Emerging from ble k 8�' ,
Blacks face dire tim s in 90's
B Trabiaa Shorten
Capilill News Service
Co"espon:delll
LANSJ G--E�onomic reces-
ion in Michig n could mean
another depression in
Michigan' urban reas and a
disproportionate rise in Black
unemplo t, 0 'ng
urb n official .
A study released by the
alional Urban' League
silo ed a dramatic reversal in
the eighties in tbe equality of
w g earned by Blacks and
whites in the Midwest.
In 1979, for every dollar
that Bla k earned in tbe
region, hites e rned $1.30.
In 1 88, for every dollar a
Blac person amed in the
idwe r, white person
earned 1.99 ccording to the
tudy.
"The turnaround in t e
ilion of BI f mil' in
the Midwest during the
eighties is reflected in the fact
that they went from being the
region ith the highest Black
income and the lowest ine
quality in th seventies, to the
region with t lowest Black
income nd highest degree of
inequality in the eightie ," the
y
Tbi trend will not only
continue but will worsen, said
Michigan Dernocr tic Black
C ucu Cbairperson David
Holme D-Detroit.
·With the (Michigan)
deficit a it j there will be
very little change," Holmes
aid. "There will be fewer
opportunitie in the next few
years."
While Michigan outp ce
the rat pf the United States in
creating new job for BI c
from 1982 to 1988, the Blac
unemployment rate s cis at
15 percent for the tate and
r te ion
, not racial
J
ctlpital News Service Cpspondent .
LA SI G - The tension between Detroit and it
uburb is not raci I, but economic, s y Detroit
rea legisiators.
But in a ov. 8 intervie with ABC-TV,.Detroit
Mayor Coleman Youag said the suburb are raci t
and do not want Blacks in their eommunity. Young
a featured in a ·Prime Time Live" report on the
problem in Detroit. '
acomb County is certainly not an elitist re . I
don't hink M comb perceives itself as racist," said
Rep. Sharon Gire, D-Mt. Clemens.
Many r e idents simply fear urban problems,
such as unemployment and tran portaion may be
Co tI cd 0 P e 9
J. W
9qjiuU News Service Correspondent
LANSING - A 11 local -...,____...------- ........ ------.......-.,,
firearms regulations could
be iped out if a bill spon
sored by Rep. Jerry Bartnik,
D-Temerpance, becomes
law.
The bill has pa ed the
Senate and awaits a vote by
the Hou e.
ecently approved by the
Hue Committee on
Touri m, Fisheries, and
Wildlife, the measure would
prohibit local governments
from enacting any local or
dinance that extends gun
control regulations beyond
t e realm of st te law.
Michigan Municip I
League President Woodro
Stanley aid hi a ociation
11.7 percent for the nation.
MICHIGAN'.. unemploy
ment rate is 7.5 percent while
the national rate i just over
5.5 percent.
Unemployment in
Michigan ha chmbed.8 per
cent in th la I year. For
Bt . chi an t m n a
2.4 percent incrc e beca e
Black unemployment ha
grown at three time the rat
of whit ince 19 �, accord
ing to a document released by
the MiChigan Council of'
Urban Leagu Executives.
In term of equality of
wage and unemployment,
Michigan ranked behind the
South in 1988.
The median income for
Southern Blac familie in
1988 w $17,545 compared
to $31,475 for white. In
Midwest Black families it w
Co tinued on I'. 9
oud
ichigan citie nd vil-
lage thinks the legislatio
i no very afet� con cious.
"I incerely hope our
legi lator do 't hoot
the elves in the foot by
p s ng a law to ullify local
fire 0 dinances
designed to protect our
citizens from irre ponsible
gun owners," St nley id in
a prep red tatement. (
SI C 0 TATE law
exi t to prohibit per on
from c rrying a loaded
firearm on city streets, the
bill would "push Michigan
back to the era of the
less frontier," he said.
"We don't think the
people of Michigan w nt to
return to the days of the
'wild we t' when per on
could walk down the street
brandis ing a loaded
firearm with impuni y,"
Stanley said.
Continued on P 9
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