Editorials & Comments
Thanksgiving For Wh»t?
On this Thanksgiving Day in
1981, many people are asking,
— Thankr.ftiwinfi fnr ^haP Tim
question should be a reminder
that Thanksgiving is an annual
celebration in honor and
memory of a significant part of
our nation’s history.
Underlying that celebration is
the nation’s founding and con
tinuing belief as eloquently
stated by comedian Bob Hope
that “This (America) is still a
land ot opportunity, where every
individual, through his own ini
tiative, talent and brain power,
can reach his potential.”
Unfortunately, because 'God
has blessed our nation with such
abundant resources, many peo
pie have not only begun to
assume these riches are a gift,
they have adopted attitudes and
philosophies that-dre referred to
as a “psychology of entitle
ment.” This implies a belief that
Americans assume they have a
right to or a guarantee of good
jobs and decent housing in a
nvaDie environment.
The "entitlement” mentality
says, for example, more and
more workers are fighting for
what they believe are their
rights. "The vast majority of
workers,” says James Lindheim
of the Yankeiovich research
firm, "feel entitled to good
wages, health benefits, insur
ance, profit sharing, tuition
benefits, financial advice, legal
help and a greater voice in
company policy.” Furthermore,
when employers don’t offer these
benefits workers assume that
government should provide the
requested guarantees.
Corporations too are caught in
the “entitlement” mentality as
they expect government to insti
tute policies to assure the sur
vival of their industry to the
exclusion f others.
-It-lSjheSv samp workprs anrl
corporations\vho look with con
tempt upon th»se who have not
been as blesseo^nd must look to
public welfare a^istance to sur
vive. That is, too iiany who have
been blessed with an adequate
share of our nations abundance
want and expect guaiantees for
continued shares but oiopsg any
guarantees of the basil neces
sities of life for the le* for
tunate members of our nation.
The philosophy of entitlement
or the belief that the corpora
tion and the government shotid
guarantee us the good life is to
— fnppnt thn frrpdnmri w" him fnr
which we should be giving
Thanks. We can worship God
treely; we can speak, write and
travel without government ap
proval or control; and we can
change our places of employ
ment at our own choosing. With
the guarantees we have noted,
these freedoms could be endan
gered.
These freedoms and many like
them, for which we should for
ever be thankful, are the tele
scopes through which we can see
the visions of Thanksgiving in
the future. However, unless we
return to a renewed commitment
to the work ethic and the striving
toward individual goals we may
not have Thanksgiving in the
future as we have had in the
past.
Thus, Thanksgiving is a unique
holiday in that it causes us to
reflect on our nation’s past, to
have a deeper appreciation for
the present, and to see in the
visions of the future a hope for a
better tomorrow.
....And for these we give
thanks.
JAnd For These We Give Thanks!
As we continue to vent our
frustrations over double digit
inflation, high interest rates,
mounting unemployment and a
creeping recession, we tend not
to observe some of the singular
human interest events that
remind us of much that we have
to give thanks-for. »-■_ i -
= Three-Charlotte firemen re
cently received certificates of
citation for rescuing two South
side Homes area children from a
fire in October. Assistant Fire
Chief R. L. Blackwelder said, “It
was what we call going beyond
the call of duty.” This is signi
ficant too considering all the
media coverage given to the
conflicts between the city and
firemen over wages and working
conditions.
Let us not forget too the
highway patrolman who earlier
this year saved a youth from
drowning on his off-duty hours.
And lettra-be rcmimfedtnthese
^tey^of_sexual promiscurity and
high rates of out-of-wec(lock
births that “virginity is not
outdated” says actress Debby
Boone. The 25-year-oid singer
and daughter of Pat Boone, says
her beliefs are in God. virginity
and the family. y
In a regent interview- Ms.
Boone said that during her en
Uagement -to -Gaferi-Ferrer she
refrained from giving in to her
physical desires. “The way we
saw it then and now is that if we
had given in to our sexual urges
before marriage we would have
planted seeds destructive to the
life of that marriage.” Debby
encourages young girls to take a
similar view.
