Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Jan. 26, 1978, edition 1 / Page 2
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icioiiitcimii Does Justice Elude The "10"? By Hoyle H. Martin Sr. Post Executive Editor In the concluding segment of the Monday night television special, "Roots: One Year Later," author Alex Haley said from the pulpit of a rural North Carolina white church sprinkled with many blacks in the congregation, "This gathering re presents the potential we can be come." While Haley's statement may be a fitting tribute to his 12-hour epic series, it is far from the reality of today. In fact, 11:00 a.m. on any ■» Sunday morning is the most segre gated time in the nation. An hour before Haley's comment, k Gov. Jim Hunt, also speaking on television said, "It is time for us all ·> now to turn away from the bitterness t: and rancor of the past. Because bitterness and anger and distrust of % each other can tear us apart as a g state..." Hunt's comment was in his I concluding statement with reference to his middle-of-the-road decision in ΐ the Wilmington 10 case. Here too, £ was a remark that for many around the world is far from thé reality of l] todav. While Hunt said his decision to reduce the length of the sentences of ;· the "10" was based on what he believes to be the right thing to do, W there is every reason to conclude ^ that his final decision was based on a desire to avoid being accussed of conceding to the demands of some for outright pardons and the de mands of others to leave the nine men in prison. The significance of this point is that this case has attracted such world-wide attention, and is so loaded with political considerations from many vantage points that the merits of the case-the guilt or innocence of the defendants has been nearly lorgotien. The best proof of this point is in the fact that Hunt's decision has not ended the controversy that has been building since the "10" began serv ing their sentences over two years ago. The controversy will continue because while Hunt said he was satisfied that the "10" had received a fair trial, he ignored the fact that the key witnesses for the prosecution admitted to having lied in their testimony, he failed to explain his charge that "much...said about the case...is inaccurate" and by appear ing on state-wide television to render any opinion at all in the case, in itself points out the weakness in his •argument that the "10" received a fair trail. Since the final chapter in the Wilmington 10 case has been written as far as the state of North Carolina is concerned, it is time now for every effort to be made to have a federal appeals court re-open the case. We make this observation because there is sufficient reason for lingering doubts as to whether the cause of justice has been served in determin ing the fate of the nine black men still confined in jail. We believe too, that at the federal level a more objective, less emotional, less politi cally charged review can take place. Finally, we believe that in a free and democratic society such as we profess to have, the pursuit of justice and equality should be a never-end ing process in order to assure the elimination of any doubt where a citizen's freedom and rights sire threatened. Thus, action is needed to clear up the doubt and to assure equality opportunity for justice for the "10" once and finally. Employment And Reality We count ourselves among those who have applauded Mayor Harris for the vision and sense of direction that he offered in his state of the city address last week. While all will certainly not agree with Mr. Harris' proposals, he has set the tone for thinking, dialogue and eventual decision-making about where Charlotte should be headed in the last quarter of the 20th century. An example of the challenge and task that Mayer Harris offers to the city is in the area of employment. He said in his address we must "look at manpower programs with a funnel approach...not just how many peo ple go through job training, but how many...come out...and are gainfully employed. No-other city has done this. It is a challenge I find excit ing/" fi \s. .. r Just how challenging this task is cannot be fully realized until we note that the number of public service jobs under the Comprehensive Em ployment and Training Act (CETA) Titles 2 and 6 are more than doubling from 310,000 in 1976 to more than 725,000 by March of this year. These and similar public sector jobs subsi dized by the federal appear to indicate an acceptance of the fact that the private sector cannot pro vide the jobs needed for our working population. The point is, a jobs training program, no matter how successful ly planned, cannot achieve desired results unless their exists a worka ble balance between federal mone tary and fiscal policy, consumer demand and resulting business ex pansion. This is indeed a challenge. Γ 4 THE CHARLOTTE ΡΟβΓΓ 1 "THE PEOPLES NEWSPAPER" Established 1918 Published Every Thursday , By The Charlotte Post Publishing Co., Inc. 2606-Β West Blvd.-Charlotte, N.C. 28208 Telephones (704) 392-1308,392-1307 Circulation, 7,185 58 YEARS OF CONTINUOUS SERVICE Bill Johnson Editor-Publisher Hoyle H. Martin Sr Executive Editor Bernard Reeves General Manager I Julius Watson 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 60«16 (212) 4WM220 Calumet 5-0200 Budgeting With Leverage? By uerald Johnson Few people know how to manage household budgets. What is worse most of us lose money because of negligence or stupidity. Hopefully, this article will point out a few shortcomings that you are possibly guilty of. The first mistake a lot of us make is to under claim the number of dependents claim ed for payroll deduction. The rationale for this is to cut down on the amount of tax owed at the end of the year. So, people will claim fewer dependents than they have allowing the government to take out more taxw from their paychecks. Let's take an hy pothetical example to demon strate the point. A single person making $200 per week pays $45 in federal taxes. The married person making $200 per week claiming 2 depen dents pays $38 in taxes. This represents a difference of $7 per week. If the married person clai med no dependents with his employer, then he would pay $45 per week in taxes, also Now, the $7 difference will amount to $3β4 over a 52 week period At a modest β pcram in «η es ι compounded daily