National Pictured left to right John E. Jacob , Joseph E. Lowery , Vice President At Gore , and Henry Espy. Vice President Meets with Black Leadership Forum The board of the National Black Leadership Forum met r recently with Vice President A1 *SV' j Gore to discuss the impact of vari ous administration policies. on the African-American community. The agenda for the one-hour meeting in the Roosevelt Room at the White House included a discussion of minority-business development, voter registration initiatives, the administration's policy on Haiti and Africa, and equal justice in the American penal system. "I was pleasedis meet with tfie~ Leadership Forum," Gore said. "We had a good exchange on the issues. This administration wants to continue hearing from the Leader ship Forum on all of these problems $5 Million G Greensboro - North Carolina A&T State University's 20 years of outstanding research and education is the basis for a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Trans portation to operate an interdiscipli nary institute to address transporta tion problems in urban areas experiencing rapid growth. The grant, to be paid, at the rate of SI million per year, will be administered through the Trans portation Institute of the School of Business and Economics. The grant was made possible by a bill introduced by Congressman Tim Valentine, chairman of the House Committee of Public Works and Transportation, and others. "This is a tremendous day for North Carolina A&T State Univer sity." said A &'T chancellor Edward B. Fort, in announcing the grant. affecting their communities." Joseph Lowery, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Con ference and chairman of the National Black Leadership Forum, characterized the meeting as a pro ductive one. "We found the vice president responsive, very sensitive to our concerns," he said. "We were able to cover issues of importance to the African-American community, namely the targeting of our commu nities for jobs and job training, and other economic opportunities on the basis of need. We found the meet ing fruitful and look forward to working with this administration." Also in attendance at the meet rant Boosts A "We are pleased to have been selected to play a leadership role in addressing some of the important transportation concerns of this state and the nation. It will allow North Carolina A&T State University fac ulty, staff and students to contribute to the advancement of transportation technology and expertise in this country through innovative pro grams in research, education, and technology transfer." Valentine said That A&T received this grant is really a his toric achievement, It is the begin ning of a new era. It signals the assigning of more responsibilities to historically black colleges and uni versities. It is also indicative of A&T's readiness for a full partner ship in ventures like this one." Quiester Craig, dean of the School of Business and Economics, ing were John E. Jacob, president and CEO of the National Urban League; Benjamin Hooks, former executive director of the NAACP; Dorothy I. Height, president of the National Council of Negro Women; Henry Espy, Conference of Black Mayors; Elaine Jones, director of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund; Ramone Edelin, president of the National Urban Coalition; Norman Hill, president of the Coalition of Black Trade Union ists; Herman Art Taylor, president of O I C5~TFf~A merle a; iMcffirXT Williams, president of the Joint Center for Political & Economic Studies; and William Stallworth, president of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials. &T Program said the new grant will "enhance program development in our school, and will provide excellent opportu nities for our outstanding faculty members to participate in research activities of value to the state and the nation." In receiving the grant. A&T has been designated as a National Urban Transit Institute. Valentine said A&T will be one of five such insti tutes around the country established to develop " internationally recog nized centers of excellence, fully integrated within institutions of higher learning, that serve as a vital source of leaders who are prepared to meet the nation's need for safe, efficient and environmentally sound movement of people and goods." "We are committed to doing our part to increase the pool of qual ified transportaiton professionals in the country ," said Jacob. Senator Sees Encouraging Prospects Washington, DC ? Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun. the first black woman United States senator, told 1,500 guests recently that "prospects for meaningful change, change that can bring real improve 1 ment to people's lives, are greater now than at any time since the days of the New Deal." The keynote speaker for the Joint Center for Political and Eco nomic Studies' Annual Dinner at the Washington Hilton. Moseley Braun said: " I feel especially blessed to be here at this critical time in our nation's history." The senator cited several rea sons for her optimism during her well-received address: the new administration-proposed programs; the increase in black elected offi cials; her own election to the Senate from Illinois, and the effectiveness of the Joint Center in keeping "the issues of concern to black America front and center in the public policy arena. "The days of writing off one segment of the nr of the world are over," Moseley-Braun said. "As we invest in public edu cation, we prepare our children for global economic competition. As we invest in cities, we end the tragic waste of both money and talent that now sees one young black male in four either in jail or on probation." Noting Illinois' African-Ameri can population of less than 1 2 per cent. Sen. Moseley-Braun told the guests: "I won my election with 55 percent of the vote, by a plurality of more than half a million. What that suggests is that the time may be upon us to make the leap in our relations as a people. A leap to the time when we can come together as one people to make the dream of our democracy more a reality than at any time in our history." George L. Knox III, vice presi dent, of public affairs at Phillip Morris Companies Inc., said his company was pleased