Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Dec. 13, 1980, edition 1 / Page 4
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Page 4-The Chronicle, Saturday, December 13, 1980 "viewy* ~ ~ ^ . ~ LrneM H. I'm * Member North Ctrollnt Black PublUhcr't AeaocUtloa tLUltOf/J*Hr)tlSrH ?r /^r. Robert Lillet NCPA Editor 4 4 4 * A ^^ N.C. Press Association x ; Clifton Graves * j Justice For :At last, there is some justice for the Wilmington 10... The decision last week by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond to overturn the conviction of Rev. 6en Chavis, Joe Wright and the others due to constitutional irregularities was a welcome, but long overdue, verdict. Specifically, the three-judge panel cited these reasons for its ruling: The refusal of the trial court to permit cross-examination of Allan Hall and Jerome Mitchell, key prosecution witnesses; The failure of the prosecution to make available to the defense an amended pretrial statement of Hall, a convicted felon; and, Concealment of favorable treatment of Hall, including accommodations a luxury beach hotel and visits by his girlfriend, that may have induced his testimony favorable to the prosecution. While the Appeals Court should be commended for its vision and sense of fairness, the decision itself only lends credence to what the"10" and their supporters have asserted all along: the Wilmington 10 were innocent victims of a legal and political conspiracy by certain Further, despite the correctness of the ruling, and the sense of vindication and relief it may give the^' 10", the damage may well have already been done. For no amount of pretty legal phrases or "I'm sorrys" can compensate the "10" or their families for nearly a decade of degraduation and suffering they have endured. What of Ben Chavis' imparied vision and ruptured kidney? What of Joe Wright's nagging Election Results Make Jamaican Hopes Rise Signs of a Jamaican economic resurgence are developing now after the landslide victory October 30th of Prime Minister Edward P.G. Seaga, who led the country's Labor Party to the capture of 51 of the 60 seats in Parliament. Tourism, the country's second largest foreign exchange industry which earns $200 million a year, is up 20 per cent after a deep slump during the year because of political violence that left 655 dead. American banks have restored lines of credit snipped abruptly after former socialist Prime Minister Michael Manley abruptly broke off negotiations with the International Monetary Fund on terms of government austerity tied to loans. And American industrialists, including representatives of the Reynolds Metal Corporation which has alumina operations on the island, have met with Jamaican businessmen and been impressed with the prospect for lucrative ventures. This was the very response Seaga, a proponent of freeenterprise, hoped for when he took over the government for the island's 2 million people, whose -country was $1 billion in debt and whose national bank was completely out of reserves. This was the result of seven years of negative economic growth under the regime of Manley, a severe decline that set in bold relief the choices between more Democratic Socialism or a turn to pro-Western capitolism in the most important election in the country's history. U.S. officials hailed Seaga's victory as a defeat for revolutionary politics and a continuation of the moderate political impulse in the Carribean reflected in the elections this year in St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Dominica, and c* ki - r- ; ?!? ? * oi. ivuis-i^cvib. rurcign policy analysis saw me Jamaican development as an opportunity worthy of government support and foreign investment. Multinational companies, as well as Jamaica's own middle class, which had skills and hundreds of millions of dollars, were frightened off by the Manley regime'sjeftist rhetoric and buddy relationship with Cuba. After the flight of merchants and professionals, Jamaica also suffered 30 per cent unemployment* shortages of food staples like rice and fish and commodities like detergent. The oil bill became rppre of a burden, the deficit in foreign grew, and productivity declined. All the blame, of course, cannot fall to Manley, who was the darling of radical chic after his landslide win in 1972. The charismatic and handsome 56-year-old international socialist is a stirring orator who the people likened to Joshua, the Biblical figure who led his followers to the promised land. His father, Norman Manley, founded the Peoples National Party, and the former prime minister who since 1967 has represented the black district of East Central Kingston is heir to a name that conjures the magic of Kennedy in America. And after he first took the helm of government he instituted free education at all levels, women's work rights, a minimum wage, and built some 40,Q00 new housing units, all of which were fueled I V* MlltS^?= " r .* *** ? --- ."