Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Jan. 16, 1975, edition 1 / Page 2
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* • ' * People’s Holiday? ..The Charlotte Post again calls attention to the fact that the North Carolina- Government and the United States Government should seriouisly consider the drive to make the birthday of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. an annual,* legal state and national holiday. , . .It is high time that Congress pass the pending legislation to create this holiday each January 15th as _ "Martin Luther King Jr. Day” Millions of people already celebrate it. .... At least 14 states and 33 cities have already proclaimed January 15 as “Martin Luther King Jr. Day”. The schools are closed in at least 21 cities. Thousands of other schools and communities observed the holi day. Unions have a day off with pay in their contracts, businesses, and stores closed or took time off to pay suitable tribute to Dr. King. .. Most of the present national holi days florify past wars and their generals, or have become too commercial and meaningless. ..A national holiday honoring Dr. King would honor all black people. It would honor peace. It would honor the rights of ail men. .. These are the values Martin Luther King Jr. stood for. These are the ideals for which he gave his life. It is not too much to call upon Congress to follow the leadership of the people, as once agains on January 15th the people honor one of history’s truly great leaders. _ ■ All citizens of Charlotte should petition state and local government. It would also be a great step in the right direction towards getting the attention of the politicians in Washington, D. C. ..Whether it becomes a national, legal holiday or not Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy to all mankind will continue to live as long as right prevails. The self-negation that his life exemplified is idealism in its best form. ..There are those who, because they did not understand Dr. Martin Luther King’s objectivity, or were not recipients of some of the public acclaims his efforts earned, still downgrade both his life and works. .. A mere pause to recognize that Dr. ~ Martin Luther King Jr. was born, lived and died, is not a tribute to the sacrificial life he lived. If we who survive truly would give to his inspirational life some definite meaning, we can make the idealism he espoused a part of our daily lives. ..History has already recorded the impact his life had upon the world, and nothing can erase that. His name will forever remain on the roster of those who lives merited the coveted Nobel Peace Prize. Blacks In Southern History . .North Carolina State University is herewith commended for its leader ship in the development of black history in North Carolina. . .The Post is heartened by the fact that North Carolina State University has scheduled three public sympo siums for January 30, February 20 and April 7 to examine Blacks in Southern history. . .Sponsored by the School of Liberal Arts, the sessions will feature nationally recognized authors Robert W. Fogel of the Universitv of Chicago and Eugene D. Genovese of the University of Rochester. Fogel’s ' “Time on the Cross” and Genovese’s “Roll, Jordan, Roll” have been judged as outstanding books by several national news magazines. The two will appear during the April 7 symposium to discuss new per spectives on American slavery. . .James Crisp and Donald Scott of the NCSU History Department are coordinators for the symposia. Crisp said the purpose is “to point out the importance of the Black experience in Southern History.” . .The session on January 30, entitled^ “Shades of Black and White” and set for 7:30 p.m. in Room 216, Poe Hall, will present George M. Fredrickson of Northwestern University and Joel Williamson of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. William C. Harris, NCSU associate professor of history and a specialist on Reconstruction, will be the mod erator. . .Fredrickson is the author of “The Black Image in the White Mind: The Debate On Afro-American Character and Destiny, 1817-1914” published in 1971 by Harper and Row. The book is said to have penetrated the surface of racist theory. Analyzed and categorized racist thought and provided a better understanding of race problems in America. ..Joel Williamson has written “After Slavery,” a book which deals with race attitudes prevalent after the Civil War and continuing to the 20th century. During the symposium he will examine W. E. B. DuBois’ writings, presenting ways of looking at black and white. . .Bi-raciai politics will be the topic of the February 20th meeting. Parti cipants will be LaWanda Cox of Hunter College, Sheldon Hackney of Princeton University, Dan T. Carter of the University of Maryland and Helen G. Edmonds of North Carolina Central University. ..In addition to authors Fogel and Genovese, panelists for the April 7 symposium which will coincide with NCSU’s Annual Pan-African Festi val, will be Lester H. Owens of the