Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Sept. 7, 1978, edition 1 / Page 2
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ami) t column | It’s Your Duty To Vote By Hoyle H. Martin Sr. In 1965, 100 years after the end of the Civil War, the Voting Rights Act was passed by the U.S. Congress in an effort to eliminate the last barriers to voter registration and thus to guarantee to every adult American the right to vote. This 100-year period began with the Reconstruction era ttjat resulted in Blacks becoming registered vot ers in unprecedented numbers. However, by 1900 the situation was reversed as Jim Crow laws and exploitation by ‘Yankee carpetbag gers had combined to disenfranchise black Americans. Then, as a partial outcome of the civil rights struggles of the early 1960s led by the late Dr. Martin Luther King, jr., the Voting Rights Act was passed. How, in 1978, some 13-years later, blacks comprise nearly 4,000 of the nation’s 525,000 elected officials. While this number represents less ' than one percent of the nation’s elected office holders, black voters were nevertheless a prime force in putting Jimmy Carter in the White House, Jim Hunt in the governor’s chair and Ken Harris in the Mayor’s office. Furthermore, the black voter turnout in Charlotte last November was vital to placing three blacks on the City Council. While these are modest political gains that blacks have had to struggle and die for to achieve, the are nevertheless gains and indicast ions that with determination the democratic process can and will work for all people regardless of racialjand economic differences. Political Gains To repeat, the political gains are modest, however, they are the best possible means of providing blacks economic, social and political parity in the years ahead. Thus, it is most depressing to hear - so-called black leaders pronounce the view that blacks should not vote on the liquor-by-the-drink issue as a means of protesting the cityJathers’ presumed lack of repsonse to issues of more vital concern to the black community. Charlotte NAACP Branch presi dent Alan Rousseau stated quite clearly last week what we believe should be the viewpoint and attitude of all local adult blacks. HE SAID, “When one neglects to vote, he handsover the right to others, he weakens the political system. What ever one’s politics may be, it is his duty to vote.” “It islus duty to vote," and voter intelligently, on every issue placed on the ballot because all affect the quality and quantity of our lives in one way or another. In voting however, it is important that we use our ballot for a purpose and not be led blindly to vote on issues to support someone else’s concerns. Nor should black voters fall into the trap of voting in a tci uuu way on a given issue because a newspaper headlines the fact that a specific black leader has .— announced his preference and the newspaper then speculates on how or why all blacks will or should vote the same way. Black Leaders There is nothing wrong with the masses of black voters voting the same way as a givenblack leader, provided that each voter has clearly thought through the merits of his vote. What we are attempting to say here is what we’ve said so may times before. That is, Charlotte’s black leadership needs to develop a philosophical statement of purpose and intent designed as a framework for improving the quality of life throught greater economic and poli tical opportunity for black people. We have noted too that a primary part of any such effort shoud be a . planned systematic attack on black voter apathy and vocal support for ic^isuauuu diiu VULing, Therefore, on Friday,Sept. 8, THE post urges that all black voters carefully consider the merits of the pro-liquor and anti-liquor forces, then cast their vote. To do less, would be, in Mr. Rousseau’s words again, to “hand over the right to others...(and) weaken the political system.” If there is any one thing blacks in Charlotte need it is a higher degree of political commitment, awareness and voting power. If we seriously want the vital issues of crime,. education, health, recreation and public service improved, we must demonstrate this by voting our concerns on election day, each and every election day. The question has been asked by some, “vote for what?” Our answer is vote to preserve what you have and to gain what your potential may offer for you and your community. Vote your conviction on Sept. 8. Successful Blacks Jp.1 The coinmon assumDtion among many whites and some “Success ful ” Blacks that minority progress in the U.S. is continuing unbated into the late 1970’s has been contradicted and disputed in a 136-page report by the U.S. Civil Rights commission. The authoritative report showed Blacks still lagging far behind whi tes in education, employment, in come and housing. Disparity bet ween whites and minorities dimin ished in the 1960’s, said the report, “but increased during the 1970's.” Even more alarming was the finding that those Black males who“ “Make it” by getting white collar jobs are likely to make only 85 percent of the salary made by whites with identical experience in the same jobs. The commission’s authoritative figures only bolster other similar findings * groups. THE CHARLOTTE POST “THE PEOPLES NEWSPAPER” Established 1918 Published Every Thursday By The Charlotte Post Publishing Co., Inc. 1524 West Blvd.