Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 26 November 1977 — Page 17

TH*- INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER o/lqc yf SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26. 1977

Editorials and Opinions

"Power concedes nothing without^ 3 demsnd ~ it never did and it never will. Find out just what people will submit to, and you've fount! out the exact amount of injustice, and wrona which yiiil be imposed upon

'them. Tfiis wilt continue until they resist, either-with words or bjows or both. The.limits of tyiants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they Oppress." ~ Frederick Douglass

THE POWER O the & GLORY By Or. G.E.A. Toote mmm m - ,

Recertifying professionals

Continuing education is a priority concern of consunr/* advocates. Doctors, phanr cists, dentists, nurses, ai,J lawyers may at some time control the life of a patient oj client. This statement is also applicable to certified accountants, optometrists and real estate personnnel. If you have been unfortunate to have an incompetent accountant make out your tax return, or purchased a house through a real estate broker who underestimated your monthly note payment, or over stated the purchase value of property, you will agree that the resultant financial cost could force one into bankruptcy. Many a person has had to take a second job to satisfkly a debt with interest penalty as the result of bad professional advice. Laws, medications, and techniques change rapidly. Saccharin once suggested to diabetics in place of sugar is now medically labeled as cancer causing. In the Patty Hearst case prejudicial information that should not have been heard by the jury was erroneously allowed by her attorney. The cost of professional service is so high that a client or patient cannot affort to seek second advice, and pay consultation fees to assure the accuracy of professional recommendations. unless the costs

are covered by insurance benefits. Since 1971 continuing education is required in seventeen states for doctors, eight states for dentists, and eleven for nurses. Thirty seven states have requirements for nursing home administrators, forty-five states for optometrists, fifteen for pharmacists and eighteen states for veterinarians. The need to establish requirements for the recertifying of government licensed professions every three to five years assures a continued level of competency in fields where knowledge quickly becomes obsolete. Poor people have little enough money to pay for services. The proficiency and credibility of a family doctor is rural areas of the country is essential. Every profession has its quacks, unfortunately they prey most upon the uneducated poor, who can least afford the risk. Increased government regulation is always burdensome to industry and costly to the taxpayer. Professional associations can provide consumer protection by encouraging continuing education and by monitoring complaints from the public. If professional organizations wish to continue to have TJulIMFifSpWl Ifie.v must censor thtdir members who fail to provide quality service. AMEN.

JQu&inete in the Much

By Charles E. Beue'

One swallow does not a spring make. General Motors Corporation recent boasts of its quarterly dividend pay out does not present the full picture of the job situation of our automobile industry. General Motors has thousands of black workers in addition to Chrysler’s 39,000 black employees. These Black American auto workers like some of their steel industry brothers and sisters are threatened with the loss of employment caused by Toyota type foreign firms taking advantage of tariff protections. Blacks better start boycotting and talking about tariff protection to Congress. Profit patterns for some U.S. industries are deceptive. This past quarter Chrysler reported that its earnings fell 50 percent and GM eked out only a one percent increase. The U.S. Steel Industry was a real disaster with Bethelem Steel Corporations record-breaking $477 million loss for the quar- * ter. In the meantime, U.S. job losses multiplied with Zenith radio laying off 25 percent of its workers while Japanese TV set manufacturers sold over 50 percent of their exports in the United States. Foreign car manufacturers are now at 14 percent of the U.S. car market, running at a record daily rate. The days may be numbered for those black braothers and sisters working in the automobile and steel industry unless some tariff protection is puxup against the Toyota types. Toyota is one example of how foreign importers are taking advantage of Black American job opp>ortunities. The Japanese have official currency reserves of $19.6 billion and growing. In fact, it is believed Japan is hiding an additional six to ten billion dollars in foreign currency reserves through secret deposits in private Tokyo banks. Enough money to propel Black American poverty out of this country. The continued sale of some Japanese items like Toyota automobiles in this country without some type of tariff protection is suicide for the U.S. automobile industry and

