Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / April 16, 1987, edition 1 / Page 3
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Movement Against Black Colleges ‘ A recent incident at Tennessee State University is a graphic ex umpl* of how serious the opposi tion to public black colleges really I ■ The university refused to sub nuta picture of Miss Tennessee State for EBONY magazines an nual article on Black College Queens. The officials said it would violate a federal order identifying the school with any one race. Ironically, the school that has trained blacks since 1912 and has educated some of America's top black leaders can no longer be publicly identified with that histo ry Depending on who you talk to, that s either a step forward into an enlightened society or a step back ] Tong Broom's CommentariBg| wards into psychological slavery. In spite of the fact that black col leges have built the black middle class and are the most successful institutions for educating blacks, there remains a formidable oppo sition to their continued existence. > Lawsuits by both blacks and whites who have an unshakable faith in integration, court actions and state laws have put public col leges under the gun. Bluefield Sute and West Virgin ia State are now 80 percent white. Kentucky State University, Lin coln University in Missouri, Jack son State and Mississippi Valley State College in Mississippi, North Carolina A&T, Texas Southern University in Houston, and Ten nessee State University are all on the endangered speciee list due to questior^able desegregation orders that require black enrollment to become "non-identifiable." It is generally conceded that black colleges are inferior to white colleges in terms of resources. Last year, for example, corporate con tributions to institutions of higher learning were up by 17%, but al most flat for black colleges. 'Hus is due, in part, to the fact that they are perceived as ineffi cient and, in part to the fact that black colleges have not effectively marketed their successes. Whatev er the reason, one year the 43 pri vate colleges in the United Negro College Fund had a total endow ment of $222 million. In the same year, Harvard University alone had an endowment of more than $3 billion. Since black colleges started in 1865, following the Civil War, the lack of funds has been the tradi tional means of starving them to death; in modern times it has be come the lynchpin in the argu ment against them. In fact, the argument has moved from the historic racist be lief that blacks were inherently in ferior, therefore, incapable of de veloping institutions of higher learning, to the modern-day "objective quality" case. rhifl so-called color-blind argu ment relies on the absence of things-inanimate things: endow ments, test tubes, classrooms, la boratories, books in the library, how much faculty members make and how many hours they teach. You may be surprised to learn that today s black colleges are consid ered to be intellectually unequal partly because faculties at black schools spend more time teaching than faculties at white schools. One black critic was even moved to say that these "apparent short comings" prove that not one black college ranks with a decent statfc university." Strong stuff! D_.A* • . • oomeumei, it appears we lose sight of the human quality. A young, uncertain 17- or 18-year old boy or girl leaving home for the first time, entering a new world with new stresses and fears, is a very human thing. Therefore, it is not surprising that psychologi cal studies over the years have found that students need both things and people to maximize their intellectual growth in college. Tony Brown's Journal TV series can be seen on public televi sion Sunday on Channel 42 at 5 p m. It can also be seen on Channel 58, Saturday, 1:30 p.m. Please con sult listings. min ...... . Letters *1"o Lhe Post BKM—BmBg!gra,w*1111 1- ■-Jt'.T.-.-r.f.vr.fn .. School Clinics Send Double Message Dear Sabrina: I want to be one of the first to commend you for your stand on the matter of School Based Clinics. Your observations in reference to parental responsibility and con sent are right on target. I, too, be lieve that our school system should not become the local distri bution point for birth control pills and condoms. Not that Fm against •ex education, when abstinence is emphasized. But I am totally op posed to sending our young peo ple a double message. When we preach and teach our children to refrain from pre-marital sex and then, on the next breath, tell them "but" since you're going to do it, "here are your tools," we further confess them as to what we ex pect of them. The other thing which you brought out was the matter of the birth control pill and the condom manufacturers making these items available through the 8chool Based Clinics. As black people we must not get caught in situations of being the consumers of these items although this might look like an easy solution to the teenage pregnancy problem. These com panies are in no way concerned with the health and well being of our teenagers. Their motive is profit and the School Based Clin ics provide an inexpensive distri bution system and a ready-made market. I suggest if the birth con trol pill and the condom manufac turers are truly interested in help ing stop the rise in teenage preg nancies that they support finan cially those programs and institu tions which are teaching teenag ers positive, moral values and get ting them involved in other activi ties which prepare them for the future. I strongly urge anyone or any group within the black communi ty to do all you can to oppose the placing of these School Based Clinics in your local schools. Not only are they financially draining to our local tax base, they are also morally and spiritually degrading to the black community in particu lar. If anyone would like more in formation on the cost, effective ness and purposes of the School Based Clinics, they can write me at 1220 E. 10th St., Charlotte, NC 28204. Sincerely, Phillip M. Davis "The Ball" Has Destructive Elements Dear Editor. Sports’ record books are rapidly bejng