Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Sept. 29, 1977, edition 1 / Page 2
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cliiiTcomr Hack Political Bargaining Power TO BE EQUAL By Hoyle H. Martin Sr. Post Executive Editor Jim Black, a 29-year-old black mayoral candidate who was reject ed last week by some black political leaders, ignored by others and hard ly even recognized by the white political leadership, has neverthe less become the symbol of the black voter’s bargaining power in the November 8 general election. Propelled into the Democratic mayoral primary with little money, no previous political experience and little encouragement from esta blished political personalities, Black - encouraged by a small but enthusi astic group of young supporters - took up the banner of many who feel left out of the political mainstream. In that regard, Black said during the campaign, “There are a lot of people - young people, black people, and other people - who don’t like politics because of the way things have been run for so long...” Black’s remarks was made in direct reference to Jim Whittington’s 18-years on the city council and was apparently in agree ment with the thinking of at least 4,389 other Charlotteans. Rejection Of Influence More significantly, Black’s 4,389 votes and his sweep of the reportedly 18 predominately black precincts, represents a rejection of the alleged influence of the Black Political Caucus and demonstrates that no group or political party should take the black voters for granted. For example, attorney Myles Hay nes, former county Democratic Par ty Chairman and Chairman of Jim Whittington’s campaign, reportedly said after the mayoral nomination was decided that he was sure -black votes would go to Whittington in November. It is time for white politicans to stop being so sure of what blacks are going to do with their votes. It is no , coincidence, for example, that Jim Black had among his primary con cerns the “rising rate of unemploy ment, especially among minorities and youths,” at a time when black youth joblessness nationwide is 40 percent and a President that blacks nelped elect to relieve that problem is telling black America to “be patient.” Jim Black’s support at the polls, we believe, was largely the black community’s way of saying it has had patience long enough with Whit tington and the other white and black political forces. They want to see some concrete evidence of con cern for the needs of the black community. They are saying, “don’t take our vote for granted, we will bargin for power and support or take our votes elsewhere.” They are saying too it is not enough for politicans to tell the Black Political Caucus behind closed doors what they will try to do for the communi r ■ < I. ■■■■■uni 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 Ronnie Sadler .Circulation Director Albert Campbell..Advertising Director 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. 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 ty, rather, they must say these things publicly for all to hear. Furthermore, the fact that the Black Women’s Caucus and one of the black ministers’ organizations did not endorse anyone for the mayoral nomination is another indi cation that no one can assume they will get the black vote come Novem ber 8. We said in this column two weeks ago that “we believe the time has come for Charlotte’s black commu nity to pause and take a serious look at itself...particularly, at this time, in the area of leadership.” That time is here, now, before the November general election. The events of last weekend are conclusive evidence that better leadership is vitally needed. Mack Concerns We believe it is time for blacks and their leaders to come together to develop a policy position on their needs and concerns for the immedi ate and distant future. We need to be sure that black concerns about housing patterns, zoning, roads, me dical facilities, police protection, welfare services, employment and job up-grading, public transporta tion and recreational facilities are given equal consideration to others. Such a policy position should be presented to all candidates for pu blic comment and reaction without a set of programmed pre-arranged questions for the candidates to re spond to. This will give the black community a position of political bargaining power and will clear the air on some of the vague commit ments that politicians so often offer W vuiuo. We believe that such an approach is quite practical, if black political, social and business leaders can and will set aside their personal and professional ambitions in the best interest of the black community - and in the long run the Charlotte community. Thus, out of the ashes of Jim Black’s defeat - whether