t CMKIII
Youn g's Foot· -In-Mouth Diplomacy
ay Hoyle H. Martin Sr.
Ρ ost Editorial Writer
Short! y before being cot afirmed as
ïambaa sador to the U.'N. over 18
montais ago, Andrew Yc κιηκ admit
ted b'e had no answer ti » a CBS-TV
nev/ri reporter's questiol η as to why
he.· (Young) had expre ssed opposi
tion to U.S. involvement, in Vi et Nam
b*jt aDDlauded Cuban in volve ment in
Angola as a "stablizirig influence."
However, since that. time, Young
has had plenty of answers, and
ironically, often the right answers
for questions that we re asked in the
wrong setting. What we meat lis that
Young has been ι osing what his
critics have calif A "openi-mouth ι.
diplomacy" to exp ress his personal ι '
views as a black . American from a
U.N. platform des; igned to coimmuini
cate some aspe cts of American
foreign policy. \
For example, when Young; said in 1 ν
April last year t' nat the United Stat.es
"shouldn't get paranoid about com
munism" in AJ i'rica and shouild avoid
"knee-jerk re actions to it,"' he was
saying thaU people in under
developjed ill -fed nations can't afford
the lViXury of debating ideologies
when, deat'n from starvation and
matymitriticjo is a daily eveiit. Black
Airtericanfi have long uiiderstoed
th'is; whites, fail to get the message.
S uch observations by Youn g deserve
'oetter thfin to be called "oj>en-mouth
diplomacy."
"Institut" ionalized Hackm
• - · ι \
On the other hand, when Young
apologized after accusing; Britain of
having "Institutionalized racism
more than anyone in history" and
when he saitd the white-nile govern
ment of South Africa is "illegiti
mate," then reacted to criticism by
calling his remarks "unrepresenta
tive," we 'witnessed "foot-in-mouth.
diplomacy The point is, Young's
statement! ι about both nations are
historically true, yet for.rasons of
foreign relations, hejèd forced to
modify his original rimarks. In so
doing, Yo ung gave credibility to two
lies, lies f chat will be perpetuated in
the history books of the western
world even more than in the past.
Furthermore, while President
Carter was protesting the trial of
Anatoly Sh charansky in Moscow last
week, Young belittled the trial in a
French newspaper interview where
be was qu oted as saying "after all,
in oui: (American) prisons there are
hundreds, maybe even thousands of
people I would call political prison
er·." ThLs too was another chapter
in Andy Young's "foot-in-mouth dip
lomacy." This was evidenced by the
fact that /unnesty International, the
leading authority on political prison
ers, admitte to only 17 such prisoners
in the United States.
The Post hopes that in the future
Ambassador Young will think more
^b^oreh«sgeaksan^h«^chMe«his^
words more carefully. We say this
because it is better to have not
uttered a truth - as in the case of
Britian and South Africa - than to do
so, and in the process of retracting it
for reasons of diplomacy, give vali
dity to a lie.
Finally, since Mr. Young's own
word's indicate some wide diffe
rence in the meaning of the term
"political prisoner," and since he
obviously has bo knowledge of how
many such prisoners there are in the
U.S., his international remarks were
stupid, irresponsible and did not
serve the best interest of our nation
abi^çaçl ι blaqk Americans at:
) ùiUu"
Ν on-Thinking Mind
P* fe' ' S -·· ··
Mr. Young's big mouth and appa
rent sometimes notrtfcgljètfftg mind is
tragic biçcause/ithey are over
shadowing the credit he richly de
serves for improving American re
lations witlf the so-called Third
World nations in general and some
important African nations in parti
cular like Nigeria.
No Mr. Young, we don't need
"foofin-mouth diplomacy," it's bad
for you and your credibility, it's bad
for America and it's bad for minor
ity group people 'at home and
abroad.
As we observe the impact of
California's Proposition 13 tax revolt
concept upon public schools across
America, it brings to mind the fact
that in the decade of the '70s
numerous communities have
rejected school bond request.
Thus, Proposition 13 in its variety
of forms, school bond rejections and
the declining tax revenues in many
urban areas are among the reasons
for so many reports about shortened
school years, long Christmas holi
days and dissatisfied teachers.
systems experienced with school
desegregation, is there any wonder
that competency test scores are low,
teenage pregnancy is high, student
discipline is out of control and too
many parents are either apathetic
toward or intimidated by the school
and its staff.
