Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 20 July 1968 — Page 9

SATURDAY, JULY 20, 1968

PAGE NINE

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

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Editorials The case against the executioiTer In the months after the assassination of President Kennedy, Congress responding to the nation’s reaction of horror and shock, made the assassination of a President or Vice President a Federal offense for the first time, with the penalty of death. One of those urging passage of the statute was then-Deputy Attorney General Ramsey Clark. Two weeks ago, Clark, now the Attorney General, appeared before a Senate subcommittee with iome second thoughts. Testifying in support of a bill introduced by Michigan Democrat Phillip Hart to abolish the Federal use of capital punishment-now possible for more than a dozen crimesClark said that for the Government to execute anyone, even the assassin of a President, “chiefly serves to remind us how close we remain to the jungle,” Abolition of the death penalty, he declared, would be a major milestone in the long road up from barbarism.’’ If the Hart bill passes-and odds seem to be fairly good that it will-the United States will join some 70 nations around the world and 13 states in this country which have already abolished the death penalty. But every year the courts in 37 American states still sentence somewhere between 70 and 100 men (and occasionally, though rarely, a woman,) to death by hanging, electrocution, gas or the firing squad. On death rows around the country there are now more than 435 men waiting to die, some since as long ago as 1956, and the average for more than two years. But since 1935, when a record 199 persons were put to death, executions have been steadily declining. Two years ago, there was only one execution, in Oklahoma; last year, there were two, one in California and the other in Colorado; this year there have been none so far. The executioner has been most frequently deterred by the courts as a result of appeals on behalf of individuals sentenced to die, and because of massive suits on behalf of all the men on death row in specific states. The suits have beep, brought not only on evidentiary and technical grounds but have challenged the whole concept and application of the death penalty. It, they say, cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution; and it is clearly in violation of the various Equal Protection Amendments to the Constitution, since almost all of those sentenced to death have been the poor and the uneducated, and, particularly members of deprived minori-ties-about half of those now on death row are Negroes and more than half of those ment than want to retain it-42 percent, out of 3,817 executed since 1930. What the courts have been doing, in essence, has been to give legal voice and weight to the prevailing public view. Opposition to what opponents of capitol punishment call “legalized murder” has been growing steadily in the United States and polls now show that more Americans 47 per cent favor the end of capitol punishment than what to retain it-42 percent. In fact, the proponents of capital punishment among prominent Americans are scarce indeed. Among the few are Gov. Ronald Reagan of California-who feels the “death penalty is a deterrent in certain cases, and thus make a contribution to the safety of the public-and FBI director J, Edgar Hoover-who says “ To love thy neighbor is to protect him; capitol punishment acts as at least one wall to afford God’s children protection. But most criminologists and penlogists would dispute the views of Hoover and Regan. They point out that the murder rate is no higher, and in fact is often lower, in states which have abolished capitol punishr ment than in those which retain it. The death penalty, they say deters no one except the man executed and, further, is a denial of the possibility that a man may change. Killing a person after he has killed another does justice neither to the victim, the murderer, nor to ourselves. It does not undo the deed-it only intensifies the tragedy of the original crime.

NCQrO Press Creed the United States of America con best lead the world away from racial and national antagonism when it accords every man, regardess of race, color or creed, his human and legal rights. Hating no man, fearing no man, the Negro Press strives to help every man in the firm belief that all are hurt so long as any one is held back.

'l£T US UNITE CONTEMPLATION WITH ACTION' IN THE HARMONY OF THE TWO, LIES THE PERFECTION OF CHARACTER-THEY ARE NOT CONTRADICTORY AND INCOMPATIBLE, BUT MUTUALLY HELPFUL TO EACH OTHER:

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Voice From The Gallery 6 ' / It should be called the year of the ass

WHITE AMERICAN

AMERICAN INDIAN

AFRO - AMERICAN AMERICAN PUERTO RICAN

SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

BANDED TO CHALLENGE THE AMERICAN DREAM!

To Be Equal ■ III ■ * ' ■ —

by WHITNEY M. YOUNG, JR

We are all militants

There Is a word game being played in the press and elsewhere about civil rights leaders and organizations. The game consists of labelling some as "moderates” and others as "militants..’ It’s a game anyone can play-and nearly everyone does. But it’s a meaningless game, and even a misleading one. Regardless of the use of these labels, I don’t know of anyone In them the movement who is "moderate" in the sense of willing to compromise the rights of Negroes or In not feeling intensely about the problems of discrimination and poverty. Look at the Urban League, for example. It often gets stuck with the "moderate" label simply because it doesn’t shout and scream or throw bricks and Molotov cocktails. But it is an action agency whose 90 affiliates see about 600,000 low income black people every year, helping them to solve problems and bring about change In their lives. The League’s basic position is that it seeks to develop "ghetto power" by organizing the black community to defend its interest through better social services, jobs, and community unity. That’s what its annual conference in New Orleans

