DECE 8E 12 -1', 19 4 THE CITIZEN PAGE FtVE
,Voting against Re'agan- Were Black led into a Ipolitical Jonesto n?
is a ing its next moves,
pondering such 'questions as
whether the time has com to
begin distancing itself from
organized labor, Blacks and
other traditional constituency
group.
In taking time to consider
where they go from here,
Blacks should not only consider
their isolation, but also realize
that their situation has not been
so grim - regarding govern
ment' role in ensuring citizens'
rights and addressing th effect
of past discrimination - since
before World War n.
But it would be a mi take
to let tho new realities cau
us to faD victim to the vicious
quid pro quo mentality that
overlook Reagan's constitut
ional obligation to repre ent all
the people, a Vice President
Bu prorni d on election night.
he president' obligati n
aside this effort to find new
ideas won't proceed jf th
Black community . unable to
find merit in a wide spectrum
of leadership.
Twenty or 30 years ago,
.Blac leadership included in-
People's Temple leader Jim
Jone w hite and the fol
Io ers who died in 'm ui
cides at Jonestown, Guyana,
six year ago we e predominant
ly Black.
In th spirit of encouraging
diversity, I wan t to shift the
focu away from Pendleton's
motivation and toward a tiny
grain of truth implied in his
attac: In the aftermath of
Reagan's victory, Blacks must
reexamine themselves as a
political force and reasse and
possibly redefme their future in
light of four more years of
conservatism. I
In thinking hard about the
future, they on't be acting in
isolation. The Democratic Party
tellectual leadership. Psycholo
gist Kenneth Clark, for examp ,
w s a ey player in the 1954
Supreme Court decision out
lawing public school segregation.
The opportunity now exists to
invite intellectuals back into the
fold. The 21-member Con
gre . onal Black Caucus is a
potentially powerful 1 adership
group, a are thousand of
Blac elected officials, key busi
ne people, corporate officials
and academic .
Outsiders may fmd it hard
to understand, but Blacks have
always been able to e merit
in a wide variety of leaders.
At the tum of the century
the Bl ck community found
mething to love in W.E.B.
DuBo' and Booker T. Wash
ington, even though the two
m n were frequently at odd .
In th 1940s and 1950s, Blac s
li tened to con rvative Gorge
Schuyler and progressiv Paul
ob n. In the '60 the
follo er of the Rev. Martin
Luth r King Jr., coexisted with
,tho of alcolm X.
Already, th tactics for the
future are emerging. One i a
By Dorothy G .
The Waming'ton Post
ere the Black Americans
., who voted 9 to 1 again Pre' -
dent Reagan led into a "political
J one to n" by their leaders,
Clarence . Pendleton, chair
man of th U.S. Commission
on Civil Right , charge ?
In vehemently denying that
this was the c ,some Bl c
le ders have called Pendleton
unfair and even stupid. Since
h did not propo any solut
ions or alternative beyond pled
ing,' 0 more Kool-Aid, Je
(Jac son), Vernon (Jordan) and
n (Hooks)," his motive have
been labeled diver . onary .
Some have called his analogy
di gusting and faulty becau
cn tin uat ion of the coalition
politics outlined by J c
during his presidential campaign
in an effort to 'move from r cial
battleground to economic com
mon ground." Another t ctic
is confrontation oolitic. of
which we've had a fore ow-
ing in the recent 't-ins by
civil rights leader t the South .
African emb y.
Debate and internal
'on will continu, and
Black community do no have
to choo on voice over
another. It ha only to main
tain control and anoint it
own leaders rather than let
hite leadership do it.
I hope that on ne idea
to emerge would be I the healing
of the partisan division be
tween Black Democrats and
Blac Republicans. Becau
Blacks hi torically h ve coun
t nanced a diversity of idea
I expect them to toma h
Pendleton as easily oth r
before him. In that pirit, to
the degree that Pendleton'
outburst can be timulus
for thought rather than vi ed
only as hot rhetoric, it can be'
excused - if not welcomed .
.. '
•.
.1
By Dr. Charle . F ulkner
WASHI GTO D
P A) - Last week we dis
cu ed the impact of loneline s
on the lives of many people.
Blacks e perience a profound
setbac econ mically, emo
tionally and profe ionally
• .JI..iI�"'" I the direct r ult of effort to
over om lonelin
The result of th effort
by the Blac female are
astounding and more than a
little sad. ost Black teenagers
(54 percent nationally are the
outcome of the Blac females
attempt to e cape the un
happines of loneliness. The
male leaves the female as soon
as he has sexual ucces ith
her. She ubmits too easily nad
he 10 s interest in her.
Here is the three-fold impact:
-The woman becomes in
creasingly unhappy, lonelier
than before and distrusting of
the advances of the male.
rna thinks that Black
female are too easy, have rela
tively little class, are not wort
the effort and "dumps" the
dame. He continues to be
lonely, wondering if he will
ever fmd the "right" woman;
-The fatherle child, who i I
th regular result of the sexual
encounters (or, of the efforts
of others to relieve their lone
lines is reared in a horne in
which he wa not expected and
is not wanted, is considered
the cau of the woman in
ability to g t more educati n
because of the care that he
requires is the child of a career
les mother, a poor mother and
unhappy mother. What is to
become of these thousands of
Black children who are the
result of uch encounters?
I have coun led and help d
many many lonely people
who desire is merely to be
wanted; who want only to have
omeone say: "I- lov you."
This expression is like the long
sought after pot of gold at the
end of th rainbo ost peo
ple don't begin to live until
they hear the e words. Shortly
"�ter they hear them they
b in to die a low emotional
de
ost people are very quick
to say that they want some
one who is able to support
them, someone making a .lot of
money and someone ho is
handsome, beautiful, exciting,
affectionate, intelligent. They
want ''the right per on."
Very few people ask them
selves if they are the right
per on for th mate for hom
they are arching. It is much
e ier to ek the right person
rather than to be the right
person. And therein is the pro
blem: Are you willing to ask
of yourself the acrifice to
rna e anoth r per on happy.
Or, i y ur goal nl to find
meone el e ho i willin to
make a acrifi e for your hap
pine ?
Happine j a to-way treet
requmng givmg ell
taking. Don t b foo d. Y u
are not li ely to find happine
if you are not willing to give it.
Everyone ha experienced the
unhappine that you have ex
perienced. They may not sho
it but it is there hidden from
your view. They kno that
they are unhappy and lonely
but they won't let you kno
that they now.
Ho can you get rid of
your loneliness? By reaching
out to someone el e who i
lonely. In a world of lonely
people you can certainly find
s meone who will embr ce you
with the inten emotion ith
which you want to embr
them. But you must take th
first step. You mu t b th
agre f. Don't say that yo
can't do it becau re ching
out is the quic e t, b t and,
possibly, only way for you to'
overcome your loneline . Go to
pi ce where the people you
want to m et congregate. Mak
yourself available.
t week I will provide
yoir ith The Faul ner Princi
pl and The Faulkner Techni
que for initiating and innin
the en oun r.
i·