Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 4 August 1979 — Page 15

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Editorials and Opinions

THE ItyplANAPOLIS RECORQER PAfi e « ' SATURDAY, AUGUST 4, lf7* rMUC 19

"Power concedes notKing without a demand —* it never did and it never will. Find out just what people will submit to, and you've found out the exact amourft of injustice and wrong which will

be imposed upon them. This will continue untft, they resist, either with words or blows or both.* The'limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress” — Frederick Douglass

Citizens Speak Out!!! "" This week: Busing -

Give minorities the business!!!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Readers will be periodically asked to submit opinions on current issues chosen by The Recorder for publication in the Citizens Speak Out!!! series. See page one for details on how to voice your views on the series’ topic. Federal Judge S. Hugh Dillin’s recent busing decision, which will affect more than 6,100

7775 UP TO US, BLACKS WHO CARE ABOUT THE BLACK FUTURE, bi^i^. TO MP0SE ORDER UHTRE NONE EXISTS TODAXAND WE HAVE TO DO

Too far

With the recent decision by the Supreme Court to decide the

IT. OUR LIVES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HOPE WORTHLESS TUAN WHITE ONES IN THE EYES OF OUR COUNTRY AND OUR COUNTRY DOES NO T RE ALL Y CARE ABOUT THE CHA OS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS

challenge to set-asides ol government contracts lor minority AS LONG AS THAT ANARCHY DOES NOT SPILL OVER THE LINES '"S th<! busin 8 P lan:

business, Fullilove v. Kreps, much attention has been focused on

the role of minority enterprise. OF DLrtRCATION.

g.te™^t.l^^vrm&.n^rfn , ^e NE HAVE TO DO IT BECAUSE WE CANNOT ASK OUR OLD

'T. ra ^'“.r , crd 0 ^nr? s c“^ based busioe.. PEOPLE TO SPEND THE REST OF THEIR LIVES PASSING consulting concern. James Lowry and Associates, which worked in THROUGH A GAUNTLET OF MUGGERS*

conjunction with Assistant Secretary of Commerce. Jerrv

To The Editor:

These are my questions and list of disadvantages concern-

1. Do the Perry Township schools intend to give free lunches to children who would otherwise be able to walk home for lunch? Most parents cannot

afford weekly lunches.

with Assistant

Jasinowski, and his staff.

Though the report does not pursue this point, numerous economists have pointed to the fact that Black business is basically small, non-monopoly business in an economy increasingly dominated by monopolies. As such, they suffer the maladies of all small business, exacerbated by racial discrimination. The case of Black businessman Louis Bethune is a case in point. This Birmingham entrepreneur has a contract with the Tennessee V alley Authority to provide $45 million worth of coal to the huge electrical power facility. His company. Fair Park F,ast, got the contract through competitive bidding and not via set-aside. They

submitted a low bid of $30 per ton.

The contract was the largest TV A had ever awarded to a minority contractor. Bethune claims that the adverse publicity generated by area newspapers, which claimed that he received the contract solely because of his color, caused his suppliers to refuse to honor their contract with him. He obtained an alternate source, but TV A refuses to accept this despite Bethune's claim that they have done so far white brokers. Bethune is reluctant to file suit against TV A be.ause their “pockets are too deep," but adds, "v,e

may have to." He is sueing his supplier.

AU-States Transcontinental Van Lines, a household-goods moving business based in St. Louis presents another familiar picture. They have applied to the Inter-State Commerce Commission [ICC] for a license as a national mover. The ICC requires an applicant to bear the costs of a series of hearings at which opponents may come forth to speak against him. Onl> 1H of the major carriers are licensed to operate nationally. These licenses are difficult to win and expensive to buy from a carrier

willing to sell; the cost is $15 million.

