Novem ber 25 1987, P ortland Observer, Paqe 3
NATIONAL NEWS UPDATE
Financial Aid For
Black College
Students Addressed
Marshall B. Bass, senior vice president of RJR Nabisco,
Inc., addressed a conference on stud e nt fin an cia l aid organized by
the Southern Education Foundation and the U S. D epartm ent o f Edu
cation.
The chains that hold back Black Americans from realizing their dreams
is an educational handicap handed down by history, a corporate executive
recently told 100 leaders of historically Black colleges who met in Atlanta.
Marshall B. Bass, senior vice president of RJR Nabisco, Inc., addressed
a conference on student financial aid organized by the Southern Education
Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education. Bass praised the group
for addressing student financial aid problems at traditionally Black colleges.
“ Social consciousness has weakened prejudice. Legislation has out
lawed discrimination in housing, employment and other arenas. But an edu
cational gap continues to shackle the Black race,' Bass said.
"Education is the primary tool that will enable minorities to keep moving
ahead in our society," Bass continued. “ Uplifting educational standards
should be the highest priority in every Black household in America, because
the desire to achieve begins at home. But achieving higher academic goals
requires monetary resources as well as motivation. And I believe that
the business sectonis becoming increasingly important to enhanced educa
tional opportunities for Blacks."
He noted that U.S. business funds a growing array of educational pro
grams that benefit both Black youth and adults, including undergraduate
scholarships, internship programs, graduate study assistance, and basic
adult education programs.
"Corporate support of minority education enhances the pool of well
qualified corporate job candidates, and prepares people for other careers in
which they can make a positive contribution to the economy. That, in turn,
enhances the climate in which we do business," he explained.
Bass said that RJR Nabisco is particularly concerned that cutbacks in
federal aid, weak recruiting efforts, rising tuition costs and lack of educa
tional encouragement have contributed to a 3 percent drop in college en
rollment among Blacks since 1980.
"It's estimated that one year at an average public college now costs
about $5,600," Bass said, "while private school requires more than $10,000
a year. Considering that one-third of all Black American families have in
comes under $11,000 a year, the implications for our nation's future educa
tional standards are alarming."
For those reasons, RJR Nabisco is the largest contributor to United
Negro College Fund schools; makes substantial grants to the Consortium for
Graduate Study in Management for minorities attending nine major univer
sities; and has helped fund construction of new facilities at historically Black
colleges. In addition, the company funds numerous scholarships earmarked
for minority youth studying business, engineering and journalism.
"For us, support of minority education is a matter of corporate con
science, and common sense," Bass said. "Educational issues cannot be
shouldered by civic and government agencies alone."
RJR Nabisco, Inc., an international consumer products corporation with
headquarters in Atlanta, Ga., is the parent compnay of R.J. Reynolds Toba-
co Co. and Nabisco Brands, Inc. Well-known RJR Nabisco brands include
Winston, Salem, Camel and Vantage cigarettes; Oreo cookies; Ritz and Pre
mium crackers; Del Monte fruits and vegetables; Planters nuts and snacks;
Life Savers candy; Nabisco Shredded Wheat cereals; and Fleischmann s
margarines.
Seniors Fight Social Security Cuts
"D on't let Social Security recipients' desperately needed cost-of-living
hike fall victim to gimmicky accounting" — that was the warning given Con
gress Monday when the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and
Medicare delivered nearly eight million petition signatures from its members
and supporters.
"These petitions show budget negotiators on Capitol Hill and at the
White House that older Americans won't stand idly by shile their scheduled
4 2 percent hike is sacrificed to an accounting trick designed to make the
deficit look smaller," said James Roosevelt, founder and chairman of the
4 5 million member National Committee.
"Funds collected through the Social Security tax can be used only to
pay for benefits and administrative expenses," Roosevelt, a former congress
man, reminded the House and Senate. "So merely piling up funds in the
Social Security Trust Fund does not address the budget deficit elsewhere.
It's just an easy way to hid red ink and avoid making the difficult decisions
necessary to bring about a balanced budget.
