pro m.
c ·rman J
Brown of the 1i Vo
C-ouB:il. ued taICment -
ging the governor to co . del' an
African American when he
p 00' �placemcnt in
U.s. Se . The coundl claims
to �present 1�(xx) Blae vo
in 47coun .
Former Rep. Alvin King.
Memphis Democrat who lost the
primary e ection 0 one-time
McWhcr1er aide,. on record
king McWherter to appoint
him.
Tbe te �ver had a
woman or Blae in thc SenalC.
Ms. DeBerry, who repre-
n a Memp· disttict,
been a member of � Home for
the pest 20 years and House
speaker pro tern for the past eight
years.
INDIANAPOIJS(AP)-Mayor
Stephen Goldsmith recently an­
nounced a new task force to im- .
prove rsee relations and Cosier a
better Wldem1lnding of thc dty
, cultural dive Ity.
Approximately 30 repre­
sentatives of the city's ethnic
heritage, inc1� thole in busi:­
ness, law enforcement and cler­
gy, have volunteered to rve on
th e force, dubbed "Opera-
t· D_aftN'Ot Network."
lon�. ...
Goldsmith ·d the goal of
the task foro: w to fi 00 the root
of racial problems in In­
dianapolis.
"We're all sometimes 100
aware of the unneces ary
JllCjudi(%S which exi t among
our citizens:' he said.
The concept behind the �w
task force was initiated in 1989
by several membem.of the local
clergy.
MONONGWIlA, PA. (AP)­
A high school formed a 24�tu­
dent committee to a� racial
tensions following a fight, a
threatening note sent to a Black
teac er and tbat teacher'S
s�
and ,
resulted from a pelel'dS' meedng
in May followitW a figbt be­
tween a Black tudent aM white
student. The dispute folloWed an
�la1ed food fight in the high
school cafeteria.
"Now, wbenproblemscome
up, students will have a body to
go to in order to avoid violent or
di ruptive reactions," school
Superintendent Cbarles S1acey
said.
Contnbuting to temions was
the slBpcnsion of Ida Belle Min­
nie, a 1eacher woo led a student
walkout at Ringgold High after
receiving in her mailbox a pic-
, ture of someone in a Ku Klux
Klan robe.
The Klansman's sign said,
"No MLK," an apparent refer­
eree to Martin �r King.
Ms. MiMic thought little of
�newpanel.
It is "a cover-q> to put on the
books' 80 that they have some­
thing that's going to make a dif­
ference when �ir actions speak
di.f:Ierendy," Ms. Minnie said.
She separately wa
suspended for playing twosonp
from the musical "Hair."
School officials said the lOOp
were obIcene and raciat.
Ms. Minnie bas appealed �
. "Hair" suspension. She has
been tramferred.
\\'()I{IJ)
A, ALA. (AP) - Some
frican Ameri n Democratic
leade aid they t 0.-..""",,,
poli ti P rty in bope of
i the infiuen� of Joe Reed,
Ie er of the party' BI
Perry County Commi loner
Albert Turner and other membe
of the Al b m e South
Coalition are considering forming
th new party.
The coalition w organized ix
years go a rival to the Alabama
Democratic Conference controlled
by Reed.
"We don't have a name or any
real direction at . point, but we
are rio Iy looking t fOrming
.. new political party," Thmersaid.
TU E AID THE
po ibility of organizing new
party w filst discussed at Ne
South' annual meeting in Mobile.
He . d one reason Ne South
is interested in creating;t new
poli tical organization i the
"dictatorship" of Reed, who
long been c:omidered Alabam a'
most powerl'ul Bl ck Democrat.
Reed said Friday that he has
Dever tried to hinder the political
"HOW AIRI ittohaveyour
political enemie itring in
judgment of you?" be aid. "I
don't think that is the way it should
be and neither do a lot of other
people!'
He aid the ADC bas elped
.create a monopoly witbin the
Alabama Democratic Party that
titled input from him and others
who may disagree with Reed.
"1bat's what ept in lavery
so long," Turner aid. "We've
been slaves to one party or another
/
ITA11I11CAL POImWT or NATION
Black Concentration
"Wi 'VI b n to on
'party or noth r for long
tim. Thou nd ofu h VI
b n lect d to offic now
and I think it' tim . we t rt
to think of noth r p rty to
repre ent all th pop, and
not ju t a favofj d few. "
E ecutive Director Al LaPierre
aid th complaints are unfounded.
"You don't qualify to nut
Democrat and then, when you 1 e,
tum around and run again as an
'mural
,TOLEDO, OHIO (AP) - Is a
mural on the side of a convenience
store promoting peace and
African-American history art?
The store's owner ys yes. The
city says no. But the Arts Commis­
sion of Greater Toledo will have
the final word.
"The people in the community
have. had nothing but good things
to say about it, everybody loves
it," Medyan Agba, owner of
Mark' Carryout, said Tue day.
"It' something real good for the
community."
Residents y the mural on the
entire side of the tore is an im­
provement from the graffiti that
was there before.
GENE BORTON, the city'
Inspections commissioner, say
tbe mural is a polttlcalmes age,
not a commercial lgn. The ci ty
wan to pint over the mural.
Agha aid there' no reason
why it hould be covered.
"When I moved into the neigh­
borhood, 1 expected to have trouble
with the gangs, not the city," Agha
said.
peace;
itha togo
Because of the residents' sup­
port for the mural, the city asked
the arts commis ion to settle the
issue. If the commission decides
it's art, the mural stays. If not, it
'goes.
