i P tt ?u h t e Open ee
ct.
crime com­
mItted by n
indi idual
hundred of
mile a aYe
edirecti
n of
policie , new
non-market
b I e
door."
how mate . erci -
in uch control
co t the people
of Michig n over
$750 million a
ye r. Surely
sy tern wi th uch
eaten ive imp ct
on the live of 11
re ident of all
r iden of thi t te, require
regul r, if not thorough scrutiny.
The DOC operate almo t
under complete nonymity.
Without a commis ion and infor­
m tive open meeting , re idenls
of the tate, bureaucractic
worker , pri oner witbin the
ystem nd media profe sionals
tighter
environment
u n l e e d
b voc ithin
Micbigan'
pri on y-
tern ..
Governor Engler' deci ion to
overhaul the DOC (Dep rtment
of Correction) could not have
come at a better time. Legisla­
tion w introduced in the 1990
session to aboli h the Correc­
tions Commi sion. Had it
pas ed, it would have allowed
the governor to appoint the
director of the DOC. It al 0
would have eliminated public
enuine concern for hum n li e,
to e ct productivene from the
"gre te t" of re ource .
PRISO i ociety'
prominent f ilure. It i the
major control mech ni m for
helping ociety to deal with its
" dverse behavior ." Dec de
fter expending v t re ource in
time nd money, it give little
credibility that inc rceration
red uce cri me .
It remains unable to extr ct
productivene from it re our­
ce , due primarly to administra­
tive negating factors.
hich the
"penal nucleu • evolved, con-
i t prim rly of "double
minority": African-American.
Bl c re not demographically
a minority in the pri on system.
They re the majority. Stati tics
how tb t Afric a-Americans are
Imo t tbe "totatity" of
American' penal ystem.
The effect of strident policy
and deci ion making have in­
stitutionalize society as well.
For instance, Michigan prisons
indirectly adapte� Mas-
con truction of the "problem" -
correction I f cili tie no co t­
ing too much to operate nd
taff. Communi ty correction
c n provide much cheaper olu­
tions without 10 ing community
afety, but thi too, will t ke
time. Demanding without sup­
plying imply will not work.
The current ystem lready ba
I"NSTALLMENT "I
:LON80N:
have the re ponsibility to tell
our sisters and brother in
England what we did to get any
measure of jus nee for the
families of Yusuf Hawkins and
Micheal Griffith in Bensonhurst
ana Howard Beach? And wasn't
a large part of that strategy mar­
ching and agitating and keeping
it before the public eye?
Yes" British racism is ap­
parently a deceptive and cor­
rupt as American racism; I ought
not be -surprised since England
wa America' mother.
I woke up to find that a Black
bishop was cared to allow me to
preach in his church, yet the
white vicar gladly let me preach
that night in a London church. I
preached the story of Esther,
who when confronted with
genocide of her own people, was
challenged by Mordechai, who
raised her as a child, to break the
law and go in and see the king
and ask him to ave her people.
She could be immediately im­
prisoned or killed if she broke
the law that aid you are not to
go to king until he send for you.
But something stirred in her
soul, and make her come forth
and say "If perish, let me perish;
1', going to see the king." '
A I prepared to go to Lon­
don, rumbling simit r to
America began to occur. Our
staff received a call fro Lon-
· don from the family of Rolan
Adams, a 15 year old bo who,
· with hi brother, was cha ed by
· a mob of 15 white racist s
· near the headquarters of a white
· terrori t KKK-TYPE oraganiza-
· tion n med the National Front,
· and wa fatally stabbed in the
· stomach on February 21. His
· death aroused little or no atten-
· lion from the national media in
Eng ad, although there was one
arrest for the stabbing and other
· arre t of those allegedly in-
· volved in the mob.
The family wa disturbed
· about the fact that there wa lit-
· ue or no media attention. The
· media, for a full week leading up
to my arrival, had dedicated
• front pages and inside pages
· dramatically calling for me to be
banned, called me the "Beast of
· the Bronx." It seemed to me like
America all over again, where
the papers concentrate on at­
tacking those who are, fighting
for the victims, rather than fight­
ing the victimizers. I immedi­
ately agreed to meet with the
family upon my arrival in Lon­
don, and to help lead a march
that hopefully would draw press
attention. -
Upon arriving in �ondon -
very sleepily, because the LOII­
don Daily Mail had the audacity
to fly a reporter into the States
to fly back with me, 0 he could
be there if I was banned from
· entry; he talked and interviewed
me all night long - I walked out
of Customs and wa immedi-
· ately greeted by the biggest
· press corp I could remember in
many years. •
I refused, however, to discuss
anything with them and boarded
the waiting transportation
provided for me by the local Pan
African Congres movement,
and headed to the family of
Rolan Adam, bee use my
strategy was that if the press was
so hyped up to cover me - pro
and con - then I would force
them to cover what had hap­
pened to Rolan Adam and our
march in England by not taking
to them until we were at the ac­
tual march.
THE
PEOPLE'S
PREACHER
The Rev
AI Sharpton
less if I am an irritation to a
tabloi� writer in London. IQlust
be relevant to • q om In'
Brixton Brooklyn, f m '
Cleveland tcCaracas. ,
, So here we h ve one more
case - thi one across the water - .
another remi nde r that white
supremacy is still a way of life
in this country, and will not
reduce itself. We have to reduce
it. It will not change itself - we
must change it.
