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wmmm PAGE 4 TOE TRIBUNAL AID WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 1975 EDITORALS *You're A Part Of The Solution, Or You’re A Part Of The Problem ’ THE VIEWS OF HE WIITEI'S UE MT tlWHS TltSE OF THE MPEI'S From The CHARLOTTE POST Historical Case Imminent In North Carolina By Gerald Johnson Historical Case Imminent In N. C. .. North Carolina is on the verge of a liistorlcal and classical trial. The trial is that of Miss Joan Little, accused of murdering the jailer in the Beaufort County jail with an ice pick. Miss Little claims the jailer attempted to rape her, and she killed him in self defense. ..The problem lies in the fact that regardless of the outcome of the trial there will be a FACTION ih com plete disagreement. .. The North Carolina white popu lace, who feel Black women are promiscuous, anyway, will believe that Miss Little prompted the jailer. Miss Little will be dipicted as a Black Widow spider luring her prey into a death trap. ..The North Carolina Black popu lace, who feel that all whites are pigs, will believe Mr. Alligood, the jailer, tried to force himself on Miss Little. Miss Little had to do what she did to protect herself. .. The prosecutors will open the trial by digging into Miss Little’s past and trying to show the type character Miss Little is. . .The defense will counter by citing cases where women were abused in small town jails. Then a character profile of Mr. Alligood will be intro duced to secure the point. . .With all this done the entire case hinges on the characters of the members of the jury. Race, sex, marital status, age and financial class will play important roles in how jury members will see this case. Obviously, a young Black single female would be more sympathetic toward the defense than say a white, middle-aged, businessman. . .The jury will be left to judge the case on predominantly character Judgement of Miss Little and Mr. Alligood. I can’t see any facts deve loping from the situation since Miss Little and Mr. Alligood were the only witnesses. Of course Mr. Alligood will not be able to tell his side of the story. . .A white man dead at the hands of a Black female is in itself a situation to be contended with in a state such as North Carolina. Ignoring this aspect the case is still quite monu mental. But, of course, this situation can not be ignored. .. Regardless of the outcome of the case the truth will still be blowing in the wind. •D«X ■aoaBQ; THE TRIBUNAL AID | 1228 Montlieu Avenue i Post Office Box 921 fbone [919] 885-o519j High Point, N. C. 2 7261 ( Published Every Wednesday by Triad Publications, Inc. | Mailed Subscrtption Rate I $5.00 Per Year Payable in Advance | Albert A. Campbell Managing Editor i Jean M. White Secretary I LEXINGTON | Jessie Wood 246-6521 I THOMASVaLE | ^ Kelly Hoover 476-7472 I I WINSTON-SALEM I Velma Hopkins | 725-144-s I Second-Class Postage Paid at High Pofait, N.C. j opooppBqggBiigBc' Black Perspectives BY CARL T. ROWAN WASHINGTON - This town used to buzz with the question, “What's wrong with Wilbur Mills?" But the number one question nowadays is, "What's happened to Henry Kissinger?" The Secretary of State, who used to be labeled “Superman", has recently been showing an awful lot of the irritation and poor judgement we attribute to mere mortals. Once again we have the town abuzz over Kissinger's implied threats that he will quit, followed by a public statement by the President designed to salve Kissinger’s wounded ego. Despite White House assurances that Kissinger won't resign and Mr. Ford won’t replace him, the odds increase every day that Kissinger will resign well before the 1976 politicking begins. And probably in a bitter fog of pique in which he claims that the Congress, the press or someone has rendered him “unuseful." The last Gallup Poll on men most admired by the American public had Kissinger still at the top of the pile. Yet, it is clear in this town that Kissinger is no longer viewed with the same awe as in the days when he seemed to be fashioning miracles in our dealings with China and the Soviet Union. They have just laughed on Capitol Hill in recent days when Kissinger implied that half the world would come to an end if he didn’t get $222 million more in military aid for Cambodia. “Nn sale’’ was the response of Congressmen when Kissinger tried to persuade them not to cut off aid to Turkey. Congress isn’t the only place where j'eople have ceased to take Kissinger’s w’ord at face value. The press is infinitely more skeptical of his pronouncements now than was the case two years ago. So is the diplomatic corps. Kissinger is currently involved in a highly unusual duel of public insults with T.N. Kaul, India's ambassador to the U.S. When the U.S. lifted the embargo on arms to Pakistan, Kaul made the acid comment that it “reduces the credibility of U.S. assurances, which have proved inoperative in the past." Figuring that Kaul was calling him a liar, Kissinger publicly declared Kaul's remarks “unacceptable." Meanwhile, Kissinger is involved in another bitter public controversy in which he has taken on just about the whole continent of Africa. This one started with a colossal Kissinger blunder in which the Secretary outsted Donald Easum as Assistant Secretary of State for Africa. To replace Easum, who knows Africa and has the trust and respect of African leaders, Kissinger chose Nathaniel Davis. Davis is a decent man, not an ogre - but he carries the burden of having been our ambassador to Chile when Marxist President Salvador Allende was overthrown and killed -- allegedly with CIA instigation or help. And Davis is not remotely an expert on Africa. The notion of Davis presiding over U.S. policies toward Africa is so distasteful to Africans that foreign ministers in the Organization of African Unity formally condemned his selection. Kissinger fired off a bitter letter of protest to express “the depth of my dismay in learning from the press of this unprecedented and harmful act. Such is the Kissinger ego that he apparently will insist on giving the African affairs post to Davis even though the African ministers may treat him as a leper. These flaps are only part of Kissinger's new woes. His image as Superman began to fade during that emotional break-up that he displayed in Vienna last year. Since then the prize-winning “peace" that he fashioned in Indochina has been exposed as anything but peace. Cambodia is about to fall to the Communists, something that can be blamed directly on Kissinger-Nixon policies of 1970. His trade arrangements with the Soviet Union blew up in his face and he is running frantically between Washington and the Middle East, trying desperately to prevent the collapse of his peace program there. As his frustrations grow', Kissinger seems more inclined to make outbursts that are not always either diplomatic or rational. One begins to suspect that our peripatetic Secretary of State is really getting a little weary of his job now that things don’t go so well. White H