The End Of Reason?
During the histone civil rights struggles
of the 1960s most Black Americans ancTtfieir
non-black supporters subscribed to the late
Dr. Martin Luther King’s philosophy of non
-Violence and President Lyndon B. Johnson’s
;call to “let’s reason together’’ as a method
I for penetrating the consciousness of the
‘nation to do and act in a morally and
spiritually right way by expanding equal
opportunity to all Americans regardless of
their race, creed, color or national origin.
c
"More recently sex - women’s rights - has
— h»«n aririori In ovpnnding oqnnl nppnrtimi.
ly
* —.
> These calls for forgiveness and reason_
‘among Blacks having grown and impatient •
from violent attacks,, and even death,
—nevertheless won over the minority of
militant young Black radicals who support
ed the “meet violence with violence”
philosophy and the use of gasoline bombs (a
bottle full of gasoline with a wet rag stuck in
the end, lit with a match and thrwwn t—
unsuspecting target) as thetf calling card.
While the struggle for justice and equal
opportunity is never-ending, substantial
progress has been made. Significantly, too,
progress has been made because our
and understanding can and do result in
lasting change for the betterment of all. _
“We have made these observations out of
a growing awareness that the reverse of our
nation’s progress in civil rights is taking
place in South Africa, a nation rich in
natural resources and a vast majority
Black population ruled bv a small minority
of whites.
Violent unrest over the past 30 to*45 days
in South Africa has exposed for the world to
see an indepth anger and emerging frustra
tion by that nation’s nine million urban
Blacks and how their discontent offers an
increasing threat to the country’s minority
white regime.
Black Power Source
• ' « V *• ‘ *- , . .
Daily clashes between Black youth and
the police have resulted in injuries, death
and imprisonment which simply increases
Black protest. Nearly 100,000 Black stu
dents have continued to boycott class over
the issue of an inferior education. Black
workers, severely hurt by a three-year
recession, have grown militant. Nearly
90,000 gold miners went on strike in Sep
tember in a quest for higher pay and to
establish their union as a Black power
source.
; South African Blacks, more liberal
whites and even some conservative Afri
;kaner (white people) supporters of Presi
dent D. W. Botha’s government warn that
.the continued alienation of urban Blacks is
wrong and can only lead to national
self-destruction. Ernie Wentzel, chairman
of the South African Institute of Race
Relations, put the issue in proper per
spective when he said. “Violence is the
t V 1
"•— • ■ ■ —
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New Federalism Needs Community Participation
By Alfred* L. Madison
Special To The Post
. .The 1967 race riots were caused by
economic deprivation and continued
racism. An array of national leaders
met later that year to find a pre
scription to prevent a recurrence of
the ’67 summer. This group formed
the National Urban Coalition.
Carl Holman, who was one of the
founders of the organization, and the
present head, said, “Moat of the
problems are still around. The dif
ference now is that there is perhaps
less urgency." Holman contends
that the organization’s goals have
not been met. Instead of a compre
hensive policy, there has been a kind
of a stop and go policy. When one
administration starts to do some
thing, another one comes in and
changes the name. If it keep* the
policy.
“We haven’t had a coherent urban
policy in this country,’’ said Hol
man. He blames the Reagan ad
ministration for sending chills down
the spines of minority and poor
Americans and thousands of local,
political and community-baaed offi
cials who attempt to work on their
behalf.
The 60's revolution gave expec
tations of a change, but those
expectations have been changed to a
more somber pragmatic reading of
what la possible. Holman stated,
“whaL—Jm« BOW li compeytipn
for a mow modest dollar outlay
There is the feeling that if you are
going to deal with the fiscal pro
blems, the infrastructure and hu
man needs, when both parties want
to spend much more mohey on
defense, the room for maneuvering
Is so much smaller. In such a
political climate people would
raiher not think what the problems
Alfreds L. Madison
are.”
Urban £MSlitlon assists communi
ty-based organizations in profit
making, ventures: Especially If this
activity is necessary because of the
cut-becks in the new Federalism. It
also serves as an urban information
bank, which acts as a catalyst which
seeks to improve ties between
groups of minorities.
The National Urban Coalition,
recently published findings of the
New Federalism and the state
response in implementation of the
program.
