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Page6A - THE CHARLOTTE POST - Thursdav. JubrlS, 1989 Cht Cliarlottc Bosft Gerald O. Johnson, Publisher R^rt L. Johnson, Co-Publisher Jal3me Strong, Editor EDITORIALS A Call To Arms By BOYLE H. MARTIN Editorial Writer Last January 26 we quoted Julius Cham bers, head of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, as saying, "There Is compelling evidence the public Is ready to get on with attending to many of the race relations Issues." Our reaction to this state ment was that we were not so sure that we shared Mr. Chambers' optimism because of the conclusions of the report called "Quiet Riots - 20 Years After the Kemer (CMl Dis order, 1968) Report." The new report, re leased In March 1988, says that "quiet ri ots" are now tearing the nation apart In the form of joblessness, poverty, housing and school discrimination and crime. The 200- page report says, "These quiet riots (think of Miami that got loud) are not as noticea ble to outsiders ... but they are more de structive of human life than the violent ri ots of 20 years ago." Therefore, we were not surprised when Mr. Chambers told a group f about 500 peo ple at Friendship Baptist Church here In Charlotte on June 28 that, "I came to sound an alarm, to call you to arms. We face a se rious challenge." Chambers added that the challenge we face Is to counter-attack the policies of the eight-year Reagan adminis tration and the recent decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority that alms to erode the civil rights gains of the 1960s and 1970s. Furthermore, Chambers said the two- term Reagan presidency was characterized by undermining and criticizing school bus ing and referring to Charlotte's relatively successful busing plans as an "aberration." Similarly, Reagan spread the Idea that af firmation was bad because It was unfair to and hurt white males. Such actions by the nation's highest political office had two re sults. First, as Chambers eloquently said, "the advent of the Reagan administration ... slowly helped us to appreciate how tenuous these advances (civil rights) were." Secondly, the high court's conservative majority severely weakened the cIvU rights gains of the 60s and 70s by narrowing the scope of civil rights protection for minori ties and leaving In the minds of the em ployers, who are usually white, and their white male workers that court remedies for job discrimination was unfair to them. Similarly, the court made It more difficult for minorities and women to prove job dis crimination and easier for white men to challenge job preferences for minorities and women. Also, state and local govern ments will have more difficulty In so- called "set-aside" contracts for minority- owned businesses. In summary. Chambers concluded, "We no longer have a reliable Supreme Court" where clvU rights are con cerned. Mr Chambers' call to arms was, among other things, an attempt to remind his au dience that all Is not lost since some mem bers of Congress are planning to Introduce new civil rights legislation to ease the pain of the high court's action. This means too that supporters of civil rights must be pre pared to use the ballot box at election time to support their concerns. Implied In Chambers' call for arms Is the realization that the quiet riots could be come noisy like they were In the 1960s. In order to assure that this does not happen we simply must all make commitments to pro tect every American's civil rights as guar anteed under the Constitution. To do less would be to fall In our commitments to our selves, our families, our neighbors and the nation we profess to love and respect. Doing The Right Thing In the "Cosby Show" the Huxtlble family, an upper middle class, black family Is por trayed as having all the luxuries of life that any American family would normally de- silre. Therefore, the TV show sends a three fold message to both Its black and white •viewing audiences, that Is. America Is truly the land of opportunity for aU regardless of race or religion, education Is a key to suc cess (Mr. Huxtlble Is a medical doctor and Mrs. Huxtlble Is a la'wyer, both very suc cessful, and white people are relieved of any sense of racial guilt about black people. Now. along comes Spike Lee’s movie "Do the Right thing" which upsets many people, both black and white, because It climaxes Ih a horrifying burst of violence on a typi cal hot summer day in Brooklyn, New York, the police are shown as villains, and the movie's dialogue Is laced with thought- provoking vlervpolnts that are threatening to some. While such scenes are stereotypical of ■what many white people believe about blacks while they fall to use their minds to understand the source and causes of such behavior. Similarly, many white people who saw the'movie were equally perplexed by the .absence of any rapes or drugs, gar bage In the street, or mothers abusing their children. These, what some would call paradoxical perceptions of life In the black ghetto, have led to Spike Lee being praised for his artis tic approach but criticized by others for what some have called hIs fanning the flames of racism and hatred. Lee's reaction to all of this has been In hIs youthful but characteristic manner by say ing that he Is simply bringing racism back as a priority agenda Item where It ought to be. While upsetting some with the film’s ■vi olence, we forget that It allows an opportu nity to think about, anafyze and study how to prevent a real life riot and hopefully Im prove race relations. It appears clear to me that Spike Lee is not the complex, black radical film producer that many whites would perceive him to be. Lee says, "That the difference Is between the way a white director would have made It (the film) and the way I made It." It Is for the same reason that he said, "I don't think ma jor studios are comfortable with me, and I don't think I want them to be, altogether." Lee, as a wiiter-director-producer-actor, is somewhat unique for this reason, too. Yet, as long as he produces films to force people to see the world as It really is and not just how we want It to be. he will forever be "Doing the Right Thing." .Will Year 2000 End Civil Rights Fight? I was looking out the window in a Delaware barber shop in eprly May when 1 noticed an In- - terraclal couple. 