Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 10 January 2003 — Page 22

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THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 2003

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► Continued from Page 1 about as a rosult of injustice against one group: black people. Only now. black people sit back and allow others not only to step right in front of us and goto head of the civil rights line, but we also allow others to literally and unapologeticallyeall usout of bur name. What's in a name anvwav. right? A typical example of the shenanigans we see played on otir people once again is taking place in Comedy Central I'.S.A.; Cincinnati, Ohio. The National lhi-

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derground Railroad Freedom Center is being built here. The last time I checked my history, the characters who participated in the Underground Railroad w ere w hite folks and Black folks. Now that the center is being constructed. and economics comes into play, the theme is Minority Keonomic Inclusion. That’s right. A "goal" of 2. r > percent of the contracts. etc., has been established for "minorities.” Go figure. Our Comedy Central City Council (some call it city clowned ) just approved a “small business" program to address disparities they found in our brand new "Croson Study" (or disparity study.) The report says quite plainly that Black folks and other folks have been discriminated against in the past. What do they do about it? •Well, instead of implementing a race-conscious program, they recommend and approve a raceneutral "small business program," and then pat themselves on the backs for looking out for “minority" businesses. Let me reiterate. T he report said, among many other things, that Black people, who comprise nearly 50 percent of the city's population, received 1.41 percent of a publicly funded highway project that cost more that $228 million. The solution: Implement a small business program rather than a Black program. Who's going to w in in that

game? Whenever there’s a problem, the establishment thinks it can solve it by putting Black faces on slick brochures, sending Black folks to talk to other Black folks to tell us everything is fine, or by putting a Black person on television to plead their case. They are quick to use the correct name during the times they get in t rouble, but they gravitate to other euphemistic substitutes when they hand out the prizes. Are you going to allow someone to call you out of your name? If so, Black people will stay exactly where we are - on the bottom rung of the economic ladder. What’s in a name? Better still, who’s in a name? You are. Accept nothing less than your correct name. Oh yes, those “minorities” in the above-mentioned test are all - every single one of them - Black people! Now you know why this column is called “Blackonomics” rather than some euphemism like “Minoronomics.” James E. Clingman, an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinna ti's African-American Studies department, is former editor of the Cincinnati Herald Newspaper and founder of the Greater Cincinnati African American Chamber of Commerce. He can be reached at (513) 489-4132, or by e-mail at jelingman (ff blackonomics. com.

Hello... Good-bye. Hello patio. Hello driveway. Hello garden. Hello basketball court. Hello garage. Hello basement. Hello dog. Hello tax deduction. Hello equity. Hello closet space. Good-bye broken elevators. Good-bye thin walls. Good-bye rent. Good-bye crowded closets. Good-bye parking spaces. Good-bye laundromats. Good-bye quarters. Good-bye landlords. Hello freedom.

Sure, there are plenty of practical reasons to buy a VA HOME. Low down payments (many VA HOMES require as little as S500 down i. You don't have to be a vet. And competitive VA vendee financing is available to qualified buyers. But the real reason to buy one is because it’s all yours. Call vour real estate professional for details and listings. ATTENTION!! VA is looking for (jualifled contractors to repair homes, and licensed real estate appraisers. Call VA at 317-226-6616.

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Documents detail tobacco industry's hold on Black groups

By CHAUNCEY BAILEY Special to the NNPA From the Sun Roportor SAN FRANCISCO (NNPA) — African-American critics of the tobacco industry participated in a national convention here recently and said smoking kills 45,000 Blacks every year in the U.S., while some 60 Black organizations have been getting millions of dollars from billion-dollar strong tobacco companies. One estimate said the financial take for Black-run nonprofits comes to about $ 25 million a year. As a result of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement in the United States, more than 40 million pages of internal tobacco company documents are electronically accessible through tobacco company Web sites. Researchers have gleaned data between February 2001 and April 2002 from the Web sites run by Philip

Morris, RJ Reynolds, Brown and Williamson, Lorillard, the Minnesota Tobacco Document Depository and the Tobacco Institute. Some 700 “internal documents” related to “African-Ameri-can leadership groups,” said Valerie Yerger, of the Center for Tobacco Control, Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco, who issued a report on smoking and Blacks. The relationship between Blacks and tobacco has deep roots. In the early days of Jim Crow when Blacks in the rural South could not refer to any white person without using the term “sir” or “mister,” Blacks who went to purchase Philip Morris cigarettes at whiteowned stores had to ask for a pack of “Mr. Philip Morris.” In the 1930s, about half of the employees who worked in manufacturing jobs with the tobacco industry were Blacks. Today, Blacks suffer higher death rates from forms of cancer tied to siriok-

