the
threat it poses to democracy. The
phenomenon is world-wide, and
America is not exempt from it.
In Europe, right-wing terrorism
seemms to be supplanting left-wing ter
rorism as the immediate threat. No
longer do we hear much about the Red
Guards in Italy or German terrorist
gangs.
Instead, we now read of neo-fascist
groups emerging from the woodwork; of
bombings in Bologna and Munich that
killed dozens, and of murderous attacks
on Jewish communities, including the
bombing of a Paris synagogue.
Here at home, recent weeks have seen
widespread attacks on black people and
the activities of a revived Ku Klux Klan.
New accounts from places as far apart
geographically and culturally as Rhode
Island, Alabama, Utah and Buffalo
document extremist outrages directed at
black citizens.
One Klan group proudly announces it
has "special forces" in combat training
for a race war. Other Klan contingents
are marching through the same streets
from which they were driven years ago
by communities that would no longer
stand for (heir brand of racism.
But it would be too easy to focus ex
clusively on the still-small numbers of
"crazies" that feed on media publicity
and perform terrorist acts.
More serious is the spread of a na
tional mood that grants respectability to
movements that once would have been
laughed off the national stage. Ex
tremism doesn't exist in a vacuum; it
needs a climate that sustains it. It has
that climate in the mood of alienation
and disillusionment that leads to what I
call the politics of bitterness.
One reflection of that climate is the
growth of politicized religion a heady
mixture of fundamentalist gospel with
extreme right-wing ideology. Such
groups convert political issues into
moral absolutes. Honest disagreement
over real issues becomes a sin, and
tolerance for minorities an evil.
People of strong religious convictions
should, like others, participate in
politics. That's far from the issue. The
issue is whether such groups should be
allowed lo impose their version of Chris
tianity on others; whether they should
convert negotiable political differences
into moral confrontations, and whether
their goal of "Christianizing" govern
ment and politics should be allowed to
prevail.
It seems to me we have enough pro
blems in America without adding such a
dangerous religious-political mix. The
true message of Christianity is brotherty
love and compassion, not the hate and
hard-heariedness of our home-grown
ayatoiiahs.
The troubled waters in which our ex
tremist fish swim are fed by the
economic insecurijy of years of inflation
and recessions. When the economy is
growing, people are inclined to be more
tolerant and generous. But when hard
times come, it's every man for himself.
What has happened, almost unnoticed
in the rush of single events like Proposi
tion 13 and resistance to desegregation is
a pattern of selfishness and withdrawal
from common efforts to peacefully deal
with common problems.
We must not exaggerate this pattern
it is still in its early stages jntf'Klau
bombers and intolerant groups are
in the minority. But we also must not ex
aggerate the ultimate danger of a pattern
that threatens to move America further
from its traditional freedoms and from
(he goal of equality.
We must recognize the link beiween
extremist acts and the troubled climate
that fosters them. That means breaking
the boom and bust economic cycle with
sustained growth and jobs for all. And it
means rededicating ourselves to (he prin
ciples of equality and social justice.
In such a setting, racism could no
longer be fashionable and the intolera .i
fringe would be denied the respectabMity
they now enjoy in some places. It's up to
leadership national and local, public
and private to address this issue now,
before it is too late.
Affirmative Action:
Spectacles: A Closer Look
Has Lynching Returned
- And Why?
The Communist Lie
By Ada M. Fisher
Twas not so long that lynching
brutal, open murder was as com
mon in the black community as black
eyed peas. Some might recall the str
inging up of Charles Mack Parker in
Missouri in the late 1950's or Emmet t
Till in Mississippi in (he mid-1950's.
These two persons and scores of others
were killed on the slightest of pretexts.
In TilPs case, the ostensible reason was
whistling at a white woman.
The more things change, lh? more
they remain, .the same,. So, goes the.oJd..
Gallic expression, so fitting , foe the ;
Black Condition. Blacks are no longer
told they're not being hired because of
tneir color or nationality, but because
they're "unqualified."
And blacks are no longer found
swaying from the nearest tree, eyes
bulging and neck snapped as blood
thirsty racists salivate.
