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Editorials & Comments New Economics Requires New Strategies In a column that appeared elsewhere on this page last week, George C. Horne said the so called “Black ‘neo-conserv atives' are riding high nowa days.” Walter Williams and Thomas Sewell are “feted regu larly in the highest circles” and on TV. He added that certain “comfortable Blacks” might “jump on the conservative bandwagon and throw their weight (and influence) to Rea gan.” Horne criticized Black poet Nikki Giovanni, a Black journal ist sponsored by Pepsi-Cola (Tony Brown) and another Black sponsored by Greyhound (Joe Black) because they al legedly are spreading the gospel of Reagan omics and neo-con servatism. Horne concludes by saying, “Taking on the Black neo-conservatives is critical at this stage because they have made a fetish out of assailing Black leadership - the NAACP” and others. It appears to us that Horne is singing or crying a sour grapes tune. First, while Blacks are presumably committed to a sense of unity, they never have been nor should we expect them to be endowed with a single purpose, philosophy or economic - viewpoint, diversity is at least partly the spice of life. We have noted previously in this column the multi-dimensional nature of the nation’s Black leadership. Hack Leadership We believe, too, that some of the criticism of the so-called national Black leadership is justified. For example, the NAACP leadership invited Presi dent Reagan to speak at their 72nd annual meeting in Denver earlier this summer. The invi tation was extended with a clear understanding of the wide philo sophical differences between .Mr. Reagan’s Administration and the NAACP on social issues and particularly federal funding for social programs. With this awareness and pro bably fearful that the 5,000 1 NAACP convention delegates might be over awed by the appearance of President Rea gan, jNflALr tsoara chairperson : Magaret Bush Wilson issued the : ultimate insult in introducing : Reagan. She said, “The NAACP does not necessarily subscribe to : the views which are aoout to be : expressed.” Common courtesy says you don’t reject a speaker and insult his wife even before be opens his mouth. In fact that kind of rudeness would indicate that the NAACP does not plan to : be a part of whatever mechan ism that may be and should be developed to maximize Black gains, or more appropriately stated, to minimize Black losses ♦ a.. ■■ i„ , under the Reagan economic policies. Without a doubt, most Black Americans either oppose or are skeptical of Mr. Reagan’s bud get cuts and taxation program as it relates to less benefits for Blacks and other minorities. However, insulting the President and, therefore, causing him to at least consider isolating himself from future direct contact with Blacks is certainly no way to begin finding solutions to the presumed increased plight of poor Blacks and others on the lower end of the economic ladder. It appears to us that instead of insulting the President or attack ing some presumed Black lead ers’, “mechanisms,” in the words of NAACP N.C. State Chairman Kelly Alexander Sr., needs to be developed to cope with the continuing problems that face Black Americans no matter who happens to occupy the Washington White House. While we are not inclined, as Mr. Horne suggests the conserv ative Black leadership is to be “blaming the victim” (Black people) for their problems, we do believe solutions for Black pro blems must and should begin with Black people. _._ In this sense then it’s time to stop focusing on Reagan and his policies and to begin looking at mechanisms that may enable Black America to minimize, its losses no matter how defined. Basic to this mechanism are: 1) doing all that we can to enhance the success of Mr. Reagan’s policies for the benefit of all, 2) support in a more positive way • Black businesses and other instl* tutions, 3) begin changing our i attitudes toward a philosophy of entitlement, 4) recognize that Black Unity wnne ciacKs need federal assist ance in many areas, we will survive even without it, 5) Blacks need to stop talking about a new political strategy and coa lition and begin doing something about it, and 6) recognize that Black unity can never be defined in terms of sameness but rather in the mutual respect we have for each other to speak out in our own way with the belief that each reflects a commitment to a better quality of life, for Black Americans. In summary Black liberals and their supporters have had their “day in the sun,” and now, whether we like it or not, the conservatives are having theirs. We don’t