filled with the names of black athletes. This is very impres sive to young, black males who imagine themselves in these roles. Unfortunately, it is just as impres sive to older, black males, who try to imitate them. With the coming of spring and summer, the black community will be dotted with casts, slings, and crutches. Painful testimony to their failed fantasies VT_. . * - _ iNext to drugs, the ball is the most destructive element to the black family. I have often heard successful black athletes say that "playing sports is the quickest way out of poverty." There are two things wrong with that statement. (1) It assumes that the athlete is outstanding. If he is only good, he won't make a dime. (2) It doesn't reveal the statistics involved. Even if an athlete makes it to the pros, his career is short, eyeo for the greatest of them. Check out the number of great black athletes who had to leave the sport, for one reason or another, without any money and no other skill. (Ernie Banks, Leon Spinks and "Jefferson Street Joe Gilliam" come to mind immediately.) ine Daii plays a miyor role in the development of black children. It teaches them to be competitive, aggressive and hopeful. All of which, they need in today's world. It also disproves the "dumb jock" theory. No one, who can commit a football playbook to memory, un derstand and react to basketball hand signals, and respond to the frantic movements of a third base coachTcould be "dumb." _ The bad news is that they don't Usually transfer this determina tion to other phases of their lives. They have a tendency to ap proach academics as an annoying interruption of their athletic ca reer. As a result of that, they make poor grades, which leads to a low grade-point-average, which gives the impression of being "dumb," which can all be traced back to the almighty ball. Willie Nelson advises mothers not to let their babies grow up to be cowboys. I advise you not to let your children grow up to be ball boys. Yes, we have some teenage Hank Aarons, Jim Browns, and Doctor J's out there. But, for God's sake, make them learn the three "RV. Howard Reeves What’s on your mind Let us hear your comments, ideas and opinions. Just write: Letters To The Post P. O. Box 30144 Charlotte, N. C. 28230 Affirmative Action Will Blacks Benefit As Well As White Women? Special To The Post By Bei^'amin Chavis The response to the Supreme Court's recent affirmative action decision has been almost as inter esting as the decision itself. The decision affirmed that it was legal for an employer to promote an employee, with equal qualifica tions, over other employees in or der to achieve a better balance of women and minorities in the workforce. Terry Eastland, the Justice De partment's top spokesman, sharp ly criticised the decision and said that what the Supreme Court needed was "a Chari* new appoint ment or two.'* Hie comment might be con sidered just a bit presumptu ous given the face that the Reagan Ad ministration has already made two ap pointmenta to the Supreme Court. The Administration's anger is un derstandable, however. For this is only the latest in a series of Su preme Court rulings to re fate Rea gan's hell-bent opposition to affir mative action. In February the Justice Depart ment sided with white Alabama state troopers fighting a court ordered affirmative action plan. The 8upreme Court upheld the plan, noting that Alabama had re fiiaed to hire any African Ameri can troopers until forced to do so in 1972, and that even since then, Alabama had continued to resist court orders to hire more African Americans. Of course, the Justice Depart ment's response to affirmative ac tion is predictable, given its own record in this area. The New York Times obtained figures which show that none of the Justice De partment's msjor divisions is headed by women or minorities, and of the 94 U.8. attorneys, only one is African American, one is fe male end two are Hispanic. Of the 800 federal judges appointed by Reagan, only five are African American and \2 are Hispanic; however, 26 are female. In fact, women have generally faired bet ter than African Americans in the Reagan Administration. Last year, for example, white women held over 200 of the top federal posts controlled by the Administration, while African Americans held less than 50. This brings ms to the second re sponse to the 8upreme Court deci sion - that of women, specifically, white women. The decision was based on a suit filed by a white male who scored two points above his white female co-worker, but was passed over for a promotion in her favor. The object of the suit, Diane Joyce, is now justifiably pleased with the decision. She not ed, “This case will have an impact on all women and fm very happy for them. The question is, will African American and other racial and eth nic women benefit as much as white women from this decision? Equally important, will male and female members of these oommu Spring Cleaning Of Black Leadership One of the traditional responses we have to the changing of the seasons from winter to spring is to clean our houses. I support this tradition arising from a periodical need to throw out or refurbish the old in preparation for the new, similar to the ringing out of the old year and ringing in the new at New Year's eve celebrations. Whatever the reason, it seems we are only able to carry just so much baggage, or stuff, whether physi cal or psychological, before we have the need to relieve ourselves of the burden. And this seems to be the case whether the burden is of useful or useless items. We just seem to have to off-load periodi cally, and TNV contends that it would seem wiser if we would off load useless stuff, as opposed to things that have utility to us. ims inougnt brings me to my point, which is now this perennial tradition of house cleaning may apply to our struggle. We the peo ple are at a critical point where it may be necessary to re-shuffle the ranks of those we allow to lead us. The best leadership will always know when to hear and obey the will of the best minds from the ranks of the people, while the worst leadership will invariable turn a