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Are We Political Racists?
thus most won t bother to vote.
New Negativism
We tend to believe that these
assumptoins are true, and if they
are, black people are contributing to
what the Urban League's Vernon
Jordan has called the "New Negat
ivism," a "basic reneging on the
promises (by White America) of the
1960s." It appears to us thaf black
people are contributing to such
"negativism" when they fail to do as
much as they can to make them
selves a part of mainstream AmerP -
ca.
For example, for good or bad,
liquor-by-the-drink is going to affect
the quality of life in Charlotte-Meck
lenburg, therefore, every citizen
should be actively involved in help
ing make those decisions that affect
our lives. Secondly, and probably
more significant, is the fact that an
established show of force at the
voting booths on any issue would
give black voters a new respectabi
lity and some degree of leverage
when issues do arise that they feel
more directly affects them. There
are in fact, no black or white issues,
perse, only issues that affect people.
Too often negatively black people, in
part because a poor overall voting
track record gives them little re
sectability among elected officials
and the behind-the-scene policy
makers. We are certainly mindful
of the single shot" voting days when
blacks felt compelled to vote only for
the black candidate because racist
thinking whites would not vote for a
black under no circumstances. Fort
unately, we have made substantial
progress away from that kind of
mentality as evidenced by a recent
Gallup Poll. The poll revealed that
77 percent of white Americans say
that they would vote for a black
candidate for President of the U. S.
As recently as 20 years ago, 1958,
only 38 percent of the white polled
took that position. Furthermore, the
poll showed a "dramatic decline"
among whites' prejudice toward
blacks who move into "their" neigh
borhood.
Moral Courage
Thus, to avoid contributing to the
"new negativism" and to avoid the
drift toward becoming political ra
cist ourselves, we as blacks must
use our voting power out of a sense
of civic duty, moral courage, and
pride in ourselves. We must not
forget the statement made by Char
lotte NAACP Branch President Al
lan Rousseau recently "When one
neglects to vote, he hands over tne
right to others. He weakens the
political system. Whatever one's
politics may be, it is his duty tc
vote."
In commenting further on reports
that blacks were being told by some
do not vote on the mixed drink issue,
Mr. Rousseau added, "For years
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everything they could to get blacks
to register and vote. They've not
said how to vote that's no one's
business but the voter's - but we all
know that blacks can't afford the
luxury of not voting^ "
Again we think Mr. Rousseau has
said well what we think needs to be
said to the black community. We
can't afford the luxury of apathy,
indifference, political racism, or
abandoning our civic responsibility
if we expect to get a fair share of
whatever America has to offer.
Employment, education, health
care, crime control, viable neighbor
hoods and the responsiveness of
elected officials are all made avail
able to us in proportion to how we
attempt to make the political system
work and work well.
Therefore, it is not only your right
to register and vote, it's your duty!
To do less, for whatever reason,
makes us political racist wherein we
imprison ourselves and encourage
the "new negativism" of whtes. We
believe this to be true because in
America a man is what he does, that
is, if he labors to make the system
work it will work, if he does not
labor, the system does nothing or
becomes reactionary. Do something
The system works for you if you
work (vote) for the system.
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Time To Deal With The Real!
LETTERS TOTHE EDITOR
Police In Bogus Fencing Operation?
mr. oui jonnson, cauor
The Charlotte Post
1524 West Boulevard
Charlotte, N.C.
Dear Mr. Johnson:
On August 27 the police
announced that they had dealt
a major blow to crime in
Charlotte by arresting hard
ened criminals who sold stolen
goods to undercover police
officers in a bogus fencing
operation. The mayor and the
news media rushed in to con
gratulate the police and called
for stem swift justice.
The Charlotte Equal Rights
Council in no way approves of
theft, but neither do we
approve of entrapment. To
entice umemployed, young
people, most of them ages
16-25, with a quick dollar for
stolen goods stimulates crime
rather than combats it.
In their haste to prove that
these young men are career
criminals, bail was set at over
$100,000 in some cases, though
many had no previous arrest
record. Now a number of
Charlotte youth have a police
- record that will stick with
them forever.
m
The police fence operation
was designed to catch amat
eurs. No career criminal
would have fallen for it. They
had the young people fill out
"job applications," and paid
them by check. Professional
thieves would never have
accepted check, nor such low
prices --$50 for a 1978
Granada.
That these youths fell for the
police trap might prove that
. they were stupid, and it might
eventually be Droven that they
are guilty of the crimes with
which they are charged, but it
is unlikely that they are
career criminals.
Most of those arrested were
black because the police set
their trap in a black neighbor
hood. An integrated neighbor
hood or downtown location
v.ould have been more logical,
unless the police started
out with the idea that most
blacks are criminals or most
criminals are black. With un
employment among Diacn
youths at nearly 50 percent,
they are a particularly
vulnerable group. But entrap
ment won't solve major
crime.
The Sting raises a lot of
questions about Charlotte's
law entorceinent system -
whom it protects and whom it
traps.
