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During the sixties, DELEGATE MAGAZINE reported on gains as we sing our song of "We Shall Overcome". During the sixties we, through Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunities, Civil rights voting - we received social gains in education; medicare; housing; aid to dependent children; help for aged and a chance to enter the main stream of life which was enjoyed by other but through custom and some laws denied us. 

During the latter seventies our Champion was Jimmy Carter, a Southerner from Plains, Georgia, whom we elected President - he helped us maintain our gains in human and Civil rights, and kept our gains in Affirmative Action and Equal opportunities intact. 

We deserted Jimmy for Ronald and Ronald, the President and his men paid us back by encouraging an onslaught on Affimative Action and Equal Opportunities programming. His Justice Department failed to carry out the mandate of the Supreme Court toward enforcing the laws to desegregate our schools. 

The President and his men set up a climate which told the Corporate sector that they did not have to adhere to Affirmative Action or Equal Opportunities. The President and his men cooled it on vigorously enforcing voting rights bill. The President bowed to the dictates of Jerry Falwell and his Conservative moral majority, a bad omen for our side. 

And we failed to support Jesse Jackson in his quest to become the democratic candidate for the oval office and we are now paying the price for this mistake.

And now lets tell it as it is: Since we last met: Crime in the streets and Police Brutality dominated our every hour.

Mayor Koch, who know Blacks, insulted New York Blacks by refusing to recognize Martin Luther King's Birthday as a legal holiday. Toni Alverado, the School Chancellor, resigned under fire; Vanessa Williams, the first Black to become Miss America was forced to abdicate her crown two months before the close of her reign; Carl Lewis and "Mr. Clean" Edwin Moses, our Olympic heros were attacked by detractors; Jesse Jackson ran for nomination to the democratic candidate for President and lost; Clara Hale, the founder of Hale House was invited to the White House; Lena Horne was recipient of a Kennedy Gala in Washington.

Of course, Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter because Jimmy was trapped in a Middle East conflict. When the Ayatollah's men bombed our Embassy in Iran and captured our folks, Jimmy tried as best as he could to get our people out but when his attempts failed, Reagan used this incident and a rising wave of discontent to bomb Jimmy our of the oval office.

Ronald asked the American people "Are you better off now then when you were for years ago "and when we answered that we were not, Ronald was elected to lead us over Jimmy even though Jimmy had in his four years placed more of us in Federal jobs than any other President and promoted Affirmative action, Equal Opportunities, social programs which affected us. 

And then began the reign of Bernard Goetz, a white man who shot four Black youth in a New York subway car because he said they intimidated him by asking for five dollars. 

The Goetz case is still before us and because of crime on the street is a volatile issue. But as the days went on and the facts begun to emerge even activist like Roy Innis of Core who came to Goetz defense have to rethink his position.

Clarence Pendleton, the President's man on the Civil Service Commission, continued his onslaught on Black progress by charging that uncertain Black leaders continue to lead the Black people upstream against the god chosen Reagan administration.

Black politicians, and Black heads of national organizations, as well as Blacks in all stations of life, got themselves arrested protesting the apartheid movement in South Africa. Yet some of the white press accepted ads extolling the glories of that country.

The Black community also was in the forefront of raising funds, food and medical supplies for people starving in Ethiopia and other parts of Africa.

But Clarence Thomas who is supposed to be looking out for our cause in the office of E.E.O told at a meeting of Black Executives in New York that is was foolish for them or Blacks to think that they were ready to compete in todays Corporate World. He said some "mombo jumbo" about Blacks not being literate enough, and to think this guy comes from Mississippi.

The Justice Department begun a crackdown on the underworld of the nation indicting the top bosses of the crime syndicate in the land but the U.S. Attorney, who will try these crime figures, could not find a way to enter the Goetz debacle on the part of the four Black young men shot by him; despite the fact that the City of New York has a law which says anyone caught with an unlicensed weapon (gun) must spend at least one year in jail.

And since we last met, Count Basie, Dr. Benjamin Mays, John O'Connor, Mildred Childs, Clarence Porggy "Bell Lloyd Sealy, Alberta Huntes, Bertram Baker, were called home.

And in the lets tell it as it is in the trenches...The U.S. Attorney who will try the Mafia bigshots thinks the Congressman Charles Rangel exagerate when he talks about the U.S. not speaking out or acting on stopping the flow of drugs into this country.

The boys in the smoke filled rooms are in an uproar because Denny Farrell, the Black Manhattan County leader entered the race to become Mayor of the City of New York.

The boys and girls are all shook up because they claim that "Denny" is causing a rift between the Puerto Ricans and hispanic voters of the city because a Black caucus denied Herman Badillo their bote in favor of Denny. But no one seems to remember that Herman double crossed Percy Sutton when he wanted to run for Mayor.

Our Sterling Mayor came out calling Les Payne and Earl Caldwell, two Black columnists and Jimmy Breslin, white, racists because the criticize him in the press. The Mayor refused to meet with them to be questioned on his stewardships of the city. But could find time to go to the Annual Inner Circle Bask for City hall reporters there to again insult the Blacks of the town by singing a song which included the Goetz incident. 

And to make matters worse a group of Black Job Holders, whom the Mayor have befriended are now spreading news on why they cannot support Denny or the Black caucus because they are beholden to Ed Koch-And their hidden agendas call for them to sack an ailing Fred Samuels and running for his office and being brought by Ed Koch.

And we are still awaiting some results of Martin's dream.