Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / March 13, 1980, edition 1 / Page 2
Part of The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
I Editorials & Comments Wanted: Blacks In Census Count The U.S. Constitution requires the federal government to count every man, woman and child in the nation every ten years. The 1980 count, called the census, is scheduled to begin on April 1. When the count is completed, the Bureau of the Census will have employed over 250,000 tempo-, rary workers antj spent more —than.$l hillioiytti get a population profilfe of the American people. The census, important tor eco nomic and political reasons, is of particular significance to black Americans. Census data is a ~ primary source for determining the allocation of over $50 billion in federal funds, the ^apportion ment of congressional represent ation, and the redistricting ot state and local legislature bodies. Furthermore, census data determines state and local funding levels for issues of parti cular benefit to black Ameri cans; namely housing, unem ployment, health care, education arid assistance to the elderly arid handicapped. Ironically, there has been an undercount in the number of minority people in the United States since the inception of the census in 1790. For exarhple, the Bureau of the Census has con firmed that the nation’s black population was undercounted by 7.7 percent (about 2 milliori people) in 1970, arid an uriknown number of Hispanic, Asian and other Americans were not count ed. However, only 1.9 percent of the white population was not counted. It is a sad commentary to note also that many blacks were not counted because of deliberate efforts on their own part to avoid the census takers tor a variety of reasons. - The tragedy, or its potential from the black undercount, is most evident when we look at the implications for retaining, much less increasing, the number of ~ black elected officials. For ex ample, the 1980 census results will affect the congressional dis tricts of all 15 black voting members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The census re sults will also affect some of the other 66 congressional districts in which the black population is at least 20 percent. Therefore, assuring the re tention these 15 seats and pro tecting potential black influence in other congressional districts are in themselves sufficient rea sons for blacks to make every effort to be fully counted in the April 1 census taking. It should be clearly evident too that a black undercount in 1980, similar to the 1970 undercount, could have serious political con sequences by resulting in blacks being denied equal represent ation in the halls of congress. Conversely, while ft is imposs ible to predict the extent ol brack congressional power in 1981, it is obvious that their influence will depend largely upon how many blacks are counted in the census and how many will register and exercise their right to vote. Be counted and vote. Hack Churches Symbols Of Strength On March 24 an Evangelistic Crusade, sponsored by 52 Char lotte area black churches, will begin at Park Center. Undoubt edly, the crusade is part of a back-to-the-church revival movement to stimulate renewed ; church attendance, possibly in the face of the growing depend ence of 'many upon television religious programming. These developments, of at least the crusade itself, cause us to pause to £sk, what’s happening with our churches? Historically, the black church in Charlotte as elsewhere, was ^ the only social organization in American that black could claim as their own. The black church was a refuge and a training ground for those with leadership potential and it was also re sponsible for the inception of many other institutions 1 col leges, fraternal orders and mu tual aid societies'. It was within this historic tradition that W. D. Dubois said over 60 years ago, ‘‘a study of economic co-operation among Negroes must begin with the church group.” It was in order to establish their own churches that blacks began to pool their mea ger economic resources to buy buildings and land. Charlottes bfack churches have long ago past tnese early stages of development as they now have million-dollar physical plants - churches - that rank with the best in Charlotte or any other city. Furthermore, in addition to continuing their traditional roles of Christening babies, marrying the young and burying the de ceased, Charlotte’s black ‘ churches have expanded their roles in the economic vein of Dubois’ economic co-operation by creating credit unions and they have quietly but forcefhlly asserted their influence in the political arena. In a less visable way, the black church has sought to be the conscious of the black community... In the end, the black churches are the products of those who anter their hallowed grounds in a quest for spiritual food, enlight enment and peace' of mind. Without fanfare and often with out credit, the black church is the glue that really holds to gether what we call the black community. Worship this week end in the churCh of your choice... BLACK AMERICA ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES . 'blj6kfolk* Tneh*etve*Age£oiMTO SZt&BHT wait«. /ww**.' I Blacks’ Destiny In Own Hands As I See It Reconstruction Of A Neighborhood By Gerald O. Johnson Post Columnist The last decade brought confusion, unrest, and un settlement to the basic community concept in Charlotte. Integration caused some neighbor hoods to go from all white to racially mixed to all black. This transformation of neighborhoods created a transient environment in several areas of our city. This environment caused these areas to be labeled as undesirable neighborhoods to live in. Not only had white people left the areas but black people were re luctant to purcnase homes in these areas. Many black people labeled the com munities as "rapidly de teriorating”. Thus they opted to follow white people in new areas being de veloped. Having moved into one such area, I found that the biggest problem was the incohesiveness of the com munity. The communities had a variety of sociologi cal, psychological and eco nomical backgrounds. The differences in age groups was, also, a visible cause-of disunity in these com munities. In the past, com munities were developed to attract a certain clientele. ftou«.es—were sold- in a certain price range causing people with similar back grounds and ages to pur chase. Consequently, these communities started with aS degree of unity. However, communities that had undergone the integration transformation did not enjoy this luxury. This is because once a neighborhood has been - established, each house Gerald O. Johnson takes on its own person ality, the initial attraction dissipates and the com munity reflects the eco nomical advancements of the individuals who live there. When the transform ation hits, the neighbor hood has appeal to a variety of people with variruis haetgrniinds Hidden Valley is one such community that has under gone this transformation. It, too, is suffering from the ailments alluded to above. nowever, a group 01 men decided that something could be done to remove the stigma plaguing the Hidden Valley neighbor hood. These men with the help of the Optimist Club of Providence canvassed the Hidden Valley neighbor hood and.recruited indivi duals who wanted to im prove their surroundings The results of {Weir efforts Was the Optimist Club of ^Hidden Valley, Under the leader of pre sident Joe Caldwell,rand sponsorship of the Optimist Club of Providence, the Optimist Club of Hidden Valley is well on its way to transforming an incohesive neighborhood into one with unity, purpose and commit ments. The club is primarily a youth activity organiza tion. With the club motto “Friend of the Youth", the group is proceeding with registering youngsters, ages 11 to 13 for its little league baseball team. Other youth activities sche duled for the near future jare. a . voter registration f drive for 18 year olds and a bicycle safety week. The club is also active in community activities. Signs have been placed at both entrances of the com munity indicating the pre sence of the optimists. A survey was recently distri buted in the community as a means of determining the future priorities of the com munity activities. The new Optimist Club of ~HiUUeu Vallejrbrought men of various backgrounds to gether in pursuit of a com mon goal - the betterment of a community. For the first time in more than a decade Hidden Valley is showing signs of cohesive ness. It shouldn't be long before stigmas that have plagued this community are gone forever. Hats off to the men of the Optimist Club of Hidden Valley. ■i A Note of Sadness It is with great sadness to have learned of the death of Ernest Cfierry'. Mr. Cherry was my gym instructor, coach and friend during my years at Northwest Junior High School I would like to give my condolences to the Cherry family. Though Mr. Cherry is gone, the admira tion I have for him will live on. MVVrnon E. Jordan, TO * tt/'i'tSI L. "1! iW BE [ : ^ i. * • •'* i EQUAL Luring Inflation - Vi ho Pays ? Recently there have been calls from the most unlikely sources for imposingva wage-price freeze or mandatory controls op the economy. Public opinion polls have consistently shown a majority of Americans favor controls, and some liberal politicans have been talking about the need for controls for some time. But the new calls for controls are coming from some of the most respected conserva tive bankers, businessmen and economists. Their conversion is based on the perception that inflation has broken into the runaway stage, and on the feeling that some sort of shock-treatment is needed to halt the relentless escalation of wages and prices. Just about everyone agrees controls won’t do the job alone. They are a temporary stop-gap that would allow the nation to put its economic house in order. Behind the protective barrier of temporary controls, steps would be taken to exercise monetary restraint, increase productivity, and reduce the dependence on imported oil. I Everyone has a pet theory of how inflation’s'back can be broken, but most often the recommendations point the finger at someone erse who’ll pay the price. Once yoii get away from the broad rhetoric about th^ dangers of inflation and into specific steps that should be taken, you enter the realm of puliticsTTiot-eeoaomics. And this is where power enters into the equation. When we examine the inffation remedies offered by those with power, it begins to look like the powerless - the poor and minorities - pay the price. The most extreme prescriptions for halt ing inflation, for example, include such stringent proposals for budget cuts and credit cutbacks that the inevitable result is a recession - a very deep recession. Even a bone-crushing recession would only slice a few points off the inflation rate. But who would pay for it? Primarily, it would be millions of working people who would be laid off, millions of new entrants into the labor force who would not be able find jobs, and minorities, still first fired and last hired. Struggling small businesses, including minority-owned firms, would go uiidei.