Its Our Bicentennial Too
By Hoyle H. Martin Sr.
Post Staff Writer
as we stand at the threshold of our
nation's 200th birthday, debate con
tinues over whether blacks should
participate in the Bicentennial cele
bration.
For example, in a message to
Black Americans during this, the
: Bicentennial year, over 100 educa
; tors, students, workers, profession
; als and several national black or
ganizations, including the National
\ Newspaper Publishers Association -
Black Préss of America, issued a
I "Declaration Against Imperia
l lism."
The message and declaration sug
l gest that since the Declaration of
i : Independence and the U.S. Constitu
: tion ignored the fact of human
'I bondage, blacks had "nothing to
I celebrate then - and there is little to
\ celebrate now".
Furthermore, the anti-imperiali
ij sm declaration quotes Federick
; Douglas from a speech delivered on
i July 4, 1853 when he said, "What to
; the American slave is your Fourth of
I July? I answer, a day that reveals to
; him more than all other days of the
i year, the gross injustice and cruelty
• to which he is the constant victim.
; To him your celebration is a
sham..."
a ne Γυοι agrees» mai me Bicen
tennial is a reminder of black
enslavement in 1776, the abandon
ment of Reconstruction in 1876, and
the continued existence of economic
. and political discrimination and ex
ploitation against blacks in 1976.
However, the POST does not agree
that these are reasons for ignoring
the "sham" or having "little to
celebrate" in this year of the na
tion's 200th birthday. For blacks to
ignore the "Fourth" or feel that they
have "little to celebrate" would be
to deny a significant part of our
nation's history - the contributions
} of blacks.
Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., of the
Γ National Urban League articulated
i this when he said, "The Bicentennial
offers us the occasion to educate the
i nation - and our own children - to the
extraordinary role black people
have played in building America. It
Was black musclepower that built
the roads and toted the cotton and
provided the basis for America's
economic predominance. It was
black brainpower that, in the face of
obstacles unknown to other peoples,
forged new discoveries in science,
medicine, architecture and other
basic fields. And it was black will
power that overcame discriminato
ry barriers and is today continuing
to mark out a new place for black
people in this nation. Ours is a past
in which we may take great pride...
Opting out of the Bicentennial
would close to us the opportunity to
use it for our own ends."
Furthermore, the POST believes
that without black enthusiasm for
the Bicentennial - in terms of its own
achievements - there will be little
motivation to study the issues raised
in the "Declaration Against Imperi
alism."
We would suggest too, that any
introduction of the larger black
community to the anti-imperialism
declaration should begin with a
basic introduction to Western econo
mic analysis and concepts and,
more specifically, to American capi
talism - an is that by its very nature
has continues to exploit black Ame
ricans.
Average Americans
We make this suggestion for three
reasons. First, the average Ameri
can - black or white - does not
"understand economics well enough
to have intelligent opinions about
inflation, tariffs - or even the
purchase of a new car...", wrote
former N.C. Governor Luther Hod
ges Sr. some years ago. Secondly,
the historical sins of omission has
enabled few people to understand
that the American economic system
has been built largely on a stand that
the American economic system has
been built largely on a foundation of
African exploitation and the sweat
and blood of black slaves.
Lastly, and particularly in the
context of the subject of imperiali
sm, blacks need to understand that
Western economic analysis or Ame
rican capitalism is very limited in
its ability to provide solutions to the
economic problems of the undedeve
loped nations of Africa as well as the
ghettos of black America.
Finally, a recognition of the Bicen
tennial reminds us that in 1776
frustration and bitterness gripped
the American people just as it does
in 1976. Revolutionary Era Ameri
cans were disenchanted with their
government and the prevailing eco
nomic system, they wanted change.
Contemporary Americans too are
disenchanted and they want change.
Change, as we see it, implies the
need for a new ism, an ism that is
neither capitalism nor socialism but
one that may have some characte
ristics of each. In any event, the
news ism must have the qualities
that will allow for the elimination of
imperialism - both foreign and do
mestic-and be able to deal effective
ly with economic and social injustice
in any form.
