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Wh t did America get?
The recent Oil War in the Persian Gulf cost a billion
dollars a d y. Think bout that as you prepare to file your
taxes. Ask yourself, what did America get for that kind of
investment?
The Egyptians got their foreign debt forgiven. The
Syrians got back into the good graces of America and can
now be' talked to again. The Saudi's got their homeland
protected nd their status in the regi n ngth d.
Kuwai b . back. I rael B llio or'
housi d more an $600 million for a ditional
weapons. Everybody got something. But what did
America get?
Will the soldiers returning from Saudi sands to inner
city America find the jobs that weren't here when they
volunteered? Will they find opportunity for higher educa­
tion? Will they find decent and affordable housing, health
care, cheap public transportation, an improved environ­
ment?
The high tech war waged by America in the Gulf was
purchased with dollars tolen from Americans needing
housing, jobs, health care and education. For years,
thanks to the Ragan/Bush agenda, over half of every tax
dollar collecte by Uncle Sam goes to the military ..
On April 2, voters in Chicago took a symbolic step
toward redirecting this country's spending priorities. The
.Windy City voters approved, by a 73 percent margin, a
referendum calling upon the federal government to
reduce military spending 10,% each year for the .ext five
years and redirect that money to health care, ducation
and housing.
Ron Daniels, columnist for this paper and announced
. independent candidate for president of the U.S., has also
taken a step towards saving this country from itself. He is
calling on the civil rights establishment - Coretta Scott
King, Jesse Jackson, Rev. Joseph Lowry, Rev. Benjamin
Hooks to name a few - to take to the streets with a civil
disobedience campaign to force this country to redirect
its priorities away from military, spending and toward
solving the domestic crisis in housing, education, health
care and employment.
Citizens in Michigan who have topped the domestic
casualty list in greater numbers proportionately than any
other state must join the struggle to remedy a sick nation.
Those groups working on registering voters in response
to the deep slashes in the state budget have begun the
task. The rest of us have to follow. The churches have to.
take to the streets with the message of Dr. King who
warned us all that military spending was wreaking
violence on all of society. Let's force the leadership to see
we want no more homeless, ill-educated, uncared-for, or
jobless Americans.
It's past time America got something from its tax dol­
lars.
Published each ,Sunday by
NEW DAY
PUBLISHING ENTERPRISE
. 12541 Second St
P.O. Box 03580
Highland Park, MI 48203
Phone: (313) 869-0033 / Fax II: (313) 869-0430
Western Michigan Bureau: 175 W. Main St
P.O. Box 218, B nton Harbor, MI 49022
(818) 927-1527
Publisher: Chari D. Kelfy
Editor: T reaa Kelly .
Office Manager: B rnlc Brown
Correspondents:
Bernice Brown - Mary Golliday - Derrick L wla
Calvin Lowry • Flod an S, Rlgg.
Leah Samuel •• Nathaniel seen- V ra White
Production Manager: D wayn ,Buchana
Production Staff: Ka.cene Barka - Idell Carter
J H 0 received es-
nti lly the me re ponse that
Whitney Young received. The
United tate canno afford to in­
vest billions to rebuild the citie
and wipe out poverty.
The U.S. cannot b il-out the
poor, but the government can con-
istently qu nder re ource on
rich corporations, banks and in­
dividuals who mis-manage resour­
ces. And the government continues.
to invest in a blo ted militry budget
in order to bomb and batter "up­
pity" Third world nations into sub­
mi ion.
w on the decline and homele -
ne w onthe incre e.
The $600 billion L candal is
the result of gro mis-management
d reckle pecul tion by geedy
fin ncier , developer nd their
compliant political pimp in con­
gress.
T xp yer dollar th t could
have gone to end human misery
is now being allocated to bail
out rich cor oration , institu­
tions, and in ividu Is. Now it
ppears th t not her $25 bil­
lion will be required to rescue
top II aked Aggr
in outh Africa
by Benjamin F. Chav Jr.
