D mo tic p inti
P ident Oeor B h ve
th w ofHurrican Andre in Florid
Both ida have oured th d
din th eo B h, 0 ered id.
ow, we mvi both candida Highl nd P
Here, they will 0 nd ho ithout roo
without pore , paint window , te , chimn
tral h t. They will ee buildin witho b in , v t e cept
for pi 0 nd ,win and the homel . They will
vacant 10 ept of tructu by the win of economic hard
tim , fanned by polici t t encou e the flight 0 capital d
disinve tment.
The human tragedy i here for nyon
hopei and d pair. For mo t, tremendo
and urvival in the face of great ob les.
But harder tim are ahead.
Chrysler urprised everyone this wee with i announeem nt
that it i removing i entire High! nd Parle operation from the city.
Six years ago, when the auto maker made its deci ion to build the
tech center in Auburn Hill ,it w wi th the urders IXti ng that me
of i headqu rters wouldremain in the city.
Not economically feasible, the comp ny ays now. Too bad,
bye, bye. And out the door behirxi Sears they go.
And gone with the car maker will be 70 cents 0 every chool
tax dollar, $9 million of the city' $16 million nnual budget, an
amount equal 0 what the publiC safety departm nt co yearly.
Also gone will be the spin off dollars. That money that employ­
ees pend with local busin . The money that city and chool
workers paid with Quysler tax dollars pend.
Whoever is president must find a way to combat economic
disasters. Just Black workers knew the country w in a depres­
ion in the early BO' ,a depression that never relented, now white,.
uburban, middle-cl s workers are waking up to fioo their job
wiped out or transported to Mexico and beyond.
Black America has known for a decade that the economic pie is
shrinking. But as white America begins to di cover the new realities
of the post-industrial era, the technological era, politicians will be
forced to deal with the hard times.
They can do their homework, fact-firxiing, analysis and solution
development right here in Highlaoo Park where we havea disaster
of 00 les proportion than they found in Florida.
Enterprise Zones have been the o�y response 0 the Bush
administration to the plight of the inner cities. Enterprise zones
. imply carve out a piece of the inner city and offer it back with all
kinds of incentives to those who fled here 20 or 30 years ago. Look
at Benton Harbor, Michigan's only Enterprise Zone if you want to
see a fix that doesn't Of 640 new job (most are like the Chry ler
move to Auburn Hills, only a transfer of job) only 10 went to city
residents.
No, a disaster requires a massive assault, Not only must redlin­
ing end, there has to be money for business development, made
available to those who live here.
�trip away -for the residents- the red tape for ecuring loans
and the vacated property in the inner city.
Offer low interest loans for refurbishing the existing buildinS'
in the inner cities; give generous tax breaks to inner city residents
willing to become entrepreneurs; provide massive infmions of
money into the schools for the single most meaningful goal in mind,
lowering the teacher-pupil ratio, now double what it is in the
suburbs.
Whatever the plan, it must be govered by true community
representative . Outsiders keep coming into the community and
serve no purpose other than being a barrier, an obstacle to true
community control.
I{ Clinton and Bush don't make it here, they still need to offer
us a plan. A plan for Highland Park should give them a lot of
mileage-- it would work in any urban area.
I{ the candidates don't do their job and devise an urban strategy ,
let us still do ours: vote our interests. Only the candidate who can
offer meaningful disaster aid to Highland Park and all the other
urban centers deserves our vote. No justice, no peace? No plan, no
vote!
I
,
VIEWS OPINIONS
THE M Y in the
African-American and in other
communi tie as well who ee
through the Bush strategy of
diversion. It is sad that even the
•
U
pro bly in th t of tho
i immor 1 for the Pre ident or
anyon el in power to devalu the
worth of hum n life. The ying
th t "all i fair in war" h light on
the terrible and tragic reality of
ensele war.
ot surpri ingly i th fact that
oon as Iraq and Saddam H ein
bee me the focal point of the
President' platform, Bush began to
rise in the public poll . Th timing
of the Republican ational
Convention and the announcement
of new threats against Iraq were well
planned and orch trated.
The Republicans have m tered
"smart the art of deceptio . But if the public
ester's World
@1992
SEE, I TOLD YOU I'M DOW, I FOR THE BROTHERS .. AFTER �-.,��.