Timothy Person. Black president of -VII-States--a familv-owned business- has complained bitterly about the obtacles to “fre« competition” put up by the ICC blocking those wishing to win a slice of the market from Allied Van Lines--the giant of the industry. Indeed, this concern has protested vocally Person's attempt to win a license. To this point, Mr. Person has spent o\er $300,000 to win a license that would spell the difference between being a perpetual “small-fry" or a competitive company. Just recently it was learned that the ICC turned down his application. Black labor has supported the efforts of minority businesses fosr set-asides, recognizing that often they can get emplo\ment onh from Black business. This is especially true in the construction industry. Still, statistics show that minorities receive a surprisfnglv low amount of government contracts. For example. Congressional Black Caucus member William Clay |l)-Mo.|

revealed recently that over the past three

business has received only 3 percent of the contracts from the l .S.

Postal Service.

According to Rep. Clay, “not one architectural or engineering contract was awarded to a minority firm in the cities of Chicago, Houston, nor St. Louis." The situation was little better in

Washington. Los Angeles and other major cities.

A look at jobs in federally aided highway projects presents a similar picture. The Federal Highway Administration reports that only 8 percent of the officials and manager and only 6 percent of the on-the-job supervisors were minorities. Of the 15,086 skilled jobs, minorities held only 700. Study after study has shown that such figures improve when minority contracts are involved. The situation in the state of New York from whence Fullilove emanated, is not better. The NAACP sponsored a minority business seminar in Albany recently that w as addressed by (iov. Hugh Carey. It emerged there that of a reputed $500 millio in annual procurements, minorities are awarded a measly $3 million state-wide. Carey spoke of improving this dismal picture but did not offer any specific goals or timetables. In response, Benjamin Hooks of the NAACP, announced that an Office of Minority Business Development was being established in the national office

with committees in each of their 1700 branches.

Minority business development represents more a dream deferred than a living reality. It remains to be seen whether this situation will dramatically change. There is no doubt that Fullilove

v. Kreps will tell the tale to a large extent.

ORtDE COWS, NX. HACAZIN^ r_

4tf§is» 5

2. A great disadvantage of busing is if a child were to be in walking distance from their. Ben Hooks

school and he were 10-15 minutes late, he could still attend school without missing a whole day. But if a child misses the bus by two or three minutes he would have to remain home and I’m sure second buses would not make an extra trip for late children. 3. I also feel it is a very emotional thing for a child who has felt secure in his or her own familiar surroundings to, all of a sudden, be in a different place with unfamiliar faces. 4. If a child is ill and needs to go home, do the schools plan on giving the child transportation? As most parents may not own cars, or have access to them, the child would be stranded. A parent might also have other children at home and be unable to catch a bus. 5. It seems the teachers are always on the parents to support their child, to show interest in their work and to

attend P.T.A. meetings. Most parents could if their child’s school were in walking distance. However, the fact that gas prices are so high, and, once again, that some parents don’t have cars, that would be impossible. Mrs. Sheila Green Indianapolis Illness I have a seven-year-old boy who has asthma. He has been hospitalized once and his attacks are pretty bad. He takes his medicine when he’s supposed to, but sometimes attacks flare up suddenly. He is one of the black students who will be bused this fall. When he has had attacks before I was able to leave my job and rush to school and pick him up to go home or to the hospital. I wonder what will happen now that he will be going to school so far away from home? WORRIED Indianapolis

The black vote: 1980

What is the NAACP’s assess ment of President Carter? Given the extent of black discontent over the continuing erosion of their recent gains and what blacks perceive as Mr. Carter’s inadequate sup-

port for social programs and commitment to their interests, the question of whether blacks will back the President next year was repeatedly asked during the recent week-long NAACP convention in Louis-

is*

Jacobs responds to critics r^jof his anti-busing stand

V? To the Editor:

THE LEVEL OF FEAR IS SHOCKING....

Executive Director Notional Urban, league

BY VERNON E. JORDAN JR.

T* Se Equal

Carter links energy and Idealism

President Cart* r came down from the ('amp David Mountai ntop to speak directly to th< American people in a way that few Presidents have ever done.

minority f did nM ’ re ‘ han i us [ talk i w at) llt cnerby; he preached a

sermon,‘ one the American

people needed to hear.

For U isn't often a President steps back from immediate concerns to address the nation about things like morality, confidence in the future, and

other intangibles.

