*
Editorials & Comments
I
Nuclear Madness
Historically, the mentality of
the federal government and the
news media has tended to seek
out the opinions and viewpoints
of blacks on social, political and
economic issues that are directly
related to questions of race,
poverty and civil rights. How
ever, on issues such as energy,
foreign policy, national defense,
the environment, transportation
or cancer research, there
appears to be no interest in the
opinions or viewpoints of blacks.
Even worse, there exists an
attitude that blacks are not in
telligent enough to have opinions
on such non-civil rights issues.
Unfortunately, black Ameri
cans have contributed to this
mentality by not speaking out
forcefully on issues that are un
related directly to civil rights for
blacks. There is, however,_one
issue on which blacks and every
one else who desires to see
civilization as we know it
survive, must begin to speak out
about strongly. That issue is the
growing threat of a nuclear war.
In the 37 years since the
A-bombing of Hiroshima, so
called civilized nations -
especially the U.S.A. and the
U.S.S.R. - have been insanely
stock piling monstrous nuclear
arsenals that can destroy the
earth seven times over. During
_ these years there has been a
continuing unease that bursts
into the news media and the
' minds of the American people
when a new piece of atomic
weaponry is announced. Another
of these bursts came when
President Reagan announced
■that we were lagging behind the
Russians in nuclear weaponry
and, therefore, we must catch
up.
Nuclear Arsenal
Nuclear experts claim there is
no way to absolutely measure
nuclear superiority. Conserv
ative James K. Kilpatrick put
this issue in clear perspective in
these words, “We are growing
impatient with petty haggling
over imaginary numbers. What
earthly difference does it make if
the Soviet Union has 7,868
megatons of destructive capa
city and We have only 3,505
mega tons?... Does any person
seriously suppose that if we were
to double our nuclear arsenal,
while the Soviets obligingly stood
still, such 'parity’ would have
meaning?”
What President Reagan and
the Russian leadership appear to
be ignoring is that of these
collective 11,373 megatons of
nuclear fire power, it only
requires 400 megatons to com
pletely wipe out either nation.
Bringing the issue closer to
home, estimates are that a single
megaton bomb would kill the
entire population of Charlotte
Mecklenburg. In spite of this and
otherconsiderably more horrify
ing estimates, President
Reagan, for obvious political
reasons, wants to develop more
nuclear weapons.
In reaction to the President’s
plans there has been a massive
demand for a unilateral freeze
on the nuclear weaponry build
up. Reagan says he favors a
freeze only after U.S. nuclear
forces are equal to Soviet levels.
As noted, there is no way to
measure this and even if we
could the Russians are not going
to wait for the U.S.A. to achieve
—parity____
The real issue is human sur
vival - and, the preservation of
human civilization and the
natural envuronment. The stark
reality of nuclear war is that 20
to 160 million people would die
immediately; tens of millions
more would die because of dis
ruptions in the economy such as
the total radiation pollution of
farm land;-cancer deaths and
genetic damage would occur in
millions more; and millions of
acres of land could no longer be
inhabited by human beings.
Nudear Weaponry
While our president chooses to
play political games with
nuclear toys he needs to give
some thought to the words of
George Kemiarr,~fui mei ambas
safor to Russia during the ad
ministration of Republican
President Dwight Eisenhour in
the 1950s. Mr. Kennan said,
“...we must remember that it
has been we Americans who, at
almost every step of the road,
have taken the lead in the de
velopment of (nuclear) weapon^
ry. It was we who first produced
and tested such a device; we who
were the first to raise its de
structiveness to a new level with
the hydrogen bomb; we who
have declined every proposal for
the renunciation of the principle
of first use; and we alone, so help
—us God, who have used the
weapon in anger against others
and against tens of thousands of
helpless non-combatants at
that.”
Black Americans must be
aware that civil rights, employ
ment opportunities, fair housing
and any and all such related
issues will mean nothing unless
the insane race toward nuclear
destruction is placed in reverse
gear. It is going to take the
collective thinking and good
judgment of ordinary citizens in
America, Russia and other
nations to get world govern
ments to quickly shift their
energies to peace time human
survival and progressive devel
opment. These would be the days
Dwight Eisenhower said upon
leaving the presidency, that “the
people would make the govern
- ments of the world stand aside to
let them have peace.”
