d rom P A·1 _
ion.
i
bl t t for hi
Infan d th
to po ra. In 1990, Michi­
gan' Black child n had pov­
rty r t of 6.3 per n
com red ith 12. pe nt for
hite children.
D pite the continuing re-
reb on children nd youth,
the of African American
children in Michigan did not im­
pro over th I t decade.
Ins d, according to ral
indicato , the elfareofall chil­
dren in the state has declined,
with a disproportionate decline
among African-American chil­
dren.
, Managed care health rate-
gi have failed to address the
state-level dispariti in health
tatu between Black and
whi ,The racial disparities
continue to exist whether th fo­
cus' on mortality, morbidity, or
utilization of health services.
The p ntly proposed com-
o i mar t approach (man­
a competition) a strategy
for both containm nt and
equity in a maye cerb te
the diaperity in h th tua be­
t n Blacks and whi
While Michigan has done bet­
ter than most eta in providing
health care to the poor, access to
health care for poor families
ow
J.Ba k
Ha ve you ever been
turned down for credit and
wondered why? A very im­
portant Federal law protects
your credit rating. It's called
the Fair Credit Reporting
Ad. When you are turned
down for credit you have the
right to obtain a "credit re­
port".
A credit report effects
many things; your employ­
ability, credit standing, and
your liabilities. You will be
notified by the creditor, upon denial, on which credit reporting
agency was utilized to deny your credit application. Within 68
days of the denial you may obtain a free credit report from this
agency. You must notify the credit reporting agency in writing to
obtain the report.
Once you obtain the report you should review it for duplicate
entries. You can verify this by looking. at the account num­
bers/creditors. There. may also be old items on your report that
should be automatically removed.
Attorney
At
Law
THE FOLLOWING are examples of items that can be auto­
matically removed:
Bankruptcy 18 years from the date it was placed on the
report.
Lawsuits and Judgement:.s--eeven years fro� the date it was
placed on the report.
Tax Lie years from the date it was placed on the report.
Collection Accounts and or Charge Of&- seven years from
the date it was place on the report.
Records of Arrest,Conviction- seven-years from the date it
was place on the report.
TIIERE ARE EVERAL exceptions to the above depending
on the credit transaction amount ($50,000) or more), life insurance
( 50,000 or more), or employment at a salary of $20,000 oimore.
After you have viewed the credit report and find duplicate or
inaccurate entri you must take several steps to correct-them.
One ofth first things you must do is write the credit reporting
agency. This notifies the agency of your dispute. The credit agency
is required to assure' "maximum possible accuracy" on any infor­
mation provided on a credit report. The agency must investigate
any disputed item. This means that the creditor will be contacted
to verify the accuracy of an account balance, proper person et:c
If the all ged "incorrect information" is verified to be wrong,
then the agency will remove the item from your credit report.
What happens if th item is not corrected and you know that its
an incorrect item. Your first option is to ubmit a brief statement
to the credit r porting agency.
TPe agency can edit your s tern nt, but pest 'and future
creditors will be notified of the dispute.
This p may take veral months. Thus, if you re intent
on purchasing a car, ho or any other major item it is wise to
inv tigate the ta us of your credit port. this mean you
are entitled to credit? No! Most banks, credit unions etc. will not
loan money unl you have an tablished busin , bank ac­
count, or employment.
But if the credi r porting a ncy has n negligent in
compl�ngwith any ui men of the F ral Credit Reporting
Act you have th option � ue for actual �. The law �
provid for attorney £ if you are u ful m your lawsuit,
As always pI conta your ttorney or legal rvi agency
for Ie I advi .
/ /
.. -'S7p-
\ 1 \ r • ..:ht I ' \
'" rl p\ """:' III
'.'
Ion
Color
Ln
Clinton' failure to increase
the minimum wage permits
thousands of Black famili to
d 11 in poverty.
Amid metal detectors and
baseball bats, Pontiac Central
High School recently helped to
swell the epidemic of violence
sweeping our schools and the na­
tion. Police were called to quell
the disorder. -Arresta were made,
suspension of young Black males
was the order of the day.
Nothing, yet, appears on the
horizon 0 with capability to stem
the ferocious tide- senseless 1008
and destruction of our young.
What is causing the outbreak of
violence?
Some point to breakdown of
the family, daily exposure to vio­
lence on television and drugs in
the community. Schools mirror
our ociety �ne that is plagued
with gun-packing youth, eco­
nomically depressed' adults and
growing racism.
Others place the blarn on the
availability of guns, violent rnov­
i ,video gam and glorified po­
lice-reality hows. They may all
be factors in helping students
learn to devalue life.
There are th who point to a
generation of youth who receive
material items, but far I time
with their parents. .
THE ARGUMENT, also, is
raised that students who do not
value themselves do not value
others. What must be done?
The action begins on the home­
front, Adults; parents, grandpar­
ents, guardians and others have
to spend more quality time with
youngsters in the home.
If parents begin to teach their
children the positive aspects of
discipline at a very early age,
teaching them how to achieve,
how to learn, how to interact with
other people, a significant break­
through could occur.
Parents and schools alike have
the responsibility to teach our
young people that there are alter­
native ways to conflict resolution
and that there is great value in
being disciplined.
Stated otherwise, our youth
must learn to deal with violence
without being violent. Who will
teach them?
SCHOOLS C OT be con-
tent by creating a prison-like at­
mosphere with m tal detectors,
added police p nce and locker
searches. Schools must lead in
trying more innovative ap­
preaches-blunting the spread of
violence in schools through a 00-
operative effort of parents, teach­
ers and students. .
The reality of the educational
process today' ues this demand­
conflict and violence in the schools
will continue to rear their ugly
heads as long as the seeds, the
roots are there.
This is to say we know what we
must contend with and must ad­
just our systems, our intelligence
to education come forth out of
conflict resolution.
A Blue Ribbon Committee on
Conflict Resolution and Violence
in our schools can be more than
another committee. Parents,
teachers, students, law enforce­
ment, busin , religious leade ,
government, together, can dis­
cov r worthwhile solutions of
cou of action to violence re­
duction in our boola Th tim
is now?
Mlehlg n A eetauen for
Lader hlp 0 v lopment
lehlgan
Dr. Man.ning Marub� u Profeaor of
HillfIJryan.d Political Scien� and Direo­
fIJrof�Afriam-AmeriamStudielln8li­
tute; at Columbia UnwusUy, New Yom
City. "Along tMeolor Line" is featurtd in
over 250 publiaitions and on 75 radio .
statims in.ternationally.
Michigan
Citizen
Pubflshed each Sunday bf
New Day Enterprl
1 �541 Second Street
P.O. Box 03560
Highland Park. MI 48203
(313)869-0033
Benton Harbor Bureau
175 Main Str
Benton Harbor, M149022
. (616)9271527
Publ her:
Char1es D. Kely
Editor:
Te Maxv.eU-KeIy
Contributor.:
Bemlce Brown
P trlc Colbert 0 Mary Y
Anlson Jones
E Koran ma
M e - Ju e Reynolds
Shock Rock 0 Ron Se I
Ture TUf1<
Ceroly n Warl'Ie let
Production anag.r:
Kasoene Barl<s
Production:
cote Spivey
fiN tUJ fWWtI�, copy ;., 12 IIOCM
prior toptlhli� ��fo,JJ.dClOp}l
n,� � pit Cil&ull U 41'1 Oil line
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