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1
This Week In
Black History
•
ANSWERS TO
- -
QUESTIONS
MA CH 25,
01 ck explorer J Dod·..,
t out in e ch of the
orth t P e. 1 2-
o peVpop
born. 1965 -
Vlo DO w killed t
H ynevillc, AL on Civil
ight March to. elm ,AL.
1931 -' ot boro "ar-
rested t Point Roc , Ala.
Who is the author of
"Man child in the Promised
Landr
MARCH 26, 1872 ,197
Tho • J. artla w
awarded patent for fire extin
guisher. 1911 - Will H.
LewI became istant At
torney General for U.S. 1962
AUIU t ava e.
sculptres , died. 1934 -
Donald Bailey, drummer,
was born.
J.Yhich religious group was
rust to admit Blacks on an in- .
tegrated basis and without
restrictions?
MARCH 27, a28 -
Sarah Vaupaa, inger, was
born. '1934 .- Arthur
Mitchell, dancer, choreog
rapher, was born. 1979 -
Earvla "M e" Jo a on lead
Michigan State to NCAA
title, earning MVP honors.
mao was the founder of the
1tl Life Insurance Com-
I JHlnY'l t t,.
. MAR� 1935 - Poet
Couatee ,Cullea received
honorary N.Y.U. Phi Beta
Kappa Key. 1896 - Clarenee
(Pia Top) SUb, blues
singer, was born.
What is the annual per
capita income in the nation of
Haiti?
MARCH 29, 1918 -
Pearl BaIley, entertainer, was
born. 1982 - Freshman
MldaaeI JordaD hit the win
ning shot as UNC won the
NCAA basketball cham
pionship over Georgetown.
Which Black inventor
revotuntionized the NYC
transportation system with his
device? ..
MARCH 30, 1870 - 15th
Ameacimeat ratified by Con
gress, giving Blacks the right
to vote. 1941 - Natloaal
Urbaa Leque urged equal
participation for Blacks in
national defense program.
1905 - �or (B" Maceo)
Merriweather, blues singer,
was born. 1886 - J. Ricks, .
patented horseshoe.
Con you name the Black
all-star baseball player who
was niclauuned "Bad Henryt"
24th - The late Bayard
Rustin.
25th - Claude Brown of
New York City.
26th - Quakers - the
Society of Friends, in 1752 at
Germantown, PA. Not
without a hassle.
27th - C.C. Spaulding.
28th - About $100.
29th - Granville T.
Woods with his "third rail" in
vention. Early subway
workers referred to it
derisively as' "the nigger in-
, venti�n." Many lost jobs as a
result of the third rail.
30th - Henry Aaron of
the · Milwaukee and Atlanta
Braves.
- Compiled by
BERNICE BROWN ·
TH I I IAL "Agent
Orange Compensation Bill"
was first dr fted, introduced
and co-sponsored by Michigan
Congressman David Bonior
(D) Mt. Clements, Thomas
Da chle (D) South Dakota,
and Bob Edgar (D) Pennsyl
vania, in March 1983.
Th t ver ion covered only
three pecific disabilities, soft
tissue cancers, porphyria
cutanea larda, a liver disorder;
active and residual chloracne,
and chloracneform lesions, a
skin disorder.
The Veterans Administra
tion, which received. more than
19,0 0 Agent Orange comnen-
. �W � -oir' ll¥� . F.. q,
m inlaiD th l, "there w S 'DO
proof th t exposure to the
defoliant was harmful."
However, veterans groups
and other organizations across
the country vigorously and
continiously maintained that,
"expos ure to the herbicide
Agent Orange, causes cancer,
liver diseases, and skin ail
ments, and birth defects in the
children of servicemen ex
posed to it."
. Agent Orange got its name
from being shipped to Vietnam
in "orange crates."
AGENT ORANGE is a plant
killing chemical herbicide
w ich e ten ively u ed in
ietn m to ill jungle foli ge
h r e n my troop could
ide, nd coat in the con-
t in nt Dio in, one of the
mo t to i cont min nt
no n to hum n indo
According to June 1978
report, "Iowin h hi Ie
on A ent Or nge," by Miob el
Uhl, nd Todd Ensign:"M -
ive defoli tion warn jor
t ctic pursued by U.S. force in
Vietn m."
It h d two objective: to
deny uerril s their jungle
cover n d to de troy food
crop so th t the peasantry
popul tion vo uld be com
pelled to t ke refuge in con
trolled resettlement camps.
