'.
Sond die
11 btlstn' ICSSIln3n in 0 to mo eft -
. Turn to Pag S
tively ch tho p tent' leu
, .
JANUARY 25-31. 1984
ith Secretary Pierce
Col. Guy Buford.
SHI GTO D.C.- Declaring
that. "the pi in, ugly fact is th t there
is no recovery for Bla� Americans, tt
John E. J cob, Pre ident of the ational
Urb n Leagu ,a rted Blac America
is in di te and predicted that,
"deep changes in th economy and the
freeze in racial progres ,tt will be its vital
concern in 1984. I
r. Jacob m de this observ tion a
he relea d "The State of Black America
-1984, , an annual report by the ation-
Service
rudy by the ichigan
Pri n 0 ercrowding roject, dis u sed
la t wee before the ichigan Hou
Corrections Committe. indicated that
non-white con . cted of felonies re more
likely th n hite to be ntenced to
either pri .n or jail.
The study showed onlyone category
f crirn here white were more likely
to be sentenced to j il or prison. accord­
, ind to Patrick lark. research a ciate
for the project.
Th tudy, which attempted to ex-
."
elude factor such a region : nd prior
BULK RATE U.S.
POSTAGE PAID
Benton Harbor t M I 49022
P rmit No. 50
at Urban League that explores in detail
the experiences of Blacks over the past
year in a number of crucial areas.
This year's report contains major
papers on the economy, the implications
of high tech for Blacks, the Black vote,
the progress of civil rights, urban educ -
tion, and Black single female-headed
households. It also includes n overvi
by r. J cob nd a ties of policy
recommendations from the N
In hi overview, Mr. cob said:
-,
o·
•
: By Larry YOUR _ Chic go ayor H rold
ington ill headline this ye r's Black History pr m t
La e ichigan College ac ord ng to arcella Bell pre j.
dent of the sponsoring Delta Phi Psi.
A tudent senate vote Friday, Jan. 0 pproved th
3,000 required for the annual month-Ion celebration
of Black History.
The v te reflected a compromi e bet een the S3. 00
reque ted by the rority . and rumored refusal b the
nate.
Dale Hen eman, preside t of the student sen t .
commented on t e decisi n to approve the fundin .
ing, "The student thought it over and de ided that it
wa a pretty good idea for e tudents and for the
community to have Mayor a hington a ague
for the Black History
program."
"Although the
3 000 as a third
or fourth of the stu­
dent's activity funds,
the actual value of
ronaut, the program is equaJ
Continued on Pg. 2
'Overall, unemployment dropp d to
8.4% ( of 0 ember, 1983), til lowest
figure in two years but Black unemploy­
ment as 17.3%, a decrease from other
months to be sure, but still at a level that t
in any r of our society would ju ti­
fy the use of the term 'depre ion.?'
This ye mar s the ninth year that
the ational Urban Lea ue has is ued
"The Sta of Black America" report
Contin eel on P e 3
arrests, show th t "in term of strictly
disposition (non-whites) are more likely
to go to. prison, no matter what the
crime," r. Clark ide He could give no
explanation for the p enornenon,
'except the history of thi ciety has
kind of dictated different treatment."
r. Clark said felony dispositions,
such as suspended �ntences, prob tion,
jail or pri n ntences; wer given their
own tati ti al weights' in re ching the
re ult.
Raw figure for 1982 show that of 56
percent of tho convicted of felony
,/
,
I I
1-
'C arges were white, and 44 percent
. y.'ere on-white, r. Clark ide ccord-
ing to the Department of Man gement
and Budget, 1980 cel1SUS figures showed
that approximately 85 percent of the
population was white and 15 percent
non-white.
Enacting a sentencing guidelines bill,
such a HB 4260 whi h is in the Hou
Judiciary omrnittee , could help do way
with the tendency of non-white r ceiv­
in more stringent sente ces IS. Oar
said, That bill would establi h a pro e
whereby judges would i ue ntcnce
u ing formula that considers the de-
fendant's criminal recor and the
verity of the crime involve .
the bill could also help tandardize
enten es generally. Mr. Clark id ,
Part f the study al de t with n-
tence i sued defendant n ited l f
various crimes and r. . Clark fund.
I
lfor ex nple, that hile the ntcnccs
of tho pri ner onvi ted of anne I
robbery ith no pri r record avuragcd
ju t over three year. nte c range I
fr III i months to 99 ye r .
'0 �
