EDITORIALS & COMMENTS
We DonV Need Black ^Racism”
A Washington Post report
states that within the Harvard
University Law School are two
black student organizations that
are urging their classmates to
boycott a race discrimination
course. The course is to be
taught during the spring se
mester .next year hv the noted
local civil rights lawyer Julius
Chambers and Jack Greenberg,
director of the NAACP Legal
Defense andJEducational Fund
for the past 20 years -
Ironically, Chambers, who has
fought many civil rights cases,
has asked Greenberg to assist
him in teaching the course
because demands on his time
would not allow him to do it
alone. The narrow-minded men
tality of the black student
groups is basing the alleged
boycott on the utterly ridiculous
fact that Mr. Greenberg is a
white man. The Harvard Black
Law Student Association argues
that since the course will fnnis
on the .legal system and Third
World people in i:he United
States, “...it is extremely im
portant that it be taught by an"”
instructor who can identify and
emphathize with the social, cul
tural, economic and political
experience of the Third World
community.”
That statement is good but if
the Harvard black law students
think that blacks necessarily
have a monopoly on empathy for
the concerns of Third World
people in America they are
showing an ignorance of the
widest magnitude and have re
ceived an inadequate education
at Harvard and anywhere else
that they may have studied.
Furthermore, these students
are reportedly upset that Mr.
Greenberg won’t relinquish the
directorship of the Legal
Defense Fund to a black at
torney because the Fund pri
marily serves blacks. However,
these students show their black
racist attitudes when they argue
that Harvard, which primarily
serves whites, should hire more
blacks.
While we have no knowledge of
Greenberg’s salary, we are sure
that he could be earning con
siderably more money in a
private law practice, yet, he has
chosen to give more than 20
years of his professional life to
causes and issues that directly
—affect black people. If lie doesn’t
have a concern for the needs of
black people nobody does. If
these black students -sincerely
think .that only blacks empha
size with the problems, needs
ancT concerns' of biacksrthey"
obviously don’t know anything
about the history of America.
Let’s keep black racism out of
our hearts and minds or we will
be just as inadequate as human
beings as those who have prac
ticed white racism. .
Blade Median Income Decreases——
Contrary to Census Bureau
income reports in the past, new
-data show that the income of
blacks in the nation rose in the
decade of the 1970’s even faster
than the income of whites.
In terms of real-inflation
adjusted-median annual income
per family, whites gained
slightly from 1970 to 1980. Their
median family income rose_
about $180 in constant 1980
dollars to $21,904. On the other
hand, blacks saw their median
income go down by $650 to
$12,674.
However, Census experts say
these figures do not take into
-account shifts-that occurred in
thel970’s in family size. While
both black and white'family size
declined, black_family size de
clined more. In specific terms,
an unpublished Census Bureau
document states that black fa
mily size declined from 4.26
persons in 1970 to 3.66 persons in
1980. White family size on the
other hand dropped less from
only 3.52 people to 3.2. The result
of these declines indicate that in
real per capita income blacks
continue to remain far behind
white but narrowed the gap
some in the 1970’s.-—=—
Census data in 1970 indicate
that the per capita income of
blacks was $3,966 but by 1980 that
figure had risen to $4,804 or 21
percent in cash income. For
r ■
whites, per capita income in 1970
was $7,118 and in 1980 it was up to
$8,233 or 16 percent.__
Nevertheless, the figures con
tinue to show blacks lagging far
behind whites in income. The sad
but hard fact is some 32.5 per
cent of all blacks lived in what
the federal government defines
as poverty in 1980 as opposed to
—only 10.2 percent for whites
A contributing factor to the
poverty status of blacks is that 70
percent of all black families
below the poverty level in 1981
were maintained by single pa- '
rent female headed families. In
addition, black women in the
South, primarily those under age
25 and female private house
hold workers, all experienced
declines in their real median
income.
Thus, the continuing spector of
economic inequality created by a
declining but still existing edu
cational gap between blacks and
whites, lower wages generally
paid to women, a stagnant
economy and some unfortunate
but continuing economic racism
leaves blacks and other minor
ities lingering on the bottom
steps of the economic ladder. It
is, therefore, evident that the
struggle for economic survival,
much less equality of economic
opportunity, is a continuing,
never-ending battle with no end
in sight.
BLACKS DESTINY IN OWN HANDS....
a
Letters Tr> The Editor
Was It Worth It?