And it isn't often a President condems the self indulgence and distorted values we see about us. The scorn with which the President spoke of the way many people confuse their personal identity with owning

things was genuine. America has always been a materialistic society, but it is only in recent years that the equally strong strain of idealism has faltered. There are two constant themes in the President’s Sunday night speech and in his public talks shortly afterwards. One was the call to rekindle Amer ica’s spirit and traditional values.The other was energy. The two were linked because energy appears to he the issue of most immediate concern to most people, and because you can t preach a moral awakening in a vacuum. There’s got to be an issue around in which the nation can be rallied. The President chose energy as that issue. Most people would agree with that choice.

Business In Black Bv CHARLES E. BELLE

Writer says blacks must solve their own problems Black jobs

sacrificed

To The Editor: I am a 27 year-old black male who graduated from high sc hooi and attended college right here in Indianapolis. The intergration problem re ally is our problem. White people don't know what to do with us and also probably don t want to be bothered with us. What we black people must realize if we are to have our dilema solved is that they must be solved for us by us. White people are either unable or unwilling to help us. It is not even the nature of white people, as a whole, to want to solve our problems. They, as a collective group, have so many problems facing themselves that they basically don’t care about black peoples' problems and could care less if we ever recieve assistance. This may sound cold and harsh, but let’s face it, it’s reality. Oftentimes reality is cold and

harsh.

Speaking for me personally, integration simply means white ideas will control! black p< ole. This is mearly contempoi .try, involuntary servitude or 20th Century slavery. Intergration simply perpetuates the attitude of black inferiority and white superiority. We blacks as a collective entity will never gain respect from whites or any other nationality as long as we are continuously running to whites to solve our problems. Self-love-self-respect and self defence should be our primary objectives.

Anything that black people want can be achieved without white people running it because whites themselves are fast approaching a time when they are unable to solve their own problems. This is what so cal led black leaders must realize. Therefore, I have never and will never be in favor of integration. Separte, but equal is fine with me.This is not to say I'm a segregationist in

black face.

Segregation is forced; sep action is chosen. This is defin itely a basic distinctive dif ference. Never in the history of this country have we ever been integrated to our advantage, and we probably never will. This is almost 1980. gentle men, a new day. and we must be about the business of bring this new day about. If blacks had picked up on the separation attitude years ago, we woufdn’t be faced with this, predicament now . Here we are in 1979 still begging to be near and with our former white slavemasters, when it’s ovious they have no more use for us. All the cotton has been picked; all the water has been drawn from the wells; and computer ization and automation are taking over jobs. So gentlemen, our problem is where do we go from here? We as black people must develope an undying love for ourselves and kind, Like Malcolm X said: “Every white person who is friendly is not your friend.” Randolph Leroy Jones

In the last two decades inflation in the I nited States has been fought with abrupt cuts in rnone\ and debt growth that reduced real economic activity, according to the Federal Reserve Hank of Minneapolis in it' annual report. Furthermore, ' inflation slowed in response to these policies, hut because unem ployment rose substantially the>e policies were soon abandoned." President James Farl Farter's administration continues to cause higher Black American unemployment in his pursuit to put a stop to inflation until white employment rises. I nemployment among Black Americans increased by 67,000 persons in April but de creased among whites by 34,000. Indigestion is the likely response for Black American readers of economic forecasts of the future. The unemploy ment rate for blacks in May was 11.6 percent with a 36.9 percent for black teenagers to let the Bureau of Labor Statistics do tho talking. To tell the truth, that was the good news. Stephen Brooks senior economist with Data Resources, Inc., a Washington, D.C., forecasting firm, sees a 13.3 percent unemployment figure for all non-whites, almost a 20 percent increase.

which means an even higher unemployment figure for young black adults, in a “very mild recession." Stephen thinks the economy w ill .start running down around September. Since Jeffrey (ireen of prestigious W’harton Econometric Forecasting in Philadelphia feels national un employment will be even higher than Brooks’, we can believe Stephen's estimates are conservative. Budget Cuts President James Earl Carter could apparently care less about the prospects of higher unemployment of Black Americans if we believe his budget director. The director is determined to deliver to Congress a cutting budget that would require a tight lid on spending and little or no growth in social welfare programs. The plan is to provide the President with a surplus while blacks are still hungry for jobs. Just because the present administration helped induce this projected “mild recession” is no guarantee it will either be mild or only a recession. Right at this moment a lot of motion is going on in the same White House to design a plan to help the country out of a deep decline if too many whites join blacks, in the unemployment lines.

