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♦ Thursday, February 23, 1989 - THE CHARLOTTE POST - Page 7A Kemp: Substance Over Rhetoric? what a dlfTerence a day makes. Only 24 hours after taking of fice, Jack Kemp, the new Secre tary of Housing and Urban De velopment, pledged himself and the Bush Administration to a war against "the intractable problems of the Inner cities." Since over 50 percent of the U.S. Black population lives in the top 20 urban markets, Kemp's pledge amounts to a commitment to Black America. Moreover, It Is coming from the officials of a party that Is largely perceived by Blacks as bigoted. President Bush understand. Jack Kemp, who Identified him self and his subalterns as "the cutting edge" of the Republican Party's appeal to Americanized Africans, obviously recognizes that overt demonstrations to Blacks must accompany the new rhetoric. So, true to form, as many Whites do when approaching the Black Unknown, the GOP leadership Is playing It safe. In this GOP equation, being Black replaces the traditional values, so often referred to by President Bush. The new Republican Party chairman, guitar-playing Lee Atwater, Joined the GOP chorus when he courted the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. via the already over-solicited Coretta King In a speech on King's birthday. In his campaign to get 50 p>er- cent of the Black vote within the next 10 years, "The Dream" was hailed. "The Man" was adored. "The Family" was worshipped. No mention was made that King's work is dead. Most of all, there was no men tion of what today's earth- bound Blacks have to do to con- Tony Brown’s Commentaries tlnue King's work or to resurrect themselves. Ironically, Atwa ter's speech contained less self- help advice than Jesse Jack son's stump speech -- and Jackson Is a Social Democrat, to the left of Hubert Humphrey. Of course. I'm being unfairly critical of Atwater's speech. In today's environment, no White can tell Blacks the truth. At least, he made It through the day without being labeled a ra cist. So If White Republicans are not going to (or cannot) tell Black people to help them selves, how are they going to convert them to the party of Frederick Douglass and "opportunity?" ■The oblivious strategy Is to meet with the "established" Black leaders and win the Black masses over with press releases and photo opportunities show ing Important GOP ofllclals with Jesse Jackson and Coretta King, among others. At best. It's a superficial ap proach: at worst. It's patronizing and racist. Racist because It as sumes that all Blacks want more welfare, more Democratic Party lies and are incapable of comprehending and imple menting their own liberation. This Is what I believe Robert Woodson, a fiercely Indepen dent Black man (not a conser vative, as the White press iden tifies him), was trying to tell Jack Kemp when he turned down the number two job at HUD and the distinction of be coming one of the highest- ranking Blacks In the adminis tration. Under Woodson's leadership, the National Center for Neigh borhood Enterprise has creat ed, funded and supervised the only Innovative self-help pro jects In Inner cities among un derclass Blacks. The Blacks being courted by Messrs. Bush, Atwater and Kemp have created solicitation programs only. They have erected no living monuments as has the outspok en Woodson. Atwater and especially Kemp are good men with a good Idea, but they are on the verge of de stroying a historic window of opportunity that will be short lived If they don't seek sub stance instead of rhetoric. Kemp said, 'The best thing I can do to make my party ap pealing to Black people Is to lead a successful attack on pov erty." Wrong. The best thing he can do is to help Black people lead their own self- determined attack. In my opinion, Kemp sounded like Woodson when he said he wanted Blacks "to seize new jobs and opportunities for themselves . . . without Illusion . . . and with the recognition that government can't solve all prob lems." If Kemp believes that, why seek out the Black leaders who don't? TONY BROWN'S JOURNAL TV series can be seen on public tel evision Sunday, on channel 42 at 5 p.m. It can also be seen on Saturday, on channel 58 at 1:30 p.m Please consult listings. The American Council on Eldu- catlon has just released a report that has far-reaching Implica tions for the future development of the African-American com- munlly. During the last 10 years, there has been a decline In the enrollment, particularly of Afri can-American males, in colleges throughout the United States. At a time when this society contin ues to advance Into a high tech society, the results of this report will only mean an Increase In the already devastating percent age of unemployment In the Af rican-American community. While millions of people re ceived a nostalgic reminder of African-American college life last year In Spike Lee's film "School Daze," the reality is that on many college campuses, the sight of African-American men as students Is becoming uncom mon. The report also documents that this trend Is true even at predominantly African- American colleges and universi ties. Civil Rights Journal By Benjamin Chavis students. By 1986, however, while the total enrollment in higher education Increased, the total African-American enroll ment had declined by more than 30,000 students. Indeed, al though during this period the to tal enrollment of African- American women slightly in creased, the total enrollment of African-American