NAACP convention 1980; Part 3

<v Narrator>Ma- funding was provided by this station and other public television stations. <v Narrator>Additional funding was provided by the Quaker Oats company. <v Narrator>[Intro Music] Live from Miami Beach. Continuing coverage of the 71st Annual <v Narrator>Convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. <v Narrator>Now here is host and commentator Carl Rowan. <v Carl Rowan>Good afternoon. In a few hours, President Carter will speak at the Freedom <v Carl Rowan>Fund Banquet of this NAACP convention. <v Carl Rowan>While the reception is likely to be polite, even cordial, Carter probably will <v Carl Rowan>see and hear some things that he will not like. <v Carl Rowan>Even before he enters the banquet hall of the Fontainebleau Hotel, he may <v Carl Rowan>well see two protest demonstrations underway. <v Carl Rowan>One will blame him for unemployment and other economic woes of blacks here <v Carl Rowan>and in other large cities.

<v Carl Rowan>The second demonstration will criticize the president for what the protesters believe <v Carl Rowan>is discriminatory treatment by the federal government against Haitian <v Carl Rowan>refugees. As I reported yesterday in a Miami new <v Carl Rowan>survey, shows that a majority of the delegates here probably will vote for <v Carl Rowan>the reelection of Jimmy Carter. <v Carl Rowan>But a small majority, compared with a 92 percent of blacks who <v Carl Rowan>gave Mr. Carter their ballots in 1976. <v Carl Rowan>Very clearly, President Carter is speaking here because he knows that <v Carl Rowan>if blacks remain so disenchanted with his policies, that substantial <v Carl Rowan>numbers refuse to vote or decide to vote for the Independent John <v Carl Rowan>Anderson, then Mr. Carter cannot win reelection. <v Carl Rowan>Ronald Reagan, the almost certain Republican nominee, apparently <v Carl Rowan>has been convinced that it is important for him to try to woo black <v Carl Rowan>voters away from Carter. <v Carl Rowan>Reagan's headquarters announced yesterday that the former California governor will

<v Carl Rowan>address a meeting of the National Urban League in New York on August 5th. <v Carl Rowan>A few days before the Democrats hold their national convention in that city, <v Carl Rowan>Reagan was sharply criticized, even ridiculed by officials and delegates <v Carl Rowan>here when he declined an invitation to speak at this NAACP <v Carl Rowan>gathering. The executive director of the NAACP, Ben Hooks, <v Carl Rowan>suggested that Reagan was writing off the black vote. <v Carl Rowan>Reagan sent Hooke's a telegram assuring him that this was not the case. <v Carl Rowan>Now, I want to let you in here on a little exclusive. <v Carl Rowan>The NAACP says it does not endorse presidential candidates, <v Carl Rowan>but in 1964, the NAACP <v Carl Rowan>was so frightened of Barry Goldwater that it did urge blacks <v Carl Rowan>not to vote for Goldwater in the board meeting yesterday, and <v Carl Rowan>in other places here, the leaders of this organization are saying that in 1980,

<v Carl Rowan>the NAACP may once again have to come out with a statement <v Carl Rowan>saying don't vote for someone and that someone would <v Carl Rowan>be Ronald Reagan. <v Carl Rowan>Reagan's failure to appear here opened him up to sharp criticism by independent <v Carl Rowan>candidate John Anderson and Democratic challenger Ted Kennedy, both <v Carl Rowan>of whom asserted that Reagan stands for programs that are unacceptable <v Carl Rowan>to blacks. <v John Anderson>I haven't seen any evidence to date that either Ronald Reagan has done so <v John Anderson>or that President Carter, who's had three and a half years to prove that he was going to <v John Anderson>do something uh he hasn't certainly accomplish the goal of reducing the rate of black <v John Anderson>unemployment from being double that of white unemployment in this country or a <v John Anderson>teenage jobless rates among minority youth ranging as high as 50 or 55 <v John Anderson>percent. <v Ted Kennedy>The president was worried about what to put in his speech here. <v Ted Kennedy>But I have a solution for him. He can make the same promises he did

<v Ted Kennedy>in 1976 [Laughter] because none of them have been used up yet. <v Carl Rowan>President Carter's task is to convince black leaders here that his programs <v Carl Rowan>are not inimical to the interests of America's minorities. <v Carl Rowan>Kennedy has campaigned on the consistent theme that Carter's economic <v Carl Rowan>policies impact cruelly upon the nation's minorities, its poor <v Carl Rowan>and its aged. He's stirred the delegates here. <v Carl Rowan>Kennedy that that is with this pointed attack on Mr. <v Carl Rowan>Carter's policies <v Ted Kennedy>And the Democratic Party must also stand against budget cuts that take <v Ted Kennedy>the most from those who have the least. <v Ted Kennedy>Instead of postponing social progress, let us close the tax <v Ted Kennedy>loopholes through which 5 billion dollars a year pour out into the swollen <v Ted Kennedy>treasuries of the major oil and gas companies. <v Ted Kennedy>There are suggestions from the tribunals of the status quo that

<v Ted Kennedy>it is time to retreat from this effort and from traditional democratic <v Ted Kennedy>principles to take refuge behind a convenient facade of party <v Ted Kennedy>unity. There are even those who say that we can win regardless of <v Ted Kennedy>our policies that we can win, and we can take <v Ted Kennedy>black votes for granted because we can scare Americans about the Republican <v Ted Kennedy>candidate. They surely is a right wing threat. <v Ted Kennedy>But I'm convinced that we will not defeat it by tilting <v Ted Kennedy>toward it. [Applause] <v Ted Kennedy>Rosa Parks did not win her victory <v Ted Kennedy>for justice by moving to the middle of the bus. <v Carl Rowan>President Carter has said repeatedly that Kennedy misrepresents and distorts <v Carl Rowan>his programs. Let's take a look at what the president himself has said

<v Carl Rowan>about the issues that are most important to this convention. <v Carl Rowan>There is the matter of the budget. <v Carl Rowan>He said we are going to balance the '81 budget. <v Carl Rowan>It will be done in a very sensitive way to minimize the adverse effect <v Carl Rowan>on people who need federal programs most. <v Carl Rowan>This is what has gotten Mr. Carter into the greatest of trouble with blacks. <v Carl Rowan>They believe that there is no sensitive way to balance the budget at this <v Carl Rowan>time so that he does not have to wound the people who need help <v Carl Rowan>most. Inflation is another big issue. <v Carl Rowan>This is what he said. I might point out that controlling inflation is extremely <v Carl Rowan>important to the people who are the poorest, who suffer from discrimination <v Carl Rowan>or who live on fixed incomes. <v Carl Rowan>They are the ones that cannot survive a 20 percent inflation <v Carl Rowan>rate. Mr. Carter is arguably correct,

<v Carl Rowan>but he is running against the tide of a democratic tradition of hating joblessness <v Carl Rowan>more than inflation. <v Carl Rowan>He said this about the cities. <v Carl Rowan>My opinion is that the best way to ensure that the cities will continue <v Carl Rowan>to improve is to orient not just special programs designed <v Carl Rowan>for the cities, but all programs in transportation, education, <v Carl Rowan>health and environmental quality, jobs, housing to orient <v Carl Rowan>those toward the deteriorating areas of our country as a <v Carl Rowan>top priority. <v Carl Rowan>That was in his speech to the League of Women Voters. <v Carl Rowan>Let me say a word about the need for special programs. <v Carl Rowan>During an earlier recession, I asked former President Ford <v Carl Rowan>if he intended to prepare any special programs to help blacks and others <v Carl Rowan>who were heavily hit by unemployment. <v Carl Rowan>No, Mr. Ford said, my policy is to lift the entire economy. <v Carl Rowan>When I do that, all groups will be better off