Sincerely,
Tim Lund, (Joorainator
Charlotte Equal Kights
Council
INAACP Spurred By Lake
mj car sir:
Spurred by what is termed
an unwarranted attack on the
NAACP, by recently retired
Supreme Court Justice I. Bev
erly Lake, Kelly M. Alex
ander, Sr., president, N.C.
State Conference of Branches,
issued an executive order,
calling all interested persons
to the 35th annual State Con
vention, which will be held at
the RaHirann Pla?a Hntpl,
Oct. 19-22.
The stand that Governor
Hunt took on the controversial
competency test and the chid
ing that media gave the
NAACP for its stand is of
grave concern. President
Alexander has often warned
that the state organization
could not let the apparent
gains lull it into a state of
apathy that could result in the
winning of the battle and the
losing of the war.
Lake's recent attack is a
signal that there is an underly
ing current that could take
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reactionary forces scattered
such racial venom, undef the
ruse of the Ku Klux Klan,
that Dr. Frank Porter Gra
ham for the U.S. Senate, is the
thinking of many.
All branch presidents and
secretaries received hotel re
servation blanks. Persons
expecting to attend are ur
gently requested to fill out
same and return one copy to
the hotel and one to the state
office, 112 North 'Irwin Ave
nue, Charlotte, N.C. 28202.
A record attendance is ex
pected due to the fact state
officers will be elected for a
two-year term. Local
branches will also hold their
elections this year. It is to be
remembered that Charles A.
McLean, who has served as
field director for a number of
years, has retired. Even
though the appointment is
made by the national office
local branches can play a
valuable role in the selection.
Alexander Barnes, Director
:By Vernon
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>Tax Cut Promises Deceptive
Economists are fond of telling us mere mortals
that there's no such thing as free lunch. Usually
fiscal conservatives preach this truism at
liberals, but now it is liberals who have to remind
the conservatives of this.
At issue is a bill before Congress popularly
known as the Kemp-Roth Bill that would cut all
federal taxes by one-third over the next three
years.
Its' backers claim that this $lOO-billion -plus
tax cut would stimulate the economy to the point
where the revenues would come back to the
treasury in the form of higher tax receipts, even
though rates would be lowered. They say the
economic boom that would result from lowered
taxes would be so huge that we'd have full
employment, lower inflation, and other benefits.
- That kind of pie-in-the-sky thinking won't
stand up to the harsh facts of life. A tax cut of
that size would take years to result in φβη
partial benefits to the economy. Even if there
was a boom, the lower rates would result in an
estimated $100 billion federal deficit, which in
itself could trigger a real Depression. The
Kennedy-era tax cut often cited as proof of . the
beneficial effects of tax-cutting is not compar
able, coming in a period of low inflation and a
very different economy.
Backers of a tax cut don't say anything about
cutting the federal budget, but that is the real
purpose of deep tax cuts. Political reality
dictates that once federal revenues were cut to
such a massive extent, the budget itself would
have to be slashed.
Now what does that mean? · You know the
Pentagon's swollen budget won't be touched.
And a large part of the federal budget is
untouchable - interest payments on the national
debt, social security entitlements, and other
expenditures. That leaves money going to poor
people and to cities as prime targets of
budget-slashers. The hidden agenda of the tax
cutters is to cut federal spending, especially for
social purposes.
That hidden agenda has to be exposed.
Promising people a free lunch in the form of
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But even on their own grounds, the tax cutters
are wrong. The theoretical underpinnings of a
massive tax cut are found in the proposals of
economist Arthur Laffer. He says that taxes are
so high that incentive has been dulled, and the
economy suffers from the accumulated decisions
of individuals and businesses not to work so hard
because of the tax bite.
BUT America's taxes are among the lowest in
the industrial world. Onlv about 30 percent of
America's Gross National Product is taken in
taxes which, let's not forget, are returned to the
public in the form of necessary services. But
almost half the GNP of the Netherlands goes to
taxes, and even West Germany, considered the
prime example of a free enterprise country,
takes over 35 percent of its GNP in taxes.
The same goes for tax rates on earned income.
The top rate in America is 50 percent, but in
England it is 83 percent, and even in Japan,
another example of a free enterprise state, it is
76.5 Dercent.
oy Hoyle H. Martin, Sr.
A Charlotte News front page story
on Sept. 8, liquor-by-the
drink election day, was headlined
'Everyone* Voting On Mixed
Drinks." "Everyone," as it turned
out, did not include most black
voters because most blacks simply
did not vote. For example, in Pre
cinct 25 only 623 out of 2,500 regist
rants took the time to vote on the
mixed drink issue. The Precinct 25
voter turnout represented only 24.8
percent of their voters and was
characteristic of black voting in other
predominately black voting places.
Significantly, the black voter turn
out for the mixed drink issue was
predicted to be low. The predictions
were based on two assumptions.
These are that (1) blacks only vote
in large numbers when black candi
dates are on the ballot and (2) blacks
only vote in large numbers when
there is a perceived direct benefit
from such voting. These assumpt
ions appeared to be evident in the
mixed drink vote. For example,
both before and after the election,
Elections Board Secretary William
"Bill1_Culp said_he predicted,
based on past voting
patterns, that the black voter turn
out would be low because blacks
tend to vote heavily only when black
candidates are on the ballot.