As the recent events in Buffalo
demonstrate, blacks are killed under
the cover of darkness by cowering
gii . men. In the past few weeks, six
black men have been found slain in this -aging,
upstate New York industrial
town. Four were felled by shots fired
from the same .22 caliber gun. Two
weeks ago, two black cab drivers were
found with their hearts cut out.
In Atlanta, eight black children have
been found murdered and six others
have "disappeared" in the past fifteen
months. Just recenilya-mysierious ex
plosion hit a black day-care nursery in
Atlanta. The result? Four children and
one adult dead. 5 c
In Boston, New Orleans and
numerous other towns there have been
variations on this grisly theme. In
Boston, fourteen-year-old black youth .
Levi Hart suffered a fractured skull,
then was shot dead by a police officer,
Though a four-day inquest concluded
there was "ample cause" to believe .
Hart died as a result of the policeman's
"unlawful" conduct, a federal grand
jury decided not to indict. In New
Orleans, Lawrence Louis, Jr., was shot
dead by police officers after being
beaten steadily for five minutes; this
brutal incident touched off several '
days of protest and rioting in the
Desire Housing Project where the
shooting look place.
These killings come against the
backdrop of an occurrence little noted
but terribly important. And that is the
discovery of Ku Klux Klan infiltration
of police departments.
Unfortunately, this nation-wide pat
tern will probably get worse before it
becomes belter and the question is -why?
Why can blacks be struck down
like flies with no perpetrators; 'ap
prehended, let alone convicted? Why
can Vernon Jordan be plugged in the
back in Indiana, barely escaping death,
with no assailant captured?
The question .is especially ap
propriate to ask around election time,
as the answer is so bound up with
politics.
The fact is that the political game
has changed since the halcyon days of
the civil rights movement but like
generals who are always fighting the
last War, many of pur organizations
have not grasped this crucial point.
Those forces who helped us fight the
Klan in the 1960's are now vehemently
defending their right to march and
organize on the patently spurious
ground 1 hat this activity is protected by
the First Amendment.
Those forces who supported the
desegregation of lunch counters and
buses now shriek "reverse discrimina
tion" and bloody murder when affir
mative action pacts call for the hiring
of blacks to wurk behind the counter
or behind the wheel.
Those forces who may have sup-
; pgued ihe coming .to. independence of"
Kenya Nigeriieic- and opposed col
onialism, now oppose divestment by
U.S. corporations to bring that last
colonial outpost South Africa to
: its knees.
The growing strength of the anti-
oiacic rtMew Right". which is
spearheading this offensive is clear.
Just recently, the United States Com
mission on Civil Rights pointed with
alarm to eight restrictive amendments
attached to money bill spending in
Congress that would virtually cripple
civil rights enforcement by the Federal
Government. These amendments,
already approved in the House, would
prevent the Education an nd Justice
Departments from doing anything to
require school busing; prevent federal
spending on programs that use
numerical goals for hiring minorities
and women; prevent the Internal
Revenue Service from revoking the tax
exempt status of private schools that
discriminate against minorities.
Those who were once "allies" have
now become antagonists and, cor
respondingly, our political battle plan
should Shift. Our antagonists are to be
found in the Democratic and
Republican parties along with their
corporate supporters who foot the bills
and include hot only an Eastland of
Mississippi or a Tower of Texas, but a
Moynihan of New York.
Some of our leaders, like Congres
sional Black Caucus members Parren
Mitchell, John Conyers and Ronald V.
Dellums recognnize that a new political
situation is at hand and have been in
v ching toward William Wimpisinger of
the one million strong International
Association of Machinists, who has
been calling steadily for the building of
a new political party.
It is to be hoped that this courageous
trio will not face the fate of W.E.B.
DuBois and Paul Robeson. Though
lauded now - conveniently so, since
v they're both dead these two
stalwarts were attacked steadily by cer
tain civil rights leaders and organiza
tions when they boldly advocated a
political shift to the left during the
1950sio meet the strength pf the right.
They recognized that such a shift
would aid "on-t he-fence" liberals and
help to keep them from moving right.
Unfortunately, Robeson and DuBois
were not heeded and some of the same
issues they faced a growing right
wing, attacks on black rights, etc.
confront us starkly today.
