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"Strong Delusion'* — King's Voice Still Being Heard By Hoyle H. Martin Sr. Post Executive Editor "Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some diffi cult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with më how. Because I've been to the mountain top. I won't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life...But I'm not con cerned about that now. I just want to do God's will...and I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land." These eloquent words were spoke by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. just a m · · — — — îcw iiuuis ueiore ne was iaiauy wounded by an assassin's bullet on April 4, 1968. This terrible act silenced King's voice but sent his message loudly around the world. humble contribution to the cause of justice and humanity, the POST considers it a rare privilege to pause and salute this great man. Born in a nation with a cancerous racism, sick with violence, over come by hatred and engulfed in global conflict, Martin Luther King Jr. nevertheless preached racial tolerance, non-violence, love-thy neighbor and peace, for tnis "Bf was," as one writer said, "stoned, stabbed, reviled and spat upon when he lived, but in death there was a shattering sense that a MAN of ultimate goodness had lived among us." Dr. King's Quest Dr. King's quest for peace and justice was so strong that he gave his life for it and in so doing gained more respect for black Americans in been done in all the preceding 100 years. ν People who knew him intimately conterfH (bathe never uttered a word of hatred for anyone and that "his indictment of segregation, discrimi nation and poverty was a hurricane of fire that opened a new era of struggle for freedom." Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech delivered during the "March on Washington" in 1964, was not the talk of a dreamer but rather the echo of a man who had visions of a nation of Deace. love and iustice. Through his example of unselfish ness, humility and God given talent for understanding and communica ting a sense of reality, multitudes of black Americans, Harry Belafonte has noted, "emerged from spiritual imprisonment, from fear, from apa thy, and took to the streets to proclaim their freedom." King in spired blacks to recognize the nature of their latent power and reminded them that they were a sleeping giant in need of awakening from their sleep of apathy and fear. He re minded blacks that self-disciplined non-violent mass protest is the wea pon of a peaceful soldier that can be used to defeat the enemies of fair ness and Justice.*— History will shbw that while King was an eminent black leader, it will also record that he was a leader of white Americans too. Through prob ing the consciousness of the white man's mind, he alerted them to the fact that to degrade blacks and deny them justice required denying them selves the same justice? Fraudent elect Jimmy Carter made this very clear when he said that the Civil Piffkic Δ/*# Λ# 1ÛÎM ne «miiaW southern whites and it did for blacks and made it possible for himself, a southern, to be elected to the presi dency of the United States. Martin Luther King Jr. has been missed by statesmen, Kings and laymen alike. His Gandhi-like pas sion for non-violence, peace and hrnthorhnnri wag a Rtahlirinfl influ ence throughout America and the world. He was always willing, al ways available, always pursuing iustice and œace. Act Of Qoeenese In spite of his association with great and noble men, King chose to stay close to the common people. It was in such an act of closeness to a group of garbage collectors, seeking an adequate living wage and a share of dignity, that he gave his life. King's commitment to the needs and problems of the poor, the homeless and those with no hope was so strong that he refused positions of rîroaf urooHh vuuirâf· »«/! infliiAn/m m order to be an instrument of God's power in the salvation of his fellow man. Born to parents of humble means, Martin Luther King Jr. was instilled with the will ttrsuccecd, a Qod-given sense of humility and a concern for the needs of others. He carried these values with him through his boyhood to the pulpit of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, to the Montgomery bus boycott, to the Birmingham jail, to the Southern Christian Leader ship Conference, to the capitals of the world, and to his death in Memphis. Not Seeking Fame While not seeking fame, while not seeking wealth, while not seeking greatness Martin Luther King Jr., 1929-1968, was nevertheless one oi greatness. He showed this by defin ing himself in his own obituary in these humble words, 'Tell them ] tried to feed the hungry; tell them 1 tried to clothe the naked; tell them ] tried to help somebody." This U truly what King did and did so well Therefore, King's self-deniec greatness was in his efforts to bel{ the helpless and to renew their spirii of hope. In so doing King became on< of God's true men, thus, while stillec in death he lives through the deed! and dreams others pursue. WE MUST PREVENT OUR OWN CHILDREN FROM TURNMOMTO JUNKIES, - INTO THIEVES AND PROSTI TUTES AND CONFIDENCE ARTISTS,WHOSE PREY 15 THEIR OMN PEOPLE. WE c£ CAN—PREVENT THAT. ne / rm United Community Leadership le Needed Now! Reading And Rhythm Marshall McLuhan, Cana dian communications specia list and professor at the Uni versity of Toronto, is consi dered by many people to be in the class of thinkers with Ni»wtn«i Einstein. His works, concen trated in the field of commu nication, shed invaluable light upon «any of '^he problems faced By the s&nobls today. According to McLuhan, media, or the means by which people receive information, creates an environment in and of itself, and it is this environ •mam# mkiok * pie's thinking, culture and behavior in much the same way that weather conditions can shape physical characte ristics and a people's way of life. Just