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Publl r:Ch
D. K lIy - Editor: T r
K lIy
Advertising Man ger: lch I Ru II
Advertising Representatives: T rry Broyle
J rom K y - Bob Zwalak
Cuttiing the Color Ta
while building the 'hood
African Americans in Michigan pay a Color Tax. In polite and �
legal circles its called an auto insurance premium. In reality it's a
color tax.
The Detroit Chapter of the National Association of Colored
People (NAACP) called everyone' attention to the realitie of
buying auto insurance for residents of the Black community when �
they filed a lawsuit two years ago. The suit is based on a ruling by
the Michigan Supreme Court which says if the law mandates you
must buy auto insurance, then auto insurance has to be affordable.
For residents of the state's Black communities, auto insurance
i not only not affordable, it actually subsidizes the rest of the
tate's drivers.
The Detroit Free Press picked up on the NAACP charges and
has been running a series "Why Auto Insurance Costs So �uch."
TIle series backs up what the NAACP has stated. For example,
most of the Detroit drivers currently pay an annual premium of
$2,240.80. Drive acros the boundary between the ity and Grosse
Pointe Park and the premium drops to $1,322.80; driv� a little
farther and the annual premium drop to $1,103.80 per year.
TIle ituatiori does not have to exist, nor must Detroit and other
inner cities wait until the Attorney General, the legislature or th e
courts come to their relief.
Remember the old burial insurance? Families paid anywhere
from a nickel to a quarter a week to cover the costs of their eventual
funeral. e practice produced several millionaires and created
solid insurance companies that exist to this day.
We would urge the state NAACP to immediately convene the
appropriate experts and investigate the possibility of an insurance
company formed through the strength of the churches to cover all
tbe needs of inner city residents: home, car and health needs.
One of the single largest sources of capi tal for business develop­
ment is the insurance industry. With all tho e premiums paid into
a self-help, home-based, city-oriented, church-promoted. com­
munty-owned insurance company we believe the possibility exists
that premiums would be lower, capital for building the inner cities
would be raised, and the whole level of life in the cities would be
improved.
If a house burned, we would rebuild it. If a car wrecked, we
would fix it. Those annual premiums would be invested in the city
from where they came: Businesses would be developed, jobs
created, neighborhoods rebuilt, homes improved.
Can anyone tell us why not?
The no-fault lnsurence
reform vote a vote for ...
Six state lawmakers sit on a special committee that must come
up with a revision of the current auto insurance law which expires
on Dec. 31. One of the six is State Rep. Alma Stallworth who
represents Detroit on the committee.
Her task is a difficult one. Not only is she subjected to the same
intensive, million dollar lobbying effort conducted by the in­
surance industry as the other committee members, but the tentacles
of the insurance industry reach home-her family owns an in­
surance agency. The agency's brochure pictures the State Rep
sitting at a table with son and daughter-in-law and other insurance
industry figure . Thus, Rep. Stallworth is faced ith a choice that
will directly benefit her family- or her consituents.
Perhaps she should have declared a conflict of interest and
removed herself frqm the committee at the get-go. At any rate, the
overburdened residents of her Detroit district must let her know
we expect her to work in the people's interests. That's why we
sent her to Lansing. '
HIS PoLITICS? AEPA£H£NSI9l.E.
IS All I CAN CALL IT
VIEWS OPINIONS
By
CI'-��I'S deci ion not to run
leaves huge void that cannot be
filled by any of the announced or
unannounced Democratic candi­
dates,
J� JACKSO 's presence
in the center of Democr ·c presi­
dential politics kept alive tJte hope
that someho the Democratic Party
would change it's ays and move to
embrace the disadvant ged and dis­
possessed thatJ aclcson so eloquently
and ly presents.
J clcson'sdepanurefromthefield
strips the Democratic Party of any
legitimate claim that it represents the
interests of the masses of Black,
people. other minorities and poor
e there fe lib-
eral Democra who raised their
voices in dissent, the Congressional '
Blae C ucus, on collection of
th dissenting voices, P ted
and fought for the pproval of an
alternative budget ever; year with
little support from the majority of
their Democratic coil gues.
For the m 'part the Demoaats
were too busy being penn' ive.
It was J Louis Jackson who,
more than any other national figure,
boldly and courageously stepped
forth to challenge the moral bank­
ruptcy and impracticality of Reagan'
racist, pro-rich. anti-poor and anti­
labor philosophy and polici .
