Editorials & Comments
Free Enterprise For Whom?
Alter many agonizing months
arid- nHegntions—ot -fronting"
businesses, the City Council
voted seven to four to temporari
ly suspend the City Ordiance
authorizing the embattered
Minority-Women Business
Enterprise program
The M-WBE program, created
to assure the legitimate owned
In minorities and women would
be included if at all possible on
ciU contracts work or procure
ment services. The suspension is
limited to local publicly funded
activities and services and does
not include the airport terminal
project or other federally funded
projects.
What should not be overlooked
in the controversy and emotions
involved in this issue is why the
City felt the need to have an
XnrrTE program, me City’s
concern apparently arose from a
knowledge of therfaet-that while
ownership of capital and the
right to invest in a profit-making
enterprise has always been asso
ciated with the Amerivcan con
-eept ol troodom. minorities and_
women have historically.
For example, historical omis
sions have been denided to us
until recently knowledge of the
fact that some blacks, particu
-forty before HifiO-wcrc ab|c to—
escape the horros of black en
slavement. Historian Lerone
Bennett Jr. has written that
t; these free men and women laid
the foundation for "blacks (who)
have operated businesses...for
more than JOO years." Bennett
says further that "the first
(black) Africans came to this
country with a highly developed
sense of commerce and industry.
The Africans in Africa...were
shrewd traders and commercial
organizers of considerable in
-genuity. Some ol those skills and
soir.e of the ingenuity survived
the brutalities ofthe (slave cargo
ships) and made Africans lead
ing participants in the economic
transformation of the New
—World
I low ever, because free blacks
had engaged successfully in free
enterprise business activities
Iron: as early as 1625' public
policy in cities across the
country were used to limit eco
nomic opportunities of all non
whites. For example, as late as
the 1820s. blacks ow ned consider
able wealth in the city ol Phila
delphia and were engaged com
petitively with whites in a wide
variety of bsinesses. Fearful of
the strong competition from
blacks, the city City of Brotherly
Love burned and looted black
owjied businesses and passed or
dinances to prevent them from
competing with whites.
While American business atti
tudes have changed consider
—ably ■since those days, blacks and
other minorities are still faced
with considerable racism,
sexism and other forms of denial
of an opportunity to function
freely and without bias in the
so-called free market economic
system. Aware of this fact has
led to the creation of Minority
Women Business Enterprise pro
grams in the public sector to
assure that no bias occurs in the
use of public funds. It is for this
reason that we applaud the City
of Charlotte’s efforts in imple
menting an M-WBE program
and we have a system that can
be developed to re-activate the
program.
Winning Is Not Enough? _ _
In Sunday’s ACC Tournament
Championship game coach Dean
Smith of I^ICC used a slow-down
stall strategy fn his narrow 47-45
victory over Virginia.
_Because UNC and Vijrginia
were ranked first and third,
respectively, in the Associated
Press, the game held more than
the ACC championship interest
:• and das thus seen by millions on
national televisTon. '
When Smith began his stall
strategy with 8:44 minutes re
training in the game, fans at the
(ireensboro Coliseum began
booing and undoubtedly many
television- sets., were turned—otiL—
because they could not see the
'moves-and vwhumping dunks”
of .James Worthy. While such fan
dissatisfaction should be equally
heaped on" Virginia for not pur
suing PNC when they had the
ba.II. there is no valid reason for
opposing Dean Smith’s strategy.
The name of. the game is
winning by the rules first and
1 satisfying the passions of the
Ians second. In fact if Dean
Smith had continued the run
and-shoot game and lost he
would have been even more
severely criticized by many of
the same fans.
Aiding The Rich
President Reagan’s recent
authorization of continued aid to
the brutal dictatorship of El
Salvador, by representing to
Congress, as required by law,
that the El Salvador dictatorship
is taking the humap rights of
their citizens, is a class example,
if you please, of Reagan “liberal
—izing” .the legal requirements
applying to U.S. foreign policy. It
is tragic, but we can expect the
same “liberal” application (vio
lation) of U.S. law by Reagan
later this year when it comes to
the question of aid to Chile and
the rest of the rag-tag-bag of
oppressive dictatorships whose
existence depends to a large
degree on the misplaced
generosity ot U.S. taxpayers.