These conditions would appear to
indicate that there is a direct rela
tionship between the spread of Pro
position 13 and the levèl of com
petency test scores.
It is in our view well past the time
for Charlotteans to look seriously at
the implications of the loss in state
and local funds for the school budget
for the coming year. The question
we need to ask ourselves is basically
this: Will that few cents in tax
savings be worth the value of lost
educational opportunity for our
children?
"Tax Revolt" Is Concern
Atlanta, Ga. - Calling for the
"rollback of property taxes" if
they reach "confiscatory
levels" and property taxes
which accurately reflect what
it costs to provide essential
local government services,
more than 4,000 county offi
cials here this week approved
a resolution on tax reform and
responsible government.
Ilie resolution was adopted
during the National Associ
ation of Counties (NACo) 1978
annual conference where Pro
position 13 was one of the
dominent issues at the meet
ing. The tax reform resolution,
calls on federal, state and
local officials to renew their
efforts to eliminate waste,
reduce bureaucracy and cut
red tape in government. It
also calls on county officials to
juppbrt tl» Promet and/
Congress id their efforts to
balance the federal budget at
the earliest possible date and
to "assume our share of that
responsibility. "
The resolution recognizes
that property tax levels are
often intolerable and that the
property tax itself has been
asked to carry far too many
governmental.burdens. .The
resolution points out that too
often the "over-loading" of the
property tax is not the result
of votes by local elected offi
cials but rather the mandates
of federal and state govern
ments.
Reacting to the* resolution,
NACo'8 1977-76 President
William O. Beach of Montgo
mery County, Term, said that
he believes counties are wil
ling to take "their fair share of
cuts" when it comes to nation
al tax reform as long as efforts
to reduce government spend
ing occur at all levels of
government - federal, state
and local.
Also discussing the tax re
form mood of the country was
Jack Watson, Assistant to the
President for Intergovern
mental Affairs, who was the
keynote speaker at the open
ing general session.
Watson told the delegates
that "a democracy needs a
concerned and vocal consti
tuency in order to work well."
"We need the pressure pro
vided by the public...to give us
the energy and the will and the
leverage to challenge our own
government bureaucracies
that are frequently to large
and so intractable that they
try the patience and creativity
...of even the most dedicated
public otticial," .Watson said.
However, he added that he
feared that "a healthy and
appropriate skepticism about
what government can do is
turnihg sour."
"It seems to me that, as a
nation, we have become pre
occupied with what we are
against and have momenta
rily lost our vision of what we
are for," he said.
As a result, Watson warned
county officiais, "In respond
ing to the battle cry of Cali
fornia taxpayers...we must be
careful not to destroy the local
tax systems that constitute the
cornerstone of local control
over local services."
Sen. James A. Sasser (D
Tenn.) said at the following
morning's session that he
didn't believe that the Ameri
can people wanted "meat
axe" cuts in vital, basic
services
"I don't think that the
American people want us to
make wholesale cuts that
would further reduce the qua
lity of life for many people
who are poor, disabled, elder
ly or disadvantaged."
However, he added that Pro
position 13 type initiatives will
be encouraged by indications
from the federal Congres
sional Budget Office that Cali
fornia's Proposition 13 will
reduce inflation slightly and
by the fact that state govern
ments now have "an aggre
gate surplus of more than $18
billion."
"We must in some way strike
a compromise between the
needs of efficient government
and the demands of the people
for services at minimal cost."
Later, Sandra Smoley, one
of the few California county
officials able to attend the
conference, talked about the
immediate situation in her
state. The Sacramento
County supervisor said, "We
will use $4 billion of our state
surplus in order to try to
maintain California's 8,000
special districts, school dis
tricts, comities and cities at a
budgetary level that will be
approximately 90 percent of
what otherwise was expected
in 1978-79.'·
"Our problems, however,
are just beginning," she said,
"because a year from now we
expect to have only $3 billion
In the state surplus available
for local government. Schools
alone expect to need an addi
tional $800 million just to
maintain their budget and
salaries at the level projected
for 1978-79."
But tax reform discussions
constituted only part of the
five-day conference where
county officials from 46 states
gathered.
