r m t
Vega
La V • Nv-An org n
izational m ting of the Las
Veg bran h of th Bl k
Panthe w caJl d to di us
changing the i mag of th
1960s organization.
Organizer Uly es Palrose
reminded the 25 attendan of
the purpose of the organiza
tion, founded in 1966 by Huey
ewton. The Panthers, Pal
ro e aid, w a group that re
jected government abuse of
Blacks and started inde
pendent so . al program .
Palro e also aid the media
painted the violent picture of
the Panthers, running pictures
of Panthers clad in leather
j eke , bere ,. hotguns and
ammunition belt. "Black
Panthers were destroyed by
the media" Palro e aid.
Th qu t for origina ty and individuali ty be an in the
politically turbulent 1 and'7. For Bl parents, the
earch has meant going outsid th WASP mainstream to
invent narn or d t off n tral on ,A hley aid.
y , id Bl P n frequently her to h lp th m
cho e an African name.
"I try to educate people how to give a nam ," sh aid.
"People make up names. There' a lot of' sha' narn that are
not really African nam ."
Som don't care wh ther a name i African, long it
h a nice ri to it and isn't Anglo-S on. The r ult is a
tr we trove of appellations pieced togeth r from various
urces- Sw hili. Yoruba, Spani h, French- �d a lot of
im ination.
BY 'CINDY ROBERTS
ATlANTA - Long before YaMaya Cimone Pu h was
born, her mother already had picked her name.
"I had kn vn a young lady sev rat years ago named
YaMaya, and J alway aid if I had a daughter I would name
herYaMaya.1 just named her that because it w different,"
aid LaRhonda Gilstrap, a 22-year-old computer cien tu-
dent.
She' not alone. Among tho sharing the nursery with
YaMaya recently at Crawford Long pital in Atlanta: Tria
Imnania Holloway, Jam cia Thermutus Hawkins and Ja-Min
O'Haad Newson.
The explo ion of originality in naming children has
touch d nearly every cl ,race and region, but experts ay it
i most pronounced among Black Americans.
"B Y, TH m [ority of African-Am ri are
now naming ou id tbe tradition," d J rrilyn McGre ory,
a professor of African-Am rican tudies and Engli h t the
University of Georgia.
"It' a tatement of cultural id ntity," she aid. "Som
people predicted it to b a fad, but it m to be going beyond
one generation. tI
No on has had more influ n ethan th late AI Haley,
whose book "Roots" inspired many BI k Americans to trace
their African origins.
Kinte, th umame of th boo ' hero Kunta, b an pop
ping up across the country,' did Kizzie, the character's
daughter, Ms. McGregory aid.
Atlanta boo tore owner Nia Oamali was Pat before she
changed her name to reflect her African roots in 1986 when
she published her book "Golden Nam for an African Peo
ple."
"BlAC creating names out of bi ts and pieces of
names," Ashley aid. "The main thing they sound i African
American. They're fake African names, but they are genuine
African-American names."
"Da," "La," "Sha" and "la" have emerged among the
mo t popul ingredients. Hence Lavar, LaKei ba, LaTonya,
labar, Sh bandra and Daqui ha.
For her ter's thesis, Ms. McGregory analyzed Blac
birth records from Gary, Ind., from 1945 to 1980. Over tbe
YeaIS, th re were more and more unconventional names. Of
274 girl born in 1980,213 had different names. Some names
differed only in pelling; she found 40 versions of Tamika,
for example.
Th nam symbolize the degree to which Blac Ameri
cans have felt e cluded from American life, she said.
"It' like a gift," Ms. McGregory said. "It's like saying, 'I
can't give you much, but I can give you a name no one else
will bear.' "
"BlACKS ARE refusing to take white people' names,"
aid Leonard Ashley, author of "What's in a Name?" and an
English professor at Brooklyn College in New York. "They
are saying, 'We are different. We are going to have our own
Christmas holiday, we are going to have our own names.'"
At the tum of the century, the 10 most popular names in
each gender category sUfficed for half of all boys and girls,
Ashley said.
