jiaTzeliaricCredo of the Black PressThe Black Press believes that America can best lead the world away from racialand natural antagonisms when it accords to every person, regardless of race,color or creed, full human rights. Hating no person, fearing no person in thefirm belief that all are hurt as long as anyone is held back.Decent Incomes for Low Wage Workersby Hugh B. PricePresident, National Urban LeagueWith all the hurrah over the astounding current performance of the American economy--the so-called LongBoom--it's easy to forget that portion of the nation's work force which has hardly shared in the generalprosperity-the 12 million Americans whose wages range from the current minimum wage of $5.15 an hour up to$6.14 an hour.That sum, earned by people who work in such low-skill positions as fast-food worker and teacher's aide, addsup to paltry annual income indeed. The average American worker's hourly wage is $12.64 an hour. But anindividual working at the minimum wage for 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, earns only $10,712 annually--anincome that is $2,600 below the federal government's poverty line for a family of three.That fact, coupled with recent cuts in welfare and Food Stamps programs, has driven increasing numbers ofthe working poor to emergency food banks and pantries. A 1996 U.S. Conference of Mayors survey found that 38percent of those seeking emergency food aid hold jobs, up from 23 percent in 1994; and more and more privatecharities are saying they can't meet the greater demand on their resources.We must help Americans who work but often endure great privation move closer to a decent, livable wage.We can do that by supporting legislation in Congress by raising the minimum wage to a threshold of $6.15 an hour.Senator Ted Kennedy (D.-Mass.) will try to bring the measure, which has President Clinton's backing, before theSenate after the Memorial May 13, 1998 Day Congressional recess. Representative David Bonior (D.-Mich.) willlead the effort for it in the House. The proposed law would raise the minimum wage by 50 cents each year for 1999and 2000.We should raise the minimum wage because itT0s only fair: hard work deserves just compensation at thebottom as well as the top of the salary ladder. We know from the experience of the 90-cents minimum-wage hikePresident Clinton signed into law in 1996 that minimum-wage increases benefit the people who need itmost--hardworking adults in low-income families. Based on federal labor department statistics, the EconomicPolicy Institute, a Washington think tank, found that nearly 60 percent of the gains from that minimum wage hikehas gone to workers in the bottom 40 percent of the income ladder. Raising the minimum wage by $1 will helpinsure that parents who work hard and play by the rules, and who utilize the Earned Income Tax Credit, can bringup their children out of poverty.Contrary to a widespread view, federal statistics show that most workers earning the minimum wage areadults, not teenagers. Half of them work full time, and another third work at least 20 hours a week. Sixty percentof those earning the minimum wage are women; 15 percent are African-American, and 14 percent are Hispanic.Our recent experience has shown that raising the minimum wage in an era of strong and balanced economicexpansion won't undermine job growth. The hike President Clinton signed into law in August 1996 increased thewages of 10 million workers. Since then, the economy has created new jobs at the very rapid pace of 250,000 permonth, inflation has declined from 2.9 percent to 1,6 percent, and the unemployment rate has fallen to 4.6percent--its lowest level in nearly 25 years.Some have expressed concern that raising the minimum wage will make it even harder than it routinely is foryoung black males to find work. Of course, the unemployment rate for black males 16 to 19 years of age remainsdangerously high: for 1997 it was 36.5 percent. But the minimum wage itself is hardly a significant cause for thisdecades-old problem, as we've noted before. Keeping the wages of all low-income workers at subsistence levelswill likely only exacerbate the employment problems of young black males--and the communities they live in.Increasing the minimum wage now would restore its real value to the level it last held in 1981, before theinflation of the 1980s drove it down. We further recommend that Congress index the minimum wage to inflationstarting in the year 2001 to prevent a further erosion of its value. Low-wage workers should be treated nodifferently than other, higher-income workers who annually receive at least a cost-of-living increase in theirsalaries. With our economy in such glowing health, there could be no better time to raise the minimum wage. AsPresident Clinton urged in his State of the Union Address: "In an economy that honors opportunity, all Americansmust be able to reap the rewards of prosperity. Because these times are good, we can afford to take one simple,sensible step to help millions of workers struggling to provide for their families: oWe should raise the minimumwage.?Is President Clinton Exorcizing Black Males In The American Psych?By Sherman N. MillerIna 1954 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the "Separate but Equal" doctrine, hence desegregatingthe nation's public school system. That action had an unintended consequence of vilifying Black males because theBlack civil rights groups had an upward mobility strategy that was too skewed toward civil rights whilst ignoringthe true goal of Mainstream American socioeconomic parity. Some unscrupulous groups exploited the pervasivewhite fears commonplace at the time to vilified black males as plotting sinister deeds against whites.This Black male demonetizing reached a dangerous stage in the mid-1990s where it now jeopardizes thelong-term strategic health of the United States of America. One need only recognize how rogue foreign nations payhomage to Rev. Louis Farrakhan, the current prophetic black American leader, to see that an outcast blackcommunity is a beachhead for foreign powers to gain a foothold in the United States. Furthermore, black Americaviews its males' vilification as socioeconomic genocide.The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., destroyed the black male prophetic leadership that isacceptable in mainstream America. This assassination left black America trapped the last thirty years in the chasmbetween civil rights and equal rights. The black oTalented Tenth" bailed out of the civil rights struggle once theysaw the doors to mainstream opportunity starting to open. But these educated blacks underwent a culturalmetamorphosis evolving into white closes suggesting that they had disdain for the beliefs of the masses of blackerica.The Talented Tenth's aloofness underpins the present class chasm that pervades the black community. Whatis foolhardy here is that the U.S. black community needs the skills of the Talented Tenth to foster their upwardmobility just as the black leadership in South Africa and Zimbabwe recognized that they needed the skills of theirwhite minority populations to prosper. