UARY 17-23, 1 1
yR
n
Corr pondent
Terri Brayn n- Willi ms, 24-
ye r-old Benton H rbor mother
h d to put her educ tion on hold
nd I v her hu b nd nd three
children to 0 nd erve her
country.
Br yn r- Willi m , a L nee
Corporal in the M rine left
Febru ry 11, to report to C mp
Lejeune, in North Carolin where
he will be rationed until he
. receive further order.
She had bec n on in ctive
re erve or two year and wa a
full-time tudent trying to fini h
her educ tion while he took
course to complete a bu ine
administration degree at Jordan
College. Benton Harbor.
by Derrick C. Lewl
Staff Writer
Saying her 17-year-old son is
.. not available for military service,
a di traught mother let the
Detroit Board of Education know
that he does not want military
recruiters phoning her home ,
saying they called three times.
During the board's open forum
last Tuesday, citizens expressed
their concern about Detroit
schools possibly releasing stu
dent information to military
recruiters, and what type of
Image the schools are presenting
to the tudent pertaining to
Operation Desert Storm.
One man, who cited the
various religious organizations
which expressed opposi tion to a
war said, "Do we inform our stu-
n ' .. ' 1 ,�., n t l
en on
Ci iz n p ulf war,
recrui ing on chool ag
dent of the unanimou deCision have a policy in the F mily and
by our religious leaders to con- Student Ri ht Act of 1974,
dernn the war?" which prohobet the relea e of
Board member Gloria Cobbin . family and tudent information.
aid the war i a current event and Board Pre ident Lawrence
hould be in the social tudie Patrick echoed Porter, and s id
curriculum, so that all views he didn't think individual chool
could be presented.
. The Student Youth Committee
of the Coalition to Stop U.S. In
tervention in the Middle Ea t, re
quested that all Detroit school
have an informational meeting on
Feb. 23, to educate student on
the war issue.
Board member Kay Everett in
tends to pre ent a resolution at
the next board meeting, stating
the board does not support releas
ing student information to
military or business recruiters.
School Superintendent John
Porter says the schools already
By Bernice Brown
Correspondent
BENTON HARBOR - The newl y
formed group, Citizens for Ac
tion Committee, demanded ac
tion and got it.
The gr9 up held the i r thi rd
meeting at Progressive Mission
ary Baptist Church, February 5,
which over 70 people attended.
According to Annie Spann,
Chairperson for CAC, the pur
pose of the meeting was to ad
dress two issues, "The lighting
and abandoned homes in the City
of Benton Harbor."
David Krieger, Power En
gineer with the Indiana &
Michigan Power Company was
invit d to address the lighting
problem and Marcia Ferris. In
spection Department Director
with the City of Benton Harbor
who was invited to address the
abandoned home problem, never
showed up.
A panel of seven people, con-
sisting of Eddie Jones,
Terri id he
telecommunic tion
the M rine .
or
hile
in
ith
da
Africans demand 'reparations for slaverY
Continued from Page 1 '
slave labor in the Americas "We don't want the world to �id.a and the presidents
and for exploitation of their believe that having given us of Togo and Senegal called for
lands by European colonizers political independence, having Africa's foreign debt to be
in the 19th and 20th centuries. dealt with apartheid, they written off as compensation for
They trace the lack of should now feel that they have slavery, Reuters reports.
economic growth on the con- solved all the problems of the They cite as precedent Ger
tinent to the loss of tens of mil-. Africans," Abiola said. "The many, which had to pay for
lions of people and colonial ex- debts are the financial yoke damages caused during World
ploitation.' . , that has come to replace War I and for the Nazi
Africans began their formal colonialism and slavery." holocaust in World War II.
m ov e for e con 0 m i c jus tic e "If the Jew s can r e c e i ve
when a committee was formed ONE IDEA WINNING cur- reparations, what makes the
at a December conference' in rent approval calls for a U.S.- West not feel morally guilty for
Lagos, Nigeria, the Reuters style Marshall Plan, which its centuries of pillage and
report says. helped to rebuild Europe after atocities in Africa?" asked
The African committee in- World War II, and the write- Yusufu Mamman, spokes per-
eludes Moshood Abiola, a off of Africa's foreign debt to on for Nigeria's vice presi-
politician and form�r. vice western powers - estimated at dent.
