PRETORIA-Nelson Mandela
led more than 100,000 people in
a rally, August 5 to demand
President F.W. deKlerk -make
way for majority rule.
Mandela allied for a future
with "no victors and no losers."
He added if the ANC won a
majority election the eongre
would seek to include rival par­
ties in key government posts.
DeI?erkspent the �y hidden
'11. ,
I am saw t)lin& of the events
, below. When talking to reporters
he said "He (Mr. Mandela)
needn't speak to me from the
lower part of the Union build-.
iogs, there is an open door here."
At the demonstration the
African National Congress flag
w raised on the grolUlds oftbc
govemmentheadquaners.
WORLD NATION
A I GTO , D •• -Rep entative
John Conyer , Jr. Ch irman, Hou e
Government Operation Committee,
announced . g by the Legi I tion and
tional Securi Subcommit e to examine
the reeomme tions propo d by the U.S.
Commi ion on Minority Bu ine
Development in i final report analyzing
Federal programs d igned to fo ter the
development of minority -owned busi .
Th hearing will be beld on Wedn day, July
2Q t 10 a.m., in Room 2154 Rayburn
B 1 ldmg,
\ nyers tated,"Thi examination i
nucal to the urvival of minority usines es
nationwide who have not received the level
playmg field needed to compete in thi
ociety due to racial and econOIDIC barriers."
There are approximately 1.2 million
minority owned firms making up a mere 3.9
percent of the national· total of $1.99 trillion
Fretting about foreign
competition Ignores a potent
resource here - the unfulfilled
potential of Black America
By ARLENE LEVINSON
The Aaoclatecl Pre ••
"There are a lot of things that
suggest that racism is the most in­
sidious phenomenon causing a drag
on the American economy," aid Ed­
ward Irons, dean of business of Clark
Atlanta University in Atlanta and a
consultant to agencies on banking
and economic development.
"Unless, we get a handle on
racism, foreign competitors are
said Billy J. Tidwell, a social scien­
tist at the National Urban League in
Washington.
By Tidwell's reckOning, $93 bll­
lion -close to 2 percent of the Gross
National Product - could be
pumped into the U.S. economy every
year if the per capita income of
Blacks was on a par with whites.
Calculated per household, that
comes to $1,000 each year. Con­
sider it a hidden fee.
·We're underutilizing a large
portion of our population. If you
don't utilize the talen1S and strengths
of the entire community, that's not
serving the state or community
well," said Willie Cole, manager of
� City of Jackson's Mioority Busi­
ness Development Division.
"We need to involve the entire
oommunity in the economic
development prooesa. If you look at
Japan they involve everyone. It
Jackson busine man Howard
Cltcblnp, preaident of National Old
IJne..Catcbinp 1DIuruce, said the
problem isn't oocfof radsm but of
ecooomics.
o 0 quali ca on standards
dcreationofspecificjobcl !fica 0 for
11 propo ed Minority Bu ine s
Development Agency pe onnel and all
other government personnel charged ith
the po ibility to implement the small and
minority busine programs within the
various buying agenc .
U e of the term ·Historically
Underutillzed in " (HUB) in lieu of the
term • ocia11y and economically
disadvantaged mall b ceeeem".
Legisl tion that ould reauthorize the
U.S. Commi ion on Minority Busin
Development an ongoing entity.
o
9
U.
•
.VI
.'
.
ByALLYSO RAFAEL
Brazil Network Corte pondent
WASIIIMGTON - Benedita Da
Silva is the first and only African­
Brazilian woman elected to a
Brazilian Congress of S64 members.
There are five Black congressper­
IOns in this Black majority CO\Ultry.
•• _.. "'�t'._llIt.
Her itinerary, intended to build
relationships particularly with
African Americans, includes Allan- ,
ta, New York and Washington. She
visits the United State at a time
when Brazil is in deep crisis.
Da Silva was among tbose who
initiated investigations into the
forc:ed sterilization of Black women
and death squad activity against
children.
Of all death squad victims" 82-90
percent are Black males between 15
and 18 years old.
She is an outspoken opponent of
racial discrimination and the severe
marginalization of African
Brazilians.
For example, Blacks in Brazil are
only 1.5 percent of university student
bodies. Only 2 percent of Blacka
ever reach managerial positions.
in gro receip .
