Coalition begins vo�
registration drive
U L
Project Vote, along lth the
AACP, the United Auto Wo era,
Michl n SANE/FRBEZE 00 ot r
IOC',I and n tional or aniz tio
e banded to ther in coali on
lDQeue the number of AfrIcan-
erican and Latino voters In
Micblpn. The effort announced
at a June 30 preas confcrence at the
Detroit Urban League beadq
"Freedom Summer" II a non-par-
multicultural voterre tra on LABRE A PRICE
e ort spo red by the coalition of
organizations. The drive will eon­
tinue thrb"Jgh the end of oter
regi trat on period in October. The c
tio 1 0 1 i to regis r 1 million J
ne vote . The "Freedom ummer" I
co litlon plans to register 61,000 I
Bl c and Latino voter in.
Michl n. '
LAB ENA PRICE, deputy
director of Wayn County roJect
Vote, d that the projects 0 to
teach voters well reglater them.
-nus is a littlc effort that em­
po ers people," he Id. "What e
really would like to do is clear up the
VOTE, A10
HlOHLAHD PARK- The High-.
land Par. City Council un­
aminously passed an ordinance
giving the city power to padlock
for a year buildl here drop
and P don 1a are violated.
Under tbla al1'8llp ent the city
would bold a publiC bearing on
w r bu1ldina w a publiC
mdIa • Tbe r would ve
to ve DO ee aeven cale'Ddar
before uch a !aMIL
I.
City failu"
By Wand. F. Roquemore
ang
"persuasive pre umptlon" of a
bo being a public nuisance, if:
- The property ba been
raided by the police, and control­
led sub tance and/or drug
paraphernalia has been found.
- Tbe owner is ent a letter
matiDa him aware of it.
-The lame property I raided
by the police another time within
Ilx mo of the first raid.
The city can alao determiDe
that a public . aeatcd
"wbene tedly
���������II���=.���.�fllW�
£���������������������
u
pede trian aOO\or vehicular traftlc
occurs.. urrounding tbe property,
00 peace and quiet of residents
living in the neighborbood sur­
rounding the property are dis­
tw'bed. "
IF THE city council deter­
mines that a property is a public
nuisance, it may, by resolution
authOrize city departmen to
prohibit the occup ncy of tbe
property by boarding it up or pad­
locking it for up to one year.
IJyLlAH UEL
Wtftw
"We oclal omrs must provide
that every dilld be in • home tbat is
safe, secure aDd that alao offers
cultural IDd hiakllkal continuity,"
said Alice ThOmpson, at a JUDe 22
foster cue and doptl conference,
"Meeting the QaU Keeping
the Promise," held at the Mercy
College Conference Center.
Thompson is the deputy dilector
of Diversifie4 Youth Servicea in
Detroit. She is also a member of the
National Association ofBlactSocial
Workers (NASBW), anorpoization
that emphasizes cultural IODIltivity
in adoptioilaDd foster cue.
Thompson said that the NASBW
ts known for i advocacy of tamily
preservation, or teepiq children
with birth famllies, and of same-nee
adoptions.
"But IIC not iaying tbat e
must it t any cost," ihe said.
"Love' very ai cal in adoption and
foster care, b it not all you Deed.
Children m have. connection
with their culture and bed. ADd
with their family of orlgiD.
"ONE SIGNIFICANT
psychological impulse the sttuggle
for the ense of belonging," she
CLARENCE WILUS
added. "Not having a sense of roo
can be a barrier to that sense of
belonging. "
Thompson cited studies of Native
Americans who, although separated
from their counterpart on
re ervalions and living in large
citics, bad mlintained basic aspects
of their culture. ,She said that the
same has happened with
African-American descendants of
slaves, bo have retained behavioral
and cultural similarities to Afri�.
. Thompson said that the adoption
.and fo ter care system currently
AUCE THOMPSON
lacb sufficient training of adoptive
and foster parents in the cultures and
backrounds of children.
"Parents need to know the
importance of nurturing a child's
culture aDd what can happen if that
is not done," he said. "Social and
emotional health are determined by
the attention we give to the culture of
that child.
"WE NEED strong family
resource centers for families that
need help, before the child gets put'
up for adoption or foster care. And
VERLIE RUFFIN
when they do, we need parent
education programs to teach about
the various cultures of children in the
ystem.
"One's heritage is culturally
centered," she dded."1t gives value
to our actions and our language. "
Thomp on concluded, "If we
want to create permanency for
children placed in adoption and
fo ter care, we have to consider the
importance of culture in that process,
so that the child can feel that he
belongs." . .
After 4 ye
.
•
Often c:illed tqlla. n 11 ,
the Nuisuce Abatement Ordianc:e
w puaed in 1988 after being heJd
up in the courts for five years. The
law makes it affoldable for city re i­
den to claim and rehab a vacant
bouse and obtain the deed.
Since the law went into effect,
7,000 applications have been filed.
However, only 500 people have
been able to Sign contrac , and only
one person bas actually received a
deed to the property, according to
Kathleen Sandercki, ACORN
leader.
"Detroit neighborhoods are full
of decent, vacant boouses going to
waste while people need bomes, " she
stated.
According to the Nui ance
Abatement Ordiance, the city to
act on homesteading applications
received within 120 days.
However, according to Amy
Shur, ACORN head organizer, the
ci ty has taken so long wi th the paper
work that the houses applied for are
either tom down or burnt down.
"If the city saw this program as a
priority like we do, they would act on
it. The program will provide more
homes, the vacant house get
rehabbed, which in tum brings more
taxes into the city and provides jo
for Detroit contractors," she said.
The ACORN group met with
Deputy Director Creighton Lederer
at the City County BuildiDg and
asked that he or the director atlend
some community meetings dealing
• One d d
with the NllSillDCO 0.-
diance. '
However, �rcUDa to
said that neither he DOl1be cillO_
would attend the COIDDlUDity
ings. But they wouklaeDdIaJ.,..
who was knowledgeable with
program.
"We are pushing for a mee
with the director or the deputy 4i1ec­
tor because they are tile ODI,·
who can give UI a commit:meDl,·
Shursaid.
"There fa grant loan lDOJIey
that has been littiDa.1Dd they aay DO
one is applying for it, but yet tbere
ale 7,000 people who haYe appUed
for bo • S400 tboUUDd .t
adside a fe yean aao aDd ID1Jdl of
the mODeY i till there," S tated.
According to Sbur, no many
understand why the dty
so long to process tbae IppllCilta.
Neither the director or the .
returned our calls before .
when to press.
The aty'l 0 to pr0-
gram i a decade-old. Mayor
. Coleman A. YOUD fou ht th
Nuisance Abatement 0rdiDIDce aU
the way to the S Sup1'eIDO Court,
losiDg every tlep 0 the y.
HENRY· BOLLoWAY&, "I
am not votlq for anyone. We
Deed a leader that'l iDa to p
"
COVALEE DATCD S:
"Bill Clinton. I think it'a time for
the Democrats 10 get in. All we
have to do is keep on trying."
MARILYN LOGAN& "I am
very undecided. lam DOt sold on
any of the C8DC1lda "