Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Sept. 16, 1982, edition 1 / Page 2
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EDITORIALS & COMMENTS Charlotte: A Mature City Several thousand Charlotteans were evacuated from their homes and businesses late Mon day evening in response to a foul smelling poisonous smoke that engulfed a heavily populated, four-square-mile area northeast of downtown. The evacuation quickened as city policemen drove through the streets with loud speakers requesting that people evacuate. Calmlv. with limited fear, hysteria or mass confusion, and undoubtedly with some thought that World War III, or even worse, a nuclear explosion, the citizens of our city gathered a few meager personal items and. fled to the evacuation centers as announced by the police, radio and television stations. Schools and churches opened their doors to the fleeing temporarily home less sea of people trying to escape the poisonous smoke that followed them. In addition, scores of Red Cross, Civil De fense and professional volun teers manned the evacuation centers setting up cots, supply ing blankets, hot liquids and emergency medical services. City buses were pressed into service to transport the evacuat ors and a Burger King drive-in gave hundreds of hamburgers and cold drinks to hungry, displaced, tired and somewhat confused people crowding into the Garinger High School evacu ation center. At the same time, nearly 100 Charlotte firefighters, aided by volunteer fire depart It’s Time For Judging Following Ronald Reagan’s election to the presidency of the United States in 1980 we cau tioned you - our readers - to not pre-judge and to give the new President the benefit of our doubts. We speculated that some prominent blacks like former Senator Edward Brooke would be appointed to some high go vernment post. Furthermore, we noted that historically once a conservative moves into the White House hard realities re sult in a shift to a more mo derate position on most issues. In conclusion, we suggested that if the new President could imple ment any policies leading to improvements in the perfor mance of the nation’s economy, he would have done much to relieve a great deal of the suf fering faced by black Ame ricans. After observing, analyzing and looking for some signs of truth in our assumptions, we have to conclude that after 21 months in the Presidency, Mr. Reagan \ has not fulfilled any of our pro phecies. In fact, a non-partisan study of the Reagan Adminis tration has concluded that its policies have made the affluent rich Americans richer and mid die class and poor Americans pooier.In the latter case the evidence is startling considering the reduced public support for education, health care, housing and mass transit. The Urban Institute, a Wash ington-based think-tank special izing in urban problems, has concluded in a recent study that “the Reagan experiment with economic policy has clearly not worked in the short run and is unlikely to live up to the Ad ministration’s expectations in the long run.” As one looks closer, the study shows too that large urban areas in need of the greatest amount of public assistance are receiving a disproportionately smaller share under Reagan policies. Thus, the Administration’s policies are ex pected to further widen the economic and fiscal disparities between the wealthy and grow ing states on one hand, and less affluent states on the other. - These are the facts as the non-partisan Urban Institute sees them. Thus, as new con gressional elections approach, and as they become referendums on the Reagan policies and pro grams it is now time for you, the voters, to do some judging. & COMMENTS ire Gty ments from nearby towns, fought the fire that started in a chemical drum of sodium hydro sulfide about 4:15 p.m. in a North Tryon Street warehouse then spread to a site containing glass bottles of paraquat, a highly toxic herbicide whose fumes can cause lung damage. Through it all, as tree-lined residential areas were deserted, as over 60 people were treated at hospitals for exposure to the poisonous fumes, as firefighters and policemen became exhaust ed, and as a growing amount of uncertainty was evident, Char lotte and its people remained relatively calm and maturely went about the business of making quick and timely deci sions to get people to safely fight and control the fire, prevent vandalism and panic, and when safe, allowed people to return to their homes, other places of residence, their businesses and college campuses. THE STREETS ARE^m^ NAPE FOR YOU, NOT. FOR* JRASH OR GARBAGE.' As we reflect on this city experience, we can feel a sense of humble pride for the mature and rational manner in which our city - the people - reacted or behaved in a tense few hours for which there was, and probably could not have been, a master plan to guide actions to be taken . in a similar, situation. Charlotte - and especially you, our firemen, policemen, the hun dreds of volunteers and the evacuated people