"W e re serving notice that those who attempt to balance the budget on
the back of America's seniors do so at their own political peril," warned the
head of the nation's second largest senior organization. "This talked-of
COLA cut is only an accounting illusion as it related to the unbalanced bud
get. But the impact on seniors would be real — too terribly real '
Roosevelt said the National Committee had been collecting the
7,954,718 signatures over time so they could be used in just such an even
tuality. "I know of no better use for them than to insure that the 4 2 percent
Social Security (JOLA remains intact." he said
1960s Civil Rights
M ovem ent
Miniseries to be
Produced
One of the most dramatic and significant chapters in the civil rights
movement will be explored in a four hour television miniseries, "Selma, Lord,
Selma", it was announced by Caryn Mandabach,. President of The Carsey
Werner Company. Currently in development at NBC with Susan Baerwald,
Vice President of Miniseries and Novels for Television, the program will focus
on the events leading up to the Selma-Montgomery march of 1965, as
expressed through the eyes of two young Black girls. The miniseries is based
on the memories of eight year old Sheyann Webb and her next door neigh
bor, Rachel West (age nine), which were recorded in their book, "Selma,
Lord, Selma" (as told to Frank Sikora, University of Alabama Press, 1980).
Caryn Mandabach, who will executive produce with Tom Werner and
Marcy Carsey, will also be joined in the project by co-executive producer
Henry Hampton, whose recent documentary series "Eyes On The Prize" is
one of the most critically acclaimed programs of its genre in many years.
Director Peter Werner, best known for his credits on "LBJ: The Early Years"
(which earned him an Emmy nomination), the original episode of "M oon
lighting" and the current feature film “ No Man's Land” , has also been set.
The script will be written by Alice Arlen, whose credits include "Silkwood"
(co-written with Nora Ephron), Louis Malle's "Alamo Bay" and Susan
Seidelman's new film "Cookie".
Commenting on the announcement, Susan Baerwald stated: “ We're
thrilled to be involved with such a talented and creative team in the develop
ment of a project of such importance."
Mandabach, whose company produces "The Cosby Show" and “ A Dif
ferent W orld" on NBC, was introduced to the concept when Henry Hampton
requested Bill Cosby for a promotional television spot for "Eyes On The
Prize". Asking to screen the program before presenting it to Cosby, Manda
bach was stirred by the emotional power of the film and its subject matter.
Mandabach immediately began discussions with Hampton on how to bring a
dramatized version of the civil rights struggle to the screen.
“ To do a fictionalized account of the essence of 'Eyes On The Prize',
one of the most powerful and provocative TV programs I've ever seen, would
be foolhearty," stated Mandabach. “ What 'Selma, Lord, Selma' brings to
this vital chapter of American history is a poignant, human face, much in the
same way 'The Diary of Anne Frank' did so in describing the Holocaust."
Peter Werner, whom Mandabach knew had expressed a desire to do a
project on the topic, was equally impressed by the Hampton documentary.
"It was seeing 'Eyes On The Prize' that opened mine," recalled Werner. "It
detailed one of the most dramatic hum^n events of our century. What
stories of courage, ideals, sacrifice, passion, defeat and victory. There were
lives on the line and common men and women — and children leading the
way. But how to tell the story in a way that would be personal? That was
when we came across the book about two young Black girls who were there
with all their innocence and dreams, right in the middle of 'Selma, Lord,
Selma'."
Co-executive producer Henry Hampton looks forward to the creative
freedom a theatrical treatment of the civil rights story represents, but is also
aware of some of the pitfalls of dramatizing history. Hampton credits the
spirit of collaboration between producers and scholars in "Eyes On The
Prize" in insuring a faithful treatment of source materials and a careful atten
tion to the factual basis. "M y respect for Carsey-Werner and the creative
team on this project makes me feel confident this same spirit will continue,"
stated Hampton. "To the people who did not see the documentary, and *o
the one half of the U.S. population not yet born or too young at the time to
have seen what happened at Selma, this story brings to life an episode that
reflects in a hundred ways what the civil rights movement was all about."
How Do Blacks
Manage in the
'W hitest' State in
America?
V erm ont's only Black state representative Francis Brooks greets a
voter at the capitol of "The W hitest State in A m e ric a ."
