Conyer' unveil
ByFlod n s. A
SIII/fRgJolUr
H.R. 3745
To ackn(!wledge the fun
damental injustice, cruelty,
brutality, and inhumanity of
sllzvery in the united Statu and
1M 13 American colonies be
tween 1619 and 1865 and to u
tllblUh a commission to mJmine
the in.stitul;on of slavery, sub
sequent de jure and de facto TG
cia! and economic
discrimination against African
Americans, and the impIICI of
thue forces on living African
AmeriCllllS, to make recommen
dtItions to the Congress 011 ap
propriIIte remediu, and for other
fJUI'POiu.
Sponsortd Md introduced
November 20 by U. S. Con
gressman John Conyers D
Detroit; co-sponsored by U. S.
Congressmen Robert Matsui and
Ron Deliums of Califomia, Gus
reparatton
SavtIfle of IlJinois, Kweisi Mfume
of MIJryland and Walter
Fauntroy of Washington D. C
DBTROrr - A call to form
commission to study repar tioa
proposal for African
Americans was introduced to
the public March 18 at the
Museum of African American
History.
The ct states:
- About 4,(XX),(XX) Africans
were enslaved from 1619 to
1865. .
- Sla'lCl)"wu OODStituional
Iy and statutorily sanctioned by
the U. S. Government from
1789 to 1865.
- Slavery constituted an im
moral and inhumane depriva
tion of Africans' life, liberty,
A&ican citizenship rights, and
cultural heritage, and denied
them the fruits of their own
labor; and sufficient inquiry has
legislation a
not been made into the effects
o the institution of slavery on
IiviDg African Americans and
society in the United States.
If Conyers' bill is passed
through Coagr then a seven
member commission, three ap
pointed by the U. S. President,
three appointed by the speaker
of the U. S. House ofRepresen
tatives and 0 e by the U. S.
President Pro Tempore of the
Senate has to chosen 90 days
after the enactment of the bill
and· cheduled to submit a
written report of its findinp and
reoommend.tio to Congress
nt1 later than one year after the
commission first meeting.
In 'Michig n st te repre-
entative .Iuclnding Nelson
Saunders, Joe YoungJr and Sr.
and Aim Stallworth sent a
proposal, H.R. 509, to U. S.
Coagr urging. to P Con
yers resolutioa
come to ex
. tra�ofin
ted for so long
proclaims life
ursuit of happi
ble rights,. the
Detroiters
ByFlod n S.
StII(( Repotter
DBTROrr - onique d
Leigh rCCCD� j met.
But the twO had no pr ,
getting together in Selma, Ala.
the wee end of March 10.
Leigh i a Wayne State
UnMrsity dent and MODi
que is an Operation Ge Down
employee.
When they both heard bo
Selma High School students,
closing down their schools for .
about week in protest of their
educ tion conditions, they'
aUlAaauatJ·allY to tr vel
there in
M�
volYedm
WSU. The group formed out of
tuden 0 ·studied-in" the
Helen Newberry Joy Ad
ministrative Services Building
last April clo iDg down the,
�s full operatio
Groupmembers are current
ly orgiDg university officials to
. mplememt a full fledged
Dep rtment of African.
Studies with SU Professor
Gloria House as chair as well as
committing financially and cur
riculum-wise.
They charge, the only chan
ges so far is the name from
Center for Black Studies to
Department of Africana
Studies. •
Taking break from his im
mediate struggle, Leigh rented
a van, too out his video camera
aDd asked a couple of friends to
ccom yhim.
He ocumented his .tact
findingjourney to Selma to later
air on a cable show, Barden
Cable channel 67, produced bt'
Maurice Sanders called ·Kick
ing th� Knowledge.·
Arriving in The South, Leigh
. d be amazed at the level
o overt racism and the exent to
which it wa seemingly
tolerated.
"It w the old South," he
said. "Instead of 1990 it could
d been 1890. There had been
DO progress.
Recollecting the attitude of
Joe Smithenoan, Selma's 25-
year incumbent mayor who con
tantly referred to African
Americ ns a ·chicken and
watermelon eating n-----5,
Leigh explained, intregration
doesn't work unless people'
minds are intregratcd also.
Selma i 80 percent African
American while the 20 percent
white population owns and
operates the city.
The city council is '
predominantly white which ape
paiD the scbool board • .
I
if
in
tion perpetrated ainst the
freed slaves and their descend
ents. Such a coD$lllission would
explore whether mpensation
for these injusti ould be
paid, the amount f such com
pensation and to om these
fuDds should be add ...•
intad.
Monique said she was out-
r ged by the nd couldn't
believe the y .�D&
Selma resideDls.
She explained that abe came
&om Detroit to find 0 first-
hand • oD.
She said she w some initial
co\Uage on the national n
but never 18 any follow-u .
"When. something· not in
the minds of people they
tend to forget," she said, ex
plaining when this happe the
general umption is every-
thing. alri&ht I
But everything not set-
tled when she arrived in Selma,
most of the high school tudents
and some college stude bad
dropped out of the protesting,
she said.Reportedly a group of
AfricanAmeri lawyer from
Selma told the tudents that
they uld risk 1 . financial
aid if they contin ed " udying
in" and if they re arrested
they had to hir their 0 0
lawyer.
Monique s i she aw
Selma's struggle a part of the
n tional one eff cting every
African American child pur u
ing an equal educa . on.
"We still are n t free," he
said ·It' all one s uggIe.
"We're been sleeping,"
Monique contin d, ·We're
been pacified. We ve a lack of
that collective min . Each one
of us have to be ct ve."
Studen frorn he orth,
The South, The East or The
West shouldn't separate them
se , Mooique . d, adding,
they all are living the African
American experience.
3.