Keen pretty disturbed all
week. Guess it would be
better to say that I've been
-angry—all-, week because
that rumor about New
Orleans running back,
Heisman Trophy winner
George Rogers proved to
be true.
I'm mad because he let
a lot of people down,
because that ten grand he
gave the dopesters for
“recreational use of nar
t'otiii.'' as they so mcelypufcr
it. could have put a couple
of kids through college via
the United Negro College
Fund. It could have come
in quite handy lor the New
Orleans NAACP and I'm
sure the folks at PUSH
wouldn’t have turned it
down. But instead some
grubby dope pusher, who
cares less about George
Rogers or anyone for that
matter, got that loot and all
-wogers got-was a nigh.
Man, if I were Rogers.
I'd get a high every time I
saw my paychecks. And
don't give me that stuff
about Rogers not doing
anything that ten percent"
or so of the population isn't
doing. Rogers is a "some
body." a somebody a lot of
young black kids can look
up to and identify with. But
what has he done for them
in by way of setting an
example?
Out there in a lot of cities
and towns across the
country there is a lot of
talent just waiting to be
discovered. Right here in
Motown there is a young
lady that some golfers are
saying will be on the pro
tour one day But. hey, she
needs top instruction to get
there and that takes
money. That money is
going to the dopesters
I'm mad because
George Rogers let a lot of
other people down. I re
member Marion Motley
and Bill Willis and Horace
Gillom with the old Cleve
land Browns and how they
had to have a part-time
job even during the season
-to make ends meet. It
seems to me that Motley
was making about $5.000 a
season when I first met ~
him Now that's about the
tax on what the players'
agents and legal counsels
get
I'm mad because a lot of
members of the black
writing fraternity worked
their buns off to get blacks
into the pro ranks and few
of them ever made close to
the ten grand the dopesters
got In fact I doubt if the
entire black corps of sports
writers made that much.
—No. I wasn't one of them
but I'll tell you the Hie
Hoberts, Doc Youngs, All
Dunmores. Wendell
Smiths. Bill Nunns Jr. and
Sr., Cleve Jackson, W.
Rollo Wilsons, Jack Saun
-4ers_ _Sam__LacitsH ,£L at.
caught hell opening doors.
And after some of the re
velations of this year 1
wonder if they wonder why
they did it.
I'm mad because there
are still a lot of black
coaches around who
couldn't make the pros
themselves but got the
dooraopcn. I'mmad for the
Eddie Robinsons, Johnny
McLendons. Eddie Hurts,
"Big House" Gaineses and
Johnny Merritts. Was all
they did in vain'.' -
George J. Dunmorr
Concern For Mankind
Dear Sir:
The fellowship and con
cern for mankind has
—broken down. Regardless
of race, creed or color, poor
and underprivileged people
suffer at the expense of the
wealthy.
■— Today in- America, we
are faced with a tremen
dous economic problem
one of the worse unemploy
ment records in the history -
of our country. We have an
outrageous race relations
problem. Fraud, dis
honestv and distrust exist
in our government at all
levels. Men and women of
high esteem have been
caught up in serious
scandals. Our allies across
the seas has lost confi
dence in Americans’ inte
grity.
The crime rate is’ at a
serious high throughout the
land. We as Americans,
need to stop, and take a
good, hard look at our
selves. we need to ask
ourselves; “Where are we
going and how are we
going to get there?"
Then we need to put God
in the midst and at the
head. We should ask him to
lead us in time like these.
Rev. Thomas J. Banks
Newspapers
Number One
Advertisers spent $17.4
billion for newspaper ad
vertisement last year,
more than the combined
total amount spent on radio
and television advertising,
according to the American
Newspaper Publishers
Association.
The ANPA’s research
also shows tha t despite 'the
downturn in the economy,
newspaper employment re
mains constant. Circula
tion of Sunday and weekly
newspapers is at an all
time high.
Facts about newspapers
and newspaper advertising
have been collected into
“Facts about Newspapers
’82” by the association. The
statistical summary is
compiled annually and is
available on request.
The book reports that
daily circulation exceeded
61 million arid that an
average of 2.15 people read
each newspaper circulated
in the United States.
Tony
Brown’s
Comments
i
Move To Destroy Black
Colleges Real Tragedy
It was a very telling
experience to read Earl
"Caldwell’s column in the
New York Daily News.
