we
VIEWS/OPINIONS
P LlTI Conven-
tion wer held in Littl Rock,
Arkansa in 1974, Cincinn ti, Ohio
in 1976, and ew Orl ans, Loui iana
in 1980.
Ultim t ly it proved virtually im
po ible to hold to ether th unlikely
coalition of force which h d com
bined to convene th Gary Conven
tion. Black elected official and the
more moderate Black lead rs found
th politics of 0 ial transformation
as mandated in the Gary Declaration
too radical for th ir t teo
In 1980 tn delegates to th New
Orleans Convention voted to create
a Black political party the succe -
or to the BP A.
Though the NBP A and the con-
o
DA I LS
BE
EAU:
PO ,P YWRIGH and
political activi t lmamu Amiri
Baraka and Congre man Chari C.
Diggs of Detroit joined with Hatcher
in i suing th call for the Black Na
tion to gather in convention at Gary.
African Americans from every
ideological persuasion and every
walk of life poured into Gary to di -
cus th late of the race and pi n for
the ocial, economic and political
empowerment of African in the
U.S. and the world.
This great gathering of Black
folks did not occur in a vacuum. The
Gary Convention was an exten ion
of the multi-fa eted 0 ial and politi
cal movement that pawned ..
numerous gathering of th Black
Nation during this period.
A newfound Black consciousness
and resurgent nationalism led to the
convening of major Black Power
Conferences in Newark in 1967,
Philadelphia in 1968 and the Con
gre of African People in Atlanta in
1970 (CAP '70).
TH BLACK POWER con
ferences were dominated by cultural
and revol utionary nationali ts and
radical Black activists. Though the
leaders from the arne tendencies
were principally re ponsible for con
vening of the CAP '70, the or
ganizers made a concerted effort to
include moderate forces from the
traditional civil rights organizations
in the Congre .
. Hence a broad range of political
perspectives and leaders were repre
sented, from Minister Louis Farrak
han of the Nation of Islam to
Whitney Young of the National
Urban League.
The coming together of thi
spectrum of political forces set the
stage for the convening of the Na
tional Black Political Convention.
The Gary Convention occurred a
Africans in America tood at the cut
ting edge of one of the mo t profound
social movements in the hi tory of
this country.
TH PT OF a Black
Agenda a a weapon in the truggle
for Black empowerment pread H
aero the country.
Score of communitie began to
hold Black A nda Conference to
et goal and objective for their
local communitie . C ndidate
pledge forms and Candidate Report
Card, as introduced t Gary, began
Mob cru he
VA TAG
POI T
GIVEN THE CRISES we con
tinu to face a Africans in America,
it may well be useful to take orne I
time out during th course of thi
year to re-examin th e peri nee
of the Gary Convention and it'
aftermath in order to learn what Ie - I
ons from tho e experi nee may be :
useful today. Such i the ongoing .
value of hi torical memory -.
Ron Daniels erves as Pr idem
of the Institute for Community Or- .
ganization and Development in
Youngstown, Ohio. He may be con- .
tacted at (216) 746-5747.
nine at N.Y. rap benefi
African National Congress
advances in South Africa
"constructive engagement" with South
Africa as de Klerk attempts to stall the
dynamism of the process now
unfolding as a result of tbe ANC's
leadership?
There are many issues still to be
negotiated. One of the controversial
matters is the eventual truth-telling
concerning South Africa's nuclear
weapons production program which
has been secretly developed over the
last two decades with considerable help
from the \\est, inc uding technology
from the United States. Again, wben
. South Africa was controlled by a racist
goverrunent, there was very little done
by the U.S. government to prevent
South Africa from becoming a potential
nuclear power.
NOW WITH the good prospect of
the majority African population in
South Africa gaining political control
with the ANC in leadership, what will
be the U.S. official attitude towards that
democratic government's potential
nuclear capability?
For the record, we are in favor of
nuclear non-proliferation agreemen in
the international community as
currently ing fast red by � United
Nations. It is important though 'to
understand the double tandards of
ju tice a certain international
Phon
KALA AZOO BUR U: 61 /388-3088
Ad Representatives: E
By BENJAMIN F. CHAVIS, JR.
In the wakeoftherecenunltiauon of
a process leading to a Constitutional
convention in South Africa, the African
National Congress under the leadership
-of Nelson Mandela has clearly
advanced its position as the leading
political force concerning the future
dismantling of the apartheid regime.
The eyes of the world will be
watching to see if de Klerk keeps the
promises made inwritingcommittin to
the Constitutional Convention prace .
