,
o
YO Benjamin L. Hook
Dire tor of the ACP said recently
th It th 7S-year old civil right organiza­
tion he h d will ule d a national effort
to 'defund the U.S. Civil Right Com­
mi 'on." '
He said: ' e will not nd by and
allo th pending of millions of dollars
by this commission that is functioning
to de troy 11 the gain we have made in
civil rights during recent years."
Th Commission's budget fOT the
current fi al year is S l l Benillion and
it i ubject to th approval of Congress
every year.
Mr. Hooks, who i also chairman of
the ISO-member organization, the
Leader hip Conference on 'Civil Right ,
said "the . tuation is so bad that we
would be better off not having the Ll.S.
Commission on Civil Rights at this time
becau of it new direction."
He id- he "tried to rve a arning"
on the new and more conservative direct­
ion of the reconstituted commis 'on.
during the mid-December television de-
,
CP
YORK - The tional Urban
League and the CP announced plans
February 9 to co-sponsor a Summit
Conference 'of ational Organizations
on the Blac Family, ay 3-S t Fi
Diver ity in a ville, Tenn.
The announcement was m de by
Benjamin H 0 xecutive Director of
the CP and John E. Jacob, President
of the UL.
n their atement they noted:
'The AACP and the UL are again
workin togeth r to develop strategies
for pre erving the traditional strengths
of the Black family. Borh organizations
re pooling their re urce to ensure the
urvival of the Black family, To achieve
FEBRUARY 22 - 21,1." TH CITIZEN ,PA THRE
G
bate with commi ion Chairman Clarence
Pendleton on the Be-TV ow,
"Po 'tivei)r Blac ," ho ted by Gu tav I
Heningburg in e York City.
The show featuring the debate be­
tween r. Hooks and r. Pendleton
will be rebroadcast on Sunday, February
12th, at 9: 30 a.m., in re ponse to num­
erous reque ts.
month after this debate the newly \
reconstituted U.S, Commission on Civil
Rights voted by a 6 to 2 margin, during
their first meeting, to disallow the use of
quotas in assisting minorities to gain
greater acce to job and other opportun­
ities through affumative tion.
The previou commi ion had sup­
ported the use of quotas.
The new, 8-member commission -
appointed both by the President arid the
Congress - grew out of a compromi
reached during several' weeks of angry
disputes over the organization's make­
up. The dispute were prompted by the
President's attempt to dismi com­
mi 'on members appointed ?y the Car-
c
ter Administration and to make his own
appointment to the commi ion.
.. r. Hooks, during the televised
debate had argued th t the commission
had been "damaged verely" by the
Reagan Adrnini tration and that. tis
"integrity has been compromised."
r. Pendleton disagreed and in giving
his own opinion on affirmative action,
he said: "I believe in affirmative action
if it limits itself to recruitment and
. training. I do not believe in goals and
timetables e pecially when it gets to :
preferential treatment, and I do not
believe in quotas by any stretch of the
imagination in spite of some of the court
decisions. " .
. Heningburg, the ho t during the
televised debate, asked the two men
if it was po ible to make peace on thi
issue.
r. Hooks said peace was not po ible
I "under the present circumstances."
The host of the popular televi ion
show, "Positively Black," since 1972,
r. Heningburg has had a long career in
u
B
c
this goal, they are ressing the traditional
rengths as well as values and resources
that have been used to improve the lives
of Blac people. They' are also examining
more closely the societal p,ressu,es that
are threatening the continued progress of
Black people.
"The challenge is enormous and
ISO urgent that both organizations are
invitmg other Black membership organi­
zations including churches nd fraternal
groups, to participate in developing
appropriate strategies .. These strategies
will include action programs and inter­
organizational networks and linkages for
, plementing the results of the confer­
ence.'
,0
While the sharp riJ in Black single
female heads of hou holds over the past
veral years has become a matter of
major concern, Mr. Jacob empha ized
that the conference will not be confined
to this one matter but instead will exam­
ine a much broader s� trum of Black
family life, including two parent house­
holds.
Striking out at the approach that
holds the Black family dilemma in
1984 can be traced. to deficiencies within
the Black community itsel, Jacob said:
, e reject such a reductionist vie
that blames the victims for it ignores
the context in which Black families
struggle for survival
'a context of
o HARBOR QUEEN - Patrice Bett· n, center, 17, the clauahter of Larkin d the late Reo Be ti-
ph River Drive, Benton' Harbor, crowned M· Benton Harbor 1984 at B ton Harbor
mf cemnonies Saturday night. The fint runner-up, left,' Burdena Rutter, 17, the
� Rutter 0 364 averly Drift, Bent n Harbor. Second runner-up, right, . -L'
'tmOIe, 17, the u ter of Herbert and Vera Whitmore of 09 E. Britain Ave., Benton Harbor. All three
-=uJ� at Benton Harbor H' Sc 001. Bet.. . represent t c:ommunity in t 1984 BI mtime
act' .. . (South nd Tn Photo by Sue . )
civil rights education and urban affairs
and ha wor ed closely with both Hooks
and Pendleton.
'Our role, , Mr. Heningburg �d in an
interview,' to try. to bring "the ' ue
most important to the Blac commu it .
to the level of public discu ion." e
tried to get the mo t effective communi-
I
cation going between our guest to help
our audience deal with basic, fundamen­
tal is ue .
As the former President of the Greater
e k ( J) Urban Coalition from
1968 until 1980, Mr. Heningburg w
responsibl for numerous innovative
social educational and economic develop­
ment programs that have been dupli­
cated in other communities,
r. Heningburg rved for fi e years
as A istant to the President of the
AACP Legal Defense and Educational
Fund and also orked as a vice president
of the Harold . Orarn, Inc. public
relation organizat ion.
"
I
.1
fa
institutional raci m, rna unemployment,
denial of educational and employment
opportunities for Black men and for
Black women. In short the problems of
the Bl c family can be tr ced to the
pathologies of ci ty tha pia es
. Black people and th lr famili under
intolerable pre ure.'
Organ izing for
Black power
BY Mike Ale ander
It is the presidential primary sea on.
Jes Jackson's ndidacy is the focu
of a resurging movement for Black politi­
cal power. President R gan proclaims
'America i Back" and W Iter ond e
promises to bring it back further.
As the election approache one-third
of Black families in America struggle to
survive below the official poverty line,
Black unemployment remains at depres­
sion levels; Black elderly live in fear of
further budget cuts to les n the federal
budget deficit.
What happens beyond 1984? How
J can Blacks "organize for power" in the
'SO's?
The answers to these questions will
be the focus of a major confer ce, en­
titled 'Organizing for Blac Power in
the 80's" at Atlanta University arch
2-4 which the ational Blac Organizers
Conference BOC) sasy is of historic
importance.
HOC CO-COVE OR el n
Johnson of Greensboro explain
"Unless we think the condition of Black
people are going to get better. rather
than wor regardless who's elected it's
clear that we must forge greater uruty
between the thou nds of organizers.
ctivi ts, progressive politicians, cl rgy
nd - students around the country ho are
struggling to achieve Black politi I
I
power."
For additional information, contact
NBOC at P.O. Box 22102, Greensboro
orth Carolina; or phone, 919/272-
4929.