Anti-apartheid forces in
the United States and
throughout the world are out­
raged at the continued
violence and domination by
the racist apartheid regime in
South Africa. In short, the
ituation in South Africa
reveals continued "naked ag­
g r e s s i o n " DY the apartheid
government toward the people
of South Africa and the
P QP\e - of e. out rn
Afric n region.
South African military ad­
visors are still operating in­
side southern Angola. South
African mercenaries are still
operative inside Mozambi­
q ue . The. racist a u ac ks
against u p p o r t e r s of the
African National Congre s in
South Africa continue to be
executed under the color of
South Africa's apartheid
laws.
Does not this ruthless and
"naked aggression" by South
Africa cons ti tu te the neces­
sity f he United Nations to
increase anctions and other
'actions against apartheid?
Does not this increasing
racist "naked aggression" by
South Africa constitute the
necessity for the United
S 1 ate and i ts al l i est 0 de man d
an end to apartheid?
RECENTLY, the American
Committee on Africa (ACOA)
sponsored a special delega­
tion to meet with Con­
gre sman Tom Foley, the
Speaker of the House, con­
cerning the necessity to con­
tinue U.S .. economic sanctions
against South Africa.
Among the delegation were
Dr. M. William Howard and
Ms. Jennifer Davis of the
American Committee on
Africa, actress Alfie
Woodard, (ilmmaker Spike
. AlLQ y. ub r c- •
poor. minoritie nd poor nd
workin people.
Confronting huge deficit in
ew Yor tate, Mario Cuomo,
. potenti I Democratic c ndid te
for Pre ident in 1992, is pro po ing
m [or cuts in ocial programs while
le ving the wealthy virtually un­
touched.
In Ohio, Governor George
Voinovich, rising st within the
Republican party is proposing the
total elimination of General Wel­
fare Relief and the cancellation of
state upported medical benefits
Woodard po ed the following
question to Speaker FOley:
"Why doe current U.S.
foreign policy in defining and
opposing aggres ion and op­
pre sion differ on the ba i of
color and nationality? Wh
would our government con­
template relaxing anctions
against aggre ive South
Africa ?"
Spike "Presi-
ease pres;
�"_oA would be
. ocrisy.'
Spea e Fole responded by
saying th De ocratic leader­
ship in th Congre s "would
not initiate any action" to
relax the current legi lation
authorizing economic sanc­
tions on South Africa. But
Speaker Foley did intimate
that President Bush might at­
tempt to r e c o m me n d the
easing of some of the current
sanctions.
All of the uggestions com­
ing from the White House that
De Klerk' a� the government
of South A rica should be
rewarded fo reforming some
aspects of a artheid is actual­
ly a contin arion of Pre ident
Reagan' policy of "const uc­
tive engagement" with South
Africa During the last
eleven y e a r s or U.S. "con-
t r u c t i v e " p o l i c y toward
South Africa, there have been
over one million innocent per­
sons killed in South Africa
Cutcheon of the Washington
Office on Africa. Ms. Lin­
de we Mabuz a, the Chief, Rep­
resentative of the African
National Congress to the
United.States .was also a mem­
ber of the delegation that met
with Speaker Foley.
Alfie Woodard stated, "I
am an African American and 1
am concerned about the situa­
tion in South Africa."
State Senator Chaka Fattah Speaks
The determinants of life in crisis which, if left unche ck­
America are moving further ed, will threaten the hope of
and further a wa y from the the world which this great na-
needs, aspirations,' and lion represents.
dreams of our people. We un- Lest we be characterized as
derstand that economic and whining victims, let us
international policies are im- remind ourselves that wo are
portan t to the contexts wi thin se 1 f-gove rn irig pe op le , Wha t
which we live our lives. pens in this country i our
Bu , it appears in-:���..a.I.:·ihility.
. creasingly as though the ru'
of the e policie are ends in
themse I ve , and that we the
people have bccome pawns to
be manipulated in the
achievement of tho e end ..
We are e nt off to war in the
name of international order.