<v Carl Rowan>now. That's the old all ships rise with the tired idea <v Carl Rowan>that has turned out not to be true where blacks are involved. <v Carl Rowan>Since World War 2, even when the good times rolled, <v Carl Rowan>black unemployment never dropped below 8 percent and consistently <v Carl Rowan>remained double that for white Americans. <v Carl Rowan>Mr. Carter will find that these delegates want specially targeted programs. <v Carl Rowan>President Carter's words suggests that he believes he has initiated <v Carl Rowan>more special programs than the public understands. <v Carl Rowan>Here's what he said about employment. In <v Carl Rowan>3 years, working together, we have created in this country a <v Carl Rowan>record setting 9 million new jobs, 9 million more people <v Carl Rowan>at work than were 3 years ago. <v Carl Rowan>A million more construction workers at work because of our mutual <v Carl Rowan>commitment to jobs.

<v Carl Rowan>I would like to point out to you that between 1977 <v Carl Rowan>and the projected budget of 1983, we will have committed <v Carl Rowan>several hundred million dollars, probably in the neighborhood of a half <v Carl Rowan>a trillion dollars to programs that directly put people to work <v Carl Rowan>by building new facilities and providing vital services. <v Carl Rowan>And he said this about this advantaged citizens. <v Carl Rowan>We have had a very successful first 3 years in increased sensitivity <v Carl Rowan>to the needs of the disadvantaged people in our country, including minority groups. <v Carl Rowan>We have had an unprecedented increase in jobs. <v Carl Rowan>We have had an unprecedented commitment to the urban areas of our country inhabited <v Carl Rowan>by the poor and quite often by minority groups. <v Carl Rowan>And he continued to speak favorably of himself on the issues of housing. <v Carl Rowan>This is what he said. My recommendations in some areas are quite

<v Carl Rowan>liberal. As a matter of fact, my first recommendation to Congress <v Carl Rowan>when we put forward a balanced budget was to increase federally assisted <v Carl Rowan>homes. We've now asked the Congress to expand the 235 program <v Carl Rowan>with government subsidized interest rates to add another hundred thousand <v Carl Rowan>homes that will be federally assisted. <v Carl Rowan>This gathering surely realizes that President Carter personally <v Carl Rowan>has taken a forceful stand in urging Congress to strengthen the fair <v Carl Rowan>housing law by approving amendments which he considers the most <v Carl Rowan>important piece of civil rights legislation in a decade. <v Carl Rowan>Mr. Carter also believes that he has been a good president for the disadvantaged when <v Carl Rowan>it comes to education. <v Carl Rowan>This is what he said about the Head Start program. <v Carl Rowan>Head Start is a program that works. <v Carl Rowan>It's a program that makes poor children healthier.

<v Carl Rowan>It's a program that helps young people grow more self-confident. <v Carl Rowan>And it's a program that lets students make their parents better as well. <v Carl Rowan>Because one thing we often forget is how much education those <v Carl Rowan>5 year old children brought home to a parent who may not <v Carl Rowan>ever have been blessed with a chance to read a good book. <v Carl Rowan>One thing that the delegates here, the media and most assuredly <v Carl Rowan>the other presidential contenders will be watching tonight is the extent <v Carl Rowan>to which Mr. Carter's rhetoric on the great issues changes from his <v Carl Rowan>words of the recent past. <v Carl Rowan>Now, there's been a lot of pro and con about whether the NAACP should have brought its <v Carl Rowan>convention to Miami Beach. <v Carl Rowan>And a lot of discussion about the impact of this convention. <v Carl Rowan>Let's get a report on this from Sharon Stevens. <v Sharon Stevens>More than a million people live in Miami and blacks comprise 15 percent of the <v Sharon Stevens>population. They are the smallest minority in this southern Florida community.

<v Sharon Stevens>The NAACP is one of only a handful of groups which represents minority <v Sharon Stevens>interests. Opinions on the viability of the 5 chapters here <v Sharon Stevens>include a variety of descriptions from laudatory to charges that they have been <v Sharon Stevens>ineffective. Some blacks have never even heard of the NAACP. <v Sharon Stevens>A sampling of opinion in downtown Miami produced the following responses. <v Speaker 1>I think that is um a very good organization and they're doing a fine job. <v Gail Boles>Well one thing I am upset about is that uh on their membership row, they do have Janet <v Gail Boles>Reno as a card carrying member. <v Gail Boles>And I think they should ask for that card back uh as a result of the recent McDuffie <v Gail Boles>issues and so forth. The leadership for the NAACP comes <v Gail Boles>more on the national, you know, on the national level with Benjamin Hooks on down <v Gail Boles>when it gets down to the local level it sort of like peters out. <v Regina Benhibeban>It keeps the community together and it everyone progressing. <v Regina Benhibeban>I mean, that's what it's for. It's just like organizations like the Jewish organizations

<v Regina Benhibeban>and you know, it's just like any other one. <v Bob Mark>I don't really know too much about the organization. <v Bob Mark>I- I know, there's a big convention going on now. <v Bob Mark>And I know it's been an organization active for a number of years from protecting <v Bob Mark>the rights of black citizens. <v Jill Nixon>Well I think it's an important organization and one that I would like to see people get <v Jill Nixon>more involved in. Both black and white people think they've won an amazing number of <v Jill Nixon>legal victories over the years that couldn't have been done without them. <v Jill Nixon>A lot of people have given their time and I hope that does continue. <v Sharon Stevens>Are you a member yourself? <v Jill Nixon>No, I'm not. In fact, I don't even know how you go about becoming a member and I'd be <v Jill Nixon>interested. <v Sharon Stevens>Would you would you like to join? <v Jill Nixon>I don't know that I ever knew that anybody who wasn't black could join, and I would be <v Jill Nixon>interested if it's true that you can otherwise. <v Sharon Stevens>As a young person, is it the kind of organization that you would look up to? <v Clavel Ford>Kind of, yes. <v Sharon Stevens>While a number of observers and residents here view the greater Miami chapters as weaker <v Sharon Stevens>links in the chain. Chapter leaders believe they are doing their job. <v Sharon Stevens>The emotional rebuilding of Liberty City and the NAACP involvement in that

<v Sharon Stevens>process may well be the key to the viability of this organization in <v Sharon Stevens>this area. From the Miami Beach Convention Center, this is Sharon Stevens reporting. <v Carl Rowan>Now let's go live to Sharon Stevens at the Convention Center for a report <v Carl Rowan>on today's plenary session. <v Sharon Stevens>Carl, the most talked about resolution this year does not involve traditional human or <v Sharon Stevens>civil rights issues, but goes straight to the heart of the NAACP's internal structure its <v Sharon Stevens>constitution. Today, delegates debated on whether to limit the length of service <v Sharon Stevens>for nationally elected and appointed representatives on the national board. <v Sharon Stevens>And here's what some of those delegates had to say. <v Speaker 2>As a long time member of this association from youth days <v Speaker 2>up, I have done my share of helping to elect people <v Speaker 2>to the board. I've also had an opportunity to see the board <v Speaker 2>in operation both from the outside and as a member of the staff

