THIS WEEK IN BLACK HISTORY
I
The If BkJck rnilitnry police
battalion was activated in what
ytDTy
AUGUST 9, 1917-J
o Jo published
Fifty Years AOO Other P
1936-J Owe wonfourth
gold medal at Berlin S\1Dll1l
Olympics.
Inuihatyeardid Harlem Hos­
pital esttJblish a training pro­
gram for BlDck nurses?
AUGUST 10, 1989 - Gen-
Colin P II was nomi­
nated chairman, Joint Chi 18 of
Staff, the first African-American
to hold the pes 1981 - Roy
WlIki.ns, one of the giants of the
movement for African-American
progress in the 20th century,
died at the age of 80. 1817 -
Black National Con­
ven on was held in Philadel-
phia.
Whert was the first "Big
Band" organized?
AUGUST 11, 1921 - AI
Haley, author of Roots, was
born. 1982 - Roscoe Robin­
son Jr. was named U.S. Anny's
first Black four-star general:
1987 - In �nia opened at
the Norma Terris Theater,
Goodspeed-At-Chester, Conn.
1969 - Jam Earl Jones
made his film debut in the movie
Dr. Strangelove. 1881 - Tus­
kegee tutewithonebuild­
ing and 30 students, opened.
1872 - Solomon Carter
Fuller, acknowledged as the
":" - _.4
-Co
ychiatri ,
Whowrote "Fannie Lou/Ham­
mer, A Book For Children &
Young People"1
AUGUST 13,1960-
ub gained
independence from Frame. 1762
- J , regarded
the fi Afri n-American
doctor, born
What was the name of the
Blaci: st«unship line founded by
Marcus Garoey1
AUGUST 14, 1883 - Biolo­
gist Em J winner of
the first Spingarn Medal, was
bom. 1989 - The North Caro­
lina Black Repertory Company
hosted th fir$ National Black
Theater F tival in Winston­
Salem, N.C. 1986- Dr.MBrttn
Luther Kin D y was first
celebrated as a national holiday.
1896 - Booker T. W hing­
ton received first honorary de­
gree wa rded a B lack by
Harvard University.
What two people received
Medals of Freedom from Presi­
dent Johnson in 1963?
ANSWERS
'1'942. 9th - 1923.
10th-New York, N.Y.
11th-'l\vo.
12th -June Jordan.
13th - The Black Star Line.
14th - Ralph Bunche and
Marian Anderson.
By Darrell J. Banks
Have you awoke one morning
and asked; Why am I, with this
person? Are you so angry, that
you want to get out of the mar­
riage as quickly as possible?
Michigan law allows several
approaches to resolve the prob­
lems you have with your spouse.
You can choose to file for divorce
or legal separation. A Divorce
ends a marriage and resolves any
disputes involvingalimony, prop­
erty! child custody, support and
visitation.
To file for a divorce in Michi­
ga the law requires that you
reside or have maintained a resi­
dence in Michigan for the last 180
days .' You also must have lived
for 10 days in th county where
you file for divorce.
How do you dump. he lump
that Ie ps in your bed. The first
issue you face is; Can you afford
to file for a divor ? Some attor­
ney' will start a divorce case for
. 75.00, and start you on a pay':
ment plan. Some attorney wont
talk to you unless you give them
a retai r of$2,OOO.
. HOW 0 YOU choose a di­
vorce attorney? One option is to
talk to your friends and mily.
The nd option is to check at
the local bar association or the
local newspaper. When you m t
with a divorce at orney you
should f 1 comfortable and abl
to tru this person with ny s
eret. Be sure to obtain a written
agreement that indica the to­
tal amount you will p y the attor­
n y.
Aft r you have selected an t­
torn y, you nd the lawyer m�
decide an the amount of rvtos
you w nt. Divor is a painful
exp ri nc , if you pay $75 for
your divorc ,don't xpect he t­
torn y to cou I you. Mos . attor­
neys will provide counselhng on
wha you should or should not do
during divorce action b ed on
th amount of h r tain r.
If you h ve ny doub ,you
may w nt to minis r, m. r­
riage counselor or psych�lo�t.
Th y can give you �n obj I
view poin nd h lp you make a
decision. Counseling is also rec­
ommended if you want to solve
any problems in your marriage.
The problem with counseling
is that your spouse may refuse to
attend. .
When this happens you should
proceed with the divorce action.
If you have, a lot of ets and
your spouse wants to unfairly
take your property you will spend
a substantial amount in attorney
fees to keep your property.
'IHE DIVOR E PROCE S
begins when a written document,
a complaint, is filed in the Circuit·
Court. The document is then le­
gally given to your spouse. Your
spouse must then d ide to let
you go, according to your terms,
ortofightagains you. Ifyou have
a home, nice car, pension and
some savings your spouse may
want to share your good fortun :
Your spouse may hire an attor­
neyand file a counter complaint
for Divor and an "Answer" to
your lawsuit. The 1 then be­
gins. You must d iid what you
want to k p and negoti te with
your spouse. Thi wi 11 pr v nt ad­
ditional attorney � es. If you can­
not talk and nego is e, your
attorneys will do so at a cost.
