[This text is machine generated and may contain errors.]

BALTIMOKs (NNPA
the first week: of April represen-
tatives from several national or-
ganizations announced the goal
of collecting 1 million signatures
in a petition drive to encourage
Congressional reauthorization of
the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

At a press cence con-
vened in the nation Ts capital, the
Rev. Jesse Jackson, president of
the Rainbow Push Coalition, dis-
cussed the petition as one of sev-
eral strategies to ensure the re-
authorization of the Act. oThere
will be three critical parts of the
Voting Rights Act to expire in

Florida

by Clover Hope -
The family of a 5-year-old Florida

tphoto) ~ Rey. Major L. Jemison (file photo)
)- During

2007 unless reauthorized by
Congress, ? said Jackson. We
must be ever vigilant to protect
our right to vote and not be
swayed by media campaigns
highlighting events that divert
our attention (from) our mis-
sion. ? .

Jackson was joined by,
among others: Major L. Jemison,
president, Progressive National
Baptist Convention Inc.; Barbara
R. Arnwine, executive director,
Lawyer's Committee for Civil
Rights Under Law; Laura W.
Murphy, legislative director,
American Civil Liberties Union;

mother vows to sue after her 5-yeat-old

Ja'eisha Ts mother, Inga Akins, showed
the girl ripping papers off a bulletin

Stephanie Jones of the National

ing an assistant principal before

ementary. The girl appeared to
and pinnned her si ov

St. Petersburg police officers who handcuffed an unruly 5-year-old girl after
she acted up in her kindergarten class. A video camera, which was rolling
March 14 as part of a classroom self-improvement exercise, captured images
of the girl tearing papers off a bulletin board, climbing on a table and punch-
i lice were called to Fairmount Park El-

down before three officers approached
her back and put handcuffes on as she screamed.

gitl who was forcibly handcuffed by
police officers at her St. Petersburg
elementary school last month after
misbehaving is seeking legal action

against the officers, a Florida lawyer

announced last week.
The videotaped incident of
Jaeisha Scott being placed into
handcuffs by three uniformed police
on March 14 occurred after she al-
legedly acted unruly in her kinder-
en class and hit a school official.
30-minute videotape released by
John Trevena, the attorney for
geo gany

board and punching an assistant
principal, among other violent acts.

On the tape, Ja Teisha is seen set-
tling down before the three officers,
who were called to Fairmount Park
Elementary to handle the situation,
pinned her arms behind. her back
and placed her in handcuffs as she
screamed oNo!, ? according to
Trevena. Fhe tape cuts off shortly af-
ter Ja'eisha starts screaming. Trevena
said Ja Teisha began her temper tan-
trum after her jelly beans were taken
away during a counting exercise.

We

by Glen Ford
and Peter Gamble

The corporate Right has suc-
ceeded in establishing a coalition of
the willing T within the Congressional
Black Caucus (CBC), as shown by last
week's votes on bankruptcy and estate
tax legislation, The defection of ten of
41 voting CBC members to the Re-
publicans on bankruptcy, and eight on
repeal of the estate tax signals that cor-

rate-controlled membership in the

has reached critical mass, encour-
members who are not part of
ucus Ts conservative core grou
to beseay thee constituencies, as well

oThe G.O.P is practicing Robin
Hood in reverse, ? said Rep. John
prt: Jr. (MD), after last week's lo
sided Democratic defeats. oLast nighe
they the estate tax, a gift to
jr Today then pice plete
ety. P e
special-interest bankruptcy bill, pun-
ishing the very poorest members of
society, T But Conyers T critique should

Te Ts Time to Draw Some Bright T 7

apply with doubly damning effect to
fellow Caucus members, including
three who are also members of the
Progressive Congressional Caucus but
voted with Republicans on one or the
other measure.

The growing rot in the CBC
must be viewed in the context of mas-
sive corporate intervention in Black
electoral politics, conceived in
rightwing think tanks in the mid-90s
and emerging full-blown in the 2002
election cycle, when Denise Majette
(GA), David Scott (GA), and Artur
Davis (AL) won congressional seats.
That's also the year when rightwing
apprentice Cory Booker nearly cap-
tured City Hall in Newark, New Jer-
sey. Although public attention has fo-
cused on the Bush administration's
faith-based bribes to woo Black
preachers to the GOP, the far more
dangerous prong of the offensive aims
to subvert Black Democrats from
within. Corporate funding and me-
dia support have been placed at the

Urban League; Richard Womack,

AFL-CIO; T.J. Michaels, Service

Employees International Union;

_ Brenda Girton-Mitchell, Na-
- tional Council of Churches; Julie
Fernandes, senior policy analyst,

Leadership Conference on Civil

oRights; Olga Vivies, vice presi-
; dent, National Organization for
+ Women; Merwyn Scott, govern-
ment relations, National Educa-

tion Association; and Tanya M.

Clay, deputy director, People For
all the American Way.

oThe coming together of
these major civil and justice or-
ganizations shows we are not be-
ing passive on this issue. This is
a great moment. The result will
be preservation of the Voting
Rights Act, ? said Jemison.

Jemison is leader of one of
the four major Baptist denomi-
nations that came together in a:
joint meeting in January to sig-

nal to the nation their common

cause and launch a call for action.
Commitment to ensuring the
1965 Voting Rights. Act was
overwhelmingly accepted by the
meeting's 14,000 participants. .
Under the current Voting
Rights Act provisions, Section 2
prohibits practices that deny or
abridge the right to vote. It al-
lows the attorney general or pri-
vate plaintiffs to challenge dis-
@

is arrested
Civil rights activists have ques-
tioned whether the forceful use of
handcuffs for the girl was necessary

and whether police were out of line.

oIt was a horrific example of po-, |

lice over-kill, ? said NAACP Chairs.
man Julian Bond. oHad she

pices: wis kod nara +
» ohappened. ? |

Jaeisha Ts reaction and subse-
quent handcuffing was caught on a
camera that was rolling as part of a
classroom self-improvement evalua-

_tion at the school, according to
Trevena, who nipped the tape he

said he obtained
media. .
oT'm sure that the incident has
permanently scarred this 5-year-old
child in terms of her sense about
what police can and should do with
children, ? said Harvard Law School
Professor Charles Ogletree, who was
in Florida at the time of the incident.
oThere is no justification whatsoever
for handcuffing a child at that ten-
der age when there's no real threat
of bodily harm or injury to anyone. ?
Trevena said the incident caused
Jaeisha noticeable trauma and that
the image of the scene would be
oseared into people Ts minds. ?

m police to the

No charges have been filed .

against Ja Teisha, who now attends a
different school, according to
Trevena. |

oThey treated her as if she were
not even human, ? said Ogletree.
oThere will hopefully be legal and

olitical consequences for actions
like that "to treat a 5-year-old as a
monster. ? .

Police spokesman Bill Proffitt
said an investigation into the matter
is currently pending and should be
complete in about two weeks, when

the findings will be made public.

disposal of Black Democrats who leave

the reservation, T so to speak " i.e., those

who reject, at least selectively, the his-
oder atest fe sponiaioe
Barely years after the corporate
intervention was launched (see April
5, 2002), it is bearing strange, mutant
fruit in the heartland of the Black pol-
ity. The looming dissolution of the
Congressional Black Caucus as a co-
hesive political force seems well under-
way.
? Voting with the enemy
The ten Black lawmakers who
helped the credit card companies feel
ositively giddy, T as the New York
imes put it, include the Hard Core
Four: Blue Dog Harold Ford, Jr. (TN)
and Artur Davis (AL), who, along with
Gregory Meeks (NY) carried the ank-
ruptcy banner for the Democratic
Leadership Council (DLC); Blue Dog
=i otek
u orst person (see,
March 31, 2005) Blue Dog DLCer

See Black Caucus - Page 9

|

APRS

criminatory practices in areas of
the country not covered by Sec-
tion 5 of the act. Additionally, it
is the only statutory recourse to
challenge discriminatory voting
practices that were enacted in
covered ? (Section 5) jurisdic-
tions prior to 1965. |

Section 5 is an administra-
tive or court procedure barring
practices that have the purpose
or effect of denying or abridging
the right to vote. Section 5 has
limited geographical coverage
and does not cover practices in
these ocovered ? areas that were
enacted prior to November 1,
1964.

Under Section 203 of the
act, a community of one of the
four covered language minority
groups will qualify or bilingual
voting assistance if more than,
five percent of the voting-age
citizen population in a jurisdic-
tion belong to a single-language
minority community and have
limited English proficiency. A
community also qualifies where |
more than 10,000 voting-age

ok eae

: j
if:
2 ie alia eee # ese

citizens in a jurisdiction belong ?

.
: 7
i
» ae
a 8 pes
: * 7 ee.
alelga T, { Tir.

SR ae ee Ve OOS a,

538

are |i

ots
eracy rate o ens in the

language minority group is,

higher than the national illit-
eracy rate.

Attendees at the press con-
ference made a call to defenders
of civil and human rights. oUn-
less we Want to go back to the
old days when we were not al-

lowed to vote because of our
pender, race, culture and spoken
anguage, this law must stay in-
tact, ? said Murphy.

Not only does the coalition
plan to kick off the petition
drive through the media, net-
work interviews and college
campuses, other plans have been
set. They are organizing a mas-

4 sive march and rally on August

6 in Atlanta, Ga., to commemo-
rate the 40th anniversary of the
VRA and mobilize for its exten-
sion.

The coalition plans to en-
gage students at the college level
to become more vigilant about

protecting their civil and human

unche

rights now and for the fu |
oWe were elated at the activ-
ism among college sewdénts and
other youth groups in T the 40th
anniversary commemoratin
(the) March on Selma, Ala. We
intend to develop that same

spirit among our youth to engage.
t

QQ
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| SER

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ih yetail Value: $0 Cer wa?
er | ' CaAW
VOL. XVIII NO. 5 April 15 - 30, | mz
ieee | ~ 52
AGK

oH

Q

G

em in this most vital process:

to ensure that our voring rights a
e

are protected, ? said Clay. 9
agreed. a
We have launched a nation-
wide campaign to educate the
general pu lic, policymakers.and

the media on the importance of .
the Voting Rights Act to help,
them understand its current ~-

resonance, why it is meaningful
today and why it is important

ts. o+

. . fr 6 Dd
that we preserve it in the future,

said Fernandes. .
_ °We hope to activate the

people on and off campuses. We

want to engage fraternities, so-

rorities, HBCUs, people at the

beauty salons and barbershops in
this effort, ? said Fernandes. "

This story comes special to

NNPA from the Baltimore Afro.

sey

President Johnson signed the resulting legislation into law on August 6, 1965. Section 2 of the Act, which
closely followed the language of the 15th amendment, applied a nationwide prohibition against the denial or
abridgment of the right to vote on the literacy tests on a nationwide basis. Among its other provisions, the Act
contained special enforcement provisions targeted at those areas of the country where Congress believed the
potential for discrimination to be the greatest. Under Section 5, jurisdictions covered by these special provi-
sions could not implement any change affecting voting until the Attorney General or the United States District
Court for the District of Columbia determined that the change did not have a discriminatory purpose and
would not have a discriminatory effect. In addition, the Attorney General could designate a county covered by
these special provisions for the appointment of a federal examiner to review the qualifications of persons who
wanted to register to vote. Further, in those counties where a federal examiner was serving, the Attorney Gen-
eral could request that federal observers monitor activities within the county Ts polling place.