would result In an a mount of nearly $370 over a one year period. This amount of money 1/ not claimed will end up in the hands of 1RS. The 1RS pays you no interest for keeping your money and therefore it is senseless to let them hold it for a year. To correct this problem go to the personnel department of your employer and request a dependent claims form. Ask for assistance in helping you determine the maximum a mount of dependents you can claim. FUI the form out leave It with your employer and your next paycheck will show an increase. It is like getting a raise. Remember that you can claim extra dependencies for children in college, being or caring for someone over 65, blindness, and a host of other things. Do yourself a favor and look into it. Never rush paying off your house. Moreover, if you have more equity in your home than you owe on it, remortgage your home. This principle is difficult to understand, even more difficult to explain The primary advantage of home ownership is the lever age it affords you in borrow G«rald Johnson Ing Hence, to hoM the title In your hand Is umlees. Jtow ever, the primary disadvant age of owning your home is the loss in tax deduction·. The interest that you pay oo a home loan is tax deductible. In most cases this interest alone is enough te put you into a different tax bracket. The sav ings in tax dollars is Incredi ble. Even more important on having a mortgage on your house is the fact that the dollar Mil is depreciable. Let's as sume you can get $30,000 on your house if you re-mortgage it. Let us further assume that your payments will run $250 a month for 90 year*. The ISO a month is a fixed payment over the 90 year period. But you have to take into account that 9290 today ia worth much more than It will be worth S, 10, IS years from now. Consequently, your pay ments are depreciating on a yearly basis while your house ia appreciated on a yearly basis. If you couple this with the fact that out of the tUO you pay per month a substantial amount is for Interest (hence, it is tax deductible), then you have made a wise and good investment. Moreover, you have acquired 190,000 to boot. The American dream is not to own y oar own home but to be buying your own home. The monetary lever age acquired by buying a home is a sound investment. Don't hurry to be on a cash basis with purchases. Credit cards are a good method for increasing buying leverage and giving you reliable re cords, also The interest ac crued on credit accounts is tax deductible Finally, never deplete your savings to purchase Saving accounts should be used as collateral for loan·. This again increases your purchasing le verage. Also, the loan will accrue Interest and the inter eat is tax deductible. Taking your savings to purchase something will de-value your net worth. In order to benefit from the above situations you must itemize your tax returns. Mo reover, the plans are sugges tions to the prudent. Credit cards and re-mortgaging can be evils if abused. To allow your credit to put a strain on your earnings la not prudent budgetary management. It is frivolity. But using these me thods wisely can increase your buying power and your net worth. Community Chorale Debute the, a group of talented vocal ists have Joined force· with the primary objective of for mulating a local affiliate or ganization of the Gospel Work ■hop of America, Inc. Sunday, January M at · p.m. mark· the debut concert of this group, the Charlotte Commu nity Chorale. At its inception, letters were sent to the music departments of local churches requesting interested vocalists to audi tion for the group. Pursuant to these suditions and subse quent meetings and rehear sais, s 40-member assemblage evolved. Constituents of this dynsmic organization repre sent ten local churches of varying denominations Member· of the Chorale invite you to witnees this festive and spiritual occasion to be held at the Greenville Memorial AME Zkm Church, 6116 Montieth Drive, at 6 p.m. Mrs Lonnie Miller la the Director, and Robert Riley is the President. Phillips Moore will be guest organist. PRACTICAL STEPS "Practical Step· to Building and Conserving Your Estate: A Stockbroker's Point of Vi ew" will be the topic of a 5-session course sponsored by the Office of Continuing Edu cation at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Beginning February 13, the course will be offered at South Park Shopping Center in the Belk Store Conference Room on the second floor. RESOLVED IN1976' TO HELP Î STARVE A RAT EVERY PAY NOT TO UTTER THE STREETS Senator Humphrey 's Final Message To Black Press MIAMI (NNPA) - "Conti nue to work to overcome the barriers to genuine freedom and equal opportunity for all people," said Senator Hubert H. Humphrey in his final message to the Black Press. The message was dictated by the Senator to his secretary about 10 days before his death. It was to have been read here by his sisters, Mrs. Frances H. Howard, before the Mid-Win ter Workshop of the National Newspaper Publishers Asso ciation following the presenta tion to her of the NNPA Distinguished Humanitarian Award for her brother. His serious illness prevent ed Mrs. Howard from attend ing the Workshop, and it was received instead by Ofield Dukes, former assistant to Humphrey when be was Vice President. He read the mes sage to a hushed audience at the Omni International Hotel where the Workshop was held, January 11-14. "Dear menas, ' the mes sage began, "I remain eter nally grateful for the strong bonds of friendship which have characterized our rela tionship over the years. I will never forget the Arm friend ship you have extended to me, particularly during the 1968 Presidential campaign. "I can recall when we first set up the National Newspaper Publishers Association Go vernmental Affairs Commit tee, and how much we in government benefited from the candid discussions we had with leading black editors and publishers. I am aware Vice President M or dale has been contacted about re-establish ing this Committee, and you can be assured I will do all I can to see that it becomes operational once again. Addressed NNPA Last in '76 "Much has occurred since we were together two years ago in Philadelphia. We have lost some dear friends - fri ends who were very close to me personally. Cecil Newman of the Minneapolis Spokesman and Howard Woods of the St. Louis Sentinel. I pay special tribute to these