Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Sept. 21, 1978, edition 1 / Page 2
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ciilTcoiir| Blacks Need Economic Control i .. ___ _ innm manv state leiml nttiiua-i vy nvyie n. marun, ar. Post Staff Writer Black business may be doomed because it has failed tofully unders tand the range and scope of minority . economic develblftnefit. We make this observation after concluding thatone of major weaknesses of blacks in their struggle for political and economic equality is their lack for control, that is, little decision making authority in financial and business institutions. : Black Charlotteans have made some progress in securing public office and public jobs and they are getting better positions in business hnd industry. Furthermore, more and more black youths are graduat ing from high school and college and considerable advances have been made in the professions of law, education medicine, and real estate. * However, in the words of the PHILADELPHIA TRIBUNE, “the ^dominating influence in...any major :American city, is business. Those cwho control the business 'call Ihe shots. Contractors, big industria lists.... chain store opera tors... make 3the big money and control the Political mflphinpc urht/«h dents, senators, governors, mayors and judges.” : All other ethnic groups which have buffered prejudice in the past have somehow overcome such adversity to a greater extent than blacks. Cubans in Miami, Puerto Ricans, ?'ew York City, and even the relative "comers, tne Vietnamese, in • other cities have overcome mic prejudice to a much grea i*. iree than Blacks. Further .niwt c. while recognizing that these and other ethnic groups-Catholics, Italians and the. Irish-suffered far less from prejudice than did Blacks, they nevertheless used a common denominator to scale the barriers of .prejudice. ":j~_The common denominator these groups used iamoney, along wifftt* presumed advantage that smim rave with white skin. Yet, it has P' en only in relatively recent years That Americans w.ere unbaised enough to elect a Cathuiiu as presid dent of the U.S., a Jew as a senator and an Italian as a mayor. Blacks too have been elected to public office as a U.S. Senate (one), mayors, city councilmen, commiss ir _ ’ - « ---—uuu some have received cabinet appoint ments. Nearly all of these minority groups except Blacks, appear to control substantial business inter ests. For example, government estimates indicate Ihat the nation’s 11 percent black population controls not more than one percent of the nation’s business. (Other non-white minority groups comprise six perc ent of the population and control three percent of the nation’s busi ness). Furthermore, millions of dollars have been spent in Charlotte (and other cities) for new shopping malls, motels, highways, schools ana other needs, yet few of these dollars have gone into the bank accounts of Black business people. Why? The answer in part is in the fact that there are not more than one or two black contractors with suffici ent capital to compete and perform 1 the work required. How many local contractors, for example, will be fully prepared to bid successfully on contracts for the $47 million airport terminal project that Charlotte is about to begin? We believe it is time for Blacks to awaken and establish contracting business to sufficient size through joint venture programs so that they can benefit by the many public projects our local govemmetn spend money on. It is part time for Black businesses to broaden them econo mies and become more competitive. Restricting themselves to the Black consumers’ needs or competing for only the small contracting jobs limits potential and curtails Black economic development. The goals of Black business should be a bigger slice of the economic pie each year now. In this some regard The CHARLOTTE POST is endeavoring to expand its new coverage to cover all aspects of the news. However, while expanding, The Post will r' continue its mission and responsibil ity to the Black community. That is, The Post shall continue its commit ment to serve as a medium discrim ination that oppresses Blacks and other minorities. Yet, the success of this effort will depend on the rate and progress of black economic development. Support Black busi ness and support yourself. ^Competency Tests In Perspective m? In a Post story last week the Coalition for Quality Education denounced the proposed teacher competency test plan as detrimental to education in North Carolina. This assumption is compatible to many of the charges that similar tests will be harmful to youth ana especially Black youth. Because of the emotional react ions that competency test are gene rating, we are beginning to wonder whether the issue is being placed in perspective before condemning its usefulness as an educational tool. The use of such tests is, in our view relevant as a questionable educatio nal tool only to the extent that they do not accurately measure what students have been exposed to, taught and have learned. Therefore, the Post believes that efforts should be made to assure all concerned about quality education that competency test are a true and fair measure of what has been taught. THE STREETS ARE^ MADE FOR YOU, NOT FOR' TRASH OR GARBAGE. •,__ Political Junk Food uy Bayard Kustin Special To The Post Confusion rather than accurate information is the product of mo6t modern ad vertising. If you plan to mark et a non-nutritious breakfast cereal, you simply emphasize that each morsel is sugar coated, shaped like personal zodiac signs and enjoyed wor ld-wide by Olympic athletes. By stressing these inconse quential points, attention is cleverly diverted from the most pertinent fact -the cer eal is worthless junk. ... Just as corporations have successfully marketed junk foods, junk cars, and other junk products, some business-supported groups are now selling junk political ide as. Foremost among these Cracker Jack proposals are the so-called "right-tb-work” laws, the dhginal political junk food. While appearing to offer job security and full employment, “right-to-work” laws offer ne ither. Instead, they are intent ionally designed to weaken unions, lower wages, and keep workers in their place. All this is accomplished by imposing a compulsory “open shop,” even when a majority of wor kers democratically opt for union representation. Essentially, the open shop arrangement-favored by em ployers since trade unions emerged over a century ago allows a few workers- the free riders- to enjoy all the bene fits of collective bargaining without paying a cent toward the upkeep of their union. Such an unfair system necessarily militates against the develop ment of strong unions, and provides the employer with numerous advantages. By deliberately and repeatedly confusing the is sues, “right-to-work” forces have scored some key victo nes during uie last two years. In Arkansas, for instance, they successfully blocked a spirited attempt to repeal that state’s compulsory open shop law. And in Louisiana they passed legislation outlawing all forms of union secruity clauses. Now, the business supported National Right-To Work Committee has opened shop in Missouri with the hope of selling its sugar-coated, but hazardous proposals. Fortu nately, many key black lead ers in Missouri and across the country fully understand that a victory for "right-to-work” could very well spell disaster for the black community, • economically as well as politi cally. For black people, the economic consequences are -especially clear. As numerous studies have shown, black union members earn substant ially more than non-union blacks. In 1974, for example, the median weekly income of black union members was $169, while non-union blacks received only $124- a diff erence of more than a third. By weakening unions through compulsory open shop laws, the economic security of thou sands upon thousands of black union members will be jeo pardized. To sweeten the bitter eco nomic impact of “right-to work” ' laws, their leading proponents assert that “union free” states and localities quickly attract business in vestment which creates more jobs. The facts, however, tell a different story. A few years ago, the former Governor of Kansas -one of the 20 “right to-work” states—claimed that such laws actually discourage industrial development. Fur thermore Professor Daniel H. Pollitt of the University of North Carolina concluded that a variety of studies" indicate that right-to-work states hav not received more than thei proportionate share of a ne’ , industry, and that the enac ment of right-to-work laws i in no way responsible for th increase in non-farm emplo ment.” While business groups supporting “right-to-work” efforts claim to be solel concedraed with “protectin the freedom of their emplo; ees,” they are, in realit seeking to protect their ow freedom- to fire workers i will, to pay low wages and t keep fringe benefits minima Moreover, they also seek t neutralize labor as a politic) force by weakening unions i the shops At the political level, then, “right-to-work" is also a chi llenge to the black commi nity. If these deceptive prop) ouri or any other state we ca expect a lengthy parade < other conservative measure) such as cuts in school budget) reductions in desperately needed social services, an “tax reforms” that aid th rich. In short, another “righ to-work” victory, especial! this year, will further encoi rage the peddlers of politic) junk fooc Black Mayor The National Conference 01 Black Mayors, Inc. (NCBM) i the recipient of an Actio grant, according to Michel! D. Kourouma, executive d rector. The grant of $18,505 will ei able the organization to coi . duct a four-month Rural Ii tern Program, that will hav an impact on five rural mun cipalities in five states wher administrative staff capab lity is lacking^ The organization’ nation office is located in Atlant Ga. ^Hp^pgCounseling One of the gaps in the Administration’s urban I policy is the lack of adequate provision for housing counseling. Housing programs are too often seen only as bricks and mortar affairs. Inadequate thought is given to the needs of families and the necessity to make information and counseling available to them. ! This has been a major cause of the failure of many federal housing programs. Several years ago,for example, the government launched a massive program to enable low-income families co ouy nomes. Because Housing counseling was not built into that program, it failed. People with inadequate information were led into commitments they were unprepared for by unscrupulous speculators who made fortunes '^1 ! while the government had to swallow billions of | dollars worth of mortgage defaults and poor | people had their dreams of home ownership destroyed. There has always been a gap between the intent of federal programs and the delivery of e their services to the people who need them, r Where soical programs have been successful v they have been characterized by involvement of ' community organizations and the provision of g counseling. y But that experience has largely been ignored in the housing component of the urban policy. Federal job programs rely heavily on counseling services. Recruiting and training programs in , the urban policy have strong counseling ele r. meets. y But housing counseling services are not n considered integral to federal housing assistance 1 programs or to private housing benefits stimu “ lated by federal community development activi ~ ties. q . That s a mistake, and it may wind up hurting the success of those programs. It would be unfortunate if, in trying to save the small amounts a housing services component would H cost, a massive pgigram fails to accomplish its ► ends. ■<" : ■; r- *?