Ten O'Clock News

Thought of walking. Yeah yeah. Well we want you. To give it. Back. You're.

Right. OK. We're going to cut out the second page of a very. Short order was right. So please I'm waiting if you want to hop in and say something. Don't feel shy. Or if you want to bring up something and I don't. Let's get it. Yes pretty good. Now look at the best part. OK. No but we.

Don't always. Get it. OK what are you reading. Earlier. Earlier today the song you're talking about the an appeal to parents to try to appeal to the students or the children who live in the housing project where there has been some trouble to try and calm the situation. Do you think it's very likely that that can happen that what's going to happen is that that such an appeal the parents would make such an appeal to the law. I think that we've even begun to see that kind of response myself today. I thought he was actually this morning. I get the feeling that as the events of the last two days have really upset some people I would like to say that we're not just talking about the people in the housing project. We're talking about the people from the. But from some youth you know who got very excited and perhaps running wild. One person said to me yesterday the

day before we had the major incident there was that they were renegades and they get to be very dangerous and the situation for other people for themselves and I was pleased to see and I started to feel a real feeling from a lot of the very very outspoken people that this is going to stop. So I think the appeal of it you will be heard. Are there two separate to separate things at work here. Is there is there the vandalism and then there is the anti bussing sentiment or is it all a hodgepodge of the same thing I think. There definitely is a distinction between bussing sentiment and tide busting demonstrations and senseless vandalism and hooliganism. You have to be able to draw the line. And that's what we're tending to do. And what's happened just in the last 24 hours as a result of yesterday afternoon's activities that. Parents who are family and still are in the forefront of the entire bussing in this town realize how close they were to those bottles that was

home. A leader of thought it was within five feet of a Molotov cocktail last night and it's a stock impression upon you when you're in the area every gossip what your sentiment is that this type of activity cannot be condoned and must be stopped. And so we are working at this time to definitely develop that distinction between any type busing sentiment and you know acts of vandalism and and robberies. And the vandalism is mainly from kids young people. That you know I think mainly it is it's hard to say. But it is true his data Dana said it has two distinct entities. I just like to add that you know sociologically that there's a phenomenon that goes on I mean if it wasn't this it would be something else I can remember when I was a young man oh there was a series of gang was it went on between South Boston and the s. The Duchess did you know it just went on and on nobody could seem to stop it and it was extremely dangerous

people. People were killed you know and all kinds of awful things happen. And it have it was because of some girlfriend of somebody you know and once these things get started. So I think there's an awful lot just in the fact that you know there's a gang thing an adolescence thing that goes on and you know it's it's acting out all of a sudden the hero of the moment kind of thing it may have nothing to do in a lot of places what with the rights it always just I think a few get caught up in. They see something happening. And without thinking they're part of it. You. Think this is important to consider. A lot of these young people are. Just it's just a spur of the moment reaction and I was going to say that for three days now largely due to adequate police protection for buses coming in and out of the town and also a lot to do with the fact that they have been as far as I can see no conscious and overt attempts on the part of any anti busing leaders in this community to get within this you know drawing

distances with differently any buses bringing children into the town and almost seems at this stage as if the confrontation between the police and the youth of a town is disassociated with the busing issue because it's not taking place you know around any areas where there are buses or schools. And even during the evening hours. And it seems to me as if a large number of our youth are caught up in the whole atmosphere of confrontation and. Sometimes maybe even quite a distance removed from the fact that we are under crisis rather than a you know right a confrontation. I want to ask you how much of this is anti mussing and how much of his anti police do you think. That's a good question and I think at this stage a lot of it is in time police. It was prompted then brought together by an entire bussing sentiment but now it's reached the point as I said you can almost associate between you know the busing problem in this town and a problem we're confronted with today in the last