two exception al journalists whose style and ideals exemplified the consci ence of America. "You are now in your 151st year as an organization which has been the voice of the Black Press of America," Hum phrey's message continued. "You have raised the cry for equal rights and human jus tice from coast to coast Your organization has been in the vanguard of the civil rights movement. You are the back bone of black leadership throughout the country, and you are to be commended for your courage, diligence and high ideals in the pursuit of equality and pubic service. "I want to talk to you tonight about the continuation of this great struggle for human ri ghts and human dignity. "We are all fully aware that the civil rights struggles of the 1950s and 1960s did not eradi cate inequality and injustice from our society. Meaning of Civil Rights "That is why I believe the concept of the civil rights movement must be broadened to include the rights and op portunities that should be a vailable to all disadvantaged groups in America. I know this is your goal as well. "The struggle for civil rights is a struggle for the rights and privileges and du ties of all Americans. And what do these rights include? "-The right to a meaningful life, free from poverty that today afflicts some 25 million Americans. "-The right to full and equal protection under the law - an end to the double standard applied to many of those who are less privileged, where jus tice delayed can become jus tice denied. "-The right to productive and gainful employment - for all our people, as a specific national goal toward whose achievement we will apply every possible private and public resource. "-The right to ecooomic, political and social opportuni ty where progress toward rea lizing one's full potential will confront no artificial barrier of discrimination based on race, creed or sex. "-The right to a decent neighborhood. "-The right to a life free from violence and terrorism. "-The right to quality edu cation at all levels, free from segregation. "-The right to live in good health under a system that helps assure modern health care for all at the lowest possible cost. "-The right to be free from hunger and malnutrition. "-And the right to a clean and wholesome environment. "These rights belong to all American people. Without them there are no real civil or human rights. New Dimensions "The new dimension· of civil rights are to be. found in the living and working condi tions of our people." Continu ing, the message added, "This is our challenge, for if we cannot overcome the econo mic and social obstacles to the full participation of our citi zens in our society, the hard won political and civil rights of the last two decades will hold little meaning for mil lions of our people. "Here in the United States, we have the most heterogene uoa mixture of races, religion and nationalities ever to coex ist peacefully under the tent of democracy. And we are the world's oldest democracy, which has completed celebrat ing two centuries of freedom. "I am an optimist. There is every reason to believe that our third century can be one of expanding freedom and opportunity for all Americans. "We live by hope. We do not always get all we want when we want it. By Verne TO BE EQUAL Black Depression Continues The National Urban League just released its annual report, "The State of Black America," and it makes for some grim reading. Its analysis of the events of the past year make it clear that what was a year of economic recovery for most Americans, was a year of continued Depression for blacks. That's why it was so difficult for many blacks to join in the general rejoicing over the Labor Department's release of the December unem ployment figures. The statistics showed a marked decrease in joblessness. The overall unemployment rate declined to 6.4 percent - a drop of half a percentage point from the previous month, remarkably large for so short a time. 1· absolute numbers too, people out of work declined. The result was predictable. We immediately started hearing about how the recovery was almost complete and that if the economy were just left alone the figures would continue to improve. There are two very important facts about the new unemployment figures, both of which argue against any federal benign neglect of the economy. First, a major reason for the decline in unemployment lies in the fact that federal job creation programs are finally beginning to pay off. Programs launched at the beginning of the year take months to work their way down the pipeline into real jobs in local sectors. Without those programs the unemployment rate would still be up in the seven percent-plus neighbor hood. So the figures mean that it will take expanded job-creation programs in 1978 to bring the jobless rates down still further. They way some people talk, you might think that a 6.4 percent jobless rate approaches "full employment." That's a disastrous way to look at it. There are still over 6 million people out of work, and if you add discouraged workers who have given up hopes of finding a job, part-time workers who want full-time jobs, and underemployed people whose ^ work leaves them with below poverty-level ™ wages, true unemployment in America is weQ over 10 million. And the cost of this unemployment to the economy is tremendous. Even the most conser vative estimates place the loss in productive output at over $200 billion a year. That's like saying a fleet of enemy bombers knocked out a major part of the nation's productive capacity, only in this case the enemy is unemployment. So the nation can't afford to relent in its fight to bring decent jobs at decent wages to all. The plain fact is that anything less than a full employment economy is too costly in terms of lost productivity and revenues for the nation to bear. The second major conclusion to be drawn from the figures is that for blaétf people there is still a Depression. Black unemployment dropped in December to 12.5 percent. That's an outrageous figure. It's well over twice the white rate. And while everyone is crowing about how much better the December rates were than those for November, the big news is that there was absolutely no improvement in the black unem ployment rate in 1977.
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Jan. 26, 1978, edition 1
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