have to agree with them but we need to respect their right to think and feel different ly. Without such tolerance for difference there will be no hope for liberals or conservatives. Needed Now....United Community rj Leadership W 4 WE MUST PREVENT OUR OWN CHILDREN FROM TURNIN6 INTO JUNKIES WHO PREY ON THEIR OWN PEOPLE. WE CAN... PREVENT THAT. A View From Capitol Hill ' lax Cuts Places Burden On Labor oy ous savage Member of Congress The U.S. House of Repre sentatives last week adopted 238 to 195 the tax cuts proposed by President Reagan. In the next three years this will save America's wealthiest individuals $223 billion and biggest 'Busi ness $65 billion. What is wrong with this is that only last month Congress ap proved the Administra tion’s proposal to reduce ~iha Federal budget By $35 billion mainly in social service programs. Because the Reagan tax proposal could never meet the standards of equity and fairness that a tax reform package should, the Demo crats ought to havo -as sumed the responsibility of proposing one that would.. Instead, ,the Democratic leadership proposed a tax plan tnat also represented a dramatic shift in the tax burden from capital to labor. The plan made it seem that while Republicans are the party of the multi millionaires, the Demo crats are merely the party of the millionaires and that neither truly repre sents the masses! For instance, under the Democrat’s plan, large corporations would have been able to write-off the entire cost of a Mercedes Benz in one year, whole millions of old and' poor people cannot even afford bus fare. Also this proposal would have reduced estate taxes to the extent that more than half of all estates would pay no tax at all. Even worse, under the Republican tax cut plan, a family of four with $20,000 a year income would save only $180 less income tax next year and a total of $1,100 during the next three years, while a family with $100,000 annual income « Gus MVagft m > would save $1,700 in income tax next year and $18,000 during the next three years. If we are asking the needy to do without by specifically asking our - senior-eitizens to give up the $122 a' month minimum they depend on to live - and • asking*'the hungry to go without'food stamps - and asking the untrained to go without CETA-and asking the unemployed to forget about supplemental unem ployment compensation - and asking students to make it without college tuition loans and grants - ■ and asking children to at tend public schools without lunch - how can we rationalize using the sav ings to fund a welfare plan for the ereedv? I maintain that the go vernment should not be more concerned about pro fits than about people. ' • If the Republicans are as hard as uncooked beans in pushing for the wishes of the greedy, too many of my Democratic colleagues are as soft as jelly in defense of the needy! The 238 votes for Reagan's tax cuts in cluded 48 Democrats. I personally pleaded with the House Rules Commit tee to bring to the floor for debate a substitute tax pro posal in the true interest of the middle-class and work ing poor, proposed by Congressman John Con yers (D-Mich.) and backed by the majority of the Congressional Black Caucus. We were denied by the vote of whites on that powerful, committee. De mocrats and Republicans alike. Its only black mem ber, Shirley Chisholm lD NJLl of course, was . vocally on our side. Then, I asked the De mocratic leadership to permit one of us, during the Democrat's time iD general debate of the tax issue on (he floor last Wednesday, to state the majority view of the 18 black members of Congress, all Democrats, on this issue. I was turned down as naturally we were also refused by the leader ship of the lily white Republican members of Congress. Incidentally, the so-call ed white liberal leadership of the Democratic Study Group was no more consi derate of us. In other words. Blacks as a group were not allowed to amend nor even discuss on the floor either the Demo cratic or Republican tax cut proposal. We should be enraged that blacks are still ig nored by the Republicans, and taken for granted by the liberals and the Demo crats, even though we are the most liberal of Ameri cans and the most loyal of Democrats. ,,4; Still, it would not have mattered whether" the Democratic or Republican tax cut proposal passed, because there, was not a dime’s (due to inflation, I mean a dollar's) worth of difference between the two. In fact, during last Wed nesday’s House debate THe Speaker boasted of the number of Republicans who participated In writing the Democratic tax proposal. That is why the Repu blicans are more united and that is why