BUSINESS BRIEFS

Society luncheon The Central Indiana Chapter of the CPCU Society will host a January Luncheon Meeting Jan. 15 at Embassy Suites Hotel, 110 W. Washington St. Featured speaker will be Gerry Dick, president, Grow IndianaMedia Ventures, LLC; creator and host of Inside Indiana Business with Geny Dick (WTHR13 and WFYI TV 20). The topic is “What’s Growing on in Indiana Business?” RSVP by Jan. 10. Registration begins at 11:30 a.m. Luncheon at noon. Cost: $23. For more information call Sherry Williams at (317) 262-7190. Women’s Financial Health Week The Indiana CPA Society, American Institute of CPAs and “MONEY” Magazine are sponsoring the 2 nd annual Women’s Financial Health Week, Jan. 13 - 17. The week-long campaign is designed to give women in Indiana and across the country the tools they need to take charge of their financial lives and to improve their relationship with money. The focal point of the week is an interactive web site WomensfinaixialHealthWeekjoom that provides tips and tools to

help develop and enhance a solid financial plan as well as Web chats and daily polls. Fannie Mae good for minorities Fannie Mae, the nation’s largest source of financing for home mortgages, was ranked No. 1 on Fortune magazine’s 2002 list of the 50 Best Companies for Minorities. The list recognizes that companies that maintain a commitment to diversity, even in difficult economic times, actually enjoy a business advantage. More than 24 percent of the company’s management group, consisting of officers and directors, are minorities. Minorities make up nearly 42 percent of the workforce and 52 percent of the workforce are women. The list will appear in the July 8 ,h issue of Fortune magazine. Seminar on starting a business The Service Corps of Retired Executives, a Small Business Administration function, will offer a seminar on “How to Start Your Own Business.” The course will begin at 8 a.m., Jan. 16, at Ivy Tech State College, 1W. 26th St., in the 4th floor large auditorium). Cost is $40. For more information, call (317) 226-7264.

ing and 45,000 African Americans die every year from smok-ing-related illnesses, Yerger reported to the conference, which was largely ignored by the general media. While some Blacks - such as the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA, the Black press) and Black journalists - have begun to speak out against the “targeting” of Blacks by the industiy, many other Black organizations remain silent and keep getting money, said activists. The National Association of Black Journalists stopped taking cash from the tobacco industiy after it was revealed that a new menthol brand called “Uptown” was being aimed at Blacks, said Charyn Sutton, of Ross Onyz Consultants Tobacco Control Advocacy of Philadelphia, who also attended the conference. During an NNPA convention in Memphis in the late 1990s, Black newspaper publishers jammed the CEO from RJ Reynolds because the company only placed ads for cigarettes and not other food products in their publications. The executive promised to look into the practice. Sutton said there has been some progress. “We have been having some good conversations with the Black press. Loyalty has limits,” Sutton said. “In balancing the damage done by tobacco against the benefits of tobacco money and support, the Black community has lost far more than it has gained.” Rev. Jesse Brown Jr., executive director of the National Association of African Americans for Positive Imagery, said he recently met with 40 Black pastors in San Francisco who promised to speak out more about smoking and health in the Black community. “African-American leaders have to take stock of their rela tionship with the tobacco industry,” he said. “We can no longer afford to be silent while people are being killed by tobacco. Just as we stood for justice in the civil rights era, we have to stand for health for all our people today.” Brown said when he confronts Black organizations about taking tobacco money, “I either get blown off or they say they are getting too much money to turn it down or they (ask) why shouldn’t they take it when others are taking it.” But one attendee said privately the conference should not be “so hard” on other Blacks for taking tobacco money “because many of us are able to attend this conference because of tobacco settlement money.”

ACTION ► Continued from Page 1 paycheck ’and deposited into your savings account. Your initial savings goal should be to accumulate at least three to six months worth of your income. This is an easy way to begin building a nest egg for that rainy day, vacation or unforeseen emergency. Another savings method to consider is cash value life insurance which allows you to make payments above the premium amount, which then earn interest. After one year you can then borrow against the cash value of the policy, without being charged interest. Finally in order to eliminate creating new debt, create a budget and stick to it. Start

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planning your expenses such as vacations, major appliances, etc. and begin saving towards your goal. Buying a Home Not sure if you can afford to buy a house? Think that you’re not credit worthy enough? Then contact the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership, a non-profit organization that works to substantially increase the ability for low- and moderate-in-come citizens to access affordable housing. The Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership enables individuals and families to pre-qualify for loans, match financing capacity with loan programs, obtain loans, resolve credit issues, prepare viable budgets and access training on money management, applying and qualifying for a loan, home inspections, home renovations and more. Returning to School Ifyou completed some college in the past or are starting for the first time Community College of Indiana, (CCI is an Ivy Tech Vincennes partnership) offer an affordable way to earn an associate degree. They have flexible class schedules; offering day, night, Internet and video instruction courses. They also have an agreement with most colleges and universities throughout Indiana to accept

their credits when students transfer. If a bachelor’s degree is what you are in pursuit of then Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) now offers a BA degree available totally through distance learning, meaning you never have to step foot into the class room. Starting a Business What are your talents and skills? Can you translate these into an income generating business? If the answer is yes, then you need to begin the planning stages of owning a business by developing a business plan. Your business plan will address the pros and cons of your chosen business and let you know how much financing you’ll need. It’s recommended that you test the waters by starting your venture part-time to tests its marketability. The Neighborhood Self-Em-ployment Initiative (NSI) is .a community-based not-for-profit organization that helps people create and develop their own small businesses. NSI’s services include micro enterprise education, technical assistance and access to credit. So write down your goals, create action steps (or use these as a guide) to achieve these and remember 10 minutes and 21 days is all it takes to make your resolutions a reality.