Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 22 June 2001 — Page 2

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THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, JUNE 22,2001

Lewis tells publishers to continue to speak truth

By NNPA Stall Writer ATLANTA (NNPA)-Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) told the members of the NNPA's National Convention to stay unified and to "keep writing and printing the truth." "You have an obligation, you have a mission, you have a mandate.” said Lewis, speaking at a Friday luncheon at the Hilton and Towers here attended by city Mayor Bill Campbell. Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) and DeKalb Chief Executive Officer Vernon Jones. The event w&s sponsored by K-Mart. Lewis thanked the estimated 200 Black newspaper publishers assembled for their help and support over many decades during the fight for civil and human rights. “If it hadn’t been for Black newspapers, the Civil Rights Movement would have been a bird without

wings.” said the man who served as the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, a national grassroots civil rights activist organization, from 1963 to 1966. He said two Black reporters, Moses Newsome of The AfroAmerican and Simeon Booker, best known for his work with Johnson Publications, rode along with SNCC and other Civil Rights Movement activists on the Freedom Rides, the 1961 campaign against interstate travel segregation. The Freedom Rides were met with violence by White mobs, who beat Lewis and others at bus stops. The congressman was among activists who celebrated the 40th anniversary of that event this past spring. "When the buses were burned, Newsome was there,” Lewis said.

The Georgia Democrat said he would continue to push for universal health care and a national Black museum in Washington, D.C. Jones, one of three Black.county executives in the United States, called Lewis, 61, the “fruit of the seed" he and other veteran Civil Rights Movement activists have planted. Lewis was preceded by McKinney, who said the Congressional Black Caucus is planning a Capitol Hill hearing this week on the topic of racism. Pointing out similarities between the federal government’s late 1960s surveillance program against Black activists and today’s controversies, she asserted the condition of Blacks is “not an accident.” “We are in a state of emergency in Black America,” she said. “We are in a state of crisis in Black America.”

Ready...set...go The Inner City Youth Racing League will participate in the Indianapolis Soap Box derby Local All-American Race. The event will be held Saturday, June 23. This league is a collaborative effort of the Indianapolis Weed & Seed program and the Indianapolis Police Department to reach inner city youth ages 9 to 16. The spit of Soap Box Derby Racing promotes relationship development betweeh children and adults. Youth work directly with adults to build and race the cars. Any child participating in the program can race in any one of the rally races held in Indianaplis and cities across the country. All-American Championship race occurs in June, and is open to anyone in the Soap Box Derby Association, Inc. The winner of each division will represent Indianaplis in the World Championship race held in Akron, OH in July. The Mayor’s Cup Championship Race occurs July 14, and the winning team receives a traveling trophy. Spnsors for the races include the Indianapolis Housing Agency, City of Indianaplis and Indy Parks. For more information call Olgen Williams 635-7211.

Let the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership (INHP) help clear your path toward homeownership.

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