= oe neBy George E. CurryDespite a landmark SupremeCourt ruling upholding thelegality of the University ofMichigan Ts law school affirmativeaction program, affirmative actionincreas ing attacks, sometimes withthe complicity of the JusticeDepartment.A recent example involves a letterthe Justice Department sent toofficials at Southern IllinoisUniversity-Carbondale chargingthat three graduate fellowshipprograms designed to increaseunderrepresented women andpeople of color are unfair toWhites and males. The JusticeDepartment said if the STUprograms are not terminated byFriday, it will sue the institution.University officials have requested4 meeting and an extension toavert a legal showdown.The three fellowships under attackare the Proactive Recruitment andMulticultural Professionals forTomorrow, the Graduate Dean TsProgram and the Bridge toDoctorate. University officials told othe Daily Egyptian, the campusnewspaper, that 129 such fellow-ships have been awarded since2000, with 12 percent going tosige he oesmake no effort to increase thepresence of people of color oncampus.Less than 8 percent of SouthernIllinois University Ts 5,500 gradu-ate students are Black or Latino.The attacks on affirmative actionare being led by Right-wing thinktanks, notably the Center for EqualOpportunity, headed by LindaChavez and based in Sterling, Va.It has filed complaints with theJustice Department against SIUand North Carolina State Univer-sity.Even more troubling than attackson programs designed to end theunder representation of people ofcolor and women is the way thatmany universities have caved inwithout putting up a fight.Roger Clegg, vice president andgeneral counsel for the Center forEqual Opportunity, told the DailyEgyptian newspaper: oWe havecontacted hundreds of schools overthe past few years about programslike this. The overwhelmingmajority have changed theprograms after we contactedthem. ?In other words, the think tank hasbeen able to accomplish throughthreats what it could not achievein the U.S. Supreme Court.The attack on affirmative actionextends beyond graduate fellow-ship programs.Last year, Clegg testified beforethe Texas Senate Subcommittee onHigher Education to oppose eventhe 10 percent plan favored byPresident Bush. Under theprogram, the top 10 percent ofeach graduating class is guaran-teed admission to the University ofTexas.The cruelest hoax is that the likesof Clegg are citing laws specifi-cally designed to help African-Americans " the equal protectionclause of the 14th Amendment andTitle VII of the 1964 Civil RightsAct that prohibits discriminationbased on race, color or nationalorigin " to dismantle programsthat, if successful, would close thegap between people of color andWhites, .In an effort to identify T all race. ?"and gender-conscious programs "presumably so that they, too, canbe attacked " Clegg Ts group hasdrafted what it calls a model oRacial and Ethnic PreferenceDisclosure Act ? for states and thefederal government to adopt.The proposal for federal legisla-tion would require annual reportsfrom all institutions of highereducation that receive federalfunding.. \Section 2 of the draft legislationstates: oThis report shall: begin ~with a statement of whether race,color, or national origin is_considered in the student "admission process (if differentdepartments within the institu-tion have separate admissionprocesses and consider race,color or national origin differ--ently, then the report shal}provide the information requiredby this report for each depart-ment separately). ?This is part of a larger campaiby the misnamed Center for ="Equal Opportunity to eliminateall programs that address racialinequality. It has compiled a 41-page list of legal provisions inevery state that it finds objection-able.Among them: an Alabama lawthat requires that half of thetrustees of predominantly BlackAlabama State University bedesler icans, an oeprovision that requires that fiveof the nine members of aWomen's Business Ownership .Council be female, a Kentulaw that requires that schoolboard screening committees incommunities where people ofcolor constitute at least 8 percentbe represented by at least onemember, and a Colorado law thatinsists that financial institutionsholding state investment fundsgive priority for business loans towomen and people of color.Prodded by the Civil RightsMovement, the nation has madeprogress in reducing racial,ethnic and gender discrimina-tion. However, that progress willcome to an