ouse W Congress To The Point by Ronald Mock TO BE EQUAL by Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. Who will be laid off? That’s a question on a lot of people’s minds these days as the economy continues to deteriorate and unemployment continues to climb. It’s also a question that could be an explosive one, deepening the already troublesome fissures in our society. And it is a question of immediate significance to employ ers, unions, minority employees, federal officials and the courts, because of the conflicting claims of seniority and affirmative action. Most large employers are bound by union contracts that say layoffs must be in order of seniority - first hired, last fired. They are also bound by the law, in this case the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forbids discriminatory employ ment practices. It was due to this law that many blacks, women and minorities got their first crack at jobs previously reserved for white males. To make up for past discrimination, many companies have agreed with federal authorities to undertake affirmative action programs de signed to increase the numbers of minority employees. Now a recession-struck compan is caught in a dilemna: who to lay off? If they lay off older white workers, they violate seniority provisions of their union contracts. If they lay off blacks who have less seniority thanks to the earlier refusal to hire, the company reverts back to its lily-white work force and violates affirmative action agreements with the government, as well as the Civil Rights Act. Caught in the middle are workers of both races who face layoffs in a job market that offers no opportunity for alternative employment. There are already some signs of deepening racial bitterness as some workers are victims of layoffs that don’t affect the other race as much. If this situation continues, we would see a lethal combination of racial conflict and economic hardship, an explosive mix. Several cases have already come before the courts, but with contradictory rulings. In one case, the court ruled that a company could not lay off its black workers because such action would perpetuate the effects of past discrimination. In another case, the judge ruled that the seniority system should predominate and it’s just too bad if that works Continued cm P^e 7 Since the slogan of “Black Power” exploded across the city of High Point during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, no new leaders nor new powers,, adapted to new times and destine;^, have stood up in the Black community to carry on the struggle for Black peoples’ constitutional and human rights. Consequently, the Black com munity of High Point slowly dies from lack of unity, leadership, and involvement. Stormy dialogue rages within many Black neighborhoods over the state of Black people in this city of over 60,000. However, since it is only stormy dialogue rather than personal community involve ment, it serves no useful purpose. Moreover, it only reveals the extent to which each and everyone of us is committed to action, and to the realization that the chains of economic exploitation, political oppression and social degradation that bonded us during the 60’s still bonds us, more than ten years later. It has been said, “time cures all”. It is a waste of time and energy if dialogue replaces active participation of Black people in affairs that effect the Black community of High Point. It may eventually be our destroyer. We must stress this point because Black people could be in danger of being the victims of bigotry and racism, again. Vivid points could lie in the large number of Black children suspended or dismissed from public schools, the low income level of Black people, the lack of traditional Black social activity, decrease of Black participation in economic, political and social decision making. Another aspect is to not blame all the problems on white folk or on lack of unity and leadership. Malcolm X once wrote, “Anything done for us, has to be done by us.” Yes, there is a serious crisis in the Black community of High Point. No Black leadership. No Black unity. No Black involvement. But these manifestations stem from the unconcerned attitudes of many people in this city. Black unity. Black leadership and Black involvement must involve a concerted effort by every spectrum of the community. Contrary to many peoples’ impressions, the struggle for justice and equality still demand our upmost attention. There are romantic notions around that Black people have “made it”...That the problems of inequality in the schools, in the factories, in business, in govern ment, in every facet of this city’s life do not exist! But, because of the danger of the hour, the enormity of the problem and the passiveness of the people, we can no longer be influenced by the illusion that someone else is going to shoulder our burdens and save us from our plight. The time has come for everyone of us to assume responsibility for the welfare of our communities and for the welfare of our children and for the welfare of our children’s children. It is time, as one author phrased it, for us to understand that “a chicken cannot lay a duck egg”. The destines of the Black man in this city must come from our minds, our hearts. It will depend upon our legs and arms. It may rise and fall from our actions -- or lack of actions. Are we going to do nothing? Many of you may ask “What can I do?” You can lift up your voice for responsible representa tion through active participation. You can forget about who has the most money, the largest house, the latest automobile, the highest education. We could know ourselves and the problems that confront our neighborhoods and this city. Further, we could commit ourselves to action. We could join in organization and we could do something constructive for our people. More specifically, we could: (1) Attend PTA meetings, (2) Register and vote, (3) Patronize Black businesses, professions and ar tists, (4) Develop programs and activities for Black youth, (5) Speak out against unfairness and discrimination, (6) Monitor and support schools, (7) Develop Black cultural and social events, (8) Support Black organizations and institutions, (9) Follow and lead Black people,, and (10) Break the invisible chains of economic exploitation, political oppression, and social degradation. Instead of buying that fifth of wine, that bag of dope, that half of gallon of liquor, give to those people, those organizations, those institutions that protest for dignity and respect for Black people in this city. These are only a few possibilities. Freedom for Black people is not given in outlines, but by looking deep into our hearts, speaking out, and becoming involved. Will we allow the Black community of High Point to slowly and uselessly die? The answer, my friends, must come from me and you!
The Tribunal Aid (High Point, N.C.)
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March 5, 1975, edition 1
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