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Affirmative Action lg Needed
Two rocont dovolopmonti involving affir
mative aotion that appear to be in conflict in
dicate how for we have come in gaining jus
tice and equality and how for we still need to
go before believing we live in a nation of
sincere equal opportunity for all.
w* flrat William Raspberry's reoent
Washington Post article in which he quotes a
black University of Virginia law student as
saying, "Affirmative action was a way to
dilute our personal victory. It took the victory
out of out hands. I see this well-intended, lib
eral-white-student-afflrmative-action pjan
as an intrusion." bayna Bowen Matthew,
the first black student admitted to the Uni
versity of Virginia Law Review, a schorlar
ly journal, reportedly made this statement
after concluding that her apparent competi
“icess against white students for ad
:to "Law Review" was aided by a
- affirmative action plan of the
^ .. m - members. Until this action ,
good grades in class work or writing compe
tition were two of the three paths to "Law Re
view" membership.
The third path to membership on the schol
•riV journal, and the path that caused
"bittersweet victory," evaluate students on
the basis V "personal statements." This re
fers to how a particular student's presence
would "enhance the diversity of the "Law
Review" on the basis of race, national ori
ph1' Jcal*hand .kECk*roun<*’ experience, or
Raipborty says that Matthew and two other
black students had successfully completed
the first phase of the two-part writing compe
— the new affirmative action rule
mid therefore "they can console
; they would have made it
concession." He then adds
its that fbllow them, par
write their way on, will
they mitfit have fired in
i. And more to the point, so
-to which they will apply for
Jobt** Partly through^ the honor of being a
Mr. Raspberry then offers his punch line:
l-The glaring danger of the new (affirmative
action) plan is that it will cast doubt on the
true qualifications of all blacks who make
"Law^Review," no matter how qualified they
Joy And Sadness
This development end Mr. Raspberry's
concluding comment are wortfiy of both joy
and sadness. The joy comes from knowing
that justice and equality have advanoed to
the point that some blacks feel sufficiently
confident to compete in the larger society
without any special assistance. We certain
ft** the feelings and belie* of Ms.
fe. ihe other black students and Mr.
■^.Jwwkvtfc it is sad to have to won
they forgotten that it waa affirma
tive action mandates, federal civil rights
laws and similar actions that opened the
doors for black dtisens to even be admitted to
the University of Virginia no matter how ac
ademically talented. Again, we reaffirm the
right of Ms. Matthew and follow students to
foel that thdr efforts have been diluted by the
affirm stive action policy, but what really
counts is what they do now that they are "Law
Review" members. Good grades, writing
competition or affirmative action are only
part of the true worth of the students. It is
rather what these students as individuals, be
they black or white, contribute to the "Law
Review" and eventually to the larger sodety
through their employers in the foture that
really matters.
Mindful Of Broader View
Ms. Matthews' concern fbr her individual
achievement is admirable but we also must
be mindftil of the broader value and need for
affirmative action. That is, we continue to
need such preferential treatment programs
because of continued racism in America. A
second development involving affirmative
action confirms our belief. Last week, in a 5
4 decision the U.8. Supreme Court upheld a
plan to require that black applicants get half
of all the promotions among Alabama's state
troopers. The Court's majority opinion was
that such strict measures were needed to
remedy "pervasive, systematic and obsti
nate" racial discrimination in the Alabama
public safety department
Author of the majority opinion, Justice
William Brennan, emphasized that the state
of Alabama had repeatedly refined to hire or
promote blacks. He wrote, "For almost four
decades, the Department (of Public Safety)
has excluded blacks from all positions, in
cluding jobs in the upper ranks. (This) dis
criminatory conduct...created profound
need and a firm justification for the race
conscious relief ordered by the district
court" Again, the success of this effort will
be best evaluated by how well the blacks who
benefited by such job quotas perform their as
signed duties.
We hope that Mi Matthews and her class
mates can recognize this real World reality
of the significance of and continued need for
affirmative action programs. Furthermore,
to suggest that affirmative action dilutes the
sense of personal achievement for tha indi
vidual is a narrow-minded, selfish view
point It is also part of an amsiging conflict
among black citizens concerned with their
personal individual achievements and the
broader need for the collective achievement
opportunities of the national black commu
nity.
Affirmative action is no substitute for
competence in the University of Virginia's
1«w Review," the Alabama state troopers or
anywhere else.
