~~~ oby: Frank D. BrownGeorge E. CurryBlack America is in a stateof emergency. African-American educators, electedofficials, civil rights leaders,religious and spiritual fig-ures, Corporate executives,community activists and oth-ers are being warned of acrisis from which our com-munities may never be ableto recover. Some are sayingthis is Black America's mostpressing issue of this new,young millennium. Andthey are fearful it may resulfin the creation of a perma-nent Black underclass. Andnow that the country is amonth past the nationalemergency created by theSept. 11 attacks on theWorld Trade Center and thePentagon, these voices arecalling for the Black com-munity to pay heel to thisother crisis. We must wakeup right now, they. say,before it's too late.Ponder these recent statis-tics: About two out of everythree Black fourth gradestudents can barely read.They read below basic liter-acy levels and barely com-prehend the meaning of mostwords. This is according tothe National Assessment ofEducational Progress, thegroup responsible for issuingwhat is known as the na-tion's report card. AndBlack literacy levels are thelowest of all major ethnicgroups. in the _ nation.Further, the rate of A frican-American illiteracy hasbarely changed over the pastdecade. Think about it: Adecade from now. how willour children be able tofunction in this rapidlychanging 2Ist centuryinformation-age society andglobal economy?This points to the need foran immediate. organized.Strategic. collective "_re-sponse. Recognizing this.the National NewspaperPublishers Associatin(NNPA) is attempting toplay a critical role, much asthis group of Black publish-ers has throughout its 61-year history. © NNPA ispresenting this groundbreak-ing series, focusing on howBlack groups are alreadyresponding to this crisis,Beginning this week, ourfour-part series brings to-gether national voices. ofconcern: We present infor-mation on innovative earlyliteracy initiatives and ap-proaches, and tell the stories.of Black communities thathave organizaed and suc-cessfully taken control of ;their local school systems 'and established new educa-tional priorities. We de-scribe programs that cater tothe special needs of ouryouth, and provide excerptsfrom a new National UrbanLeague publication, " Readand Rise: Preparing OurChildren for a Lifetime ofSuccess."We also report on the so-called education-reform leg-islation expected to be votedon by Congress later thismonth, and explain what thisall means in this new era ofsegregated schooling.Indeed, recent studies showthat our nation's classroomsare segregated in numbersthe country has not seensince before the passage ofthe landmark Brown vs.Board of Education ruling in1954. What are we going todo about it? "Library .DeM CONTEMPLATE SWITCms i He PARTIES...by: Vinette K. PriceTraditional loyal BlackDemocrats are rethinkingtheir practice to contemplatea switch on Nov. 06, byvoting for the alternativeparty. Angered by the recentrunoff campaign describedas dirty and alleged to in-criminate Democrat MarkGreen, some claim they will"teach them" a lesson byvoting any other party butDemocratic. The publicdiscussions started immedi-ately after the recent runoffrace, which pitted Bronxborough president "_andminority-favored candidateFreddy Ferrer against formerPublic Advocate Green.Although it was a closecontest, Green raced aheadin polls reported during thefinal hours. Many attributethe surge to the negativecampaign that demonizedFerrer's prinicpal supporter,the Rev. Al Sharpton, as thefuture dictator and advisor to@ Mayor Ferrer result.Posters reportedly placed incommunities displayed apicture of Sharpton along-side the Puerto Rican candi-date, saying a vote forSharpton, " Rumors hadabounded that SharptonWould decide the-next policeCommissioner as well asOther key positions in citygOvernment.Compounded withthat, the New York Postrepeatedly lampoonedton as the chubbyMouthpiece who wouldSpeak for Ferrer if the Bronxrepresentative were elected.promised a clean When . ap-proached about the abun-dance of negative campaignmaterial, he denied any asso-ciation, saying he knewnothing of the posters ortelevision ads that ruledSharpton a liability.The win for Green removedthe hope of a minoritymayor. To that end, someminority activists are openlyadvocating a switch. "Weought to be like the otherguys in showing intelligenceby voting in a way that sayswe are important,� ConradMuhammad, head of AMovement forC.H.A.N.G.E. said."The Democrats have takenthe Black vote for granted.We need to exercise a politi-cal option," said Dr. LenoraFulani, of the IndependenceParty. The option, Fulaniadvised, is for minority vot-ers to cast a vote forRepublican MikeBloomberg. She said heoffered the best prospect fora better New York.Although Cong. CharlesRangel has not endorsedanyone else since he steppedout for Ferrer, the New Yorkrepresentative met withBloomberg and is expectedto endorse the Republican.Meanwhile, Bloomberg hasbeen meeting with membersof the minority community,Last Friday, he met inHarlem with more than 20members of the Black Press.There he detailed his plansfor the city and how he isdifferent from the currentmayor,"| would meet with allleaders who have a constitu-ency," Bloomberg explainedto the reporters. He saidwhile he would continue tochampion the course. of asafe city the way MayorRudy Giuliani has, he had a4number of added programshe would initiate to keep thereputation of New York asthe financial capital of theworld.Bloomberg renounced racialprofiling. He stressed edu-cation as a priority. Hepromised more housing. Hevowed to keep. businesses inNew York. He promised toimprove transportation. Andhe said he would work hardto represent the 8 millionresidents of New York City."An inclusive community" iswhat he pledged.Punctuating that he did notintend to query each individ-ual on how they voted beforeproviding services, he saidonce elected he would haveto serve the entire commu-nity. .In addition to stopping intoHarlem, Bloomberg's post-runoff television outreachhas been visibly aimed at theminority community.' Featuring numerous AfricanAmerican faces,Bloomberg's commericalscontrast those of Greene'swhich seem to depict a lessdiverse New York City,Since the runoff electionsFerrer has accompaniedGreen on campaign visits tosome communities,However, noticeably absentin TV commericals and onthe trail is any image of NewYork's first AfricanAmerican mayor, David N,Dinkins. Despite the fact,the former mayor has decid-edly avowed his support forhis "friend" Green during his"Dialogue With Dinkins"segments on the Black-owned radio. station, WLIB~-- it is only there that Greenseems to enlist the supportof the official.= sFrom The Archives of the M'Voice Newspaper The Greenville C.M. EppesAlumni pose for our camera. Name the persons pictured and win 5 CDs.Photo By Jim Rouse. .44vWe Encourage You To Get Out And Vote Because The Fight Is On Shown atthe Greenville City Council Chamber are some of the candidates who arerunning for the Greenville City Council seats, They are shown answeringquestions for Mike Hoffman of WNCT. All the candidates encourage you toget out and vote November 6th and remember to mark their names on yourballots. Photo By Jim Rouseaa2It's Time To Get Out The Voteitical forum. Thirteen candidates are runningSane ed up at WTOW studio for aand Judy Jennette are shownto vote for them onW Joy 1340AM held afor Wahington city council. Four people showlive forum. Ed Booth, Bill Booth, Mr. Briley dyoutside thestudio of JOY 1320. They all encourage \Photo By Jim Rouseelection day. November 6th.SCLC,,,,,GOD BLESS AMERICA 1!!! | onGod Bless America has always been the motto of black folks in America, Dr. oMatin LutherKing, Jr., son visited Pitt County's SCLC this past week. Shown above with Brother Kingis the present local chapter Pres. Phil Higgs and his assistants. .; bofxs Photo by: M. Adams jy, }BREENVILLE Neup Ecu. etarelinaoyneraLars: