Page 8-Wednesday, May 31, 1978-The Michigan Daily
PROTESTERS ASSAIL U.S., U.S.S.R. INVOLVEMENT:
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Marching for African liberation
By RENE BECKER ACCORDING TO the Ethiopian, the large majority watched with only speakers and entertainers.
TROIT - Chanting, waving signs Africa is the battleground for the passing interest.
.arrying long colorful banners, struggle between the United States and Oil Jefferson Avenue, the four-block THE MINIMAL number of police whc
than 1,000 people celebrated the Soviet Union. He said his group op- long line of protesters was turned off to escorted the parade left the protester
n Liberation Day by parading for poses American and Soviet intervention Randolph Street by police when they unattended in Kennedy Square. Th(
t an hour through the downtown in Africa and especially Ethiopia, "and tried to march on the Renaissance Cen- crowd seemed to thin out as the da'
ere Saturday. their contention to control that ter. But before moving, the line stopped wore on despite the efforts of the Viet
h the theme of "fight imperialism strategic area." for five minutes while someone nam veterans who distributed ice water
national oppression from the The march down Woodward Avenue speaking through a loudspeaker to make the 90 degree weathe
. (Union of South Africa) to the from Grand Circus Park, where the labelled the Center as a "fortress" bearable.
(United States of America)," protesters amassed, began at 1:20 p.m. against the poor. When asked why the Vietnan
eople protested American and They marched four abreast behind a "We don't want to come in (to the Veterans Against the War (VVAW)
noleprotestednAerica a flatbed truck sporting loudspeakers Renaissance Center) - we want to stay marched on African Liberation Day
involvement in Africa. blaring "sham settlement - no way, with the people of the world," said the John Cordero said the vets believed the
E AFRICAN Liberation Day liberate Zimbabwe" or "'U.S. out of unidentified protester. cause of the Vietnam War is the cause
t, an annual affair usually spon- Africa, superpowers hands off." of exploitation and oppression around
by the all-black Pan-African The police blocked traffic at the side ANOTHER flatbed truck placed the world.
ess, was sponsored this year by streets as the protesters marched the somewhere near the middle of the line Cordero said the veterans came
frican Liberation Day Coalition, six blocks to Jefferson Avenue at the carried those with medical problems, together against the war to fight im
ding Iranian Students foot of Woodward. Jack Johnson, First while seven mounted Detroit police perialism and to fight for the rights of
nization, Revolutionary Com- Precinct inspector of the Detroit Police brought up the rear of the parade. vets. He said the system "uses them
st Youth Brigade, Vietnam Department, estimated there were For another half-hour the protesters (vets) in the war then throws them
Aaint tha wr N ti more than 1,300 in the march. (many of them wearing red shirts or away when it's finished."
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veteransagainst tewar, auonai
United Workers Association and a fac-
tion of the United Mine Workers.
Representatives from these groups
came by bus or automobile from
Boston, Chicago, Cleveland and West
Virginia. The inspiration for most of the
protesters came from their common
wish to show a solid Left opposed to
American and Soviet Imperialism, ac-
cording to the day's speeches and per-
sonal interviews.
Many of those queried said all the op-
pressed, whether in Iran or South
Africa, have a common enemy in the
U.S. and the Soviet Union.
ONE IRANIAN student who
preferred anonymity because he feared
revenge from his country's secret
police (Savak) if they knew of his role
in the demonstration, said, "People of
the world must get together and fight
against oppression all over the world."
For that reason, more than 120
Iranian students marched on African
Liberation Day, said the unidentified
student. "We think it is our duty to sup-
port the just struggles of people all over
Africa."
A member of the Ethiopian Students
Organization, who also preferred to
remain anonymous, said his
organization believes the "main danger
for all African people is Soviet socialist
imperialism."
AS THE protesters, many of whom
were white, marched down the streets
chanting, most of the crowds on the
sidewalks stopped momentarily to wat-
ch the parade. A few of the mostly black
Saturday downtown shoppers offered
the traditional black power salute, but
arm bands) snaked through the streets
chanting slogans and carrying a
variety of cloth banners that
proclaimed the evils of imperialism
and national oppression.
The parade ended in Kennedy Square
on Woodward Avenue where the
protesters listened to a long list of
There has been some conflict in the
ranks of the VVAW according to Cor-
dero. He said some wanted to make the
VVAW a passive organization while
others, including himself, wanted the
group to "take the politics out to the
people - make them understand the
problem."
Plmouth inre stigation continues
(ContinuedfromPage3) proximately 100 had either been estimated it would take approximately
ce. Cohen and Stehman quickly drafted dismissed, transferred, suspended, or a year to fully institute the community
a letter to Milliken emphasizing the in- had resigned. placement program.
stitution's need to meet a federal court Provitt said she temporarily halted "It is an important asset to get the
order to increase the center's staff. an orientation program for new atten- reducing job done. We might be able to
The letter also stated that the dants because she found the center's cut the Plymouth population in half,'
"present appropriation bill moving staff, resources and supplies had been said Rosen.
through the legislature will need either stretched to an impossible point. She
to be significantly increased before insisted, however, that new attendants ROSEN ALSO suggested the topic of
final enactment or be supplemented in have been unofficially hired and will be mental retardation should be em-
the early fall." ready to start working in several phasized more heavily in the schools.
The former Plymouth director told weeks. She did not say when she feels He said people must become more
the committee she -believes an ad- the required additional.staff increases aware of the mental health problem.
ditional 254 attendants and 71 super- would be fulfilled.
visors must be hired at Plymouth to Both Provitt and Rosen claim more "I think today's meeting was very
follow the court order requiring a one- than 150 Plymouth residents are ready progressive. It looks like some gooi
to-four attendant to resident ratio in the to progress to more normal living things have been done at Plymouth, bu
day and one-to-eight at night. arrangements. Rosen who relaced state institutions
f
-
d
it
SHE BLAMED many of the in-
stitution's abuse problems on lack of
supervision, and confirmed that 256
new employees had been hired but ap-
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Provitt last week, has been very in-
strumental throughout the state in
establishing community placement
programs for the mentally retarded. He
said many of the center's patients could
join common living environments and
thereby effectively reduce pressures at
Plymouth.
ROSEN, WHO recently headed the
Macomb-Oakland Center for the men
tally retarded, said he believes
Plymouth is "10 years behind many of
the mental institutions in Michigan."
But he declared the institution could be
drastically improved to reach the level
of other institutions within three years.
He stressed the need for better
programming at the institution, and
They are no better off than they were
several months ago," said Sandy
McGuire, a member of the Plymouth
Association for Retarded Citizens
(PARC), a parents group that has
worked closely with the task force.
MeGuire, who gave the committee
her report on the abuse situation at the
Oakdale Center, said PARC might issue
a 'minority report" if they found the
Cohen committee's report to be un-
satisfactory.
PARC was relegated to guest status
at the committee's meetings, a move
which chagrined many of the group's
members. They originally filed the suit
against several officials of DMH,
which resulted in Joiner's preliminary
injunction.
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