Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Oct. 9, 1975, edition 1 / Page 2
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aiMis t common j 66Anti-Busing Hysteria” Special To The Post ai, ? Has Congress given up on school • desegregation? No, it’s not as bad as that. But, for the first time, in all the years we’ve fought such things, the Senate of the United States has approved a substantial restraint upon the powers of the Federal Government to order districts to end racial segregation in their schools. That is one alarming fact that emerges from the recent fight over busing and desegregation that occupied the U. S. Senate for nine legislative days, fron^ September 16 to September 26, almost to the ex clusion of other business. And, it happened in the Senate. That, too, is a fact whose sad signifi cance must be jrasped. Ever since the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was enacted, and Title VI of the Act gave the government a powerful weapon - the right to withhold federal funds from school districts that will not desegregate their schools-it is the Senate that has protected that pro vision from its enemies. In the end, the Title VI authority was wiped out for busing. What the events of these nine days mean for school desegre gation, in general, however, is diffi cult to estimate and contemplate. Change In Scenario In recent years, one of the annual events in Congress - as regular as the World Series in the world outside the Capitol - has been the fight to weaken or repeal Title VI. Until now the “scenario,” as Hill people say,, has run like this: ■ _ The House, more responsive to the “anti-busing” hysteria in various sections of the country, has attached an anti-school desegregation amend ment to a bill, usually the measure appropriating funds for the Depart ment of Health, Education and Wel fare (HEW) administers Title VI as it applies to schools. Most times, the amendment has been introduced by a Dixiecrat and has gone far beyond a mere restraint on busing; each time the intention of the rider has . been to keep HEW from effectively administering its school desegrega tion program either by depriving it of the right to require adequate -recnrdr. tn ha lropt Cl .act yegrla Holt amendment) or more generally by depriving the Department of the right to require assignments of teachers or students by race. Each time the Senate has succeeded in either killing the provision, or more often, in adding what has come to be' called “nullifying language,” a phrase that says to HEW, no matter what irresponsible nonsense the House has voted, nothing in it shall prevent you from doing what you have to do under the Constitu tion, the rulings of the courts and Title VI. Senate Shifts This time the situation was rever sed. When HR 8069, the Appropria tions bill for HEW and the Labor Department came before the House this year, an anti-busing amend menTWa^votechctowii. When the bill - came up in the Senate, things, at first, seemed to be following their normal course. Senator Jesse Helms, Republican of North Caro lina, offered the customary wide ranging blockbuster as an amend ment to the bill and it was tabled, 48-to-43. But, then Senator Joseph Biden, Democrat of Delaware, arose and offered a hasty reworking of the Helms amendment. His changes, he told the Senate, would narrow the issue to busing, preventing “HEW from cutting off Federal funds to a school which failed to assign stud ents to classes, courses or a school itself because of race.”. That Senator Biden offered the amendment came aS on surprise. Although, he has *been counted _ among the northern^fibcrnls in fhp —Senate, who have fought off attacks on Title VI, he has for the past year or two warned that he would some day offer an “anti-busing” amend ment. Now, reacting to the school situation in Wilmington and else where in his state, he carried out the threat. Senator Edward Brooke, Republi can of Massachusetts, was quick to point out that the Biden amendment, like Helms’ and others of that sort > went far beyqnd busing. It said nothing about busing or transporta tion, but spoke only of the assign ment of teachers and students by race. As he, and HEW itself pointed out in a Memorandum it issued the next day, a school district eould segregate students or teachers by race within a single school, it could assign black students to what Brooke called “dead end and low quality classes” and, under Biden, HEW would be powerless to prevent this by withholding funds. Something On Your Mind? Something on your mind is the name of a column devotedjto you the young at heart reader of this news paper-as long as it relates in some way to youpg people, regardless of age. — U will be written by you and about whatever is on your mind! So, if you have something to say.... WRITE ON! Some subject that may be of special interest to you are: Drugs, Generation Gap, Welfare, Gangs, Schools, Going Steady, Police, Revo lution, Whites, Blacks, Integration, Busing Draft, God, Negro Churches, etc. Or any other subject you want to write about. Remember it’s your