or not he was our personal choice - exist the seeds of a greater victory for black Charlotteans. Let us act now for tomorrow may be too late. Something On Your Mind? “Something on your mind” is the name of a column devoted to you - the young at heart readers of this newspaper — as long as it relates in some way to young people, regard less of age. Or any other subject you want to write about. Remember it’s your column. Your article should be at least 250 words, type-written and double spaced pre ferred. Include your name, age, school, and a clear photo, and send it to the Editor, Charlotte Post News paper, Post Office Box 97, Charlotte, N.C. 28230. By Gerald O. Johnson It has been reported by Jim Black that the Black Political Caucus ignored him and Jim Harris in a recent political forum held by the caucus. Mr. Black felt he was mis treated on this occasion. I concur whole-heartedly. If Mr. Black and others were invited to express their opin ions then each should’ve been given equal time to do just that. It was the responsibility of the caucus to format the pro gram to see to it that each candidate got equal time to express his opinion on issues deemed important by the Cau cus. It is my understanding that the candidates other than Jim Whittington got railroaded. If the Caucus had intended to endorse Jim Whittington, anyway, then they should not have wasted the other candi dates time by putting on a show for the public. Politics is a serious business and if black people want an active role they must act responsibly and not derelect in their duties. The Caucus was unprofes sional in handling the forum. ms UP TO US, BLACKS WHO CAPE ABOUT THE SLACK FUTURE. TO IMPOSE Wj ORDER WHERE HONE EXIST l | TO DAY. AND WE HAVE TO 00^ IT FOR OUR LIVES HAVE T* ALWAYS BEEN WORTH- ^ LESS THAN WHITE ONES IN fm THE EYES OF OUR COUNTRY, M AND OUR COUNTRY DOES M NOT REALLY CARE ABOUT H THE CHAOS IN OUR NEIGHBOR HOODS AS LONG AS THAT ANARCHY POES NOT SPILL OVER THE LINES OF DEMAR CATION. WE HAVE TO DO IT BECAUSE WE CANNOT ASK OUR OLD PEOPLE TO SPEND THE REST OF THEIR LIVES PASSING THROUGH A GAUNTLET OF MUGGERS. Vernon E. Jordan Jr. Displacing The Poor In the absence of a national urban policy designed to revive the cities for the people who live in them, an improvised policy by local governments and private interests has stepped into the vacuum. In many cities, local officials have decided to try to attract middle income families back from the suburbs through policies making urban centers more attractive to them. At the same time, private real estate inte rests are working toward the same end. With large sections of downtown cities blighted by abandoned housing and land prices driven lower by social decay, speculators are attracted. j They can buy land and houses cheap, build or ^ rehabilitate, and then sell at high prices to affluent people disillusioned with long commutes and suburban living. The process works out well for cities, who can now reap tax revenues from the land and from the new middle class residents, and for the speculators who reap high ntanfi to But the process doesn’t work for the poor people who live in those neighborhoods, in fact they are being driven from their homes at an alarming rate. Renters are evicted to enable developers to remodel their houses, while ■ moderate income homeowners are forced to sell because property taxes in the target area rise as values increase. Even where developers agree to offer new housing units to present residents, they are usually too poor to afford the inflated rents. So their only option is to move to already over crowded housing in center-city slums not yet prey to “development” or to move to trailer camps on the outskirts of town. There are indications that people are doubling up by moving to relatives’ homes in the absence of housing they could afford. But that only increases problems of overcrowding, and threa tens to make urban health and crime problems iuuvu nui oc. Some people view the influx of middle flags people into such areas as a step toward intergra tion, but that’s true only if integration is defined as the transition between a neighborhood’s becoming all-black and it’s becoming all or almost-all white. Economic and racial integration is an impor tant goal, but this conversion of city neighbor hoods into middle class enclaves will not result in anything other than forced removal of poor people. The policy of recycling neighborhoods is not valid if it means recycling poor people out of their homes and into even more severely impacted neighborhoods. Driving the poor out of the cities to make room for the middle class that had abandoned the cities is no substitute for policies designed to enable the poor to become middle class themselves. That requires national, not