Univesity of Michigan, Kenneth M. Stamp of the University of Califor nia at Berkeley and Richard N. Current of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. They’d Rather Have Jobs Down To Business ’75! A NEW CHALLENGE Dr. Berkeley G. Burrell President, National Business Leauge .. Nationally and internationally, the history of the past twelve months reads like an adventurous, some times comic, but fundamentally tragic, chronicle. Governments continue to linger in disarray. The people must still grapple with shock, disillusionment and constant crises. Economies battle record inflations compounded by massive unemploy ment rates and deepening recessions. Throughout the world, political and economic stability gave way to chaos and uncertainty. And not even the United States was able to escape the trends of world affairs. .. As we projected a year ago, in flation and unemployment were pri mary influences on America’s pol itical and economic life this year. To be sure, 1974 found Americans mining in niocK-iong gas lines wnue facing the worst inflation in twenty two years. The cost of living rose by a staggering 8.8 per cent in 1973. .. Today, that figure has increased by more than 12 per cent with stabilty no where in sight. As the cost of goods and services continues to rise, real spendable income steadily declines. With today’s dollar reduced to three-quarters of its 1967 purchasing power, sustained inflation could financially devastate Black and poor Americans. ..Yet, as insidious as inflation has become, unemployment, as a by product of this recessionary economy, has also taken its toll. In January of this year, nearly 370,000 persons lost their jobs, placing the total number of jobless Americans at approximately 4.7 million. Today, that figure has increased to nearly six million as the national unemploy ment rate has jumped to 6.5 per cent. The recessionary state of the economy will undoubtedly push that figure upward in the months ahead. ..Thus, as we approach 1975, the state of the economy will continue to be our primary concern. The twin evils of inflation and recession have the unnerving potential of wiping out various sectors of our economy. •. As at no other time in history, we are acutely aware of the need for the voice of the excluded to be included in the critical decisions and re commendations affecting Black survival. .. In 1974 the National Business Lea gue proved that we, as a people, can come together with one purpose in mind. We demonstrated that we can achieve UNITY. Our 74th Convention made it clear that Black America is no longer divided by artificial parti tions of age, ideologies, religions, class or caste. . .Understanding the need to develop strong recommendations which address the pressing economic dilemma, the conference partici pants developed and adopted reso lutions which have been sent to all points of power in this country which are instrumental in effecting change. These resolutions have found their ways to the halls of Congress and on the desks of execu tives and administrators who under stand that they come as a mandate of the people. ..In 1975 Black and other minority businesses will be confronted with a stern test of survival. Certainly while business as a whole is affect ed, the weight of deteriorating economic conditions fails with parti cular oppressiveness on the small and minority business communities which are suffering acutely from such conditions as: sky-rocketing interest rates, inaccessibility to equity capital, lowered production and sales, diminished profits, and increased rates of business failures stemming from these and related causes. ..It is limperative. therefore, that we move to re-establish equilibrium in U.S. economic growth. That is the challenge for 1975, and the only real hope for regaining even a semblance of political, social and economic stability. We have ahead of us a new year of getting down to business. TO BE EQUAL Racism: Rising Or Waning? ..Racism, called by some “the American disease," has slackened since its glory—days years ago, but it is still with us and still represents a major public health problem. ..The infection of racism has been generally contained over the past decade but signs of a resurgence are unsettling. While many white Americans may be content to think it is a thing of the past, the truth is that racism is still alive and well in 1975. . .It struck in its sickest form around New Year’s when a home owned by a respectable, hard working black family was dynamited in a previously all-white neighborhood in Queens. . .It struck in its currently accepted form when Boston’s School Committee, defying a contempt of court citation, refused to submit a desegrega tion plan for the city’s troubled schools. .. And it struck in its most hidden form - the accumulated hurts and pain of a black lifetime - when a Chicago police detective died of a heart attack, leaving behind a letter revealing the toll prejudice and discrimination took. “Mine is a wasted life, he wrote, “full of degradation, muted