EDITORIALS & COMMFJSIS
Need For Good Government
The Reagan Administration
has in its ideology that govern
ment is by its very nature bad
and that big government,
however defined, is necessarily
evil. Among the strongest sup
porters of this ideology are North
Carolina’s U.S. Senators Jesse
Helms and John East. Further it
is demonstrated through the ad
ministration’s efforts to dis
mantle the federal departments
of education, energy, economic
opportunity and the regulatory
commissions, to name a few.
It is quite evident that Presi
dent Reagan and his advisors
lack any depth of understanding
of the role and purpose of demo
cratic government and even less
understanding of the so-called^
free enterprise capitalistic eco
nomic system. A few examples
are all we need to illustrate and
justisfy our assumptions.
First, we noted in this column
last week that the Charlotte Area
Fund, the 19-year-old anti
poverty agency that is supposed
to be aiding the poor through
community programs and serv
ing as an advocate for their
needs, is in serious trouble re
sulting from nearly unbelievable
mismanagement.
ine Head Start-Program is
floundering; delay in imple
menting the food bank program
has created frustrations among
the staff; 17 staff members were
laid off in January because of
lateness of three months in sub
mitting the new grant applica
tion; a month ago after staffers
had to wait two hours to get paid
because of lateness in getting
payroll checks signed; and last
week the agency’s telephone
service was disconnected
because of a 60-day past due
. phone bill.
Voluntary Groups
If non-profit independent agen
cies like the Area Fund that
. operate with public funds can’t
• efficiently carry out their tasks
then local government or private
enterprise may have to assume
such responsibility. Again, in the
thinking of the Reagan Admin
istration, it would be better to
have voluntary groups - church
es, private businesses and other
non-governmental entities - to
provide the social net to aid the
poor. -
Universal Press Syndicate
writer Richard Reeves reminds
us that Social Security is a big
issue because American busi
ness firms tend to “avoid (their)
pension obligations. Some com
panies maneuver to get rid of
younger employees before their
pension rights are vested...Com
panies avoid hiring people over
40; it’s not on paper, but the
unofficial policy is to avoid
prime pension candidates.”
Mr. Reeves cited specific ex
amples involving the General
Electric Company to support his
viewpoint. He concluded: “Then
what is the name of the political
game? Workers will...join with
retirees to defeat any politician
who attempts to tamper with
social welfare ideas like Social
Security...(workers) of the world
will vote to have big national
government protect them
against big multi-national cor
porations (like G.E.)”
Thus, it is the apathy of board
members and the ineptness of
management in some agencies
like the Area Fund, the lack of a
sense of—corporate social re
sponsibility by most private
firms, and the overall uncertain
ties of relying on fickle-minded
groups that creates the need for
big responsible national govern
~ merit necessary.
We must emphasize “respons
ible government” because the
current administration in Wash
ington is not acting responsibly.
In addition to attempting to
dismantle or significantly
reduce the Social Security sys
tem, President Reagan is at
tempting to regulate the very
free-enterprise capitalistic sys
tem that he claims the regula
tory agencies are interfering
with.
For example, President Kea
gan is attempting to sabotage the
efforts of our European allies’
plans to build a 3,700-mile pipe
line to carry Soviet Russian
national gas from Siberia to
Western Europe. In addition, the
pipeline would mean a Russian
order for as much as $15 billion
worth of heavy machinery and
steel pipe purchased from West
ern Europe and America. Such
an order would help to off-set the
rising unemployment problems
facing the European free market
countries.
Thus far; the Reagan Admin
istration’s plans to stop the pipe
line project have hurT AmericarT
companies more than their
European counterparts. Rea
gans export ban has prevented
Caterpillar Tractor from meet
ing an $80 million Russian order
for 200 pipelaying vehicles. In
Caterpillar’s absence, a Japan
ese firm, Komatsu, will fill the
order. In addition, the General
Electric Company (our case on
^avold pension-paying obliga
tions) has had to hold up a $175
million worth of components for
the turbines European compan
ies are building using G.E. -
licensed technology.
Both Caterpillar Tractor and
G.E. say Reagan’s ban has
forced reduced “production
levels,” thus a loss of jobs for
Americans at a time of rising
joblessness in the United States.