men de creased. The American Council on Edu cation reported that African- American enrollment In higher education reached Its highest level In 1980, with about 1.1 mil lion out of a total 11.8 million undergraduate and graduate Dr. William Julius Wilson, the noted professor of sociology at the University of Chicago, has concluded that the growing gap between African-American men and women on college campus es will create social problems In the future. In an Interview with the New York Times. Dr. Wilson stated that as African-American women pull ahead of African- American men, "the social dis tance and hostility between men and women" Is likely to increase, seriously harming "social inte gration within the black com munity as a whole." It is our hope that the findings of the report on college enroll ment will serve as a challenge rather than as an epitaph on the grave of the progress of African- Americans In this society. There will be many different social analyses drawn from this study. We issue a word of caution par ticularly when efforts are under way to divide African-American men from African-American women. American racism today Is much more pervasive and In stitutionalized and we must al ways have our antennas up to be able to perceive what the causa tive factors are to the social condition of oppressed commu nities In this nation. There has been an overall attack on Afri can-Americans during the Rea gan years. Whether this attack will continue effectively during the Bush years remains to be seen. Yet the handwriting Is on the wall. We must not allow Afri can-American men to be syste matically excluded from higher education. Court Decision Turns Back Clock Guest Editorial By Cong. Augustus Hawkins The Supreme Court recently issued a ruling which deals a setback to state and local mi nority participation set-aside programs across the nation. The 6-3 high court decision found that the city of Richmond, Vir ginia, which set-aside 30 per cent of Its construction con tracts for minorities was a form of reverse discrimination and therefore unconstitutional. While the decision has no effect on federal set-asides, we must all be vigilant that this decision Is not used as a tool by those who oppose affirmative action programs In general. The ruling attacks the princi ple, of race-conscious remedies to correct past discrimination In the work place, by sajrlng the cities must provide clear and concise evidence of minority ex clusion. and, that a general claim of past discrimination cannot be applied to develop set-asides. The unfortunate re sult of this ruling is that It may open the door for legal challeng es of all types of the principle of affirmative action. About 36 states and 190 cities have pro grams Involving set-aside con tracts. In his dissenting opinion Jus tice Thurgood Marsh^ wrote: 'Todays decision marks a de liberate and giant step back ward In this Court's affirmative action jurisprudence. Cynical of one municipality's attempt to redress the effects of past racial discrimination In a particular Industry, the majority launches a grapeshot attack on race- conscious remedies In general." What Is particularly disturbing about this decision Is that It Ig nores the wisdom of past rul ings, upholding race conscious remedies and the fact that every administration until Reagan supported and strengthened this remedy. In the last eight years there has been a constant battle with conservatives In the Justice Department who have attempted to weaken civil rights laws. Instead of enforcing civil rights laws they thought to sub vert them. This ruling further Indicates how a president can shape the politics of the Supreme Court. Carter never had a chance to appoint even one justice to the high court. Reagan appointed three and promoted another to Chief Justice. Who knows what opportunity President Bush will have. These decisions are not something that reflect policy over the course of an adminis tration, but are far reaching In their Impact over the course of decades. It Is important to note that this ruling did not strike down minority set-aside programs In general, nor were they ruled un constitutional. Furthermore, the ruling does not say that a state and local jurisdiction can't establish set-aside programs. However, even though this Is a narrowly drawn decision, it still constitutes an attack on a pro gram which has helped achieve a level of justice and equity In our society. Unfortunately, this ruling regarding set-asides, along with other efforts during this past administration to weaken affirmative action, have come at a time when we are see ing the first fruitful benefits of Its Implementation. Blacks, women and other minorities have obtained jobs In a number of trades that were previously closed to them. Between 1972 and 1979, for example, the per centage of black electricians rose from 3.2 percent to 5.6 per cent. Iri public service profes sions, such as police officers, there have been even greater In creases.' Employers have noted that their work forces have Im proved as a result of affirmative action. Someday we may reach the de sired state through Improved education training and health programs where affirmative ac tion, always consider to be a transitional program, will no longer be necessary. But we are not there yet. The poverty rate for minorities has in fact in creased in this decade, and ra cial equality remains an elusive dream for many. Paraphrasing Lyndon John son: you do not wipe away the scars of centuries