Newspapers / The Charlotte post. / April 7, 1977, edition 1 / Page 2
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CfiMlJ tCIMl Districting - A Part Of The King Legacy By Hoyle H. Martin Sr. Poet Staff Writer While listening to Dr. Beverly Ford talk on the "Challenge of Martin Luther King" at a poorly attended rally for district repre sentation last week, we thought, "What is the relationship between the late Dr. King and our local guest · for district representation?" In seeking an answer to our own question, it occurred to us that the struggle for equality and justice is as old as human history. In that history we have seen too how the acts of statesmen and men in positions of power and influence have been able, through the uttering of a few chosen words, to impede or enhance the pace of equality and In our view, thoee memberS of the City Council who are expressing opposition to district representation is an example of impeding the quest for equality and justice. This ap peared quite clear to us when Councilman Harvey Gantt, a pro districting supporter, said at the "rally," "The debate over district representation is a power struggle," that is, a struggle between those who live in southeast Charlotte and who possess 99.9 percent of the political decision making power, and those who live in the other three-fourths of the city and have virtually no political influence to assure some direction of their own destiny. Racial Turmoil Putting the matter In historical perspective, we can see a parallel between the public figures who oppose district representation today and the sanction of segregated pu blic education by Dwight Eisenhow er while serving as President of the Wmed StAtm W MSO's. Tfce rrt«*ioirs Qp$>e late Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court at the time of the landmark 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education, which declared public school segre gation to be unconstitutional, note in Ημγ terms that in Warren'y opinion much of the racial turmoil that followed that decision might not have occurred if Eisenhower had, as President, supported the court. His failure to speak out has left a continuing legacy of resistance to desegregation. Now, nearly a quarter of a century later, we have a President who is calling for human rights for men, wherever they may live and, slowly but surely, positive responses are beginning to appear. In between this inaction of one ^/president and the action of another, emerged Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a humble Black minister who reminded America of its need to live its creed of democracy and human rights. With roots in the state of Georgia, the bone state of President Jimmy Carter, King undoubtedly has influenced Mr. Carter's think I r ■ ' ing, in part we think, to the extent of his calling for human rights. The Post believes the need for district representation is a charac teristic of Carter's call for human rights and direct voting and Martin Luther King's legacy of continuing the struggle for equality and justice. Therefore, those who oppose the concept of district representation are seeking to deny justice and equality to the vast majority of our citizens. It is the absence of district ing that has led to some neighbor hoods in Northwest Charlotte being locked-in by 1-85 on one side, 1-77 on another, the Northwest Freeway on yet another and dangerous aircraft flying overhead. Furthermore, it is our belief that the lack of district rëpi esénluùuii has ted io many parts of the city having zoning codes inconsistent with the quality of private homeownership in the area. Towards Greater Equality Councilman Harvey Gantt has said, "When a city gets to a popula tion of 300,000 or larger it is difficult for a lawmaking body of seven to be aware of all the problems and adequately articulate them for solu tions." It is just such an inadequacy of the present Council that accounts in part for the same neighborhoods in our city being raped by super highways, plaqued by unsightly maintenence garages and rendered insecure by poor zoning. These things tell us clearly that improving the quality of life at the neighbor hood level can and will only become a reality if and when district repre sentation becomes a reality. As we have said before, the basic concept of district representation is sound and consistent with the basic principles of democracy and equa lity of opportunity. It is in the final analysis, not a matter of race, income or social standing, but ra ther it is a plan to provide equitable geographic representation within -éhT rsty We believe that the 7-4 plan to be voted on April 19 will, if approved, be the beginning of more than token representation for blacks, beginning representation for all geographic areas and, most significantly, a move toward greater equality, free-, dom, self expression and human rights. As we passed tne 9tn year (April 4) since the assassination of Dr. King, it would appear that part of what he died for was that people - all people · might be treated with dignity and respect as a fellow human being. We suggest that anyone who would fail to vote, or not vote "for" district representation would be to forget the commitment and legacy of Dr. King and in some way make his death have been in vain. The New Teacher It is ironical that one of the biggest issues in education today is busing and integra tion, while television trains children's minds without dis crimination, and electronic communication devices are rocking the very foundations of the educational system. It remihdBf one of the old tale about the man and his wife ■ who sàt stubbornly arguing over whose turn it was to lock the door while a theif came in and robbed them of every thing they owned. While teachers and parents blame one another for the breakdown in discipline and the lark of respect for authori ty, television constantly éX poses adult disrespect for so cial and moral laws, making it equally difficult for both tea chers and parents to cope with children who have been