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Page A4 The Chronicle. Thursday. August 9. 1984
Winston-Salem Chronicle
TV?*
-=^ ERNEST H. Pin.
NDUSISl EGEMONYE ALLEN JOHNSON
ELAINE L. PITT MICHAEL PITT
' ' Wu'.ik ' ( (finish"'* '
A silly question
It scorns that every time a "scholarly" journal discusses
the black press, it asks black publishers and editors to
! . T ^ I- _ -
jusuiy mcir existence.
In an age of specialization, in which publications focus
on special interests ranging from sports to politics to stamp
collecting to model railroading, it seems strange that the only
one asked repeatedly to defend why it exists is tfie black
_?
lias the black press crusaded Use tf unoWashington
Journalism Review asks in its current edition.
What a silly question.
You would have thought discrimination had suddenly
ended and the mainstream press had decided all of a sudden
to give black people a fair shake.
Granted, some daily newspapers have made the effort to
acknowledge that black people also live in America.
But the newspaper business by and large remains lilywhite,
especially in management circles, and woefully slow
to bring minorities into its newsrooms.
The lack of black faces in the newsroom also contributes
to a one-sided view of the news and often results in a
' limited, naive perception of events in the black community
.. I Al
wnen mey are covered.
Even, however, if the white dailies did the kind of job
they ought to in covering the black community - which
most don't ? there still would be a need for strong, relevant
htark papprs
Consider for a moment that Sports Illustrated as
popular as ever even though newspapers everywhere cover
sports.
The same is true of Fortune magazine and The Wall
Street Journal, which have loyal followings, though both
offer specialized treatments of business news, which also
appears in the nation's dailies.
T h P W PV ic that a nilKlipotinn tho# n -
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of news exclusively more often than not does a better job
than a publication that covers that type of news as well as
15 or 20 others.
Taking the analogy to another level, a store that
specializes in automotive products should offer a wider
variety of parts and services than a supermarket that sells
motor oil.
Our "store" is the black community, whose rich cultural
and social diversity deserve specialized treatment. And, if
we are doing as we are supposed to, we will offer our
readers something they can't get anywhere else.
Apparently, you think so, too, or you wouldn't be
reading these words.
Beat it - - to death
Poor Michael Jackson.
All he wants to do is sing and dance but America won't
allow him a moment's peace.
What are his sexual preferences? Why is he doing Pepsi
commercials when he doesn't even drink the stuff? Is he
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Has he forgotten his Gary, Ind., roots? Why are tickets to
the concert by the curly-tressed wunderkind and his
brothers so doggoned expensive?
And what about Brooke Shields?
Elsewhere in these pages, a black psychologist has even
discussed the social significance of Michael's sequinned
glove and his nose job.
Maybe so many gifted performers die young because we
scrutinize them to deaths
Crosswinds
The NAACP regroups
From The Miami Times
There are many organizations at the national level which
have been serving as a rallying point for the disadvantaged,
the neglected, the poor, the dispossessed and the
discriminated against. Among them, the National Associa
? *i~_ A _i ^ ^ ? - ? ?
iiwu iui iiic /\uvancemeni ot colored People (NAACP) has
stood out as a shining beacon of hope.
The NAACP has come to be identified inextricably with
the struggle by blacks for almost three generations,
relentlessly pricking the national conscience to the injustices
around and the rampant discrimination practiced against
black people and other minorities in a variety of ways.
In more recent years, the organization has stepped out of
its traditional role as a pressure organization only, to add to
its agenda such activities as legal defense to avoid "legal
lynching" of blacks and a "fair share" program which has
seen 20 corporations signing up to give black workers and
businesses a better deal over the past four years.
/Please
see paQe A10
%
WE'P CUT O
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NNE CAM RUKI UP A Hi
ON THE BASIS OF A
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Agenda ol
By CLIFTON GRAVES
Chronicle Columnist
Picking up one's roots is
never easy ? especially when
those roots have been nlantpri
in the fertile soil of struggle,
and nurtured by the love and
friendship of those committed
to the furtherance of that
struggle.
