BUSINESS/FINANCE
q tions:
--Is th re warranty?
on - Wh re n I g t P rts and (V-
ice?
-Is th r a return policy? If 0,
what ar the terms?
If th aDS ers to th e questions
uncI or m xist nt, the League
ugg ts that consum rs might want
to tum off th TV.
Amo
By WILLIAM REED
The y tic Knights of the Sea
Lodg Hall, Blac America The
Kingfi h and ole Andy Brown have
been ittin' around here for weeks
di cus in' th "new world order."
While �cro tb hall, Calhoun,
th lawyer, has been teeped in
q tions from lodge members about
what side to take �garding the nomi
nation of Clarence Thomas to the
Supreme Court. And Lightnin' i
shuftlin' around, visibily up et and
an ry beca e b got rob this
morning was leaving his neigh
borhood for wor .
Thi cene, in a broadcast from
the My tic Knights of the Sea Lodge
Hall, probably best illustrates the
Amos n' Andy nature of .contempo-
. rary African-America.
GEORGE "KINGFISH" Ste
vens and Andy, immersed in dis
cussions about the "new European
world order," the coup d'etat in
Russia, and Afro-centered educa
tion in public schools is sadly simi
lar historically to Nero and his fa
mous fiddlin' ways.
While America's Black com
munities are statistically and actu
ally going to hell in a bandbasket,
Black American intellectuals, like
the characters from Amos n' Andy,
are using their limited energies to
help the Europeans to, once again,
carve up the world's resources to
their prescribed "order."
BLACK COUCH potatoes like
to talk "expertly" about which So
viet states will oonbreakoff, while
in the inner cities their relatives are
ducking and dodging bullets of
drug dealers who freely shoot their
high powered weapons in random
directions while protecting street
I Andy
axicab Company
com r distribution turfs.
And ubian scholars of America
are trying to infuse realistic world
history into students who currently
cannot read or write in y language.
Ole Lightnin' walked into the
Lodge Hall minus the 35 bucks he'd
left hi inner-city apartment with
this morning. But he was happy that
in th blatant day-time robbery, at
I t, h was left uninjured.
TYPICAL OF MOST low-income
Blac ,Lightin' doesn't know much
about the Middle East, Russian nor
Nubian history.
He do know that due to racism
and the lack of employment and
economic opportunities among his
own kind, he can't find a permanent
job, can't get skills training and has
no vision of a secure future for him-
elf, his wife or kids. In his mid 308,
Lightin' is typical of many in neigh
borhoods like his across the country.
He i already a grandfather to his
17 -year -old � unmarried daughter's son,
and his own son is also a father to a
child who faces similar limited life
time prospects.
Calhoun, the lawyer amid the
Mystic Knights, is the best example
of the minstrel-show antics of the
African in America Taxicab Com
pany.
EQUIPPED WITH the prerequi
site skills for Talented Tenth leader
ship, Calhoun is instead directing his
energies toward "leadership via tele
vision ound-bites. "
He is livid and upset whenever
he can get on camera, because Presi
dent Bush has nominated a Black
man who is unacceptab Ie to his Afri
can-American Social Outlook litmus
test.
Calhoun thinks that Bush bas
pulled a fast one, but instead of using
By
WlUJAM
REED
BUSINESS EXCHANGE
good political logic in the situation
by trying to cut a deal to the benefit
of everyone involved, Calhoun
prefers to lead a lemming charge
that will divide Blacks 'along class
lines.
WHY CALHOUN, and the so
called "leadership," don't say, "wel1
take Thomas if you give us an ac
ceptable Civil Rights Bill," is a "I
win, " concept that seems to be be
yond the comprehension of the
modem Taxicab Company.
The current American Amos n'
Andy Minstrel Show cast could
also be called the Keys tone Kops
Review. We bump into each other
and divide ourselves over the con
firmation of Thomas , while paying
no attention to the broad-based
benefits that could accure by push
ing the Civil Rights Bill or putting
Black Reparations (H.R. 3745 may
pay each family of four $100,(00)
on the Congressional table.
WHEN WILL THE Amos n'
Andy cast of African-American
leadership realize that Thomas on
the Court, Russia whole or divided,
nor ecure sheik rulership of the,
Middle East has any redeemable
value to the ills of Black communi
ties?
auty Pageant
contestant search
CULVER CITY, CA - She's Big,
She's Black, SHE'S BEAUTIFUL!