its Black American workers. Even a relocation of Japanese firms in this country will not aid Black Americans. Blacks are traditionally last hired but first fired in changing economic conditions. Toyota will be taking bread out of the mouths of blacks babies if the present tariff situation is not equalized by our government. The price of the Mustang II in Japan is almost $12,000 compared with around $3,500 in the U.S. The Pinto in Japan is just under $11,000 compared with less than $3,000 here. While the Monarch is almost $15,000 in Japan versus only $4,300 in the U.S.A. The Japanese prices are considerably higher because of shipping charges, special equipment, heavy taxes and import duties required on cars shipped into that country, a few facts that have long stopped any serious invasion of the Japanese car market by U.S. auto makers. What is good for the goose is good for the gander. Black Americans can see clearly now - Toyota is a turkey. Shoot it before you eat it. Its banning and boycott time. Mabari-Mbayo radio program appreciated Letter to the Editor: I write this because I’m sure not many people in Indianapolis are aware of a program of Authentic African and West Indian Music on WIAN (90.1 on the FM Dial) each Saturday farom 4 p.m. to S.p.m. This national public radio program is entitled: MbariMbayo. By phoning the station I learned this is a 13-week series, three of which have already been presented. For anyone desiring something different from the normal, this program should be acceptable and appreciated. Lathan H. Frayser

CRtKE (5 BECOMING A WAY OF LIFE: IvC*

BLACK COMMUNITIES MUST BACK THE LAW

Sf SquaC

i

n VERNON 1. JORDAN JR.

Ixocvttvo Director Nttioml UribmLMfM

Redlining is a long-standing practice that is one of the causes for the deterioration of inner-cities. Finally, the federal government is beginning to move against it. Simply defined, redlining is the refusal of financial institutions to make mortgage loans on homes in certain areas. Needless to say those areas are usually minority neighborhoods or neighborhoods that are integrated or in transition. The term refers to the red line that is figuratively drawn around the affected neighborhood with loans refused to property owners whose buildings are within the redlined section. A pioneering study by the National Urban League some years back documented redlining in the Bronx. Local financial institutions were taking deposits from Bronx residents, but made very few mortgage loans in the Bronx - most of those funds went out of the state. In effect, low income depositors were subsidizing wealthy distant communities through mortgages they them selves were denied. Since that study there have been many others, in various parts of the cou( try. All point to the same conclusion - that some financial institutions persistently refuse to make mortgage loans in neighborhoods that have large numbers of minority people, and often red line white working class sections too. What happens when an area is redlined? Cut off from conventional mortgage credit, owners cannot afford to maintain their buildings. Houses deteriorate, people move out, the blight spreads block by block, and then the final blow of abandonment occurs. The devastation of the South **ronx is well-known; less webknown is the process that creates the South Bronxes. And redlining is one of the steps in that process. Federal laws prohibit discrimination in mortgage lending but are relatively ineffective against redlining, since mortgages are refused on the basis of neighborhood deterioration, the age of the building, or other seemingly neutral reasons. Now the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, which regulates the nation’s more than 4,000 savings and loan institutions has proposed new rules to curb redlining. The Board would require member institutions to develop written standards to ensure equal opportunity in home financing, review advertising and marketing practices, consider all relevant factors in considering mortgage loans, and to keep written records of all credit applications for review and monitoring by the

Board. Under these rules people wouldn’t be denied mortgage credit solely because of their lack of previous homeownership, educational levels, or a history of job-changing. And maintenance of adequate record keeping will mean thaty information often hard to come by will now be available to the federal regulators. The Bank Board can enforce its regulations through “cease and desist” orders and court orders forcing an institution to stop violating them. For the first time, institutions refusing mortgage credit will have to document the reasons for that refusal - in itself a major step that should retard redlining. The regulations are still just proposals. They won’t go into effect for 60 days and may be

altered in the interim. And there will be plenty of pressure on the board to ease up both on the regulations and on their ultimate enforcement. But if the Administration is at all serious about helping the cities, it will stick to its guns, keep the regulations strong and enforce them strictly. The new regulations are to be welcomed, but cannot be a substitute for other federal actions to direct reinvestment in the cities or for a national urban policy that would upgrade housing opportunities and living conditions for the poor. Without such a policy there is a danger that the anti-redlining steps will just assist the process of recycling poverty neighborhoods for middle and upper income housing.

