RACISM, SEXISM STILL KICKING
Southern discomfort: The Little
By VINCENT BADIA
WITHI ITS acquittal of Joan
Little, the State of North
Carolina failed to please t h e
white prison guards who have
been raping black women in-
mates for fifteen generations.
Television reports sensation-
alized the trial, concentrating on
the hanging bra and negligee,
neglecting thebtruean: :deep-
rooted racism, sexism, and
white male supremacy, abuse
of prisoners, and widening class
divisions. Joan's acquittal
should not make us less con-
scious of the kinds of oppres-
sion Joan Little epitomized. Her
struggle is closer to is begin-
ning than its end. As a wo-
man, she mest fight for a place
in this male-dominated world.
As a black American, especial-
ly in North Carolina, she sees
that her people hold the same
place in society they always
have - the bottom.
I travelled to Raleigh, North
Carolina to attend t'e Jo a n
Little trial. Early Monday
morning, July 28th, hours be-
fore the trial began, I was tak-
en to breakfast by a white sou-
thern gentleman named W. D.
Holder. He politely informed me
that the nearest restaurant open
was a "colored one", th ough he
noted that "Some of them use
cleaner than the others". Inside
-the restaurant. he obsered the
black waitress was hs';, b u t
continimlly gave orders, even
makine her hint for a telephone
directory.
ON THE str'ets of 1..,i wn
Raleish. nine ot )f ten white
men we-r ties. e'en t11 -vowug
men. Mwt of them are wearing
sits, d'anita the m'env 90 de-
gree heat. The others on the
The Michi
street look poor. All of them are signed to the trial were young
black. Inside Wake County and liberal looking. They acted
Courthouse, the lawyers are chummy with the defense peo-
white, the janitors are black. ple, especially Julian Bond, and
Within the courtroom on the completely ignored everyone
opening day of Joan Little's connected with the prosecution.
trial, two radical male defense This was their "Big Summer
lawyers delivered criun argu- Story", and judging from the
ments and cleverly outwitted appearances of CBS, UPI, and
so*:3<.:} -':4":":v:. :: i.-- :.....'-. a - '. r.::"L} . '. j.-r...---::.i.:.....s ...: -yer. ".+3.:.: '...... : ...v. . .......
1. $ tir.
f." 'IJoan Little's convic-
tion proves nothing
about the criminal jus-
tice system. What
would have happened
to Little if such t r e-
mendous publicity and
national attention had
nof been centered
around her?
prosecution witnesses during Atlantic Monthly, many of these
cross-examination. The three Beautiful People journalists
prosecuting attorneys were dull spent hundreds of dollars for a
hacks, "pawns in teir game ', new warrobe before flying here
overruled by the moderate with a large expense account.
judge. The chief prosecuting at- No doubt many of them hit the
torney, Chalmers, has in the Raleigh night scene - n a r s ,
past defended and been as- restaurants, cocktail parties,
sociated with Ku Klu: Klan- prostitutes.
ners.
The jury was young, mostly MY IMPRESSION after one
female, half black, with a tok- day of testimony was that the
en older white gentleman as an trial would not take long, and
alternate juror. the jury would return a quick
The straight news media as- "Not Guilty" verdict.
The southern white establish-
ment will undoubtedly seize
Joan Little's acquittal as proof
that the judicial system works,
i f n 12 a ly when anyone, even a bla ck
woman prisoner, can be given a
fair trial. But what would have
happened to Joan Little without
the worldwide publizity and
scattered demoistratiors d e-
mandina her release? What if
fundraising had oeen unsuccess-
fiil?
Without the tremendous mo-
hiliation around her, J e a n
Little wovld have been troed in
rlrnl Bea'lfort County instead
of Raleigh, a college town.
Sin e she wns oor, a lawyer
would h",e been assigned to
her. The charge woulp probab-
lv not have been reduced to se-
t-nd degree murder. The nenal-
tv for first decree murder is the
ass chamber. There are reven-
tv-one prisoners on North Caro-
lina's Death Row, the most in
the country. The jury would
have been older, wit 'more
men and fewer blacas. Their de-
liberation would have been
lengthier, and Joan Little might
have been number sevente-two.
JUSTICE FOR loan Iittle
cost $300,000 and a full year of
hard work by a team of lawyers
and aides. The judi;:sal system
will never work un'il justice is
consistently free, and all jcries
are composed of the defend-
ant's peers. The court-rson
system will never be fair until
it is no longer used to enforce
existing class divisions -- t h e
"status quo."
There's a reason why t h e
southern white male establbsh-
ment refuses to give up its rac-
ism. The white men who run the
South are notorios canitalists
who understand that racism is
necessary to perne tate a tor
class of blacks. Great mas es of
capital can be accumulated
from the sweat of hardworking,
underpaid black men and wo-
men. The southern capitalists
liked it much better when they
didn't have to pay thn niggers
at all.'Now they're determined
ordeal
to keep blacks as poor as pos-
sible.
All across the nation, black
workers are seeing the token
economic gains of the past ten
years erased by inflation and
unemployment. This may be 4
recession for white people, but
it's a depression for blacks.
THE WHITE men who run
the South are even less inter-
ested in giving up their sext-m.
They love being served by wo-
men. In my travels througs-out
the country, I have found that
all men are chauvinist to a de-
gree, but the South is the worst.
Women are constantly talked of
as sex objects. Wives are con-
tineally ordered to "Bring me
this" or "Run and buy that".