Jim Rouse

GREENVILLE - The nonprofit Centet for Community Self- Help and its financing affiliates, Self-Help
Credit Union and Self-Help Ventures Fund, comprise ong of the nation Ts leading community development
financial institutions (CDF h In a statement recently releed to the presss, Self hepl stated that there mission :
is to create ownership and economic opportunities for minorities, women, rural residents, and low-wealth
families.

Since 1980, Self-Help has provided over $3.9 billion in financing to 43,000 small businesses. nonprofits,
and homebuyers. In many cases, their lending and advocacy efforts have benefited people and communities
both in North Carolina and nationwide. Self-Help operates from regional offices in Asheville, Charlotte,
Durham, Greensboro, Greenville, Wilmington and Washington D.C.

Self-Help Ts work is based on the belief that ownership allows people to improve their economic position.
Owning assets, such as a home, can enable a family to send a child to college, start a business, or weather a
financial crisis and that ownership provides communities with a solid foundation on which to grow and

rosper. A lack of assets limits choice-and opportunity. In addition to direct lending, Self-Help acts as a
Eiboratory for economic development "experimenting to find out what works and advocating T for change in
the public and private sectors.

oSelf -Help is the epitome of cleared-eyed, smart and innovative activism, ? remarked one official.

oOur impact has been felt across the nation. As a widely recognized model for community development
finance, we share our knowiecys and experience with fellow community development organizations, legisla
tors, government agencies, and others, ?

Recently, Self Help celebrated their move into their completely
(seen in the above photo) in uptown Greenville.

Photos

restored and renovated office building

joerg

"ceemeneiae
f :

ieee

OPEN FOR BUSINESS!|

cnes;e1|= "

4%

%

ump in black businesses, an

based initiative dollars.
Black Entertainment Television

owns an NBA
businessman

team, and Arizona
Fowler recently bid for owner-
Minnesota Vikings. Oprah

What Exactly

Kane

Lordy, y, it's worse than I
wrote the my col-
umn on Fantasias

definitions don't think of the
mama T as a compliment.

consider it a slur, as de

term for women as ho, the

and chi And no, you don't

want to know UrbanDictio

definition of chickenhead.

Cigars Not a
Makebra M. Anderson
A National Correspondent
WASHINGTON (NNPA) - With
the glamorization of cigar smoking
s
Morgan Freeman and Bill Cosby, bas-
Michael Jordan, and

t, many youth believe
Cigars are a healthier alternative to -

The American Cancer Society
ple perceive ci
as ng or civilized and
dangerous Cigarette smoking,
a singe large cigar can contain as

as an entire pack of

Youth that smoke ci
more likely to use other t
ucts.

The most common replacement

for cigarettes is cigars. Popular in the
i movie industry, some ci-
gars " Philly's, Dutch Masters, Back-
arcia Vegas ~ are blunted
is cut down the middle and
is removed) and used to

sonmn whe

segs 58 Gon

uana and other sub-
others like Black &
Mild (Blacks) are smoked as an alter.
native

make
it a trendy thing to do, ? Sherri

Black sities and corporations for some
fled big ta
inner-city areas in Chi- ¢

ee black super-
celeb i and : 3 aan e | "
star rities, and profes- cago, New York, Loe Angeles, De a nd

sionals, and increasingly Academy
Award winners. More blacks hon
crats care to ad-

Dean and the Democrats care t
mit now flirt with the GOP. T

hammer the Democrats for their

plantation T politics

The class rift between the black

According to Census figures, between
pene the number of black
: jmninjeres

doubled. By 2000, more than fifteen
percent of black households earned

professionals, technicians,

more than $50,000 annually. The t
one fifth of black families earned nearh
half of all black income. Black wealth,
like white wealth, was now concen-
trated in fewer hands.

In the 1950s, Sociologist E.

Js | harm.
Donald $.Claie,astudent at the oWe still don't know exactly the

ents only dreamed of: They
city blighted

end of the 1980's, an estima
in ten blacks was affluent
move to the suburbs. The.

of tract homes, condos an apart-
de of black busi-
ness and professionals from these
a sharp turn-

around. They defined the black
irmative action, economic parity,
professional advancement and bus-

ments made
1990s, the stampede

time,

ivil rights orgas
blac police di

ing replaced

poverty, reduc-
unemployment, securing qual-
inn education, promering sa help

d gaining h lo
eftene as the goal of all Aftcan-

-

tion. The path to univer.

age ee Se vn ona ore wre et

nated one [ieee
ion

eet
fay 2

low-end in management positions.
A sharp economic downturn could

is dum Sent Ear of them back , oe
hoods they worked ong and hard vo Eat Of Hutchinson isa column
get pig | Dean ong Bush got it _nist/or BlackNews.com, an author and
artly right. It Ts the worst of times political analyst. He is the author of
Pe many in black America, and the forthcoming: L ond , Aichael
Bushis policies helped make it that Jackson: The Clash of Celebrity, Sex
way for them. But it Ts also the best and Race (Author House Press, April
for many in black America, 2905). Sate OM,

ees

or- of times

"