1 commented to my barber that whites are mov ing into the heart of the black community. He responded, "Whites will have to take the lead |l on integration because blacks 11 are too racist." The barber’s |i . comment suggested that I ought to look closer at who is driving integration today. Let me address this leadership Issue by highlighting some attl- tudlnal changes in housing ren tals and ownership in Wilming ton, Delaware. Wilmington is an affluent city with a bright future because of the rapid growth of the financial industry in Dela ware. 1 have personally ejqreri- enced Wilmington’s racial atti tude changes. Twenty-five years ago my wife Md I tried to rent an apartment In a white section of Wilmington. We still remember a black utility man bouncing down the stairs, saying, ’They don’t rent to col ored people." We then witnessed a white ex odus from Wilmington. It pre served segregation a few more years in the suburbs. A similar white exodus nation ally offered some unscrupulous . rfcal estate companies across America a golden opjxrrtunlty to Miller Says By Sherman Miller reap a bounty from America’s se^egatlonist psyche. "Block busting’ (placing black families In white neighborhoods as a catalyst for white flight) became a reality. There was a racist belief that black people would drive down the value of neighborhood homes because their properties would rapldfy deteriorate. Many whites gave up good, urban homes, with low mortgages, to become "house poori’ in the sub urbs where they could only af ford an empty house. Many urban areas across the United States of America be came laden with black Ameri cans. Then, blacks looked up one day and saw the white sub urban mirage. Blacks then pur sued dream homes in the sub urbs. What’s In A Flag? I pledge allegiance to the Jlag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one na tion under Cod, indivisible with liberty and Justice for all The uproar over the burning of the flag indicates how mis placed this country’s values have become. Clearfy, to Invoke laws to protect the flag as a symbol would destroy the very meaning of what it supposedly symbolizes. We have become so materia listic as a society that we place more emphasis on symbols than on meaning. Unfortunatefy, politicians hop on the symbol istic bandwagon to take advan tage of an ill-informed public. But how about this for ironies. We are more upset about burn ing the fl^ than we are about talring the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag out of some school systems. We can’t bum the sym bol because it is unpatriotic, but we can stop the public ritual of pledging allegiance to it be cause it looses its significance. How about ’...one nation under God’. This country was foimded on strong religious beliefs. Our forefathers felt so strongly about religious freedoms, they Included strong language to guarantee that it be preserved. The spirit of the preservation of yesteryear has given way to the letter of the law of recent times. Consequently, the S5nn- bollsm of prayer in schools and other public places has been stopped to protect the freedoms with Gerald Johnson As I See It of those who have no belief In a God. Let’s not leave out '....liberty and Justice for all’. The struggle for equality in this country is a never-ending battle. For certain populations of our society this phrase has very little meaning when it comes to practicing what you preach. We have yet to live up to being a society that of fers Uberiy and Justice for all. We may never live up to it. Hence, the letter of the law (strictly following the wording of the constitution) has shaken the very spirit the country was founded on. Our allegiance to symbols should be on how we uphold the principals the symbol repre sents. if we are sincere in doing this, then abusing the symbol is of little significance. Sears Move A Hoax? There was a Jot of talk about Sears moving to Charlotte. How ever, Sears opted to remain in Chicago after receiving some tax amenities from that fair city. But throughout the negotia tions of luring a major corpora tion to Charlotte, I had serious concerns. Where were the employees go ing to come from? According to the word on the street. Sears ■was not relocating the bulk of there Chicago staff. If that was the case, then who were they go ing to hire. With an unemploy ment rate less than 3 percent in Charlotte, getting skilled labor would be next to impossible. How could we afford to esca late road Improvements for the southeast part of town for this relocation? It was stated that road Improvements could be es calated to accommodate the move. This I don’t understand. Why can’t that same magic be applied now? The threat of a move by Sears got Chicago to do what It did, give Sears a reason to stay In one of the hea'viest taxed cities in the nation. Charlotte gained a lot of na tional attention by Searsconsid- erlng it as one of the prime spots to relocate. Other compa nies thinking of relocation will give Charlotte a close look. Even though both Sears and Charlotte got a lot out of the deal, the marriage of the two doesn’t seem practical at this time. It definitely makes onfi wonder if either were that seri ous about the whole deal. Could it be that both parties realized what could be gained ly planning this hoax, and they both got what they went after? Who knows, but it is an Intri guing thought. ITS BEEN REAL, BABE./ at«®)WRilERS^M51S4-n Do THAT Is Democratic Party Losing Minorities? The irony in this national tale