Today, the top 10 account for an estimated 25 percent of
all American names, he said. The other 75 percent, he said,
are largely names rarely seen in thi country until recent Y68I'S,
ifatall.
HER 6·MONTIl·OLD son, Sekou Ebun Malika, has an
African forename.
"Peopl aid, 'Where did you get that name? Is his father
African?' I said, 'Well he's African-American,' " said
OarnalL
Funmilayo onye-Jobn, a native of Nigeria who bas been
a matcrni ty ward nurse at Crawford Long for the p t five
Jury says
college
violated Black'
professor's
rights
New York, NY-A federal
jury ided with the plaintiff,
Prof. Leonard Jcffri , ayi ng
that the City Unive ity of
New York (�UNY) vi<?lated
pro
speech when it. removed him
from hi po ition as chairman
of th Bl k Studi Depart
ment after delivering a racially
charged speech.
The University maintains
that Jeffries was fired because
he was a poor administrator,
their, lawyers. aid. But Jcf
frie ' lawyer managed to
convince the jury that the pro
fessor was removed after a
speech he made in Albany in
July 1991 that criticized the
power of Jews in Hollywood.
Jay Hershen on, CUNY
vice president for university
relations, said the deci ion
would probably be appealed.
New York Councilman No h
Dear, an Orthodox Jew, aid
that if CUNY doc n't appeal
the case, he w ill act to cut off
some of CUNY's financing.
"I am not going to fund
anti-Semite and
hatemongers," Dear said.
,:
o pU h r form
document could not be relea ed
without city board approval.
"We, will respond to the Jetter,"
Mclean aid. "However the board
does not meet agai n unti I May 20
---at that time we w illapprove a let
ter of response."
Jewellene McCloud, secretary of
the Lawrence County Board of Su
pervi ors, aid the board had not re
ceived the NAACP grievanc list by
Wednesday.
"THEY WERE ent a letter
along with several city offi ial who
received a letter and they all know
what going on "Goode aid.
He aid p t attemp to bring the
problem to th attention of city and
county official had been unsu ce -
ful.
MONTICELLO, Mi s.' (AP)
The Lawrence County NAACP
chapter i pushing a Black boycott of
several busines here after receiv
i ng 110 r ponse to a list of grievance
ubmitted to county and city officials
last month.
NAACP official aid monitors
were tationed Friday outside mos t
busin e to urge shoppers to honor
the boycott.
"We're been really urpri ed at
the impact this has had thi early on,"
J rry Goode, chairman of the chap
ter' economic development and vet
eran' affairs committee aid Friday
attemoon. "There h been very little
activity in the tores."
Eugene Bryant, chapter pre i
dent, said the grievance centered on
a lack of opportuniti for Bl ck in
volvement in the community. He
said Wedn day had been the dead
line for r ponding.
Kym Wells of Mary Kay Cosmetics talks with Baba Ishangi during Detroit's Black Expo.
ACORN prate ts All tate
re Uning at ears meeting
By TURE� TURK
Mlelil an Citizen
Feds won't
pursue alleged
beating case
against Monroe
Sheriff's dept.
MONROE Mich. (AP)- Th
U.S. Justice Department declined to
bri ng criminal civil right charge
against th M nroe County Sh riff'
Department for thc aile ed atin
of a BI k man from Mayb .
The deci ion came after th
county. ettled a law urt . r n arly
$7 ()()() with Kenneth W on, 30,
who claimed white deputie beat
him while he was chained on the
floor of hi jail cell with hi mouth
taped.
, J tice Department att rney Pe
ter Mc 10 key aid th deci i n
. imply. howed t evidence w� n t
stron enough to takc t trial.
heriff Carl Van Wert aid the
dcci ion proved hi department h d
no committed any wron doi
ut an AACP ommltt
ity of the building; it's related to how
close a Iire station it is; ii's related to
whether or not buildings have fire
alarms in them. And that '5 the area
where J think we really have to work
wi th the ci ties to try and improve
those conditions."
"They are under fire all over the
country for these practices,',' said
B.v�c;. Bibb, who like rno t of the
prot tcrs i black, complained that a
police officer hit him with a baton
when he tried to return to the protest.