(acer

Franklin Frazier warned that many Americans. This left theoneoutof ff ff
blacks were becoming what he scorn- four blacks that chronically wallow
fully branded a black bourgeoisie the below the poverty line in even |}
controlled the wealth and power greater dire straits. Lacking educa-
within the black community and that _ tion, competitive skills and trainir
had turned their backs on their own the black have-nots were further
aple. Many members of Frazier Ts hurtled to the outer fringes of soci-
black isi had begun toapethe ety.
values, standards and ideal of the white Economic Downturns will dump
middle class, and to distance them- some black middle back into
selves from the black crumbling neighborhoods aa Jy ~~
In the 1960's, federal entitle- Even though black profession- r¢ a A ae tT
ment p » civil rights legisla- als, politicians, and celebrities may Be) Gr ie. _ ees i le
tion, equal opportunity statutes and be light years apart from poor blacks ' =
e 4 _ 99 _ J ) . radation more then?
tly is a It Depends on How You Define Yourself o2:
| | ea ry or th suuara winning col-
a song extolling the ry of being one ther isn Tt of the miscreant horde thought unbecoming. any si e mothers living today. It Ts to umnist for ¢ Baltimore Sun. In 1997
is a some singer ee must-do describe above you're a single rene was a couple of months show ne shift in values that has oc- he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize
list. mo . pregnant. curred in black America. Are we bet- for his reporting on slavery in the Sudan.
It sounds suspiciously like the And if you did havea child by one The purpose of this anecdote is ter for that shift, or worse? That. work won him the 1997 Overseas
guys who gave us the term obaby of these characters, you are indeed a not to pass judgment on Colvin or Did we aid and abet our own deg- Press Club
mama ? are the same ones running obaby mama. ? | meen AA hee /
around with their pants down over tall about how we define ourselves, THE COOPER COLUMN Vay |
their butts. They're the ones who el- Lately in black America, we've been do- a | 1 0 y * aX
evated the ogangsta, pimp ? and ing a poor job of it. After going through meee eiscpneeee
_ othug ? to near-hero status in black the pain and angst about what to | Keith W. Cooper like taxes as much as anyone in here, grown hog.
America. They're the ones running " erly call ourselves - " I've been colored, REENVILLE - Oftentimes, but I feel, when you made me com- I laughed at Bob Ramey T state-
around using bad English and engag- Negro, black and African-American in a Democrats and Republicans are criti- missioner. .1 believe this sales tax is ment, oI'm against taxes, but a sales
ing in worse conduct, : singe lfcime " we now want to de- sii cized necessary to support the schools of Pitt tax is fairest 0 any. ? Why would any-
These are guys cut from the same ourselves as pimps. | when County. . one oppose what he sees as fair? This
Cloth as the obror ? who broke into and baby mamas. Phe arent Creede ; they de- If Garris detests taxes so much, is a ludicrous assertions ses.
Rosa Parks T Detroit home. When our come from the best us. These are | f SVviate how could he philosophically sup- Finally, Pitt County Republican
civil rights heroine and legend terms that come from black America T f ro m__ porta one percent sales tax increase Party Chairman Javier Castillo said
the obrother ? if he knew.who sewer. Some of us reject them. Some of their re- in violation of his party's principles that he would support the tax if oyou
she was, he answered that he didn't us embrace them. spective against tax increases? look and can Tt find the cuts that are
know, and he didn Tt care. The fact that so many of us em- party's Livingston continued, oCoulson needed through regular budgetary
These are the guys of the same ilk brace them shows the cultural shift that ideologi- and Garris took turns explaining wh process. ? This gobbled ook is vague
2 theones who fircbombed thehoue has occured among back Aon Geos they and other commissioners think and overlooks the need for rape
of Edna McAbier, a Baltimore black You wouldn't have heard black radio tions on a sales tax is the ap ropriate funding _ sible planning in preparation for ur-
woman who demanded they stop deal- stations laying a song like oBaby core po- mechanism, and education construc. gent Sire needs,
ing in her neighbo ¢ Mama ? g years ago. Black folks litical is- tion is so urgently needed. ? When Countless citizens are already
woman in her mind wouldn't have tolerated it. sues. So, did these Republicans learn that edu- overburdened with taxes, We need
would call herself by a term thought In fact, it was almost 50 : wh y cation construction is important? tax relief, not tax increases. Wake up
of by these cretins? . , Years ago that.a black female would a This realization should have been folks and smell the hot chocolate. Say
There are, indeed, obaby mamas ? ig give up her seat to a white person group of local Republicans run away aa of effective planning strategies ono ? to a tax increase.
out there. Some of the women who on a bus in Montgomery, Ala. No, it | m . ong before now. Keith W. Cooper. .
reacted to my Fantasia column de- wasn't Parks. Her act of defiance didn't The Daily Reflector Ts Ginger When commissioners and Jn Previous issue (Minority Voice
scribed themselves as such. They're come until December of that year. vingston's recent piece, oPitt Repub- school board members lack a vision XVIILIII), I erroneously referred to
mistaken. 7 It was a 15-year-old girl named ___licans express concern about proposed as to how to accommodate arapidly Keith W. Cooper the writer of the
If you're divorced and have chil- Claudette Colvin. But the NAACP tax increase, ? bespeaks h isy drip- growing student population, many article oCITYON EDGE ? found on|.
N, youre a divorced mother. If didn't think it was wise to make her | ping (like chicken grease) thelips are apt to embrace tax hikes. Instea » the front page as Ralph Cooper, who
youre a widow and have children, the symbol of the fight to te | ofsome icans. Forexample, Pitt they should explore innovative ap- is the Sports Editor for Masia/Talh
youre a wi mother. If you're buses. When police arrested her, | County commissioner Jimmy Garris _ proaches to boost revenue andsimul- Radio KCOHAM in Houston, TX.
single and have children, but the fa- Colvin used language black onlook- , was quoted as saying, oI probably dis- taneously trim the fat from an over. I apologize for the error --- Editor
® :
Safe Alte rnative To Ci tt es than women and among Blacks com- of marketing taking place that is tar-
gare to other races, nonetheless, use geting our young people, but there -
Howard University School of Medi--_impactofallthese combinations offa- smoke, the smell doesn iam are high school males were useage dlin We have not touched
: SSA : . a T . T upon with res igars, ? :
cine, doesn't chink that Hip-Hop isthe vors, You already have the chemicals clothes, they last longer and they are still almost three times more likely plained oWith ciparctese we work
main nore of cigar use. that actually go into the product itself more natural than cigarettes, ? she said. than females to smoke cigars. very hard in terms of placement to
t's obvious for those that listen and you add all flavors " Both Lewis and Thomas are Among males, 16.9 percent reported make sure the product is sold behind
to and live hip-hop that images of we've yet to see what the impact could wrong. using cigars, compared to 6.2 Pet- the counter or above the register, but
a and dears are prominent, but be on Neer health, ? she said. bos sing cigars can be more hazard- cent of San Among African- that Ts not the same rule as i
many undentand is most The American Cancer Se encans, 12 percent reported ci- many of the converi ni
people make choices independent of studied flavored Cigarettes and has hey are just as, if not more ad- gar use, 11.8 among Whites, 10.8 Black community that Ts the ne
what they see on television and hear found that like » they are also dictive cigarettes because of the percent among Hispanics and 5.4 thing you see. You can Tt tell the dif.
in songs," he explains, oThe sad part otentially more us than tra large amount of tobacco used in each percent among Asians, ference between sour apple Philly
about tobacco is that regardless of why ditional ____ one, Cigar smoking increases the risk __ Some attribute the po ularity of blunts and sour apple Jolly Ranch-
you started smoking, once you take oBidis are ee im- of death from several cancers such as cigars to the tobacco industries at- ers because they're all on the same
that first hit, you are more likely than arn topo rae Popu- lung, lip, tongue, mouth, throat, tempt to glamorize the product. row. ?
Not Lay Redhneaai addicted. Even has grown in recent years in part copa and ccording to Donna Vallone,
if people c aware of the risk as- because cy come in a variety of Inhaling cigar smoke can be assistant vice president of research at
sociated with donee mr hd ; candy the flavors such as strawberry, linked to pancreas and cancer erican Foundation, an The
have already an addiction and grape, they are usually less well, reports the American Cancer Organization designed to give young Minority Voice
that is not easy to overcome. _ @xpensive than regular cigarettes, and iety. people the knowledge and tools to Newspaper
According to the Centers for Dis- they often give the smoker an imme- Last year, the American reject tobacco, anti-tobacco advo- is Published b
case Control and Prevention (CDC), diate buzz, according to the Ameri- Foundation awarded a $4.5 mi ny cates have a reason for not focusing The Minority Voi y
45,000 Blacks die each year from can Cancer Society, oEven though three-year grant to a coalition of six on cigar use, Jim ce, inc.
; ing - Moreover, Bidis contain less tobacco than regu- national Aican-American Organiza- It's a relatively small percent- Publisher/Founde
1.6 Blacks under the age of 18 lar cigarettes. . they have higher levels tions ~ the National Pub- age of kids using cigars relative to Gaius O Sim Sr
will become regular smokers and about of nicotine and other harmful sub- lishers Association Foundation, the cigarettes and the prevalence of ci- Operations M anerEch
one-third of those "500,000 "will stances such as tar and carbon mon- AACR. the National Urban League, use among use is significantly pe Hon /Editor
die prematurely from a tobacco-related oxide, They are also unfiltered. Bidis ional Black Caucus Foun- lower than cigarettes and the preva- 405 Evans St.
disease such as cancer, heart disease and to have all of the same health dation, the National Conference of lence of cigar use had remained par- PO
pulmonary disorders tbs of epularcpaetes fn rent | meni .0. Box 8361
disorc ar cigarettes, not more. ? Black and the National Asso- tic arly stable between 2002 and Greenville, NC 27835
be phia/ in size. Small cigars pay igat smokers lack specific ciation Neighborhoods " to help 2004, ? she said. oThe lack of anti- Phone: 252 757-0365
are cigarillos. These are most knowledge about the health risks as- curb tobacco use among African- cigar campaigns is related to the Fax: (aes Loree
among young people because sociated with use and think they Americans, tevalence trends. So many more : EMA.
are inexpensive and come ina are less because of their low The American Founda- kids are smoking cigarettes, which
of flavors including strawberry, Cost, sweet flavors and nice aroma. tion rt, o1 eel : The is why the prevention campaigns tar- rmvolcenewepeper @aokcom
. pare, om apple and watermelon. o oIdontt consider cigars to be more Use of Other T Products, shows get cigarettes, ? The Mi Volce is
of my friends smoke Blacks Ce cee an cepretes, 1 scrualy that more than 36 percent of high igarettes smoking accounts for Owned & Oneneana by
Sealant Gnddcataeley uate coe eer faerie dears
wiewis, & : in young people, but neglecting the use
University student. oUnlike cigarettes, them that cigarettes have like fat poi- In 2000, 22 percent of males of other tobacco ucts ie cane woow the teenies NC
Blacks come in different flavors and son. Cigars are just tobacco, ? Lewis smoked Cigars compared to 7.3 per- and creating a glamorous aura Wm. Clark: Gen. Mgr. and
dont leave the nasty aftertaste that ciga- said, 7 cent of females between 14 and 18, around such a roduct is dan- WTOW Radio, Washington, NC
rettes do. Lisa Thomas, an Alexandria, Va. Among Blacks, 15.3 percent reported gerous, says Watson-fiyde, a |
Watson-Hyde ig concerned that Resident, smokes a pack of Black & asing » 15.1 percent among oIf we think we've won the battle Our Subscription Rates
the added flavor may mean added Me Whites, (Percent aot Hapa we have not and there are a couple Are A Modest $40/year or
are much better than ciga- ics and 7.4 Percent among ways that show we haven't. One, $20/Half Year
rettes, They don't produce as much Cigar use is higher among men is still a tremendous amount

BET To End Nj

_ by Hazel Trice Edney | ;
. NNPA Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON (NNPA) - Black
Entertainment liom has axed its
only remaining public affairs rogram,
BET Nechtly
?_ News, landi

a

o"

another blow
to the nation Ts
Black news

oPeople
had been
hopeful that
mm ?,?6there would
* be some shred
of informa-
tion relevant to the Black community
left on BET, ? says Ron Daniels, execu-
tive director of the New York-based

Bob Johnson, CEO.
Founder & Former QwnerBET

Center for Constitutional Rights. oBut
clearly there is more of an emphasis
on entertainment than education. This
is a tragic loss and not a very hopeful

sign.
BET President and Chief Oper-
ating Officer Debra. Lee announced
the programming change last week,
saying the network will revert to ho
news updates throughout the day in-
stead of one set program in the
evening, ° his och
oStrategically, this new appro
strengthens our news produce by re-
sponding directly to the changing
needs and preferences of BET view-
ers, ? says Lee in a press statement.
oWhen combined with plans to ex-

Sco

Until recently, I had never heard
of the latest disease now ravagin
Angola in West Africa, ca led

oMarburg. ?

Something hike
the T dreaded
Ebola virus or
~ HIV/AIDS, it

through the
transmission of
body fluids and
has killed 235
people in that
country. That

Walter
his why international health officials

have raced into Angola to attempt
to cut it off from spreading, since

the virus builds and builds in the
body even after killing the person.
It has been called a virtual otime-
bomb. ? .

The more you hear about these
disease that appear to have the ca-
pacity to wipe out large sectors of

the African population, it seems that

they all have one basic root - they
breed in areas where there is little
modern education and where gut-
wrenching poverty is the way of life.
Yet, it does not appear that reducing
global poverty has the same urgency
in this country as making war.

For example, it was recently re-
ported that the world Ts riches na-
tions, the G-8, failed to reach an
agreement on how to erase $40 bil-

The Al

by Bill Fletcher Jr.

As fuel prices rise at the pump,
quite predictably the news media has
begun to ask questions about why
this is taking place and what, if any-
thing, can be done about it. There
are some hard truths that we have to
face, and some of this has a direct
impact on the foreign policy pursued
by this country.

Most objective observers of the
oil industry will admit that we are
fast approaching the point where the
amount of oil in the ground will be-
gin to decline until it ultimately van-
ishes. In other words, oil was never
limitless, though we in the U.S.A.
especially acted, and were trained to
act, as if it were. So, by the mid-21st
century there will likely be a severe
oil crunch.

What is obscene about this situ-
ation is that experts have known this
fact "regarding the inevitable disap-

rance of oil "for years, yet the oil
industry and their political allies have
largely hidden or dismissed such no-
tions as alarmist. Well, the alarm is
now beginning to ring.

The second fact is that growin
numbers of countries are demand-
ing oil for their own internal
needs. This may sound self-evident,
but the U.S. government often acts
as if oil is being extracted for the

and informa- -
tion sources.

of

spreads T

programming | t's . exible, ac-
cessible and timely. There are other
news coverage options at our disposal
which we're also considering, includ-
ing the possibility of a weekend news
nagazine or is show. ? |

BET Founder and CEO Robert
L. Johnson, who has undergone much
criticism after the cutting of other
news-oriented programming, was
quick to explain the new program for-
mat.

oNews and Public Affaits have al-.

ways been historically important parts

? oAmerica as it should have, but they did
"the best that they could do. It was never

given the resources to be able to gar-

of the BET lineup, and have earned .
numerous awards over the years. But

its now time to enhance our delivery

of that product in a way that Ts more

engaging, ? he said in a statement. oBy
no means is this a lessening of our news
commitment, but i an improve- :
ment of our overall news offering. ?

