p ( ) - About 40
Blac teen- ge marched on
rainy treets to pro t n 11-
white jury' cquittal of white
busine man, who d he hot
and wounded two Bl ck teen
agers in elf-defense. Other
members of the Blac com
munity id the verdict for
Daniel Strong w unfair.
The Erie County Common
Pleas Court jury on Friday found
Strong innocent of two coun
each of aggravated ault and
reck! endangennent.
Strong's shotgun bla ts
wounded and partially paralyzed
David McCray, then 16, and
wounded Kynyon Nixson, 15,
two of four teen-agers who
climbed the fence surrounding
Strong' property on July 10,
1991. The other two youths
Adri n Freeman, 15, and John
Bame ,19 were not hurt in the
shooting.
Defense lawyer David Ridge
aid he believes contradictions
in the teen-ager ' testimony
played a role in the jury's ver
dict.
Assistant District Attorney,
James Vogel said he was disap
pointed none of the jurors was
Black.
Sfrong said he felt badly that
McCray was so eriously injured
but welcomed the verdict.
"Now I can get back to my busi
nes and get on with my life,"
I Strong aid. ..... .... ·�.1-; ......
Bl'ack rellglou
leader receive
18 years
FT. lAUDERDA.LE, FIr- The
founder of what once was one
of the nation's fastest growing
religious mo mens was last
week sentenced to 18 years in
prison. ' Yahweh Ben Yahweh
and six followers were con
victed last May on federal con-
piracy charges.
Prior to his downfall Yah
weh (born Hulon Mitchell, Jr.)
had built an $8 million empire
of stores and motels as wen
claiming thouunds of members
in 22 tates.
However, his base w in the
Miami area where his organiza
tion-Nation of Yahweh-trans
formed blighted areas, although
often engaged in conflict with
other groups including drug
ganp.
. Kidney
patient
may face
discrimination
cmCAGO, IL-A new tudy
says African-Americans suffer
ing from kidney disease are less
likely to get some expensive
new � which could better
relieve their suffering.
Re earchers at the John
Hopkins Medical Centers in
Baltimore found that Blacks are
less likely to get given the better
drup even when they.have the
same insurance as whites. Tbc
researchers said one reason is
that Blacks may not be able to
afford the 20 percent co-pay
ment required for some of the
better drugs.
Fire .flghters
settle
In Dalla
DALLAS, Tx-Black fire
fighters have reached an
S822,(XX) settlement in a racial
discrimination suit with the aly
of Dallas. The agreement, ap
proved by a federal judge, will
also recruit in promotions for 28
of the city's approximately 2.00
African-American firefighters.
"Of course you
shouldbe proud to be
B lack, but what
about illiteracy? Or
unemployment? We
have to turn our
pride into power,
and our pain into
partnership. I not
only want you to
change the rules by �.------------------------
voting, I want you io good fight. Th ycan'tevensustaina
change your mind. thoughtproces. We need for young
America to come alive."
Then, you can
change America. "
By HSA UEL
ComI."ond«Jt
"You cannot prot t the Rodney
King be ting and the court' verdict
nd not be regi tered to vote," id
Je e J con.
Last Monday, Jac on ddre ed
a near-c p city crowd in the trium
of W yne County Community
College' downtown camp . Th
rally w ponsored by Project Vote.
Project Vote i campaign to in
crea e the number of regi tered
voters. A coalition of local and na
tional organization h joined
Project Vote's camp ign to register
1 million new, voters nationally by
November.
In urging citizens to register and
vote, Jackson pointed to issues such
as poverty, unemployment, the lac
of health care and poor schools.
Democratic Presld ntlaJ candid e Bill Clinton II en to Rev. J J
to vote-with (I-r) DC Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly and Dr. Dorothy H
Con1 rence of Negro Women
"BLACKS ARE not mostly
poor, and the poor are not mo tly
Black," he aid. "The poor are not all
on welfare, most of them work
everyday. Some of them work as or
derlies in hospitals, changing bed
pans. But when they get sick, they
can't afford to lie in the beds they
make up every day.
"Jobs are leaving and schools are
closing. Tho e are the reasons that
we need to register," he added.
Jackson said that voters could
help the U.S. compete with Japan
economically.
"We can challenge our nation," he
said. "We keep asking, 'Why is
Japan doing so well? Why are they
strong?'
"America needs to have values,"
Jac on dded. "Bush and Quayle
talk lot about valu , but they talk
about a lot of things they know noth
ing about. They both had two-parent
home , prenatal care, d y care,
private school nd they were mil
lionaires. But they didn't make the
choice to have those things. They
talk about people on weltare, but the
answer to welfare is to create jobs.
JACKSON ALSO spoke about
illegal drugs.
"Drugs are coming into the
country as an anesthetic for our
pain," he said. "But when people are
drunk or high they can't fight the
..
b'y"coil
pow
r
By AMVVUHN
C.pn.1 NIIW. SMvlc.
cuit court level and an appeals court
ruling. The Engler administration
appealed to the Supreme Court,
which will have final say in the mat
ter.
Truscott aid the governor acted
on precedent with the executive
order. He said the administration
thinks the Supreme Court will rein
force the governor' power.
BUT BILL BALLENGER, pub
lisherofInside Michigan Politics and
former Republican state senator, said
he thinks Engler has little chance of
winning the Supreme Court ap
peal-especiaUy in light of two
lower court decision against the plan.
"There is some reason to believe
his administration handled (the reor
ganization) pretty ineptly in the way
they went about it," he aid.
