K.am
Suit
Publl her: Ch rl D.
K lIy
Where' h
leader hip gain t
racist lending
prectices?
Wh re is th poli tical lead rship on the banking
qu tion? Two weeks ago ACOR ( ociation of
Community Organization for Reform Now)
relea ed a report howing that raci m runs rampant
throughout the lending institution.
Forget that you make a middle-cl income, have
a nice job and a good credit rating. If yO\} re Black,
walk into a bank hoping to get a loan, the chanc are
that the lending officer instead of trying to figure out
a way to help you, i looking for a way to send you
packing, empty handed.
ACORN specifically pointed to First of America
and Comerica banks fortheir high rejection rate of
Black loan requ sts.
Qu tion. Are there city of Detroit funds in either
bank? Are there Benton Harbor, Muskegon Heights,
Pontiac, Flint . .. any of the Black run cities who
have ccounts inany of these banks?
The money should be pulled. We haven't heard
even the threat of such a pullout from any Black,
politician. There isn't a bank in the tate that wouldn't
[eel it, if a city pulled its fund out and put them in
friendlier places.
Question. What about school board money? There
is at least a billion dollars controlled by Black school
boards in the State of Michigan. What leadership,
what political/economic muscle have those elected
leaders flexed on behalf of their constitutents?
Question. What about state funds? Where is the
Black Legislative Caucus on this issue. There can be
committee hearings, investigations or inquiries to.
Banks are regulated by the state after all.
If our readers are hearing the same silence we hear
from the leadership on the question of racismin
lending, let them get on the phone and bug city hall,
board of education and state reps. We want an official
investigation. We want a change now!
Engler, the cuts
and South Africa
Gov. John Engler wants to consider investing
state pension funds in companies that do business in
South Africa. Currently it is against Michigan law to
do o.
This is the same Gov who tells the General Assis
tance recipients to "get a job" while he pulls their
check out from under them. He, himself lives in
public housing , but unlike other public housing
residents he does so, at no cost to himself for rent,
utilities or upkeep.
Gov, there might be a job for some of those folks
and some of the rest of us, too, if that money were .
invested in Michigan. During his last bid for presi
dent, Jesse Jackson convened a group of economists
who devised a safe plan for investing pension funds
to rebuild America. Engler needs to study that plan.
Why go abroad to invest in an aparthied govern
ment while tens of thousands go homeless here for
what of a job.
The governor is a man without conscience. Even
. worse, he's a man without vision.
•
VIEWS OPINIONS
o CE I th White Ho • Re-
gan visibly moved to tum b ck th
clock on affinn tive ction and civil
rights.
Simultaneously. under the guise
of getting th hurd n of government
off the b k of the people. Reagan
oressed to en ct an economic agenda
(Reaganomics) which w calculated
to further enrich the wealthy and the
privileged.
Reagan's vicious attack on civil
rights and affinnative action was a
ics.
Unf<XtLmately f too many within
white Americ fell prey to the poli
tics of r ceo The tragic politics of
"blaming the victim" and divide and
exploit worked extr m ly well an
expedient for Reagan-Bush and the
wealthy ruling elite of this country.
George Bush imply picked up
were Ronald Reagan left off.
It is difficult to imagine George
Bush and the National Republican
Party attempting to disavow and
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�_FO_R_�_A_L�L_. A_��_�_�D �
"E�vironmental justice movement" gains national strenqth
By BENJAMIN F. CHAVIS, JR
More than 600 African Ameri
am. Native Americml, Latino Ameri
can. and Asian American Ie ders
from every state in the nation met
together successfully for four days
in Washington, D.C. to declare the
emergence of a new multiracial jus
tice movement. History was cer
tainly made at the First National
People of Color Environmental
Leadership Summit held at the
Washington Court Hotel on Capitol
Hill. October 24-27, 1991:
The Leadership Summit declared,
"We are a new movement which
raises the iife and death struggles of
indigenous and grassroots commu
nities of color to an unprecendented
multinational integrated level. We
have come from all states of the
United States; Latin. Central. and
South America; the Caribbean,
Mexico. and Puerto Rico; Hawaii
and the M all Islands; Al ka and
Canada."
One summary theme that sur
faced at the Swnmit w that the
impact of "environmental r ci m"
on communities of people of color .
increasingly leading to a state of
"environmental genocide."
activety resisting various forms of
envirorunental genocide against them
throughout the world. " ,
ALTHOUGH THERE have
been numerous local and regional
struggles that have challenged envi
rorunental injustice in varied degrees
across the nation. what is new about
this movement is its multiracial and
international character. In the "Call
to Action" statement. the people of
color leaders explained. "The fight
against the disproportionately harm
ful impact of environmental degra
dation upon peoples of color is not
new.
