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EDITORIAL
P3
THE
Clark Atlanta Un
ivers
For
our next
issue
November
22.
Vol. 1 NO. 8 Atlanta, GA November 8,1993/FREE
Campbell, Lomax Face November Runoff
By Kimberly J. Phillips
Contributing Writer
On Tuesday, a night of political
drama ended in the city of Atlanta
when the announcement was made
that mayoral candidates Bill
Campbell and Michael Lomax face
a run-off election scheduled for
Nov. 23.
As reported in the Atlanta
Journal Constitution, Campbell
had been highly favored in polls
^throughout the election. He fin
ished with 49 percent of the vote,
just a hair below the 50 percent
needed to avoid a runoff with
Lomax, who finished with 23 per
cent of the vote. City Council
member Myrtle Davis finished
third and conservative Christian
candidate, Nancy Schaefer, fin
ished fourth.
According to analysts, race and
anti-tax sentiment along with the
late, surprise candidacy of
Schaefer played a large role in the
mayor’s race. While voter turnout
was almost equal in north
Atlanta’s white neighborhoods as
in the city’s southern and black
neighborhoods, white voters came
out strongly for Schaefer, draining
support from Campbell.
Emory University political sci
entist Merle Black said he was not
surprised that Schaefer got more
than 10 percent of the vote. “If
you have three black candidates
and one white candidate, I
wouldn’t be surprised that she got
a good portion of the white vote.
She targeted a group that had no
potential to win.”
Lomax also lost support
because many voters did not
believe he would address their
frustration over property taxes.
Atlanta area residents were not
the only people who felt as if their
needs were not addressed. Many
students in the Atlanta University
Center, such as Kippie Ellis, a
sophomore at Clark Atlanta
University, refrained from voting
also. “1 didn’t vote,” he said. “I
wasn’t interested in the election
because none of the candidates
appealed to my needs as a stu
dent.”
Kamuti Thomas, a junior from
Morehouse College, did not vote
’because he is registered in his
home state of Arkansas. He
agreed, though, that the candidates
did not seem too concerned with
students. “I don’t think either can
didate will address the problems of
African Americans with lower
incomes and students in the AUC,”
said Thomas.
Despite the impending run-off,
Campbell, who launched his cam
paign as a city councilman, consid
ers the election a victory.
Campbell gained immediate favor
in the polls due to his stand on
tougher ethics in the wake of the
Hartsfield International Airpori
scandal, his opposition to an
unpopular proposal to raise pay foi
city officials, and his close alliance
with incumbent Mayor Maynard
Jackson.
In an interview with WAGA-
TV’s Good Day Atlanta the morn
ing after the election, Campbell
said, “This is a great victory foi
us”.
Campbell and Lomax began tc
trade attacks in the past twc
weeks, but both have pledged tc
run an issue-oriented run-off cam
paign.
Lomax, who also appeared on
the show said, “Right now, I think
we’ve got a real opportunity, with
two very different candidates to sil
down and look at who they are
what their differences are, and
what kind of leadership they will
provide for the city.”
Dutton Attacks Racism In Hollywood j^ a p g^ar Accused
In Police Shooting
Charles Dutton, star of Fox sitcom, ROC in
the Vivian Henderson Center.
News
Briefs
Compiled by
Khandra
Dillard-Robinson
CALIFORNIA: Fires
continued to burn in
the southern section of
the state. More than
800 buildings and
170,000 acres of land
have been destroyed
by the blazes. President
Clinton recently allot-
ed fifteen million dol
lars in aid to the state.
•Actor River Phoenix,
who gained fame from
the movie “Stand By
Me”, died last week
outside of a Los
Angeles nightclub.
The cause of his death
has not yet been deter
mined.
GEORGIA: Politician
Bill Campbell missed
becoming the next
mayor of Atlanta by a
small percent of the
vote during Nov. 2
elections. A run-off
election between
Campbell and Michael
Lomax is scheduled
for Nov. 23.
•Tupac Shakur was
arrested in Midtown
Atlanta just hours after
performing at Clark
Atlanta University’s
homecoming concert.