Even more important than the
impact of Reagan’s ban policy on
unemployment is its negative
impact on the sensitive issue of
nuclear war.
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, • _ SOMETHING BLACKS CAN DO NOW-FOB THEHSCLVFS.
/ M MORE ENCOURAGED TODAY
THAN I HAVE BEEN IN A LONG
TIME. DC. HAMILTON SAID HIS
ENCOURAGEMENT DID NOT COME
FROM THEENUGHTMENTOF
WHITE PEOPLE, BUT FROM THE
DETERMINATION OF BLACk
PEOPLE TO DO FOR THEMSELVES(
k Dn.CHARlESKHAWL.TOH
TEAM WORK
SELF-HELP and /
SELF DETEBMINATION/j
Tony Brown’s Comments
Should Whites Lead Civil Rights?
Now that the dust has
settled, most people are be
ginning to recognize the
fraudulent-pictured paint
ed of the NAACP’s lawsuit
against the white-dominat
ed NAACP Legal Defense
and Educational Fund, Inc.
They have discovered
Vernon Jordan’s disgrace
ful role “as a black fig leaf
for a white law firm,” as
the Amsterdam News
called it, that isfighting the
NAACP. **
By now, the word is out
that Vernon Jordan is
fronting for the white law
firm that represented Spiro
Agnew, the right-wing ac
tivist vice president to
Richard Nixon, as he
fought unsuccessfully to
defend himself against
felony charges. Jay Topkis,
the white lawyer for Paul,
Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton
■ troversial former “civil
rights” leader-will head
the defense for Jack Green
berg’s Legal Defense
Fund.
The struggle is now
clearly seen as the white
liberal establishment's ad
mission that it controls and
owns the black civil rights
movement and will not
tolerate black interference
in their own affairs.
What few blacks, or
whites for that matter,
know is who this white
leader of the black legal
civil rights movement is.
Blacks, to their constern
ation, never realized that a
“while" Troth was even in
charge of a white-run or
ganization representing it
self, implicitly, as the
NAACP.
The NAACP has upset
the apple cart- and in
surred the plantation own
er’s wrath by going to court
to stop this neo-slavery.
“This dispute Iff hot an
internal quarrel among
blacks. This is nothing
short of a white attempt to
‘rip-off" black people," the
Amsterdam New$^said in
an editorial.
Many so-called respons
ible Negroes laughed _at
New York’s Black Judge
Bruce Wright when, in
1979, he warned: “I’ve got
nothing against Jack
Greenberg; perhaps he’s
a good lawyer. But we have
a lot of good black law
yers. When B’nai B’rith has
a black lawyer and Catho
lic Charities gets an atheist
or the Anti-Defamation
League gets Yassir Arafat,
we’ll be ready for Jack
Greenberg.” The so-called
white liberals, of course,
called him a racist.
But no one called
Richard Kluger, white and
one of Greenberg’s favorite
authors, a racist when he
wrote: “...adds another
White NAACP vpfpran- Hi*
name may be Greenberg,
but he’s practically a—a
WASP! He used to laugh at
me for what he felt was my
excessive involvement
with Negro activities out
side the office, like my
going to speak at black
churches.”
“One 900-page book,
Simple Justice,’ written by
Richard Kluger, docu
ments the entire school de
segregation history. That is
the best affirmation of our
role I know about,” Green
berg was quoted as saying
in response to charges by
the NAACP that he had
re-written the history of the
Brown decision on school
desegregation.
Although Judge Wright’s
observation that Green
berg was white and out of
place was called racist,
Kluger does not dodge
Greenberg’s race or its
implications for deciding
the legal strategies for the
nation’s black citizens.
In 1949, Kluger wrote,
"Jack Greenberg, white
and Jewish, replaces
Marian Perry and felt no
discomfort amid what to
outsiders seemed strictly a
black man's world.” His
- vision was “tjeyond special -
pleading for the Negro,”
but basic human rights
were at stake, "Simple
Justice” tells us.
Greenberg’s black legal
critics say he spends too
much of the legal fund's
resources on exotic issues
such as capital punishment
and too little on the sur
vival needs of the masses
of blacks:
In my opinion, it is un
fortunate that Thurgood
Marshall’s legacy includes
the fact that he chose Jack
Greenberg to succeed him.
