Annual Cotillion a huge success!!!

Transcription

Iowa Bystander
Established 1894
“How wrong it is for a woman to expect the
man to build the world she wants, rather than
to create it herself.”
Established 1894
- Anais Nin Fear God, Tell the Truth & Make Money • The Oldest Black Publication West of the Mississippi • Vol. 116 No. 41 • April 30, 2007
Ebony Fashion Fair presents Stylishly Hot
Ebony Fashion Fair - Gianni
Caglinano Couture – Rome
Summary:Swarovski crystals and
stripes of satin ribbon ornament a
back laced bustier worn atop a ball
skirt uniquely covered with cascading abstract shapes cut from
sheets of opaque plastic Mylar.
Ebony Fashion fair, the world’s
largest traveling fashion show, celebrates 49 years with stylishly hot!
See the fashions on Saturday, May 5,
2007, 8:00 p.m. at the Hoyt Sherman
Place, 1501 Woodland Avenue, Des
Moines, IA. Proceeds from the show
sponsored by the Des Moines Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta
Sorority, Inc. – Triad Foundation will
benefit the Helen Lemme Scholarship Fund.
Ticket prices include a one-year
subscription to EBONY or six months
to Jet and chances to win round trip
transportation for two to any destination served by American Airlines or
American Eagle in the domestic U.S.
48 states, a 2007 Ford Edge, a one
year supply of hair care products from
Soft Sheen-carson and selected items
from Fashion Fair Cosmetics. Get
your tickets today by calling 515/
229-8519.
The show is characterized by its
glamour, elegance and beauty and
has all of the energy of a Broadway
show. The flare of the world’s most
creative clothing designs makes
Ebony Fashion Fair’s Stylishly Hot
an event that must not be missed.
Black scholarship fund gets help from Southern governors
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Gov. Mark Sanford joined a
rising trend among Southern governors holding a luncheon
to help raise money for the United Negro College Fund.
Most of the seven governors who have agreed this year
to host similar fundraisers have been Republicans like
Sanford, organizers said.
“Most of the historically black colleges are in the
South,” said Maurice Jenkins, senior vice president for the
fund’s Southern region. “So, I think it’s most appropriate
that the governors support those historically black colleges.”
Sanford said he decided to host the event because it ties
into two issues he’s long championed - educational quality
and school choice.
“If you look at historically black colleges in our state,
what they represent is a different choice in the educational
market place that frankly makes a difference,” Sanford
said. “I think a portion of the fact that a lot people don’t
make it through the educational system is that they are
literally square pegs in round holes.”
More than $75,000, most from corporate donors, was
raised during Tuesday’s event and around 300 people
attended the fundraiser, Jenkins said.
Before this year, Florida had hosted the only governor’s
luncheon to help raise money for the United Negro College
Fund, said Willie Tabor, area director for the organization.
Around $380,000 was raised at the Florida event this year.
Governors in Florida, South Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas have offered to
hold luncheons this year, organizers said.
The money raised at the luncheons are important because financial hardship is the top reason black college
students give for dropping out before getting a degree,
Tabor said.
“The black colleges are producing more lawyers and
engineers and doctors per capita than any other universities,” Tabor said. “The students at these schools drop out
because of financial reasons. A lot of these students are first
generation college students and some are from singleparent households, where the incomes are $25,000 to $35,000
per family.”
Voorhees College junior Dameone Ferguson, who was
raised by his grandmother in Easley after his mother was
killed, said a lot of students like him couldn’t go to college
without the United Negro College Fund scholarship.
“I’ve seen people who came in with me, had financial
difficulties and had to drop out,” Ferguson said. “Without
these scholarships a lot of us won’t be able to attend school.
And without school your future is very, very grim.”
The United Negro College Fund provides financial support to 39-member institutions nationwide, including five
in South Carolina.
Masha Hamilton will be at the Central
Library to discuss her book, The Camel
Bookmobile, a captivating novel about a
young American woman who leaves her
everyday life behind to bring the joy of
reading to a small African village.
Story on page 5
Annual Cotillion
a huge success!!!
Iota Zeta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated
awarded $13, 000 in scholarships during their 29th Annual Scholarship
Cotillion on Saturday, April 7th at the Holiday Inn on Fleur Drive. An audience
of over four hundred family, friends and community supporters witnessed as
eighteen outstanding young African American men and women were presented. Each student presented received a scholarship and three top monetary
scholarships were awarded. The winning essay was read to the audience.
The students who received the top scholarships were Vanessa Buie a
senior at Valley High School and the daughter of Fred and Valeska Buie
received the Billie Jean Morrow Scholarship for the student with the highest
cumulative grade point average. Vanessa has a 4.025 G.P.A and will be
attending the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Sharaine Conner-Weathers, a senior at Roosevelt and the daughter of Sheri Floyd, received the Wilda
B. Hester/Fran Cuie scholarship as the female participant who excelled in her
academics, community service and pre-ball activities. Sharaine will be attending the University of Iowa. Kameron Middlebrooks, a senior at Roosevelt and
the son of Kimberly Carter-Middlebrooks received a newly awarded scholarship that goes to the male participant who also excels in academics, community service and pre-ball activities. Kameron will be attending the University
of South Dakota. April Sauls, a senior at Roosevelt won an award for the best
essay based on this years’ theme, “Excellence in Academics, Making Your
Dreams Come True.” She is the daughter of Sherrie and Eddie Sauls and will
attend Iowa State University.
On the international level Alpha Kappa Alpha continues its focus on
education, economic empowerment, health and strengthening the black family in the communities that they serve.
The cotillion was followed by a reception and dance.
The remaining scholarship recipients who were presented are as follows:
Ericka Barnes – North, the daughter of Carol Galbreath
Terra Broadus – Roosevelt, the daughter of Shawntalay and Terry Broadus
Shaneice Coleman –North, the daughter of Shannon and John Coleman
Tierra Ellis – North, the daughter of Brent and LaSundria Jenkins
Akilah Jackson-Rushing –Hoover, the daughter of Juanita Jackson
ToiAne Johnson-North, the daughter of Gregory and Toni L. Smith
Stephanie Kitchen- Roosevelt, the daughter of Stephen and Teresa Kitchen
Michael Klacik, III – Valley, the son of Jackie and Michael Klacik, Jr.
Natasha Oakley- Lincoln, the daughter of Patricia Washington
Britanny Phillips- Lincoln, the daughter of Crystal and Jeff Watson
Kevin Singleton- Roosevelt, the son of Sherry Singleton
Courtney Thompson-Lincoln, the daughter of Linda and Richard Harrell
Keryna Thompson-Banks, Roosevelt, the daughter of Jaymie Banks
Jared Underwood- Roosevelt, the son of Rene’ and Dawn Robinson
April 30, 2007
Iowa Bystander • Page 2
Weekly Meditation:
“Are You Routine or Consistent”
-- Lamentations 3:22-24
Crab Theory 101 #10, Self Determination:
With the Don Imus foolishness came the knee jerk
reaction some of the more influential African Americans in leadership positions are having including
blaming rap music for our social problems.
We have been blind sided.
We must not let others make Hip- Hop the scapegoat for the foul language that Don Imus (pictured)
used or some of the other disrespectful statements
that some politicians have made lately. The Reverends Jackson and Sharpton and Oprah Winfrey have
all taken on the Hip- Hop industry launching a
campaign to blame the industry for our nation’s societal ills.
We can get caught up in this debate of language in rap songs and lose sight
of the real important issues like unemployment, the war in Iraq, gas prices, and
the economy. These are far greater issues than the lyrics in a rap song. In fact,
the lines in the movie “Color Purple” carried greater offense than some of the
lyrics in rap songs. Now rap has to clean up its act, this fact is true! But we
cannot hang all of the blame on the whole Hip- Hop industry. The artists on
the record labels are asked to be edgy and controversial in order to sale music
and keep profits coming in to the large corporations.
Until we as consumers demand a change, and can show that demand at the
cash register, we won’t make the record companies change. So when Oprah
feels the need to try and be the moral conscience for all America she should
at least be real with the facts. Terms such as bi@#$$% and H@$%%!$ and
F@#$, P@##$$%$ were used in society long before Hip-Hop and rap music
came on the scene. The fact is slave masters and overseers used this same
language, and over time we learned to use it. All of these words are used by all
races, it’s not just a Black thing or a White thing, it’s a people thing.
Getting side tracked of course is what some people want.
Getting divided on what is really a minor issue, keeps us from closing the
gaps in income, homeownership, economic development, healthcare, education and many more areas of need. We must not become divided on issues of
minuscule importance. Instead we must concentrate on the issues that can
move us forward.
Oh and by the way, the “60 minutes” episode that aired Sunday, “NO
Snitching, A Code of Silence” again tried to show rap as the influence on kids
not telling the police about crimes that they’ve seen committed. Well the Police
Force has a code of silence that is unwritten and includes not “snitching.” With
the past media coverage of rampant miscarriages of justice, it could be said that
some police departments in this country have contributed to this practice.
Just a thought.
We must put the truth first in all things; we can’t rise only to become the
gate keepers refusing to unlock the gates. So decide for yourself what’s the
most important issue’s facing our community instead of letting someone else
make that decision for you.
Moving toward change JB………..
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Is there a difference between routine and consistency?
