er-
e removal of lottery
machines from all but one of
nine BI s ores in
Ri\u Rouge and Ecorse has
used outrage among many
Bla in e area. Last
nth, �ted
. ed peti-
ote letters of
o the
mayor and city
prot to
River Rouge
council me
This seems like gross injus­
tice to us, since i forces Black
peopl to go out of their com­
munity to p y the lottery with
'This problem exixts
throughout the state . . .
They want us to buy
them, but not to profit
from them.'
·BiII GO
White or Arab merchants, said
one letter. "It is not my inten­
tion for this letter to sound ra­
cial, but as you no doubt
know, Black people are at
most times the victims of
economical injustice.
CRI G
Donald Corbin, owner of
Corbin's ar et a 456 Beech­
wood in River Rouge, repre­
sents one of those concerned
voices. Corbin said the unfair
distribution of lottery
machines in Blae com-
munities is not only insulting,
but finan cially crippling as
ll.
ith the number of people
coming in mine and other
Bla merchants' stores and
with the number of them want­
ing to play their numbers, if
had machines, we would
have the same opportunity to
profit from the sale of lottery
and lotto tickets' like mer­
chan in other cities. But
right DOW, the only thing we
can sell is . t tickets. It i
just not fair, Corbin said
. Our customers e beiDg
(i eed to go to D . out
of their area, or �d OD
so ne to play for them..
speaking from a b .
standpoint, our revenue
uld triple.·
Fro a profit standpoint, the
state of Michigan generated
$700 million last year from the
sale of lottery and lotto tick­
ets. In southern 10 r
Michigan, whim has the
highest population of Blae
in the state, more than 70 per­
cent of profits are derived
from the Black community.
River Rouge and Ecorse are
areas where the majority of lot­
tery enthusiasts are in the
minority when it comes to
having lottery machines. With
this in mind, it is not hard to
understand why Black mer­
chants and residents are feel­
ing ignored and left out of the
big lottery jackpot
W CH 8 C
Corbin, like other merchants
in the area applied to have
their machines placed back in
their stores more than a year
ago. Apparently, their p eas
are no bringing them luck.
We are asking the city of
River Rouge, State Rep.
Robert DeMars and state Sen.
Chrisopher to petition
Michigan State Lottery Com­
missioner Sam Pinkhurs no
to grant us any special favors,
but to return the machines
that they have taken away
from US " added Corbin.
When reached for comment,
Pinkhurst did not give a
reason why lottery machin
Continued on P • 16
Isiah exp ained
himself;
should press
do the same?
-Page 14
z
Serving 1M SII*'s Afriazn Americtlll Community
Ben on
is fir t
arbor's Ona Alsto
aw in's eBC inter
WASHINGTO -Ona
Alston, who this past school
year became the first female
student in the 12O-year history
of Howard University to be
elected president of the
University's student associa­
tion, has become the first
recipient of the Bethune­
DuBois Fund's recently estab­
lished Rep. Augustus Hawkins
Internship Program.
Alston, a 1984 graduate of
Benton Harbor High School,
was announced the winner at
the second annual Bethune­
DuBois Dinner held recently
in Washington, D.C.
She began her three-month
In accepting the award,
Alston said: "As a young
woman with a keen intere t in
all aspects of politics and
policy formation, I recognize
the necessity of the Congres­
sional Black Caucus' or on
Capitol Hill. It is particularly
important that Blae not oni
have elected representativ s
but that Blae be represent d
in staff positions as 11, b -
cause the m jority of wor
which goes into a piece of
legislation derives from th
legislator's staff. I am inter­
ested in and excited about
summer internship in interna­
tional affairs on Capitol Hill
in the office of Rep. Mervyn
Dymally on June 1.
She is majoring in broadcast
journalism with a minor in his­
tory at Howard, with plans to
pursue a dual degree in law
and international affairs.
Alston began her journalism
career as a correspondent for
the Michigan Citizen while a
student in high school
Dr. Ronald W. Wal ers,
professor of political science
at Howard, is chair of the
Hawkins Internship program
and heads a panel that made
the selection.
Continu d on P e 16