Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Feb. 7, 1980, edition 1 / Page 2
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Editorials & Comments Revive Spiritual Leadership In a critical look at Christian ity and the religious establish ment in ~1965, Pierre Berton posed a nagging question when he asked, ‘‘A generation from now will still another writer, in another book be able to say that the church in the sixties con tinued to cater to the com fortable pew by ignoring the uncomfortable issues that lay below the surface?” In our view, few have offered an answer to this question be cause of the uncomfortable fact that organized religion is in mounting disarray and increas ingly out of touch with the Christiantty-emerging for God’s son, Jesus Christ. in our own city we can recall the affluent Myers Park Baptist Church memorializing a former pastor recently within the sha dows of the mixed reception granted to the Rev. Carter Heyward a professed homo sexual. Furthermore, a church offering homosexuals a place to worship openly is being planned for Charlotte. In the Bible, Leviticus 18:22 states cleanly, “Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind: it is abomination.” In another church here, the incorporated Grace Baptist Temple of Christ, a dispute errupted last month over who would control and operate the church property. Human mis understanding began over some members’ concern about the conduct of the pastor. A lack of “love they neighborhood” re sulted in the dispute being taking to a civilian court. In the black church the role of the pastor is significantly greater than among other ethnic groups. “The black pastor,” writes THE JOURNAL AND GUIDE, “produces, gives birth to, shapes, and develops the lifestyle of the black church; the black pastor is more than a preacher of the Gospel or a minister to the needs of persons in the community or congrega tion. He is a social prophet and an interpreter of the times; he is a fearless proclaimer of Divine truth that is relevant to the experiences of life.” Black Preachers Unfortunately, many black preachers and their congrega tions have lost the banner of spiritual leadership and have strayed from the path of right eousness as have many white churches. This is what we are witnessing in the dispute be tween Reginald Hawkins, pastor of the H. o. Graham Metro1— politan United Presbyterian Church and the hierarchy of the Catawba Presbytery, the gov erning body of the United Pres byterian churches in the Char lotte area. Hawkins’ allegation of corruption in the church, the comparing of his situation to that of the suffering of Jesus, as well as the apparently year long wait by Catawba Presbytery before charging Hawkins with defying church authority may represent organized religion but they do not represent the brotherhood - love and Christianity - taught and practiced by Jesus Christ. Furthermore, the allegations that Bishop George Leake and the Rev. Alton C. Hunnicutt may have been involved in the mis appropriation of nearly $92,000 in —public funds designed to help needy blacks is reason to be concerned with how far our church leaders have drifted from teachings of Jesus Christ. It points out too why an unusually large number of blacks were involved in the Jim Jones People’s Temple mass murder. The loss of the black pastor’s spiritual leadership, locally and across America, is evident by recent reports that black pro gress in the late 1970’s has become a myth because black youth unemployment is ap proaching 60 percent; brack— family income is only 57 percent (61 percent 10 years ago) of that of white families; and the inci dent of poverty is three times higher for blacks than for whites. Therefore, we must ask, are not these losses partly a result of the absence of the black pastor’s role in providing “spiritual leadership?”___ Stable Leadership The black pastor of the 1980’s has an even greater need than ever before to provide spiritual leadership. The urgency is evi denced by the fa c t tha t na tiona 1 polls point out that Americans, both black and white, are frustrated, angry, apprehensive and a little fearful about the future. They say they are looking for stable leadership with unquestionable credibility. Therefore, when the black pastor speaks to his congrega tion, he should be seeking to encourage, inspire and challenge his people in a manner that will enable them, together, to accept the task of engaging in liberation theology to rekindle the progress of black people. This kind of spiritual leadership can and will lead to improved community organizing, more responsive elected representatives, better public services, and, more signi ficantly, a closer walk with God and a sense of his protective arms around us. Americans, and blacks in par —tirnlar, ni*>ri a definite revival of spiritual leadership and a per sonal reunion with God himself. Without this there is no hope and without hope there is no future. Help yourself, help your pastor and help your country by a personal involvement with God which will lead to the spiritual leadership our nation and black people so desperately need. LAW-ABIDING Wmk* 5LACKS)NUST$T0P\ vssm&sia DENIAL OF RIGHTS'\ MUST SPEAK OUT A FRANKLY AGAINST n thecriminai 1 ^^UEMENT' A Challenge To Black Leadership I As I See It Teaching Hazardous To Health By Gerald O. Johnson It should be required that each state in this country put up a notice for indivi duals taking the National Teachers' Examination that reads “Caution; Teaching may be hazard ous to your health.’’ It has become a nightmare in stead of a profession. In stead of receiving respect, teachers only get rebuffed. Imagine, if you will, be jngresponsible for approxi mately 30 brats (excuse me, children) all of which come in different shapes, colors, sizes and tempera ments. Add to this a pinch of 30 different upbringings, religions, parental atti tudes, morals, and back grounds, stir for a second (it comes to a boil automa tically), and what do you have.a mess. Unfortun ately, this mess typifies the general classroom situa tion in public schools across the country. The responsibility of the teacher now becomes much like that of a tight rope walker. With their hands tied behind their backs by legal nonsense they are expected to g<Mn and turn that mess into something that we all can be proud of. There is one other catch! All of this for minimum wages. So, Hurry; Hurry; Hurry; for one thin property tax pay ment, one-one hundreth of your property value....let the sideshow begin. Of course, teachers teach out of dedication...they don’t need money. Why, just the other day at my local grocers they were selling bags of groceries by the dedication; 2 bags for 1 month dedication. On the for real side do you think a teacher can teach in such an environ ment? Do you think a kid Gerald O. Johnson can learn in an environ ment like this? Who in their right mind would try? We have seen the results of such an environment. Teachers have become passive; students have be come dumber ; and the sys tem has become ineffect ive. To correct this wasteful attempt at education we must understand the basis of the problem. The basis is the control has been re moved from the classroom and away from the teacher. It has-been placed in the^ hands of those farthest re moved from the source... parents and administra tors. Once the control is returned to the teachers then this problem will go away. But, the removal of school prayer, removal of the paddle, and the addi tion of parental pacifiers has created a situation whereby parents and chil dren have forced admini strators to control the classroom. The little mon sters come to school real izing that they can do as they please, and they do. It is up to the parents to demand that education not be spared for politics. We must allow teachers the right to run their classes as they see fit. This includes corporal punishment. Moreover, we must realize that our public school sys tem should be more than an expensive day care center. Finally, all of us respond better under a controlled environment. Kids are no exception. The classroom should represent the epi tome of discipline and con trol. It’s a good thing Pop Miller is not teaching any more! + + + + The schools became a scene of solemn farce, where ignorance on stilts, his cap well lin'd with logic not his own, with parrot tongue perform’d the scho lar part, proceeding soon a graduated dunce. -Cowper, the Task, II X X X X Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes they forgive them. -Oscar Wilde, The picture of Dorian Gray Life Insurance How much life insurance is enough? Charlotte fami lies will have that question answered for them indivi dually during the 1980 Southern Living Show which runs from Feb. 23 through March 2. Visitors will receive a free computerized analysis showing how to combine life insurance with social security benefits to meet minimum family income needs. New York Life Insurance Company is providing the analysis as a public service. The exhibit uses counter top computers and inform ation provided by show visitors. by Vernon E. Jordan^rj “TO BE EQUAL Campaigners Avoid Issues The presidential campaign is off ton bad start. Despite a field crowded with candi dates, the campaign has yielded little in the way of educating the public or informed discussion on the issues that count. _All of the candidates appear to think the electorate consists of citizens who share the same center-to-right opinions on foreign and domestic policy. Political appeals to the perception of what most voters are Hke results in homogenized campaigns, with studious avoidance of the issues. And one grim immediate result is to shift the center of political gravity to the right. By refusing to break out of the mold of issues as defined by the right and solutions acceptable to the right, candidates neglect the interests of many millions of Ameri cans, especially those who are black, minority, or poor. Thus far the campaign - such as it is - has centered on foreign policy. Frustrated candidates charge the President won’t slug it out with them on the campaign trails. Instead he’s been on the job, acting “presidential” in a time of crisis. If we criticize his international actions, the candi dates wail, we just look unpatriotic. Well, that’s an advantage incumbents ha ve that has plagued opponents in the past. But such complaints get little sympathy from this quarter. There’s nothing to stop a candidate from speaking out on any issue, and some may even silently welcome the chance to avoid taking hard positions even as they complain about it. But more important, why do the candi dates feel foreign policy is the only ground for campaign debate? We have high unem ployment that’s going higher; runaway inflation; deteriorating cities; a housing shortage; energy problems; high poverty rates; resurgent racism, and a host of other woes. But despite their important for the nation and its future, the candidates seem to be running away from those issues. Black and minority voters are pnbne victims of campaigners’ neglect. They want to know where the candidates stand on equal opportunities, welfare reform, urban aid, national health, and other issues of prime importance. But they’re not getting any answers. This negative process is encouraged by media coverage that is more appropriate to the Super Bowl. Issues are shortchanged, personalities spotlighted: A handful of voters in Iowa or New Hampshire serve as the focus for miles of newsprint while millions of urban blacks are ignored and their needs rendered invisible. Instead of conducting look-alike cam paigns, the candidates ought to be taking bold stands to separate themselves from the crowd. The candidate who shows some moral fervor, who advances strategies that deal with poverty and the social divisions in our society, is the candidate who will generate the excitement that pulls the dispossessed to the polls. Black, Hispanic, and poor voters have the potential to elect the next President. Tradi tionally those groups don’t vote to the same degree as the white middle class. THE CHARLOTTE POST Second Class Postage No. 965500 THE PEOPLES NEWSPAPER” Established 1918 Published Every Thursday By The Charlotte Post Publishing Co.. Inc. 1S24 West Blv - Charlotte, N.C. 3S30S Telephone (704) 376-0496 Circulation. 