, " ..', '. I / ' .� , ' ._l' _ - " } 'I •
The planned reduction of
military force th t w del yed
by "De ert Storm ill likely
reduce the number of Blac
Americ n in the rmed ervice
by from 100,000 to 110,000 over
the next five ye r .
Thi red uction, which the
military plan to chieve
prim rily by cutting recruit­
ment, will, in combination with
rece ion in the near term, ig­
nificantly reduce opportunitie
for Black curr ntly in the
military and the next generation
of Black high chool gr duate
looking to military ervice a a
ladder of upward mobility.
Government and private ec­
tor mechani m to aid the tran i­
tion to civilian life for tho e
displaced from military ervice
are currently inadequ te to meet
the needs that will be created by
military down izing.
Thi naly i of the potential'
impact of the military draw-
yUrryA.S I
SplCIal to MlcltilG" Citiun
Compari on between report
of Blac on Black violence in
the United States and escalating
Black violence in South Africa
may be the subject of debate
when Chris Hani, chief of staff
of Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear
of the Nation), the military wing
of the African National Con­
gress, speaks Saturday, April 20.
at Central Methodist Church in
Detroit. The Detroit vi it is part
of a H)-city U.S. tour April 19
through .May 5.
Hani, the highest ranking
ANC leader to visit America
since Nelson Mandela's historic
tour last June, is a central voice
military fellow at the Joint Cen­
ter for Political and Economic
Studies, in an article in the April
issue of Focus magazine, "The
Downside of Down izing the
Military."
THE PLANNED reduction
will cut a total of 500,000 per­
sonnel from all branches of the
service by mid-decade.
While the reservists who
erved in the Gulf can be ex­
pected to return to w iting
civilian jobs, Shane point to
two groups in particular that
will uffer the greatest disloc -
lion as a result of the downslz-
n
do n on Bl c Americ n i of­
fered by U.S. Army Colonel
Mich el Shane, who is enior
•• ILITARY, Pig. 11
about U.S.
•
in tho e forced out by the
reduction and young people
wishing to pur ue.a military
career that may no longer be
.open to them.
S •• ANC. Pig. 11
n't 0
Nelson M nd�la, deputy president of
the African National Congre ,left
Jobanne bur , South Africa, April 19
for a wee ' trip
to J pan and
Bri tain, ta ing
the me a e it i
premature to
e e anction
on South Africa.
The promi e of
the minority
government for
end i ng part­
heid do not in­
cl ude gi vi ng
Black the rigllt to vote.
Before be left, Mandel
f ,
_ '4_,41.;&''''.'''' nd er power
to (t e • majority)," Ind, fJid
m�ri t rewards from over e for his ra­
cial reform to date.
The comment WI ill Fe pon e to c­
lion Monday, April 15, by the 12-nation
European Community, The ECC lifted a
1986 atter pre ure from the Afr'
American community led b Tran­
Africa.
The
an eJ Ul be in Jlpan uDtil �prtl
23 In j cheduJed to hold talk with
Prime Mini ter To hiti Kai Cu. In
Britain, which he visit April 24-25,
Mandela will meet with Prime ini ter
John Major.
Black women now fastest growing group in politics
Studies and released today.
"The increase over two
decades in the number of
Blacks winning election to
public office is a real success
tory," said the J int Center'
president Eddie N. Williams.
"An even bigger succes story
is the rising level .of achieve- .
ment among Black women in
politics." •
The achievement of Black
women in w innjng elective of­
fice will he the focus of the
Joint Center' salute to Black
women in politics at its an­
nual dinner on April 9, 1991.
Tw 0 0 f the nat ion' mot
prominent Black women in
politics will be featured on
the program. D.C. Mayor
Sharon Pratt Dixon will
deliver the keynote addres ,
and Con esswoman Cardiss
Collins (D-ll.), the dean of
the women' contingeat in the
Congressionat Black Caucu ,
will offer greeting .and brief
remarks.
In etectoral 'potutcs, Black
women now constitute the
fastest-growing group, ac­
cording to information com­
p i led 0 v e r 1 he pI'S t two
<lee des b y the Joint Center
fpr P-olitical and Economic
Black wom.n
hold half of th,
• at. on the
lack caucu of
the D.mocratlc
Natlona'
Commltt and
have th.r.by
g In d .qual .
acc. with
lack m.n· to the
I.v.r. f. pow r
within tlt.'r
n tl na' party
"THE ELECTION of
mayor Sharon Pratt Dixon in
Washington, D.C., and Carrie
Perry in Hartford has brought
Black women into the arena of
big city leader hip. These
and other highly visible ac­
complishment are the lead­
ing edge of advances being
won by Black women at all'
levels of politics," said Wil­
liams.
Since 1970, the overall
number of Black elected to
local. county, state, and con­
gressional office h a in­
crea ed nearly fivefold.
During thi same period.
the number of Black women
holding -e l e c i ive office ha
multiplied by 15, from 131 to
1,950 officials. Thus, women
have- not only increased their
numbers, they have al 0 in­
creased their share of politi­
cal offices held. In 1970,
only one out of every 12
Black elected offic' Is was a
woman; today one out of four
is a woman.
In 1970, there were only
131 Black women holding any
kind of elective office; today, .
there are al mos t tha t m ny­
llS-in state legislature
alone. There has b e e n a
recent upsurge in the number
of Black women erving in
state Legislature. In 1976,
there were ju t 38. A of
early 1990, that figure had
grown to 96-78 state house
or a embly members and 18
senators. And the numbers
are still growing: in the 1990
elections, 33 of the 70 Black
newly elected to state legisla­
tures were women.
REP. TEOlA P. HUNTER
The growth in political of­
ficeholding among Black
women i likely to continue in
the fore e e a b l e future, ac­
cording to the Joint Center,
because of two factor : more
Black women are moving into
poli tics and more are moving
See Wom n, Peg. 11
,JOE COLEMAN: -No,
apartheid is wrong. Isa't equal
rights what Dr. King, nd
G handi fought for, and what
the U.S. hould be fighting
for?"