abrupt halt if right-wing groups are successful intheir campaign to eliminate allrace-, ethnic- and gender-cons¢ious corrective programs.Sadly, so-called progressiveshave failed to counter the Right-wing attack on affirmativeaction. ~George E. Curry is editor-in-chiefof the NNPA News Service andBlackPressUSA.com. He appears "on National Public Radio (NPR)three times a week as part of oNewsand Notes with Ed Gordon. ? Tocontact Curry or to book him for aspeaking engagement, go to hisWeb site, www.georgecurry.com.45 - Block RevitalizationPlans Nearing Close: What- Abou ? By Susie ClemonsGreenville, NC\CtemensJt. Drive?Greenville, NC - Earlier thisyear, in July, The Minority VoiceNews reported that WestGreenville Focus Group (WGFG),4 Coalition of residents, neighbor-hood groups, community organi-zations and businesses owners,Were uneasy on the proposed WestGreenville Revitalization Plans.To revisit the matter theGreenville RedevelopmentCommission approved plans forCenter City - West GreenvilleRevitalization in a landslide voteof 6 to 1, over the objections ofWest Greenville residents, TheCity of Greenville Planning andZoning Commission Placed thoseplans on hold pending an investi-gative review into concerns raisedby WGFG through its spokesman~~ Mr. Ozie Hall Jr.The Planning and Zoningt investigation isnearing a close. They and WGFGmembers have been, in recentmonths, under intensive labornegotiating ayer es policyaffecting West Greenville resi-dents iness owners.etigh concessions have beenmade, this month the City ofGreenville sponsored a town hallmeeting at Mount CalvaryChurch, on Line Avenue inGreenville, NC, to share addi-tional planning details, hearcommunity concerns and toanswer questions.Those persons primarily inattendance were WGFG members,SCLC and NAACP representa-tives and a few others. Troublingnews Came to a representativefrom the Minority Voice Newsfrom several West Greenvilleresidents who said they would notbe in the audience later thatevening, as church attendancehad been requested elsewhereinside the 45 - Block area.No matter that much of theproposed changes indicate areturn of West Greenville to itsformer desirable status; somecitizens are still concerned thatthere may be more missing fromwell intended discussions andremaining negotiations.In particular, some businessOwners want to ensure that theyget a fair shake in the deal,including market value shouldthey have to relocate theirbusiness. Similarly, area homeowners want to ensure they arenot haphazardly pushed aside forthe commercial expansion of the10" Street Business. FG members arewatit for Martin Luther KingDrive to become the commercialnode for Black business as it isdesignated to remain a majorthoroughfaret MLK Jr. Drive?_ Recently, Greenville CityDepartment Head of Planningand Community Development,Merle Flood, CommunityPreservation and RevitalizationSenior Planner, Carl Rees, andGreenville City Senior Planner,Christopher Davis, granted theMinority Voice News a meeting toshed light on these issues andalso to offer history on the CenterCity " West Greenville Revital-ization project planning.Merle Flood explained that stra-tegies for which are the umbrellafor the proposed comprehensivelook for all of Greenville, duringa time when any number of -projects were being discussed andacted upon. The main factor ofplanning was which projectswould come first and what type ofplanning would be necessary tomake West Greenville thecommunity it used to be, saidFlood.In particular, the 45 - BlockRevitalization strategy wasperceived as having a plan ofongoing project improvement anddevelopment over an 8 year timeframe. The City Aaa aide, explai oodeen of several key targets:1). Remove to the blighted |conditions of the West Greenvilleneighborhood, 2)..Get homeincreased from thecurrent to at least 50% at abare pepe existing how's theissue 0 sing in needof repair, be it owner or renteroccupied. 4). Begin working withcode enforcement officials to getthose types of situations fixed.