9.915 61 Irarn Of Continuous Service RIM. JOHNSON. Editor Publisher BERNARD REEVES...General Manager 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 become the property of the POST, and will __ not be returned National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers. Inc. « W SmH* I M3 NM 8. Michigan \v*> Nr" ' N V Ill MIC ^_r »»■■>+< mim From The White House Black Leaders Need To Explain Their Carter Endorsements Alfreds L. Madison Special To TV Post Some black leaders have endorsed President Carter and it’s hard to see why. Surely he has appointed twenty-six black judges, and he has made more black appointments than any other President Yet other than U.N. Ambas sador McHenry «nd Secret ary Harris, no blacks are in policy-making positions Then too these cosmetic token acU are the show case for the administration and those who support him The National Urban League's recent report states that black unem ployment has risen to 25 percent The black family income which was 61 per cent of that of the white family in 1969 has (topped to 57 percent by 1979. and that black middle class has declined from 12 percstit to 9 percent of all black families The report fur 'her shows that job expan sion in the private sector reveals that blacks re ceived 5 percent, whites 79 percent and Hispanic* 12 percent from 1974 <979 * Alfreda L. Madison * hen t hese Dig city mayors are endorsing Mr Carter they can't be doir^ this because their black consti tuency has fared better under his administration So thev need to explain, with true tacts, their reasons In the President s human rights policy he has been discriminatory He can talk about handling dis sidents in Russia, but he has not uttered one public sound about the highly un just handling of the Wil mington 10 Neither has he made any public outcry about the terrible atrocities whites have committed against blacks in Southern Africa. He ignored blacks' request to deny Ian Smith a visa to this country. He is now highly criticizing Rus sia for its Afghanistan in vasion. while he is right now supporting, with military equipment. King Hassan of Morocco in his conflict with the Polisario Front which is seeking liberation King Hassan has annexed the Mauri lama administered part of Sahara President Carter's Morroco support is against the Organisation of African Unity and nonaligned nations While he is for increased immigration of Vietnamese and Cambo dians. he refuses to even reply to requests from con gress persons and others on the refusal, and even throwing overboard of Haitians who seek refuge in this country , to get away from the barbanc rule of Din a tier In the summer, a group of black ministers asked the President to lake some action about the upsurge of A. the Klan. He is highly aware of the increasing spread of racial hatred, but there was no mention of that in the State of the Union Message That is certainly an important state of the Union condi tion. He spoke about Sakharov/ Surely things are worse for all now than they were when Mr. Carter came into office The rich excluded. Inflation and unemploy ment are on the increase; we nave so Americans held hostage with no release in sight and a created hysteria of war, with an ever increasing brainwash ing that our national se curity is in jeopardy, be cause of the internal con flict in a small country 7.000 or more miles away Russia has been in Afghan istan for years Why is it that Mr Carter is juat coming out against it now'* He is attempting to support Zia in Pakistan who is more of a repressive leader than the Shah of Iran Recently a taxi driver said. “President Carter brought the Shah to this country and Americans were taken hostage be cause of that, he tried to brainwash the public with the hostages to keep their minds off the worsening domestic problems. Then when the people began get ting tired of that he came up with the threat to world peace idea He said all of this was a stop Kennedy act. Since Mr. Carter can’t do anything about these conditions why doesn’t he do like Lyndon Johnson and refuse to run again?” It wouldn’t be a bad idea if all of our leaders, includ ing the President and con gress could, be as fortunate as I was and take a ride in that driver’s cab. Chavis To Speak At Wake Forest WINSTON-SALEM- The Rev Ben Chavis, a politi cal activist from Washing ton. D C., and the last of the •o-called "Wilmington 10" to be released from prison, will be one of the speakers <»uring Wake Forest Uni vwity s -Black Aware ness Celebration mt" Feb 10-lt. The week-long program, sponsored by the univers ity’s Afro-Americas So ciety. «* designed to ex plore the contributions Necks have made to poU tics, religion and the arts in American society Chevis. who now is director of the United Chwch of Christ's Com mission on Racial JiMtice will speak at 11 a m Tlwm day, Feb 14, in Mil Chapel in what is expected to be Ms first public ad dress since Ms release in December. l*7». Chavis was the leader of the nine hiack men and one wMte woman who ware convicted « in connection with tiie 1*71 firobotnbtrw of a Wilmington tocery store ^hocrlba la the Charlotte Poet Yowrw^pmi Helps
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Feb. 7, 1980, edition 1
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