1
in
y concern bout the
e orl order directl y to the
doorstep of you all, my i te of
oul, eca e of my belief th t
it' the quic e t nd mo t helpful
m nner of t ting t e v lidity of
my conce . You i ten will
definitely put me in my pI ce if
I'm out in Ie t field. AI 0, if
y'all h ppen to hare my con
cerns th y are much more likely
to be ddr ed in an appropri te
and effecti ve m nner.
The fi t thing I noticed bout
the ne orld order the ab
sence of poor Black familie ;
tho e who h ve pent a lifetime
truggling in the trenches of
inner-city combat, hand-to
mouth nd tooth-and-nail, triv-
Pa
Obvio ly e
T E WO LD order
reduce love nd affection (to
y nothing of other tender emo
tion eparating u from the
lower forms of life) to electro
chemical inter ction mong
neuron ,interactio having no
place in the new cheme of
things. Marriage will al 0 be ob-
olete, discarded a an insecure
union designed primarily for
personal immortality- an ego
trip.
Drug and alcohol abu e will
toe ,for the ultim te in genetic
engineerin. Now do you ee
why we will be mi ing in the
new world order?
Lottery sy tem ill elect a
fe good omen to carry the
te t-tube conception to term
before other citizen will be
Iicen ed to rai e the newbor in
t te- pproved environment
with' the state-mandated life
tyle.
Since this new world order i
directly related to today' fan
tasies of Bu h and Engler we
Ing the Civil Right
blll- Everyone mu
., '
By WIW. Reed
What is status of the Civil
Rights Bill? 'What can the na
tional African-American com
munity do to a sure pa sage of
thi vital piece of anti-dis
crimination legi lation?
Robert Allen, chairman of the'
board of American Telephone
and Telegraph (AT&T), might
not know the current status, but
is a good man for Blacks to have
involved in the designing of this
legislation.
Allen had been heading up a
coalition of leading corporate
executives interested in fa hion
Ing a compromise provision to
the Civil Rights Act of 1991
until the White Hou e, and the
member of the Fair �.Il\P19)'-
. ment C 1 ion. P clsured. him i '
a d the Busine s Roundtable 'to
back off.
Leading civil rights groups
were in concert, and coopera
tion, with Allen and efforts to
reacha suitable job discrimina
tion compromise to the bill that
would've made It acceptable to
Big Business, and to Democratic
and Republican legislators.
Before he had to back off, the
Young Black
men, beware!
In regards (0 Mason County
Pobate Judege Francis
Bourisseau's statements regard
ing the circumstances under
'which he would consider issu
ing a waiver of parental consent
in the case of a teenager's right
to an abortion I ay, young Black·
men bewarell
In this statement, Judge
Bouri seau i saying three
things:
(1) If a white girl is raped by
a Black man, the Judge's regard
for the life of this particular
half-BLACK' fetus is nil, he
therefore has no "RIGHT TO
LIFE";
(2) by not touching on what
his decision would be if the
situation were reversed (white
man raping a Black girl) he is
saying that this resulting preg
nancy would have no bearing be
cause, even in the case of rape,
thi hal f- WHITE child has
somehow elevated the tatu of
this Black girl, and she should
therefore be proud to carry this
child full-term; and
(3) any young white girl who
decide she want to be exually
promiscuous with ANY MAN,
Black or white, can cry rape by
" a Black man, and therefore hide
her promiscuity, and her preg
nancy, from MOM and POP
White America, by receiving the
right to an abortion without
parental consent. All she has to
do is go to Judge Bouris eau or
others like him (and you can be
damn ure there are others like
him) point her finger t a Black
man, any Black man, cry rape,
and she has her waiver. ,
This" i indeed a sad commen
, tary in what is suppoled to be an
enlightened ociety uch a
ours.
meetings were about to bear
fruit on the i sue of monetary
damages for victims of inten
tion I di crimination.
Blocking the progress of the
bill is the Fair Employment
Coalition, a well-funded lobby
ing effort that has the ear of the
White House. It repre ents the
political interests of U.S. Cham
ber of Commerce members, the
National As ociation of
Wholesale Distributors, the Na
tional Association of Manufac
ture r , and other
mall-to-medium size busines
groups.
ON THE OTHER hand, the
whit� knight Bu iness
l\oundl�ble gfPup ��ade up of
bigger corpo 'r\f. s, such as
ATClt"and Amer.can Express.