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Reagan Uses Caribbean As Russian
Negotiating Pawn
By Alfreda L. Madison
Special To The Post
Recently, President
Reagan announced his
Caribbean policy. He
stated that his policy will
alleviate the causes of
human misery in that area.
It will promote long-term
sustaining growth,
strengthen regional co
operation, enhance secur
ity of and prospects for
democratic political evoiu
tion, protect our economic
interests and offer an al
ternative to marxism.
At the hearing of the
House Foreign Affairs sub
committee on Inter-Ameri
can Affairs, Represent ive
Mervyn Dymally testified
on behalf of the Congres
sional Black Caucus, which
applauds the Caribbean
concept, but denounces the
entire plan as being highly
insufficient. The Caucus
feels that certain aspects of
the Caribbean Basin Initia
tive (CBI) deserves serious
critical examination. Dym
ally said Mexico, Central
America and the northern
tip of South America should
not be included in the
Caribbean area He stated
that these nations were In
cluded because of this
Alfreda L. Madison
Administration's grouping
all peoples of color (red,
yellow, brown and black)
into one category. Serious
• military implications arise
from placing the island
states in the same group
with the Central American
nations. The Caucus is
urging the President to
change his definition to en
compass all the islands
surrounded by the Carib
bean Sea, including Belize,
Guyana, Suriname and
French Guiana; thereby
excluding all of Central
America and Northern
South America.
uymally said the econo
mic aid package reminds
people of the Teddy Roose
velt policy of “carrots and
sticks.” since the Reagan
aid package is hardly more
than military with the bulk
of the meager assistance
going to Central America.
Two thirds of the CBI aid is
allocated for El Salvador,
which gets $128 million;
Jamaica, $40 million; the
Eastern Caribbean
Islands, $lomttlton; Dorn!
nican Republic, $40 mil
lion; Haiti, $5 million and
Belize, $10 million.
The Congressional black
Caucus strongly criticizes
the Administration's tariff
policy, which indicates that
the tariff will be lifted on
goods coming into the
United States from the
Caribbean region. Already
about 90 percent of the
island U.S. imports are
free to tariff The Admin
istration is allowing a bi
lateral trade and tariff
agreement to be worked
out between individual
Caribbean countries and
the United States This will
create competition be
tween the countries instead
of cooperation. Under this
policy individual Carib
bean nations will be vying
for favorable trade econo
mic assistance Opposition
to the CBl plan is coming
froqp these affected
nations, even those who are
friendly to the United
States. Pro-United States
Jamaica newspapers are
questioning the aid pro
gram as being too little
for the Caribbean and that
•it increases the ugly pro
blem of regionalism in the
area These island coun
tries look with skepticism
upon the CBI plan because
this Administration has
shown-no compassion for
its own poor and minor
ities, so they find it hard to
believe that it has a sin
cere concern for their poor
inhabitants The policy is
seen as an expansion of
trade benefits for Ameri
can corporations, with a
few side effects for the
island people
The most serious pitfall
of the Caribbean policy is
the linkage of economic aid
to our hysterical anti
Cuban, anti-communist
posture The small island
of Grenada, with just
around 110,000 people, and
is in fire poverty was not
given any aid at all. be
cause it is friendly with
Cuba. This is a clear exam
ple of this Administration's
policy of choosing one’s
friends and enemies
r* " «
The Congressional Black
Caucus says the Adminis
tration seems determined
to turn the Caribbean
Islands and Central
America into a war-zone to
use as a pawn when we
negotiate with Russia. The
Reagan Administration’s
poitcy is one of destabiliz
ing governments with its
determination to declare
war on countries with
wtHmrir-msagiwB. The
President holds press con
ferences in which he dis
plays his bellicose, gran
diose attitude designed to
gain public support for his
military and para military
actions against Nicara
gua, Grenada and Cuba
However, the United States
Is finding Increasing dis
agreement with its policy
from Latin America,
Caribbean and a vast
public opinion in this
country. Eighty percent of
blacks oppose the Presi
dent's Latin-American and
Caribbean policy.
The Caucus emphatically
states that the United
States must realize that
poverty and under develop
ment in the Caribbean
cannot be eliminated by
attempting to overthrow
the governments of Cuba,
Nicauragua and Grenada.