?" * 4 s Salem Gtyroi\jclc Member ^ 11 ^ -irr Audit Bureau Donna E. Oldham ^ Circulations *r City Editor Elaine L. Pitt Office Manager s' ; . The Wilmington 10 bronchial condition? What of the numerous attempts on Chavis' life while in prison? What of Ann Shepard's Kfniror. fomil..1) \A/W~*~r JI a-J ? ? " ' " w.v?v? moiiitijr i TT nai Ul U1C Ul?rupica UVCS OI KCginAlO Epps, Jerry Jocobs, James McKay, Wayne Moore, Marvin Patirick, Connie Tindall and Willie Vereen?l? Lawyers for Rev. Chavis et al. are contemplating filing a civil damage action against the state. We wish the competent James Ferguson and lrv Joyner well in this endeavor - but even they in their wisdom would'be the first to admit that no sum of money can adequately compensate for this travesty. Nonetheless, as Rev. Chavis proclaimed, the Appeals Court ruling was indeed a "people's Victory". Those of us who protested in the streets, addressed envelopes, attended countless rallies and vigils, researched legal issues, or made contributions to the defense fund were as integral a part of this victory as were the excellent attorneys Ferguson and Joyner. And we would be remiss if we did not recognize the untiring courageous efforts of Dr. Charles Cobb and the Commission for Racial Justice in this protracted struggle to free the "10". _Nfilsurprisingly, Attorney General Rufus Edmisten- no doubt bowing to pressures from embarrassed legal and political leaders- indicates he will ask for a full 14; member (en banc) Fourth Circuit rehearing: And should that fall, he plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme CouTt. There is also talk of possible retrial of the "10". ii !?? ? u nuviaianuAUiy i mc S181C Will ^ppC&l 111 OrflCT tO S&VC face. But a retrial would be legally unsupport&ble, politically unwise, and ecnonmically unsound. The Wilmington 10 have suffered enough. Let them go in peace... AROUND THE WORLD Iwrrtnoi Muhammad. by a free-enterprise economy which exported large amounts of alumina to industrial nations. But in many parts of Jamaica desperation and poverty went untouched, a carryover from the plantation economy that existed when the country became indepenSee Page 23 To the Editor: all of the planning meeting: which led up to th< On November 3, 1979, I murders. Neither man waj received word that Dr. called as a witness durinc Michael Nathan, a close the 5-month trial ir personal friend, had been Greensboro, critically wounded. While Despite overpowering participating in a peaceful videotape evidence, the mer anti-Klan rally in who killed Mike and th< Greensboro, North others have been allowed tc Carolina, Dr. Nathan had go free. The obscene been shot in the head by Greensboro verdict gives a members of an armed green light to groups like caravan of avowed the Klan and Nazis?a Klansmen and Nazis. Four license to shoot and kill. Communist Workers Party Clearly, communists will demonstrators had been not be the only target. The killed. Two days later, Mike grpwuijp evidence of also died. government complicity in Mike Nathan was a the killings should serve as a dedicated Dhvsician anH sional nf alafm ?. s --0-W. UIUIIII IV Oil VI US. director of pediatrics at a A strong response is community health center in critical. Durham. He was also active A major civil rights suit in collecting and shipping against the Klan, Nazis, and medical supplies to the peo- several government agenple of Zimbabwe. Mike's cies has recently been filed family had been victims of in Greensboro. Its purpose fascism in Europe, and is to disclose the full truth Mike recognized the behind the Greensboro killnecessity of speaking up ings. The suit is a focal against the growth of a point of a struggle we must similar movement in this all ?m?v>rt i ~i.. ? ? ? ? - wh|/)^WI v anuu^lj C1Icountry. courage all of those conIt is now known that the cerned to contribute to: lead car in the November Greensboro Justice Fund, 3rd caravan was driven by Inc., P.O. Box 2861, Grand Edward Dawson, a Central Station, N.Y., N.Y. Greensboro police i?i- 10017. former. Bernard Butkovich, an agent of the Sincerely, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, attended Neil S. Prose, M.D. . % |||? p??< II <? ".',? .'-Uk'- m '^<8?.'?J *1'J ?' ? " -5?* rf!"" Gold hoarding causes prices it INUIllll ii ! ?? Il-m IIW Jll lli?awraw*1f I? jimi iiiiii?>mm? i .hi-.--. *messir., justice I thought, "ihere'5 ENOUGH _. gold (at there to take us off ct$3t canned 006 fooo for the rest \l\ it Washington-Accounts keep trickling in of black American visitors to Israel being detained, interrogated, hassled and in some cases denied entry to the country. Israeli officials here say the problem, accounts of which they describe as exaggerated, stems from their concern thaLaddiiionaLblack^mericans may be seeking to join the ranks of the so-called Hebrew Israelites, a black sect that has settled in Israel. " rtThe HiuthofiTies Took TdF~certaifl thirigs?behavior," style of dress, that sort of thing," Avi Pazner, press counsel for the Israeli Embassy told me. "There is no truth to the charge that blacks-are routinely detained, or that they are harassed." Maybe not. But the list of blacks who have been pulled out of line for questioning at Ben Gurion Airport include Bayard Rustin of the A. Phillip Randolph Institute, arguably Israel's staunchest friend among American blacks; Joseph Allen, vice president of the National Ur-~ ban League; Kenyon C. Burke, associate general ro/^rAtArti -1 ? ?.1 - ^ owidoiy vi me i^duuimi ^uuncii oi cnurcnes and a former official of both the NAACP and the AntiDefamation League of B'nai B'rith; actor Lou Gossett. Rustin, who was traveling under the auspices of Black Americans in Support of Israel, was detained for two was one of three blacks in a group of 18 from the National Council of Churches. Only the three blacks were pulled out of line and questioned by airport authorities in what" Burke described as "a truly frightening experience." The incidents are creating major diplomatic and public relations problems for Israel. Just what is behind them? As Avi Pazner explains it, the Hebrew Israelites, or Black Hebrews, as they also call themselves, first came to , Israel, by way of Liberia, in the early 1970s, announcing their intention to become Jews. "Their theory is that they are the true Hebrews, and that we are imposters," he said. 5 - ft i Vff^H |T|9 3Tj|T?