Death threats against
president up 400 percent
? a .. -
(St. Loujs A mer ican/N N PA ) President Barack Ubama is
the target of more than 30 potential death threats a day and is'
being protected by an increasingly over-stretched and under
resourced Secret Service, according to a new book .
Since Qbama took office, the rate, ol
threats against the president has
increased -MX) percent from the roughly
3IXX) per yearotnder.. President (ieorge
W. Bush, according to Ronald Kessler.
author of "In the President's Secret
Service."
Some threats to Ohama. whose
Secret Service codename is Renegade,
have been publicized. including an
alleged plot by white supremacists in
Tennessee late last year to rob a gun
store, shoot 8K Black pei>ple. decapitate
another 14 and then assassinate the first
Black president in American history.
(I bum a
Most however, are kept under wraps because the Secret
Serv ice fears that revealing details of them would only increase
the number of copycat attempts. Although most threats are not
credible .-each one has to be investigated thoroughly,
.According the book, intelligence officials received intel
that people associated with the Somalia-based Islamist group
al-Shabaab might try to disrupt Obama's inauguration in
January , when the Secret Service coordinated at least 40.(X)0
agents and officers from some 94 police, military and security
agencies.
Fire set at black family's trailer
VICKSBURG, Miss. (API- A white. landlord and a Mack
tenant are ^Uestioriing why a black family's/rented mobile
home was set on fire. last' week.
Kenny and Lavvanda Smith and their children are the only
black family in their small neighborhood near the Vicksburg
National Military Park.
The Smith's 17-year-old child smelled gasoline and went
outside to extinguish the fire.
Doris Hill, the landlord's mother, lives near the Smiths. She
pointed out last week where a bottle of flammable liquid had
been placed beneath the Smiths' children's bedroom.
Hill said a neighbor, who was not identified, has said he
believes the Smiths shouldn't be in the neighborhood. Hill said
Kenny Smith is "a hardworking man and should be left alone."
Rev. Ike dead at 74
(Washington Informer/NNPA) - The man who made
prayer cloths and a financial interpretation of the Bible a staple
of Christian faith. Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II. died Tuesday,
July 28 in Los Angeles from complications resulting from a
stroke in 2007.
Known for his garish clothing and jewelry. Eikerenkoetter
is remembered for his witty remarks. "The Bible says Jesus
rode on a borrowed ass. But. I would
flev, Ike
rather ride in a Rolls Koyce than to ride
somebody 's ass !"
While Eikerenkoetter preached a
message of material prosperity to his
majority middle-class and low-income
African-American flock, his begin
nings in Ridgeland. S.C. were humble.
He was bom on June 1, 1935 to a
Dutch-Indonesian father, who was a i
Baptist minister, and a Black school
teacher. He got the "'calling" to preach
around age 9. Eikerenkoetter said that
he felt the traditional Christian min
istries were too constricting and instilled poverty among its
members by supporting messages of piety. In the early 1970s.
Eikerenkoetter's ministry was among the first televangelist
shows in the world. He reached millions of households each
week. Eikerenkoetter reportedly owned lavish mansions on
both the East and West Coasts and estimated his yearly income
to -rangt between S6 and l.i million a year, primarily from
donations mailed to the television ministry.
At the height of his success, :Eikerenkoetter admonished the
faithful that he only accepted cash offerings and did not "appre
ciate the sound Of loose change in the offering plate."
As mainstream preachers, social advocates and the Black
intelligentsia rallied against him. Eikerenkoetter's magnetism
increased. Even in death, the controversial preacher is viewed
as rnu'ch a huckster as a saint.
Eikerenkoetter's son. Bishop Xavier Frederick
Eikerenkoetter III. released a statement shortly after his father's
death that detailed his father's wishes that he "carry on his
v ision as the leader of Rev. Ike Ministries."
Eikerenkoetter is also survived by his wife, Eula May Dent.
California mayor loses
flag powers in Jackson move
CARSON, California (AP) - A Los Angeles suburb has
stripped its mayor of some power after he ordered the US. flag
be flown at half-staff to honor Miehael Jackson.
Carson Mayor Jim Dear lowered the City Hall Hag on July
7. the day of Jackson's funeral, calling the pop star an African
Amcrican success story and a worki-renowned idol.
Military veterans were upset, and the decision sparked crit
ical e-mails, letters and phone calls to Dear. - '
Dear then submitted the issue to the city 's Veterans Affairs
Commission and hammered out a change to the city code that
strips him of authority to lower the flag. The City Council
approved that change last week.
Dear says if he had another chance, he would lower the city
flag for Jackson - not the national flag.