president of Int e r n at i on a l $'250 billion. ' Last year, the U. \ ecret ary
Telephone and Telegraph . Nigerian President Ibrahim of the Treasury - on his knee
Corp. for Africa and the Mid- Babangida urged the new Mar- asking forgiveness
dle East; Jamaica's high com- shall Plan. "The ervices of our presented the first check t a,
missioner in Nigeria, Dudley forefathers in the American Japanese American in repara
Thompson; and Bernie Grant, a plantations were unrewarded tions for four years of intern
Black British parliamentarian. and unpaid for," he said, as "ex- ment in camps during World
Now that South Africa ap- ploitation of Africa during the War II. Each Japanese
pears on track for majority period of colonial rule further American who had goods con-·
rule, Abiola said, world atten- impoverished us and enhanced fiscated by the government or
lion 'should focus on compen- the development of the West." spent time in the camps .will
sating the continent ��r lost At a January meeting in receive $20,000 from the U.S.
development opportumties. Lome, the Togo capital, taxpayer
homeowner; Joan Groeschel, As
sistant Director of the Explorer
Scout Post 606; Annie Spann,
• •
CAC Chairperson; Benton Har-
bor Patrolman Williard Roddy;
Ella McKenzie, homeowner;
Mary McKee, homecare worker;
and Ricky Hill.
Ricky Hill expressed his con
cerns about street light not
working and others not giving
out enough light. Hill said where
the lighting is bad, that is where
some of the highest criminal ac
tiv.itie occur. "There are drug
dealers, assaults, and rapes oc
curing in poor lighting," he said. ,
Patrol man Wi lliard Roddy,
said when' the police department
gets a complaint about drug
dealers on corners and shooting,
they go to investigate and they
can't .tell who's in the shadows
becau e of poor lighting.
RODDY SAID the biggest
push the department has is the
"neighborhood watch". "We try
to get the block clubs tog ther,
were relea ing inform tion,
aying the tuuents might have
done it them elves.
Frank Hayden, board vice
president, said "Right now: un
less we can do something with
the economy to improve life for
the African American, we can
kiss the military goodbye." He
ays lack of preparedness and
high homicide rates will prevent
Black male from reaching the
military. "We have to deal with
reali ty," aid Hayden.
tell them to watch out for each
other ... it's kind of hard to tell
them to watch out for their neigh
bor when they can't ee What's
going on around their own hou e.
Lighting is very important."
Questions such as who Is
responsible for the repair of
street 1 ights, who to call to get
more street lights, and who to
contact when there are trees
blockingthe light re asked.
Krieger said the City of Ben
ton Harbor has a contract wi th
I&M to maintain the street lights.
He said I&M goc by the rules of
the Michigan Public Service
Commission. where if someone
calls in and report a non-working
light, 1& M must fix the light
within two working days.
He said in the residential area,
if citizens wanted more lights
they would have to inform the
City, because the city commis
slonrnu t approve all removal
and installation of lights.
Krieger aid a way to get more
lighting in your neighborhood is
there.
it me
come bac "
.• 'l'.
Murray Wright High School color guard, pre entlng colors at Detroit School board meetlna lalt
Tut: day.
to get everyone on the block to
fill out a petition and turn it into
the ci ty.
HE AL. 0 AID anyone can
call the I&M office at 927-2461
and ask for the dispatcher and tell
them about the street lights that
are out, (even if the light is dim
or blinking). "You.don't have to
wait until you get a list of them.
just call, he encouraged the
citizens.
"I would happy to install all
of the treet lights that. the city
would want to have installed, be
cause our company makes money
on that, that' what we are in
business for," aid Krieger.
The citizens got the action that
they wanted, because the very
next day, I&M was out fixing
lights and trimming trees.
Marcia Ferris, who was in
vited 'to att nd the meeting and
agreed to be there, was to address
the issue of abandoned houses,
i but Ferris never showed up. A Lt.
