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10-THE CAROLINA TIKES-SATURDAY. OCTOBER 9. 1982 V
Let's Bring Our Black Talent Home!
"BLACK J3
TALENT
And
AND lJ
HOME 4
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Editorials
To Be Equal . . :
Great Society or Mean Society;
C . By John E. Jacob
Executive Director. National Urlxin I eaaue
Whatever ones opinion of President
Reagan's political prowess or his leader
ship performance, history doesn't seem to
be his strong point.; I say that because in a
recent major address the President gave a
history lesson of the 'Great Society that
was. seriously mistaken in its reading of
the recent past.
He suggested that progress for blacks
and poor people was being made through
1964, after which the costs of Great Socie
ty programs sent the economy into a
tailspin worsened by inflation, which
lowered the real incomes of poor people.
That analysis suggests a lack of
familiarity with the Great Society pro
grams and with recent economic history.
First, we should be very clear about the
results of those programs lumped together
as "Great Society" programs. They
worked. And they worked well. They
helped reduce the numbers of those living
in poverty by improving education and
providing jobs and training opportunities.
And they did not cost much. The pro
grams targeted to the poor never formed
more than a very small part of the federal
budget.
Interestingly, it was the programs that
primarily benefited the non-poor that
escalated so sharply. The enormous
amounts of the budget defined as "social
welfare expenditures" are almost com
pletely devoted to such programs as social
security and Medicare, whose
beneficiaries are mostly non-poor elderly
people.
Many experts locate , the cause of the
economic slide of the seventies in the huge
spending associated with the war in Viet
nam spending that pulled money out of
investments and consumer spending and
dumped it into non-productive bat
tlefields. .v :,7 :! r"::; :'!
' If the President would take another
look at his own budget problems, he
might see some similarities to the late
1960s. It is the impact of another huge
arms buildup that is breaking the budget,
not the relatively modest resources that
help poor people survive and invest in
human resources. ' .
From his speech, it appears the Presi
dent thinks the Great Society programs
dominated the seventies and were respon
sible for the slight increase in the numbers
of poor people around 1980.
But again, programs targeted fbr the
poor throughout the seventies were never
a budgetary burden the growth was in
programs for the non-poor. Strajige too,
that his analysis of rising poverty did not
include the oil price hikes of the 1 970s and
the decline of major industries in the face
of foreign competition. Incidentally,
those foreign firms operate in full-fledged
welfare states that spend far more of their
budgets than we do on social welfare, so it
is hard to see the connection between our
economic problems and federal social
programs.
And the Administration would be 11
advised tV claim credit for the recent
; slowdown in inflation rates. The drop in
, inflation was bought at the cost of a
general recession and ? the highest
unemployment in post-war history.
; It's hard to accept the President's faith
that all it takes for poverty to be reduced
; is an economic recovery The black ex
perience has been that even a general
recovery will leave the black unemploy
ment rate double the white rate.
Meanwhile, the ranks of the poor are
growing with a large jump in the past two
years. Clearly, the federal budget cuts,
concentrated on those programs that
benefit the poor most, are in large part
responsible for the growth in poverty.
The Great Society wasn't just an
economic program. It raised moral issues
and rekindled America's idealistic spirit.
It briefly mobilized the nation behind
concerns of fairness and compassion. It
embodied civil rights laws that are today
being undermined.
It is false to suppose that the choice lies
between a government that spends on
social programs and a government that
does not. That choice is really a moral
one: between choosing a path of coopera
tion and compassion and one of privatism
and selfishness.
Basically, it comes down to whether we .
want to be a Great Society or a Mean
Society.
An Independent View From Capitol Hill
4.
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We Oughta Be In Movies
Congressman Augustus F, Hawkins notes that blacks who are
but about 12 of the nation's population constitute about 30
of the movie-going public, and spend about $400 million each
year in motion picture theaters.