AT&T' Allen serves as head of
the Roundtable's human reta-:
tions task force and has been in
the negotiations along with
James Robinson of the American
Express Company. Because of
their vast cash flows, the giant
corporations in the Roundtable
can better shoulder, and control,
discrimination law uit than can
the smaller, less than 50-
employee firm represented by
the Chamber.
Based on the long-time lob
bying of jhe Fair Employment
Coalition and help from Chief of
Staff, John Sununu, the White
House has its mind set on veto
ing the current bill.
The official line i ba ed on a
premi e that "if the Democratic
sponsored civil rights bill is
adopted, employer would be
forced to hire and promote fixed
number of women nd
minoritie in order to avoid law
suits,"
I Black Americans, and othtr' ,
'supporter of fairness in the
workplace, should be interested
in seeing that Allen and the
Roundtable get their points
across to the congressional
framers of this legislation. If
not, Blacks may end up with no
bill and no recourse in the
American .sy tern of institution-
S'lack Sheep
Incarcerated
by Mlch el SeblUlcutt
CornqolUUnt
Magic Slam and Shor:ty Jor
dan combined talents and skills
to lead Down Home River Boys
to itl first Basketball Champion
Ship. Averaging 31.6 and 30.5
points consecutively, their 6'7",
220 and 210lb. frames can easily
match up with the" Charles
Barkleys and Mailmen of the
N.B.A. The pair exhibited well
executed post-ups, and
dominated the offensice boards
al though they were the only
ones on the court.
Down Home River Boy ,
bright yellow and purple
uniforms reminded me of the
Lo Angeles Lakers, on micro
scale. But like broken limbs,
their current tatu i next to
nothing. They are part of
Michigan' 'Black Sheep,' in
carcerated African-Americans.
They stroll around prison
yards dreaming unrealities.
Visions of expensive mansions
with heated wimming pools,
yachtS, cadillacs, arid huge bank
accounts" permeate their 'mind
daily. Economic and social
detrfments brought them to
"miseryland," seemingly strip
ping them of any legal code of
honor.
In a sy tem compo ed of
more than 60 percent African
American , who are incar
cerated, very little is being done
to erase the 'black' marks held
again t them. Drugs, guns,
Black-on-Black crime( ), and
the diseases which de troyed
their elf-worth, and whic'h
brought them to pri on, may
have been removed-at lea t
philo ophically. Replacing the
pa lion for crime, came a far
more subtle traveaty-idlene s.
A TYPICAL PRISO
will find most 'Black Sheep'
wandering around makeshift in
genuities. They roam the prison
yard like helpless livestock,
waitlng for the butcher's
market. No wonder prisons are
constructed with large yards: •
this is where agriculturists keep
livestock going to the stock
yards.
Perhaps Magic and Shorty
were not made acutely aware of
their Blackness while they were
growing up. Lack of education,
family and community support
also may have contributed to
low self-esteem. Their tena
cious play, although dominating
the game, gave no proof that
.they had risen to height above
any other man on the court.
The game ended with Slam's
thunderous Jam Dunk, but
dreams die hard behind prison
bars.
Incarce ra ted African-
American men need constant
reassurance that being Young,
Gifted, and Black i not a crime.
The achievements of our ances
tors and present day pioneer
were not results from memories
of another day. "Baa-Baa
Sheep" di graces society' en
deavor to pre erve its greatest
re ource-its people.
The game was a blow-out, but
after the victory dance ended,
olemn note blew away the
laughter and promised
tomorrow' unccrtai ntie on
Black ma ked faces. "Baa-Baa
Black Sheep," hardly has any
wool left.
In a economy where pre erv-
, Ing Earth' natural resource
rides the top of today' agenda,
how can we miss the untold
wealth wa'ting away behind
prilon bars?
day
WHIL Y of you
iter wisely t out the
women' liberation movement,
which ough a better de I for
white women through .re huf
fling of the right and re pon
sibilitie in marriage nd exual
intimacy, the Black family wa
al racism.
ALLEN HA ci ted a lac of
upport from Congres ' ranking
politici n a the reason that hi
group halted talks that were on
the verge of po i tive com
promise.
"The political process in
'!Ia hington is giving ignal
that they don't want u involved.
It' clear that a lot of people
want to abotage the proce s
that we've tarted," Allen ha
said. If Afr ican-Arner icans
. want some type of legi lation
enacted that will, at least, get u
on more level ground in the
by Martaa Wright Edleman
Oakland and Milwaukee have
their share of poverty, crime and
vlotence.. They have teenage
birth , low birthweight babie
and infant mortali ty' rates above
the national average. Working
to chip away at the barriers and
problems takes time and un
wavering commitment.
