Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / April 21, 1977, edition 1 / Page 2
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An Act Of Maturity By Hoyle H. MartinSrl Post Executive Editor In spite of opposition by most public officials and a number of business leaders, Charlotte voters expressed a desire to participate in local decision-making by endorsing district representation on Tuesday. As a result of this action, the November 8 election will result in a City Council of 11 members, with seven elected from districts and four elected at-large. We view this approval of district ing by the Charlotte electorate an act of maturity because it required of many individuals, organizations, ethnic, economic, and geographic groups the courage to rise above past differences for the benefit of a common good, that is, a better, more representative form of local govern ment. In many past local elections, ' affluent white southeast Charlotte precincts were joined by black precincts in support of bond and other issues while middle-to-lower income whites in northeast and other parts of Charlotte opposed such issues. On other issues, too - desegregation, busing and open hou sing, to name a few - blacks have been noticably divided from middle to-low income whites, because it was _Jbese groups that would be most affected by such changes. In spite of these lingering differ ences, Chaiiotteans in sufficient numbers from all parts of the city went to the polls to end over 30 years of southeastern sectional domina tion of local government. In this, move the voters said, "Let us practice and not just preach repre sentative government." However, we must hastily add that district representation does not gua rantee good or better government. The challenge and the responsibility is now more directly upon each of us as citizens to seek out and develop individuals of high moral character, leadership and a sensitive concern for helping to make the quality of life better for all Charlotteans. We must elect as district representatives in dividuals who will keep sectionalism in proper perspective; we must recognize that past sectionalism has been partly the fault or responsibili ty of all; and we must recognize that' district representation will not solve all our problems and, in fact, it may create some new ones. What we are attempting to say is that it will take even greater acts of maturity to make good government better government. The seven-district, four-at-large system of government will undoubt edly bring a number of changes in city government. Let us hope that with the active and constructive support of the electorate ours will truly be a better government. This can only happen if weall share in the courage that enables us to exhibit acts of maturity now and in the future. Foot-In-Mouth Diplomacy Doesn't Work Shortly before being confirmed as ambassador to the U.N., Andrew Young admitted he had no answer to a CBS-TV news reporter's question as to why he (Young) had expressed opposition to U.S. involvement in Viet,. Mae*, but applauded Cuban jnvjMfr in Angola as a "stabliz Since that time, however, Young has had plenty of answers, and ironically, the right answers for questions that were stated in the wrong setting. What we mean is that Young has been using what his critics call "open-mouth diploma cy" to express his personal views as a black American from a U.N. · platform designed to communicate some aspects of American foreign policy. For example, when Young said earlier thi« month that the United States "shouldn't get paranoid about communism" in Africa, and should avoid "knee-jerk reactions to it," be was .saying that people in under developed ill-fed nations can't afford the luxury of debating ideologies when death from starvation and malnutrition is a daily event. Black Americnas have long understood this; whites, particularly affluent I whites, fail to get the message. On the other hand, when Young apologized after accusing Britian of having "institutionalized racism more than anyone in history" and when he said the white-rule govern ment of South Africa is "illegiti mate," then reacted to criticism by ; calling it "unrepresentative," we witnessed "foot-in-mouth diploma cy." The point is, Young's state ments'about both nations are histo rically true, yet for reasons of foreign relations, he was forced to modify his original statements. In these instances Young gave credibi lity to two lies, lies that will be perpetuated in the history books of •the western world even more than in the past. The Post hopes that in the future Ambassador Young will choose his words more carefully. We say this because it is better to have not uttered a truth, than to do so, and in the process of retracting it for reasons of diplomacy, giving validi ty to a he. No Mr. Young, we don't need "foot-in-mouth diplomacy," it's bad for you and your credibility, it's bad for America and it's bad for minority people, at home and a broad. By D. Marie Washington The Old Days Are Gone Parente, ta general, are somewhat bewildered by to day's relationship between pa rents and the school. Black parents especially recall that : in the small communities of the south, everybody knew the ; teachers and held them in high esteem, and there was η»ιΗ·»ι understanding and respect be tween teachers and parents. The community kept a close watch over the teacher's con duct and moral behavior, and in return for the strict stand ards which they imposed upon teachers, the parent commu nity gave teachers almost complete authority over the child during school hours. Un der these conditions, patents had no need to go to the school, and the school did not expect the parent to visit except when they were invited to see the child perform in a school play or for some similar occasion. Times