<v Speaker 2>inside and now as a member of the board. <v Speaker 2>The democratic process will be best served by <v Speaker 2>making it possible for the rank and file to filter <v Speaker 2>in to the present board. <v Speaker 2>And if you read these resolutions, especially the majority report, you will see <v Speaker 2>that there really is no effective date. <v Speaker 2>We still have to depend upon that board to mend that constitution. <v Speaker 2>And unless this body says unequivocally to the board <v Speaker 2>that you want that constitution amended, it will ignore <v Speaker 2>even the wishes of the democratic body. <v Speaker 2>I have served in the Methodist Church on boards that limited your membership <v Speaker 2>to 8 years. You knew then when your 8 years were up, <v Speaker 2>you would come off when you have a limitation or tenure on <v Speaker 2>service. You allow new people to come and serve

<v Speaker 2>and give their expertise. <v Speaker 2>I hope that you [Applause] will not be deluded by this minority <v Speaker 2>report. It's a feeling that you're getting something which you are not. <v Speaker 2>We took a step forward yesterday, but we must take another step <v Speaker 2>today. I call on you to reject and do it overwhelmingly the <v Speaker 2>minority report and support the majority report. <v Speaker 2>[Applause] <v Speaker 3>I believe in NAACP and [Someone else talking] I believe in its members and their right to <v Speaker 3>choose and elect who they want to serve them. <v Speaker 3>I firmly believe that we have not become the largest and oldest civil rights <v Speaker 3>organization in the world by placing limitations on the amount of service <v Speaker 3>our members can give, [Applause] but by people recognizing and <v Speaker 3>believe in the strength of our leaders in the democratic process by which they are <v Speaker 3>elected. Secondly, I remember what most of us know it's the Mississippi <v Speaker 3>crisis. And I assure you that all the overwhelming support we received in dealing

<v Speaker 3>with that crisis was to a large degree based on the record and strength of <v Speaker 3>our leadership and their ability to negotiate. <v Speaker 3>I believe that young people, all people, your region, my region should be represented <v Speaker 3>on the board. But I also believe in my right to vote and decide if I want <v Speaker 3>to send someone to represent me for 12 years or 24 years. <v Speaker 3>We have got to stop being emotional and we've got to be realistic ?inaudible? <v Speaker 3>support and the minority report. Thank you. <v Speaker 3>[Applause] <v Announcer>All right. <v Speaker 4>No one lives forever, I'm reminded, in 1963, <v Speaker 4>the day of the funeral of John F. Kennedy. <v Speaker 4>The Houston paper said: "A Grieving Nation Moves On. <v Speaker 4>JFK is Laid to Rest." This organization should be above <v Speaker 4>one person, one group of persons, or one age group. <v Speaker 4>We are talking about in this nation, ?inaudible? <v Speaker 4>our country and the democratic process within the Democratic and Republican parties

<v Speaker 4>to all people. What we have aboard today is not representative <v Speaker 4>of the grass roots. It is representative of certain people. <v Speaker 4>We have a certain board members elected by the board that their name ?and our? <v Speaker 4>local communities is about as famous as a man with a penny trynna buy a lunch. <v Speaker 4>It won't do much. And they're carrying no weight. <v Speaker 4>We see him at no con- no local board meetings. <v Speaker 4>We know nothing about him. And they've been here hitchhikers. <v Speaker 4>And the personal agenda has been more important than the NAACP agenda because we <v Speaker 4>are a grass roots organization. <v Speaker 4>The survival of the NAACP or any other organization is dependent <v Speaker 4>upon new ideas, new people and new <v Speaker 4>projects and new strategies. <v Speaker 4>What we have today is basically a New Deal board. <v Speaker 4>A board that past its time in many ways. <v Speaker 4>We need another generation. <v Speaker 4>We're not sayin' throwin' the present board members out we're sayin' integrate the board <v Speaker 4>members and give everybody a chance to serve.

<v Speaker 4>Mr. Chairman, we ought to remember what happened in Iran. <v Speaker 4>We ought to remember what happened in Nicaragua. <v Speaker 4>We ought to remember what happened in Korea today when repressive and non <v Speaker 4>democratic regimes fall, in many cases the organization will fall. <v Speaker 4>And for many of us, we've struggled too long to see a democratic organization <v Speaker 4>far across the repressive board of governance. <v Announcer>All those in favor please signify by showing your cards fine <v Announcer>in favors, all thank you. <v Announcer>All those opposed, please show your cards. <v Announcer>[Crowd booing] Okay. <v Announcer>We're very, very much in doubt. <v Announcer>[Crowd booing] <v Sharon Stevens>Well, eventually, the resolution to limit national officers to four consecutive terms at <v Sharon Stevens>12 years was overwhelmingly approved. <v Sharon Stevens>The tenure provision was at least 6 years in the making.

<v Sharon Stevens>And one of those at the forefront is national board member Reverend Gloster Current, whom <v Sharon Stevens>you saw just a minute ago. <v Sharon Stevens>Why did you support it? [Announcer speaking over PA] <v Gloster Current>[Announcer speaking over PA] I supported it because the national board of directors needs <v Gloster Current>to have fresh blood, new blood, an opportunity for the <v Gloster Current>younger uh members of the association to have a chance <v Gloster Current>to come aboard. Without tenure, uh we continue to reelect <v Gloster Current>board members who are good. But it does not give the democratic process <v Gloster Current>a change. The fundamental principles of NAACP uh <v Gloster Current>will remain the same. <v Gloster Current>You might have a little more vigor in terms of trying to carry out that program, <v Gloster Current>but there will be no fundamental changes in the approaches and their work. <v Sharon Stevens>What if any impact do you think this resolution would have <v Sharon Stevens>on the position of Chairman Wilson? <v Gloster Current>Well now, that's interesting.

<v Gloster Current>I cannot foresee any great change in her influence <v Gloster Current>as new persons are filtered in, it might. <v Gloster Current>Keep in mind that the board chairman is elected by the board itself. <v Gloster Current>If new people come on the board and it'll be a gradual process, should <v Gloster Current>she desire to remain, there might be some new persons <v Gloster Current>arise who would challenge her position. <v Gloster Current>NAACP has not had a tradition of summarily dismissing Chairman <v Gloster Current>Louis Wright, Dr. Louis Wright was chairman a long time uh Rob- Robert Weaver <v Gloster Current>was chairman long time. Stephen Gill Spottswood. <v Gloster Current>So I don't see any great change in attitude toward the present chairman. <v Sharon Stevens>The work on this resolution is not over yet. <v Sharon Stevens>And my colleague Rodney Ward has more. <v Rodney Ward>Sharing the resolution to limit the number of terms a board member can serve must now be <v Rodney Ward>debated by the full board. The board meets this fall to review all of the resolutions

<v Rodney Ward>adopted during the convention. <v Rodney Ward>Delegates left the hall this afternoon unsure of whether the resolution to limit <v Rodney Ward>board member terms would, in fact, result in an amendment to the NAACP constitution. <v Rodney Ward>Delegates asked whether the board is required to follow the will of the convention <v Rodney Ward>delegates. I posed that question to NAACP executive director Benjamin Hooks. <v Benjamin Hooks>[Announcer speaking over PA] There's two kinds of resolutions that the delegates passed, <v Benjamin Hooks>the Bl- the Blue book, which is our constitution ?inaudible? <v Benjamin Hooks>That every revolution is passed by the convention must be ?concurred in? <v Benjamin Hooks>by the board of directors b- be- before it becomes effective. <v Benjamin Hooks>That gives the board the oppurtunity to lift its resolutions in a more <v Benjamin Hooks>calm uh light rather than maybe be the upset ?fervor? <v Benjamin Hooks>of a convention floor. If they do not concur <v Benjamin Hooks>with the resolutions passed by the convention, in that event <v Benjamin Hooks>they must be sent to the branches for ratification either the convention action <v Benjamin Hooks>or the floor act- or the board action.