_ What BET officials are calling a

onew approach ? is actually an old one
that BET

used in the 1990,
BET viewers see the new format,
set to start this summer, as a contin-

__ ued dismantling of substantive pro-
. grams for
__ with the cutting of oLead Story, ? oBET
_ Tonight ? and oTeen Summit, ? all in

Black viewers that started

late 2002. BET Nightly News was the
last major news source to leave the sta-
tion since BET was purchased by
Viacom, one of the largest global me-
dia empires, in 2000.

However, Johnson and Lee have
repeatedly stat t program deci-
sions have been made by them, not
Viacom.

oI wasnt surprised, ? says Ed Gor-
don, former host of BET Ts oLead
Story ? and now host of oNews and
Notes with Ed Gordon, ? aired each
weekday on National Public Radio. oI
think that the-news show had been
diluted over the years and the show that
they produce now, while all of the
people were very hard-working and
well intentioned x utting out a Tgood
show, I don Tt think that they were given
the wherewithal to do the kind of news
show that really was servicing Black

lion of so-called odebt ? from the
world Ts poorest nations. I say so-
called because the very idea of there
being an African debt to the United
States or Europe is a laughable
proposition: Black people sitting in

America have not been paid for the
" hundreds of year of slavery they en-

dured, and African countries have
not been reimbursed for the theft of
natural and, human resources that
European took from that Continent.
In any case, while Britain has
proposed doubling economic assis-
tance to Africa and has begun to pay
off 10% of the debt of 22 of the
rest countries, the United States
as put forth a very-different plan
opposed by the European countries
and the World Bank. The U.S. pro-
posed reducing the debt, while at the
same time reducing the money avail-
able for low interest loans to poor
countries. In other words, it doesn Tt
want to come out a net loser in the
deal, so it pays for reducing the debt
of poor countries with the money it
contributes for the development.
The Bush administration just
doesn T get it. It is difficult to make
real progress with respect to a num-
ber of social problems unless you are
able to deal effectively with poverty.
In this country, for example, we ex-
pect excellent educational perfor-
mance in areas that are racked by

poverty, really expecting the school
.

benefit of the U.S. "and perhaps
Western Europe "alone, As coun-
tries such as China, India and South
Africa expand their economies, there
is the unfortunate reliance on fossil
fuels, oil especially. Thus, in a period
where oil will be thinning out, there
will be greater numbers of competi-
tors seeking the oil.

The third fact is that oil-pro-
ducing nations want greater con-
trol over who gets their oil and at
what prices. One can see this play-
ing out right now in the hostility
ofthe Bush administration toward
Venezuela. The government of
Venezuelan President Hugo
Chavez has asserted that as a sov-
ereign country they have the right
to sell oil to whom they wish in or-
der to benefit the long-term
growth of Venezuela. Is this outra-
geous? Apparently the Bush ad-
ministration thinks so, and regu-
larly takes the opportunity to
threaten or taunt the Venezuelan

overnment, Venezuela, however,
is not by itself in wanting to use
oil to help to advance their specific
national objectives.

Recently former United Nations
weapons inspector Hans Blix noted
that he now believed that the U.S.
invasion of Iraq had a great deal to
do with oil. He said that he had not

Loe

BET News Anchor

her stories from across the country.

- Our fight was always to try to get more

money and the news was a very costly
venture. ? |

Despite the planned periodic up-

tes, whenever a major news program
is lost, it leaves a void, Gordon says.

oIt was an important vehicle;
much like Jet Magazine. There are sto-
ries that if you don't pick i
you dont tune into BET Nightly News
that you just wouldn't see anywhere
else. And I'm not sure you're going to
see that vehicle again for a while.

The answer is to push for more
Black ~owned and controlled media,
says Gordon.

oBlack America has to be realistic
about where we are and stop being sat-
isfied with one, ? he says. oWe were
satisfied that BET Nightly News was
there, yet we werent demanding more
of a Black perspective from anywhere
else. So, what happens is when that one
goes away, then you're left with noth-
ing

Donna Brazile, a political strate-
gist and regular commentator on

CNN, says the news aspect of BET is

"important, but sees the cut as an op-
portunity for other Black community

- a community institution - to per-
form in ways different from the en-
vironment in which it exists. While
some schools do, they are the excep-
tion. The same thought exists with
respect to HEV/AIDS,

roblem of homosexual males that

as became hetefosexually transmit-
ted in the context of poor, drug in-
fested communities.

So far, there has been a great
deal of game-playing in the field of
poverty elimination with the World
Bank and International Monetary
Fund, demanding that poor coun-
tries arrange their economies to
qualify for the latest program that
promises to impact on their eco-
nomic condition. For most coun-
tries, if they could qualify for for-
eign assistance according to the rules
laid down by the World Bank - have
otransparency ? and good manage-
ment in government, have effective
monetary arrangements and legisla-
tion to utilize foreign assistance,
have trained money managers, and
etc. " they would probably not need
it.

In his most recent book, The
End of Poverty, Professor Jeffrey
Sachs of Columbia has written that
essentially poor people need direct
financial investment in their societ-
ies to build economic infrastructure,
to pay for urgent health issues, to
construct universal education, to

originally believed this to be the case,
but he was now convinced. Join the
club, Hans. It seems fairly evident
that oil was at least a piece of the
equation.

Yet Iraq is not the only site for
U.S. interest in oil. As mentioned
in earlier columns, greater Bush
administration attention has gone
to African oil producers, particu-
larly in the Gulf of Guinea (such
as Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, and
Equatorial Guinea), Angola and
southern Sudan. This interest has
taken various forms. In the Sudan,
the Bush administration played a
relatively constructive role (I know;
don't fall out of your chair) in ne-
gotiating the peace settlement be-
tween the Khartoum government
and the Sudanese People Ts Libera-
tion Movement/Army; in West
Africa the Bush administration is
seriously contemplating the rede-
ployment of US troops for pur-

oses of security; T in the case of

ibya, with the repudiation of
nuclear weapons by President
Qaddafi, the Bush administration is
treating the Libyans as long-lost
cousins; and, in almost all cases, an
oil producing country is immune
from Bush administration criticism
for any action so long as that coun-
try is prepared to play a subordinate

Poverty

new sources to be marketed and used.

oIt Ts a sad commentary to see

BET's Nightly News Show bite the

dust. I hope they find time in: their
entertainment line-up to inform their
audience of what's ning in the
news ... It's a major loss for those of
us who view BET as speaking with an
authentic voice, ? Brazile says.

A subsidiary of Viacom, Inc. BET
markets itself as othe nation Ts leading
television network providing quality
entertainment, music, news and pub-
lic affairs programming for the Afri-
can-American audience.

It reaches more than 80 million
households according to Nielsen me-
dia research. However, some have also
viewed the reduction of the news and
public service content as more of an
emphasis on its musical entertainment,
which often features near public nu-

dity, programming pitched to youth.
fr seems that e drive, which is
an understandable drive, to be profit-
able, supercedes the need for informa-
tion, ? Daniels says. oThis is a part of
the larger problem of the
conglomeraterization of media and the
homogenization of media, ? he says.
oYou have such huge monopolies that
it Ts hard for Black people to break into
television, period. There are big inter-
ests that control the electronic media. ?

i S&S

perfect their governmental systems
and the like. Then, he says, they will
be able to more successfully deal with
their own poverty by their connec-
tion to the international economic
system.

We know that he is right be-
cause it has taken 50 years to cut the
official Black poverty rate in half in
the Black community in America
and we live in the most economically
dynamic society in the world. What

I wonder is how many Black people T

have to die while the leading coun-
tries in the world and the major in-
ternational institutions come to
terms with how to really deal with
poverty. And while many of them
may be misguided, there exists in the
United States a real resentment about
dealing with such problems right
now, even a feeling that the poor
have made these problems them-
selves so they have to fix them.
Poverty is a drain on the ability
_ of countties in the global system to
construct odemocracy, ? to stop fight-
ing and killing each other, in short,
to stop calling on the resources in
states and institutions to deal with
the results of poverty. Why does this
strategy make sense? |

Dr. Ron Walters is the Distin-
guished Leadership Scholar, Director of
the African American Leadership In-
stitute and Professor of Government
and Politics at the University of Mary-
land College Park. His latest book is:
White Nationalism, Black Interests, by
Wayne State University Press.

Cost of Gasoline

role to the U.S.A. In effect, this
means that should governments
come to power in oil producing Af-
rica that are consistently in favor
of self-determined political and
economic development and may
choose to disagree with the Bus
administration over matters of for-
eign policy or the manner in which
the Bush administration and their
oil allies deal with their respective
countries, those countries face the

rospect of increased tensions, per-
paps up to and including the
dreaded regime change.

This is all to say that the oil crisis
is chronic and it is about much more
than the cost at our fuel pumps. It
could very well be about the contexts
of major conflicts as we get deeper into
the 21st century and deeper into the
void left by disappearing oil.

Bill Fletcher Jr. is president of
TransAfrica Forum, a Washington,
D.C.-based non-profit educational
and organizing center formed to
raise awareness in the United States
about issues facing the nations and

ples of Africa, the Caribbean and
Path America. He also js co-chair
of the anti-war coalition, United for

Peace and Justice
Awww.unitedforpeace.org).
He can be reached at

bfletcher@transafticaforum.org.

Nazi Arms

By Associated Press

Supplier's

B BERLIN "The billionaire grandson

of a Nazi arms supplier has paid $6.5
million into a fund for former slave
laborers after years of pressure, a move

that a senior German Jewish official

said Tuesday was long overdue.
Friedrich Christian Flick had
maintained that as an individual he
was not obligated to pay into the fund
set up by the government and indus-
try "a stance that prompted intense

criticism from Jewish groups and oth- T

ets. The $6.6 billion fund started pay-
ments in 2001.

However, the foundation that
runs the fund said last week that Flick
had made a contribution that will al-
low it oto provide extra humanitarian
payments to needy surviving slave la-

orers.

Flick had been criticized for not
putting money into a fund set up by
German companies and the govern-
ment to pay reparations to victims of
Nazi-era slave labor, instead choosing
to set up his own fund meant to fight
racism and neo-Nazism in eastern
Germany.

oThis change of heart should
have come much earlier, ? Michael
Fuerst, the head of the Jewish com-
munity in the state of Lower Saxony,

Heir F

April 15 30,2005 The Minority Voice Newspaper Page 3.