Yes, sister, brothers and
friends, it is painful to leave
Winston-Salem, painful to
leave a community which gave
me so many fond, childhood
memories.
Painful to leave a community
which provided me the opportunity
to "return" home as
an adult and work at its Legal?
Aid Society ? an organization
dedicated to providing sensitive
and effective legal service
to the poor and powerless
in this community.
Painful to leave a community
which provided me the
privilege to gain meaningful
experience at Winston-Salem
State University -- an institution
with problems, yes ? but,
oht with so much promise.
Stay true to your mission,
WSSU!
Yes, friends, it is painful to
leave a community which ably
supported the Street Law Program,
the Haitian Refugee
Relief Drive, the People's
More jobj
By JOHN JACOB
Syndicated Columnist
Too many people have been
brainwashed into believing
that unemployment is a
necessary evil and that you
can't have full employment
without wrecking the
economy.
Both are lies. No evil is
necessary, least of all
unemployment, which can be
solved through a variety of
means. ranging. from.
to public service job-creation.
And rather than wrecking
our economy, full employment
can save it. It is high
unemployment that wrecks the
economy and leaves people *
and machines idle and unproductive.
It is high
unemployment that robs the
government of tax dollars and
costs the Treasury billions in
social expenditures.
It has been estimated that
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everyone but millions of
jobless of Americans says is
over -- cost our economy some
one trillion dollars in lost production.
That's a permanent
jim- I'm ueee wtn out of the
tcue w?20ts> of tfese.
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Graves
Market Day, the National
Black Independent Political
Party, TransAfrica, The Black
Leadership Roundtable, the >
Jerry Smith Defense Fund and
the Jesse Jackson Presidential
Campaign.
Painful to leave viable
organizations like the Black
Leadership Roundtable, the
East Winston Noon Optimist
Club, the NAACP, the Black
Political Action League, the
Forsyth County Juvenile
Justice Council, the Triad
United Nations Association,
the North Carolina Black
Reperatory Company, the
Black Family Task Force, the
Friends of the East Winston
Library, the Patterson Avenue
YMCA Board of Manage>
would aid
loss ? one that represents a
decline in our economic base
that can never be recaptured.
If we had a full employment
economy last year, the gross
national product would have
been $400 billion higher and
the deficit, due to higher tax
revenues, would have been
$125 billion lower.
"Our needs have been net
aspirations denied for too t
for too long,"
WKir " _
Although the government
says unemployment is down,
over eight million people are
officially considered
unemployed. But there are
also some six million
discooraged workers and 2.5
:11: : 1 ? .
imiuuii mvuiuniary pan-nmc
workers. So the real
unemployment rate in
America is double the official
rate.
And it is concentrate^
among blacks and other
minorities. Unemployment is a
prime cause of the hardships
faced by the black family.
Twenty-five years ago, 75 percent
of both black and white
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PROMISE VOU'U. BALANCE
.vdgrt, we CAN BORROW
"TH6 MONEY we WANT
If
ocked i!
ONALOCENjAW 51
change
ment, the Neighborhood
Justice Center, and yes, the
Winston-Salem Chronicle.