<v Benjamin Hooks>But when it comes to constitutional amendment, the board of the final makes the final <v Benjamin Hooks>decision so that the resolution adopted today will go before the board. <v Benjamin Hooks>If the board concurs and then they will change and adhere to what this convention passed. <v Benjamin Hooks>If they do not concur, that would be the end of it. <v Benjamin Hooks>In other words, what this amounts to is more of an advisory <v Benjamin Hooks>than a directive. <v Rodney Ward>Sure but will that be seen as a sign that the <v Rodney Ward>board is not interested in what the majority of the delegates at the convention are <v Rodney Ward>interested in? <v Benjamin Hooks>Oh I'm not predicting at all what the board would do, I was simply explaining the law. <v Benjamin Hooks>You know, I'm the executive director, but I don't have to be a member of the board. <v Benjamin Hooks>I serve as a secretary of the board, but I'm not a member. <v Benjamin Hooks>And I would not dare speculate because I don't know what the relative mer- merits <v Benjamin Hooks>of the issue are. Nor do I know, Nor have I examined administrative ?resignation?. <v Benjamin Hooks>Nor do I know what the board just ?thinking?. <v Rodney Ward>OK, sir. But if the board were not to go along <v Rodney Ward>with this resolution, would that then constitute a major division?

<v Rodney Ward>Wo- wo- Would that be a message from the board to the people, the <v Rodney Ward>delegates that the board is not interested? <v Rodney Ward>And what the people want? [Hooks interjects] <v Benjamin Hooks>Well, I will not speculate on what the board will do and won't do. <v Benjamin Hooks>I have no idea, and I think any speculation of that would be a waste of my time at this <v Benjamin Hooks>point. <v Rodney Ward>[Announcer speaking over PA] There was some suggestion by people in the- the delegates <v Rodney Ward>that this uh action would have a negative effect on the NAACP, <v Rodney Ward>that limiting the terms would have a negative effect on the operation of the NAACP. <v Rodney Ward>Uh, do you have any thoughts, sir, at this point? <v Benjamin Hooks>The question of tenure, has always been, in my judgment, a basic policy matter <v Benjamin Hooks>for the council convention to decide. <v Benjamin Hooks>And I have never expressed an opinion on it before this convention. <v Benjamin Hooks>I was ?inaudible region meeting? I was on the state conference because that is strictly <v Benjamin Hooks>something that I should not be involved in. <v Benjamin Hooks>I will obviously look at it now from an administrative viewpoint. <v Benjamin Hooks>And if I feel called upon to make some report on it, I will at this <v Benjamin Hooks>point, I've given no particular thought to it.

<v Sharon Stevens>Well that's about it from the floor. Back to you, Carl. <v Carl Rowan>Thank you very much, Sharon. We'll be back to you in just a little while. <v Carl Rowan>And to Rodney Ward. <v Carl Rowan>I think I should mention that one event has overshadowed this convention. <v Carl Rowan>I refer to the mid-May riots in the Liberty City section of Miami, which raised <v Carl Rowan>the fear of another summer of violence such as we had in 1967. <v Carl Rowan>At that time, President Johnson became so concerned that he named a National <v Carl Rowan>Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, which made a celebrated report. <v Carl Rowan>Well, I have with me today a longtime worker in the civil rights field and an old friend, <v Carl Rowan>Ruth Bates Harris from Washington. <v Carl Rowan>She has raised the question whether bad history is repeating itself <v Carl Rowan>because we learn little or nothing from our past. <v Carl Rowan>Ruth, you hear these people talking about the riots <v Carl Rowan>here. <v Ruth Bates Harris>Yes. <v Carl Rowan>Did we learn anything from that national commission that President Johnson named? <v Ruth Bates Harris>I don't think we've learned enough, Carl, because the report is is a very vivid

<v Ruth Bates Harris>portrayal of the riots, the summer of unrest of 1967. <v Ruth Bates Harris>It first started with the horror of Watts and discuss the problems <v Ruth Bates Harris>that we had in Newark and Detroit and and cities across the nation. <v Ruth Bates Harris>And it's interesting that this particular commission was composed of governors <v Ruth Bates Harris>and members of both houses of Congress, various political <v Ruth Bates Harris>persuasions. It included an ambassador. <v Ruth Bates Harris>It included various corporate executives. <v Ruth Bates Harris>And I think that the recommendations that they made were rather revealing, <v Carl Rowan>So what you're saying to me is that in 67, we had the people who <v Carl Rowan>run this country sitting there saying, we've got to do something. <v Carl Rowan>Republicans, Democrats, <v Ruth Bates Harris>Yes <v Carl Rowan>The power structure, <v Ruth Bates Harris>Yes, <v Carl Rowan>Saying to the nation, this is what we have to do. <v Ruth Bates Harris>Yes <v Carl Rowan>Now, what'd they tell us? <v Ruth Bates Harris>Now this is interesting because a report warned us then that we were moving to a two <v Ruth Bates Harris>separate societies, one black and one white.

<v Ruth Bates Harris>But both societies unequal. <v Ruth Bates Harris>And also it warned us that certain things had to be done. <v Ruth Bates Harris>In fact, it didn't look at any one factor as a cause of the rise, but a combination <v Ruth Bates Harris>of several, such as housing discrimination, educational <v Ruth Bates Harris>opportunities, employment, unemployment, health and welfare <v Ruth Bates Harris>services, communications, generally speaking of police <v Ruth Bates Harris>practices, as well as news media reporting. <v Ruth Bates Harris>So it covered a gamut of areas and it certainly mentioned exploitation of the ghetto. <v Ruth Bates Harris>And the recommendations, I think are still very vivid in my mind because it talked <v Ruth Bates Harris>about opening up housing and employment and education to all <v Ruth Bates Harris>persons. It also talked about the frustrations of powerlessness <v Ruth Bates Harris>and and the anguish of the cities and said that this could be corrected by giving people <v Ruth Bates Harris>a stake in the community, let that them participate in those factors

<v Ruth Bates Harris>affecting their own lives. And then it said we should also correct the stereotypes <v Ruth Bates Harris>and so forth. And that's is relevant to me today. <v Carl Rowan>Well, so uh you could sit in this convention and listen to people talk <v Carl Rowan>and say what's new? [Harris laughs] I mean, you could be sitting in 1967. <v Ruth Bates Harris>Yes <v Carl Rowan>And I wanted to talk to you for one reason, because I talk <v Carl Rowan>to, you know, the so-called big shots at the convention and we know what they think. <v Carl Rowan>But you've been moving among the so-called little people at this convention. <v Ruth Bates Harris>Yes, yes I have. <v Carl Rowan>What are they saying? Do they think anything is being achieved? <v Ruth Bates Harris>Well, I had a chance to really to visit Liberty City, <v Ruth Bates Harris>and I met with many people here at the convention. <v Ruth Bates Harris>I must I must congratulate the NAACP though, for having <v Ruth Bates Harris>the foresight to have a special session on implementation <v Ruth Bates Harris>of this report. The uh, uh National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, they did <v Ruth Bates Harris>that. They had a whole session. But when I visited among the various people in

