,
DETROIT
are re e ery d y of t ye r."
m le
front bu r but t
HOWEVER, ome did not
agree with hi "I am making tate
ment" by leeping ou ide one night
and in a "warming helter" another.
One by tander rem rked,
uddenly
the light?
HO V R, all were not
plea ed with Rev. Jac on, even if
he is not" romping." One of Gover
nor Engler' aid aid if Rev. Jack-
.
LOVE I THE THEME- Th women nd children from e Hou Of Love trended the hom I rally:
tKennedy qu re rlday,December27.Theywantp opletokno th tthehomel 36S-d y,ye r-roundl
problem. (photo by N. Scott) I
.
A TU LLY, TH chan
ges came about because com
munity group and other
joined together and
dem nded that the redlining
and di crimination stop. And
thing did change-some
what.
The fact i ,di crimination
and redlining continue. The
fact is, the banking institu
tions continue to do very little
mortgage lending in our
neighborhoods. Improve
ment on their terrible record,
of three years ago does not
mean their performance is
now excellent. Or even good.
'It means their lending pat
tern are only a little less ter
rible.
We must keep in mind the
difference between charitable
actions and fairne s in lend
ing.
·Patche
on Main
I
I
Ward includes other poems that go:
beyond the Black expe�ence, the:
Detroit experience, to pomt out the.
parts of life that gladden, adden.;
strengthen and humor us all. :
"Princess" is the story told by every'
parent who has watched a daughter's'
oft. wide eyes grow maller and:
..
secretive with knowledge and buret
geoning womanhood, and i� still:
caught unawares. It brings to nund the.
times when I catch my mother just:
looking at me-the bespectacled face!
of a college student, journalist, poet;
and bride-to-be (someday-maybe).
and seeming to wonder how all this:
happened. "Princess" encompasses:
every parent's hopeful fear/fearful:
hope of a child's becoming an in-.
dividual being in his own right.
By sharing his poetic vision of his.
life in Detroit, Ward has iterated this.
city's historical and cultural impor-:
tance. In his poetry he reminds us, and.
informs others, that Detroit's people:
possess a collective heart, soul and
spiri 1. Our heart sinks, our soul is
weakened and our spirit is broken bY.
the sad moments of our past and'
present. . .
But from the ashes of our disap
pointments. we salvage a resolve to.
move on-and up-by conquering the:
difficulties common to all big cities i
ways that are uniquely our own. Ward:
has done that in his own life, and has:
told his story well. With his writing,:
Ward shows that he's one of us. •
•
I
Book Review
By LEAH SAMUEL
sg"Wrlt.,
"Patches
not so old
but worn like his coat
hangs on the side of life
in his earch for truth
with a shoestring tied
around his soul... "
Alben Ward's collection of poem"
has been around for over a year, but i \
merits mention here because of what it
offers to Detroiters: a source and
reminder of pride.
Ward himself is a source of Detroit
pride. A writer since childhood, Ward
was educated at Cass Technical High
School, the University of Detroit and
Wayne State University. His con
tinued involvement with Detroit in
cludes participation in numerous
community, youth and political or
ganizations. He also served as an aide
to former governor James Blanchard.
Albert Ward, working as a state
governor's aide, stood and looked out
his office window, staring toward the
neighborhoods, the people, t�e
memories that are his Detroit. Patches
on Mainstreet is the result.
One opens "Patches" and embarks
on a trek along a Motor City Memory
Lane, its eras and events as clearly
marked as white-on-green street
signs-Woodward, Ewald Circle, Ful
lerton, Davison .... The line between
childhood's beaming wonder and the
nostalgic reveries of maturity becomes
blurred as Ward gathers elements of
his life, simultaneously assembling
tiny puzzle pieces of Detroit's past and
present history.
In the title poem, the character
Patches is Detroit personified, full of
experiences good and bad, but also full
of wit, wisdom and conversation under
the old brown hat that is the past, and
held together by scraps of old
newspaper (replete with Detroit's most
memorable headlines), pieces of string
and some hope:
Detroit walks, garbed in the body of
Patches in grey tweed jacket, ambling
toward the dream etched in the intense
furrows of his forehead. The walk con
tinue in "Green Hills":
"I have come
the long distance
down dusty roads
and dirt paths
with a steady heartbeat
and deep breaths ...
NO MOUNTAIN I TOO TALL-W lterCole u a wheelchair but
neither that nor the threat of Inclement weather prevented him' from
attending Reverend Je e Jackson's noon rally for the homele at
Kennedy. quare Friday, December 27. (photo by N. Scott)
THE FACf THAT some
of Detroit's financial institu
tions now fund a few of
'Detroit's community-based
development organization,
sit on their boards, and speak
at many community meetings
does not address the heart of
the Community Reinvest
ment Act passed by Congress
in 1977.- Whether or not the
institution lends to low- and
moderate-income people and
. minorities.
