ciofiflu tcoiwnu
Tfle “Meetfrig^f The^Mind’’ Meeting
Our first impulse was to applaud
the news that Rev. Howard Camp
bell was calling a “meeting of the
minds’’ of the top black leaders in
the Charlotte area.
It#seemed to us that the time was
ripe for such a meeting. We felt that
it would1 be an excellent move to
wards the organization of these su
per talented people into meaningful
representation of the Black people in
Charlotte.
It is hoped here^bat the mistakes
: of the initial effort will educate
• Rev. Campbell and other leading
; Blacks fo the values of good organi
zation.
Calling a public meeting with elec
: ted and appointed leaders in Char
• lotte was not a wise move. It’s sort of
^ like putting the wagon before the
mule.
programs designed To resolvelthe
numerous problems confronting
Blacks in Charlotte.
The Black organization that repre
sents the Black people ought not
follow the patterns set by Black
leaders of the immediate and distant
past. It will have to find new and
more meaningful directions.
Priorities should be established
only after lengthy research of the
mistakes of the past.
It is not an easy job to lead people.
The job is even more difficult when
the people you tend to lead are
Black.
The Post encourgaes Rev. Camp
bell to take the next organization
meeting of Black leaders away from
the medias and to regroup behind
closed doors for a private foot
Black leaders should take all the
time that is needed to have a “meet
ing of the minds” among them
selves. Once they have reached an
agreement on what is best for the
.* themselves and their respective
community organizations, an elect
ion of officers should be made.
This selection should be made with
the good understandings that there
will have to be only one Chief and
that the others will have to be
Indians.
We believe this type organization
> would best serve the interest of the
total black community. The other
Black leaders, community and gov
ernmental, should be elected chair
men of special committees, i. e.,
housing, education, welfare, emp
loyment, etc.
• ' • « * ' • V
Once this hits been accomplished,
the Committee chairmen should call
summit meetings with top elected,
appointed and governmental offic
ials in meaningful research to deter
mine wavs and means of developing1
stomping, name-calling, fist-shak
ing session that will make each
member fully aware of the fact that
his chosen task of leading Blacks is a
near impossible undertaking.
There is a critical need for finding
the answer to the important question
of what is needed to reach the Black
majority.How are we going to alert
them to the values of eduaction,
better housing, improved health and
having respect for others?
We ought not stand on the top of
the mountain and shout to all who
will listen the good news that Char
lotte’s Black leaders have finally
gotten together. That’s not impor
tant.
It is more important to shout from
the mountain top that Charlotte’s
Black leaders have finally found
meaningful directions constructed
to improve the lifestyle of Blacks
who are being upgraded with better
health programs, quality education,
improved housing and, even more
important, better jobs.
Some Youths Give Blacks Bad Image
i nere are certain customs of cour
tesy and respect that we still need
to observe, sucn as first come, first
served and public decorum in eating
places, auditoriums and libraries.
But to our disappointment many
Black youths are giving the race a
bad image.
More and more, we have seen
college blacks display signs of social
inconvenience. It has been a social
custom for men to remove their hats
in churches, libraries, classrooms,
cafes and restaurants, and at grave
side ceremonies. But we have seen
lately many Black youths with their
hats on in libraries, restaurants,
auditoriums and we have heard of
youths with their hats on in church,
although we are told that an usher
solved the problem.
tneir nats on, Dreatung ail me codes
of courtesy, respect and good man
ners is grave enough; but their
attitudes seem to be worse. Their
hats or caps seem to be symbols of
defiance-I dare you to say anything
about it. There are mean looks in
their eyes and they breathe airs of
resentment.
Performance of these social gra
ces make it easier for people to talk
to one another with courtesy, say
“thank you”, because it is a sign of
a socialized individual, whose social
behavior is in keeping with the
leaders of the nation.
<A
*BLACKS WHO WANT TO FIGHT
CRIME BY BLACKS AGAINST
BLACKS MUST NOT BE INTIMI
DATED."
DR CHARLES COBB
DIRECTOR. COS'MISSION
CCR EQUAL JUSTICE
Blacks Should Help Each Other
REPORT FROM
J^^Woshington^^
Oil Tariff - A Congressional Challenge
By Congressman Jim Martin
9th District, North Carolina
When President Ford imposed the
first one dollar per gallon tax on
foreign oil, he expected a certain
amount of opposition against the
action, but he had no choice.