The significance of the new ism is
that white America of the Protestant
Ethnic and the Spirit of Capitalism
is so absorbed in the partial truisms
of the past, and the fantasies of the
present, that it cannot accept the
death of capitalism-an ism that has
made Amërica but cannot sustain
America with its increasing concen
trations of economic power and
racial discrimination.
Yes, whether we like it or not,
destiny and the invisible hand of
time have made this our Bicenten
nial too.
66 percent of murders in
17 cities committed by
blacks killing blacks.
FMHASTUPY
BY THE N Y. TIMES
WHITEY COULD, FOR
ALL INTENTS AND
, PURPOSES PUT HIS
GUNS AWAY. WE'VE
ALWAYS BEEN ABLE
TO KILL OURSELVES
BETTER THAN HE
CAN. - -
CLAYTON RILEY, LIBERATOR
)
MURDER RATES
FOR
BLACKS IN
CITY 8
TIMES THAT
FOR WHITES.
Helping To Resue "The Black Presence"
mien □ ciioto
Hunger Strike Continuation Of Spiritual Fast
Reverend Benjamin F. Cha
vis, Jr.
Wilmington, N.C. 10, Codefen
dant
North Carolina State
Central Prison Hospital
835 W. Morgan Street
Raleigh, N.C. 17603
June 14, 1976
"Continuation of Spiritual
Fast and Political Hunger
Strike For Justice and Human
Rights"
I wish to take this opportuni
ty to express my sincere ap
preciation to the thousands of
supporter? across the United
States and from around the
world who have sent letters,
telegrams, and messages of
solidarity to me as I continue
to fast for justice and strike
for human rights for all op
pressed peoples.
Today marks the iorty-mtn
(45th) day that I have not
eaten food in a non-violent
moral effort to awaken the
sleeping masses of Black and
poor people to the ever in
creasing necessity to struggle
against racism in all of its
many forms. .
Initially I began to fast on
April 30, 1976 to protest the
cruel and unusual treatment I
was receiving from the N.C.
Department of Corrections.
The prison officials sought to
isolate and punish me for
political reasons-the officials
feared that I would help fellow
prisoners seek their human
rights at Caledonia Prison
Farm in Tillery, N. Carolina,
consequently I was transferr
ed to the State Prison Sanato
. rium. McCain Prison, in Mc^
Cain, N.C. Because of the
unhealthy environment at Mc
Cain and after I found a large
roach in my food for the
second time I gave notice that
I would not eat food until I
would be transferred to a
regular prison unit. On June 1,
1976, I finally was transferred
away from McCain Prison
Sanatorium to Central Prison.
I consider the transfer a signi
ficant victory.
However, there is a greater
need to further expose the
reality of gross racial injus
tice in the United States even
as we are in the midst of a
Bi-Centennial celebration.
Therefore my conscience
compels me to continue fast
ing to emphasize and drama
tize the following :
a.) Freedom for all U.S. Politi
cal Prisoners in 1976.
b.) Support for the Wilmington
N.C. Community Involvement
Commission's Black Freedom
Festival, July 4, 1976.
c. ) Support for Dick Gregory's
National cross-country "Run
to End Hunger".
d.) Support the National
March for Human Rights and
Labor Rights September 6,
1976 in Raleigh, N.C.
e.) A call for universal love
and peace among all peoples
and nations.
I will continue to fast as long
as I can. Only through con
stant struggle will the Wil
mington Ten, the Charlotte
Three and other political pri
soners be rendered justice.
We shall overcome.
Sincerely,
Rev. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.
Central Prison Hospital
Raleigh, N. C.
Ms. Owens Seeks Lost Mother
To the Editor'i.
I am writing to call on the
people of Charlott^ for help in
locating my mother. She was
last heard of in your city.
Her maiden name was Ruby
Lee Mayo and she was origi
nally from Lynchburg, Virgi
nia. She was married to my
father, James Weatherall, in
1945 or 1946. They were divorc
ed in 1951 and she returned to
the east coast. She later mar
ried a Mr. Weddington and
lived in Charlotte, N.C. after
leaving California.