*| I ? ^ -f? The lame-duck Congress passed an amendment to an appropriations bill banning Justice Department participation in busing suits, signaling an open hunting ? season on civil rights laws. Not that this particular amendment is so novel; other restrictions have made it through the ^Congress in the past. But this one would effectively take the executive branch out of the busing of r^m^Hvino ? ? - j ? wnvvaiOinUIIVliai school segregation. It would even bar the Justice Department from enforcing court busing orders, something the courts will probably find unconstitutional. Congress' attempt to handcuff busing is a direct interference with the executive branch's sworn duty to enforce the laws of the land. - ironically, it came at a time that yet another study was published documenting busing's beneficial effects. Researchers at Catholic University's Center for National Policy Review found that busing programs in metropolitan areas encouraged housing desegregation. They noticed a decline in residential segregation patterns in cities with area-wide desegregation, and concluded that further integration of housing would ultimately mean busing could be discontinued since the schools would be integrated without it. The researchers found that when only the center city was subjected to busing orders, "white flight" to the suburbs was encouraged. But when the entire metro area was subject to desegregation, reluctant whites could not flee and the pattern was reversed. The lesson has been clear all along that busing and V 6 .M"I' I ^JIJ' ? I I.I. i. I.y ^ V< 3 <3-10 ^frt/oK. <^ru^2,?* VfUTHTKATUKB SC*V<Cg. .. ' . I MIUBhmh % lacks In Israel I a ? The first group of approximately 200 entered the country legally and settled in the small southern Israel town of Dimona. "Then their numbers started to swell," Pazner said. "They no longer came as legal immigrants but as tourists. After they arrived, they would destroy their papers and claim the right to live in Israel. During the '70s, they grew to between 3,000 and 5,000 and spread into other southern~f0wns, including Arad," These unwanted settlers have created a problem for Israel, Pazner said, "because of the high number of criminal elements among them. They don't recognize the state, they contend that our laws don't apply to them. They pay no taxes. They won't send their children to school as the law requires. Sometimes they work, but TIS&SJe4 a lot of drugs, and they are involveain a lot of crime, including drugs, robberies, prostitution and murdernhey support themselves this way." So why doesn't Israel deport them? "Legally we could," Pazner explains, "But we don't for fear that people would say it was because they are black. For us it is a problem of conscience. "There have been some moves by parliament to expel i i- - ? mem, dui mere was trie tear that this would lead to an outcry among blacks in America. The latest decision is that we will at least see that their numbers don't grow." Which, in short, is why black American visitors t&? Israel come under special, sometimes humiliating, scrutiny. Many Americans who have visited the Hebrew Israelite settlements disagree with Pazner's characterization of them as largely "criminal elements" and dispute as well the notion that the posture of the Israeli government has been largely benign. The Urban League's Joe Allen, who visited the settleSee Page 8 Open Season*; ^ .* ***M other, more often used means of desegregating schools, work when local authorities and citizens groups pitch in to make it work. The long-term meaning of Congress' action is that communities resisting desegregation can expect to be rewarded, while those who comply with the law will have to struggle through on their own. But busing is only one of the civil rights measures threatened. Pressure is building in Congress to undercut federal affirmative action enforcement. Senator Strom Thurmond, the 1948 Dixiecrat candidate for President and now slated to be the new Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has said he wants to scuttle the Voting Rights Act. Legal aid for the poor is high on the Congressional hit list, too. Threats have been made to cut off all federal aid to cities that have rent control laws. And several Congressmen are having their staffs work up constitutional amendments that would bury busine. affirm* tivf? artinn abortion, separation of church and state, and other rights and programs we too often take for granted. Sometimes, as in busing, the attackers claim to speak for the majority. But they reveal a fundamental flaw in their argument ? the essence of a democracy is protection of minority rights, not the unbridled trampling of those rights by an intolerant majority. It would be a mistake to overreact to the threats to civil rights laws. Many of those proposals will never see the light of day, and many don't stand a chance, even in the incoming Congress. See Page 8 .
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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Dec. 13, 1980, edition 1
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