Eileen Kerner, the
commission' executive director,
aid her guideline are simple. "I
it aesthetically pleasing and not
profane? Is it original? Is it not
Insulting to the human eye?"
THERE WAS NO indication
when the commission would rule.
The mural, about 20 feet high
a� 75 feet long, traces the history
of Black from slavery to the
present with figures, including a
gang member holdinga gun. Look­
ing down on the figure is a
Sphinxlike fact and me ages in
Arabic and English urging people
to stop fighting.
.. We all have to tick together
if we want to urvive a a people .. "
one me age say.
Resident ay they like the
mural.
"It' beautiful, real po itive.
It' make us think," said Rodney
Jones.
. "It's certainly better than wha.
was on there before," said Todd
Reynolds, another re ident.
THE PROBLEM started when
omeone complained to tbe city
about the mural. The ci ty sent a
sign inspector, Jeanette Hurt, to
look at it.
Ms. Hurt said the mural didn't
qualify as a commercial sign. Her
report was given to the city' Board
of Zoning Appeals, which told
Agha to Cover it.
Borton agreed with the
decision.
"It is a mural and-not a painted
wall sign," he aid.
Agha bought the store in June
and decided to fix it up. The ide of
the tore wa covered with graffiti.
When neighborhood artist Ken
Richardson offered to paint a
mural for the price of materials,
Agha took advantage of th oppor­
tunity.
"We wanted to do. mething
po ilive," Agha aid.
REED ALSO pointed to the
form tion of the N tional
Democratic Party of AI bam. in
the 19605 when BI leaders upset
d
boy
KINGSTON, R.I. (AP) - More than
200 University of Rhode Island tu­
dents, taff and alumni too over a
tudent ervices building and
dem�ded �t t�F_ couege make
g��,ER9lW£� ,J�ty tu-
dents.
The Blac Student'.£.eado p
Group and fellow protesters were in
the building for nearly 12 hours tart­
ing at midnight Tue day, Nov. 10.
They urged students to boycott clas-
e and fast for the day.
"Promises have been made" and
not met by school officials, id
group spoke man Malcolm Ander-
on, 22, of Providence. "Minority
programs on campus are very poorly
funded. The university is basically
just squeaking by its quota to receive
federal money."
The protesters gave John H. Mc­
Cray Jr., vice president of student
development. a list of 14 demands
including more money for minority
programs, an African-American
studies major and more minority
staff and faculty.
'The group disbanded after a late
morning news conference.
·JPLACE YOURSELF IN our
shoes and see how it is, " said Bryant
Hayre, a senior arts and sciences
major. "You don't even act as
though the problem exists, you act as
though the problem doesn't exist.
We can't hol� back any longer. We
have the power and we're not sell ing
out. ,.
McCray said chool president
Robert Ca rothers was out of town but
was cheduled to return later in tbe
day. School officials planned to meet
to draft a response to the demands,
he said .
"We will meet with these stu­
dents and try to satisfy to the best of
our abilities what their needs are,"
he aid.· • There ate obviously racial
problems on campus. We recognize
that and we're trying to resolve
them."
McCray agreed with the
prote ters that there should be more
minority faculty and staff, 'but said
increasing funding to any programs
would be difficult.
McCray praised the protesters for
their "rnaturity" and said official
were "very upportive of them exer-
"Some fol in Al
never di pI yed Y loyalty to the
Democratic P rty, 0 I'm not
urpri ed to he r tb y m y be
thinkin of new poll tical party,"
Reed 'd. "Some of stayed with
the regular p rty nd ome ran
a y, but it didn't or out for
them."
Buta City Councilman Spiver
Gordon, a Turner ally, ·d forming
De political party "certainly is
an option that to be looked at to
ee if it any merit."
, 'Sometimes you have to
other means to brin about p ure
to g�t fair play," Gordon said.
"Mr. Reed had a stranglehold
on the Demoaatic Party for a long
time and it's disturbing to see all the
rubber- tamping ping on of hat
he WID donc."
ur
of cles
cislng their righ in a w y'that's
legal and peaceful. We're proud of
them."
THE P 0 said \bey.
. �b»U4-
ing they gathered in, Malcolm X
Hall.
Ander on previou Iy had
criticized school officials over a
quotation by Malcolm X engraved
"You don't even
. act as though the
problem exists,
you act as though
the problem
doesn't exist. We
can't hold back
any longer: We
have the power
and we're not
selling out. "
on the facade of the renovated
library. The quotation on the build­
ing is partial and sanitized, he said.
The quotation, carved now.
reads. "My Alma Mater w books
... A good library ... I could pend my
life reading .... just satisfying my
curiosity."
The original quotation, taken
from Malcolm X' autObiography,
reads: 'c My Alma Mater w boob.
A good library. If I weren't out here
everyday fighting the wHite man, I
could spend my life reading."
Ed Givens, an academic dvisor
and co-en irofthe Black Leadenhfp
Group conference, id the campus
still has not resolved raci I problems
it faced 20 years ago.
"It seems to be an ongOing prob­
lem in the United States aoo racism
is running rampant around univer­
sities," he said ... We are suppoaed
to leave the university upon gradua­
tion with a well-rounded and cul·
tured education nd minority
students are being deprived of that."
CA plan
mo wond
........... d on a
1-800-S21-CARE