HIGHLAND PARK
N tion 1 Quartette Convention of
America, which w founded by
R.H. Harris in 1947.
A rdin to Blue, he been a
me r of the national, ltate, nd
city Quartette Convention, 34, 35,
and 36 yea , re pectively.
Blue, who w bom in Alexander
City, Alab rna, aid when he tarted
singing go pel at age 13, "You to
be a member of the church before
you could ing in the church. A
whole lot of people lnging today
ain't got a church home," he con
tinued.
critical that ,.
c o/our own t/utinytwl
,top waiting lor 0 "n
known mythical being to
c along GIld wipe racism
fro 1M /QCe 0/ thJ.r eorth. "
DaYidC. W
"KIIowkdge% ',ldm-
tUy, one'» ,elf, co nity,
1UItio", religion GIld God" is
tM true meaning of resurrec
tio", whUe ignorance 0/ it ,ig- .
nlfiaMU."
HOD. Ua M ad
Sund y, October 18 t 3:30 p.m,
tbe ltiona! Independent Sin ell of
Detroit, Michigan will celebrate 51
yea of quartet singing when the
group holds i retirement celebra
tion at the City Quartette Conven
tion, 3222 Puritan Avenue.
The rea on the Independent
Singers are retiring is becau e
vera! members of the group are
experiencing heal th problems, the
ounderof the group, R.C. Blue aid.
. "It would be great if omeone
would carry on (the group' name)",
said Blue, who i 75-years-old aid.
"I could then it back and ee some
thing I've tarted continue. That
would be a pleasure."
According to Blue, the original
members of the National Inde
pendent Singers were he, (R.C.
Blue), lead Inger and fifth tenor;
Larry Worthy, lead Inger and fifth
tenor; Julius Cummins, bass; Leroy
Cobb , lead; and Jack Albridge,
baritone.
"AND WHEN YOU ask them
what church they are a member of
they will cratch their heads and
wheo you a k them what their
pastor' name i they will still be
cratching their heads."
Blue contends that all of that he d
scratching-not being affiliated wi th
a churcb---has had a direct bearing
on the quality of today's quartette
singers.
Blue is proud of his 62 years of
church membership and although his
church affiliation has changed on
two occasions, he proudly said, "I
have been a member of White
Cb8pel Missionary Baptist Church
for the past 35 years."
Down through' the years, as Blue
put it, he has seen many join the
National Independent Singers and
when they left they went different
ways. .
,I RINSTANCE, he said, some
ti t
Operation PUSH jUlt held
it'. national convention in
Chicago celebratin it'.
twenty first year. The theme
of the convention a.
"Operation PUSH comes of
Ie in an era of abandon
ment."
The convention opened on
Sept. 25, 1992 with the
PUSH/Excel Pro B ketball
Cia sic at the Chicago
Stadium (Home of the NBA
World Champion Chicago
Bulls).
On Saturday, Sept. 26,
1992 PUSH along with BET
(Black Entertainment
Televi ion) held a national
youth leadership town hall
meeting. It was Youth Em
powerment pay, theme,
"Defining the . i .
pelling the myth.
• PUSH founder, Rev. Jesse
Louis Jackson, Sr. was the
keynote peaker on Sunday
September 27, 1992 during
the grand opening at the Mc
Cormick Center Hotel. Rev.
Jackson challenged the con
vention delegates to tand tall
in tHis era of abandonment
that has manifested itself in
every aspect of our existence.
Corporations have aban
doned America's urban
centers, jeopardizing a ade
quate and safe working con
ditions, in favor of cheaper,
le safe foreign markets."
Our streets are turned into
danger zones, our nights into
evenings of terror. In the
most simple terms, abandon
ment has come to mean" what
was is no larger," stated
Operation PUSH, national
president, Rev. Henry M.
Williamson, Sr.
THE GOSPEL GROUP was
founded by Blue on October 16,
1941, he aid. "I will never forget
it. "
For the past half century the Na
tional Independent Singers have
sung from "coast to coast' and
recorded "six or seven 45s and two
albums," Blue added.
t� .�ep�n�n'
�I.}� 'FMilYlR�' I fIi I
IN THE BEGINNING-This 1951 photo show thr ofth origin I members ofth Natlonallndependent
Singers. Left to Right, top row are, R.C. Blue, found r, Loul H deceased, and Larry Worth, original
member. Bottom row, Left to Right, Julius Cummins, dece8$ed and original member, Eddie Carter and
WIlliam D. West.
groups or started their own group. A
few became "preache It and "some
t i Id"
Throughout his singing career, And the biggest seller of all time
Blue maintains that one ong has w the single, :'1 Am On The Battle
�yed part of his reper1Oire. 'I'hp. P eld,For My Lord".
bng is: Iff ilI1rust n The Lord". West, similar to several members
'If\ t thd gItl\J'p', i begfhnl to feel the'
accumulation of the years that have
come and gone. And although he
wants to see the name the National
Independent Singers of Detroit,
Michigan continue, he realistically
said, "Physically I am not able to
(continue the pace of quartette sing
ing) but spiritually I am one hundred
percent (behind someone keeping
the name alive). "
"I t would be
great if someone
would carry on the
group's name , I
could then sit back
and see something
I've started con-
THE RETIREMENT celebra
tion begins at 3:30 p.m. and in addi
tion to the local convention singers
the special gue t will be the Banks
Sisters and Reverend .Hank
Thompson from Flint; Brother Larry
Worthy, Athens, Georgia; Eddie
Carter, Columbus, Ohio; and the
Voices of Hope Male Chorus .