column. Your article should be at least 250 words, type-written and double space preferred. Include your name, age, school, and a clear photo, and send it to the Editor, Charlotte Post Newspaper, Post Office Box 97, Charlotte, N. C. 28201. We will pay $10 for each column REPORT FROM J^y^Wash ingtojj^L^ Educational Appropriations By Jijn Martin .9th District Congressman After long deliberation, and listen ing to arguments pro and con, I voted with the majority to override the President’s veto and pass Ahe Educational Appropriation Bill. I had earlier voted against passage of' the bill and the conference report, arguing for reductions in certain program levels. This is only the fifth time that I have decided to change my ppsition in nearly three years. It would have been simple to adhere to the consistency of a nega tive vote by supporting the veto. That would not increase the number of those angry at my earlier vote who will not be appeased by Tues _day’s vote. That would avoid anger ing those who supported the earlier vote. That would have supported the President. That would have been a symbolic objection. But the situation is not the same. School has started; public school budgets were adopted as of July 1; college students are enrolled with a dependent expectation of the student aid and work-study funds essential to their college career. As a practi cal matter, the show is already on the road. The situation has changed. When the bill was before uls in July, there was still time to consider modifying specific features of the bill. This had occurred with earlier appropriations which had been veto ed. Now there is not time. On each vote that is taken, I must ask myself: “Would my vote be the same if it alone determined the “Hrm/ UiAiilH T irnlo if fkn issue were close?” That is a stand ard which should always apply. Consequently, I could not cast the symbolic vote, or the consistent vote, or any vote other than that dictated by my best judgment consi dering the prevailing circum stances. That is the only standard that can be defended. That judgment is as follows: 1st. TTie bill is indeed $561 million over the Educational appropriation for last year, fiscal 1975. This enor mous sum is in proportion, however, just 8 percent'over the level for 1975. That increase i^ no greater than the 8.6 percent rise in the cost-of-living. While I would favor a reduction, I must say that in fairness our fiscal problems are not created by .8 per cent increases in departmental ap propriations. They result from thp 9.n percent increases, the 30 percent increases and the new programs stacked on top of old programs. 2nd. Certain portions of this bill are specifically opposed. I would like to cut some of the specific increases. Unfortunately, the cir cumstances of the present time posed too great a risk to the desir able portions of the bill to warrant delaying these funds to extract the offending parts. The only way now to delete or reduce such programs without jeopardizing the on-going education system is to support eff orts by the President specifically to impound and delete those particu lars. In conclusion, while I do not be lieve my earlier position was wrong (to vote against this bill in July), I am persuaded it would have been wrong to continue that position this Affirmative Actions With high unemployment predicted far into the foreseeable future, lay-offs continuing in a weak, Depression economy, and no help in sight, the resolution of the issue of seniority vs. affirmative action is more important than ever. Both are hard-won rights of great significance to every American. It took long, blood-filled years before the labor movement was able to enshrine the concept of seniority to protect the jobs and salaries of long-term workers. Turning an older worker out of his job means condemning him to permanent unemployment, since few employers are inter ested in hiring people in their 50s and 60s. Seniority is not a white protection clause, it’s something of immense value to black workers who, like their white counterparts, rightly feel that their years on the job have given them tenure rights not to be broken at will. But many more black workers don’t have enough seniority to protect their job rights. That’s because employers and many unions traditionally discriminated against black workers. Many white workers have seniority today only because they got jobs blacks were barred from years ago. i ire mange uiai came wun me uivn rugnis aci of 1964 has been implemented only too slowly so that employment discrimination is still a reality in some areas. But for those minorities, women and younger people who were hired in recent years, their lack of job tenure has often meant lay-offs in this Depression. Last-hired first-fired is still the operative rule that sabotages affirmative action-- the principle * that employers have positive obligation to seek out, train and employ those whom they discri minated against in the past. ~~ So when lay-offs hit, affirmative action tends to go out the window, while seniority, written into union contracts, is preserved intact. In effect, this means that- yesterday’s discrimination is carried over into-today’s employment practices; Two rights ih conflict - seniority vi. afffrfria tive action. And the real tragedy is that they should not be in conflict; that intelligent compro mise can preserve as much as possible of both of these important rights. For example: . :Some industries have a tradition of sharing the available work instead of laying off only newer workers. .