But I have my doubts. Energy is not a moral issue. The price of a gallon of gas or the numbers of barrels of imported oil are not the stuff of which moral crusades are made. Tapping the latent moral ♦ervor of our nation and rekind ling belief in American ideals needs a worthier subject. It needs a vision more inspiring than shortening the wait at gas 'tations. Such a fitting vision is the vision of racial equality. Racial equality and the battle to eradicate poverty and dis advantage is an issue that can rally the nation, especially if it is presented in the context of traditional American idealism and our dedication to human rights. It’s a vision that can't be lost in a maze of contradictory strategies for achieving energy independence. And it’s a vision that would bring out the best in the American people and shake them loose from the selfish lethargy that undermines the moral fiber of the nation. That vision could be backed with a positive agenda for the 1980‘s — an agenda that includes full employment, health and housing goals, a youth development policy and other national efforts to upgrade the quality of life for all. In the process, such an agenda would overcome racial disparities and bring parity to the black and brown people who are disproportionately poor. And it would revive confidence in America's traditional values of justice, brotherhood and equality. That said, the president's energy program represents a strong new excercise of leadership. He has put together a clear package designed to deal not only with temporary energy problems such as we are now experiencing, but with the long-run problems. Unless such strong action is taken we face the terrifying picture of our entire economy grinding to a halt sometime down the road. There’s just so much oil in the ground, and it will run our. A crash program to develop solar energy and synthetic fuels is necessary. It is encouraging that the President is going to the people to help solve this serious problem. He’s breaking out of Washington cocoon that envelopes Presidents and cuts them off from people’s concerns. The domestic summit at Camp David and the reaching out to the American people signal a new phase in the Carter Presidency. It is to be hoped this bold new look will be a lasting leadership thrust that transforras a cautious Administaration to one that brings posititive changes to our domestic policies.

For the past ten years both in the former and the present 11th District, I have stated clearly and publicly, during each election campaign for and during each term in Congress, that I did not favor so called racial balance busing. My vote on the Constitutional Amendment was consistent with those campaign pledges. I believe that racial balance busing is counterproductive and that the vastly more effective tool for correcting past racial segregation in the schools is remedial education in neighborhood schools, especially including effective preschool programs for the educationally disadvantaged. And the record will show that I have consistently cast the 11th District vote for such remedial education and for such preschool programs. It seems to me that long distance busing is too little and too late and compared with what preschool programs and reduction of student teacher ratios in poor neighborhood schools can do to develop the skills necessary for significant employment. Such employment

would produce the income which itself brings about desegregation in housing patterns. That kind of desegregation is permanent, while the busing desegregation lasts for several hours of black student inconvenience each school day without significant or lasting scholastic improvement. The special education programs for educationally disadvantaged children in poor neighborhoods probably are no cheaper than busing, but they are far more effective toward the goal of equality of opportunity and desegregation. In view of my past and current voting record in the Congress on civil rights ques tions generally, it seems no more fair to suggest that racism plays a part in my judgment about busing than it was to suggest a few years ago that sympathy for communism played a part in my judgment that our involvement in the Vietnam War was a counterproductive mistake. I am grateful for the fairness of The Recorder in printing my reply to the front page story of

July 27th. Sincerely,

ANDY JACOBS. JR.

