cjimt oiinr
Black Press Champions Human Rights
By Hoyle H. Martin Sr.
Post Executive Editor
In 1327 John Russwurm and Sam
uel E. Cornish pioneered the field of
Black journalism when they co
founded the FREEDOM’S JOUR
NAL newspaper in New York City.
In the first issue of the JOURNAL
they wrote, “We plead our cause,”
that is, the cause of freedom from
chartel slavery and for black self
development through education,
thrift and hard work.
Others who pleaded “our cause”
in these pioneering days were Philip
A. Bell, founder of the COLORED
AMERICAN (1837) and publisher of
the SAN FRANCISCO ELEVATOR
(1865 - 1888); Martin R. Delany,
founder of the PITTSBURGH MY
STERY (1842); and Frederick Dou
glas, the eminent abolitionist editor
and orator who founded the NORTH
STAR in 1847.
In recognition of the contributions
of these 5 enlightened Black Ameri
tauo, uic ijvui /uuuvciaaiy V/Cie*
bration of the Black Press will be
highlighted this week with the en
shrining of these men in the new
Gallery of Distinquished Newspaper
Publishers at Howard University.
As a result of these humble
beginnings, and in spite of the
sporadic birth and death of a num
ber of black newspapers, the Black
Press in America today comprises
approximately 385 weekly and 5
daily newspapers. These newspa
pers employ about 5,500 people and
_have a circulation of approximately
9 million.
To the extent that American jour
nalism has historically provided a
place for the small newspaper which
reports the activities of special
interest groups, the Black press is
like many others. However, the
Black press is unlike others in that it
began as a protest against institu
tionalized slavery and continues
today as a champion of human
riohfe
_Attack On Slavery
For example, since the FREE
DOM’S JOURNAL printed its first
attack on slavery, Black newspaper
content has followed a chronological
pattern of stories about escaped
slaves, lynchings, protests against
Jim Crowism and desegregation.
Beginning in the mid-1950s, stories
about Black power and the “Black
revolution” captured the headlines.
These were followed by stories of
Black rising expectations accom
paning the Economic Opportunity
Act of the early 1960s and the urban
riots of the same decade. Black
pride and achievements, Black stu
dies programs, “Black capitalism,”
and stories about Africa and Afri
cans occupied the pages of the Black
press through the early 1970s. The
central theme through these years of
Black newsprint has been that of
human rights.
Today, the Black Press continues
its tradition of providing news cove
rage of areas overlooked, ignored,
misunderstood or distorted by the
majority white daily newspapers.
For example, news accounts of how
the federal regulatory agencies -
such as the Interstate Commerce
Commission - often contributes to
discriminatory practices as well as
stories about Blacks who have achi
eved positions of considerable influ
ence and power in both the govern
ment and corporate sectors are
thoroughly covered in the Black
press and nearly ignored or relegat
ed to the lower part of the hack page
in the large white dailies.
Dedicated Committment
Furthermore, while the Black
press has maintained a dedicated
commitment to dignity and human
rights dating back to the era of
slavery, the majority of the larger
white press has, in a historical
context, run ads for the sale and
capture of run-away slaves, edito
rially supported slavery, ignored the
end of Reconstruction and the rise of
the Ku Klux Klan, largely sanction
ed by its silence the exploitation of
both black and white sharecroppers
and the shameful treatment that
many contemporary multinational
corporations impose on the peoples
of the less developed nations. Final
ly, the larger white dailies’principle
shortcoming is in their inability or
lack of interest to view some things
from a black perspective or view
point.
H 3 - _ & m
iicmunu uur mae
However, before we as Black
people reaffirm our pride in the
accomplishments of the Black press,
let us be reminded that inspite of the
afore mentioned shortcomings of the
white press, it was partly white
abolitionists and white journalists
such as Horace Greeley in the early
days who gave considerable moral
support to the Black Press. Today,
the white business community’^ ad
vertising dollar is a major source of
financial support for the Black
Press. This has occured partly
because too many Black businesses
lack sufficient capital to advertise
adequately or they fail to under
stand the benefits of advertising
We note these facts because a
newspaper, like any other business,
cannot survive on its past accom
plishment; it is what it is doing
today, and plans to do tommorrow,
that determines its success or fail
ure. As Black people, we must do
more to insure the continued exis
tence and success of the Black press.
To do less would be to abandon a
vital voice in our never-ending
struggle for equality of opportunity
and human rights.
Support the Black press so that the
Black press can support you.
READ
- JI_
BLACK PRESS
ween
march-a to tea
&
150 Years Of Dedicated Service
-
Inteligence And IQ Tests . '_
No one knows quite how to
define intelligence, yet we go
on measuring it just as though
we do know. But every so
called intelligence test is li
mited by what the test-maker
thinks intelligence is, and the
attempts to define intelligence
sound very much like the story
of the blind men who each
described the elephant ac
cording to the part which he
4eHi
According to Alfred Binet,
who developed the first instru
ment for measuring intelli
gence in 1905, intelligence is
the ability to make sensible
judgements. Lewis M. Ter
man, who modified Binet’s
test in 1916, defined intelli
gence as “the ability to think
in terms of abstract ideas.”