During your divor case, pre­
trial conferences are cheduled
with he judge. At th e confer­
en the attorn y n pauses
will attempt to r lv any dis­
pu es. For example, who will
k p the couch, th do nd pay
the bills, etc.
If the spo c nnot agr ,
the Judge may s nd your to
a m diator. Thi p on will
make a recommendation on how
to divide your property. If you
don' agr with th m iato
recommendation h n your di­
vorce is scheduled for rial
and the fight begins.
Always contact your attorney
or legal rvi ncy for legal
advi .
Next Week: Diuorc Court Part
two: Who gets baby Jane?
ana.
Enrolling in Lo Angele
State Coll ge, th young mili­
tant th n join the W.E.B.Du
Bo' Club, multiracial social­
ist youth organization. Like An-
gela Davis, Alexander'
commitment to activism led her
to beoome a member of the Com­
munist Party, USA. During
tb e yea ,s 0 met and
married Franklin Delano Alex­
ander, another r pected Afri­
can-American activis
TO tablish
the Bay F South Africa
movement, and. ucce fully
upported San Francisco do
or e who refused to unload
SouthMrican cargo in 1984. Th
late South African liberation
fighter Chris Hani as a friend
and trus acquaintance of th
Alemnder family.
I first heard of � ndra AI -
ander during th years, long
before we became friends. Like
many other African-American
leader before her- uch as
W.E.B. Du Bois, Paul RO n,
and B l\iamin Davis=-ebe had
beoom attracted to the politics
of socialism.
Alexsl"der understood that
racial diacrimination and th
fundam n 1 i ualiti uf-
fer d by African-Am rican
nd oth r peopl of color
i ri bly link! to t i ti­
tutio ofpo r, privile d
priva property . thin our so-
r ci . To ta tand against
cism nd to affirm th equal­
ityof 1 human i , AI n­
d r b liev d, al 0 m nt an
opposition to the economic
ploitation of all wor . ng people.
AI nder rein the na-
tional I de hip of the Com­
munist Party, and elected
to that body' Central Commit­
tee. A di agreements gre
within tb party, Alexander be­
came identified with demands
for greater democracy and free­
dom of political exp ion Be-
ca of her rong opposition,
sb removed from her 1 d-
ership position.
Last year, hundreds of North­
ern California activists resigned
in protest from th Communist
Party, along with Alex:ander and
Angel Davis. In July, 1992,
many of these activists joined
forces . th independent pro­
i , trade unionists, femi­
nists, Black and Latino leaders
to create a ne organization­
the Commi of Conespon-
Lester's World
I "1""l!hl ,-, 1'1'"
" rn H"�"cn In
"" HII;III' 1I�.,nr'l
Amencas Revolving Door Pellc,! on Black on Black Crime
•
Along Th
Color
Line
denc . Alexander
both elected nation
chairs of this formation
y r, I
pact. Al­
exander. Within the national
leadership of the Commi of
Correspondence, she w clearly
tb most argumentative, i is­
tent and challenging member of
our group.
She wa intelligent, dedi­
cated and always humorous. She
never h itated to let you know
what e thought, or here
stood politically. And like many
other trongBlaclt 0 nI ha
known, he al ays argued the
most with those whom he loved
most deeply.
At the tim of her death, Al­
exander was employed as a leg­
islative aide to Ber eley City
Council member Maudelle
Shire She was i rumental in
bringing together people from a
wide range of political traditions
and experiences into a unified
organization.
Kendra Alexander' politim.
were guided by real feelings of
love-for the children in her
neighborhood, for the rights of
all workers, for African-Ameri­
can people fighting for equality,
and for all who continue to
rifice and struggle for democracy
everywhere. Black America
lost a great defender and po -
ful political advocate, a brave
and gifted woman who personi­
fied the willingness to take a
tand for freedom. And for those
of us who were Alexander's clos­
t friends and associates, we
. shall al ways remember the love
which sh so tirelessly gave to all
of us.
Dr. Manning Marable is Pro­
fessor of History and Political
Science, and Director of the Afri­
can Amencan Studies Institute,
Columbia University, New York.
"Along the Color Line" appears
Ln ou r 250 publications and is
featur d by 75 radio stations in­
ternationally.
Two
, top an-
By -Iames E. Alsb 00
beauty with excellent diction,
precise grammar and 8 cultured
and pleasing voice. She won the
rip to ept mber's national
compe ition in Atlantic City by
inging "The Jewel Song" from
th oper "Faust."
H r facial f tures re dis­
tinctly African and her personal­
ity, carriag nd dem anor
bespeak poi , confiden . nd
: lf-confid n .
H r color 1 definitely dark.
'I'itilayo i undoubtedly h prod­
uct of pure, Black African an
ry and is th em ym n of
th e of which ny p rent
would justifiably
in
for
Bla n r tand
b