| | i | EDITION. Pictures from the archives of the M'Voice nerang Eas erm North Carolina Since 1981 TO tu J yn Sun 4 Rab THE FOCUS IS ISLAM f. ~~? ‘Fy DR. GEORGE HAMAR Editorial Black On Black Violence What You See Is What You Get, Wh | GREAT BLACK HOPE? Is FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell, the son of Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell, being groomed by the GOP to become America’s first Black president ? _ With the Republican Party plan to design its ideal up-and-comer in a Gattaca- style genetics lab, the result would look and sound a lot like Michael K. Powell. A scion of Beltway royalty, Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell’s only son is that rarest of political gems-- -a Black Republican diehard free of the kooky far-right vibes that dog Alan Keyes and JC Watts. John McCain loves him, as do a number of starstruck Democrats bé- witched by his lineage and smarts. For many, the junior Powell seems a younger and brighter version of George W. Bush. Unlike Bush, however, Powell has not squandered his youthful ambition on failed oil derricks and Texas keggers. At the tender age of 38, he is the new chair- man of the Federal Communications Commission, the five-person panel that lords over Big Media and the Baby Bells. Rep. Ed Markey, a Massachusettes Democrat, made light of his wonkish might in March, at Powell’s first Capitol Hill appearance as head of the FCC. “People are always asking me to compare you to your father,” Markey said. “What | always tell them is you're just as smart as your father, but you have a lot Attacks resume on Black leaders by: Cash Michaels Tri - state Defender For several weeks after Rep. President George W. Bush assumed office in January. Black leadership fell under blistering attack from the conservative right, \who hoped not only to diminish the stature of fig- ures like the Rev. Al iat more power to affect the world.” If insiders are right, the FCC gig may be only a stepping stone. touting Powell as a Virginia congressman or governor, maybe even as Bush cabinet member. And if he bides his time and plays his cards Some are ~ AUGUST 3 - AUGUST 13, 2001. tions industry. Last week, aghast at the FCC’s recent handiwork, South Carolina Democratic senator Ernest Hollings ac- cused Powell of fostering “an erosion of diversity in our local markets.” Hollings has introduced legislation to stop the slash-and-burn jug- eos The decision could pave the way for the sale of BNC to AOL Time Warner, or---- if the rule is relaxed still - further---to Viacom. — In June, Viacom president Mel Karmazin announced he “would absolutely love” to purchase his broadcast rival, a deal that would make the (Staff Photo) — Tight, he could well become Voice Newspaper cameras, gernaut, but few expect his ia ee FCC CHAIRMAN & SECRETARY OF STATE'S SON......Striking a pose for The 'M’ the head of the FCC and the only son of the Secreta of State General Colin Powell....Chairman Michael K. Powell. Publisher and CE of WOOW, WTOW, & The M' Voice Newspaper’ Jim Rouse met with the FCC Chairman earlier this yéar at a NCAB meeting in Washington, DC. aaa mmmnetiee world’s third largest media the first African American president. Powell’s actions as FCC Chairman have made his pro-business, consumer-be- damned politics more than evident. In an administra- tion bent on rolling back . regulations, Powll is the consummate good solider, zealously blasting decades- old rules to the delight of the $950 billion communica- Sharpton and Kwesi Mfume, president/CEO, NAACP, but even put “troublemakers” like the Rev. Jesse Jackson completely out of business. While the FOX News Channet and otehr conserva- tive media took dead aim at Jackson’s — out-of-wedlock extramartial affair, conserva- tive activist David Horowitz sparked a national firestorm on college campuses declar- ing that it’s Blacks, not Pastor of St. Paul's Chureh, Taboro, Shown outside WCPS studios is Rev.G discussing the issues concerning the we Terry, own of Princeville with NAACP former Pres. Crystal Moye. They want to encourage all kids to Ms DRUGS: rag seek GOD and he (Photo by Jim Rouse). bill----designed to protect caps on market dominance--- to ever become law. Communications conglom- erates, by contrast, are rap- turous over Powell’s quick success in defanging the FCC. They re-joined when he coaxed the commission into relaxing its long works, clearing the way for Viacom to retain UPN even after it bought CBS. Whites, who should pay reparations for slavery. The “Bush Black Plan,” as it was coined back in March got the president to bond with what little conservative Black leadership there was, giving them stature and ac- cess, and then, link arms with as many of the Black clergy as possible, using the promise of federal \dollars to help their programs as the lure. Coupled with his quick successes out the gate on education and tax reform, and high-level appointments of Gen. Colin Powell and Dr. Condoleeza Rice to his conglomerate (200 reve- nues: $ 20 billion) an even more pervasive presence. In the name of free-market efficiency, Powell has also expedited dozens of merger reviews, including the $29 billion marriage of VoiceStream and Germany's Deutsche Telekom. He quickly pushed through 32 radio deals in March, claiming that “further delay administration, Bush seemed to be untouchable for a while. “If one thing is cer- tain as the victorious GOP contemplates world domina- tion,” Debra Dickerson, a senior fellow at the new American Foundation wrote in the Washington Post in March, “it’s that the concept of racism must be gnawed to jabberwockian meaningless- ness when uttered by a minority.” Regarding Bush efforts to “replace” established Black leadership with his desig- nated group, Dickerson con- tinued, “ By patting them on the head, and_affixing spit- sticky gold stars to their You Read Is What You Know And Save. is neither warranted nor just.” Among the big win-. ners was San Antonio-based. Clear . Channel Communications, the na- tion’s largest radio group, . which added seven more properties to its. 1200-station empire. As Salon’s. Eric Boehlert reported in April , Clear Channel already con- trols 60% of the country’s rock-format stations. Outgoing FCC At the same time, Powell has been an outspoken critic of . providing low-power radio licenses to community or religious groups, citing the “cost....to existing sta- tions that provide equally valuable service to their communities.” He did not elaborate on how one of Clear Channel’s vanilla Top 40 outlets can provide serv- ice on a par with that of an independent, or how a sta- tion relegated to the FM dial’s nether regions could possibly harm the bottom line of a Dave Matthews -playing titan. Powell’s laissez-faire machinations could be more easily forgiven if not for his flip dismissals of the FCC’s role in helping customers--- as the agency’s handbook notes, its mission is to protect the public’s “best interests”. At a recent American Bar Association panel, however, Powell curtly pooh-poohed the no- * tion of a public-interest stan- - dard, calling it * about as empty a vessel as you can accord a regula- ~ tory agency.” : The statement was in line - with an earlier quip, in BLOCK LEQDERS UNDER ATTACK foreheads, the GOP is gam- bling that those so rewarded won't notice they’ve been promoted to mere credits to their race. “ But then the mistakes began---the biggest being the powershift of the US Senate to the Democrats, thanks to Bush’s disregard for then Republican Vermont Sen. Jim Jeffords, who switched to independ- ent and now, six months after he’s taken office, the president is fighting several negative perceptions — that promise to cripple his first year, and maybe his presi- oc ie. Tarboro, NC.i.Shown abo that erupted in the town of Princeville. Posing is Brother Na'im K. Akbar, Mohammad, Sheriff Knight at St, Paul's Church in Tarboro attend’ 3 , Clark. Na'im Akbar abu up in Princeville, and runs a "Black folks need to violence. " he ve are Brothers that care A a program in m to work together and not against each other to > a RIE bet H of Maurice