ow
fort.
chool fu
•
I
._ a
The move by the state legislature to wipe out property
taxes as a base for school finance might not be a bad idea.
The removal of property tax could be the beginning
of a real revolution in education -if the legislature con
tinu down the path it has started.
Lawmakers have said for example, there would be one
tatewide hool board to dispense the funds. The idea has
merit, but some critical items need to be in place.
All moni for education would have to come through
the tate directly to school buildings based on th number
of kids enrolled there. If any district had the wealth to kick
into the school kitty, it hould go to Lansing and be
merited out equally.
The local school community must have the power to
control its hiring and firing, its curriculum and purchas
ing.
All hools, like the funding for them, must be open and
equally accessible.
,We all realize school funding tied to property values
only hurt the cities. We need to recognize that and push
our solutions for a funding substitute. It is time to stop
wailing about the legislative lack of a plan for funding the
schools and make sure our concerns are included in the
new direction the state is taking.
On thing is for ure, the days of rich districts across
the street from poor- dietri are over u the legiSla
tive wi I rolla . And ifth t ppens, it i because we
weren't organized and vocal.
eeds of Wisdom
By Mumia Abu-Jamal
"30 UJ a hundred;
Year$ no More!
Free MOVE now!
Open up the doorl=-marchsr'e chant·
To hear news accounts, their numbers weren't impressive,
with 1 than 50 marchers participating in a May 13th, 1993
march calling for the freedom of MOVE political prisoners. ,
In this pect, local and regionally published reports were '
accurate, if not explanatory of the significance of the event.
To be sure, it was reported that the march also marked the
eighth anniversary of the police bombing and, mass murder of
11 MOVE members from MOVE's home on Osage A venue; and
also the first anniversary of the day MOVE Communications
Minister, Ramona Africa, was released from prison after seven
years as a political prisoner; so, that was accurate.
T E DLES fascination with numbers, the media
counted numbers, researched dates, took a few pictures and
considered their story told.
As ever with MOVE, that is seldom, ifever, the case.
Who were the people marching?
"We're fired up;
till on the MOVEI"-march chant
Their voi were light, heavy, thin and thunderous. Their's
were the voi of MOVE men, MOVE women, and MOVE
children, the young sons and daugh of Revolution.
Tall, with lithe, lean forms or tiny bundles of baby fat, all
unoosm tic, the MOVE children marched militantly from West
Philadelphia, the site of the old MOVE headquarters at 33rd
and Pow ltonAve., site of the August 8th, 1978 MOVE confron
tation, to Philadelphia's City Hall, which they circled twice, in
the rain
The child n, many who were themselves, although babies,
ve erans from the Aug. 8th confrontation, are a sight to behold;
strong-limbed, clear eyes like dark stars, teeth like shimmering
pearls, radiant and beautiful.
Numbers did not disturb them as they demonstrated for their
pa n , bro hers and isters, for they were comfortable among
themselv ,and excited about their activity.
Th r markable children, called the Seeds of WJ.Sdom by
John Africa, born in Revolution, in resistance, in anti-sys-
tem tic na ural law. .
UN BROTHE and sisters were murdered
by th goy rnment on May 13th, '85.
Th ir 01& r brothers and isters were also murdered by the
goy rnm nt on May 13th, and some were railroaded to nearly a
ntury in prison.
At 1 one child was born in prisonl
"Jail Rendell. Set MOVE free "-march chant.
Reporte told that a march occurred, and how many partici
p ted on that rainy day in May, but by not showing who marched
th y mi d he heart of the story.
A ory of is nce, generation by generation, and a living
tal of urviv l.
THE "GAINS· 0 the 60's
and 70' did indeed result in
more Blacks being hired by pre
�mjn8ntly bite . con-
Hence, are DOW more
Black faces in tb marketplace
than ever befo
A closer examination of these
gains, however, suggests that
DUE PRIMARILY to a lack
of vigilance and apathy on the
part of Black leadership and the
Bla community, white busi-
ne e tabli hment have
adopted a pattern of hiring a to
ken number of Blacks whil ron
tinuing to rake in huge profits
from Black dollars.
And, the· ue is much hiSBel'
than jobs.
While white corporations are
often guilty ofto'kenism in terms
of their hiring and promotion
practi ,they are almost uni
versally guilty of tokenism when
it com to granting Blacks a fair
share of the other economic spin-
HARRIS
I KNOW WH�T
yOU MEAN"�,,,�
liVE BEEN
FEEl\NG P\ �
LITTLE SICKLY
MYSELF. _�,. __
higbprofil
t . Th
of economic I'MwalrCiA
entitled to in
dolla . This .
an that B America im-
ply cannot afford to ignore.
