Mother appeals to community for help
Kalamazoo vets begin fund for Benton Harbor youth suffering Agent Orange effects
on Pig 5
Serving the SU*'s African American Community
AL - Arson, the urban ewal program of the underfunded
O's continues to destroy the state's inner cities. If it's not HUD-funded demoli-
tion p ojects tearing down major buildings and neigbborh it is arson doing
e job. e Leath- ewland building on in Street in d d Benton Har-
t up in n t · requiri g 10 0 of under-
t m dep rtment. A crane borro ed trom South can v tor Leco, St.
J 0 eph, completed te ring down what the fire len standing. Th ite will join the
many other city-owned lots being held in escrow by the city until some well­
heeled, non-resident investors get the choice pieces - aU cleared and ready for
de elopment - t little or no cost. All in the name of urban renewal, economic
d community de elopment.(Herald.Palladium photo)
ego osts Women's
ou __ dtab e Conference
MUSKEGON - The Con­
cerned Black Women's
Roundtable Inc. (CBWR) will
be convening its fourth annual
conference, "Survival For
Blacks In The 21st Century,"
at Muskegon Community Col­
lege, September 19.
A variety of workshops are
scheduled along with exhibits
and entertainment. The
keynote speaker is Dorothy
(Dottie) E. Jones, Chair of the
Michigan Women's Commis­
sion.
The Muskegon conference,
co ponsored by the college's
Community Services Office,
has been planned by a coali­
tion of Blac Women's groups
and individuals from Greater
Muskegon, who organized a
uskegon Chapter of CBWR.
The umbrella organization,
CBWR Inc., as founded in
1983 in Kalamazoo which was
the host city for its first annual
conference in 1984. Other con­
ferences have been held in
Battle Cree (1985) and Ben­
ton Harbor (1986).
The purpose of the or­
ganization and the conference
is to encourage and facilitate
networking among Black
women, to provide a vehicle
for women to pursue their in­
terest and concerns, to
provide advocacy and role
models for Black youth and to
celebrate and recognize the
contributions of Black women,
according to Janie P. Brooks,
spokesperson.
A full day of activities have
been planned for the con­
ference starting with on-site
registration at 8:00 a.m. with
the opening session convening
at 9:00 a.m. Workshops and ex­
hibits begin during the 10:00
a.m. hour. Special workshops
for young women, ages 13-17,
are being offered.
The lunch hour includes
entertainment by local talent,
Michelle Johnson, and
fashions by Quickie Tailoring
and Designs.
Muskegon's own Hollis
Sisters will perform during the
closing sessions. These young
women have appeared on
television's Bobby Jones
Gospel Hour.
The registration fee is only
$10; lunch is included in the
price. Pre-registration is en­
couraged with a deadline of
September 11. Information
about the conference may be
obtained by contacting the
Community Services Office at
Muskegon Community Col­
lege, (616) W-0216 or m-
0328. The college is located at
221 S. Quarterline Road on
the east side of Muskegon.
Stri ng
workers re
AFL-C 0 f
ByTerry eUy
Striking mine workers in
South Africa are refusing to
accept contributions from the
AFL-CIO, according to a
published report in the J our­
nal of Commerce.
The mine workers are the
largest segment of the Con­
gress of South African Trade
Unions (CSA TU), a group
that has refused AFL-CIO
funds in the past, according to
a Congressional source who
spoke on the grounds he not
be identified.
The source said tha Con­
gress has held up $1.5 million
this year in State Department
Agency for International
Development (AID) funds tar­
geted for South Africa.
The fund halt was
prompted over the question of
who are the legitimate unions
in South Africa, the source
said.
z
occupation.
The leaders were arrested
August 19 in the early hours
of the morning after police
searched their homes for over
five hours. Police detained
most of the independence
movement's internal leader­
ship.
All were charged under the
notorious Terriorism Act
which allows for indefinite
AUGUST 30 - SEPTEMBER 5,1987
•
e
se
s
The State Department AID
funds are given to the AFL
CIO controlled American
African Labor Center
(AALC) which then gives
Continued on Plge 16
Blac
AID - ne
prejudice
ur ing?
ATLANTA - A growing
number of African American
leader is voiving the fear that
the media's new-found focus
on Blacks and AIDS could be
laying the foundation for a
new form of discrimination
against Blacks.
During the recent
"Minorities and AIDS" con­
ference in Atlanta, the Presi­
dent of the So Christian
Leadership Conference Dr.
Joseph Lowery captured the
concern when he said, "We
are poor. We are Black. We
have teenage pregnancy. We
have high blood pressure. And
we are not going to be stig­
matized by this (AIDS).
African American leaders
are responding in part to a
recent rashof media reports
about Blacks being 25% of the
nation's AIDS victims even
though. they are only 12% of
the total population.
Critics charge that the fact
that Blac intervenous drug
users are at high risk for
AIDS is being distorted to
make it appear that all B,lacks
are at high-risk for AIDS.
an
South Africa detains trade union
eaders
By LeU cDo II
(NIS) - South Africa is in­
tensifying its crackdown on
striking Black mineworkers in
Namibia. Last week in a mas­
sive security sweep the South
African military arrested
prominent trade unionists and
leaders of SWAPO, the South
West Africa Peoples Organiza­
tion which is fighting to free
Namibia from South African
detention without trial. The
detainees are being held in­
communicado and have no
rights to a lawyer or visitors.
In a short statement before
his arrest, Joint Secretary for
Foreign Affairs ico �e­
ssinger said that South Afnca
had arrested the SW APD
leadership inside Namibia in
preparation for internal elec-
Continu d on P ge 3