r 'HANGING AROUND _

,1 He was Mr. Sears. And he was also
Mr. Serious, when it came to race rela-
tions and education. In 1913, Sears
Roebuck and Co. President Julius
Rosenwald, who made $150 million
in the mail order business, initiated
one of the largest single programs ben-
efiting public schools for African
Americans in the South.
Rosenwald, who was born on the
same street where Abraham Lincoln
once made his home in Springfield,
Ill., is honored along with other
`Courageous education specialists and
pioneers at "The Calling and the
Courage: An Interpretive Exhibition
on the History of African American
Education."
- The exhibit, which runs through
Nov. 15 at Dearborn's Fairlane Town
Center on the upper level, presents
education as the key to freedom and
Jemocracy, and chronicles those
whose mission was to ensure educa-
tion to African Americans.
Rosenwald's private contributions
and the subsequent Fund for Rural
—School Building Programs galvanized
rural communities desiring better
schools. By 1928, one in every five
rural schools for black students in the
South was a Rosenwald school, and
c 600,000 African American children
learned their reading, writing and
arithmetic in a Rosenwald institution.
But Rosenwald wasn't a man to just
write a check and then go his own
J way. The dedicated philanthropist
administered specific requirements for
his schools. All Rosenwald schools had
to stand on at least two acres of land
to allow for gardens and play-
grounds, shop buildings and
space for home economics
classes.
Five years before his
.death in 1932;
- Rosenwald received the
Harmon Award for
Distinguished
Achievement in Race
Relations. When he
c-Accepted the award, he
said, "If we promote bet-
ter citizenship among the
Negroes, not only are they
improved, but our entire citi-
zenship is benefited."
His schoolhouses now are aban-
doned or used for community centers.
But they stand as a statement to the
vision of countless rural black
`Southerners and their white supporters.

— Megan Swoyer

Mixed Media

News 6. Reviews.

BETWEEN THE PAGES
Deadly Harvest by Ellen Rawlings

(Fawcett, $5.99) is the Maryland
writer's seventh novel and second
"Rachel Crowne" mystery.
Freelance Jewish journalist Rachel
Crowne is relentless
in her pursuit of the
murderer of Dilly
Friedman, a teacher
in a housing project
in Baltimore. The
investigation involves
the Six-Pack, a group
Dilly belonged to in
college. One member
has already died of a
pain pill overdose.
The others — a
politician, a preacher,
a musician and a
businessman — have
much to lose if their
lives are touched by
any scandal.
Rachel is "aided"
Asithor of
by a 10-year-old
black girl and a
neighbor, who hap-
pens to be a policeman. The latter
helps her to gain or reinforce infor-
mation from the police investigation;
the former, though an enjoy-
able character, seems to
have no purpose other
than to provide a
sounding board. If the
reader is at all alert
to Rawlings' stock
situations and char-
acterizations, there
is little suspense or
surprise at the cli-
max.
While the book is
an easy and light read,
do not expect any nail-
biting scenes or
breathtaking chases.
Julius
Definitely do not
Rosenwald
expect anything too
much from the title
and cover picture of a doll with pins
in the heart, a rope around its neck
and a picture taped across its face.
Yes, this novel is a mystery on

many levels. Why the tide? There were
deaths but hardly on the wholesale
level of a "harvest." On another level,
what is so mysterious? Deadly Harvest
is a rather run-of-the mill lay-detective
type story. Still, if you're looking for a
mystery for
Halloween that's
not too scaaary, this
may be the book for
you.

— Reviewed by
Sy Manello

OF NOTE ...
NEW ON CD

ELLEN RAWLINGS

T?>e ikilorder Lover

.

Up until now, the
whole retro-lounge
movement has
leaned heavily on
pop archivists toil-
ing in the vaults to
exhume priceless
recordings of
Esquivel, Dean
Martin, Bobby
Vinton and the like.

With a few minor exceptions, contem-
porary artists have been out of the
lounge loop.
Not anymore.
With Hollywood Records' kitschy,
cheeky Lounge-a-palooza, some up-
and-coming acts (and a few wily veter-
ans) demonstrate a facility for over-
the-top emoting and cheesy melody.
The piano-centric Ben Folds Five
delivers a winning, grinning nightclub
take on the Flaming Lips' "She Don't
Use Jelly"; Pizzicato Five deconstructs
the bossa nova bop of "The Girl From
Ipanema" without loosing a beat;
Fastball turns in a surprisingly sincere
(and moving) cover of the Burt
Bacharach/Hal David tearjerker "This
Guy's in Love With You"; and Jimmy
Scott and Flea conspire on a lispy,
wispy cover of Captain & Tenille's
"Love Will Keep Us Together."
Fun Lovin' Criminals ("I'm Not in
Love") and Polly Jean Harvey & Eric
Drew Feldman ("Zaz Turned Blue")
miss the point of lounge with two
lackluster offerings, but otherwise this
collection is full of excessive joy. The
James Taylor Quartet (no relation to
JT) reinvigorates the 1960s anthem
"Music to Watch Girls By" with a dis-
tinctly '90s charge.
But the real reason to buy this CD:
Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme's
heartfelt rendering of Soundgarden's
"Black Hole Sun," complete with a
32-piece orchestra. Priceless.

— Reviewed by John Godfrey
of Copley News Service