tion.
me n 0 tri in
their 0 n reedom.
Once in the of
fric n Americ n iruu lly
hunned. Only fter numerou
union defe t t the h nd of the
Confeder te Army nd fter
nu-dr ft riot in ew Yor nd
other northern citie did
br h m Lincoln ree to
recruit Afric n Americ n to
help turn the tide 0 the r.
More th n 75,000 Afric n
Americ n fought in the Civil
W r in hite led e re are d
unit where they received- le
p y th n their white counter­
p rt . After the w r, African
Americ n were "freed" into a
ho tile nd egreg ted society.
In World War I,. 370.000
Afric n Americ ns were drafted
into the rmed force�. Fighting
were
te .
I 1 1 troop
returned hom from victoriou
w r effort. 26 race riot erupted
aero the nation.
In ome in t nee Black 01-
dier were aulted nd killed
in their uniform by white
mob . So ferociou were the t-'
tack on Blac s throughout the
country that historian have
dubbed 191 the year of the
bloody "Red Summer".
More than 100 African
ti n­
ttle
mu t fight,
I t u fight for
Ju t ndhum n
oel ty right h r In
th Unit d Stat
In Viet N m, African
Americans suffered from 30-
35� of the frontline casualtie .
No one dare challenge the
pa triotism of African BLAC Americ '5
American . mo t patient patriot . But now
Over nd over again e have our p trioti m mu t be in pired
been eager to fight in America' :bya higher calling.
wars even when "our country" - African American must op-
did not want our service. pose the war in the Persian
ROil Dalliel serve a Pre l­
dellt of the 111 tltute lor Co -
mUllity Or allizatioll alld
Develop ent ill You"g tOWlI,
Ohio. He may be cOlltacted lit
(216) 746-5747. .
IN THE MERIC
Revolutron it elf some 5,000
EDITORIAL
. ,
81 ek Vole
on war
Stop the 'Gulf 'War!
By Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr ..
The dropping of thousands of
tons of bombs on Iraq and Kuwait
by United States led allied forces
in the Persian Gulf has not in­
creased the chances for peace in
the Middle East. Clearly, war is
not the answer but now war has'
become the central problem. We
have gone on record before con­
demni ng the Persian Gulf War.
Aggression responded to by
aggression does not' bring peace.
Now mi 11 ions of. persons
throughout the world wonder
what are the ultimate objectives
of the current offensive military
·operations being conducted by
the allied forces. Is it the libera­
tion of Kuwai t or is it the domina­
tion by Western powers of the
production and control of one of
the world's largest sources of oil? '"
Here in the United States' the
poor and the homeless. no longer
receive national attention. It is as
if our "national conscience" has
become; telescopically addicted
to the daily allied military brief:
ings which reveal the extent to
which the nation's military and
foreign pol icy objectives are
being accomplished in the Per-
sian Gulf. '
We believe that the true test of
patriotism is the courage to speak
the truth about one's nation, par­
ricularly in a time of war. We are
opposed to the Persian Gulf War
not only because, of the dis­
proportion of African Americans
and other minority soldiers
pre ently involved in Operation
Desert Storm, but also because
we maintain that no human life
- Black or white" American or
Iraqi should be sacrificed for oil.
In addition, the .geo-potiticat
realities of the Middle East
demand that attention be given
to the need for justice for all of
the peoples of the region in­
cl usive of the plight of the people
of Palestine.
.G. .J
Benjamin
Chavis
ate cease fire in the Persian Gulf,
Although the Pentagon has raised
objections to the news media
coverage at Dover Air Force Base
of the return of the bodies of our
soldiers killed in this war, the
tragic impact of President Bush's
decision to militarily attack Iraq
will increasingly be felt by
numerous communi tie
throughout the nation.
Walter Cronkite of CBS News
correctly asked, "What is our na­
tion to hide ... why is the military
making the same mistake that
they made in Vietnam in terms of
not leveling with the. people of
our nation?"
We do not subscribe to the so­
called "just war theory!' We are
for a "just peace" solution to the
conflict in the Middle East. The
church community and the civil
rights community need to con­
tinue to playa leadership role in
the revived U.S. peace move­
ment.
The billions of dollar being
expended on Operation Desert
Storm in the Persian Gul f is
directly related to the growing
despair and poverty here at home.
Our nation's priorities are in the
wrong place.