THE CHARLOTTE POST
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Published Every Thursday
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Bernard Reeves General Manager
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Dannette Gaither Office Manager
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Charlotte, North Carolina
I’nder the Act of March 3,1878
Member, National Newspaper
Publishers’ Association
North Carolina Black Publishers Association
Deadline for all news copy and photos is
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submitted become the property of The Post
and will not be returned.
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Representative
Amalgamated Publishers, Inc.
2too S. Michigan Ate. I.*, W. r.th SI., Suite 11««
t hi(H|(». Ill WHilti Sow York. New York, 100:10
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UNITED COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP-NEEDED NOW
|----.
ARE WE GOING TO SIT ON OUR
HANDS AND LET BLACK COMMUNITIES
CRUMBLE AROUND US f GRASS ROOTS
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS MUST
EMERGE TO FORGE A UNITED EFFORT
AGAINST CRIMENARCOTICS TRAFFICKING,
BLIGHT, AND DECAY ^
Tony Brown’s Comments
My Interview Willi The President—
President Ronald Rea
gan has given, to my know
ledge. four one-on-onfc-tele
vision interviews: Barbara
Walters. Ben Wallenberg.
Dan Rather and ! were the
recipients And. prediet
ably, eaeh of us carried our
traditional baggage of
issue interest with us.
Walters concentrated on
human interest. Watten- .
berg on conservatism.
Rather on generic news is
sues and Brown on Black
public affairs. Our inter
I'ipu vt r:it nums: :tkn prtrioH
II is clearly not my job as
a journalist to persuade
people to like or dislike
President Reagan or his
policies, but to present the
information necessary for
their decision making- In
•bat context. I am satisfied
that I asked the right ques-,
lions; questions that forced
the President of the United
States to focus on the pain
of :!<> million Americans
who suffer at the hands of
their own government
Neither did I he White
House attempt to impose
any editorial restrictions
nor would I have accepted
am Likewise. Reagan
afid his stall were never
madeawareol my strategy
uni t<> ask follow ups'
Since Mr Reagan had
never been interviewed by
a Black journalist, my ob
jective was to put his views
on Black Americans on the
record Secondly, my time
•wfftrtilm was ifmireanr^n -
minutes to record a :t0
minute program These
I wo lads, therefore, de
ciiled that my strategy
would be to ask as many
questions as possible w ilh
on’ time consuming follow
lip questions
In comparing my inter
view with Pan Rat hers
CBS interview with Presi
■hmil Roagan—U .o.hmglou
Post columnist William
Raspberry noted Rather
and Brown got pretty much
the same treatment for a
similar question However.
Ratheb employing abund
ant follow up questions in
an hour show got the point
in six minutes and I got it in
ode
The bottom line is always
the politician's insistence
on putting the best face on
his or her point of view and.
depending on your time
allotment and or skills, you
can get the same answer in
to minutes or two In an
other, situation and with
more time. 1 would have,
as I normally do. asked
follow up questions In this
instance, in a half-hour pro
gram taped to time. I asked
and received 10 answers to
10 questions-perhaps a
record.
If I had. for example,
spent more time with re
asks on Black unemploy
ment or social programs-•
and he had rebulled ex
tensively I would not have
ample, apartheid in South
Africa. Black colleges or
several other topics at all.
However, some journal
ists confused their personal
malice towards Reagan or
-Jits policies .with my- pro—
fessional journalistic, ob
jectives. The most conspi
cuous of this genre is a
Washington Post writer
who obviously needed to
attack Reagan and simply
'found my interview tr-con—
venient vehicle
l.ee I.escaze. in a new
editorial w hich appeared in
the Washington Post Style
section--in Janet Cooke
style reviewed his own
imagination R Archer
wrote from Washington: "I
read l.ee l.escaze's article
before I saw the show
After I watched it. I won
dor««i-M>ml >.how..ho hwd"
seen.” Furthermore, other
White reporters in Wash
ington are now openly com
plaining ol "increasingly
Mmited access to the Presi
dent "<>l course. Black re
port ers! until now. have
never had access to one
Perhaps feeling that his
terrain had been invaded
and obviously in agree
ment with "Time" maga
zine's assertion that
Keagan. at press confer
ences. is "ducking the
issues." I.ee l.escaze may
have decided that my role
was to exorcise his White
racial, political and pro
fessional anxieties and de
monstrate that when a
Black slipped through
racism's new "safety
net." he was obligated to do
W hite lolks' dirty work for
them
II all of the While re
porters. networks, maga
zines. news reporters, wire
service.and an'overwhelm
ing White liberal bias can
not ’‘catch" Reagan, why
should I he expected to do
sn.’-After years of lighting
their exclusion of me and
other Blacks from the news
world, why should I make
their White-bias^my Black
priority0
However, my siVcessful
and historic journalistic_.
coup dnl not gonmnoticed •
by other journalists.'
