ill' all
A1USODJ
Will the planned summit
meeting of African American
leaders be a war up version
of the Democratic Party/Civil
Rights coalition, or will the in- .
elusion of Min. Louis Farrakhan
and Dr. Lenora Fulani provide
progressive spi ce for a more ful­
filling session?
Final plans for what is billed .
as the nation's first nonpartisan
Afr ican-Amer ican Summit,
April 21-23 in Ne Orleans
were outlined las wee nd in
Chicago ith General Chair
Richard Hatcher; C. Delores
Tucker, chair of the arrange­
ments committee; Dr. Ramona
Edelin, program chair; Rev.
Willie Barrow, steering commit­
tee chair and Glo Ivory,
manager of the Summit's
Washington headquarters of­
fiee.
Hatcher and Tuc er are key
Democrats and the Summit
headquarters i located in
Tucker's office. Despite this, or­
ganizers point to the presence of
Republicans on the AAS Steer­
ing Committee: Gloria E.A.
Toote, Robert J. Brown and
Fred Brown.
. Min. Farrakhan's presence
at the Summit has been an item
of controversy since plans for
the meeting-were first an­
nounced in Chicago in Decem­
ber.
The Final Call newspaper
reported in January that
Richard Hatcher said Min. Far­
rakhan would be invited to par- .
ticipate. But the Baltimore Sun
newspaper reported on Jan. 28
a controversy arose among sum­
mit organizers around the in­
clusion of Farrakhan.
. The Sun article authors,
Arch Parsons and Michael
Kelly, said the organizers "hur­
ridly withdre a draft of the
conference program "after it
was pointed out that among
those listed panelists was Mr.
Farrakhan. "
A spokesperson for Dr.
Lenora Fulani told this paper
that Dr. Fulani was aware of the
planned Summit but had not
been invited. Her participation
I
oic
FARRAKH
roLANI
was uncertain, the spokesper­
son said.
Dr. Fulani earned four per­
cent of the national vote as a
candidate in the 1988 presiden­
tial election running on the New
Alliance Party ticket. She was
the first African American and
first woman to be on the
presidential ballot in all 50
states and the District of
Columbia. .
Purpose of the Summit is to
"discuss an African Am riean
agenda for the next four years
and on to the year 2000 which
transcends party and partisan
considerations," Hatcher stated
in his message to members of
the National Newspaper
Publishers Assoication meeting
Washington last week.
"The Summit will be open to
11 African Americans of every
\ I¥>litical persuasion, religious
organization., all economic
1 vels, ages, philosophi and
alb of life," Hatcher said
Some 4,108 delegates are
ing invited to the conference
from all 50 states, the District of
Columbia and the Virgi Is-, c
I nds, organizers say. The
delegates represent local ac­
tivists, elected officials and at
!o/ge categories. Approximate­
!� 75 national organizations are
iqcluded in the delegate selec­
tion process.
At press time, Larry Still of
e Capitol News Service, the
organization handling public
relations for the summit, told
this paper regarding
·liarrakhan's invovlement, WI
don't have the information. The
program is being put together."
rms Aro1umd
I
t e Child-
ildren from the angers
und them, such as violence,
dr gs, or commi ting . olence
th mselves.
Planning session (or this
e nt will be held 6 p.m. every
� dnesday at th SO-SAD of­
fi , 453 Martin Luther King
B d
At the gathering will be:
- A "Stop tile Violence Con­
ce "with rap groups, both na­
tio al and local artists singing
itive messages.
- Unveiling f a "I sting
me rial" to th ildren who
h e been slain in the
A symbolic ge ture, by
Its to young people, where
will physically put the'
around them.
O-SAD is hoping fo
hu dreds of thousands f
pea Ie to participate.
or further info rna 'on, call
the - AD office at (313) 833-