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READERS WRITE
...
Hot 'er,
and the Black -
pres accountable
I was surprised and pleased to come ac{Oss another weekly newspa
per that presents new and vies to the African-Americans of Detroit,
other Blacks locally and statewide, on issues of importance to us but not
necessatily to us alone.
I am a former Detroiter, a person who has worked and lived in
Detroit, a person whose relatives have worked in some of the now cIo ed
auto plants, a person whose family roots in Detroit goes back to the
thirties. And, in response to your paper' story on Coleman Young and
the Upcoming mayoral elections, (Allison Jones, February 14-10, 1993
issue), as well as the related stories from the Michigan Chronicle sh
quoted, I believe both papers are moving in the wrong direction.
It is obvious when people seek political office we will be hearing
what they think or feel about each other. But, from youth violence to
drug abuse an drug dealing, to unemployment, and a host of other ill
not unique to Detroit, but reflective of a do-nothing attitude and blame
the-victim mindset by a couple of federal administrations, and a new
President who has yet proposed nothing n w (except to make this tate'
governor an advisor on a study group to eliminate welfare completely
not a good sign), the voters in Detroit, the majority of whom are Black,
can't afford to allow TIllS election to be simply about PERSONALI
TIES, instead of about those po itions these men and women running
for office have on the REAL issues.
The real is ues are about more than riverfront developments c inos
and sports tadium ... The real issu are about our neighbors, our
children, our neighborhoods and the quality of life, make that the
tandard of life being rai ed again, so that the majority of Detroiters can
live like human beings again. .
MORE THAN JUST the politicians must be held accountable for
their words and deeds, this time, however; the old notion of. expecting
the politicians to solve ALL of our problems for us is as dated as simply
voting for someone because they are of the same race or gender. Once
wecouldjustify thi becauseoftheatta ks on our dignity and hum nity,
when it was rough going to get any Black elected to office; now that
Blacks are the majority of voters in the city of Detroit I hope we can
t a better example than those folks who di criminated a ain t us.
In particular, we need to hear what people 10 HI panic nd Arab
American neighborhood think and feel too and end our indifference
towards the first, as well as end our hostility toward th econd,
Beyond that: Well it i the easy way out to blame th Mayor, or the
City Coun ii, for the ills that plague Detroit, but if they hould be held
accountab le for thei r words and dee , should the vote themselve.
An unemployed male can still take a tand against rape; Black males
can till volunteer their time, and be adult counselors for outh via local
churches or for gras roots organizations like SOSAD.,.So, how can any
responsible adult Black male imply continue to advocate boot camp,
curfew or 'just lock them ,up and throwaway the key'?
WE are their role model : They have b n reflectio 0 what we
haven't been doing; they can come reflections 0 what we egin to do
NOW. Then, well, we will be abl to hold any lead r accountable
for their actions, but on the basis of high tandards, th e we have et
for ourselves as well.
Because our future and our children' future i at take, the takes
are higher for us. So, I urge Black reporters and Bla k p�b.tis.� to
help rai the di cus ion and debate a ve a� yond. pohhC.
usual', and to a new and higher tandard. That 1 om thing I believe
Bl ck Detroiters should want their city to b identified with. '
Ch rle Thomp on Jr.
READERS WRITE
R ad rwant
more hock Rock
I'm an real tate agent who reads yourpaper much po lble.
I purchase the paper at the gas tation on Woodward and Glendale
in Highland Park, MI.
. I'm riting to ay I recently picked up a Michigan Citizen and
noticed that The oise column was not included. My friends and I
really enjoy this column. Sin e the paper is not a daily paper I think
you should include The Noise. This guy Shock Rock really know
and understands hip-hop. The paper i incomplete without The
Noise.
P.S. I speak for all my friends and associates who read the
Michigan Citizen. Concern d eltlz n
Our cbec wi th ome African
American doctors who practiced
medicine at the community level re
vealed deep anxiety abo the fu
ture viability of African American
medical pract ces in the United
States. ·
o
B
C
THE RI G COSTS of health
care has not added huge increes in
monetary pro i for African Ameri
can physic' . To the contrary, to
day many independent African
American physicians practicing in
tbe rural South or in the urban centers
cue barely making ends meet.
