,
African AmeriCans enl··---=-
. Parr m ry B ae CfluCUS I
TIO
COU cil
ings of their citizens.
AlIi J Since 1967 a Detroit citizen,
Conapondent Raymond Jenkins, has joined
DETROIT - City Council the movement calling for
member Clyde Cleveland has reparations for African
introduced resolution calling Americans.
for limited reparations to "As long as the student PW'-
African Americans. ' sues a course of study with pass-
His resolution the state ing grades," his expenses would
government to join in petition- be paid ccor ding to
ing the federal government to Cleveland's proposal
pay for all costs of educating A council vote is expected
African Americans at the col- April 19, the Councilman said.
lege, technical or trade school of, At this time no solicitation of
their choice. support from other' African
The idea of reparations is not American communities in the
new, Cleveland poin ed out, He state has been made, Cleveland
noted that African Americans said. He did note that Mas­
were promised 40 acres and a sachusetts State Senator Wil­
mule during Reconstruction, liam Owens introduced a bill in
but the promise was never made that state's assembly s king
good reparations.
The Japanese imprisoned in A group .in ew Yor
war camps during Worl� War n defunct, began a pus for
are receiving reparations of monetary reparations two years
$250,000 each from American ago.
taxpayers following Congres- They cited as justification,
sional approval last year. not only the years of slavery, but
American Indians have also the discriminatory laws of
received reparations for years Jim Crow - separate but equal
for land stolen from them. - that reigned until the mid
America has paid countries as 1960's. They also want a
diverse as Iran and Great taxbreak for all African
Britain reparations for suffer- Ametftans.
By Alii 0 J _
Correspondent ;.,
DETRO Racism in
Michigan w a deliberate
strategy devised to accumulate
�
in Mic
political and economic po er in
the European and native white
community.
From the tate's earliest
period as a territory, laws were
put into place by publicaUy
avo d racists to systematically
discourage Black immigration
and once Blacks w re here to
keep them poor and powerless.
The historical facts which
bear this out, though a matter of
public record, have been over­
looked by historians.
In .this void of ignorance,
racism bas been bolstered, leav­
ing the legacy of decay wit­
nessed today in the state' ..
Africa American communitie
including crack cocain ,
. economic underdevelopment,
and the miseducati n of Black
children - the blame for which
is erroneously left at the door f
. the Black f mily.
,
That pow rful m ssage w
d livered April 8 by Professor
William McAdoo, State Univer­
sityof ew York and Detroit
native, to those attending the
annual Local History Con­
ference held at Wayne State
University.
McAdoo's speech was a
'cho
D ro
(
in
'of r ci m
summary of hi doctoral disser­
tation published in 1983 by the
University of Michigan Pre ,
entitl d "The Settler State: Im­
migrati n Policy and the
Development of Institutional­
ized Racism in 19th Century
Michigan."
" 0 R TI PL C
HERE" was the title of Dr.
MeAd's peech taken from a
poem by Ro ert Hayden, which
describes th plight of African,
American who can "call no
place home," can find "no rest­
ing place here."
• McAdoo contrasted that
with the welcome greeting
European immigrants in the
Emma Lazarus poem inscribed
on the tatue of Liberty: "Giv
�e your tired, your poor, your
huddled masses yearning to be
Continu d on P 10
