What Do We Have To Give Thanks For?
On this Thanksgiving Day in 1984, many
people are wondering why should we be
giving thanks, or what do we have to give
thanks for? These questions should serve to
remind us that Thanksgiving always comes
within the midst of our national problems
whatever they happen to be._
On this Thanksgiving Day 1984 our
national problems of rising federal deficits,
rising unemployment, rising numbers of
people falling below the poverty income
level, and the ever-present danger of a
nuclear war appear to completely over
whelm us. Nevertheless, as a natioh we~
have a traditional sense of hope and an
everlasting faith that things can and will
improve.
This hope and faith was clearly demon
strated in the recent national elections when
the American people, concerned about
these national problems, voted for candi
dates whom they believed would turn our
-^national hopes into progress realities. Un
doubtedly, many black Americans don’t
agree that the elections of 1984 offer hope
and progress Nevertheless, our take-if-for
granted freedom to vote in free elections
and to have a smooth transfer of the powers -
and reigns of government dictated by the
ballot and hot the bullet are something we
should continue to be thankful for.
We should be thankful, too, that in spite
of a national unemployment rate of ovejp 9
percent, and twice that rate for blacks,
Americans have more jobs than evert,
before. While this is no comfort for those
without a regular paycheck, it should offer
hope each person can and will be one of
those who is gainfully employed.
Thanksgiving should be offered, too, for
the fact that with whatever problems most
people have, the vast majority of Ameri
cans will have ample food on the dinner
table this Thanksgiving Day. This'is most
evident when we just think of the drought
and famine that is literally killing thou
sands of people in Ethiopia and other
parts of Africa.
Thanks should be granted to Almighty
- God also for the fact that we are in an era of
peace and not war; we can worship God
freely or not worship Him at all; we can
speak and write freely, as in the case of this
editorial, without fear of government con
trol ; and we can travel freely or change our
places of employment at our own choosing.
•
These are freedoms that too many Ameri
cans assume are rightfully theirs. How
ever, we need to frequently pause and offer
thanks to God because such freedoms still
do not exist in most parts of the world.
These freedoms for whieh we should be
forever thankful, are the telescopes through
which we can see the visions of better
v Thanksgivings in the future: * — -
Thus, Thanksgiving is a unique holiday in
that it causes us to reflect oh our nation's
—past, to have a deeper appreciation for the
present, and to see in the Visions of the
future, a hope for a better tomorrow for
ourselves and our loved ones: Happy
Thanksgiving To All!!
“Daddy” King - A Source For Goodness
• Nearly eVery American is aware of the
deeds and the resulting Nobel Pence Prize
received by the fate Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. whose leadership helped reshape the '
direction of the nation’s civil rights history.
■ t*
What fewer people are aware of is (the
source of the background or general com
mitment to non-violence and peaceful
demonstration that was the foundation of
I&4 King’s mission. ^
’^V\.x';' V' .*■ . . x
~Tbe background force of which we are
speaking is the elder King, Martin Luther
King Sr. Dead at the age of 84, the Rev. King
survived among tragedy. In addition tn the
loss of his famous son, Martin Jr., another
son, A.D. King, drowned in a swimming
PqoI in 1969. Five years later Daddy King’s
wife of nearly 50 years was shotio death in
the church where he pastored.
1 " ‘ "* -*** — - TxL’Jm-m . -1 - • * K
- Throughout these tragedies and the
struggles for justice and equality that led to
his famous son’s death, Daddy King never
embraced bitterness or disillusionment. He
never lost faith in his fellow man. Instead,
. • 1 •
A.JC, ji*.' <, * •. ' “.a, g l f'
"Daddy King took his church’s basic assump
tions of the promise of eternal peace and
justice in a life hereafter and stressed to his
flock that the church can and should be a
force for progressive change on this earth.