But Truscott said the governor's
office thinksit has strong grounds for
appeal. He said one the biggest argu
ments is the case was heard by two
THE STATE constitution clearly
states tnat the governor does not haVe
LANSING - When the state the authority to abolish and create
Supreme Court rules on Gov. John departments, just to transfer
Engler's Department of Natural authority," she said, adding Engler's
Resources reorganization plan, the plan is equal to abolishing the current
justices will decide more than the _ DNR.
fate of the department. Either way, the debate is on hold
Engler spokesman John Truscott until the Supreme Court makes a
said the battle brewing now is decision. There is no time frame for
centered on how much power the a ruling-it could Come as soon as a
governor has, instead of whether the month or as long as a year, Truscott
reorganization plan is a good idea. said.
"We think we've got a very solid The plan, announced in an execu-
argument," Truscott said. "It's gone tive order last January, would have
much further than the reorganization. restructured the DNR to create a
It's a case about the power of the clearer distinction between the en
governor in the state of Michigan." vironmental and natural resources
Lisa Allen, Michigan United functions. Proposals for change in
Conservation Clubs (MUCC) elude dividing services among other
spokesperson, said her group chal- departments or reorganizing the cur
lenged the order because it does not rent DNR with separate units for en
believe Engler had that authority to vironment and resources.
. ,completely overhaul existi�g depart- The MUCC appealed the order
ments. and won court challenges at the cir-
Kenn dy Space Center, FL-Among tho •• on hand to wltne •• th launch of the fir. Black
woman-Dr. Ma J ml.on-Into .pac. Sept. 12 w r. m mber. of her .ororlty: L·R: Mfa. Bettlann
Gardn r, Chlcago,IL; Dr. Earn tin. G. cN aley, S auket, NY; Ma. Connie Col ,0 trOll, MI; Mr •.
A n.. FI her, Opelu ,LA; nd r.. Inora FI II, Hou.ton. TX. More than 25 AKAa
Journeyed to Florid for th hi orlc Ende your IgM wh ch r urned to rth pt. 20.
" HAVING REAL values mea
that we must stop the policies ofbatc.
If it's racist and wrong to kill Jews in
concentration camps during World
War II, ifit' racist and wrong to lock
up Japanese-American during
World War II, then It's racist and
wrong to lock out Haitians who
come to this country."
Jackson also called for a .change
in voter attitudes as well.
"There eems to be a lot of ethnic
pride," he said. "But there are uch
limitations on ethnic pride, that it
become an end in i elf.
Democratic judges at the appellate
level. '
"Judges can be pretty partisan,"
Truscott said.
Regardless of the outcome,
Balllenger said the reorganization
plan has damaged �ngler politically.
"They have lost the environmen
tal lobby, period," Ballenger said.
"The environmental lobby bates the
Engler administration now."
HOWEVER, TRUSCOTT
SAID the environmentalists were
never on the governor's ide. He
said the governor. tried to meet with
environmental group to discus the
plan, but they refused. MUCC's
Allen said her group offered to meet
with Engler, but. the governor
refused.
Meanwhile, the department con
tinues to functions as it always had.
But there have been some minor
changes from recommendations in
the reorganization plan.
-------
"Of course you hould be proud
to be Black, but what about il
literacy? Or unemployment? We
have to tum our pride into power,
and our pain into partnership. I not
only want you to change the rules by
voting, 1 want you to change your
mind. Then, you can change
America."
'( 11-
.�jb 0 •
o : >dJ
,q
DNR press secretary Pat Stewart
said the department now sends out a
calendar of all hearings and meet
ings open to the public. This makes
the department leaders more acces
sible, she said.
.. "IF ANYTHING, THEY (ser
vices to citizens) will be enbaneed,"
Stewart said. "I know there a mis
DOmer out there tbat ya services
will be decreased. But act\ally, they
will be increased."
But Allen aid the MUCC views
tbe making the department more
entrenched and le open to views
from citizens. Part of the plan calls
for abo.lishlng 19 volunteer staffed
board and commissions, cutting
down on citizen input.
I
"The citizens will 'have very little
recourse, outside the courts, to con
test decisions made," he said.
Parole board eppolntee
draw Kilpatrick' anger
State Repre entative Carolyn
Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Detroit) t�y
blasted the new appointments made
by Corrections Department Direc
tor Kenneth McGinnis to the state
parole board, ying the appoint
men do not begin to adequately
reflect the racial make-up of the
prison population. "The new ap
pointments also lean too heavily
toward people in the criminal justice
field."
"The lack of African American
males appointed to the parole board
is dilgraceful," id Rep. Kilpatric�
be) chairs the House Appropria
tions Corrections ubcommittee. -I
am dismayed that the African
American male perspective
overlooked in the election process
with over 1000 pplicants."
Over 70 percent of the prison
population i African American
male. Michigan Correction
Department employees are over 78
percent white, and lea than 20 per
cent African American, Rep. Kil
patrick added.
"While we have just passed legis
lation to strengthen parole
guidelines in Michigan, we serious
ly lack racial balance in the board
charged with following these
guidellnea.
"I do not want to discount the
contribution of the African
American females who have been
appointed. "Over 60 percent of the
women incarcerated are African
American Women," "Rep. Kil
patrick dded. The conaplcuo
lack of African American males
makes me uneasy bout the fair
treatment prisoners will receive
when they are before e parole
board."
"I am not su tin quo nor
did I recommend a specific African
American male: My Offi9C been
inundated with calla Cqr my support
from appllcan • I have po en with
Director McGinnis on many oe- I.
ca ion on the need for African
American males on the parole
board," she aid. '
The 10 non-Civil Service p
pointmen ,will take effect Oct 4.
•
f
. (