"IT' D to ay, but in
country where three million p ople
are without f • K ro tory i not
unw ual," y S ott Faiia. CARE'
dire tor in Ethiopia. "Mo t of th
p ople we help have gone through
imilar ordeal."
, Her hu b nd had gone t the town
f Butka t attempt t beg for r d
whe nShcknuri de ided that the
family" b than e of urvival wa
to walk to a CARE fo d di tribution
Nation World
- - ------_ ....
cl rly in tho ad-
van d ta of tarvation," F iia
y . "A inf nt li e that i first fed
intraveno ly and th n given uper
rich porridge every two hours, I
think he will pull through."
CARE gave Sheknuri a pecial
highly nutritious flour to mix with
wat r for her older children. Her
ons are not hungry anymore but
theirbodie how the telltale igns of
erious hunger - orange tints in
th ir hair and di tended stomachs,
both caused by a lack of protein.
"When I hear a tory like Karo' ,"
Faiia say. "I can't help wondering
how many amilie like hers tried
imilar feat and didn't make it."
Blac
U.
woman make
political hi tory
•
LlTTL ROCK, ARK. - I n he r
childhood, Lottie H. Shackelford
never dreamed that she would make .
history as the first woman and first
Black mayor Little Rock, Arkansas.
In the early 1970's Shackelford. as _
a mother of three young children. was
not interested in polities as a career
pursuit but as a pragmatic vehicle for
"surviving and getting things done in
the community."
The fact that she has progressed
from a "volunteer community ac- •
tivist" to a major-league player in the
highly competitive arena of American
. politics i not surpri ing to tho e who
know her.
Shackelford has gained local and
national respect for her determined
spiri t and efforts to be a prod uctive and
effective public etvant. And her
political astuteness and record of per
formance have moved her into the
mainstream of national politics.
Presently, Shackelford erves in
the highly prestigious po ition of Vice
Chair of the Democratic National
Committee and is in her fourth term as
a member of the Little Rock City
Council. In 1987, she became the first
. woman and Black to serve as mayorof
Little Rock in the city's 150-year his
'tory.
A NATIVE OF Little Rock, she
graduated cum laude in Business Ad
ministration from Philander Smith
College. Other subsequent formal
studies included serving as a fellow at
the John F. Kennedy School of
Government at Harvard University in
the Program for Senior Executives in
State and Local Government and at
tending law school at the University of
Arkans .
Shackelford has plenty to say about
the evolutionary impact of politics on
her life.
"My early introduction to politics
came when I would go with my dad to
sell poll tax receipts. Later, as a mother
of three young children, I naturally
became involved with the PTA This
was a training ground for me. I began
in the PTA as membership chairman,
and later was elected local school
presidentrn, and then City-wide PTA
president. Out of this experience, I
learned what was needed and neces-
,ary to get things done--a playground
bere, a pothole fixed there.
"What resulted from the PTA ex
perience was a group of Black women.
called Black Female Action. who had
begun to assert themselve in order to
[nstiture change. This group en
couraged me to become a candidate
for the city council. I lost the first race
in 1974. I finished third among five
candidates. I was so excited about
"Once we old 11 of our
firewo d, we b gged for food," ay
Sheknuri. "We lept in the market
area of the town' that we could
earch for any food that omeone
might have dropped."
At one pint in th tnp, they
p ed a tru k Ir m one r the relief
agen 1 that had hit land mine.
The truck had been loaded with food.
Sheknuri and her children Irantically
D N EROU TREK - Karo heknuri, 30, nurse' her daugher b ck to he Ith fter the family, with four
children under even years old, made a d perate S-day trip to safety from their drought-stricken fann in
eastern Ethiopa. According to CARE, the world' large t private relief nd development organization,
Shekouri and her children are among the 3 million Ethiopian who need food to survive the next year. CARE
Photo by cott Failla .
Anti-Gulf War Three on trial
NEW YORK - David Ranson,
Shahid Hashaba and Mustafa Ali
Hassan. three men arrested October
20,1990 for anti-Gulf War activities
in Columbus Circle, are now on trial
before Judge Barbara Newman.
The three were part of the African
American and Hi panic contingent
of the National Coalition to Stop
U.S. Intervention in the Middle East.
Hassan ays that their arr t on a
flimsy pretext without provocation
was the result of an attempt by the
police, on government orders, to dis
courage African Americans in par
ticular from joining the growing
ranks of the anti-war movement.
Over 25,000 people participated
in the peaceful demonstration to
protest the U.S. movement toward
war, and only Ransom, Hashaba and
Hassan, all African Americans, were
arrested, becoming the first of
thousands of ca ualtie ofthe nation
wide movement.