Maybe the general belief is that one can be consistent
without engaging in routine. God is consistent; “new
mercies we see every day.”
We consistently receive the benefits of God every
morning. However, it is not routine, or the same thing.
God’s mercies are ‘new’. They are not familiar or laden
with yesterday’s pattern. If God gives us ‘new’ every
morning, then we should not be in a routine paradigm
with God. Yes, we should be consistent and faithful, but
not religiously routine. We should ask God everyday to
show us new ways to express love to Him through our
worship and praise. Let’s ask God to give us the tongue
to speak and the heart of a poet, so that, we can express
beauty, goodness and love in new and magnificent ways
to our King.
Prayer:
Lord we consistently seek you everyday. You are our
God and we can’t get enough of you. Early in the
morning we rise up to pursue you. We have a hunger and
thirst for you, like a parched person in a dry place. (Psalm
63:1) We long for you when we are not in your manifest
presence. We know that you are always with us and
surround us, but we want and desire the times where we
sup with you and you sup with us. We run with excitement when you knock on the door of our heart and call us
to go away in prayer and worship. (Revelation 3:20) We
look to build a throne of praise that You can sit on and
dwell upon. You inhabit the praises of your people
(Psalm 22:3), and praise is beautiful on your people
(Psalm 33:1). Lord, we seek never to be routine and
familiar with you. We don’t ever want to take you for
granted. We quickly repent because in times past we have
gotten too comfortable with your presence and love. But
today we ask that you teach us a new song. We want fresh
and exciting ways to display our love and gratitude.
(Psalm 33:1) We never desire to approach your presence
the same old ways! Help us to invent a song afresh in the
deep places of our hearts. We want to write a song from
within our spirit that can be sung by angels and humanity
surrounding your majesty and greatness. We welcome the
fresh wind of creativity to usher in the Shekinah Glory.
You are worthy of our distinct exuberance and excitement. We will always be consistent, but we will not be
boring and apathetic. We will open our mouths with new
articulations of praise, prayer and worship each day. You
are worthy of our praise because of your acts of power.
You are worthy of exaltation because of your awesome
greatness. We make our mouths like a trumpet to worship
you, and our hearts will play a soft melody of praise like
a string quartet. We will praise you everyday with our
creative breath because you only are worthy of our affection and praise. Thank You for always giving us new
reasons to think of new ways to praise and worship you.
Hallelujah! (Psalm 150)
In Jesus’ Name, Amen
Preaching & Teaching Ministry
Bishop-Elect T. Anthony Bronner, Buffalo, NY
Submitted by Elpis Fellowship
Friday Funday at the Des Moines Playhouse
Join The Des Moines Playhouse on May 18 for “Stone
Soup.” This story is the final performance in the 2006-07
season of Friday Funday, a creative participatory story
theatre program for children ages 4-6. Performances are
at The Playhouse, Friday, May 18, at 9:30 and 10:30 AM,
and 1:30 PM. Shows are approximately 45 minutes in
length. Admission is $5 per person, adults and children.
Reservations are suggested and can be made by calling
The Playhouse box office at 515-277-6261.
May’s featured story is “Stone Soup.” “All we need to
make this soup is a large pot of water and one large stone.”
The selfish villagers do not want to share any of their food,
so two travelers must start with two unusual ingredients.
Join The Clubhouse at The Playhouse Gang as they
dramatize this favorite story using only their imaginations
Established 1894
and the costume pieces and props they find in their Magic
Trunk.
Friday Funday performances are held monthly, September-May. The 2007-08 season will open Sept. 14,
2007, with “Johnny Appleseed.”
The Playhouse is Iowa’s oldest and largest producing
theatre. Located at the 42nd Street exit of I-235, the theatre
has presented a full season of shows since 1919 and also
offers a wide variety of educational experiences including
classes for ages 4 to adult, theatre trips to New York, and
volunteer opportunities onstage and backstage.
For information on Friday Funday and other Playhouse
educational offerings, contact The Playhouse education
department at 515-974-5356. For tickets to Friday Funday,
contact The Playhouse box office at 515-277-6261.
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April 30, 2007
Page 3 • Iowa Bystander
“We have a powerful potential in our
youth, and we must have the courage to
change old ideas and practices so that we
may direct their power toward good ends.”
-- Mary McLeod Bethune
Sen. Hank Sanders, D-Selma, talks with the media about a resolution apologizing for slavery in Alabama, April 12, 2007,
at the Statehouse in Montgomery, Ala. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)
Text of slavery apologies approved
in Alabama Legislature this month
By The Associated Press
The complete texts of the slavery apology resolutions
sponsored by state Sen. Hank Sanders, D-Selma, and Rep.
Mary Moore, D-Birmingham.
Sanders’ resolution:
WHEREAS, slavery has been documented as a worldwide practice since antiquity, dating back to 3500 B.C. in
ancient Mesopotamia; and
WHEREAS, during the course of the infamous Atlantic
15 Slave Trade, millions of Africans became involuntary 16
immigrants to the New World, and millions more died
during 17 passage; the first African slaves in the North
American 18 colonies were brought to Jamestown, in 1619;
and
WHEREAS, the Atlantic Slave Trade was a lucrative
enterprise, and African slaves, a prized commodity to support the economic base of plantations in the colonies, were
traded for tropical products, manufactured goods, sugar,
molasses, and other merchandise; and
WHEREAS, some African captives resisted enslavement
by fleeing from slave forts on the West African coast and
others mutinied aboard slave trading vessels, cast themselves into the Atlantic Ocean, or risked the cruel retaliation
of their masters by running away to seek freedom; and
WHEREAS, although the United States outlawed the
transatlantic slave trade in 1808, the domestic slave trade in
the colonies and illegal importation continued for several
decades; and
WHEREAS, slavery, or the “Peculiar Institution,” in the
United States resembled no other form of involuntary servitude, as Africans were captured and sold at auction as
chattel, like inanimate property or animals; and
WHEREAS, to prime Africans for slavery, the fundamental values of the Africans were shattered, they were
brutalized, humiliated, dehumanized, and subjected to the
indignity of being stripped of their names and heritage,
women and girls were raped, and families were disassembled as husbands and wives, mothers and daughters, and
fathers and sons were sold into slavery apart from one
another; and
WHEREAS, a series of complex colonial laws were
enacted to relegate the status of Africans and their descendants to slavery, in spite of their loyalty, dedication, and
service to the country, including heroic and distinguished
service in the Civil War; and
WHEREAS, the system of slavery had become entrenched
in American history and the social fabric, and the issue of
enslaved Africans had to be addressed as a national issue,
contributing to the Civil War from 1861 to 1865 and the
passage of the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude on
December 18, 1865; and
WHEREAS, after emancipation from 246 years of slavery, African-Americans soon saw the political, social, and
economic gains they made during Reconstruction dissipated
by virulent and rabid racism, lynchings, disenfranchisement
of African-American voters, Black Codes designed to reimpose the subordination of African-Americans, and Jim Crow
laws that instituted a rigid system of de jure segregation in
virtually all areas of life and that lasted until the passage of
the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act;
and
WHEREAS, throughout their existence in America and
even in the decades after the Civil Rights Movement, African-Americans have found the struggle to overcome the
bitter legacy of slavery long and arduous, and for many
African-Americans the scars left behind are unbearable,
haunting their psyches and clouding their vision of the future
and of America’s many attributes; and
WHEREAS, acknowledgment of the crimes and persecution visited upon other peoples during World War II is
embraced lest the world forget, yet the very mention of the
broken promise of “40 acres and a mule” to former slaves or
of the existence of racism today evokes denial from many
quarters of any responsibility for the centuries of legally
sanctioned deprivation of African-Americans of their endowed rights or for contemporary policies that perpetuate the
status quo; and
WHEREAS, in 2003, during a trip to Goree Island,
Senegal, a former slave port, President George W. Bush
stated, “At this place, liberty and life were stolen and sold.
Human beings were delivered and sorted, and weighed, and
branded with the marks of commercial enterprise, and loaded
as cargo on a voyage without return. One of the largest
migrations of history was also one of the greatest crimes of
history ... Small men took on the powers and airs of tyrants
and masters. Years of unpunished brutality and bullying and
rape produced a dullness and hardness of conscience. Christian men and women became blind to the clearest commands
of their faith and added hypocrisy to injustice ... For 250
years the captives endured an assault on their culture and
their dignity ... While physical slavery is dead, the legacy is
alive. My nation’s journey toward justice has not been easy,
and it is not over. For racial bigotry fed by slavery did not end
with slavery or with segregation ... and many of the issues
that still trouble America have roots in the bitter experience
Apologies: Continued on page 9
Iowa Civil Rights Commission
Working Toward A State Free of Discrimination
Enforcement of Civil Rights Laws
Education and Training for Groups,
Individuals and Organizations
Raising the Profile of Civil Rights and
Diversity
For more information, or questions, or
concerns, please contact us at:
400 E. 14th Street
Des Moines, Iowa 50319
515-281-4121 or 1-800-457-4416
www.state.ia.us/government/crc
April 30, 2007
Unique memorial service at
DMU honors body donors
On May 18, Des Moines University will honor
72 Iowans who donated their bodies to further
medical education. The family of each donor, the
DMU community and the public is invited to
remember each donor and recognize each generous gift.