The defoli nt was widely
used in outhe st Asi be
tween 1962-1971 to defoliate
more than five-million acres of
the Vietnamese countryside.
Since th t spraying, over 7,000
Vietnam veterans h ve filed
cl ims that they are suffering
ailment caused by exposure to
. the chemic I defoliant. Al 0,
more th n 10,000 Vietnam
veterans were joined in the
"class action suit" which ac
cused nine companies which
made the herbicide, including
the Dow Chemical Co., of Mid
land. Michigan.
There are many controver
sial questions surrounding the
Agent Orange dilemma, that
many veterans feel are still un
answered. Although many
veterans welcome the long
awaited passage of the bill,
many are skeptical, and say the
bill is full of loop holes.
Lester Kooman, a Michigan
Vietnam veteran who serves as
the 'Veterans Service Officer
(VVA)' for Vietnam Veterans
of Americ Chapter #9
(V AO} in e it s-ay Viet
Dam veterans should write'
their uConsreumen and
Senators urging them to push
for faster ervice in cutting
thru red tape." Kooman also
believes, that many symptons
of Agent Organ's effects on
Vietnam vets do not show up
for 20-30 years, and therefore,
the VA Administration should
not close out the claims of vets
who have filed for compensa
tion. Kooman wants the VA t
keep the claims active, and
also, "separate the Agent
Orange claims from other pos
sible chemical exposu e
claims, as well expand
present legislation to cover a
wid r r nge for vet children.
oom ny, "VA i till
rejecting ome cl im of Viet
n m vet nd their f milie ,
ho h ve pplied for di -
bility... he U. government
i dr g ing it feet in proce -
ing the claim of vet who y
th y believ th t they were e -
po ed to gent Or nge and
other di e ses cquired while
rving in Vietn m, he sid.
Kooman cit done c se involv
ing a Michig n Vietn m
veteran, who died ever 1
ye r go from c nc r , which
the vet claimed was caused as
result of hi expo ure to
Agent Orange while erving in
Vietn m. Kooman ys the
vet's wife has had to file
�ver I times, and still has not
h d her late hu band's claim
accepted, although her hu -
band has been dead for almost
five-years.
in youths by helping them find
things to do that requires them
to accept responsibility. The
program encourages teens to
participate in community ser
vice, and offers them the op
portunity to make decisions
and learn from these decisions.
"This program is right on
target. It is designed to give
kids a boost, to show them they
count, and that they have the
power to make a diffe ce in
their own lives and in the com-
munity," says Kool Moe Dee.
Last year, through Nestle's
Very Best Awards program,
more than 110,000 children
throughout the U.S. were
provided opportunities 0
achieve their personal best in
the arts, athletics, fitness, and
community service programs.
THIS YEAR'S PROGRAM
is a half million dollar effort
for youths to p- rticipate in the
program. "We were committed
to developing a program that
would offer support to a sig
nificant number of young
people, not Just the high-level
achievers who traditionally win
top prizes," said Frank Ar
thofer, president of Nestle's.
"Our approach· focuses on
rewarding programs and or
ganizations, rather than in
dividuals. The key difference
here is that kids, not executive
boards or government agen
cies.will decide how the money
will be spent," he said.
The program will support
projects in the areas of educa-
W Umi
•
I
pro r
by
H
MU
developin the fir t program
prim rily directed t i tin
minority medic 1 tudent.
The progr m, developed by
Whitt n, include year-long
tudy 0 biology nd
chemi try, n introduction to
me i I chool tudy,
academic and tutori I s ill
training, and per on I 4ju t-
ent coun eling.
Fourteen tudent re
mitted to the program e ch
year, wi th guaranteed dmi
ion to the WSU medical
chool if high grade-point
verage are mint ined. In
the pa t 17 year, 107 t u
dent admittcd have
graduated from WSU's School
of Medicine.
Simmons aid that 1 new
program will be added thi
fall. B rdo commented that a
national shortage of qualified
minority phy ician demand
greater a c c e s to medical
training
"Without these types of
program, the tate of
heal hcare w�uld e ch
worJse '0 f rflan I cUrren y is.,
We need to find the re ources
to train and educate pro pee-
t i v e minorit tudent, be-
cause a o( w they are
underrcpre ente in the field.
A the situation land cur
rently, it i aby mal."