Then he goes oh to decry, the fact that black performers are not
getting starring roles, black directors aren't directing, black
cinematographers are not operating cameras and black script
writers are not writing.
Congressman Hawkins concludes that blacks should be m.
movies and suggests that black movie-goers should withhold our
$400 million until Hollywood flings open the doors and lets us in
on a quota basis.;
While we agree with Congressman Hawkins conclusion, we
wholeheartedly disagree with his method. ifXx. Js
We, too, belieVe that blacks ought to be in movies, from in
front of the camera to behind it, and every spot in between. But
we also believe that we should take our $400 million, with some
more thrown in for good measure, and produce our own movies.
In other words, black folks should take our movie money and
go home.
Why let our talent starve to death in Hollywood, or sell
themselves to some cheap, degrading, dehumanizing stereotypical
role just to get a payday? We should call them home, all of them.
We should send the message loud and clear to the actors, ac
tresses, cinematographers, producers, directors, writers, etc., to
come to us, back home, to the South, to Atlanta, Durham,
Charlotte, Birmingham, or wherever, and we will make our own
movies.
The move would not only be daring, but it would also unleash
positive economic repercussions that would ripple throughout the
black community. ,
Our talent, all of it, could work, and they could entertain us
with images that we enjoy and agree with, and they could educate
white folks that we are not all drug pushers, pimps and other
assorted heavies and derelicts. Quite the contrary. There are those
of us who are warm, sensitive, concerned, and all those other
things. But if that story is told, we must tell it.
Businessmen could own theaters, colleges would have
legitimate reason to train dramatists, etc.
Yes, we ought to be in movies. But they should be our movies,
written, produced, directed, cast, reproduced, distributed, etc-,
by us, for us.
The only thing keeping us from doing it is the silly notion that
we've got to support Hollywood in a vain effort to achieve equal
opportunity. - '
Poppycock! ;
Blacks In Congress
By Gus Savage
Member of Congress
Congress adjourned last week to allow
its members time to campaign for re
election. Hence, this is my last column un
til tht third week in November.
Black voters have a great opportunity
on November 2 to correct the course of
our Ship of State. We constitute more
than 20 of the population in 86 of the
435 congressional districts from which na
tional representatives will be elected.
Moreover, in six of these districts we
can elect additional blacks to Congress,
bringing the present 18-member Black
s Caucus in bc U.S. House of Represerf-
tatives to 24. As almost rM of America's
population, rightfully we should hold 52
; seats in the House and 12 in the U.S.
Senate.
The six opportunities are represented
by Robert Clark in Mississippi's 2nd
district, around Jackson; Katie Hall in
Gary, Indiana; Ken Moseley around
Business In The Black
Orangeburg, South Carolina; Lucille Pat
terson in Dallas, Texas; Edolphus Towns
in Brooklyn, New York's 1 1th district;
and Alan Wheat in Kansas City,
Missouri.
All are Democrat nominees in majority
Democratic districts, except Patterson, a
Republican. Owens and Towns are certain
to win because their districts are over
whelmingly black. HoweverWheat's 5th
district has only 17 black voter registra
tion, though reportedly he has wide ap
peal among white voters. Moseley is in a
predominantly white district and Clark's,
I had the pleasure of campaigning for
him in the streets of New York, along
with Detroit's outstanding Congressman
John Conyers. Conyers and Congres
sional Black Caucus members Ronald
Dellums, of California, Parren Mitchell,
of Baltimore, Md., and others - also
helped save the two Caucus members who
faced the severest primary election
challenges resulting from unfair redistric
ting: William Clay, of St. Louis, and
myself, of Chicago.
So, until we meet again in six weeks, via
this column, be sure to vote.' The vote is
thouoh 54 black in DODulationxis mjuitaJfeur voice!
jority white. in registration. j ;js4f$nt just complain from the sidelines
Of the black incumbents, all
Democrats, only Shirley Chisholm is not
standing for re-election. To replace her in
Brooklyn's 12th district, a progressive
black State Senator, Major Owens, won
the Democratic primary week before last.
about unemployment and Reaganomics,
364 days a year. On November 2, you can
do something concrete to create jobs and
curb that congressional majority which
empowers the "reverse-Robin Hood"
who occupies the White House.
