W inatOD, DC-{CNS)-A the
U.S. Senate ebated bi-partisan,
comprom e civil righ bill follow­
ing the confirmation of Supreme
Court Justice Clarence Thoma ,
Black Democra and Republicans
here began d· c ing campaigns for
the 1992 elections from the city
council to the White House.
With both major partie now
foc ing on increased' Black vo er
interest, the po ibility of African­
Americans eeklng the pre idential
nominations in both major political
parti is also being considered.
National televl ion commen­
tator-community activist Tony
Corr!!pOI!dMt
The smartly-dressed, mild­
mannered and articulate Deputy
City Manager bf Kalamazoo sat
aero from this correspondent in
his second-floor City Hall office.
Dapper and relaxed, Marc Ott ex­
hibited the charm and profes­
sionalism that a Master's in
public administration (and home
training) provides.
Marc Ott is an African
American. While he understands
the sensitive nature of his job, he
also has no intention of turning
his back on his roots, which is
why he agreed to speak with the
Michigan Ci tizen.
Like the twelve dynamic
Kalamazoo individuals from
business, education, religion, and
ocial wMk profiled in these
pages before him, Ott freely gives
back to his community, offering
his ideas, insight, and knowledge.
His only hope i that some'
youngster will discover a kernel
of truth in his. message, a kernel
�hich caU be nourished into bear­
ing fruit. ,
THE THIRD OF five
brothers, Ott came from a back­
ground where solid work ethics
were instilled, his Dad working at
Brown announced pI ns to develop
ew epublican p rty "to repudi
D vid Du and reflect the vi of
a culturally diverse society".
D , a former Ku Klux Klan
leade , recently won the Grand Old
Party's nomination for governor in
Lou! na.
IN NEW YO CITY recently,
Tony Brown announced he
"coming out of the clo et"
Republican, "like millio of other
African AmericanS whO don't know
It ye ."
H h told ome upporters that
he is considering plans to seek the
GOP nomination for Pre ident and
he will disclose hi decisi
MarcOtt
General Motors for over thirty
years. "We weren't poor, we
weren't rich; we got by," he
recalled, eeming to tum to his .
vision inward to that early
childhood on the south end of
Pontiac.
Despite the support and love
freely givenby his family, the
area's climate of drugs, poverty,
and violence was harsh to a
chjld's enslbllities,
To Ott, they combined to put a
generation of ldds at risJc. "Most
of the guys I grew up with are
either dead. in the [oint, or strung
Se OTT, A·10
Lawmakers
tackle haith-care
Jan ry. "The only w Y to make th
p rty w t you want itto be i to join
the New Republican " he an­
nou�.
The newly declared Republican
released a 12 point program call for
the party "to return to i roots of
i�l ion, renounce racial pol riza­
non . nd guarantee civil rights d
affirmative ction for tho e who
uffered hi torically from di -
crimination and disinfranchi ement,
Brown I 0 called for equal
educational opportunity "by
strengthening institutions that h ve
historically erved the Black popul -
lion".
S G�� PREZ, B-3
o
•
I
DBTROIT-ACO ( ali
of Community Organizations for
Reform ow) recently released a
study that ho racial disparity of
mortgage lending by 20 major
national banks, including Comerica
and First of America in Michigan.
.Tbe tartling data reveals that in
Detroit, "31 percentofupper-incomc
minorities were rejected compared
to 21.3 percent of low-and
moderate-income whites."
Further more, the study reveals,
"In 1990, Comerica Bank had a 20.1
By LAURA BLAKE
Caplffl N!w! ..-vIc.
LANSING - State lawmakers are
"getting back to b ics" as an affor­
.dable, bare-bones healthcare pack­
age goes before the Senate this week.
As a step toward solving the
state's health care crisis"part of the
28-bill package would allow busi­
nesses and medically uninsured in­
dividuals to custom-design a health
care plan of b ic ervices.
"What we're trying to do is
develop a basic plan, but also get
A CALL FOR DIRECT ACTIO ! - crowd of nearly 300 person from throughout the D troltA aD
Community m rched In the rain S turd y, October 26 down Gran" W·ver to the Northwestem Center caUl
for unity mOD II AfrIcan Ameli n m Ie • (photo by . Ranil) ,
r
a.1
•
I
•
UI
co
•
,
(ACORN) pI a b forum in early
to . E>ecembe.r. "
was
percent in
'middle
income
census tracts
with an 80 to
100 percent
minority
population.
Figures for First of America were
almost identical."
In additional to issuing a "ten
ACO N PL N to invite
on citizens and bantin& representative
to attend the forum.
The ten point plan ACORN
issued states: "
- Conduct immediate on site
examina tion of all financi I
institutions for compliance with fair
lending law;
R e e r v e - Impose an immediate,
concerning moratorium on all merger
the merger between First of America applications;
and Security Bancorp, "
Moreover, she said, "We S e ACORN, A-10
away from some of the extras that
would make a basic plan unaffor­
dable," said Sen. John Schwarz, R­
Battle Creek, a phy ician and vice
chairman of the Senate Heal th Policy
Committee.
Part of the basic plan calls for
releasing insurance companie from
state health-care mandates in ex­
change for price ceilings on basic
insurance packages.
S EVICTIONS, A·10
Hotel eviction
Group says'
The announcement by a group of landlords that 5,000 forme
General Assistance recipients will be evicted from residential hotel
on November 1 i blatantly illegal, aid a spokesperson for the Emer­
gency Committee for a Moratorium on Evictions and Utility Shut-Offs.
We urge all those threatened with eviction not to leave" id Durk
Barton a spokesperson for the group. "We demand that Detroit ety
Councilintervene to stop this di aster from happening."
Under existing law, anyone who pays rent for a peciflc period of
time (by the week or month) and has lived in the same place for at le t
two months should be considered a tenant. Thi applie to re ide ial
hotels, e Committee said. '
Michigan landlord tenant law provide that one cannot be evicted
illegal
"ONEPACKofbUls in the pack­
age said, 'We will relieve insurance
See TACKLE, 3·A
J : "1
really don't think so. I think
state should lay 0 of it. I don't
think people UDders the pain
(some) people (may be) going
through. "