What type of insurance is best

By INEZ KAISER The cost of living today takes most of the money that familes make to maintain the basis for daily living. This includes food, shelter, utilities and clothing. But many heads of households neglect to place the proper importance on carrying the proper types of insurance. This includes insurance for the lives of the family members, health care policies, insurance of all types for the home, automobiles and many other kinds that are savings in the event an emergency arises. The pemiums paid on a weekly, monthly, semi-annually and annual basis can determine the future of the individual of family finances. They eliminate the need for a Urge cash disbursement. The subject of insurance is so broad and covers many areas. It is for this reason that various types will be discussed from time to time. My first suggestion though is that every family or person should take the time to find out the type and amount of insurance they carry. This information should be written down in three booklets that are available at many banks. One copy should be placed in the safe deposit box, one copy kept at home in a safe place and the third one filed with your attorney or a close family member. Each year this information should be updated. There are two general types of life insurance that most people purphase although there are other plans available. It is important at an early age to know the difference in each, the advantages and the disadvantages.

Co11oressioinil Bhick Caucus o Reports to the People

Welfare reform

By REP. HAROLD FORD

Almost everyone agrees the present welfare system is in need of reform. Benefits to the needy are inadequate, inequitable and in many cases nonexistent. The Federal govermment spends over $17 billion on three welfare assistance programs: Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), $6.4 billion; Supplemental Security Income (SSI), $5.7 billion and Food Stamps $5.0 billion. These programs benefit 30 million people, although 40 million are eligible for assistance from one of the programs. The present welfare system must be reformed to eliminate the disincentives to work, but even more importantly to maintain the intergrity of the family. On September 12, President Carter’s welfare reform proposal was introduced in Congress as H.R. 9030 and S. 2084. The Welfare Reform Subcommittee is holding hearings on the bill and we hope the expert witnesses will provide some answers to some very difficult questions concerning the pro posal. HoWbver, because of the complexities of the issues in question, it is imperative that the general public provides input into the legislative process.

To deal with the bureaucratic tangle and make welfare more responsive to the needs of the poor, President Carter has proposed a consolidated program. This would eliminate the need for over 40 different programs and the requirements for recipients to enroll in more than one. The proposed plan will merge AFDC, SSI, and Food Stamps into a single cash assistance program. A two-tiered benefit structure will be established; those in the upper tier will not be expected to vtfbrk and will be comprised of the blind, aged, single parent families (with children under 7, or between 7 and 13, if day care is not available), and two-parent families with children, oneparent families with children older than 14, single persons, and childless families. The job program is expected to end or lessen the chronic welfare cycle and place workers in the mainstream of the economy. The proposal calls for over 1.4 million jobs to be created and annual employment for two million people. To encourage workers to seek jobs in the private sector, a total minimum income of 20 percent above the 1981 poverty line will

be guaranteed. If a job in the private market cannot be found, a federally subsidized job will be provided with a total minimum income of 13 percent above the poverty line. As a general rule under this program, a person who can and does work would always be better off than a person who chooses not to work. While I believe the Presi dent’s program is a step in the right direction, I am still studying the proposal. I participated in a public hearing in West Memphis, Arkansas, November 17 to discuse the bill and its many problems which must be brought to the at tention of the Welfare Reform Subcommittee during the Con gressional hearings. A number of other public hearings have been slated throughout the country by the Subcommittee. As the Subcommittee comes to you the public - to conduct hearings the next two months, I strongly recommend that many Americans who are, directly or indirectly affected to testify and point out additional problems and solutions that will improve the pending proposals. The Congress needs your support on this complex proposal.