by saying, "Now you are free to go where you want, and do as you desire, and choose the leaders you please." You do not take a per son who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him to the starting line of a race and then say: 'You are free to compete with all the others," and still justly believe that you have been completely fair. African-American Men: "School Daze" Insistence On Behalf Of Our Children Dear Editor: On January 11, 1989, the School Board released the CAT test scores broken down by race. The Information con firmed what a lost of us al ready knew: blacks students lag by 40 to 60 percentile points behind whites. Charlotte's testing specialist Indicated that parents' educa tion Influenced student achievement. In essence, pa rental education has more In fluence on student achieve ment than race. This is the conclusion they gave us for not teaching a size able amount of our students. A large number of these children are black children. Our school system (we pay more than our share of taxes to support It), should not be designed to teach only an elite population. We must have a school system that teaches all of our children regardless of their parents' ed ucational level. Black parents should be ex tremely sensitive to the fact that so many of our children are underachievers because we know how hard It Is when we do have all the right creden tials. Children who are de fined as "at risk" (and the school system knows who they are) should be given spe cial resources to m^e up for what they do not have at home. Sure, there Is an ex pense Involved, but our chil dren are worth every penny of It. They should be In an envi ronment where the classroom size is small, where they are given specialists to work with them and where they have supplemental training, espe cially with computers. It can be done. We must insist that It be done. The issue Is not Integrated schools or the "choice" plan. The Issue is whether or not our children are being taught once they get to the school. If that school Is 30 minutes away or five minutes away is not the Issue. It becomes an Issue when the principal of that school or the superintendent of the school sj^stem does not set the leadership in demand ing that all of our children be taught regardless of race, creed, religion or the "educational level" of their parents. 1 am certain, more than ever, that going to schools that are predominant ly white Is not a guarantee for success. Our children are fail ing miserably In a school sys tem that resents them and does not understand the envi ronment from which they come. We as a community must not leave It up to the School Board t come up with a "winning so lution" to help our children to succeed. We must work with them. We must continually come forward and present our concerns and recommenda tions to them. We must come as a community and we must be willing to stand up as Indi viduals. Nobody, nobody loves our children like we do. I would love to talk with anyone who would like to be a part of coming up with a "winning solution" to help our children succeed. JUDY JAMES POTTER Why Rancor Towards Black Women? Dear Editor: It behooves me to question your criteria for allowing Ms. A.C. Metcalf one quarter of your editorial page (February 16, 1989) for her most condes cending commentary. To whom is this proverbial "they" which she refers to with such rancor? From what perspec tive has she observed and con cluded that the black female's mind Is "underdeveloped," "Ill- equipped" and "stagnant?" How dare she state this with a universality which Includes me and. Ironically, herself? I understand the premise of her argument, however. It does not require three sarcastic, su perfluous and divisive col umns. Simply stated: you can't teach what you don't know. In order for our children to meet and compete In society they must have a broader knowl edge base and so too must the women who effect their lives significantly. chooses to write letters to the editor. I chose to share my travels, my lessons, my concerns and advice as a volunteer working with young adults In the black community. Although I resent the style In which her letter was written, I recognize the passion and frustration of wanting more for our young people. I was for tunate to have a mother (and father) who educated, cultivat ed and loved me. But love Is not one of Ms. Metcalfs essen tials. Maybe that Is why she More essential than any col legiate dictionary, map or al manac (all of which are ac cessible through the library) Is the recognition that "they" are "wel" When we learn to nurture and feel responsible for each black child as If he or she were our own, then, just maybe, as a people we will survive. B.E. NOEL What's On Your Mind? Let us hear your comments, ideas and opinions. Write to; tetters To The Post P.O. Box 30144 Charlotte, NC 28230 Please include name, address and phone number. IVe edit letters for clarity and gramrr ar. What To Do With Reagan’s High Court? Affirmative action is a remedy which works. By Gwenevere Days Da'vis Guest Editorial Taken at Its face value alone, the Supreme Court's recent af firmative action decision could be viewed as a setback for blacks and other minorities In this country. But upon closer scrutiny, one could more accu rately conclude that It Is a by produce of the right-wing con servative trend Reagan esta blished while In office — a last ing legacy that wlU affect us well into the next century. Reagan was successful In turning the tide of