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whi , ent
2" which mad
10 in! Lf wero
the three top Bl
film; 0 the year which collec-
tively 137 million.
M vi are exampl of
money making p i tion for
if we'd j t put our collective
upport hioo our own. Bl k
filmmakedohn Sin I l\ made
"Boyz in the Hood' for whi
tudi and made $56 million for
the people who were in the deal.
Mario Van Peebles had a
imil r deal with peopl who
[rom ''New Jack City" or his in-
v rs. Am, of cou , Spike'
"Jungle Fever" rounded out the
top three Black movies of '91,
and has mad $32 million Cor his
production arrangement in �
theaters aOO is oow going into his
second market, video sales and
rentals, for e n more dough.
BEC U
TH M TING
BUSINESS/FINANCE
Southw at Michigan Minority Bu In a Aa oclation off r : b ck ro (I·r) Gant, Magg
Hawkln . Front row: (l-r) Wil on, Atkin on, R d, nd Hannah. (photo by D. Cooka).
115 million di
uit filed again
SEArIT..E - A discrimination
. suit eeking $115 million in
damage from the Nordstrom
Company, Inc., a major retail
chain based in Seattle, was filed
Nov. 18 in federal district court.
The uit was filed on behalf of
�ree former African-American
employees at Nordstrom, and
three African-American business
owners.
The complaint charges
Nord trom with racial prejudice
and di crimination in the
company's efforts to "blackball"
three former African American
employees. .
Nordstrom, through its agents,
violated mutual confidentiality
agreements, preventing plaintiffs
from pursuing employment or
other opportunities in their
respective fields. It is also al­
leged, by the business owners,
that through negative control,
Nordstrom forced their minority­
owned company into bankruptcy.
crimination
retai I chai n
"Nordstrom's action toward
Myriad and the behavior toward
Jim Nicholson on the part of
Nordstrom officers, reflect a
company in which racial
prejudice and especially an­
tagonism toward African
Americans is an accepted part of
the corporate culture," said Eddie
Rye, Jr.
In September 1991, Rye, on
behalf of th Black Contractors
Coalition, reque ted that Richard
Held, special agent in Charge,
Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI), and William McGivern,
Justice Department, U.S. At r­
ney, Northern Division, San Fran­
cisco, both investigate
Nord trorn's participation in
events leading up to Myriad Di -
tribution Services (MDS), a sub­
sidiary of MSS, filing bankruptcy
and Nordstrom's possible viola­
tion of federal laws through
manipulation and negative con­
trol over MDS.
THREE PRINCIPALS other
than Nichol on and Myriad. have
joined the suit. Additionally. two
other ex-employees have charged
that settlement agreements signed
between themselves and
Nordstrom upon their termina­
tions from the company were vio­
lated. The men claim that
Nordstrom executives made dis­
paraging remarks to potential
employers concerning the men's
job performance, therefore
preventing them from attaining
additional employment.
It is further alleged that
Nordstrom has established a
tradition of awarding settlements
just prior to the filing of dis­
crimination suits in efforts to
silence minority grievances.
there is nsing concern that
Nordstrom'S attempt to muzzle its
racist practice toward minorities
needs to be expo ed.
More recent complaints have
been filed with local human rights
agencies. Three African
American females have filed suits
that are pending and current
Nordstrom African American
employees are complaining about
their loss of working hours in
favor of White co-workers.
Nordstrom al 0 faced picket­
ing over the holidays for its dis­
criminatory practices. This
action is supported by People
Against Racism At Nordstrom
(P ARAN) in response to a nation­
al boycott, called by MDELDEF.
of Washington, D. C.
Robinson has called on Fred
Rashid, national economic direc­
tor of the NAACP and their coali­
tion with other groups to assist in
the fight against Nordstrom and
their practices.
For Working Familie
F bruary 6, 1992
9:00 .m. - Noon
13th Floor Auditorium,
City-County Bldg.
2 Woodward Ave.
Detroit
Federal Estate Tax
These are typtcat of questions
asked by taxpayers and are pre­
sented as a public service of this
publication and the IRS.
Q. 1 recently inherited some! prop­
erty. Will I have to pay federal tax
on it?
A. Probably not. Because the cs­
tate of the decedent (the per' n
who died) is primarily re ponsible
for paying the l� x on the entire
taxable estate, you as a beneficiary
usually would not have to pay t • ix.
However, if the estate did not pay
the estate tax, you would have to
pay part of it bused un the value of
what you received.
Q. 1 am the executor of an estate.
How vulu.rble does an estate have
to be to require filing a federal
estate tax return�
A. You must tile Form 706.
"United Stares '�late (and Gcncr­
auon-Skipping Transfer) Tax Re­
turn," if the! value of the gross
e tate wa more than $600,000 and
the de edent was a U .. citizen O.r:
resident.
Q. When. docs the federal estate
tax return have to be filed'!
Dial 1-900-896-0000
A kfor Ext. # 214
·1 Taxpayers !\sk IRS
IN A LETTER to' Bruce
Nordstrom. co-chairman of
Nord trom, Anthony Robinson of
the Minority Business Enterprise
Legal Defense and Education
Fund, Inc. (MBELDEF), ex­
pressed concern that Nordstrom,
by exerting negative control over
Myriad Systems and Services
(MSS), a minority-owned
telecommunications company, is
also in violation of federal laws.
MSS is also certified under the
SBA 8-A Disadvantaged Pro­
gram.
Jim Nicholson, founder of
MSS, and an ex-employee of
Nordstrom, served for 13 years as
general manager of the
Nord trorn flagship store located
in Seattle.
