y Turn
t. Lu
enior Choir III h ve a Con­
cert on Sund y, April 2 , t 4
p.m.
Their ue t me
Clevel nd or hop Choir,
e Hope B pti t Church
Choir nd Corinthi n Chur h
Choir nd of her choir of the
city. Rev. I. offett i th
ho t p tor.
The Urb n: Le ue cur-
rently cceptin pplic tion
for the JTP Summer Youth
Employment Progr m.
Thi pro r m provide
wor e xperie ce for low in-
by ayor obert W rren
About two week ago the
ne Iy appointed Superintendent
of the Mu egon Hight School
Sy tern launched a gratuitous at­
tac not onIon me, the Mayor
of, Mu kegon Heights, but al 0
on e entire in titution of city
government. M . Joann Roberts
did this at a community event-a
rally-intended to show her
community support in the face of
the blatant terrorism and in­
timidation directed at her.
As the political leader of the
M egon Heights community, I
was among my constituents in
feeling contempt and indigna­
tion at the firebombing incident
in Ms. Roberts' front yard.
Imagine my surprise when the
former Superintendent of
Schools, the Mayor. City Coun­
cil and the whole of City Hall
became the brunt of Ms. Roberts'
out-rage. .
. Ms. Roberts was a'ttacked,
perhaps because of her actions as
School Superintendent, perhaps
not. Ms. Roberts' reacted by
lash-ing out at the former Super­
-intendent, the Mayor and City
Hall.
As the Mayor of this City, I
must express my own indigna­
tion at this clear insinuation that
somehow City Hall is re pon­
sible for the cowardly attacks
against 'her. . .
HER UNSUBSTANTIATED
remarks impugned the reputation
of the Ma yor and besmirched the
image of City Hall. Her accusa­
tions are at best spurious, and
quite possibl y slanderous.
Tb manner and occasion for
making them were cowardly.
Ms. Roberts took advantage of a
media event designed to express
co muni ty cohesion and turned
it into a soapbox for her own
polemic outburst.
She used' it to defame and di :
parage the institution of the
public will. I am deeply dis­
turbed at this brand of politics.
Ms. Roberts had been through
a trauma to be sure; she was
upset and angry: Certainly, it is
human nature to want to strike
back when an injury has been
done. But, at whose expense?
Should the former Superinten­
dent, the M yor and City H 11 b
the whipping po t for M .
Roberts fr tr tion t thi gut­
le crime?
Where are the voice· of
moderation to put thi incident in
its proper per pective? I would
have expected that the re pon-
Mayor Robert W rren
sible observers and commen­
tators of this incident would
have been fast to inject some
balance.
HOWEVER, my own sense­
of injury was compounded by the
Muskegon Chronicle's response.
I expected the clear eye of the
journalist to peel away the
hysteria, the bombast and the
rhetoric, and to provide an un­
jaundiced interpretation of the
events.
Instead, we got the Chronicle
blindly cheerleading for Ms.
Roberts, without a passing
thought or comment about the
impact of her sortie against Mus­
kegonHeigbts City Hall.
Printed in the same day's edi­
tion of the Chronicle, Ms.
Roberts compared herself to Dr.
King, ami \there was an editorial
all usion to President John Ken­
nedy. That would place ber
among some stellar company in­
deed! In my opinion, this kind
of treatment is far from balanced
reporting and responsible
edi torializing.
I expected cri ti cal in tel­
ligence; I got classic yellow
journalism. At the very least, the
Chronicle showed Ii ttle regard
for the accomplishmnts of my
Administration and the sure
progress of this city during the
past six years. How quick they
were to dismiss an impressive
The fin I concert of the
We t Shor Youth
Symphony' 25th e a on will
t ke pl ce Sunday, April 14,
t 3 p.m. in the Frauenthal
The ter under the direction of
on
cumulative record for the ake of
a day's en tionalized head­
line.
HUS, I think it i more than
appropriate, if not compelling,
for me to peak of the remark­
able achievement of this Ad­
mini tration, not least of which
are the effort of former Superin­
tenden John Sydnor and City of­
ficials to bring the Schools and
City Hall into a more com­
municative and cooperative
relationship than had heretofore
been the case.
If this i a ore spot for M .
Roberts, then I do not apologize;
in fact, I am proud of it. Perhaps
Ms. Roberts did not do her
homework on Muskegon Heights
before coming to our fair com­
munity.
Evidently she is not aware of
20 years of w ter under the
bridge. betwec .the ltwO' itu-
tions. A
I believe the community has
greatly benefitted from the
closer ties between City Hall and
the School System-particularly
in the development of coor­
dinated recreation programming
for our youth and. the physical
improvements to our parks.