at the end of this month, will be planning for. But because it doesn’t try to scare white people with violentsounding slogans, it is not considered "militant." Black college students are considered militant. Their sitins and other demonstrations at campuses all over the country have forced college administrations to change many discriminatory rules. But the Urban League is the only major organization working with these students. It has a special summer program in which about 50 black student leaders will be working in about a dozen Urban Leagues around the country helping to organize ghetto residents. By the end of the summer these young people will have developed the skills and know-how to become really effective community leaders when they graduate. We hear a lot about separatism these days too. There Is a lot of wild talk about wanting a separate state. But there are already seven all-black cities in the United States. I have yet to hear about one of these fire-eat-ing "militants" moving to one of them. Hobson City, Alabama, for example, has a black mayor, black police, black administration- but during the day of Its

Our Readers Write Black mothers unite for action locally

We are black mothers united for action. As members of the Black Women’s Radical Action Project, 1654 N. Broadway, the purposes we keep In mind are: to promote black awareness, to change the Institutions to meet the needs of black people, to enlighten our Negro churches, to see to it that black businesses are a common occurrence in our community, to demand a change in the educational system in our black neighborhood, to be watchdogs over black public servants, to affect political issues, and to stop police brutality and slayings. We, as black mothers, will not give up another black son as victims to this racist society. We are appalled at the silence of the black community in Indianapolis over the deaths of black and other minority youths. When will the world hear the truth behind such brutal slayings? v Like Martin Luther King, we too have a dream, a dream that blacks and Negroes will soon unite and walk together as one. That they will unite to put an end to these attemped annihilations of our black people. As black women, we are tired of year after year of so-called civil rights legislation designed to give us rights (which were guaranteed under the Constitution of the United States) being fought over, watered down, and passed by a do-nothing Con-

gress. We have not forgotten Malcolm. We remember Marcus. We will never forget Medger. Our hearts cry when we think of Emmitt and countless others too numerous to mention here. When they were murdered we were Negroes. Today Dr. King and Bobby, we are black. As black women, we know it is not easy for our males to be black men In this racist society. Whenever a black man stands up in this country against this racist system, or shows any indication of leadership, he fells victim to the white man’s justice. Huey Newton, H. Rap Brown, Stokley Carmichael, Eldridge Cleaver, Bobby Seale,Cleveland Sellars and Robert Williams are prime examples. We stand behind these courageous young men. We realize that the feet that we are giving this statement today will bring attempted Intimidation and harassment upon us at every turn by the white power structure. It’s sad that we have to feel this way about speaking out in a democracy where we are supposedly guaranteed freedom of speech. But we also realize Negro parents must be reached before it is too late. They must be made aware that their children are in j anger of being shot down in the streets by the cops of Indiana-

There is something to be said of the custom of the Chinese in naming years tier animals. If we were to adopt the pleasant custom, the election year 1968 might appropriately bedesignated"the Year

of the Ass."

• The particular ass in this case would be the former governor of Alabama and his racist cohorts about the nation. The polls report some with alarm and others with glee that the mental midget who is running third ticket for the highest office in our land that he "is pulling the protest vote across the U.S." The word protest is an euphonism for racist or segregationist and is one of several terms employed during this election year to disguise racial animosity. Many political analyst are predicting that George Wallace will poll enough votes to prevent either of the major party candidates from receiving a majority of the electorial votes and thus throw the election into the House of Represenatlves. There are profound suggestions that the House of Represenatlves pledge to give the candidate receiving the plurality in popular votes be elected thus discounting the elector ial votes. Here in Indiana leaders of both the Democrat and Repub- - lican parties are tacitly conceding that Wallace will draw a considerable number of votes. Their concern seems to be which party will suffer most from the loss of this bloc of votes. There is conjecture over the question of whether the

segregationist voters will vote only for Wallace or will also vote for candidates for the U.S. Senate and Indiana Governor. Most of the political observers are of the opinion that as far as the presidential race is concerned the Wallace candidacy will hurt the Republican chances. This makes some sense In that the majority of those who have been castigating the Warren Supreme Court have been Republicans and the major target of the Wallace supporters Is the U.S. Supreme Court. Probably most Republicans are not in agreement with the anti-War-ren sentiments and will not be tempted to desert the GOP for the kook from Alabama. It is true also that there are^ Democrats who have not liked the recent Supreme Court decisions, but most of them are in the South and would normally vote Republican as a matter of protest if it were not for the candidacy of the madman from Montgomery. The supporters of the third party candidate are against a gun control law and most of the opponents of such a law in the present congress are Republicans. These voters would vote for Mr. Wallace rather than the Republican because they realize that the Republicans In congress who oppose the gun law are not speaking for the majority of Republicans whereas Mr. Wallace's position is clear. The Wallaceites will campaign on the false Issue of crime in the streets, mean-