)
onl WSE
in comments

}
wl}
3

told
Netzei |
man culture of

Flick Ts grandfather, F

Flick, lost his fortune after the war T -

when he was sentenced to seven ye
in prison for crimes that i

use of slave labor in his fat

sold his shares in the

erate for $60 million after his

dfather Ts death and then buile up

Bank ofor 2.5 billion. .
he controversy over payments
was revived last year when an exhibit
of Flick Ts contemporary art collection
went on display in Berlin, leading T to
criticism that the heir was trying to.
whitewash his family name.
The Flick exhibit " including
works by Bruce Nauman and Nam June
Paik " drew crowds to the Hantiburger
Bahnhof art museum in Berlin.

Canada to Double Spending in Africa

The 2005 Federal Budget calls for an additional $3.4 billion (Sh261.8
billion) increase in Canada Ts international assistance over the next five years,
with the goal of doubling the aid from its 2003-04 level by 2008-09

year.

Canadian Finance Minister Ralph Goodale said the increase confirmed

hi ry T i elp Africa over i
S country Ts continued support to help Africa overcome the overwhelming

challenges of poverty, debt and disease.

oBy almost any measure, Africa is a continent in crisis, ? said Goodale
recently. oMore than 260,000 people die in Africa of AIDS and malaria -
the equivalent of a tsunami - every single month.

The international events in recent months remind us not only that we
are all connected, but that we also have responsibilities in this world. ?

The 2005 budget targets several Africa support programs, notably health,
debt relief, immunisation, private sector reforms, peace and security.

" Canada has so far cancelled debts to four African countries and to date,
close to $600 million has been forgiven.

Goodale said the debt relief program forms a key part of Canada Ts com-
mitment to Africa and ensuring that poor countries ofree up financial re-
sources to spend on the future of their citizens and not the debt payment of.

the past ?.

Other programs covered by the budget include $100 million to treat
three million people suffering from HIV/AIDS with antiretroviral drugs,
$105 million targeting women and young gitls affected by AIDS, $42 mil-

0

lion to eradicate polio and $160 million

immunisation.

r global alliance for vaccines and

The fight against malaria and tuberculosis will benefit from $140 mil-
Ww!

lion funding,
security initiatives.

ile $100 million will be allocated annually to peace and

°The measures announced in the budget are a further sign of Canada Ts
commitment to work with people of Africa as they build a better future. ?

U.S.Prison population soars

New York Beacon

NEW YOR CITY - 12.6% of all
black mea in their late 20s are in jails
or prisons

Growing at a rate of about 900
inmates each week between mid-2003
and mid-2004, the nation Ts prisons
and jails held 2.1 million people, or
one in every 138 U.S. residents, the
government reported Sunday.

By last June 30, there were
48,000 more inmates, or 2.3%, more
than the year before, according to the
latest figures from the Bureau of Jus-

otice Statistics.

The total inmate population has
hovered around 2 million for the past
few years, reaching 2.1 million on
June 30, 2002, and just below that
mark a year later.

While the crime rate has fallen
over the past decade, the number of
people in prison and jail is outpacin
the number of inmates released, sai
the report's co-author, Paige Harrison.
For example, the number of admis-
sions to federal prisons in 2004 ex-
ceeded releases by more than T 8,000,
the study found.

Harrison said the increase can be
attributed largely to get-tough poli-
cies enacted in the 1980s and 1990s.
Among them are mandatory drug
sentences, three-strikes-and-you're-
out ? laws for repeat offenders, and
ocruth-in-sentencing ? laws that restrict
early releases.

oAs a whole most of these poli-
cies remain in place, ? she said. These
policies were a reaction to the rise in
crime in the '80s and early 90s. ?

Added Malcolm Young, execu-
tive director of the Sentencing Project,

ich promotes alternatives to prison:
oWe're working under the burden of
and practices that have developed
over 30 years that have focused on

punishment and prison as our primary
response to crime. ?

He said many of those incarcer-
ated are not serious or violent offend-
ers, but are low-level offenders.
Young said one way to help lower the
number is to introduce drug treatment
programs that offer effective ways of
changing behavior and to provide
propriate assistance for the mentally ill.

According to the Justice Policy
Institute, which advocates a more le-
nient system of punishment, the
United States has a higher rate of in-
carceration than any other country,
followed by Britain, China, France,
Japan and Nigeria.

There were 726 inmates for ev-
ery 100,000 U.S. residents by June 30,
2004, compared with 716 a year ear-
liet, according to the report by the Jus-
tice Department agency. In 2004, one
in every 138 U.S. residents was in
prison or jail; the previous year it was
one in every 140,

In 2004, 61% of prison and jail
inmates were of racial or ethnic mi-
norities, the ent said. An es-
timated 12.6% of all black men in
their late 20s were in jails or prisons,
ie of Hispanic men and

-/% of white men in, that ,
the report aaid. In that age group
findings include:

*State prisons held about 2,500
youths ree in 2004. That com-
pares with a peak, in 1995, of about
9,300. Local jails held about 7,000
youths, down from 7,800 in 1995,

*In the year ending last June 30,
13 states reported an increase of at least
9% in the federal system, led by Min-

nesota, at about 13%; Moni
no} Adaoan at 9%, nana at
m 12 states that reported
a decline in the inmate ion
were Alabama, 7%; C i
2.59%; and Ohio, 29, *cteut

riches through investments. The.
Flick group was sold to Deutsche

Se

K HERITA

G3 BLACK CONFEDERATES

been no future for slavery after the goal of 300,000 armed black CSA vessenns one

ven Wednesday th Saturda
ae pri " "

Daates
_| |. Cornerstone

1095 Allen
Bus:

Christian 1 Boo ks tc
Road, Greenville, NC

Coe ra] pees Ne Setar ol Sg ee egy ie
# ae: iia anes fs 2 eee é PR Ly t,o Leia
800 to 2:00 pms | ee
- ~ ee 7, : v,
®

Wiliams a Saas _ p ? which started back in 1865. He writs, * uri my research, I came across home after the wat. ae . ially manned by black militiamen. They
Confederates Why havenit we heard more about them? National Park insances whesefBlack men sed thy wer you can plainly see where Fae heer bo cf ul Ran) whex ey opened be
Service historian, Ed Bearrs, stated, oI dont want to c ita conspiracy to ign the soldier T is crossed out and body serva inserted, or teamster ?.on pension applica- saw action at 1st Manassas (or ts ?, one free and one slave, participated in the battle
_Rlcof Blacks both above and below the Mason-Dixon line, bu ic was defini « tions. ? Another black historian, Roland says he is not Surprised that blacks 2. In addition two black oregiments ?, onbehlfofthe South, oMey colored pear
pete egan sound 1910" Hsorn Erwin Jordan, J, casita oame a iri sneolry Somes at ouaa welll in he aco, mid on
try ? and that by doing so they were odemon- Pu ir kas ane Black Cored: weg
sang Posibe wo have the system of la. non-commissioned officer Jatnes Washi
~_ Yeryand love ones country ? This is the very | ton Co D 35th Texas Cusliy Conia.
showed during the ican Revolution, | ate States am rha spoils at
_. where they fought for the colonies, even | Higher ting militia units, but this was on
though the British offered them freedom if | eae pacha ia
F detags hedee he Samii Loui and notin
gual has been estimaned that over 65 cd da cok die
ranks. Over 13,000 of these, osaw the el- federate privates. This was not the case
. ©phant ? as meeting the enemy in in the Union ara whee blacks did toe en
tc deen eels Cosel cv equa py. tthe Confsente Buf
: gress did not approve blacks to be officially iio backwores Sareea ein |
__ Calisted as soldiers (except as musicians), until Sule bi of whige Confess int.
late in the war. But in the ranks it was a differ- | oa demand be chat. aios ee
obey the mandates of politicians, they fc- a " ofticers ($350- $600'a yeas),
enlisted blacks with the simple crite. |" cs 4. De Lewis Steinet, Chief Inspector of
Fe . PPG marie Stonewal f lackson Ts occu-
eel yin wee fequedy = The Chand pan nda, Mayle tes
+ lice Comerhad in to immedi- ' | 5 ee Wego smust be incude in
ate threats in the for ion raids ?, [ »an African-American this number [Confederate troops]. These were dad in all kinds of uniforms, not only
Par a Southem Unease Whe a aye a AicaAnescan in cast-off or caprured United States uniforms, but in coats with Souther buttons,
soldier, you've eliminated the history of the South. ? } State buttons, etc. These were shabby, but not shabbier or seedier than those worn by
| As the wat came to an end, the Confederacy took p ive measures to build Lov bane ttn. Mos of he Negros had ams, ifs, muses saber,
_ back up its army. The creation of the Confederate States Co ored Troops, copied after bowie-knives, dirks, etc...and were manifestly an integral portion of the Southem
. the segrepted northern colored troops, came too late to be sucessful. Had the Con- Confederate Army.
federacy successful, it would have created the world T langest armies (at the time) CONTINUES ON PAGE 9
consisting of black soldiers,even larger than that of the North. This would have given ENE EeeeeETEEE
the future ofthe Confederacy a vastly different appearance than what modent day
racist or anti-Confederate liberals conjecture. Not only did Jefferson Davis envision
black Confederate veterans receivi bounty lands for their service, there would have

mm GoLF TouRN \
Saturday, May 21,

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Blac

David Scott (GA).

NSO among the Republican fel- .

low-travelers were William Jefferson
(LA), who is not a member of the
DLC or Blue Dogs, but often votes
like it, and DLCex Albert Wynn
(MD). (Wynn, along with Ford,
Bishop and Jefferson, were among the
our Eunuchs of the Caucus that
Voted to give George Bush his Iraq
ar Powers, in October, 2002.)

Caucus Losin

Florida's ug Meek, who
flirts with the Right on occasion, made
common cause with conservatives on

~ bankruptcy, as did freshman Houston

Congressman Al Green.

Emanuel Cleaver, a first term cone.

gressman and former mayor of Kan-
sas City, was one of only two mem-

bers of the Progressive Caucus " and.

the only Black - to vote for the bank-

tuptcy bill. Eighteen Aftican Ameri-

Cohesion (see front page)

can lawmakers also belong to the 50-
plus. member Progressive Congres-
sional Caucus.

Each of the Hard Core Four most
consistent Black sell- outs on Capitol
Hill " Davis (AL), Ford (TN), Bishop

(GA) and Scott (GA) " hails from
among the ten states that are hardest
hit by baalerapery But every Black law-
maker that voted for the Republican
measure has, in fact, sided with the

April 15 - 30, 2005 The Minority Voice Newspaper Page 5

predatory lenders that besiege African

American neighborhoods. According
to a study by the National Commu-
nity Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC),
about 29 percent of Aftican Americans
resort to high- cost loans when buy-
ifg or refinancing their homes " vastly
increasing their future risk of bank-
ruptcy. Map overlays provided by the
journal Southern Studies show that
concentrations of predatory lending
facilities hug closely to the contours of
Black neighborhoods in Atlanta and

Charlotte, for example.