We have already seen that Ameri
ca needs to reduce its reliance on
foreign oil consumption. The Arab
oil embargo a year ago taught us
that lesson. Most of us agree that
reducing foreign imports should be
our national goal. In my recent
questionnaire, 75 percent of the
respondents agreed with this object
ive.
Four months ago, in January,
President Ford sent a comprehen
sive energy conservation plan to
Congress and asked for results in 80
days. A month later, as a temporary
measure to slow oil imports, he
imposed a one dollar per barrel
tariff on foreign supplies. At this
point the President’s action is the
only move toward effecting a solut
ion to the imported oil problem.
An earlier showdown between the
President and the Democrat-cont
rolled Congress was averted when
he agreed to delay imposing additio
nal tariffs for 60 days until Congress
had time to design and approve its
own energy plan. After 90 days
Congress has still not acted, forcing
the President to exercise his autho
rity.
Four months have elasped since
the President asked Congress for
approval of his energy plan. Con
gress has been in session for five
months. The inaction on the part of
Congress shows that some of the foot
draggers here have forgotten the
Arab oil embargo.
Thirty seven per cent of our petro
leum products come from imported
sources. Unless we take substantive
action that could increase in 10 years
to where we would be importing 50
percent of our oil needs.
Congress is preparing to debate a
bill that has just come out of the
Ways and Means Committee. I voted
against it in committee beacuse it is
primarily a 23 cents a gallon gaso
line tax on consumers. The future of
the bill does not appear rosey be
cause of mounting ODDOsition. Mem
bers of the House should decide
quickly whether the bill should go
back to Ways and Means for im
provement or if another bill should
be written, such as President Ford
suggested back in January.
We should not continue in this
holding pattern much longer be
cause of the specter of another
embargo remains. The last embargo
was one of the contributing factors
in the current recession. Another
would have a devasting effect on our
economy. Translated, this means
the next recession would be much
worse that we have experienced,
costing many more jobs this time.
In the meantime, we continue to
remain at the mercy of others.
We no longer have a severe oil
crisis situation because the recess
ion has helped ease fuel consumpt
ion. As we come out of the recession,
gasoline and other petroleum pro
ducts will be in greater demand.
TO
BE
EQUAL
VERNON E. JORDAN JR.
Pushing Kids Out Of School
A recent study by the Children’s Defense Fund
reveals that about two million children, almost
half of them under the age of 13, are not enrolled
in school.
That’s not all. The Fund reports this stagger
ing figure reflects “only the surface of how many
children are out of school.”
And the national figure hides even higher
numbers of out-of-school kids in some states and
among black children. Ten states have more
than 6 percent of their school-age population out
of school, and in Mississippi it’s almost ten
percent. Almost twice as many blacks as whites
in the 16-17 age group were out of school in
Michigan.
Why aren’t these kids getting the education
that is their right? The Fund reports:
“We found that if a child is not white, or is
white but not middle class, does not speak
English, is poor, needs special help with seeing,
hearing, walking, reading, learning, adjusting,
growing up, is pregnant or married at age 15, is
not smart enough or is too smart, then, in many
places, school officials decide school is not the
place for that child.”
In some cases school officials set up barriers to
exclude poor children. Fees and book charges
keep kids out of school as their families face the •
heart-rending choice of feeding them or educat
ing them. Many children in a Maine housing
project were found to be dropouts because they
couldn’t afford the bus fare to high schols.
In other systems, minority children are often
labeled “retarded” without proper testing, and
excluded from the public school. Spanish-speak
ing children are special targets for such victimi
zation, especially in districts where the school
claims it has no Spanish-speaking teachers and
denies children their right to go t» school rattier
than hire teachers who cfin communicate with
them. ... k ,v . „
School disciplinary codes are often used as a
device to exclude children who might otherwise
respond to schooling. Hundreds of thousands of
children are expelled, each year for disciplinary
reasons, and black children form a disproport
ionately large percentage of them.