And then there are the tender
loving care of Anita Stroud, the
on-going work of the Salvation
Army and what you can do as an
individual to give someone else
who is probably less fortunate
th_3n_ypu to_be thankful on this
Thanksgiving Day! ~—
driving For Excellence
'WEMUSTOtVEOUR CHILDREN
A SENSE Of PRIDE IN BOM
BLACK. THE GLORY OP OURPAST
AND THE DONtTY OF OUR PRESENT
-MUST l SAP THE NAY m THE
POWER OF OURFUTUREf
AOVi CLAYTON POWELL
Tony Brown's
Journal
Nati tally Syndicated Commercial
Television Series
Tony Brown
k lie Public Being Told Hie Truth? ‘
There new and cru
cial di ion to the
Voting Ri |Act. It is the
Reagan linistration’s
position Voting
Rights Act ir than the
civil righ jislation
itself.
The back* of the li
beral House rsion called
the Presides position
qualified ai lukewarm.
One White >use source
says that a leeting with
the black 1 :ral leaders
ended in agi ment on the
essential eli ents of this
centerpiece civil rights
legislation, ter, the pu
blic campa n was
launched b these very
same peoph the aide ex
plained, to liscredit the
administrati i.
in a meetu with me and
10 other bla ; journalists,
President Fagan hinted
as much. “I ;re seems to
be some co 'usion about
me and my p ;ition on this.
And I have aid that the
■ Voting -Righ - Act is the
most sacred ight of free
men and wc len. It’s the
crown jewel F our Ameri
can liberties and we will
not see its ister dimin
ished. And fc that reason,
I have appro d the idea of
a ten-year e» rnsion of the
present Votii; Rights Act
which has pr ten, I think,
its effectiven ;s and it has
been a good | ece of legis
lation that d a remark
able job.”
In the inter it of clarity,
it seems that ie best thing
for those of us it the closed
meeting to do i share with
our readers nd viewers
exactly, what <L»ere told
by two cabin members:"
Attorney General William
French Smith and Edwin
Meese III, Counselor to the
President.
John Procope, President
of the National Newspaper
Publisher’s Association:
Exactly what the Admin
istration’s decision on the
Voting Rights Act? There
seemed to be equivocation
last Friday with respect to
the intent clause and the
bail out provision. Civil
rights groups feel that that
particular -position will
cripple the Act.
Attorney General Smith:
Perhaps I should answer
"That by ielating a -little
history. You may recall,
about three or four months
ago, the President asked
me to review this whole
question of the Civil Rights
Act, how it had operated in
the past, its history and its
successes and failure and
so on. And we did that, and
we did that in three stages.
The first stage was to
-review the whole back
ground, the whole history
and to consider areas
where there had been com
plaints or criticisms and
comments or suggestions,
and what have you. That
was really, I guess you’d
say, more of a factual
inquiry than anything else.
Now, what the President
has done is not confused in
any sense. It is only con
fused because some have
seen to make it that way.
What the President has
done is to accept the uni
form and unanimous re
commendation of every
civil rights group that we
talked to. Namely, to sup
p^fhrxer-ffsTff wittrout
change for ten years. In
addition, he has made the
bilingual requirement co
extensive in terms of time.
And that is his position, it is
the position that has been
started. There is no confu
sion about it. it is out front,
it is simple, and it is ex—
actly in accordance with
the recommendations of
every single civil rights or
ganization that we talked to
during that enture period.
That’s his position.
,r. Procope: You’re say
ing he would not support a
version of a bill that called
for more liberal bail out.
provisions?
Attorney General Smith? “
Well, now, in addition to
that - that’s his basic posi
tion: extend the Civil
Rights Act for ten years.
Now, he has also said, in
addition to that, that he
would accept a fair and
realistic bail out provision.
Now, bail out provisions
are very - • they sound
simple; they’re actually
quite complicated. At laast
they can become quite
complicated. But he has
said that if Congress sees
fit to develop a fair and
realistic bail out provision,
that he will accept that.
