Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 17 September 1994 — Page 2

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The political parties need to he bom again It’s back. The defamation, denigration, vilification, vituperation and skeleton in the closet dance known as the modem political campaign. Political party pundits seem to have become addicted to leveling personal attacks and ridicule on their opponents as a replacement for substantive debate. The issues facing America are real and serious but to hear the major political parties tell it, our biggest problem seems to be whether the Democrats and Republicans can out con each other. Our children are dying in our streets and both parties are talking about how tough they are. Evidently none of them are tough enough to stop the flow of crack cocaine into our children’s hands. The political parties leave it up to groups such as the Children’s Defense Fund to discuss what our children need to avoid becoming inmates in all the new prisons the Democrats and Republicans are building with borrowed money. What about all the guns flowing like a river through our streets. Who among our political leaders cares enough to walk through our streets to see and feel the pain experienced by the financially burdened people in poor parts of town who dodge bullets at night? Meanwhile, the rest of us will be left to dodge commercials that tell cute stories and white lies while our children are living in fear. What about Haiti, Cuba, guns and health care? You won’t see positions on these controversial topics, expounded upon in the slick commercials. It is after all not wise or should we say not slick, to get into real issues while you’re campaigning. When one is slick enough one might get elected solely based upon how bad you make your opponent look and the issues can be damned. It’s modem politics and we buy and sell politicians a lot like we buy and sell dog food. We don’t talk about what’s actually in dog food we just make sure it’s packaged right and that it seems to be good even though no one wants to taste it. Look carefully at the paid political advertising this campaign season. Then, when you get time read the Lincoln /Douglas debates or get a tape of the Kennedy/ Nixon debates and draw your own conclusions. Debates are not the same as commercials, but since all we get is commercials we should be aware of what’s missing from these modem political advertising sideshows. We’d like to actually hear from candidates what they think instead of what they’ve been advised to say. Oh how radical this would be. Think of it, we would hear from candidates instead of marketing pros. Where would Abe Lincoln be today? He’d be disgraced by personal attacks and humiliated by the oppositions marketing savvy. We’ve probably killed of the modern day Lincoln’s and Washington’s and even theTruman’s because were so used to being slicked into submission. The political parties need to be born again. They need to revive their on traditions so that the public debate can get beyond how someone used their expense account. Did Abraham Lincoln pad his expense account? Does it matter? We have our own civil war to fight and we need to be able to select wise politicians and great leaders. Commercials and ad campaigns will not replace debates and discussion. 1 and the hoped for, emergence, of true leaders at this most disturbing time in America’s history.

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THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17,1994

Native Americans'rights are being violated ajffi

I am told that as our native American ancestors for only 20 years, made decisions, they considered not only the The most troubling impact on their own generation, but on seven part of the story of the generations to come. If only that decision-making Prairie Island facility is mode had been used by our political forefathers the process the (because there were few foremothers included), Minnesota legislature we would all be better off today. Certainly our used to agree to the dry water, air and land would be cleaner and less cask storage. Despite polluted and our environment would be much the possible impart to safer for all. the environment, In Prairie Island, Minnesota they know what including the

Gvil Rights Journal lylMNKE POWEU JACKSON

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energy, religious, peac^nAnative American groups recently held a vigil for the survival of Prairie Island. Some 800 people attended this historic event, which received no press coverage. Still, this group pledges to continue to fight against the placement of the dry casks above the ground of Prairie Island. It is thought that the first casks will be filled sometime next spring.

Iliptz (NDIANARjLI6 UCOPPLZ- 9/17/94-

in rraine isianu, iviiiuic^uia mcy iuiuw wuai including tne misu auiucuiuc iron apuug. 1 am talking about. At least the native American Mississippi River and the many states through The Prairie Island native American community community there does. There’s is a story worth w hj c h it runs, and despite the possible health deserves better from the state of Minnesota and telling. There’s is a story which cries out for hazardsofstoringnuclearwasteabovetheground, from their neighborhoods, Northern State Power, justice. There’s is a story which could happen to the Minnesota Senate held a special, unscheduled Already they face a cancer risk six times higher any of us. floor session to vote on this bill. This action was than acceptable under Minnesota Health Prairie Island is about 30 miles southwest of taken even after the Senate’s own Environment Department standards. Are they risking losing Minneapolis. Located in the Mississippi River, it Committee had turned down the Northern State their land as well as their lives? also lies only across the river from Wisconsin, proposal only two weeks previously. We as a nation have avoided the hard questions For 150 years it has been the home of native it seems that after a meeting with Senate about where to put radioactive nuclear waste American Mdewakanton Dakota people. Despite leaders and the Northern State Power Company, materials. Too often our solution has been to put the obstacles placed before them, a political the Environment Committee reconvened and these hazardous materials in communities and climate which passed an 1863 bill placing a4200 passed an amended version of the bill. A part of waste materials in communities of people of bounty on any “dead Dakota India” in Minnesota, the amendment included a provision to authorize color. We can begin by calling for justice for the these people have built their homes as well as moving the members of the Prairie Island native Mdewakanton Dakota people. We can write to roads, a day care center, a government center and American community from their 150 year-old Governor Arne Carlson, State House, St. Paul, a casino which is the only source of revenue for i an d to another part of the county. All of this was MN 55155. We can begin to look around at our their community. done without including Mdewakanton Dakota own nuclear power plants and find out where their But for the past two decades Prairie Island has representatives in the discussion. waste goes. We can remember that what we do also been the home ofa nuclear power plant run a coalition of environmental, alternative today will impact lives for seven generations,

by Northern State Power Company. The Indian people of Prairie Island were never partners in the decision to place the power plant in their community and were promised the plant would

close in 20 years.