Contrary to myth, the overwhelming majority
of such suspensions have nothing at all to do with
offenses connected to school safetj or protecting
property. The Fund cites one case where a
student was suspended because he could not pay
$5 to replace an item he accidentally broke, and
another student, a Japanese-Araerican, was
suspended for replying to a racial slur from his
teacher. Some students are suspended for tru
ancy, as if such exclusion is a cure for skipping
school.
The arbitrary and discriminatory use of
suspension came under attack recently when the
Supreme Court ruled that students have a
constitutional right to an educationand the right
to a hearing before such punishmeit is imposed.
It also indicated that more formal hearings may
be necessary before lengthy suspensions or
expulsions can be made.
^_
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 Newspaoer Publishers
Association
National Advertising Representative
Amalgamated Publishers. Inc
45 W. 5th, Suite 1403 2400 S Michigan Ave
;New York, N.Y. 10036 Chicago. Ill G0616
489 1220 Calumet 5-0200
The “Great White Hope” Went Phttt
By Gerald O. Johnson
Sunday night at 11:30 p.m. I set
tled down in my chair to watch
“The Great White Hope” on tele
vision. At approximately 11:43
James Earl Jones, The Movie’s
Black star laid a kiss on Jane
Alexander the movie’s white co star.
At 11:46 the T.V. went blank.
Now it was 11:50 and my T.V. was
still on the blink. I put on my Kojak
Hat. Another case needed solving.
At 12:00 I started phoning WBTV to
get to the bottom of this case. The
Hat. Another case needed solving..
At 12:00 I started phoning WBTV to
get to the bottom of this case. The
line was busy. I coninued my phon
ing until 2 a m. with no luck. The line
was still busy. At 2:10 a m. I decided
to break for coffee. The thought of
the idea put me to sleep.
It was now 7:10 a.m. I got up and
phoned WBTV. I got an answer. Not
wanting to blow my cover I proceed
ed with my smooth interrogation. “I
was watching the great Hope last
night and all of sudden.phttt!!!“
“What Happened”, I asked.
The gentleman that had answered
the phone replied “a transmitter
blew in Spencer Mountain and
knocked everything out”. A likely
story 1 thought to myself. Knowing
the Charlotte area as well as I do, I
was sure that the movie was pur
posely blacked out. Some bigot at
WBTV pulled the plug on the movie.
But I had to prove this. I thanked the
man for his time and hung up. My
plan was to call back later and trap
the station in a contradiction. I
learned all this from the number one
detective school in the country.
television.
It was 3:30 p.m. I called back to
WBTV. A lady answered the phone
and transferred me to the program
ming department. A lady from this
department answered.” May I help
you”. "Yes”, I said. "Why was the
Great White Hope interrupted last
night”. She replied, "a transmitter
blew out in Spencer Mountain and
we were unable to repair it before 2
a m. last nifiht.” “So we cancelled
the movie”. A lucky guess I thought
to myself or maybe they have been
schooled to give this answer.
“Thank you” I said and hung up.
My plan wasn’t working so I had to
switch to my gestapo tactics. The
next call would bring out the truth.
6:10 p.m. I called back. The recep—
tionist answered and informed me
that everyone was gone but she
would be glad to help me. Finally,
WBTV was at my mercy. “Yes”, i
replied, “I was watching the movie
last night and I got cut off”. “Why”,
I retorted. “A transmitter blew and
we had to repair, the movie will be
shown at the time next Sunday ” she
quipped. “Where was the transmit
ter”, I immediately ashed. “Spencer
Mountain” she responded. “Why
didn’t you show the movie at the
regular Thursday night time when
most CBS stations showed it” I
continued. She replied “We show
most of CBS movies at 11:30 on
Sunday nights because 9 o’clock on
i nursdays is reserved for WBTV
movies.” “Hold the line please” I
said. I ran down stairs to get all my
back issues of T.V. guide to verify
her claim. As I returned to the phone
I knew I had her because the T V.
guide would disprove her statement
I could close this case and labei
WBTV for unfair communication
practices. I looked through 6 T.V
guides and the receptionist wasl
absolutely correct. CBS Thursday
night movies were indeed shown at
11:30 on the following Sunday on
WBTV. I picked up the phone and
thanked the lady for her time.