is that many sections of Wilm ington did not go down when blacks moved into white neigh borhoods. In recent years, the cost of suburban housing has risen too high for maiQT young white fami lies. Urban houses, on the other hand, are a bargain, regardless of who lives next door. Many young whites have grown up in an Integrated society, so being near blacks Is no major crisis.' Thus, this white Invasion Into black bastions has caused many Wilmington blacks to pri vately express concern over young, white families taking back the starter homes. The onfy real hurt in this story Is that many blacks who left the city for depressed, suburban neighborho^s probably could not afford to repurchase the homes in their former neighbor hoods. The above tale suggests that the cl'vil rights caganlzations are no longer the drivers of integra tion. Economics now has be come the catalyst that is de- stro3dng racism of the heart. Does tlfis portend that by the year 2000 the black leadership will finally have to declare that the civil rijghts struggle Is over? In 1956, black Americans vot ed Republican by roughty 60-40; in 1960, they voted Democratic by about 70-30, and they have voted shift in party allegiance, but the one most often given re volves around President John F. Kennedy’s 'visible concern for the problems Uack citizens ex perienced during the Civil Rights Movement. Since that election in 1960, Democrats have been able to rety on black votes in local, state and national elections, to the point of taking those votes for granted. Many black elected of ficials were vocal about being snubbed by party leaders during last year’s presidential cam paign season. Perhaps this allegiance is due to the perception in most recent years of the Democratic Party being the "party of the little guy." Since a disportlonate amount of black and Hispanic voters falls Into the categoiy of the disad vantaged—they represent 20 percent of the population, but 40 percent of the poor—the Democratic Party may have been a natural haven for them. Over the past 20 years, howev er, there has been a significant movement of minority voters into the ranks of the middle class. This movement can be at tributed, In large measure, to the success of social programs and equal opportunity that the ap preciation of black and Hispan ic voters to the Democratic Par ty for its support of these programs In the past, will be enough to retain their votes. Carmen Percez. vice chair of the Democratic National Com mittee, believes that minority voters will "not easily forget that the legislation which helped them and theirs was developed by the Democratic Party." Howe'ver, the needs of minority voters may have changed as they have moved into the main stream. Their needs may have National Minority^ Politics by Gweneveve Daye Davis 7 become similar to those of white middle class voters who are pri marily concerned with good schools, clean quiet neighbor hoods, low taxes and more op portunities for upward mobility. In this regard. Democrats may have difficulty retaining these once "sure-thlng" voters. Some experts agree. William Julius Wilson, professor of soci ology at the University of Chica go, believes the party needs to develop new policies to fight in equality that go beyond court ordered busing, affirmative ac tion programs and anti- discrimination lawsuits. By stressing coalition politics and race-blind programs, such as full-employment policies, job skills training, comprehensive health care legislation, educa tional reforms in the public schools, child-care legislation and crime and drug abuse pre vention programs, Wilson thinks the Democrats could be in a strong position for the 1992 presidential election. Ronald H. Brown, chairman of the Democratic National Com mittee, believes the Democratic Party is the perfect place to combat racial differences, to bridge gaps that exist due to race, region, religion and ethnic ity. He proclaimed in his accep tance speech as DNC chair in Februaiy, that for the Demo crats, strength lies in diversity. This diversity, however, brings with it a certain degree of adver sity. Bringing blacks, browns arid the white working class togeth er, along with white liberals, has not been easy. With such a het-; erogenous group. It is often dlffl-; cult to satisfy toe needs of eve-' lyone. Minority voters feel that not enough has been done, while white voters feel too much has been done. In fact, a study commissioned by former DNC Chairman Paul itlrk in 1985 concluded that; white middle-class voters felt "toe Democratic Party has not stood with them as they moved from the working class to the middle class. They have a whole set of middle-class economic problems today, and their party is not helping them. Instead, it is helping toe blacks, Hlspanlcs and the poor. They feel be trayed." What will it take for toe Demo crats to retain minority voters? To a large degree, the Democrat ic Party will continue to receive the lion’s share of minority votes for toe next several years. His torical voting habits and the lack of a compelling reason for change, or even a compelling reason to consider change, will assure toe party of that with a miniscule effort on its part. However, unless Democrats come up 'With better reasons for upwardly mobile minority vot ers, particularly those in the 18 to 40 age group, to remain Dem ocrats (other than "do it because your parents did it"), they will see further slippage in that area to toe GOP. More than likely this -will not be more than 5 to 10 percentage points over toe next four years. But that could be enough to change toe out come of close elections. Ms. Davis, based in Houston, is publisher/editor of the monthly publication. National Minority Politics.
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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July 13, 1989, edition 1
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