Affirmative action programs continue to
he needed now and will be for some time into
the fbture.
As I See It:
OAA Tournament Observations
By Gerald O. Johneon
The 42nd C.I.A.A. is over
and for all intent and purpos
es, it was another successful
campaign. The tournament
has become the grandest
Black sporting event in the
country. The festivities sur
rounding the tournament
have become bigger than the
games themselves. One
gentleman explaining how
much fun he had during the
event was asked how he had
enjoyed the games. The
gentleman replied "what
games?" The questioner re
sponded, "the basketball
games." The gentleman re
sponded with amazement,
"there is basketball, too -
wow I";
Then there is the story of
the gentleman who arrived at
the tournament early Wed
nesday and proceeded drink
ing heavily. By game time he
was out. He slept until the
next morning at which time
he proceeded drinking again.
By game time he was out and ,
lpce the previous night, he
slept through the games.
This process continued
straight through the tourna
ment At check out time, he
was asked by the hotel’s
front desk clerk how he en
joyed the tournament. His re
ply, "it was gfeat, I can't
wait dl next year." . i
Though the fanfare sur
rounding the tournament is
something to behold, there is
a serious side to all this hoo
pla. The four day extrava
ganza is about basketball.
Unfortunately, the least or
ganized part of the total event
is with the games. Several
points of concerns surfaced
as I observed what was go
ing on with the tournament
itself.
One fact that stands out like
a sore thumb is the advantage
area teams have in the tourna
ment. Digging back in my
tournament history books,
IVe found that over the last
ten years while the games
have been played in Virginia,
a Virginia team has won eight
of the ten contest, Winston
Salem and Elizabeth City
were the only non-Virginia
teams to get a win over this
span of time. However, Eli
zabeth City is within a close
proximity of Virginia and
should be counted with the
Virginia teams. They are con
sidered a northern division
I THE CHARLOTTE POST I
"n» P^oplV* Ntwtpapw*
100 Ymt>
OfOontfnttom0fvie>
Miller Sayit
Black History Month Is An American Celebration
By Sherman N. Millar
■pedal To The Boat
Although America's ml*
norlty group peoples have
made great itiides In gaining
aeoess to her bounty, racial
segregation of the heart still
remains an American trage
dy. But the Methodist Church
Is eaperimentlng with -Wra
dal programs between Its pre
dominantly black and white
churches to bridge this last
great radal chasm. -
Churches In both the States
of Delaware and Maryland
recently joined In the celebra
tion of Black History Month
which afforded many white
parishioners an opportunity to
gain an appredatlon for the
unique culture of black Amer
icans. The program was host
ed by Aldersgate United Meth
odist Church of Wilmington,
Dl. a predominantly white
congregation. It was called a
'Celebration of Spirituals U.N
Bov. Dr. James T. Say
mour, putor of Baton Mount
Carnal Unitad Mathodiat
Church of Wilmington, Dl,
aat tho ataga. Ha told the ap
proximately 1.000 people In at*
tendanae that they would
ahare in tha Blaak History
Month celebration. His tone
made it alear that thie would
not bo merely a atodgy goapel
Three blaak lad tea, ainglng
a oappalla, get the audienee
into the mood to hear blaak
nmole tuna with great emo
tion. Alderagate's ohoir
chimed in to dote out thee
blade ladies without a signifi
cant loss in soul in the transi
tion,
As the evening progressed,
approximately 30% of the peo
ple elapped their hands to the
rhythm of the music. White
people sang stereotypical
black songs <e.g., "Ain't Oot
Time To Die") with great
emotion. Black and white
choirs sanff emotionally to
gether yet they displayed
grace and dignity.
The senith of the evening
same when everyone rose to
sing "Lift Every Voice," the
Black American anthem. It
was given the respect of a na
tional anthem..
I wondered what these
whites felt about celebrating
Blaok History Month and lit*
toning to Blaok Spiritual Mu*
ole. I was taken aback when
one lady told me the Spiritual
"la part of my heritage."
This lady also pointed out
that "Whites have lost the
emotionalism. Sverythlng Is
logical or Intellectual.”
Another person did not see
Black Jflstory Month as sole*
ly a Blaok American celebra
tion, "Black History Month Is
a human celebration."