local, policies. Local officials will be partial to driving out poor people and replacing them with revenue-produc ing middle class residents, while private inte rests will pursue policies that lead to higher profits in disregard of their effect upon poor people. The Level Of Fear Is Shocking Placing BAKKE In Perspective By Bayard R us tin Anyone who has lived in the ghetto knows the absurdity of the old saying, “Things just can’t get any worse.” Nothing demonstrates more clearly the fact that things in fact can get very much worse than the recently published unemploy ment figures. For the black community, the jobless rate of 14.5 percent is really no diffe rent than during the gloomiest months of the Ford and Nixon administrations. And to make matters worse, the Carter administration, although in many respects far superior to its predecessors, simply does not seem to recognize the awesome problems of black unemployment and underem ployment. But just as it is important that we do not deceive oursel ves about the extent of our problems, it is also imperative to recognize that there are ways out of our dilemma. A Philip Randolph has often said that you must struggle and fight to win anything worth winning. He has also said that in politics nothing is achieved without allies. Since jobs and economic progress are things that must be won in the political arena, one of our main tasks will be to find dependable and committed al lies. Here there is some extreme ly encouraging news. Al though labor and the black community have often fought together for various political goals, I believe that the oppor tunity is ripe for an even closer and fulfilling alliance in the pursuit of economic chan ge. At least this is how I read George Meany’s recent state ment that "the greatest crime being committed today is be ing committed against tne black community, against the black teenagers, and against the white teenagers,” and his affirmation of solidarity with those blacks, such as Vernon Jordan, who have spoken out about Carter’s failure to act on his campaign pledge to make jobs the number one goal of his administration. There is, of course, an ele ment of self-interest in labor’s actions. The unions, too, are seeking to forge a broad coali tion of social forces, blacks prominent among them, to support issues like minimum wage increases and the re form of labor relations laws. But coalitions are most suc cessful when the partners are moved both by pragmatic need and moral commitment. Both qualities, I think, are clearly evident in the alliance between labor and blacks. Tfia >nhdf oiJUliwiI alition leads me to a different, but nonetheless related mat ter. I am referring to the lawsuit brought by Allen Bak ke against the University of California at Davis medical school because of the universi ty’s having set aside a speci fied number of places for minority group applicants. The Bakke case raises a whole series of issues related to the question of how society is to deal with the problems of present and past discrimina tion, inferior education oppor tunities, and “reverse” dis crimination. I am not prepar ed here to deal with the merits of the Bakke case; what I wish to address is the perception of this case in the black commu nity. There is no question thal Bakke raises intense passiom among blacks who are con cerned about affirmative act ion progams, and whites whc are opposed to quota systems. What disturbs me, however, is the attitude of many blacks, most particularly some politi cal and civil rights figures, who are predicting that no thing less than the future of the black person in America depends on the Supreme Court’s ruling in this case. Already some are asserting that if Bakke, the white stu dent who complained of rever se discrimination, is upheld, the status of blacks will be set back to the period before the Brown decision struck down school segregation in 1954. Others are complaining that black gains in college admis sions and hiring will be per manently reversed. I believe that such fears are greatly exaggerated. The is sue in the Bakke case, as I see it, is not affirmative action, but quota*; most affirmative action programs do not rely on rigid numerical quotas, a fact which has not prevented them from helping place thousands of blacks in jobs and in college Droarams. The merits of quota systems aside, I believe that the defea tism now being expressed o ver the Bakke outcome is unfortunate for an important strategic reason. Expressions of unwarranted alarm, first of all, will unnecessarily discou rage and embitter many peo ple who are already upset by the failure of the Carter admi nistration to take firm action in the Jobs area. Second, by overestimating the significane of Bakke, we will only be setting up a