I I PAGE 4 THt; TRIBUNAL AID WEDNESDAY, JUJ.Y 30, la75 EDITORIALS ‘You're A Part Of The Solution, Or You’re A Part Of The Problem ’ IK »ias If Tl[ WIITEI'S Mt MT tOlttt TIKt OF Tit MfEI’S Point by Albert A. Campbell THEIR SLOGAN "WORK NEEDED NOW Often when problems arise in a community, re sponsible persons and committees fail to respond to the needs of the community. This, in many cases, brings about a disheartened and disgruntled citizenry. Likewise, services to the community cease to function in a desired, meaningful pattern. It is heartwarming when responsible persons or groups rise to the occasion when needed. In High Point, a group of concerned citizens (the Patrician Club) has done just that. As was the case in Thom* asville when the swimming pool allegedly was neglected by city official, responsible persons came forth and let their voices be heard. The Patri cian Club of High Point has now done the same in a very similar situation. The Washington Terrace Park (previously all Black) has been neglected over the past few years and has been allowed to deteriorate. Now that ru mors are circulating that the park will eventually be closed, efforts are being made to not only retain its availability but to restore it as well to a safe and enjoyable condition. Over the years, complaints have been made by many persons but seemingly nothing of any value has been done to correct the situation. Complaints have fallen on deaf ears, closed minds, and insensitive heeurts. Now an appeal has to be made by taxpaying citizens to the responsible authorities to adequately service the taxpayers dollars. In the opinion of this writer, it is a sad commen tary when Black folk have to continuously negoti ate with persons who are depriving them of their dignity. The days of the 60s are thought to have deceased when the architect of theii demonstra tions passed. Persons no longer wish to go back into the streets to create havoc and chaos; but, when conditions dictate such, few alternatives remain. The Patrician Club’s peaceful and honorable actions are bringing about the desired and needed changes. If, however, a quick and fair disposition is not rendered by the responsible parties, it could be construed as another in a long series of benign neglect. No one,, wishes to see his own city entangled in legal negotiations, attempting to salvage federal funds. Nor, does anyone wish to see the return of further confrontations; but over the past 6 years progress by Blacks has not only ceased but has also taken a reversal. If the handwriting on the wall cannot be seen, then the Black community, itself, can be consid ered also negligent. ALTHOUGH THE EDITORIALS WRIITEN IN THIS NEWSPAPER ARE NOT INTENDED TO BE' THE ONLY ANSWERS TO THE PROBLEMS AND CONDITIONS EXPRESSED, SOME PER SONS MAY STILL DISAGREE WITH THESE THOUGHTS, BECAUSE OF THIS, THE NEWS PAPER EXTENDS AN INVITATION TO ANY RESPONSIBLE PERSON WHO WISHES TO REFUTE THESE EXPRESSIONS TO DO SO, AND FREE AND EQUAL SPACE WILL BE PRO VIDED. >OOOQOOiOOrM->G)oc»QOOOO0, THE TRIBUNAL AID 1228 Montlieu Avenue Post Office Box 921 Phone [919] 885-6519 High Point, N. C. 27261 Published Every Wednesday by Triad Publications, Inc. Mailed Subscription Rate $5.00 Per Year Albert A. Campbell Managing Editor Jean M. White Secretary Don Bailey, (^neral Manager ! NEMPLOYMENT ri CHECKS If ‘ i TO BE EQUAL by Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. Executive Director of the National Urban League One of the unsung victims of the current economic Depression is the minority busi nessman. Under the best of circumstances he’s got the cards staci^ed against him, and in hard times he’s struggling just to survive. A recent Census report suggests that though minority enterprises are but a small part of the private sector, they comprise about 400,000 businesses doing over $16 billion worth of business each year. Impressive as such totals may be, the typical establishment is small and struggling. Only about a fifth employ woricers other than the owners and about two-thirds are in retail trade or services, traditionally the most marginal of business enterprises. Last year’s tight money market, inflation, and the energy shortage hit black business harder than it did majority-owned firms. The massive economic slow-down since then has continued the slide. The black business failure rate has been estimated at close to 20 per cent, and that includes a few of the larger firms, too. Just as black building trades contractors managed to gain a small foothold in the traditionally segregated construction indust ry, the boom was lowered on housing and construction, mainly because of federal policies that slowed home-building to a crawl. This means many black businessmen who were last on the bandwagon when the economy was booming are now the first to be bumped off it. Black business operates under a triple handicap. First, minority businessmen have to face discrimination, overt or subtle, every day. Second, a minority business is often strapped for cash and needs access to loans to survive. Finally, the historic barriers faced by minorities mean a smaller pool of man agerial talent and expertise available to run businesses in a difficult economic climate. All of this argues for an expanded effort to tide minority businesses over the current slump in the economy. If the private enter- FROM A READER ASHEBORO>—_ Vanessa Cross 625-4950 GREENSBORO ______Luiia Jessup 299-4402 'KERNERSVILLE ——^Mozelle Warren 993-4657 LEXINGTON..