"Hopefully, ome
recommendatio may be
le . lalion in the Con ,
b' can soon realize me
economic empo rment, " Con
JO , CEO of Malwna
Corporation, pointed CbaJnnan of the
commi ion charged ith reviewing d
e ing the operations of all Federal
programs d igned to promote and Co ter
minority-owned b' and to determine
whether th purpo and objectlv are being
met.
Other purpo
to revie and the overall effective
oflhe8(a)progmn;and tole e and
the policies and procedure of major
procurement agencies they set goal for
The diplomatic corps, board
rooms, and the upper ranks aie vir­
tually all white. _ BeDCdita Da Silva
has led effort to enact Law. -
prohibiting racial discrimination.
She is also an outspoken critic of
alleged corruption in the Brazilian
gOIY�fJ��
, A
I 'Olall-d fh quad'
victim' 82-90 percent
are Black males
between 15 and 18
yea old.
Da Silva lives in the Favela
(Brazilian Slum) of het birth aDd
donates 60 percent of her congres­
sional salary to charities.
She same to promineece presi­
dent of her neighborOOod association
and later as founder of1be Woman'.
Department of the Rio City Council.
In 1986 her constituents sent her
, to congress, re-electlng her in 1990.
ewTently, Da SUva is a strona
third in the polls and is expected to
do well in the October, 3rd nmoffa
for Mayor.
children
The need is large and urgent:
30 foster homes for 30 Haitian
refugee children who will remain
in holding camps in Jackson, Mis­
Sissippi until foster homes are
available, according to Karen
Pieniak interim supervisor of
Lutheran Social Services of
Michigan (l.SSM) Foster Care
program.
A forgotten element in the
deluge of stories about Haitian
refugee are the young people
who come to this country without
parents or guardians, Pleniak
aald.
The typical Haitian young per­
son coming to the metro Detroit
area is male and 16 or 17 years of
age. Some of the parents are
dead.
·They feel fearful, anxious,
and powerle ," said Pieniak.
"They are greatly concerned
about the possibility of deports­
tion.·
OSTER PARENTS ARE
to provide homes, a sense
oflecurity, and help in develop­
ing the young people's ability to
eventually live independently.
It is expected that the yoUlll
people will be in foster care up
until age 18 or 19.
LSSM will provide the educa­
. tional, medical and legal services
required.
The first step the agency taka
is enrolling the Haitian refugee
children in English since
all speak Creole. A Creole­
speaking worker is on the LSSM
staff and is available to the foster
parents.
To be licensed, families must
meet state llcenaing requirements
and be committed to providing
care until the young penon
reaches independence.
LSSM provid .upport and
training for foster parents who are
paid a monthly board and care by
the state.
Interested families can caU
LSSM's Refugee Foster Care
stall at (313) 823-7700 in
Detroit or write: Refugee
Foster Care, LSSM, 8131 East
J efferson, 'Detroit 48214-
2691.
f
Br 'ad for the
)r'J
rg
ngrcs: t In .rcase luudin f r
WI ' Head t irt and Job or.
over 200,000 commuters by th sa dlepllly on the roof of BI'Md for 'the World'.
ofIIce In W Ington, D.C. BI'MCI for the World Ie attempting to·lncreae funding for th .... aucc .. aful
and �-etrectlve programa that can help end childhood hunger. (Photo: RIcIc RIInhn)
u.s. economy 10 ing billion
barring Black from mainstream
Racism is costing America
money.
"MONEY IS THE root to all
evil. If everybody's got the money,
we'll get rid of the evil," Catchings
said.
Catchings, who will become
chairman of the Metro Jackson
'CbaD1ber of Commerce in January,
pointed to Leadership Jackson, a
clmnber program designed to find
the CitY's future leaders, some­
thins to be emulated.
"That program gives all different
Bi otry subtrac from economic
&CO 'U n the toll of welfare and un­
employment, in the high cost of
crime that demands more police and
prisons, in the tariff exac1ed by what
often eems to be self-destructive
violence.
Racism deprives the nation of
energy, know-how, drive and dol­
Jars.
going to eat our lunch." Irons aid.
Imagine th Los Angeles riots
laying w te to America day after
day. Or wipe out the communica­
tio iooustry.
THAT'S RO HLY how
much the U.S. economy out
by not providin more opportunities
for the nauon' illion Blacks,