-Charlotte, N.C. 28208 Telephones (704) 376-0496, 376-0497 Circulation, 9,915 60 YEARS OF CONTINUOUS SERVICE 4 Bill Johnson.Editor-Publisher • Bernard Reeves.General Manager Hovle H. Martin Sr.Executive Editor 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 th^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 10030 Chicago. Ill 60616 (212 ) 489 1220 Calumet 5-0200 The Perils Of Being A Black Homeowner by Gerald O. Johnson The Charlotte Public Relations people are trying to push this city off as the meccas of progressive living. The Uiger airport and liquor by the drink, are all indications that the city is moving progressively towards becoming a nicer place to reside. But of course, all of this is on the surface. What is Charlotte really like deep down? Well, surprisingly enough, much of Charlotte still clings on to the days of yester year. I found this out recently when I attempted to buy a house in a predominately white neighborhood. The incident wouldn’t have made me mad except for the fact that the realtor who gave us the run around was an idiot If he had used any type of diplomacy in handling the situation I might have taken the whole thing a little easier. But he didn't and on three separate accounts he turned down contracts on the property. The situations surrounding this aren't important but what is important is that many blacks have had similar encounters and failed to have this matter looked into The office of H l) D investigates discrimination charges free. Some very prominent blacks have been denied housing in certain areas of Charlotte merely because of the color of their skin. Having had this problem and taking the necessary steps to rectify it. I turned my attention to another situation Blacks must face in being homeowners. To put it mildly, we are being drained of capital, economical ly To understand this you must visualize two sides of the housing market; the byers side and the sellers side. The byer is the market to acquire a house and the seller is in the market to sell a house. As it turns out the market place for blacks is a buyers market Theoretically, speaking a black can buy a house in any section of Charlotte, whereas a white has no desire to live in a predominately black section. Hence, blacks have a larger area to choose a house from, barring any discrimination, of course. On the surface this might seem to be good and I guess it is if you intend to buy but never sell. Rut it is precisely because of the buyers market that blacks do to poorly in the tellers market. I think it it a safe assumption that 80% of the buyers of houses are white. That leaves the black ®*Uervith only 20% of the market to attract to hit home But out of this 20% over half will be seeking shelter in a non-black community, this leaves roughly 8% to seek shelter in a black community. Even with the housing boom that is currently taking place in Charlotte, the rate goes unchanged. The white seller gets 92% of the market for homes that are not necessarily better This situation causes homes in black communities to sell for less than they are valued. The problem ii compounded if you have made improvements on your home. You will never be able to get your money back. Well, this is just anolA milestone in our step toward equality. But it is becoming an expensive ordeal. marks m Their Eyes Drink Supporters Have Dollar Gordan Weekly, publicity chairman of PEOPLE WHO CARE, stated last week that despite all claims to the con trary, those pushing for liquor-by-the drink in Meck lenburg County have dollar marks in their eyes. Since 1935 when the present ABC SYSTEM was approved, all so-called profits from the sale of legal liquor in North Caro lina have been divided be tween state and local govern ments. Selfish interests are now working to bring personal pro fit into the picture because they know the fantastic a mounts of money to be made on the sale of liquor. For example, a fifth of liquor contains an average of 25 ounces Depending on the brand, a liquor-by-the drink outlet pays »5 00 for that fifth With 25 drinks in a fifth and selling it for $1.50 a drink, this results in total sales of $37.50 or a gross profit of at least 600 percent. No other ‘business' makes a profit of this magnitude unless it is the illicit drug traffic. It is quite clear why some folks want the right to merchandise liquor as if it were lemonade The distressing thing about the huge profit on liquor-by the drink is that it takes so much out of the community and leaves nothing but pro blems behind. In addition, well over 50 percent of the money paid for legal whiskey in N.C. goes outside ths state to distillers, distributors, and others who grow rich from the sale of liquor. When hugh amounts of mon ey are to be made on anything, unfavorable and unwholesome elements are attracted. Con aider the dog racing tracks in Currituck and Carteret Count ies in the early 1960's Ask folks in that section of 'N.C. what kind of people came. The syndicate and mafia know where the fast buck is to be made and are not above using their influence on local and state governments to fatten their pocketbooks and Swiss bank accounts It's a risk this . if 0 BLACKS MUST BE THEIR OWN GUARDIANS OF,, HEIR FREEDOM. * REGISTER AND fi VOTE/ Its Up To You!!! Women And Economic Excuses uy eaynara Kustin Special To the Post When I was a young child in elementary school, ‘I had a classmate blessed with an amazing talent. No matter what the predicament, he managed to create a host of highly imaginative excuses. If he arrived late, as he frequently did-, bfi. blamed the weather, the roads, and even his poor mother who alledged ly overslept. Because of his growing addiction to excuses, he soon scorned any attempt to analyze problems in a rational and mature way. Excuses, then, soon became easy - though dangerously adequate - substitutes for solutions. I recount the story of my old classmate because many modern economists, espe solutions. For example, cur rent discussions regarding unemploment seem far more concerned with finding simplistic excuses rather than hard-headed solutions. High unemployment , the economists tell us, is caused by too many women, too many youngsters, and too many old people seeking jobs, ‘if all these so-called “marginal ele ments” would quietly return to the kitchens, the street corners, and the old folks homes we would, according to the new economic theories (i.e. excuses), have full em ployment. These theories, which are really excuses, have always left me a bit wary, and for good reason. For decades the civil rights movement fought against the idea that America could justifiably turn its back on the unemployment and de gradation of so-called “margi nal groups. In those days, as you may recall, anyone with dark skin conveniently fell into the ‘marginal' category. Some contemporary eco nomists now assert that the high jobless rates among women - the new ‘‘marginal” -are somehow natural and predestined by God. Such people advise us to look exclu sively at the unemployment