7·1 •
I
ct.
Career Beginnin IF "mid­
dle-of-tbe-road" high school
juniors and nio who aren't at
the top or bottom of their cl and
re often overlooked. They attend
and main in average
, but their ic ldlls are a
couple of level behind their peers.
early all the particip. nts are ..
poor and half come from Ingle­
pamet home .
THE PROGRAM combines
dult mentors, career and COllege
preparation, and emphas on basic
kills to raise graduation rate .In-
w ' crease college enroll men and ex-
&... paod to technical training
· and full-time employment.
It It also provide students with
. ' • ummer work experience between
• I their junior and senior year. Be-
• _ sides earning money, the ex-
� . perience prepare youngsters for
• the job market, dealing with
employer-employee relationship, .
and introduces the interview
proee . They are placed j
lated to their career inte'l���""
Brandei University's Ce
for Corporate and Educational In­
iliatives Director William Bloom­
field poke with many Career
Beginnings students and under­
stands their hopes and fears.
"The remark I hear most often
from Career Beginnings students is
thai 'I wanna be omebody' and for
too many of them the American
dream is a myth," says Mr. Bloom­
field.
Only 27 percent of American
high school graduates, according to
the National Assessment of Educa­
tional Progre , can find specific in­
formation in a lengthy news article.
Just 3 percent can read and oral­
ly interpret distinctions between
various types of employee benefits,
Only 5 percent can estimate the
cost of an item using a grocery unit
price label. '
Almost 29 percent of the stu-
dents who entered ninth grade in
1984 had failed to graduate from
high school by 1988. . '
PROGRAMS LIKE
CAREER Beginnings can tum
these dismal figures around. Since
1986, the program has worked with
almost 12,000 young adults in over
30 communities across the nation.
Student-focused activities, on-
going higher education presence
and support, access and exposure
to college campuses and academic
profe ional, and caring. compas­
,sionate mentors provide youngsters
the support and services n ry
to succeed. They'll understand
that "that the sky's the limit."
For more information on Career
Beginnings�contact the Center for
Corporate a Educationallnilia-
live - 617 -4990
,
;
•
,
•
•
;
MARIAN WRIGHT Edelman is
president of the Chi�!S' Defense
Fund, a natio1llJI VOiCe for ch.ldren.
alcolm X
'v ry popular
Due to popular demand, the
Malcolm X: Man on a Tightrope
exhibit at the Black Cinema Gal­
lery 1144 Pingree, will be extended
ind�finitely to the end of the sum­
mer, every Sat. and Sun. from 1-6
p.m. 11' f
The exhibition is a co ection.o
photographs and films on the life
and de th of Malcolm X.
Histori n Paul Lee y the
r ponse to the exhibit h created
tanding room only space.
INTRODUCTION OF the Di
guests was executed by Willie Mae
Cole hortly before her neice Iko
Ashford nd both the National An­
them nd the Black National Anthem
acappella and gracefully.
As for the introduction of the
keynote speaker, who could have
done it better than Juanita Parnell of
Highl nd Park's McGregor Library, .
and formerly an Executive Assistant
to Highland Park's previous mayor,
Robert (Bob) Blackwell. Now
before this rray of ong and fine
peaker took place a culinary
delight was served by Chef Bobbie
Patterson and two of his apprentices,
Anthony Greene and Damon Denny,
studen� of the Detroit based voca­
tional school Beithrup, majoring 10
DETROIT
•
etn
BY NATH NI L corr
StGff WriUr
DETROIT-There are a lot of
"gr root" organization
throughout this city that are the
un ung heroe of what we re
uppose to be about. Children'
Cru ade, a northwe t ba ed
non-profi t group, i one of
tho e un ung heroe .
For the p t 2A year the or­
ganization h taught Sunday
school, reading, math, self-e -
teem and motivation to children
between the ages one nd 18.
Evelyn Richard on, founder
and "mother of the hou e,"
4696 30th Street aid, the or­
ganization began in 1967, after
the riot (which ome believe
was the beginning of the
decline of Detroit) but did not
become non-profit until 1976.
McGriff takes the hel
Mal Academl mpow r d
1iN,,,R1CK c. LEWI
Staj[ riter
g the boa is
rating the . n local tren in-
stead of how it rates state wide.
Deborah McGriff stepped into
her new position as Detroit Schools
Superintendent amid much ap­
plause from a usually volatile
audience at last Monday's annual
school board meeting.