It has been 25 years since I
have seen her, and I was only
an infant. I do not wish to
disrupt her life, only to esta
blish communication with her.
I ask that anyone recognizing
her name or who has any
information, please contact
me.
Sharon Weatherall Owens
607 So. Pine St. Apt. D
Santa Maria, CA 93454
TO
BE
EQUAL
f
}
» w-n
YKKNON K. JORI) \N JR.
Blacks, The Bicentennial
July4th finally upon us, the culmination of the
months-old Bicentennial build-up largely devoid
of content.
It's too bad, because flag-waving isn't enough,
rampant commercialism that wraps products in
red, white and blue, isn't enough, and pious
declarations of a mythical past just aren't
enough.
A proper Bicentennial observance would re-ex- ^
amine the ideals that led to the founding of his *
nation and the gap between those ideals and the
reality of today. And a Bicentennial should be a
time of national debate to formulate goals for the
next century.
Very little of this kind of national self-exami
nation has taken place. The old myths have been
reinforced and the hypocrisy that was so blatant
in our past and is so strong today has largely
gone unchallenged.
It is almost forgotten that the Founding
Fathers included a disproportionate number of
slaveholders, including Jefferson, the man who
wrote the immortal words of the Declaration of
Independence: "all men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator with certain
inalienable rights, that among these are life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
Small wonder then, that an Englishman of the
period complained "How is it we hear the loudest
yelps for liberty from the drivers of Negroes?"
rm « · J λ » — · · -
me iijrputusjr odiuuci uuuiisuii casugaieu
continued as blacks were enslaved for almost the
first hundred years of the nation's history and
kept in peonage and second-class citizenship
since then. Even the precious right to vote was
denied blacks in the South until passage of the
1965 Voting Rights Act.
But this does not dim the truth of the words
enshrined in the Declaration, it only testifies to
the immoralities of the men who shaped our
constantly changing society. And it should not
blind us to the tremendous impact thp American
Revolution has had on the world.
The Revolution fought for ideas of equality and
for government based on the consent of the
governed inspired the world-wide movement
toward greater freedom and justice and today is
an inspiration even to those revolutionaries in
colonial countries whom our government ha
opposed.
Today, it is black people who have largely
opted out of the nonsensical empty celebrations
of the Bicentennial and instead have directed
America's attention to its unfinished business, of
construction a third century of national life built
on the noble promises of 1776.
The way to celebrate the Bicentennial is with
full employment, not firecrackers, with racial
equality, not patriotic songs, and with social
justice, not Fourth of July marches.
The Bicentennial could have been a truly
constructive national experience and if it fails in
that regard, it's not because black people did not
try to make it one. This is the year the flag was
used as a weapon in a racist attack on black men
in Boston. It should have been the year the flag
became a symbol of the one nation on earth to
end poverty and racism.
THE CHARLOTTE POST
"THE PEOPLES NEWSPAPER"
Established 1918
Published Every Thursday
By The Charlotte Post Publishing Co., Inc.
2606B West Blvd.-Charlotte, N.C. 28208
Telephones (704 ) 392-1306, 392-1307
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Bill Johnson J
Gerald O. Johnson
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Editor-Publisher
Business Manager^
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1
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^ α s i see ι c
Sports Have Changed Very Little Through The Years
By Gerald Ο. Johnson
Poet Staff Writer
According to Funk and Wag
nails Standard Edition Dic
tionary that word "Sport"
means that which amuses in
general. Well, today there is
very little amusing about
sports In fact most of todays
action in sports occurs in
courts and not in the playing
arena.
But what is amusing about
sports is that very little has
changed from days gone by
and today.
Journey back with me if you
will to those thrilling days of
yesteryear when sports was as
much of a racket then as Η is
now.
During the days of the Ro
man empire we had gladiators
playing the role of athletes.
The King acted out the part of
our current day team owners.
