Pege A4?The Chronicle, Thursday, September 8, 1983
P Winston-Salem Climqiclc
il Founded 1974
ERNEST H. PITT , /?W NisHtr
NDUBISI EGEMONYE ALLEN JOHNSON
Co-Founder ?x+c*tt>t Editor
ELAINE L. PITT . JOHN SLADE
O/ftcr Maihigtr Assist**/ Editor
An About-Face
t
No sour grapes intended here, but wc find the NAACP's
stance on the black presidential candidacy question curious.
While the nation's largest and oldest civil rights organization,
which we respect deeply and support faithfully, has
made it clear that it does not endorse the concept of a black
man running for president, its executive director, Benjamin
Hooks, some time later revealed that he himself had
pondered running.
441 thought of running myself," Hooks told Tony Brown
in a public television interview. "But I decided that this fr
not the time to do it, and I'm thinking about gearing up my
mechanism to think about running in 1988 if we don't come
out right in 1984."
SThen, using incredible logic, Hooks said 1984 is not the
year for a black presidential candidate because "I don't
think a black person has a ghost of a chance of winning."
Which, we take it, implies that a black candidate will have a
much better chance in 1988.
Well -my-while-we are as optimistic as the next personrsomehow
we don't think the next four years are going to
change the complexion of our country's politics so drastically
that a black man's chances of being president will be that
much greater.
And we are a bit perturbed that the NAACP's reasoning
on why it does not want to support the idea of a black
presidential candidate is that the chances of winning are not
great. That's analogous to a slave in the pre-Civil War South
not supporting the concept of black emancipation because
j the chances of getting it weren't great.
Or Dr. Martin Luther canceling one of his civil rights marI
ches because the chances of it succeeding, he was told, were
not great.
Since when does Jimmy the Greek determine whether or
I __ not we flex are political muscles? __
And since when, we wonder, have the odds dictated
whether we as black people try something or not?
Had we subscribed to that philosophy, we imagine we'd
still be sitting in the back of the bus, drinking from "Colored
! Only" water fountains and entering restaurants, if at all,
\ through the kitchen door. ; ?^[ -v
What, after all, were the odds against % black American
astronaut manning the space shuttle? Or 'black woman
becoming Miss North Carolina?
And what were the odds, a few years ago, of a washed-up
B-movie actor whose biggest claim to fame was playing second
banana to a chimp, and running eternally for the
~?:?presidency while not being taken very seriously, becoming _
our chief executive?
What we fear has predicated some of the NAACP's reluctance
to have anything to do with Jesse Jackson's "campaign"
is its fear that the flamboyant country preacher (who
does crave publicity and does have an enormous ego, as most
politicians do) and his Operation PUSH are upstaging
* * i? ?i *
nuoRs ana nis organization.
Why else would the two organizations work so much on
similar projects, yet decline attempts to work together or to
even consider working together?
As for ghosts of a chance and staggering odds, they
become truly forboding when we let personal and organizational
egos grow bigger than the ideals some of our ancestors
suffered and died for.
|
The Irony Of It AD
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Among life's biggest ironies:
? The fact that Ronald Reagan, when he isn't vacationing
in California, lives in a predominantly black city, yet has only
the faintest notions and concern for the plight of
America's black populace.
? Jesse Jackson's coup on other presidential hopefuls,
who would kill for the publicity he's getting. Although he
hasn't even announced his candidacy, and may, in fact,
_ . J _ T 1 1 i ... "
never uu 50, jacKson nas oeen in tne news just as much, if
not more, than John Glenn, Walter Mondale, et. al.
Why, the man even has been on the cover of Time
j magazine.
? The big to-do created by some local media concerning
three black aldermen's use of public funds to attend the recent
March On Washington. \
Funny, the dailies won't touch genuine news items, such as
a local public official's adamant refusal to talk to a black
- - paper
It's also funny that the dailies have termed the situation involving
Vivian Burke, Larry Little and Larry Womble a
m m -
"controversy," out no one seems to be complaining very
much - except the dailies.
? The fact that many whites assert that black people are
inferior, but historically have behaved in a manner that
makes us, if anything, appear superior to them.
Consider, for example, that white people justified slavery
by characterizing their black servants and field hands as intellectually
sub-human - yet whites were so afraid of these
"sub-humans" learning anything that they made it illegal to
Please see page A 5
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A New Heal
fly TONY BROWN
Syndicated Columnist
If you're not your ideal weight, interested
in improving your health,
want to make some money and want
to help black people or any of the
above, read on.
Bruce Lightncr, a member of 4he?