Mr. Meese: Let me say
this. We are not interested
in changing the criteria for
the bail out. We still want -
you have to change it some
how from the present law,
just because the present
law historically doesn’t
make sense. There have to
be some technical changes
in it anyway, which I’m
sure you understand.
Attorney General Smith:
The President's statement
See irnffl:::aii Page I —_
■By Rev. John Perkins■
Walk
Your
Talk
Kev jerkins
Improved Education Needed
i Deiieve our cnudren are a gilt that we—
cannot take for granted. We must take
responsibility lor providing the education
and training thay young black people need
in order to become the leaders of tomorrow.
Our young people deserve individualized
attention to help develop their abilities. '
The church must take more leadership in
-the -development of our children! Our
churches have the human and physical
resources to make a positive impact upon
young lives within the community. Organ
izing a tutoring program is one example of
what churches can do. We have done that in 4
our community. This program helps supple
_ment the school and home by providing a
person thaTwillTake a special interest in the
chiidandgive assistance with school work.
It is also an opportunity to share Biblical
truth and help young Christians develop
their spiritual life.
- Our loeat enurenes are going to have to
hire full-time Christian education workers
who would develop a curriculum for the
church Sunday school that would motivate
the children and make learning enjoyable.
Christian education workers would main
tain contact with the, local schools and be
available to provide personal assistance to
the young people.
We must look for ways of improving the
quality of Education within our black
community. 1 believe we ought to support
the local public schools, but at the same
time I feel we must establish local schools
within our Christian community.
I am not against the public schools, but I
am concerned for our children. When I see
the educational needs in the black com
munity andLsce our-ialoek teachers losing
jubs, l Believe it is time to think about how
we can establish Christian schools that
would educate our kids in the community.—
In Fresno, California, I saw ah example of
what can be done. What I saw there was one
of the most creative educational programs
that I have ever seen any place. It is a small
black Christian school. Each student gets
individual attention. They learnjridividual
lyand also collectively. In a large room
willrlfl-lnda. aarh child a desk sepa
rated by about six feet. When I spoketoThe
class, the questions the children asked
showed a very high level of understanding
and creativity.
I asked one of the founders why they
started the school. She told me they ha«
become very concerned about the quality of
education in the black community and the
lack of leadership in the junior high' and
high school^ level within their churches. So
they began fo send their kids-to-*-private__.
Christian school. She began to go over to the
school and became involved as a volunteer.
She saw the quality of education and the
improvements that her child was making.
This woman who was one of the founders
said she, and others who joined with her,
decided to make the same kind of education
available to a broader group of people
within her own community. People from her
church and community came together to
start the school. They were able to rent a '
building that had formerly been used for a
head start program. So in that community
they are developing a unique school for
black kids.
_1 am committed to doing what I can to
create fqp ^
education of our black young people.
THE CHARLOTTE POST
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< hie ax®" ni* v "J™ *- Sult' '»*»
, J W York- York "W
»lumrt .t-0200 <212) l8#.|22#
1 t rom Capitol Hill
White House Qv es
Rich Media
Preferential Treatment
By Alfreds L. Madison
Special To The Post
There has been wide
spread opinion that the
Reagan Administration
controls the press. The big
television, radio and big
white newspapers and ma
gazines make up part of the
huge corporations. So they
all fall under the same
bureaucratic umbrella.
The little white press and,
of course, the black media
'operate outside tlie pig.
ferred group.
uiirmg the transition
period, a reporter for a
small white magazine
asked President Reagan if
he would continue the prac
tice of having the big
media reporters - on the
front rows in press con
ferences, and his reply was
that he would not How
ever, it seems far, more
entrenched now tha4 it was
during the previous Admin
istration. Reporters were
moved around to different
seats during the Carter
press conferences Occa
sionally, blacks did get on
at least the second and
third rows.