While living in the khadow of his famous
son, Daddy King was, nevertheless, a
primary source of spiritual wisdom and
insight from which the young son drew
strength and courage. In fact, Martin Jr.
grew up observing his father providing a
source of comfort and determination to
many Southern blacks who were attempting
to survive the ugly violence of the nation’s
ncacjjim, ——v:» • -
,i-.r v v,. i. *v,r; “V g -■
^ Daddy King, we hope and pray that God
Almighty will give you a secure resting
place as a reward for your dedication and
commitment to the human condition and for
having instilled in yiHir non, Martin Jr thr
qualities^ of greatness. Thank you, Daddy
King, for having been among us because
each of us is, therefore, a better person
because you thought enough to care, to love,
and to sacrifice what you loved.
* ARB WE GOING TO StT ANPLET BLACK COM
MUNITIES CRUMBLE AROUND US? GRASS
ROOTS AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS.,
EMERGE, TO P0R6E A UNITED EFFORT
AGAINST CRIME, NARCOTIC TRAFFICKING,
BLIGHT AND DECAY.
..
. ____
-By Sabrina Johnson
Post Columnist
The Democrats could have
done worse in the election:
- they could have lost, some
seats in the Senate and more
seats than they did in the
House of Representatives.
And they could have lost
Minnesota.
The challenge for the
national Democratic Party is
to increase its appeal to the
white middle class or face
the prospect of a continuous
series of defeats locally and
nationally. The Democrats
ended the 1984 campaign
without a marketable mes
sage, without A geographic
babe, and without a national
leader. But it does have an
abundance of fantastic
would-bedbbders.
It may bit argued that the
Democrats have pot won a
presidential election since
1964 and that Jjjnniy Carter’s
election in 1976 was a Re
publican give away resulting
from the Watergate scan
dal. Aside from that, one
predicament is apparent, the
South has been tost - which
was once the Party’s nation
afbase Future Democrat
tic presidential candidates
may have to give up that
region the way their pre
decessors gave up the West.
Tn Iriftinff pvoru
Sabrina i
state, Mondale received
only 25 percent of the white
Southern vote. In parts of the
South, especially North Caro
lina and .Texas, Reagan’s
' coattail theory wortqed as r
predicted.
In Texas people are talking
seriously about an era of
Party realignment. Predic
tions have been made that
Democratic office holders
will* switch Parties in the
next few years.
the 1980 and 1984 elections
brought only 41 percent of
the popular vote to the
national Democratic' ticket.
However, this time it was a
more liberal 41 percent: In
analysis, the national Party
has been reduced tod-bOse-of
blacks; Jews, white-collar
workers and an upper middle
class elite. Mondale lost a
great many Southern whites
onH larhon PofkAlU
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From Capital HM ^
Blacks And Jewish Relations Remain Unshaken
By Alfreds L. Madison
Special To The Post
During this ’84 campaign, there
has been great subtle efforts to
separate blacks from other minor
ities. Especially, has this been un
dertaken to aivtae IT* Mack and
Jewish communities. This Admin
istration and the media have been
very vigilant in their attempt to ds
so. Both groups tried & make
something of Rev. Jesse Jackson’s
off-the-record Joke about “a lot of
Hymlea in New York.” Rev. Jack
son, realizing that the statement was
mistaken, and had/ become offen
sive, did what any wise person
should do, and that is to go before the
proper people, explain and apolo
gize. These groups tried to make a
great political divisive issue out of
Rev. Louis Farrakban’s statement.
Rev. Farrakhan is only one person
who is not running for any office,
and he even offered to meet with the
Jewish community and explain his
statement which he said was taken
out of context.
Vice President Bush,, in his
attempt to divide the black and
Jewish communities, sounded a
ttftfcling bell when he empha
sized that this Administration will
not tolerate racism, whether it ik by
the Ku Klux Klan or Louis Far
rakhan. He left out the fact that this
Administration’s civil rights rever
sal policies have done more harm to
racial justice and unity than the
Klan, and that Rev. Farrakhan was
only one voice expressing his be
liefs. The Vice President would have
done more to cement good race
relations, had he ignored both of
those factors.
Jewish people who have suffered
discrimination in this country have
been supporters Of blacks who are
' I '
those goals.
ssv * r arraanan s
common quest for peace. Blacks
oppose militarization of our foreign
policy, instead they emphasize
non-violent solutions. They are vtry
supportive of the peace and security
of Israel. Blacks have a growing
concern with reported Israeli-South
African economic and military rela
tions.
