-
III •
fore th fi t ho I of dirt turned on th Vetcra H pi 1
now under co truction in Detroit, African American contr ctors
h d inve ted long hours in meetin , p nnin and tra gy ions
get piece of th 229 million project.
F cing a Ve rans dministration (VA) run under Republican
" ood 01 boys" n , the African American contractors feared
it would be more than a truggle to get in on the job.
They were right.
Th g neral contractor awarded the job has one of the wor t
records imaginable for involving Small Disadvantaged Busin
(SOB). Protes from the Black contractors emed to fall on deaf
ears all around. The George Bush man heading up the VA -Ed
D rwinski- refused all reques by Congressman John Conyers to
bring the Blac contractors and the VA head together in a meeting.
The African American contractors picketed th site almost a year
ago as out of stat contractors went to work on the project.
Conyers listened to the contractors' complaints and, with the
advent 0 th Clinton administration nd new man in charge of
the VA, wrote I ners requesting an inv tigation of charg that the
few minority firms on th job were fronts or pass-throughs.
Fronts are those S�1l Disadvan d Businesses not truly
owned by people of color, th yare rather white owned with a Black "
up front. P -throughs are legitmate minority busin es, but ones
that simply take the contract only to put white-owned companies
actually to work on the job.
AT CO YER's REQUEST, the GAO has investigated five
'" companies that control $16 million worth of contracts on the VA
hospital job, That figure amounts to half of the amount targeted by
. the VA for Small Disadvantaged Busin
In light of th findings of the GAO that there are serious problems
with the legitimacy of the so-Called minority firms, Conyers is
requesting a m ting with the general contractor Bateson/Dailey
and with the VA '
We say it is past time for meetings. W� urge Congressman
Conye to . hearing in Detroi to put on e record, for
t on. It
ind cl bureacra . .recy. It i time to
everyone get their statements and information outto the public.
Any thing less than full disclosure and public remedies will mean
that legitimate Black contractors will experience the same shut out
when bids go out for the new VA hospital slated for Ann Arbor and
for the IRS building to be built in downtown Detroit.
Detroiters want job and a chance to make an honest living. They
will never have that chance as long as "fronts" and "pass-through '
are allowed to take a few dollars for themselves while enriching the
ric�.
Congressman Conyers has the power to tum us in a new direction
of fair opportunity for all. The public hearing is a tep in that
direction.
!t���b�
'-��:
�.�ryo4t,
�okt f'k,%mt r'%P�;
mlLOtt-'�,
clotk% flo t«* ��r��
It*tk�b� �
·wk�.
.'
\ IF\\S &: ()PI\U)'\
There are indeed very high
expectations and on th' of the
government helping to revive and
redir ct our nation' pproach to
educational' opportunity, th re i a
critical need to act with om dispatch.
Di turbingly, recent ruling by
courts at the tate and federal I vets hav
::/,----{}J.-i-;z @r3"
C(),,�'right n 199.\
Ke r u I>c:.-ign Inc.
1\11 RighI. It,,!> ned
en Chavi
for
By RON DANIELS
111 . I A PI' m , carch of a new
Exe uuvc Director, An r a fifteen y ar
tenure. Rev. B .njarmn F, H oks IS
, t prl no down,
carch committe has b .cn
orr titut d and apparcnu; i \V II along
with It� work. A' rdin to a report
pubhsh .d in the C\V York nr tcrdam
ew .. til' short Ii ,t or candidat f r a
new xccutive Director include J e
Madison, AACP. auonal Board
member. Re , Jcs: L. Jack n
Pre idcnt. or the ational Rainbo�
al rtio n and R . Ben Chavis.
Executive Di rector of the Comrmssion
f r Ra .ial Justi c 'or the United Church
of Christ, Th.i i certainly a vcry
outstanding ficld of �andidate .
A the holder f ( Life Mcmhcrshlp
in " P, and on \\', ... ained hi�
�niti 1 cxp ricn" In th' "mo�emenl" in
th 'A P. I have Ion felt thai Ill'
AI)S()�I<1.11on i ' in n 'cd or a ncw dm;�lor.
Though civil nght!' and affinnatlvl!
a'ti n �hould r main a priority for the
AACP, the wrenchln T prohlem
ami ti n Black p or and " orkin
people and Bla k _ (uth, learl y demand
thc ad ption 01 :111 l:mpmverm 'nl
agenda.
An cmp\}' 'rment tl!!enda m I�I
crnj-basivc internal organizational
d evc loprnc nt at the
community -grassroots Ie I. in addition
to til 'J c of lcgi: lauve and judicial
tratcg: to affect government policy,
It :. al imperative that a
mechanism created toa hicvc greater
operational unity am ng the diverse
orgaruzati ns and agencie in the
atio nal African American
C mmunity.
The A CP has programs or
initiative in most of these areas. What
i required J. the Jeade hip to place the
an empowerment agenda at the very top
of the A CP's priorities.
Many ommunity activi t and
gras roots leaders were delighted to
learn that Rev. Ben Chavi was in the
Uti k of th consideration for Executive
Dircctorof AACP.
In my Judgement, Rev, Chavi 1S
unJ4ucly c4ulpped to fill thL po. t and
hring til' VI. ion. vitality and dynami m
\1. hi 'h b c. ntial to redirecting and
re-cnergillrl T the NAACP. Apparently,
R'v, eha , i anracting the upport of
�omc Imp mnce lements of Ule Black
c,>(ahli hm 'nl al o.
