Clooney campaigns to
raise Darfur awareness
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - George Clooney arrived in Egypt recent
ly, campaigning to raise awareness about killings in Sudan's Darfur
region.
The Oscar-winning actor was joined by fellow actor Don Cheadle
and two former Olympians. He came to Egypt from China.
Clooney organized the trip to make a personal plea to Chinese and
C honey
Egyptian officials to use their ties with the
Sudanese government to help stop the vio
lence, Rosenfield said.
Egypt has been a key mediator with neigh
?boring Sudan, trying to persuade the
Khartoum government to allow a larger
peacekeeping force into the war-torn region,
where 200000 people have (>een killed and
more than 2 5 million have been driven from
their homes in more than three years of war
fare.
Clooney was expected to meet Egyptian
Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheil.
China is a close ally of the Sudanese gov
emment and has become a major trade partner, buying Sudanese oil . It
has opposed sanctions on Sudan to force it to accept a UJM . peacekeep
ing force.
Clooney, a liberal Democrat, is well known for his activism and
has been urging Congress and the United Nations to help end atroci
ties in Darfur.
In September, Clooney and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel
met with U.N. Security Council members to urge them to act on
Darfur. The actor and his father, Nick Clooney, visited the Sudanese
region in April.
Romney agreement allows
State Police to arrest illegal aliens"
BOSTON (AP) - Gov. Mitt Romney. a potential presidential can
didate, signed an agreement with federal authorities last week allow
ing Massachusetts State Police troopers to arrest and seek deportation
of suspected illegal aliens they encounter during their normal duties.
Under the terms of the deal with the U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement agency, an initial group of 30 troopers will
receive five weeks of specialized training next year, paid by the feder
al government.
The troopers will be drawn from the Violent Fugitive
Apprehension Squad, the Criminal Investigation Section, the Anti
Gang Unit, the Drug Enforcement Unit and the Community Action
Team.
After their training, the troopers will receive a certification allow
ing them to question, detain and arrest suspected illegals, charge them
with a violation of immigration law and place them in removal pro
ceedings.
Yet the durability of the new policy is in doubt, because Romney
leaves office Jan. 4 and his successor. Democrat Deval Patrick, has
said he opposes placing the additional burden on the troopers.
Xavier's Francis will receive
Presidential Medal of Freedom
Fairfax, Va.- The White House has announced that Xavier
University President Norman C. Francis, Ph.D., will receive the
Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest award given to a civilian,
for his 40 years at the helm of Xavier University and his lifelong com
mitment to education.
"No one deserves the Medal of Freedom more than Dr. Norman
rrancis, said Michael L. Lomax.Fn.U.. pres
ident and CEO of the United Negro College
Fund (UNCF), of which Xavier is & member.
"Many may know Dr. Francis as chairman of
the Louisiana Recovery Authority. But to
generations of Xavier alumni, and to his col
leagues in the community of historically black
colleges and universities (hJBCUs). he has
earned his acclaim by helping thousands of
young men and women obtain college
degrees and launch productive careers."
Lomax continued, "Dr. Francis has always
been aliero to his colleagues at UNCF institu
tions and other HBCUs. Now, as a recipient
Francis
of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he is a national hero as well."
Dr. Francis and Xavier University represent the traditions of excel
lence for which UNCF is known, said Lomax.
Established by Executive Order 1 1085 in 1963, the Presidential
Medal of Freedom may be awarded by the president "to any person
who has made an especially meritorious contribution to ( 1 ) the securi
ty or national interests of the United States, or (2) world peace, or (3)
cultural or other significant public or private endeavors."
Texas minorities dominate House Dems
WASHINGTON (AP) - Back in the majority, Texas' Democrats
in the House are mostly minorities.
The 13 Democrats include six Hispanics and three African
Americans. Two of the African Americans are wome^j
Republicans still dominate the delegation, thanks to a redrawing of
district boundaries in 2003 that boosted election chances for GOP can
didates.
But the composition of the Democrats is more reflective of the
state population, which officially became a majority minority state in
2005 when minorities made up about 50.2 percent of the population.
Texas equals California in the number of Hispanics in its delega
tion. No other state has more. Texas also is on par with New York with
three African American members, behind California and Georgia, with
four each.
The number of minorities in the delegation won't change for the
1 10th Congress that begins in January.