Painful to leave friends and
comrades in struggle like
Larry Little, Carlton Eversley,
Patrick Hairston, Bill Tatum,
Larry Womble, Velma
Hopkins, Lee Faye Mack,
Louise Wilson, Mazie
Woodruff, Virginia Newell,
John Mendez, Earline Parmon,
Allen Johnson, Walter
Marshall, Ernie Pkfr Tom Eti
jah, Khalid Fattah, Norma
Smith, Paul Cloud, J. Ray
Butler, Carl Russell, Paula
Larke, Nell Britton, Kate
Mewhinney, Warnie Hay,
Jerry Smith, Evelyn Terry, Vivian
Burke, Ann Simmons,
Herman Aldridge, Richard
Glover, Robert Brown,
Willard McCloud Jr., Kaye
Vives, Lester Davis, Betty
H^nes, Larry Leon Hamlin,
Timothy Jackson, Dwayne
Jackson, Mutter Evans, Rudy
Anderson, State Alexander,
jae Jackson, Charles Davis,
Herman Eure, Beverly Mitchell,
Annie Kennedy, Mary
Powe, Garther Roland,
Khalida Lovelle, Elaine
Brown, Hansel Hentz, Rip
Wilkins, Neil Wilson, Linwood
Oglesby, Marcella
Oglesby, Howard Wiley,
Please see page A5
economy
men were u/nrkino In 1 Qfi^
- - -V V V - VI r% ? II ^ t III A
about the same percentage of
white men were working, but
only 54 percent of black men
had jobs.
Unemployment is not color
blind - it has a differential effect
on the black community.
The black worker is far more
vulnerable to joblessness.
fleeted for too long, our
ong, our misery extended
^w.i.wui-1.infill? ! ummi nini
Not simply becatise blacts
are still in the last hired, first
fired category, but because
discrimination, lack of educational
and training opport
II n i t i AC r% r\ A a ?% nl At>?
IU IliV J O II U bill
resistance to hiring blacks is so
strong.
Anyone concerned about
the rise of single-parent
families in the black community
doesn't have to look further
for a reason. Men without
jobs and the ability to exercise
their economic responsibilities
can't raise families - a problem
worsened by welfare
Please see page A10
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Q .
k Letters
No guilt felt
over tobacco
To The Kdilor:
In the July lc>84 issue of the
Kcudcr's Digest maga/i ne
there is a story entitled, "Letter
To A Tobacco Company,"
directed at the R.J. Reynolds
Company in Winston-Salem,
N.C.
The writer is taking issue
with an announced advertising
program casting doubts on
medical reports that cigarettes
are a public health hazard. He
says his wife died after smok
ing a pack a day of Camel
rigareUesTOT Wyear*: Ttriiij 1
old brother died after bearing
pain as a heavy smoker. His
father died suddenly in 1958
after a cardiovascular ailment.
He had been a two-packs a day
smoker for years. He was a
pharmacist, but refused
medical advice to stop smoking
by medical friends. This
individual also has a daughter
who is so "hooked" on
cigarettes that she cannot stop
because of lures from others
around her.
I am sure this individual
feels justified to vent his anger
because of the suffering of his
family, but since this famous
magazine does aid and assist in
getting his view across, I think
I* ^-i.. ! J ai
ii umy i air tu consider me
other side of the coin
Smoking cigarettes, cigars
or pipe or even chewing tobacco,
in my opinion, is not the
real culprit in any situation.
The culprit is over-indulgence.
Pardon me, 1 did not mean to
omit dipping snuff, for believe
it or not, there are many lips
kept closed and smiling every
day by this use.
Considering human
frailties, the human being can
become "hooked" on many
?u: ? - ?
nun*** wunMuenng overeating,
over-drinking, oversexing,
overworking or even
over-sleeping.
For those whose livelihood
depends on the tobacco
business, and I am among that
number, I have no guilt complex
for others who overindulge.
Don't put the blame
on others when you create the
problem yourself.
The makers and sellers of
alcoholic beverages, tobacco,
autos makers, sugar mills and
salt mines don't want to give
you high blood pressure or
diabetes from over-use of
these products or cause death
on the highways.
It is the user and the drivers
that control the situation, at
least as far as humanly possible.
Moderation gives
pleasure. Over-indulgence only
brings grief and pain. So
from the tobacco world we
say, "We hold no guilt complex,"
and have a good day.
Dr. Ralph Shell
Kinston
Historicrote __
(The following letter is addressed
to Chronicle Publisher
Ernest Pitt and Executive
Editor Allen Johnson.)
)
To The Editor:
First of all, let me extend
congratulations to you for being
recently honored as the
best black newspaper in
America!! While the two of
you (and I) have known this to
Please see page A10
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