Congressional Black
Caucus insists that the Ad
ministration must embrace
Mexican initiative to inter
vene in the Latin-American
Caribbean conflict.
The Caucus emphasizes^
that the stumbling block in
our foreign policy is
racism. An example of this
is the treatment of Haitian
refugees. The language at
CBI refers to the problem
of "illegal immigration" as
rationale for giving Haiti a
paltry $5 million This is
viewed as a problem for
this country rather than
one for the thousands of
homeless and desperate
Haitian refugees.
It is now time for the
United States to correct its
errors of participa
the Caribbean
velopment and our
the wrong side of
for too long a
time.
IF THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT PROTECT US ANP
IF THE POLICE CANNOT, IT FOLLOWS THAT BLACK
CITIZENS MUST PROTECT THEMSELVESf <
HE CANNOT WAIT UNTIL
DISCRIMINATION ENDS
BEFORE WE RID OUR
COMMUNITIES OF CRIME.
-WECAN NO LONGER
EXCUSE CRIME BECAUSE
OF SOCIETY* INEQUITIES,.
WE STAND MENACED BY
OUR OWN KITH ANOHIN
ITIS INCONCEIVABLE
TOME THAT WE WHO HAVE
PREVAILED IN SPITE OF
THE BARBARISM OF WHITE
PEOPLE SHOULD, IN THE
LAST QUARTER OF THE
CENTURY, STAND AS
MUTE SPECTATORS
TO OUR DOOM?
- —OROC COOMBS
H.Y-HA6AZJHC
I Of
Tony Brown’s Comments
West Virginia’s Roots Of Love
“You are a lovely per
son. You have inspired me
-thank you. Even from a
- small television screen, I
Tould feel youi warmth and
dignity when you recited
the 121st Psalm.
“I'm a 29 yeai-ukl teach
er of English as a Second
Language to foreign uni
versity students in Los
Angeles. May God bless
you.”
Judy Williams sent that
note to Mrs. Ruth Ste
phenson Norman, my guest
on a television program
called “Is Work A Four
Letter Word?” ■
Mrs. Norman was my
English teacher at Garnet
High School in Charleston,
W. Va., the oldest black
high school in the state and
the source of much love
and knowledge for those of
us who attended that 1
citadel of learning.
For 53 years, Mrs.
Norman ended every class
at Garnet High School, pre
cisely as the bell rang,
with: “So much to learn
and so little time to learn it
in.” She probably em
bodied, more than anyone
else that I’ve ever known,
all of the explicit and im
plicit lessons that we would
learn in and out of school.
She was quick to remind us
that g-e-t was pronounced
“get” not “git”; goats had
kids and humans had child
ren; o-f-t-en was pro
nounced “offten”; you
went “further” in degrees
and “farther” in distance;
and when asked where
something was ”at” she
replied, "Between A and T
on Preposition Street.”
We learned that if you
studied hard, fyiished
school, got a job and saved
your money, nothing, not
even a racist society, could
stop you from having
pretty much what you
wanted. But the dream was
based on school. Educa
tion, therefore, took center
-stage in our livca. Tho work
ethic and academic excel
lence were instilled in us.
-But she and our other
black teachers also in
stilled a sense of love and
God that stilldraws us back
to Garnet High reunions.
It's rewarding to see suc
cessful business execu
tives, preachers, profes
sors. doctorsm lawyers,
housewives, labor leaders
and others of assorted
occupations make the trek
back to Charleston-and
roots.
It s a great experience.
And this year on July 17-18,
The Heart-Of-Town Hotel
will serve as command
post for big fun, directing
graduates, their children,
spouses and friends- who
are now a part of our
Garnet family to reunion
festivities.
And speaking of the ex
tended family, it was great
sharing our high school’s
standards and achieve
ments and Mrs. Norman.
Many viewers saw in her
their own “Mrs. Norman”
the teacher who cared.
“I mtSf say I was
-fascinated with your teach
er, Mrs. Norman. She re
minded me of my own
school teacher,” 60-year
old Christine O. McGibbon
ofMt. Vernon, N.Y., wrote.
She was fascinated with
Mrs. Norman’s recitation
of the 121st Psalm.
Mrs. Norman calls It the
West Virginia Quotation:
"l will lift up mine eyes
unto the hills, from whence
cometh my help. My help
cometh from the Lord,
which made heaven and
earth....”