McGriff had signed her contract
the.morning of the meeting, which
provides her a salary of S125,OOO,
and a $25,000 incentive if she meets
goals set by the board.
McGriff was presented with a
Spirit of Detroit Award by outgoihg
school board member Kay Everett,
DEBORAH MCGRIFF
who is now serving on the Detroit
City Council.
Board president Lawrence
Patrick presented McGriff with a
kinte cloth, a ceremonial African
cloth which many of the male mem-
, .
bers of the board wear to meenngs.
MCGRIF SAID SHE was com­
mitted to the same core values of
the board. "We expect the Detroit
Public School System to be the first
urban school system to educate all
of its students, she aid.
McGriff stated she supports
schools of choice, a multicultural
Afrocentric curriculum, school
finance, empowerment, the Male
Academy, and safe clean �chools.
She expressed a comnutment to
greater clarity in each goal. C?ne of
McGriffs rust acts supennten­
dent to present the D' triet An­
nual Education Report for ap-
proval by the board. '
The report was a summary of
goals- et by the board for tudents
and the school administration to
meet.
The repo available after
the meeting. One distraught chool
activist . d everyone w kidding
them elve on the educational
THE BOARD also awarded
provisional charters for the em­
powerment of three schools, which
will house the Male Academies
starting this school year.
This was the culmination of an
effort by Deputy Superintendent
Arthur Carter in October of last
year to addressthe problems facin
the Black male.
The academy was established to
ensure a quality education for
males because of the history of poor
performance among the male
gender in the school district, and as -
a means to assist teacher , coun­
selors and administrators in
strategies which will allow male stu­
dents to reach their educational
potential.
Carter stated over 1200 applica­
tions have been turned in to attend
the academy. He said the applica­
tions came from parents within the
district as well as outside the dis­
trict, one from as far away a Lans­
ing.
The ACLU has expressed its
concern that the academies will
promote segregation and "dis­
criminate against females.
CLIFFORD WATSON, who will
be the principal of Woodward
Elementary School's Male
Academy, s ys the problems of the
Black male far outweighs the other /
issues brought by the ACLU, and
hopes the organization will not
push for legal action.
Ray Cooper, who will be the
principal of Cooper Elementary
School's Male Academy, says about
560 males will be allowed into the
program initially. Carter says the
final selection will be before the
end of this week. He says students
are being chosen with scores that go
across the board to give the
academies, a cross section of tu­
dents.
A budget has not been worked
out for the chools, but Patrick said
a consulting firm is being used to
determine per- tudent allocations.
He said the budget should be deter­
mined by the end of August.
Marxbausen Elementary School
Principal Harvey Hambrick, said
the Male Academy concept is the
first of its kind in the nation, and
everyone will be watching it.
e
tall
cally
Cru ade i piritu 1 organiza­
tion, not religiou , and the dif­
ference between the two is,
piritu I comes from the heart."
Richard on i affection tel y
Called "M ma Chi Chi" and he
has seven children who e age
range from 46 to 18.
Children' Cru ade i
"primaril y" for children be­
tween one and 18 but, accord­
ing to Richard on, the
organiz auon does not turn
anyone away .
"W
Y
a
e
In ddition to their umrner
lunch program for children,
which e ch ye r begin with 75
lunche nd incre e to 250
plu, the organization is
pre enlly planning a "Love Thy
Neighbor" day for Wedne day
July 3.
Accordi ng to Richardson,
30th Street will be blocked offf
from Buchannan to Hubbard
between 8 a.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Included in the day's event
will be a variety of game for
children, vendor and a street
dance.
Jeffer on Award, doe not get
ny feder I, t te, county or
ci ty financi I upport.
Moreover, he id, "Every
month I put about half of my
income into Children'
Cru ade.
In the immediate future,
Children' Cru ade's goal i :
"We want every neighbor to
look at each other mother,
brother, iter, one beea e
we got to put love back into the
community. "
Their long range goals in­
cl ude: "We would like to get a
ranch where we CAn take abused,
children and help them get their
lives together," are the ont of
Richard on, ho also said the
organization could use some
sewing macbillcs for its lewin.
classes.
o G IZATIO is
seeking donated help, includ­
ing OJ, to help rna e the day
a succe .
Richardson said Children's
crusade, which received a 1991
II