The definitions of intelligence
have multiplied as the use of
intelligence tests has grown
over the years, and now, some
psychologist simply turn the
whole argument back in on
itself by saying that intelli-.
gence is what the intelligence
tests measure! E.L. Thorn
dike, a well-known name in
testing, believed that intelli
gence could be identified
through four factors, L.L.
Thurstone defined intelligence
in terms of approximately 8
factors, and G.P. Guilford
claims to have identified over
50 different kinds of intelli
gence. Some psychologists
“measure” intelligence by us
ing questions on sentence
completion, arithmetic pro
blems and vocabulary; others
seek to test the ability to
memorize quickly and mani
pulate objects, and still others
believe that a test of inteiii
-gfnce must take inln nrpftnrl
such things as will power,
self-control and persistence.
Since each definition requires
its own test to measure what is
being defined, there are al
most as many "intelligence
tests” available today as there
are definitions for the word. It
makes one wonder if the prac
tice of intelligence testing can
really be considered scienti
fic, objective and accurate, or
is it just “an affair in which
magic, science, and myth are
intermixed,” as Sheldon
White of Harvard University
describes it in an article, “The
Social Implications of IQ,”
(National Elementary Princi
pal, March 1975). Those who
have been outstanding in the
construction of IQ tests have
also recognized an underlying
contradiction about the “mea
surement” of intelligence. E.
L. Thorndike pointed out that
it still was not determined
what was being measured by
the tests or what was meant
by measurement. David
Wechler, whose IQ tests for
adults and children are widely
used, has commented that
psychology is continuously de
vising tests for measuring
intelligence and then dis
claiming responsibility for
—them hv pointing nnt that
nobody knows what the word
really means.
It appears that the word
“intelligence” is a symbol for
an idea which is just as
abstract as the ideas repre
sented by the words "happi
ness” and “love,” meaning
different things to different
people. Yet children through
out the public schools in Ame
rica are being judged, labelled
and educated - or miseducated
- according to this concrete
“measurement” of something
which is too abstract to be
defined.
Citizens Safety Association
A safety tip from Citizens
Safety Association: Drivers
should stay far left in case
other vehicle crowd center
line.
If passing, tap your horn to
let the other driver know. At
night - flash your lights.
TO
BE
EQUAL
Vernon E. Jordan Jr.' A;
The Black Press’ Birthday
This March marks the 150th birthday of one of
America’s most important institutions - the
black press. - v
In March, 1827, fifty years after an American
Revolution dedicated to freedom and liberty but
based on slavery and exploitation, two black
men launched the first black-owned newspaper
in the country. They were John Russwurm,
America’s first black college graduate, and
Samuel Cornish. Their paper bore the appropri
ate name, “Freedom’s Journal.”
Especially after watching “Roots,” we can
appreciate the courage it took, not just the
financial risk, but the very real obstacles placed
in the way of black activists by a national power
structure that endorsed slavery and viewed free
blacks with distaste.
Why a black newspaper? John Russwurm *
answered that in his first editorial, and it’s worth
quoting:
“We wish to plead our own cause,” he wrote.
“Too long have others spoken for us. Too long
has the public been deceived by misrepresenta
tions in things which concern us dearly / ’
And in what still describes many sectors of the
nation, Russwurm pointed to those “who make it
their business to enlarge upon the least trifle,
which tends to the discredit of any person of
color; and pronounce anathemas and denounce
our whole body for the misconduct of the guilty
one.”
“Freedom’s Journal” had a short-lived life,
but from its humble beginnings grew one of
black America’s major resources - a vicnrnns
press that exposed the conditions forced upon
black people and a press responsive to their
needs and aspirations.
The black press became a central factor in the
abolitionist movement, and Frederick Douglass
founded and edited the major newspaper of the
pre-Civil War era, the “North Star.” The paper’s
object, Douglass wrote, “will be to attack
slavery in all its forms and aspects, advocate
universal emancipation, exact the standard of
the colored people; and to hasten the day of
freedom to our three million enslaved fellow
countrymen.”
Since those days, the black press has become a
natural source of black leadership, with such
giants as T. Thomas Fortune, William Monroe
Trotter, Carl Murphy, A. Philip Randolph and
Roy Wilkins emerging from its ranks.
Their publication and others engined black
civil rights protest, fought lynching and peonage,
opposed segregation, and spurred black efforts
to gain a foothold in the economic mainstream.
The black press still performs those functions,
as well as providing the community with news of
local and national importance. As in the past, it
provides a forum for black expression, a haven
for unpopular ideas fated to triumph, and acts
the role of a sentinel against injustice. It’s vigor
can be seen in the publications of the Johnson
Publishing Company, the Sengstacke newspaper
chain, and many others too numerous to mention
here.
Now, in its maturity, the black press faces
great challenges - it must respond to a new
readership, increasingly more sophisticated and
integrated into the mainstream in a greater
degree than ever before. And on the business
front, it faces mounting costs and competition
for the advertising dollar.
THE CHARLOTTE POST
“THE PEOPLES NEWSPAPER”
Established 1918
Published Every Thursday
By The Charlotte Post Publishing Co., Inc.