We are hired and laid off a
e con 0 m i c for tun e s e.b ban d
flow. We are increasingly
viewed as cogs in a great im­
personal wheel that turns on
power politic and money.
In the meantime, the fabric
of life in our communi tie i
weakening almost beyond
repair. Young lives are
repeatedly nuffed out by.
drug related cro s fire.
Vacant and vandalized build­
ings plague our neighbor­
hood.
Our children go unedu­
cated, and the na non's urban
center are disintegrating
right before our very eyes.
These are the ymptom of
R democracy is to
remain a government of the
people, b y. the people, for the
people, we must effect a
major transformation of
prio ri tie w hi ch w ill red irect
our re ource toward policies.
and program which empower
the human pirit-policies
and program which make life
work on a human scale, in
terms of human values.
1 am writing here to chal­
lenge you to join in an ongo­
ing effort to effect that
transformation, The
propo e d hattlefront of thi
effort i Arn e r i c a ' citie.
The g r e at plain of this
country are the nation' heart;
but the great citie are its
mind and nerve and inew.
The problem' of urban area ,
with their high concentration
of people, y tern, and
economic activity, affect far
more than the populations
Chnka Fattah
within their borders. A na­
tional drive to save OUT cities,
with the attending improve­
ment in the quality of life, job
creation, and sti mul us to the
economy, will benefit u all.
This i no idle, challenge.
We have a pecific plan for
revitalizing the nation' 100
large t c it ie within a re n year
period. Thi. plan has been
vorably re e i v c d by the
White Hou e , Member of
Congre , State House and
Senate Repres n t a t ive , na­
tional organization like thc
National New papers Publi 'h­
ers A ociation and the Na­
tional Black Caucu of State
Legi .l aror ,chamher of com­
merce, public utility officials,
r elfare
r cipi nt .
e . the Per . G
be over, but the de dly
ainst the Bl poor, minoriti
and the di dvant ed continu
without let up here in the United
St te .
Ron Daniels serves as PruUknl
of the Institute for Community Or­
'ganization and Development in
Youngstown, Ohio. He may be con­
tacted at (216) 746-5747.
Benjamin
Chavis
and in the frontline states as a
direct result of apartheid.
1" .t """ J. "'l \, ..
. - B C.K.,.1 1963,.. Mar,ti
Lut}\er: i.ng, Jr .. : 'S,'�rt� '­
"This is the task to which we
are called by the suffering in
South Africa, and our
response should be swift and
unstinting .... Urge your
government to support
economic sanctions." Nelson
Mandela last year reminded
u that. "Twenty-seven years
ago when I went to jail I had
no vote. I have come ou t and
still have no vote ... To lift
sanctions now would be to run
the risk of ab o r t i n g the
process of the c o m p l e te
eradication of apartheid."
We must continue our
united demand to end South
Africa's aggre sion. eep
the pressure on! Keep the
economic sanction on South
Africa. Let President Bush
know we are not asleep and
we wi 11 no t be fooled by any
attempt to falsely certify irre­
versible change in apartheid
South Africa.
municipal unions, police com­
, missioners, school up e r i n-
re nd e n ts , and urban
• university presidents. The
success of this plan will he
determined .o l c l y by the
mea sur e 0 f pol i tic a 1 w in
garnered in its support.
And 0 we -as k you to
engage., In the next column. '
we will present the details of
our plan to save our cities. In
the m 0 nth s th a t follow, we
will give you the highlight of
the strategy we have
developed to make this plan a
reality.
W WILL present urban
revitalization i sue and op-
p o r t u nrt i c for your con­
sideration, and we will give
you very pc ctfic information'
ahout how you can become in­
volved to make urban life
work for your elf. your fami­
ly, and your community. Our
objective is nothing les than
to de fi ne and mobi l ize the n -
tional wj.J} to save American
ci ties.
The goal is not a trivial
one. It will not be easy, and
it will not happen over night.
I am convinced, however, th t
all of us working together can
'provide the leadership re­
quired to ee it through.