feelings and not belonging. This is one hell of a world for a black man." . .It is instructive that racism’s victims in these instances - an innocent black family, black school children, and a lone black man - all lived in the North, in cities that were vocal in their support for black civil rights in the South. .. Doubtless, instances of racism could be drawn from the South, perhaps even more. But that would only prove that racism, that peculiarly _A 9 ■ a • • • m A • . ■ . . • iiauuuai uiBcasc, i& an iiiiccuuii mat. s Bpi cdu across the length and breadth of this land. .. The stupid thing, about it is that the victims include hater and hated, alike. Psychologists could probably explain the twisted mental mechanisms that result in racism, but the social costs of that behavior are plain for all to see. .. Boston is a good example of this. White parents are tearing up their town just to prevent busing that will integrate the schools. They can’t even claim they want to preserve the excellence of their school system because,, if anything, the schools of Boston’s white ghetto are even worse than those in Roxbury. .. If nothing else, integration could break down the defensive barriers of white and black school kids alike and better prepare them for our multi-racial world. At best, it could galvanize white and black parents to go after the real enemy-the forces that keep the city’s schools inferior for all. ..The anti-busing hysteria has provided a con venient cover for overt racist feelings. In Boston, the facts are very clear: the all-white School Committee has persistently and consciously maintained a segregated school system, they have done so in defiance of the law of their State and their country, and they have persisted in this in the face of court orders to remedy the situation. .. Desegregation in Boston has been made more difficult by the failure to comply with the law and by the failure to prepare parents and school officials for the change. Desegregation has worked elsewhere - even in the most segregation -ridden Deep South towns - and there is no reason why mob rule should prevent it from working in Boston. ..What’s needed in Boston and in the nation is firm leadership. . INfo IV^^hbcw^iooci By GERALD O. JOHNSON ..The inefficient Federal Govern* ment along with the mismanage ment of funds by city officials are In the process of squandering N million dollars for neighborhood im provements. However, with some thought on the subject, the squandering appears to be by design . and not by mishap. .. History has proven in every major city in the country that structural redevelopment without human re development is a temporary move at most. This is to say that remodeling a home without upgrading the living standards of those within the home is absurd, because the dwellers won’t be able to maintain the re I modelled structure. Hence, In a short time the home is right back where it started before remodeling. .. The point is the government knows all this. The 30 million isn’t being poured into Charlotte to help the little people, it is being poured into Charlotte to help stir up business for the dying housing industry. There are several who stand to gain from all this, the director of the funds, the contractors, and the like will have a ball. 4 . .Personally, I feel the money could be better spent by looking ahead. The future holds a very short supply of gasoline, and our efforts shuld go toward combating this problem now. An alternative mode of transporta tion other than the car is going to have to be employed. This suggests public transportation. The 30 millin dollars could be used much more beneficially if it were used for up grading public transportation. Iinnovations in this area are needed now and it will take money to do it. Furthermore, If the innovations are planned and well co-ordinated we all stand to benefit. Just think about It, no five o’clock traffic jams, a cut down on noise pollution, a drofPin automobile accidents, no more ten sion headaches driving home from work, the list Is exhaustless. .. But I know this will never happen because It is a step in a positive direction, a direction government often times loose track of. THE CHARLOTTE POST ‘THE PEOPLES NEWSPAPER” Established 1918 By A.M. Houston Published Every Thursday By The Charlotte Post Publishing Co., Inc. 9139 Trinity Road - Charlotte, N.C. 28216 Telephones (704 ) 392-1306 - 392-1307 Circulation 11,000 Bill Johnson.Editor - Publisher Gerald O. Johnson.Business Manager Robert L. Johnson.Circulation Manager Second Class Postage Paid at Charlotte, N.C. under the Act of March 3,1878 Member National Newspaper Publishers Association National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc. 45 W. 5th, Suite 1403 2400 S. Michigan Ave. New York, N Y. 10036 Chicago, 111. 60616 489-1220 Calumet 5-0200 f . RELIEF Qj&CHS . OPENS AT-f-AH __i VERNON E. JORDAN JR.
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Jan. 16, 1975, edition 1
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