PO T HU 0 , Mic. (AP) -
m St. Clair County Democrats
claim their political dversari may
have been r ci lly motiv ted in
developing re pportionm nt plan.
But t lea t one Republican leader
contends th t cc ation is fal e.
"I think it' completely without·
foundation," county GOP Chainnan
John Deaver id Friday night.
"There wa certainly no raci I
motivation with ny of the plans
-----
y
u
lie
r
A High School Principal Speaks �ut .
8yDA NYCOOK
�rm!l!!j!:U"'!!!!Jt , , I
At a December 15th NAACP fo 0 i rmat 8 yst m , John
. Cal 11. Princi 1 at 1 mazoo Ceo I gh Sc . and forum
participant, decl red that public schooling is faU children. Involved
in KaI m 00 Public Schoo since 1957, ub titute
teacher, Caldwell later invited the
Michigan Citizen into the
principal' office for a quick le -
on in Education, American­
tyle.
"Young people are a captive
audience to educators for six
bours a day," Caldwell said. He
poke from behind a desk clut­
tered with a wide range of items
onl y a high school principal
would have accumulated (Seized
from unsuspecting students, per­
hap ?).
"Our students mind us when
many times they don't have to
otherwise, we should be able to
make' a difference."
Attitude and motivation are
important elements of the teaching profession, Caldwell said. "What
are we doing about poor grades? About the dropout rate?"
Unions have created a situation where people don't have to be
accountable for student growth and achievement, Caldwell declared.
The 50-percent dropout rate in urban schools and the twenty-five
percent of high schoolers who graduate functionally illiterate are
because of a lack of accountability, in Caldwell' opinion.
"A TEACHER GOT offended that I wanted to make him respon-
sible for a student's grades when this student mi sed more days in
school then he attended." Caldwell believes effective teaching goes
beyond classroom situations, that a teacher must follow-up on his or
her tudents. "I asked this teacher, 'What do you know about this kid?
Is he homeless? Does he have parents? Has he been in tbehospitalj "
See SCHOOLS, A-10'"
VOL XIV NO 7 JANUARY 5 - 11. 1992
THE PlAN APPROVED Jan.
3, was drawn up by Deaver after the
Michigan Court of Appeal over­
turned a imilar plan that a1 0 would
have pit two Democrats in a runoff.
"I thin it's de picable," aid
Pack of the late t plan.
Her di trict, which now include
part of Port Huron, would include
Marysville under the new plan.
Mary ville ha ju t four Bl ck
among its 8,515 re idents, ccording
to the 1920"""'IIJOJu.,.
, 'The racial i �e is ling, "
aid Mark Brewer, a lawyer repre­
enting Larry Querry, chairman of
the county Democratic Party and the
only Democrat on the apportionment
commission.
"You have to look at population,
voting trends, how, much .a
commissioner's base is being· Se PANTHERS, Page A·10
BETfY TAYLOR: "I predict the
• 'ODS will be in the Super Bowl
1 2."
far I can ee, certainly not ours. H
In i bid to trim th county commi -
ion from eight members to even.
the county's Republican-dominated
apportionment commi ion on
Friday approved a plan that could put
Commissioner Audrey Pack ina
runoff for her po 1.
Pack, a Democrat, i th county
commi ion' only Black member.
The new di trict could pit her against
Commi ioner Patrick Quain, also a
Democrat, in an August primary.
The county commi sion ha five
Republican and three Democrats.
L
•
WI
changed, and if th thin
up then there could be a
raci m."
IMIL R i being
heard in K nt County wh re th p-
S e BATLE, P g A·10
Blae
lead
BY JAMES 0 CLIFFORD
ASSOCIATED PRES WR"ER
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -Five
former Black Panther Party leaders
appeared together Thursday for the
first time since the demi e of the
militant group to pres for the rele e
of a convicted murderer who was
once a member 0 the party hierar­
chy.
The former te ders contended
Elm r "Geronimo' Pratt, 43, was in
Oakland attendin a party meeting
Jy killed a wom in Santa Monica
during $30 robbery. Pratt ha
erved 21 years of a life entence.
The claims were contained in
affidavits filed in June to support
motions for a new trial. The gather­
ing at the Bethlehem Lutheran
k
•
urn
d
tand on
nee
By LARRY STILL
WASHINGTON, D.C.-U.S.
Congressman John Lewis (D-GA), a
former civil rights leader who is now
deputy majori ty Jeader of the House
of Representatives, denounced the
tide of growing violence, in
African-American communi ties
during a speech in his home stat this
month.
Speaking at the Israel Willi
Memorial Scholarship banque in
Bessemer, Ala. near the area wh re
he was beaten to the ground wi
other non-violent demonstrators for
lac
viol
voting rights during the historic 1964
Selma to Montgomery marches,
Lewis told the audience" ... Black on
Black violence ... constitutes the
greatest threat to the African
American community in the 1990s ...
"Once again, the time has came
for our communities to take a stand
to protect our future. We have to
galvanize force as we did in the
1960s ...
We have to ecure our ocial and
economic freedom. And we must
stop the drug trade and Black on
lack violence that is pJaguing oUI
communities," Congressman Lewis
declared.
"Our communi ties must
recapture the pirit of the 1960s. We
need a united front becau e the
solution should begin inside Black
America," said Lewis, who is
serving his third term as a
representative from Atlanta's fifth
congressional district.
Earlier this year, he wa
appointed Deputy Majority Whip to
help organize the Demo ratic Party
majority of members in the House of
Representatives after Rep. William
"THEREARE YOUNG teenage
hoodlums who are wrecking the
. gains made by young Black and
white students who went to jail-and
even died-for human rights. These
punks (who are kilJing each other)
are selling the legacy of the Freedom
Rights down the river," aid the
former chairman of the Student
Non-Violent Coordinatin-g
Committee who marched with Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
See VIOLENCE, A-10
BROTHER COACBMA :
"The economy will change some­
what for the better because it'
election time.
GERRIE GRAHAM: "I predict
there will be a major
breakthrough in the earch for an
AIDS vaccine."
