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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 /