Iftrrd-hitfing." the world's^
largest circulated daily
newspaper, the Daily
News, called the program
-World renowned svndieat _
ed columnist. Harriet Van
Horne, made this observ
ation: "A courteous but
tough questioner."
"Newsday's" headline
put it in a historical con
test: "TV's ’Blackbeat'
Scores a Reagan Scoop."
Food Costs
Most restaurants multi
ply food costs by two-and
flnu-tiair mutts ri pay latxn
and overhead
Walk
Your
Talk
I' \ l'erkiiiH
The Local Lhureli:
Strong On The Inside,
The local church offers the greatest
possibility of bringing hope to our black
communities. I believe the local church can
become a base for providing good educa
tion, creating economic opportunities, and
fostering the kind of self-discipline
collective discipline that our people need if
we are to successfully deal with the many
problems that confront us.
But I don’t believe that the church as it is
right now can have this kind of impact. We
need to gain a new vision for what the
church should be on the inside if it is to have
an impact on the outside. _
pastor-a pastor who gets his spiritual
guidance and direction from prayer and the
study oTScripture.
But the sole responsibility for the church
should not lie with the pastor. Every
member of the church has an important role
to play. Educators, lawyers, doctors,
nurses, carpenters,—plumbers,—janitors,
cooks--all are in touch with the needs and
resources of the community in a special
way.
me pctdLUI liccua IU UC 111 UU5C IUUU1 Willi
these people-listening to them—learning
from them, latching onto their creative
ideas for impacting the community, and
implementing them. The pastor needs to
organize these people, providing the lead
ership that will equip them to carry out
ministries to community needs.
The pastor also needs a group of elders
that will nuture him, encourage him, and
hold him accountable. These elders can give
him perspective, increasing his under
standing of the needs of the church mem
bers and of the community. The elders also
need to help the pastor assess realistically
successes and failures in the church’s work.
Having such a group will not lessen a
pastor’s leadership, but strengthen it.
Every person in the church body, in fact,
needs to be a part of such a group that
provides mutual support and account
ability. *• ' '
The pastor should have a loving con
cern for the well-being of the people witfflft
the local church and for the total develop
ment of the church ministry. The pastor is
to be the shepherd of the flock—not to lord it
over the people or to dominate them, but to
nurture them and help them grow. In this
way eadi individual member and the
church 3# a whole can become all that God
wants thi?m to be.
• ••••■if.
The church also needs a capable staff to
oversee the church’s ministries to the
members and to the community needs.
Especially important_is an educational
director who can implant the Word of God
deeply within the people, and also provide
training in vocational skills for the young
people of the community.
My heart is burdened for our people
within the black communities of America. It
will take God’s power, us working together
as a people, and especially strong churches
reaching out to the needs of the community
—to change—the economic—and spiritual
conditions that we face as a people.
From Capitol Hill
Edleman Urges Public To
Say “No”-To Reagan’s Budget
Mlrnl.i I . Madison
'special To The Cost
Marian Kdelman.. Exec
• utive Director of the Child
ren's Defense Fund terms
Imlh the Iteagan 11*82 bud
get and the proposed 11*8:1
budget as a battle about
whether we will continue to
invest money in the young,
in families, in the needy, in
working men and women
or w hether we will invest in
the rich and more and
more arms which-lead to
economic and moral bank
ruplcy
-Ms Falelman-gives- Mr,.