What is life like for Blacks in Vermont, a state that has no Black lawyers, >
police officers, reporters or judges?
Life for Blacks in Vermont, who number about 1,200 of a total popula- >
tion of more than 500,000. has it ups and downs. On the "u p " side, Francis }
Brooks, the sole Black in the si ’ -'s Housg of. Representatives,.recaJIy.'in
1971 when Whites demonstrated tt.« • support of Blacks by helping *o-ha(Fa
Ku Klux Kian recruitment effort in the - ate. 'The house passed a resoJutwh »w
condemning the belief of the KKK as totally alien in the tradition and funda
I
mental principles of Vermont
he notes. Entrepreneur Lydia Clemmons
says that when she opener) Authentica, the country's only exclusively A fri
can mail-order store it was so popular among her White neighbors that she
quit her job as a nurse to operate Authentica full time. In addition, in 1980.
Black families in Vermont fiad the hiqhest average income of aH.Black, fanqi
• * **
i
lies in the country
.
'•
On the "dow n" side, Dr Jackson J. Clemmons, a university professor,
tells of one Black woman whose doctor thought her headaches were caused
by her Afro. "The doctor felt her natural was 'too heavy for her head,"
Clemmons said. Clemmons added that an irate Ph. D. student was denied treat
ment at a hospital's emergency room because he was told his arms were too
dark to see his veins and draw the needed blood. Black attorney Sam John
son, once the state's assistant attorney general, gave up his fruitless, nearly
eight year search for another position in the state, and moved to Wisconsin
this year, where he is a construction attorney
Jackson Teams Up With "Rappers”
The spirit of rock activism — ignited two years ago by the "Sun City”
and "We Are The W orld" benefit records - is on the rise again in the form
of an anti-apartheid record and music video entitled "A .F.R .I.C .A .," which
teams up New York City rappers Stetsasonic and the Reverend Jesse Jack-
son.
The
Brooklyn-based
Stetsasonic
was
inspired
to
create
"A .F.R .I.C .A ." following the broadcast on ABC-TV's “ 20/20" news
magazine of a report about the Reverend Jackson s visit to the Frontline
States" in Africa. These black-ruled nations — Angola, Zimbabwe, Tan
zania, Zambia, Mozambique, and Botswana - oppose apartheid in white-
ruled South Africa and support economic sanctions against the country.
In response, South Africa has been accused of directing military and eco
nomic attacks against the Frontline States.
Here in America, the Reverend Jackson is among the leaders in the
fight against South African apartheid. “ Our country at its best feeds the
hungry," he states. "Our country at its worst — at its worst! — will have
partnership with South Africa. It's a moral disgrace!
Stetsasonic agrees. Group leader Daddy-0 says, We felt that the
youth — and also the adults — of America should know about this, so we
contributed in the best way we know how, by talking about the situation
on a record."
The record itself boasts modern, hard-rocking rap rhythms and vocals
spiced up by the drumming of Nigerian master Babatunde Olatunji. The
lyrics, which are frankly educational, name the individual countries and their
leaders, and go on to sketch out the particular problems faced by each
country.
The song's climax then drives home the most important point: "South
Africa no free, neither are we; Those are our brothers and sisters across the
sea; I'm speaking for the STET and we make a plea; To fight apartheid,
everybody!
The dazzling music video of the song was directed by Hart Pery (who
also had a hand in the creation of the award winning "Sun City" video) and
features footage of the leaders of the Frontline States, of the violence in
South Africa, of the Reverend Jackson rapping out the lyrics of the song,
and of Stetsasonic performing "A .F.R .I.C .A ," at a huge anti-apartheid rally
in Washington, D.C., this past April, with the U.S. Capitol looming in the
background. It also features maps of the area, and the spelling of the names
of the countries involved.
All royalties from the sale of “ A.F.R.I.C.A." go directly to the Africa
Fund for humanitarian relief projects for the people of the Frontline States
the same organization which handled the proceeds from "Sun City."
The Rev
Jesse Jackson joins rap band Stetsasonic on
"A .F.R .I.C .A .," a song which calls for unity in the fight against apar
theid.
Photo by Kristin Callahan