Opinion, Commentary, Editorials
,
Jonathan Butlcr, the
popular South African
guitarist and vocalist, in
pre cribing a cure for thc
pain and agony of thc apart­
hcid system, in t e co -
pcllin liaes;" e m t heal
our land".
Si ee Africu ani cd in
Amcrica e vc f eed t e
chanc gc of buildin com­
unity out of diverse
people uprottcd fro our
orip I e IturCi by alaycry.
T e ever preseat reality
of racil nd br tal
ccoDomic exploitatio as
alway complacated the vital
forging of a co on
pcoplcnc s and COIDJD nity
a Afric in Amcrica.
V quite
been e leo e here, but
omeho Africans in
A cri a have taken the
basic strengths that we
brought . th u from our an­
ce tral homel nd and strug­
gled to urvived 'and su tain
ourselve as a people.
Whethcr it w s the Black
church and t e mutual aid
and benevolent societies
hich grew out of the Black
o
Wee of December3 , 1
I
II
a
]CBIG
till largely unwantcd, un­
elcome and incrcasingly
not needed in thil country.
Witncss the 'rcccnt in­
crca e in immigration
q uotu hic will allow
400,000 Ikilled ( 0 tly
bitc) and ealt y people
to comc into thc United
Statci.
u.s. STILL prefer
in pcoplc fro
forei lands in tead of in­
vCltini thc resource
rcqired to up,radc thc
• kills· and • calth- of
Africans in Amcrica"
With the exception of a
sm 11· n mber of acceptable
or symbolic Blacks ho are
included so that the masscs
can be excluded (inclusion
for exelu ion), this is still a
white nation where thc mas­
se of Black people arc at
best an inconvenience to be
toler ted.
Only our exercise of
POWER prevents our to al
oblitcratio in t i country.
We are It ill our 0 n best
hope for the survival and
dcvclopmcnt of African
American.
. .
African Americans mu t build' for a n
church; the -African Free
Schools- which e evolved
to educate our own children
when hitc socicty refu ed
to do so; thc organization
of re istancc hie wc
created to fight _gain It
slavery, "are ation d di -
crimi.atioD; or t e Black
prell as a indcpe dcnt
voice to articulate 0 r
interest nd aeeds; t e
&lic of our ic; or t e
cnor 0 I ItreDlth of the
African family, AfricaD
America h. 0 e cd in
a perpetual Itna e to IUI­
vivc and build/l taiD co -
munity.
o VIOUSLY TH Itrug­
gle to build co nily al
been ongoin, pven the Da­
ture of the United States as
a r cist an� cxploitivc
ocicty.
Thc horrendous dcpth
and magnitude of the crisis
we now f ce makes it im­
per tive that Afric n
Americans consciously
focus on .the need to con­
tinue the vital process of
community building.
African' Americans are
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;y "1' - .. --::::�!- --+- ...
- - .. _�,,_,.r.. �
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"U.s. E S & WORUD equivalent to one cent of
port" arti e cited one every dollar that federal
w man's strug le to survive tate, nd local govern­
on $184 mon hly elfare ments spend. if the savings
ch ck and fo d stamps to and 10 n a ociations, then
su port her If nd two this n tion can fford to lift
yo ng son. hey h ve a it 12 million children out of
ro f over the r he ds, but poverty.
th apartment condition i No child sho Id have to
de lorable. e plumbing beg for their dinner, or live
heating i in terrible in a run-do n homele s
ditio , ·S metimes the hclter. .
fume get bad in the Thc holiday cason i
wi ter I hav to cut the upo u aad millions of poor
he ter off,· sh aid. "Then children and familie con­
me and the ki just huddlc tinue to struggle.
stay therc.· T 0 ud of children bo
ce poverty if weat ithout a decent
c fi,ht it ra cr than ig- T a ksgiving dinner will
DO e it. Effo tl iDitiated . DOt experielJce the joy of
no and sustaiDed Chr' tmas.. Their uffering
thr ughout t i decade will Dot Ie en until this na­
co ld virtual eliminate tion make eliminating
chi d povert . It ta e poverty it number one
str ng wilJ and eader hip. priority.
It takes mon y a well. In
1989 the cost 0 eliminating
poverty in fa ilie with
children woul have been
$1 �.8 billion. It's a con­
siderable amou t of money,
but the Unite States i a
wealthy countr . T e co t is
, for .pocr chUdr n
Anthony is a twelve-year- desires to make something that of Germany.
old boy living in of themselves. Unfortunat- The Census Bureau's
Wa hington, D.C. homeless ley, because homeless data reveal that:
shelter. He had trouble fit- children are constantly' - The child poverty rate
ting in and relating to his shuttled from school ta rose from 19.5 percent in
classmates in the one school school and lack tability, the 1�88 to 19.6 percent in 1989,
he remembers fondly. He opportunity to receive or leaving 12.6 million children
was "different," and they complete a decent educa- below the poverty line ..
knew it. tion is limited. For the nation's
"When I first got there, I For more than a decade youngest children (those
looked ugly and people our nation has been losing under age six), the poverty
called me stinky," said An- in the struggle gainst child rate i 22.5 percent.
thony. "I ain't had any and family poverty. For too Families with children
friends." many people especially headed by parents younger
His story i one of even . children, poverty ha won. It than 25 had poverty rate of
profiles on ho me le s i time. to fight back nd 44.7 percent in 1989.
children in this fall's defeat poverty. - More' than half (51.1
"American Educator." Their percent) of all children
person I experience are THERE IS SIMPLY no living in female-headed
heart-wrenching depictions economic, soci I, or politi- familics were poor in 1989.
of confu ion, anger, and cal excuse for this country From 1964 to 1969, whcn
fru tration with the nevcr- to tolerate child poverty wee had economic growth
ending poverty cycle. But rate more than three time and the government fought
everal expere scd their that of Switzerland or twice to reduce poverty, 1.25 mil-
I
CITIZE
a
beget violence, the crime
that beget crime. They are
our b others and sister , our
family nd e must fight for
their rele e and prepare. a
HOME for them hCD thcy
return.
Pin I" e
,aDd; our com u ity be­
cau e e ust prep re to
. fight. Amcrica t .be put
OD notice that e ill DOt
fall prcy to bcr chcmc's of
Deglect and gCD ide.
Wc ill aot dic or 0
a aYe It il a decade t
Americ which ust die and
out of its dcmis must rise a
ne nation. A d it is we,
who h' ve s ff red most,
who must lead t e re urrec­
tion of ne nd humane
society.
African inA
he lour land
mUDity so that might live
to build a new t morro .
Ron DIJnieis serves as
President 0/ the nstitute lor
Community Or ani etio«
�nd Develop en in
Youngstown, Oh o. e may
be cont.acted· at (216) 746-
5747. I
arlan
Wright
Eld Iman
CHILD
WATCH
•
Marian Wright Edelman is
president 0/ the Child,.en's
De/ense Fund, a national
voice lor children.