MR. RO • • L • R AID that dis­ cussion between Lee's company and Curtis were amicable and that he expects an agreement soon. The only ticking point in the di cus­ sions is the payment of royalties on unlicensed merchandise already old. But big or small, not all busi­ nesses have .followed the footsteps . I I I' ., r 1 says, It inety-five percent of African-American don't know their original name and cultures. Most people don't know this. X remain unknown, even though it stand for the unknown." On each bag of the X-brand potato chips, the "legend" of the X is printed: "X stands for the un­ known. Unknown language, religion, ance tors, and cultures of the African-American. X is a re­ placement for the last name given to the slaves by the slave master. We dedicate this product to the concept of X." Akilah Ali, of Philadelphia, is the owner and the creator of State­ ments-Expressive Accessories, Your faith and 40 Acres, are in no discussions with Mr. Roesler, and sport the made in Taiwan, Hong King, or Lebanon , tag. From the pillbox kente cloth hat with a metallic 'X' on the front to duffel bags and leather coats, the question is are these products geared towards spreading the mes­ sage of Malcolm or the concept of 'X', or are they products of iconol­ ogy getting out of hand? Richard Hart, a lawyer for Warner Brothers, agrees with Curtis's position that "when the 'X' clearly refers to the movie or Mal­ colm",. it is a trademark. "A cap with an ex' on it is associated with Malcoll1l to 9. 1 of 10 �ople and YOUR PERSONAL FINANCE short or toy and dolls," Hart said in a recent New York Times article. But it is pos ible to find licensed automobile air fresheners dis- tributed by Ron Levy and the North American Oil Company. They are available in five scents and ell for $1 to $2. "This is the lowest-priced item for Afro-Americans to show their support," Mr. Levy said. "A lot of Afro-Americans can't afford hats or hirts. You can hang it from your mirror, in your locker or whatever. We will sell in the millons." There is evidence that Malcolm himself was aware of the danger of iconolg� his name had to power to produce. r Yts Malcolm's pe na1 p otographer, said Malcolm loathed the widely reproduced photograph taken by a II ., th movi rel .. , the"" mad 10 0 mo y. " "merchaf}cf Ing yi kJcd 1 milli n in Even though their pI of origin arc labeled Hong Kong and Taiwan, "X" duffi ba ken loths, and waist bags are allover America's innerciti . Shabazz and the Curts Group have chartered 37 licerses any may 'receive million in royaltic from X-related mer- handise, but unlicensed bootleg­ rs have walked away with the bulk of the money. WIDL I non-Bla ks, includ­ ing Dr. Shabazz' mana ment firm, have taken most of the X-re­ lated bucks, African-Americans land to the ones mostatIected by the ial and religi us ripples from the movie. CUrrent Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan believes that the movie may be part of the governmeru's work to destroy him. He has said that the trategy is to turn Black youth against the Nation through the movie. Fanakhan said, "that roovi ����E�r��mm��-Y- warned Spike that this is a very rious movie and that he would have to do it right. I id to him, brother, li ten to evcryooetben go in a comer and pray. Cause you are going to be the judge of his- . tory." Contemporary use Qf tbe "X" had its txiginni� in the Black ghetto of Detroit in the 1930; wben W.O. Farad Muhammad founded then Nation of Islam. Farad Muhammad's protege, Elijah Muhammad, made the Black Meslirrs a household name in the 196CB and set an example of the type of economic, self -suf­ ficiency that today's Black leaders are still making noise about. Telling Blacks who entered that religious discipline to drop their "slave" last name and assume the I tter "X" as an expression of 'a lack of identity with the American system, Elijah Muhammad led the group to ul­ timate uccess in the American system of capitalism. ' BlACKS UNDER 30 don't know the power of Elijah Muhammad, that he drew from . Marcus Garvey, and that Mal­ colm X and Louis Farrakhandrew from him. It remains to be screened as to whether Spike illustrates that a major reason Malcolm Little joined the Nation was because he believed in the reasons that they developed collective enterprises such as department stores, bakeries and restaurants. Because of his pride in the Na­ tion, Farrakhan has reason to wonder if this money-making movie will show today's Black youth tlat a dedicated group of theirownkindownedoverlO,(XXJ acres on Nation-owned farms in Michigan, Alabama and Georgia As Lee depicts Malcolm, aoo tbe Nation, will he show that trey funded their own education sys­ terns and owned planes and trucks to transport to their members tom of meat, eggs, milk, and grain sup- , plies that they produced each week? Economic power was one of Malcolm's prime tenets in life. Evidently, thi type of power is also among Spike's primary con­ cerns. Will Lee's "X" lead