<v Ruth Bates Harris>Liberty City and other places, I was concerned that there's still that kind of anguish <v Ruth Bates Harris>and the feeling of powerlessness. <v Ruth Bates Harris>And I think that there's something we can do about it. <v Carl Rowan>Well, let me say, Ruth, I'm delighted that you would come in to talk to me about it. <v Carl Rowan>And let us just pray that 13 years from now, we aren't still <v Carl Rowan>sitting around asking when are they going to implement the Kerner Commission. <v Carl Rowan>I thank you so much. <v Ruth Bates Harris>Thank you so much. <v Carl Rowan>A touching moment occurred on the floor today when Althea Semmens proposed a tribute <v Carl Rowan>to Dick Gregory. <v Althea Semmens>Let's take a look. Dick Gregory has been for more than two decades, one <v Althea Semmens>of the strongest supporters of the NAACP, whereas <v Althea Semmens>Dick Gregory has made countless speeches and appearances on behalf <v Althea Semmens>of units of the NAACP and whereas <v Althea Semmens>Dick Gregory has participated in our demonstrations, public assemblies <v Althea Semmens>whenever called upon and has often responded with his own initiative.

<v Althea Semmens>And whereas Dick Gregory has come to the NAACP's conventions <v Althea Semmens>without honorarium. <v Althea Semmens>And whereas Dick Gregory has manifested his interest in the civil <v Althea Semmens>rights struggle by speaking out more than 20 years ago <v Althea Semmens>when it was not popular so to do. <v Althea Semmens>And whereas Dick Gregory's outspoken commitment to civil rights <v Althea Semmens>caused him to be barred from many places where he had performed. <v Althea Semmens>Notwithstanding that, he was one of the nation's premier comedians. <v Althea Semmens>And whereas Dick Gregory refused to bowed his head or lower <v Althea Semmens>his dignity, even though it caused him to lose his career. <v Althea Semmens>And whereas Dick Gregory is not Iran on a fast <v Althea Semmens>as he attempts to intercede for American hostages still held <v Althea Semmens>in that country.

<v Althea Semmens>And whereas Dick Gregory sojourned has endangered his health and has caused <v Althea Semmens>economic hardship for his family, now, therefore, be it resolved <v Althea Semmens>that this the 71st Annual Convention of the NAACP <v Althea Semmens>go on record lauding the unselfish contribution of Dick Gregory <v Althea Semmens>and his family to the struggle for human and civil rights <v Althea Semmens>and upon his units and administrations to assist the Gregory family <v Althea Semmens>in any manner possible. <v Announcer>Has properly moved and supported. <v Announcer>There's no question, no reason for debate on such a great American. <v Announcer>All those in favor of the resolution please signify by saying I. <v Announcer>[Crowd yells "I"] I'm not asking for any opposition. <v Announcer>Thank you very much. The resolution unanimously adopted. <v Carl Rowan>One of the ongoing debates in America relates to the state of our military.

<v Carl Rowan>One argument in favor of reinstituting the draft is that it would strengthen our <v Carl Rowan>army, an army that has too many blacks in it, as some people <v Carl Rowan>put it. One of the nation's most distinguished black military men spoke <v Carl Rowan>to the convention today. Admiral Samuel Gravely, director of <v Carl Rowan>the Defense Communications Agency. <v Carl Rowan>Let's listen to what Admiral Gravely had to say. <v Samuel Gravely>All that in 1941 when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, lines <v Samuel Gravely>formed at every recruiting station in the country as Americans <v Samuel Gravely>of every hue volunteered to help defend their country. <v Samuel Gravely>But the black man who volunteered for the Navy found that he was acceptable only <v Samuel Gravely>as a steward or servant, if you please. <v Samuel Gravely>The national office of the NAACP sent a letter to the secretary of the Navy <v Samuel Gravely>asking whether the Navy would then because of the increased need for recruits <v Samuel Gravely>except blacks from other than the steward rate.

<v Samuel Gravely>The answer came back no change as contemplated. <v Samuel Gravely>The NAACP then, wrote President Roosevelt. <v Samuel Gravely>After numerous discussions and many committees meetings later, <v Samuel Gravely>the president made a decision beginning 1 June 1942, blacks <v Samuel Gravely>could enlist in the Navy for general service as well as in the steward rating. <v Samuel Gravely>Thus, in June of 1942, the U.S. <v Samuel Gravely>Navy began to recruit black seamen for the first time in about 20 years. <v Samuel Gravely>The complexion of the Navy has changed considerably since the early 1940s, when I was <v Samuel Gravely>but one of a handful of black officers. <v Samuel Gravely>I'm proud and pleased when I look at the changes that have taken place in our Navy since <v Samuel Gravely>then. Needless to say, there is no racial segregation in our Navy <v Samuel Gravely>today. And please do not confuse racial segregation <v Samuel Gravely>with racial discrimination. <v Samuel Gravely>Housing and service club problems were solved many years ago.

<v Samuel Gravely>There is no problem with going to see, as a matter of fact, despite the fact that I <v Samuel Gravely>could not be assigned to see duty. When I joined in 1942, <v Samuel Gravely>I can boast of almost 10 years in command of seagoing units and a total of 17 <v Samuel Gravely>years of sea duty since 1949. <v Samuel Gravely>13 black officers were originally commissioned in April of 1944. <v Samuel Gravely>Twelve ensigns and one warrant by the end of World War 2 this number <v Samuel Gravely>was 60. The senior being a lieutenant commander in the Civil Engineering Corps, <v Samuel Gravely>a senior line officer was a lieutenant junior grade and I was an ensign. <v Samuel Gravely>There were two female line officers. <v Samuel Gravely>There were no regular Navy black officers. <v Samuel Gravely>All were reserves. <v Samuel Gravely>There was one midshipman at the Naval Academy. <v Samuel Gravely>There are now 1476 black officers on active duty. <v Samuel Gravely>Of which 195 are women. <v Samuel Gravely>To date, the results achieved under the Affirmative Action Plan <v Samuel Gravely>include an increase in min- in Navy minority population.

<v Samuel Gravely>An intensified effort to increase minority officer personnel and <v Samuel Gravely>increase in upward mobility. <v Samuel Gravely>Increased participation by Navy representatives in minority functions, conventions, <v Samuel Gravely>meetings, continued training of Navy men and women, and equal opportunity <v Samuel Gravely>in race relations. And the continua- continued moderating <v Samuel Gravely>of discrimination complaints reflected over my thirty eight years in the Nav and <v Samuel Gravely>I must tell you that here at the threshold of my retirement, I've done a lot of <v Samuel Gravely>reflecting and reminiscing. <v Samuel Gravely>I cannot say that the U.S. Navy has finally eliminated all traces of discrimination <v Samuel Gravely>within the organization, but I truly believe we are as close to <v Samuel Gravely>this goal as any other organization in our country. <v Carl Rowan>Considerable concern was expressed here about the plight of black veterans, especially <v Carl Rowan>those who fought in Vietnam and came home with less than honorable discharges. <v Carl Rowan>Sharon Stephens has this report.