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to recognize that black America can ill affordto maintain the present shunning of the Talented Tenth if equality in mainstream America is to be a realistic goal.apence me issue becomes, "What can be done to reposition the black male in a positive light in mainstreamerica?"The obvious answer to this question is a public exorcism rite performed on black males presided over by thepene of the United States. It requires three key psyche changes to demonstrate a paradigm shift in the perception0 es:1) Black AmericansT link to an African homeland needs Mainstream American legitimation.Femme relationships with black African nations must be on a strategic importance basis where trade is thepoint,3) Past ill-treatment of black Americans must be acknowledged but there has to be a course set for true blackequality in America's financial sector.President Bill Clinton understands the need of these psyche changes and he is now the exorcist for blackAmerican males in the economic mainstream. His town meetings are forcing the debate on race in a non-threateningre.President Clinton's long stay in Africa carried a few symbolic messages that he legitimated the link betweenAmerican blacks and their homeland by removing the stigma of blacks being relegated to the status of chattelbecause they had no human lineage. President Clinton passed through the same door and dungeons that were a pathof tears for the enslaved America's black fore-parents. He acknowledged slavery was wrong but he offered hope ofa brighter tomorrow.Yet the real symbolism that touched black America's males was President Clinton paying homage to thePresident of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, even though Mandela has ties to some rogue nations. Mandelasymbolizes the black male strength caricature that is prized in the U.S. black community, Also, South Africa showeda strong black-run nation where you don't see a bunch of starving blacks on the television for American aid.President Clinton's Africa trip set the U.S. business leadership's thinking in motion to find ways to work withBlack African nations using the adage, "Let us have trade and not aid." In a trade relationship, PresidentClinton is destroying the ve caricature of downtrodden blacks only being able to beg for crumbs falling offthe world marketplace's At home he is elevating blacksT personage by pointing out that they do have a heritageand they can run our corporations and the nation.INWATERS IN LEADS FIGHT T00 QUASH RIGGSADMENDMENT |Rigys Anti-Atfiemative Admendment Now Poves Theat oa Capital HillA Commentary from Congresswoman Marine Waters Den-CA)Here we go again. Rep Riggs and his extreme right-wing friends are attempting to polarize and divide this nation by pitting| citizens of this country one against another. |Not satisfied with the recent plummeting minority enrollment numbers in the University of California system, Rep. Riggs wantsto duplicate dramatic drops in minority admissions at public colleges and universities nationwide. Under the guise of endingdiscrimination, Rep. Riggs' amendment would eliminate federi#hfunding for colleges or universities that support affirmative action.The effect of this amendment would be devastating, Itwill close the door to opportunities and hope for minority students acrossthis nation. :Since the University of California System eliminated affirmative action, admission for Black and Latino students haveplummeted, Black undergraduate admissions dropped 66 percent at UC Berkeley, 43 percent at UCLA, 46 percent at UC SanDiego, and 36 percent at UC Davis, Latino undergraduate admission dropped 40 percent at UC Berkeley, 33 percent at UCLA, 20percent at UC San Diego, and 31 percent at UC Davis, Rep. Riggs and his supporters mischaracterize the admission process and itreliance on race. Colleges and universities always have looked at a variety of factors - test scores, race, out of classroom experience,personal achievement and life challenges - to determine who to admit to their institutions. Neither race nor SAT test scores haveever been the sole criteria to determine who would be admitted to a university, However, all students, regardless of race, must meetthreshold requirements that demonstrate that they are qualified to handle the workload of college.Affirmative action is a tool that gives qualified applicants an equal opportunity to compete. It is a means, not an end, Let us notresegregate our education institutions. Oppose the mean-spirited Riggs amendment.The Way For Black Empowermentby Dr. Lenora Fulani ,Why Am A "DP (Developmental Psychologist) But Am Not In The "DP" (Democratic Party).Many people who run for office are interested in winning. If that's what you're interested in and you're blackyou run as a Democrat. That's why Rev. Al Sharpton became a Democrat, for example. The Democratic Party isfocused on getting its people elect and once elected in holding on to their elected position and their power.The Democratic Party is not a place to be if you're concerned with solutions to the problems we face--as a city.as a State or as a country. That concern doesn't ultimately fit with the Democratic--or the Republican--agenda.because you're too caught up in getting elected and staying elected.I'm a developmental psychologist. I became a developmental psychologist because | wanted to find solutionsto poverty, to substandard education, violence, despair, and drug abuse among young