24 hours of this confrontation of gangs of kids from the ages of 15 to 19 even older. With the police at this stage what can you do when you do. I don't know I think we certainly can try to urge parents to try to keep their children home I just like to say something about that. The big crowd that gathered and got no trouble turning cars over so on Monday there were about 200 of them. I can remember seeing in that crowd a little girls 10 and 11 12 years old who had this weathers carefully folded over their eyes. And so you know their mothers gave them a sweater to take with them and they went out and they get caught up in this spirit of whatever this was it was moving along and chanting and singing and you know and this is a tremendously dangerous thing to have happen you know. Just seen that little girl with her. I said you know that's what we have to deal with. I think what we're doing we are sending out we're sending out all of the

people in the community been involved in organizations especially those involved in youth related organizations to come out with us on the street come out and whether it be anything whether be we can't be taking a day off work or come out here on the street be here to talk to the kids work with them not in a social. Service type of sense but just as people from the community talking to their friends and their neighbors and saying come on you know this is our town. And we're working for community. This is it will work and work for Charleston. We're live. Next. Our. Lights are here. And we want to. You know. Want to. Come back together. Why is this out of the situation is going to remain at least bubbling if not bubbling over as long as the police are here as long as there is busing here. Or. Or will this fade out. I would like to just make a distinction and I think if you investigated statistics that you know you find this out I think it's the bussing out that

bothers most people. And you know I mean really you know most people are being bused out. But at the same time they're denying their kids they've made a decision to deny their kids an education or something. Ok that. That's I mean they feel that they have lost the right to send their kids to the school up the street when every child must you know represents one of our children that have been assigned outside of turns. That's right that's right but why why I brought that up why why I brought that up was because I feel that the the the the anger. That's being displayed is not being displayed at the kids personally who are coming in. It's a symbol. They're a symbol. That's all and that's why the anger is out of the streets. And I think and the other example of that you're to consider what happened yesterday and what could have happened yesterday here. At about 3:00 o'clock it was a large crowd of. Youngsters young people would be a 19 maybe even older some observant something dissipating. At the corner over.

You're going on your tour. At about 3:15 or 3:30 that was the time that the. Two buses were starting to come up to me and I love four students from Johnstown who had attended school. Ellen white white students white elephant preschool students I think in the past three days only 20 people have been bused out of a town of about 800. But these four students will be laid off and that was quite a crowd of time. And we got to the faculty which our town students town residents the buses were assembled and we were quite concerned because even though the people. Would have been able to see that these were Charlestown students and disembarking from the buses we were afraid that in the emotion of the situation that was a symbol and that. Those children safety was in danger because of that fact. It's a it's more or less an uncontrolled emotional situation that we're confronting now rather than a logical unplanned. Office. Protest.

If. You're just on the point of what the objection is about. I've heard from a lot of people in Charles Town that the real problem is bussing the kids out. It's not so much busing other kids in yet. You see the racial slurs are scrawled on some of the walls and you hear the racial slurs from a lot of the kids and I just wonder. Of course painting on the walls only takes one person. To paint the town with. It's present it's present in any community and we would be lying if we said that it isn't but it's not overwhelming the overwhelming factor He's the safety of the children. And I can honestly say that I was standing here at the corner yesterday morning. Monday morning rather when there were more people in the street and the black elementary schools to being bused right by here to the kids school and there were a few taunts. Directed at the busboy but to a woman in the ME and 99 percent of the people there.

Were. And who were in the talks being like an elementary school children and said something to the people what. You did say something to make gestures to the students on the bus and I believe that there's a reasonable amount of concern here for you know the safety of all children and is a very very tremendous amount of level headedness which dictates you know elementary school children coming in whether they be black or not you know not to be heard and that's that. I feel Evan in this community. What about the police presence. I know that the resentment is very high here is it is it to the numbers of the police or what the police are doing. I think it's a combination I mean even though we had you know people read about what was expected even though some of us maybe even attended meetings we certainly never expected that the feeling the impression that we were but we were greeted with on a Monday morning before a bus rolled in before anything happened before there was anyone in the street and I think that

that created the mold. It's very hard to get a handle on that but I think there was a move created and I feel we've we've made a strong case as you know for less visibility Yanda to move certain police out of the town and to cut down on the visibility we still want the town protected we want the children protected as we just said but I think that the that can be done without us feeling as if we're in a military state. And. Is that the way you felt. Is that I think there was a feeling of that the first morning with helicopters droning over our heads at 6:00 in the morning and and all of that there was no doubt about it my mind that's the feeling I had I think five helicopters circling over the town the concentration of that place that drove him to come out on your streets and see it just lined with police officers you know for months people have been saying what will happen. There was no way he was to know what happened. But the presence was overwhelming even for us who were and knew they were