rates for males head house holds. These rates -which are always relatively low-are supposed to be the true indi cators of our affluent econo my. Such a narrow-minded approach to employment policy might be acceptable to some ancient theologians who enjoyed speculating as to whether or not women and blacks had souls. But for me, it seems hopelessly antiquat ed, and, even worse, tinged with a kind of social defeat ism. Moreover, it ignores some fundamental - and rare ly discussed - facts. To begin with, those who complain that women have flooded the labor market have not, I suspect, bothered to consult any reliable statistics. Out of curiosity, I recently liiked into the matter of the ‘‘female flood,” and discover ed that the great flood is hardly more than a trickle. Compare* to 1890, the pro portion of women seeking jobs today is considerably higher, yet the increase in recent years is negligible. In 1967, for example, 41.1 percent of wo men aged 16 and over were in th labor force. In 1976, the proportion was 47.3 percent - hardly a mammoth increase. And part of this increase was offset by a drop in the pro portion of makes over 16 who were working or seeking work. But while all this was occuring, the overall unem ployment rate more thai doubled during the same per iod. With this information o working women caused 01 With this information in mind I find it difficult to believe tha the small increase in th< proportion of working womer caused or even contributed t< the feverish increase in unemployment rates. While it is true that tht proportion of working womer has grown, it is not true, as some people have insisted that the vast majority of work ing women are in the labor force for ego-building kicks, 01 “pin money.” The vast ma jority of women hold job6 foi the same reason as men - the) head families, and desperate ly need income for themselves a t _ of all American families -an headed by women. Andwithii the black community, one o every three families is heade< by a woman. Because of anti-woman jot aiscnmniation, as well a: other factors, thes familie face severe economic pro blems. According to an excell ent study by Beferly Johnbsoi of the Labor Department, oih of every three families hhead ed by a woman live in poverty In 1976 , these families had t median annual income of scarcely $7,200. For black families headed by women the median income was i mere $5,069 - not even $100 pe; week. Over 70 percent of thess women work in low-paying dead-end jobs such as domestic service, garmenl and textile manufacturing, and low-level clerical wnrlr fF—gg By Vernon E. Jor TO j BE I EQUAL I W ashington, D. C.’s Right To Vote When the Senate voted 67-32 in favor of a consti tutional amendment that would grant Congression al representation to citizens of Washington, D.C., it took the first step toward ending the shameful denial of constitutional rights to the District’s 760,000 people. The justified joy over the Senate’s action may be premature though—the amendment faces the hurdle of being ratified by 38 state legislatures within seven years. Only then will it become part of the Constitution. Only then can Congress enact the necessary enabling law. Only then can the Dis trict elect a voting Congressman and two Senators. So passage of the amendment by the Congress signified a first step, not a final victory. But even that first step has been a long time coming. Citizens of the District have been fighting for voting rights since 1801. Voting rights and home rule were consistently opposed by powerful iarces who feared control over the nation’s capital vfould pass, in the words of a historian, to “Negro and propertyless voters.” That still is the basis of much of today’s opposi tion to voting rights for the District. The implicit racism in the opposition to D.C. voting rights was borne out by the spurious arguments used by Senators trying to defeat the Bill. For example, some claimed that the amendment i is unconstitutional. But how can an amendment to the Constitution—that is, an addition to the Constitution that changes it—be unconstitutional? By definition, any amendment, once passed, be comes part of the Constitution, hence constitu tional. Onnnnpnfa maHp a narfipnlor nknnvinno nrni. | ment that went roughly: “Washington has no farms or factories and thus does not produce wealth and therefore has not earned the right to representa tion.” In addition to being a slur on thousands of hard working, moderate and low-paid ordinary citizens of the District, that argument is a throwback to the days of property qualifications for the ballot. - Or is this part of a new drive to allot Congressional representation according td the output of agricul tural and industrial goods? • Such arguments become ridiculous when measur ed against .the basic injustice of denying citizens the right to elected representation. The District’s Steens are now taxed without representation, a PsIlVfflB to against, Bri|j^i t "* rme in 1770: Tfie TOslrict’s citizen* marched oWto ■ America’s wars and many never returned, again, 1 without representation. The Senate vote was a special interest for three reasons. First, some Senators publicly identified as “liberal,” who would be expected to vote for a mea sure that would extend voting rights and allow for increased black representation, played hard to get. Most wound up on the right side of the vote, but instead of being out front trying to get their col i leagues to join in voting for the amendment, they s coyly sat on the fence until the last minute. Second, the amendment had genuine bi-partisan support, with GOP Chairman Brock and Senators Baker and Dole really taking the lead in rounding up votes. That kind of Republican backing for the measure has real significance. Third, some Senators traditionally allied against black interests voted in favor of the amendment. Here was proof of the power of the black vote, es pecially in the case of Senator Strom, the original Dixiecrat, whose favorable vote was undoubtedly influenced by being up for re-election in South Carolina thifl upflr
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Sept. 7, 1978, edition 1
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