Among the highlights of the
conference was the election of
Commissioner Charlotte Wil
liams of Genesee County,
Mich, as the association's
1978-79 president. The election
marked the first time a black
woman has ever been chosen
to head a national public
interest group representing
state or local government.
TO
»
BE
EQUAL
ι I
Affirmative Action
Round Two Coming Up
The U.S. Supreme Court, in its decision in the
Bakke case, dealt only with the issue of special
admissions programs at colleges and universi
ties.
But the basic constitutionality of affirmative
, action programs that give some preference to
minorities in employment has still to be dealt
with. A number of court cases brought by whites
charging they are victims of "reverse discrimi
nation" are coming up. Those cases will have
greater immediate impact on blacks than the
Bakke case.
How will the Court rule on them? There's no
way to tell. Off its past record, the Court most
likely will back affirmative action programs,
perhaps even those as rigid as the one it struck
down in the Bakke case.
The reason is that the Court has a long record
of approving race-conscious efforts to remedy
the effects of racial discrimination. There have
been several cases decided on the principle that
where past discrimination can be shown, af
firmative action programs with strict goals and
timetables are constitutionally acceptable.
That was missing in the Bakke case, in which
evidence of the University's past discrimination
was not before the Court. In several major
cases, once the Court found evidence of racial
discrimination it approved racial factors in
framing the remedy. That's why it has approved
racially-based teacher and student assignments
and racially-based electoral districts in key past
PflRPS -
And just days after the Bakke decision, the
Court left standing a lower court ruling uphold
ing an affirmative action program at AT&T that
had been challenged by the company's union. It
also refused to rule in a case involving minority
setasides for public works contracts.
Those actions offer grounds for some optimism
on future Court action in employment cases.
Another plus is that the lower courts have
consistently upheld racially-based goals and
timetables te remedy the effects of employment
discrimination, trie outlook then;a£peartf)A τ>
favorable, but some factors are troubling. '
For one, the Court's narrow 5-4 ruling in the
Bakke case makes it next to impossible to rely
with any confidence on just how it may react to a
specific case. With such strong feelings current
on affirmative action, this politicized court may
place even greater restrictions on racially-based
programs than it already has.
Another factor is that some of the: cases
making their way through the lower courts seek
not only to overturn racially-based affirmative
action programs geared to remedy past discri
mination, but also challenge such programs that
override seniority. The Court has a mixed
record in approving overrides of promotion and
seniority systems.
> Some pending cases involve special programs
in which blacks got training or promotional
advantages through affirmative action pro
grams. The rationale for such programs is the
fact that since hiring discrimination kept them
out of entry jobs until recently, minorities have
not accumulated enough seniority to reach
higher iob levels
uur îyetc uay Begun
The Crusading Black Press
By Benjamin L. Hooks
Ν A AC*p Executive Director
Special to the Poet
As Black Americans in
creasingly suffer setbacks in
their struggle for equality,
such as the vote for Proposi
tion 13 in California, it is well
that we seek ever more
urgently to expand our strate
gies for continuing the civil
rights struggle. A cornerstone
in our mission continues to be
the Black Prsas, which pro
vides an irreplaceable means
for us to communicate among
ourselvat.
This was one of the primary
purposes of the Black Press
when John Russwurm founded
Freedom's Journal back in
1827, thus establishing an
Institution to which we arc still
Indebted today. Its primary
role, as It was recognised
then, of course, was protest,
arousement and crusading
For these reason·, I wish to
express a special word of
tribute to the Black Press for
its support of the NAACP and
its programs since its found
ing in 190·. Along with the
Black Church, the Black Press
Joins the NAACP as three of
the moat enduring Institutions
in the struggle for full equal
ity.
There are others, of course,
such as the Mack colleges and
fraternal organizations. Nota
bly, all of them came to the
NAACP's support - and res
cue - during the 1976 Port
Gibson, boycott crisis when
the Association was required
to raise |1.β million overnight
to post a cash bond in Mississi
ppi.
The Black Press, because of
its fundamental function of
communications, provided the
NAACP with yeoman'· ser
vice during those critical
months that began In the
summer. With the help of Dr.
Csrlton B. Goodlett, past
president of the National New
spaper Publishers Associa
tion, black newspapers car
ried editorial· and printed
free ad· appealing for contri
bution·.
The NAACP'· Mississippi
crisis has eased. But it has not *
totally dUappeered The Port
Oib«on merchant· have
appealed the decision by U.S.