I'VE ALWAYS SUPPORTED THE UNITED NEG.RO COLLEGE, '._;11D.
Stereotypes mi
�1:::!,f,e @/'1'1Z-
COI'\'RIGIIT Uti' KERN UK51GN
ALL RIGIIT5 RESF.RVF.U
Another example of smear by
stereotype, poisoning the climate
in which Blacks work!
Perhaps the most sickening
example of stereotype damage
took place in Athens, Ohio. The
Black Ohio University student
gave a journalism teacher a copy of
his newspaper and asked for
cr i ticism. When the teacher
pointed out errors in grammar and
spelling, the student said his
newspaper was "only for Black
students" and that using standard
journalism rules would be "acting
white and copying after white
folks." He mentioned going across
the treet to ee Black-produced
movie riddle with vulgarity,
violence, gambling and dope
dealing. The ghetto-damaged,
stereotypical characters in this
movie were hi role models .:
THESE EXAMPLES show
1 e powerful, continuing damages
of stereotypes. They began more
than 100 years ago with "Rastus"
and "Sambo" type, an have
continued through Stepin Fetchit,
"Birth of a Nation," "Porgy 'n'
Bess," "Emperor Jone ," "Amo
'n' Andy," and a sickening list of
others.
Ben Vereen put on black face
with white lips and imitated Bert
Williams for the white folks and
some loved it. Some Black
Objected. Later, newspapers
reported he said Black people will
not go to movies or stage shows
unless they expect viotence ;
profanity and stereotype .
"The Cosby Show" was highly
successful - a breath of fresh air
and a very positive force for Black
people, with its emphasis on
intelligence, education, family
values and positive role models.
This show helped in many work
places because it was a ource of
good conversation between Blacks
and whites. Its value is that it
"looked upward and forward" -
not "downward and backward." It
portrayed hope, aspiration and
dignity instead of. the killing,
gambling, dope dealing and
buffoonery portrayed in most of
today's movies aimed at Black
audiences but seen by all. .
The. stereotype i a lame excuse
and an evil crutch to support
discrimination.
For our children's ake, we
must eliminate these lam excuses
and dangerous crutches.
lead Black and white
By JAMES E. ALSBROOK
T� New York Times of August
4, ran a big story on bias and
stereotyping in higher .education.
The story focused on problems
Black students have with some .
high school and college counselors
who discourage these students.
Black academic achievement
has been thwarted on all levels by
low self-esteem, lack of
confidence, negative peer
pressure, deliberate misdirection
and various neighborhood
problems.
Bias and stereotyping hinder
not only Blacks eeking an
education. Even those who have
doctora te degrees and high
co mpe renee often meet
professional problems based on
half-truths, prejudice and
misleading stereotype .
One example of stereotype
abuse is the case of Dr. Lee Etta
Powell, former superintendent of
schools at Cincinnati. She was a
competent administrator who
entered a difficult situation and
was making progre . With limi ted
re ources, he had to olve
problems b} "tepping on
somebody's toe ."
SOME WHITES became
offended and on talk shows they
resorted to tereotypes, one asking
whether" Aunt Jemima belongs in
the superintendent) office or in
the kitchen." Other bigoted slurs
undermined public confidence. Dr.
Powell resigned.
Another example of stereotype
abuse took place in Kansas City,
Missouri, when a Black
businessman sought to buy
property near the downtown area.
The white real e tate leman met
him at the ite and said, "How-dee
yawl. I yawl de prezzidunt,"
apparent} y mimicking the Kingfish
in "Amo and Andy." Then he lied,
aying the property had been SOld.
Dr. John A. Middleton, Black
superintendent of schools at
Columbus, Ohio, is a competent
administrator who recently
rejected a pay increase until hi
taff's pay al 0 could be raised. A
young white man heard the news
croadcas t in the Lane Avenue Mall
and id, "Oatman' got plenny ov
nuttin and nuttin' plenny fo'
him," and burst into a big laugh
with friend . He wa comparing
Dr. Middleton to a dope-dealing,
dice-shooting, Whore-mongering
character in "Porgy and Bess."