I iohtn^r Fnn?ro1 Urtm? /in
w.gi uiivi iu IVIIIV \111 UU9I1IC99
since 1911) family in Raleigh, N.C.,
wrote to 225 black mayors and asked
them to identify an individual or individuals
in their cities who want to
make available a health plan to get rid
of or reduce the epidemic of obesity
(excess weight), high blood pressure,
heart disease and diabetes in the black
community. If anybody knows the
causes of death among black people,
Lightner should.
In this instance, he doesn't want
you to help him bury anybody else; he
wants you to help him, at best,
postpone some of his business. According
to him,*you can perform this
service and. make around S23?000 for
doing it, 6r, depending upon you, the'
sky's the limit. But before you
deposit this million dollars you're going
to make, let me explain the problem^)
you're going to have to help
us solve.
_* mvmwireu uiaucm aiuil^ Willi
obesity, high blood pressure, heart
disease and other diseases that strike
black Americans especially hard. All
of these rather benign names are pronounced
"killer.*' And they are
almost neo-medical synonyms for
Afro-Americans. Take diabetes, for
example.
We Must K<
By CLIFTON GRA VES
Chronicle Columnist
Yes, I was there and I marched ...
marched beside my wife, father,
sisters and brother ... marched
alongside civil and human rights activists,
labor unionists, anti-nuclear
activists, and women's and gay rights
advocates ... marched alongside
former Black Panthers, current Grey
Panthefs, Hispanics, Asians, Native
Americans, Central Americans and
African liberation fighters ... marched
with Bill CtJsby and Coretta Scott
King, Dick Gregory and Joseph
Lowery, Bella Abzug and Andrew
Young, Harry Belafonte and Gil
Scott-Heron, Ossie Davis and Jesse
Jackson, Julian Bond and Louis Farrakan,
Ron Dellums and Maya
Angelou, Ben Hooks and Ben
Chavis, Sammy Davis and Stevie
Wonder ...
-
ics, wc marcnca - some 300,000
strong in the name of the "Dreamer"
and in the spirit of keeping the dream
alive.
But clearly, the dujllenge that confronts
those of uynlo marched ? as
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Although it is 90 percent preventable,
it literally devastates 11 million
Americans and kills another 300,000
every year. It is the third leading
cause of death in America. It afflicts
over 6 percent of all whites and
almost 10 percent of all blacks in a
population of nearly 230 million.
That spells misery-for over 800,000
blacks and 4.4 million whites who are
diagnosed as diabetic and another
650,000 blacks and 3.8 million whites
who have the disease and don't know
And if
you're Afro
? _
/\mencant
more bad
news, especially
if you're
obese, with ^^^E!|HP|||9
poor eating
habits and a
(I'm being Xonu Rmum
doIHjcV lifestyle,
while the overall rate of
deabetes among blacks is 50 percent
higher than that of whites, 90 percent
of all blacks who have diabetes have
Type 2, a non-inslulin dependent type
where the real problem is the tremendous
amounts ot tats and cholesterolin
the blood and body.
These high levels of lipids gradually
narrow, then plug the small arteries
to the eyes, brain, heart, kidneys, legs
and other important body parts.
Therefore, that taste for saturated
fried fat that so many blacks have
?ep The Dre
well as those of you who did not - is
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of the second March on Washington
into some constructive action in our
own communities.
Indeed, if this new 4 4 Rainbow
Coalition," or *'Coalition of Conscience,"
is to be effective and longlasting,
then its
organizers and
supporters I
must sincerely
adhere to its I
stated Agenda I
for action ^BIBH :|jK
basthe
? . ?
marcn s tncmc
of "jobs,
peace and Clifton Graves
freedom." wm
lasting, then its organizers and sup- ~
porters must sincerely adhere to its
stated Agenda for action - which is
based on the march's theme of "jobs,
peace and freedom.'*
We must work diligently to support
the legislative initiatives, such as
HR1036 (Community Renewal
I Of i^ousANDs _ \mzd to st
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Blacks
makes them 20 times more likely than average
to develop serious kidney
disease, five times or more a? likelv to
get gangrene and twice the chance
than normal to be devastated by heart
attack or stroke. And don't forget
blindness, a breakdown in the immune
system similar to AIDS and a
life expectancy reduced by a third.
For the 11 million Type 1 and Type
2 who don't yet know they have
diabetes, one early symptom is eating
more than you used to. The pounds
are harder to lose, the waist begins to
bulge from prolapsed colon (filled
with putrefied filth), you drink more
alcohol and fatigue is more
noticeable. You may even gain or lose
weight, urinate all day, notice a
definite loss of eyesight and feel a
numbness in your feet and legs -
because they are in the process of dying.
