Page 4-The Chronicle, Thursday, April 28, 1983
Winston-Salem Chrxjqide .iHjv
Founded 1974
Ndubial Egcmonyc Ernest H. Pitt
Co-htuodrr f*uNi\hrr
CiU Allen Johnson Robert Eller Elaine L. Pitt
Managing Ftluttr Spurts 14H<" O/Jhy \tana*i f
Crosswinds
Dungeon Sunlight?
From The Fayetteville Times
North Carolinians are apparently much more willing than
criminal justice policymakers have been to give nonviolent
criminals a chance to pay their debt to society outside prison
walls.
A statewide poll by the 1982 Citizens Survey found twothirds
of those questioned favored the "community group
home" approach, allowing nonviolent criminals to work off
their crime in a restitution program. Nine out of 10 favored
the current programs getting underway in more than a dozen
locations, which allow offenders to pay off their victims
through community service work, or through a portion of
their earnings at a job. Moore County's program for young
offenders has already become a model for that sort of program.
Cumberland County has a program fitting private or
public work for individual offenders. About one defendant a
week is now being kept out of prison and on a job by the program.
These approaches to reducing the jammed prisons, where
three inmates are crowded into spaces meant for two, have
barely gotten off the ground, but it must be said that they
have become extremely popular with many judges.
They are the result of a pioneering study done by a nonprofit
commission headed by Judge Willis Whichard of the
State Court of Appeals and financed by the Z. Smith
Reynolds Foundation.
mat stuay found that 55 percent of the state's prison
population consists of nonviolent offenders, people whose?
crime did not involve any sort of physical harm to anybody
else. Naturally, a large stock of this group did include people
whose crime had meant financial loss or cost to their victims.
The "alternatives to incarceration" which this toughminded
but humane study group devised, surely point the way
toward a criminal justice system emphasizing restitution
through work outside prison walls and fences.
The commission's carefully-wrought recommendations
are like a window opened on a fetid dungeon. They suggest
practical ways in which lives can be salvaged and redeemed
outside of the prisons which so often are breeding places for
more crime.
As a result of the Whichard study and its recommendations,
more than 20 programs are either underway or on the
drawing boards in various places in the state to put into practice
the alternative approaches. So far, the effort has largely
been a nongovernmental one. The program in Moore Counts
? ? ....
iy, iui instance, nas narnessea tne altruism and community
spirit, and the time, of civic club members who supervise
young offenders in various self-supporting work projects .
(wood-cutting, tree-growing.)
The results of the public opinion survey adds new impetus
to the approach. They should also hearten the governmental
policymakers, the administrators, legislators, and the governor,
to dare to grasp this opportunity to move North
' Carolina out of its present dark age as the state which puts
more of its people behind bars, fences, and barbed wire than
any other. The evidence grows that there is widespread
public support for a more humane, a more workable way to
exact society's debt from people caught in the web of justice.
Meeting The Challenge
?
Our crumbling but venerable old friend, the Patterson
Avenue Y, won't be around much longer.
- i-i? * 11 i -
wutc me wrctKing oan leveis tne modest, 30-year-old
structure, a more modern, sleekly designed successor will
have begun to rise at Winston Lake -- if fundraising efforts
to finance the project continue to go smoothly.
One aspect of that drive is a $100,000 challenge grant from
the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation that stipulates only
that 1,000 contributions must be made to the Y's current
gifts campaign by members of the black community. That,
in other words, means that 1,000 black folk need only fill out
a slip of paper and give at least a dollar to the cause for the
challenge money to go to the Y.
And although the money trickles in steadily, the challenge
should have been met days after it was issued.
To date, however, the halfway mark still has yet to be
U _ J
icacucu.
It reminds ua of the campaign to build the Patterson Y in
the 30s, which stalled for so long that the weather-beaten
future-site sign collapsed decades before the first brick was
laid -- more than two decades later.
By no means is this to suggest that the campaign has fared
badly. To the contrary. But let's go ahead and get the thousand
contributions out of the way ? and our new Y on its
way.
About Letters
The Chronicle welcomes letters to the editor as well as
guest columns. Letters should be typed or neatly printed and
concise in length. They should also include the full name, address
and phone number of the writer.
Letters should be addressed to Chronicle Letters,
Winston-Salem Chronicle, P.O. Box 3154; Winston-Salem,
N.C.'27102.
S\
ITS H16H im V
YOUR INVESTS
...me eoisra?w&
^fPlCWM N\1UW
RETU*MU& K TV
' ^ V I
dkk 8
Liberal Car
By TONY BROWN
Syndicated Columnist
Two days before his birthday,
Harold Washington became the first
African-American mayor of
America's second-largest city.
Although it was only a hairbreadth
antiReagan
sentiment a
new shot in the Brown
arm; it may even go
from 98 percent to 98.1 percent.
Besides, the Republicans are not
counting on the black vote to win
anyway; Reagan's victory was a landslide
without it in .J980. g ?