Letter to Jacobs reflects shock

Dear Congressman Jacobs: In 1947 when I watched you in your floundering and budding days, I had no idea that in 1979 rotten, social and racial roots would spring from the seeds of your earlier development. I was shocked, arrized, chagrined and disappointed when I observed from the House Record and from your weak compromising justification on Tuesday’s T.V. news as to your sell-out vote on that nefarious and racially oriented House Bill proposed amendment to the Constitution to prohibit school busing for inte gration. In view of my respect for the courageous, dedicated princi pies of your father for equal justice and human rights, I had high hopes and great dreams for you as a courageous, ur compromising public figure and statesman. As I reflect with nostalgia over my more than a halfcentury fight for justice and equality for all peoples regardless of their racial or religious minority status, I feel that my efforts as a whole have been in vain; and I am engulfed with the social cloud and aroma of defaat and failure and with the fact that my sons are now faced with the same insidious social ordei with its dual standards of moral, political and materialistic duplicitous status quo order of today as has existed over the years. With deep concern and may God forgive you, I am Sincerely yours, Henry J. Richardson, Jr. P.S. After we gave you our vote, we are hurt and ashamed of you. Why would you use your official status to create and add more confusion to the

already mixed up and confused social cancerous racial roots? Lonely inmate seeks pen pals to write him To The Editor: My name is Wayne Johnson, and I’m a young man who has been incarcerated for the past three years. Being so, I have been shut off from the outside world. I don't recieve any mail or communications whatsoever. At this stage, I find myself a very lonely person. There is in all of us a deep stewing desire to be herd and understood, but if we are not, any sort of communication becomes a very nervous and uncomfortable thing. Being what so many people call a convict or criminal, I’m not. I just made a mistake in life, but everyone makes mistakes “Don’t they?” I’m always trying to better myself in any way I can, but I find if hard at times because of the lack of having someone to correspond with. In here, it is of great im^rtance. Hopefully, one of your readers might have a little spare time and will be interested in writing to me. I’m 24-years-old, black hair, brown eyes, weitht 170 pounds and stands 6T’\ ’my hobbies are all sports, music, traveling & meeting new people and makikg new friends. I’m a very nice young man once you get to know me. So if anyone is interested in becoming a pen pal please write; Wayne Johnson, #151166, P.0. Box 69, London, Ohio, 43140. Remember that the only way to cure loneliness is to give of yourself. Wayne Johnson

ville, Kentucky. The NAACP, of course, does not endorse any particular candidate. It is non-partisan. But those who know the NAACP’s history will also realize that the organization is. nevertheless, strongly political. Since its founding 70 years ago. the NAACP has worked to overturn the many barriers to blacks at the polls and to mobilize the great voting and influential strength of A merica’s minorities, disadvantaged, supporters and allies. In the past 30 years, especially, the NAACP has played a crucial role in mobiliz ing black voting strength thiough the local network of branches. It developed the most effective voter registra tion program in the South; through its Washington bur eau, it led in developing and executing the strategy that resulted in passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Black Americans now view the coming months as crucial. President Carter in his Cheney College commencement speech chided blacks for not fully utilizing their voting power to achieve their goals. Vice President Mondale also called on blacks to vote more in his speech at the NAACP convention. No one who is aware of the extent to which black voters do not register or vote can truly take offense at this concern. Black Americans, however, aware that fully 93 percent of their vote in 1976 went to President Carter, have ex pressed disappointment that the President has sought to broaden his political base too often at their expense. The question about the anticipated level of black support for Mr. Carter in 1976 can therefore be expected to in crease. The problem is, how ever, that at present blacks see no suitable alternative among the announced Republican can didates, except with interests antithetical to blacks. We shall hopefully await the entry of others in the field. So, as of now, the only possibility of a choice for them would be if Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy challenged the President in the primaries next year. The Kennedy mystique is still very strong among blacks. And even though he helped contribute last year to the defeat of Edward Brooke, the only black in the Senate, it appears that many blacks would swing over to the Massachusetts senator, if not out of commitment, as least in anger and frustration. Mr. Kennedy, however, has said that he will support Mr. Carter in his reelection bid. We hope he does. Because the prospect of repeating the 1968 debacle which saw Richard Nixon, the GOP Presidential candidate, defeating civil rights stalwart Hubert Humphrey, is too painful to encourage.

Carnations will last longer if you add a bit of boric acid to the water in the vase.

Nutmeg was once thought to remove freckles.