"They are not alone in their prac
tices of redlining, but they are th
bigg 1" Bibbs aid of Allstat . "All
we re asking for lome parity, not
charity. "
Bibb aid All. tate had "virtually
ignored us," saying the company re
f ed to let ACORN ee rate tabl .
Although Hcdicn did not me t
with the prot ters, other All tat of-:
ficial lat r m t priv tely with 12 of
them.
"We have already held a forum
regarding insurance and invited the
Insurance Commissioner, Mr. Dy k
bouse, to attend. H� didn't show.
He has refused to come together WI th
us and get thi resolved," aid Detroi t
ACORN member Amy Sure.
Wayne Hedien, chairman of the
Allstate Insuran e Group, addres ed
the i ue in the annual meeting when
,Tom Bibbs, a Kansas Ci ty share
holder affiliated with ACORN,
rai cd it during a qu tion from th
floor. Bibb complained the group
had not been able to get Hedien to
add ress i ts co ncems.
"We have had everal meeting
wi th your organization" aid
Hedien. "We feel we have addres ed
the concerns you have on a local
b is. We pride ourselve on tryin
to help rebuild urban areas. We do
not redline. I repeat, we do not red
line."
Detroit figur ay oth rwi c. Per
1 ( vera e, low income peopl
of color urban areas pay 35.10
while upp r i '.ICOme white urban ar-
eas pay $15. and upper in m
wlut uburban areas pay 3.47.
T re i n't ven on All tate Insur-
member- a offi e in the City of DelI It.
AMONG OTH R things, the
chapter is calling on upervi ors to
appoint Blacks to board and com
mi ions and to admini trative po i
tions.
"We request that an effective af
firmative action plan and personnel
policy be adopted and implemented
immediately," the demand letter
aid.
The NAACP called n Mon
ticello official t hi rc Bla ks as fire
men and admiru trative workers and
to end what it aid w the routin
haras ment of Bla ks by pol ice.
"We are picking up momentum
and we are ing to boycott until we
get what we want," Goode, aid, "We
had a big rally (Thursday) night with
200 people present, and thin m
to going well."
Officers
cleared in
death of
motorist
. A cu ing All tat in urance of
discriminatory practi in its insur
ance coverage, ACORN (Associa
tion f Community Or anizations
for Reform Now) took their protest
outside th annual m etin of Sears,
Roebuck and 0., All tate' parent
firm.
TN-Bla k
Sears w about two hours into
th meetin at uburban Kansas
City hotel when loud voic were
heard in the hallway. The prot twas
one of a eric that hav b en held
a ainst the p Ii i� f th S ars in-
.uran ubsidiary.
Police were Called kept the pro
te tc away from the d 0 to the
mcctin room. At least on woman
got inside, using a rcgi trati n form
given to h r by a harcholder who
h d . tcpp d 0 u 1.
She was allowed to addrc th
mccune briefly and ga a �kit .meni
to company 0 icials, 'OSlO AlI-
tat n a 10 in "rcdJirung" of
I w income urban arc ,which it
y makes insurance Ither unav81l
ablc or prohJbltlvely � PCIt\JVC,
. ,
G who I -
nored th b ycott were elOg I. u d
citation. ur tng them t mply With
the NAACP prot t. H aid only
about a half-dozen citations were is-
u d on Friday.
"We are encoura 109 veryon to
hop out of town. H�evcr, we have
considered the elderly," de aid,
nott n th t a dru tore, ro ry tor
nd bu In withg oltn pump h d
b n exempted from the boy tt.
Mayor Jerry McLean aid th city
had drafted a re pon e to the
AACP grievan , but that th
"I' E I
it," Heiden aid. "We will
ance anywhere. Ther i
graphlcal di crimination,
pricc differen "
A OR ' v wed not let AlI-
tat ntinu i practIce of d' -
criminatory imurance:
"We rc going to on their butt
every tep of the way," said Oetroi t
ACOR member OanielJe Harvey.
�
price to
11 insur- .
no geo
there' a
" �DLI 1 G I ILLEGAL, "
Hcdien aid. "We can't di criminate
in clling imurance. The problem i
not ommcnt.