Caldwell, a black writer
“who has resisted govern
mental interference and
racial injustice, has always
been on the right side of the
struggle, perhaps, until
now
In his column, he' lam
basted the NAACP for
"pursuing in the federal
courts" what has “become
the tragedy of the move
ment," i.e., halting Jack
Greenberg’s NAACP Legal
Defense Fund from using
the NAACP’s initials.
Money, or the NAACP’s
jealousy over not raising
money, is the core, Cald—
conclu des, along with
the "hidden issue of race"
Jack Greenberg and the
dominance of white people
at the LDF has nut dune his
research, the NAACP is
unfairly, and inaccurately,
castigated. The tragedy of
■Iha civU, right^jpoyement
might be monTaccurately
defined as the kind of ignor
ance of contemporary
history that led Caldwell,
like so many uninformed
people, to think and write,
“It (LDF)..;has as its
achievements a long list of
victories over segrega
tion.”
Perhaps Caldwell has
never heard of the annual
Black College Day, held the
last Monday in every Sep
tember. This annual
demonstration of support
for the nation’s ill black
colleges was born out of
resistance to the LDF’s and
the Carter Administra
tion’s HEW’s legal assault
on the survival of these
institutions-in the name of
desegregation. In effect,
these policies forced black
colleges to become white
while white colleges re
mained white.
To educate the public as
to the real threat-the LDF,
in its role as plaintiff, and
HEW as implementor of
the nefarious “desegrega
tion” plans-the Coalition
For Black Colleges devised
a quiz.
A few questions and an
swers from that exam
might behelpful:
I. Should black public
colleges receive funds only
if they agree to eventually
become an institution with
a black minority: (No). 2.
Is there a special mission
for predominately black
colleges? (Yes). 3. Are pre
dominantely black colleges
perpetuating segregation?
(No). 4. Has segregation
come to mean black? (Yes)
5. As defined- by HEW's
desegregation plans, are
whites segregated when a
college is predominantly
white? (No). 6. Is the
record of white colleges
better than black ones in
educating blacks? (No). 7.
Do blacks have a constitu
tional right to go to a
predominately black col
lege if they fieely choose—
to? (Yes).
“Integration must never
mean the liquidation of
black colleges. If America^
allows., black colleges t*
die, it will be the worst kind
of discrimination and deni
gration in history," said
Dr. Benjamin Mays, pre
sident emeritus of More
house College. Neither the
LDF nor HEW could ever
understand that statement
or the fact that integra
tion can take place with a
black majority.
Dr. Andrew Billingsley,
president of Morgan State
University in Baltimore,
~Tdefending his school’s right
to exist, scolded those who
--in the name of integra
tion-are eliminating black
colleges as we know them
and black power in institu
tions of higher learning:
“They have a conception
of integration.«of desegre
gation-.. whielK requires a
white majority and re
quires blacks always to be
in the minority. They don’t
quite say this explicitly.
But what they say is they
want a non-racial system.
They want a unitary sys
tem. They want to abolis^
the racial identifiability o*
institutions. The only way
to do this is to either merge
the black colleges with the
larger white ones or to
make the black colleges
“They” refers to Cald
well’s civil rights super
heroes--Jack Greenberg
and Company. “We said to
the judge-the judges in
that Appeals Court--that
the LDF has not recog
nized the importance of
black colleges or the
special needs of black stu
dents,” Dr. Billingsley
said.
A lawyer writing in de
fense of the LDF said that
I was wrong in my assump
tion that the black-college
presidents and the NAACP
Legal Defense Fund were
at cross-purposes. “Dr.
Brown stated that the final
question asked in his poll
was. ‘Do you agree with
the NAACP Legal Defense
Fund or the black college
presidents' position on
black colleges?” ... The
fundamental fallacy under
lying this question is the
assertion that the black .
college presidents have •
taken a position with re
gard to the future of black
colleges that differs from
the LDF position.”
“Tony Brown’s Journal/'
the television series, can be
seen on public television
Saturday, on Channel 42 at
8 p.m. It can also be seen on
channels 30 and 58 on Sun
days. at 2:30 p.m.; Tues
days at 7:30 p.m.; and
Sundays at 6 p.m., respec
tively.
