igh s_ Ve 0:
can no be
Civi
c
By
Dick Gregory stood alone
outside of the White House
ith a sign that called on
Pre ident Bush to remember
all the African American
troop that are facing Saddam
Hu ein in the desert ands of
Saudi Arabia.
Dick Gr e gorys point
wa lis that there i an unac­
ceptable injustice being
played out when the Presi­
dent of the United States can
veto the Civil Rights Act of
1990 while Black troops in
di proportionate numbers are
oversea defending "our
American way of life":
-A way of life where
African Americans are still
the la t hired and the first to
.Prac ice
I n the dai 1 y struggle to
feed, clothe and house 0 r
familie , many parents feel
they don't have time or ener­
gy to pay much attention to
their children' education.
It' tempting to rely on the
chools to do the teaching.
A recent nationwide
government urvey hows
jut ho removed many
parent are from their
children' learning. Nearly
h If of 24,000 eighth grade
tudcnts who were surveyed
aid they never or rarely di -
cus school, with their
p rent.
But our children' educ­
tion is not omething we can
leave olely to the school .
When we parent aren't in­
volved, our children'
achievement generally lags.
Part of the reason, say
Dr, Reginald Clark, an educa­
tional re earcher in
Claremont, California, i that
it take: more than cia room
instruction for children to be­
come good reader, good
thinker. and good mathe­
matician .
Children must practice
ba ric S III over and over
gain to master them. The
chool day is 100 hort to give
children e'no ug ht practice
time at chool. Therefore,
young ter who gel ddition­
. I practice out ide of chool
h ve an advantage.
UR. CLARK'S RE·
EARen 'show that
children who are high
rdle of
be fired;
-A way of life where
racism in the job market still
places a ceiling on the aspira­
tion of young African
Americans eeking to pursue
the "American Dream";
-A way of life where ra­
cial di crimination and the
historical preferential treat­
ment afforded white per­
manently locks huge numbers
of Black people into status
of economic peonage -:- un­
employed, underemployed,
confined to dead end. sub is­
renee jobs.
ONe .. : A(;AIN African
American soldiers are being
a ked to face an "enemy"
abroad when the United
In olerable
olerated
State has yet to eradicate the
enem ies to Black progress
within this nation. I
The Civil Rights Act of
1990 was about economic
justice in the work place. It
w s about the issue of
economic equity and pari ty
for the long deprived sons
and daughters of Africa in
America.
The Civil Right Act of
1990 wa . designed to ensure
that those who have been and
continue to be victimized by
racism in the pursuit of
employment would have the
means to redress their
grievance.
The cosmetics of freedom
are irrelevant if African
Americans remain second
class citizens in the vital life
ustaining arena of employ­
ment and economic develop­
ment.
THE BU H VETO of the
Civil Right act of 1990 is an .
INTOLERABLE ACT whic
African American canno
and mu t .not accept.
African American leader
from acros the U.S. hould
call fot and lead 'massive
demonstations to mobilize
support to override the Bush
veto in the next ses ion of
Congres . There mU'1 be no
retreat and no compromi 'C on
the ubstance, content and in­
tent of the Civil Rights Act of
1990.
African Amcr.ican have
.uffered from thc "illu ion of
progress" too long. The
meager and inadequate gains
of the 60's are being rever ed
players to plan ahead, solve and be a te n hack with the
problems, and use other open endorscment and a is­
academic skills - four or lance of the White Hou e.
five hours. There is no real difference
There are many i rnp le between Reagan and Bu h.
ways 10 help youngsters prac- Some of our Black leaders
rice math skills. Younger have confu ed eICCC' 10 the
children can be encouraged Pre ident with power. All of
to play store or can be a - the mccungs ",jlh Bush have
igned the job of collecting proved futile.
change for the bus or I undry. Indeed on the day of the
Older youngsters can es- veto, John E. Jocobs and Ben­
timate weekly expeses and jamin J. Hooks, two of our
figure out family budgets. mo t prominent Civil Rights
leaders, were left tanding in
DR. CLARK SAYS that the driveway of the White
pi yinggameswithamea�ur- House appealing for yet
ing cvup or measuring out in- another meeting.
gredient for recepie gives Mr. Hook' and Mr. Jacobs,
children practice u ing fr c- it's time 0 u t fo r access'
lion. Sorting laundry help without power, photo oppor­
children understand the con- tunitie for "Mr. kinder and
cept of like and unlike ob- gentler" and meetings
ject . without meaning.
The important thing is to
make uch activitie a regular IT' TIM E F OR mas. ive
part of everyday life 0 that
children are con tanlly using
what they are learning at
chool. .
At firs t _ pare n t mig h t
h ve to make con cious ef­
Iort to turn off the televi ion
et and offer child a library
book or a g me, to talk with.
a child about what he or he
i learning at • chool, or to k
a child to write out the
grocery list.
But without too.much ef­
fort, these thing can become
a part of a child's daily
routine When that happens,
parent have the satisfaction
of knowing they are con­
tributing to thei r chi Idren 's
education ju t surely a
they teacher at chool.
akes High Achievers
Iriln
Wright
Eldelmln
CHILD
WATCH
Dr. Clark urge educators,
parents. and community or­
ganization to m ke sure all
you ngsre rs and e pcci II y
di advantaged young ters :­
have opportunities to par­
ticipate in learning acrivitie
outside oC school.
Since parents have
primary control over how
children pend their free
time, parents can do a 10 to
make ure their children get
.plenty of s ill building pr c­
lice.
That may sound like a big­
ger ta k than it i . M ny of
the le rning activities Dr.
Clark talk about are really
everyday activitie . P rent
ju I need to rememb r they
are import nt and find way
to get their children to do
more of them.
HERE· RE SOME of the
activities Dr. Clar suggests
and the amount of time he
recommends that children
spend on them each week:
_ Homework �- five or
ix hour a week.
- Serious conver arion
with p rents, other adult ,
and peers - four or rive
hours.
- Reading for fun, or
being read to - four or five
hour.
_ Writing.of all kinds
(grocery lists, telephone mes­
sages, letter, diary entries)
- one or I 0 hour .
- Playing ames like
MonopOly, Scrabble, and
Dominoe , which require
ICBIGAN CITIZEN PAG .. : 5
IVIL DISOBEDIENCE if
ecessary to lei Bush, the
.S. and the world know that
he ho t of intolerable act
hich h ve been heaped upon
lack people in thi counrty
ver the last decad will no
longer be tolerated.
Black leaders went 10 jail
n the Free South Africa
movement, correctly and
couragcousty standing for
Iree dorn in South Africa.
Black leaders mu I now, in
the pirit of Martin Luther
King, fill up the jail of thi
nation until America ha
agreed to face n elf and own
up to the per i tence of
raci. m, economic exploita­
tion and economic inju tice
in this society.
Jo eph Lowery will you
tep forward to lead us?
Eleanor Holme Norton are
you down with lhi propo i:
ti o n? Mary France. Berry
will you leave the con­
ference/commission table to
take to the treet with u ?
Coretta Scott King will
you lead u in living Ie .. on
in non-voilent ocial Change
by spearheading orne
seriou t rce t" c tion of
January 15 and April 41
Je se L. Jack on c n we
count on you to Ie d a
rusade to regain our dignity
nd elf-respect a we fight
ack1
Either our leader. will
J .ade u or the people will
ave to lead the lcaucrs. It'�
t me for the Black n lion to
r sc up and it 'et its If.
"Power concede nothing
i thout a demand, it never
and it never wil)'"
Marian Wright Edelman is _
president of the Children's
Defense Fund, a national
"Dice for children.
