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.