'Gone, but not forgotten/ Colvin says of slain girls

(EDITOR’S NOTE: The following was written and received before the conviction of former Klansman Robert Edward Chambliss in Birmingham for the killing of one of the

put in perspective, of boggling

the mind.

The ultimate irony, to them, might be the case now before the U.S. Supreme Court that is supposed to decide on the

^ S does, or

Sixteenth Street Baptist

Church in 1963.

To the Editor:

The children had been studying the Sunday School Lesson, “The Love That Forgives", when a bomb ripped through the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, that morning in

September 1963.

In a second, four young girls were dead, martyrs of the battle of civil rights in general, and school desegregation in that Southern City particular. Two weeks later, Alabama state police announce they were questioning a Klu Klux Klan member as a prime

suspect.

Fourteen years after that, almost, that same suspect has finally been indicted. Arrests of others in the church bombings during that period, and similar Birmingham bomb-

ings, are expected.

should exist.

Had they lived, they might

Is it possible that there is

enough love in anyone to forgive the twisted mind that causes four young, uninvolved, innocent Sunday Schoolers to

be killed? Probably not. It’s just kind of comforting

to know that down in BIRMINGHAM* ALABAMA, there has been enough deter-

have put into effect the Sunday mination to at least not forget.

School lesson they were studying - “The Love That

Forgives."

Benton “BEN” Colvin 71 West Van Buren Street Chicago, Illinois 60605

Thunder on the new right

ior almost eight years, led by the Alabama ATTORNEY GENERAL. The investigation was finally speeded up in 1975 when the FBI turned over its files on the bombing. Until then, the FBI had kept its own information under tight securi-

One of the most common types is term life insurance. It provides protection in the event of death, but has no cash - value which may be borrowed by the policyholder. It is insurance that has no savings value, which is commonly referred to as cash value. The wise consumer shops around and compares the cost of various companies. It can vary as much as 140 percent, or in saving $3,000 on a $25,000 term policy if the premiums cover a 20-year period. It provides pure protection without cash value and also covers you for only a limited number of years. Term insurance is different from straight - life insujance which can be continued for the whole life of an individual with out any cut-off period such as age 60 or 65. The premiums do not go up as the policy gets older. Both term and straight-life can be good buys. If you want to combine savings and an insurance program, straightlife may be the type you wish to choose. On the other hand, if you want pure insurance, term is the obvious choice. Next week’s column will discuss the other differences oetween term and straight-life insurance. Estrogens Each time a woman has a prescription filled for estrogen, the Food and Drug Administration requires that she receive a special brochure informing her of the risks, as well as the benefits, of these drugs. The brochure will point out that extended use of

The“ultra-righ6 ! ’<rftkfti^6ef bf****'* the fiffort is has been transformed into the Richard Vigurie, “the God“new right" of the 1970s. They father of the New Right,” who have gained a new respecta- raised $6 million in 1976 for bility by adopting a modern, George Wallace. Vigurie runs a sophisticated, and, sometimes direct mail operation that subtle approach. Although the raises $15 million a year for a new right tends to be just as wide variety of rightwing "pure” as the old right on the groups. Vigurie has used his issues, they have become more control of mailing lists to spawn pragmatic in pursuing their a whole network of new conobjectives. It is for just these servative entities and to extend reasons that they are all the his influence over established more dangerous. Under pres- right-wing groups. The cament conditions, the new right is paign against Young is a a far greater threat than if peripheral concern of the new Senator Bilbo came back spout- right, their priorities lie elseB „, r ing his old racist rhetoric. To be where.

