PAGE 4
THE TRIBUNAL AID
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22,1973
THE VIEWS OF THE WRITER’S >RE WOT >IW>YS THOSE OF THE P>P»’S
^You’re A Part Of The Solution, Or You’re A Part Of The Problem ’
PIEDMONT
PROFILE
BY CECIL BUTLER
From Where I Stand
No one should be expected to
agree or disagree with everything
someone says no matter how rich
or poor, successful or unsuccess
ful, popular or unpopular the
person speaking is. Because
people disagree is not a high sign
to chalk up another enemy; from
where I stand, it seems to me
people who are working for a
better society should be able to see
that the key to success is in
identifying the issues you have in
common with others and building
on that. If we really give a damn
and want a free and equitable
society, we must learn how to be
politically and socially pragmatic.
1 think our task is neither to be
loved by everyone nor to plot the
demise of our adversaries but to
get on with the job of making good
solid change possible. So often a
good deal of energy, instead, is
spend down grading others
deciding who not to trust and
forming coalitions only to destroy
them.
We play, all too frequently, the
white man's game. We divide
ourselves, he conquers. This kind
of activity 1 term "African
Roulette." Our feelings of inse
curity destroy us. Our ambivalents
prevent our taking a stand.
Perhaps we can find comfort in
Paul Lawrence Dunbar's poem,
"Not They Who Soar."
Not they who soar, but they who
plod
Their rugged way, unhelped, to
God
And heroes; they who higher fare,
And, flying, fan the upper air.
Miss all the toil that hugs the sod
Tis they whose backs have felt the
rod.
Whose feet have pressed the path
unshod.
May smile upon defeated care.
Not they who soar.
Higher up there are no thorns to
prod
Nor boulders lurk in 'neath the
clod.
To turn the keenness of the share,
For flight is ever free and rare;
But heroes they the soil who've
trod;
Not they who soar I
"What About Our Brothers Behind
Bars"
Have we the time to hear the
cries for help from the people in
prison? Can we afford to somehow
in our mins put people in prison
and throw away the key?
As a community we must hear
the cries for help and respond. We
cannot afford to forget about
anybody behind bars, the guards
or inmates. In this society people
are going back and forth like
yo-yos from prison to the streets
and back again. You and 1 have
something very valuable at stake
— our youth.
Each of us can make the
difference. You can get in tough
with some prison of the North
Carolina State Department of
Corrections. Because, it is possible
to get your civic clubs, church
groups, neighborhood associations
and the like to work with the many
inmates in North Carolina prisons.
From where I stand, it would be
better to meet these people in this
set of circumstances than to meet
them when they are desperate in
an alley!
THE ROY WILKINS
COLUMN
Change, Yes... ’Nasty’, No!
A Negro school teacher mur
mured something as she shook
hands. Then it came distinctly:
"Speak to our children because
they are so nasty to us and to
whites and the white children are
so nice!"
By no stretch of the imagination
could this woman be called an
Uncle Tom. She does not bow down
to white people. She is not afraid of
them. She does not need them to
keep her job. Of course, she could
be called a Tom, because
thoughtless blacks who toss this
word around are not necessarily
logical. The behavior does not
have to fit the name. The quickest
way in a disagreement is to yell
"Tom."
Back came memories of the
quiet heroism of Negro school
teachers during the first days of
desegregation of the schools.
Some, it must be admitted, were
pretty bad. Some were tale
bearers to the white superinten-
dant and to their white contacts on
the boards of education. But many
more were upstanding men and
women. They were unafraid and if
they were cautious it may have
been because of those dependent
upon them.
There was a woman in a
Southern town who always left an
envelope for the NAACP speaker
in her city. She could not afford to
have her co-workers tell on a
Monday morning that she had been
present at an NAACP meeting
Sunday afternoon. So she gave her
money in the collection in the
envelope. She was helping to keep
up the agitation for change in her
own way.
There is no need here to repeat
the fearless action of the black
teachers in Elloree, S. C. They
knew when they indicated the
organizations to which they
belonged that they would be fired if
they wrote "NAACP." But 22 of
them wrote just that and 22 were
fired.
Black school children have
many frustrations. They feel
rightly or wrongly, that they are
being treated unfairly, even
persecuted. They see instant and
unequal punishment meted out to
them, while white youngsters go
free. After a clash at a school, they
see frequently that only black
students are suspended or ex
pelled. There is a tendency on their
part to take matters into their
hands. This unfortunate develop
ment is not merely a Dixie
Continued on Page 7
FOR A JOB
'icne wna ur
TO BE EQUAL
by Vernon E. Jordan,Jr.
In Niemoriam, George Wiley
George Wiley's sudden death in
a boating accident was a terrible
blow to all who shared his
passionate concern for equal
rights. What follows are excerpts
from my remarks at the moving
memorial service held in his
memory in Washington, D. C.:
"George transcended the mean
barriers of a racialist society to
make all of this society's victims
his concern and all will miss him.
We will miss him as we miss
Martin, as we mourn Whitney, as
we miss other great warriors of
justice. George's death leaves a
gaping void in our ranks...That
George must join the long line of
fighters for justice untimely
ripped from us, tries our faith and
tests out will.
"With souls heavy, we must
carry on. Just as did when we lost
Martin; just as we did when we
lost Whitney. We must carry on the
work of George's life, even as he
has left it; we must work from his
blueprints, flesh out his sketches
and breathe life into his plans. We
must continue to plod the weary
path of righteousness and fight the
evils he fought, help the people he
helped.