<v Sharon Stevens>Statistics are sketchy, but it's estimated that the number of blacks who have received <v Sharon Stevens>less than honorable discharges outnumber their white counterparts by more than four <v Sharon Stevens>to one. In Washington, D.C., alone. <v Sharon Stevens>It's been reported that since World War 2, approximately 10,000 black <v Sharon Stevens>veterans have received what they call bad paper. <v Sharon Stevens>According to Donald Shelton of the National Black Veterans Organization. <v Sharon Stevens>An unfavorable service record means the loss of V.A. <v Sharon Stevens>benefits and often results in hard economic times for the black vet. <v Donald Shelton>So their chances of finding any kind of meaningful employment <v Donald Shelton>have been reduced considerably. <v Donald Shelton>And as long as these things continue to happen, I think it's going to we're going to see <v Donald Shelton>a revolving door type effect. <v Donald Shelton>We are somewhat successful in placing a number <v Donald Shelton>of people in employment, but it appears that it's only temporary <v Donald Shelton>employment and that the type jobs that we're successful in placing a man <v Donald Shelton>or a security guards in these type jobs and they are a very short duration, the

<v Donald Shelton>guy who comes frustrated and returns to the unemployment ranks <v Donald Shelton>in seeking unemployment again <v Sharon Stevens>Because the economic impact can be so devastating, some black veterans are seeking to <v Sharon Stevens>upgrade their discharge status. <v Sharon Stevens>But Colonel D.R. Butler of the Army Discharge Review Board says it's difficult to <v Sharon Stevens>convince young blacks that they will get a fair hearing. <v D.R. Butler>In 1978, when I was in Chicago doing a big snowstorm, <v D.R. Butler>we had 80 percent show rate. <v D.R. Butler>I'll tell you why I had the Veterans Assistance <v D.R. Butler>Program, which is run by a guy named Johnny Summers and Lorenzo Harbin in Chicago. <v D.R. Butler>They went out one Saturday morning and drug a guy out of bed and brought him before the <v D.R. Butler>bullet. And the guy had a good case and he was upgraded and he went back and <v D.R. Butler>spread the word. Next thing you know, and with all that snow, we had 80 percent of people <v D.R. Butler>coming in there. That's the name of the game, is to try to convince <v D.R. Butler>the individual that he's going to get a fair shake.

<v Sharon Stevens>Donald Shelton contends that racism does exist in the military, and he says the federal <v Sharon Stevens>government has been insensitive to the needs of black vets, even though the feds have <v Sharon Stevens>provided aid by way of the ?Siedah? program. <v Sharon Stevens>He adds It's time for state and local governments to play a larger role <v Donald Shelton>I think that uh that not only the federal government, but local <v Donald Shelton>and municipal governments are going to have to become more <v Donald Shelton>sensitive to the needs of the black veterans. <v Donald Shelton>And they they're going to have to provide an opportunity for him to help <v Donald Shelton>himself. And uh this opportunity has been <v Donald Shelton>uh- has not been forthcoming. <v Sharon Stevens>This is Sharon Stevens reporting. <v Carl Rowan>That sounded like a mighty lively plenary session down there. <v Carl Rowan>And I tell you the truth, I'm a little confused. <v Carl Rowan>I don't know exactly who's doing what to whom. <v Carl Rowan>So I want to go back down where Sharon Stevens is standing by and see if <v Carl Rowan>I can find out in what ways the NAACP may have been changed today. <v Carl Rowan>Sharon, did we have our Young Turks movement, a bunch of young rebels

<v Carl Rowan>who shook things up or what? <v Sharon Stevens>Yes, there was definitely a youth movement here. <v Sharon Stevens>And it wasn't just a young by uh run by people who were just young and in age. <v Sharon Stevens>As you could tell by uh my interview with the Gloster Current, who's been with the NAACP <v Sharon Stevens>for 35 years and who has for many years now wanted to see <v Sharon Stevens>a change on the board, and that's exactly what you have happening here. <v Sharon Stevens>It was kind of a quiet movement in that there was no outward rebellion or <v Sharon Stevens>nasty words or anything. There was strong debate on this resolution to <v Sharon Stevens>limit the terms of the national board members. <v Sharon Stevens>And it had been coming for some years. They tried last year to get this past the <v Sharon Stevens>supporters. It was a four hour debate. <v Sharon Stevens>They lost this year. They came back. <v Sharon Stevens>They had the numbers. There were enough people who said, we think there ought to be some <v Sharon Stevens>fresh blood on the board. We think there ought to be more women. <v Sharon Stevens>And we think that there should be more representatives from the younger generation. <v Sharon Stevens>So that's basically what was happening. There was definitely a Young Turk movement here.

<v Carl Rowan>Now, you know, I've heard the reports that there were people on the board <v Carl Rowan>who were old timey in like to say colored or Negro, didn't want <v Carl Rowan>to use the word black, certainly didn't want any militancy. <v Carl Rowan>And that this was causing the NAACP some problems with those kids out <v Carl Rowan>there in the ghettos and the barrios who said the NAACP <v Carl Rowan>isn't militant enough. Is there any reason to believe that what happened today <v Carl Rowan>will make the NAACP more militant? <v Sharon Stevens>Not necessarily. Although I think it's it's worth <v Sharon Stevens>watching [Off-screen talking] on all of our parts to see what new directions they move <v Sharon Stevens>in. I don't think we're going to see anything right away. <v Sharon Stevens>No radical changes, but for a number of years, I think, in the late <v Sharon Stevens>60s and early 70s. <v Sharon Stevens>I was hearing complaints that the NAACP was was just lethargic. <v Sharon Stevens>Some chapters even close down shop for a while or they'd close and open <v Sharon Stevens>up again. And it was basically because their membership was was dwindling and they didn't

<v Sharon Stevens>have that infusion of young people that they needed to keep going. <v Sharon Stevens>So I think it'll be a little while before we see some changes. <v Sharon Stevens>But I think it's clear that it's coming. <v Carl Rowan>Rodney Ward's there, too. <v Carl Rowan>Rodney, I sat at breakfast yesterday morning that one of the delegates <v Carl Rowan>said to me, what does it all mean? <v Carl Rowan>What are we achieving here? Are we really changing anything? <v Carl Rowan>Do you find other delegates asking that kind of question? <v Carl Rowan>What is the convention really all about? <v Rodney Ward>Yes. A number of delegates have posed that question, but they seem <v Rodney Ward>to think that out of this convention comes something a new battle <v Rodney Ward>cry for for black America, they seem to be now more aware <v Rodney Ward>that racism exists in this country, that racism is rampant in this country, and <v Rodney Ward>they're willing now to take that message back and begin to deal with it. <v Rodney Ward>They're also more aware of the economic situation here in America. <v Rodney Ward>And they're they're willing to fight. They want to do something about the way the blacks <v Rodney Ward>or the low people on the totem pole in general when it comes to economics.