Carter lost. As the flames of rebellion begin to flicker in Great Britain, it is appropriate to examine the reasons for this mass unrest. For the past weeks, the kind ol urban rebellions that dotted the landscapes of Harlem, Watts and other Black commun ities hit Liverpool, Manchester and .other staidi^erribly British towns. • • • ->«•, • These of the United States should be especially quick to analyze recent events in England because Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has been pursuing assiduously thjf same kind of “monetarist,” soak< the poor-feed the jnch policies formulated by the right-wing economist Milton Friedman and presently being executed by her Atlan tic counterpart, President Ronald Reagan. The fact is - as even New' York’s Governor Hugh Carey has pointed out — that continued pursuit of Reagan’s program of throwing money at the Pentagon while bleedirig dry all social programs (Me dicare, mass transit, day care andtheiike) will cause rebellions of a sort that would make Britian’s unrest seem tame by comparison. .... Britain’s prestigious Commission for Ra cial Eqriality, which was established:by the government to monitor progress in. race relations and to investigate: charges of discrimination, declared in a recent report that as the economic recession worsened and unemployment rose, Blacks and other peoples of color were disproportionately affected. ..z :.ii -tis The report noted that discrimination in employment, far from being eliminated, is — increasing in sohie areas and that at the head of the unemployment line are Blacks. But like the USA, whites are.affected tpo by this unemployrrierrt; ‘ hencC, 1t yaS not surprising thatBlack aridWhite ybUths were joinfed together iri fighting the Pdlfce and attacking symbols of corporate wealth. What this report outlined about unem ployment and racism plaguing the British isles could just as easily have been written about the-U-S. Of course, ^this kind.of,urban outbreak - as only a few commentators noted -- is nothing new for Britain. In the 18th century, for example, “bread riots” and other forms of opposition to price hikes were as common as slums.. Nevertheless, the specter of Blacks and white youth banding together in the recent rebellions g certainly worthy of note. ™ Though he is not smart enough or sufficiently sensitive to do so, President Reagan would do well to study carefully the report 'of the Commission For 'Racial Equality. For it is certain that his policies are inexorably leading to a domestic apocalypse now. No where is this more apparent than in his currant war on <*y4I. rights, .Jfcviving President Nixon’s, discredited ,“Squthera Strategy” with a vengeance, tfce former B-movie thespian has been working over time to appease those who long lor the “good old days”, when Blacks “kpew their p‘a«-" " High on their hit list is the VotihgRights Act Of 1985, which has helped'tdbring so much change and so many Black elected officials on the scene. Civil rights leaders Want'to rentew the act in its present form, covering nine Southern states and jiortions df 13 other states in various parts of the country, including Manhattan, Brooklyn ahd the Bronx iri New York City. THE CHARLOTTE POST Second Class Postage No, 965500 “THE PEOPLE’S NEWSPAPER” Established 1918 Published Every Thursday .by The Charlotte Post Publishing Co., Inc. 1521 West Blvd., Charlotte, N.C. 28208 Telephone (704 ) 370-0498 Circulation 7,181 104 Years of Continuous Service Bill Johnson..Editor, Publisher Bernard Reeves...General Manager Fran Farrer.Advertising Director Dannette Gaither,.Office Manager Second Class Postage No. 965500 Paid At Charlotte, N.C. under the Act of March 3, IX7X . • __ Member National Newspaper -Publishers Association_ _ North Carolina Blacfr 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. 2100 S. .Michigan Ave. 45 W. 454h St.. Suite 149:1 ( hicago. III. fitHilfi New York. N. Y. ( alumet 5-«2ihi ,2I2, 4K9.,22U _ >■ rrom Capitol Hul Keagan’s Love Song Sours South African Critics:: mi rua ii. iviauison Special To The Post The Reagan chum, "chummy South African love song which sings of the friendship of the South African government, with its ability to aid in sup pressing the spread of com munism, its natural re sources that are so vital to western economy, and its superficial move towards equality, finds many peo ple calling attention to the singers’ off-key, missing notes and harsh sounds. The Washington Post re cently carried a story of the success of the Savimbi sol diers against the Angolan government. Angola has diplomatic relations with our Europeari allies. The United States fails to