2606-B. West Blvd.-Charlotte, N.C. 28208
Telephones (704) 392-1306,392-1307
Circulation 7,185
Sfi YEARS OF CONTINUOUS SERVICE
Bill Johnson .Editor-Publisher
’ o .Advertising Director
Hovey.....Circulation Manager
Gerald Q. Johnson.Business Manager
Second Class Postage Paid at
Charlotte, N.C. under the Act of March 3,1878
v Member National Newspaper Publishers
; ^Association
North Carolina Black Publishers Association
^■ ' ■' —«
Deadline for all news copy and photos is 5 p.m.
Monday. All photos and copy submitted becomes
the property of the Post, and will not be returned.
r National Advertising Representative
; Amalgamated Publishers, Inc.
■5 W 5th Suite 1403 2400 S. Michigan Ave
?Vew York, N Y. 10036 Chicago, III 60616
j(212 ) 489-1220Calumet 5-020Q
i
i
Legalize Marijuana?
By Gerald O. Johnson
Marijuana has been proven
to be less harmful than alco
hol, barbituates, and cigerette
smoking. All of these items
are easily purchasable from
any store in the country.
Yes, it has been fought and
tried over and over again to no
avail because today marijua
na is still illegal.
I think this is unfortunate.
But before going into detail let
me bring you up to date on my
own experiences with mari
juana.
During my hey day, alcohol
was the in thing and few
people were using marijuana
that I knew of. My first
experience with marijuana
was when I was in college. 1
did it because everybody else
was doing it. It really wasn't a
big thing except that It didn't
leave you with a hangover.
Well, eventually I realized
that I didn’t enjoy doing
everything that everybody
else was doing, and smoking
pot was one of those things, so
I stopped
Later, 1 realized that most
people smoking pot started
just to conform. Now, some of
these people are pot heads and
others are hard users. This
latter point is one of the major
reasons that anti-legalization
groups use to keep marijuana
from becoming legal. I will
return to this point later on.
1 have said all this to show
that I could care less personal
ly if it is legalized or not.
But it is a bit ironic to me
that it isn’t legal. And it is to
this irony that I will address
myself.
Obviously, if marijuana has
been proven a health hazard it
should be banned. But it has
not. Even things we eat have
been proven to be more harm
ful than marijuana. Insecti
cides, birth control pills, sac
charin, coffee, and many o
ffiif things have been shown to
be hazardous to your health,
yet they are still being sold
legally. Therefore, the govern
ment can't be concerned with
marijuana being a health ha
zard
Gerald 0. Johnson __
Returning to the point made
earlier, marijuana can only
lead to hard drugs if it is
illegal. Drug pushers use ma
rijuana as a lead to getting
users to go to hard drugs. It is
on to hard drugs but the
pushers themselves. There
fore, legalizing marijuana
would ease the drug traffic.
Moreover, since possession
of marijuana is a felony,
legalizing marijuana would
ease the backlog of cases
currently facing our courts.
But most of all I don't
believe that it is feasible for
government to think that they
can legislate anything that is a
self Infliction. It is true that a
person high on Pot is a traffic
risk. But he is less dangerous
than a person high on alcohol.
So then why have strict penal
ties governing one and slack
penalties governing the other.
There are many other rea
sons why legalization of mari
juana is feasible
What has occurred to me
recently is that the govern
ment is hesitant about legaliz
ing marijuana because it has
not determined how to regu
late it.
Obviously after legalizing
the stuff the government will
Uy to corner the market Thyy
will try to tax it, or sale it
or something to get some
money out of it.
But since the stuff is so
easily grown, and even easier
to find it would be a difficult
task to control the market. But
I am sure it will be legalized
and remember you heard it
first right here.
Now, for you people against
the legalization that are say
ing to yourselves ‘That fool is
Just saying this so he can
smoke pot without going to
jail' hear this!
I have smoked pot, but I do
not smoke it now and that is
the truth. You can ask any
body who associates with me
socially. I don’t put down
anybody for smoking it, nor do
I get upset if they smoke
around me.
It does, however, make logi
cal sense to me to have it
legalized. Most people who are
against it that I’ve talked to
have never tried it, never been
around It, yet they have an
opinion on it.
—They don't like It. They can
not justify why they don’t,
they just don't.
litis type of reasoning abili
ty is what has made the
donkey what he is today; an
ass
REDISTRICTING
My final word on re-district
ing Charlotte is that it will
P«s. There is no doubt that
under a redistricting plan will
place more Blacks on the city
council. But I will venture to
say that this does not mean
better representation.
A black man is Just as apt to
slide you down the annal of
time as a white one will. Mr.
Gantt, in my opinion, has been
the only black to represent the
black people well in city go
vernment.
The others either are or
were status seekers striving to
lift themselves above the e
veryday concerns of weetside
Charlotte. I am saying all this
to say that regardlesa of the
mechanism used to elect an
official it is still your respon
sibility to put the "Man” in
Whether you vote for oFl
gatnst the redtstncting plan is
really secondary to whom you
vote for in the council election.
Remember the city you save
may be your own!