Iteagan a grade of "F ' for
l'*8l on his care and con
cern for the nation's child
ren: a grade rating of "F"
on his 11*82 actions and 11*8:1
proposals will repeat this
rating The grade is based
on performance standards:
fairness, compassion and
honesty thrift with tax
payers' money careful
process and analysis, and
concern for the future All
of these are characteris
tics. we would like to de
velop in our children If
they are to develop these.
the\ cannot follow the ex
amples set by the Iteagan
Administration and leaders
who sup|H>rt his economic
policies
The report ol the Child
Alfrrdii I.. Madison
rcn s |)efense Fund 'CDF'
show s *um the Reagan hud
gel cuts fne programs
critical to children's wel
hire These are education,
handicapped, mental
health. Head Start, child
nutrition, job corp. child
abuse, juvenile justice and
run away youth, maternal
and child health block
grant. Aid to Families with
Impendent Children, and
all programs that aid
youth These were cut by
Sin billion in 11*82 with and
additional cut proposal for
l'*8:t of $K billion
f'DF says that President
Hogan with anecdotes and
..fully selected facts "
has painted the Federal
<internment all bad. state
and local governments all
good the private sector
efficient, defense spending
sacrosanct, and domestic
spending for the poor in
flationary and "unconlrol
aide "
The- report has listed ten
Ifeagan myths and justifi
cation for his austere bud
get cutting:
I Social Programs for
the Poor are the Cause of
Federal Budget Deficits.
The public has been told
iItat il these programs are
cut. and fraud and abuse
are cut out. the economic
problems will be solved
What' rip hits not told the
peojd? is that these pro
grams constitute only a
small portion of the federal
budget He failed to level,
with the people about the
enormous defense increase
and the huge lax cuts in the
Kconomic Recovery Tax
Ad of t'Wt which lowered
the federal government re
ceipts by $7r>o billion
We \re t.oinu to Put
People II.iik To Wars
Is. in .not ftpcrrusi* tre
I'oiiliitn Of course the
President has not offered
any concrete measures for
raising employment
:: ItBiiiu tide tills \II
t o (' The Reagan Admin
islration is lifting all yachts
but not the leaky boats of
the poor and working
people
I •-iit'crnmi-iii Is The
PioMcin I cdci .il Pro
•jr. mis Mate I’.een < ostlt
l lilnres The majority of
these federal programs for
protect ion of the poor
which President Keagan is
tearing down were not ori
ginated with the I'Mitfs war
on poverty, hut started
hack with past presidents,
lust under different lutiels.
tieginning with Abraham
Lincoln in his "rations"
just another name for food
stamps and succeeding
presidents have instituted
educational, medical,
school lunch, foster care
lor children, mental health
and work programs
■*l S| ,|f ,||f| I Ilf ;|| f ,||.
t criiincnis Will lie \hlc
ml Williii!* to Pick Ip
t .espons Utilities Now Per
toriueil hi the I cder.it
«-m i-riiinciii This shifts
unacceptable burdens to
already struggling slate
and toe,-it governments
11 Prit.de sector Will
'led l inplot nii-iit Needs
ml Pick l p the Social
1 cspoiis jlijlJi jf-s liroppcil
the I eder.il i.otern
mem Since the cuts in
public service employ
ment onlv one third have
lound jobs, and many of
I host* w ore in state and
local governments, rather
than the private sector.
• \ oliitiirci-s t an Plug
Hi* i.ap I ell hi toiler a I
• •ovonmreii* While volun
leers d*» make an impor
tant contribution, they
cannot replace the federal
support, that is being taken
away by the Administra
• ion
S I he I oilcral l.oioni
ineiit has i.riiwa Too la
■ ml tiiolli* ieiu. state and
local governments are
tflorf' eTTfcKW TfT the past
IS years the real growth
was in slate and local go
vernments In ttwo of every
urn labor force workers. l:|
worked for state and local
governments So the
federally funded human
services programs which
w ere operated by state and
local governments can be
charged with the respons
ibility for waste and fraud
!• We \re Getting
vemmewt «*n (he Harks nt
• ili/rii* The Administra
tion is deregulating busi
nesses and giving states no
guidelines It is re regulat
ing the poor
in tin- New I ederiilisin
i» New tif.ilitv There
were many agencies and
programs set up after the
( ivil V\ar to help the freed
slaves However, because
of fear on the part of many
whiles that blacks were be
ginning to make some poli
• ical and economic pro
gross, ii was decided that
these agenci«t»Aand pro
grams were not the re
sponsibility of the Federal
government So "slates
rights." took control 'ile
hard, long and biller fight
►x-gan. many blacks were
killed, jailed, victims of
water Utst* polled dogs,
bombings and burnings
Mr Reagans "New fe
deralism" is carrying but
his campaign slalerriont
made in a speech in Miss
issippi: that he favors
stales rights Certainly his
actions give comfort and
aid to the most conserva
tive elements in the nation,
and the civil right* fight
will have to begin all over
again, if his Federalism is
not stopped
1