are different now. Today, the child is often plac ed under the charge of com plete strangers. Strong teach er unions have taken teatbers from under the control of community approval, and tea chers no longer have the au thority over the child which parents once automatically gave to them. The old founda tions for the mutual respect which existed between pa rents and teachers have all but disappeared. Nowadays, parents and teachers bave to , make a special effort to be come acquainted. Many parents don't visit the school voluntarily because they have not realized that the ■ old traditional way of handing s the child over to the school is no longer effective, and they may not realize the impor tance of getting to know the teacher before the child gets into difficulty. When parents and teachers do not know one another, it leaves a gap where the child can play the teacher and < parent against each other. Many parents, meeting a teacher for the first time, have been quite shocked to find that the teacher was not quite the terrible person Johnny had made them out to be, and ' many teachers have been e qually surprised to find that parents were not at all indiffe rent to the way Johnny be haves in school. It is especially important for teachers and parents to be come acquainted in newly integrated schools. Frequent ly, parents are worried about racism. Meeting the teacher, in many instances, may hel(> to dispel some of tfieee Tears. ~ Teachers also benefit from these meetings because quite often they carry images of the black parent which are inac curate and grossly distorted. Parents need not fed hesi tant about visiting the school, as most schools expect and encourage parents to beotne acquainted with the cMMfet) teacher, and will often JgrU railge pArent-teachiT Atnfir^ ence hours (or this purpose. In the event that the school does not arrange for such meetings, it is a good idea for parents to arrange to visit the teacher by first Bending a note asking the teacher to suggest a time when it would be most convenient to have a confer ence. During the visit, the parent may want to talk over the child's progress and find out how the child is getting along in the classroom. Tbe parent may also be interested in learning of tbe teacher's plans for working with the children iBd in offering sup port and help. Parents who work during school hours may wonder if it is worth while to take time off from work to visit the school when everything seems to be going alright But such a meeting is never a waste of time. It helps the parent, it helps the teacher, and it goes a long way toward establishing those mutual bonds of respect which are so necessary for the child's success in school. το BE EQUAL The Electoral College.. President Carter has proposed some sweeping changes in the electoral process designed to make American politics more democratic. Some of his proposals would do just that, but (Hie could cause more problems than it solves. That is the plan to abolish the electoral college and replace it with the direct election of the President. At present voters cast their ballots for slates of candidates pledged to support one of the contenders for the Presidency. The slate that gets the majority of votes in a state gets all that state's votes in the electoral college. _ It's an unwieldy process, but it has served us well in its t almost 200 years of operation and it should not lightly be cast aside. ~~ The major flaw in the process - that electors might vote for candidates other than the one they're pledged to - can be corrected by simply doing away with the electors and crediting each state with the appropriate number of electoral votes. ....... uu il. .4 .1..&J *.« a^v u ύύ uj new u<v iuuuvvv wwmvu vi wrc President through the electoral college mecha nism, and you open the door to the end of the two-party system. It could also lead to election of a president by a minority of voters unless a run-off election takes place, and a run-off would be in itself an incitement for minor parties which could bargain away their endorsements to the highest bidder. Remember George Wallace? For blacks, abolition of the electoral college would severely limit our political leverage in national élections. The larger states have the most electoral votes. No one can become President without taking at least some states from among Califor nia, New York, Illinois, Texas, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Ohio. Take another look at that list. All of those states have significant black and minority populations. Black support in some of those Β ttaterlft essential for victory ictjlhe Presidential i iMl· Take away the ele4toral3«ol>ege,0 and toe^1 Importance of that black vote melts away. Blacks, instead of being crucial to victory in major states, simply become ten percent of the total electorate, with reduced impact. The same is true for other minorities and for city-dwellers. The one national arena where large groups of people deprived of influence in the Congress and in local governments can make their interests felt would be stripped away. Inevitably, direct dection of the Présidait would ultimately mean formation of black parties, voting along racial lines and increasing ly separated from the main parties, themselves weakened and dependent upon coalitions with splinter groups. The result would be less democratic in the real sense than the present system. Hie rest of the Administration program is just fine. It consists of plans for finally ending the patchwork of local election registration laws that operate to exclude people from the electoral process. States unreasonably require advance registre tion and make the process difficult, with registration periods and facilities often arranged 4 to discourage potential voters. <+,\ α s ι see id Plight Of