Four states were selected for the
study. These particular states were
chosen because of their different
regional locations. They were:
South Carolina. Texas, Michigan i
and California. The .Reagan block
grant funds were reduced by so i
percent, at the same time giving the •
state governments increased discre
tionary power to allocate, manage
and target funds among the desig
nated programs. Although many 1
states supplemented the federal 1
cuts, entitlement programs’ cuts
which affected the poorest popu
lations were not replaced by state <
* * 9*
wages of apartheid (segregation). Petrol
(gasoline) bombs have become the stock in
trade of some political organizations.
V
Among whites, there should be a great fear
of a political jihad (war) on the streets...
because the alienation of Black youth has
grown to the point where many no longer
care for their own lives...”
Black political activists agree; but
unlike America, the possibility of imprison
ment without a trial for speaking out causes
them to be nameless and faceless voices of
disseniLiielenSuzman, a libera] represen
tative in the South African parliament and
an opponent ortheBbthagbvefnrheht.calls
the turmoil “a spiral of violence, injury,
death and even more repression.”
Dr. Ntatho Mortlana, a prominent Black
Soweto physician and community leader,
has commented that, “The complete dis
enfranchisement and exclusion from all
decision-making bodies compels'the Black
man to vote with a petrol (gasoline) bomb.”
% ■ •* -, •»
Shame Suppression
Since South African whites have not
learned from our nation’s expeilenoe. wfat
might we learn from them and their
shahneful suppression of Blacks?
First, the continuing insensitivity of the
South African government to the needs,
wants, and civil rights of the vast ma
jority of their Black citizens is a tragic
reminder of the never-ending struggle and
pursuit nf justice and equal opportunity
Secondly, when a people are persistently
denied their rights and feel that every
aspect of their sense of human dignity is
continually being eroded, the loss of life
itself becomes a small price to pay for
trying to right wrongs and to leave a
glimmer of hope for their off-spring if even
hope dared be thought of. -.
Thirdly, when due process of law is totally
biased, there is no law for some and-or
oppression 4s the only rule for some people
over others, anarchy then becomes the
ruler- thus the use of gasoline fire bombs by
South African Blacks.
Fortunately, we Americans, black and
white, rich and poor, racists (black and
white) have learned to agree to disagree
with a sense of social order with the broader
framework of our democratic society. Let
us be reminded, however, that it took a Civil
War, many legal and court battles and the
agony of the 1960s to get us where we are ~
today, and yet, the struggle goes on.
In observing developments in South
Africa, let us hope and pray that we are not
seeing a reflection of ourselves as an
increasingly conservative Supreme Court
seeks to turn back the hands of time on civil
rights progress;
_ ^mS-ttWHATWCtAN OONOW ~
HE BEST DEFENSE:
AGAINSTRATS IS A
GARBAGE CAN WITH THE
UPON TlGHT'^s—^
rrinrfflinr^^^
West Tiling Father Can Do Ftti* His QtBdren?
By Sabrina Johnson
“Hie best thing a father
can do for his children is love
their mother.”
Dr. Leon Saul
The quote raises a great
many questions in the minds
of divorced and widower
fathers. Questions such as
how can I do what is best for
my children if I do not love
their mother? Dr. Saul was
correct in saying that chil
dren do need to know love
exists between their parents.
Openly seeing parental
love does help to reduce
narcissistic disorders. Chil
dren who do not experience
this phenomenon today are
tomorrow’s new breed of
patients with narcissistic
disorders. They find it dif
ficult to realize that other
people have rights - or the
basic definition of being ci
vilized.
In the beginning the child
is a self-centered being. As
he grows he realizes that a
special bond exists between
his parents. The brief ex
planation is part of a monu
mental stage the child rhas
reached. Realizing and see
ing that two people can have
a relationship totally inde
pendent of him. This con
cept brings together the con
cept of civilization and emo
Sabrina
tional connections between
parent and child, and parent
and parent.
As divorce rates continue
to increase the basic foun
dation of family steadily
declines, thus giving the
child little or nothing to build
from. The increased
divorce rate is basically due
to the fact that parents fail to
, maintain fair amounts of
intimacy in the relationship.
In years past parents had
control and stood up in the
family. This was the food for
the child to find himself;
scenario: parents say no, so
the child has something to
push off from. Today parents
rarely say no, thus causing
the child to float from one
side to another with no real
commitment or persistence.
The problem of inconsist
ency within the American
family finds root in the
dollars. The New Federalism has
stimulated competition among the
governor’s office, state legislature
and special groups.