“We are indebted to these individuals that
donated their body for education. I would hope
all donors and their families realize what a great
service they are doing for students of medicine.
They provide an invaluable resource for our education and we are very grateful for the learning
opportunity,” said Kassia Sandstrom, physician
assistant student. “These donors all led meaningful, fulfilling lives and were able to give to their
communities after they passed away. They deserve recognition for this important decision.”
The non-denominational service will begin at
1 p.m. in the Student Education Center auditorium, 3300 Grand Avenue, and is open to all. The
body donor memorial service has been held annually for at least 35 years. At least 300 people are
expected to attend. For the first time, this year
military honors will be performed for the veteran
donors. Family members at the service will be
given a lapel pin that honors the gift their loved
one made.
Clayton Carlson, anatomical coordinator, arranged this year’s service. He says, “It shows our
donor families that we care about them and it
gives students an opportunity to recognize the
donors who contributed to their education. This
is the only service some donor families have.”
Sandstrom, osteopathic medicine student
Matthew McClanahan, Nicole Mason, a podiatric medical student and physical therapy student
Laurel Nystul will speak during the program.
Other speakers at the service will include
Kendall Reed, D.O., dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine, Robert Yoho, D.P.M., dean of
the College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery,
Jodi Cahalan, PA-C, dean of the College of Health
Sciences, Donald Matz, Ph.D., chair of the anatomy
department, and Reverend Beau Collins of Des
Moines’ Evergreen Church of Christ. A video
tribute to the donors will be shown as well.
The Body Donor Program at Des Moines University has been contributing to medical investigation and student education for as long as the
University has. Since detailed record keeping began in 1955, more than 2,000 bodies have been
donated to DMU. Studying the body’s systems and
organs contributes to a thorough understanding of
human anatomy.
Mason said, “We learn best when we can actually see and touch that which we need to understand. The donors provided an invaluable opportunity - the scientific knowledge we gain working
with actual bodies is indispensable.”
When a body is donated to the program, the
University pays a portion of the transportation
costs within Iowa and provides for the memorial
service and entombment. The annual memorial
service has been held for more than 35 years. Of the
72 being honored this year, 15 will be entombed at
the Merle Hay Mausoleum.
Making death preparations is not something
most people like to talk about but planning ahead
insures the option of donating your body to science. For more information about the Body Donor
Program at DMU, call 515-271-1481.
Free parking is available behind the building
and directions to campus are available at http://
www.dmu.edu.
Eating out still risky when
it comes to sodium in food
DES MOINES, Iowa (Dow Jones/AP) Americans trying to shake the salt habit aren’t
getting much help when they go out to eat.
Despite repeated warnings by health experts
about the consequences of over-salted diets, big
fast food and casual dining restaurant chains
either have made little apparent effort to reduce
sodium in their food or simply don’t disclose the
amounts.
One reason: There is little economic incentive to do so.
“Too many people still equate low salt with
low taste,” said Dr. Lawrence Appel of the
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine,
an authority on hypertension and cardiovascular
disease.
Experts believe that many Americans consume twice the sodium they need to stay healthy.
The government’s recommended limit is 2,300
milligrams, or about 1 teaspoon, a day. Blacks,
older adults and children are advised to ingest
less than that.
But some of the most popular items on restaurant menus make following that guidance
difficult. For example, a Burger King Whopperwith-cheese combo, including a medium order
of French fries and medium Diet Coke, has
2,060 milligrams of sodium. There are 2,330
milligrams in a KFC Famous Bowl with mashed
potatoes and gravy. An order of baby back ribs
with honey barbecue sauce at Chili’s Grill & Bar
comes with 4,410 milligrams of sodium.
The seasoning heightens health problems
related to what’s been called an epidemic of
childhood obesity. “The more calories (taken) in,
the more salt in. There’s a direct relationship
between obesity and high blood pressure,” said
Dr. Jeffrey Cutler, a preventive medicine specialist at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a unit of the National Institutes of Health.
Last June, the American Medical Association
called for a 50 percent cut in the sodium in fast
food and other restaurant fare. The physicians’
organization also said it wanted to talk with the
Food and Drug Administration about the issue,
but 10 months have passed without such a meeting.
An FDA spokesman, Michael Herndon, said
this week that one is being arranged. Meanwhile,
he said, the agency is “looking at ways to get input
from all stakeholders on what actions we might
take” to promote reduced salt consumption.
The restaurant industry is on record as opposing mandates. Sheila Weiss, director of nutrition
policy for the National Restaurant Association,
called sodium reduction an “important issue” and
said restaurateurs have been working with food
suppliers on such items as salad dressings, sauces
and soups.
“This isn’t something our members are taking
lightly,” Weiss said.
Even so, diners at many of the country’s biggest chains haven’t a clue as to how much sodium
they’re consuming.
Sodium: Continued on page 12
“Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they
will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by it’s light.”
~ Joseph Pulitzer
April 30, 2007
Des Moines library schedule
Lebanon . Then she spent five years in Moscow ,
where she was a correspondent for the Los Angeles
Times, wrote a newspaper column, “Postcard from
Moscow ,” and reported for NBC/Mutual Radio. She
wrote about Kremlin politics as well as life for the
average Russians under Gorbachev and Yeltsin during the coup and collapse of the Soviet Union . She
traveled Afghanistan in the spring of 2004 to report
on the changing situation for women in prison, child
brides, war widows, and others. In 2006, she traveled
to Kenya to research The Camel Bookmobile and
interview drought and famine victims in the isolated
northeast near the unstable border with Somalia.
Children’s Author Jim Aylesworth at the Library!
Meet children’s author Jim Aylesworth on Thursday, May 8 at 4:00 PM at the Franklin Avenue
Library. Jim is an author of many picture books and
retellings of traditional tales, including The Gingerbread Man, Old Black Fly, The Tale of Tricky Fox
and many more. Jim taught first grade for twenty-five
years and has since then retired to write and travel. He
stays busy traveling to schools, reading his stories,
and inspiring thousands of children to read and write.
This author/lecturer/teacher will will discuss and
read from his work. The presentation will be followed by a book sale and signing. Don’t miss out on
meeting a great author and getting your own book
signed!
Genealogy Resources
Learn how to research your family history by
attending the Introduction to Genealogy Resources
class on Tuesday, May 8, from 2:00 to 3:00 PM at the
Central Library. This brief introduction and overview will inform you about electronic genealogy
resources available at the Des Moines Public Library. Stop by the Central Library or call 515-2834152, extension 3, to preregister.
Learn to Use the Internet
Stop by the South Side Library on Tuesday, May
8, at 9:00 AM to learn to use the Internet. This class
will give you helpful hints on ways to use the Internet and the many
opportunities that are available on the Internet. This is for those
already familiar with the mouse and keyboard.
You must preregister. To do this call 283-4152, ext. 3.
Three young, severly malnourished Somali children stand in line for food
on Christmas Day at an aid center in Bardera. (AP Photo/John Moore)
AViD Author Visit: Mary Doria Russell
Stop by Sheslow Auditorium on the Drake campus, May 3, at
6:30 PM to meet Mary Doria Russell. Mary Doria Russell will share
how a perfectly normal paleoanthropologist ended up writing two
science fiction classics, two serious historical novels, and now a
western. Russell has become widely known for her two novels
which explore one of science fiction’s oldest concepts: first contact
with aliens. In this framework she also explores the even older issue
of how one can reconcile the idea of a benevolent deity with pain and
evil in the world. Russell will discuss her three novels The Sparrow,
Children of God, and A Thread of Grace.
AViD Author Visit: Masha Hamilton
On Monday, May 7, at 6:30 PM, Masha Hamilton will be at the
Central Library to discuss her book, The Camel Bookmobile, a
captivating novel about a young American woman who leaves her
everyday life behind to bring the joy of reading to a small African
village. The real-life Camel Bookmobile made its first run almost a
decade ago with three dromedaries that trudged through deepest
Kenya to bring a library to the most remote settlements. Masha
Hamilton brings this inspiring story to life in her novel that is both
illuminating and highly entertaining.
Masha worked as a foreign correspondent for The Associated
Press for five years in the Middle East, where she covered the
intefadeh, the peace process, and partial Israeli withdrawal from
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Chess and Go Club at the Library!
Teens, join the Chess and Go Club at Central Library, May 8 at
3:30 PM in the second floor conference room. Whether you’ve
played before or have never heard of Chess or Go, come hang out
with other area teens. You can learn how to play or watch others play
while you eat the snacks provided.
Adult Book Discussions
Stop by any of the six libraries to be part of an adult book
discussion. There are several chances to attend. Ask at the information desk to borrow a copy of a book.
• Tuesday, May 1, 2:00-3:00 PM, South Side Library, Teacher
Man, by Frank McCourt.
• Thursday, May 3, 1:00-2:00 PM, Franklin Avenue Library,
Blue Shoes and Happiness, by Alexander McCall Smith.
• Monday, May 7, 2:00-3:00 PM, North Side Library, A Girl
Named Zippy, by Haven Kimmel.
• Tuesday, May 8, 6:30-7:30 PM, Franklin Avenue Library,
Honky, by Dalton Conley.
ooo
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Please contact our 24 hour Job Line for information.