TIIERE direct relation-
hip to nism in the
hite busi world and the un-
employment, economic underde
velopm nt and deterioration in
the B community.
. ve amounts of Black dol
lara are flowing out of the BI
community without any ignifi
cant return in terms of corporate
reinvestment in th Bla com
munjty.
Why bould white compani
do anything for the BId com
munity long we are content
just to be oonsumers? If Blacks
want to stop the disintegration in
our communiti then WA got
to up and use Black dollars
to promote and defend Bla in
terests.
White busi and corpora-
tiona, large and small, must be
made accountable and responsi
ble to the Black community in
terms of the billions of Black dol
lars Blacks spend with them each
year. ,
The Fair Share Agreement
Rev. Chavis negotia_!ed with
Flagstar has many of the ingredi
ents needed to promote Black
economic empowerment: in
creased employment and promo
tions; franchises; and the
procurement of services.
macks must also insist on sub
stantial contributions to Black.
charitable foundations like the
National Black United Fund, and
investments in community based
economic enterprises.
The' goal is not only to make
white businesses more respon-
, sive and profitable, it is to force
them to reinvest in such a way
that Blacks can strengthen and
expand the economic infer-struc
ture in the Black community.
Black. dollars must translate
into Black empowerment. The
white business world must either
bemme more accountable and re
sponsible to Blacks or face the
wrath of Black consumers utiliz
ing boycotts in the marketplace.
Roo DanieU f!S Cl8 President of t;Ju
In.stitu� for C;omm.tnity Organization
and Developm.entin Youngtoum, Oluo. He
maybeconttu:t«l at (216) 746-5747.
READERS WRITE
. President William Clinton
The White House
Washington,D.C.
Mr. Clinton:
The Provisional 'Government
writes to register our shock and
'strenuous objection to th fierce
and prolonged American mill
tary attacks - reprisals-which
have unconscionably murdered
many innocent Somali people in
Mogadishu.
As you well know, reprisals
are simply and unambiguously
forbidden by international law.
The Declaration on Principles of
International Law [U.N. General
Assembly Resolution 2625, 24
October 1970] tates 'forcibly:
"States have a duty to refrain
from acts of reprisal involving
the use of force ...
The racism involved in your
air and ground assaults, upon
Mogadishu is stunningly appar-
nt, although We realize it is a
. racism which has marked United
States fo ign policy since this
country's inception in wars
against Indians and Afrikans on
this soil. United ations person
nel have n shot and killed in
the former Yugoslavia.
Yet the U ni ted Stat has
never launched armed reprisals
against these perpetrator .
These perpetrators are White;
Somalians are Black.
�AJ�lr��u�LYtheUniUd
States has sup rted a rape of
individuals' civil rights daily in
Somali y Pakistini troops, and
U.S. troops are themselves now
engaging in such daily violations
of basic human rights involving
pri vacy, security agai unrea
sonable reb and seizure, lib
erty and th right to life.
We demand an immediate end
to tb atrocities by your allies
as well as the United Sta it
self.
I
•
y'
We demand a public account
ing by your administration of the '
dead and wounded nd the de
truction of hom .
We demand that the United
States immediately pay repara
tions to the individuals and to the
survivors of the deceased,and to
those who uffered destruction of,
their hom and, once the new
Somali government is in place,
reparations to that government
without delay in an amount to be
fixed by that government, not
1 than $500-million for the re
prisals alone.
Finally, as we have in th
past, we demand that ew Afri
kans-i.e., Black men and
women in the United Sta in
the U.S. military be immediately
withdra wn from Somalia and
other combat-likely ituations
until they, 'as descendants ofper
sons kidnap to America and
held in the U.S. in lavery, and
against their will, exercise their
, right to If determination, as the
international law requires,
choosingin a fr and informed
plebiscite whether they wish to
be U.S. citizens or citizens of an '
independent and pow rful Re
public of New Afrika in orth
America or to take their personal
reparations from the United
States and go 0 Afr'ka.
We urgently demand yourim-
mediate action on th ntial
points.
Again, also, we urgently de
mand that your adminis ration
cease using food as a weapon and
tore normal trad nd diplo
matic reI tions with h
men ofCu hat tIn
people of tha island may lift
themselv out of he gr wing
destitution imposed by United
Sta polici.
For the Provisional Govern
men, Imari A. 0 dele, Kwame .
Afoh, Viola Plummer Mi . ter of
Foreign Affairs.