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cdiioriM cconcnn ST F aith, Hopes Keys To Success By Hoyle H. Martin Sr. Post Executive Editor Some years ago, to paraphrase Adrian A. Paradis, a rather like able young man graduated from a midwestern high school and immediately took a job as a time keeper for a railroad construction company. Six months later, the young man moved to the city and became a bookkeeper in a bank. Shortly thereafter he returned to the family homestead where he worked for ten years as a farmer. Following the outbreak of World War I, the young man voluntarily became a soldier. An honorable discharge with the rank of captain was followed by marriage to a hometown sweatheart and a partnership with a friend in the establishment of a men’s cloth ing store where he became a haber dasher in Kansas City. Twenty-five years later, following a distinguish ed political career and despite hav ing only a high school education, the young tnan, Harr^ S. Truman, was inaugurated as the 33rd President of die United States. This brief story about an Ameri can President has probably been reviewed in the history books read by the thousands of colleges and high school graduates from across the nation. However, what many of the students undoubtedly did not recognize was how the story relates to their recent graduation. In fact, in the excitement and joy that occom panied graduation, many forgot, at least momentarily, that commence ment is not the end but the begin ning. For many of these graduates the question, “beginning of what?” is still a haunting and somewhat frightening reality. It is haunting and frightening because the job, the position, the career, for which their 12 or 16 years of schooling was preparing them for is not there. It is frightening because in American society youl- occupation is symbol of being. Daniel Patrick Moynihan stated this clearly when he said, “From the very outset,... employment...is the primary source of individual and group identity. In America what you do is what you are: To do nothing is to be nothing; to do little is to be little.” Attempting To Cope The prospect of being “nothing” or being “little” immediately after graduation from high school or college is a reality that many graduates are attempting to cope with along with the question of whether their education was after all worth the effort. U.S. Secretary of Labor Ray Marshall expressed an awareness of this problem when he told the graduating class of Huston Tillotson College last month that someoftherri“wil^experience unemployment...a terrible experi ence...which many never forget...I can give you a little practical experience on how to deal with it. The important thing to remem ber is not to lose confidence in yourself and your potential...Many successful people, both black and white, had to endure long periods of hunting for the right job. Don’t lose hope. Even in the worst of econo mies there are somg jobs. It just takes a trememdous amount of determination and self-confidence to find them and to land them.” Marshall’s words are well illustra ted in the story of the young black well trained engineer who returned to the state of Georgia in the early 1950s and went to a frim seeking a job. The employer refering ot the young man as a “boy” said we “don’t hire niggers here and you know that so why did you apply?” The young man replied, “because I have a great talent that you can use!” The startled employer looked up and said, “if you have that kind of determination, I’ll hire you now.” Kind Of Determination Yes, it takes determination, the will to succeed, the desire to be what you want to be to get and successful ly hold a job. A high school diploma or even a college degree is no guarantee of a job. The individual must recognize as Eric Hoffer has clearly noted, “changing times re quire that we continue to re-educate ourselves or be lost with the passage of events or be apart of the sense of human waste that too many people feel.” as amicuii as me job search and the beginning of your career may be, determination and faith in your potential will enable the positive thinking career-job seeker to ac hieve success in his endeavors. The positive thinking-positive attitude feeling will help the new graduate to realize that he is considerably better off than the millions who, for what ever reason, have missed the oppor tunity to get an education and thus lack any skills upon which they can build hope through their potential. Let us remind you however, that the continued development of your academic skills will be essential to realizing your ambition of a good job with good pay and security. The ability to read, write and think, and know something about yourself, are essential to your personal and occu pational development. Thus, in these times of high unemployment, continued discrimi nation in thp job market and a constantly changing labor market demand^ we must, particularly as black people, commit ourselves to not let the battle bring up to defeat. Hope, faith and more hope is the only way for success in the future. DUCKS RETICENCE TO SEIZE THE INITIATIVE TO ORGANIZE THEIR COMMUNITIES0 SAID DOUGLAS G. GLASGOW, DEAN OF HOWARD MMjR&TT SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK, ISA MAJOR FACTOR AND AN IMPORTANT FACTOR CONTRIBUTING TO OUR COMMUNITIES' UNDEVELOPED STATUS0 POLITICAN BUSINESS MAN POCTORS lawyers artists teachers ministers WORKERS COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS SOCIAL WORKERS FRATERNAL GROUPS FINANCE COMPUTER SCIENCE INSTITUTION ADMINISTRATION ENGINEERING PLANNING ARCHITECTURE BLACKPRESS Blacks9 Destiny In Own Hands Congressional Call Safe And Sanitary Housing By Charles E. Belle Special To The Post For most people the decision to buy a home is one of the most important they’ll ever make both in terms of the investment and responsi bility. Your banker can help you with the financing of a new home but only you can decide whether to buy and what house is right for your family. Morton A. Baruch, Deputy Assistant Secre tary for Housing-Deputy Federal Housing Commissioner in the Department of Housing and Urban Development claims the Congress of the United States is committed to creating more housing for the public. Mr. Baruch says housing is a basic commodity equal to food and clothing in the range of human needs. Congress