themselves - we salute you for a job so well done. ging die class and poor Americans pooier.In the latter case the evidence is startling considering the reduced public support for education, health care, housing and mass transit. The Urban Institute, a Wash ington-based think-tank special izing in urban problems, has concluded in a recent study that “the Reagan experiment with economic policy has clearly not worked in the short run and is unlikely to live up to the Ad ministration’s expectations in the long run.” As one looks closer, the study shows too that large urban areas in need of the greatest amount of public assistance are receiving a disproportionately smaller share under Reagan policies. Thus, the Administration’s policies are ex pected to further widen the economic and fiscal disparities between the wealthy and grow ing states on one hand, and less affluent states on the other. - These are the facts as the non-partisan Urban Institute sees them. Thus, as new con gressional elections approach, and as they become referendums on the Reagan policies and pro grams it is now time for you, the voters, to do some judging. 10 Greensboro Gtizens 100 Bluford Street Greensboro, NC 27401 Dear Editor: Enclosed is a report by ten Greensboro citizens concerning their August 12, 1982 meeting with the Justice Department at torney in charge of the federal grand jury now in vestigating the November 3, 1979 attack by Ku Klux Klan and Nazis in Greens boro, N.C., which left five people dead, ten injured and the black community terrorized. The ten citizens met with Justice Department at torney Michael Johnson to ask questions and to ex- _ press concern. Their joint statement reports the an swers they received, and their conclusion:- that be cause of the serious ques tions about possible in volvement of federal and local law enforcement agents in the events, a special prosecutor fronj outside the Justice Depart ment should be appointed to oversee the Grand Jury. As they stated: The possibility that the government in one or se veral agencies played some role in these killings makes public disclosure of the facts in this case cru cially important. We be lieve that government ac tivity should be subject to review and we are appeal ing to the Attorney General to reconsider his position ti e., not to appoint a spe cial prosecutor). To avoid possibility of compromise due to conflict of interest, we continue to call for the appointment of a special prosecutor to oversee this case in order that the system can func tion at its best and to dispel the clouds of suspicion which plague the city and the country. The ten people went as individuals, but they are representative of a broad segment of the Greensboro community. They included From Capitol Hill black and white, young and old, Christian and Jew, and people from all walks of life - workers, academics, a lawyer and a minister - and hctive in organizations as diverse as the Democratic Party, the NAACP, and the American Friends Service Committee, as well as those who aren’t active in organizations. As one of the ten citi zens, and at the request of the whole group of ten, I am submitting our report to you for publication. We hope that you will print it as an opinion piece, or a letter to the editor. Many Concerned people all over the country are concerned about this tragic and highly signifi cant incident, but few have the opportunity to pursue _ the matter as we did. We would like to share our information, as well as our conclusions, with them. As the grand jury is said to be drawing to a close, with the final decisions of indict ments or not, this is surely timely. For further information, please contact me or any of the ten members of the delegation. Thank you. Sincerely yours, Charles Davis Mks Gay Am Miss Deborah M. Gilbert 425-F W. Craighead Rd. Charlotte, NC 28206 September 8,1982 Dear Sir: It was with great sadness that I read in a Charlotte newspaper of the upcoming “Miss Gay America Pa geant" which is to be held in this beautiful city. In a city where God and His Son Jesus Christ are so re spected and loved, it is shocking that the most un righteous of acts is being proclaimed as normal. In Romans, chapter 1, of the Holy Bible, God tells those who desire to know His will what homosexual ity and lesbianism is all about. In verse 24, He calls it dishonoring their own bodies between them selves. In verse 25, those who do dishonor their bodies (by homosexual or lesbian acts) are worshipping the creature, or creation, of God more than the Creator, God. This is idol worship. The first of the ten great commandments God gave Israel as set forth in Exodus 20:3 is “Thou shalt have no other gods before me." In I John 5:21 God tells His people “Keep erica Pageant yourselves from iaois” in order to maintain our re lationship with Him. It would seem obvious that an event such as the “Miss ‘Gay’ America Pa geant” is an affront to God, along the lines of Sodom and Gomorrah and God withdrew His protection from