EDITION.Pictures fromthe archives ofthe M'Voice Eastern North Carolina Since 1981TO tuJ ynSun 4 RabTHE FOCUSISISLAMf.~~?FyDR. GEORGE HAMAREditorialBlack OnBlackViolenceWhat You See Is What You Get, Wh|GREAT BLACK HOPE?Is FCC ChairmanMichael K. Powell, the sonof Secretary of StateGen. Colin Powell, beinggroomed by the GOP tobecome AmericaTs firstBlack president ? _With the Republican Partyplan to design its idealup-and-comer in a Gattaca-style genetics lab, the resultwould look and sound a lotlike Michael K. Powell. Ascion of Beltway royalty,Secretary of State Gen.Colin PowellTs only son isthat rarest of political gems---a Black Republican diehardfree of the kooky far-rightvibes that dog Alan Keyesand JC Watts. John McCainloves him, as do a number ofstarstruck Democrats bé-witched by his lineage andsmarts. For many, the juniorPowell seems a younger andbrighter version of GeorgeW. Bush.Unlike Bush, however,Powell has not squanderedhis youthful ambition onfailed oil derricks and Texaskeggers. At the tender ageof 38, he is the new chair-man of the FederalCommunicationsCommission, the five-personpanel that lords over BigMedia and the Baby Bells.Rep. Ed Markey, aMassachusettes Democrat,made light of his wonkishmight in March, at PowellTsfirst Capitol Hill appearanceas head of the FCC.oPeople are always askingme to compare you to yourfather,? Markey said.oWhat | always tell them isyou're just as smart as yourfather, but you have a lotAttacks resumeon Black leadersby: Cash MichaelsTri - state DefenderFor several weeks afterRep. President George W.Bush assumed office inJanuary. Black leadershipfell under blistering attackfrom the conservative right,\who hoped not only todiminish the stature of fig-ures like the Rev. Aliatmore power to affect theworld.?If insiders are right, theFCC gig may be only astepping stone.touting Powell as a Virginiacongressman or governor,maybe even as Bush cabinetmember. And if he bides histime and plays his cardsSome are~ AUGUST 3 - AUGUST 13, 2001.tions industry.Last week, aghast at theFCCTs recent handiwork,South Carolina Democraticsenator Ernest Hollings ac-cused Powell of fosteringoan erosion of diversity inour local markets.? Hollingshas introduced legislation tostop the slash-and-burn jug-eosThe decision could pavethe way for the sale of BNCto AOL Time Warner, or----if the rule is relaxed still- further---toViacom. " InJune, Viacom president MelKarmazin announced heowould absolutely love? topurchase his broadcast rival,a deal that would make the(Staff Photo) "Tight, he could well becomeVoice Newspaper cameras,gernaut, but few expect hisia eeFCC CHAIRMAN & SECRETARY OF STATE'S SON......Striking a pose for The 'MTthe head of the FCC and the only son of the Secretaof State General Colin Powell....Chairman Michael K. Powell. Publisher and CEof WOOW, WTOW, & The M' Voice NewspaperT Jim Rouse met with the FCCChairman earlier this yéar at a NCAB meeting in Washington, DC.aaa mmmnetieeworldTs third largest mediathe first African Americanpresident.PowellTs actions as FCCChairman have made hispro-business, consumer-be-damned politics more thanevident. In an administra-tion bent on rolling back .regulations, Powll is theconsummate good solider,zealously blasting decades-old rules to the delight of the$950 billion communica-Sharpton and Kwesi Mfume,president/CEO, NAACP, buteven put otroublemakers?like the Rev. Jesse Jacksoncompletely out of business.While the FOX NewsChannet and otehr conserva-tive media took dead aim atJacksonTs " out-of-wedlockextramartial affair, conserva-tive activist David Horowitzsparked a national firestormon college campuses declar-ing that itTs Blacks, notPastor of St. Paul's Chureh, Taboro,Shown outside WCPS studios is Rev.Gdiscussing the issues concerning thewe Terry,own ofPrinceville with NAACP former Pres. Crystal Moye.They want to encourage all kids toMs DRUGS: rag seek GOD andhe(Photo by Jim Rouse).bill----designed to protectcaps on market dominance---to ever become law.Communications conglom-erates, by contrast, are rap-turous over PowellTs quicksuccess in defanging theFCC. They re-joined whenhe coaxed the commissioninto relaxing its long works,clearing the way for Viacomto retain UPN even after itbought CBS.Whites, who should payreparations for slavery.The oBush Black Plan,? asit was coined back in Marchgot the president to bondwith what little conservativeBlack leadership there was,giving them stature and ac-cess, and then, link armswith as many of the Blackclergy as possible, using thepromise of federal \dollars tohelp their programs as thelure.Coupled with his quicksuccesses out the gate oneducation and tax reform,and high-level appointmentsof Gen. Colin Powell andDr. Condoleeza Rice to hisconglomerate (200 reve-nues: $ 20 billion) an evenmore pervasive presence. Inthe name of free-marketefficiency, Powell has alsoexpedited dozens of mergerreviews, including the $29billion marriage ofVoiceStream and Germany'sDeutsche Telekom.He quickly pushed through32 radio deals in March,claiming that ofurther delayadministration, Bush seemedto be untouchable for awhile. oIf one thing is cer-tain as the victorious GOPcontemplates world domina-tion,? Debra Dickerson, asenior fellow at the newAmerican Foundation wrotein the Washington Post inMarch, oitTs that the conceptof racism must be gnawed tojabberwockian meaningless-ness when uttered by aminority.?Regarding Bush efforts tooreplace? established Blackleadership with his desig-nated group, Dickerson con-tinued, o By patting them onthe head, and_affixing spit-sticky gold stars to theirYou Read Is What You Know And Save.is neither warranted norjust.? Among the big win-.ners was San Antonio-based.Clear . ChannelCommunications, the na-tionTs largest radio group, .which added seven moreproperties to its. 1200-stationempire. As SalonTs. EricBoehlert reported in April ,Clear Channel already con-trols 60% of the countryTsrock-format stations.Outgoing FCCAt the same time, Powellhas been an outspoken criticof . providing low-powerradio licenses to communityor religious groups, citingthe ocost....to existing sta-tions that provide equallyvaluable service to theircommunities.? He did notelaborate on how one ofClear ChannelTs vanilla Top40 outlets can provide serv-ice on a par with that of anindependent, or how a sta-tion relegated to the FMdialTs nether regions couldpossibly harm the bottomline of a Dave Matthews-playing titan.PowellTs laissez-fairemachinations could be moreeasily forgiven if not for hisflip dismissals of the FCCTsrole in helping customers---as the agencyTs handbooknotes, its mission is toprotect the publicTs obestinterests?. At a recentAmerican Bar Associationpanel, however, Powellcurtly pooh-poohed the no- *tion of a public-interest stan- -dard, calling it* about as empty a vesselas you can accord a regula- ~tory agency.? :The statement was in line -with an earlier quip, inBLOCK LEQDERS UNDER ATTACKforeheads, the GOP is gam-bling that those so rewardedwon't notice theyTve beenpromoted to mere credits totheir race. oBut then the mistakesbegan---the biggest beingthe powershift of the USSenate to the Democrats,thanks to BushTs disregardfor then RepublicanVermont Sen. Jim Jeffords,who switched to independ-ent and now, six monthsafter heTs taken office, thepresident is fighting severalnegative perceptions " thatpromise to cripple his firstyear, and maybe his presi-oc ie.Tarboro, NC.i.Shown abothat erupted in the town of Princeville. Posing is Brother Na'im K. Akbar,Mohammad, Sheriff Knight at St, Paul's Church in Tarboro attendT 3, Clark. Na'im Akbar abu up in Princeville, and runs a"Black folks need toviolence. "heve are Brothers that careA aprogram inm to work together and not against each other toH of Maurice