going to be there when they're actually there. Our town is no longer ours. Is it fair in any way to compare what's happening this year in Charlestown with what happened last year in South Boston. I I really don't think so I think it's I think the the the attitude and the sentiments of the people who are involved and all of us are the same is the tenor of the people in South Boston last year. But on the other hand I believe that we're different people a different community and as such they can really be no comparison your different forces at play here than they were at play last year just because of the individuals involved. What are some of the differences could you give me an example. Well you referred to the the helicopters for instance a show of force. That he was a conscious decision on behalf of public safety officials and that took place this year here in China. And we did have that so often last year in a community a mile square had a presence of five helicopters because you know there's one on every rooftop. As Gloria said when

you we arrived here Monday morning and saw the helicopters in the air the police on the streets the helicopters serving the purpose of driving people on to the streets he was going on. Noise from motorcycles the menace of all Jewish noises were enough to bring anyone out of this street to see a benefit of a police presence and have them wash yourself off of them. I think this first few days of school anyway and the fact is not involving in the whole situation where what Given they were last year and that in a sense contributed to the difference I think I think it's between. Some of the black parents I've talked to who are keeping their children all the children who are assigned to go to school in Charles Town say that they they know that the buses aren't being attacked. But what they're afraid of is that if the police weren't blocking off sealing off the the streets leading to the schools that the buses would be attacked it is only that great force of police that that is keeping the buses safe now and if that goes their children would really be in danger.

What do you think. I don't know I mean I would hope that eventually we can slowly take the police down and I would want to say that I think that in anyway let's move the police out let you let me say I can't speak for the community as long as we have the U.S. still pretty much on the loose and still causing a little bit of anxiety and all of us. You know I think that we would say leave the police around the schools just as they are. Let's make sure that those children get hurt. Let's also hope that people will look out for anybody. We've been trying to take the position of. Another words. We're not preaching compliance. We're not preaching a philosophy. We're preaching safety in a community a community tying together. And we've got we've got to work a few things out. Things are coming constantly as I said you know people said if you've been having meetings we haven't had time to do anything in the past three days we gather together for five minutes to you know meet and share right years and then go out to take care of something else and we

can really only hear things one day at a time of the speech. And I think that's all we can be expected to do. You know we're just residents and we're just working as residents. Oh what a role role have the in your view have the organized anti bussing groups here in Charlestown played. Well they've been working very closely with them and they and myself have been in the forefront in expressing one towns united opposition to the forced busing. In addition I think leaders in the Untied busing movement as well as the three of us here other members of the community have been meeting every Tuesday morning on the stress of public safety and to try to bring the message across to the world if it may be that we're not racists. Oh we'd be lying to say that which will not exist because in every white community country and we're not a violent people. And that is the message we're trying to bring across and the busing leaders in this community. I would honestly have to say feel that way very strong that image they want to present also

and in the past couple of days they've been working to get them one on the one hand to show that they will in no way comply with that he said. But on the other hand also working to show as much opposition as possible via demonstrations. But as I said earlier those same leaders have now and it's just as with all the actions the past two days have come to the fore and helping us spread the word that we cannot condone confrontation between you and police because. That errantly thrown rock a bottle could hit one of our own and that's what a nation the people of which you know I have been. Active. For several years now although I'm not active in the organization but they have made strong statements against violence and towns markets have not. Violent protests have not been violent in the past. Well MORNING.

People have worked unto themselves that way and here and here and there. You think they're working on the streets no one on the streets they're working with the Kings. Well as far as a CUNY being a violent community for a lot of people who don't live here people see the pictures of cars overturned and burning of the crowds running through the streets through the projects. You read about Molotov cocktails and police car chases and shootings and it's very hard for most people or a lot of people I think to believe that this is not a violent community what do you say to them. I'd I would obviously respond to that I hope that we have het we had a two I think it was three or four cars perhaps overturned. We had a one young man hurt. We have had that number of arrests and we've had some casings and shootings. I defy you to look at any city in the country and you find these kinds of things going on

practically daily. I wouldn't be surprised if there were a letter I would be surprised if there was less crime in the last three days. All right. Then there would be normally. Right. I just feel that you know we don't want to blow this a you know this coverage would get tremendous coverage of what's been going on in the last few days. The expectation level of the probe was but. I don't. Know her but not me. But but.