On my way out of Aldari
gato Mothodlit Ohuroh, I
hoard two oldorly whlto ladioi
tinging tho Blaok Spiritual!
whilo walking tb tholr oar. I
atkod thorn why thoy woro
tinging thooo oongo. "It
brlngo out tho omotiono," ro
pliod ono of thorn. Thit lady
taw tho puaalod look on my
fooo. "It makoa you forgot any
toniiono," tho oontinuod.
1 wantod to probo hor moro,
but tho again road my
thoughto and wont on to os«
plain hor oommonto. Bho oaid
•ha earn* to ehuroh with a
fraat mantal burdan and tha
•motional an pari onto aeeom
panying tha Blaok Spiritual,
upliftad har apirit Tha glaam
in har ayaa waa aa a 10-yaar*
old thild who waa a birthday
girt.
In raeounting my dlaana
•ion. with thaaa whita pariahi
onara, it waa elaar that few
whita. have an appraaiation
for bliok Americana' contri
bution. to tha general welfare
of tho USA. When I told a
group that black* discovered
tho traffic signal and the gac
mask they were in aw.
Let us hope the Methodist
ChuroH continues to enhance
integration of the heart by us*
ing its clout to truly merge
Black History into American
History.
Supreme Court
. - * v * ■' • • '
Removes Doubt
New York, NY • The Supreme
Court’s opinion removes ell doubt
ee to the permissibility of raeial*
ly-based numerical foals for pro*
motlng black citlsens in ritua
tions where there has been a pact
history of severe discrimination.
Numerous lower courts have
ruled in support of the practice)
now it has the approval of the
highest court in the land.
Mere broadly, the decision is
yet another validation of the race
conscious affirmative remedies
which the Reagan Administra
tion has worked so fervently to
turn around. v. . . .
Or apodal dgnifloanoo la th*
Court’* approval ot a numerical
remedy who** Impodtion may
*ii**o4 th* ultimata goal - that I*,
it * OK to hir* Uaak paepla at th*
rata of 80% if that la what'* n**a*>
•ary t* bring about a work faroa
that 1* 98% percent black. That
■uch a remedy i* appropriate la*
dioata* th* importance of apaad
with regard to ram»diaa.fbr di**
•ri ml nation. Thia daciaion re
move* yet on* more barrier fa
equal opportunity.
team.
I think It would be fairer to
alternate the Cities on some
sort of cycle basis between
Southern Division Cities and
Northern Division Cities.
This way southern Division
schools could receive some of
the advantages of playing at
or near home. Charlotte,
Greensboro, Chapel Hill, and
possibly Winston Salem are
all cities capable of handling
the tournament from a South
ern Division perspective.The
logistics of doing this is not
easy, but it would fair to give
this serious consideration.
The Southern Division
Schools should insist on a
plan to make this happen.
Another shortcoming of the
tournament is the officiating.
Whether or not the officiating
is poor is not the question
here. The question is why
subject the tournament to neg
ative critisms when it could be
easily avoided, biased offi
ciating should never be an is
sue with a tournament of this
calibre. To eliminate any ar
guments about cheating offi
cials, the C.I.A.A. should use
non-C.I.A.A. officials for the
tournament. Moreover, the
time keepers should not be
representatives from C.I.A.A.
schools. This is not to say the
officiating will be any better,
but it will remove the biased
connotations associated with
the games.
Finally, the most disturbing
aspect of the mishandlings
surrounding the tournament Is
the handling of the press.
There is no organization asso
ciated with the issuance of
press passes. Non-press peo
ple are issued passes to sit on
press row. Non-press people
are given press packets.
When the press people arrive,
there are no passes or packets
available, and no one can tell
you why. This is absurd.
Moreover, the black press
spends an enormous amount
of time giving the C.I.A.A.
aU year coverage. When tour
nament time arrives, the re
sponsible individuals for
handling press people get am
nesia.
This type of organizational
flaw is easily corrected. First,
you need to assign press re
sponsibility to someone who
understands the media. A me
dia directory should be creat
ed by asking each C.I.A.A.
school to supply those media
who cover there sporting
events. Then any other media
not supplied can be added by
the tournament committee.
No later than December noti
fication! about press row
seating arrangements, a pre
liminary tournament itinerary,
and other tournament related
information should be mailed
to the media on the directory.
The media ihould then be giv
en a date by which to respond
of there intent to attend. More
over, the expected time of arri
val should be supplied by the
media. Press info should be
placed in a hold status until the
expected time of arrival elap
sps, at which time the passes
can be used at the discretion of
the tournament's Publicity Di
rector.