What these Type 2 sufferers need
most is not insulin, but a weight loss
diet with low-fat, low-cholesterol,
moderate-protein ^ high-complex carv,Mjohydrates
(fruits and*vegetables),
high-fiber foods and exercise. The
shame of it all is, you might say, that
the suffering and ultimate death from
diabetes is entirely preventable. But
the person must lose weight.
That is exactly what Bruce Lightner
had in mind when he wrote to The
mayors and told them of his Get
Serious Distributing Co. (1105 Cross
Link Road, Raleigh, N.C., 27601,
919/755-0804). His money-making
plan is to involve people in a new
distributing line of low-caloried
Please see page A 5
am Alive
Employment Act), which would
finance one million jobs in
economically depressed areas. Other
support is needed for bills such as the
. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday,
the Economic Equity Act for
Women, legislation calling for a
nuclear freeze. Congressman Bill
Gray's initiative to prohibit new investments
in South Africa, legislative
efforts advocating unconditional *
negotiations in El Salvador and
legislation opposing funding for the
MX missle.
We also must work to retire the
"California Cowboy** and his congressional
sidekicks (e.g. Jesse
Helms) from office in 1984. No
elaboration is needed.
Unquestionably, the above laundry
list is diverse - but so is the coalition.
However, when one seriously
" analyzes what is wrong with America
today, one obviously sees the interrelation
of issues and interests which
brought that amazing mass of
humanity to D.C. Aug. 27.
Circumstances are such in today's
America that people of different hues
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LookingOot I
For The Aged ' I
I
By CHARLES E. BELLE
Guest Columnist . Congress
and the entire country
are concerned about the nearly H
$200 billion to be spent next fiscal
year for defense. This is enough
money to take care of the city of H
Saint Francis without taxes for the
balance of this century and all of.
the next century.
Care and immediate concern,
however, must also be given to I
senior citizens and other poor people
on the Social Security disability
insurance program. At stake for I
less than a half of one percent of
the defense budget per year are the I
lives and health and well-being of
America's ailing senior poor people.
The president's efforts to I
restrict who gets disability
payments and for how long have
created enough horror and death
stories to stir Congress into belated
action.
A bill to redress the administration's
atrocious behavior is in the
House Social Security subcommittee
and should be sent posthaste
with its provision entitling in?
dividuals to .a face-to-face early .
hearing in the House before being
cut off from their life-support
system.
Senior citizens are one of the
fastest growing groups in a country
with a gross national product of
%V/i trillion a year - about
$15.000 for every man, woman
and child in the country. Five
billion dollars over a five-year
period of time is like a grain of
sand on a big beach. Brother can
you spare a dime?
By the way, if the president's tax
proposal, which reduced all 1980
personal income taxable rates to 50
percent, had not gone into effect,
$12.7 billion would have been produced
in 1980, according to the
Tax Foundation, two and a half
times the $4.79 billion in the bill
Congress is recommending for ail.
ing and aged citizens.
The 65-and-over age group, with
over 26 million people, is also one
of the poorest in -money -?mf'
health.* Those who "htvr-some
funds in savings may find the administration
again picking their
pockets if the president can put into
effect the withholding of federal
taxes on interest and dividend income
in the event Congress does
not repeal the measure immediate
ly.
Older Americans who make up
over lll/2 percent of the population
of the country should get all
the care they need from Congress.
Congress should not be allowed tb
forget that four million people
over age 65 are poor not only in income,
but also in health. And a
disproportionate number are black
Americans who, like other senior
citizens, have little savings to pay I
for ever increasing health care I
cost. </ I
It is a sound business practice I
for a democracy to provide for I
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children and th^r country. It is I
also an indication to the new en- I
tries of the work force how well I
they will be treated ? or tricked in
the future.
Chronicle Letters ? I
Recognizing I
Everyone I
To The Editor: I
It is time that we as black I
Americans begin to realize that our. I
contributors to equality and im- I
proved life are not only the national
figures we have come to
know through the television and
print media.
As strong and compelling as
Jesse Jackson, Tony Brown, An
drew Young and others are, we I
must realize that contribution* an>
being made by others in all
segments of our society.
AH black people who make
positive strides within their companies
or other endeavors deserve
to be recognized as true contributors
to black advancement.
Though slow, advancement and
equality will only come when continuing
numbers of black people
succeed in different positions
Please see page A5