Soithern women seem t!, be
less conscious of their onpres-
sion than sisters in the North.
The southern capitalist likes
it that way. He can swell the
work force with women duting
peak production, particetarly
wartime. After the war and dur-
ing economic slumps, he can
push women back into the
home. A woman's place . . .
Racism and sexism will never
be defeated until capitalism and
white male supremacy are over-
thrown.
Liberal leaders jumped on the
Joan Little bangwagon to broad-
en their power base and prove
their liberalism. All the ballv-
hoo they caused will do little
or nothing to prevent the Clar-
ence Alligoods of America from
creeping into a thousand wo-
men's cell blocks tonig't°. The
only way to stop the rane of
women nrisoners is to remove
all men from the premises.
WOMEN GUARDS IN
WOMEN'S PRISONS!
LONG LOVE JOAN LITTLF:
Vincent Bodia is on un-
employed University of
Michigan drop-out.
Edited and managed by Students ot the
University of Michigan
Wednesday, August 20, 1975
News Phone: 764-0552
Smooth sa*i*ing at AATA
THE FOLKS OVER at the Ann A r b o r Transportation
Authority deserve a few words of commendation for
for fine job they've done in handling the city's bus and
Dial-A-Ride routes.
Since its inception four years ago, Dial-A-Ride has
undergone a number of expansions and innovations
geared toward maximzing the service's flexibility, prompt-
ness, passenger comfort and economy. Unlike similar
services found in other mid-sized American towns, the
Ann Arbor operation manages to sail smoothly along,
picking up speed and praise without the aid of federal
monies.
In the area of traditional bus service, the AATA has
initiated a number of new, convenience-oriented services
this year, including the Plymouth-Briarwood-Arborland
connection and the Packard and Washtenaw rush hour
runs.
With last week's most recent route expansion the
transport agency can claim to provide prompt, accessible
clean service to Ann Arbor residents.
THE DIAL-A-RIDE mini-buses now cover the southeast
Pittsfield area and all sections of the city north of the
Huron River.
We encourage all Ann Arborites who either don't own
cars or are tired of hassling with gas, parking and up-
keep to turn to the AATA for an inexpensive and effi-
cient transit alternative.
A positive response to recent AATA improvements
could mean even further expansion and improved service
in the future.
AIR AGENCY UNDER GUN
High-flying CAB fares
By JONATHAN EPSTEIN planes are little more than half even on routes linking metropol-
TESTIFYING before Edward filled without being financially itan areas, the load factor often
Kennedy's Senate Subcom- penalized by the CAB formula. revolves around the Board's
mittee on Administrative Prac- The fifty-five per cent stand- fifty-five per cent standard. In
tice and Procedure, Ralph Na- ard means that the passenger essence, the airlines have ne-
der suggested that the Civil pays for almost two spaces on gated the prospect of potentially
Aeronautics Board, created by the plane, the seat in which ha high passenger loads through
Congressional legislation in 1938, is sitting and nine-elevenths of competitive capacity additions.
be abolished: "Consumer abuse an empty seat.
has been tolerated and shielded CONTENDING that the public
by the Board's policies and IN ORDER TO reduce fares well being would be better
practices, and the agency's en- and conserve fuel, the Depart- served if the airline industry
forcement program has been ment of Transportation has pe- operated in an unregulated en-
dedicated not to the protection titioned the Civil Aeronautics vironment, the Antitrust Divi-
of the public but rather the Board to raise the passenger sion of the Justice Department
elimination of competition for .e" . , ::a ::e A!###.V e:.t e te:. "..:n{ : .: " . ..............., <"
scheduled airlines." ;':;'" ... . . . ..'. . . .
Established to provide for the The fare setting standard means that the
efficient growth of the airline
industry and ensure low cost air passenger pays for almost two spaces on the
travel, the CAB controls air plane, the seat in which he is sitting and 9,1
fares and the entry and exit of
airlines on interstate routes. The Of an empty seat.
Board determines the fares us- V.5:, ::r..::.: . :;,,< ;:r;.: ,;;::? ::;:"
based on the cost of distance load factor to sixty-five per opposes continued use of the
travelled and a constant termi- cent. Board's formula.
nal charge. Officials of the trunk line car- Donald Farmer, special assist-
riers contend the present guide- ant to the Assistant Attorney
AS A RESULT, price compe- lines are not unreasonable. General states, "We don't be-
tition in the airline industry is James Kennedy, director of lieve a government bureaucracy
virtually nonexistent; carriers, public relations at United Air- should be setting a load factor."
legally forbidden to lower fares lines, points out, "the airline CAB regulation, notes Farmer,
to attract air travellers from fleets are required to handle has served "to protect airlines
competitors, resort instead to in- both traffic highs, such as dur- from a competitive way of life."
tensive scheduling to gain new ing summer vacation months The wasteful nature of the
passengers. and holiday periods, as well. as Board's policies is apparent if
The fare-setting formula of traffic lows. As scheduled car- one looks at the fares charged
the Civil Aeronautics Board pro- riers, certificated in the public by intrastate carriers, all of
vides a twelve per cent return interest, United and other air- whom are out of the range of
on investment to the airline in- lines have no choice but to CAB jurisdiction.
dustry if the carriers fill fifty- serve both high and low density For instance, Pacific South-
five per cent -of their plane routes - metropolitan centers west. Airlines, a carrier' flying
seats. An airline, therefore, can and small communities." only in California, charges $22
expand its scheduling until its The CAB data indicates that. (Costanueeon page S)