Looking to get fit after a winter of putting on unwanted pounds but you just don’t
know where to start? Do you work out better if you have someone working out
with you? Are you ready to shed that extra weight and live a healthier lifestyle?
If you answered yes to any or all of these questions an area walking club will be
forming next month. Walking is one of the best ways to get fit and shed that extra
weight. We’ll also discuss how to eat healthier. So if you’re interested call Jonathan
at 515-471-5092 or email him at jon_narcisse@yahoo.com.
www.aric.com
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April 30, 2007
Skills shortages bite despite
army of unemployed workers
Although there is a worldwide shortage of engineers and artisans, South Africa is particularly badly hit because of
the legacy of apartheid, which reserved
quality schooling, training and jobs for
the white minority and condemned a generation of blacks to drudgery.
The 2001 census showed that of the 45
million population, at least 4 million
South Africans at least 20 years old had
no schooling at all, while another 4 million had limited schooling at primary
school level - about 18 percent of the
population in all.
The government has made big strides
in education and training since the end of
apartheid in 1994. But critics maintain
that some of its policies - including socalled affirmative action which prioritizes nonwhites in awarding jobs - have
worsened the skills crisis.
“The country has cut off its nose to
spite its face,” John Kane-Berman, director of the South African Institute for
Race Relations, wrote in a column in
Business Day. “The massive imbalances
between black and white in the possession of skills have their origins in apartheid. A wiser government would have
done everything possible to retain scarce
skills despite their whiteness.”
Job seekers signal their need for work April 2, 2007 as they
Kane-Berman - whose organization
sit on a sidewalk in Wetton, Cape Town, South Africa. The last year estimated that about 1 million
unemployed gather daily in the hope of finding work in a white South Africans had left the councountry scarred by extreme unemployment coupled with a try in the past 10 years - said there should
crippling shortage of skills. (AP Photo/Obed Zilwa)
be more attention to the shortcomings of
current education and training policies.
“We see a lot of certificates in travel and tourHOUT BAY, South Africa (AP) - Simon
Gungqa and dozens of other hopefuls stand at a ism,” said Bownes, of the job bank. “But there is
busy intersection, their eyes watchful, appealing a need for more practical training so they can go
to motorists to hire them for a few hours of casual out and fix the toilet tomorrow. There may seem to
labor in a country scarred by extreme unemploy- be a lot of glamor in a head office but the money
ment coupled with a crippling shortage of skills. is in the practical work.”
Bownes says although many young people in
It is a dispiriting daily ritual for 26-year-old
Gungqa, a school dropout and sometime gardener the community are eager to be trained as carpenwith no regular work, who forms part of what ters or plumbers, they don’t have the money for
South Africa’s deputy president recently described the bus fare to Cape Town training centers and
as the country’s poorly educated, untrained army. would lose desperately needed cash if they were in
At a small community employment center school instead of working casual jobs.
Young people are disproportionately hit by
nearby, program manager Tania Bownes sighs as
she contemplates the 300 domestic workers and South Africa’s unemployment, which is officially
glut of gardeners on her list of jobseekers. But 26 percent. In reality it’s closer to 40 percent
there are only a handful of carpenters, stonema- because the government figure doesn’t include the
sons and seamstresses - and all the plumbers and informal sector or those who have given up looking for a job.
electricians have been snapped up.
Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
“We have a vast pool of labor but a real lack of
trained workers,” said Bownes, whose WorkNow was named last year to spearhead two programs
project tries to find jobs for unemployed blacks designed to halve unemployment by 2014 and
living in an impoverished suburb of this otherwise boost skills development.
At last month’s news conference Mlambowealthy town. “Skilled artisans are like gold.”
The paradox in Hout Bay, a coastal resort near Ngcuka said around 1 million jobs had been
Cape Town, is witnessed throughout South Africa created the past two years but the poorest commuas it struggles with estimated 40 percent unem- nities remained too marginalized to benefit.
“We don’t ... have a comprehensive intervenployment coupled with shortages in almost every
profession and craft - top level managers, teach- tion to deal with those people. Of all the things we
have to do, this is the one I am most worried
ers, engineers, bricklayers and welders.
The government wants to train 50,000 artisans about,” she said. “It is also the one that is the most
by 2010 - requiring an annual increase of 7,500; difficult. It is also one that lingers on from what
more than double the number of students in higher apartheid was about.”
There was “an army of people we must take care
levels of school and training to 1 million; and
dramatically increase the number of engineering of sooner rather than later,” she said.
Michael Mafanya, who dropped out of school
graduates. It is also drafting retired people back
into the labor force and trying to persuade South “many years ago” and had problems spelling his
own name, was part of that army. Barefoot, missAfricans working abroad to return home.
Even so, it will have to rely on imported skilled ing a front tooth and aged beyond his 37 years by
workers to meet deadlines for stadium construc- a lifetime of disappointment, he lined up at the
tion, transport and other infrastructure projects Hout Bay intersection for casual work,
“I can do your garden,” said Mafanya. “Or let
for the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament, as
well as to provide services when the anticipated me wash your car. I can do paving, or painting. Let
me do anything.”
hordes of visitors arrive.
Suffer the little children to come
unto me and forbid them not, for of
such is the kingdom of God.
--MARK 10:14
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phone 243-4073
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April 30, 2007
DMACC 2007 Commencement
ceremonies scheduled May 3rd
Des Moines Area Community College’s (DMACC’s)
Ankeny/Newton/Urban/West Campus 2007 Commencement will take place at 7 p.m., Thur., May 3 at
Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium.
DMACC Newton Campus student Linda Allen of
Newton will welcome family and friends to the graduation ceremony. Accumold President and Chief Executive Officer Roger Hargens will deliver the commencement address. More than 1,750 students will graduate
from the Ankeny, Newton, Urban and West Campuses.
The DMACC Boone Campus Commencement will
take place at 10 a.m., Fri., May 4 in the Boone Campus
Gymnasium. DMACC Boone Campus student Tammie
Hartman of Ames will welcome family and friends to
the graduation ceremony. Rich Byerly, former president
of Southwestern Community College in Creston and
later Foundation Executive Director at Central Lakes
Community College in Brainerd, MN, is the commencement speaker. More than 230 Boone Campus students
will graduate this spring.
The DMACC Carroll Campus Commencement will
take place at 6:30 p.m., Mon., May 7 at the Carroll
Senior High School. Carroll Campus Student Activities
Council President John Skinner of Lidderdale and Phi
Theta Kappa Honor Society Beta Theta Xi Chapter
President Traci Keoppel of Carroll will welcome family
and friends to the ceremony. DMACC Executive Vice
President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Kim Linduska, will
deliver the commencement address. Nearly 100 DMACC
Carroll Campus students will graduate this spring. In
addition, 21 University of Northern Iowa/DMACC 2 +
2 Education and three UNI/DMACC 2 + 2 Technical
Management students will be graduating at the Carroll
Commencement.
Attorney general sues
to stop dairies near
park honoring blacks
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - The attorney general
sued the Tulare County Board of Supervisors on
Thursday to block two mega-dairies from being
built next to a state historic park that pays tribute
to a black community founded by a freed slave.
The approval last month to allow 12,000
cows about a mile from Colonel Allensworth
State Historic Park violated the California Environmental Quality Act, Attorney General Edmund
G. Brown Jr. said in the lawsuit filed in Tulare
County Superior Court in Visalia.
The dairies proposed by Sam Etchegaray
would produce 20 tons of manure a day - polluting air, water and creating a stink near the park,
the suit claimed.
It also alleged the board did not adequately
address the environmental impact on the adjacent Pixley National Wildlife Refuge and the
Allensworth Ecological Reserve.
The dairies have long been a source of contention between Tulare County, the nation’s biggest milk producer, and members of the black
community and environmentalists.
Black residents have said that allowing the
farms insults the legacy of the Civil War veteran
who founded the black utopia in 1908.
Although Etchegaray is negotiating to sell the
land or development rights to the Trust for Public Land, a private nonprofit that conserves natural and historic lands, the dairy is under attack
from several fronts.
On Wednesday, an Assembly committee approved a bill that would ban dairies from within
2.5 miles of the park.
Republican opponents said the measure was a
precedent-setting threat to local government’s
right to make land-use decisions. The bill approved 9-4 by the Water, Parks and Wildlife
Committee next goes to the full Assembly.
Is your company serious about diversity in the workplace?
If so advertise your jobs in The Iowa Bystander & El Comunicador!
April 30, 2007
Giovanni evokes hope in wake of slaughter
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - When poet
Nikki Giovanni evokes the indomitable spirit
that she says must have kept slaves living and
loving in their servitude, it is in the service not
only of black people still struggling to overcome that heritage, but of people of any color
who must struggle to deal with lives filled with
sorrow and pain.
“We know that sorrow is just around the
corner,” Giovanni told an audience Friday at
Philander Smith College. “But so is hope.”
Giovanni evoked for Arkansans the spirit
that was apparent in her remarks to a memorial
service Tuesday on the campus of Virginia
Tech, the day after student Seung-Hui Cho
fatally shot 32 people before taking his own
life. At that service, she brought the crowd to
its feet with her words: “We will prevail.”
Two years earlier, Giovanni, a professor at
Virginia Tech, had stood up to Cho and forced
his removal from her class after other students
complained about his behavior.
