hat'
i .
whi e and read all over?
eBC pushes aid to Africa
u.s. gi 750 for ch I raeli, 96 c n for African
P g 2
DeDj min Ch vi qu tion on 4
ower
e
,
I
ean be er
Is?
e're trying to understand
th changes would affect
o distri in particular, said
Rep. Alma G. Stallworth (0-
Detroit) chairperson of the
cau
T e Blac Caucus, which
. 13 representatives
d three nators, is designe
to improve the quality of life for
ichigan Blacks, especia y
urb resi dents, through the
Legislature.
caucus will ddress the
of school finance reform
d its impact on the Blac com­
munity in the near future,
StalllWorth said.
·We have some concern
about this issue," she said. "We
feel that all the answers have not
� been provided."
G TIO P D
Wtthin the ne few weeks, a
House Republican task force
plans to introduce a set of bills
t t ould essentially lower
loc 1 property taxes by an
Voers
send a
age:
isn'
enoug
mes
Blae
"They sent a hell of a mes­
sage, said a Flint publisher of
the upset in that city's mayoral
election.
Incumbent, African
American Mayor James Sharpe
met defeat at the hands of a
political newcomer The winner
is white. In a city that is 60%
Bl c .
A th state in 90% Blac
Benton Harbor, a Black can­
didate was beat by a four-year
resident from t. Joseph, who is
white.
In Flint, incumbent James
Sharp, trailed political unknown
Matt Collier, 19509 to 22,874.
In Benton Harbor, voters
elected marina owner and one­
term city commissioner William
Wolf over James F.A. Turner.
The final tally was 1,170 to 963.
The message from the voters,
according to Flint Enquirer
publisher Ron Parker, was that
if you want to be mayor, being
Black isn't enough. The people
want results."
Observers of Benton
Harbor's political scene made
the same commentary. "Turner
wasn't enough by himself. Wolf
was running with a slate and the
voters wanted major, not minor
change," said one city hall
watcher.
The Benton Harbor voter
elected three of Wolf's commis­
sion slate giving the team a 5-4
majority of the commmission.
Only incumbent Commi ioner
Charles Yarbrough was
returned to office in the city
described by the Department of
Commerce as the state's mo t
distressed.
Continued on Pag 10
Benton Harbor's high infant
death rate earns Berrien grant
T
Serving the State's African American Community
Tax plan unfair
to poor,
say Blae
lawmakers
Related story on Pg. 3
average of 30 percent, while
raising sales tax by 50 percent --
- from four cents to six cents per
dollar.
The plan is an attempt to
provide more equal funding of
all Michigan districts, by putting
money from the increased sales
tax and some of the property
taxes into a state fund, then
redistributing it on a per-pupil
basis.
"We're trying to share the
wealth in the state," said
R�B�anGr��M��(� .. �����������������������
Fowerville) a major supporter
of the plan.
Continued on P e 20
LEADU .
DEATHS
"We have one of the highest
numbers of infant deaths in the
Related story on Pg. 10
Blae
, white infant mortality gap widens
Black babies die easier .
By Si el Bj na
Capital News Service
LANSING - The gap be­
tween Blac and white infant
motality rate was wider than
ever before in Michigan in 1986,
ccording to new statistics.
Previewing data to be
released this week, the overall
infant mortality rate stayed the
same, but there has been a
decline in white infants' death
rate while the percentage of
deaths for Black infants had in­
creased, said Ute Von Der
Heyden, the media relations
chief at the state health depatr­
ment.
The survey is conducted
every other year.
The figures also indicate, said
state Public Health Director
Gloria R. Smith, that better
schooling and jobs could be
among the most important in­
gredients to improve the picture
for many babies, whatever their
race.
Michigan has, according to
1984 statistics, an infant death
rate of all races of 11.4 per 1,000
live births. The mortailty rate
for Blacks was 22.5 percent
while for white babies the rate
was 9.1 percent.
U.S., and something has to be
done to change that," Smith said.
"Weare struggling with a very
important problem, but I can't
see the big funds coming which
would enable us to take a big
leap toward improvement."
A 'n-member task force was
created last year to work out a
plan to decrease the infant mor­
tality rate while at the same time
Continued on Page 20