Advanced tickets are $7 and $8 at
the door. For additional informa
lion, please call R.C. Blue at (313)
836-1433.
tinue. "
According to William D. West,
. who joined the group in 1951 and is
the group's second oldest member,
the National Independent Singers
biggest selling album was "No
Cross, No Crown."
TIME MARCHING ON - These current and former members of th National Independent Singe�rs of
. Detrroit are, extreme left, R.C. Blue, founder, third fourth and fifth, formum��rs.FrankGooden, Clifford
Alexander and Willie Daniels. At the extreme right is current member, Wilham D. West.
Former H pee artist
creates friendship design
TEACHERS�---------
involved in negotiations and that the
children must be the priority.
"What we are most concerned
about is the welfare of children,"
Harris aid. "In all of the negotia
tions, what needs to be important is
the welfare of children."
Lois Vagnozzt, editor of the
"Detroit Teacher" and a repre
sentative for the Michigen Federa
tion of Teachers, said strike are
often the only way to force a local
school board to seriously consider
teachers' concerns.
"In a good world, people would
bargain sincerely, but. .. ," Vagnorai
aid. In addition, Vagnozzi said
teachers carefully weigh their op-'.
tions before striking.
Dr. Jabori Prempe/a is the
president and Executive
Director of The Operation
PUSH Metropolitan Detroit
CluJpter: P.O. Box 21088,
Detroit, MI 48221-0088,
(313) 368-8701 FAX (313)
342-6299.
continued from Page 1
situation. "
PERRY SAID other countries
are out-educating the United States,
proving changes have to be made in
education, including ending strikes.
"Knowing the kind of competi
tion we're in, I think that we would
be very, very remiss to say 'well
that's the way it is,'" Perry said.
"We've got to do a lot of thinp dif
ferent in education to make them
happen."
Bducationrepresentatives dis
agree with Perry's assessment of the
law.
"I don't agree, plainly and imp
ly," said Kim Brennen Root, director
of communications for the Michigan
Education Association, the tate's
largest teachers' union.
"I think the labor director' com
ments are very indicative of the en
tire Engler administration's tance
on education, " Brennen Root said.
�ril Miles, folk art curator f�r
TheInternational Institute and artist
in residence, has created a new
design which illustrates international
brotherhood around the world,
among all nations, all cultures, all
peoples.
Mile .bas been a volunteer for
The Institute since the 1940's, help
ing further their mission by using are
as a tool to assure all her internation ..
al exhibits include representation of
all six inhabited continents. .
A former Institute volunteer of
the year and United Foundation
Heart of Gold recipient, Miles also
was the mainstay of the art depart
ment at Highland Park Community
College for 43 years until her retire
ment in 1986.
Working clo ely with Mary Jo
Krueger, International Institute co -
tume coordinator, Miles' visionary
work of art promotes the mission and
philosophy of The International In-
titute.
If you want
someone
more
knowledgeable
than yourself
to identify a
bird, you do
not first
remove the
feathers.
--AfrIcan proverb
AND TO those who criticize the
timing of teachers' trikes, Vagnozzj
aid bases for bargaining cannot, be
established until both school and
state budgets are et-near the end of
the summer.
"I don't think there' any union
that goes on strike lightly," Vagnozzi .
said. "You don't do it on a whim."
Vagnozzi aid he believe the
children affected by trikes may be
inconvenienced, but do not suffer ir
reparable damage because all the
days wfIJ be made up and leacheD
"plunge right In" ODCC tbe trike fa
over.
BRENNEN ROOT SAID there
is often more than meets the eye
when teachers choose to strike. She
aid strikes are often because of
about-face bargaining by the board
invol.ved in negotiations.
Bob Harris, communications
director for the State Board of Educa
tion, said he refused to blame anyone
Jeanne Leonard, I ntemational I nstitute president, shows off the new
design created byfolk art curator Cyril Miles.
Her' experience and contacts
helped Krueger collect and verify 37
different languages used throughout
southe t Michigan and the world.
Call 871-8600 to order.
Americans who provided the word
"friend hip" written in their n live
language.
FEATURING THE SLOGAN
"celebrate friendship" Krueger ear
ched Metropolitan Detroit for ethnic