recognize the Angolan go vernment, and instead, Jesse Helms and the Ad ministration support the Savimbi faction. This is just a repeat performance of the Helms and company support for Muzerwa wno was only a puppet for con tinued white Rhodesian control. Congressman Gray has introduced a bill, H R 122, which requires the United Alfreds L. Madison States to establish normal diplomatic relations with Angola President Reagan has linked Namibian independ ence, to the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola. These troops are there be cause of South African’s raids in that country. Senator Joseph Biden said at a meeting he attended in Sierre Leone, when some one asked President Ste vens of that country why the African people seek aid from communist countries, the President related the story that once he was shipwrecked and he had nothing to hang on to but a plank, which saved his life until he was picked up by another ship. He stated that even though the plank saved his life he didn’t take it home with him. This, he said is the analogy of seek ing and accepting com munist aid. Many big American cor porations are signaling the Administration that its African policy must be changed or else it runs the great risk of jeopardizing American business inter ests. In spite of the Ad ministration’s position, there continues to be busi ness relation intervisit ation between American corporate managers and Angolan government offi cials These companies are against the Reagan Admin istration's attempt to de stabilize the Angolan go vernment by its support of the South African UNITA troops which greatly assists Savimbi fa his movement to overthrow the government. While big business is againsWdisin vestment and trade embar goes in South Africa, if is considering a policy of non expansion, and to devote a generous portion of cor porate resources to im prove the lives of Black South Africans. Representative John Conyers, who attended the meeting of the Organiz ation of African Unity <OAUr which met in Nia robi, Kenya, stated that these African leaders while not really clear on the Reagan African policy, in a strong unanimous voice said, "We’re now uniting Africa for Africans. Wewill not be satellites of any super power.’’. President Moi of Kenya, a- country which has very friendly relations with the United States and has allowed It to have a base there, was elected the new OAU Pre sident. Irrespective of its U.S. relations, Moi made a very fervent speech showing that he and Kenya strongly endorse and will work together for an entire free Black African conti nent. The Congressional Black Caucus was represented at the recent United Nations seminar of Apartheid and Transitionals in South Afri ca which was held in De troit, by Representative Conyers. He expressed the view that a war is going on between the African Na tional Congress (ANC) and the Southwest African Peo ple's Organization (SWAPO) for the liberation of Africans from the throes of South Africa. This war finds South Africa’s will ingness to use nuclear wea pon for continued illegal control of Nambia. “This threat violates internation al law and is a threat to peace in that area,' said Conyers. The United States has granted visas to the South African rugby team, the Springbox, to play in New York, Albany and Chicago. This action has arrouaed the ire and protestation of many organizations The Congressional Black Caucus sent a telegram to the President denouncing the granting of visas to the Springbrok. The telegram said, "These visas repre sent a blatant disregard for the longstanding opposition of many African nations against sporting links with South Africa. The approval of these visas further un derscores the impression that the Administration is tilting toward racist South AffiCl. L : I r r,|c The .Caucus also sent a letter to Secretary Haig denouncing the Activities of the CIA; targeted at the government ot Zambia which has beeit a friendly nation to the United States The Caucus took the view that these were, acts com mitted by the piA to de stabilize Zambian govern ment. The letter rdaanted a detailed explarsHrm of the CIA's actions and as surances that such action will never ocdur again against friendly African nations. Thers.has been no reply to the letter. " 80 »oor notes of the Keagan-South African love sonft are having unpleasant effects on African and European counfries, cor porations, drgfelrtzattons and certainly Biack Americans. . »«•< *• v«**Wewspspsr. __ .. USKiT.] - ■ i i am LSI
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Aug. 6, 1981, edition 1
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