100,000
The .lional Malcolm
Commemoration Commi
sion i seeking to ecure the
ignatures of 100,000
Afric n American on the
ectaraucn hich will be
ed 10 officially proclaim
M y 19, NATIO AL MAL
COLM X DAY.
May 19 is the birthday of
Malcolm X and 19<)0 mark:
his 65th birthday.
ational Malcolm X Day
will be celebrated anu lIy as
National African American
D y of Commemor tion.
Plan are ell underw y
for the formal N lional
Proclamation Ceremony and
Celebration to be he (J in
Omaha, nebra ka,
Malcolm's bi rthplace , on
May 19.
Local proclamation
ceremonie will Iso take
place in a ho t of cities in
cluding: cw York. Boston.
Philadelphia. Wa hingron,
D.C .• Baltimore. All nta,
ew . Orleans, Oklahoma
City. Los Angele • San Fran
cisco and the Bay area,
Chicago and Cleveland.
Ohio. .
In aduiuonto spon oring
local ceremonies Malcolm X
Committee. from acres the
country will also b 'ending
dele . lion on the
t. t
"Pilgri mage to Om h "to be
represented at the hi toric
natio Prod mation
Ccrcmony.
Indeed a� of thi. writing
bus loads or participants arc
prcpar! ng to make the
Pilgrimage to Omaha from
d Join call for
SU r Ign on
rEdi
We the Or ss Root Or
ganiz lion, long with the
Afrikan American community
of Detroit, ould like foe you to
print thi letter in your t
. . The reason is to let the
community know th the s
men m by one (Michigan
St te University) tru tee
Lawerence 0 en, that was
printed in your paper 3-4-90 was
uncalled for.
We the community plead-
ing to Mr. Owen to retrack his
st em nt. We the Grass Roots
of Detroit, will call for the big
gest march on Michigan State
University in history. ot only
will we call for this man:h e
demand for him to resign. If Mr.
Owen is ot. conscio gh
to pologize to the community
he offended by hi SOCIAI.L Y
RET ARTFD t tement written
in hi letter.
Again e the community are
asking Mr. 0 en for his
apologize and his co-operation
in thi matter.
American community; the
proclamation ceremony and
celebration and a benefit
fund-rai ere
On Sunday the National
Commi ion will host a
meeting of represcntatives
of the various Malcolm X
Commi trees to discuss plans
for the future. .
Pe rsons seeking to pa r
iicipate in the National Sig-
ought for. Malcolm X Day
. Commltt
from ero th
country will
al 0 be ndlng
delegation on
the • Pilgrimage
to Omaha·
Montgomery, Alabama.
Chicago, Cleveland and car
carav ns are being organized
from Indianapolis. Indiana,
and Peoria. Illinoi .
. The N tional Signature
Drive is de igncd to build
gressroot . UppOrl and
legitimacy for the campaign
to declare May 19 atiunal
Malcolm Day hy gaining
the endorsement or a broad
cross-section of African
American .
The Declarations ith the
ignaturcs of these "Charter
. Advocates" for National
M Icolm X Day will .be
b u.nd in volumes and ern
to Ornah .
Ultimatoly the aim is to
have the Declaration placed
in the archives of the
proposed Malcolm X Inter
national Cc ntc r-which the
Malcolm X Mcmorial Foun
dation envisions building in
Omaha.
The ariona l Signature
Drive. which was officially
launched on February 21 at
the ational We Remember
Malcolm ob. crvancc held in
Harlem at Abyssinian Bap
tt t Church. will be inten-
ifieu with a . erie of
"Malcolm X Saturdays"
from pri! 21 - May 12.·
1990.
. The Malco! m X Satur-
day. wi11 also serve to edu-
cate people about the
purpo: c or ationat Mal
colm X Day and ould sup
port for the local and
national et Iorts.
The ational Proclama-
tion Ceremony in Omaha
will be the climatic event in
what the African American
Progre sive Action et ork
and jhe National Malcolm X
Commemoration Commis
sion have designated "1990
THE YEAR OF MALCOLM
X".
Thre day of activitie
arc planned beginning on 0
Friday May J8 with a a
uo nal Malcolm X Forum.
Saturday': chcdule will in-
c I udc a pi Igri mage to the
home read where Malcolm
pent hi early childhood; a
parade through the African
nature Drive, or persons
seeking information about
thc Pilgrimage to Omaha
should call (202) 722-2694.
t Ron
o nl
Ron Daniels serves as
President 0/ the Institute lor
Community Organization
and Development in
Youngstown, Ohio. He may
be contacted at (216) 746-
5747.
AT ISSUE
Grant Statehood to
Ye . The. Americari Revolution began when
people id "taxation without representation i
tyranny." District resident pay more than $ I bil
lion annually in federal taxes-more nine
te . Of II S �ti. with e ted natiOnal legi -
I tures, only the United Sta den' represen-
tation to the citize of i c ital. Dr . t
hood i morally right, rationally nd, legally
possib and con it ionally permitted. All that'
needed i imple majority in the U.S. Hoo
nd Sena and the Pre ident' ign ure. Hi
e lly, sta hood been granted when three cri-
. teria have been met: (I) the people publicly ve
expressed their de ire to become a ; (2) the
people gree with the democratic form of govern
men practiced in America; and (3) there are suffi
cient peop nd economic wealth to upport a
government. The di ict meet all these
o. Numerou co itu ionallawye have ad
vised that Congre doe not have the right to
"grant" ·tatehood to the di rict. They believe a
c ituti n I 'amendment would have to be
by Congre and ratified by the . I do not up
port di . ct tehood beeau the con itutionaJ
qu ion are seriou , the added bu ucracy
could be unman ge bl for the district, and there
othe� mean for district re iden hieve full
voting representati n.
district hood ould have
profound effect. Politically, some con rvative
are concerned th the traditionally liberal
di ri�t would vote for liberalrepresen live . Thi
i 00( uch a big i lie in the Hou wi h 435 mem
be , but would have a greater impact in the
Sena . 10(1 n hear a qu ion Ii ,"Why houJd
th city be made a when other citie , like
ew York, h ve million of citizen living in
them?" There are valid argumen g in i
que in, but it seem to repre n me of the
country' sentiment.
of
Di rict of Columbia hood i not for the dis-
trict only! Qui Ii ly it would mean an integrated
Senate w two progres ive na and a coo
gre person would fight for a national health plan,
for ffordab hou ing, for increased funding for
educ tion, for ngthened I w th t peovi
equal protection under the I r all, for a cleaner
and fer environment. for a more ju and peace
ful world through development of the Third
World, for the righ of w rs (e.g., for rai ing
th minimum w g and again so-called "right
lo-w rk" I w ), f rfairfarm price and for f irer
and more pro re ive tax law .