"Mr. Brown,” Roosevelt
Jenkins II of Reidsville,
Ga. wrote, ‘‘You and your
schoolmates were lucky.
You had Mrs. Norman and
—a Int nf others like her "
Indeed. And we recognize—
all of those wonderful black
men—and—women_whn.
taught us the difference be
tween right and wrong.
“You showed a precious
person named Mrs.
Norman,” wrote Mrs. Carl
Smallwood of San Diego.
About the program, Jim
Williams ot Pittsburgh,
wrote, “there were beauti
ful moments, especially
your teacher reciting the
' 121st Psalm.” Robert F.
Williams of Jacksonville,
Fla. called it: “Sensation
al!! Garnet High had high
standards shown by its
teachers and students.”
“I was absolutely thrilled
by the interview With that
marvelous teacher and
woman, Mrs. Norman. The
entire program was a
learning experience,”
wrote Mrs. Frank Gandola
of Rock" River, Ohio.
Bill S'teinecke of Green
field, Mass, plans “to use
the transcript of the pro
gram with my Senior Jour
nalism class and my Junior
English classes.” Carol F.
Ferguson of Pittsburgh is
going to “suggest it to
administrators of schools,
particularly those my
children attend...excel
lent.”
Henry John Olshaw, a
candidate for congress in
Rye, Colorado, also quoted
Henry Van Dyke on work
while on the campaign
trail. _
"Tony Brown’s Journal,"
the television series, can be
seen on public television,
on Channel 42 at 8 p.m. It
can also be seen on Channel
58, Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m.
Please consult listings.
By Kev. John Perkins:
Walk
Your
Talk
Rev. Perkins
Unique Crossroads
From time to time, people come to
crossroads in life. There have been some
unique crossroads that I have faced in my
own life and ministry.
In 1957, the pressures of my sins were so
greaflfiat I realized that if God existed, I
really needed to know Him. This led me to
attend Bible studies through which I real
ized that Jesus Christ is the saviour of the
world. I then invited Him to be my personal
savior. I went to Him and He forgave me of
my sins and freed me from the pressures
that sin was exerting on my life. I had come
to a crossroad, and at this crossroad, I met
Christ. From this point I began to witness
for Him, especially in the prison here in
Southern California.
As I began to visit the prison, I saw young
people who needed Christ. It was a cross
road for some of them when I told them
about this need. For me, however, it was a
different kind of crossroad.
This prison life reminded me of the
poverty from which I had in my home state
of Mississippi. This brought me to some
crucial questions. Would I value the world?
Or would I value the quality of life of
others? Should I take this new found joy
back to Mississippi? My decision took me to
Mendenhall, Mississippi.
After eleven years in Mendenhall, the
time came for me to make another import
ant decision: Would I stay in Mendenhall?
Or would I expand the Ministry to some
-trtheF-placgU. took this to God and after —
long and careful prayer, we decided to
move to Jackson, Mississippi; What will I
make of my life from this point?
We all come to crossroads in life. The
decisions we make at these crossroad^ are
usually vital decisions. We as a nation are
coming to a crossroad. We are faced with
some major-issues. Moral issues and
economic issues. We are witnessing across
the board homosexuality in our society and
we are feeling the effects of an economic
recession. We are also looking at the
backing up of justice in our nation as it
relates to blacks and minorities. We in the
black community must begin to make
profound decisions. As we look at the
negative statistics, the crime, brutality,
death and hostility, we begin to wonder. We
used to wonder what political figure would
come along and deliver us. We erroneously
put our faith in some political party.
If we were to take a glimpse at our
history, we would see that in times of crisis,
when we were forced to take our destiny out
of someone’s else’s hands and trust God to
mold our destinty, that progress has been
made. We face that kind of crisis today. I
wonder what we as a people will do with our
destiny. Will we move forward? Or will we
again turn to violence? Or wait in our
frustration for someone else to achieve for
us? Or will we turn to God? Those are the
big questions.
These questions must become personal
questions before they can become a com
munity question. Can we make the kind of
decision that Joshua made when he came to
this crossroad? In Joshua 24, Joshua called
the people together and said: “Choose you
this day whom you will serve, as for me and
my house, we will serve the Lord.” As black
people, we must decide whether we will
stand together in Christ, or accept
individualism and perish.