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EDITORIAL
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Western chi Ii ippi of old, where th killin of
Blac unpunished.
In MUlkcgon. Lo . Franchot Green, young Bl man w shot
and killed by a restaurant p tron, some 40 minut tter Green entered
the restaurant. The killer bad 40 minut in which he could have left
the taurant and gone home. Or, be could have left the restaurant to
find anotber phone to call the police.
. Or, be could have stayed inside the
restaurant and let Green nd his
friends leave, they were doing
hen Green w hot in th head in
the parking lot of the restaurant.
I tead, the killer used the 40
minu be bad to send hi two so
bome for his 347 magnum. When
the sons returned with the gun, the
killer hot Green. Whether or not
Green warmed i in dispute.
The Mu kegon County
Prosecutor believ that Green had
a gun - although no gun has been
found nd two of Green' com-
panio deny he had the gun. In fact, LOUIS GREEN
Ule Prosecutor i 0 caught up in
sympathy for the white killer and his two sons, that �e has ruled the
killing of Louis Green w self-defense, justifiable homicide.
The Muskegon community is justifiably angry. They have
launched.a recall drive. It is one of the few recall drives we have ever
thought worthwhile. The sooner the Muskegon community rids itself
of Prosecutor Tony T gue, the better.
The conununity under1aken a
monumental tas in attempting to
gather the required lO,()(X).pl 511-
tures needed to get the recall ques
tion on the ballot. We hope they
ucceed. We also hope that in the
process they register enought voters,
provoke enough concern, rally
enough good citizens to guarantee
that Tony Tague will never be
reelected to any post in the county.
In addition, we hope the folk in
Berrien County take notice of what
is going on in MUSkegon.
Almost two months ago, the
body of Eric McGinnis, 16, was
ERIC McGINNIS found in the St. Joseph River. He
disappeared after his father dropped
him off in the racist city of St. Joseph for a teen dance. After last being
seen in the company of four white youths, McGinnis- a Black
male- disappeared.
The County Prosecutor there has yet to find an-explanation for the
death of McGinnis. In fJlCt, he seems more interested in criticizing the
. NAACP and other interested conununity people who continue to raise
questions about the- death. .
This is the same county prosecutor who ruled almost two years ago
that the shooting death of another unarmed Black male by a white
police officer was justifiable homicide.
Blacks are almost one-fourth of the Berrien County population.
They have the deciding vote in any countywide election. We hope
they come to the same conclusion as the folks of MUSkegon: that the
county prosecutors need prosecuting. Dump them both. Elect
prosecutors that value all life and the pursuit of justice.
Those activists raising voices of protest have to follow through
wi� the exhausting work of registering the community to vote and
then galvanizing them on election day.
The alternative is the no-justice-no-peace route.
.f
THE MICHIGAN CITIZEN
PubUahed .aoh
Sunday by .
NEW DAY
PUBUSHING ENTERPRISE
12541 Second St
P.O. Box 03580
Highland Park, MI 48203
Phone: (313) 888-0033/ Fax ,: (313) 9-0430
Westem Michigan Bureau: 175 W. Main St
P.O. Box 218, Benton Harbor. MI 48022
(818) 827-1527
Publisher: Char D. Kelly
Editor: Ter Kelly
Wesf8m Michigan Editor: B rnlce Brown
City Editor: 0 rrlck C. L
Copy Editor: Leah Samu I
Entertainment Editor: Ka8C ne Bark.
Co", pondents:
Orrick C. LAwI • B rnlce Brown· ry Golliday
Cart. Huston· Leah Samuel • Nath nlel Scott
'¥ • White • Carolyn Warfteld • 0 nny Cook.
ProductIon Manager: 0 ayne Buc na
ProductIon StIIIf: n B rk.· Anita Iro
AdvfIrtI nt1 R 8: Terry BroylM
VIE�VS
CIuo . mp �
deremployment e become a
pI lie ithin .U.S. odety par
ticululy for African Ameri
o r people of color. .
E n beyond the col line,
of hite poor WOlrtill12
people )So • cted by jobl
and 10 paying' th
bencfi .
Despi� conditio tbereare
i of revolt or a movement fo
a more equitable distribution of
AmeriCa' eaUh aDd po er.
r far too long a majority 0
AIDe' yacce
tile widening gap �tween tbe rich
IDd the poor.
