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Editorials & Comments After The Merry-making? “ _.Yes, it is Christmastime once agamTTor mosr onisr'that— means giving, receiving, feast ing and merry-making. Unfor tunately, in the midst of all this is our unconscious desire to forget the real world with its wars and rumors of wars, its unemploy ment, inflation, drugs, mental depression and crime. It could be justityably argued that after months, if not years, of suffering through these unhappy calamities people have a right, at least at Christmastime, to engage in gift giving, feasting and merry-making. Regretfully, in our haste to escape these calamities and get overwhelmed by the joy of Christmas, we often seem to abandon our sense of human compassion. Evengelist John Nixon has written, “even among those who call them selves Christians there is an absence of compassion.” Following comments on ob servations made by other theo logians, Nixon adds, “what these leaders advocate is nothing more than the brotherhood that is (or should be) a natural component of Christianity...What better way to celebrate cnnstmas can there be than to submit to this way of thinking? How many of us,” he asks further, “sabatoged by ma terialism, miss the mark? How many literally work past the suffering and destitute on their way home to Christmas dinner?” Nixon explains this point through one of his own experi ences. He notes that on a recent trip to New York City a few months before Christmas he met a 12-year-old who lived with a younger brother in a cold apart ment without food. He .yvas abandoned by his parents. Pathetic Story Following hearing the young ster’s pathetic story of no food and no heat, Mr. Nixon took the child to a fast food eating place and proceded to purchase more food for the boy and his brother than was asked For. Bewildered by this show of human concern, Nixon says the boy “looked with wonder out of the coiner of his eyes” as 1 added desserts and soft drinks without his asking. His face registered inquisitive ness as he tried to figure out my ulterior motive. Nixon then says, “It didn’t occur to him (the boy) that someone might show kindness with ho hidden purpose. This is the sadness of the human con dition. Man, who was created in the image of God, has degeher ated through sin until selfish ness and lack of concern lor others is a natural state.” Recognizing that the sinful nature of the human condition led God to set in motion the necessary forces to create the first Christmas by giving mankind the greatest of all gifts. In granting this gift, God com missioned an angel to fell the world, “For unto you isJmrn this day in the City of DaVid a Savior which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11>. Attitude Of Scorn In spite ot this blessed gift, much of mankind has continued with ah attitude of scorn for the needy, discouraged the creativ ity of the' young, and shown hostility and apathy to his fel lowman for all but maybe a few days in the Christmas season. Therefore, it appears that what we do before and after Christ mas may have more meaning and suggest the direction of the kindness and understanding that should characterize the human condition. If we can find a commitment to . “Peace on Earth and Goodwill Toward Men” we will be on the way to practicing the fuller meaning of Christmas 1981 long after it has escaped our memory by continuing to give to the needy, sing carols to the' op pressed, providing encourage ment to the young, and in gener al characterizing the spirit of Christmas before and after through acts of brotherhood. “Human brotherhood,” the late John F. Kennedy said, "is not just a goal. It is a condition on which our way of life depends.” “The question for our time, Kennedy continued, “is nol whe ther all men are brothers. That question has been answered by the God who placed us on this earth together. The question is whether we have the strength and the will to make the brother hood of man the guiding prin ciple of our daily lives.” It is this statement, “the guid ing principle of our daily lives” that should cause us some con cern during the 1981 Christmas season, and more important in th days and months to follow. This concern should' center around the fact that true brotherhood cannot be limited to a few days related to the birth of Jesus. Brotherhood must be the guiding principle of our daily lives.” Let us make the practice of brotherhood a daily occurrence. Let us have Christmas before and after Christmas, too. HHTEY COULO, POR ALL me NTS, AND PURPOSES PUT MS SUNS AWAY. WE VB ALWAYS BEEN ABLE TO KILL OUR— SELVES BgTTWNTHANHEtAfit NOW WE SEND EACH OTHER DEATH IN SMALL BASS. citron *tte* ummtTOK Time For Action In The Black Community —-1 Tony Brown’s Comments • \ Hacks Deserve An “Aflus” For Faling The beginning oi a new year is always a good time to take stock of the old year and, based on your evaluation, to plan for the next one - or ones. Let’s apply thatjormula to the Afro-American com munity. Did this group im prove its lot or was it a negative 12-month sce nario? The year of 1981 started with the swearing in of Ronald Reagan, the GOP’s successful candidate, as president. He was opposed by an overwhelming black vote and personal attacks charging him with racist motives by the Democra tic-liberal dominated black establishment. So the politics of the black community for 1981 was cemented in the ad verse rial/relationship, often hysterical, with the new federal administra tion. And, just as predict able, it lasted throughout the year. Afro-Americans, as the first and only group to oppose Reagan, were chosen by the Reaganauts as the group on whose head the enormous budget cut ting fell. In the quid pro quo (“I’ll help you if you help me" i nature of electoral politics, Reagan's people took care of Reagan's people. Afrot-Americans went into 1981 with no claim on the new administration and got very little from it. The single exceptions are an executive order protecting black colleges and assuring their continued existence and an increase of almost $10 million for them and support for the renewal of the