•Employers ahd unions can agree to supple ment unemployment benefits that give older workers.all theiiLiormeiLiake-home pay while lay-offs are in reverse order of seniority so younger breadwinners can stay on the job. This has been favored by auto workers for • years. * .Changes in work practices can save money : and avoid needed lay-offs. rOvertime can be cut so that the work can be \ spread to all existing employees. : Necessary unemployment can be rotated, so ' that everyone has some jobless spell instead of • some people keeping their jobs and others losing them. i : Unemployment compensation laws can be changed to provide partial benefits. That way, if l a plant goes on a four-day work week, workers : could collect one-day’s benefits per week, mini- * mizing their losses. All of these, and more, have merit and ought to be tried. They are no substitute for a national full ! employment policy that assures everyone a decent job, but they offer a way out of the awful dilemma faced by many workers in industries a 4 n, ■ mr . vw..c. tnat nave to lay off workers or go broke. Aren t Blacks Newsworthy? Significant Black Events Ignored I recently spoke at the Fifth Ann ual Congressional Black Caucus din ner in Washington, D.C. In that speech, I criticized the white media for either ignoring significant black events such as the NAACP and Urban League conventions and the annual Black Caucus affairs, or treating the same as amusing side shows, playing up the tensions and conflicts, but refusing to deal with substantive issues these intelligent and serious minded groups of people raise and wrestle with at these conclaves. In that speech, I emphatically said: “We must begin to deal with the communications industry in this country. Day by day our minds are being shaped, for good or bad, by the things we read, see or hear in our newspapers, magazines, TV and ra dio. I was looking at the Kerner Com mission Report the other day. It deplored the failure of our communi cations network--(its failure) to deal with the hopes, aspirations, ambi tions, life style and struggle of black and minority people. “Today, seven years after that report, conditions are not much better. Read your national weekly news magazines from cover to cov er . Read the great daily newspapers of our large cities. Look at national news daily, weekly, yearly and you have to be appalled by the lack of news concerning black and minority people.” A black man wearing a dashiki with an empty gas can and matches that won’t strike can still get more media attention than the Congres sional Black Caucus or the elected or appointed black officials of ouf land. This embalance must cease. No tice that when white media do report anything involving blacks, it is... with black athletes or entertainers. Because you know “we can dance and sing better, run faster, jump higher, dribble a basketball quicker than all others.’’ I specifically emphasized that these observations were not meant to deprecate the black entertainer or the black athlete for they are indeed splendid and talented people who have also contributed mightily to the civil rights struggles, and the whole evolutionary struggle for equality. “But everybody,’’ I continued, “ought not have to tap dance to get on the air, or hit a baseball farther, or sock a boxing opponent harder or dribble a basketball faster than a ricocheting bullet to make the pages of our white print media, or appear on the air” in positive fashion. We must get rid of any view of news that automatically exclude positive black activity. Both Black Press leaders, Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett, president of the National Newspaper Publishers As sociation, and Calvin Rolark, presi dent of the Capital Press Club (Washington, D.C.) are deeply con cerned about this problem and are protesting while formulating plans to combat it. We all must join them in this very urgent and significant task. 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 57 YEARS OF CONTINUOUS SERVICE ' 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. 111. 60616 489-1220 Calumet 5-0200 YKHXON K. JORDAN JR. ^ y '“" Mf rr'> s sp ■ IT ISNT BUSING WHICH IS WRECKING THESE CITIES AND \ THEIR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS, IT IS DEEPLY INGRAINED V RACISM THAT MILLIONS OF WHITE AMERICANS CAN'T SHUCK OFF—,NOT EVEN IN THE FACE OF RULINGS BY THE MOST EMINENT JUDGESJN THE LAND"_ H CARL ROWAN NX POST ~~ ' -: _ . Ynov^v Moral Bankruptcy -— l •
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Oct. 9, 1975, edition 1
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