But Rep. Ciro Rodriguez's defeat of Republican Rep. Henry
Bonilla. both Mexican- Americans, leaves the Texas Republicans with
out a single minority. One of the state's Republicans in the House is a
woman.AII of the minorities in the delegation are elected from major
ity-minority districts created under the Voting Rights Act.
The Chronicle (USPS 067-910) was established by Ernest H.
Pitt and Ndubisi Egemonye in 1974 and is published every
Thursday by Winston-Salem Chronicle Publishing Co. Inc.,
617 N. Liberty Street, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27101.
Periodicals postage paid at Winston-Salem. N.C. Annual
subscription price is $30.72.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
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Kwanzaa slow to catch on in S.C.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBIA, S.C. - It
has been four decades since
Kwan/aa was created as an
African-American celebration
of family and community, but
in that time it has not resonat
ed widely in South Carolina, a
state where one-third of the
populi^tion is black.
Cox
I
personal
ly don't
know a
?single
person
who cel
ebrates
the holi
day,''
said
Marcus
Cox,
founding
director or the African
American Studies Program at
The Citadel.
The holiday was created in
1966 by California State
University at Long Beach pro
fessor Maulana Karenga and a
survey conducted for the
National Retail Federation in
October found 2.3 percent of
Americans celebrate it.
Cox said he and many
other blacks respect the holi
day, but there are barriers to
its broader acceptance.
One of them is the timing
of Kwanzaa which is celebrat
ed from Dec. 26 through Jan.
1 Christmastime.
"Christmas is a religious
holiday. And most African
Americans are Christians,"
Cox said.
But Kwanzaa does not
conflict with Christmas, said
the Rev. Joseph Darby, a civil
rights activist and pastor of
Morris Brown A.M.E. Church
in Charleston, who cplebrates
both.
"The principles are basi
cally Christian principles," he
said.
Kwaniaa celebrates unity,
self-determination, collective
work and responsibility, coop
erative economics, purpose,
creativity and faith.
Khurhu, a black Columbia
store owner who uses a single
name and sells Kwanzaa mer
chandise, said the idea of a
holiday for blacks is unpopu
lar with some whites.
"In its infancy, it was
something that was hated by
the establishment." said
Khurhu. "You'll find some
negativity. It has its detrac
tors."
But Khurhu continues to
celebrate the holiday. ,
"It's been a part of the fab
ric of my life," he said. "I
embrace the principles and
live it in my life."
Cox said that more blacks
might celebrate the holiday if
they felt stronger ties to
? o
Africa. '
"Most African-Americans
recognize that their ancestors
came from Africa. But very
few African-Americans take it
beyond that," he said.
"The low number of
African-Americans who know
anything about Africa is mind
boggling," he said. "In some
ways, I think that's sad. You
should know your history. But
on the other hand, African
Americans see themselves as
Americans, not Africans in
America."
Civil rights projects attractive to donors
BY ERRIN HAINES
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA - When Atlanta
.. .. .. -
ivi a y u i
Shirley
Franklin
needed
$32 mil
lion to
buy the
personal
papers of
Martin
Luther
King Jr.
from auc
tion house
Franklin
Sotheby s, the city s corporate
community stepped up with the
necessary pledges within days.
Organizers boast of the same
excitement surrounding the King
National Memorial to be built on
Washington's National Mall.
Within hours 'after its historic
groundbreaking last month, the
project raised another $6 million
toward its goal of $100 million,
thanks to corporate sponsorship.
Supporters of building a civil
rights museum in Atlanta are
hopeful the same excitement will
carry over to their effort, especial
ly in the wake of the city's King
papers acquisition and the emo
tion surrounding the January death
of King's widow, Coretta Scott
King.
Organizers of such projects
say they hardly have to compete to
raise money for such popular
causes.
"People want to be a part of
things that have a sense of perma
nency and purpose," said Harry E.
Johnson Sr., president of the
Martin Luther King Jr. National
Memorial Project. "There's
enough money to do anything we
want to do. There may be a lack of
interest, but there is never a lack of
funds."
For proof. Franklin points to
the King Papers campaign, which
came together in a matter of days
in June when more than 10,000 of
King's documents, notes and other
items were set to be auctioned off
in New York. More than 50 corpo
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