OCTOBER 17 - 23, 1984 THE CITIZEN PAGE FIVE
Each of the groups channel
considerable energy and effort
to meeting the needs of this
local community. Tho efforts
can be enhanced and streng­
thened when responsive leaders
are elected and u their in­
fluence and position to alle­
viate the needs of the depres d
and disenfranchised in our com­
munity - a better life for all
of us will be the re ult.
I encourage voter in this
area not only to take the time
to ensure that each candidate
,running for office articulate
the needs of the community
and how he or she plan to meet
those needs, but at the ame
time I 'encourage each voter to
study the issues of the com­
munity and make a decision to
They did a little bit."
APRIL THOMAS: "No, be­
cause B.C.A. helps and works
with a lot of people."
learn who the candidates are
and what they tand for. The
important decisions to be made
in the next four y�ars; forty­
eight months, require that
thoughtful, re ponsive, and
intelligent le ders are elected.
We mu t be ure we are voting
for candidate who kno the
issue, have the experience to
deal with the issue and who
will vote for olutions that
are in the be t interest of tho
who upported him or her for
office.
Most of us don't like to think
of voting as a proce in which
the people who V.OTE, elect
the people they think will look
out for their interest, but -
that i a fact and that is the
bottom line.
Urges public to hold candidati!S accountable
ovember 6, 1984 ap­
proaches, many of us have
begun to consider th� . ue,
local, t te and national that
are being di u d by tho
running for public office.
Several weeks go, I attended
a conference of some three
hundred Black omen in Kala­
mazoo. The conference theme
"Survival for Bl cks in the
21 t Century."
GLADYSPEEPLESBURKS
The conference was designed
to recognize the wealth of
accompli hments ills, talents
and expertise among Black
m n in the Kalamazoo and
urrounding areas and to present
the worn n as role models to
. Blac youth.
Folio ing the conference, in
e s to come the Concerned
Blac Women plan to continue .
in their efforts to share infor­
mation, provide mentoring and
net orkin around the is ue of
urvival for Blacks.
I wa as ed to pre nt a
training wor shop during the
conference and was also asked
to invite out tanding women in
the B nton Harbor-St. Joseph
are to take part in the con­
ference. I had the pleasure of
curing five women from our
area to make presentations dur­
ing the day:
- rs. Vera Whitmore I who is
a leader in the community in
the area of Christian Education
conducted orkshop entitled
"Church omen in the SO' .
-Dr. ·Sue Browning Taylor,
led a minar on the ''The Im­
p ct of Teenage Parenthood."
-tina Thornton arshall,
po e on ''The Black Family:
the Elderly Connection".
- rs. Ether Clay pre nted
a slide presentation of the tour
of Black colleges and universities
taken by rs. tina Marshall
(Editor's Note: The foQowing
letter was submitted to us for
publication by the author, Milen
Gray, after it was rejected by
the Herald Palladium for being
"too political". Mr. Graynoted
that the H-P had printed two
other letters of his, both dealing
with the potties of the Reagan-
Mondale race ... Gray said, 14/
think the pivital point is that
this time I am speaking from
direct experience ..
I think the H-P just does
t want its readers to remem­
ber what happened to so many
people as a result of a Reagan
policy decision ...
I think the Herald-Palladium
and rs, Clay several years
ago.
-Both Antoinette" DeFoe
Williams (Black Women Entre·
prenuers) and thleen Joyner
(Women in non-traditional
careers) were scheduled to speak
but were unable to do so be­
cause of conflicting engage­
ment.
Leaders from outhwest
Michigan were observable during
the day: Robin anick, City
of Benton Harbor; Diana Har­
per, concerned citizen; Matjone
Browning, a Benton Harbor
teacher; Dsrlene Hawkins, Den­
tal As" �.(; Barbara Peeples,
Giften and Talented teacher;
Lillian Rodger Myers, who had
a display in the merchandise
area and others who I may
not have seen because of the
size of the group represented
or area well.
This conference, taking place
only a few weeks before the
national election, has prompted
me to write this article urging
women, not just Black women,
but all women to review the
importance of discussing, with
candidates for public office, the
views and opinions held by
office eekers. The candi­
dates asking for our vote and
upport will become the de is­
ion makers in legi lative acts
that will effect education,
economics, health, housing and
employment.
