Editorials & Comments
Bishop Leake-A Man Among Men
George Leake, minister, civil
rights leader, social program
administrator, family man,
sometime egotist, and a man of
intense pride and dedication is
dead at age 51.
Because of his firmly held
positions, particularly on issues
that affected black and poor
people, Rev. Leake was also a
controversial personality. He
often supported unpopular
causes, he spoke but when other
black leaders remained silent,
he challenged the political sys
tem, and walked and talked with
an intense pride that some in
terpreted to border oh arro
gance, only because he believed
he was right.
Leake’s charisma
tic and dynamic man
ner made him a Force
ful and influential
personality during
Charlotte’s civil
rights movement of
the 1960s.'He led pro
test marches, de
manded more jobs for
blacks among County
jail personnel, he Leake
organized boycotts against white
merchants, yet he was a major
force in preventing violent racial
riots as had occurred in many
other southern cities.'
He also protested against the
closing of several black schools
in response to desegregation'.’In
1969 he said; 44I don’t feel it’s
.necessary to have whites and
blacksmthg sa me school. I am
concerned about quality educa
tion...You’re hot going to solve
the problem by busing' (black
children) into a strange hostile
environment.”
Power Structure
J^ecausene felt the “power
structure” was noTrespondffigto
his demands, Leake challenged
the political system. In 1966 he
ran unsuccessfully for a seat in
the N.C. House of' Represent- *
atives. Three years later he ran
for mayor of Charlotte. Finish
ihg third in a four-nian race and
eventually throwing his support
to John Belk, Leake's campaign
was so successful the political
analysts and writers said, “If
George Leake were not black
ne[d be the next mayor of Char
lotte.” *
While pursuing the civil rights
and political interests Leake also
found time to pastor the Little
Rock AME Zion Church of Char
lotte from 1962-1971. During that
time, the constantly moving
Leake also led his church in the
receiving of federal funds to
build the 240-unit Little Rock
Apartments.
Not content with these accom
plishments, Rev. Leake served -
from 1968-1972 as director of the
Opportunities Industrialization
Center (OIC),‘a non-profit
agency that trained and found
jobs for hundreds of low income
peopfe. Shorlty thereafter,
Leake founded Pride, Inc., a
counseling-consulting agency
that helped minority businesses
secure grants and influenced
private industry to provide jobs
for the poor.
Recognized Talents
Kecognized for his talents and
dedication, Rev. Leake was ap
pointed Bishop of the 11th Epis
copal District of the African
Methodist Episcopal Church.
Still looking past' his personal
accomplishments to the needs of
the less fortunate, Leake found
ed an alcoholism program called
Innovative and Concentrated Ap
proaches to Combating Drug Use
k Inc. in 1974. The program pro
r vided counseling and housing fbr
- alcoholics recruited from the
i streets of Charlotte.
» Leake was convicted of em
bezzling funds from the alcoholic
program. However, last Febru
ary, the 4th Circuit Court of
Appeals reversed the conviction.
A month earlier attempts ' to
prosecute Leake for the death of
two women in an auto accident
were dropped because of con
flicts in eyewitness and police
reports of the incident; It was
injuries received in that accident
that led to Leake’s untimely
death. *
ihe Rev. George Leake was
such an on-going fighter that he
said during an interview on the
embezzling charge, “I've been
fighting all my life (for some
thing), and r will keep on fight
ing. When they lower me into the
grave and throw that first sho
velfull of'dirt, I’ll stand up arid
say, ‘Arid another thing’.” That
staterherit, iri Rev. Leake’s own
words, characterizes the kind of
mari among men that he was.'
Charlotte is certainly a better
place for having experienced the
of tbe Rcy Genre r
Leake; arid it will be a less
progressive place in the future
for having lost him.
Atlanta Children
The unvolved disappearances
of 25 black children over the past
19 months in Atlanta is causing
an unsettling and frustrating
feeling across the country and
especially in the black commun
ities.
Paranoia, fear and a little hys
teria are creeping into the public
consciousness as the daily re
ports of missing kids continue
despite parallel accounts of
police resources from the local to
the federal level being em
ployed.