FOR ALL OF the millions of
vot J aekson regis ed for the
Democra , for all the new energy
and life th t Jackson infused into
otherwi e bland, lifel and me -
ing campaigns,} Jackson w
rewarded with insults and rejections.
By 1988 the Democratic Party
"II ttying to finds w ys to adjust it's
image and message in hopes of ap­
pearing more Reaganesque.
As the '92 election season ap­
pro ched, it w clear that within the
Democratic Party e tabli hment,
JesseJ ackson bad become the pariah
of the party, tolerated, but tially
unwanted and unwelcome.
JesseJ ackson w the Democratic
American take "voting" for granted
without appreciation or understand­
ing Of the bloody price th,at 'II paid
by persons like Medgar Evers and
many others for the "right to vote."
What happened in Mississippi in
'1963 was not an isolated situation.
Medgar Evers. like Martin Luther
King. Jr. and Malcolm X, was slain
to put fear in the masses of disenfran­
chised to keep them down and pow­
erless. Neither should we today treat
the ascendancy of a David Duke to
political prominence in Louisiana as
an isolated situ lion. Theresurgence
of racism in the nation -has 10 be
challenged in every region and com­
munity.
One of the strange new revela­
tions about Beckwith that is now
being revealed is that much of 'his
racial hatred i driven by member­
ship in sea "religious order."
. It 'II reported that Beckwith .
called a "priest" in the so-called Chris­
tian Identity Movement Movement
(C.I.M). But really this hould not
ppear too surprising given the role
of the misuse of religious saiptwes,
symbols and traditions by racially
oppressive groups in thep t like the
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Americ 's two
ti .
The emergence of third force or
.,
a n political party with the vi ion.
and program to fight for social trans-�
formation is a strategic imperative at
this movement in history. ,_
Hopefully, J J on' No-
vember 2. pronouncernentrepresentS
the kind of "bold leadership and new:
direction" which can help to propel
the progressive movement along thi$. •
critical path. ; :
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Ron Daniels serves as Presideni
o/the Instiuuefor Community Orga­
nization and. Development in Younge, :
stown; Ohio. He may be contacted a� :
(216) 746-5747. 'f :
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Demand justice in the case of Medgar Evers . �
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By BENJAMIN F. CHAVIS. JR.
Justice can not forever be denied.
Truth eventually wins out over the
evils of the past. Now that there
again appears to be some movement
to bring those responsible for the
tragic assassination of Medgar Evers
to trial. there needs to be a national
public demand that "Justice" be fi­
nally done.
The stage is being set in Jackson,
Mississippi for the retrial of Byron
de La Beckwith who is accused by
the state of killing Medgar Evers in
1963. Evers was a great champion of
civil rights as the Mi issippi State
Field Secretary of the National Ass0-
ciation for the Advancement of Col­
oredPeople(NAACP). At the age of
37, Medgar Evers had become na­
tionally known for his outstanding
leadenhip and courage in challeng­
ing American racism.
In fact. th upcoming trail for
Beckwith will be his third trial be­
cause all white juries in the two
previous trials ere not able to reach
a verdict. Beckwith is alleged to
h ve "bragged" &bout killing Ev
Yet, in the p t the t te of Missis-
sippi has been unsuccessful in get­
ting Beclcwith convicted of the aime.
Those of us who were youngsters
in the Civil Rights Movement of the
1960's well remember the hock and
horror of hearing the new of the
cowardly ooting of Medgar Evers.
If one goes to Mississippi today to
see the progress that has been made
in better race relations and commu­
nity empowerment, much of the
credit has to go to the legacy of
persons like Medgar Evers.
BUT WHn..E THERE has been
progress in M' issippi and in other
southern 'tates. there still is a long
way to go. The issue of "voting
rights" is till of paramount concern.
The redistricting 'of Congressional
districts should provide greater vot­
ing strength for the majority of Afri­
can American citizens in the South,
yet e have seen recently some of
the same old "tricks" of drawing
lines to dilute African American vot­
ing power . similar to the "tactics"
used back in the 1960' .
Even up-South in places like Ne
York City of Chic go, Los Angeles,
or in Detroit. today too many African
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Klan and others. The point here is
that anyone who believes that racial
hatred and violence consistent
with Christianity are misinformed
severely.
THIS IS WHY it is important for
all churches, 'Protestant, Orthodox,
and Catholic to e visible stands
against all forms of racism and to
join in the demand th justice be :
done in the case of Medgar Ever. I'
The courts will only do justice when
the people demand justice. Let us ,
join together in this demand for the :
e of the P and for the necessity :
of the future.' ,
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