Q: What' your hope, Brother,
for the future of Black people in
America,. and BUJcJc p«>pk in
the world'
Working from a
po I ion 0 treng h
D nni Archer h a major t k ah ad of him, he m t
decolonize the city; bringing i re ourc under control
of it people. Only that proce will bring any measur of
pr perity to the majority of city re idents. But to do that,
Archer ha to first decolonize his mind. An example:
during hi election night acceptance peech the mayor­
elect deliver d a "let' join together and make Detroit a
world-class city" speech inviting Detroiter to join him in
his effort. Good. That is exactly what we all need to do.
However, when talking about traveling to Lansing to
vi it John "GA Killer / Property Tax Slasher" Engler the
day after the election, Archer repeatedly d cribed his
meeting with the Governor as "asking for help."
That attitude reflects a begging position, a colonized
mind of subserviance.
The state has certain legal responsibilities to the citi­
zens of this tate.·We do not we need to beg for anything.
We are tax payers and expect a r turn on our tax dollar
whether from the city or the state.
. Take the crumbling road . The daily paper revealed
how the tate department of transportation ha spent an
unproportionate amount on the suburbs, -at the expense
of the city roads. In this ituation, it is not help we need.
It is simply a fair return on our tax dollar.
Take the 284 million swept up and out of Detroit by
the lottery last year. That amounts to one-fifth of the
Lottery revenues. We certainly do not get back one-fifth
of the education dollars, or the printing contracts, or the
advertising dollars spent by the Lottery.
It's not help we need. It's justice, it's fairness.
. And to get justice and fairne , our dershtp b
the right attitude, a toughn 01 mind, .cle r mind. 0
measure of help will clear up our own thinking. In fact,
those who control the economic forces will try to keep us
confused. They will be quick to say demands for justice
and fairness represent an adversarial attitude, a racist
attitude even. That's why we must be clear in our own
minds what is ours and what should be ours and proceed
from a position of strength to control our destiny.
That is the biggest task Mayor-electArcher faces.
READERS WRITE
The term "'l'ransracial Adoption" refers to the placement of
Black children with white families and also encompasses placing
with children with Black families. In practice, based on statistical
data, there has been largely a one-way street involving dispropor­
tionate numbers of Black children with white families.
Over the last few years, as a result of drag and alcohol abuse,
poverty and other disfunctional adversities of the single parent,
children of color placement and custody has increased dramati­
cally into foster care and child care service agencies,
Various state arid local agencies involved in child care place­
ment, whether temporary or long-term has allowed the perception,
that the numbers of available Black homes for Black children do
not or could not meet' the required criteria that constitutes a
wholesome living environment for potential families of color or the
available homes for placement are oonsequently too few.
I will advocate that cu1tural diversification is healthy and
significant beam itoontributes to a sparkofunbias and objective
appreciation of race relations of ethnical crientation in general.
How ver, transracial placement, if extended over a long period
can lead to neglect and exclusion of one's (the child's) ethnic and
historical cultural background. .
T ARE OF ny child should continue to be of
priority and should take p \ en when considering placement,
but . ty also has n obligation to embrace one's fundamental
(basic) cultural heritage experien from early adol nt stages
of development to th formative y rs of maturity.
Forgive me if I sound ungrateful to the many white families
who weloome our Black children into their homes. In fact, I am
most appreciati them use I believe deep down they could
help bridge th gap of ial changes and the perception of racism
that's prevalent and obvious in our society today.
, Let's no igno h ial ,oonsequ n of this interracial
exchange from d tion of today's youth and r influe
w re distortio nd tructive charac rizations can be harm-
ful, then good for h child and in rracial f mily tructure.
I believe temper ry y of Black child n in white homes
is preferable to the in. i u ional facili i . Bu long-term place­
ment or full care dopnon i u uitabl, inappropria and con­
trary to the t lI1 �I of h child' ial and cultural
de lopment.
Mark L Matthew
Kincheloe, MI
: What kind of fi ling do
you get iohen you come thru c
city like Philadelphia, with al­
most c million Black peopk?
I y: When I come into
city here, in Philadel­
phi ... sometjme, I wonder if I
am on time, ya unne tand?
'Cause the t'ing is to be on time.
When I come 'ere I want, I really
d . re, for lly, get thru to th
people - I don't anna come
here forjo !