__ BlackonomiYou AskeYou have heard the saying, oBecareful of what you ask for, youjust might get it; ? and it Ts reallytrue, When the Trent Lott debaclewas upon us I was shouting, oLethim stay; don Tt ask for hisresignation. ? Obviously those whowanted him to step down won thatbattle, but I wonder what willhappen now that he is no longerthe leader of the U.S. SenaisThere were those who asked theSenate to censure Lott instead ofdefrocking him, namely, theCongressional Black Caucus(CBC), and I commend them forthat. Time will tell if theirsuggestion was-the best, and Ithink we will find out veryquickly.In my opinion, it would have beenq better for Lott to remain in hisposition because during hisnumerous apologies he also madesome very interesting statements.He said some things for which hecould have been held accountableto Black folks, thus opening thedoor for possible concessions onour behalf. But nooooo, wewanted him out because he saidwhat he Td been feeling andthinking for years, and this timewe not only heard him (I assumewe also heard him in 1982 whenhe said the same thing), we paidattention tot) 8 he rssIf we had not gone along with hisRepublican cohorts, ArmstrongWilliams leading the charge, wewould be able to say to old Trent, oHey, didn Tt you say you supportative action? Aren Tt you theguy who said you didn Tt reallyappreciate the contributions of~ by James ClingmanMLK, but now after a recentepiphany you are a changedman? ? We could have asked TrentLott several questions in referenceto his apologetic statements, butnow African-Americans can holdhim accountable for nothing.It was really funny how thingsplayed out. The CBC asked forLott to be censured, John Lewisattepted his apology saying, oLet Ts move on, ? ArmstrongWilliams decried Lott Ts remarksas unacceptable in the party withthe obig tent, ? and finally, after hewas granted permission by hisboss, Colin Powell spoke out_ against Lott Ts remarks as well.The whole thing smacked ofridiculous theater, if you ask me.The Republicans saw:this Lottthing as a way to engender Blackfolks and.to take greater advan-tage of the Democrats T laxitywhen it comes to their primary ominority ? voting block. George oDubya ? has an agenda he isdesperately trying to ram through,and scapegoat Trent Lott provedto be an unwilling assistant. Bush,could not afford to be derailed andLott was not such a big deal thathe could not be sacrificed. To topit all off, Black folks, at least thosewho just had to have Lott outtathere, played a major role andactually helped Bush in theprocess. I bet it was congrats andattaboys all around the big tentwhen Lott stepped down.I don Tt know what the newmajority leader will do for Blackfolks, if anything, but alreadyBlack folks are stepping to thefront of the line to endorse him,praise him, laud him, and holdBill Frist up as though he were theMessiah himself. I guess we T llhave to wait to see. But with Lott,we knew what we had, and wefinally had something on him.What do they say about the bird inthe hand?I hope you can see this is allcharades and more of the samewhen it comes to politics. Bushsacrificed Lott, but he re-nomi-nates Charles Pickering forfederal Judge (A payback toLott?). So much for the obig tent. ?Bush says he Ts concerned aboutthe poor and downtrodden, but heputs forth an economic programthat will give the richest among usa windfall, while the poorest getlittle or nothing. Our president _also has issued a brief that speaksagainst the use of affirmativeaction in admissions at theUniversity of Michigan, a casenow before the U.S. SupremeCourt. Lott said he supportsaffirmative action; I wonder what oUncle Clarence and theSupremes ? will say.Bush is determined to go to war inIraq and sacrifice more younglives, and he needs the support ofthe-American people. Trent Lottwas an obstacle to that support,and he had to go. As for the roleof Black folks in this whole thing,Jerry Falwell said it best in arecent interview about Lott.Iparaphrase: We are about to go togo to war, and now is a time whenwe have to let everyone know,especially Blacks, that they areimportant to this country. I guessso, Jerry, especially when we willthe primary victims of the war.It Ts a shame we can Tt be as highlyregarded any other time.Yes, we should be careful, verycareful about what we ask for,because we may get somethingworse than what we already had.Just remember, politically speak-ing, Bill Frist owes Black folksnothing. He made no commit-ments, no promises, and no deals,except those deals he may havealready made with a few Blackpeople. But that Ts cool; it Ts justpolitics, right?James E. Clingman, an adjunctProfessor at the University ofCincinnati Ts African-AmericanStudies department, is former editoroff ry: Cincinnati Herald Newspapernai Aisa darian ChamberCommerée: He \hosts the raitio T""program, o TBlackonomics, ? and isthe author of the book, oEconomicEmpowerment or Economic Enslave-ment-We have a Choice. ? He