www.michronicle.com
VOLUME 73 – Number 29★
WHAT’S INSIDE
Ploy to drop candidates April 17?
The Michigan Democratic
Party under the leadership of Mark Brewer has just sent out letters to candidates running for secretary of state and at- torney general to each submit a non-refundable fee of $9,500 to the party by April 5 to be considered for endorsement during its April 17 convention at Cobo Hall.
Critics are asking if this in
fact a way to force candidates who have not raised enough money to drop out of the race. Democratic insiders, justify- ing the cost, say the amount will help defray the cost of the conference.
Running for secretary of
state are Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey and Wayne State University Law professor Jocelyn Benson. Running for attorney general are attorney Richard Bernstein and Gen- esee County Prosecutor David Leyton.
Lone CBC member votes against health care reform (A-3)
Alabama Congressman
Artur Davis was the lone Congressional Black Caucus member to vote against the health care reform bill, spark- ing local and national criticism. Davis, who seeks to become Alabama’s first Black gov- ernor, said he couldn’t vote for the health care package because it was “too big.”
Controversial book on snitching published (A-3)
Kwasi Akwamu, author of
the book “Stop Snitching” argues that snitching “threat- ens to unravel what little trust there exists among Black people.”
Infiniti M, the revival (B-1)
Infiniti’s 2011 model has
some of the “wow” factor lacking in the previous model. Read Marcus Amick’s article to learn what the 2011 model’s got going for it.
Education 911 (B-3):
At a recent Pancakes &
Politics forum, Detroit Public Schools Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb called for the creation of an educa- tional revolution. Also involved in the discussion of long-term plans to revamp the DPS were Wayne State University Presi- dent Dr. Jay Noren and Wayne County Community College District Chancellor Dr. Curtis Ivery.
DMC Vanguard partnership is an investment in Detroit (B-10)
A recently announced part-
nership between the DMC and Vanguard will be a winner for Detroiters, as it brings an $850 million investment to modern- ize the hospitals of the Detroit Medical Center.
Area leaders support ‘Through African Eyes’ (B-10)
The Friends of African and
African American Art board and the Detroit Institute of Arts are presenting “Through African Eyes: The European in African Art, 1500 to Present” April 18-Aug. 8. The exhibit will feature some 100 figura- tive sculptures and utilitarian objects, and presents Africa as a multiplicity of cultures.
www.michronicle.com
6 89076 06419 4
By Bankole Thompson
CHRONICLE SENIOR EDITOR
And so it was in Memphis, Tennessee on
April 4, 1968 when the world’s premier peace officer was gunned down. The day before his assassination, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had given his last speech, “I’ve Been to the Moun- taintop” in support of striking sanitation work- ers at the Mason Temple in Memphis. In the speech King spoke as if he knew he was meet- ing his fate the next day.
“Strangely enough, I would turn to the Al-
mighty, and say, ‘If you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the twentieth century, I will be happy.’ Now that’s a strange statement to make, because the world is all
Bankole Thompson
COMMENTARY
March 31 - April 6, 2010 479 Ledyard • Detroit MI 48201
42 years later....
After King Murder
Nonviolence is still answer to
social change, not bigotry, racism and violence
messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in
the land. Confusion all around. That’s a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in a way that men, in some strange way, are responding — something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are assembled today,
whether they are in Johannesburg, South
Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or Memphis, Tennessee — the cry is always the same — ‘We want to be free.’”
This Sunday the world will
remember 42 years back, the life and philosophy of King and what it meant to all of us. His sacrifice of paying the ulti- mate price — his life — to get America into the larger palace of democracy where equality for all will one day become the norm.
For many
the Sunday re- membrance will include revisit- ing the day that Barack Obama was
elected
slurs and other forms of hate speech and violently attacking lawmakers who supported the legislation, the protesters are are revealing their true mo- tives, not opposition to health reform which is to create an atmosphere of fear and insecu- rity just because a Black man is president.
Some of these individu-
als who are hiding behind the Tea Party movement, and other Christian right wing mi- litia groups,
apparently think
Michael Ellcessor Arthur Horwitz Osama Siblani Elias Gutierrez
Public radio, ethnic media sound alarm of growing right wing extremism
WDET- 101.9 FM, the Detroit public
radio station owned and operated by Wayne State University, announced an important issue-oriented collaboration focusing on right wing extremism with four of the re- gion’s most-read independent newspapers, The Jewish News, The Arab American News, The Michigan Chronicle and Latino Press. The five media entities have estab- lished a partnership to raise awareness of the growth of radical right movements in Michigan and the country at large. The Michigan media entities have collaborated with the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit civil rights organization and one of the authoritative research institutions in the areas of hate groups, discrimination and exploitation.
Mikel Ellcessor, WDET general man-
ager, said, “The explosive growth of three distinct groups, the Tea Party movement, the Patriot movement, with the militias as their paramilitary arms, and the nativ- ist anti-immigration movement has been under way for the past year. While these are distinct movements with their own animus, there is a well documented, and rising, level of extreme rhetoric coming from all three groups. This rhetoric has
contributed to an environment that is fostering violence from the extreme right and multiple instances of domestic terror- ism.”