What happened to the "new
w'orld order" that was proclaimed
last year? We who live in the
United States cannot afford to
remain silent. United our voices
can make a difference. Stop the
Persian Gul f War! Bring all the
troops home! Peace and justice
in the Middle East!
J •
•
Taking A Good Look
By Danny R. Cooks '
The U.S.' Government can see far eDoulb abead
to believe Its Interests are beiDa fed
when foreign poor eat AmerlcaD bread.
While, up the street, ID our native land
folks nght to eat from garbage cans
cause in the belly of the bea t
bunger pain compete ,
for anytblng that moves
a a source of food.
Now comes the Engler word that Justice won't be erved
wltb handout to all folks - ,
, ' I
some must make do �Ith ketcbup oup.
seasoned with 'half-empty bopes.
As a matter of fact, polltielaD� stress,
not everybody bould ask for liapplDels.
Only tbe pursuit of bapplne Is guaraDteed _
we bane t tbe fruit, tbey maY'supply the eed.
Plowing under tbelr crops ID return for lubsldlel
some farmer ,bave dropped their deDlal of lreed.
Reckle s price supports to tobacco growers
end poor folks hope for falrnes mucb lower.
Meanwhile Inner-city welfare moms
compete with dad for dlmlDlshlDg Jobs
wblle helping rich men ID business suits
blre tbelr friends and share tbe loot,
but only giving them tbe end of boot.
WheD they're both out of ork dad caD't come around
'cause if he does, she's burt; they cut ber welf.re
check down. '
DI!lde and conquer poor familles Is tbe motto of A.F.D.C.
A poor, uneducated male'S be t hope
for urvlval is stealing, COD game, or selllni dope
but at the end of this short, one-way road
I a two-piece matcblng et of prtson clothes, I
unless omethln else stop bls time clock -
burying bls wealtb In a cheap, pine box.
We aU know someone wbo beat the odd,
wltb a handgun or 41ft from God. .
Expecting a mlr cle too many of u leave
tbls vicious circle belnl deceived. .
From Goldl-Loek to Mother Goo e,
tbe Three Little Bear, and Doctor Sues
all the way up to the pfe-In-tbe- ky,
we're force-fed a vlclou lie.
Tbe only purpo e for these untruths
I 0 buslne can work u black and blue.
You ee, the U.S. Gove-rnment can look far eDoulb. ead'
to keep u on the Idellne utile' de.d.
:,'
One of the many reasons to celebr te Black History Month is
to learn from those who have gone before. We share some
thoughts from few of history's greats which we think have
relevance for America t war.
Mu d All, boxer tIIId pacifist,· who in refusing to be drafted
bithe U. S. Army for service in Viet Nam; forfeited his championship:
"The real enemy of my people is right here." (AprillS. 1967)
, "Right no ,in Louisville, Kentucky, my people are being clob­
bered and stoned ... for simply demanding the right to live in the
• t
WE CALL FOR an immedi-
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C.... w. ChestDutt never finished grade school, yet he
prepared himself to teach, established a legal and stenography busi­
IIUS, studied law, passed the bar and wrote over fifty short
storiu, lIumerous essays, and three nove He lived in Cleveland,
Ohio from 1858 to 1932. He said:
"Those who set in motion the forces of evil cannot always
control them afterwards."
Dr. M.rtln Luther KJ , Nobel Peac� Prize winner, wrote in
1967:
"Wisdom born of experience should tell us that war is obsolete.
There may have been a time when war served as a negative good
by preventing the spread and growth of an evil force, but the
destructive power of modern weapons eliminates even the pos­
sibility that war may serve, any good at all. If we assume that life is
worth.livingand that man has a right to survive, then we must find
an alternative to war. •
In a day when vehicles burtle through outer space and guided
ballistic missiles carve highways of dc;ath through the stratosphere',
no nation can claim victory in war. A so called limited war will
leave little more than a calamitous legacy of .. human .suffering,
political turmoil and spiritual disillusionment: -
A world war will leave only smoldering ashes as mute testimony
of a human race whose folly led inexorably to ultimate death .. If
modern man continues to flirt unhesitatingly with war, he will
transform his earthly habitat into an inferno such as even the mind
of Dante could not imagine."
And finally, a proverb from the Berbers: "Silence is the door of
consent,"
t I
THE MICHIGAN CITIZEN
Published eech
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Publisher: Charle. D. Kelly ,
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Editor: Ter .a K lIy ,
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Correspondents:
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Leah S muel8
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.'