EDITORAL
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In South Africa y,
pul tion t on the i Ii hile 13 of t
citizenry ent 0 the poll to vote on th future of
everyone.
Thin in Detroit re not m h different. F ing
�ported 100 million deficit, yor Coleman Youn
formed I 31-m mber "Blue Ribbon Commission" to
find Y out of the fi i 1 m
Of th 31 membe t only 11 live in the city of
Detroit. "There only two omen on the commiu ,
only eight Afri n America in predornin ntly
African Ameri n city.
Be it South Africa or Detroit elf-determination i
matter of degree.
Th unio repre ntin city workers e rallied
. t the Committee' e 1 ive, non-resident com­
ilion. The unions are demanding that th city open
up the dec ion process to include unio ,city i­
dents, community organizations, churches ... the
people woo will have to live with tbe belt-tightening
teps the city will be forced to take.
Among the m ure tlie "blue ribbon" panel has
suggested inchld Ii t large d at the mall guy. The
Commission wan impose a $2 a toll on 11
tbosedriving onto Belle le; hi dmisaion fees t the
Zoo; cut city or ers . In short, most of pain
ill be borne by the very people locked out of the
deci ion-making p . 1be "blue ribbon" bunch
�e prophesized t t their u tio might even­
tually lead to a decline in property taxes. That would
be most welcome to all residents in the city, but it is a
measure-it hould be noted-would be of direct
benefit to the members of the "blue ribbon" committee.
We say the community houJd have the loudest
voice in making suggestions for co t cutting. Th com­
munity might make a lot of suggestions such as elling
the Manoogian mansion and letting the $120,OOO-plus
year mayor pay for his own housing. Or, save th
$500,000 the Council just voted to spend on big fancy
cars for themselves .. Let the Council pay for their own
car expense or ride the bus like everyore else.
to the unions, we y right on. To the community,
we y get involved, join the unio and draft a
citizens' list of recommendations. Self-determination
demands we do not allow non-residents to decide how
our tax dollars will be spent ... or ved.
Let' not u the
kids tor hidden
agendas
The Detroit School Superintendant, Deborah Mc­
Griff, has announced sbc would Uke to see the School
District reopen the Detroit Science Center. Under her
plan, the Center would serve as a school for 124 fourth
aDd fifth graders putting t emp is on math and
science. The Center ould be open to the public on ,
weekends, ecording to McGriff.
McGriff's announcement comes after the commit­
tee charged with finding money to reopen the Center
said it needed $200,000 to make up for the loss of state
funding, the I that shut down the Center.
Parents need to take a close look at McGriers sug­
gestion. If the Cen�r is truly equipped to add to the
science curriculum, flne and good. If the proposal is
only a means of using precious school board dollars to
benefit the tourist industry in Detroit, drop the idea
now.
Only study will re�eal who really benefits. We hope
it is truly the kids. ..
VIE\NS OPINIONS
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B C PEO LX. those ho
bother to vote, arc locked into the
Democratic arty, but the
De111lO1::ratk:' P
the
A months I wrote t
J e J n thel t thope
for the Democratic Party. When
Jackson decided n t to run for
President, it clear 10 me t DO
other Democratic would
raise the iss 0 vital concern to
Bl ck people, minorities, omen,
and poor and otting people,
But even Jackson' candidacy
ould have beeD a hat tired
re-run of hil 1984 and 1988
campaip. In both' tances
COlDJluae:4
functioning excl 'vely
Democratic Party.
At the C ndidate Forum
convened by Je e Jack on in
W hington, D.C, no independent
or d party candida ere in
evidence. Only Democrats ere
invited. Though 1 OIl had drawn
up an gend of iSlues for the
Dcmoc:ntic caudida to pond
to, his position WCIbDcd by
pledge t9 upport the eventual
nominee of the Democratic p� in
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ROIl D-w SetWlS as President :
of the Institute for Commltnity
OrgIllllzlldM IIIIIl �pmmt in
YOIlII,stoW1l,. Ohio. He f'lGy be I
COftIIIC'" (216) 746-5747. \i
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Moving to .envlronm ntal ju ti
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In June 1992, leaders from over
one hundIcd and fifty nations will
gather in Bruit for the United
Nations Conference on Environment
and Development (UNCBD).
