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Gore: Racial wealth gap shows
affirmative action is still needed
By DAVID GOODMAN
Associated Press Writer
DETROIT
Vice President Al Gore says ra
aal equality remains only a dis
tant hope, and America needs to
recommit itself to closing the gap
between whites and minorities.
The expected Democratic presi
dential nominee made the com
ments Thursday night in an ad
dress to 350 people at a S3OO-a
--person Democratic National Com
mittee event at the opulent, his
toric Detroit Athletic Club
After spending the night at a
teacher’s house in suburban De
troit, Gore planned to spend to
day at L'Anse Creuse Middle
School, where his agenda included
teaching history, eating in
thelunchroom and meeting teach
ers, parents and students
Altogether, Gore raised about
$705,000 for his party Thursday
with the Athletic Club event and
an earlier $20,000-a-person DNC
fund-raiser at the home of former
ambassador to Norway Dawvid
American Airlines names
advertising agency to help
target black travelers
FORT WORTH, Texas
(AP) _American Airlines said
Thursday it has chosen a Michi
gan firm to help improve sales to
black travelers
American said it picked Don
Coleman Advertising Inc. of
Southfield, Mich., the nation’s
second-largest black advertising
agency. The airline said the
agency would helpdevelop a mar
keting campaign to include ad
vertising and media buying, spe
cial promotions and public rela
tions.
American, the nation's No. 2
carrier, said it had never estab
lished an agency-of-record rela
tionship with an African-Ameri
can advertising firm
Don Coleman, chief executive
officer of the advertising firm,
vowed to craft a “culturally in
UNCF, IBM, AT&T and Microsoft
bridge digital divide with
$l3O million partnership
NEW YORK
The United Negro College Fund
(UNCF) established a Technol
ogy Enhance Capital Campaign
(TECC) to bridge to the digital
divide in higher education. In
partnerships valued at more than
$l3O million, Microsoft Corpora
tion, IBM Corporation and AT&T,
will provide technical resources
and equipment to UNCF mem
bers and historically black col
leges and universities (HBCUs)
nationwide.
“l applaud the creation of this
partnership and strongly support
the efforts behind it,” said Presi
dent Bill Clinton. “We cannot
allow unequal access to deepen
divisions along the lines of race,
income and education level, and
geography,” added the president
Only 15 percent of students at
UNCF institutions own a com
puter, compared with 55 percent
of college students nationally
Less than half of the faculty at
UNCF member institutions own
a computer compared to 70 per
cent nationally.
“The digital divide in higher
ucation isgreater than the digi
divide among the nation’s
ouseholds. Thereis a 45 percent
p between American house
olds and African-American
ouseholds that own computers
d a 72 percent gap between
CF students and students na
ionally who own computers,” said
illiam H. Gray 111, president
d CEO of UNCF.
The number of network servers
t UNCF institutions per 1,000
tudents is nearly half the num
r for colleges and universities
i . Approximately 75 per
t of the existing hardware at
This Thursday and Friday,
Have Breakfast AND
Lunch at BL’s Restaurant
Hermelin in Bingham Farms.
It is unacceptable, Gore said in
Detroit, that the average black or
Hispanic family has one-tenth the
wealth of the average white fam
ily
Gore blamed the gap on the
cumulative effect of centuries of
racial discrimination.
“I support affirmative action
because it's still needed in our
country, and we need to fight for
it,” Gore said. He mocked Repub
licans who say they oppose poli
cies that take race into account.
“We're advocating a color-blind
society,” some of them say.
Hellooooo,” Gore said. “They use
that color-blind like duck hunters
use a duck blind. They hide be
hind it and hope the ducks don’t
notice.”
Unequal wealth means many
potential young black entrepre
neurs never get the family finan
cial backing that is key to the
success of their white counter
parts, he said
The nation as a whole suffers
when any group ils denied full
sightful and relevant” marketing
campaign to build American's
presencein the black community.”
The agency was founded in 1988
and said it has about 110 employ
ees and annual billings exceeding
$l5O million. Its other clients in
clude Daimler Chrysler, Kmart
Corp., General Mills, Domino’s
Pizza and Miller Brewing.
The firm is partly owned by
True North Communications, a
global advertising holding com
panies.
American, based in Fort Worth,
announced in October that it
would hire an agency to market to
black customers. The announce
ment came a week after Dallas
hased retailer CompUSA prom
ised to hire a black advertising
agency to end a protest by listen
ers of black-owned radio stations.
these institutions 1s obsolete or
needs to be replaced.
“At my school, sometimes the
wait to use a computer can be
hour to an hour and a half,” said
Calvin Payne, music education
student at Talladega College
“And, unfortunately, some of our
computers are soold. So this part
nership will definitely give us
what we need to be competitive
when we graduate.”
In response to the software
needs, Microsoft will donate SSO
million in software, reference and
training materials tothe 39 UNCF
member institutions.
IBM will provide access to tech
nology equipment and services
valued at more than SSO million
which will provide faculty mem
bers and students with discounted
hardware to include servers,
workstations, and other techni
cal equipment.
“IBM will partner with UNCF
to set up an e-business site where
students, teachers and other in
stitutions will collaborate on
projects, share best practices and
open new education opportuni
ties for UNCF students, said
David Thomas, senior vice presi
dent and group executive, Per
sonal Systems Group, IBM.
AT&T will support the faculty
development component of the
campaign by contributing $1 mil
lion dollars to the campaign.
“We are excited about UNCF's
initiative and Microsoft, IBM and
AT&T's commitment will cer
tainly help bridge the gap. The
technology will enhance our pro
grams and allow our students to
be competitive in the digital age,”
said Dr. David Beckly, president
of Rust College.
participation in its development,
Gore said.
“That is a limit on our economic
growth,” he said.
The vice president aimed sev
eral barbs at Texas Gov. George
W. Bush, saying the Republican
presidential candidate should lis
ten to GOPrival Sen. John McCain
on the issue of tax cuts debt re
duction.
Bush's tax cut proposal would
undercut efforts to reduce the
national debt, said Gore, echoing
a view expressed by McCain be
fore he stopped actively seeking
the Republican presidential nomi
nation.
“Bush said he didn’t learn any
thing from McCain,” Gore said.
“He should have been taking
notes ”
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Charlotte NAACP stops Adam’s Mark boycott
CHARLOTTE
(AP) The Charlotte-
Mecklenburg NAACP will sus
pend its boycott against the
Adam’'s Mark hotel after an
nouncements that the hotel
chain has settled several racial
discrimination lawsuits.
The local chapter of the
NAACP was scheduled to an
nounce the boycott’s suspension
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Thursday, The Charlotte Ob
server reported.
The civil rights organization,
following the NAACP headquar
ters in Baltimore, began the boy
cott March Ito protest what it
called nationwide discriminatory
practices by the hotel chain.
Since then, Adam’s Mark has
announced that it has settled
three racial discrimination law
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lawsuit filed by the Florida at
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The US. Justice Department
and three blacks who had at
tended Black College Weekend in
Daytona, Fla., alsofiled lawsuits.
The settlements have
prompted the NAACPtodropits
nationwide boycott against the
chain.
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