On the most fundamental level,
the cleavage in the Black Caucus
shows the power of corporate money
to erode notions of fairness " a re-
jection of privilege " that are central
to the historical Black Political Con-
sensus.

oThe essential philosophical and
political divide over the bankruptcy
bill boils down to whether you see
filing for bartkruptcy as a right or a
privilege, ? John D.

McMickle, a former - bank-
lawyer for the Senate

errr Sl aaa
oThe. new law makes b
privilege reserved only for
can prove they cant rep .

If nothing else, African Ameri-
cans expect that their representatives
will stand against the Cite é
wealth " which, in the United St
are nearly inseparable from white
privilege. Instead, ten members of the
Cosgpensional Black Cat a
with finance capital, and against it-
ness for their constiouenig and stabil-
ity for their neighborhoods,

Co: nal

rar more chan the arma of
cople facing ban , the estate
tax i a bedrock iene th separates
those who seek social justice from the
forces that would reinforce rigid soci-
etal stratification.

Eight Black Gaucus members
joined the Walton family, owners of
Wal-Mart, in favor of projecting fam-
ily wealth and class privilege into the
far horizons. Depressingly, two addi-
tional lawmakers who share Black and
Progressive Caucus membership
voted to repeal the estate tax: .

William Lacy T Clay: (MO) and
Sheila Jackson-Lee (TX). |

They were joined by CBC mem-

bers Edolphus Towns (NY), freshman

G.K. Butterfield (NC), and four of the
lawmakers who also voted for T the
bankruptcy bill:

Jefereon (LA), Bishop (GA),
Scott (GA) and Wynn (MD) ~ last
week's grand-slam betrayers.

Oddly enough, two of the
Caucus Ts Hard Core Four -
Tennessee Ts Harold Ford, Jr; and
Alabama's Artur Davis ~ voted against
estate tax repeal, as did bankruptcy bill
supporters Gregory Meeks (NY),
Kendrick Meek FL, Al Green (TX)
and Emanuel Cleaver (MO).

However, it must be noted that
less than a decade ago, only one Cau-
cus member would have been ex-
pected to help insulate the power of
inherited wealth: Rev. Floyd Flake,
who represented a Queens, New
York district for six terms (1986-
1997). Flake stuck out like a sore
thumb as the CBC Ts most consér-
vative member. He is now a key
player in the national Right net-
work, a school privatization profi-
teer with the tite of Senior Fellow
at the Manhattan Institute. As such,
Flake is a full- time operative in the
corporate machine kn't driving
the rightward tilt among Black poli-
ticians " not to be confused with the
political leanings of the T Black elec-
torate, who remain substantial
supportive of the-historical Black
Political Consensus on issues of so-
cial justice, racial progress, the. obli-
gations of state and federal govern-
ment, and peace.

In a dizzyingly short span of
time, we have seen the Congres-
sional Black Caucus Ts near-unanim-
ity on fundamental issues held dear
by the vast majority of African
Americans, crumble. This crisis in
Black leadership is the result of a sea-
change on the Ri t which -steeped
historically in reflexive racism " only
about a decade ago finally came to
the realization that an alternative
Black Democratic leadership might
be created through the power of
money. The awful crack in the Cau-
cus is proof that the Right's strategy
is working " they are cuttin
through the CBC like butter, and
that is only the most dramatic mani-
festation of the all-out assault on the
Black Political Consensus,

It is not due to the charismatic
force of their personalities that three
of the Hard Core Four (Ford, Davis
and Scott) are second, third and
fourth, respectively, in corporate
contributions (see Techpolitics.org),
followed by Louisiana Ts William
Jefferson, supporter of the bank-
ruptcy bill, estate tax repeal, and
Bush's Iraq War Powers.

Bright lines T must be drawn de-
lineating acceptable political behav-
ior in Black America. Locating the
boundaries of such behavior is not
difficult: the Black Political Consen-
sus is based on shared history and
experience, and it is only in the last
few years that corporate America has
moved decisively to induce Black
politicians to violere the basic tenets
of the Consensus: However, it must
be recognized that we live in a brand
new Black political environment,
recently imposed by corporate
capital. There will never again be
hear-unanimity within the Con-
gressional Black Caucus on issues

undamental to a progressive
agenda, unless and until mecha-
nisms are forged that punish be-
trayal and reward the righteous.
That means, amon many other
chings, money " a certainly not
fun a from the likes of BET Ts
Bob Johnson, George Bush's Black
point man on repeal of the estate
tax and Social Security
privatization,

There is a generation's wo
work ahead. * wahed

cor ttlichen Glen Ford and Pe.
ter Gamble are worki on a book to
be tiled, Barack Obama and the cs
sis of Black Lead, » In future is.
sues, they will explore Black progres.

sive empowerment strategies

Page 6 The Minosiey Voice Newspaper Apc 15 - 90,2003

Community

« a

Teena

ers: Whatever Hap-
pened To

ating

The Internet has profoundly
changed American courtship ritu-
als, remarked one writer. When |

seam Pres ons 6

Voices

until you got past her father,
16th-grade heartthrob's ofearse
Dad vetted her phone calls, grilled
me thoroughly whenever I stopped
by, and otherwise omade clear how
upset he'd be if I disappointed
him. ? Today, thanks to the com-
bined miracles of e-mail, cell
phones, and instant: messaging,
adolescents have oat last succeeded
in shielding their social lives from
their parents T prying eyes. An
ceenage boy looking i hookup?
with a girl "or girl looking to
ohook up ? with nie "can easily
ooutflank ? both of their families,
and covertly arrange a meeting to
get down to the business at hand.
It's true " dating is dead.
From coast to coast, kids as young
as 13 are now hooking up for a
night of kissing, fondling, and
other sexual encounters. These
hoot-ups may stem from chance
meetings in online chat rooms or
from friends hanging out in
groups. The only common thread
is an utter lack of personal attach-

was a teen, you couldn't date a gi
y

a

OAKLAND,
(BlackNews.com) - All across
America, the summer months are
a perfect time to reconnect with
your family. A family reunion of-
fers families a chance to celebrate
the past and create a future to-
gether. However, the thought of
actually planning the event often
deters people from what seems like
an overwhelming task. That's why
Deanna Roberts, Founder and
CEO of D.R. Roberts Events Man-
agement Inc. developed five simple
steps to organize a successful fam-
ily reunion.

oFamily reunions are for all gen-
erations. Getting the younger and
older generations involved in fam-
ily activities will ensure a success-
ful and memorable reunion, ? com-
ments Roberts.

Roberts Offers Five Steps to Or-
ganize a Successful Family Reunion

1. In order to make educated
decisions, gather as much informa-
tion up front. To begin, contact the
host city Convention & Visitors
Bureau or hire an event planner,
comments Roberts. They will as-
sist you with all of the local hotels,
dining facilities, caterers entertain-
ment, parks for family outings, at-
tractions etc.

2. Form a reunion committee
within your family, ideally with a
representative from each genera-
tion present. Designate one person
as the chair of the committee then

ATTENTION

BUSINESSES, ADVERTISERS

Encouraging all generati
'Participate is important for a successful reunion.

ons from your family to |

|

CA Create a theme for the reunion. The

chair will work with the event

lanner (or alone), to meet with
ocal venues and businesses. oThe
committee should schedule activi-
ties for children as well as adults, ?
says Roberts.

3. Determining your budget is
crucial. Consider contacting a lo-
cal sponsor to help subsidize a por-
tion of your event. Budget permit-
ting,, hire an event planner. Plan-
nets have numerous resources and
are able to negotiate with local
businesses. They can help you with

He saith to him again the second time,
Mewoo, won off Joins, lovest thou me? He
saith wave hia, Yea, Lords how keowens
that (lowethes. He salth wnte hie,

ment. One 16-year-old says, oBe-
ing in a real ielationship just com-
plicates everything. ? A high school
senior says, oI have my friends fur
my emotional needs, so I don Tt
need that from the guy I Tm bein

intimate with. ? In this imperson

atmosphere, young people are

learning to view each other as in-_-
terchangeable sex objects. How can

they ever be developmentally ready
for real-life relationships?

oIt's not quite that dire, one
commentator remarked. Young
people may claim to be beyond ro-
mance, but for all of their postur-
ing, many of today Ts aes

are less sexually jaded than you. r
might think. In a 1991 survey, the

federal Centers for Disease Control

found that 54 percent of high "

school students were sexually ac-
tive. Last year, the figure dropped
to 47 percent. Some analysts say
we're witnessing a backlash to the
sexplosion of popular culture. ? I Tm
so used to it, it makes me sick, ? one
16-year-old said of the sexualized
messages. I Tm way over it. In in-
terviews, many teens said that
while they and their friends liked
to brag about their sexual exploits,
most of it was just talk. Some
things, it seems, never changeo

From: Talking Points

, contract negotiations, deadlines,

timelines, invitations and reports
on your progress, alleviating your-
self of a lot of stress and time.

4. Communication is key! Use

_ regular mail and the internet to
~ spread the word. Ask a younger

amily member to create a website

keeping your family informed of
the weekend itinerary. oSend out a
reunion newsletter for those fam-
ily members without internet ac:
cess, ? suggests Roberts. oEncour-
age the entire family to help pro-
mote the event to each other!

5. Honor the elders. Create -

roclamations or plaques to the
ongest surviving family members.
Create a family tree and encourage

family members to complete it. "

Make a tradition of hold regular
family reunions. oThe benefits of

a close knot family will outweigh

all the preparation needed, ? states
Roberts.
About.Deanna Roberts:
Roberts brings over 10 years of
experience as a professional event
planner. Currently she runs D.R.
Roberts Event Management Inc.
and works with a wide variety of
clients from the Oakland, Raiders,
100 Black Men of the Bay Area,
Alameda Alliance for Health, Allan
Houston Celebrity Golf Tourna-
ment, National Association of
NBA Wives, Black Sports Agents
Association, Bring in the Noise,
oBring in the Funk ? Broadway Per-
formance, Budweiser, City of Oak-
land, Gatorade and the Literacy
Classic Football Game.
www.RobertsEvents.com

CHURCH
Bittsxe

rORY

a 0

* Al

Joba 2p)

i af
a BP lai
VIE H.
m4 pete

ner midsiry ? UYon 45

UY

ink Members Front Row (L-R): B da E Myers, 2 Sylvia Myers,
Ruby Bethel Sedeed how (LW Chea Hines, Lillie Powell, Shiriey Woodard, Jessie Jones, Ruthie Strayhom,
Doris Cummings PHOTO: Jim Rouse

The Links, Inc. Sponsors Youth Diabetes Workshop

*

se, Diane Myers, Marian Fareace; Sosle Gavis,

WILSON - The Wilson-Rocky
Mount-Tarboro Chapter of The
Links, Incorporated sponsored a Dia-
betes Education Project recently. A
workshop was held in the Corner-
stone Baptist Church Family Life
Center for participants in the Cor-
nerstone Save our
ters program; Alpha Kappa Alpha
Sorority 2004 Fashionetta contes-
tants; and participants in The Delta
Academy ram. Approximately
thirty students from clemen
ior high and high school attended the
workshop. Lydia Best, a Diabetes

ns, Save our Sis-

£) jun-

Needles in the Pines during the sum-
mer. This 6-day overnight camp will
be held at Camp Bonner for children
with diabetes. The chapter members
will also participate in the Juvenile
Diabetes Research Foundation
(JDRF) oWalk to Cure Diabetes ?
Walk-a-Thon which is:scheduled for
the fall. The Wilson-Rocky Mount-
Tarboro Chapter of The Links, Inc.,
includes Greenville Area members:
Helen P. Harrell, Project Chairper-
son, Ruby Bethel, Jennifer
Congleton, Gloria Hines, Edith
Leathers and Lillie Powell.