She holds her bead high and exudes
elf confidence. She looks good and .
. feels good. SHE'S BEAtrrIFUL!
She knows it and so does the world.
TO CELEBRATE thebeauty of
the full-figured Black woman,
THREE"B"SPOKES�ODELPAG
EANT. Applications are being ac
cepted tbrough September 20, 1991.
"THIS IS TRULY a celebration
of the full-figured Black woman,"
stated pageant director, Deborah
Thome. The many ectivities planned
for the fi ve day event are designed to
create the memories of a lifetime.
The celebrating includes workshops,
I .
receptions, photo and make-up ses
sions, as well as television and radio
how appearances.
"THE WINNER of the pageant
will receive a ho t of prizes and she
will appear on the cover of SHE'S
'BEAUTIFUL! the fasbion maga
zine for full-figured Black women."
Thorne added," because we believe
• all women are winners, each COIl
testant will receive a trophy and prize
package."
LAST YEAR, there were con
testants from all across the country
and Canada: Becoming a contestant
is as easy as contacting THREE "B"
ENTERPRISES, P.O. Box 4491, CUl
ver City, CA 90231-4491, (213)
837-8013.
Radon In schools
urvey conducted
Indoor Randon surveys were con
ducted in five (5) Berrien County
Public chools during the period
March ,to April 1, according to
'W..I.j!J,l4ll'lN E. Oderkirk, R.S., M.S.,
Director of Environmental Health
for Berrien County Heal th Depart
ment.
Oderkirk said 218 radon survey
canisters were placed in Ballard
Elementary (Niles), Sterne Brunson,
Benton Harbor High School and
Hull School (Benton Harbor) and
North Elementary School
(Watervliet).
All tudent/faculty/employee
areas had results below the B.P.A.
Action Level of 4.0 Pico Curie IL
with 72% of the results not detected
at the detection level of 0.7 PlelL,
according to Oderkirk.
OderkiTk also aid, based on the
preliminary data, chool children,
facul ty and employees of public
chool in Berrien County have no
significant expo ure to Radon Gas
during the approximately 1,300
hours spent each year in their chool
building.
th
and
Di crimination
ainst hom? Is it the buyer ho i
p yin more th t i being discrimi
nated gat t or is it the buyer ho is
p ying I ?
o! I would u est tbat neither
is being treated unfairly. Let me
explain.
, PRIOR TO th late
ixti , ethnic and racial
differenc w re primary
in determining wh re you
could live. Sections of
our citi were tablished
and maintained according
to the racial, ethnic, and
ometimes the 'religious
backgrounds of selected
group of people.
And, always, people
are willing to pay more
for their housing to live in
neighborhoods where cer
tain group of people are
excluded.'
Title VIII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1968
changed all this.
This Act prohibits dis
crimination in housing
because of race, color,
religion, and national ori
gin. (This Act is one of
several acts, statute , and executive
orders that mandate against unfair
housing practices.)
� A RESULT, a real estate agent
must show a qualified buyer housing
in any area that the buyer chooses.
And if the African-American buyer's
offer is accepted by the seller, then
that house becomes the buyer's home.
THE OURTH is the
features or amenities that
are found in the majority
of bomes in an area. This
inchKles the size of the 101$,
the number of bathrooms,
the average square foot
age per bouse, two- to four
car garages, dens with fire
placcs,andwetbars. More
affiuent homebuyers re
quire more ameniti to en
hance their particular life
styles.
In response to your
quca' lam
prices very because there are many
homebuyers who are willing to pay
more to live together in certain se
lect areas of your city.
, .'
However, Family A paid $72,000
for � while Family B paid �OO).
Why the differences in prices?
There are four major forces at
work that influence housing values.
One force operating on the hous
ing market is the convenience fea
tures of a particular area. This in
cludes the availability of schools,
churches, shopping marts, recrea-
d
e.
ocial ta
civic-politico b kgroun
of pe 0 who currently
live in the area.
The third to do with
a demand for housing in
tb particular rea. This
includ the percentage of
homebuyers who are cur
rently looking for housing
within t area.
SEND YOUR QUESTIONS con
cerning real estate to Howard G.
Ball; Realty Services, 240 Western
Hills Drive, Madison, AL 35758.
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I
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