Now, two decades later, history repeating itself as decision about the storage of the nuclear waste from the plant have been made by Northern State Power and the Minnesota legislature while the representatives of the Dakota people were sitting in the hall. In the words of Darelynn Lehto, vice president of the Prairie Island Sioux nation, in her testimony to the Minnesota legislature, “it is difficult to express to you the full extent of our community anger and frustration. Our people will be affected by this decision more directly and profoundly than other groups in the entire State of Minnesota. Yet we have been ignored, overlooked, patronized and insulted throughout the legislature’s consideration of this

proposal.”

The question facing the Norhem State Power Company and state of Mitmesota is what to do with the waste left over from the Prairie Island nuclear power plant. It is a question not facing this community, but some two or three dozen other communities with similar power plants. The solution proposed by Northern Power and approved by the state legislature, is to store the waste “temporarily” above the ground in dry casksat Praire Island. Dry cask storage is untested and noenvironmental impact has been completed. In other words, no one knows whether such storage will be safe, or for how long. And while Northern State Power has said that it will be only temporary storage, there is no guarantee. Remember, too, the earlier promise that the Prairie Island nuclear plant would be operational

It is time for nervous Negroes to go away

The recent firestorm swirling around Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is really about power, those external forces to the African community to control and exploit the African community in this country and the world, to keep African people disoriented, disunited and weak. The cold historical fact is that Europe and Europeans are have prospered mightily from the underdevelopment of Africa and Africa people through the holocaust of enslavement, colonialism, neo-colonialism and domestic colonialism. The vast and extraordinary wealth and riches of Africa and the incredible talent, skill and inventiveness of the African mind and body have been used to nurture Euro-American capitalism and propel Europe and America to a position of supremacy, white supremacy in the world today. White supremacy developed and has been sustained by the age old, time tested tactics—divide, conquer and exploit. The holocaust of enslavement was carried out because of the superiority of European

LETS STOP I THIS madness/

Vantage

By RON DANIELS

colonialism, the indirect control of not in the best interest of white African nations and communities supremacy/power. That’s what the was/is maintained by the same fiiss is all about. What if the Africanstrategy and tactics — divide and American leadership Summit really

# ex P*°i t - And every form of succeeds? What if Black America lOint domination has been characterized begins to effectively use its $350-

by cultural aggression and $400 billion income and consumer miseducation, the conscious attempt as a tool for self-development and a to destroy African history, identity weapon to punish those corporations and culture to undermine the capacity who exploit our people with little or of African people to unite and resist not return? What if this unity and

weaponry (the gun) and the ability to domination. self-reliance idea spreads like a vims use that weapon ft) turn African. The I site these historical references to infect Africans in the Caribbean, objective was clear, to rape, pillage simply to stress the current Central and South America and and control Africa in the interest of controversy engulfing the NAACP heaven forbid, Africa? enriching and developing European and Black America is about power We African-Americans must be and Europeans. In the colonial era and control, the ability of Europe and clear about what is at stake and act Africa was simple carved up by the America and Europeans to continue accordingly. We have the power in European powers with disregard for to divide and exploit and prosper off our own hands to liberate ourselves, the well established boundaries and of the human and material wealth of The burden of a $3 million debt at bordersofAfricannationsandethnic African people. Nothing is more the NAACP should not even be an groups. This reckless splitting up of terrifying to white supremacy/power issue. We are 40 million strong and the African nations and peoples were than the prospect that African people have a gross African Annual Income designed to disrupt the unity of the might unite and use our enormous of $350-400 billion. We should not people and facilitate control. In resources for our own development, be on our knees begging anybody additional ethnic differences were Nothing is more frightening to white for grants or corporate donations as exploited e.g. favoring one ethnic power then the specter off of the the primary source of income for groups over another as a means of human and material wealth of African our civil rights/human rights maintaining the profitable control people. organizations and leaders. We and dominance of white supremacy. As long as the Hutu and Tutsi are should wipe out the debt and see Neo-colonialism and domestic at each others throats in Rwanda and African/Black dollars as the main

Burundi, white supremacy/power is source of income for the Black

secure. As long as the tension between freedom struggle,

the Yoruba and Hausa in Nigeria is White supremacy prefers nervous perpetuated, then white supremacy Negroes who wittingly or is safe. As long as the ideological unwittingly perpetuate the slave/ differences between Booker T. plantation mentality among our Washington, DuBois, remained people, nervous Negroes who comfortably situated. The prospect cannot conceive and therefore that Martin Luther King Jr., and cannot achieve African unity, selfMalcolm X might have combined reliance and Black power, nervous forces to develop common a agenda Negroeswhowouldkeep us divided, for the Black freedom struggle sent dependent and powerless. I believe shock waves through the white power that it’s time out for nervous structure — conintelpro, character Negroes. It’stime for African people assassination and physical to do what’s necessary to liberate assassination. ourselves from white supremacy and Make no mistake about it, African omination. It’s time for Black Power unity is not in the best interest of to confront white power. It’s time white supremacy/power. African for African people miTMT'ty come self-reliance and self-development off the plantatfcgLBOMBHftft a free is not in the best interest of white and seff-deteflSlIBD8PBB|Se. K again.

supremacy/power. Black power is

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