Friday, she was in Little Rock as part of the
Arkansas Literary Festival, giving a reading of
her poetry to a full auditorium at historically
black Philander Smith. She made only brief
references to the slaughter on the campus where
she teaches.
“We are having a difficult time at Virginia
Tech,” she said. “The world is aware of the
sorrow we’re having.”
But she said some of the suggestions for
how the violence might have been avoided or
minimized are not to her liking.
“Somebody said, ‘Arm the teachers,”’ she
told the audience. “I don’t want to be armed I can’t even turn on my cell phone.”
The laughter that remark prompted was only
one of many interruptions as the audience
showed its enthusiasm for Giovanni’s humor
and humanity. She found humor amid the pain
of her mother’s death, and amid the struggle of
Rosa Parks to maintain simple human dignity
on a Montgomery, Ala., bus.
Giovanni praised the spirit of the people
brought from Africa to be slaves in America,
citing “what we call ‘the Negro Spirituals”’ as
a product of their pain and hope that can still
inspire.
“We found a way to laugh, we found a way
to love,” she told her audience, and they laughed
along with her.
Courage, it would seem, is
nothing less than the power
to overcome danger, misfortune, fear, injustice,
while continuing to affirm
inwardly that life with all
its sorrows is good; that
everything is meaningful
even if in a sense beyond
our understanding; and that
there is always tomorrow.
-- Dorothy Thompson
Asher group pushing for
Missouri ballot measure
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A
former college administrator wants
Missouri to adopt an anti-affirmativeaction measure to end what he calls
race-based “preferential treatment” in
state-sponsored programs.
Tim Asher, a former admissions director at North Central Missouri College, is behind a group that believes
Missouri should follow the lead of California, Washington and Michigan in
passing a ballot measure that addresses
public contracting, education and employment.
“The citizens of Missouri deserve
no less ... than to be treated equally
under the law,” Asher said Tuesday.
Asher said he became convinced
Missouri needed an anti-affirmative
action measure when he complained
about a diversity scholarship the college offered for underrepresented minorities. The college has since changed
the scholarship.
Opponents of affirmative action, led
by the American Civil Rights Institute,
pushed for a similar ballot measure in
California in 1996. Initiatives are also
planned for Colorado, Oklahoma and
Arizona, said Ward Connerly, the
institute’s chairman.
Connerly could not identify any specific “race preferences” or “gender preferences” that he opposes in Missouri,
but said some contractors have expressed concern about women-owned
and minority-owned business participation programs.
An anti-affirmative-action initiative
“is liberating people like me from the
last legacy of bondage,” said Connerly,
who is multiracial. Connerly believes
affirmative action programs send the
message that women and minorities
require special treatment.
To be included on the 2008 ballot,
the initiative requires signatures equal
to 5 percent of the voters in the previous
gubernatorial race in at least six congressional districts.
Anita Russell, president of the Kansas City branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said her organization plans
to oppose the ballot initiative.
“We support affirmative-action policies and practices by the state to ensure
equal access for minorities and women,”
Russell said.
ooo
Virginia Tech English Professor, Nikki Giovanni, speaks closing remarks at a
convocation to honor the victims of a shooting rampage at Virginia Tech in
Blacksburg, Va., Tuesday, April 17, 2007. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
April 30, 2007
Text of slavery apologies approved in Alabama Legislature this month
WHEREAS, the perpetual pain, distrust, and bitterness of many AfricanAmericans could be assuaged and the principles espoused by the Founding
Fathers would be affirmed, and great strides toward unifying all Alabamians and inspiring the nation to acquiesce might be accomplished, if on the
eve of the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the first permanent
English settlement in the New World, the state acknowledged and atoned
for its pivotal role in the slavery of Africans; now therefore...
of other times ... We can finally judge the past by the standards of
President John Adams, who called slavery ‘an evil of colossal
magnitude’ ...; and
WHEREAS, in Alabama, the vestiges of slavery are ever before
African-American citizens, from the overt racism of hate groups to
the subtle racism encountered when requesting health care, transacting business, buying a home, seeking quality public education
and college admission, and enduring pretextual traffic stops and
other indignities; and
WHEREAS, European and African nations have apologized for
their roles in what history calls the worst holocaust of humankind,
the Atlantic Slave Trade, and racial reconciliation is impossible
without some acknowledgment of the moral and legal injustices
perpetrated upon African-Americans; and
WHEREAS, an apology for centuries of brutal dehumanization
and injustices cannot erase the past, but confession of the wrongs
can speed racial healing and reconciliation and help AfricanAmerican and white citizens confront the ghosts of their collective
pasts together; and
WHEREAS, the story of the enslavement of Africans and their
descendants, the human carnage, and the dehumanizing atrocities
committed during slavery should not be purged from Alabama’s
history or discounted; moreover, the faith, perseverance, hope, and
endless triumphs of African-Americans and their significant contributions to the development of this state and the nation should be
embraced, celebrated, and retold for generations to come; and
WHEREAS, the perpetual pain, distrust, and bitterness of many
African-Americans could be assuaged and the principles espoused
by the Founding Fathers would be affirmed, and great strides
toward unifying all Alabamians and inspiring the nation to acquiesce might be accomplished, if on the eve of the commemoration of
the 400th anniversary of the first permanent English settlement in
the New World, the state acknowledged and atoned for its pivotal
role in the slavery of Africans; now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA,
BOTH HOUSES THEREOF CONCURRING, That we express
our profound regret as a state which participated in the process of
slavery, that we further atone for the involuntary servitude of
Africans, and that we call for reconciliation among all Alabamians.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That it is the intent of the
Legislature that this resolution shall not be used in, or be the basis
of, any type of litigation.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution
be transmitted to each state elected official, the Executive Director
of the Alabama Commission on Higher 4 Education, and the
Executive Director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Alabama State Chapter, requesting that
they further disseminate copies of this resolution to their respective
constituents so that they may be apprised of the sense of the
Alabama Legislature in this matter.
Apologies: Continued from page 3
Moore’s resolution:
WHEREAS, the Legislature and citizens of Alabama are deeply
concerned about persistent and growing racial discrimination, related intolerance, and acts of violence; and
WHEREAS, acknowledging that there is a difference between
what is wrong and right, and that slavery as an American “Institution” was a wrong committed upon millions of Black Americans
and that their ancestors are the beneficiaries of such wrongs,
including, but not limited to, segregation under Jim Crow, housing
discrimination, discrimination in education, and other ills inflicted
upon Black people; and
WHEREAS, the State of Alabama, the Governor, and its citizens
are conscious that under slavery many atrocities and gross violations of human rights were imposed upon Black people, and that
acknowledging these facts can and will avert future tragedies, be
they in the Sudan, or other parts of the world; and
WHEREAS, the State of Alabama has a long history of civil
rights involvement and is on the cutting edge of effective measures
to promote racial tolerance, such as the Birmingham Pledge; now
therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA,
BOTH HOUSES THEREOF CONCURRING, That we apologize
for the wrongs inflicted by slavery and its after effects in the United
States of America; we express our deepest sympathies and solemn
regrets to those who were enslaved and the descendants of slaves,
who were deprived of life, human dignity, and the constitutional
protections accorded all citizens of the United States; and we
encourage the remembrance and teaching about the history of
slavery, Jim Crow laws, and modern day slavery, to ensure that these
tragedies will neither be forgotten nor repeated.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That it is the intent of the
Legislature that this resolution shall not be used in any form of
litigation.
On the Net:
Senate Joint Resolution 54 and House Joint Resolution 321 at:
http://www.legislature.state.al.us
April 30, 2007
Langston student chooses
unlikely route to honors
In a file photo Betty Dukes, right, lead plaintiff in a potential class-action suit against Wal-Mart, poses with fellow
plaintiffs shortly before a hearing Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2003, in San Francisco. From right to left are Dukes, Patricia
Surgenson, Stephanie Odle and Christine Kwapnoski. Their suit alleged Wal-Mart discriminated against female
employees. Has Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest private employer, grown too big for the U.S. justice system?
That provocative question is thekey to Wal-Mart’s defense against a lawsuit filed on behalf of 1.6 million former and
current women employees. Lawyers pursuing the class action claim Wal-Mart systematically denied raises and
promotions to women and paid them less than their male counterparts.(AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Wal-Mart diversity figures show small
change in chain’s management makeup
Women made up 60.9 percent of Wal-Mart’s employees last year.
SPRINGFIELD, Missouri (AP) Management ranks at Wal-Mart Stores
Inc. saw modest increases last year in
women and minorities, even though
they are more abundant in the retailer’s
work force than in the population at
large, according to figures the company
released Friday.
This is just the second year that
Wal-Mart, which faces the largest discrimination class-action lawsuit in U.S.
history, has publicized its report to the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and therefore the first time any
changes can be seen.
Compared to the report on 2005, the
2006 numbers showed small increases
in the overall presence of minorities
and women among Wal-Mart’s 1.35
million U.S. employees.
Women made up 60.9 percent of
Wal-Mart’s employees last year, compared to 60.5 percent the year before.
Minorities were 33.1 percent versus
31.8 percent, including blacks at 17.5
percent, up from 16.8 percent.
Hispanics accounted for 11.4 percent, compared to 11.2 percent in 2005.
The rate for Asians was 3.1 percent
versus 2.7 percent in 2005. Native
Americans were barely changed at 1.2
percent after 1.1 percent the year before.