__»__Jessie Wood 246-6521 REIDSVILLE -Sandra Hiii 349-5229 SALISBURY — ;Ed> Banks 279-7016 STOKESDALE ______'Shelia Kinu 643-3237 THOMASVILLE F«>-abee 476-4730 Kelly Hoover 476-7472 WINSTON-SALEM—..Velma Hopkins 725-1442 Second-Clas^ Postage Paid at High Point, N.C, yaBBoeaogoMaQBOooqQeoooBBoej i Disappointments come in many different forms, and facing them for what they really are often becomes difficult. Disappointments also come unexpectedly. For example, you expect to reach a certain destination at a given time ~ then the car breaks down! Maybe this is where the old saying, “expect the unexpected”, was coined. If this policy is followed, many of the difficulties we face can i>e taken lightly. Often we become frustra ted with life when things go every way but the right way; but if we look at the situation as if it his were just a “bad day” and it will soon be over, then we will snap back quick ly- Moping around or feeling sorry for ourselves can pull us into a state of depression. Depression hurts the mental state of mind and hinders our normal thinking pattern. While in this state of mind, many incidents can happen. One major side effect of deep depression is the attempt to take our own lives (suicide). The solution to this prob lem is not drugs. Drugs are only a temporary escape and can often make matters worse. The only way to solve this problem is for us to WANT to solve the problem and then talk at)out it. This enables us to let all of our locked-up feelings escape and be known. We often tend to block ourselves off from the world to escape. This is about the worst thing we can possibly do. We should get out and l)e around other people and communicate with them. The more we communicate with others and talk with them, we will see our problems become minor. Then we must come to ourselves-analyzing what we have seen and heard, realizing our problems aren’t as big as some people’s problems. When we begin to look objectively, we see that the world is made up of problems with which we must cope. But, do we, as individu als, have what it takes to cope? Selena Barr I INSIGHT J For Teens OriJ prise system is going to work, it should work for all. A two per cent minority share of the total businesses in America is a disgrace to a system that prides itself on its supposed equal opportunity. Given the stated national goal of assisting minority business and the need for direct aid now, it is unfortunate that an effort appears under way to axe the sole federal agency designed to provide assistance to minority entrepreneurs, the Office of Minority Business Enterprise. OMBE has come under attack by a House Committee report charging it with failure and suggesting that it can’t succeed at all. And there are rumors about the ultimate fate of the one governmental program black and other minority businessmen look to as designed specifically to help them. OMBE and Commerce Department spokesmen have criticized the House report severely for its shortcomings and its assump tions of minority business incompetence. Whatever its faults, and its supporters never claimed it was perfect, OMBE has never been responsible for the kinds of cost over-runs and bureaucratic inefficiences so typical of other government agencies. Established in 1969, it wasn’t until 1972 that it got the funds to start its job and OMBE has done an impressive amount of good since then. It has encouraged subcon tracting to minority-owned firms, directly assisted a third of them, and provided technical assistance and other help that saved many businesses that might otherwise have gone under. Like any agency, public or private, it should not be immune from criticism, but such criticism should be constructive and aimed at helping it do its job better. As an agency geared to minority need, it is a highly visible target for those who would like to see it fail, but if OMBE and other attempts at bringing blacks and other minorities into the mainstream of our economic life fail, then everybody viill be hurt too. What side of the bed do you get up on? Which sock do you put on first? If the answer to each question holds true for each day of our lives, then we may consider ourselves caught up in a habit. In other words, this is the way we have been conditioning ourselves. This does not only hold true for the things