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'�, ��ew� Opinio�s �
-- READERS WRITE --
y
r Afri­
women ith
'rchild
IN ADDmO , it provid
training to th ligioua commu­
nity and community organiza­
tio . It al80 0 dvocacy and
upportservicee forpeopl living
with lnV/AIDS, caregivers and
cl rgy .
Th Ark of Refuge ministey
grew out of the dynamic mini -
In on city, S n Francisco, 41
percent, n rly half, of t ba­
bie ith AIDS are African
American.
It' important to y that
AIDS of the 1990' is a people
<lise e. I is not a gay men'
disease or an iv-drug users dis-
. It is a disease of tee n-agers
and babi ,it is a disease of he­
mophiliacs and hetero exual
.om , inc1udin
ri n
ow to win when odds
·are not good
The rags-to-riches fictio cr­
ated 100 years ago by Horatio
Alger inspired millions of poor
white immigrant boys to achi
startling success in America.
But th real lif tory of BI ck
Lewis A. Jackson is on of r al
and actual achi vement tha n
inspi any pe on to dr am and
work toward m ki ng th
dreams com
. Jackson w child who loved
airplanes and gr w into "Who'
Who" manofdistm ion hon r
for his contnbutions to avi tion,
the arm uca Ion
and publi
An airport in hio has n
renamed in hi honor. Th U.S
Air Force flew a special "mi ing
man" formation ov ram morial
servi in Jackson's honor at th
Paul Rob on Auditorium on
Central State Unive ity C m­
pus t Wilberfor ,Oluo
Cf?EAT II ,
WILL YOU GIVE US)
POLlTICAL ASYLUM
IN AMERICA?
� ,
By.JalIles E. AI brook
J KSON W BORN De-
comber 29, 1912, at Angola, In­
dian . In grade school he
nstructed model airplanes and
r d encyclopedias to learn
bout cr wind landings.
At a 14, he had his first
irplan rid in an OX5 Swallow
pl n and in 1929 t 16, he de-
ign nd flew hang gliders. At
17, h bought an incomplete
mon pl and pow red it with
a mo orcycle engine fore the
wind d royed the untested
cr ft
Th young flier ived for-
flight training when he was
udym with fi instruc-
In 1940, he and another Black
pilot, Cornelius Coffey, operated
a flying school in Chicago, where
he received advanced aerobatics
training ..
IN 1942, he went to Tuskegee
and taught all ground subjects
and ecured a mechanic' license
and qualified himself 'with spe­
cial instruction in air navigation
and other specialities at several
locations.
Jackson and the other flight
instructors prepared Tuskegee's
Black pilots so well that three
time they were ranked first
among 23 fighter pilot schools in
t south t.
. When the war ended, Jackson
moved to Ohio and became a fed­
eral flight examiner and tested
hundreds of pilots for flight cer­
tification between 1947 and
1960. During these years he de­
veloped special pilot-aid instru­
ments.
Jac . on received multi-en­
gine pilot rating and appoint­
ment to the Citizens' Advisory
Committee of the Federal A via­
tion Administration. He was re­
gional president of . the
Experimental Aircraft Associa-
uring th pr ion, he
made on y for college from
9 2 1937 by barnstorming
through Indiana nd Ohio. He
fl w passenge did air acrobat­
mad public app ar-
e e rn hi transport pi-
10' li nse in 1939 and soon
commercial pilot's license with
rating of instructor. Also in 1939,
he gr du t with a B.S. degree
in ducation at Indiana
Wesleyan College. He taught
public hool d continued to
fly
tion and technical advisor to and
member of pioneer aviation
groups.
This accompli hed pilot
wanted "an airplane in every ga­
rage" and until a few months­
before he died in January of 1994
he wor ed on a "roadable air­
craft," a vehicle that was a com­
bined automobile and airplane.
HE DEVELOPED 1 0 ver­
sions of his creation that was
publicized in England. He could
not rna ket it because of rigid
government requirements and
unexplained reluctance to accept
innovation. He was ahead of his
time.
He shared his love for avia­
tion with effective teaching and
administration at Central State
University and at Sinclair Com­
munity College in Dayton, Ohio.
Holding the MS. degree from
Miami University and the Ph.D.
from Ohio State University, he
served Central State as Dean of
Students, Vice. President for
Academic Affairs, Acting Presi­
dent and President.