The white liberM-carpfcf&aKgers if
the Democratic party are the real
losers, not racism in Chicago. Frantic
editorials in all of the whitecarpetbagger
press and old Carter administration
liberals are warning
blacks that political power under
their control" is detrimental to their
future.
Reminds you of a line, written by a
white man, from "Porgy And Bess":
4M got plenty of nothing and
nothing's plenty for me." Afraid that
the field hands may be coming into
their own by running a black candidate
in the Democratic primaries
and developing leverage over the
ultimate white winner, Hamilton Jordan,
Jimmy Carter's chief of staff,
warned: "There is one danger in this
strategy. While there is talk every
four years of 'brokered conventions'
-- promoted by the very people who
dream of being the brokers - the fact
is that in the past seven presidential
elections in both parties, one candidate
arrived at the convention with
the lead in delegates and went on to
receive the nomination of his party.
Chicago, ft
By CLIFTON E. GRA VES JR.
Chronicle Columnist
For the past several months, the
electronic and print media have
understandably
an
time and space to
race, which, as you
know, was won by
black candidate
Harold Washing- f A J
Brother Washington's
significant Or?m
victory has
rekindled the hopes and aspirations
of African-Americans nationwide.
From Birmingham to Boston,
Louisville to Los Angeles, New
Orleans to New York, and,
Washington to Winston, black people
are filled with inspiration and buzzino
with anticipation as pending local and
national elections draw near.
And while it is imperative that we
keep Washington's victory (and, in
00 PULLEP m INVESTMENTS
4TS OUT OF 6\VE BUCKS Tl
CJOBS AMD OPfttf
SVT#
THE SOUTH VES, IT'S MWf
y AND WttfcU 6O0D \i
W PROFIT ARE fcEWARW
[$ fgj'
petbaggers 1
"Consequently, one of the risks of
a black candidate hoping , to play
broker is that by the time the convention
begins, there would be nothing
left to broker. If this happened, not
only would the black influence be
unfelt at the convention, but the candidate^)
most deserving of black support
would also find their black votes
siphoned o_ff_to the black candidate._
So the nominee of the party would arrive
at the convention without the
help of black voters and with less of
an obligation to address their concerns."
He concluded his false logic with
the old disunity appeal: "They should
measure carefully the risk and consequences
of manning a campaign that,
if successful in uniting black leaders
and voters, would put all of their
political eggs in the basket of a single
candidate/broker, and, if unsuccessful,
would split the black community
and dilute their ultimate influence."
Another white libtf a^. newspaper
?* earned Wastage*n*s?|ip*aikto a blaek
power base racist. It also asserted that
Washington was unqualified because
he wanted to dismantle a crooked
white-ethnic, anti-black political
machine.
Before Washington, Chicago's
mayors were "qualified1' because~~
they were willing to run a crooked
machine. And if Washington had ignored
a black power base, in the
name of the best man winning on the
basis of appealing solely to whites,
would he be the mayor of Chicago todav?
The fact that our future in this
country depends on helping one
another has not gone unnoticed. We
know that giving and not getting
politically is political genocide. We
also know that the Democrats are
petrified at the new assertion of black
political power.
The Democratic white ethnics are
going to go Republican in droves,
hoping to preserve their "racist^ advantages.
The candidates for the
Democratic presidential nomination
will, of necessity, move to the left,
Inston Not &
deed, the entire electoral process) in
its proper perspective (i.e., a means to
an end, not an end in itself), we must
nonetheless capitalize on the momentum
generated by the Chicago victory,
and begin to work now toward
the galvanization of our collective
political muscle.
Yes, if we heed the lesson of
Chicago, analyze the modus operandi
of its extensive grass-roots voter
registration/education drive, and implement
a similar program geared
toward our particular needs, then,
who knows? Maybe Winston-Salem
can elect a black mayor as soon as
1985.
Now, surely there are cynics among
you who smirk at such a suggestion.
First of all, you cynics say, "Black
folk won't vote." Second, "White
folk won't vote for a black
candidate." And third, "There aren't
any 'qualified' potential black candidates
around."
Well, this writer respectfully
disagrees with all of the above assertions,
for the following reasons:
National and local statistics reflect
the fact that black folk will turn out
f
THEV HELP
teEE K HANDFUL
WN\1Y Of BU\OtS...
tw
ir>h
c/s u\ce ?
wrks I
ED _
i
ieal Losers
and nearer food stamps, affirmative
action and jobs programs. And, as a
consequence, move too far to the left
to be elected by an increasingly conservative
electorate.
But who cares? If the Democratic
party needs the exploitation of the
black community to win, because of
racism, then it deserves to lose. If that
party's nominee is only acceptable if
he ignores the issues of his black con
stitucnts, then how can he represent
their best interests? He can't.
The logic to punish the Democrats
in 1984 is overwhelming. The logic to
simply line up behind the lesser of the
racist-evils is suicidal.
