Newspapers / The Carolina Times (Durham, … / Dec. 4, 1982, edition 1 / Page 14
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14-TKE CAROLINA TIKES SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4. 1S82 Editorials """"" Thank You, Mr. Smith " The retirement of Lee.W. Smith, Jr.. as director of the John Avery Boys' Club at the end of this month will signal the close Of an era in Durham. . It is an era that many of us, over the past 37 years, have been privileged to watch and often be a part of; There is probably no way to count the number of lives touched by this man who has worked with probably thousands of future citizens of this city state and nation. There is also probably no way to measure the full impact that this dedicated and resourceful man has had on the lives he' touch ed. But we can say one thing without equivocation: Durham and the people he has worked with directly and indirectly are much better because of Mr. Smith's zeal and commitment. t There are times when the human nature in us responds more quickly and more enthusiastically to the flash and exciting con tributions. But in doing that, we often overlook the quiet con tributions of a person who toils day in and day out to do a job simply because it needs to be done. In many ways, Mr. Smith's contribution to this city reflects a statement , made by Christ when he said: "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." Mr. Smith invested 37 years of his life into his friends, and on behalf of the Durham community, especially those young people whose lives you helped to shape and direct, we say, Thank You, Mr. Smith. ' :::rXi Let's Put Ourselves In The Language o- Stop and think for a moment how seldom black people and ideas are portrayed in the English language, either in superlative, or even just favorable terms. Consider that when we speak of a task of mammouth propor tions, a word we often use is "herculean'', referring to a Greek mythological hero named Hercules. According to the dictionary, this word means: "...extraordinary power, size or difficulty." Or consider the word "Malthusian", which means: "...the process of population growth that will always outstrip sub sistence, and which must be checked by Outside forces,' . The word refers to Thomas R. Malthus who developed the' theory. There are many other words such as these, sonie Of them used rather often; and Others, that are. not used very, much except in high specialized situations ' '' ; . ; ; ; ' v: But there are almost no words cpmmqn. to the language referr ing either to superiative situations or specialized ones that reflect a positive view of blackness; ; . : :XrX:-l--. Maybe we just should put some of those words into the language",;: f:-;: PuUm8 words intQ the.language is npt quite .as hard as it night ), rem at firs-rAci Business In The Black Banker Begs For Relief U.S. Corporations Constipated By Charles E. Belle Continental Illinois National 3arik and Chase Manhattan Bank recently wrote off $45 million each In losses for a total of $90 million caused by the failure of ,Penn .. Square - Bank hr Oklahoma City.. The cause is the question; There is much talk about what is holding U.S. corporations upfront pushing forward the economy; . Academia is all concerned about the con-, scription of capital within the corpora tion ' . ' v - Kenneth Nason, now a retired Min nesota farmer, former president and chief ;. operating officer of Quaker Oats' com pany, a $2.5 billion diversified food pro cessor, has a novel position of the cor porate problem. "Current widely-held theories on profitability, . investment values, productivity and personal ethics are leading the free-enterprise system in a direction harmful to its long-term in terests," warns a Yale graduate at a lec ture live on the University of California Berkeley campus; Berkeley ihas been the scene of many radical and unsavory acts in the past. Profit is once again still a titillating issue at the school. Equally interested in getting the matter out in open air was the considerably more conservative - Commdh wealth Club of. California audience-across the-bay from San Francisco, there they were listening to W.C Butcher, chairman Chase - Manhattan Bank. Some grunts -'. and groans must, finally have worked, their : way through the system and its ready to blowout; Tnc