This unprecendented global
gathering offers. a dear ign to all of
us that there is a growing realization
on the part of go ernment that we
must attend to protecting the
ecological balance of the planet
before it i too late. The final
negotiations Ie ding up to the
UNCEDwilltakeplacein ewYork
this pring.
One of the goala ofUNCED to
facilitate an international
mobilization to redress the odd'.
increasing environmental and
economic crises. Heads of state and
other high governmentoflicials from
a majority oftbe nations of the world
will be gathered together for this
important conference.
In addition, there ill be
thousanda of repre entativ of
non-governmental organizations,
gras root representatives, and
environmental and ocial justice
activists from throughout the world.
negotiations expo ed the
contradiction of the United States
attempting to stonewall any real
progress by being the only dissenting
vote, 139-1, on a binding
international convcnti9n to protect
the ozone layer !rom further
, destruction.
race, cI and religion into a potent
sodal and moral force for dwlge in
the United States. • ,
We note that last fall The FIIStl
National People of Color'
Environmental Leademhip Summit'
in Washington, D.C. attracted' �
Native American,. African, African �
American, Latino American anel I
Asian Pacific American leade ;
together with leaden some of the f
eatab1isbcd national environmen1al'
orpDizations to envision a broader
and stronger environmental
movement
UNCED will not be the end or the
beginning of the global
environmental movement, but it will
be an important step in the right I
direction toward demanding
stronger accountability and
compliance ith international ,
covenan to protect the environment· :
and to promote sustainable ,
development Our role is to demand
�t our vemment be on the light
o ry, Le., on de of
ProtectiJll the eD irODJDC t and
delDlDCIllq OCIDDODllC j Ii
alL
H9'JSC views issues concerning the
environment and the related issue of
economic development as cannon
fodder in the partisan war between
the Republican and Democratic
Parties.
Of course, the very reason for the
convening of UNCED is to raise the
importance of the environment
above the intcmal political agendas
of the participating nations and
governments.
The- truth is that the Bush
Administration's record on
enviroIIIDCntal protection exbibi a
greater interest in protecting the
perceived needs, and agendal of
America' polluUng lndustdes than
,protecting the environment from
further degradatiolL In addition,
President Bush seems to believe in
the immoral juxtaposition of safe
environment against economic
recovery and development.
It is true that in a time of extreme
economic reee Ioa, there i. •
ten ency to triage other oclal
interes . The problem tbat the
destruction of the vital ecol0aica1
equilibrium of our planet has ntarly
reached an irreversible crisis lage.
Any further triage of the global
pte¥eDt DOt only
�I_meammmic by
ImIlG'llmtl''1 of
humanity is itlelf DOW threatened.
For example, the recent climate
CML
RIOHTS
JOURNAL'
THE GOOD news there is in
fact a new movement emerging
across the United States in urban and
rural communities. Tbc name of this
new movement is the Environmental
Justice Movement, hlch is a
mul tiracial, multicultural,
multilingual gral roots
environmental movcme:ut til the
capacity to translate a new national
political will in the United Sta on
the ue of the environment
Thi new movement, as
thousands of new coalitions are
being networked, has international
implications. Rq»IeSeDIaIives of the
Environmental J nee Movement
arc partldpating in the Preparatory
Committee (PrepCom) 10 UNCED
and are rendering an alternative
voice to the inadequate responses of
the Bush AdministIation conoeming
the critical impoI1aDce of the IUCCCII
ofUNCBD.
YET, AS THE final preparatory
activiti are p aDd
imp emalted, it to ...... ',l1li ...
. the pvemmcnt the Uni
in particular is DOt matin& CED
a high priority. Once again, it
appears that the politics of the White