The rqpper is accused
of shooting two off-
duty police officers
and faces charges of
battery as well. He
was released on
$55,000 bail and is
scheduled to appear in
court within a month.
NEW YORK; Rap
star Flavor Flav faces
attempted murder and
weapons possessions
charges after allegedly
shooting at his neigh
bor. The performer,
whose real name is
William Drayton, was
arrested Monday and
is currently being held
without bail.
By Franchella Slater
Staff Writer and
Gomotsang Seema
Staff Writer
According to Charles
Dutton, star of the televi
sion show Roc, the show
may not be a part of Fox’s
line up by Spring 1994.
Dutton said to an audi
ence in the Vivian
Henderson Center on
October 29 that Hollywood
changes time slots for black
programs to make it incon
venient for viewers to keep
up with the shows. This
causes the ratings to go
down and then the program
faces cancellation.
Roc depicts the reality of
situations which black
Americans encounter. The
actor said the show is an
opportunity to dispel the
myths about black
Americans.
“Hollywood white pro
ducers do not want to make
television shows that por
tray blacks realistically,”
said the television star.
There exists a Jim Crow
law that prohibits blacks,
Jews, and animals from
being seen on television
after 9 p.m. in Hollywood,
he said. The Arsenio Hall
Show is an exception to this
rule because it is a talk
show.
However, for those shows
that do have blacks on after
nine o’clock, their characters
have small roles. On the
show I’ll Fly Away for
example, Regina Taylor’s
character is a maid. He said
there is a saying among white
producers, “All you got to do
is write it, and them niggers
will do it”.
“Hollywood is the fore
most racist institution in the
United States, and it pro
motes racism and is capable
of repeating what was done
hundred years ago,” said the
1978 graduate of Towson
State University.
He suggested that the
audience seek to watch intel
ligent television because
black shows are facing a con
spiracy. Dutton did not
speak solely about his profes
sional career, but spoke of
his personal life as well. He
said that he knew nothing
about self-esteem or self-
worth while growing up.
By the age of seventeen,
Dutton had been sentenced
to jail for five years for
stabbing someone and
another eight years for
fighting a security guard
while in prison.
“One thing that helped
me understand the world is
the realization that whites
dehumanize blacks and glo
rify themselves,” said
Dutton.
He is currently working
on a new show entitled
Surviving the Game with
rapper, Ice T. “I had an
objection to most of the
rappers but after a conver
sation with Ice T, I under
stood what the rap world is
all about and that there are
a lot of opportunities,” he
said.
By Warren
Woodberry, Jr.
Staff Writer
California rapper Tupac
Shakur appeared in the
Atlanta Municipal Court,
last Monday morning,
charges of two accounts
of aggravated assaults,
upon two off-duty police
officers.
Shakur ,who was in
town for Clark Atlanta
University’s Homecoming,
is charged with shooting
one officer in the
abdomen, and the other in
the buttocks, after a traf
fic dispute early Sunday
morning. The two offi
cers were attempting to
cross at the corner of
1175 Peachtree Street,
(Sheraton Hotel-Colony
Square) when Shakur
almost hit them with his
car, while turning the cor
ner.
The trial is scheduled
for early December. In a
separate incident that
night, Walter Fuller was
also arrested on a misde
meanor charge.
“Walter was probably
arrested because he was
trying to prevent Tupac,
from giving a false state
ment,” said a close friend
of Shakur who wished to
remain anonymous. He
attended the trial, but he
was not present at the
scene until after the inci
dent took place. He
explained that Shakur and
friends were probably just
partying and having a
good time, after perform
ing at CAUs Homecoming,
Saturday night.
Kenneth Ellis, Shakur’s
lawyer said that he denies
having a gun and hurting
anyone. Judge Barber
Herring released Shakur
on a $50,000 bond, and
has allowed him to return
to California until his re
trial.
Shakur had no com
ments about the charges,
but asked press members
why they were present for
his trial, and not for an
award he received for a
school play. He was
accompanied by his
mother Afeni Shakur,
who resides in Marietta.