schooled in this kind of know ledge. • While we worry over declin ing tests scores on verbal ability, television has given the children a whole new vocabulary and a new style of communication. Children learn from watching TV that the most valued form of con versation is the put-down, and the most flippent, insulting remark as way s gets the most applause. While we tell ourselves that "children who can't read can't learn anything else," and while we debate over who should receive a diploma and who is "qualified" to receive training for the highest paying jobs, television uses pictures and sound to teach everything from how to make peanut butter to the best way to rob a bank, and it offers step-by step instruction on how to become a prostitute, a kid naper, a hijacker, a black mailer, you name it! ' . Due· to electronic technotor gy, everything about the kifltf of knowledge children are re ceiving today has changed drastically from what we once received as children. The changes, however, are not all bad, there is also a good side to education via electronic technology. Consider the calculator. It solves in an instant those mathematical problems which took years to learn and hours to do. The miracle of the calculator is not just in the fact that it solves problems quickly, but that the mysteries of mathematics are no longer accessible just to the educated elite - but to all who have the small price of a pocket calcu lator. Information which once could be obtained only after hours of poring over pages and pages of print can now be obtained in an interesting and entertaining way within a very short time in front of a TV set. Also, people no longer have to compose letters in order to communicate with someone at a distance, as the telephone and the tape recor der have now become popular τ means of communication. Whether we like it or not, it is inevitable that the new technology will eventually af fect the teaching of reading, writing and arithmetic in much the same way that the food processing industry has changed the need for learning J· Τ '"?r ·«!» HHf'-MyWf ι , how., to cook. TQeqjfcliectropic -devices also turn IHMÎks of education inside out. It is no longer a question of finding the best ways and means of training children to get infor mation, since they are being bombarded with it. The real question now is, how are we going to teach children - and ourselves - to cope with the new electronic education?~Ss~~ with all technology, its advan tages and disadvantages pre sent us with a choice. We can either face it squarely and try to harness it as a force for good, or we can ignore it while we debate outmoded issues and let it destroy us altoge ther. JCSU Alumni Council Johnson C. Smith University Pre-Alumni Council of the United Negro College Fund in cooperation with the Midnight Special will sponsor an after Easter Disco at the Midnight Special on April 12 beginning at 10 p.m. Admission will be $1 with Ute proceeds going to the 'United Negro College Fund. TO BE EQUAL Carter's Job Program First, the good news. The Carter Administra tion has announced a $1.5 billion youth jobs program that it expects will create meaningful jobs for 200,000 people in the 16-24 age brackets. And the bad news? Well, the program stops far short of the kind of comprehensive youth development program our nation needs.- It's an important first step toward the goal, but no one should mistake the initial step forward for the final destination. And it's not an unflawed first step, either. Unless Congress and Labor Department officials plug the gaps, the program could well go the way \ other well-intentioned programs have gone. That's because the bulk of money will go to some46& state and local governments for youth work projects. The history^of other national programs left to local governments to adminis ter reveals a pattern of neglecting the most serious problem areas the programs were originally intended to deal with. In the youth job program, the intent is clearly to do something to solve the persistent unem ployment of economically disadvantaged young people. Many are black -= teenage black uiiciiijjiuyiueui is ixipie mat ior wruies, and in many inner-cities affects two-thirds and more of all black teenagers who want to work. Targeting the program to fit the needs of poor and minority young people would mean very strict federal guidelines and the funneling of program funds through community-based agen cies with a history of serving the disadvantaged, and with deep roots in the affected communities. By diffusing the youth job funds to 466 governmental units to distribute, the Adminis tration inevitably leaves the program vulnerable to subsidizing jobs for youngsters not in urgent need of assistance while neglecting other young sters who desperately need help. While an urban neighborhood improvement .program will be set, μρ, putting, your young peopleto^gfjc refurbishing inner-city neighbor 'floods, more money and jobs will go to a similar program for parks and recreation areas, most of which are removed from central city are·· where youth unemployment is highest. And while a large block of money has been set aside for experimental projects, the Labor Department has to take steps to ensure that the same old universities and think-tanks with no real ties to minority and poor communities won't repeat past performance by skimming off most of the funds. TV 4* - · - u«)|iiic uieae unu ouier iauiis, toe program holds great promise; it's an important first step. Still on the horizon is a comprehensive youth employment program that aims to provide every young person with the education, skills, training and work habits to enable him to become a fully productive member of our society. That's something that requires more than just creating work opportunities; it means a careful ly designed program geared to the needs of youth. With enlightened foresight and close coopera tion with minority groups and community-based national organizations, the Administration's program can be refined and sharpened to ensure