Fortunately there are some ef
fective programs addre sing
inner city children's needs. Ef
fective organizations in the Oak
land and Milwaukee
communities are making a dif
ference for our children.
The Oakland-based Urban
"Strategies Council is a non
profit, public policy organiza
tion . founded by Angela
Blackwell. The group works "to
bring together public officials,
community activists, business
leaders and academics to initiate
strategies to combat persistent
poverty," according to Angela.
Combating poverty is a com
plex task. Lack of education,
employment, job skill, and
more are part of the overall
cycle of poverty that make it dif-
. ficult}6r anyone to escape. Part
of the Counci I 's strategy is
working with the ,Oakland
school ystem to ee that
children are provided every sup
port needed to receive a decent
eduction-the path to oppor
tunity.
ALTHOUGH the Urban
Strategies Council has been ac
tive only four years, it has made
an important impact. It success
fully saved the much-needed
Oakland School District' Child
Development Centers, assisted
in e tablishing Teenage Assis
tance programs for teenage
mothers with young children at
two o'f Oakland' high schools,
and i in the preliminary stages
of building a Mentoring Center
to link caring adults with youth.
Angela also Co-chairs the
Commission for Positive
Change, that focuse on provid
ing quality education for
Oakland's youth and restoring
community pride and con
fidence in the city's schools.
Without her leadership and
ilion, the outlook for
Oakland' children would be
dimmer.
Two thousand miles away
en
ily
an un re
cooper tion among u so that
ou iders ill no longer divide
and defe t u? C n e re olve
t at tho e ith hi tory of or
ing against our be t intere t will
no longer be iven afe pa s ge
into our Ii ve and bome ? While
t nding united would mean
trusting e ch other, i thi really
wo e than hat' in tore for
if e don't come t ether, by
any me os nece ar��
t ge
involved
American workplace, we have to
let our publtc ervant know that
we want Allen nd hi corporate
player back at the table.
If concerned Black move to
action, all may not be 10 t.
Allen h s id that he, n 6S
Round table chief executive ,
will "withdraw to the sidelines
unle we are invited b c into
the proces ."
All Black , in addi tion to
tho e who are Democratic ac
tivist , and e pecially the Na
tional Black Republican
Council, headed by Fred Brown;
and the Council of 100 Black
Republican, headed by Milton
another nonprofit, human ser
vices agency is working to help
children in poor neighborhoods
of Milwaukee get the proper
medrcal and social ervlce they
need. ,
The new concept Self
Development Center (NCSDC)
is a community organization of
fering more than 20 early Inter
vention programs designed, to
prevent or alleviate teenage
pregnancy, child abuse and men
tal' health problem .
NCSDC believes every per
son hal omething to offer and
contribute to the well-being of
their community. It wants to
help children, youth and
families recognize their
strengths and achieve their ful
lest potential.
AND THIS program knows
what it's doing. An example is
the succe s at' their pregnancy
'prevention program. A follow
up study of 103 girls in their
program revealed only three had
become teen parent -a much
lower rate than girls not in-"
volved in any structured pro
gram.
The New Concept Self
Development Center ha been a
part of the Milwaukee com
munity for over 15 years, and"
has a deep-rooted commitment
to anyone who walks through it
doors. It ha helped major
public and private in titutions in
Binns hould take the initiative
to get Allen and the R:oundtable,
back to the table and a ure that:
Black employment tops
being double that of, hite ; -
More Black get into board, and
policy-and-decision makin
position ; and - Co�gre and
the White Hou e start.to develop
equitable Black en)ployment
p tterns themselve . '
The telephone nuinbers are:
Congre I and the Senate (202)
224-3121; White Hou e domes
tic affairs (202) 456-7140; the'
Busine s Roundtable:(202) 872-
1260; and Republica)! ational
Committee (202) 863-8500.
CHILD
·WATCH
,
the city become more aware of
the need for cornprebenslve
prevention ervices 'culturally
relevant for Black and low-in
come children and fatnilies.
"Our presence ma IS tbem
aware of the unique: need of
Blacks, � tresses June Martin
Perry, NCSDC's executive
dtrectcr. "They recognize New
Concept as a profe Ional,
relevant and presistent voice for
tho e concern ."
Angela and June are persist
ent voices concerned wi th the
well-being of the Black com
munity. But your voice is
needed too. Their orgapizations
are hope for �hango in our
nation' citie. When nearly
one out of two Black children il
poor, no one hould fall asleep
with a clear conscience.
Marian Wright Edelman i"
president of'the Children·"
Defense Fund., a national voice
for children ..