Today, if this new wave of lynching
is not to grow into a tidal wave, it will
be necessary lo heed the admonitions
of Dellums, Conyers, Mitchers, et al.,
and strike out in a new political direc
tion. The political terrain has shifted
and our black generals should not fight
as if (hey were fighting the last war.
For those who have critically read of the
recent unrest in Poland, which resulted in a
workers' strike, the communist lie is ap
parent. Communism has done no more for
the common man or worker's social system
than any other system and black Americans
ought not be deceived by those telling us
otherwise. If anything, Communism
represents two groups a small elite or
rulers and a big pool of workers for the
state. These workers unknowingly help sup
port rulers in a style most of them will never
experrenccin wnvis demanded a conformi
& y whichi most : of us would fjitf ?j utpleiabjs
and which (from all reports) seems to sup
press individual freedoms including freedom
of worship and the right of dissent.
The communist lie is apparent by Russia's
dilemma on which position to take in the
matter. If the Russians invade Poland as
tney did in Afghanistan, few Communist
Block Nations can be kept in the fold, for
the ultimate colonial imperialistic goals of
their leaders will be apparent. If the new
Polish government acquiesces too much to
worker demands, the nature of the Com
munist system will still be undermined for it
means the party has not lived up lo its foun
ding principles for worker security, etc.
Russian defectors, though critical of the
American way, still have a propensityjfforu n
ftfffS N hcre.wuu,d their cthim, m
'be fallowed7 or disseminated as broadly in
tneir own communist country. And, no
where would their books pay them as well.
The illusion of freedom which Com
munism has for blacks is deceiving. The in
ner circle ruling party of communism does
not have room for black expression and I
don't care what any one says, it cannot
represent the best interests of black people.
Angela Davis, and the Communist Worker's
Party are vocal advocates of the communist
way. If they truly feel that the communist
system is so great, why don't they go live in a
communist nation?
Black people wake up! Do not be lulled in
the communist lie. Do not be deceived by
J&fe?n do7aWhjch, require
sacrifice our individual liberties. No' matter
"How" sma1I''6tir numbers W
representative government our chances for
expressing our needs are theoretically better
than in those systems which act in the in
terest of the group without consideration of
its parts.
Corporate Greed and Corporate Responsibility
By Norman Hill
A. Philip Randolph Institute
A recent issue of Business Week carried an
account of how a number of corporations,
Gulf Oil, Tenneco, and Standard Oil of In
diana among them, are seeking to exclude
unions from future government-sponsored
programs to create synthetic fuels that would
replace oil. One industry executive, John M.
Hopkins, of Union Oil of California, is
quoted in the article as saying, "No owner
has any desire to use union labor if he
doesn't have to."
There is no small irony in this turn of
events, particularly because organized labor
in the form of the AFL-CIO lobbied
hard for the synfuel program and was prais
. ed by big business for its constructive role in
passing the necessary legislation for the
research and development project.
Now, in an abrupt about face, corporate
America is seeking to ditch its partners from
labor in a bid to reap ever-larger profits.
It is clear that our economy is going
through a critical period. And it is equally
true that this period will be one in which all
Americans will have to make sacrifices while
our economy reindustrializes and remoder
nizes its industrial base. Business leaders are
quick to comment about the need for work
ing people to make these sacrifices in the
form of smaller wage increases. However,
ho business leader is willing to assert that
' business must also sacrifice in the form of
smaller profits if we are to solve our nation's
economic problems.
If business is unwilling to play a responsi
ble role in partnership with labor and
government to equitably distribute economic
burdens in this time of industrialization,
then it cannot expect the labor movement
and working Americans to be willing to
cooperate.
Corporations, particularly those in the
energy field, have been reaping exhorbiiant
profits at the expense of the working people
of this country and have contributed
significantly to the inflation in which we find
ourselves. The greed exhibited by Tenneco,
Gulf, and Standard Oil of Indiana in their
attempts to exclude the Plumbers, Oil,
Chemical and Atomic Workers, the Mine
Workers from from the synfuel project and public support for educa
mus ucaic a union-iree environment must "" u going down; never
be condemned not only by working people,
government officials, and political leaders,
but also by responsible corporate leaders
who do not wish to see a return to a period
of heightened "class warfare."