PRl It T III untimcly death,
Reginald Lcwi , tOC Presid nt of the
Beatrl<.;e ood Corporation, and
ar lu,lhlv the ri<.;he. t man in Black
m 'I c· had '�lrcady annoWlced hi
"IuPI r: 1< r R . r'llavis.
Thi� �ould be ·)f reat ignifkan'
�!n th'· AC'P n 'cd, to attrdct h
more of i� n; ()U from the African
Ameri an community. Hc or, h� wh
pays the piper still pi � th tunc
Rev. Ben avi tirst bUN into lh<.;
natipnal' tlight the lead of th'
Wilmin ton 10 a 'ommumty he <.l
pr�ani/ation fjuhling for wll rich\.', and
11 I.;ian righ�' L<)r the Bla l' lom:nunHy
CCORJ) G TO temcnt in
USA TODAY, Qinlon visors are
contemplating r plicating model
proj c like"CtyYear"inBoston.This
pro allo tuden to wor· on
communi rojec receivin a weekly
ary of I and after a d ignated
p riod of me, the tudents in the
program will eligible to receive
5,<XXl voucher toward college.
Al From, Pre ident Clinton'
domestic policy advisory tated, "There
re of toring the
untry and giving
." AI From' well
kmwn fo of hi rvative
and � jury is till out on w ther
ch will tually lve the
problem of decade of raci 1 nd
economic d1.scrirnination.
One thing ccrtain and crystal clear:
"The Civil Ri h Movement m t
demand eq opportunity aJX1 equal
k) both education nd ecooomic
empowennent in the context of moving
the s e for freedom and j�tice
forwatd.
In other word whatever polici
and progams are p enied, the can'
American and othc people of color
communiti cannot fforo to wait
another 12 years or 12 months. We want
action and we want it now.
Education is 110t a temporary
process, it is rather an ongoing ity
for all persons of aU age cat gori and
the deru of access to education to
anyone beca of rn will ultimately
be injurious t the whole of ociety.
. 'I SHOULD HAVE
KNOWN YOU ALL
WOUl:D TRY TO
STUFF A HISTORY
AS RICH Asetv1INE'
IN THE SHORTEST
MONTH OF THE
YEAR !!
.:
AACP director
internationalist. Rev, Cha i has d ne
consid rablc work' . upport of the
liberation movements In Namibia.
An ola, Mozambique and OUUl Africa.
Rev. Chavis' demon .. strrued ability to '
reach a broad ran rc of individual ,
or ani�tions and interest groups a ro s
the pol i tical spc trurn, would be
irnporant asset as the AA P fa . the
need for an w din; lion. .
His experience as Vicc- hair of the
Black Leadc hip Roundtable could
provide I, valuable in implementing thc
Incept f a Conure 'S of Black
organizatio " Prol sed by Rev. Ben
Hooks. '
o . mEIWlI .. E fBl'.R
f young people. Community , ascd
or anil.ation and � cial-politi al
a ·livi. t who have grown �keptica.l f the
relcvanc; and en l'U encs' of th
NAACP w uld certainly rc p nd to th
leadership of Bcn ('l1a i . And his
pioneering work with communities of
col r thr ugh the People r olor
Environmental Summi t place him in a
:-.olid posit jon to forgc malition. ... with
other peoples f color.
\::l�ionary. vi�ible and Q1pable, th'
1 AACP would do wdl to i t R v.
Ben Chavi a it' ncw Exc' utivc -
Director.
TIle llIn!nt l'ri�·� Inti ' African
community, til home and broad.
demantl thc Ind \)1 fre h new
I 'ad �hip \ hich Re\', ') vis w uJd
hrin to ur I 'tand laf' �tCI II righ
organWition.
Ron Dan' 1 en} a. Presideni of
th In titut for Community
Organization and D \'elopme!'t in
Young town, Ohio. H may b
contacted al (216) 746- 747.
in Wilmington North CArolina. Because
of their activiuc . Rev. Chavf and
others within th roup were sent to
prisonon a scrics of'trumpcd upchar 'C:'.
A rna' ivc nationwide campaign
spearheaded by Dr. Charles Cobb Sr.,
the highly rc: peered head of the
Commi 'ion lor Racial Justice of the
United Church of Christ, eventually led
to a pardon and. rcl from prison for
Rev. Cha� .
Carefully m .ntorcd by the venerable
Dr. Cobb, who virtually adopted Rev.
Chavi as hi n, Rev. Chavis was
appointed as the Director of the
U � RJ upon Dr. Cobb' retirement.
Prior to hi lcction the head ofCRJ,
Rev. Chavi. played leading roles in the
work of the National Black Political
,\, cm ly and the Naitonal Black
IJ\J p<.;ndcnt Politi al Party.
in c a '�umin thc po�ition as
x '�ulive Dirc'tor of CRJ, Rev.
'havi ' ·tature and tanding a' a
progressive national pokesperson and
Icad r h st<Atdily Ii en. He crvcd as
th Vicc- hainnan of ational Bla k
Leadership R undtable under the
IcadeISrup of former D.C. Congressman
Walter Fauntmy.
1\ A TlO LLY yndicated
columni t and commentator who
regularly addre, a wide rangc of
dome tic and international policy
question', Rev. Chavi almo 't,
singlehandedl} for<.;cd the is 'ue of
emironmcntal nt i m (a term which h
l: in 'd) onto tl national a nda.
Th P pic of Col r Environmental
ummlt whO he convened wa
c trcmely ,U" '. sfuJ and w , wid ly
haJI d a� a tumin point in broadcnin
Ul' environm ntal a eoda to includc
en i nmental jtr>ticc i
A c mmitted Pan-Africanist and