When I read of the comments
made by Georgia state nator
Julian Bond a few days ago, I
compared the issues discu d at
the Kalamazoo conference with
this statement, "The party will
survive, but the losers will be
senior citizens, those receiving
human services and civil rights
protection. "
The Blac Concerned Wo­
men's conference spoke to those
very issues; Mrs. Una arshall
is 88 years old and she spoke
to the elderly connection; Dr.
Taylor spoke to the issue of
teenage pregnancy, an i e in
this election isasmuch funds
for child care , health and nutri­
tion - to teenaged parents -
are bound up in our welfare
rules and regulations - civil
er
o
alexp
right protection w an issue
throughout the Kalamazoo con­
ference becau the many ob­
scure and too often blatant dis-
criminatory treatment suffered
by women goes unreported or
unre olved as women, at all
levels, attempt to function in
relatively passive posture in a
vain attempt to prevent insecure
, men from being threatened by
intelligence and competence.
Senator Bond went on to say
that ''voters would have a
government which cares about
others and won't tum it back
on the depre d" , while the
Senator urged consideration for
his party in the remar , I would
like to underscore the remark
with the point that members
of a government that cares
about the depre d will be
voted into office by citizens
like you and' me. Th candi­
dates ho visit with us, attend
the luncheon, the monthly
club meetings, fund raising af­
fairs and community gatherings.
will review and alter their
predilection to tum their backs
on the depre ed, if we ask
their opinions and listen to what
is aid. The candidates, those
who will represent all of us,
should be able to speak intelli­
gently about the issues pre ent­
ed at the Kalamazoo conference
as well as tho brought to our
attention by Senator Band.
If the candida tes lack the
information to speak intelligent­
ly about the issues important
to us,' they should demon­
strate a willingness to listen to
tho who can supply the infor­
mation and to seek out the
peop ; the elderly, the single
parent, the unemployed worker,
the dropout, the depressed and
disenfranchised and listen to
what thay have to say.
I am a member of several
temporary groups organized to,
addre the needs, unmet needs,
of our community. In addition
to the temporary groups, I have
th privlege -of serving in leader­
ship . roles with several com­
muntry -based - organizatioils;
Delta Sigma Theta, Blossom­
land United Way, Squaws, Inc.,
Delta Kappa Gamma and others.
CITIZ£ S SPEAK
Uy Deway Buchana
B.C.A. is going to be shot down: Do you think it should be?
B.C.A. helps people with bro-
- ken-in home. People should
stop shu ting things down in
Benton Harbor and start open­
ing them b ck up:'
helped people without money
to cut eft rTf bills, through
decreasing the tax burden."
-,
rre
-
cew
Iy into voting for him. The fact
is, he was not using scare tactics,
he was just explaining the facts.
Pres. Reagan has deliberately
u ed the Social Security Pro- •
gram to attempt to cut his
fiscal losses.
I spaek from dire.ct ex­
perience. I am disabled and re­
ceiving Social Security benefits.
I personally experienced Presi­
dent Reagon's efforts to balance
his budget by gutting the dis­
ability rolls. His Administra­
tion permitted personnel in the
Social Security Administration
to reinterpret di ability guide­
lines so that people could be
dropped from the disability
rolls on the slightest pretext.
h
agan pol icie
Administrative Law Judge to
have my benefits reinstated.
The point is that all this was
unncessary. I suffered both
physically and financially then
and even now from the callous
indifference to human life
evidenced by the Reagan Ad­
ministration.
Don't tell me Mondale is
using dirty tricks to get vote .
All he's doing is telling the
tru th and trying to preven t
additional disastre the Reagan
Administration can and will
inflict on the disabled and
elderly in this country.
iJen . Gra
235 Parker
Benton Harb r, I 49022
is once again attempting to
censor comments on a legiti­
mate public issue. "
I
Dear Editor:
Since Sunday night's debate
President Reagan has been
attem pting to change his tune
regarding his plans for Social
Security recipients. This was
apparent in the article appear­
ing in the Oct. 10th issue of the
H-P.
Walter ondale was accused
Sunday by the President and a
day after the debate by Larry
Spe s, his administrative aide
of attempting to are the elder-
Myself and over 400,000 other
people were put through a
literal hell in efforts to get
these benefits reinstated. The
attitude of Social Security per­
sonnel was cold calculated in­
difference to the facts. People
actually died from shock or
committed suicide in despair
from the kind of treatment
they received. It took me over
eight miserable months to get
my benefits reinstated. During
that period I Sl' ffered physical­
ly and mentally from the doubt
uncert inty and yes actual fear
of what could happen to m
and my family. After all that
time and suffering it too les
than 15 minutes' before an