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From (Capitol Hill
Congressional Black Caucus Task Force Visits^ Haiti
Alfreda L Madison
special To The Post
The Reagan Administra
tion gives the Haitian im
migrants to this country
preferential treatment -
preferentially bad. No
aliens who are not crimin
als, are housed in ill-fated
inhumane prisons, or inter
dicted on the high seas but
(he"Haitians .Someoflhese
aliens have been im
prisoned here for more
than a year
In spite of the President's
heralding that he is a com
passionate person, the
treatment he accords Hai
tains, who come to this
country fleeing the repres
sive wuvalier regime,
would certainly be cruelty
to the most dangerous
animals.
I he recent court decision
called for release of the
Haitian refugees to organ
izations and individuals
who have been constantly
asking that these imml
1 grants be turned over to
them, Immediately the
Administration appealed
the court's decision and
sought a stay of ruling until
after the appeal However,
the stay has been denied
and the Haitian release will
begin
Alfrpda I.. Madison
The Congressional Black
Caucus task force on Hai
tians headed by Represent
atives Chisholm and Faun
troy, have strongly empha
sized to these organizations
to whom Haitians will be
released, organizations
largely composed of
whites, that the Caucus will
be working with them in
placement of these aliens
During the July congres
sional recess. Represent
atives Fauntroy and Chis
holm spent six days on a
Haitian fact-finding mis
sion Mr Fauntroy told the
Haitian people that the
Caucus is seeking a better
understanding of their
situation and that they
wanted to assess the United
States’ role in that country
Fauntroy and Chisholm
spoke of the concern the
Caucus has for Haitian re
fugee detention in the
United States and for the
political, social and econo
mic conditions, that
generate the refugee flight
to the United States. Faun
troy made the Haitians
aware of the fact that their
cfleS for help are not going
unheeded by American
Blacks, because Haitians
and Black Americans'
share an involuntary Afri
can Diaspora. He said,
"We come seeking to tell
the truth in love, to face
reality with courage, and to
work effectively as legis
lators in the United States
House of Represent
atives.’'
These Caucus members
spoke of their delight with
President Duvalier's an
nouncement of local elec
tions for 1983. and that their
hopes are that the elections
will result in greater social
justice for all Haitians A
failure to provide equal op
portunity for all people of
Haiti to share in the fruits
of their labor and their
country's resources will
continue to perpetuate the
present tragedy, which is
responsible for the US
Haitian refugee flight, that
is being playing out in
inhospitable treatment by
our U.S. government.
Mr. Fauntroy related the
struggle of American
blacks for justice and
equality and in that vein he
told the Haitians that black
Americans would not be
able to help them unless
they helped themselves
The group visited jailed
• political Haitians and
found that many of them
did not belongjmprisoned.
President Duvalier was
very happy to meet with
the Caucus members The
task force found that Duva
lier does not have absolute
power, since he is domin
ated by a very strong wife
who is the daughter of a big
conee magnate and is very
influential in leading the
Haitian mulattoes Other
problems which plague Du
valler are his mother's at
tempt to usurp power in
one direction, his sister in
another, coupled with
various cabinet members
who exert different influ
ences because of their own
personal agendas. The task
force states that no one is
really in charge of the
Haitian government
U.S. corporations have
businesses in Haiti, where
they can exploit cheap
labor Workers get only
$2 20 for a full day’s work.
No union is allowed and
workers get no on-the-job
technology training which
lead to advancement.
Many of these factories are
built on fertile farm lands
which prevent Haitians
from growing their own
food stuff. So food is pur
chased from the United
States, which increases
U.S. manufacturers' trade.
The U.S. Haitian embassy
only gives ideal opposition
rhetoric to these existing
conditions. The Reagan
Administration is giving
the same kind of support to
the corrupt Haitian author
ities as its gives to apar
theid South Africa
swine -lever nas oeen
found among some of the
peasants' hogs and they
are required to kill all of
their swine, instead of kill
ing only the diseased ones
and quarantining the
healthy ones. This is being
done so that the big poultry
raisers can increase their
wealth through flourishing
chicken raising
Another 90 percent of the
Haitian population is illi
terate. The government
spends only one dollar per
year, per pupil on educa
tion. The elite educate their
children in private schools
There is little or no crime
in Haiti. The International
Foundation reports that
Haitian people are veryj
gentle and kind They ar^
extremely hard
However, there
rate of- shortage
The people havel
best they can I
Haitian authoritjl
welfare provla
majority of thal
in houses built A
mua Diseases
part; infant
high and tha^F
around 46 vfl
The Caucfl
Duvalier and
authorities J
ca’a interdiJ
“We've been!
that interdiJ
policy worked
President Dul
government. |