blind eye, and a deaf ear to the best minds from the ranks of the peoplp. We will see this type - V v __ , • By Abu Hass an running off into the wrong direc tion and, unfortunately, taking a lot of people with them. Or they will be conveniently "otherwise engaged when the people enter the breech in struggle. Often, this type of leadership uses words like "unity” and struggle, merely for their rhetor ical value, and will only commit to either when they are granted im munity from criticism. This type of leadership will usually be the first to quote our heroes and mar tyrs, using phrases like, "Malcolm said this, and Malcolm said that," while at the same time they will be engaging in leadership practices that would earn Malcolm's strong est rebuke. Fortunately, this type of leader ship is not extremely dangerous to our movement, because their main goal is apparently to satisfy their ' >wn ego, or vanity. I mean, why would anyone insist on obviously out-moded tactics and strategies, we are discussing poor leadership here, not deceitful leadership. At any rate, we still might streamline our struggle if we could rehabili tate or throw them out; or, per haps, out of appreciation for the good they may have done in the past, or their good intentions, re tain but kindly ignore them. spring cleaning is tough, you know going into it that you will keep some things that you are bet ter off without. Nevertheless, spring has come, and the struggle continues, and the newest thing is our aggressiveness in advancing our goal of independence, territo ry, sovereignty, and reparations. We are on the offensive and are taking the struggle to the corridors of power. Baby M Case Needs Solomon The judge in the Baby M case was not Solomon. He did not threaten to cut Baby M in half. Wise Solomon used this threat to identify the real mother who, by giving up her half of the baby out of mother's love, re gained her baby, whole and well. This judge was not looking for the real mother to get the baby. The real mother was called "surrogate mother" and sent away-bound by her contract never to claim to be the parent of her own child. Perhaps she deserved her fate. She made a deal to have a baby and to give up her baby for $10,000. Who can sympathize with her? Not me. What about the child? Maybe the child is better off with her fa ther. If the judge has simply ruled that the father should have custo dy of the child based on the child's welfare I would not be writing this column. But the judge made a point of 1 D. G. \niartin One Dn Dna approving, enforcing, and even praising the surrogate contract 1 under which the women agreed to ' produce and give a baby--for a 1 fee. That ruling was not necessary and it worries me. What is wrong 1 with honoring and enforcing the contract that two adults make, you * ask? Aren't we free to make bind- 1 ing agreements with each other? ' We are not totally free. The courts won t enforce gambling ’ contracts. They would not enforce i a contract to provide sex for mon ey. Nor would they enforce a con tact to sell a kidney, a lung, an eye or some other body organ. Why? Enforcing contracts encourages the activities that are subject to the contract. Enforcing the surrogate mother contracts encourages women to put their bodies to work to produce babies for a free. Do we want it done for money? Do we want baby breeding to be a business enterprise? Do we want babies to be a marketable com modity? Not me. T J_< i . . * «v#ii want UttUies LO D€ DOUgni and sold like any other product. I don't want our country to develop and exploit a class of breeder women. I don't want our judges to honor and enforce contracts that lead to those results. I hope that the judges who hear the Baby M case on appeal find the wisdom of Solomon--and a better solution. Let me know what you think. Write me in care of this paper, or at Box 37283, Charlotte, NC 28237 nities, as a whole, benefit as much? Or will corporate America use this opportunity, as it has since the birth of aflifmative action, to pit white women against racial and ethnic communities by hiring white women at larger propor tions. A recant student by the United Church of Christ Office of Com munication revealed some star tling statistics. Though the em ployment record of the three ma jor networks - CBS, NBC and ABC - is still abyssmal when it comes to both white women and minorities, nevertheless, within the top 86% of their staffs, women are employed at more than twice the rate of those from racial and eth nic communities. As noted in a re cent article, the newsroom staff of NBC's "Nightly News" is almost equally distributed between white men and white women. The same problem exists in many New York City industries, a town whose la bor force is 48.7% minority. Statis tics from 1082 reveal that white women, for example, held 47% of the department store non supervisory jobs, compared to 9% for African American men, 18% for African American women, 3% for Hispanic males, and 4% for Hispanic females. Certainly we should celebrate and take advantage of this new broadening of affirmative action boundaries. However, as the wom en'# movement emerged out of, and advanced as a result of, the heightened activity of the Civil Rights Movement, so it must now re-examine its progress in light of the still l«rge discrepancies be tweeij the employment levels of white women end those from ra cial and ethnic communities. Let us take care that the racial exclu sivity of the "old boy's club" is not adopted by the "new girl's club" as well. DEMOCRACY ™ APARTHDED In South Africa, There Is Only One Solution.. Your Support of The Freedom Fighters Will Hasten the Day of Victory for Democracy, One man - One vote, Give as If the absence of Liberty there diminishes all of us, in truth, it does Enclosed is my check/M O. for S SSES^oJar' «ewd CoefrWxitkHi >ec D^hocracy Vs Apartheid Committee P 0 Box 844 Adetpht St a non Brooklyn, New York 11238 > ‘ * V ' / -V* \ . S
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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April 16, 1987, edition 1
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