.'
r
By RON SIEGEL
p.cl I to Michigan CltlHn
HIGHU D - U.S. Con-
gres man John Conyer said
Chryslers' decision to leav High­
land Park hould entitle the city to
U.S. di aster aid, imilar to the help
given to Florida and Hawaii follow­
ing recent hurrican .
"Economic dislocations are no
le s harmful and dangerou to
f milies and people than natural dis­
ters," Conyers told Th Michigan
Citizen.
Conyers said that it would be
more difficult to get such aid because
.... of a conservative Republican presi­
dent. However, Conyers said, he is
examining a myriad. of federal
programs that already exi t involv­
ing job retraining.
'Conyers said that because of the
end of the Cold War and the pos­
sibility of cutb cks in defense, he
believes legislators from districts de­
pendent on military spending will be
interested in programs involving job
conversion, job creation and job
retraining, to combat defense reduc­
tio in their own states.
F tival bring together children and pro p ctive parent
Karen Clermont getting acquainted with 4-year-old Ricardo during a recent adoption festival in
Detroit. The event was sponsored by local adoption agencies and used a day of sports. music and
face-painting to bring prospective parents together with more than 200 children.
TO HARBOR-A new
voice h joined the call for a Justice
artment probe into the death of
ric McGinnis.
The body of McGinni , who w
16 years-Old at the time of hi death,
w pulled from the St. Jo ph river
five day after he di app ared, in
May of 1991 from a downtown St.
Joseph teen dance club.
, Fears that the youth was a victim
of racial brutality persist.
The County Sheriff w the 1 t
known person to ee young McGin­
nis being chased through downtown
St. Jo eph, an almo t all-white com­
munity with long hi tory of racial
ho tility toward African Ameri­
cans.
y1"E RY KELLY
Mlchlfl!n Cltlz.n
men.
CHAPEL HILL, N .C.-' Break- At least a dozen Black football
ing the mold eems to be the habit of players last week led approximately
athletes from the University of North' 600 students in a march on the office
Carolina. From James Worthy to Mi- of University Chancellor Paul
chael Jordan, the school counts Hardin to demand the construction
among i alumni those who have of Black cultural center on campus.
shattered all previous physical tand- 4 The idea for a free-standing cen-
ards. ter dedicated to the study of Black
Now Black athlete from Chapel culture was first advocated by Sonja
H. Stone. a popular African Ameri­
can prole or.
Since Stone' death in 1991, up­
port for the center _ has grown and
with it, a demand that the center be
named in honor of the deceased pro­
fessor.
Among the upporters is none
other than Dolores Jordan Michael
Jordan's mother.
Chancellor Hardin has Objected
to a building constructed for that pur­
pose alone, advocating in tead,
space be reserved in another buildi ng
for Black studies.
In a major departure from the si­
lent stance of most Black athletes,
the football players have taken the
leadership on the is ue.
An improptu march led by the
athletes last week brought 400 tu­
dents to Hardin's residence. They
dispersed when the police were
called.
"It's not common for athletes,
Black athletes, to be in this type of
See Athlete, Page A10
RILE TB E '0 rv,live
officials ignored pa t pleas of con­
yers and other. liberal Democrats for
h programs, Conyers says, "All of
'a sudden, they're getting interested.
They understand conversion could
be of great help to them now."
He said that he has not had the
opportunity to test this, but it is "one
of the exciting po sibilities of the
next session of congress."
Conyers is seeking passage of the
Local Partnership Act. which
"rekindles federal and local rela-
See CONYERS, 810
By Allison Jone
Mlchl(l!n Citizen
Alfred Bolden, Rebecca Davis and James Clark, represented the
Detroit Branch NAACP during the recent 56th State Convention in
Inkster. S88 Story A3.
Q.
Should Blacks,
as requested'
by Spike Lee,
stay home on
the aythe
movie-
Hill are shedding the hackles of i­
lenoe and speaking up, daring to be
Tim Smith, left, and John Bradley, two football players taking the
lead at North Carolina for a Black Cultural Center.
J
,
The State Conference AACP
voted unanimously durin i 56th
annual convention meeting in Rom­
ulus thi p t weekend to upport a
r olution p ed by the Benton Har­
bor city commi ion in August.
The Benton Harbor commis ion
called for the intervention of the U.S .
attorney in the inv tigation.
Benton Harbor r ide picketed
Eric McGlnnl.
the Berrien County Courthouse in
August to protest the long list of un­
solved murders in thi outhw tern
Mlchigancounry, McGinni was on
of 11 African Americans cited by
community leaders who deatbs re­
main unexplained, or murders un­
solved over the past decade.
Police files of the McGinnis
drowning focus entirely on linking
McGinni to an alleged break-in on
a car parked in a lot a block from the
teen club. The car owner chased
omeone through downtown
Se McGINNIS, P.g 810
Detroit often waives anti-apartheid law
DETROIT (Apr- The City Council' routin Iy that were the only manufacturer of a product or the only
waives its ordinance prohibiting the city from doing bidder on a contract
business wi th companies that have ties to South Africa, But four companies received exemptions because
a report ays. the council determined other bidders would be "con-
The anti-apartheid ordinance was drafted in 1990 trary to the best interests of the city," the report aid.
after African National Congress leader Nelon Man- The council granted 37 waivers to three inde-
,dela visited Detroit. pendently owned Detroit automobile dealerships: JeI-
Companies who e bid are rejected because of the ferson Chevrolet, Riverside Ford and Jorgensen Ford.
ordinance may appeal the decision. The council often Ford Motor Co. and General Moto Corp. are on the
waives the ordinance, according to a report by the Michigan Treasury Department's list of companies
council' research department. with ties to South Africa,
The report said 116 companies have been denied The state has only gra-iec one waiver to its anti-
contracts ince the ordinance was enacted in January apartheid purchasing legislation, aid Donna Arduin,
1991. Of the firms that asked the City Council to deputy director 0 the state Department of Management
waive the law, 84 received contracts, the report said. and Budget.
Many of the exemptions were granted to companies
LAO A REID: "Ye.
Blacks hould be behind him."
RO ALD WOOD : "No.
Malcolm was a role model, but
not the kind of role model like
Martin Luther Kmg, Jr."
CHRI TUB : "1 re pect
Spike Lee. I don't know if! could
take a day out of my life. There
are to many other thin to do."
, ;
1,'Malcolmll is
released?
JO TE : "No. How
can. he say tay home. People
have to go to work and make a
living."