Black state senator makes history in
Oklahoma by filling leadership role
Monson
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Angela Monson will become
the first woman and the first black to fill a leadership role in
the Oklahoma Senate when the Legislature convenes in Feb
ruary.
Monson, an Oklahoma City Democrat, has been named
one of three assistant majority
floor leaders by Senate Presi
dent Pro Tern Cal Hobson.
"I'm very excited about the
opportunity," Monson said
"But it'g-not surprising that I'm
the first, since so few women
and so few African-Americans
have served in the Senate."
She is one of two black sen
ators and one of five women in
the Senate.
"More significant is not what
this means for me, but what it
means to others," Monson said.
"People of color will know that
(here is room for them in state
public service."
Monson said the session will be difficult as lawmakers try
to get the state through a financial crisis.
"Legislators are going to have to make some difficult
decisions," she said. "But I also see it as an opportunity to
make some changes to the budget. It's not all gloom and
doom."
Survey: Average lottery player is white
with household income less than $50K
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The final draft of a report analyz
ing lottery players finds that the majority of lottery players
are white, have at least some college education and have
household incomes less than $50,000.
The draft report, which was released to the media last
week, looks at players who purchase instant tickets. Pick 3,
Carolina 5 and Powerball. Recently, the commission released
an earlier version of the draft report.
"Any rush of judgment is premature," said Tim Madden,
vice chairman of the lottery commission. "Until we have a
full complement of games, it won't be accurate."
Madden said he expected the household income to he less
than $50,000, but didn't forecast that more whites than blacks
are playing the lottery.
"It's not surprising or alarming." Madden said. "My ini
tial impression is that the report indicates the people who are
playing the lottery are the ones expected to be playing."
State law requires the lottery commission to submit
reports on the demographics of lottery players to the Educa
tion Lottery Oversight Committee. The report must include
the income, age. gender, education and frequency of partici
pation of players.
The report was conducted by MarketSearch. in consulta
tion with Franks and Associates Inc. A total of 1,245 people
were interviewed between Nov. 8-12 on the telephone, with
587 identifying themselves as players of the S.C. Education
Lottery.
It's a big difference from the first phase of a draft survey,
which looked at S.C. players who purchased instant tickets
and Pick 3 tickets in the first six months of the lottery. That
average player is a black woman between the ages of 25 and
54, according to the report.
The final draft report shows that 52 percent of players are
men. About 23 percent of the players are 35 to 44 years old,
and 9 percent of players don't have a high school diploma.
The people who play the lottery the most are employed full
time. Fifty-one percent of players are married. 31 percent are
single, and 17 percent are widowed or divorced.
Coastal county residents play the lottery more than people
in the Upstate and Midlands, the final draft report shows.
The final report will be given to the oversight committee,
lottery spokeswoman Tara Robertson said.
Group has chosen to remove its name
from lawsuit against Jesse Jackson
Jackson
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A_civil rights group has been
removed as a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the Rev. Jesse
Jackson that accuses him of representing black people with
out permission, legal documents
show.
Patrick Rooney. director of
special projects for the Brother
hood Organization of a New
Destiny, said last week his group
never agreed to be part of the
suit.
The group was listed as a
plaintiff in legal documents filed
Nov. 12 in Los Angeles Superior
Court. An amended complaint
filed Nov. 14 does not list the
group.
The suit was filed by African
Americans Against Exploitation,
accusing Jackson of fraud and
ueinanuing mai ne slop pretend
ing to represent them.
Tracy Rice, a lawyer for Jackson's Rainbow/Push Coali
tion, called the suit a publicity stunt and said she would try to
have the case thrown out of court.
James Stern, co-chairman of AAAE. said the Brotherhood
Organization of a New Destiny initially asked to be a part of
the suit but then withdrew.
- Compiled from staff and wire reports
The Chronicle (USPS 067-910) was established by Ernest
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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
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INDEX
OPINION. JL 6
SPORTS. B1
RELIGION. B5
CLASSIFIEDS. B9
HEALTH. C3
ENTERTAINMENT. C7
CALENDAR. C9
Crimes targeting Muslims up
Photo Mark Randal/KRT
This woman is among many Muslims who say they have
been threatened and harassed since Sept. I ?.
BY CURT ANDERSON
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON
Although a backlash of hate
crimes last year against Mus
lims and people who appear
Middle Eastern seems to have
waned, Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad
says people of the Islamic faith
remain worried about the
future.
"There are a lot of accusa
tions against Muslims and sus
picions against Muslims being
perpetrated," said Ahmad,
president of the Bethesda,
Md.-based Minaret of Free
dom. a think tank espousing
free market philosophies.
"There are many people who
are behaving more cautious
ly"
The FBI reported recently
that hate crimes against Mus
lims and people who appear to
be of Middle East ethnicity
surged in 2001, "presumably
as a result of the heinous inci
dents that occurred on Sept.
11" of that year.