Blacks toward the type of growth ex­ pcrienccJ by the man who died as EI Hajj Malik Shabazz? Or will it, and the iated merchandis­ ing. a ut little or nothing but ymbo ? your finances Many churches are offering members a variety of support groups, programs and seminars to help them cope in this complex society. One topic that is becoming popular in these recessionary times is personal finance. Churches around the country are teaching biblically based principles of money management. The bible has hundreds of verses that deal with handling money. Sub­ jects. covered include debt, invest­ ing, budgets, insurance, charitable giving and teaching children wise money management skills. Many people are turning to the scriptures out of frustration from seeing their own finances impacted during these troubled times. They are looking for sound advice that is divinely inspired. , Dealing with Debt Are there biblical guidelines for people who are struggling with debt? There are many warnings .about the misuse of debt. The bible never mentions that it i wrong or sinful to use debt, but cautions that debt is a kind of slavery and that if you are overextended without a means for repayment, this can mean the loss of your possessions, and more importantly, the loss of your­ reputation. But one clear direction is given: if you borrow money - 'it must be repaid. The biblical financial ad­ vice shared is that bankruptcy is not an alternative to working out a plan with your creditors. Inve ting Saving and investing is an area of much concern for many people. There is, of course, the biblical en­ couragement to save money on a regular basis, but there is also a recommended amount we should save - 20 percent! This is revealed in the book of Genesis. One basic advice from scripture deals with diversification preading your money among different types of investments because you never know which investment will prove profitable. The bible also warns again t Inve ting in speculative, get rich-quick schemes and that it's wiser to put your money in invest­ ments you are familiar with. Charitable giving Giving to the poor - what does the bible say? You probably remem­ ber from Sunday School the verse, "It is better to give than to receive." In the biblical sense, giving i recog­ nized as an admission that there is a , higher authority that governs the universe. Giving to support the work of the church and those who are less fortunate is an acknow­ ledgement of that divine influence. . In addition, when we give, we in turn receive a blessing equal to or greater than our gift. Stewardship over our finances is a constant theme in the Bible, and a closer ex­ amination will unfold principles that you can apply to your financial life today, In uranee Is insurance bible-based? In­ surance deals with restitution, which literally means" to restore." In the area of finances this normally refers to replacing a material pos­ session. In the books' of Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy there are verses that deal with things as diverse as payment for theft to your responsibility for borrowed goods. But there also is the subject of leav­ ing an [nherltance for your children. This is dealt with in the book of Proverbs. Not only does the bible advise that we leave money to our children, but it goes further to imply that some of the inheritance should be given while the parent is still alive in order to teach the children how to manage it. Send questions to : YOUR PER· SONAL�NANCE, P. O. BOX 370606, ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30037. Charles Ross is the host of t� nationally syndicated radio pro­ gram "Your Personal Finance" and author ofT� Best of Your Personal Finance. PGA tour seek minority interns MCLFAN, VA.-The PGA Tour is currently seeking applicants for its 1993 Minority Internship Program. A total of 18 paid intermhi� will be available from June 7 through Augllit 6, 1993, for qualified male and female college students of African-American, Asian American, Native American and. Hispanic de­ scent Ten of the Imerrships will be based in or around PGA Tour Head­ quarters in Pointe Vedra, Fla. Two internships have been established with the Tour's Promonors area, and will involve traveling the Tour week­ to-week. The remainingsixpositiolB are based in La; Angeles; San Fran- sico; Chicago; Trumbull, Conn.; Wmter Haven, Fla.; and Princeton, NJ. Internship positions are in areas ranging from communications arx1 journalism, to data processing. course design aOO tournament promotiom. Qualifying criteria for � inter­ rshlps vary, but in general the pro­ gram is seeking college students with an interest in golf and a elid academic history. , Parties interested in receiving an application should write to the atten­ tion of Caron Byrd at: Stringer Marketing Group, 8251 Greensboro Drive, Suite 1150, McI...ean, Va. 22102. ONE 0 THE MIDWESrS BIGGEST BANKS. IlfTONLY WHEN YOU WANT US TO BE. MI"""', FDIC, &Juol Howlng Ltn