people. I became a politicalactivist because there are pressing policy issues--from campaign finance reform to charter schools to finding a tradeapproach that benefits all Americans--issues that are simply going unresolved by the Democrats and Republicans.Democrats and Republicans say to us, "elect me" and we'll solve the problems. But the problems we face arenot reducible to who is or might be in office. We have lousy schools. We have too few opportunities for our youngpeople. We have to generate national reconsideration of our entire educational approach. That's not going to be easyprocess, and it will be a futile process if it is constantly overshadowed by the obsession on the part of policy makerswith getting and staying elected. The agenda becomes determined by polls, focus groups and protecting yourself fromattack.I don't want-to end up in that position. So, when I run for office, when I involve myself in electoral campaigitor in party-building for the Independence PartyWere You Counted?By Oscar SmithPrimary elections are over, and we will discuss outcomes next week, but the question I would like to ask nowis: "Did you stand up and allow yourself to be counted?"... in other words, did you take just a few minutes out of yourtelevision watching time, or some other worthless thing, to go to the polls and cast your vote?Well, if you did not, don't let me hear you complain. And I don't want to hear that age-old excuse, "It doesn'tmatter, they are going to do what they want to any way," or "What difference will my little old one vote make?"Neither question is a viable argument.In Wake County, for example, black Americans were once able to determine the outcome of most races becauseof turnout. Today, that same group of voters, or non-voters, if you will, couldn't elect the dog-catcher, that is if heor she were elected.Of course there is disillusionment over a lot of things that you may feel are right or fair. But guess what. Youknow how you change that.... YOU get up off your rusty-dusty and go to the polls and vote your choice... aftercarefully weighing all of the choices.Recently Ella Scarborough, the only female - who happened to be black -- in the US Senate race in the primaryvoiced concerns over what she said she had been told was what amounts to vote buying by other candidates.Personally I can't understand why any black voter worth his or her salt would vote for anything other than a black.if that candidate was equally qualified for the office. You see,, that attitude is what elects candidates. Not the "Ohhe or she can not win so why should I vote for them?" or the so-called money for votes that Scarborough talkedabout.That is the way you get the candidate of your choice elected for anything. Until you get out and exercise theright that so many fought and died for for so many years, your voting strength will continue to get divided and splitso that you will continue to be totally ineffective.If you are angry abut what I've said, maybe you'll take that anger and channel it into a positive change modeand make me out a liar during the runoffs, if any, or the general elections in November and begin to turn this thingaround. Only you, each and every one of you can do it.The Twentieth @ The Twenty-First Century KLU KLUX KLANBy Elder Walter SadlerThe question that plaques today's minds of every African American and other ethnic groups who were victimsand victimized by the KKK -- the most dehumanized hate group in this nationTs history, other than Adolph Hitlerand his German troops, is "Where" and "Who" were they yesterday and "Who" are they today?According to human histories recorded in 1915, a white gentleman by the name of William J. Simmons -- aself-styled colonel from Alabama " created the second KKK in this nation. He single-handedly inspired "The Birthof A Nation" of (496,955) member hiding behind this nation's oldest institutional technique Bureaucracy with theidea of promoting his organized idea of selling robes and memberships, building his empire under this deceptiveillusion.In the 1920's, his organized idea spread throughout the South and beyond. The face of this nation was claiming2 million members... males and female... of the white race. However, his idea appealed to white clergymen of theProtestant denomination. How appalling. In the southern region with a scheme to oppose Roman Catholics, Blacks,and Jews, by subjecting and inflicting brutality upon them, racial, political, and economic injustices.This immoral and unethical organization was anti-black and anti-Asian for the following reason to promotewhite supremacy and to inject institutionalized racism upon African American and other ethnic groups. Somehowit seems African Americans are continually experiencing this unendingly evil today on a national scale througheconomics and politics. Justice has pleaded their case.The KKK's own corruption, violence, internal conflict, tax troubles and negative publicity in southernnewspapers brought them down, but this did not bring the organization to a close. Until the 1960's an obstetricianor medical doctor reorganized the KKK and changed their name to the "United American KKK" who viciouslyfought against integration and the civil rights movement, establishing small independent Klan groups, wearing theirtraditional attire~white robes, As recorded, thee men behind the robe were doctors, lawyers, senators, and governorsof states, congressmen, law enforcement officers who dominated the political and economic arena with white justiceand displayed injustice toward blacks.Today, at the dawning of the twentieth century and on the horizon of the twenty-first century, few are sill inbusiness, invoking much of the same crime in the same areas on an institutional level moving the white supremacyfringe on a less picturesque, organized view. They have put away the white robes and robed themselves in blue andgray suit, with starched shirts, wearing ties.Today, I ask African Americans not to discard this nation's history that have dealt with us deceptively throughinjustice, hoodwinking us psychologically by using our white counterparts on a subtle and intellectual level. Sinceand the 1960's civil rights bill this evil has seeped through the cracks of another generation displayinghow it can engraft itself through people and time.