Wal-Mart noted there were increases
for minorities in all job categories, from
clerks and technicians to managers and
professionals.
“Wal-Mart continues to be an employer of choice and a leading employer of minorities in the U.S.,” spokes-
woman Sarah Clark said. “We are proud
of our accomplishments and believe
this is a result of our long-standing
diversity initiatives and our commitment to diversity. We will continue to
work toward becoming an even better
corporation in all aspects of our business.”
But Wal-Mart’s union-backed critics called the report “a joke.” They
cited the report’s revelation that women
made up 39.7 percent of Wal-Mart’s
managers and officials last year, compared to 38.8 percent in 2005. Minorities held 23.2 percent of those positions, compared to 21.3 percent the
year before.
“Wal-Mart’s own statistics prove
what an embarrassing failure its diversity initiatives have been and paint a
disturbing picture of how incredibly
difficult it still is for women and minority Wal-Mart workers to get ahead,”
WakeUpWalMart spokesman Chris
Kofinis said.
A religious investor group whose
lobbying helped prompt Wal-Mart to
start publishing the data said the report
showed the company still has room for
improvement.
“A corporation of this size should
reflect the nation as it exists. It should
show the same face,” said Sister Barbara Aires of the Interfaith Center on
Corporate Responsibility, a coalition
of religious investors that advocates for
social and environmental causes.
Wal-Mart faces a class-action lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco on
behalf of an estimated 1.5 million current and former female employees, alleging women were passed over in favor of men for pay raises and promotions.
LANGSTON, Okla. (AP) - The valedictorian from the magnet high school
did not go to college.
“I was just worn out,” Leethaniel
Brumfield III said.
He had spent four years “trying to be
better than everybody else” at Classen
School of Advanced Studies in Oklahoma City. Then he turned down a full
scholarship to historically black
Morehouse College in Atlanta, where
the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and
filmmaker Spike Lee attended.
His parents did not understand, and
in their household, children who did
not move on to college moved out.
Brumfield found a $700-a-month
apartment and got a job as a collections
manager for Sprint in Oklahoma City.
Soon, he figured out he could not get a
promotion or more money without a
college degree.
And, he felt inferior to his highachieving peers from high school. He
would run into them at Wal-Mart, and
he felt stupid, having worked so hard
just to end up in a dead-end job, he said.
His friends had “out-of-this-world” stories from college to tell, and Brumfield
could only talk about work.
So at 23, he enrolled at Langston
University, the closest historically black
college. An adviser told him to apply
for scholarships, and they started pouring in. Now a junior, he has so many
scholarships, he is actually making
money by going to college.
Brumfield did not pick an easy route
through college. He is double-majoring
in biology and chemistry and plans to
graduate in four years, by May 2008,
when he will be 27. He has to make at
least a 3.5 grade point average to keep
his scholarships. Somehow, he managed to fit the presidencies of various
campus groups into his schedule.
That is, until he had an stress-induced stroke last semester.
On Oct. 6, he woke up with the right
half of his body paralyzed. He remained
paralyzed through November but began to regain movement in December.
The prognosis was good: He should be
back to normal within a year. Now,
only the right side of his face remains
slightly stiff.
Brumfield stuck with his classes af-
ter the stroke and ended the semester
with a 4.0 grade point average.
He let his campus activities slide,
and he is taking only four classes this
semester. His genetics class is hard, but
“microbiology is a piece of cake,” he
said.
A few weeks ago, Brumfield got a
call about 10:30 p.m. while he was
doing homework. He did not recognize
the number, so he let it go to voicemail.
He listened to the message and found
out he had won the United Negro College Fund/Merck Undergraduate Science Research Scholarship Award,
which will pay up to $25,000 for his
school expenses next year and pay at
least $10,000 for two summer internships.
“I couldn’t sleep that night,” he said.
This summer and next, the United
Negro College Fund/Merck program is
sending him to Harvard University to
research the development of medicine.
When he won that internship, he turned
down four others, at Cornell University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Vanderbilt University and the
University of Arizona.
Langston University President Joann
Haysbert said, “The mere fact that you
have students at Langston who get offers at MIT and turn them down for
more favorable offers - that bodes well
for the institution.”
Brumfield hopes the internships will
allow him to get into graduate school at
Harvard.
“If I could just do that, I would be so
happy,” he said.
Eventually, he would like to teach
chemistry or biology at a historically
black college.
For now, as he continues to go
through physical therapy, he said, “I’m
really thankful and try not to be so
stressed.”
He is not likely to slow down too
much, however, considering his philosophy is to put his all into whatever
he does.
Recently he flew to Arizona to
present his research on a shellfish toxin
at a conference. A couple of hours before his speech, he squeezed in some
study time for his final exam in genetics.
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., laughs with Rev.
Al Sharpton during a speech to an audience at the 9th annual National Action
Network convention Saturday, April 21, 2007 in New York. This election, the
high-profile Sharpton, fresh from the fight over Don Imus’ derogatory remarks, is attracting all the party’s major candidates this week for his annual
National Action Network convention. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
April 30, 2007
KBBG-FM 88.1
Afro-American Community Broadcasting, Inc.
Proudly Presents Its
30 Annual Banquet
th
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center
6:00 p.m. - Social Hour
7:00 p.m. - Dinner and Program
Guest Speaker:
Dr. Robert A. Franklin
Assistant Professor of Radio/Television
Producer/Host of “Like It Is”
WASU-FM, Jonesboro, Arkansas
B.S., Radio/Television - Jackson State University, Jackson, MS
M.A., English/Communications - Jackson State University, Jackson, MS
M.A., Heritage Studies - Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AK
M.A., PhD of Philosophy, Heritage Studies - Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, Arkansas
Ticket - $45.00 Per Person / Table of Eight - $360.00
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RSVP by May 4, 2007
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KBBG-FM is a 501c3 tax-exempt organization
Jimmie Porter • Founder and CEO
April 30, 2007
Letter to the Editor:
This handout photo from Fox News Channel, shows Bernard McGuirk, a 20-year producer and onair jester for the “Imus in the Morning” program, who was fired a week after his boss for the banter
in which members of the Rutgers University women’s basketball team were called “nappy-headed
hos.” McGuirk, in an interview on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity & Colmes,” April 26, 2007, said
he “didn’t get the memo” that the phrase ‘hos’ had reached the level of the n-word in offensiveness.
But apologies to theRutgers team were appropriate, he said. (AP Photo/Fox News Channel-HO)
The March 28 DM Register article about the disparity among
Des Moines schools in terms of both economic and racial
diversity quoted a school board member saying “the disparity
has been overlooked amid leadership changes” in recent times.
In truth, both school board members and administrators have
long been exposed to community concerns about this lack of
diversity, perception of unequal services and the systems DMPS
put into place that encourage the continuation of this inequity at
some open enrollment schools. Just the fact that no transportation is provided for students in these schools self-selects families
with higher incomes. There is a duty to seek out such information
about school profiles in the early days of serving on the board. Without such information, how can
any discussion about disparities, including the achievement gap, be considered informed?
DMPS administrators and board members should be very familiar with issues of inequity and
resource allocation concerns. These topics have been explored over a number of years in
discussions about the Downtown School, the Callanan Connection, the failed Windsor/Cowles
merger attempt and also in various school board election forums. To say that board members were
uniformed is untrue.
I’d also be interested in knowing the percentage of DSM versus out of district students being
served in the open enrolled schools, and the reason that DSM students are being rejected. This
disparity also needs to be addressed, explained and corrected. This information, I would guess,
probably helps explain the differences in both race and income among student populations across
select schools.
Mary Kundrat
Don Imus’ sidekick-producer
also fired over racist and sexist
Lead Poisoning
NEW YORK (AP) - The longtime producer for
Don Imus’ syndicated radio show joined his boss
on the unemployment line one week after the
disgraced broadcaster was booted from the airwaves for racist and sexist comments about the
Rutgers college women’s basketball team.
Bernard McGuirk, who joined the “Imus in the
Morning Show” as producer in 1987, was let go
late Thursday by WFAN-AM for his role in the
ugly incident, CBS Radio spokeswoman Karen
Mateo said Friday. CBS Inc., the parent company
for WFAN, pulled Imus off the air on April 12.
McGuirk was one of Imus’ frequent on-air
foils, and was involved in the “nappy-headed
hos” comments that left both without jobs.
“Nappy” is a derogatory description of some black
people’s hair, and “ho” is slang for whore.
McGuirk provided much of the program’s dicier
content, a great deal of it while doing over-the-top
impressions of the late Cardinal John O’Connor
and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.
Imus, in an oft-repeated schtick, would deride
McGuirk as a “bald-headed stooge” when the
material veered into dangerous territory. McGuirk
also handled the booking of Imus’ guests, a group
which ran the gamut from presidential candidates
to mainstream media pundits.
Mateo declined to provide any further details
about the McGuirk situation. McGuirk was no-
ticeably absent this week when other Imus contributors, including newsman Charles McCord
and sportscaster Chris Carlin, were on the air with
the WFAN replacement team of Mike Francesa
and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo. Another Imus regular, comedian Rob Bartlett, appeared Friday on
anotehr radio show. But McGuirk has made no
public comments about the controversy since the
Imus firing.