situation which will encourage people to lash back at those, such as Jewish groups and some labor unions, who oppose the civil rights position on this issue, but who may be solid allies in the struggle for economic change. as i sac ic 4 Caucus Handled Forum Carelessly Several individuals have spo ken out on the manner in which the forum was carried out. I feel the Caucus owes the candidates a public apology. Who the Caucus endorse is no concern of mine, but how they endorse them is my concern. If they are going to be given media exposure with their endorsements, and if people feel that their endorsements are Important, then I am going to see to it that their endorsements are done equit ably. This time it was not. • Again, if they want the responsibility of being in the political forefront it is impera tive that they act responsibly. GAME OF THE WEEK This past weekend my side kick, Kenny Fulkner, and I took to the rood to see what was going on in the CIAA. We set out for Virginia to see the Bulls tangle with the Pirates of Hampton Institute, a game scheduled for 1:30 p m After wards we hit the road to see the Panthers of Virginia Union host the Rama of Winston Salem. Here is what we saw. The Bulls went into the ended up on their own 12 yard line with about 6 minutes gone in the first quarter. Cutis Johnson, by mixing his plays extremely well, led the Bulls on a 88 yard drive in 12 plays that was culminated with a six yard sweep by the "Warhorse." Carlos Stroman added the point after and the Bulls looked like a real foot ball team. Unfortunately, later on in the 2nd quarter Hampton’s quarterback Russ Seaton threw a down and out to flanker Reggie Midget and defensive back Don Bailey went for the ball and miaaed. Johnson made the reception and trotted in for the score' unmolested. The point after was good and the score was tied. As the half neared its end the Bulls quarterback lost the ball on the Pirate’s 4$ yard line. Seaton maneuvered the Pirates down to the Bull’s 38. With seconds remaining in the half, Seaton again went with the down and out and again Bailey went for the ball and again he was beaten. This time, however. Willie Jones the “Monster Back” came across and stopped the recei ver on the Hull s lour yard line. With 2 seconds left in the half, Seaton swept right for the score. The PAT was good and the Pirates went to the locker room up 14-7. The second half began with the Pirates kicking to the Bulls. The kick off was a knuckler that eluded kick off returner Toney Koonce. Koon ce stood idly by and watched the ball roll down to about the 12 yard line. In a matter of seconds the Pirates had swoo ped down on the pill. Shortly thereafter the pirates scored for the third time. PAT was missed, but it was irrevelent at this point. The Bulls could not muster any effort at this point and Pirates went on to score 2 more TDs and a safety. The Bulls let the mental aspect of the game defeat them. When their concentra tion was Intact, they proved to be a far more superior team than the Pirates. The defense was aggressive and they easi ly stopped the Pirates. The offense moved the ball well but big mental errors cost the Bulls dearly. No matter what you say, a coach can not think for a boy while he is on the field. There are still some bright spots on the team. 6 ft. 3 inch, 2S5 pound senior offensive center Chet G rims ley and • ft. 2 inch, 2S5 pound Junior defen sive end Grover Covington are two outstanding players Both should be all CIAA by season’s end. Gerald 0. Johnson game 0-2 for the season hoping to surprise a Pirate team that had loot to the mighty Winston Salem Rams by a score of 6 to 34 but came back to crush the Shaw Bears 34-7. The hopes soon turned to nightmares as the mistake-prone Bulls lite rally gave the Pirates an easy 35-7 victory. The game started with the Bulls kicking to the Pirates. Afte a fine defensive series by the Golden Bulls the Pirates had to punt. The Bulla unable to move also had to punt. After a series of exchanges the Bulls Fly-In Set For Saturday ™ i» piannea lor me Jungle Aviation and Radio Service International Head quarters near Waxhaw, N.C. on Saturday, October first. The JAARS annual Fly-In will begin at 9 a m with sky-div ing, gyrocopter demonstra tions, aerobatics and demon strations of the Hello Courier, « short take-off and landing aircraft that will demonstrate bush Hying techniques that JAARS uses in remote areal around the world. A free tour of the faculties is available with a highlight of the tour being a visit to the Mexico-Cardenas Museum. Visitors to the Waxhaw facul ty will enjoy special rhustc by many local gosnal -kinging groups
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Sept. 29, 1977, edition 1
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