It) a time in which business and labor
should not be at each other s throat, but
due is an example of untrammeled corporate
greed and can hardly stir confidence. Clearly
the conduct of Tenneco, Gulf, and Standard
Oil of Indiana is hardly in the national interest.
ii? ffilrreiimTi
While college
going up, in many
areas
theleu, there are some en
couraging signs of progress
for minorities.
Concerned individuals at
one large insurance com
pany are making a commit
ment to minorities a ton
, r . m vavi
IIAIM HAf it.. TIT l.:
should be shaping policy to move our na- porate agenda, but on their pus. the officer meet, with
lion s industrial base forward, it is the personal agendas as well, administration, faculty and
icMwiisioiiiiy oi government to Diav an im- company s Minority
portant role in balancing interests. It is V11 Liaison Program
Ik aIbu A 1 II
uvci jvici'iea colleges
Progress
costs are standing of the concerns of
the minority communities,"
and as a means of "recruit
ing minorities for manage
ment and professional posi
tions." The company matches
one of its officers with a
participating school in terms
of the needs of the institu
tion and the officer's exper-
likewise important that the government be
perceived as impartial and not as the ally or
tool of big business.
Equally crucial is the need for corpora
tions to be more candid in making pulbic the
true state of their finances. So long as these
nuances are shrouded in corporate secrecy,
m
terms of management assis
tance, curriculum develop
ment and job opportunities
for graduates.
Beyond a generous cor
porate contributions pro
gram, the Equitable Life
students and, with them,
develops suitable programs.
claims (hat business is suffering will be ' Assurance Society is sharing
greeted with skepticism bv all workers
The tasks that lie ahead in our country's
effort to remodemize industry and to make
it more competitive world-wide will require
big business to engage in confidence
building. Efforts to exclude organized labor
and therefore to deny working people their
expertise with minority col
leges and universities. What
is most significant, perhaps,
is that management views
the program as a two-way
street, providing the com
pany with the opportunity
"to gain a better under
A leading Ameri
can company is sharing
its resources with
minority schools.
Letter To The Editor
If there Is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who pro
pose to-favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation are men
who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want ,
.rain without thunder and lighting. They want the oceans ma- '
jestlc waves without the awful roar of its waters.
I am requesting that you print in the forthcoming edi
tion of The Carolina Times my refutation to a statement
made by the Panelists for the Fifth Youth Forum in The
Carolina Times for October 25, 1980. 1 shall appreciate
it very much if you would give it the same prominence
and space as allowed for remarks made by members of
the Fifth Youth Forum. The statement which has no
veracity whatever: "It was also recalled during the
Forum that when the program (police liaison) was
originally presented, it was accepted by then city schools
superintendent, Dr. Ben Brooks, and the theii city
school board Chairman, Dr. T.R. Speigner." This
statement is a fabrication of the truth. The minutes of
Ihe Durham City Board of Education will prove beyond
a reasonable shadow of doubt that I fought the idea of
having a Police Safety Liaison Program in the City
Schools. It was not necessary then, neither is such a pro
gram necessary for Black students in the Durham City
School System.
It is an absolute fabrication to say, to write, or to im
ply through the news media, or any reputable source
that the concept of the police liaison program was ap
proved and accepted by me. The panelists for the Fifth
Youth Forum owe me an apology and each of the three
Black members on the city school board at that time,
who had the moral courage and stamina to reject the
concept of the Police Safety Liaison Program for the ci
ty schools, and defeated it.
Theodore R. Speigner
Former Chairman
Durham City Board of Education
At one university, the liai
son officer established an
executive-in-residence pro
gram: managers teach
courses in personnel, com
puter science, management,
real estate and finance. At
others, data processing
systems have been evalu
ated, help has been provided
in planning a capital devel
opment campaign, person-
( net, management policies
and procedures have been
reviewed and the income-
. producing possibilities of
land holdings have been ex
plored. For some minority col
leges, thanks to The Equit
ble'l program," the ABCa
re coining increasingly to
mean, "American Business
men Care!"