ing Negro crime rather than .rime in general and that false issue will appeal to the woolhats in Indiana as well as in the deep South. It is already apparent that the Wallace campaign will siphon off the racist vote leaving the saner vote divided between the two major parties. It is the size of this racist vote that will be both interesting and probably alarming. Much of the quasi - racist vote will stay with the major parties. That is the vote of those who use termsTike "the neighborhood school concept" and Its sanctity and who oppose busing school children to obtain school integration. The mere fact that George Wallace could receive enough signatures in twenty-nine states to get his name of the ballot for the November election is an Indictment against the American people and professed American democracy. The candicacy of this half humerous but completely dangerous man points up the need for a campaign in this country to clear the cobwebs of the past from the minds of millions of American citizens. It corroborates the opinion expressed In the Kerner Report that America is fast heading for a split into two societies one white and the other black while at the same time giving ammunition to the separatist philosophy of many militant black power advocates. All in all the political situation this year would give us ample reason to name this the "Year erf The Ass."

residents are 30 miles away working for white peoole In Anniston. And the Urban League is the only agency I know of which is in there, helping the people of Hobson City. Action, not talk, is what makes us militant. The so-called militants have strange bedfellows. When they talk of self-imposed segregation, all they are doing Is saying ’ what Bilbo and other white bigots used to say. Racists still want to keep black people out of the general society. But this old, old stuff. About * 150 years ago white racists wanted to ship Negroes back to Africa, and some black people at that time were willing to abandon dreams for equality and go. But In 1831, a group of Negroes met In New York and Issued a statement which stands today as the essence of the black man’s rights to freedom and equality. "This is our home," they said, "and this is our country. Beneath its sod lie the bones of our fathers; for it they fought, bled, and died. Here we were born, and here we will die." Black people want to be included In this society, not shut out of it. America is for all of us, of whatever race or color, and we are all militant when it comes to demanding our full rights.

Sunday School Lesson

by REV. j. T. HIGHBAUGH. SR.

The challenge to new life

This Week in Negro History

July 20, 1848 World’s first Women’s Rights Convention held. Women’s rights and an-ti-slavery causes were linked. July 28, 1866-Negro armed troops were made an offl- • cial part of the U.S. Army by act of Congress passed on this date. July 30, 1863-Henry Ford, father of assembly line In the manufacture of automobiles and one of the first to pay Negro workers equal salaries for commensurate work was born. July 31, 1881-Slavery was abolished In Egypt. MY FIRST PAIR OF BREECHES I’ve got a pair of breeches now And I’ll have to be a man. I know I can if I just try, My mama says, I can. I’m going to school very soon, And learn my ABC’s My mama says I'm too young But I'm way past three! I’ve got pockets in my pants, To put my pencils in. For mama says, I must write, In school when I begin. I'll be as tall as papa now, I’ll grow as fast as I can And don’t you think that verv soon I’ll be a full grown man? Willis Stegger

polls. If you are interested in this jroup contact Mrs. Barbara Martin, co-chairman 2266 N. Meridian. 923>468<>

LARGER LESSON: Ezekiel 18, LESSON PRINT:Ezeliel 18:2632, 36:26-38 MEMORY VERSEjEzekiel 36:26 TIME:^ C 597 PLACE: By River Chebor in Babylon AIM: That adults will respond to Gods Call to a New Life The Prophet Ezekiel was a priest who was departed and carried away captive about 597 B.C. under Jehorakim and was prophet to the Jews in a slave colony or work camp near the River Chebor. In order that we may understand this limited message of today let us think as follows: I— A Principle That Decides Ezekiel 18: 26-28 II- A Practice That Illuninates Ezekiel 18:29-30 IU-A Provision That Challenges Ezelkiel 18-31-32 IV—A Promise That Encourages Ezekiel 36: 26-28 I-A Principle That Decides This is the Deep Principle built around "The Soul that sinneth shall die." Ezekiel 18:20. This will assure us that if an Individual shall hold in mind that sin must be punished and righteousness shall be justinea. Here the term spiritual death Is more alluded to than physical. This means such loyalty to God is spiritual life and disloyalty to God and good is