Corre pondtnl
COLUMBU • Ohio - Wayne
Stale Univer ity' medical
DAVE T EVI 0, a Marine school i viewed a a model
veteran-who served in Vietnam for u c c e Fu l minority
from 1966-1969, and is also a recruitment and educ lion,
member of VVA#9 says, according to Dr. Ch a r l ct
"America creat d it. America Whitt n , a ociate dean for
used it. And now 'we' do not curricular affair at the WSU
want to acknowledge it." School of Medi inc.
Trevino says, "the present Whitten wa the keynote
Agent Orange legislation speaker at the recent National
merely took vets off of one Po t-Bacca laureate Programs
bridge, and put them on . Conference ... Thi year'
another waiting bridge ... this meeting focu ed on the need
(new) Agent Orange legisla- of minority tudent who are
tion is just another way to academically and financially
prolong and delay paying com- ill-prepared for college or
pensation to the Vietnam vets po t-graduate education in
who were exposed. the medical field.
Both veteran, Kooman and "The conference got
Trevino agree however, that profe lonat from acros the
although the recent passage of co u n t ry to d i c u S the
the Act, is major step in the prospect of po t-bac-
right direction, they still c a l a u r e a t c pro rams," aid
wonder how the compensation Julia Simmon, director of
money will be distributed. minority recruitment at WSU.
"Who will decide which vets "What we are about i in-
will got w at mou t ad fo c�e l,in dt,he e j �ir rfOdO� �f
howIong will the benefi be qua I i e m I n or i y me I a
paid." One dilemma that "has chool candidate ." explained
consistently clogged the Agent: Dr. Harold Bardo, a ociate
a . d k • f pro f e s o r 0 f me d i c a led u c a-
rangeJ-lssue an ept It rom t ion at Sou the r n I II i no i
progressing, has been the
problem of: Who will even- School of Meicine.
tually pay the millions of
Agent Orange compensation
dollars? The companies who
made the herbicide, or the
U.S. government, who used it.
Veterans in need of Agent
Orange assistance or informa
tion should call the Agent
Orange Hotline at 1-800-252-
4712 pr I-S00-MIC- Viet.
i'
'I,
I
i
I.
Ne tie program puts kids in charge
by DERRICK C. LEWIS
Staff Writer
Museum of African American Hlstor), Executive Director Dr.
M rian Moore and Wayne State Univer Ity Presideat Ada
Adamany. (Photo by D. Lewl )
,
The Urb n League dinner w s gathering o� Detroit'. leader.
hlp, as Detroit City Council Pre Ident Maryann Ma arrey and
ew Detroit Pre ident P ul Hubbard exchange comments.
(Photo by D. Lewi ).
The Nestle Chocolate Co.
has introduced a program into
the me.tro-Detroit area
designed to boost the self-es
teem of area youth.
It will be providing $10,000'
for youth to design their own
program to help their com
munity. The Nestle Chocolate
Very Best in Youth Program
jumped off on Feb. 28 in·
Washington D.C., with rap art-
. ist Kool Moe Dee acting as
honorary chairperson of the
program.
He explained his role, "Rap
pers are effective at reaching
the kids because the kids are
listening, It's up to us to be
role models and give some
thing back to them, and to the
community."
Here in Detroit', about 10
youth service organizations
gathered at the 4H Building
March 11, to set criteria for the
program. The program will be
a joint effort by the organiza
tions to present the criteria to
their youth, where the youth
will come together and decide
how they will spend the money.
SOME OF THE criteria dis
cussed at the meeting was that
the program should impact
large numbers of youth, that it
promotes interaction of city
and suburban youth, that it will
make a lasting impact, and that
it will build upon an existing
program or create something
new.
Nestle believe that the
program will build self-esteem
Kool Moe Dee
tion, fitness, and public ser
vice. The grant can be used for
single or multiple projects. the
only stipulation being that any
child, regardless of ability, be
allowed to participate.
Children who participate in
the program will receive a T
s�i.rt 3:nd certificate of par
trcipation. Also, this fan the
kids will have their names up in
'lights in New York City'S
Times Square this fall. THe
city which excels the most in
the program will receive an ad
ditional $5,000 toward upport
for its youngsters' activities.
THE "DI TI GUISHED WARRIOR ," I-r, civil ri ht
proponent Edw rd Cu hm n, community leader GI dys
Wood rd, nd Judg H rold Bled oe, not pictured I retired
ep. eor e rockett, and the late Dr. DeWitt Burton. Over
2000 p ople wer In ttend nee t obo H II to P y tribute to
the e h (Photo by D. Lewl )