While law enforcement offi
cials turn every leaf to find the
perpetrator or perpetrators,
every effort should be made now
to prevent the number of missing
children from rising.
We must all understand that at
no time, at no moment, or in no
instant will a child be outside the
sight of or without the super
vision of its family, the church or
the school.
RETURNING TO BUILD
A BETTER BLACK COMMUNITY.
\ v.
Blacks’ Destiny In Own Hands
A V/ew From Capitol Hill
Independent Reports On Washington
By Gus Savage
Member of Congress
.. Because of my growing
concern over what could
happen to the Social Se
curity System is President
Reagan’s original propos
als are adopted, I have
appealed to my colleagues
in the Congress to cate
gorically reject the Admin
istration’s plans.
. Probably the most fla
grant example of the Presi
dent’s lack of sensitivity
fo.r the plight of the aver
age worker who is ap
proaching 62 and looking
towards retirement is the
recommendation in regard
to retirement and surviv
or’s insurance. He has pro
posed reducing the per
centage of benefits that
persons who retire at age
62 can expect to receive by
some 25 percent of current
levels.
The President’s proposal
would not only penalize
^those-who-are-contfiinplat^
ing voluntarily retiring at
age 62 but would also penal
ize those who involuntarily
retire at this age because of
job loss or crippling illness.
Early retirees cannot live
on 80 percent now, so how
can they make it on 55?
House Democrats on
Way 20 went on record in
opposition to the Presi
dent’s Social Security pro
posals, especially in regard
to his plan to cut benefits
for early retirees. The
Senate on the same day
passed a sense of the
Senate resolution in opposi
tion to any proposal that
would “precipitously and
unfairly penalize early
retirees” or reduce bene
fits to any level more than
“necessary to achieve a
financially sound system.”
In what appeared to be a
compromise move, Health
and Human Services Se
cretary Richard S,
Schweiker on May 28 told
the Ways and Means
Subcommittee on Social Se
curity that the proposal to
lower benefits for early
retirees could be phased in
over time instead of going
into effect January 1982, as
Hon. Gus Savage
the Administration had
proposed. At the same
time, however, Schweiker
told Subcommittee Chair
man J. J. Pickle (D.-Tex.)
that other savings will have
to be found to make up the
difference.
The Administration con
tends that approximately
$82 billion must be cut from
the retirement program
over the next five years to
help the system through an
expected financial shortfall
—next—year to ensure its
long-term solvency"
Schweiker also said he
might consider some
change in the annual cost
of-living allowance for
beneficiaries “as part of a
bipartisan compromise.’’
The Administration so far
has proposed only to delay
a scheduled cost-of-living
increase three months,
from July until October of
next year, but has left the
formula unchanged.
In a later development,
David A. Stockman, Direc
tor of the Office of Manage
ment and Budget, told the
subcommittee that the Ad
ministration would con
sider an income tax credit
for those who continue to
work after age 65. That
compromise proposal was
suggested by Barber B.
Conable (R-NY), ranking
minority member of the
full Ways and Means Com
mittee, as a substitute for a
proposal to phase out cur
rent penalities for Social
Security recipients who
earn over a certain amount
in outside income.
While the plans that the
Administration has in store
for Social Security have not
yet been formally sub
mitted to Congress, the
originally proposed sweep
ing changes amount to no
thing less than abrogation
of the tenets undergirding
the System. The initial pro
posal amounts to a retreat
from the firm pact first
established by the Federal
Government with the Ame
rican people more than 40
years ago as a guarantee
that there would be a ay to
that there would be a way
to supplement their retire
ment income.
All of my colleagues in
the House recognize that
some restructuring of the
Social Security System is
necessary to ensure sound
financial footing for the
program in the future.
However, the Administra
tion’s original proposals
clearly demonstrate its
lack of sensitivity and com
passion for common folk.
In the days and weeks
~aHant7-f-hnp^-thnl hw >»pn
join hands and work out
approaches to financing So
da! Security that are fair
and equitable. We owe pre
sent recipients and future
beneficiaries a better deal
than what this Administra
tion has offered in its pack
age of misery proposals.
FOIL TIP
Using aluminum foil
under a pie or casserole
can help to make oven
clean-up easier, but left
constantly in the oven it
will impair heat distribu
tion.