It almost if poor worti
people are bolding out in hopei that
the·ra to riches· ytbology 0
U.s. c:apitali m will map:any k>udl
them aDd traDSfom tbeir misery into
wealth, po r and privile
Perbaps a better esp1aDatiOD is
that the culture of capitalism con
veys the notion that extremes of
ealth and poverty are simply an
unavoidable fad of life.
The U.S. economy i ch Co
terized by P perlty for a lative
few and misery (i many.
The I c of jo ith decent
benefi . certainl y a
critic:a1 factor contributing to the
despera condition 0 many poor
aDd orting people in this country.
G HI administtation,
RoDlld ted of creating
17 million ne jobs. What be didn't
tell . that more than half of these
"new" jo p y less than $7.00 an
hour and most of these jobs carry no
bencfi .
Low paying jobs are tmatening
the livelihood and tability of mil-
beDeflll m t bec:o
inthe t
CCOlDlOlDlC (1jCIDQCIa4CJ in U.s.
Poor orting people m
ot continue to ceept the dea t
extremes of ealth and poverty are .
inevitable and that the ealthy are
entitled to be rich at the ezpe (>
the rest of ociety. .
There is no inevi tability or j tice
in a system which alIo a fe weiJ
thye cutiv to ve multi-milliQn
dollar alarie while millions of
Americans have low paying jo or
nojob atall. .
Every American who wan �
wor and' willing to . om should
be entitled to a job with good w ges
and decent benefits a ic h�
right in the U.S. .
1'----- _--
-- -
A Prayer For Jermaine Ewell
Benjamin F. :
Chavl. Jr. .
The racial violepc:e perpetrated
against African Americ:ans, Hispanic
Americans, Native Americans and
Asian Americans conlin to n.e
sharply. What bas gone wroDg in the
United Sma? Why are so many
people so mad with raast �
. and violence? VIe pray for the com
plete recovery of Jermaine EweU, a
17-year-01d African AmeIic:aD male,
who brutally bea Jl 1JDCO
scio with basebi.11 ba
high graduatiOn party by S bite
men in l..onllsland, New York. T.be
t,ragic beating of Ewell is DOt an �
lated iDddenL Tbcre ba e been
hUDdrcds of typea of mdally
motivatec1 beatiDp througbo the
United States durlna the past several
years. .
JermaiDe B ell 10 a
araduation party Ith his fellow
cl ma from Lawrence High
School near HempI Y4
T.be party OD Atlantic Beach in
Long Island. AI though African
American students are only about
10" of the student population at
Lawn=nc::e High, Ewell bad become
ll.known and admired as a foot
ball and track star. Ewell w prolld
to be � grad tie of LaWJence High.
While Ewell was talking to
white female student at the party,
20-year-old SbaDDOn Siegel, along
with ral otber whi� males, ap
pl'OKbed and questioned, "Are you
with that nigger?" Later Siegel and
otbcll viaously anacted Ewell who
admitted UDCODICious in aitic:al
. c:oad.ition at the local hospital with
aevete bead injuries. After the beat
Jermaine'. mother, Mrs. Emes
tiDe Ewell, sigbed, "His life i over
you have an in ith God and
mow 10 waD him up. His life
is' De beca� of the color of his
skin." Fortunately, Jermaine
replDed his coDldo after ex-
vc mcdic:al treatment
OUR PRAYER for Jermaine
Ewell is not only for his recovery but
also we demand that justice be done,
Racial justice for all victims of racial
violence is ntial if thi nation is
to have a fair and just society. Of
course the national social clima� is
informed by the kind of leade hip
that i in the White House. President
Bush must top vetoin8 civil rights
bills. Bu$h Ihould stop misusing the
Siegel and four other white men
,
have been anestcd and charged wi th
"attempted murder." There will
probably be a long trial. The defense
counsel is certain to allege that Ewell
did something to provoke his attack
ers. Thus, another rac:ially-charged
trial will be on the national scene.
Yet, in the wake of all of the past
tIails, convictions and in some in-
tanc:es imprisonment as a result of
racial violence, these racist acts con
tinue to occur.
. ue of �ed quotas.
Unless the present national lreDd
in backing �ay from a serious com
mitment to affirmative action is
stopped, then the rise in racial
violence is going to continue.
The serious injuries inflicted on
young Jermaine Ewell are injuries
ustained by a nation that re to
tand up to racism. VIe s.: 01" to
this insidious violence. We ay,.
"Nol all form of raci m and
brutality.