In fact, the tendency for African
American doctors to consider going
into private practice' to offer direct
medical care to the African Ameri
can community is on a serious de
cline because of the high costs of
malpractice Irsuraoce and the over
all economic insecurity of starting
private medical practices.
Injustice and racial di crimin -
tion in thi society is y temic in
chara ter and tructure, Solutions,
tiler ore, must also be ystemic.
I TlTUTIO ZED RA-
el M MU be purged from all
societal institutions and systems.
The national health care system
hould not be considered exempt
from being challenged.
If there is one child in thi nation
that is denied access to health care
because of race or socioeconomic
class, then that is one too many.
If th re i one African American
doctor or another health-care profes
sional that is experiencing racial dis
crimination from the health care
ystem, then that is one too many.
We demand health care justice for
all people in all communities, and we
make this demand at all levels of the
nations healtn-care system.
HARRIS ',-' t�':
t.\
for
,
owman
guide
earching for "affordable and re
wardin institutions of learning."
The ok Bowman notes, is dedi
cated to "African American youth in
their truggle for truth who mu t re
alize that education i the only road
to freedom."
Beginning with a germane fore
word by educator Marva Collins,
founder of the Westside Preparatory
School in Chicago and Clark College
alumn, tb book quickly moves into
pertinent facts about financial aid.
Dr. Yvonne Kennedy p t presi
dent of Delta Sigma Th ta Sorority is
an alumnae 'Of Alabama State Uni
versity. Dr. Joseph B. Johnson, pr i
d nt of Talladega Colle e is an
-alurnn of Grambling St te Univ r- .
ity. Dr. Betty Shabazz of Medgar
Evers Colleg ) i also an alumn
of Medgar Evers College. And the
tel tar lis t goes on.
Leonty Priee, Lionel Richie J.
Wilson Bowman, David Dinkins,
George McK nna, Perry Irby, J e
Jac OD, Julia Hare, Thur 0 d Mar-
h 11, Wilma Rudolph and thousands
of others arc graduates of our pre
dominantly African Am ri an col
leg and universities.
In ddition to conci ampus
profile and alumni l' ting , Dr. J.
WIl on Bowman' 1 2 k,
"America' Bla k Colle : th
Compr hcnsiv Guide to Histori-
'ally Predominantly BI k 4-Year
Colleg Unive iti '', provid
inv luable inform tion for parents,
high chool tudents, co� �o and
college finan' at adrniru trato
OR , Bowman sug-
sts that prospective students con
tact college financial aid
admini trators, tate education agen
ci and clubs and foundations for
cholarship .
h also upplies impres ive fa ts
uch 1) Over eighty-Dye p reent
of African American veterinarians in
th U.S. graduate from Tuskegee
University, 2 ight n college presi
den are graduates of Virginia Un
ion University and 3) Grambling
AMERICAN
�IETY
KEITH
O. HILTON
-
State University has placed more
football players in the professional
ranks than any other college. (Even
more than Notre Dame, USC or Penn
State?)
There are exactly 100 colleges
listed. North Carolina has the great
est number (11). DC's Howard Uni
versity and the University of th
District of Columbia are the two larg
es l Fourteen colleges also confer
doctorates.
The main down side to thi highly
recommended boo is that it do not
highlight the strategic world affairs
position of th e 100 colleges. It is
no longer enough to imply" provide
academic programs .. .necessary in
today's competitive society." .
This applies even to these Insti
tutions with numerous built-in nur
turing support infrastructur .
Today these colleges are riding a
tremendous wave of populari ty.
T e colleges and guides will need
to make bold forward statements that
reflect the burgeoning African ,cen- '
tered movement that W.E.B. DuBois
HIGHER
EDUCATION
described years earl ier.
I 0 Dvi our
institutions and guid ,it i likely
that in a few years, that wave will
ubside and then w ha t wi II be the f te
of many of th e ch 1.
On final po Hive note; th b ok
publish d by Sandcastlc Pub
I' bing, an rican Am .rican owned
publi hing ompany in California.
To inquire about America' Black
Colleges, contact th author or pub
l' her, M . Ren R 11 Whatley at
Sandcas tle Publishing, P. . Box
3070 South Paden 10 1-
1 .
HILTON: HIGHER DUe.-
TION is de igned to dialog with col
leg and world r ad r . Education is
ongoing and certainly not limited to
classroom study. Let' talk. (909)
899-0650.