The report found that inci
dents targeting people, institu
tions and businesses identified
with the Islamic faith increased
from 28 in 2000 to 481 in
2001. Muslims previously had
been among the least-targeted
religious groups. The report
did not say how many occurred
after Sept. 11.
Hate crimes against people
because of their ethnicity or
national origin - those not His
panic, not black and not Asian
or American Indian - more
than quadrupled from 354 in
2000 to 1,501 in 2001. This
category includes people of
Middle Eastern origin or
descent.
Ibrahim Hooper,
spokesman for the Council on
Islamic-American Relations,
said the FBI figures probably
represent only a small portion
of the true number of hate <
crimes, because many of the
estimated 7 million Muslims in
the United States do not report
such incidents to authorities.
"A lot of us feel that our
patriotism is always suspect,"
Hooper said.
Since Sept. 11 of last year,
the Justice Department has
prosecuted II civil rights cases
under its "Backlash Discrimi
nation Initiative" and investi
gated another 403, with 70 oth
ers prosecuted by state and
local authorities. A man was
sentenced to 51 months in
prison for attempting to set fire
to a Pakistani-American
restaurant in Salt Lake City;
another got two months in
prison and a $5,000 fine for
leaving a threatening voice
mail message on Sept. 12,
2001, for James Zogby, presi
dent of the Arab-American
Institute in Washington.
The Justice Department has
also held 250 community
forums around the country in
an effort to ease tensions that
led to violence against Mus
See Muslims on A10
Philly mayor prepares for re-election
Street
BY MICHAEL RUB1NKAM
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHILADELPHIA - Mayor
John Street was elected in 1999
by the slimmest of margins,
beating his Republican rival by
fewer than 10,000 votes in a city
dominated by Democrats.
As Street gears up for his re
election campaign, political
opponents believe he's no more
popular now than he was then
and are shopping around for a
candidate to oppose him in the
May primary.
Though no incumbent
Philadelphia mayor has lost re
election under the city's current
form of government, some argue
that Street has done little to win.
over the 49 percent of the elec
torate who didn't vote for him -
and has even antagonized some
of those who did.
Power lawyer Carl Singley,
whose 25-year friendship with
Street ended in rancor two years
ago. is now leading the charge
against his former protege. Sin
gley, a former Temple Universi
ty law school dean, commis
sioned a poll in August that he
says showed Street to be vulner
able.
"Just aside from the financial
ineptitude of his administration,
he has not demonstrated he has
the ability to pull Philadelphians
together," Singley said.
But Street's chief political
aide, George Burrell. said the
mayor's record will make him a
formidable candidate.
"This is a guy who for the
first time has made neiphhnr
hoods a real priority." Burrell
said. "The mayor will be out
there telling his own story, and
it's a pretty compelling story."
Slowly but surely, the mayor
is girding for battle. His cam
paign headquarters will open in
a few weeks, and his administra
tion spokesman is transferring
there from City Hall. Street's
fund-raising schedule is intensi
fying, and he even scheduled a
town hall-style appearance on a
local cable network Monday
night - a rarity for the media-shy
mayor and former City Council
president known for his prickly,
reclusive style.
Street didn't want to talk pol
itics Monday but says he's con
fident of his chances. "I think I'll
be all right." he said. "Believe
me. we'll be ready."
Street's administration got
off to a fast start. He made good
on a campaign pledge by-towing
100,000 abandoned cars,
appeared on "Oprah" and
presided over the Republican
National Convention. He com
pleted a deal to build two new
sports stadiums and announced
an ambitious $295 million plan
to eliminate blight from the
city's neglected neighborhoods.
But the pace has slowed con
siderably over the last two years,
and there have been political
missteps. Last spring. Street
raised eyebrows when he told an
NAACP conference that the
"brothers and sisters are running
the city." Street, who is black.
apologized for the remarks,
which were criticized as racially
divisive.
Some believe Street's anti
blight program has stalled, and
just last week the mayor
announced he will cut 2,500
jobs, or 10 percent of the munic
ipal work force, to head off a
looming budgetary deficit.
Moreover, his relationship with
City Council is frosty.
Even so, Democratic politi
cal consultant Larry Ceisler said
Street will be tough to beat
because he has delivered on
many of the issues important to
voters. Property values are ris
inn lr..rk
nig, uasu
is picked
up. and
snow is
cleared
from side
streets
that had
n't been
touched
by a plow
in years.
Street's
a n t i -
crime program, Operation Safe
Streets, has eliminated many
open-air drug markets.
"On all the basics people
expected out of government.
Street is running a good ship. Is
he loved? No, but that's not his
way," Ceisler said.
Gov.-elect Ed Rendell - the
popular former Philadelphia
mayor - said recently that
Street's "personality quirks" had
prevented him from getting the
credit he deserves.
"People come up to me and
say, 'Oh we miss you as mayor;
we had so much fun when you
See Street on A9
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