J
o XIMJ A, BRAZIL (AP) - Deep
In the Amazon rain fo t, i 01 ted
vill e tru gle to urvive nd
p rve the African c toms of the
runaw y I ve who founded them
two eenturie go.
Men till the land communally,
their an tors did. Paren tell their
child�n tale of lavery passed on­
for generations, nd te ch them
African dances.
"We h ve moto for our boa ,
nterns and other improve­
m n , but we have roo and tradi­
tio we w nt to m lntaln,' id
Antonio Printe he nd com­
panio cle d p tch of j Ie.
ow, the village y, their w y of
life' threatened.
Brazil' 1988 con stitutton
promi ed that the village , called
quilombo , would be given title to
the land they had tr dition By
worked.
MINING PROJECTS nd a
newly ere ted n tional fo t have
encro bed on quilombo land, how­
ever, nd a consortium led by Alcoa .
nd Shell propo e new b uxite
mining operation.
"If the e cornpanle drive
way, we'll 10 e our liberty and be
b ck to the time of I very," id
Printe , 56. He and about 6,000 other
d cendan of runaw y lav live
in the region.
His home is Abui, one of their two
S
LAVES,A-10
ro
co
BY LEAH AMUEL
StlftWrIt
DBTROIT - A 12-year, $6 mil­
lion tax brea for P 'p I Cola Co.,
may be revoked if the Detroit Oty
Council i way. ,
In 1989, Pep i requ ted a tax
batement for a bottling plant to be
built near Eastern Market, proml -
ina r j to Detroit
c te 100 new jobs
or Detro t iden ithin the
next fi years. P pai official had
Iso aid that workers laid off from
its Exeter plant in 1990 would be
hired at the new plant. It w
ported, however, that only three
workers were rehired, and that
those workers were white. It was
also reported' that Pepsi officials
later decided not to hire back any
other Detroit workers, instead
laying them off and subsequently
firing them.
According to reports, the
workers were not rehired-because
Pepsi had tested them for job In
the new facility, and it w found
that they "could not work on the
machin ry at the new plant, which
handles a bottle of a different size."
Pepsi repre entative allegedly
aid that the new bottle size was
more popular among consumers,
and that consequently, the workers
were put out by market forces, and
not by any wrongdoing on the
company's part.
Last November, the City Coun­
cil voted unanimously to formally
ask the state Tax Commission in
Lansin� to re�oke Pep i's tax
a
break. Council member ex­
pressed a" ense of betray I" at the
company' actio .
"MY REASON for approving
the revocation," explained Coun­
cilman Mel Ravitz, "i that Pep i
came to in the first place asking
for a x lk, promi in to t
fer to of 400 je to t clty .
mea 11 lMA'"_tl...,...l ... r ....
togi� . t eM1
bring jobs to DerrolL But when the
time came and notblng material­
ized, Pep i gave specious reaso .
They told us that th workers could
not be retrained, but never gave us
any reasons for that."
One worker, who a ked not to
be identified, voiced his suspicion
that Pep i had ulterior motiv be­
hind the firing of the employees.
"It's a plot. They are taking
workers .and throwing them out
before their pensions mature. get-
See �PSI, A-10'
Judg
worn
BY RON WORD
ASSOCIA TED PRESS WRITER
JAC:1CnMI.J.E, Fl.A (AP) - A white
judge's remarlcs in court and in print
about Blacks, women and Jews ate
provoking a public outay that he's
racist, sexist and anti-Semitic and
bauld be removed from the bench.
But after 30 years as a jurist, Olief
,
rnarki
abou
'r
n, -J
w
•
ral
sedate offia:s of � Jacksonville Area
Chamber of Commerce,
J� Jacbon appeared twice in ODe
wee to rally forces against the judge.
With the busiIlC community'
efforts under way to bring a National
Football League t.rm=hise bere, Black
leaders are threatening to contact tbe
NFL and urge the city be denied an
RESPECT
The be uty orArrican i nnents, yl a d art; and the pow rofthe ArricanAm rica C UDler.
p t for those two realities by major tJ. . retailer combined with the drive and bitlon of two
AfrIcan American who seized n opportunity when they wit re makJn �taill ad arketlna
hi tory. Tum to P ge A-6 for th tory which ha ch pter unfoldin U in DetroiL
...
..
lac
,
Circuit Judge John Santora says be'
sorry if he burt anyone's fee�. And
that's all.
1be tug of war over Santora, who
turns (f) :Motxlay, is tearing apart the
three-county northeast F10rida ciIcuit
be heads. Qies for his ouster sound
outside � Duval County Courthouse,
in rouses of worship and the usually
e
call
r
expansion team if Santora doesn't quit,
JanU8I}', and be has previously said he
would oot seek re-elecnon,
Some judges and tllC mayor urge
forgiveness in light of Santora'
apology.1OOsesensitive tobi say be'
a bellwether of feelin� in the society at
large.
1be Rev. Tom Diamond, pastor of
Abyssinia Missionary Baptist Church,
warned gatlrrlng of 2,<XX> pcqJJe
Saturday: "San ora' not the issue. He's
just an alann clock. ou might wake up
and find you are a _ .. 1 don't want
Santora to resign. 1be 10ngcr he dnp,
tbe madder I gel"
,The public appalendy got i t
MEANWHILE, the D.W. Perkins
Bar Association, a group of black
lawyen, filed a complaint Friday
seeking Santora' removal by tllC sta
Judicial Qualifications Commission,
wbidl reviews judicial conduct
Santora's six-year term expires rext
S JUDGE, A-10
lEONARD ran lIPS: "'lky
(government) needs to '. e1imiDate
some of the arl employees get
and put it towards the homeless."
