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Show Bond Notes Problems In Negro Progress mmm 11111 -' I II. . I Jli l Iibiiiim,,,,. MiWB,, wv t.w , in - i V i 1 - i By HEIDI SORENSEN Chronicle Staff Writer Black Americans have made llt-tle llt-tle progress in society, Julian Bond, mamber of the Georgia House of Representatives told his Challenge '68 audience Tuesday. Some have advanced, but the majority have remained in the same position or regressed. Bond, who was refused his seat in the House three times, because of his Vietnam stand, also spoke out against American involvement in-volvement in Vietnam. "The Negroes now," he explained, "can sit in the front of the bus which didn't even stop before, can vote, and can even win offices. But, dc spite the advances, the Negro situation is worse." Housing Improvement Citing examples, Bond said that housing for the poor whites improved im-proved 57 per cent, while the Negroes' Ne-groes' rate has only improved three per cent. Unemployment of young Negroes is six times higher than whites of comparable age. "Poverty "Pov-erty is not exclusive province of the black people, but the poor whites aren't handicapped by being white," he said. Racial discrimination is still high, despite action by the government. govern-ment. Legislation in 1954 made segregation seg-regation illegal, he said, but there are more Negroes enrolled in totally to-tally black schools now than 10 years ago. Referring to the Civil Disorders and Riot Commission, Bond explained ex-plained that what the commission called for was not met by the administration. ad-ministration. "When they called for increased job corps responsibilities responsi-bilities and programs, the administration admin-istration cut back the Job Corps. When the commission reported poor education, federal aid to education was cut." What is needed, Bond said, "is to examine and change the job, welfare, and education system. The areas need to be controlled by those directly concerned." He pointed out that the people of Massachusetts are largely Irish and that such a man, i.e. Kennedy, has a much better chance. The same in Chicago, where most of the elected officials are of Polish descent, des-cent, and in New York where the influence is Italian. "It's legitimate practice for peo- Rep. Julian Bond spoke to students Tuesday on the problems cf advancement ad-vancement in society with Negroes. The lecture was presented as part of Challenge 'G8. pie to support their own, and it should be just as legitimate for Negroes." When asked what he would do if h2 were governor or mayor confronted con-fronted with a riot, he answered, "If I were in that position, I would have to do like the others; I'd call out the National Guard, use flame throwers, bomb homes, and buy tanks. That's the kind of person I'd have to be to be in that position." posi-tion." The racial disturbances, he remarked, re-marked, bring out the latent hostilities hos-tilities of racism. In order for the violence to end, the whites have got to appreciate the Negro and improve im-prove his position. "The Negroes are asking that the whites not act out their hatreds. It's impossible to control their minds." Referring to Vietnam, Bond said the situations compare. The building build-ing programs there are called pacification, pa-cification, in America they are called poverty programs. When the peasants revolt in Vietnam, they are bombed, in America its called riot control. There are twice as many Negroes sent to Vietnam. "If democracy is their fighting and dying in Vietnam, Viet-nam, then it's too much of a good thing." Describing his views on Vietnam, he said that there are three civil conflicts; that of a dictatorial government gov-ernment established by the United States, revolutionaries, and the government gov-ernment of North Vietnam. "Two shouldn't be there and America is on the wrong side." He favors a complete withdrawal and neutralization of the area. This can be accomplished, he feels, by complete cessation of bombing in the north and immediate withdrawal with-drawal of all forces. "Right now, South Vietnamese backed by North Vietnamese are fighting the allied forces in t h e South. Withdrawal of the allied forces would leave the South Vietnamese Viet-namese helpless and it would collapse." col-lapse." "Vietnam then could become one unified country and Ho Chi Minh would become the nation's leader, but the killing would cease and people would be better off than they are right now." |