American his tory by appointing three Su preme Court justices, the thres hold he need^ to tilt the judicial scales In his Ideological favor, since his Supreme Court ap pointees are relatively young and will hold their positions for life. It Is safe to say that we are In for a long ride on the conser vative bandwagon. But will this be an enjoyable ride? Or will it result In some ju dicial decisions that will not only be unpopular, but will. In fact, have a very negative impact on our society? After all, the whole conserva tive strategy is to take us back to the days when we felt good about ourselves, God and coun try: when we were strong as a nation, had high morals, good schools and loads of patriotism. While there were some aspects about the 1940s and 1950s which were positive, there were also many negatives about that era. Power was In the hands of a few, people did not have the freedom to be different, and big otry was an accepted facet of American life. A major flaw with the far-right, conservative strategy is that it falls to recognize the realities which existed during and since that "feel good"era. Reagan, the great communica tor, successfully perpetuate the attitude of returning to the "good old days" throughout his tenure In office. In many ways, he lived In the fantasies of the past, as demonstrated by his numerous, wistful references to "winning one for the Gipper." He, in turn, selected like-minded justices, who also are out of touch with the myriad of realities we face as we approach the 21st century. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, In her opinion on the richmond, Va., affirmative action case, is clearly out of touch with the challenges which minority busi ness owners face in doing busi ness with the public and private sectors. For example, in describing conditions that existed in Rich mond, Va., which may be the cause for the wide disparity be tween the percentage of the city's black population (50 per cent) versus its corresponding percentage of construction con tracts (one percent), she con tends: 'There are numerous ex planations for this dearth in minority participation, includ ing past societal discrimination in education and economic op portunities as well as both black and white career and en trepreneurial choices. Blacks may be disproportionately at tracted to Industries other than construction." This "disproportionate attrac tion" is due to the fact that blacks have not been allowed the same career choices as whites, and are in many ways re stricted in the depth and breadth of their career choices, largely due to discrimination. All the empirical evidence, from birth until death, supports this argument: "Blacks have low er birth weights, higher Infant mortality, higher dropout rates, lower college entrance rates, lower wages, less career ad vancement (even with the same educational achievement), more difficulty financing loans, and shorter life spans. America, for all Its virtues, has yet to Include being color-blind among them. Justice O'Connor, from her narrow perspective, blames the victim, rather than the perpetra tor, for the crime. Utilizing her deductive reasoning, one could conclude that black Infants have higher mortality rates be cause they do not have as great a desire to live. Her entire argu ment lacks not only common sense, but a sense of morality, as its basis, and also magnifies her insensitivity to this entire issue. Justice O'Connor Is right when she says, "A solution to the first problem that aggravates the second Is no solution at all." But she Is wrong If she believes we can relieve past and present in justices by pretending that they never existed. While proponents of this first of many decisions by our new, conservative Supreme Court may be applauding for the time being, they may be deeply trou bled if they consider where this new-found conservatism will lead. Roe versus Wade, which is as much about women's rights as Individual freedom. Is about to be overturned. Then what will be next? There will be no more "sacred cows"--everything will be on the table for scrutiny and examination. How many additional court cases affecting Inclusion of all groups at every level of Ameri can society wUl be overturned? How many of our personal free doms will be infringed upon? Will we return to the days of McCarthyism, exclusion, segre gated schools, and public dis plays of bigotry and hatred? A better question may be: Can we afford to return to those days? America has challenges before It which do not allow us the lux ury of living In the past. Whether we like It or not, we are rapidly becoming a more heterogene ous, rather than an homogene ous, society. Sustaining our glo bal competitive position requires that we devise a meth od of including all racial, ethnic and gender groups in all levels of soclely--not be intent upon herding the, into the ranks of the underclass. Since it appears that we are stuck with the Supreme Court Reagan has devised for the next 30 years, our only hope Is that the Executive and Legislative branches of the federal govern ment will employ leadership and implement policies which address America's while taking into account Its past and present. Our children's destiny deserves and demands a broad er perspective. Ms. Davis, based In Houston, Texas, is publisher/editor of the monthly newsletter National Mi nority Politics.
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Feb. 23, 1989, edition 1
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