■-' ■ r -} •’ ■ .i-tathfa'-i ■Viijiun ‘tl\j £\ nfiv ► -tThe experience with the-massive mortgage ' * n defaults of the early 1970s has led to a progr n m of lf counseling defaulted mortgagers of ederally \\ insured home loans. The government rightly concluded that the cost of such counsel:;-v would d be far less than the costs to the government of e foreclosing such loan y But that lesson has not been applied to oth • K bousing programs. The government can build < i the proven positive experience of the more th 500 housing counseling agencies in the natici They’ve developed techniques of comprehensive _ housing counseling services that work with j people to deal with their basic concerns about s housing and employment opportunities. Those neighborhood agencies are recognized ^ and supported by the Department of Housing and h Urban Development’s Office of Neighborhoods, t- Voluntary Associations and Consumer Protect e ion. So the machinery, both federal and local, is in place. Its up to the government to use it 6 properly. The government should meet the demand for ii comprehensive housing counseling services and i, make it an integral part of federal housing noliriM 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 Bill Johnson.Editor-Publisher Bernard Reeves.General Manager Hoyle 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 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, III 60616 * (212 ) 489-1220 Calumet 5-0200 After spending 27 days in jail for refusing to obey a judge’s blanket order to turn over his notes to the court, Myron Farber finally got his day in court along with his employer, the New York Times, which had paid a total of $110,000 in fines True. Ample examples exist of cases where the poor unfortunate accused have had to serve time before a hearing or trial. Thousands of poor people who have been unable to post bail find themselves frequently in predicaments somewhat similar to Father's dilemma. — - At the heart of the Farber case is the right of a reporter or publication to protect news sources. Without news sources, a reporter's ability to ferret out news and conduct the type of investigations that Farber was involved in would be seriously damaged. It is hardly likely that there would have been the revelations of Watergate or of other actions of gross misconducts by public officials were those being in vestigated able to demand to see the reporter's notes before now But there is an important difference Far from avoiding the issue of ordinary criminal detention, we feel that the Our New Day Begun Farber’s Day In Court r question involved in the Far ber case needs to be examined closely in a different light. For one involves the right of due process and prolonged incarceration without the right of habeas corpus, while the other involves First Amendment violations of free speech as well as similar imprisonment without a hearing. The American public should therefore be very alarmed over the growing trend of courts and prosecutors to seek out sources of information or to use Journalists to conduct the type of investigations that Farver was Involved in to conduct their criminal investigation for them. Only last May the U.S. Supreme Court, in effect, sanctioned this trend. It ruled five to three that policemen with warrants can make unan nounced searches of news rooms to gather criminal evi dence. In the opinion of the Court, Justice Byron R White wrote, "The critical element in a reasonable search is not that the owner of the property is suspected of crime but that here is reasonable cause to believe that specific ‘things' to be searched for and seized are located on the property.’’ tain information useful to his client’s defense The reporter and newspap-* er, however, refused the order of trial Judge William Arnold to turn over these documents to him so that be might decide whether any of the notes were relevant to the defense. What many peole found especially troubling about this order was that it did not specify what documents were neeeded. Also, the order was a clear violation of New Jersey's shield law, one of the strongest in the nation, which was enact ed to protect the news media from being compelled to turn over confidential notes and documents. Both Farber and The Times maintained that they were enti tled to a hearing on the merits of their claim that the First Amendment and the state’s shield law protect the confi dentiality of the reporter’s OTws source. Significantly New Jersey Attorney General John Deg nan agreed and urged the - State Supreme Court to t«ir» jurisdiction of the case. This the court did, and in a seven to zero decision which should be applauded, released Farber and stayed the Tines earlier this month Our Knowledge Of Medicine Has Increased Given this type of blanket license, It was really not sur prising that New Jersey Su preme Court Judge Theodore Trautwein indefinitely senten ced Father to the Bergen County jail and fined The Times for not turning over the reporter's noted to a lower court Judge. Farter’s investi gative reporting into a series of mysterious deaths in IMS and lMe at the Oradell,N.J. hospital had led prosecutors te reopen their investigation. As a result, Dr Mario Jai calevich was indicted for alls gedly injecting patients wit lethal doses of the muscl relaxant curare. His lawyer subpoenaed Father’s note* claiming that they might cor uur Knowledge oi medicine, and all of science far that matte, has increased greatly in the last century But there are times when we take this information explosion for granted and assume that we have always known these things. Sometimes it is inte resting to look back at medical folklore to see how far we really have come. While some of this medical folklore is amusing and quaint some of it was remarkably accurate. For example, the Indians of South America used to chey fever-curing Peruvian - bark to treat malaria. Today ’ we use refined quinine derived - from the same source. For ■ heart trouble, th English . brewed a tea made of the leaves and flower of the fox Kiuvw.- i ouay, we use digitalis refined from this plant. There is, perhaps, no more •fertile area of folklore than pregnancy and child-birth Mothers used to be prohibited from painting and decorating while. pregnant. This was a real and useful waraii* because paint in those days contained a great deal Of white lead and turpentine. The lead was truly dai^erom and turpentine was nameet ing unpleasant. Paints today contain very little of either white lead of turpentine to the expectant mother can paint all she wants, even the walls. Cont rary to general belief, there is no danger to her in stretching. Nor is there any danger of her earning twists of knots in a baby’a umbilical cord by hanging out the waah or by handling rope. - General medical superstit iona cover a wide range of •H*®**®*. methods of treat ment, and materials. Consi der - A popular treatment for whooping cough consisted of passing the patient thm«h a horsccollarjhr^Hmg^^
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Sept. 21, 1978, edition 1
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