— — - The nation as a whole would be buying lower inflation on the backs of driving milliions deeper fnto poverty, wiping out the minority economy, and sending some large cities into a major, perhaps permanent, Depression. Spiraling energy costs are a major ingredient in powering inflation. That leads to calls for a hefty gasoline tax to dis courage consumption. Such a tax would penalize low income people while the affluent would be only moderately in convenienced. Gas rationing makes more sense and is more equitable, especially if ration coupons are transferable. That would allow low income people to sell coupons in excess of their immediate needs, while putting a lid on imported OPEC oil. But even some advocates of rationing would discriminate against the poor by making coupons available only to car owners. THE CHARLOTTE POST Second Class Postage No. 965500 “THE PEOPLES NEWSPAPER” Established 1918 Published Every Thursday By The Charlotte Post Publishing Co., Inc. 1524 West Blv. - Charlotte, N.C 28208 Telephone (704) 376-0496 Circulation, 9,915 61 Years Of Continuous Service Bit.I, 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. 45 W. 5th Suite no t New York. N.Y. I003« (212) 489-1220 2400 s. Michigan Ave. Chicago. III. BOOlfi Calumet 5-0?oo From Capitol Hill Youth Unemployment Is Nation’s Most Serious Problem Alfreda 1,. Madison Special To The Post The Subcommittee on Employment Opportuni ties. chaired by Congress man Augustus Hawkins, has been holding hearings on youth initiatives There are three bills that deal with the youth training pn> gram One is Congressman Jefford’s bill. It requires joint grant applications prepared by local govern ments and the schools and specifies the content of those applications This proposal assures that the funds will go to the students that need it Representative Hawkins' bill is similar to the Jef ford's bill, but in addition he proposes that the pre sent 22 percent set aside which requires collator ation between the local governments and the youth employment training pra grams be continued The President’s bill fails in requiring collaboration or even sustaining the pro^ gress that has been mb dr between the local educa 4 Alfreda L. Madison tion agencies ana CKTA It eliminates the present 22 percent set aside for youth employment training pro grams and replaces them with provisions that will channel resources to the areas that will need them the least Title II of the President's hill has no teeth for requiring schools and local governments to change their practices to meet the needs of the dis advantaged youth A very dramatic but alarming picture of the ghettooswas noted at these^ hearings Rev Leon Sulli van of Opportunities Indus trial Center, said that as he passed through the neigh borhoods, he saw thou sands of youths idle, frustrated, not knowing what to do with themselves or their time, and being angry and. disillusioned, and incorrigible, believing America has turned its back om them He said besides the vacant build ings, many of those that are lived in, are just about unlivable He stated that the President and congress must declare war on youth unemployment It must have equal important to Middle East peace, Iranian and Afghanistan crises, enough oil, stopping in flation and balancing the budget It was emphasized that extraordinary legislation is required of congress to get the youth employment job done As a youlh job pre scription, the suggestion was made that a campaign be launched in congress « and every state and local community to give all busi nesses incentives to help with youth jobs - must be given tax credits The poor education that the schools are giving must be strongly changed These schools were characterized as an education mockery, dis grace and tax ripoff. .Schools must give children the communicative, num ber skills and personal work verities that will en able them to get and hold jobs. This training must begin with elementary schools and these special programs for disadvant aged children must con tinue through junior and high schools. Failure of the 1'resident. Congress and local governments to give youth unemployment equal or even greater priority than is given other con cerns will create a problem far more serious than any foreign crisis Turning these minority youths from criminals into profitable citizens, will prove to be a contributing factor towards beating in flation, Since tt~ coats $35,000 to keep a youth in prison and only $13,000 to train him in a job corp program The committee witnesses strongly emphasized that both the executive and le gislative branches of go vernment must implement the mandates of Hum phrey-Hawkins for youth employment and strength ening our economy. Minority youth must not be sacrificed /or anti-infla -Hon policies_antL’budggt_ balancing Congress and the President should go beyond the stop-gap mea sure of CETA. The failure of our leaders to act now, five years Irom now there will be six million out-of school, unemployed youth; and ten years from now ten million out-of-school, un employed youth will create ; chaos across America, jft ralyzing the nation. Employee Assistance Program cont. from Pa gel stance Abuse Program for employees, flew down from Detroit, Michigan to extol its virtues GM's program, in operation since 1972, Is cur rently changing to encom pass a broader range of problems In the past GM’s pro gram has had a 70 percent success rate Through this program GM has con ducted studies to measure and determine its effective ness. Austin reported hap • pily of many areas they have seen Job performance improve. Three areas which have made signifi cant orogress are 1) in creased attendance on the job, 2) less sick time, and 3) fewer accidents on the job *
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
March 13, 1980, edition 1
2
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75