Voting Rights Act. Looking back on the poli tical performance of a one party black community in a two-party country, a grade of "F” seems appro priate because it failed to strategically use its vote and to manipulate the elec toral college so that the • winning white man's party - Democratic or Republi can -- will have to reward it. Looking forward to 1984 and the Afro’s plans to get more out of the political system, another big, fat “F” is due. Some of the white-media-selected na tional Negro leaders, having tucked away their millions of dollars in fe deral payoffs for helping Jimmy Carter's campaign, abandoned their "racist Reagan" rhetoric for Rea gan favors. one national Negro phoned a cabinet level of ficial to say that he would support William Bell’s du bious appointment and could get the “civil rights” leaders to do likewise if his federal grant was renewed. He got the money. The black community de serves another “F” for allowing itself to be mani pulated by the demagogues and charlatans who pose as national leaders and ex ploit the misery of the poor, helpless masses, for their own personal advance ment. The movie industry shut Afros out of the creative and business areas com pletely. But the Hollywood moguls continued to sell over one-half of all movie tickets to simple-minded blacks between 12 and 24 to allow these racists to im prove their ability to op press blacks. The black moviegoers deserve an "F” also. Oppressors, however, came in all colors in 1981. Black-on-black crime be came a 20th century epi demic. More blacks were killed in 1977, for example, by other blacks than were blacks killed in the entire nine-year Vietnam War. By 1979, 85 percent of all vio lent crimes committed by blacks had another black as a victim. Older blacks, working blacks and black women are the helpless prey to a more and more vicious and a younger and younger Negro male thug who is a weapon of genocide against his own people. Give the black commun ity another “F” for its failure to transmit family values which teach right from wrong rather than a take what-you don’t-have (from other blacks) “get over" philosophy and (flaming white people.won't do what we fail -- or refuse -- to do for ourselves. Also, give those indivi dual blacks an “F” who are sending in their $10, $20 and $50 in response to a new “movement" to extort $30 million per company from each of the fortune 500. The ads, appearing in black pu blications, promise a quick-fix end to all of your economic woes and omit only a promise of snake ail. The same blacks are going to benefit: those who col lect the money. However, because of the fact that Afro-Americans have managed to survive all of this in 1981, they deserve a great big "A + ". Tony Brown's Journ al,” the national television series, will move to public television (PBS) on Febru ary 6. 1982. Watch this newspaper for details and check with your local pu blic television station. r- — Kv Rev. John Perkins Walk Your ~TaJk Kev. Perkins Sharing In Christ’s Suffering As Christians we are to follow Christ and his example. But we too often overlook one aspect of following Christ: following Him in His suffering. The prophet Esaiah foretold of Jesus: “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows...he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for bur iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:4-5) Jesus’ suffering was necessary to atone ^ for the sins of this world. In Old Testament ' times, God’s people had to sacrifice an animal on the temple altar to atone for their sins. But part of the animal was considered unfit to be burned upon the altar. This part had to be taken outside the city gates and burned there upon the garbage pit. Hebrews 13:12 shows how Jesus’ death fulfilled this Old Testament rite. “Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.” In being crucified, Jesus became God’s sacri fice for our sins. He was also crucified outside the gates of the city as one considered unfit for the temple. By being' rejected in this way and suffering outside the gates, Jesus identified Himself with the outcasts of society. When we call ourselves "Christians” what we are doing is identifying ourselves with Christ. If we are to truly identify with Him, though, we must live as He did, be willing to suffer as He did, and place ourselves as He did on the side of society’s outcasts - the poor and the oppressed. "Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore.” (Hebrew 13:13) We must begin by going outside the gates of our comfortable churches, bringing the good news and healing actions of Jesus Christ to those who dwell outside the gates of comfort and outside the knowledge of Christ. Our rituals and fellowship wilf not be pleasing to God without such actions, "...do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” (Hebrews 13+16) No one likes the idea of sacrificing or suffering. But we need to be willing to suffer for Christ. Otherwise, we will suffer without Christ. The problems that our society faces today are already bringing misery upon, thousands of people. One reason the pro-P blems have become so huge is that too many Christian people have been unwilling to commit themselves to addressing the' needs. The problems we face today, especially in the black community, require a response by Christiana wha are willing to pay a cost of suffering for the sake of others. And when we suffer for others, we suffer for Christ. If we commit ourselves to being truly His people, His suffering becomes our lot, but so does His joy and final victory. “We are co-heirs with Christ if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (Homans 8:17) We who love Jesus must make this sacrifice to follow Him, to forsake our own desires and preferences, and commit ourselves lo struggling alongside Him to bring justice and righteousness to this world. THE CHARLOTTE POST Second Class Postage No. 965500 "THE PEOPLE'S NEWSPAPER” Established 1918 Published Every Thursday by Thfc Charlotte Post Publishing Co., Inc. Subscription Rate $15.60 per year Send All3579’s'io: 1524 West Blvd., Charlotte. N.C. 28208 Telephone (704)376-0496 