as a person who has lost the sense of sight develops the other senses to a high degree, heavy dependency upon a cer tain medium also alters the senses, says MuLuhan. In a culture which is dependent upon the spoken word and ' other sounds for communica tion, the sense of hearing becomes highly developed and a person from this culturi can respond and react U f information received through ' the ears very quickly and effectively. On the other hand, ι in an environment where in 1 formation is moved primaril) ; through printed symbols 01 the alphabet, the people will have a highly developed visua sense and will be able to process information received through the eyes very effec tively, but will be less effec tive in processing auditory information. — In Jih»n's the ories, it becomes clear that' many of the differences in i-ea cling 'performance rates which have been attributed to race can be explained more logically in terms of media environments. Due to political and economic reasons, black people have been more or less confined to an auditory envi ronment. In a school system based upon learning through visual symbols, those children from the visual environment have a distinct advantage o ver those who come from an environment based primarily upon sound. We are now, according to MuLuhan, living in an elec tronic environment, where pictures and sounds bombard the senses by means of elec tronic technology. Differences which were once very pro nounced between those who grew up in the auditory envi ronment and the visual envi i ronment are rapidly disap i peering, as the senses of to day's youngsters are being shaped and altered by elec tronic communication sys tems. Learning to read has now become a probelm not only for those who have had very limited access to the medium of print, but also for the general population of children who spend hours re ceiving information through the medium of television. Al so, highly rhythmic music is no longer the special province of those who live mainly in the WWW—I Λ the spuàeu word, but is being performed with equal *ppreciation"âHd!l enthusiasm those who hffffpi grown up" in à world of souna " tracks and stereos. The implications of the Mu Luhan theories Tor schools have to do with more than Just reading and rhythm, however. They should make us realize where rewards and approval are given according to the student's ability to master tbe medium of visual symbols will now face serious challenges as children who are products of tbe electronic environment now fill tbe schools. It also means that a curriculum which has been built almost entirely upon teaching child ren to communicate through the written word will be consi dered more and more "irrele vant" by youngsters who are already receiving all kinds of information through elec tronic media. MuLuhan's theories are a radical departure from the old line of thinking which promot ed ideas of racial superiority and Inferiority, and many edu cators have begun to study tbe MuLuhan theories seriously for some new directions. TO BE EQUAL Vernon Ε. Jordan Jr. Carter's Team to general, the response to Jimmy Carter's Cabinet appointments has been favorable, with some grumblings about some of the designees and considerably~~more than that about one of them. That's about par for the course ; it's impossible for any President to satisfy everyone in naming a Cabinet. The group assembled by President elect Carter is at least as good as previous Cabinets and a lot better than some of them. The Black presence in Cabinet-level posts was limited to two-a bit less than what many Blacks thought would happen. But if the quanity is less than expected, the quality is very high indeed. 3 Some people have attacked the appointment Urban Development on the flimsy grounds that she's not a housing specialists But few of her predecessors have been, and few can match her competence. She can be counted on to provide leadership in the fight to revitalize the cities. The appointment of Congressman Andrew Young to the visible and critical UN post has been rightly well received as evidence both of the Carter Administration's determination to con duct foreign policy on a more moral basis and to reach out to the Third World. But few have commented on the unique symbolism of this outstanding appointment; twenty years ago there were few nlaces in the South where Blacks could vote and now a black southerner is America's spokesman to the world! Hie most controversial appointee is Griffin Bell, Carter's selection for Attorney General. The attacks on Bell center on his personal friendship with Carter, (many believe the Attorney General should be totally independent of ties with his chief) his appeals court decisions, his endorsement of Harrold Carswell for the Supreme Court and his memberships in private cluJM tnat exclude Blacks Shd Jews from are valid. The onus is on Judge fcroîe their implications wrong through forceful action on enforcing civil rights laws, cooperation with minority communities to cut crime, and by appointing Blacks and women to policy making posts in the Justice Depart That Department has traditionally demon strated a shameful neglect of Blacks, even in the days when professed liberals were running it. Only a bare handful of Blacks held high posts in Justice even in the days of the Kennedy-Johnson Administrations. The focus on private clubs' discrimination is useful. The controversy over Judge Bell's club memberships finally put a national spotlight on such discrimination. These clubs are more than just social; they're the place where the elite of industry meet and shape policies. Minorities barred from membership find their career prospects limited because they're cut off from contacts with their white peers. The real focus should not be on Judge Bell - he's resigning from his clubs. The real issue should be the continued existence of discrimina tory practices by private clubs whose "social" aspects also involve informal decision-making that affects many areas of our lives. ., v t THE CHARLOTTE POST "THE PEOPLES NEWSPAPER" Established 1918 Published Every Thursday By The Charlotte Poet Publishing Co., Inc. 2606-B. West Blvd.