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Pitt and Ndubisi Egemonye in 1974 and is published every
Thursday by Winston-Salem Chroniete Publishing Co. Inc.. 617
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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
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Few black staffers on
Capitol Hill committees
BY JAMKS WRIGHT
AFRO- AMERICAN
NI WSPAPKRS
WASHINGTON
?(NNPA) - Blacks in staff
positions on major commit
tees are few. and are- general
ly found on those with an
African-American chairman,
according to .a survey
released -? by the
Congressional Black Caucus
earlier this month.
The results of the survey
were reported by
Congressional Quarterly
Online and covered commit
tee positions ranging from
clerical to professional posi
tions such as investigators,
attorneys und chief aides.
It revealed a portrait of
staff diversity in the U.S.
House of Representatives, an
institution that has not tradi
tionally kept records on
racial representation among
committee staffs. There are
four Black chairs of commit
tees - Rep. John Conyers (D
-Mich.). of Judiciary- Charles
Rangel (D-N.Y.) of Ways
and Means: Bennie
Thompson (D-Miss.) of
Homeland Security; and
Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) of
Oversight and Government
Reform.
Sen. Roland Burris (D
III.) does not chair a commit
tee in his chamber,
r-'; Committee staffers make
key decisions on which bills
should be consid
ered and the infor
mation lawmakers
receive on an issue.
They also play a
role in scheduling
hearings on legisla
tion and which wit.
nesses to call for
testimony.
Blacks have his
torically not had
committee jobs
Rep. Lee
because' chairmen, who
select the staffs, often pick
people who reflect their
views and. those
%
they are person
ally comfortable
with. Even when
Blacks began to
chair committees
in the curls
1980s because of.
growing seniori
ty, the chairmen
had a smalJ pool
of Black profes
sionals to select
from because of the lack of
experience of Black appli
cants.
An example of the prob
lem is the racial composition
of the Democratic staffs of
the House Agriculture and
Rules committees. Both have
one Black staffer each. The
committees chaired by
Thompson and Towns have
Democratic staffs that are
45.5 percent and 44.4 per
cent Black, respectively.
The low number of
Blacks on White-chaired
committees concerns Rep.
See ( ommitkes on A8
Trailblazing model Naomi Sims dies at 6 1
THE ASSOCJATED PRESS
NEW YORK - Naomi
Sims, whose 1968 Ladies'
Home Journal cover shot
was a breakthrough for
black fashion models, has
died. She was 61 .
Sims, said by some to be
the first black supermodel,
died last Saturday of breast
cancer in Newark, New
Jersey, said her brother-in
law Alexander Erwiah, the
president of Naomi Sims
Beauty Products. It had been
decades since she left the
runway to become an author
and launch her own beauty
empire.
Sims attained success at
the same time that the
"Black is Beautiful" move
ment was taking hold, and
her accomplishments as a
barrier-breaking African
American model helped
pave the way for the black
runway stars of the 1970s,
including Pat Cleveland,
Alva Chinn and Beverly
Johnson.
Sims often spoke of her
difficult start - as a gangly
foster-care kid in Pittsburgh
who towered over the other
children in her school. In
1966, she came to New York
City to attend the Fashion
Institute of Technology on
scholarship.
When she began
Naomi Sims
approaching modeling agen
cies, she was turned down
again and again - with. some
telling her that her skin was
too dark. Instead of giving
up. she pushed forward and
approached photographers
directly.
The approach landed her
the cover of The New York
Times' August 1967 fashion
supplement. She used that
photo to market herself
directly to advertising agen
cies. and within a year she
was earning $1,000 a week
and appearing in a national
television campaign for
AT&T. Before long, she was
modeling for top designers.
Sims gave up modeling
after five years and launehed
her own wig-making busi
ness geared toward black
women. She eventually
expanded the multimillion
dollar business to include
beauty salons and cosmetics,
and she wrote "All About
Health and Beauty for the
Black Woman" and other
books. .
Sims was born in Oxford.
Miss., in 1948. Her parents
divorced soon after she was
born and her mother moved
Sims and her two sisters to
Pittsburgh.
Besides her son. Sims is
survived by a sister. Betty,
and a granddaughter.
pownGown jazz
tinnTiiiftnuinwMiPi-ii:fliif
August 15
CALEB CAUDEL I
RAINCHECK
www.dwsp.org
nifi
HOUSING AUTHORITY
of Winston-Salem
Jr TKtuJt TKru
Want to know more about doing business with the Housing Authority?
Need more opportunities to network with qualified contractors and businesses? Join us!
7th Annual Business Fair
Thursday, August 20th, 2009
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
(Registration starts at 8:30 a.m.)
Location:
This event includes:
For more information:
The Windsor Room
at the Lawrence Joel" Veterans Memorial Coliseum
300 Deacon Blvd., Winston-Salem . NC 27105
Contractor's Information Session and Workshop
Business and Vendor's Fair
Visit www.haws.org or pre-register by emailing procurement@haws.org
This event is free and open to the public!