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 <also funded six other
MEDTEP Research Centers on
Minority Populations. These are
located in New York, Texas, Cali
fornia, Georgia, New Mexico and
Hawaii.
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