CBS Radio had yet to decide on a permanent
replacement for Imus on the New York station,
Mateo said.
It was McGuirk who first used the term “hos”
while discussing the college women’s championship game between Rutgers and Tennessee. Imus
described the Rutgers team, which includes eight
black women, as tattooed “rough girls” during the
April 4 broadcast.
“Some hardcore hos,” replied McGuirk.
“That’s some nappy headed hos there, I’m
going to tell you that,” Imus said during the 10second exchange that ignited a national debate
over racist and misogynistic language and lyrics.
Imus was expected to meet with CBS Radio
officials to settle the remainder of his recently
signed five-year, multimillion-dollar contract.
McGuirk’s contract status was unknown; he had
joined the radio station in 1984 when it was
WNBC.
Sodium: Continued from page 4
Applebee’s International Inc., operator of the
nation’s largest casual dining chain, is among
those not disclosing salt levels, although spokesman Frank Ybarra said, “We will continue to
listen to our guests as they tell us what type of
additional information they want to have.”
Ruby Tuesday Inc. publishes online data on
calories, fat, fiber and carbohydrates, but not for
sodium. The Olive Garden and Red Lobster units
of Darden Restaurants Inc. don’t disclose sodium
content on their Web sites, nor does Cheesecake
Factory Inc.
However, most fast food restaurants do.
McDonald’s Corp. recently told franchisees
that it’s looking at reducing sodium in its popular
Chicken McNuggets. But its growing emphasis
on chicken as fast food fare has, in some cases,
resulted in sandwiches that contain more sodium
than their beef counterparts. For example, while a
Big Mac hamburger comes with 1,040 milligrams
of sodium, McDonald’s premium grilled chicken
club sandwich has 1,720 milligrams - three-fourths
of the recommended daily allowance for most
adults. Crispy chicken versions are even saltier.
Other fast food chains say they’re analyzing
their menus for possible nutritional enhancements.
“We want to give moms and kids more options,”
said Burger King spokesman Keva Silversmith.
Wendy’s International Inc. spokesman Bob
Bertini said, “We continue to look for opportunities to further enhance the nutritional profile of the
food we serve without sacrificing taste.”
Still, two recent Kids’ Meal additions - sandwiches featuring meat and cheese - contain more
sodium than Wendy’s burger-based kids’ meals.
One longtime advocate for sodium reduction is
the Washington-based Center for Science in the
Public Interest, which has petitioned the FDA to
address the issue. But CSPI executive director
Michael Jacobson said, “Unless Congress gets in
on the act, I don’t see a lot of voluntary progress
from this administration.”
Childhood lead poisoning is a disease that occurs when children have too much lead in their bodies.
One out of every seven Iowa children is lead-poisoned. This is three times the national average.
Lead poisoning is usually caused by lead-based paint found in homes built before 1960. About 60%
of the homes in Iowa, both in urban and rural areas were built before 1960.
Children become lead poisoned if they:
· Put lead-based chips in their mouth.
· Put dusty or dirty hands, toys, bottles or pacifiers in their mouths.
· Chew on surfaces painted with lead-based paint.
· Play in dirt or a sandbox near and old building where an old building was torn down.
· Breathe in dust from lead-based paint that is being sanded, scraped, or removed with a heat gun.
Children may show the following symptoms if they have been lead poisoned:
· Be easily excited.
· Have problems paying attention.
· Complain of headaches and stomachaches.
· Be more tired than usual.
Lead-poisoned children may have learning problems when they start school. Children with very
high lead levels may have severe brain damage or even die.
The only way to tell if your child is lead-poisoned is to have their blood tested. All Iowa children
under the age of 6 years should be tested for lead poisoning. It is important that your child get their
blood level tested at least once a year until they are six years old.
For more information contact:
Children’s Center at Mercy
1-888-4122
www.mercydesmoines.org
April 30, 2007
The Director’s Council
& Spectrum Resources
Would Like to Thank
The Employers for their support
By working with the
Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative
In the Polk County area
For more information on the P.R.I. contact: 515-288-1023
April 30, 2007
If you would like to place your business card or your organization’s business card in Iowa Bystander call Jonathan at 515-471-5092 or 515-280-8092.
KBBG keeps Black Iowa informed!
Tune into “Black Iowa
Today,” “Black Iowa
Imperative,”
and
“KBBG’s Legislative
Wrap.” “Black Iowa Today” airs the 1st and 3rd
Monday of each month
at 2:00 p.m., “Black Iowa Imperative” airs the
2nd and 4th Thursday of each month, and
“KBBG’s Legislative Wrap” airs every Sunday at 5:00 p.m. on radio station KBBG 88.1
FM, Waterloo, Iowa or on the world wide web
at www.kbbgfm.org.
The programs are hosted by Jonathan Narcisse,
president of the State of Black Iowa Initiative.
Career Opportunities In Journalism
Have you ever wanted to make a difference
but instead you feel like you’re stuck in a
deadend job? If so join us!
We currently have openings for an editor, a
photojournalist, a marketing director, a circulation manager, and an executive assistant to
our president and CEO.
If you are interested call Jonathan R. Narcisse at 515-280-8092
or send your resume to jon_narcisse@yahoo.com.
PARENTS MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
If you are interested in joining a parent
support group to advocate for our children
call Jonathan R. Narcisse at: 515-280-8092
or email jon-narcisse@mchsi.com.
April 30, 2007
Church Listings &
Weekly Schedules
Burns United Methodist Church
Rev. Dr. Curtis DeVance, JD, MDiv, Pastor
811 Crocker Street
Des Moines, IA 50309
Phone: Church 515-244-5883
Church Schedule:
Sunday Morning Worship: 11:00 a.m.
Sunday School: 9:45 a.m.
Wednesday Bible Study: 12:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.
Rev. Dr. Lee Zachary Maxey, Pastor
814 School Street
Phone: 515-243-4073
Church Business Hours: Monday - Friday 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Transportation to Sunday School and Morning Worship Service
Verna Smith: 515-243-8470
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in time of comfort
and convenience but where he stands in time of challenge and controversy.” Martin Luther King.
Church Schedule:
Sundays - Worship at 8:00 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.
Sundays - Christian Education at 9:15 a.m.
Mondays - Boy Scouts & Cub Scouts at 6:30 p.m.
Wednesdays - Intercessory Prayer at 5:30 p.m. & Bible Study at 7:00
p.m.
Thursdays - Spiritual Support Group at 7:00 p.m.
Saturdays - Knitting Class at 12:00 p.m.
Esther Circle Mission Society - 1st & 3rd Tuesday of Every Month 1:00
p.m.
Busy Bees Mission Society - 2nd & 4th Saturday of Every Month 10:00
a.m.
Health Clinic - Third Tuesday of Every Month 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
King of Kings Missionary Baptist Church
Rev. Irvin Lewis, Sr., Pastor
619 S.E. 15th Street
Phone: 515-282-3425
Bro. White: 515-244-1741
Mission: Our purpose is to bring Christians and non-Christians together
in a Christian community in order to become Disciples for Christ.
Mission Statement: To continue spreading the Gospel as we nourish
others with God’s truth and to exemplify God’s truth at work in their
lives.
Church Schedule:
Sundays - Worship at 11:00 a.m.
Wednesdays - Prayer Service & Bible Study at 6:00 p.m.
Tape Ministry: Audio Tapes of Services cost $4
Maple Street Missionary Baptist Church
Rev. Keith A. Ratliff, Sr., Pastor
1552 Maple Street
Phone: 515-262-1931
Transportation to Sunday School and Morning Worship Service is
available.
Church Schedule:
Sundays - Worship at 10:45 a.m.
Wednesdays - Prayer Meeting & Bible Study at 7:00 p.m.
Health Clinic - 2nd Thursday of Every Month
Philadelphia Seventh-day Adventist Church
Rev. Marlon T. Perkins, Sr., Pastor
1639 Garfield Avenue
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 258
Phone: 515-262-3802
Email: sdaphiladelphia@msn.com
Church Schedule:
Sabbath (Saturday) Morning Worship at 11:00 a.m.
Sabbath School at 9:30 a.m.
“Showers of Blessing” Fellowship & Prayer Service 15 9:00 a.m.
(Saturday)
Wednesday Prayer Service at 6:30 p.m.
St. Paul A.M.E.
Rev. Derek E. Bastian, Pastor
St. Paul A.M.E Church
1201 Day Street
Ministry Days & Times
Sundays 9:00 a.m.
Sunday school
Praise & Worship
New Membership Class
Training or Minister/Evangelist
Nursery Available
Sundays 10:00 a.m.
Morning Worship
Children’s Church
Nursery Available
Mondays 6:00 p.m .
Praise Dance rehearsal
Tuesdays
10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Computer Classes for seniors
12:00 p.m. Bible Study
6:00 p.m. Prayer Meeting
6:00 p.m. Aerobics & Tae-Bo
7:00 p.m. Bible Study
Good Samaritan Youth Outreach
Nursery Available
Wednesdays
5:30 p.m. Women’s Ministry
6:00 p.m. Youth Choir Rehearsal
Thursdays
6:00 p.m. Aerobics
6:00 - 7:00 p.m. Praise Team
7:00 p.m. Unity Choir Rehearsal
Saturday
Men’s Ministry - 1s t & 3r d Saturdays of each month at 8:00 a.m.