"In doing this, we must be ever
reminded of what was unique
about this man, what was special
about his leadership, which roads
he trod and we should follow.
"George understood the under
lying dynamics of social move
ments. He knew that human rights
could be won through different
tactics, so long as the overall
strategies were based on humane
principles of justice without
hatred, unity without uniformity,
progress without vengeance.
"It was his special gift to
understand that attempts to
change a system of exploitation
demand a variety of roles and
functions that must be assumed by
a variety of people and organiza
tions working in harmony toward
the same ends.
"It was his special gift to know
that while race has been the most
divisive factor in this country,
used to oppress black people and to
keep them from joining with their
white brothers, that the structures
of racial oppression would fall
before the onslaughts of economic
justice.
"George knew that proverty
THE
POINTER
by Albert A. Campbell
afflicts blacks and browns, but
that it also scars the lives of
whites, too. And he set for himself
the task of bringing poor people of
all races together in a movement
for economic justice. He fought to
tear down the barriers, the
artificial barriers of color and of
race, the barriers that enslave
millions in their wretchedness and
poverty. He fought to help create a
society in which children didn't go
hungry, women go homeless and
men go jobless.
"Now it is we who must carry on
his fight, keep his dreams before
us as we march into the dark and
unknown future. It is we who must
help bring about the economic
justice George tried to secure for
millions upon millions of poor
Americans. It is we who must
rekindle the faith he had that this
system can change, that it can be
made, in spite of itself, to change.
It is we who must keep alive the
flickering flame of belief in
peaceful change that restores this
nation to its allotted place as home
of humanity, dignity and fulfill
ment.
"It is we who must bear witness
to the lessons George taught us.
For above all, George was a
teacher. He chose to abandon his
test tubes, taking his Ph.D. into the
human laboratory of social action,
teaching people pride and respect.
He went among our society's
outcasts and taught them there
was no shame in welfare, that the
shame lay in an economic system
that forces people into depen
dence. And he taught that the evil
was not in taking the check, but in
the fact that the check wasn't large
enough and that it came with so
many strings attached and that the
society unfairly condemned as it
gave. He organized welfare
recipients and created an organi
zation self-confident in its pursuit
of decency and fairness.
"Yes, George taught us lessons,
but he also has left us some
homework to do. He dissected our
society and showed us where it is
diseased. He organized a new
constituency of people newly
active in the human rights
movement. He created a dynamic
new thrust for us to follow. This,
his legacy, his unfinished legacy,
is the homework our good teacher
left us."
Ready The Votes
On last Wednesday, August 15, Mr. S. E.
Burford filed for a second try at a seat on the
High Point City Council. His filing was
somewhat different for one basic reason.
Samuel E. Burford is an incumbent of the High
Point City Council who happens to be Black.
I suppose the first thing that pops into your
mind is, "what's so different about that. After
all, there are many Black men holding council
seats all over this country, so why is this one so
special." Some of that thought is true and
cannot be denied, but the other portion, not so
in High Point. His filing has to be different
because Samuel Burford is the only Black man
to ever be elected to the High Point City
Council. Consequently, that also makes him
the only Black incumbent seeking another
term on the High Point Council.
This in itself deserves special consideration.
In the 1971 election when Mr. Burford first
ran for council, he managed to poll 4148 votes
to get elected. In so doing, it also required
approximately seven hundred dollars
($700.00) to get the job done. The money raised
came from voluntary contributions only. Some
persons gave without being asked, while
others responded immediately afterwards.
The kind of spirit displayed during that
campaign again is needed. He could not have
been elected then without your help, neither
can he be re-elected this time without your
help. Additionally, his presence alone has
made a noticable difference in our city,
government. Also, the goals he set when first
elected have now been realized, and he states
now that he wants to go even further. With
your help again in the coming campaign, his
re-election can be a reality.
How can this be done?
First, the campaign must be carried out so
that it reaches all of the people, and second,
the people, you, must respond with financial
contributions, volunteer work and services,
and finally, votes.
In order for the campaign to be carried out
properly, money has to be raised, and the
person accepting that great responsibility —
for the second time — is Dr. O. E. Tillman. He
is the person responsible for the fund raising
the last fime, and certainly it's a pleasure to
have him again this time.
Serving as Campaign Chairman, Dr.
Tillman asked all who wish to contribute to the
S. E. Burford Campaign, please mail all
checks to; The S. E. Burford Campaign, 1323
Cedrow Drive, High Point, N. C. 27260. For
others, you can phone, 882-442, and some one
will be happy to pick it up. Of course you can
also contact Mr. Burford. I'm sure he'll be
more than happy to hear from you.
Also volunteer workers are badly needed
and are welcomed to join in this special effort.
If you would like to help visits, or even
telephone calls, your services are also needed.
And for you, simply call 885-6519 and give your
name. There is always something for
everyone to do.
Finally, votes. You and your neighbor must
go out to the polls on Primary Day and
Election Day and vote. No candidate can win
with well wishes. It takes "VOTES", and this
candidate is no exception.
If you want to see him returned, work and
money will turn the trick.
THE TRIBUNAL AID
1228 Montlieu Avpnue
(919) 885-6519
P. 0. Box 921 High Point, N. C. 27261
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