Rory Bell, with the Benton Har-
• bor Fire Department showed up
in her place.
ANNIE
I'ANN said there
they are tired of ruins 'and are them, I'll have them in my
determined to get rid of them. house."
Mrs. McKenzie said she has
THERE WERE testimonie been living on Main Street for 31
from Eddie Jones, Ella Kenzie years and there were quite a few
and Patrolman Williard oddy. abandoned houses on Main
Eddie Jones who live on Ter- Street. She stated the city has
ritorial, complained about an torn some of them down, but
abandoned house next door to his there are still some left.
property that has been vacant for "I am sick and tired of all these
man·y years. He said he has been rat infected houses! dog infected
complaining about the house ever houses! cat infected house, drug
since ex-mayor Wilce Cooke was infected houses! anti thud plan-
in office. ning their murders ... all these
"I am sick and tired of looking things are happening in Benton
at that abandoned house, because Harbor and I'm ick and tired of
it's making me look shame ... I them," said McKenzie.
have small children and my wife The group will hold their next'
and kids are scared they might meeting Wednesday, February
get bit by rats." 20, at 7 p.m. at the NISE Office,
Jones said he had to put up a 175 W. Mai fl St.
fence aroundhis property to keep Spann said the group will 'be
the big rats and ground hogs out. looking for issues.
"If it wasn't for my dog killing.,
I
I
I
·1
were about 2 0 abandoned build
ing in the community. "We are
tired of being frightened that
abandoned homes will catch on
fire and burn our houses down." ,
"We are tired of worrying that
drug pu her and other criminals
are u ing the e abandoned homes
to hide drugs, stolen propertie or
commit crimes," aio Span. "We
are tired of these ruins and this
meeting is about getting rid of
these ruins in our community."
"People may visit Rome and
see ruins and call it culture and
hi tory. They may visit Athen
and call it the foundation of
we tern civilization. They visit
the Holy Land and ee ruins and
call it a beautiful Bibical
land cape, and it make them feel
clo er to our Lord."
"But when people visit Benton
Harbor, they see ruins and call it
poverty, decay, deterioration and
di grace," she said.
She aid, ruins may have their
place in Rome, Athens or the
Hoi y Land. but in Benton Harbor
Student teeteecres lag
by Derrick C. Lewi
Stall Writer '
on 14 others will not be available
until June 30.
. "We are pleased we are
making progress ... We have
begun to move in the di n
toward ati factory perfo
mance," aid Detroit School Su
perintendent John' Porter.
The school district urpas ed
its goal of decreaslng tudent
code violations from 23 percent
to 21 percent, to seven percent,
The student daily auendance
rate increased from 85 to 91 per
cent, the stated goal was 87 per
cent.
The Detroit School District'
stated goals for Michigan Educa
tion Accessment Program
(MEAP) te t scores in re ding
and cience were not met, but
there were increases, according
to the 1990-91 District Progre s
Report relea ed at last Tuesday's
school board meeting.
The d i trict w nted to. increase
test score in the reading
category from 14 to 26 percent,
but only managed a four percent
increase.
Science scores increased from
1 to 2 percent, the stated goal
wa 37 percent.
Although goals were not met
in the e two 'MEAP categories,
the math core met the goal of
62 percent. up one percentage
point r m the la t te ting.
CHOOL DISTRICT goals
were met to establish Siandard
for the percentage of upplies,
material, and, equipment
delivered to chools on time, but
in actual practice the Objective
wa not met, coring only a 2.5
on a 1.0-4. cale, the goal wa a
2.7 aver gc.
Standard for providing clean,
afe, and attractive schools were
e tabli hed, but the re ults were
the arne a above.
The di trict did manage to
maintain a b lanced budget
during 1990-91, of approximate
ly one billion dollar.
TilE DI TRI -WID
grade point average of 2.3 wa
not met, tudent are averaging a
2.1 on a 1.0 to 4.0 cale.
Amid orne drawback, al
together, 14 performance Objec
tive were met by the di trier on
it 1990-91 Report Card, and data
. -'