can bereached at (513) 489-4132, or by e-mail atjclingman@blackonomics.com.The final 45 - Block Revital-ization Plan Proposal will include 3elements of importance in itsoverall design, Carl Rees advises:Refurbishment and potentialexpansion to Sadie Salter Schools;Multi-genetational recreationalopportunity; Economic Incubator toinclude job training center, eventscenter, and space for adult educa-tion instruction.10" Street ConnectorAccording to Merle Flood, the10" Street Connector has been inthe works for quite some time,approximately 10 years. Currentplans regarding its placementneithef call for the removal ofhomes along Farmville Boulevardnor have final plans for its locationbeen approved.More importantly, accordingto Flood, the North CarolinaDepartment of Transportation(NCDOT) will not only have thefinal word on the Connectorplacement, but the State of NorthCarolina will be responsible fornegotiating with effected residents,not the City of Greenville as heldby some.According to Flood, o tti-mately, we will do everything to notonly make sure those home ownersunderstand the process but we willassist those home owners withviable area relocation. Currentlythe 10" street connector has nopermanent placement as yet, andfor-us to make any kind of planswith that federal highway adminis-tration money, we must complywith their standards ?.. Relocating West GreenvilleResidentsCity of Greenville planningofficials Merle Flood, Carl Reesand Christopher Davis all agreedthat the City of Greenville is notinterested in moving lations ofpeople from that area. The goal,they stressed, is to work with asmany existing residents as ispossible to make the experience ofme ownership a reality.To accomplish this, added/Christopher Davis, a positivetransformation to the neighborhoodmust be achieved so that peoplewant to live there and to movethere; that includes renters and~ home owners alike, as well asconsumer business such as physi-.cian offices and similar profession-als. He further noted that for any"of this to work and to have lasting;existing and future area homeOwners must get involved andbecome good stewards of theirproperty and of their. community.Carl Rees pointed out that while. hewas not working on the project inthe beginning, that he is aware ofmeetings that were held withcurrent West Greenville residentsand also those held with WestGreenville leaders to seek out theircommunity concerns.He further acknowledged, othoseconcerns were entered into theredevelopment plan proposal, theywere: additional commercialServices; economic stimulus;neighborhood updates and o portu-nity for home ownership; arf andsecurity; sidewalk, storm drain andlighting improvement, additionaloccupant dwelling code enforce-ment; a return of the neighborhoodto its former appeal, ? said Rees.Additionally he noted, these arevery real issues that the plannersare using as a blue print into thisfinal stage of planning.Home Ownership Key to Improy-ing Blight in West GreenvilleBased on models of other success-ful neighborhoods, it is assumedthat the crucial factor to im vingWest Greenville is increased hoaOwnership; with that positiveclement addressed then too arethose earlier mentioned communityConcerns addressing safety, securityand increased neighborhood value. oSince Greenville has become anentitlement city to get federalfunding, West Greenville hasalways been a target area [forimprovement]. It Ts only that alarger target area " NorthGreenville- from the river down toDickerson over to Memorial, thatnoted Christopher Davis.Furthermore, he added, that manyof those updates were not visible oras dramatic; however, of thoseimprovements is include the City ofGreenville Ts successful residentialdevelopment, Country Side Estates.That in mind, ideally the goal is toconvert renters into homeowners,where the City of Greenvilleprovides assistance. For example,two renters within the 45 " BlockRevitalization area have beensuccessfully converted to homeowners. There also are several newhomes undergoing construction inthe Revitalization area. They arelocated between McKinnely Streetand Douglas Avenue.Also diversity in housing is amajor factor in all of this to includeduplexes and apartment develop-ments... possibly something similarto Macgregor Village, addedplanning official ChristopherDavis, who further stated oin itsfinal stages we want WestGreenville to reflect America. ?NEXT ISSUE: Cleaning UpUndesirable PropertiesQuestions or commentscan be addressed to: