January 12,2000
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New York - NAACP President and CEO, Kweisi M fumeand Patricia Fili-
Kruschell, president, ABC Television Network, announced this week an
agreement to adopt a series ot initiatives to increase opportunities for people
ot color in al 1 network operations. Linder the agreement, ABC will create grants
to discov er and support new writing and directing talent and take other steps
to expand the pool o f candidates for network on air positions, program
production, easting, promotion, professional services and procurement.
Mtume said, "The NAACP has worked extremely hard with our coalition
partners over the last several months to create opportunities for qualified men
and women ot color. Their ability now to significantly impact executive,
production and talent ranks o f network television is greatly enhanced. This
agreement is another step in creating greater opportunity in network television.
I atricia Fili-Kruschell and the people of ABC are to be commended for their
effort to have their network reflect the diversity o f America and to increase
opportunities for all." Within the next six months, ABC will make grants to
minority individuals to discover and support new writing and directing talent.
1 he network will also establish grants to people o f color in universities and
acting schools to increase the pool o f actors available for all ABC programs.
ABC said it would expand the purchase ot commercial time for programming
in minority media and relationships with minority owned media placement
companies The ABC Entertainment Division will require casting executives to
meet, audition and consider more diverse actors for all programs.
C h ie f ,
in
P u b l is h e r
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ABC agrees to increase
minorities on network
ir e c t o r
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Re-awakening King legacy
January is the time o f year that I focus not only on the Martin Luther King, Jr.
That we so conveniently remember when we recite the lovely “ I Have a Dream”
Speech, but the Martin Luther King who fearlessly challenged the systems of
injustice which have made millions o f people poor, which have marginalized
people of color and w hich were responsible for an unjust war in VietNam. I
remember the Martin Luther King, Jr. who afflicted the comfortable and
comforted the afflicted.
But perhaps the best thing that we can all do to celebrate the legacy of Martin
Luther King, Jr. is not just to go to the prayer breakfasts and religious services
which remember this great man, but to get involved ourselves in the multitude
o f issues o f injustice around us. One such issue is environmental justice or
environmental racism, which is the dumping o f toxic wastes in communities
o f color across this nation, and indeed, around the world.
For more than 15 years the Commission for Racial J ustice has been working on
environmental justice and that continues to be important work for us. For this
MLK day a group o f African American leaders from around the country are
focusing our attention on.
These African American leaders are also examining the health impacts of
environmental racism for our communities, which face a myriad ofhealth crises.
Ourchildren, for instance, suffer from abnormally high rates ofasthma and lead
poisoning and we also see higher incidences o f cancer, birth defects and
immune system diseases such as lupus in African American adults, which are
sometimes related to toxic wastes in our environment.
But environmental justice has other significant impacts on our communities
as well, particularly economic impact. For instance, there are transportation
concerns which relate as more and more jobs move to the suburbs which means
people need cars since public transit is seldom a possibility. In some cases,
businesses have chosen to move out o f the cities because o f contaminated
sites left behind by now-closed companies which means fewer jobs near our
communities.
All o f this means that African Americans and others are facing a national state
o f emergency because o f environmental racism and we hear little about this
from our presidential candidates as we talk about our nation’s agenda for the
new century.
The Power Is In You. Give Blood. J L
ReSecross
We'll be there.
15 th ANNUAL MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL BLOOD DRIVE
SPONSORED BY STATE FARM INSURANCE AND DAMON STOUDAMIRE
Jefferson High School Cafeteria
Monday, January 17,2000
12:30 pm to 5:30 pm
TH E POWER IS IN
PLEASE GIVE BLOOD
For more information or
to schedule a donation appointment,
please call (503) 284 - 4040, ext.357
1-8OO-CIVE-LIFE
WWW.REDCROSS.ORC/BLOOD