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4- -Editoriafe I
* T^ie Message Of Nov.5
The elerttrin h as pome flttH on tip Knt mAcc?^ ^ *
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lingers on. For many candidates on Nov. 5, black voters made
the difference between winning and losing the election. If black
voters voted Republican instead of Democrat, the election result
ZZ would have been a different picture. , ??
Two weeks before the election, we predicted that black
turnout would be 33 percent and white turnout 43 percent. The
black vote is no longer a thing to be taken for granted. Nor will
the practice of talking to a few so-called black leaders bring out
the vote. Black vote, like white vote must be sought after and
the voter must be told why he should vote for this candidate as
- opposed to the other candidate.
We may recount, for the sake of record, some of the things
black voters said during the election. They noted that some
candidates avoided the black sections of town as if being seen
here will cost them some vote. They said that some candidates
misjudged them by talking about block vote. They said that
many politicians only come out at election time. They said that
they did not have enough information on some candidates to know
whether to vote for one candidate or the other.
Perhaps some office seekers will note these feelings by many
black voters and do something about them. Blacks, like whites,
are now more sophisticated in their voting habit and to use the
method of appealing to black voters that was ten years outdated
....... today is totally to miss the point.
Because of increased efficiency in communication, how a
candidate voted on a bill, how many blacks are employed in a
candidate's office, what an elected official said or did not say on
certain issue, reach the voters in a matter of split second. Many
voters take note of such records and express their view on the
candidate during election. How else can democracy work to
bring about accountability?
i
Integration In N.C. Higher
Education Still In Theory .
Black A&T State University in Greensboro has been denied
the chance to have a Veterinary School on that black University
_ rpi t ? - -
campus, i ne planning and budget committees of the University
of North Carolina Board of Governors recommended instead to _
have the Vet. School built at white North Carolina State
University in Raleigh.
The choice of Raleigh as the site for the Vet. School came
as a shock to many black and to some whites who have looked
upon the siting of the new School as a big test for integration
programs in N.C. Higher Education system-.
Can it b,e argued again that integration is working in N.C.
Higher Education when the only change the board of Governors
has to prove that integration is a reality in N.C. Higher
Education System was not utilized last Friday? Locating the
Vet. School in Raleigh is still a recommendation and the full
board still has a chance to locate the school in Greensboro.
Perhaps this is a remote possibility. Yet the full board still has a
chance to redeem its pledge that integration is a fact of N.C.
Higher Education.
As programs increase the number of blacks on traditionally
white campuses, it is hoped that the board of Governors will
also see fit to institute programs on traditionally black
Uniyersities that will increase the number of whites on black
University campuses.
Blacks must not only be told that integration is for everyone's
benefit. We must also be shown. Today, a black student who
wishes to get a Ph.D. in black studies must go to a white
University to get it since no black Universitv in the State ha* n
mf ~ "
Ph.D program.
v . ***
THE WINSTON-SALEM CHRONICLE is published every Thursday
by the Winston-Salem Chronicle Publishing Co., Inc. 2208 N. Patterson
Ave. Mailing address: P.O. Box 3154, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27102
Phone: 722-8624
Individual copies 20 cents
Subscription: 310.40 per year payable in advance (N.C. sales tax included
)
Editor-in-chief Ernest H. Pitt
Society editor Linda Murrell
Business editor Charles T. Byrd Jr.
Publisher....Ndnbisl Egemonye
?- Administrative assistant...Gloria J. Jones
Opinions expressed by columnist in this newspaper do not necessarily
represent the policy of this newspaper.
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THE WINSTON-SALEM CHRO
'^70%
To Be Eqi
Pushed by the energy crisis,
high gas prices, and gasoline
shortages, many people in
1974 left their cars at home
and rode buses and trains
instead.
Enough of them did this to
change the overall transportation
picture somewhat -- an
almost eight percent increase
in riders on mass transit lines
during the course of the year.
Not only that, but the numbers
using mass transit facilities
actualty increased from month
to month during the year.
Since the big energy crunch
canie last winter, this means
many people forced to use
public transport decided it was
cheaper and as convenient as
driving their own cars to work
and stayed with their
new-found bus or train.
The extraordinary part of
the slow shift to public
transport is that it has taken
place in cities outside what is
considered the natural environment
for mass transit -- the
northeast. The American
Public Transit Association
reports ridership up . 18
percent in San Diego, 23
percetn in Jacksonville. Fla..
and 62 percent in Tucson.
All this doesn't mean a
mass abandonment of the
automobile, but it does mean
that the prospects for public
transportation are not as grim
as they had appeared. The
bloom has come off the
road-building boom and the
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should be changed to aiding
and expanding the public
transportation network.
There are signs that a public
once opposed to federal mass
transit aid has shifted its
attitudes. The steady increase
in ridership is one such
indication.
Another is the results of a
New York State poll showing
massive public support for
mass transit aid, and nearly
half of upstate replies favored
aid to public transportation
over more highway building,
although that area has always
been highway-oriented.
A third sign is the very real
boom in subway construction
and expansion of bus lines
going on around the countrv.
At least seventeen major cities
are currently building or
planning new rail transport
systems.
There are important reasons
why the federal government
should recognize that its _
roadbuilding program has
reached the point where it is
no longer feasible and that it
should shift the energy and
resources that went into
highway construction into
construction and operating
support for mass transit
tystlms. __
the national goal of reducing
gasoline usage and reducing
dependency on oil imports. It
would also help cut down on *
NOVEMBER 16, 1974
11II1 I VllLlIl IIIII''
lolW*\r1 *
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Jordan, Jr,
pollution and improve the
^environment. More efficient
use of energy resources and
cleaner air are hallmarks of
public transportation systems.
The national economy needs
the jobs created by transit
construction. This is one area
that can be of help to minority
construction businesses, since
their capabilities are most
suited to the kinds of smaller
construction projects typical of
transit facilities.
The slack in auto sales can
be made up by sales of buses
and railway cars. Better public
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transport win mean many
people now jobless can
consider job openings previously
closed to them.
The case for operating
subsidies too, is important.
Fares can't pay the whole cost
of operating mass transit
systems. Only subsidies can
keep fares low enough to
attract the maximum numbers
of riders and provide for fully
efficient use of facilities. Such
subsidies should be seen as
i.- ^ ? ?
liivcsinicms since iney enaoie
proper maintenance of a
system and pay off in
expanded economic activity in
the areas served.
Federal aid to public
transportation systems has
picked up much support in
W ashington and an Administration
publicly committed to
saving gas ought to take the
lead in ushering in a new era
of support for mass transit.