At predominantly white Sin­
claire he was Vice P ident and
Acting President.
lAt' 'n to talk to our n-
about how they can avoid
'ng AIDS, And 1 ua 'n
right now. For tomorro will
too la .
By Dr. Manning Marable
Along the Color Line
panding - the priso�tem is
the primary means of social con­
trol for the Black community,
the NAACP and other organiza­
tions were pushed by Blacks
from all socia I clas to become
more militant and aggressive.
Yet under the leadership of
NAACP executive director Ben­
jamin Hooks, the organization
drifted without a clear political
or ideological compass.
Part r er m
The recent firing of Ben
Chavis as executive director of
the NAACP culminated a cam­
paign of vilification which had
lasted for nearly nine months.
The NAACP's board voted over­
whelmingly to dismiss Chavis,
stating that he had failed ade­
quately to explain the use of the
organiza tion's funds to settle a
threaten lawsuit by former em­
ployee, Mary E. Stansel.
Abandoned by his principal
upporter, NAACP pre ident
Willi m Gi on, C . f lt bis­
terly betrayed. Within days, he
filed a lawsuit in the District of
Columbia Superior Court, de­
manding his reinstatement as
executive director.
To the media, Chavis angrily
blamed out ide forces which
had manipulated the board's
vote, and described his ouster as
a "crucifixion." Earl Shinhos­
ter, the Associa tion's field secre­
tary, was selected by the board
to replace Chavis temporarily.
All of us are familiar with the
general outline of the political
"lynching" of Ben Chavis. But
in truth, the ouster of Chavis as
leader of the oldest civil rights
organiza tion in America had lit­
tle to do with Mary Stansel, or
the fact that Chavis was no wiz­
ard at financial rna nagement.
The real question at issue is
whether African-American peo­
ple have the right to select their
own leaders and make them ac­
countable to our concerns and
demands.
. Who speaks for Black people
in this country?
Please
CRISIS. B6
PRESIDENT CLINTON,
WHEN WILL YOU ADMJT
THAT WE ME ftlJT1�
REfUGEES?
AND DO WE HAVE the
right to develop strategie
which address our own concerns
and advocate programs which
advance our interests? The de­
bate over Chavis represents a
greater dilemma, the crisis of
Black leadership in America.
After the 1960s, the NAACP
and the civil rights movement
were confronted with four basic
challenges, which they never
fully understood or overcame.
First, the economic crisis of
America's central cities created
profound problems for Black
leadership. Jobs disappeared in
the ghetto, as thousands of.
plants and factorie relocated to
the suburbs and the Sunbelt.
Second, the fiscal 'crisis of
federal, ta te and local govern­
ments reduced funds for social
programs. Reaganism repre­
sented a wall against the cities,
and African-Americans and
Latinos were the chief victims of
that war.
Civil rights org nizations
were challenged to shift their
energi from cooperating with
the Federal government to ob­
tain legal and political reforms,
to pr uring Congres and the
white House to reverse regr -
sive and repressive social pro­
grams.
As Republican administra­
tions increasingly relied on ex-
WakeUp
America!
By Ann tte Lealie Williama
Wake up, Black Americal
We have got to act right now
if we don't want health care
reform to protect everyone
else except us.
Pick up that ·telephone,
dial 202-224-3121, call your
Senators and Repre­
sentatives, and utter this re­
frain: Black America will
only support a health care
reform bill that includes uni­
versal access, universal cov­
erage for everyone now,
employer mandates, and
protects the civil rights of all
people of color.
Many years ago the late
Fannie Lou Hamer an­
nounced to the world that
Black America is sick and
tired of being sick and tired.
Unfortunately, things ha­
ven't changed too much for
too many African Ameri­
cans.
Black America is sick and'
tired of continuing loss of hu­
man life becaus someone
could not afford health in­
surance.
BLACK AMERICA is
sick and tired of too many of
our people's family physi­
cian being whoever is on call
in the hospital emergency
room .... becau e we can't af­
ford to have a regular family
physician.
Black America is sick and
tired of not living all our
days and not enjoying too
high a quality of life because
our illn are diagnosed
much later than those of eve­
ryone else.
Government tatistics
confirm that more than 38
million Americans are unin­
sured. And many of the un­
insured are Black!
If Congress a bill
that only cove 50, 85, 90 or
95 percent of all Americans
then who do you think they
plan to leav out? (Hint
Hint: Certainly not th�
members Congress!)
PI
WAKE.B3