-Charlotte, N.C. 28206 ' Telephones (704) 392-1306,392-1307 Circulation 7,185 58 YEARS OF CONTINUOUS SERVICE Bill Johnson Albert Campbell... Rex Hovey Gerald O. Johnson Editor-Publisher Advertising Director Circulation Manager Business Manager Second Class Postage Paid at Charlotte, N.C. under the Act of March 3,1878 Member National Newspaper Publishers Association North Carolina Black Publishers Association Deadline for all news copy and photos is 5 p.m. Monday. The Post is not responsible for any photos or news copies submitted for publication. National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc. 45 W. 5th Suite 1403 2400 S. Michigan Ave New York, N.Y. 10036 Chicago, 111. 60616 (212) 489-1220 Calumet 5-0200 as i see ic ι · ♦ Poor Folks Can't Move To Rich Neighborhoods By Gerald Ο. Johnson The Supreme Court has rul ed that toning to keep low income housing developments from being constructed in su burban neighborhoods is not unconstitutional. In simple terms, this means that poor folks can't move out in rich neighborhoods without no bread. Compendez-vous sil vous plais. Black groups, like the NAACP, have taken this as a slap in the face. But the fact is that the situation is much more com plex than what has surfaced. Most Blacks consider the situation a White and Black case. But, as I see it, the situation is more of an econo mical one than a racial one. The first question I asked myself wst why would anyone want to build a low housing development in a suburb for the poor folks. You see, it just doesn't add up. If the people are poor then they must have some domestic job or be on welfare This would mean that they get most of their services from the Inner city. They must - uh public transportation to get around. All of this would Imply that a suburban low income housing development would inconvenience thoee people that it la trying to help. Why then la there so much fuss about housing developments in the suburbs? To fix up the down town area «would be much more practical. * But then most poor folks sren't arguing so much about where the housing is located, as long as It is decent housing To be truthful, I haven't put my finger on why the fuaa about where the low income housing Is located. But there la big money in helping poor folks. Ironically poor folk re main poor, while thoee helping poor folk get richer and richer and richer This is the crux of the fight Those who invest In low in come housing get sid from the government snd they do quite well. I hsve to suspect block busting as s motive for wsnting to put a low income By Gerald 0. Johnson housing development in the suburb. But, like I said I haven't put my finger on the situation completely. But I will. Believe me, I will. A lot of money is poured into Civil Rights groups to pave the way for investors Most of this is unknown to the Civil Rights groups. But it works like this. A man donates 1100,000 to s Civil Rights group's legal fund to help with the cause. He get· an immediate tax break for this donation. The Civil Right· group then fight* for the righta of others, I.·, low housing developments In the suburbs. Once the fight is over and if the Civil Righta group wins the fight, the first person in a position to benefit from all this is our big investor. He can afford to get in on the ground floor. I know I sound a bit cynical but this is not above most people. I will repeat, there is big money in helping the poor. Hence, from the above point of view, the entire fight is stemmed from a economical base and not a racial one. On the other hand, those suburbanites who are fighting so hard to keep these low income housing development· from springing up in their neighborhoods are thinking dollar and cents, also. The rationale here is that the low income housing would cause their property value to go down. In this sense zoning is used to preserve the quality of the neighborhood Again the matter la economical. But property la for all men and soiling 1» unconstitutional la itself. Property ownership should be unconstitutional. On this basis It seems a fair argument that any housing should be able to go up any WnWv · This would probably work, except, Judge· live in su burbs. They own property, also. It would be too much to ask to have a Judge uphold a law that might have poor folk living in his back yard. In dosing let me say that the decision made by the courts warf inequitable. However, 1 think the case brought before the courts was inequitable. The morale of our society are inequitable. But this you al ready know A System Of Force I can remember back some thirty odd years ago when I waa a month old. I remember lying oa my mother's bed sucking my thumb snd check ing the place out. When I cried, I got fed. When I mess ed in my diapers, I got clean ed. I thought to myself that this was the life. But after the paaalng of two years, the treatment started changing. One day I was sitting at the dinner table waiting for some one to feed me, when all of a sudden a spoon waa shoved in my hand. 1 waa being forced to feed myself. Well, I didn't appre ciate this one bit. To show my discontentment with this situ ation I threw my dish on the floor One clean up and two backhands later, I realised that these people meant busi ness 80, I began to feed myself. "What next?" I thought to myself. But It took me until now to see what all of this forcing was intended to do. It waa the training ground to prepare me for working in this capitalistic society. You see after the last big force, you go out, get yourself a job. And for what? So you can be forced to pay 'Taxée." You just can't win!
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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