Care Specialist, was the presenter.
Mrs. Best addressed the group on the
importance of exercise, nutrition and .
maintaining appropriate body
weight. She shared information
about diabetes in youth and offered
tips on preventing and controlling
diabetes. Mrs. Best challenged the
audience to share information and
handouts with family and friends.
The W-R-FChapter has planned
several projects to address the impact
of diabetes and obesity on African-
American youth. The chapter will
sponsor three students to the Camp

Co

African American

Family Day
The 7th Annual African Ameri-
can Family Day Celebration Satur-

day, July 9th 2 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Warren Street Park located on
Walnut Street in Wilson between
Bruton & Daniel Streets

For more information, to vol-
unteer, and get Vendor, Exhibitor,
and Talent Registration Forms, con-
tact Darryl Smith, Chair, African

American Family Day Planning
Committee at 252-246-0002

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Segregation Persists In Housing,
Study Says ;

WASHINGTON - Racial segregation and discrimination in housing re-
main persistent problems in the United States, according to the National
Fair Housing Alliance, an advocacy group. The alliance said yesterday that
minority homeowners continue to be steered to minority-dominated neigh-
borhoods where real estate does not appreciate as quickly as in majority
white neighborhoods. .
Housing discrimination complaints to state, federal and nonprofit agen-
cies rose 8.6 percent in the past year, climbing to 27,319 in 2004 from
25,148 in 2003, according to the group .
By Kirstin Downey
Washington Post

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S | MUTONINANC.com

, _ a ? sits-s 2 The Minority Voice Newspaper

P select able men, competent men, pos- African ns Find World Of Nn Figs

oi sessing good judgment and sanyo MIVLIVALD AE
s qualities and mén who feared Ged, areas) Fae ie
i lactis _ " , fecognizing their accountability to (NAP. SM) "A number of African. 2
have Lag control of our Him in d ing with the Israelites, Americans raid hers hes het me
venmé People. 100 many of our .- What steps can a church take to ore out or their jobs ths y
Most cherished possessions ate Today, in many households, overcome the lack of leadership? Here check "they've gained invaluable and |
wandering aimlessly through life, it is nuclear who is in charge. It are some suggestions: : exciting experience aswell; =
) 1 little. thought about tomor- seems in some cases that the chil- 1. The congregation should seek _ For instance, Raymond Max-
cs Se dren are raising the parents out able people from theif midst to- well is an African American who g
a Our nation prides itselfon be- rather than the parents raising day we should consider an able person, Up in Greensboro, North ae
one of | strongest, if not the the children. It seems in some One who is intelligent, reasonably well Since leaving home, he has lived in
nges and MOSt progressive na- cases that the children are rais- educated, and who possesses those Guinea-Bissau, London, An ola, oo)
lions on the face of the earth. But ing the parents rather than the qualities of personality that cause oth- Ghana and Washington, D.C. Max-
| how can we be when our children parents raising the children. "_ ers to recognize him as a leader. Well traveled ne Ut of his job a aape-
are bloodying our streets and ere are we going asa = 2. The people need to be chal- ialist with the United States For gn
sia tering innocent? How can people? How important are our. lenged. It is easy for members in a Service. oY
we be when we are more preoccu- children to us? Raising our chil- church to get into a rut with the same __My mother wanted me,to bea _
a pied with making a living than must become a top prior- People doing the same things in the lawyer and my fa wanted me to be 7"
"With making a life? How can we be _ity in out lives, Cultivating their same old way. a Methodist minister, ? says Maxwell "
_ when we think that our solution is minds, strengthening their bod- 3. The people must be trained. but after serving as a naval officer on a
uilding bigger and more secure ) ile deseoyer

in our, talk as well as in our

oe ies, and elevating their spirits Many would be willing to serve if they guided missile ; for four years, | Mts
ae _ : jails a ock up our eau This is. ought to be npperinoec on our renew ial to do. ik congregation nes the Foreign Service became an At age 36, Maxwell joined
- ? Mrs. Beatric merely a cover-up of our failure as nda. a Ought to have regular educational pro- obvious choice. oGesrclsees cals,
Beatrice Maye . adults to deal with the difficulties ee We must teach our young grams that not only teach the Bible but Maxwell first encountered the Foreign Service; since
Our Youth: Our | of raising children in this violent people to: Take time to work - it also prepare its members to be teach- Foreign Service working with the has served around the world oo
R ibilj . climate. . is the price of success Take time ers, youth leaders, deacons, elders, and American Consulate in Marseilles, ee eet
?,?sponsib1 ity Whenever youn people get to think - it is the source of others es of leaders needed by ev- France to bail some of his ship-mates ~ able to the fact that I pee
An elderly woman said, oFor caught up in drug addiction, sexual power Take time to pray - it is ery church, out of jail for disorderly conduct. He no longer in t mil-itary and I was odl
those of you who are quick to criti- promiscuity, or misdirected vio- the secret of perpetual youth 4. Care must be taken not to over- remembers asking how he could get the State Department, he ee His -
cize the younger generation, just _ lence, arf are merely responding Take time to fead - itisthe foun, work the leaders. | into this kind of work and they told aunt isn alone. According to the Stave
don Tt forget who raised them ? - or to the self-hatred that has been in. dation of wisdom Take. time to 5. Current methods and rograms him to take the Foreign Service exam. De-partment, many African lela idh
better yet, who did not raise them. ? _ stilled in them. For you see, people worship - it is the highway to should be analyzed. It ma help to have He says he is most proud of his cans are unaware of the Ser-
In the animal kingdom, adults take who have no self-respect have no

reverence Take to a star time to a person Tfrom the outside take a Jook " time and work in war-torn Sudan "a - vice and the Opportunities it Ofers #8:

care of their young. Cats take care problem carrying a gun to school. dream - it is hitching one Ts at the programs we have in our local Place where he says his African- Ameri- members. However, this career option Lond
of kittens, chickens take care of eople who have no self-respect wagon Take time for friendship church. We must have the humility to can heritage played acritical rolein his is starting to catch on, as-evi-denced
chicks, bears take care of cubs, and _ have no problem cursing out their

- it is a source of happiness Take _ listen and the willingness to change. _elief efforts. " by the fact that the number of Aftican
dogs take care of Puppies. But ¢lders and lying to get what they time for God - it is

Ts only last- There is a need for mentors and oWhen you have ta work Americans who took and passed the
many of us humans walk away want. ing investment. the need for qualified leaders. Why through foreign bureaucratic struc- Foreign Service written exam has in-
from our res nsibility as adults. Our children are smart. They Now is the time to take doesn Tt the church have more and bet- tutes on matters of critical importance creased by 86 percent since 2003.

The pride and treasure of our _ listen not only to what we say, they
nation is our youth.-Any nation watch what we do, and sometimes

time. Now is the time to putup ter leaders? Who was or is the mentor such as drought-relief and : in . Specialists in the Foseign Servos
or shut up. Now is the time. in your life? How can your church - Africa, having the trust of the foreign provide important gah
that neglects the teaching and the what we do speaks so loud that they From: Hard Questions, Heart

the nah heat an tn ; st our church - help people become ef- aking citi-zens is critical, ? he ex- eater ae aid : a
oupbriftging of the youth is a nation cannot hear what we say. They see Answ ers, opeeches and Sermons fective leaders? ns. , i rey a The nny
on the decline. But if we are hon- the contradictions, the hypocrisy, by the Reverend Bernice A. Kit Pity the church leader who adopts Maxwell also served in the Bu- ists do not need a military background. ne

est, then we must confess that we and the inconsistencies in our lives, (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.s an I-will-do-it-all philosophy of min- tau of African Affairs. His job re- They receive paid hous-ing or ahous-.
| | | daughter) istry end fails to delegate quired diplomatic skills as well as com- ing allowance, health and medical cov.
Ch . Thought to Remember: oMany ler tell and when a job was com KD eee "e
urch Leadership hands make a light work ?. pleted well, Maxwell says he? UN t2 education for dependent chil-
ie rake a lesson from Breast Cancer Screening tremely satisfying and fulfling. sin and paid Hear tion ee to
ts. o ther ?. An raoh WALICEE « 5 Maxwell's parents passed away or more informatio
alto share burden thet are nnn when he was young and he was raised learn how to apply for a Foreign Ser.
large for anyone or two ants to _ Pitt County Health Department and Leo by his aunt. Una my aunts dying vice position, visit the Web site www.
carry. __ WJenkins Cancer Center will hold a free day; I don Tt think she really, clearly was careers. state. gov. a
. Most churches face the _ breast cancer screening Thursday, May " | AME
problems of having afew lead- 12,2005 from 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. at
ers and a handful of people do the Pitt County Health Department.
most of the work necessary to The Pitt County Health Department is " 7 |
keep a congregation thriving. located at 201 Government Circle, just 2 . cl an
The more people who can be- north of the Tar River. All screening par- Joss Tar Het Orners learn, or relearn how to do seeming
come involve in a church pro- ticipants will receive educational infor- (NAPSA)NAs public interest focuses simple things, like get dressed, eat, be
gram, the more successful it is mation about breast cancer, a clinical on health and wellness, professions that productive at school or work, or even
ikely to be. a breast exam, instructions on performing help people help themselves are gain- socialize. This is the work of occupa-
oAre we guilty of doing monthly self-breast exams and more. watty One fast-growing pro- tional therapists and occupational
more than we need to do be- Arrangements for a free mammogram feet yeaa te 6 therapy assistants. -
cause we don Tt want to share re-_ will be made for those who meet eligi- Occupational ists help people of Occupational therapy focuses on
sponsibility? After all, oIt Ts ay bility criteria An appointment is required. all ages overcome disabilities. injuries, Oparticipation at every age,O which
a father-in-1 ; For more information or re ale an he and other conditions so they can par- explains why it has become so impor-
) -In-law o ointment, contact Laura Haw! rR 2-9 . Wits H i i populatio
_Moses, suggested that Moses a 902-2421. Te eee nornal activites of Tanto the growing senior »

life. Sometimes people need help to |
We've oved!" | | skills liIVIN ,
Heel/Sew Quik) 22-2