has mandat ed decent, safe and sanitary housing, to quote the law. This requires workable, responsive, consistent and dependable housing for the population of the United States. Mr. Baruch was not blaming the bankers in front of him at the American Bankers’ Association Real Estate Conference at the St. r rancis Hotel in ban f rancisco for the sickness of the shelter industry. But rather pointing in the direction of the nearest care unit - the federal government. Pointing out that the housing programs to emit from the Potomac from now on were going to be consistently to correct past abuses of the industry. The sharp up and down swings which account for the slumps and highs in construction activities will be confin ed to a steady flow policy. There is not to be the musues of the construction industry through the housing market to start up or down the economy depending on inflation and unemployment. Instead, Congress is calling for a slower but steady policy of continued construction of housing. This fine tuning of the system is to make it more effective for the public if not the private contractors. Housing for Low-Income Families The immediate implications of this type of policy is to arrest any sharp upturn in single family dwelling construction. However, it should eliminate any future droughts from the availability of housing as periodically occurs in the U.S. marketplace. Mr. Baruch’s Congressional mandate means he also must take care of housing for low-income families. He is especially well equipped to deal with this problem since he formerly served in HUD’s office of Assisted Housing which is responsible for the section 8 Housing Assis tance Payments Program and the traditional public housing program. His experience includes working with HUD’s subsidized programs section 235,236 and Rent Supple ment Program. Thus, the department has requested and received a supplemental appropriation which will produce over 350,000 units this fiscal year under section 8 Housing Assistance payments program. To induce more conventional financing for construction, contract terms have been increased from 20 to 30 years. This means protection for low-income families, developers and lenders. Tenants are required to pay 15 to 25 percent of their income for rent. Section 8 funds guarantee the balance of the contract rent for each dwelling unit. Furthermore, inflation is not a problem since there is an automatic annual rent adjustment plus an additional rent adjustment for utility and property tax increase. This assures an adequate return to the owner of the property and protects the tenants from rent increases beyond their ability to pay. Something On Your Mind? Something on your mind is the name of a column devoted to our readers of this newspaper-as long as it relates in some way to young people, regardless of age. It will be written by you and about whatever is on your mind! So, if you have something to say...WRITE ON! Some subjects that may be of special interest to you are: Drugs, Generation Gaps, Welfare, Gangs, School, Going Steady, Police Revo lution, Whites, Blacks, Integration, Busing, Draft, God, Negro churches, etc. TO BE EQUAL j Vernon E. Jordan Jr. | Court Rules Bias Is OK The Supreme Court recently handed down decisions in two cases concerned with discrimi natory effects of some seniority systems that in effect permits the perpetuation of past discrimi natory policies. The rulings defy logic, sanction racist prac tices, and deny to masses of workers their constitutional rights. m me neari oi tne rulings is the distinction made by the Court’s majority between discrimi nation that took place before the 1964 Civil Rights Act went into effect in 1965, and discrimination that took place after that date. In the case of major significance for minority workers, involving a trucking firm, the issudfr concerned a two-track system whereby whites were assigned to high-paying long haul routes while black drivers got the less lucrative city jobs. Under a union contract, there were two seniority lists, one for each group. That meant blacks seeking to switch to the long-haul routes after the Civil Rights Act outlawed the discriminatory hiring and assign ment practices had to give up their seniority protection. If they moved to the long haul routes, they came in at the bottom of the seniority ladder and had less protection against layoffs. In another related case, an airline stewar dess was forced to resign because she married. Then, after company policy was changed she was rehired, but with the loss of previous seniority rights. The Supreme Court was faced with cases whose essential elements had already been dealt with by more than 30 Appeals Court rulings. These held seniority systems could not perpetuate discriminatory actions, including those in effect before passage of the Civil Rights Act. The best way to protect the valuable principle of seniority is to ensure that it does not become an instrument of discrimination. By ignoring prior decisions and allowing discriminatory seniority systems to continue, thus sanctioning the continuing effects of past discrimination, the Court took another step in what is beginning to look like a crusade to limit the scope of civil rights laws and constitutional guarantees. The Court fell back on a pernicious formula it has been using lately — intent to discriminate. Since, the Court ruled, seniority systems are neutral and not designed to discriminate, they should be left untouched, even though their effect is discriminatory. i ms makes a mockery of both the law and of common sense. In the words of the Court’s majority, “An otherwise neutral, legitimate seniority system doesn’t become unlawful sim ply because it may perpetuate” pre-1965 discri minatory practices. But how “neutral” is a system that continues the effects of discrimination? How can the Court use that little word, “simply” as though discriminatory effects that freeze workers into lower pay, fewer privileges, and inferior jobs, are not all that important? In the trucking case, the Court professed to be concerned about protecting the seniority rights of employees whose employers had discriminat 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 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^CarngbrtL^^^-^AdvertisingDirector Second Class Postage No. 965500 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 ■ ■■ '■'■■■ » n.