Greenberg was a 24-year
old graduate of Columbia
Law School when Thurgood
Marshall hired him. He
-grow up in the Benson—
hurst section of Brooklyn
and “saw few Negroes and
knew almost none ”
Kluger observes, "Most
people who have worked
with him also agree that
Jack Greenberg is not a
particularly loveable
man.”
Kluger describes the con
clusion of a three-day re
argument before the
Supreme Court in the
Brown case. - Justices
Frankfurter and Jackson
pounced on Greenberg for
having failed to cross-file
an appeal. Greenberg fal
tered badly!
During te recess, “te
NAACP legal corps
hurriedly gathered and de
cided to pull Greenberg
from the lineup. When
court reconvened, Thur
good Marshall was at-the
lectum,” explained "Sim
ple Justice.”
In decision after deci
sion, including the Brown
case, the Supreme Court
has upheld the premise
See WHITE on Page 14
——Hy Rev. John PerkinS=5^*s
WALK
Your
TALK
Rev. Perkins I
Society Is Very Tense
As I journey around the country con
versing with different groups of people, I
have concluded that our society is very
tense. This tension can be attributed to high
unemployment, widespread crime, broken
homes, and the inability of, the public
schools to discipline the kids that come from
these broken homes. Many feel that th&
tension will be manifested through some
type of violence.
As our economic situation continues to
falter, America seems to be searching for
an outside enemy to direct our hostility, like
Kaddaffi of Libya, and the Russians. This is
a crossroad for America. The church, as
reflected by the Moral Majority, have made
a conservative political decision, but to no
avail. They help elect our President, but the
problems have not gone away. TTiis has
resulted in a delaved expectation. Everyone
is wondering who will take the iniative to i
eliminate these problems.
I think that the church in our com
munity operating from a grassroots organ
izational movement could take control of
this situation and turn this nation around. If
this means marching in. the streets to
demonstrate whatever the local issue may
be., so be it! As black Americans, we need to
recognize these problems and discern the
moral implications of these problems and
began to exercise the type of moral
leadership necessary to deal with them.
Some people may say that we need
another Martin Luther King. Well, there
might not be another Martin Luther King. I
think that all leaders, especially minorities,
should take heed to King’s example;
recognizing the problems and suffering and
in a nonviolent way, take the leadership and
mobilize our people to tackle these
problems.
“The first thing that needs to happen is that
we need to bring our people to the saving
knowledge of Jesus Christ. We need to show
them that they need to give their lives
totally to Christ. Once this happens, the
l foundation for development is laid..
I also believe that unless we begin to deal
with moral issues that we face, we won’t be^
able to move our people. We-eould witness*
all types of bloodshed and violence. I pray
that these people would turn to God so that
they can provide the type of leadership
necessary to change the course of our
nation.
It has been our movement that has
sparked other minority movements in this
country. I believe that the leadership needs
to come from black people who really love
and know Christ, and have a deep concern
for both their nation and their people.
I believe that right now we are facing a
most difficult time in history.
Do we see the battleline? Can black
Christians and nttw nppreBaed C^Mianfi
get beyond survival and blame? Can white
Christians get beyond charity and the
American dream? Can conviction be
stronger than culture? Can we like
Zacchaeus take responsibility for our past
because of the presence of Jesus Christ in
our lives now? Can we pay our dues and
move creatively ahead to claim the joy of
overcoming past injustice? Can we move
beyond racism? Can we seek partnerships
with brothers and sisters of another race?
From Capitol Hill
Public Confused By
___ f
Two Organizations Named NAACP
By Alfreds L. Madison
Special To The Post
The NationaJ Association
for the Advancement of
Colored People, the oldest
civil rights organization,
has had numerous success
es and almost minute legal
failures.
The abolition of legalized
injustices, stemming from
lynchings through the en
tire segregation spectrum,
obstacles to voting, educa
tion, equal employment op
portunities, the whole
-"gamut uf seeking equality
for minorities, were
accomplished by the
NAACP.
Yet, this 73-year-old
organization has weather
ed the storm of many ob
stacles. During the sixties
it overcame the in fighting
of some black extremists
who wanted to change the
name to National Associa
tion for Black People.