District Court Judge Orma R.
Smith setting «aid· the state
'court's bonding requirement.
Thoee merchants want the
NAACP to cough up that cash,
at any cost
At the same time, the
NAACP will proceed to appeal
the case on its merits - that is,
the judgement of ΙΙ.φ^ηΙΙΙΙοη
- in the state courts.
As · civil rights organisa
Benjamin L. Hook·
...NAACP Executive Director
tion dependent upon the finan
cial support of ita members,
end friend·, the NAACP exista
In a continuing financial
crisis. There ha· never been
enough fund· for ua to do aa
much a· we would wtah. But,
given our very limited re
source·, the NAACP still con
tinuée to be the major civil
right· organisation in the
nation.
A primary reaaon, certain
ly, la the million· of working
hours our volunteers contri
bute in this dedicated miaeion.
So aa we proceed to marsh
■11 our reeourcee for that extra
Mar\ that is even more need
ed for the continuation of the
struggle, let us reach out for
the support of the Black Press
to join us in alerting our
people to the expanding effort
by white Americans to deny us
our recent civil rights gains.
These attacks on civil rights
are much more subtle than the
tactics used by the Ku Klux
Klan, the White Citizens Coun
cils and red neck segregation
ists up through much of the
60s. Our enemies today are
now using such tactics as the
Bakke challenge to affirma
tive action programs, Propoei-'
tion, 13, snob zoning in the
suburbs, redlining in the
urban centers, outright Job
discrimination and economic
exploitation to continue their
ugly deed· of racial oppres
sion The NAACP therefore A
urges the Black Pre* to conti
nue the crusades of the Russ
wurms, and the Thomas For
tunes and all of the other great
black Journalists who have
lifted the Black Press to its
present level of effectiveness.
Tuition Tax Credit Threat
«. ojf me ι nsvuz
Special to the Poet
The Tuition Tax credit bill
has finally made It through the
U.S. House of Representa
tives. If It pane· the Senate
and is signed by the president,
it will give a flat 9100 and more
credit to cover a portion of the
tuition of each student at a
private elementary or second
ary school or at a college or
university.
Though some people view
this bill as a major break
through In helping hard
prsessd families pay for the
education of their children, It
really doesn't do that effecti
vely. The amount per student
Is small to begin with and over
half the benefits will go to
families with Incomes over
I3S.000.
If helping lower Income
famlllee educate their child
ren were the principal object
îve, il wouia nave Men more
effective to have adopted Pre
sident Carter'» college assist
ance and opportunity propo
sal. It would ralae the family
Income eligibility from the
current lie,000 to 9»,000 to
allow itudenta to borrow up to
11800 at low Interest rate· and
with more money channeled
into related education incent
ive programs.
Unfortunately, helping col
lege itudenta wasn't the whole
purpoee of the Mil. It was
amended to give tuition cre
dits to children who go to
private elementary and
secondary schools. That
raises the whole Issue of
pubic fundi being used to
aaaist private schools and the
interrelated ieeue of the conse
quent impact on the public
school systems of the country,
really socking it to all of us,
and when people generally are
fed up with high taxes, it was
inevitable that such a bill
would paaa thia far.
It's good politics to ba able
I to tell constituents that one
haa just voted to give them a
tax credit for each child they
•end to a college or university
or a privât· school and that's
just what the representatives
have done, never mind the
coat and the consequences to
the public schools.
I =2 ay vernon is. Jordan Jr.i 1. —~i
TOE CHARLOTTE FOOT
"THE PEOPLfeS NEWSPAPER"
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:;β
■■m
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ΓΤIS UP TOUS, BLACKS V
WHO CARE ABOUT WE
BLACK FUTURE, TO IMPOSE
ORDER WHERE NONE EXIST
TO DAY. AND WE HAVE TO PO
IT, FOR OUR LIVES HAVE
ALWAYS BEEN WORTH
LESS THAN WHITE ONES IN
THE EYES OF OUR COUNTRY,
AND OUR COUNTRY DOES
NOT REALLY CARE ABOUT
THE CHAOS IN OUR NEIGH0OR
HOODSASLONGAS THAT
ANARCHY DOES NOT SPILL
OYER 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
\CAUNTLET OF MUGGERS.
The Level Of Fear k Shocking.,..