They all face charges of assault,
resisting arrest and disorderly con
duct, but Hassan says they are certain
that photographs, videotape and
eyewitnesses to the events which led
up to their arrests will clear them of
the charges.
The three have filed police
brutality complaints, and two of
them, Ha haba and Hassan, have in
itiated.clvll suits against the police.
The war, which has not stopped.
has resulted in 125,000 to 300.000
death , millions left homeless, with
famine, widespread epidemics and
violations of international law .
themselves. You can't go out to help
of represent others if you don't feel
good about yourself, Secondly you
must be determined about those goals '
you want to achieve in life. You must
be tough-minded �nd have thick skin.
Don't wear your feelings on your
shoulder. Thirdly, you have to be con
vinced that you can do what you ask
people to h lp you do, that you can
lead, develop strategies for various
programs."
HASHABA A Y THAT they
were there because they did not want
the blood of innocent people on their
hands as a re ult of Bush' "blood for
oil" Middle East policy,
The men clai m that they were
brutally assaulted by the police on
the usual pretext that a flag pole on
which a banner was carried was a
threat to public afety.
Bias crimes must be tallied
A 'POLITICAL PIONEER - Uttle Rock, Arkansas Councllmember
Lottie H. Shackelford (left), who made history as the flrst woman and
Black mayor of Little Rock, discu es some mutual civil rights concerns
with Dr. William G ib on, Chairman of the NAACP' national board of
directors, at a recent Washington, D.C. Black leadership luncheon. As
Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee, Mrs. Shackleford is
a major I�ague player In the arena of national polltlcs.
pliance with federal reporting stand
ards, and it is significant because for
the first time, it includes crimes
motivated by gender prejudice or
bias in the reporting standards."
groups and by police organizations.
ttAs a ociety, we must be able to
recognize and respond appropriately
to the e kinds of outrages, whether
they are individual acts of violence
or destruction, or orchestrated cam
paigns of terror.
finishing third, you would have
thought I had won. I knew I would be
back, but I understood I needed help.
So I enrolled in the Institute of Politics
for nine months. I wanted to learn
more about the tools and techniques of
politics."
State Representative Floyd Clack
(D-Flint) said that under House Bill
5105 he sponsored that has received
full legislative approval, local police
chiefs and county sheriffs in
Michigan will be required to report
information on crimes motivated by
prejudice or bias based upon race,
ethnic orgin, religion, gender or
sexual orientation.
"This expansion of the Uniform
·Crime Reporting law will allow state
authorities to create and maintain ac
curate statistical records on the num
ber and types of prej udice-based
crimes and maintain accurate statis
tical records on the number and types
of prej udice-ba ed crimes com
mitted in Michigan," Rep. Clack
said.
"With this information.
governmental and public organiza
tions will be able to determine the
extent and the trends of this type of
crime, and develop policies and
defenses against it.
"This bill is especially. important
as it brings Michigan into com-
IN 1978, HACKELFORD was
appointed to a vacancy on th ci ty
council, and won re-election in 1980
and 1984. Sh had previously cam
paigned for mayor among her city
council colleagu and lost, but he SHACKELFORD ADDED, "Al-
was not one to be discouraged. ways remember to bring others along
In 1987, Shackelford took her case with you. You should never be selfish.
to the people, although city council We gain through strength and strength
members elect one of their own as comes through numbers. Alway ask
mayor. She told the business com- every day, 'What have I done to help'
munity and white civic leaders, "I someone else along the way?' Be en
don't want to be mayor just because I couraging, I think it is a great disser
serve on the Council, but I want to be vice for elected officials to' give the
mayor because I feel I can do some- aura of superiority, the attitude of, 'I
thing for the city of Little Rock," can do this but you can't' 1 am con-
Shackelford worked until the stantly trying to de-mystify politics by
Council vote was taken. Her white saying, 'You can do this also."
colleagu son th Council, responding. In looking to the future, Shackel
to broad community sentiment, ford says with a big smile, ttl will either
elected Shackelford as mayor. enter a tate-wide race in Arkansas of
Shackelford h orne advice for pursu som other political options.
young Bla k women interested in run- However, a more immediate goal is
ning for public otfice. helping to elect a Democrat as our next
"First, I would tell young Black president in 1992.
women arid men to feel good about
In the December
15-21 is su e. Patricia
Carter's and Laricna
Touchstones pictures
we r e inadvertently
transposed.
We apologize and
regret whatever
inconvenicnccs it may
have caused.
REP. ClACK said that his bill is
supported by a wide variety of law
enforcement and rights advocacy
I rGet
7
•
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