Frightened People Plan to Fight
Defense Bigots Biggest Business
By Charles E. Belle
Before the end of the
century. Congress and
the chief executive of
ficer of the nation need
not worry about the
Communist threat. The
fact of the matter is
many more minorities
will make up the confu
sion for world peace.
Populous urban areas of
the world will no longer
reflect the white racial
dominancy of the pre
sent or past. Putting
pressure on the tradi
tional old world war
powers to play together
against the rest of ihc
world or develop
awesome weapons to win
any war.
In the year 2000. the
world's two most
populous urban areas
will be in Latin America,
according to a United
Nations forecast. Figures
indicate of the ten largest
urban centers, six will be
in Asia and none will be
in Europe. In 1975, four
of these major urban
population centers were
in ' white-dominated
domiciles, while only one
. will remain in 18 years.
Yesteryears, the world
power revolved around
events in Europe. Events
in Asia and elsewhere
will elevate the' eyes, of
the lame duck : super
powers. "Power con-'
cedes nothing without a
struggle," said the great
black American
Frederick Douglass. It
will hold true in this
technical tousle for "top
banana" in this century.
Congress and the White
House cannot win the
battle of the masses
minds with bullets, but
will give it the all try. To
this end, record defense
spending and statistical
discussions on the tactics
of. nuclear versus con
ventional armament is
the issue of the day.
Defense budget in
creases are built into the
U.S. budget, generating
a $100 billion plus
deficit. Defense spending
is riveted in so soundly it
slices off the remaining
Health, Transportation,
Labor and Social sectors
in the budget. Because so
many souls are currently
out of a job, justice
demands a peek at the
most potent government
agency to deal with
delivering jobs, the
Labor Department. Do
not get your hopes up.
The Department of
Labor has been at the
front lines of the fight of
federal agencies to
reduce and "contain
federal spending," as it
is looked upon under the
present administration.
Last year, the Labor
Department was respon
sible for $10 billion of
(Continued on Page II)
L.E. AUSTIN
Editor-Publisher 1927-1971
The Carolina Times Position
X -
Many people have recently asked how we arrive at some of our
editorial positions. ; '
The question deserves an answer.
Overriding everything we do here are the philosophical
parameters, principles and concepts set forth in "Our Creed"
written by this newspaper's founder, the late Louis E. Austin,
which dictate that we never bow "to the gods of gold and L
silver"...thaf we keep "our skirts clean"... that we. "keep the
record straight"... that we keep our face "turned toward the
enemy"... that we never "allow selfish, little, power-drunk men
to use these sacred columns for their own purposes.
' . "These pages", Austin wrote, "constitute a battleground
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" underprivileged human being in the world has the opportunity to
v rise to the fullest capacity with which God has endowed him."
; Generally speaking, the dictates of these parameters are to, be
factual, balanced, in good taste and decisive. We will notwaffle
on the issues. .,.''
' More specifically, we've decided to feel good about ourselves
and to believe that black people in this country can overcome the .
Four Lies of Control, .that we can rise above petty differences,:
and that we can succeed without haying to ask permission. : '
We believe that the key to making it in America is planning and
execution. That applies to individuals as well as to businesses.
Within these parameters, the Editorial Board members discuss
individual positions and editorials on three basic levels: is the
position philosophically consistent, factually accurate and
solution-oriented, rather than just another discussion of the pro
blem?;; Pvj;'. .:;:::''-';;.;;A:':-":.f':'
We never consider popularity or agreement as we adopt
editorial positions. But if you should disagree with a position we
take, here are a couple ojthings you can do.
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Almighty who cannot keep one with his fellowmen."
We intend to remain true to and operate according to that
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