IN }'A T, the 1986 Parks &
Recreation Plan emphasized the
need for greater efforts between
these two major public institu­
tions, if we are to provide a full
measure of recreational service
to our citizens.
As Mayor 1 have pushed for
mutual policy Objectives, joint
City-School programming, and
the sharing of physical and
human resources to make this
goal attainable.
Youth development is another
area in which the Public Schools
and City Hall have at la t begun
to pool effort. The Juvenile In­
terception Program, funded for
two years by City Hall, provided
liai on upport service to
troubled young tcr s having
academic and di cipline
problems in school, as well a' to
their parents.
Even after state funds for lIP
were terminated, the Ci ty has
conti�ued funding the "Urban
You are proudly invited to
attend the opening of
THE 3RD WESTERN MICHIGAN
AFR1CAN-AMERICAN ARTIST
.EXHIBITION·
.at
St. Cecilia Music Soc fy's
.J ny,berry Gall ry
'24 Ransom St. N.E., Grand Rapids, MI
\.
Saturday April 13. 1991
9:00 am - 7:00 pm
exhibit continues thru May 11
Jon McDonald • Wilbert Fobbs • Reggie.
Gammon • Carol Johnson • J. Arthur
Sanders • Herschell Turner • Steve
Moore. Jame Palmore. Eugenio Marve
James Watkins .. Morvlf\ Dickey •
ondmore ...
'"
A Special African American
Program
FEATURING
Dr. Conrad Worrill, Professor
Inter City Studie91 University
National Chair National Black United Front
.. Afrlcan Centered Entertainment and African Market Provided
ac
Youth Agent" to maintain thi
important connection between
the chool and "life out id the
wall ."
My path a Mayor ha been to
bring the chool into the m-
munity and the community int
the chool .
I B LI V thi i the corre l'
road to improve both institu­
tion ,and I do intend to continue
in thi dire tion.
I cannot help but wonder at
w·e
An exciting new hot group,
Sweet Succe ,is in prefect
form with a fresh sound that is
rap-aciou ... "Forever
Love r". So good a nd so, so
hot. Moving fast to being a #1
seller.
Diffe ren t from the res t ...
"Forever Lover" i a har­
monious.Tsoft , and 10 • ing rap
ballard geared to the younger
male and female, but the mes-.
sage ds for all who I is te n.
The group which is a sister
team, Sherry Brook, 19, born
in New York Ci ty, and Chil­
l o n d a Brown, 17, born in
Wa hington, D.C., now resid­
ing in Muskegon, Michigan,
are not unlike J.J. Fad nor
Silk-X-Leather, but Sweet
Success is. unique with' their
own creative tyle.
Sweet Succes "Forever
Lover" is d i trihuted by
Gypsy Record Corporation
aloof Muskegon, Michigan.
Gyp y Record corporation
wa created by Hcrbert W.
Harvey and Mushee r Rashada
in May, 1990. Their primary
purpose is to provide' local,
such as Sweet Succe ,and
regional artist with an oppor-
Aren
2400.
II
the Superintendent' app rent
fear of involvement with City
Hall. Aft r al I, we erve the
arne public and we hare the
arne t b
Do w not also hare the me
re po ns ib il i u e toward Mu -
kegon Height .cruz ens? M.
Robert' nctimoniou objec­
ti 0 to local government' par­
ticipation in edu a i n mac of
neo-i olationi m. .
It eerns to me that one thru t
o the CIVil Tl ht mo ement h
r m o v c the hi toric
in ul tl n round the
tahl J. hrn nt: to m ke
chool p li cy and chool d­
mini trator more re pon iv to
the con rn of th If ommunity;
to ma e the chooling ex­
perience "rel v nt" to tbe 're I
life of the community.
Doe any n ihm that Afro­
American hi tory would be
Continued on P e 14
cc
tunity to display their talent
inde pe qde nt of a major label.
For further information,
place call (616) 733-1364.
Forever
Lover
THE NATIONAL BLACK
U·NITED FRONT
MUSKEGON CHAPTER
Presents A Special Lecture
NBUF ANNUAL
FUNDRAISER
DINNER BUFFET
Donation: $20
Muskegon Community Colle'ge
221 S. Quarterline Road
Muskegon, Michigan
Blue· & old Room
Saturday, April 20, 1991
(Doors Open 6:30 PM)
Towards Implementing An African Centered
·Curriculum In The Public Schools
of America, The Portland Model
Tickets .Avallable at:
Virno Jeans 41 E Broadway Av
Muskegon ....