It's the same old story.
We're not looking for hand
outs, but institutional change.
The first is relatively easy to
win, the latter is a much
tougher task.
The only way to win is for
all of us who seek social jus
tice' to band together, brace
ourselves, and face the storm.
If you want to be a part of it,
call ACORN at 963-1840.
I have trod
barefoot on gravel and stone
stumbling sometimes
holding the pain within
Women's 'Auxiliary
honors Mrs. Edith Roberts
And learned
there are green, hills
where the air is crystal
and each breath comes
like a cool handful
of spring water"
The Women' Auxiliary of
the Calvary Di triet Association
will honor Mrs. Edith Roberts
with an Appreciation Dinner
Saturday, 1 January 1992.
The 'dinner will be held at
6:00 p.m. at the Union Second
Baptist Churrch located at 459
Beechwood in River Rouge.
The occassion will allow the
Cal vary Famil y and the com
munity to thank Mrs. Roberts for'
14 years of dedicated service as
President of the Calvary
Women's Auxiliary.
This poem of experiences, and
knowledge gleaned from them, offers
an assurance of the future. FU{UlY how,
when reading the book upon its
release, I had just received word that a
Washington, D.C. think tank had voted
Detroit the sixth most livable urban
area in the world. In light of some of
the negative publicity Detroit gets, it
was refreshing to get such an assess
ment. The minute I heard the news, I
saw patches, "his search for truth" suc
cessful, wink his eye and give that sly
grin of his.
Rev. Augustus to be keynote speaker
Jan. 121 in the Riverview
Ballroom of the Cobo Conven
tion Center in downtown
Detroit.
Tickets are $15 per person.
Patches on Mainstreet is available;
from Broadside Press, P.O. Bo
04527, Detroit, Michigan 48204.
The Rev. William Augustus
Jones of Bethany Baptist Church
in Brooklyn. NY, will be the
guest speaker at Wayne County
Executive Edward McNamara's
6lh Annual Prayer Breakt'a '\
Wine Sip and Other
Deliciou Poem
the progression of ideas as they the poem Projects.
build and expand toward the She wrote, "Equal people plus
metaphorical. property divided by poverty/ mul
tiplied by needs unattended."
By NATHANIEL SCOTT
St." Wrlt.r
DhTROIT-Wine Sip and Other
Delicious Poems, Sharon Smith
Knight's first volume of po-etry, is
the expression of the bud, the
bloom and the blossoming of
Smith-Knight's adventure into the
adult world of love.
In this volume of soul-search
ing poetic thougtu, Smith-Knight
explores her adolescence, the
erotic, and the maturing aspects of
love.
She writes about family love
through and in the expression of a
Mama's Poem, and about a son in
the poem "Black Legacy. "
Smith-Knight's writing reflects
the ability to tell stories and paint
pictures that are ure to capture the
imagination of many. However,
the controlled pen gives way to
narration and sometimes hinders
YET THE freshness of thought
and the ferreting out of the voice
of Smith-Knight, which orne
time is obscure, lends to the
beauty which is rough hewn.
On the other hand, in Wine Sip
and Other Delicious Poems,
Smith-Knight clashed sounds and
produced the effect that love is a
process that continue to evolve
into bigger and better things.
In "Army Boots" she wrote:
"You were my Easter hat/my Sun- � Other Delicious Poems and
day shoes,/ my interviewing' ftnd out how Smith-K:n1�ht
ctothes.z I was your wash and progres�e from the ope'!,mg
wear,! your uniform;/ your poem: Of �e� A_nd Wo�n to
brogans with steel toe ." the concluding FUUJlly 20.
In addition to the love theme, Beware though. Beware. The dered from Broadside Press by
Smith-Knight touche upon the ride is rough-hewn love. writing to P.O. Box 04257,
social aspects of man, best it- The volume, ISBN 0-940713- Detroit, Mi. 48204.
lustrated by these two line from 06-3, ells for $7 and can be or- ,
WINE SIP A.ND OTHER
DELICIOUS POEMS are deli
cious and wicked acknow
ledgments of love and the ti ue, I
suppo e, presents an appr pna�e
theme for Broadside Pre to beg. n
its search for "the next Gwendolyn
Brooks. Dudley Randall (and/or
the late) Ethridge Knight."
We encourage the reader to
come into the folds of Wine Sip
fRlfNOS DON'l lH fRlfNOS
URIVf DRUNK.
us oI�
Buy 500. o.t 500 fr •• $21.95
Ral •• d Bl'ack Ink on Whit. Card
FlaS Publlahlng
'553 Woodward, Suit. 202
(313) 964-4247
Please ee Word Makers for
Smith-Knight's poem, "Projects."