en y, (0 C
our of Inspiration
RICHARD AUSTlN
LANS - He was not born
th son of a sharecropper, but his
lif tory mimics the tale.
Secretary of State Richard
Austin - Michigan's first Black
to b elected into that role -
describes his life as a challenge
he would not wish upon any
young Black person today.
But don't r refer to the
man, who is third in line to the
governor's t, as a rol model.
Austin . id h just did what he
had to d to survive.
"1 did not plan my life this
way," Austin said. "I wouldn't
expect ev ry child to endure
some of th things that we had
to endure in tho day.
" OW DO YOU talk to pe0-
ple about life during a depres­
sion. 1 can't be a role model
because I don't want ple to
live the way 1 lived during that
time," he said.
Born in Alabam , Austin, the
son of a coal miner, said as a
child he had no idea he would
m hi tory in th nation or the
By NATHANIEL SCOTT
Michigan Citizen
DETROIT - Wake up Detroit!
It's 8 a.m. ona Sunday morning
and it's time for the Hour of In­
spiration gospel broadcast on ra­
dio station WMKM, 1440 AM
with your host, Kim Penny.
But wait! Don't start grilling
flapjacks, scrambling brains
and eggs, boiling grits or baking
biscuits.
KIM PENNY
No. Git into some glad rags
and moosey on down to C&M
Diner at 11139 Mack Avenue
and watch and list n to he Hour
of Inspiration ho t in p on
And don't worry bout your vit­
tles. C&M Din r specializes in
"hom cooking."
I'n fact if you come back after
church, you ·might find uch de­
lightful items on the menu as
baked chicken, smothered pork
chops, gr ns, nap Beans and
Ice Pota 0 (or String Be ns
and Irish Pot s) to you city
folks, colla or urn ips, whi
peas wi h a Black ye nd cob­
bl r that m k th mouth
water ju to think abou it.
o tum the oppor­
tunity down, however, to wor
during th D p ion' and pro-
vide fmancial i tan to hi
family - a widowed moth rand
two brothers.
And th tal of hi selling
and repairing . h s by day and
tudying accounting by night, do
not fill him with th fondest of
memories.
"I can't be a role
model because I
don't want
people to live the
way I lived ... "
Austin said now he concen­
trates on serving the people of
Michigan. The secretary of state
is responsible, among other
thing, for making sur Michigan
car owners hav good quality li­
cense plates.
He also is responsible for
automotive repair regulation,
keeping the state history, and he
often finds himself dealing with
legislative matters, including in­
troducing legislation for state-
of-the-art driver licenses. .
on radio in Detroit.
In addition to hosting the pro­
gram which runs from 8 a.m.
until 9:30 a. m., Penny ings
with the Silver Harps Gospel
Quartette, performs in the play,
"Come Back Home," and drives
a bus for the Detroit Board of
Education.
Penny said her aspiration is
"winningsouls for Christ" and in
order to be a good school bus
driver, "you have to have a love
for children."
Since she has b n a school
bus driver, Penny said, "I've
heard everything."
THAT EVERYTHING in­
cludes four letter words, clean,
and dirty rap, and many other
kinds of antics young minds are
capable of producing. But what
BI c yout n
to peopl ho m e
i available to th m. He id that
ome hing he did no do.
"As role model, you would
tell a young person to take ad­
vantage of every opportunity
available," he aid."} did not. I
100 back on it and 1 f I
though 1 did not make the t
decisions," r ferring to his r
fusal of the scholarship offered
to him after high school.
"IF I HAD taken advantage
of the opportunities and gone on
to pursue a higher education
then, I would feel better about
being regarded as a role model,"
he said.
Role model, inspiration,
leader or not, omehow Austin
managed to get a degree and to
spend more than 30 years of his
li fe as a CPA and about anoth r
20 years more as the secretary of
state.
Of course, he incurred preju­
dices along the way. Austin said
it was known and accepted that
in his younger days accounting
firms would not hire Blacks. And
he said, there were few people,
especially whites, who wer will­
ing to help him along the way.
But he said he had an obliga­
tion to himself and the nation's
Black people to press on toward
his goal until he gained what he
set out to achieve.
"1 felt that if I could do that
than I sbo said.
has impressed her the most is
something tha t happened re­
cently.
With glee dancing in her eyes,
she said, "I recently heard a boy
singing "I Can't Stop Praising
His Name."
C&M Diner is owned and op­
erated by John Cooksey and Al-
exander Martin. The diner is
opened seven days a week from
8 a.m. until 11 p.m., Cooksey
said. "We are packin'em in be­
cause of Kim (and that down
home cooking).
Come on yall! Toast and cof­
fee, bacon and eggs, the full fla­
vored smell of dinner being
cooked, gospel music and Sun­
day mornings with Kim Penny
who says, as she looks at the
state of affairs, "If God made it,
He can certainly fix it."
�PARATIO
ESSAY CONTEST
Op n to all 12th grad r .
5 WINNERS
will bIt d.
$100 prizes
will b award d.
"Why· Mrican
American should
receive Reparations
from the U.S.
governmen t. "
(100 words or Ie .. )
Mail entries postmarked before July 17, 1994 to: N'COBRA, 1249
Washington Blvd., SUite 48, Detroit, MI 48226 or Call: Reparations
Ray (313)863-3222 or Cicero Love (313)83� -2327
,
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