death. In most principles like these we accuse God of being unfair with us as Israel did. But this principle means that when a man who is deeply guilty before God turns away from his sins confesses them God is faithful and anxious to forgive him conversly, it means when a righteous man turns to wickedness there is no hope for him he has chosen death and darkness. This was all that the Old Testament offered a principle of hope. A bargain of life to miss it one was lost. II—A Practice That Illuminates But guilty conscience generally accuses God of being unfair. We compare ourselves with one another as we think in reference to God and we feel that God is unfair to us. This grows out of our unthankful nature and incapacity to really judge our neighbor well and of course we are oblivious completely as to God’s great purposes. So God in return says to the accusation that the Lord is not equal in his way toward us which means He is not fair. God's replies are not my ways equal (just) and your ways unequal ( unjust). This is to set mankind on an even balance and let him stand before God for himself "Repent" says the Lord "Think again" "Examine

yourself" turn from all your iniquities and transgressions." "Don’t just quit a few" "Turn from all!” III— A Provision That Challenges He even challenges Israel to try to make them a new heart. We have been physically trying heart plants from other patients with no avail but bv trvine we are learning the impossibility to man making a new heart. Our first provision for Gods help is for us to throw away our transgressions. Quit trying to act like little gods in the earth. God does not want to see us wilt and die. Look and Live We are like Israel In the wilderness bitten by the serpents and God has put up the fiery serpents and its: Only that we look and live Look and live my brother live Look to Jesus now and live I’ve a message from the Lord Hallelujah It is only that we Look and live IV- A Promise That Encourages Look at the nature of a new Life It is a Gift of God. So it was promised by Jesus John 3:1-16 It was so accepted by Paul Cor. 5:21 We are made by the New Heart within New Creatures in Christ Jesus. We have a New world in our View.

Nation has succumbed to 'pussy-footing'

To The Editor The Recorder Dear Sir: Word upon word has been spoken. We looked and listened; two days-two nights an eternity. Those of us, full with the love and respect we have come to feel for all of the Kennedysfull with love and hope for our country-cried and sympathized and maybe we became a bit apprehensive at one point or another, and shook our heads in disbelief or wrung our hands and whispered into the bleak night-"Oh, Lord-what is to become of us?" What does it take to put an end to this debauchery of morals, religion and laws-to man’s inhumanity to man-in this, our country!? Most of our morals, religions and laws-have become so lax there is but little left to respect. We have succumbed to the art of "pussy-footing.” We are fast developing into a nation of expert "sugar-coaters.” The cry is to play it down. We must not destroy the Image at any cost. What is that Image now? We are baby-sitters of the bigots racists-hate-mongers and criminal offenders who flaunt the laws in our faces through the glib tongues of expert lawyers; who know all the loop-holes and seem to have no regard for right or wrong. The back-of-the-h and smackers, who would have you be-

lieve prostitution homosexuali-ty-promiscuity-dope and all the other degrading acts of our decadent society, are spawns of the generation gap. The gap that began when the "rod" was put down for lip service and the "careless" attitudes of preoccupied parents, too busy to be concerned-and above all, the absence of religion and love in our homes, schools, communities and country. Also, the value we have come to place on a human life as compared to the value we place on material things. If there is no God, as some of our "now generation" would have us bell eve-then -now what? What, - if anything- is there left to hang on to now that the garnish has been case aside and the raw, ugly canker sore of America is there in plain sight for all to see? Again I say-what does it take? Would it have to come to one member out of every family In America being shot, before the real Impact of the. present A-merican-way-of-life is truly seen and heard-and felt? How much more blood need be spilled before our Insatiable palates are appeased? My fellow Americans - the word is love-without it infinity.. If we persist in preaching love and practicing hate, our borrowed time is up! Put away your arrogance and then search your hearts-the

This Week in -Negro History July 21, 1861 The first Battle of Bull Run, significant victory for the Confederacy during the Civil War, was fought. July 21,1939 Judge Jane Bolin, the first Negro woman judge in the U.S. was appointed by Mayor La Guardia in New York. July 22, 1847 .Quinn Chapel AME church, one of the oldest churches in Chicago, was founded. • July 24, 1891 Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia and one of the greatest personalities of contemporary Africa, was born. July 24, 1804 Ira Aladridge, famed Negro Shakespearean actor, was born. July 24, 1893 Dr. Charles S. Johnson, noted sociologist and first Negro president of Fisk university, Nashville, Tenn., was born in Bristol, Va. July 24, 1937 Four youths in the famous Scottsboro case were convicted; four were freed. July 24, 1944 Edward A. Johnson was elected to the New York legislature. July 26, 1847 Liberia first allNegro republic in Africa, declared its independence. days of Sodom are upon us. Mrs. B.J. Twitty Indianapolis, Ind. •