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 .