Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / April 26, 1984, edition 1 / Page 2
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Color Of Politics? While American historians may never adequately document the issue, the nearly 350 years of slavery, segregation and dis crimination imposed on our na tion’s black citizens have left deep psychological and emotion al scares on both black and white people. The most visable evi dence of these scares can be seen in the income and rate of un employment gaps between blacks and whites, and in the -forces that appear to be shaping and influencing contemporary politics. « is a ciear ana well docu mented fact that for every dol lar the typical American white family earns, a black family earns only 59 cents, down from 61 cents in 1970. Furthermore, unemployment among blacks consistently is twice that of whites. In the area of politics, there is a disturbingly high percentage of white voters in the nation who will not vote for a black candidate for public office no matter how well qualified he or she might be. This in turn has led many, too many, black voters to be overcome with a feeling of a moral obligation to support a black political can didate purely for reasons of race or skin color. These unfortunate political realities are the basis for the alleged political pres sures being placed on Char lotte mayor Harvey Gantt. Reverse Racism We applaud and support Mayor Gantt in his objective judgement to stand by his con victions to attend the Democra tic National Convention as an uncommitted delegate for the Presidency. The group of N.C. black political tea<Ws who have endorsed Jesse Jackson have every right to do so. Hpwever, for to be critical of Mr. Gantt for not doing likewise, or as has been reported, to suggest that Gantt would be put on a political “hit list” and that black support for Eddie Knox, Gantt’s choice for Governor, would be withheld is the worse form of blunt, revers# political racism. It is difficult enough to know that in spite of Mr. Gantt’s unequivocal qualifications for the Office of Mayor, 60 percent of the white people who voted did not support him, and now for blacks to suggest possible non support in the future because Gantt does not submit to their wishes is ludicrous. ——What all this \n n nfTf too new and a damaging force in American politics that is too often encouraged by the white news media. This damaging force is in the efforts of too many white and black political acti vists to build black political office candidates purely on a so-called black issues basis and ' to make the candidates’ race, or skin color, the real issue. White segregationists used the race issue in the past as a political . weapon not only to hold blacks back but also to divert poor and often ignorant whites from de manding better conditions for themselves. In these hopefully enlightened times, we don’t need to deny nor promote support of political can didates based on their race or sex or similar characteristics because such superficial con cerns leave too little time, if any _ at all, to address the real issues confronting all citizens ranging from nuclear war, adequate health care, unemployment, edu cational values, traffic., conges tion, urban decay, and crime. Hade Leadership One result of promoting or exposing a candidate, along racial lines, and the consequenc es of such action is clearly seen in Jesse Jackson’s candidacy. - First, while the nation’s black leaders were attempting to ad dress the advantage and or disadvantages of a black Pre sidential candidate, Jesse Jack son decided that he would be that candidate (without an official primary and certainly no run off primary). One result of his actions has been Bttie criticism from blacks for the moral rea sons noted, and little criticism irom whites for fear of being called racists. Now Jackson, with aj , little of no fount** notion’s pre-Jacksoi# $ black leadership, is proposing to attack the run-off primary sys tem. Again, there is a largely silent voice from among the nation’s black leadership while the issue could lead to a bolt from the Democratic Party by whites and further assure the reelection of Ronald Reagan. There is no doubt the need to change the run-off primary sys tem but there still needs to be some form of a national black strategy on issues of a mag nitude that may affect the po litical and economic welfare of blacks for years to come. ~" " ■ • | . ■ ; LEADERSHIP m THE, BLACK COMMUNITY/ **' * ' - _._tn'iililli 3 il r h'i fo* m P Tbon’s Knowledgeable On Issues April IS. 1M4 The Charlotte Post P. O. Box M144 Charlotte. N.C. 28230 Dear Mr. Johnson: How difficult is it to write an objective letter to the editor when your husband is running for Congress. I just want to be sure you know the qualities which so many people feel make Ben the obvious choice for the 9th District Congressional seat, and also to point out some differences between Ben and Us County Com ' which Carolina tick is truly Im pressive. His leadsnUp abilities have been proven over and over again is Us legislative experience. Ben’s advice is sought after in the General Assembly, and many a legislator and association leader have told me how impressed (bey are by Us ability to cut. to the core of a pro blem. This may be one of the reasons he was named by journalists and legisla tors as this session’s most effective freshman senator and was ranked in the top ten of the House. "* ." Ben is not only intel ligent, but he has, and uses, his gift of common sense. He istotally honest, has great integrity, and a very great capacity for work. Susan Green's re peated statement that she