to join in sup port-of the Joint Center, "an institu tion that has proven vital to the nation as the top African-American led think tank on politics and on Carol Moseley-Braun economics." At the Phillip-Morris-spon sored pre-dinner reception, Knox remarked: "The choice of Sen. Moseley-Braun as keynote speaker proves once more the Joint Center's effectiveness in helping us all better understand the dynamics and trends of our chancing world." Earlier in the evening President Bill Clinton found hundreds of enthusiastic well -wishers during a vivir to the pre-dinner reception. I Officials Will Not Investigate Deaths of Two Black Students LENOIR ( AP ) ? NAACP officials are disappointed the fed eral justice department will not investigate possible civil-rights vio lations in two 1991 stabbing deaths. The request for federal help was rhade in late January by the state chapter of the NAACP in Greensboro on behalf of the Lenoir branch of the NAACP. The request followed an all-white jury's acquit tal in December of the two white students charged in the stabbing deaths of the two black high-school students. The U.S. Justice Department cited insufficient evidence as the reason for denying a federal probe into the 1991 stabbing deaths of two black students at West Caldwell High School, the Lenoir News Topic reported last week . State NAACP Executive Director Mary Peeler, who made the request in writing on Jan. 22, said, "We are highly disappointed. We feel the allegations of viola tions of'civil rights should indeed have been investigated by the Department of Justice." Peeler said no further action would be taken by the NAACP. James P. Turner, acting assis tant U.S. attorney general, wrote a letter to the NAACP, which said the Justice Department didn't have jurisdiction. Federal civil-rights statutes have strict jurisdictional requirements. On Dec. 22, 1992, following a two-week trial, Robert Wesley Setzer, 17, and Jimmy Christopher Shook. 18, who are both white, were acquitted on two counts of second-degree murder in the stab bing deaths of Terry Wayne Maxwell, 15, and Randall Earnest Moore, 17. Maxwell and Moore were stabbed during a hallway brawl at the school on Sept. 23, 1991. ? The innocent verdicts on all counts from the all-white jury sent shock waves through the black community following the trial. Local NAACF President Venoy Pearson called the verdicts "a bla tant miscarriage of justice." Turner went on to say that the Department of Justice is committed to strong enforcement of civil rights laws. "We are committed to the vig orous enforcement of criminal civil rights statutes," Turner said. "The criminal section has set records in the past three years for both the - number and the quality of prosecu tions involving hate crimes in which people act out their racial, ethnic and religious hatred with vio lence and acts of intimidation." Research Centers Established to Study Minority Related Illnesses Secretary Donna E. Shalala recently announced establishment of five federally funded research centers designed to increase research efforts to prevent, diag nose and treat illnesses among minority populations. Funding for the centers, which was provided by the Public Health Service's Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, includes $2.7 million over the next five years. The centers are located In Balti tension, heart disease and many other diseases. Research can help health-care providers improve the effectiveness of medical treatment for minorities and reduce or elimi nate ineffective or inappropriate care." Clinton said type II diabetes is 33 percent more common among African-Americans than whites. Untreated, diabetes can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney failure and "hlinringRR nffortc ton, - will investigate cardiovascu lar disease, breast and cervical can cer screening, type II diabetes, and prenatal -care issues among African Americans and Latinos (target populations will be extended to Native Americans in 1994). University of Maryland, Department of Pediatrics, Balti more ($677,663). Principal inves tigator: Dr. Bonita F. Stanton, - will study child and adolescent pro- ? health among African Americans, more, Detroit, Nashville, San Fran cisco and Chicago. Shalala said a principal focus on the centers' efforts will be on "outcomes" research ? study of i . . . . , J . variations in practice styles and treatments are most effective and are most likely to lead to favorable patient outcomes. . "The centers will support out comes research in health problems that are especially prevalent among minorities," she said. "In addition, they will provide training opportu nities for researchers specializing in minority health issues, offer technical assistance to policymak ers and state and local health offi cials, and disseminate health infor mation pertinent to minority communities." AHCPR Administrator J. Jar rett Clinton, M.D., said that minor ity populations, when viewed as a whole, have higher rates of hyper portionately more African-Ameri cans and Hispanics ? ?and rates are increasing disproportionately/* Dr. Clinton said. " In some Asian American communities the inci dence of 'tuberculosis is 40 times higher than in the general popula tion." w-. The Research Centers on Minority Populations are part of AHCPR's Medical Effectiveness Treatment Program (MEDTEP), which includes outcomes research, development of clinical practice guidelines, and widespread dis semination of research findings and practice guidelines to health care practitioners and consumers. The centers, for which fund ing was announced today, include: University of California at San Francisco, Institute for Health Pol icy Studies ($748,166). Principal investigator: A. Eugene Washing focusing on AIDS, emergency room outcomes, violence and sub stance abuse. Meharry Medical College, 1 Nashville ($400,000). Principal investigator: Dr. Mark J. Young, will study hip fracture and total replacement, type 1 diabetes, asthma and geriatric outcomes among African-Americans. University of Illinois, Chicago ($400,000). Principal investigator. Aida Giachello, will study type n diabetes, substance abuse and infant mortality outcomes among mid-west Latinos. In addition to the five research centers, AHCPR has