OTHER BOYSCOTTS AND
demonstrations are planned on a
nationwide basis at all Nordstrom
stores. Nordstrom stock advice,
on the part of Les Childress, of
Childress Investment Research,
switched from a "buy" to a "sell"
mode.
For their "being coldly'
obstinate ... " stated Eric Vickers,
attorney for MDELDEF, in a let­
ter to Nordstrom's counsel,
Nordstrom needs to be taught a
lesson in humihty.
Vickers further stated, "For.
only then, will we be able to vin­
dicate the principle that the
minority community is to be
treated wi th respect and not
tokenism."
I
.I. If the gross estate is worth
mort: than $60U,OOO, tile -orm 7Ub
and pay the estate tax within nine
months after the date of death,
unless the I RS grants an extension.
BlACKS IN TIlE movie
busine till suffer from the
problems of America' irstitu­
tional racism, but they also still
have a lack of internal support
Studies of the entertainment in­
dustry have sbown that Blacks
continue to be discriminated
agairst in every segment of the
industry.
According to the NAACP.
there is but ore Black vice presi­
dent in a feature film production
po ition in Hollywood, Black
performers are still relegated to
supported roles, Black actresses
are becoming increasingly in­
visible on the screen am it is an
open secret that Black
filmmakers have 00 real final say
on their own films.
Black films still lack adequate
distribution, the all-important link
between the production studio
and local theaters is oot there for
us. Witmut good distribution
deals, Black filrrs premiere in
• fewer theaters, work from smaller
publicity budgets and are
marketed poorly.
If the capitalistic, and cultural,
interest were th re from the
African-American community,
we could take control of the
. projector and provide the morey
for Black productiors, lease and
build local theater outlets, and
provide the local publicity and
promotions needed to make
Black movies talked about
among people via Black
newspapers aOO radio stanors,
When "New Jack City"
opened it was in only 830 movie
houses across the country.
The same situation faced
"Boyz in the Hood" and ''Jungle
Fever." What has io be a classic,
"The Five Heortbeas;" opened,
and closed, in less than 500 of the
nation's theaters. Blacks have the
power in their hands and pocket­
books 10 make lemonade out of
lemons in this discriminatory
situation,
This Is A Happy Retirement
It's the peace of mind you get knowing you have saved
for the future. It's a U.S. Savings Bond. With ju t a little from
each paycheck, you can invest in Bonds through the Payroll
Savings Plan where you work. And they will k�p earning
interest for up to 30 years. Make an investment in your future
with U.S. Savings Bonds to$y. Ask your employer for d tails.
u.s. Savings Bonds
A publIC 01 th I0Il
Need Information about Businesses?
Call the Business INFOLINE!
There are over 9 million bu ine e in the U.S. - and finding information
about them �an be virtually irnpo ible, e pecially when you need it/Q.u.. But
now there' a way ... a revolutionary n w ervice called Business.INFOUNE!
Need to know the addre and phone number for "XYZ Company"
omewhere in Florida, or th name and phone number of a "Cadillac Dealer"
in Palm Beach? Even telephone company directory a i tance can't help you
in the e ituation ... but we can!
For example... ,
"Your BMW brea down on Ih� inter. tate, and ou need 10 know if there 's a dealer in
th« next town ."
"An out-of-town compan i trying 10 �II ou vin I iding for our house, and ou need
more information about th m - how Ion tbe company ha been in busin« ,and how
man emplo �� they ha�� ."
"You'r� plannin a vacation in the Pacific Northwe t, and ou want to tine up things
for t� kid to do. So iou need to find the amusement par and zoo in Oregon
and Wa hin ton."
"A friend av� ou a tip that "Aptx Industri� .. would be a good stock inv� 11M"', but
ou want to know mor�. What do t� do? What art th�ir approximat� annual a/�s?"
Th Bu ine INFOLINE i indi pen able for hom or office! And the co t
i only $3.00 for the fir t minute and $1.50 for each additional minute,
convenienUy billed to your phone number. The ervice i avail ble Monday
through Friday, 7:00 .m .. to.6:00 p.m., Central Time.
A Service of American
Q. Who i� responsible for filing
the csuuc tax'?
.I. 1 he executor or administrator
must take care of all of the federal
tax responsibilities of the dece­
dent. This includes tiling any fed­
eral income ta returns due and
sculing any federal tax bills owed
by the decedent, as well as tiling
the federal e� ate tax return and
pa} ing the c tate ta due.
Q. When is the value of the est ate
determined?
-L The value of the estate is deter­
mined on one of two dares, either
the date of death or six m nths
aiicr the dute of death.
Fur m tc informuuon, order
free IRS Publication 44�, Federal
J:;:,((J/t' and Gi]] Tuxes, by calling
t ll-free 1- OO-TAX-FORM (1-
800-M29-3676).
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FOR A few collective bucks
invested in Hollywood aoo on 1m'
local scene, we could double the
$180 million that the top ten
�lack films grossed in 1991.
We could better empower
ourselves if our Black investors,
along with organizations and
church groups started to control
our own movie products. If the
major institution, and in­
dividuals, in our community
worked collectively, we could
control the content, distribution,
and promotions associated with
Black filmmaking.
And in the process we could
cease complaining to white
people about their lack of atten­
tion to US, am tart to build aOO
display our own cultural and
dramatic destiny.
� next time a girl aOO a guy
go to 1m movies, 1my should
think to 1mmselves, "what kiOO
of investment do I have in this
flick other than paying for the
tickets.?
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