^ 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 VIE W FROM HERE Let’s Get It All Together By Gary Gregg Post Staff Writer Let's get it all together. For the past two weeks I’ve discussed in this column my views on how black people can shake the messiah syndrone of • leadership and each of us begin developing personal lea dership. It is crucial that not only black men. but black women also develop this sense of leadership, this responsibility of dealing with racial injus tices. inequities and oppres sion whereever we find it. It is also crucial that we do this together In other words, while we develop the strength and wherewithal to stand a lone when necessary, we must also build the togetherness which will enable us to pull in unison also Again, this togetherness must be built from the bottom up It must begin with indivi dual blacks. Let's take a man and a woman, black, proud, each with the leadership qualities discussed in the column in previous weeks How can they put it all together? The first step is blunt hones tv Let’s declare an unequivo cal end to the elaborate games we play with each other. Let’s erase from our minds, individually and col lectively, the myth of “getting over" on each other. A man for instance, must begin to see a woman as a total individual, not merely a shapely sex object. Black men must be willing to deal with the total black woman, her mind, her emo tions, her hopes, drives, de sires and strength, yes and even her weaknesses Men must learn, not only to be strong, but also to be gentle, not only to be aggressive, but to be patient. And most of all, black men must somehow gain enough security not to be threatened by the develop ment and success of black women. Now if all women will go back and reread the previous two paragraphs, substituting “women" where the word men " appears the same thing applies That's honesty: the ability to require of yourself the same standards, demands and un derstanding you would like to see in others. Centuries ago. it was said this way. "You shall love your neighbor as your self." And that’s what I’m really talking about — Love. As a people we must learn to love ourselves. We’ve been taught in this society to hate our selves, to hate those program med inconsistencies that raci sm has overblown. We've been taught to violate the very principles of existence, to sub jugate the very powers which make us humans and to define ourselves only within the con text of the white society As long as we do that we will hate ourselves. To love ourselves we must change all that. Just what is love? For the purpose of this column, the definition I use is Love is tender outgoing con cern for the object of that love. Therefore, if we love our selves. then we have tender outgoing concern for black people On the individual level, black men and black women operating with this definition uppermost in mind will stop competing and begin comple menting each other. Black men will stop using their hands to beat black women into the ground and will begin uplifting them. Expanded to the collective sense, this love of self will mean that black people will stop ripping each other off. We will aid each other. We’ll stop letting each other rot in des pair. We will begin reaching out to help each other. We’ll stop complaining about the immorality of racism, the un fairness of white folks and the gargantuan nature of the struggle; we will push up our sleeves and get about the business of solving the pro blems Does this sound like the same old stuff you've heard before? It is! Years ago, blacks such as Phyllis Wheat ley, Frederick Douglass, Mar cus Garvey and the great pioneers who founded and shaped the black press and black ministers and even the more recent revolutionaries have all said basically the same thing We must do it ourselves The only major difference that I can see is that they saw it happening collectively be fore it happened individually I think that has been our mistake over the years. As I've said for the past two weeks in this column, we must • first develop individually. We must each develop into lead ers whether anyone else does or not. We must cease to sit around waiting for the great black Messiah. But once we get the individual thing toge ther. we then can put it all together, first on the indivi dual basis, then collectively. As we learn to be honest with each other, the second step of putting it all together will grow naturally •• mutual respect. Mutual respect will help us to understand that black peo ple don’t have to be monolithic to be united. In other words, we don't all have to be Demo crats. We should, however be registered and voting We don't have to be rich. We should be hardworking and successful. We don't all have to believe the same thing We should have our priorities in the right order Mutual respect will help us work together no matter what church we attend, what party we belong to. what section we live in. what school we attend ed or what organization we are pledged to Respect allows for the differences, but em phasizes that we're all in this struggle together We must therefore, struggle together. Until we’ve all achieved suc cess to the limit of our indivi dual capability, none of us have anything to crow about. Honesty and mutual respect must be built upon an unyield ing preserverance, a stick-to itiveness, that will never give up. Mothers and fathers must sit down and tell their children of this. We must teach them to be strong, understanding. We must not allow the generation gap to develop because that’s the way we lose generations, much like we've about lost this one. We must not despair when things are at their darkest. We must move forward whe ther in dark or light, knowing that to stand still means cert tain defeat. As I’ve said before, the job isn t easy But then, for that matter, neither is failure. We’ve worked hard in this country to catch hell. Crime is hard work. Self-destruction with alcohol and drugs is hard work Swallowing pride to become snivelling second class citizens has been hard, hard work. Why can't we work just as hard for our development?
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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June 16, 1977, edition 1
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