When I I ve I anna
people dem dreadlock, ay I'm
Rasta, and get the hole thing
BOB
cbec it - him don't like unite,
but him ruler of earth ... him
have the knowledge, wisdom
and understanding enuff to do
it, seen? While th next one get'
RLEY
Q: One of the 0718 that you
do, Brother ... that touches me,
and I'm sure it touches most Af­
ricans globally, is the song that
comes from the words of His Im-
See RAS,A7
"., ,
oiL'!" ,-',L
t'
All pretense of a U.S. hu­
manitarian mission in Somalia
has been shattered by the wan­
ton killing of scores of innocent
civilians, including women and
children by U.S. military forces
in that country.
The stated goal for U.S. in­
tervention in Somalia was to in­
sure the safe transport and
distribution of food supplies to
-the thou nds of Somalis who
were facing starvation.
A protracted draught and an
internal struggle for power be­
tween some of the most power­
ful clans in Somalia created a
severe crisis for the masses of
Somali people. By all accounts,
however, the situation "on the
ground has stabilized consider­
ably.
Food supplies are getting
through to those who remain in
the refugee camps and feeding
stations. And many people have
returned to their villages to
plant crops. The forecast is for
a bountiful harvest this year.
so WHY ARE U.S. mi . ary
forces still in Somalia? After re­
linquishing control of the
peacekeeping operation to the
.United Nations several months
ago, the U.S. military is' sup­
posed to be serving as a back up
for the U.N. peace eeping
By Ron Daniels
forces.
In reality the U.N. Somalia
operation, like the U.N. inter­
vention in Iraq, is a U.S. spon­
sored and dominated initiative.
Though there is an urgent need
to work for a peace agreement
between the warring factions
contending for power in So­
malia, the resolution of the cri­
sis requir a political solution,
no military occupation
The U.S. sponsored U.N.
peacekeeping force has become
a U.S. led army of occupation
bent on utilizing military
means to solve a political crisis.
And virtually all of the focus
has been on the Capital ci yof
Mogadishu, the stronghold of
General Mohammed Farah
Aidid.
As time has passed, General
Aidid's upporters and the So­
mali people in general have
come to resent th military oc­
cupation and the heavy handed
tactics of the "peacekeepers. "
Aidid's forces have lashed
out using urban guerilla war­
fare.
THE U.S. HAS responded
not by seeking to negotiate with
Aidid, but by personalizing the
conflict and demonizing Gen­
eral Aidid.
In a manner hieb is charae-
teristic of U.S. interventions in
Third World nations - Quad­
dafi in Libya, N oreiga in Pan­
ama and Saddam Hussein in
Iraq-the U.S. has reduced the
crisis to a contest between the
mighty U.S. military and the
supporters of a "fugitive war­
lord." And just like the war on
drugs that has become a racist
assault _on inner-city Black
males in th U.S., the obsession
with capturing Aidid, has
turned every Somali citizen in
Mogadishu into a suspected fol­
lower of Aidid. Hence massive
search and seizure operations
can be undertaking and the
wanton killing of innocent civil­
ians can bejustified because all
Somalis in the Capital who re­
sist U.S. occupation are seen as
agents of the demon Aidid.
The Somali crisis is certainly
a difficult and complex situ­
ation There is an urgent need
to develop a process (or tor­
ing governmental authority in
the country in order to insure
that thousands of innocent So­
mali do not fall victim once
again to the ravages of famine
and internecine' rfare.
To achieve that objective all
of the principal faetio must be
included in the restoration
proce s in a principled and
meaningful y.
•
Vantage
Point
ASOLUTIO CANNOTbe
imposed by an occupying army
fixated on the capture of the
leader of one of th major fac­
tions in the conflict.
By adopting a purely mili­
tary approach and killing hun­
dreds of Somali people, the U.S.
has loss any credibility as a po­
tential peaeek per in this situ­
ation
The stabilization and nor­
malization of the crisis in So­
malia demands an intensified
search for a political solution.
The immediate withdrawal
of all U.S. fore from Somalia
, is absolutely entia! if a p0-
litical solution is to be found.
The U.S. has too much blood
on its hands to be of any value
in the peace process. The U.N.
hould move decisively to enlist
the support of the Organization
of African Unity (OAU) and the
Arab League in the quest to re­
solve the crisi in Somalia.