is the “hardest working candidate" is absurd. I’m sure that Harriet Martin ■and I would be happy to debate her on that Susan arrives late and leaves early for many of the can didates’ forums. Obviously her busy schedule leaves her no time to stay and listen to the people she proposes to represent . Ben is as forthright in his personal life. He dm not resort to emotional ploys such as Susan’s “lt’i fam ily time” theme, which she uses in Pineville, Uncoin ton, or wherever she hap pens to be, and which I find insulting not only to my intelligence, but to the., voters of the 9th District. Neither does Ben orches trate events to gain per sonal media attention. He is directly honest with the voters, and presents Ms case with facts and figures which no other candidate seems able to produce. Ben is noted in our delegation, and the General Assembly for his ability to work with people, unlike Susan Green, whom fellow Coun ty Commissioners describe as difficult to wrack with. Ben’s 12 years in the le gislature have been traln tng. hhn for thta jnh -_ training which no other candidate has. 9/bkf better endorsement of Ben couW'I give other than to say after 12 years of marriage, 1 am STILL im pressed. Roma Wornall Tison •• ■ . * s : . GBMPC Endorses Grif^n Letter To Editor The Charlotte Poet P. O. Box 30144' Charlotte, NC 28230 Dear Mr: The Session (governing body) o# Memorial Pres byterian Church baa taken action to endorse Mr. Ar- ’ tbur Griffin for election to the Charlotte-Mecklehburg Board of Education. Mr. Griffin and his family are members of our church. We feel that Mr. Griffin has a serious and sincere con cern for the educational program of our area. He has sound ideas, and be is able to speak plain ly about those ideas. We invite our fellow citizens to give him an opportunity to serve on this vital board. Rev. Edward B. Newberry THE CHARLOTTE POST | • • THE PEOPLE’S NEWSPAPER” Established 1918 Published Every Thursday by The Charlotte Post Publishing Co., Inc. Subscription Rate $17.68 Per Year Second Class Postage No. 965500 Postmaster Send 3579s to: 1531 Camden Rd., Charlotte, N.C. 28203 Telephone: 704*376-6496 Circulation: 11,023 106 Years of Continuous Service Bill Johnson Editor, Publisher Bernard Reeves General Manager Fran Farrar Advertising Directoflfe Dannette Gaither • Office Manager ISecoodCTass Postage Nd. BMR 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 pm., Monday. All photos and copy submitted become the property of The Post and will not be returned. National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers. Inc. MSS 8 Michigan Ave. 45 W. 45th 81.. Strife 1453 Chkagn. III. SSSIS New YSrfc. New Yerli ISS3S Cetotnet I 1555 11T 155 Ilia From Capitol HiU Black strength Disturbs Whites? Alfreds L. Madison Special To The Peat Whenever blacks step out of the crucible in which whites have placed them or when they act contrary to the white’s mythical views of them, many white folks become so frustrated that they look for straws to support their distorted opinions. All blacks who have failed to be eternally re legated to the outmoded antiquated inequitable path laid out for them have been victims of assaults, innuendoes and trumped up cnarges. WEB. DuBote, Adam Powell, Martin Luther Kir*, Mal colm X the NAACP are Just a few of those who have fallen into that vicious category. So naturally it's Jesse Jackson’s time now. Especially it this true, since Jesae Is saying some thing different from any political person on the scene today. He is shock ing people’s conscience to the unjust treatment of people in this coiaitry and awakening in them the •surdity of our insane fo reign military policy. Jesae is making the overlooked Urft-outs aware that this land is their land too. Ha is arousing them to utilize their voting power. Rev. Jackson is ipntnrtii* " a message that peace cannot be attained by killing a majority of the people hoping that the remaining Alfred* L. Madia** ‘cw win vc scarea into submission. He offers a plan of deal inn hjstlv with all nation*, through realizing their rights, eco nomic aid and negotiations Naturally a policy that makes this kind of sense is everyone realizes that America’s present nuclear build-up, with its reliance on military solutions, seems leading to world human destruction. AD of this talk about Rev. Jackson’s caDing Jew* Hymie* which be has ex plained to the Jewish people, together with Rev. Fsrrakhan’s statement are in reality a " stop Jesse tactic.” AD reporters usually rush to be the first to report an important story.- Why did Milton Coleman wait two weeks before reporting the Hymie story? In the Washington Poet April a, Coleman reported that he only made known the Hy mie story to a colleague after it was reported that Mack politicians, including Jackson, had a problem with getting financial sup port from Jews. Did Cole man consider, after learn ing that blacks were not getting money from Jews, to release the story be cause he considered it to be an obstacle to Jewish fi nancial support? So be made the story known Just before the New England primary. Was the timing to report late news, to affect Jackson’s financial support or to influence voters? tneru-agan flominiBira tlon and media cry far Rev. Jackson to disassociate himself from Rev. Far rakhan has been Mown all out jM- proportion. Jfcr. Farr a khan says that his statement was distorted. He made the statement In Chicago in February. Why did It surface )ust before the New York primary? This was 30 days later. Was The Post providing pro tection for Coleman during those days? AD of the al legations seam to be rhe torical so no crime has been committed. While no one can endorse violence, it will be wise for the media to find out the good that Rev. Farrakhan has dans. Just one example would be to visit the Temple of Islam at 110th Street and Lenox Avenue in New York. The Muslims who have not taken part in the political affairs, paved the street i themselves around the Temple, which houMS a school, temple, market and one at the cleanest and beit looking restaurants in the city. Muslims have theta own factories, farms, wholesale businesses. They have taken black youths off the street, some were ad dicts, some who have been jslled, schooled them, given them Jobs and turned them into profitable dti sens. This is the first time the Muslims have been known to take part In the voting process. Should the entire nation stop thorn from exercising their chrtc duty because of one mis take? Will Rev. Jackson or anyone rfsti lirn .any.. 15,000 or more voters? Jackson is right in de nouncing Rev. Far rskhan's statement of vio lence. He is also right in / negotiating peace between Coiemaa and Fahrakhan, instead of making R a white media event. Jesse Jackson said it all when he stated that be did not agree with Rev. Far rakhan's statements; that He had tried to get the matter settled between Coleman and Farrakhan without making it a media event. Morally, be saldf God forgives us When we sin. Re separates the sin from the sinner, and that He con tinues to love us and stays with us. t- VI • Sabrina’s column, “Scope” will return in this position next week. Blacks Issue Call For -Tim Two prominent black leaders have called for a reaffirmation of the coalition between .blacks and Jews. In separate appearances^— '•rfuthorJ^Qger Wilkins and H. Carl McCall, Gomijjjsdffitt’ foe New Yorfc State vision or'Hiim§4 Rights, stressed tbP communities’ shored goals of equality and social justice and called for a strengthening of the coalition between the two groups. “We blacks and we Jews (have) , to And the path back together again,” Mr; Wilkins said in a keynote address at the New York State Division of Human Rights confer* ence on the “State of Human Rights In New York State” in Albany in March. • “In this era of candidates with blow dried hair who tell you that we need new ideas, the black-Jewish coalition may sound like a very old idea, but it was a damn gqod idea because it was the strongest engine for social justice this country has ever known,” Mr. Wilkins declared. He pointed that while blacks and Jews may have their problems, they are united by ties that are for more important than thosq which divide them. “By God,” be said, “we ought to And ways to put us back, together.in the interest s those things that, we all care about so much.” Echoing this theme, Commissioner Mc Call, in a speech- before the B’nai B’rith Gideon Lodge in Albany, said thAt ‘‘There is ample evidence to indicate that the common friendship between blacks and Jews is as strong today as when blacks and Jews joined hearts and hands to form the NAACP and marched, sang, bled and died together during the long, hard days of the civil rights movement. Frequently, those, who proclaim there is an increase in tensions between the two cnmmunittea are those who would enthusiastically endorse a rupturein a black-Jewish coalition.” ! Commissioner McCall said that evidence shows mat blacks fed more of an affinity with Jews than with any other white religious or ethnic group. Similarly, he saidfa in recent electoral races involving blaet candidates, Jews gave the black candidate more support than any other white ethnic group. In Chicago, for instance, the Jewish vote for Harold Washington was twice the overall white vote, even though Washing, ton’s opponent was Jewish. McCall also pointed out-the reciprocal side of this joint effort, by citing black voter support for Elizabeth Holtzman when she ran suc cessfully for Brooklyn district attorney and for the first Jewish congresswoman from Alabama, who was elected in 19B0. commissioner McCall said that even if reports of black-Jewish ruptures are “mis represented and exaggerated,” both com mumues nave a respoT jty "to be alert “ to potential points of friction and to maintain a friendship and coalition leased od mutual respect.” “Blacks must be on the alert for expre* sions of anti semitism within the black community, not only repudiating such expressions but also re-educating and sensi tizing those who harbor such thoughts,” he said. “By the same token, members of the Jewish community should not automatical ly equate policy disagreements emanating from the blade communinty with anti semitism,” Commissioner McCall added. “The common and shared goals of both the black and Jewish communities ar4 equal opportunity, fairness, equity and the eradication of all forms of discrimination in the Cause of achieving justice and equality. And friends who have mutual* respect f<& one another and must continue to work ’nr' coalition together in pursuit of those goals. ” he said. Kroger Pharmacists Join.. Ageinst Drug Abu* ' ■ . . ; Kroger Pharmacists are now available for speaking engagements at school*, col leges, PTA and.other organisations' meet- ■ mgs in this community. The Kroger Company announced this week that it wHl Jo*p in the promotion of a national campaign foundation -ailed ***« D™* Ab<® Fo®. . This foundation (PADA) is being JL)Dort ad by all state pharmaceutical assod&tions in cooperation with ACTION, thenattonal yohmteer aaeocy, McNeil Pharmaceutical and the Johnson and Johnson family of companies, and It jf endorsed by Nancy * . > »
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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