“This editorial project is designed to
raise awareness of this issue and to chal- lenge the people of Michigan to ask hard questions of their politicians and media,” Ellcessor continued. “Because of Michi- gan’s unique relationship with the militia movement, we encourage every citizen to understand the ways extreme rhetoric laced with violent imagery has permeated our society and contributed to a climate where six law enforcement officers have been murdered by far right extremists in the last year.”
The partners in the project commis-
sioned a special report by the SPLC that noted “after more than a decade out of the spotlight the militias have come roaring back to life across the country. Michigan, once again, is a hotbed of militia activity.” The SPLC documented 34 militia groups in Michigan — a staggering number when one considers that a year earlier the SPLC found only 42 militias in the entire coun-
See EXTREMISM GROWTH page A-4
James Clyburn to keynote
Fight For Freedom Fund Dinner
Congressman James
Clyburn (D- S.C.), the House majority whip, will be the keynote speaker at the De- troit Branch NAACP’s 55th annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner on Sunday, May 2, at Cobo Confer- ence Center, themed “Na- tional Healthcare, a Matter of Justice, Privilege, or a Right?”
Clyburn has come under attack recently for his leadership and for his sup- port in seeking votes and the successful passing of the national health care bill. He is a bold and un- wavering fighter for justice and equality.
In addition, there will be
a career expo titled “Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!” With unem- ployment rates statewide reported to be more than 15 percent — and over 20 percent in Detroit alone — and with the number of uninsured rising, those themes are only logical.
president of the United States. Given that King’s crusade took place in the same century that saw a Black man with a father from Kenya catapult- ed by voters to the most power- ful elected office in the world, the White House, is a completion of a cycle of history. Because King had long asked for an America that would one day judge his children not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
In 2010 we are at the cross-
roads of an important mile- stone that is forcing us all to recall the nonviolence philos- ophy of King. Inspired by Ma- hatma Ghandi’s nonviolence resistance movement, King vis- ited the land of Ghandi, India, 51 years ago to observe how one man was able to inspire a nation to defeat British colo- nialism without raising a fist. That pilgrimage to India had a profound impact on King’s life and on the Civil Rights Move- ment as he made nonviolence the central theme of his cam- paign for social justice.
The milestone we are wit-
nessing now is the historic health care legislation the passage of which under Presi- dent Obama has triggered acts of violence, hate, bigotry and racism by individuals who say they disagree but won’t use nonviolent protest to register their discontent. Using racial
“Both King and Mandela were scorned, hated with passion for speaking to the greater question of equality. If the Tea Party movement had existed during the King and Mandela crusades, they would have spat on both men and call them the “N” word just as they did to civil rights icon and Georgia Congressman John Lewis on the night of the health care legislation victory. ”
that America is still soaked in the 1950s Jim Crow era. Their view of America is one in which other communities should continue to be left behind because any legislation that attempts to address deep structural inequalities in our society is seen as taking away power from what they perceive as their inheritance.
Many presidents have at-
tempted to reform health care and failed. Besides, the crisis of the economy did not start with President Obama. It fo- mented over the last nine years under Bush and it will be mere wishful thinking to expect the economic mess to evaporate in a twinkle of an eye.
The White supremacist
thinking of some of the pro- testers has been allowed to permeate and is now find- ing itself in the mainstream discourse as a credible topic - when you watch what Glen Beck does and says to his fans - in tube because nothing seri-
See KING page A-4
Georgia AG under fire for refusing to challenge historic health care
By Jackie Jones
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Georgia state lawmakers are consider-
ing a move to suspend the rule and vote articles of impeachment against state At- torney General Thurbert Baker for refusing to file suit against the Obama administra- tion, challenging the constitutionality of the health care reform legislation finalized by Congress.
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue asked Baker
to file the lawsuit, but Baker said he did not believe the claim was legally viable.
Fourteen states have filed suit so far,
saying it is unconstitutional to force them to participate in the plan. Several legal scholars, however, have said there is prec- edent to require states to enact certain kinds of legislation or face penalties. For example, states were required to make the legal drinking age 21 or face the loss of fed- eral highway funds.
Perdue, who cannot run for re-election
because of term limits, has vowed to find a way to file a lawsuit if Baker continues to refuse to do so.
Baker, who is running for governor and
Rep. James Clyburn
has several challengers in the Democratic Primary, released a statement through his office.
313.963.5522 $1.00
Thurbert Baker
Baker ultimately concluded that there
was not a viable legal claim that his office could pursue in filing such a lawsuit. Given that this proposed litigation is likely to fail and will consume significant amounts of taxpayers’ hard-earned money in the process, Baker informed the Governor’s Office by letter that he would not be instituting liti- gation against the United States of America over the Patient Protection and Affordable
See BAKER page A-4
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