Fauntroy cites affirmative action
as a concern for blacks. They hold
belief that historical wrongs must be
remedied and that affirmative ac
tion is one major court-sanctioned
avenue for legal redress of his
torically enforced affirmative dis
crimination. Jews view quotas in
the light that it was once used a gains
them. It placed a ceiling on Jew.
ish participation With them it was
used as an exclusionary tactic, but
blacks view quotas as inclusion in
the mainstream, when all else has
failed, v
Rev. Faun troy shows that blacks
and many Jewish people are work-,
ing together. Especially is this true
in Congress The Black Caucus Al
ternative Budget always gets great
Jewish support. They heartily sup
port Congressman Augustus Haw
kins’ Job Creating Community
Renewal Act, H.R. 1086. Jewish con
gressmen have shared with mem
bers > of the Coijpfssiofial Black
Caucus in the struggle against ra
cist, South Africa J Faun troy sees
evidence that the relationships be
tween the black community and the
Jewish community are moving from
charity to parity. Ha says, “We can
not only discuss that oa'Which we
agree, but we can now talk with each
other about that which we disagree
in an atmosphere based upon mutual
respect, dialogue and cooperation."
Some Jewish people have fallen
pry to the Reagan Administration’s
attempt ft> arouse Jewish Ire by
constantly citing an emotional issue
over the Farrakhan statement and
its tremendous effort to kill Jesse
Jackson’s influence*^ emphasizing
the Hymie statement
— Babbi Arthur In a New
York Times article Stated that the
rich usually vote their pbcketbookfci
However, despite the econdrNircbd
social rise of Jews, minylf them
continue to vote with the "have
nots.” He said, “today, a growing
number of middle class Jews are in
revolt against such liberalism They
want to protect their class interest
as haves, through alliance with the
exreme right They see little reason
to resist prayers in public schools or
an anti-abortion amendment. Even
the emergence of a right-wing
Christian America, would be a
cheap price to pay for support for
Israel as a bastion of anti-Com
munism.” The Rabbi states that
their call for Jews' economic and
social success, is a minority view
He emphasized that without the
social programs of the New Deal,
many Jews could not have Con
tinued t heir-education He spoke of
how these special programs are now
blacks, Hispanic* and other
nfltwwes and that the majority of
the Jewish community, which was
once the outsiders, cannot afford to
join the forces of selfishness. They
belong with those who cared about
them when they were friondkss
Rabbi Hertzberg says thah any
one who recalls the moral and po
litical reasons which created Is
rael should reject the fundamen
talists who cast it as the major
factor in Armageddon sad the self
styled political realists who see it
leading anti-Soviet interests in the
Middle East
* *
who voted for Carter in 1976.
These are two of the major
streams of historic Democra
tic support and they are
disappearing from tho Do
mocratic Party.
In the mid 1960’s the Party
lost much of its appeal to
such voters when it pushed
through costly social pro
grams. It lost more appeal
during the Carter years when
inflation was high and the
economy in chaos. The Party
has lost its economic cre
dibility. ;
The odds are that the na
tional Party will make tran
sition from the New^ Deal
liberalism of Walter MoJWffle^
to the more moderate neo
liberalism of Sen. Gary
Hart. The result could be a
Party more committed to
social justice and compas
sion, but Iess^ eager to use
government as I tool for
growth and fis&d responsi
biiity. .
The Democrats peed to
repudiate the past and move
toWa Kis^jii^Uwvofers
will draw strength from the
past. The pattern in Ameri
can politics since World War
II suggests that-Bemocrats
!lave * chahcp at recaptur
ing the Senate In 1986 and
possibly the White House in
1W8, When Reagan will not
be on the presidential bal
lot. Maybe they will do well -
since Ronald Reagan was a
long shot and remains the
most conservative and ideo
logical President; la modern
American history, _/
RonaTd Pteagati won 49
states and 59 percent of the
vote. He ran as. an incum
bent in a time of peace and
BBS**®
jftMicsaihy
Nunane
■1 0
formation t
trolina Regj
Drive, Ch2ri*«e,
words or more «i
selected to attend
<C) Two iamrtf^
January 2,
mentof the
1985. Fori
537-5776, 8:90a.m.