The indictments and arrests sure, the new right is not Like the old right, the new are the result of an investiga- openly anti-black. Nonetheless, right depends on hate, but.their tion that has doggedly gone on the new activism on the right villians have changed from civil

runs against the interests of rights "agitators” to “union black Americans and other bosses.” If the right-wing’s minorities. primary enemy is the labor The new right is not a movement, its main victims are monolithic movement. It is millions of ordinary workers, divided by subtle differences in Just as the right-wing atemphasis, style, and strategy tempted to destroy the civil and by the personal ambitions r jghts movement, it now works

ty, for fear of blowing the of its leaders. The new right is to cripple the labor movement, covers of its informants. more of an interlocking net- The right wing has launched a That it has taken 14 years work, exchanging support and well-financed and virulent cam for indictments to be handed information and united by a paign against labor law reform, down in the church bombing basic agreement on political employing its usual techniques seems inexcusable on the one issues. Calling heavily on such 0 f exaggeration, distortion and hand. One the other, there old right figures as Senators fear-mongering. It is already seems to be cause for joy that Strom Thurmond and Jessie gearing up for future attacks on there may finally be a break in Helms, the new right is still every major goal of American the case that then and now determined to exploit the dis- working men and women -

contents and manipulate the fears and insecurities of Americans to advance its narrow and

divisive political ends.

One recent project of the new right is an impeachment drive against Ambassador Andrew Young led by Representative

tackling careers, perhaps Larry McDonald of Georgia, a the 1960s, as the new right motherhood, looking ahead. member of the national council recognizes, the labor moveHad they lived, they would John Birch Society. As ment is increasingly playing have seen changes in this Young is worth more to the that role today. For millions of country that while slow and right in office than out, the real black Americans, a strong labor painful, are still capable, when g° a l of this effort is to raise movement is the chief hope for

money. The apparent moving economic progress. InterestBlack prisoners reliving

° against public employee unions, harsh life of ancestors

Letter to the Editor: human lives behind the walls of ® ver ’ contral to the possibilities I’m a black prisoner at the the Indiana Reformatory. ^° r Progressive and emocratic Indiapa Reformatory, and be- Prison life for a black man whefher^n^^uwkpface, 1 ^ ing a black prisoner serving and woman is like reliving the , „ . . time and having knowledge of harsh life of our ancestor’s, the “ e . .^ ° ... x ’ . or in , e self as well as where I came only diference is that they legislative halls unions are the from, I decided to write this (Reformatory Officials) have mea , ns bv whlc , h milllon of letter. brought things up to date to w ° rkin e men and women can The struggle against op- fool the publicWThey show obtain some degree o control pression is not a one sidid society only what they want over the powerful and arbitrary struggle; it concerns aU even them to see, and you can forces that shape their lives.

believe it will be the deceiving . new right has developed side of it into a significant and powerful Reformatory Officials don't political movement I think it

cw^aagwa. «/a. 6 .. t show you how they prepare this W1 ^ ai in 18 a^mpts to against anythtag and all who garbage called food, we are remake American society mrts will mislead our sisters and forced to eat the “garbage” and ^LnThan that its^nrovramU brothers. I have read all sorts smile at the same time. They r f aso " than tbat ! ts Program is of newspapers and as I read the also don’t reveal to you the poor a ^ lost . entirely negative, good, bad and about the medical attention inmates re- J k he ^ is a danger however happy-go-luckies, I find myself ceive, and can you imagine ^ ha | lt; ^dl be successful enough no longer reading, but day having to sleep on a steel slab to frus *T^ e . the ^ ef ° rms . that dreaming of how I would react with thin mattresses for three are needed to make America a if I was on the outside looking or more years...? I can. more decent, just, and comin at the cruel treatment of Robert L. Dickson,#5286 passionate society.

symbolized the utmost in the depravity with which the legitimate demands for equal

rights were met.

Three of the girls who were killed in the explosion would be 28 today, had they lived; the other 25. The age to be

national health insurance, full employment, tax reform, and occupational health and safety That the right has switched enemies is of some importance. Just as the civil rights movement can be viewed as the engine of social change during

behind the walls of the Indiana

Reformatory.

Having knowledge of this has given me strength to fight back