thin
veneer
Reprinted from the Washington
I Post
On the suface, the 80th con­
vention of the NAACP held in
Detroit recently marked a new
step in the restoration of peace­
ful relatio between the civil
rights community and a
Republican administration in
Washington.
Benjamin Hooks, executive
director of the AACP,
praised the -civility" of the Bush
administration and the "ter­
mination of inflammatory
rhetoric" char ctenstic of the
Reagan years. . �
Vice President Quayle tokf
the country's oldest civil right
organiza ion, ·1 wo Id like to go
beyond civility and conclude
with the common dreams of the
AACP, President George
BUsh, and yes, the Republican
Party, the paJly of Lincoln. Our
dreams are your dreams." But
underlying thi new cordiality is
a continuing conflict over the
means to achieve a central goal
of the administration and the
civil right. community: the
ec ornic empowerment of
Blac s.
The OP, particularly
Hou ing and Urban Develop­
ment 'ecretary Jack Kemp, has
propos cd a bro: d et of racially
neutral, tax-b cd alternatives
to foster economic growth in
the Bl ck community, including
cnterpri e zone and special
venture capital tax breaks for
investments in poverty areas.
They are part of a trategy to
substitute market forces for
government programs in the
median income of Black
familie ju t over half that of
white the median ( 1 00 c .. Mt}:.'.
pared v ith 32274 n 'rage)
'GOP and
.
and the wealth ccumuleted by
Black households less than a
tenth that of whites ($3,397 �r­
sus $39,135), administration
" critics have questioned the ef­
fectiveness of tax breaks, which
provide the largest iacentiv to
those with the highest incomes
and the most wealth.
At the same time, one of the
most perplexing finding of
economists is that over the p
two decades, while p,lacks have
claimed substantial political
power in many juisdictions,
Black-owned businesses have
lost ground compared with
white busine es. Blac busi­
ness activity has grown, but
. white businesses have grown at
- a much faster pace. The failure
of Blacks to make more
economic progress appears to
aggravate the disagreement
that threatens the new-found
detente between the Bush ad­
ministration and the traditional
civil rights leadership. At issue
is a series of recent Supreme
Court decisions that many
Blac leaders see' undermin­
ing their chances of catching up
with whites.
This present Supreme
ourt i needles ly trampling
. rights of a great number
-� , •• citizens who have trug-
gled through th darkness to the
gleaming hope of a new sunlit
day. We must insist that Con­
gress pas law to rectify tho c
r affirmative action ] decisions,"
Hooks declared.
"At this particular time, the
president doe not feel that
tho, c particular decisions need
to be overturned to advanc the
. cau e of civil right. ," Quayle
aid at a news conference in
Detroit.
uayte:s position reflects
c nserv ti e publican
I
Keith B tier
on the allot
again
DETROIT - The Rev. Keith
Butler, pastor 0 Word of Faith
Christian Cente , is still running
for Detroit City Council.
On Augus 7 a judge
reversed the troit Election
Commission's cision to omit
him from the Se t. 12 ballot.
The judge tated that
Butler's signat re which w
faxed in on a affidavit was
generally accept technology.
Commis ion member and
Detroit Mayor oleman Young
appointee Don d Pailen said
he has not de ided whether
Judge Thomas Foley's order
will be appealed or not.
At Butler's p ss conference
on August 8 he tated that the
Commission di no have the
power to keep m off the bal­
lot. He also po nted out that
Young did no liver his peti­
tions in person, However, the
commission whi is comprised
of three people, ne of who is
known Y g a pointee, ai
he had to be pre nt to rue his.
The petitions, . th the maxi­
mum ignat res were fil in
prcscriptio . AggreSsive op­
position to quotas and the set­
ting aside of specific
percentages of contracts or
other benefits to Black to rectify
past discrimination has been an
integral part of the successful
drive to firm up GOP voting
patterns in the white South and
in white working-cl s com­
munities in northern cities.
Public opinion data now
show an overwhelming majority
of whites opposing quotas and
racial preferences, while almost
equally strong majorities of ,
Blacks suppourt these affirm­
ative action remedies.
For the beleaguered civil
rights community, the attempt
to use an attack on recent
Supreme Court affirmative ac­
tion decisions as an interracial
mobilizing issue poses a major
dilemma, Hooks, throughout
the convention, stressed the
"need and the nece sity of coali­
tions. We must come to ee that
as Black folk, we cannot win thi
battle by ourselves."
Instead of a coalition-build­
ing issue, the poll data uggest
that Hooks has picked one of
the most divisive issues in his
.dernand for legi lative remedy
to recti y th Supreme Court
ulings.Republicans rgue that
set-asides and quotas will not
help Blacks economically,
'Joseph Perkins, Quayle'
domestic affairs adviser, a erts
that government intervention is
of little use to the Black com­
munity.
Fifteen years ago, 15 cent of
every Black per on's dollar was
spent in a Black-owned busi­
ness; now only 7 cents on the
dollar goes to a Black-owned
business, Perkins says. "Over
the same period, the number of
minority set -aside contracts has
L- __ ---------------------J
, , I ..
. " I'
.. , , � ,I,.
. ,
.' .
vices, computers, general con­
tracing and wholesale.
The overwhelming majority
of Blac businesses fall in the
first category, which has been in
severe decline, facing tough .
competition fro supermarkets
and t her Jar er facilities and
often a declin sales base as
middle-cI Blac move out of
center cities, Bates says.
The second ector has en
growing rapidly, he contends, .
although not enough to make up
for the decline of ghetto based
small businesses. The second
sector, according to Bates, has
benefited from affirmative ac­
tion and set -asi de program
that "have been major source
of support" to what he estima es
is now 20 percent of Black­
owned business. "Your emerg­
ing sector of more promising
firm is the one that is goin to
be hit" by cuts in et -aside con­
tr cting program , he says.
This assessment, however,
runs head-on into an d­
ministration much more sup­
portive of racially neutral
m rket solutio s to Bl ck
economic devel pment. is
idea of gove nt someh w
trring to spur inority busi­
ne e by getting clive, I think
that' ultimately g ing to have to
be gener ed by t e Blac com­
m nity it elf," Pe ins says.
thd city clerk's office on time,
s id Andre Harris, Butler's
mpaign m ager.
U, . Rep. John Conyer,
who is running in the 1989
mayoral race s Young's
strongest opponent lent his sup­
port to Butler and was ere ent
at the Wayne County Circuit
Court hearing.
Butler who led a succe ul
fight against c sino gambling
and fought to protect the
public' righ to vote regarding
, the $25 million co t ov rrun at
Cobo Center said th mayor i
using the e i ue agai him
a political vendetta.