It can also eventually
cause crazing, or the form
ation of minute cracks on
the oven bottom, according
to extension home econo
mists at North Carolina
State University.
Use a small piece when
necessary on the bottom
rather than on the rack,
making sure it does not
touch the heating elements
or cover air vents.
Use of aluminum foil on
the grid or rack of a
broiler is never recom
mended because of the ha
zard of a grease fire.
Affirmative
Action
Housing And Action
Racial discrimination and its remedy
affirmative action are most frequently
thought of in regard to employment and
education. And it is true that these two
areas are essential if justice is to become a
reality in Afro-America.
But where and how we live is a topic too
that cannot be'ignored. Blacks are often
denied city services and this denial has wide
impact oh the quality of life and how
Afro-Americans are perceived. Frequently,
garbage, pick-ups, street lighting, sewage
system, etc., are denied systematically to
black' communities, then with flawless
“blame the victim logic,” the residents are
pilloried for living in “slums.”
More' and more, however, blacks are
becoming “hip” to this shell game and
moving offensively on all front to eliminate
it.' An example of this is being played out
Apopka, Florida, located in the central part
of the state, ten miles northwest of the
latest boom town Orlando. This hamlet has
a population of 5,000 persons, with roughly
30 percehf being black and residing in a
segregated community-what some have
come to call a ghetto. This “ghetto” has
been deprived systematically by the poli
tical and economic power structure of street
paving, storm and water drainage facili
ties and even water itself! So found the
United States District Court,' Middle
District of Florida. * *
The ignorant and the racist “blamed” the
residents of this area for the miuddy streets
and at times unsanitary conditions. But as
the court discovered, the local elites of this
area have “virtually ignored complaints
and requests by black residents concerning
the quantity and quality of the municipal
services provided to the black community,
while at the same time, the city' has acted
favorably on many similar requests from
white residents.” This was in blatant
violation of the Fourteenth Amendment,
CJvil Rights Act arid the Revenue Sharing
Act.
Some have argued that those blacks
thrust into similar “slum” ' conditions
diould organize "cleari up the ghetto”
campaigns when the city administration
refuses to provide services. This is all well
aid good but why should only whites have
their, taxes^ pay^ for ^ services^and clean
taxes - have to take time away from'their
children and their reading arid get exit in the
Greets wielding a broom? This, fto doubt,
occurred to'the blacks of Apopka, Florida,
because they were able to force the court to
issue an injunction prohibiting the city from
spending any funds on the construction or
improvement of municipal services in the
white community until such time as ser
vices in black areas are on par with those of
white areas. The next move by blacks'there
will be independent electoral action to put
some political power in their hands, since
all appointments by the white mayor and
council' for unexpired vacancies on the
council have been white
A battle being played but in the court
rooms of Hartford, Connecticut, provides
graphic evidence'; suburban Manchester,
Connecticut' voted in 1979 to refuse size
able federal grants rather than commit the
town to provide housing for the poor. Such
barriers to housing opportunities are strewn
across the landscape of this nation. Yet,
despute statutory power pursuant to the
Fair Housing Act, the Justice Department
has brought a measly 10 housing and zoning
discrimination cases. ‘ ‘ “
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Second Class Postage No. 965500
THE PEOPLE’S NEWSPAPER”
Established 1918
Published Every Thursday
by The Charlotte Post Publishing Co., Inc.
1524 West Blvd., Charlotte, N.C. 2820H
Telephone (704) 376-0496
_Circulation 9,200
63 Years of Continuous Service
Bill Johnson . Editor, Publisher
Bernard Reeves.General Manager
Fran Farrer .Advertising Director
Wayne Long Circulation Manager
Dannette Gaither. Office 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.
2400 S. Michigan Ave. 45 w- 45th **•. Suite 1493
Chicago. III. ooo IA Vo**. N.Y.10030
Calumet 3-0200 ( 212 ) 489-1220
trom Capitol Hill
Bill Contributes To Destruction Of Public Education
By Alfred* L. Madison
Special Ta The Post
Passage of S.550, a bil
introduced by Senator
Moynihan and Packwoot
will certainly have a de
vastating effect on publit
education. This bill pro
vides federal income ta>
credit for tuition to privatt
and parochial schools. I
provides tax credit for 5<
percent of the tuition pak
for elementary, secondary
vocational or higher educa
tion paid for private anc
parochial schools up to a
limit of $1,000 to a maxi
mum tax credit of $500.