The report found that in Cali
fornia, with a conservative gover
nor, urban interest groups contin
ued to be effective. This was done
largely because of Willie Brown, the
Assembly Speaker. In other states
where constituency groups did not
actively participate in influencing
policy decision at the state level,
cuts in essentia] program funding of
services in some urban areas were
found. These findings show the
necessity for urban interest groups
to participate, actively, in the legis
lative process. It further empha
sized that "Unless city dwellers
become organized, active partici
pants in state politics, there is every
likelihood that urban areas will be
by-passed in favor of rural and su
burban districts, and that the most
needy population -those who are the
least powerful-will receive an even
smaller share of dwindling program
resources.”
Since cities and urban alliances
nave not played the political game,
they lack knowledge of its rules. To
* effective, coalitions must be
ormed between women, blacks,
i is panics and labor union Some
imes they will have to confront
ipenalized interest groups in edu
ction, housing and health agencies
vhich pursue enhancement of theft '
iwn professional empires at the cost
broad based programs. These
roalitlons must Join with black and
llspanic and urban state legists
ive caucuses to promote their
nutual and general interests.
Under any President, states will
Jlay a larger role, and unless
oeiitions develop workable strate
gies with dear priorities at the
state capitals, they will continue to
lose funding and power.
Since states are assuming a larger
role in the administration of direct
payments that benefit low-income
families and individuals, there are
certain issues that stand out. En
titlement programs must be seen as
the most important element in the
block grant package, and reduc
tions and deflation of benefit levels
have adversely affected low-income
families.
The study suggests certain condi
tions for improving block grant
services. These include: citizen
participation mechanisms,
adequate reporting and evaluation
criteria, civil rights assurances,
targeting to populations in need,
with continuation of state general
fund support of broad based pro
grams.
The shift in programs to state
administration requires a renewed
interest in understanding of state
politics and the state bureau
cracy. The National Urban Coali
tion plans to continue to monitor the
block grant programs and to also
give aid to community Organizations
In finding ways to get their fair
share of the funding.
Meet New Friends
WemajtBeach. am»urjs» jb*
panaionof direct service houf».
The Center will be open Monday,
Tuesday and Wednesday nights and
all day Saturday from 10 a.in. to 4
p m for one-to-one counseling and
support groups such as "Fat and
Lonply,” "Sexual Trauma," and
"Mid-Life Divorce,’’ in addition to
the regular program of seminars
and workshops
:V '' . . 5: P 4
competitive society. Family
and parenting are no long
er top priority - personal
success, growth and fulfill
ment are numero uno. In
timacy cannot adequately
take place with allthe com
petition (professional com
petition) going on: each
parent suffers and the child
suffers. No intimacy equals
no home life. That is why
teen suicide is so high and
why "successful” people
commit suicide at the height
-of their careers? They appear
to have everything but really
have nothing.
It is truly difficult to love
without feeling loved as a
child, teen and adult by one’s
parents. So where does the
lack of intimacy leave
children of divorced and
widower fathers? Happy. It
is far better for the children
to live with the fact of se
parated, happy homes than
to live in a together unhappy
home.
Children of divorced fa
milies are not maladjusted
nr psychopathic T^y are
not manic depressives or
drug dealers. They are well
adjusted toughened chil
dren. Toughened to life in
that everything does nor
always work out perfectly.
Well adjusted because they
are independent and respon
sible. Children of widowed
parents suffer a different
kind of loss but most of the
characteristics are the
same.
The children do not feel
deprived because they have
the best of their parents -
parents that are not fighting,
but that are living fulfilled
lives with time - specific time
for parent-child bonding. The
best part of divorce is that
the child learns, first hand,
that good things do not al
ways happen to good people -
that there is joy and pain in
life and that somethings are
inevitable.
So, maybe the best thing a
father can do is not only love
their mother but to give them
the very best foundation, the
most love available, provide
a father-child intimacy and
help them to lead full pro
ductive lives that are based
on realism and not facades.
. Maybe the only way to
have “everything” in life is
to get all you can from one’s
parents. The hold card is
intimacy.
_*J¥2DS5R«slLM ipoWinjfiraatd
to meeting some more new friends
There are no fees or dues - a]|
•ervtce* are freely given and freely
received.
- For more information, call a
WomanReach peer counselor Mon
day-Saturday from 10 a m. to 4 p m.
at 334-3614 - _
WomanReach is an agency of
United Way. 9