JULY 2'· AUGUST 4, l' MICHIGAN CITIZEN
. National Black United Front 0 cbn� ne in
By Dr. C rad . Wo
NBUF convention time is
right around the comer. The
11th National Black United
Front (NBUF) Convention
and Education Summit, o'n tbe
progres of implementing the '
African CuI tural Curriculum
Portland Model) in the public
school of America, will be
held Augu t 2nd - 5th in
Detroit, at Wayne State
University.
As the school year come to
a close, we are urging
teachers, parents, community
representatives,
administrators and all BI ck
people who are concerned
about ch nging the public
school curriculum to more
accurately reflect the
contribution of African and
African American people to
attend this year's 11th NBUF
convention.
Over the last two years, tbe
tional Plan of Action of
NBUF has. been the
implementation of the
Portland Model in the public
cbool curriculum throughout
the United States. Therefore,
this year's convention,
through a two day Educational
Summit, will focus on
BUF's thrust toward an
African centered curriculum
for public schools . "the
Portland Model". This trend
setting document and other
valuable plans, research, and
curriculum will be presented
at the 1990 convention.
Some of the most renown
educator , bistorians, and
leaders, in tbe African
centered curriculum
movement sucb a Dr. John
Henrik Clarke, Dr. Asa
Hilliard, Dr. Jacob
Carruthers. Dr. Wade Nobles,
Dr. Mary Hoover, Oba
T'Sh ka, Hannibal Afrik, Ron
Herndon ,and others will
make major presentations at
the Educational Summit
component of the convention.
THEY WILL ADDRESS
a variety of topics that
include: Organizing the
community toward an African
centered curriculum;
Problems in teaching African
American children; African
centered curriculum training
for teachers; African centered
curriculum development in
content areas; African
centered curriculum models;
and Afrlcan centered
pedagogy.
Tbe African centered
curriculum movement i
beginning to catcb on aero
the country as more and more
African Americans become
aware of the Fortland Model
and NBUF's role in its
implementation. By attending
this year's NBUF convention,
participants will be exposed
to a wealtb of information
designed to belp them change
tbe curriculum in their local
communitie .
It ha been firmly
establisbed that througbout
the development of education
in the western .world, t e idea
of transmitting knowledge has
been done through what is
called a curriculum. It is
through this curriculum that
people are taught the val ues,
concepts, principles and
theories that undergird the
basic philosophy of the
SOciety.
As a result of the European
onslaught on the world and
how it manifests itself in
education and curriculum
development has bad a
devastating and miseducaung
impact on the public and
private scbool children of this
country for a long period of
time.
Dr. John Henrik Clarke
Klan
Co tin ed fro Pa e I
son and two other members of
the fire department were
members of the Klan," Levitas
said.
Antavious Williams, age 6,
wa left to die three years ago
while his hou e burned down
around him because of the
"deliberate indifference of
Chief Franklin Brown and·
other fire fighter , who are
also member .of the KKK's
Kolomoki Klavern, according
to the law nnt filed in federal
court in the Middle District of
Georgia in Albany by Atlanta
civil right ttorney Brian
Spears.
Separate from the death of
Antavious Williams, the legal
compliant ci tic the death of
7-year-old Charles, McCoy,
serting tbatthe child's death
a caused by fire protection
ervices that were "deficient,
tinted and affected ,by the
raCial nimus" of Chief Brown
and other firemen when the
McCoy child, with severe
bum, as ho ed do n witb
ater at the fire scene in
ovember 1986.
Fire Chief Brown, Mayor
Guy Duna ay, and cny
council members re being
ued for the rongful death of
Antaviou Williams, and
violation of the 1 st, 5th, and
14 Amendments of the U.S.
Co titution. The city is al 0
charged under Georgia la
ith maintaining a "public
nuisance" by allo mg the fire
department to e operated b
persons known to harbor
"racial animus."
Chief Bro n i being sued
individually and in his official
cap City. Other city official
are being sued only in their
official capaci ties.
The law suit also charges
that because the BI kely fire
department is under the
control of an operated by
members of the Invisible
Empire, Knight. of the Ku
Kl ux Klan, the presence of
"racial animus" make it
impossible for the
African-American community
to receive "equal fire
protection ervices."
The lawsuit sires e tbat
Antavious Williams "suffered
excruciating pain and agony"
before dying due to.
"intentional and 'or antonly
negligent" conduct by chief
Brown and firefighters under
his control.
This class action uit ask .
for a monetary award in the
Willi m case and for
injunctive relief, to prevent
the ci ty and fire dep rtment
from impo ing "unequal fire
protection services" on tbe
Africall-American
community. It also calls for a
court order enjoying tbe cl ty
from "maintaining a public
nuisance" in the form of a fire
department operated by
"persons holding extreme
racial animu ."
The Rev. C.T. Vivan,
Chairman of tbe Board of
Directors of the Atlanta-ba ed
Center for Democratic
Rene al (CDR), id that it is
"tragic nd fanta tic irony"
to discover the Klan operating
ANYBODYBUT�HBROSE
I THE 13TH CONGRESSIO AL DISTRICT
DE OCRATIC PRI AIRY RACE 0
TUESDAY,AUGUS�7TH
VOTE FOR A YB0DY BUT
an arm of government in 1990,
on the 25th anniver ary of
passage of tbe 1964 Civil
Rights Act.
"We have come a long way,
yet there are bigoted
anti-democratic element that
want to drag u backwards
into the days of white
supremacy. But we did not
allow it in the' 50 and '60 ,
. and we are certainly not going
to allow it in the '90s-not
one step backward ."
According to the CDR, the
local "klavern" is a part of the
Invisible Empire, Knight of
the Ku Klux Klan, the most
violent of some two dozen
Klan faction in the Uni ted
State. Reprilllfd /rom 1M Voice
PAGE' -
it
informs us t at "we don't
fully underst d tbat botb
Black and w ite children
have a miscon eption about
the role thei respective
p oples bave layed in the
development of ivilization."
•
One step 'in correcting
th� e fla s in tbe public _
school .curriculum a
de eloped by the Portland
BI ck United Front in their
confrontation with the Board
of Education on a variety of
education I issues affecting
African American children.
These confrontations led to
BUF led boycott of tbe
Portland Public School in
1980.
As a re ult the Portland
School Board decided to
accept the community
demand that included the
con ultation of world renown
educators, Dr. Asa iltiard
and Dr. John Henrik Clar e.
Dr. Hilliard began the process
of developing tbe baseline
essays that provide the
rationale for the inclusion of
African and African American
contributions in all a pect of
the curriculum.
-
D�. CLA KE further
point out that" ecau e of the
exaggeration of the live and
achievements of Western
heroe , especial y Christopher
Columbus, scbo I children are
of the opinion t t most of the
world's expl ations a d
discoveries w re made �y
Europeans." now now
that this is "not true and the
miseducation we have
received ha . gi n us another
picture of istory that
s ignificantly xcludes the
contributions 0 African and
African Amer can people
from ancient to the
present.
I
It' Time for a Ne
Vision In
. StateC8 pita I
for the 9t O· trict
Elect" I
AUDREA WILlLIA S
Democr for Stat
Representatl v Hig and
Park, Detroit, Hamtr ck
I
Campaign Heaacwan8lr8
869-2253
Commin to
�een Wil".-ns. Leroy GS • Treast.nr
)
Remember