Furthermore, many people, both
black and white expressed a view
point that there was nothing in the
mixed drink issue to benefit blacks,
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
ι Bill Johnson
' Bernard Reeves ...
Hovle H. Martin Sr
Julius Watson
Albert Campbell....
Editor-Publisher
General Manager
Executive Editor
Circulation Director
Advertising Director
Second Class Postage No 965500 Paid Af
Charlotte, N.C. under the Act of March 3,1878
MR JOHNSON:
I just read your column,
"THE PERILS OF BEING A
BLACK HOMEOWNER," and
I don't have one iota of
sympathy for you. Having
said that, let me hasten to
explain: (1) Being a
presumed intelligent man. you
realize the problems you have
had with discrimi nation (2)
You know whites, don't love
you any more new than they
did when you wf re younger
(3) White Realtors don't want
you in a white nei ghborhood-to
insure them from possibly
being your next d oor neighbor
because that is. where they
live
You Brother Johnson, could
have avoided t his very easily
and still boug'nt a home in a
predominate!}: white neigh
borhood Your first mistake
was calling 8i white Realtor
You see. in your column you
mentioned certain markets
The market you unforgivably
forgot was the market for
Black Realtor* The reason it
is unforgivable is that you
deliberately and obviously
forgot them Several com
Member National Newspaper Publishers
Association
North Carolina Black Publishers Association
Deadline for all news copy and photos is 5 p.m.
Monday. All photon 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. Ill 60616
(212) 489-1220 Calumet 5-0200
as ι see it
Another Period Of Enlightenment?
petent Black Realtors belong
to the Multiple Listing Service
and therefore can show and
sell you any home on the ι
market Not only that, but
they could have shown you
how to save money In the
process So you see, it was not
the White Realtor that was an
idiot GERALD Ο JOHNSON
WAS THE IDIOT
I say this Brother Johnson
without malice or rancor but
with disappointment in you
and other blacks for whom the
Black Realtor depends upon
for their livelihood. And yet
the Black Homebuyer avoids
them deliberately even though
they are your neighbors,
fellow church-members, club
members, lodge members,
and etc. I'm sure you get my
point Therefore, the next
time you and your black
friends attempt to spend your
money, remember, you are
looking for GOOD SERVICE.
EFFICIENCY, DEDICATION
AND PROFESSIONALISM
And you can find it in the afore
mentioned groupa
Please consider printing
this letter, after all. it may be
'h* 'Idiot' club. Welcome!
Gerald Ο. Johnson
THINGS I HATE!
I find it disgusting that
insurance companies use
mottos to promote their
policies but in reality don't
practice what they preach.
The good hands people use
those hands to collect
premiums, but squashes you
with them when it'· time to
pay out. Or guess where you
will get that piece of the rock if
you have an accident ; up side
your head
Automotive insurance is
fine as long as you don't have
an accident, but if you do,
rest assured that your policy
might be cancelled So, tell
me. what good is it if when you
need it, it's gone?
To save money on auto
insurance you might try
cutting out your collision
insurance. You can do this if
your car is paid for and over 4
years old.
I own a 1971 Chevelle which
has a book value of about SOO
or Λ00 dollars Hence, if I
totaled my car UV)0 is all the
insurance company will pay I
was paying $50 a year in
collision insurance. If I put
that money in the bank instead
of giving it to the insuranc#
company, I am well ahead of
the game. If I wreck my car, I
have the money to pay for it.
If I don't wreck it, then I have
money drawing interest for
me.
Don't try this if you aren't
good at saving money. But
saving money is my favorite
pastime. Now, if I could only
get my hands on some.
Another thing I really hate
is the Charlotte News sub
scription department. Every
other day for a solid month
they called trying to get me to
take a subscription I said no
at least 40 times. It would
seem that with all the moi.ey
they havp that they could list
(he people alrèâdy COflUCtrt
But this isn't all. I decided
that I would give the news a
try. so on 41st call I said,
"yes". Two weeks later I
received a bill, but to this day
1 have not received a paper
Even after numerous calls, I
got no results
I hate trains It seems every
morning when I'm late for
work, I'm stopped by a train.
If this isn't bad enough dfc
train always stops after halrôf
it has gone by. It then backs
up for ten minutes ( Just to get
your dandruff up) and stops
again. Then it starts forward
again and after IS minutes of
waiting, you decide to try
another route. You slap your
gear in reverse, press on the
gas, slap the gear In drive,
press on gas. and so on, until
you finally get the car turned
around. You're boiling mad,
now Just as you get started in
the other direction, you see
everybody on the side
laughing at you. Without
looking around you know what
har happened. The train is
Gerald Jokneon
the beginning of another
period of enlightenment.
YOUR BROTHER
J E HENOERflON
Dear Mr Henderson,
My Realtor 1· Julius JC'
Cousar who. as far aa I know,
I* Mark Tho white Realtor
that your letter makes
reference to represented the
seller of the property.
After re-reading the article I
don t understand how you got
so turned around on your
thinking I guess that just
proves that there is always
room for one more member in