Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 22 August 1991 — Page 19

The Muncie Times, Thursday, August 22,1991, Page 19

The U.S.A. Let’s hear it for the good ol ’ U.S. of A. Since the Gulf War, this country has gained a lot of status around the world - we’re Number One. We’re leading the world in other areas as well, with 375,000 U.S. mothers giving birth to crack-addicted babies. The good news is that most children who are exposed to crack cocaine before birth have a good chance of overcoming any physical damage that may affect them after. That means women must have access to treatment. Funding agencies must teach these mothers good parenting and coping skills, thus helping the children get a good start, physically and emotionally. But that’s not likely to happen while we’re busy sending crates of experimental white rats and vats of slimy baby jellyfish into the heavens on spacecraft costing billions of our tax dollars. I suppose “El Presidente” feels we don’t have the time or money to save the babies. At least 82 percent of offenders in prison are high school drop outs. Of that number, a whopping 73 percent are back in jail within 3 years. Our national justice system houses four times as many African American male offenders as South Africa. Yes, America, we are Number One with a bullet, with cities like New York, Washington and Milwaukee, to name just a few, unofficially vying for the title of murder capital of the world. In terms of African American and Hispanic communities, if we continue swimming in our own blood we’ll do a better job of eradicating our own people than the Ku Klux Klan ever in their wildest dreams thought possible. Hate groups would become extinct

because, after we finish ourselves off, they woul dn ’ t even need a meeting. In the Dec. 31, 1990, Law Enforcement News, police spokeswoman Haydee Mazariegos reported that 83 percent of the city’s murder victims had three things in common. Number one, they were young. Number two, they were male. Number three, they were black. Whatever happened to the days when we were young, gifted and black? You know, there is a solution to all this chaos. It’s called caring for your community. One ddes not have to be an expert to know right from wrong. Once upon a time, children were in Sunday School. Now, on any given Sunday, not only are the pews devoid of children, but there’s an empty place where the socalled parent of the child should be. If people find time to gripe about all the mess and mayhem and didn’t make the time to attend the communitybuilding workshops freely offered during the greatest Indiana Black Expo this nation has ever seen, someone oughta,...(Well, never mind. This is a non-violent column). The conferences were what every person of color in this state needed to hear. Until our community starts telling politicians its own stories and stops leaving business at hand to uninformed politicians, the U.S. will stay in the pits when it comes to social services, health policies, and economic development for the disadvantaged who are trying to make it in mainstream white America. Still not convinced you ought to make some political noise? O.K. How ’bout these tidbits of knowledge? There are 5 million children under the age of 6 living in poverty, or 15

percent of the U.S. population, according to a 1988 national survey. That’s saying one-third of children come from poor families. Ofthat percentage, guess how many are black? One out of two. Wait a minute? What about the civil rights movement? What about “say it loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud?” Did we trade our dashikis for minks and our afro picks for permanent hair relaxer? As far as statistics say, and what my eyes see around me in our neighborhoods, we still ain’t arrived. Until we get mad enough to write those congressional letters, kick out those sorry community leaders, andneighbors start looking out for each other in positive ways, the statistics will get worse, the community poorer and the resources even more scant. But the risk in hitting bottom means that our communities will be shattered by the impact of a lack of the brotherhood & sisterhood working for social change. We may not be able to get this hump-backed nation straightened out. Personally, I hope some of y’all get mad enough to start turning people in, out, and

every other which way. Expo’s theme was “Linking the Chains of Change.” All of US in the United States are links, no matter what level of educational idiocy some of us may have attained. Until we

by William D. Brown Social Security Manager, Muncie, Ind. Over 450,000 claims for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disabled children’s payments, which were denied between Jan. 1,1980, and Feb. 27, 1990, will be reopened, the Social Security Administration recently announced. - The claims will be reevaluated under new rules, said William D. Brown, Social Security manager in Muncie. The new rules implement a recent settlement between the government and plaintiffs in the Zebley U.S. Supreme Court decision. The decision makes substantial changes in the way the Social Security Administration evaluates disability in children for the SSI program, Brown said. SSI is a Federal program that makes monthly payments to

put that knowledge to use where we start helping ourselves, we may as well bum our degrees in our neighborhoods, because we will be responsible for our community going up in smoke.

people who have limited income and assets and are 65 or over, or are blind or disabled. Currently, more than 350,000 disabled children receive SSI payments total ling about $ 125 million each month. Beginning in July, SSA mailed explanatory notices to those children who were denied SSI for medical reasons during the 10-year period. Parents or children receiving the notices will have 120 days to notify SSA that they want to have their claim reviewed. They must respond to the notice for SSA to initiate a review, Brown said. These cases will be re-adju-dicated using the new disability standards established under the Zebley decision.

The Muncie Social Security office is at225N. High St. The phone numbers are (317) 7475548 or 1-800-234-5772.

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Disabled Children’s Payment Reopened