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Continued from page 187

So I sense a new realism today, especially among Congressmen who recognize the political risks involved in policies that put their constituents out of work, increase pressures on local governments in their districts, and out-rake the moral sensibilities of Americans who believe in fairness.

Two key tests of that new realism are now shaping up. The first is the framing of the 1983 Budget. We call on Congressional leaders of both parties to inform the Administration that further cuts in poor people's programs are unacceptable. The budget deficit caused by the Administration's tax cuts and defense spending increases can be closed by scaling down the defense budget and by closing tax loopholes for special interests.

A second key test is the Senate battle over extension of the Voting Rights Act. We all on the President to abandon his opposition to the House Bill. The Senate should swiftly pass the vital protection of the right to vote, a right denied many black people until 1965. 

We also call on the President to order his Justice Department to call a cease-fire in its war on affirmative action, to equate affirmative action with restrictive quotas is nothing less than a Big Lie. As practiced by both the public and private sectors and consistently endorsed by the courts, affirmative action is nothing less than fair play—removing race and gender as obstacles to hiring and promoting qualified people. As the National Urban League says in our new national advertising program, "everybody deserves a chance to make it on their own."

1982 offers major challenges to all Americans. To all who are concerned with the terrible pressures placed on poor people, it is a time to take off the gloves and come out swinging against further attempts to weaken the weak. We must build coalitions to protect the interest of the forgotten and neglected.

To the Administration and to political leaders of both parties, 1982 offers the challenge of replacing failed policies and noting the increased political risk attached to staying on the road of recession.

The private sector in 1982 is challenged to make our system work for all Americans, and to reaffirm support for affirmative action and social responsibility.

And black Americans in 1982 are challenged to marshall [[marshal]] community and political strengths. While we build external coalitions we must also mobilize black communities to deal with their problems at the neighborhood level. That's a job not only for civil rights and social service agencies, but for every community organization and every individual.

1982 then, will be a year of challenge and struggle: a year in which black people must channel their alienation and bitterness to positive efforts for change. It is a year in which all Americans must strive to recapture the faltering ideals of equal opportunity and equal rights. It is a year in which a nation concerned with the loss of rights in Poland must also become concerned with the threat of civil rights here at home.

To Be Continued

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