So we fight the good fight
h re in London, England. There
are several day left. The
crowds are excellent, the press
rtdlculous - they almost make
me long for the American press,
where you at least know that you
are dealing with dishOnest
people.
I conclude by saying that the
arne fight that I face here in
London is what I face in
America, and I will do my part
to show them that Saturday was
right, put thousands in the street
keep the heat up, and don't in
the name of God let it be swept '
under the rug.
But let' keep it loud and
clear. The rumblings you hear
are not the Atlantic, it is
Reverend Al on the other side of
the Atlantic, screaming and yell­
ing and agitating. Don't you un­
der tand what I'm saying?? It'
"NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE!
PIP, PIP, PIP!"
1
TO MY UITER amazement,
despite the negative press
coverage saturating the papers
for the week, over 2,000 people
met me and the Adams family,
and we began a long, torturous
ix mile march against the
racism of the National Front and
other terroris t groups in that
area. And to my great joy,
despite the continued smear
campaign against me, the na­
tional English media had to deal
with the fact that Rolan Adams
had been killed under racial cir­
cumstances, and 'that was the
reason that I was London. ,
Rather than argue about the
racist and beastly way in which
the tabloids have treated my
London visit so far, I would
prefer dealing with the fact that
it is clear to anyone with eyes to
see and ears to hear that people
of color all over the world are
facing similar problems, similar
threats and similar types of
ruination.
Isn't it reminiscent of Yusuf
Hawkins and Micheal Griffith
when you hear the story of
Rolan Adams? And don't we
AND AS I preached in that
church, I realized that though I'
had t.o Id the pre ache r that I
would stay away from politics
and preach a religious sermon,
there was political message in
the sermon. And that is: we
must be willing to risk perishing
to stand up for what is right, and
to save our people from dying.
It was Rolan Adams in London
and Yu uf Hawkin in Benson-
. hurst and Michael Griffith in
Howard Beach; and all over the
world this is happening to our
children. And I could not care
WAil" A·Mf.IIT!�Itll-t ' ,
WAII"M1 � 60 f. Uf.JilU!!
Send all opinions to the Michigan Citizen, P.O .
B,ox 03560, Highland Park, Michigan 48203
THE MICHIGAN C�TIZEN
Put" Ihed .ach
• Sunday by
I NEW DAY
PUBLISHING ENTER-PRI E
12541 Second St
P.O. Box 03580
Highland Park, MI 48203
Phone: (313) 888·0033 I Fax ,: (313) 889·0430
Western Michigan Bureau: 175 W. Main 'S,t
P.O. Box 211, Benton Harbor, MI 48022
(81 I) 827·1527
Publisher: Charle. D. Kelly
Editor: Tere.a Kelly
Western Michigan Editor: Bernice Brown
City Editor: Derrick Lewl.
Copy Editor: Leah Samuel
Entertainment Editor: Ka.cen. Bark.
Correspondents:
Bernice Brown • Miry Golliday • Derrick Lewl.
Carll Husten • William L.e • Deborlh Culp
Leah S.muel • Nathaniel Scott
Vera Whit • Ca.rolyn Warfield
Production Manager: Dewayne Buchana
Production Staff: KI.cene Bark. � Idella Clrter
Advertising Representatives: WIlliam Lee •
Terry Broyle.
EDITORIAL
�
No ju lice in South Africa
miles and miles away. •
Americans should denounce the verdict, the system of government
behind it and affirm that Winnie Mandc;la is innocent until proven
guilty by a jury of bet peers.
The conviction of Winnie Mandela by a South African court thi
past week made the front pages and prime time aero America.
Reporters acted as tmugh they were reporting about a real trial with
a real judge.
. The apartheid government that fails to recognize Blacks human,
sends a Nelson Mandela to jail for 28 years because he believes the
majority population hould have the right to vote, and subjugates its
Black population with systematic violence, Incarceration, miseduc:a­
don, and ubstandard health care equaled only by America does not
under any stretch of anyone's imagination have a justice ystem.
RepOrting of the Winnie Mandela conviction underscored the depth
of racism in the American media. This the media that over the
decades the U.S. w fighting communi mneverfai1ed to mention the
dictatorial nature of Russian courts when reporting stories of triala in
the U.S.s.R. This' the same media which a few month back when
reporting on a Cuban trial for drug dealers never failed to point out the
government control of the Cubancour1l, implyingjustice was unlikely
and stating outright the trial was for pubUcity
No uch'message of government control, bias or po ible injustice
passed the lip of any new reporter in America talking about the
Winnie Mandela case.
We do not know what Winnie MaOdela did or did not do. We do
know the pre idingj udge delivered a six-hOur harange in deciding that
Mrs. Mandela w an acce ry to a crime committed while he w
... ' Or in L.A.
It comes as no urprise 'to anyone in the African American com­
m�ty that the apartheid government of South Africa does not stand
alone when it Comes to racist judicial systems. The racism endemic
to America was revealed again this week in California.
In Los Angeles, the police officers who tood by and did nothinl
while their fellow officers beat the living day lights out of motorist
Rodney King were absolved of all wrong doing. Their superiors said
it w okay to stand by and watch a citizen be beat almost to death; no
guilt or being an accessory to a crime there, the L.A. judicial yatem
decided.
The decision e04angers every Black in America topped by bel­
ligerent officers needing to vent their anger or hatred.
The deci ion also must be a bitter pill for all those in prison -molt
of them Black - for being at the wrong place at the wrong time,
accessori .
Maybe the differences between America and South Africa are not
u great orne would like to believe.