OCTOBER 4 -10.1987 THE ICHIGAN CITIZEN
9
e. elvin W·lliams is
VBUCO keynote speaker
COVERT - Rev. Melvin G.
Williams will be the featured
speaker at the 26th Annual
Harvest Banquet sponsored
by the Van Buren United
Civic Organization.
The Dinner will be Satur­
day, oct. 10, at Dee's Landing
(formerly Red Carpet), M140
and Blue Star Hwys, South
Haven, according to Mae
Lucas, publicity director.
Carolye Hawkins, reading
specialist at Co ert Public
School will be the recipient of
the Community Service
Award, presented annually to
a deserving "willing worker,"
Hattie Harding of Covert
Community Church will be
guest soloist.
Rev. Williams is minister of
Hope United Methodist
Church in Benton Harbor.
He has been in the ministry
for 31 years having served pas­
torates in Brooklym .Y.;
Detroit; anila, Philippines.
Rev. Williams attended
Pi University in Nashville,
Tenn. and Dre University in
Madison, J. for his BA de­
gree.
He received his B chelor
of Theology degree from
Drew Theological Seminary
and His aster of Divinity
from the Interdenominational
Theological Center in Atlanta,
Ga.
His community involvement
is wide, ranging from serving
on the board of directors of
eighborhood Information
and Sharing Exchange, Ber­
rien County Association of
Churches, Tri-County Mini­
sterial Alliance, J oint Action
in Comumunity Service,
Kiwanis Club and Tri-County
().
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MERCHANTS HALL
Fairplain Plaza
Young Oems-4th C.O.O.C.
.3 .M.
MERCHA rs HALL
Fairplain ·Plaza
Ex • Comm-4th C.O.O.C.
ERCHANTS HALL
Fairplain Plaza
4th Congo Oist. 0 m. Comm.
2?O �M.
ERCHANTS HALL
Fairplain Plaza
Ber. Cnty. Oem. Party
Rev. Md Wdliams
Blac Aging.
e VBUCO banquet tick­
ets are $15, and may be pur­
chased by calling 764-8378 or
764-8854.
Brown fam ely
By . in Hay
LACOTA - Lucille Brown
ys her family's dedication
to education goes back to when
her grandmother sought out
reading teacher on an Oklahoma
re rvation.
She and her husband, Ben­
jamin, have reared eight chil­
dren and t 0 fo er children.
They are proud to y that
yen of their children have
earned college degree. The
younge natural child i a nior
at Texas Southern University
and their youngest foster child
is a freshman in college.
Three of their children have
m ster's degrees and one is a
PhD. candidate.
The son of a sharecropper,
Bro n worked for Bohn Alumi­
num and Bra Co. in South
Haven for 31 years before re­
tiring to tend his Lacota fann
full time. The Browns said even
when their income was meager,
F
__ Impson focus
•
az e
Continued from P 9
paign. The 13th District also
involves itself in all political
campaigns of the individual
candidates. We are invovled
in no-crime day and we also
have a senior citizens
program. As a part of the
program, seniors can par­
ticipate in-· many social ac­
tivities. We've gotten tickets to
Tiger games and sponsored
trips to Frankenmuth. In addi­
tion to politics, we consider
this a part of the total comitt­
ment to the community. We
don't just demand votes.
Watt: What
to lDCfta!te
partidpation?
a.r "----00: Black voters are
much more sophisticated in
terms of whom they vote for
and the issues they are in­
volved with. You can no
longer say the Blac race isa
one issue race. We 100 at all
the issues now, from the
deficit to cutting federal aid to
schools. The Black community
is also concerned with
politicians making big
promises they can't keep.
We are a race no longer
guided by the Free Press and
the News. We pick our own
candidates. We vote, elect and
putthem in office. At one time
if the Free Press wrote articles
damaging to yo, it was the kiss
of death, ow Blacks do their
own investigations. We have
realized that we must stop
reading the paper and accept­
iIig it as truth.
However, I am never satis­
fied with voter participation.
he Dic ey Agency
•
s s
they would always t aside
some money to buy the children
books.
One gro n child commented
"While the books were great
it was really my parents' excite­
ment about reading and learning
and their joy in us that inspired
us."
Upon entering grade school
rs. Brown gave one of her
daughters the words of wis­
dom: • Life can be high and
life can be 10 . You can reach
anything you want. There is
nothing wrong with being a but­
ler or a maid if that is what
you want to be, but to be any­
thing else you've got to work
for it and study hard ."
Bringing up eight children in
rural ichigan was not easy
Mr . Brown said. But she thinks
it would be even more difficult
today. 'It's harder to rai
children now than in the past
on account of the moral eli-
ccess story
mate," she said. 'In the past
more people had some type of
church roots and that provided
a support and basi more favor­
able to raising kids. '
The church ha influenc d
the lives of all of the Brown's
children. Several are part of the
ministry of their churches.
All of their children are
involved in me way ith
addres ing ciety's needs. Their
profession rang from forensic
social wor to teaching to
environmental con rvation.
In addition to buying their
children boo s the couple took
their family to zoos Las Vegas
Epcot Center and other places
to help broaden their minds.
The children recently thank­
ed their parents for all their
arifices and support by sur­
prising them with a special
gift on their 40th wedding
anniversary - a trip to Hawaii ..
--- Youth and po · tics
The 13th District Democratic
Committee has instituted semi­
nars and community delegates
in each area. Precinct
delegates represent their areas
at district and state conven­
tions. They take the feelings of
their community to conven­
tions. Delegates also come to
workshops to tell us what the
Democratic Party should be
doing for their communities.
Delegates are all ages, they
are elected by people in their
areas. They are elected every
two years. I feel we must in­
crease Blac voter participa­
tion. The good candidates will
lose by a few hundred votes,
simply because someone
decided to stay home and give
up their constitutional right to
vote. Our ancestors fought
and died for our right to vote
and now this fundamental
right is taken for granted. This
saddens me. I want our com­
munities to help elect can­
didates who are sensitive to
the needs of their com­
munities.
Watt: What are some of
the key issues that you feel
are crucial to the Blac com­
munity?
medicaid funded abortions.
Personal opinions are unim­
portant. The public is using
personal opinion to hide the
real issues. The real issue is
do poor women have the right
to recieve quality ethical medi­
cal care. Does she have this
right when she decides what
she wants to do, not the court
and not Frazier Kimpson.
These women are already
poor, unemployed and on wel­
fare. And they often already
have several children. The
13th District Democratic
Party is working in the com­
munity and gathering petitions
to get this issue placed on the
ballot.
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Kimp on: Jobs. Jobs are
the key to the future for a lot
of people. It is very difficult
for a Black man to b without
a job. Joblessness leads to al­
coholism, drug abuse, crime,
all those things are directly re­
lated to unemployment. We
must examine where exactly
people are gong to work in
the future. Even if you send in­
dividuals to school there must
be positions for them to fill
afterwards. Unemployment
should be on the minds of the
legilature and the city council.
Another important issue is