system needs, to rid itself of a lot of waste in a bad way. Unfortunately; the cause for constema- ; tion .is not the unemployment which broke into double-digit territory in September at 10.1 for the first- time in jnore than 40 years. Black Americans :rt at 202o unemployment, no doubt a record since reasonably accurate counts have been -completed by the U.S; Census Bureau. -- The "Butcher" from the former David . Rockefeller-controlled bank sounded "a clarion call for higher corporate profits' pleasing to the ears and purse-strings, no doubt, of the coin conscious, members of the Commonwealth Club Of California. "We are not going to get economic recovery in this country until there is an indication we are going to get increased profitability. I am talking here hot about the loss attributable to an isolated ex periencei hut rather to the chrpnic erosion over time of earning power. For if there are inadequate profits, there is no incen tive to .engage in those activities that create wealth- The basic truth has been too " long ignored," screamed Rockefeller's successor.'. " " - -Some people at U.C. Berkeley might; get indigestion at this thought, but not the ' guests at the Commonwealth Club of California's regular Friday noon 'lun- cheon. Like a sign from God they got, "what they wanted to hear, hold in your.; stomach and 'grin and bear it". Relief is right around the corner Provided of. course profits are allowed to grow un : touched by the instrument of the people government. ','"' ' Government regulations and in-, terferences are the. culprit according to "Butcher"; Our society's Mperverseap- proval of lower profitability" is in fact to blame boasts the "Butcher". Berkeley's lecturer however likes the idea of using all the assets,' financial, people, intellectual, and environment to solve this society's current economic;- stop . gap. . .Getting business pedple Oriented to all these assets . is a real problem with wealthy people who mostly sit on their assets. Nevertheless, science : has " recently discovered : ? that . hemorrhoids and other extrusion : pro biems ''ire extrapolated by excess asset sit r ting; So, if they read it in an acadernicset ting rather than feel it in their iassfrts, it has them. Beats me. y" Civil Rights Journal The Facts Speak For Themselves By Charles E. Cobb Executive Director United Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice Attempts by the State Department to censor the comments of El Salvador Am bassador Deane R. Hinton will not change the facts. The Reagan Administra tion has once again assumed a ques tionable position in supporting El Salvador's rightist ; government, .. ,:' Ambassador Hinton has served in El Salvaddr for the last 17 months and has reached: similar, conclusions ' as his 'pMMyvth'atth'lvidbjn. govern -rnent. is engaged inhuman rights abuses. r.Thef State. Department has -. expressed, serious -concern over Ambassador Hin ton' s : decisiph -to I'go . public' . with his yiewii claiming that this type, of public statement hampers the diplomatic pro cess. However, I remember similar State Department claims relating to South Africa. But, it was not until we witnessed a public outcry that the apartheid regime Saw . fit to even begin considering the rights of the black majority. frt. his comments, Ambassador Hinton referred to the 'rightist: Mafia" in. El Salvador, is being as much a threat to the nation's stability as the leftist guerrillas. It is irresponsible for the State Department to repress these observations, instead, this kind of candor : on the part of the American diplomats should be encourag ed and supported. We must make it clear to host countries that we will neither tolerate nor support ' human rights violations in any form. And, that we are confident enough in op position, to slate it publicly.. .It is only through this type of open diplomacy that our country will - be , perceived by other nations as ah-equitable . peacemaker, and 'not ah international pbjice force. ; . We must not allow our allies to force us into a posture that contradicts our : na tional standards. deyelopm( Here. then, are soirie sueeesteid riew ideasi Garyeyan-Vifprjvlarcus Garveyli tnihg'a-'task-thi---fl ; pears Impossible but which committed Iridividuals tac they see it has to hedone;'VExample;teveipijin businesses