The press has been
moved back into the west
wing press room for daily
briefings, where metal
Alfreds L Madison
name plates are on the
seats. Before this, during
daily breifings, reporters
had no permanent seats, so
all had the sane chance to
get preferred seats. Only
btadr media - Sheridan .
whose reporter is there
daily has a seat, and he is
on the row next to the last I
don't go everyday, so I do
not have a daily briefing
seal When I spoke to David
Prosper!, who makes seat
ing assignments for the
White House Press Corp
about it, he said they could
not give seats to all White
House press members and
since I do not come daily to
the briefings. I could only
occupy a seat if someone is
absent. I told David that
our papers can’t get the
advertisements like the big
white papers, that we can’t
afford to have a person just
assigned to the White
House, but that the black
press is the voice and
source of information for
black citizens; that my
articles appear in 124
papers, and that I dare say
I influence more people
than just about anybody in
the White House Corp.
some oi me little White
House Press people also
com plain about the pre
ferential treatment being
shown to those who work
for more affluent media.
Since the people back home
feel a close intimacy with
their little hometown paper
they are more influenced
bjtii thaatheJtugjnedja. So
the White House seating
arrangements may prove
to be self defeating.
Since Press Secretary
Jim Brady's accident,
Larry Speakes, Deputy
Press Secretary, has been
conducting most of the
daily press briefings He
appears to become greatly
annoyed by my questions.
Generally, he is insulting,
sarcastic and sometimes
nasty. At a recent brief
ing, I kept raising my hand
and trying to get in a
question as the other re
porters were doing. Final
ly, Larry looked at me and
said, “Do you want to ask
me a question?" I said,
"Yes.” He then said, “Ask
it then." But as soon as I
began he cut across me and
said, “Wait, let me finish."
He replied, “Well, go on
and finish." My question
was, “Considering the re
cent unemployment figures
which show black unem
pioyment more than twice
as high as that of whites,
. how caa ths.President take
a stand against affirmative
action, doesn't the great?
difference seem to prove
that discrimination prac
tices are going on in em
ployment?" Larry's an
swer was, "When the Pre
sident's programs causes
the economy to rise every
body will benefit." I've
been told by Larry before
that I come to the briefings
with my mind made up I
replied that after research,
I do come there with ques
tions in mind that I want
answered After the recent
press briefing, those of us
who are members of the
black press, decided that if
anyone of us is insulted, all
of us will have to take a
stand against those ac
tions. So to avoid wjiat
could become a somewhat
explosive situation, in a
letter to White House
Chief of Staff James Baker,
I registered my complaint.
Surely, the questions
about issues, relative to
blacks are hard to answer.
However, all public offi
cials must be responsive to
them. Racial discrimin
ations and injustices can’t
be glossed over, neither
can they be called right As
much I abhor insults,
sarcasism and nastiness,'
I’ll let nothing deter me
Ti~6tn tny duty- to my
pubIighera- and leattgrr.
The cause of justice and
equality is much too im
portant for that.
tarry Speakes, who hails
from Mississippi and
worked on Capitol Hill in
Senator Hames BesUane'g
office - everyone knows
that Kastlane was no friend
to blacks, might find it
hard to be confronted with
legitimate issues that are
peculiar to blacks and then
have a black person ques
tion him about them I'm
sure he'll change with
some help
Jim Brady was one of the
nicest persons one could
ever wish to have for a
press secretary. White
House Deputy Press Se
crtiary, David Gergen, is
also very cordial and he
treats all reporters with the
same respect.
Wachovia To
Relocate Its
Arrowood Office
Wachovia Bank and trust
Company has applied to the
U S. Comptroller of the
Currency for permission to
relocate its Arrowood
office: The branch will be
rowood Blvd. to t»1900
block of Westinghouse
Blvd.
“We are very pleased to
announce this proposed re
location in Charlotte," said
Harold G. Hoak. regional
vice president for Wacho
via in Charlotte. "We have
outgrown our current Arro
wood office, and the larger
facility at the new location
would a How us to better
serve our customers in that
area."