Entertainment By Gerald Ο. Johnson I enjoy good entertainment as much aa the other guy. Athletic events, Jazz festival·, and the like are good enter tainment. But I am afraid that somehow In a capitalistic soci ety we have reversed priori ties in an Ironic way. It bothers me to see guys like Pete Rose and Reggie Jackaon holding out to get a multi-million dollar contract to play baaebell. My feelings go beyond baseball, however, because I fed the same way about football, baaketball, or any other entertainer making that type of money for enter taining. Television perform ers, singers, and the like fall into the same category. What is so disturbing about all of this is baaed on thepocial * value such actlvitiea have as compared to more beneficial activities. Let me give you some ex amples. Doctors doing cancer research, legitimately, make far less money than Jack Nlcklaus makes playing golf. What is more important, find ing · curie For cancer or hitting a golf ball 300 yard·? I mean what social relevance la there In golf? Moreover, work being done in special education with the handicap is a worthwhile so cial activity. The sodal value of such an activity la far more important than OJ Simpson gaining 3000 yards playing football. Yet O.J. Is a million aire and programs with the handicapped are suffering due to the lack of funds. , The comparisons go on and ort. At first It didn't occur to me why such a reversal of values existed. But after pon dering this matter for quite a while I realized why this is so. Entertainment is a dream for the majority of Americans, the common folk. Through entertainment the common people can touch, feel, and realize that through it a com mon man still can make it. It is s form that most people can relate to and understand; through entertainment, which is for the common, by the common, and of the common, we see a reflection of our weaknesses, our strengths, and a mean· of getting out from being common. Conee quently, we art willing to •pend our laat dime· for this enrichment, this dream, φ la thing called entertainment But while we throw good money away on impoaaible dreams, we are letting reality slip away. To put It quite simply the world would continue to spin without football, but It could spin much better Without di tea»e, air pollution, war, and the like. Maybe I am wrong, but if we, the common folk, spent at much time and money on world eventa aa we do on sporting eventa this place would be a much better place to live. Yet Virginia There la An Energy Crisis For all of you who might have thought that the energy crista waa a hoax, Carter has some news for you. It is here. To prove it the price· on scarce resources will skyroc ket over the next few years. The crisis is real and your lifestyle will start changing, now. The problem is many people think this is s joke or that it is s political game. The truth is Carter is the only recent Présidant to make an unpopular decision today for a necessary torn morrow Because moat of us can't see pass our noses, it is easy to see why we can't visualise a short age. The fuel pomps will no) dry up by the end of the week But if we continue U> resources at our present rate we will be energyleaa by 19M. Carter will not be President in IWO. He might not be 11 vine in 1M0. So, he could have easily taken the easy way out and aald to HaO wfl£ the energy criais. This way ha could remain popular and whan IMO rolled around and wo were energy lees he would not even get blamed Yet, Carter made an unpo pular decision because It la best for the country You will rind a lot about this energy policy that will affect you dirwtly But fWor*· you condemn the'policy, think a bout how you had to wait in long lines during the embargo. If we dont conserve now, the outcome could be much worse. Tid Bit* Old you know Exxon Is the moat popular aervice station among blacks. Do you know why? Exxon was the first ms)or Oil company to accept blacks credit. Happy Motor you know why blacks brown bag It when they tra vel? Until recently, blacks were not allowed to eat at roadside restaurants, hence, on long trips blacks had to prepare their meals in ad vance. Weal Charlotte'· 1948 J daw To Meet Sunday >1 Thé Weet Charlotte High ! School class ef IMS is holding a meeting Sunday April M, at the Dalebrook Barber Shop located on Beatties For# Road. All members are urged ( to be In attendance. ^ ± 4 McCrorey YMCA To Hold Regtatratkm I McCrorey Branch YMCA j will hold registration (or sum· : mer swim classes beginning Monday. May 2. "> | For more information, please contact the McCrorey Branch YMCA. st 3M-33M. f THECHARLOTTEPOST "THE PEOPLES NEWSPAPER" Established 1918 Published Every Thursday By The Charlotte Poet Publishing Co., Inc. 2606-B West Blvd.-Charlotte, N.C. 28208 Telephones (704) 392-1306,392-1307 Circulation, 7,185 58 YEARS OF CONTINUOUS SERVICE Bill Johnson - Editor-Publisher Hoyle H. Martin Sr Executive Editor Bernard Reeves General Manager V.W. Pangburn Circulation Director Albert Campbell Advertising Director 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. All photos and copy submitted becomes the property of the Post, and will not be returned. National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc. 45 W. 5th Suite 1409 2400 S. Michigan Ave. New York, N Y. 10036 Chicago, 111. 60616 (212) 489-1220 Calumet &-0200 · · Vernon Ε. Jordan Jr. ; THEDOPE\ TEMPTER DRUNKENNESS OFPOPE IS A FLATTERING PB%J(SHEETPOISONAPLEASANT SIN, WHICH WHOSOEVER HATH NATN NOTHIHSELÇ WHICH WHOSOEVER DOTH COMMIT, DOTH NOT COMMIT SIN, BUT HE HMSELFIS WHOLLY SIN. Aumtmr Needed Now - An Aroused Black Community ' Gerald0 Johnson
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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April 21, 1977, edition 1
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