Circulation 7,151 104 Years o^ continuous Service Bill Johnson Editor, Publisher Bernard Reeves General Manager V ran I* arrer Advertising Director Dannette Gaither_Office Manager Second Class Postage No. 965500 Paid At Charlotte. North Carolina Under the Act Qf 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. i National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc. 2100 S. Michigan Avf. |3 W. »:,ih St., Suite 11*3 < Hieuk<*. III. OOOli; \i'» York. New York, 100:1*4 • olumet 3-0200 <212) 1X0-1220 „• » • ' From Capitol Hill Black People Are Writing And Acting All The Time! Alfreda L. Madison Special To The Post "He sees all you do, and hears all you say, my Lord's writing all the time," says the old black spiritual. I was informed by David Prosperi that the present White House Press does not subscribe to black newspapers Even though blacks are speaking out very loudly against the Ad ministration's actions in setting back civil rights gains. No one on the press staff is assigned the job of researching black news media to. at least, find out black feelings on issues. I called David Gergen's office and his secretary said, "Mr. Gergen reads a number of different news papers and that I feel he does read some black papers," but she could not name any. I was referred to Bill Hart who said that some black papers come into the office, but he couldn't name them As to making special black news paper reading assignments on issues, he said some times. they read the edi torials in the black papers but not the news. He feels that the news is only about local matters However, lo Alfreda I,. Madison cal matters can be very informative to the Admin istration. Especially if this is going to be important with Mr Keagan's return to states rights. These papers carry specific cases of state and local areas violations of civil rights which certainly could form the basis for the Presi dent's plans on civil rights matters ‘ Only in the black papers can he find soerifjr p«am ples of voting rights, such as Mississippi's drawing district lines through the bedroom of a black home, placing the husband in one district and the wife in another In every facet of American life there are numerous specific cases of injustice and inequality, which form the basis ne cessary for continued na tional measures to correct those all-time evils. Bill Hart explained that they depend on the white media to give information about black concerns. While Bill was very nice, it just reveals immaturity of the Administration if it feels that the white media do justice to blacks. The public, as well, as the Administration are denied the opportunity to become fully informed and of having all the best avail able opportunities to make the wisest choices and judgements on important isuses The Democratic Study Group said that the Congressional Black Cau cus Constructive Altern ative Budget was the best of all budget proposals and that it did provide means for increasing the econo mic growth, reducing infla tion and increasing em ployment. No white papers carried that budget, in spite of the fact that the Caucus introduced it at press conference luncheon. aC the National Press Building, which was at tended by a very large contingency of white media persons Only the black media gave provisions of the alternative construct ive budget. Even though the White House received a copy of it. it was ignored by The Office of Management and Budget. If the white press had carried the Black Caucus' and other black leaders’ criticisms of the Reagan plan, the Administration might have been spared the embarrassment of the Stockman revelation In 1982, the Black Cau cus plans to come out with another budget and things run true to past actions, the Caucus will hold many press confer ences on it. try to get it properly considered by congress, and the White House and quite likely all will be ignored, thus the American people will be denied the right of the widest range of concrete options Hart said the President is briefed every morning on issues in the daily papers, but since the black papers are not daily there is no need to brief him on any weeklies Isn t the duty of the President to be proper ly informed about the feel ings and concerns of all the American people, and get ting that information is his duty? It shouldn't make any difference whether the source is daily, weekly, monthly or, whatever. Blacks make up a very large segment of the country's population, and they, their leaders and organizations speak through the black media. If the Administration had given any attention to the recent Virginia governor election, he has noted that all Virginia leading white papers went for Colman while the tremendous job blacks were doing in get ting out the black vote, gave Kobb an overwhelm ing victory Perhaps the President doesn't know that the Congressional Black Caucus and the Joint Center for Political Studies send out to congressional districts, where there is a large black constituency, information on how their congressmen vote, the Pre sident's actibns on issues that directly affect their justice and equality - these are targeted for re-election the next time around Only the black nfedia carry these stories/' The black media, black leanders and black organizations moni tor and analyze very c losely all of the Admin istration's and congress' actions - especial!/on civil rights. Africa and the Caribbean islands _ Blacks get very little chance to ask questions in the President's press con ferences, and we, the mem bers of the White House Press get just about no opportunity at all, to get interviews with White House officials, ^fven though requested. W Mr Keagan is looking at "Macks through the eyes of whites, listening to them through white voices and reading about them through white papers . However, blacks t are monitoring everything that he does, listening to him with black ears, writing and reading about him through black communica tions and are planning their actions accordingly, afy the l»r-e. NOr« (XKX'HA j
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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