those two cities in a big way. God, of course, would not handle the situa tion now as He did then. We're in an age of grace but the tacit consent of people who should know God’s heart in this matter, the religious leadership in this community, will lead this city down into the same pit as San Francisco. If the Holy Bible is Truth, homosexuality and lesbianism are not diseases or birth defects. If the Holy Bible is indeed God's will for His people and contains “all things that pertain unto life and godliness’’ (II Peter 1:3) then a person who is a homosexual or a lesbian has made a deci sion to act in a particular manner, they have devel oped a habit pattern which can however be changed. The basis for the change is also in the Holy Bible (Romans 10:9). Deborah M. Gilbert WALK YOUR TALK Kev. Perkins No Balm In Gilead? For this next series of “Walk Your Talk” articles, I’d like to give a little background to the prophet Jeremiah. My text is taken from Jeremiah 8:22. Jeremiah raises the question: “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why, then, is not the health of the daughters of my people recovered?” . The question that Jeremiah is asking has to do with the situation he sees in his nation at that time, Let me set this in focus. Jeremiah lived at the time of the Babylon ian captivity. He lived to see the nation of Israel taken into captivity, their second since Egypt. They were divided into 12 tribes and the kingdom was established under David and Solomon. But upon the death of Solomon, the kingdom divided. There were two tribes in the south called Judah and 10 tribes in the north called Israel. In the north, Israel never had a good king. But from time to time, God raised up kings in the south in Judah that would turn back to God and worship Him. But as a whole the nation never returned to the king of nations it was under the leadership of David or Solomon. Therefore, God raised up the prophets of the Old Testament to call the nation back to its historical purpose: That they would be light. From the nation knowledge was to go out to the rest of the world. They were to be the glory of God, and He would abide with them. God gave them a land, but as they lived there, they became as wicked as the people who lived there before them. Becauft of that, God punished them, first the northern tribes, then the southern. He made them suffer, trying to discipline them. So God sought to break them from their idolatry in Babylon. Jeremiah lived in that day. He was a patriot and faithful to God. He loved his nation because he recognized that God established it to be light. He understood the holiness and righteousness of God and he knew that God had to punish wickedness. As a prophet, Jeremiah was unpopular. He told the people of their sins. And he told them that God had destined them for captivity because of their sins. They hated Jeremiah because he hacf the unfortunate: responsibility of sharing with them the bad news. But Jeremiah shared the news while shedding tears. Because of this, Jeremiah became known as the weeping prophet. Describing the condition of his people he says, “Oh, that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep a day and night for the slain of the daughters of my people! Oh, that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring man, that I might leave my people, and go from them! For they are all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.” “And they bend their tongues like th*r bows for lies, but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not Me, saith the Lord.” That was some judgment for a prophet to have to lay on people who had the responsibility for the oracles of God. Today I feel much like Jeremiah as I look out into my community. And as I look out at American as a whole, both black and white. I see the consumption and greed. We have squandered the resources that God has given our nation. I the charlotte post Second Class Postage No. 965500 “THE PEOPLE’S NEWSPAPER” Established 1918 Published Every Thursday by The Charlotte Post Publishing Co., Inc. Subscription Rate $15.60 Per Year Send AH3579’s To: 1524 West Blvd., Charlotte, N.C. 28208 Telephone 704-376-0496 Circulation, 7,151 104 Years of Continuous Service Bill Johnson Editor, Publisher Bernard Reeves General Manager Fran Farrer Advertising Director Dannette GaitherOffice Manager Second Class Postage No. 965500 Paid At Charlotte, North Carolina Under the Act of 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 National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc. 2400 8. Michigan Ave. 45 W. 45th St.. Suite 1493 Chicago. III. 00616 New York. New York 10036 Columet 5-0200 212-489-1220 1 President By Alfreds Madison Special To The Post President Reagan, is placing sanctions against our European allies for trading certain materials with Russia, as a protest of Soviet treatment of some Polish citizens. At the same time he is strengthening ties with apartheid South Africa. Since his ascent to' the Presidency, 