<v Rodney Ward>And also when it comes to politics. <v Rodney Ward>Going back to your question on a new militancy, talking to some of the <v Rodney Ward>people on the floor or talking to some of the board members, I think there is going to be <v Rodney Ward>a more vocal NAACP, a more militant NAACP <v Rodney Ward>in terms of directing its activities, not only throughout the course, <v Rodney Ward>but going out and making people much more aware of the problems that exist <v Rodney Ward>in this country. I don't think the organization is going to be as quiet as it has been in <v Rodney Ward>the past. <v Carl Rowan>Well, let me ask you this, have they come up with <v Carl Rowan>any framework you've seen? I haven't been able to sit in those workshops. <v Carl Rowan>You haven't seen them all. But how do you translate this feeling <v Carl Rowan>into action? Have those workshops produce some techniques for <v Carl Rowan>going back to Birmingham or going back to Chattanooga and saying <v Carl Rowan>this is how we're going to change things? <v Rodney Ward>Well, unfortunately, those workshops, I don't believe have developed <v Rodney Ward>those kinds of agendas. But I think what they have accomplished is that they've gotten

<v Rodney Ward>people talking, they've gotten people aware of the problems out there that are facing <v Rodney Ward>them. So at least now the people are talking. <v Carl Rowan>Sharon, you're sitting there with a group of people are you've just talked to a group of <v Carl Rowan>people waiting for President Carter. <v Carl Rowan>What are they saying about the president? What are they expecting when he gets here <v Carl Rowan>tonight? <v Sharon Stevens>Well, they're saying that they're looking forward to hearing from him. <v Sharon Stevens>But that doesn't necessarily mean they're going to vote for him. <v Sharon Stevens>There are a lot of Carter supporters here. <v Sharon Stevens>And I think that his delegation are people who support him are the dominant <v Sharon Stevens>group. But what I've noticed is a lack of real enthusiasm and excitement. <v Sharon Stevens>They want to hear what he has to say. But it's almost as if they're not too hopeful. <v Sharon Stevens>So we'll we'll find out later tonight what they're really thinking after he gives his <v Sharon Stevens>speech. <v Carl Rowan>Do you find that the delegates are basically pleased <v Carl Rowan>that they've come to Miami and that particularly they've had a convention where <v Carl Rowan>the presence of this threat to American cities was was always

<v Carl Rowan>there? <v Sharon Stevens>Yes. I think most of the ones that I've talked to are glad. <v Sharon Stevens>For a lot of them, this is their first convention. <v Sharon Stevens>I noticed that there were a lot of younger people here in positions <v Sharon Stevens>the- they're president of their local chapter. <v Sharon Stevens>They have important regional positions. <v Sharon Stevens>It's their first time here. And those are the kind of people that I did a lot of talking <v Sharon Stevens>with. And the kinds of things they were saying was, I see in NAACP that <v Sharon Stevens>is the one that I heard about when I was growing up moving forward and speaking out <v Sharon Stevens>on behalf of black America. And they think that this is starting <v Sharon Stevens>to happen again, perhaps slowly, but they see a move towards that. <v Sharon Stevens>And so therefore, I think they assess that it was good for them to be here. <v Carl Rowan>Rodney, you did a rather moving piece the other night on Black Despair. <v Carl Rowan>Has anything happened here at this convention that you think will diminish that despair <v Carl Rowan>before the NAACP meets next year? <v Rodney Ward>No, I don't think there's anything that happened here at this convention that's going to <v Rodney Ward>diminish that despair. As a matter of fact, I believe, again, that if anything,

<v Rodney Ward>this convention serves to show people and to tell people that <v Rodney Ward>there are conditions out there that exist, that have existed <v Rodney Ward>and that will continue to exist, but that they've got to fight now and they've got to <v Rodney Ward>fight a lot harder, maybe not taking to the streets necessarily. <v Rodney Ward>They've got to go to the ballot box. They've got to wield some economic power. <v Rodney Ward>As one speaker said, it's time for black folk in America to get down to the nitty gritty, <v Rodney Ward>so to speak. I want to go back to a point that we were talking about in terms of <v Rodney Ward>the terms of office for the board of directors. <v Rodney Ward>There's gonna be an interesting battle that's gonna come up and it's going to come up on <v Rodney Ward>that board of directors meets in the fall because they are the people who are going to <v Rodney Ward>decide whether or not they're going to follow the will of the delegates of this <v Rodney Ward>convention and actually limit their own terms. <v Rodney Ward>So it should be interesting to see what happens in the fall when the board of directors <v Rodney Ward>must meet to make a decision on the resolution that was passed here today on <v Rodney Ward>one of their terms of offices should be limited. <v Carl Rowan>Thank you, Rodney. Thank you, Sharon.

<v Carl Rowan>Rodney, you've just brought up a point that's very important. <v Carl Rowan>And I want our viewers to know that we may get a pretty quick answer, because I've got <v Carl Rowan>some men here who can tell us something about it. <v Carl Rowan>I've got the Reverend Charles H. Smith, who's the deputy executive director of the NAACP. <v Carl Rowan>The man next to Ben Hooks. And I've got the legal man here, Thomas I. <v Carl Rowan>Atkins, the general counsel of the NAACP. <v Carl Rowan>Gentlemen, welcome. And answer Rodney's question. <v Carl Rowan>Is the board going to live up to what the delegates asked them to do today? <v Thomas Atkins>Carl, let me let me address the subject. I think it's important to note that <v Thomas Atkins>the NAACP board created the NAACP convention, <v Thomas Atkins>not the other way around. And it did that years and years ago <v Thomas Atkins>precisely because this is an organization that reaches out into the communities of this <v Thomas Atkins>country. It knows the importance of maintaining contact. <v Thomas Atkins>It understands the sensitivity many of our delegates have to changing

<v Thomas Atkins>times. Neither I nor Reverend Smith could any more than been <v Thomas Atkins>in his earlier comments, predict what the board will do. <v Thomas Atkins>But I am confident that when the board takes his subject up, it will do so within <v Thomas Atkins>the context of what is best for the NAACP specifically. <v Thomas Atkins>And what is best generally for black people across the country because that's what our <v Thomas Atkins>mission is and I'm certain it's going to get sensitive consideration. <v Carl Rowan>What's you're feeling Reverend Smith? <v Rev. Charles Smith>Well, I basically concur. Having served on that board for nine years, <v Rev. Charles Smith>I'm confident that the message was telegraphed <v Rev. Charles Smith>today and they're intelligent enough to read it real well <v Rev. Charles Smith>and deal with it by conviction. <v Carl Rowan>Well, that sounds as though there will be some changes made in the board. <v Carl Rowan>I think surely the people on the board know as you do that that was <v Carl Rowan>some pretty strong language out there today when they start talking about repressive <v Carl Rowan>and non-democratic regimes falling in Iran and Nicaragua.

<v Carl Rowan>I think that that's got to say something very important to people who've been on that <v Carl Rowan>board half of forever. <v Thomas Atkins>Well, most of the board members were present today during the session. <v Thomas Atkins>So it's not a message that is going to have to be delivered in a sealed envelope to them. <v Thomas Atkins>They were there. They heard they felt the conviction that was being expressed. <v Thomas Atkins>And I think that convention dealt with a number of other issues, which <v Thomas Atkins>is of which of crucial, crucial importance to the NAACP and the work <v Thomas Atkins>we're doing across the country. [Rowan interjects] <v Carl Rowan>I want to ask you about two or three. [Others talking] I had one of the things we <v Carl Rowan>haven't talked a lot about on this program is education, a field <v Carl Rowan>where the NAACP has had a preeminent role for years. <v Carl Rowan>And while we've had some remarkable progress over the last several years, I <v Carl Rowan>note that a third of the schoolchildren in this country are still in <v Carl Rowan>segregated Jim Crow schools. <v Carl Rowan>Is it that there are no legal ways that you can do anything about that, really?