The signing of an agreement following
a recent two-day convention between
the ANC, the government of South
Africa, and 15 other South African
organizations formally marked the
. beginning of the end of 3 years of
racist political and economic
domination in South Africa.
Historically in Africa, it has been
very difficult to negotiate freedom and .
self-determination short. of violent
revolution. Thi is because of the
refusal of th colonizers to give up the
wealth-making exploitation without an
armed fight.
The African National Congr s
should be saluted for their teadfast
leadership and successful trugglc th
far agairs t the ruthless and tate terroris t
tactics oftbe aparth id regim .
. AS 1JIE WORLD is changing
rapidly, so will South Africa change at
a much more rapid pace than ever
envisioned several years ago. To the
credit of th ANt, a strategy to permit
the broadest possible coalition of
natives of South Africa to be involved
as representatives and participants in the
development of a new constitution is a
wise and prudent move.
Ul tra-right conservative forces here
in the United States are still channelling
money and other forms of upport to
" plintergroups" in South Africa ina bid
to divide and 'conquer the coalition that
the ANC and others like the South
African Council of Churcbes in their
mutual efforts to speed the end of
apartheid
Of COUISe, we tand with the Africa
National Congress in tbeir demand that
the "interim" or "transition"
government in South Africa last not
more than 18 months 0 that a
democratic goverriment can be elected.
De Klerk had the audacity to suggest
that the "interim" governrn ntlastfor10
years before allowing "on person, one
vote" democratic elections in South
Africa.
I t will be interesting to view the
position of the B h Administration on
thi i ue. Will Bush tty to furtlJ:r
justify the immorality of so-called
.BENJAMIN
CHAVIS
EDITORIAL
I
I
I
ral
r 0
o or
CIVIL
RIGHTS
JOURNAL
principles are related to African and
other non-western nations.
As tbe African National Congress I
continues to make advances, we should
keep our level of support for the ANC
visible and strong. In fact, the positive I
developments in South Africa are likel y I
to serve as a motivation for Ox vast .
majority of the more than 35 million .
African Americans to attempt to make ,
further advances here inside of the
United States.
THI I NOT to say that there are
no more serious problems in South
Africa. To the contrary, tbe turmoil in
South Africa is from over. \\t are
required to undexstand that some real
progress bas in fact �D made, in large
measure because of the sacrifices of all .
of � people of South Africa and the
leadership of the ANC.
Our bope is that Africa' apartheid
will be done away with very soon.
We believe that a victory 0 the
African National Congress .will be a
victory for all of humanity.
n
Gov. J hn En ler talks out of both id of hi mouth .. While
cuttin the le ut from under 3,000 general assist nc recipients,
Gov. En ler nov w nLS to mat h "cone ion for con e sion" what
th tat f T xa off rs General Moto in a bidding war to keep the
Will w Run sscrnbly plant in Michigan.
Ifth tat annot afford to pay 180a month to society' poore t,
it ertainly nnot afford to pay the world's largest corporation
any thin .
G.M.offi ers are well paid -we're talking millions of dollars
here-to lv th uto company' problems.
Engler i well paid-we're talking hundreds of thousands here
which include home, auto and countle s other perks-to olve the
tate' problems.
And while G.M. chief Robert Stempel seems to understand his
realm. En lcr d c n't understand hi respon ibility. Stempel aid he
had not in ired any help from the tate. According to Stempel, plant
clo ing deci ion will be made on busine guideline u h a plant
performance, utility cost, promixity to suppliers and other busine -
related factors.
Engler in his haste to make political hay picks problems with
easy fixes. By acrificing future tax revenue with tax breaks now
for GM,-he only creates more trouble down the road.
Meanwhile the homeles wander the freezing streets and Engler
seem not to care.
Rev. Je e J c on came to ee the governor in an effort to open
Engler's eye' to the suffering hi cuts created aero the state. Engler
forgot his manners and wa in fact just plain rude. Jesse came with
ideas developed over the past eight to ten years he has gleaned from
countle experiences aero the country involving all kinds of the
down and out ranging from displaced farmers to triking miners to
laid off airline pilots.
But Engler' comment following the meeting was"Unproduc
tive". Engler described the one and one-half hour meeting with
Jackson, aying it left him "about a half-hour behind schedule."
The public pays Engler to solve public problems. G.M. decisions
to cIo e plants are not public problems. Homeless people walking
the streets are public problems.
If Engler wants to help. G .M. he can trade in that old Oldsmobile
and buy a new one. That's the kind ofhlep G.M. need and we all
know we pay Engler enough to afford a new car.
The Governor would have been doing his job had he given sincere
consideration to what Jes e VOluntarily -at his own expense, not
the taxpayers - offered. .