A black Marxist has called for a
- "progressive" black candidate to appeal
to the Latinos, trade unionists
and "liberal blocs." He means white
communists. Being one who sabotaged
the National Black Independent
Political Party's early ability to effect
a plan to put forth a viable candidate
to represent black interests, he simply
wants to substitute white communist
< domination for white Democratic <
domination. But, tike Jesse Jackson,
he knows a good idea when he sees
one. This Marxist "race-relations"
expert should run a black, but as a <
Marxist for the Communist party's '
^andidacy.
And why don't the black I
Republicans use this opportunity to J
run a black for the GOP nomination
and force black issues on the
Republican Party's agenda? No matter
how small their constituency, they
are members of the ruling party and,
as a result, will be listened to. It
would give them the platform and the (
opportunity to articulate their principles
in a black context.
Of course, that leaves independents (
like myself to hope that all of the party
affiliating of our black brothers
ana sisters will work, for a change,
for the African-American communi- 1
ty.
"Tony Brown's Journal," the j
television series, can be seen on public J
television Sundays on Channel 26 at 1
6:30 p. m. \
>o Different i
and vote when there are black can- c
didates seeking office. r
Recent elections indicate that, in i
the campaigns of Tom Bradley \
(California), Andrew Young (AtlanA
_ V A If ? - - *
laj, /\uan wneat (Kansas, City) and c
even Harold Washington, segments c
of the white community can be nur- p
tured and counted upon for support.
Further, even with a sizeable popula- c
tions of "red-necks" and "blue- r
bloods" present in our community,
Larry Womble, Mazie Woodruff, f
Charlie B. Hauser, Beaufort Bailey j
and Annie Brown Kennedy have pro- J
ven that there are enlightened whites
who will judge candidates not by race /
alone.
There are at least 10 competent,
committed and electable black men
and women in this city capable of administering
the office of the mayor, a
(Incidentally, aldermen Larry Little
and Virginia Newell top this writer's (
list of possible mayoral candidates.)
Thus, given the above facts - 1
coupled with an all-out, concerted
voter registration/education drive
(beginning esterday), involving v
Please see pane 5
*
I I
. 'i
Politics
m*.
And Race j
Bv JOHN ?. JACOB
Guest Columnist 5
Harold Washington's election as r
mayor of Chicago was a stunning vie- ~
tory, bringing an exhilarating feeling ?
of pride and power to black people. It ?
also says a lot about the volatile mix- w
ture of race and politics in this '*
America of 1983.
As the designated candidate of the 5
Democratic Party and the winner of 5
its primary, Washington should have
won easily; the Democratic nomina- r
tion has meant landslide victory on t
Election Day for the past 50 years. ^
Yet the election was a close one,
with most whites defecting to the ?
Republican candidate. Apologists can g
offer lots of reasons but none of them '
hold water. If Washington had been
white, he would have had the general r
election locked up on Primary Day. U
There is no getting around the fact ^
that race was the only real issue in the *? (
campaign. And that resulted in one of ?
the ugliest election campaigns in~
memory, even for Chicago, a city
where politics is almost a blood sport.
It is tragic that so large a majority
of white voters could not bring
themselves to vote for a black candidate
of their own party. Some
didn't even know the name of the
candidate they did vote for, telling
reporters they intended to "vote for
the white guy."
Even mnrp Hppnlv troa'%/+
. ?vi u^iw nno Luw?
way their racist poison infected even
small children. 1 saw schoolkids inter
viewed by television reporters saying
they were for Washington's opponent
"because he's white."
The most ridiculous explanation of ,
this phenomenon that I have heard is ;
that there's nothing wrong with
voting for a white candidate since
blacks_ were almost unanimous in
their support for Washington.
But there's a big difference. When .
blacks vote for a black candidate, it is ^ *
a positive act of pride; a positive step. ..
toward affirming their group's inclu- "
sion in the decision-making that affects
their lives. We saw a very similar ^
effect back in 1960* when- 4rish
Americans turned out to vote for
John F. Kennedy for the same
reasons of pride and at last getting
one of their own into the power structure.
But when whites vote against a
black candidate because of his race, it
is a negative act; a refusal to
Please see page 5
Chronicle Letters
Jackson's
'Candidacy'
To The Editor:
Recently, I read a letter in your
)aper stating that the Rev. Jesse
fackson, director of Operation
3USH, could not qualify to become
resident of the United States.
Jackson was born in South
Carolina, and received his education
n North Carolina, graduating from
^Jorth Carolina A&T State Universiy.
' ,
The qualifications for being presiient
of the United States are to be a
latural citizen of the United States .
ind to be 35 years of age. So Jackson ^
vould qualify.
When will we as black people make
:hange for us? Don't black folks
qualify to make decisions for other
people?
We never ask for the qualifications
)f someone else; we just vote for
lames.
President Lincoln did great things
or Americans as did Harry Truman,
lohn F. Kennedy and Lyndon B.
lohnson, to name a few.
Jesse Jackson is as natural born an
\merican as they were.
D..< n
nuiut rearion
Winston-Salem
Constructive
Criticism
ro The Editor: I
As a subscriber to the Chronicle, i
vhich I think is a very good weekly i
Please see page 5 *
%