in a hpstilei racist society !is;I;garv0yan taskv'v WkM ' 'MartiniqueV (for Martin Luther King), Weaning person who stirs people to a pitch of self-sacriftcial fervor in the; name of . : a worthwhile cause. ' Eamplet, To spur increased black Invest-r ment in promising black businesses, leaders must develop: maf ' tinique approaches i ?.Vh:V '"r '?'k'4&&S-i ' . Caryfriai$f cess of endeavor for humahitariari gbdd;' despite the fact of racism.' Example: In develbping the Red Cross blood bank our ing World War II, Dr. Charles Drew took a carverial approach to medicine. We could go on and on, but we believe the premise is clear. There have been many, many black people who have contributed uniquely! to this society. We believe . their work should be remembered and honored. One way of doing that is to interject descriptions of their work and contributions into the language. Interestingly enough, we don't have to ask anyone's permission to do this: We don't have to have a law passed, or anything of the sort. All we have to do is accept the premise and apply our con siderable intellectual prowess to the idea and begin using, and of course, defining, the terms in all levels of conversation. : Frankly, we'd be interested in hearing responses from our readers on this idea. "Send your comments to: Letters to the Editor, The Carolina Times, P.O. Box 3825, Durham, N.C 27702. '' :.v : .' By John E. Jacob ;. , . . ; Executive Director; Mattonal Urban League Things You Should Know X: mm - The Rev. Samuel E. CORNISH Pastor of the African Presbyterian -Church. New York City, he was an Zintrepi0 pioneer of journalism. In he ; co-edited the : first x American . negro ' ' newspaper, v Fress:ni t Jsurnai.w - .wu . became ' 'Rights- of All.n 1837, he nut nut Thi Wssjklv Advccate." this was later' 'enamed ttr Colored.... tlzzn fcoHticiarw 0f . botii parties, upon reading the ;4icitti rt$ult lioring the i voter f revolt against v)igl) uiieippldyerit 'at.'!baekiiii''-i-n- tuU designed tocre"ate jobs. .::; : -X .. r Tne long-overdue Interest in Job crea-; tlorf ' lyouw gath'er;i:'1i! resppnsft If tne yatloui pififiay : r-iifidMtiJobt.:Bitfl9'M,a-' ed far fcbuld just skini the. top, of the , .' unemployment figures. . ? r . O.V?.' ' '.' ' With almost twelve, million pople of- ' flcially unemployed, the most ambitious of the proposals would create only about 600,000 jobs. That barely takes care of the monthly increase in the numbers of the unemployed. More modest proposals would create far fewer jobs. The Administration is said to be considering a highway repair pro- . gram financed by a higher gasoline tax. It would create about 300,000 new jobs. The scale of the current proposals is clearly in adequate to meet the needs of this Depres sion's high unemployment. None of the plans addresses the pressing issue of pro viding sufficient jobs and training-opportunities for the bulk of the jobless. Why, in the face of . such enormous needs, are the proposed job programs so unrealistically modest? Those enormous federal budget deficits, caused by heavy tax cuts and runaway defense spending, are part of the answer. Political leaders may fear that a large-scale jobs program will send the deficit evert higher into the stratosphere. If so, the problem is easily solved by cutting defense spending ' to more reasonable levels and : by reducing, the scale of the tax cuts which arc, now seen to ;have failed in their intent.; At ijs height, the old CET A jobs program cost about S12 billion. You could get that much out of the Pentagon's petty cash fund, '; Another reason may be what is perceiv ed as the political unpopularity .of federal "job j?reation i programs. CETA got a bad press, and 'its failings were' magnified. .; .tike, a.11 programs intended for the. less, . fprtunate in our sbdetyi it.was ?tigmatiz-; - ed as wasteful and ihemciem.'' - ' '' .j.jBii fii .f)K$t "CfiTA'.Wte iuocsitrul.. tt uf--. people to work in socially useful obsnt .prpvided training Oiat could have led to ' permanent jobs In a normal economy. - Public service jobs are the fastest' and . cheapest way. of getting people Off the.