<v Thomas Atkins>Carl, I've been very deeply involved in the association's <v Thomas Atkins>fight in the courts to un segregate those children. <v Thomas Atkins>And the reality is that the NAACP has not only been on the cutting <v Thomas Atkins>edge, we have frequently been the only thing out there working to do this. <v Thomas Atkins>Working to to unchain our children from the ravages <v Thomas Atkins>of segregation. The federal government has done something. <v Thomas Atkins>It has not done enough. We had to sue the ?HAW? <v Thomas Atkins>in all 50 states because of its failure to investigate the problems the <v Thomas Atkins>NAACP with all the resources that we would bring to this fight <v Thomas Atkins>does not have enough resources by itself quickly to eliminate <v Thomas Atkins>this problem. Change is being made, but I have to tell you that when <v Thomas Atkins>I go into a city like Cleveland or Columbus or Dallas, San Francisco <v Thomas Atkins>and I see the the extent to which our children still cannot read <v Thomas Atkins>because of the attitudes of teachers who label them unteachable,

<v Thomas Atkins>it tears me up inside. <v Thomas Atkins>We have not quit and we will not quit. <v Thomas Atkins>We are putting more resources into this fight. <v Carl Rowan>All right. Let me ask you this, Reverend Smith. <v Carl Rowan>Isn't it a fact that we have probably lost the battle using <v Carl Rowan>the we as black people, that black people have lost the propaganda battle <v Carl Rowan>in one big area of the school fight and that regards to busing, <v Carl Rowan>that's in regard to busing. <v Carl Rowan>I mean, the public just won't accept busing now. <v Carl Rowan>Will it? <v Rev. Charles Smith>I think one of the problems we have had, institutional and administrative wise, <v Rev. Charles Smith>we have not developed the proper kind of public relations of public image <v Rev. Charles Smith>in order to sell and to educate the populace. <v Rev. Charles Smith>And one of the things we should be doing administratively is to update our <v Rev. Charles Smith>ministry of internal operation to gear <v Rev. Charles Smith>up in a very professional way to sell the

<v Rev. Charles Smith>commodity in such a way that even our own people understand the issues <v Rev. Charles Smith>that are involved. We are lacking in this particular area. <v Rev. Charles Smith>And I think we've had problems in that particular area. <v Rev. Charles Smith>But I think the problem is not with the substance is our ability to really communicate <v Rev. Charles Smith>and to project a proper image and information. <v Carl Rowan>Let me mention something that's been on my mind as I've listened to all these <v Carl Rowan>deliberations. I sat here with the findings of a recent <v Carl Rowan>ABC Harris survey running through my head, showing that a majority <v Carl Rowan>of Americans want to cut welfare. <v Carl Rowan>They want to cut the federal jobs program. <v Carl Rowan>They want to cut federal aid to cities. <v Carl Rowan>They want to cut revenue sharing for the cities. <v Carl Rowan>It seems that a majority of Americans out there want exactly <v Carl Rowan>what this convention doesn't want. <v Carl Rowan>Now, how can the NAACP make any promises to the people out there in the <v Carl Rowan>ghetto when it's running against the tide of American opinion?

<v Thomas Atkins>I think I think that a couple of things need to be said. <v Thomas Atkins>Number one, lest I forget it, I want to, on behalf of the association, <v Thomas Atkins>commend PBS for the extraordinary job this week of <v Thomas Atkins>covering this convention, we think that it has been very well done. <v Thomas Atkins>We think that what you have done here has been to help us answer the question <v Thomas Atkins>you just asked because part of the is let <v Thomas Atkins>people in the country know that while some are well off, many <v Thomas Atkins>are without. And the NAACP focuses on those who are still without. <v Thomas Atkins>And yes, we are facing where we're going in the face of a tide <v Thomas Atkins>that's running in the other direction in many areas. <v Thomas Atkins>We will tell the president tonight when he comes that we expect him <v Thomas Atkins>to have a budget that does not penalize people for being poor, that we <v Thomas Atkins>expect him to have programs in his country that does not penalize children for <v Thomas Atkins>being born black. We will be putting that pressure on the president.

<v Thomas Atkins>We will be putting that pressure on the Congress. <v Thomas Atkins>And we will continue to swim upstream where we have to. <v Thomas Atkins>We're not going to pack up shop because the going is getting rough. <v Carl Rowan>Reverend Smith, he says the going is getting rough. <v Carl Rowan>How rough can it be? There are people who say that this country is <v Carl Rowan>drifting rightward so rapidly that it makes people <v Carl Rowan>worry about a repetition of Germany in the '30s. <v Carl Rowan>Is it that severe? <v Rev. Charles Smith>There are indications that it is going toward the right and <v Rev. Charles Smith>I think toward a police state, as many have said. <v Rev. Charles Smith>And I think this is the backlash of the 60s. <v Rev. Charles Smith>But I feel pretty comfortable that it's reached his worst point. <v Rev. Charles Smith>And I think the role that we shall play in the 80s, <v Rev. Charles Smith>we'll turn it around. I feel very comfortable as a recent question <v Rev. Charles Smith>was asked, is that from this convention? <v Rev. Charles Smith>Where do you start? We believe that we can start internally designing the new techniques <v Rev. Charles Smith>and the programs, and we have been given the mandate as far as Dafter is concerned in

<v Rev. Charles Smith>order to get it started right now. We're putting together the top professional <v Rev. Charles Smith>team in the country. The board has given us not only the team, but <v Rev. Charles Smith>the membership has given us some money to do it. <v Rev. Charles Smith>And we feel that by this time next year you'll find that's been a tremendous change <v Rev. Charles Smith>in NAACP. <v Carl Rowan>Just give me a little short answer here. <v Carl Rowan>Is it possible that you're going to have to become a lot more political than you've been <v Carl Rowan>in the past and start calling a spade a spade, as they put it? <v Carl Rowan>When you deal with these guys who want to be president and senator and so forth? <v Rev. Charles Smith>I think we've already started that. We are launching a program as of the end of this <v Rev. Charles Smith>convention and we're going to bring 50 young people in. <v Rev. Charles Smith>And we will come up with a laundry list and a report card, and we're going to start <v Rev. Charles Smith>calling a spade a spade. I think you'll find it by November, maybe not necessarily <v Rev. Charles Smith>militant, but maybe a new approach, a direct approach that will be <v Rev. Charles Smith>use across this country. <v Carl Rowan>Thank you very much, Reverend Smith. <v Carl Rowan>Mr. Atkins. That's all the time we've got ladies and gentlemen. <v Carl Rowan>But stick around, because we'll be back tonight with a report on President Carter's

<v Carl Rowan>speech. I'm Carl Rowan and saying thank you. <v Carl Rowan>[Song: The Black National Anthem] <v Narrator>Major funding for this program was provided by this station and other public <v Narrator>television stations. Additional funding was provided by the Quaker <v Narrator>Oats company.