4:00 p.m. Traditional Service
For information please call 515-288-4419.
Union Missionary Baptist Church
Rev. Henry Isaiah Thomas, Pastor
E. University & McCormick Street
Phone: 515-262-1785
Bro. Donnie Williams: 244-4853 or Bro. Larry Welch: 771-4441
Mission Statement: Our mission is to win the lost, built the believer and
equip the worker so as to make disciples who can make disciples who can
make disciples.
Church Schedule:
Sundays - Worship at 8:00 a.m. & at 10:40 a.m.
Tues. & Wed. - Reading Program at 7:00 p.m.
Wednesdays - Mid-Day Prayer Meeting at 12:00 p.m. and Prayer
Meeting & Bible Study at 7:00 p.m.
J.A.M. (Jesus and Me) Youth Service 1st & 3rd Sunday 5:00 p.m. to 7:00
p.m.
ooo
Send your church news to: iowabystanderarticles@yahoo.com
...how are they to hear
without a preacher?
Romans 10:14
Burns United Methodist Church
Address: 811 Crocker Street • DSM, IA 50309
Phone: Church 515-244-5883
Pastor: Pastor: Rev. Curtis DeVance, JD, MDiv
Wednesday Bible Study: 12:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.
Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church
Address: 814 School Street • DSM, IA 50309
Phone: 515-243-4073
Pastor: Rev. Dr. Lee Zachary Maxey
Sunday Morning Worship: 8:00 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.
Sunday Church School: 9:15 a.m.
Wednesday: Prayer Service 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday: Bible Study 7:00 p.m.
Website: www.corinthianbaptistdsm.org
New Friendship Church of God In Christ
Address: 1317 Forest Avenue • DSM, IA 50314
Phone: 515-243-7097
Pastor: Rev. R.L. Daye
Tuesday: Prayer Service at 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday: Bible Study at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday: Prayer Service at 7:00 p.m.
Thursday: Pastoral Teaching at 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday Bible Study Led By Pastor: 7:00 p.m.
King of Kings Missionary Baptist Church
Address: 619 S.E. 15th Street • DSM, IA
Phone: 515-282-3425
Pastor: Rev. Irvin Lewis, Sr.
Wednesday: Prayer and Bible Study 6:00 p.m.
Maple Street Missionary Baptist Church
Address: 1552 E. Maple Street • DSM, IA 50316
Phone: 515-262-1931
Pastor: Rev. Keith A. Ratliff, Sr.
Wednesday Bible Study: 7:00 p.m.
Mount Hebron Missionary Baptist Church
Address: 1338-9th Street • DSM, IA 50314
Phone: 515-280-9163
Pastor: Rev. Bobby Young
Sunday Church School: 9:30 a.m.
Tuesday Bible Study at 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday Prayer Meeting at 7:00 p.m.
Philadelphia SDA Church
Address: 1639 Garfield Avenue • DSM, IA 50316
Phone: 515-262-7467
Pastor: Rev. Marlon T. Perkins, Sr.
Sabbath (Saturday) Morning Worship: 11:00 a.m.
Sabbath (Saturday) Church School: 9:30 a.m.
Wednesday Prayer Meeting Service: 6:30 p.m.
Sunday Radio Ministry: 9:00 a.m., Praise 940 AM
Email Address: sdaphiladelphia@msn.com
St. Paul A.M.E. Church
Address: 1201 Day Street • DSM, IA
Phone: 515-288-4419
Pastor: Rev. Derek E. Bastian
Tuesday Bible Study: 7:00 p.m.
Sunday Radio Ministry: 9:30 a.m., Praise 940 AM
Email: stpame@aol.com
Union Missionary Baptist Church
Address: E.Univ. & McCormick • DSM, IA 50316
Phone: 262-1785
Pastor: Rev. Dr. Henry I. Thomas
Sunday Morning Worship: 8:00 a.m., 10:40 a.m.
Wednesday: Prayer and Bible Study: 7:00 p.m.
...how shall they preach,
except they be sent?
Romans 10:15
April 30, 2007
Crime and corruption are top issues in Philadelphia mayoral primary race that remains a tossup
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The to-do list for the next mayor is a
daunting one: slow a surging homicide rate and change the pay-toplay culture in City Hall.
With less than a month to go before the Democratic primary, a
retired businessman with deep pockets, two congressmen, a former
city councilman and a veteran state representative all say they can
handle the challenges and turn the city’s fortunes around.
But with nearly a quarter of voters still undecided, the mayor’s
office remains up for grabs.
With five viable candidates in the Democratic primary - all under
pressure to reduce crime and corruption - the election looks promising for those in the city hoping for change, said Randall Miller, a
political analyst at St. Joseph’s University.
“Clearly, they are suggesting that, ‘We were not part of this
problem,”’ Miller said.
The Democrat who comes in first in the May 15 primary wins the
nomination outright; no runoff is required. The winner will face
Republican Al Taubenberger, a Chamber of Commerce president,
and a possible independent bid by Sam Katz, who lost to Mayor
John Street in 1999 and 2003 running as a Republican. Street cannot
run for re-election this year because of term limits.
The Democratic nominee will be heavily favored to win the
general election in November. Nearly four out of five Philadelphia
voters are Democrats and the city hasn’t had a Republican mayor in
55 years.
Millionaire former health care executive Tom Knox d(pictured)
holds a slight lead in the polls, running as an outsider who promises
to take a “For Sale” sign off City Hall.
Reps. Bob Brady and Chaka Fattah are touting their leadership
and congressional records, while state Rep. Dwight Evans is pointing to his legislative accomplishments in Harrisburg. Former Councilman Michael Nutter has sought to build on his reputation for
challenging Street’s policies.
Knox’s anti-establishment TV blitz has set the tone, leading
others to follow suit. Each sells himself as a fresh face - even Brady,
the longtime head of the city’s Democratic machine, and Fattah,
whom many view as closely allied with the incumbent.
All have campaigned on hiring more police or on other measures
aimed at slowing a homicide count that topped 400 in 2006 and has
shown no signs of slowing. More than 100 homicides have already
been recorded this year.
Either directly or indirectly, each candidate has spoken about the
need for a new start in a city rocked by a long-running corruption
scandal. Nearly two dozen people have been convicted since an FBI
State government officials mull
boxing license for Tommy Morrison
HOUSTON (AP) - Former heavyweight boxing champion Tommy Morrison
needs to give more medical information to Texas state officials before they rule
on his boxing license application for Friday’s bout.
The 38-year-old former WBO champ returned to boxing this year after
retiring 11 years ago when tests revealed he had contracted the AIDS virus. He
is to face Dale Ortiz in a four-round bout at the Grand Plaza Hotel in Houston.
Patrick Shaughnessy, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Licensing
and Regulation, could not say whether the additional medical information
concerned Morrison’s AIDS status. He said state officials expected to receive
the information Thursday and a decision on the application most likely will
come the same day.
Morrison won the WBO title in 1993 by outpointing George Foreman, but
lost the title later that year. In February 1996, he tested positive for the AIDS
virus just before a fight against Stormy Weathers and retired. Morrison returned
to the ring in February with a second-round knockout of John Castle in the
eastern state of West Virginia.
West Virginia Athletic commissioner Steve Allred approved Morrison’s
participation in that fight after reviewing medical records and consulting with
the Association of Boxing Commissions’ medical review committee.
Shaughnessy said applicants for Texas boxing licenses are required to
submit to blood tests screening for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and the AIDS virus.
Those testing positive are barred from receiving a license.
Morrison has said he has taken several tests for the AIDS virus while
preparing for his comeback and all have been negative. According to the
National Institutes for Health, drugs can suppress the virus to undetectable
levels but cannot eliminate it from the body.
Lennox Lewis stands over
Tommy Morrison during the
first of two knock downs in
the sixth round at the
Atlantic City Convention
West Hall Oct. 7, 1995. Lewis
defeated Morrison with a
TKO in the 6th round. (AP)
515-283-4284
bug was found in Street’s office before the 2003 election.
Both the murder rate and corruption convictions have hurt
Street’s legacy, even though he was never charged in the FBI probe
and has argued he has done everything he can to fight crime.
“We have had the person who has probably been the bestprepared person to become mayor,” District Attorney Lynne
Abraham said of Street, a former city councilman. “As wellprepared as he’s been, he has not done the kind of job that people
wanted of him or expected of him.”
Abraham is campaigning for Brady and says the city needs a
proven unifier like the longtime Democratic party chairman.
But Brady has had the toughest road so far. He’s been stuck
fighting a Knox-led effort to knock him off the ballot over flawed
nominating paperwork.
“The court challenge has hijacked the mayor’s race,” said Katz,
who lost in a landslide in 2003, when the discovery of the bug led
voters to flock to Street’s defense. Katz has since left the GOP just
in time to qualify to run for mayor as an independent, but won’t say
whether he will run.
Knox, a former deputy mayor under current Gov. Ed Rendell, is
maintaining a lead in polls on the back of a self-funded spree of
television ads. Fattah, the favorite heading into the race, has dropped
back but recently stepped up TV advertising.
The racial makeup of the field muddies the electoral picture in a
city where the percentages of blacks and whites are about even.
Evans, Nutter and Fattah are black, while Knox and Brady are
white.

Annual Cotillion a huge success!!!

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