-;. unemploVmiht lines and into - sbd&lly , useful work situations. Calling such pro grams "makework"doesnt make sense when the work that is "made" keeps schools, libraries, day care centers and hospitals opep and functioning better. The reluctance of political leaders of both parties to tackle the jobs problem leads to suspicions that they don't really want to do more than trim just enough off the unemployment rate to take the poli tical heat off. The difference between an unemploy ment rate of 9.? per cent and one of 1 0 per cent is enough to make unemployment a hot political issue, with headlines about "double digit unemployment' and widespread public alarm . So if Congress passes a modest job creation program and the Administration signs it into law, both parties can claim credit for having done something about high jobless rates without really having done much at all. " But that political strategy can only work if there is a strong economic rc bound, ultimately bringing . unemploy ment down sharply without government programs. Unfortunately, virtually every economist , suggests that , economic recovery when it comes . will be weak. A boom is uiiliKeJy to follow this . bust. Unemployment . will continue : to mount since economic growth Well in ex cess of three per cent js required for real job growth. The plans, for creating jobs through in- (reased public Works and repairing our1 crumbling roads and bri;dge$ rhake' sense. But rib one should b under the illusion thftt such, a program would be trtdr.e fhiari the baresfbegin.nirif of the task ahejid. . To really dO something that puts people backtowork requires, a national'.cffiprt in volving thepublicand theiprivate; $fCi;or. :hl.a Universar; ',system..';--V -.'X ;:X-. X;: ' X Beginning . with .'improved eduoanoi-. and skills twining ahd mpvihg :on up u ' stimulating private job creation, direc; federal public service employment ant public works jobs, such a system woul aim at ending unemployment, not juv making it politically acceptable. mMWxl Four Great Lies Of Control , ' i. ' That white jhvph1 are omnipresent, ull-k mm 'njt, practically infallthle, and '' .that .racism is an qiirration of character. ' . ' ' . i That Vm(W v'ur Mack in fhis country is haed more on our abilities to kivp secrets from whites 'lhanupon kill and execution. Buu of course, if you 4 ' Ik'licve this fie, ahuif with the. first one, maiW ;'v impossible. y' j-' tliat proqre for blacks hi America can be measured only in the light of - white Jwwvok'nce. Thus; there are no tvallt talented, skilled of. committed Noi ks. ontv blacks upon whom whites hare smiled, ' . , ' ' That above all things, blacks cannot trust each other which of course, ': , : C leaves us in the psychologically suicidal position of tying to trust whites. ' ' . " V !.-.. r . L.E.AUSTIN Editor-Publisher 1927-1971 (USPS 091-380 (Mn.) Vivian Austin fdmonci Edilof-Publiiher Kinneth W. Edmondi Gtnenl Mintgtr Milton Jordan Exicutivo Editor. C. Warron Ma'iianburg Advartiting Director : - L.M. Austin '' . ProdtietjOR Sifporirtoor : '.;' - ; . . Curtti T. Perkins . Contributing Edltor-Foroign Affairs :. fubllshod ovary Thursday (dated Saturday (except v week following Christmas) in Ourham. N.C.. it united Publishers. Incorporated, Mailing address:1 r.0. Ur 3825: Durham. M.C.: 27702-382 Oflioe located at 923 Old Fayetteville Street, Durham. N.C. r 27701. Second Class Postage paid at Durham, North ' Carolina .27702. '; 'yv,v,; :K ;' , Vohimd 60. Number. 41. . . " POSTMASTER:- Send address changei to THE CAROLINA TIMES. P.O. Box 3825. Durham, N.C. .27702-3829.- ; '. .X'X ; ' . . SUBlCRIPTION RATES: One yaar S12.00 (plus 48e sales tax for North Carolina residents). . Single ' copy 30c. Postal regulations REQUIRE advance pay. ment an subscriptions. Address al communications and maka.al checks payable to: THE CAROLINA National advertising representative: . Amalgamated Publishers. Inc., 45 West 45th Street. New York. New York 1Q038v . . ' Membet:; United Press International Photo Service; National Nawspeper JWishers Association, North . : Carolina Black Publishers Association. .' , . - Opinions axpraMed by columnists In this newspaper df not necessarily represent the policy of tnia newspaper . . Thla oawapeper WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE lor .'the return of euiaolldtoe) pictures.
The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
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Dec. 4, 1982, edition 1
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