We have always been in the
struggle. we have always known what
is at � . This movement addressed
every aspect of our quality of life.
Unlike traditional mainstream envi
ronmental and social justice organi
zations, this multiracial. multicultu
ral movement of peoples of color is
evolving from the bottom up and not
the top down. It ks a global vision
based on gr roo realities."
THIS GATHERING also hat
tered the myth that a multiracial
movement' impossib in the United
States bee use of the prevalence of
raciJrn which attemp to pit people'
of color gainst e ch other.
For those who were present to
witne this first national leadership
summit of that character. there was
an affirmation of a " piritual bond"
th t ran through the Summit that
helped to engender mutual r
and unity.
The . &mmit
lured to facilitate and maximize dis-
·00 amoog the g mi other
participants. This en b th Sum-
THE LEADERS wOO their
experiences-from a diversity of cul
���""T"-� tural perspectives found unity in
defining the "Environmental Justice
Movement." In a statement released
on the 1 day of the Summit. the
deleg deecribed the new move-
ment " A multiracial, multicultu-
ral cony gence of existing local and
regional grassroo movements and
struggl hich already under
ay by peopl of color which
..
IF DUKE elects to run an in
d pendent Bush ·11 0 be forced
to r rid or f the real thre t of
being unseated, H ving ere ed th
wtpch spawned a David Duke.
th Republicans m y no be forced
to compete with th ir cre tion.
A D vid Duke presidential run
would also pose problems for the
Democrats who have been obsessed
with recapturing th "white male"
blu collar voter.
This is exactly th constituency
which eems m t susceptible to the
r cial politics popularized by Re
agan-Bush; a politic which is now
being exploited to the hilt by David
I>tUke. .
The' cowardly performance of the
Democratic Party in capitulating to
. .
ivemovem tm t·
•
th alten tiv :
to th rei t d reactionary forces on :
th right or minoriti . d poor d •
orking people will continu to be:
victimized by the politics of divid
and exploit.
The '92 election m y ell be I
opportun moment for unified;
progres ive movem nt to pose the
vital alten tive.
Ron Daniels serves as President.
of the Institute for Community Ore:
ganization and Development in�
Youngstown, Ohio. He may be con<
tated at (216) 746-5747.
mit to reach consensus on a number
of complex issues without creating a
serious disruption during the four
day meeting. Even late into the
midnight hours delegate could be
found in small caucus meetings dis
cussing the "seriousness of the is
sues."
Another historic feature of the
gathering was the ratification of the
"Principles of Environmental Jus
tice." The Preamble of the Prin
ciples states, "WE, THE PEOPLE '
OF, COLOR, gathering together at of key terms. For example No.
this multinational People of Color states. "Environmental Justice affinm
Environmental Leadership Summit. the sacredness of Mother Earth. eco
to begin to build a national and inter- logical unity and interdependence of
national movement of all peoples of all species; and the right to be free
color to fight the destruction and from ecological destruction." No.;t
taking of our lands and communi- states, "Environmental Justice cal1s
ties. do thereby re-establish our spiri- for universal protection from nuclear
tual interdependence to the sacred- testing. extraction. production an�
ne of our Mother Earth; to respect disposal of toxic/hazardous wast
and celebrate each of oUr cultures. and poisons and nuclear testing th
languages and belief about thenatu- 1breaten the fundamental right to clean
ral world and our roles in healing air, land. water, and food."
ourselves; to insure environmental
justice; to promote economic alter
natives which would contribute to
the development of environmentally
safe livelihoods; and. to ecure our
political. economic and cultural lib
eration that h been denied for over
500 ye Of colonization and op-
ion, resulting in the poisoning
of our communities and land and the
genocide of our peoples, do affinn
and adopt these Principles of Envi
ronmental Justice."
THE LEADERSHIP Summit
THERE WERE a total of 17
Princip adopted at the Summit.
Thus this conference had a tid in-
ing" moment the ratification of,
the Principl of Environmental
Justice began to clarify the rneanins
called "for an immediate end to the
systematic murder of peoples of col
through global environmental geno
cide." The session concluded. "We
call upon the President of the Uni�
States, the Congress, and all feder ,
teo and local gencies to disc -
tinue all policies and practices of en
vironmental r cism and to proper �
enforce existing envirorunental �-
tection law and policies." .
Given the rise in infant mortaJ
ity, cancer, respiratory illnesses, and
ocher environmentally induced heal
conditions in people of color com
munities in this nation. this new
movement gaining strength and
momentum· good new .