This will be applied
directly to tuition and fees
Even though proponents
of the bill explain that
tuition tax credit is to help
the overburdened tax fa
milies with incomes under
$25,000. This does not
cover quality private
schools’ tuition because
quality private schools cost
more than the tax credit.
So the tuition tax credit
[ does not enable lower and
middle income parents to
send their children to pri
vate schools, but rather it
subsidizes those who need
help the least
Alfreds L. Madison
Some argue that it is
unfair for parents who send
their children to private
schools to have to pay a
public school tax. Citizens
are required, in each com
munity and state to be
taxed for providing ser
vices for the common good
- police, firemen, parks,
streets, highways and
swimming pools. Yet be
cause someone never uses
some of these service he is
still taxed for them The
same is true of education.
All people, through taxes,
provide support for a
Dublic school system. If
individuals choose to send
their children to private
scnoois tney have that
right, but it does not obli
gate those who continue to
send their children to
public schools, to pay the
private school parents a
tax credit and eliminate
these parents’ share of the
cost of helping provide pu
blic schools for all Ameri
cans.
It is often thought that
private schools provide a
better education. The pri
vate schools which, at
present, have an enroll
ment of about 9 percent of
the nation's students
provide different services
in different ways. Private
schools are not subject to
any regulations. They can
choose their children and
exclude any they wish. So
tuition tax credit will aid
those schools in expanding
education to upper middle
class students. The public
schools exist for the edu
cation of all Americans
They must accept all stu
dents, irrespective of abi
lities or special education
needs
Tuition tax credit will
certainly .weaken the pu
blic schools, since most
states base their education
funding on student attend
ance, tax credit will di
minish public enrollment,
thus causing a decrease in
funds which will hamper
education in every possible
way.
The federal government
contributes approximately
$160 per student. This is
less than 10 percent of the
student’s cost. Students in
private schools already re
ceive around $58 per stu
dent through school lunch
and transportation from
the federal government
and tuition tax credit will
increase this to around
$550. The Reagan budget
cuts will lower the public
school students’ support of
$160, which is just about
impossibly inadequate.
The Reagan Administra
tion has proposed a 25
percent cut in education
funds to the states, and
these funds are provided
without scarcely any
targeting safeguards
Naturally, education of the
public can only be seen as
retrogressing. Public edu
cation provides the only
hope for ascendancy of the
economic ladder for the
disadvantaged, so it is en
cumbent upon the federal
government to make a
strong commitment, co
ordinated with the state
and local levels to carry out
Its duty to educate all the
nation’s children.
There can be no doubt
that public education has
been outstanding in the
past years, so the present
trend of relegating it to a
low priority in budget
needs will be devastating to
the most valuable needs of
our citizenry. While some
faults can be found within
the education system, tui
tion tax credit, is no re
medy but an exacerbation
of the ills. Education of a
select few is bad educa
tional policy, bad public
policy and bad for the
economic policy. The tui
tion tax credit is nothing
more than the same old
Reaganomics of taking
from the needy to aid the
more affluent.
Citizens must use their
influence to see that S.550 is
defeated, so that the
masses are fairly treated
instead of giving preferen
tial education treatment to
the classes. If this bill is
passed it will greatly un
dermine the public educa
tion system which will
greatly hamper the poten
tials and aspirations of
minority and poor children.
SKINNY FRENCH
Here’s a skinny version
of French Dressing for ca
lorie counters from exten
sion food specialist at
North Carolina State Uni
versity.
Mix together l'/i cups to
mato juice and 2 table
spoons minced onion. If
desired, add artificial
sweetener, herbs and
spice to taste.
1967 Class
The West Charlotte
Senior High School Class of
1967 will hold its regular
monthly meeting on Sun
day, June 28, at s p.m. at
the Greenville Center, 1330*
Spring St.
All class members are
urged to attend.