FOR THE JOB OF

Full and Half Sole with Oactivities of daily ng.
Replacment and why therapists work in settings
ranging from schools, to rehab and

Rockport Resolink Shoe Care } nein from schools, hoepicale:
Caine | caer ae cs
in new ways to help ac-
tive, healthier lives, Nemend for the

broad range of occupational

services continues to grow at a rate of

. oa | more 20 t. .
Ipce | ms oN Sa Learn more, Visit the American Oc-

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a Ly

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CONTINUES FROM PAGE 4
oThere are at the present moment m:
Colored men in the Confede sal
Army doing duty not only as cooks,
srvens and abapen baealecha
having musket on their shoulders, and
ie ady to shoot
down any loyal troops and do all that
pa pick decaf py the Fed-

government ild up that of
the rebels. ? he

turned heavy fire on Union troops at
the Battle of Griswoldsville (near
Macon, GA). Approximately 600
boys and elderly men were killed in
this skirmie

7. In 1864, agri Jefferson
Davis approved a plan that pro
the emancipation of slaves, A Pome
for the official recognition of the Con-

by Britain and France. France
showed interest but Britain refused.
8. The Jackson Battalion in-
cluded two companies of black sol-
diers. They saw combat at Petersbu
under Col. Shipp. oMy men acted
with utmost promptness and
goodwill...Allow me to state sir that
they behaved in an extraordinary ac-
ceptable manner. ?

9. Recently the National Park
Service, with a recent discovery, rec-
ognized that blacks were asked to help
defend the city of Petersburg, Virginia
and were offered their freedom if they
did so. ess of their official clas-
sification, black Americans performed
support functions that in today Ts army
many would be classified as official
military service. The successes of white
Confederate troops in battle, could
only have been achieved with the sup-
port these loyal black Southerners.

10. Confederate General John B.
Gordon (Army of Northern Virginia)
repgrted that all of his troops were in
favor of Colored troops and that it Ts
adoption would have ogreatly encour-

the army ?. Gen. Lee was anxious
to receive regiments of black soldiers.
The Richmond Sentinel reported on
24 Mar 1864, oNone will deny that
our servants are more worthy of re-
spect than the motley hordes which
come against us. ? oBad faith [to black
Co tes] must be avoided as an
indelible dishonor. ?

11. In March 1865, Judah P. Ben-
jamin, Confederate Of State,
promised freedom for blacks who
served from the State of Virginia. Au-
thority for this was finally received
from the State of Virginia and on April
Ist 1865, $100 bounties were offered
to black soldiers. Benjamin exclaimed,
oLet us say to every Negro who wants
to go into the ranks, go and fight, and
you are free Fight for your masters and
you shall have your freedom. ? Con-
federate Officers were ordered to treat
them humanely and protect them
from oinjustice and oppression ?.

eesti
ane

LACK CONFEDERATES

12. A quota was set for 300,000

black soldiers for the Confederate |

States Colored Troops. 83% of

Richmond's male slave n
volunteered for duty. Agecdtalnn
held in Richmond to raise money for
uniforms for these men. Before Rich-
mond fell, black Confederates in gray
uniforms drilled in = streets, Due to
the war ending, it is believed only com-
panies or squads of these as oe
saw any action. Many more black sol-
diers fought for the North, bur that
difference was simply a difference be-
cause the North instituted this

sive policy more sooner than the more

conservative South. Black soldiers.

from both sides received discrimina-
tion from whites who opposed the

concept .
13. Union General U.S. Grant in

Feb 1865, ordered the capture of oall

the Negro men before the enemy can
put them in their ranks. ? rick
Douglass warned Lincoln that unless
slaves were guaranteed freedom (those
in Union controlled areas were still
slaves) and land bounties, othey would
take up arms for the £

14. On April 4, 1865 (Amelia
County, VA), a Confederate supply
train ay cochusivel manned and
guard Infantry. When at-
tacked by Federal Cavalry,

? they stood
their ground and fought off the charge,
they were

but on the second charge ey
overwhelmed. These soldiers are be-
lieved to be from oMajor Turner's ?
Confederate command.

15. A Black Confederate, George
____, when captured by Federals was
bribed to desert to the other side. He
defiantly spoke, oSir, you want me to
desert, and I ain't no deserter. Down
South, deserters disgrace their families
and I am never going to do that. ?

16. Former slave, Horace King,
accumulated great wealth as a contrac-
tor to the Confederate Navy. He was
also an expert engineer and became
known as the oBridge builder of the
Confederacy. ? One of his bridges was
et ea eee
p ion troops, as his wi
rd for mercy. .

17. As of Feb 1865 1,150 black
seamen served in the Confederate
Navy. One of these was among the last
Confederates to surrender, aboard the
CSS Shenandoah, six months after the
war ended. This surrender took place
in England.

18. Nearly 180,000 Black South-
erners, from Virginia alone, provided
logistical support for the Confederate
military. Many were highly skilled
oo These included a wide range
of jobs: nurses, militar neers,
teamsters, ordnance a aes
ers, bg n, firemen, harness mak-
ers, blacksmiths, wagonmakers, boat-
men, ics, rights, etc. In
the 1920'S Confederate pensions were
finally allowed to some of those work-
ers that were still living. Many thou-

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wen

eat,
; f

sands more served in other Confeder-

ate

members of the United Co:
Veterans (UCV) advocated awarding
former slaves rural acreage and a home.
There was hope that justice could be
given those slaves that were once prom-
ised oforty acres and a mule ? but never
received any. In the 1913 belt ke
ate Veteran magazine published b
UCY, it was printed that this plan oIf
not Democratic, it is [the] Confeder-
ate ? thing to do. There was much grati-
tude toward former slaves, which
othousands ire ahead the last wn
?, now living wi poverty o
the bi cities. Unfortunately, their pro-
posal fell on deaf ears on Capitol Fi
20 i

of the Bartle of Gettysburg in 1913,
arrangements were made for a joint
reunion of Union and Confederate
veterans. The commission in charge of
the event made sure they had enough
accommodations for the black Union
veterans, but were completely sur-
rised when un tblack Con-
federates arrived, The white Confed-
erates immediately welcomed their old
comrades, gave them one of their tents,
and osaw to their every need ?. Nearly
every Confederate reunion including
those blacks that served with them,
wearing the gray.

21. The first military monument
in the US Capitol that honors an Af-
rican-American soldier is the Confed-
erate monument at Arlington National
cemetery. The monument was de-
signed 1914 by Moses Ezekiel, a Jew-
ish Confederate. Who wanted to cor-

rectly portray the oracial makeup ? in
the Confederate Army. A black Con- -

federate soldier is depi marching
in. step with white Confederate sol-_-

} 19. During the early 1900's, many was

spoke with pride about his family
member's contribution to the cause,
hotographed with the [Confed-

mei wih (Caled
what the fag onabelis, be
what th volizes, because it no
longer is their history, or my history,
but our history. ?

Resources:

Charles Kelly Barrow, et.al. For-
gotten Confederates: An Anthology

oAbout Black Southerners (1995). Cur-

rently the best book on the subject.
Ervin L. Jordan, Jr. Black Con-
federates and Afro-Yankees in Civil
War Virginia (1995). Well researched
and very good source of information
on Black Confederates, but has a
strong Union bias, .
"Richard Rollins. Black Southern-
ers in Gray (1994). Excellent source.
Dr. Edward Smith and Nelson
Winbush, oBlack Southern Heritage ?.
An excellent educational video. Mr.
Winbush is a descendent of a Black
Confederate and a member of the Sons
of Confederate Veterans (SCV).
This fact page is not an all inclu-
sive list of Black Confederates, only a
small sampling of accounts. For gen-
eral historical information on Black
Confederates, contact Dr. Edward
Smith, American University, 4400
Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washing-
ton, DC 20016; Dean of American
Studies. Dr. Smith is a black professor
dedicated to clarifying the historical role
of African Americans,

diers. Also shown is one owhite soldier T 4

giving his child to a black woman for}
Protection ?.- source: Edward Smith, |

Aftican American professor at the
American University, Washington
DC

22. Black Confederate heritage is

beginning to receive the attention it
deserves. For instance, Terri Williams,

a black journalist for the Suffolk oVir- °

pinia Pilot ? newspaper, writes: oI've
d to re-examine my feelings toward
the [Confederate] flag started when I
read a newspaper article about an eld-
erly black man whose ancestor worked
with the Confederate forces. The man

Are you looking for the perfect gift for Mother Ts
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Brunch, Sunday May 8th. It Ts not guaranteed to
improve fine lines and wrinkles, but it will give

Mom a day she'll smile about all
be served
until 3:00
Sentiment
family fun

in the Carolina Ballroom from 11:00 am
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Greenville

i te nn

GREEENVILLE - The Domestic Violence Unified Community Resource

| Centre Inc, (DUCRC) kicked off their first annual fundraiser play call

| oT Rise, ? which was held on March. 24th, 2005 at the ECU Willis Bulding.

| The featured pictures were taken by the WOOW staff.

| The Professional group a

| 1. The Professional group. Left to Right "Sister Brenda Rouse, CEO/
founder of DVUCRE and Dr. Larry Hines along with Judy Baker from

ECU, Play Writer Miltonj Sutton, and Barry Dixon.

| Our Supporters .

2. Our Supporters that stopped by "Bishop Henry Brown Sr. and Pastor

Ethel Brian from Washington, NC.

3. Mother Rouse and Alicia Mincey.

The play oI Rise ? was written as a survival kit for Domestic Violence.

|
|
|

| Cast Members

| 4. Shown below is the cast of this marvelous skit.

| | Also to moderate the evening our young person, soloist Jazmine Larkin
| age 15 sung the featured song by Yolonda Adams entitled oI Rise. ? Our
| welcomed guest included non other than Fabian. The play was very suc-
| cessful and we extend our Thank You to all articipants and donators for
| all of their help. We welcome walk-ins and interested volunteers to our
center.

Al 3442

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Sian © ie

year. Brunch will

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For reservations please
call 353-3048

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