620 Black South Africans have been detained, 95 released, charges have been placed against 226, 180 are still detained and 297 are un accounted for. While tightening econo mic sanctions against the Soviets, Mr. Reagan has abandoned the South Afri can sanctions of President Carter He has issued di rectives for U S. corpora tions to sell chemicals, in dustrial equipment, com puters and calculators to South Africa These mate rials are used to guide air missiles, in chemical war fare and can be converted into tanks and combat ar mored cars What this Ad ministration is really say ing is; it is all right for a country to commit the most inhumane treatment, to 90 percent of its population if A Continues Closer Ties With South Africa i 1 :v>i Alfreds I.. Madison the 90 percent have black skin Just recently the Organ ization of African Unity (OAU) held an informal meeting in Tripoli Libva Both Representative Walter Fauntroy and Ran dall Robinson of Trans africa felt that the frus tration of the OAU was caused partly by the United States discouraging atten dance by friendly Afri can countries. It is report ed that President Moi of Kenya who was the OAU outgoing President was asked by this Administra tion not to attend, and the Liberian President whose U.S ties are verv close was also persuaded by our go vernment to stay away. Some OAU members had a disagreement on allowing the Polisarios to become a member, and others failed to attend because of dif ferences with Quaddafi Thirty-four countries con stitute a quorum but only 31 attended so no real OAU session could be held, but only informal meetings took place. Mr. Fauntroy says he regrets failure of the coun tries to have a formal meeting because the United States had the op portunity for African unity aid in settling the Nam bian question. The Afri cans resent U.S. failure to have a dialogue with them by dealing with Africans in a North-South policy rather than as an East-West pro blem. Both Mr. Robinson and Mr Fauntroy strongly em phasized that the entire African continent will be free of colonialism, and this fact must be recog nized by the Soviets and the United States. Frustra tion of the recent OAU has only delayed freedom. The OAU is not dead. There will be an emergency OAU meeting in the next few months. Contrary to the Wash ington Post’s attempt to castigate Representative Fauntroy for his Tripoli trip, the congressman was invited to the OAU meeting by the Organization Presi dent and the expenses were borne by Mr. Fauntroy himself. The Post ignored the fact that many mem bers of Congress and Ame rican Jews constantly visit Israel, without any Post criticisms, so why can’t blacks be accorded the same right and privilege for showing concern in the African countries? As continued proof of the Reagan Administration's ‘ South African partnership, the Department of Justice has decided to investigate the New York office files of the Southwest African Peo ples Organization SWAPO), The Congressional Black Caucus, fired off a letter to Secretary of State, George Shultz, protesting the in vestigation. Represent ative William Gray, Chair man of the Caucus Foreign Affairs Task Force, stated that "the Continues Closer Ties With South Africa investigation appears to be a collusion by the U.S. government and the SWAPO opponents to un cover information which could be used to damage SWAPO in Nambian nego tiations of post-settlement elections. This collusion ap pearance is heightened be cause the inspection fol lows closely a suit by SWAPO opponents chal lenging SWAPO’s compli ance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The Caucus says an inves tigation of SWAPO’s files, correspondence arid tele grams violates the mutual trust and respect for confi dentiality that parties to negotiations must have.” The Justice Department informed SWAPO that their investigation will in clude inspection of all cor respondence, memoranda, cables, telegrams and telfr type messages as well as an audit of all bookkeeping. The Caucus letter to Se cretary Schultz stated, ‘‘We understand that there is no statutory or regula tory requirement for the Justice Department to pro ceed with an investigation of SWAPO at this time. Registered foreign agents are not routinely investi gated at fixed intervals Some are not investigated at all.” Mr. Woodard of the Justice Department, in a telephone call informed us that nothing on the investi gation has been done as of now. He stated that SWAPO registered with the Justice Department in 1965 as a foreign agent. No fixed date has been set for gte investigation. A South AJh can inspired group called Citizens for A Free Nam bia filed a suit against SWAPO, calling SWAPO a Soviet inclined organiza zation Mr. Woodard said the Citizens for Free Nami bia group has no authority to file such a A call to the State ment failed to comm i the investigation.
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Sept. 16, 1982, edition 1
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