Whites in the South upset
over exposure and legal
' eradication of their blatant
racism by the NAACP,
pressed tax exemption
denial of the organization
So in 1939 the NAACP
national board of directors
set up the l>egal Defense
and Education Fund, fnc
*
Alfrrria I,. Madison
The department was Incor
porated in 1940 as th£ legal
arm of the NAACP, for tax
exemption purposes. As
such, contributions from
the membership and
branches were made to the
I>egal Defense Fund (LDF)
which used its resources
and skills to support the
NAACP policies and legal
programs.
Until 1957 both organiza
tions had interlocking of
ficers. Since 1961, under
the leadership of Jack
Greenberg, LDF began
operating as a separate
organization, but continued
to use NAACP initials in
soliciting funds, which the
public and members have
found confusing. LDF is
accused of abandoning
NAACP programs, policies
and procedures. It has ini
tiated legal activities in the
name of the NAACP with
out knowledge and consent
of the parent body, and in
some instances contrary to
the Association’s positions
or wishes.
In 1962 a Liaison Com
mittee adopted a policy
that called for cooperation
between the organizations
However, according to the
NAACP, this policy was
short-lived if implemented
~ at all. Ntiw that several
years of efforts to recon
cile these differences have
failed the NAACP feels that
it has no alternative but to
pursue legal action. It has
proposed two alternatives;
(1) If LDF desires to retain
identity with the NAACP in
its civil rights struggle,
that it will return to the
fold. (2) If it intends to
pursue its independent
identity and to build its
image as a public interest
law firm, that it surrenders
the use of NAACP in its
corporate name.
The NAACP stated that it
has taken this course
because it was never the
intention of the NAACP to
create, or encourage a
competitor with its pro
grams, preserving and pro
tecting the historic past
and present of the tradition
of blacks helping them
selves and providing essen
tial leadership necessary
for goals and freedom and
equality. The NAACP in
the 20th century civil rights
movement is a saga of
untold and nameless thou
sands who struggled and
sacrificed in this cause.
According to the report,
that as long as Judge Thur
good Marshall was chief
counsel of LDF, there was
cooperation between the
two organizations. Under
Jack Greenberg’s leader
ship LDF began severing
its NAACP connection,
until it became a separate,
independent organization.
Yet, it still has the ini
tials NAACP at the begin
ning of its name. NAACP
officials say the published
disclaimer of being a part
of the NAACP, while con
tinuing to solicit contribu
tions to the NAACP Legal
Defense Fund is a contra
diction and exploitation of
NAACP. Officials consider
the memorandum, submit
ted by Jack Greenberg in
1979 as only coametic. They
i
state that the disclaimer
confuses the public Which
can easily be led to believe
that LDF is still a part of
the NAACP.
When Jack Greenberg .
was appointed to his pre
sent position, James Hrcks,
who was then editor of the
Amsterdam News, criti
cized the appointmert. He
felt that a black person
should have been pUced in
that leadership ptpitlon.
Some NAACP menfbcrs
voiced the opinion at that
time, that ldp migm m
come a separate organisa
tion controlled by non
blacks, that would later
exploit blacks. There are
criticisms of Jack Green
berg’s holding ceremony
commemorating the
Brown decision and not in
viting any blacks. Perhaps
Mr. Greenberg forgot that
the litigants in the historic
Brown case were a black
family that suffered the
usual racial hardships and
threats that blacks en
countered when they con
tent for justice and rights,
and that the case was
fought by all black
lawyers.
The NAACP has filed a
law suit asking the LDF
cease and desist using
NAACP in its name. Ex-.,
Senator Edward Brooke is
the NAACP counsel, while
Vernon Jordan is counsel
for LDF in the suit. One
wonders if the hiring of
Jordan, a prominent black
lawyer, is an act of cha^
canery on the part or*
Greenberg of pitting blacks
against each other.
James Nabrit III of LDF
stated that that organiza
tion would neither return to
the NAACP or drop the
initials Iium Its name He
said the case will do neither
organization any good.
LDF is a legal organiza
tion and the NAACP is
political said Nabrit When
he was informed that he
NAACP is not a >slitCal
organization,he^id that it
engages in m/tical and
economic issut__
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