success. Then, it can serve as a base from wtoch a truly all-encompassing program to serve ^br nation's youth can be developed. ..as i see it Hie Relationship Between Black Americans And Black Africans By uerald Ο. Johnson Recently, I had a talk with Mr. Anade Othow Mr. Othow la the husband of Dr. Helen Othow, the slater of Rev. Ben I Che vis and profeaaor of En glish at Johnaon C. Smith. Mr. Othow la an Instructor of accounting and buainess ad ministration at Johnson C. Smith University. Mr. Othow is an African. The talk 1 had with Mr Othow concerned what seems to be s nationwide problem about the relationship be tween the Black Americans and Black A/ricana Mr. Ot how was wwewhat perturbed by the fact that Black Ameri cana feel that Black Africans dislike them. He aaaured me ι that Africans have the aame misunderstanding about Black Americana Obvioualy, the dislikes re present a misunderstanding rather than a fact. What then are the underly ing reasons for such s misun derstanding? Mr. Othow be l'"ves that the lack of commu * nication and cultural expoaure is the basis for this grout misunderstanding. The communication pro blem, Mr. Othow explains, is centered around the slave trade in America and the colonization of Africa. The Black's in America have been isolated from their African brothers by slave trading Once arriving in America the white man used propaganda tactics to discredit Africa. The films shown here to Blacks depicted Africans as savage, unintelligent, and mean. Thus Blacks in America were led to believe that the whites had done them a favor by bringing them to this country. At the same time white missionaries in Africa were brain washing the Blacks there about how shiftless and lazy Blacks in America were These missionaries would also point out that Blacks in Ame rica had no roots because of their mixing with whites in this country. Because white people were serving ss messengers to give esch of us the information aooui me ouier, eacn ·κκ goi inaccurate information TTtiS in Mr. Othow'* opinion wai and «till is the primary reason for the misunderstanding be tween Black Africans and Black Americans. Culturally, Mr. Othow thinks both Black Americans and Black Africans do not spend enough time trying to understand each others differ ences. A conflict of interest exists because both groups feel that because we both are oC^tbe same color we both ihocrid have the tame thought processes. This is an Impossi bility because of the differ ences in culture. Mr. Othow feels that we betray each other by having preconceived ideas about how things should be in Africa and America instead of accepting the way things are and discovering why are they that way. He cites as an example the recent upheavals in Africa. Many Black Americana rushed to Africa to give assistance in this upheaval. Because they thought prior to getting to Africa that they would be wPlcomrd with op»·» arms, many Black Americans were disappointed when some re sented them being there. Ag gain. this was because Africa is colonized and each country is influenced by different countries. To understand colonization let us assume that the United States was not united. Futher assume that every state was controlled by another country oversea·; North Caroline might possibly be controlled by France, South Carolina by England and etc. Thus natural boundaries mean nothing as far as the ruling of the coun try. Under these circumstan ces each state in the U.S. would represent a colony and this country would be colonis ed. This is what exists in Africa. It has no national government but quite as few colonies. Mr. Othow concluded by saying that to correct the current situation (distrust and misunderstanding) we need to do the following things : , ( 1 ) Isolate our common factors and use this as a basis for uniting. Currently, Black's everywhere are resisting white dominace. Couple this with our common heritage and we have a good foundation to start from. 2) Bridge the current commu nication gap that exists be tween the Black Americans and Black Africans. Discus sion groups, church involvetn ment, and a hoat of oth#r ideas are available to help solve this problem. 3) Educate each other on fact and rid ourselves of the emo tionalism that now exist. We must come together as people; set common goals rid ourselves of common pro Wemt. Black people world wide are victims of eco cultural, and humaae - vation and only when we < together as one can we ι from hyman bondage. I would like to thank Othow for sharing Ma tlx with me and allowing .. express his thoughts to I think his concerns are and relative and that we ι to address ourselves to concerns. H*oeld be a to the most feeble of nr that It is no accident Black people's aggr···!" Africa p—alieli that of people's in * ca We are one, we are sed as one, so, I think ahould unite as omf Aa Scott-Heron puts M /"Its Γ South Africa to 9luth lina." 1 ΙΉΕ tHAKUUTTE FOOT •THE PEOPLES NEWSPAPER" Established 1918 Published Every Thursday By The Charlotte Poet Publishing Co., Inc. 2606-Β. West Blvd.-Charlotte, N.C. 28208 Telephones (704) 382-1308,392-1307 Circulation 7,185 58 YEARS OF CONTINUOUS SERVICE Bill Johnson Editor-Publisher Albert Campbell Advertising Director Bernard Reeves General Manager, Gerald O. Johnson Business Manager Second Class Postage Psid 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. All photos and copy submitted becomes the property of the Poet, and will not be returned. National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc. 45 W. 5th Suite 1403 2400 S. Michigan Ave. New York, N Y. 10036 Chicago, 111. 60616 (212) 488-1220 Calumet 5-0200 ♦rwr importance or maintaining ECONOMIC clout» obvious. CLOUT1$ NOTMAINTAINED WHEN BLACK DOLLARS ARE60IN6 INTO BlMHESfES THAT PUT THE MONEY INTO THE SUBURBS INSTEAD OF BACH I M TO THE BLACK COMMUNITY ECONOMY." MICHIGAN CHRONICLE .>#L SUPURBJA I \ Vernon Ε. Jordan Jr. ■IBLACK COMMUNITY Black5» Destiny In Own Hands G«r»WO John**»
April 7, 1977, edition 1
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