I have just mentioned but for anything. Any thing can Ijecome a habit if we do it often enough and long enough. Once these habits have been adopted, they are next to impossible to break. Some times when we find that the habit can’t be broken, we tend to find a reason to justify the habit. For example, smokers. Many smokers blame their habit on nerves or ten sion; and as a matter of fact, so do excessive drinkers. These people claim that by their drinking or smoking, it helps to calm their nerves or ease their tensions. But little do they know that these things do more harm than good. If they do claim to get relief, it is purely psychological. A habit (as described in Webster’s Seventh Collegiate Dictionary) is behavior or act pattern acquired by frequent repetition or pysiological exposure.” Therefore, whatever joy comes out of the habit is “all in our minds.” Habits can bother others if that habit is done continuously. These habits, in other words, “irk” us. A few of these habits in clude: cracking knuckles, a constant whistle, constantly clearing your throat; or, the ulti mate “irking” habit, making something squeak. These habits may be done without us even thinking about it; but they are very apparent to others. The fact that these things may become a habit makes them hard to stop doing. We may be asked to stop and then a few minutes later we go back to the same thing. by Miller Carter, Jr. “Bad” habits are not the only type of habit one can have. Some “good” habits include: brushing your teeth three times a day, every day; turning off lights when not in use; or just simply closing the door behind yourself. These habits are instilled in us, basically, by our parents and environ ment. Our environment sometimes puts “bad” habits on us, too. These habits in clude: the use of profane language, fighting, and the worst of all, racial prejudices. All of these habits can be overcome by substituting something good in place of our present “bad” habit. For example, every time we feel like cursing, we should exchange the words for a “big” word that we have never used before. Since many people say that cursing shows a lack of vocabulary, this idea can help us in two ways. First, it will help us to stop the use of “dirty” words; and second, it will broaden our vocabularies at the same time. The habit of racial prejudice has been passed on for centuries. We have been taught that the white race is always (?) right. By picking up racial problems from our environ ment, it become a habit to hate them. The way to break this habit, like all others, is extremely difficult. It’s not just a simple task but one which takes great determina tion and an abundance of faith within our selves. Everytime we break a habit, we create in us a free spirit and a sense of satisfaction. It’s about time for everyone to be free and since habits and freedom are both a part of our minds, let’s be free. THOUGHT FOR THIS WEEK: Only a free spirit can soar through the mystery of possibility. FROM "THE CAROLINIAN” JoAnne Little's Trial To Become Historic Last week, the trial of Miss JoAnne Little got underway. Historically, it may rank with the famous Scottslioro trial in Alabama years ago. And the general local public atmosphere is very similar. The 21-year-old black , woman faces a mandatory death penalty if she is convicted on the charge she murdered Clarence Alligood, 62, a white farmer, who worked as night jailer in the Beaufort County Jail at Washington, N.C. Miss Little, who was an inmate, contends Alligood tried to rape her in her cell, that she stabbed him in self-defense and tlien ran for her life. It is projected the trial will consume at least 6 weeks. The prosecution is determined to convict the black woman. But Miss Little has a tremendous support, since the case hat become an issue for civil rights, women’s rights and prison reform groups, ^hese groups have determined that ‘Justice i? not dead for the poor in North Carolina.” The thrust of the women’s g^roups will, no doubt, hinge around the issue that a woman has the right to defend her honor. Prison reforms groups want to pres.s the point that there are “rotten going-ons” in the prison system, and that the rights of poor inmates must not be abrogated. The righteousness of the cause will hinge upon the effectiveness of the strategies employed by the prosecution and defense. All poor people have a stake in this trial so as their rights are concerned. God grant that justice will prevail! Tilings Tou Should Knovr 4fc SMITH... . Of WHITE AND NE6R0 PARENTAG^^I THIS PHYSIC IAN,SCIENTISXORATOR,SCHOLAR AND ABOLITIONfST WRITER GAINED NATIONAL FAME AROUND I840./a GRADUATE OF THE UNIV. OF (gLASCOW,SCOTLAND. HE IS BEST KNOWN FOR HIS WORK WITH CHAS. RAY HELPING GERRITT SMITH OF_PETERSByRG,NjY^^ORGANIZER OF THE LIBERTY PARTY^,SET UP A PLAN TO COLONIZE FREE NEGROES ON N.Y. STATE FARM LAND d TRAIN THEM IN ANIMAL HUSBANDRY /