Of course the commoners
played themselves, fans; just
like today. The game was
"kill". Every gladiator would
be given a weapon and they
would fight to the death. This
made it easy to pick an all star
team at the end of a season
The pay for gladiators was
food and a pseudo freedom
Gladiators were slaves.
Hence, they lived better than
other slaves while they lived.
Eventually, when the gladi
ators were fed up with the self
centered attitude for the King
they would revolt. They would
unite the slaves against the
King's army.
Then, as now, the fan suf
fered through all of this.
Well, today the revolt takes
on a passive role in the form of
the players association. When
players get fed up with the
owner's self centered ways
thev take them to court
The players are fighting for
individual rights. The owners
are fighting for self preserva
tion. The consequence is an
uneventful season
The players refuse to play,
the owners refuse to pay, the
spectators have nothing to
say.
The problem with sports
today is it is a big business.
Big business is not amusing.
Big business operates for pro
fit not amusement
Since athletes are no longer
in slavery, another means of
payment has to be conceived.
Of course what this means is a
paycheck This is the modern
ΙΜΗ··ϋ··Η·1
day means of making indivi
duals compete to the death
In the Roman days to pay a
*· gladiator with food and a
non-servant life wasn't to ex
pensive.
But a paycheck!!'That's a
different story. Present day
owners have to pay present
day gladiators cold cash.
Therefore owners made spec
tators pay to see the sport.
But spectators having to pay
for the sport decided to pay for
seeing only winning teams.
The owner, therefore, was
forced to produce winning
teams To produce winning
teams tne υ»..ci eeenOw the
best athletes he couia tind.
Unfortunately tor the owner
good athletes are limited.
Hence, all owners seek the
same limited number of ath
letes.
Fortunately for the good
athletes, good athletes are
limited. Realizing their worth
good athletes placed a high
price tag on themselves. Ev
entually, all of the best play
ers would be playing for one of
two teams, that could afford
the price tag.
This led to the draft and the
hiring of a commissioner to
oversee the league.
This organizational tactic
was to eliminate the possibili
ty of one team purchasing all
of the best athletes. It was
suppose to help equalize all of
the teams in the league.
The league organization was
good for the owner, and good
for the spectator, but not so
good for the athlete. The or
ganization did away with
much of hiâ bargaining power.
It put him in the power of the
owner. The owner could basi
cally use the athlete as he saw
fit. This was indeed how Kings
used gladiators.
The athletes realizing that
individually they were ruined,
organized a revolt. Hence, the
formation of the players asso
ciation.
Athletes again have bar
gaining power. The cycle con
tinues.
The question becomes is
there an end to this madness.
Well, obviously if spectators
would support losers a lot of
pressure would be eased from
owners. But no one supports a
loser.
A better idea would be to let
teams be owned by stock
holders. Each team would be
placed on the New York Stock
Exchange and individuals
could purchase stock for any
team he so desired.
The fans now become part
owners with voting righta on
how the team will be manag
ed.
Individuals living in cities
without professional teams
could still have favorites. By
owning stock of a team it
would give those individuals
without professional teams in
their cities a loyalty to a team
This wouldn't solve all the
problems of sports but it
Would «top the fan from get
ting the short end of the deal.
Since sports has become a
big business enterprise it only
stands to reason that it be
handled like other big busi
nesses. That is to let the
country take part in the own
ership by way of the common
stock market. ^
Future Segregation
The Supreme Court has re
cently ruled that changes to
busing patterns because of
relocation is unlawful. The
Charlotte Mecklenburg School
System currently operates un
der monitoring by the district
courts. As racial balance of
neighborhoods change be
cause of white flight CMS is
responsible for re-doing bus
assignments to insure proper
racial balance in schools.
The Supreme Court ruling
eliminates the re-doing of bus
assignment* because of tran
sitory neighborhood changes
What this will ultimately
lead to is all black and all
white schools in some areas
Since bus assignments will
remain unchangeable, whites
can pre-plan moves to areas
that will insure limited black
attendance
The Supreme Court ruling
will probably have drastic
effects on future busing pat
terns As more develops on
this ruling I will be obliged to
report to you As I See It.
t