Newspaper Page Text
2A
April 5, 2007
\ational World
Black teen who pushed hall monitor freed from juvenile prison
BROWNWOOD, Texas
(AP) — Shaquanda Cotton,
whose yearlong stay in a juve
nile prison for pushing a hall
monitor made her a symbol of
alleged racial bias and the trou
bled Texas Youth Commission,
was rleased Saturday, a state
Jawmaker sad.
The lc'»,\'("\l’-fikl was freed
from the Ron Jackson Correc
tonal Complex and picked up
by her mother, said Rep.
Harold Dutton, chairman of
the House juvenike justce com
mittee who lobbied state offi
aals for Cottons release.
Dutton said Cotton and her
Black groups oppose
By MATTHEW LITTLE
Slu-cial to the NNPA
Minncapolis (NNPA) - Rep
resentatives of both the
Minncapolis NAACP and
the Minncapolis Urban
lx.\gm‘ lL‘.\lificd bcfi)rc (hc
Minnesota House Telecom
munication, Regulations
and Infrastructure Com
mittee last Friday, March
23. They spoke in opposi
tion to a bill labeled “The
Minnesota Video Competi
tion Act.”
Rep. Sheldon Johnson
(DFL-St. Paul) sponsored
the bill, and in testimony it
was referred to as the State
wide Franchising Act. The
hill prnpuscd to establish
competitive video services
throughout the state by
requiring the various
prm'ldcrs of service to be
authorized under condi
tons set by the Minnesota
Public Uulities Commis
.\i()n.
The Minncapolis
NAACP was represented by
Duane Reed, its president.
Reed prc.\cntcd a str()ng
Magic Johnson speaks to cruise
industry about minority travelers
By ADRIAN SAINZ
Associated Press Writer
FORT LAUDERDALE,
Fla. (AP) ~Magic Johnson was
known for his uncanny vision
on the basketball court, finding
open players and easy scoring
chances almost at wll.
Now, as a businessman with
a stake in the travel industry,
Johnson sets his eyes on anoth
cr opportunity — to make the
leisure industry more accessible
to minorities and tap into their
spending power.
Johnson, at 6 feet 9 inches,
was the tallest person in the
room Friday as he spoke to a
group of cruise industry mem
bers and travel agents at the
cruise3sixty conference in Fort
Lauderdale.
“\thn you think abn'ut
minorities, yes, we'e traveling,
but we could do it even more
often if we have more minority
buyers and sellers in the indus
try,” Johnson said. “We need
more minorities selling travel.”
The former All-Star point
guard, through The Magic
Johnson Travel Group, has cre
ated a network of home-based
travel agents who serve minori
ty customers.
Johnsons goal is to bring
more jobs and money into
minority communities by
attracting more minority travel
ficnts into the leisure industry.
e said Hispanics and blacks
Family hcadcd had\’ o Paris, hcr
East Texas hometown near the
Oklahoma border where avil
nghts acuvists have held two
protests In as many wecks call
in¥ for her release.
‘She had a whole cavalry”
when picked up, said Dutton, a
H()ustnn Democrat.
Atempts to reach the Cot
ton family by phone werent
successful.
Cotton was sentenced on a
felony count of shoving the
teachers aide, who is classified
as a public servant, before the
morning bell at Paris High
School 1n 2005. She had no
argument against the pas
sage of the legislation. He
indicated that the new pro
posal contained no stipula
tions for broad coverage to
the many diverse markets of
the state. Cheryl Morgan-
Spencer, the Urban League's
community development
coordinator, dutifully noted
to the committee that her
remarks rcprc.wntcd those
of Executive Director
Clarence Hightower and
the Urban League. Morgan-
Spencer expressed fears that
the bill as worded could
result in redlining of certain
low-income and minority
arcas, permitting providers
to cherry-pick program
ming.
She maintained that the
legislation contained no
guarantec that all areas
would be pmvidcd cqual
programming. Committee
member Rep. Paul Thisen
(DFL-Mpls.) challenged
her contention, but she was
up to the challenge and
agreed to provide docu
mentation.
/
L
Magic Johnson
have a combined spending
power of $1.9 trillion but
much of that spending is
directed outside their commu
nities, which need capital to
build or improve homes and
businesses.
“In general, that (travel) mar
ket 1s underserved and should
w,” said ynne Biggar, sen
fi:' vice pru?dcnt anlég;:ncn]
manager of American Express
Consumer Travel Network
USA. “Theres a nlot of
un 0 reunicy.
]:firp;dn m)builtqmcocsful
businesses by bringing con
sumer opportunities to urban
markets where minorides live.
He has joint-ownership in 108
Smrbuc{cs coffee stores, owns
movie theaters and formed a
partership with 24 Hour Fit
ness.
“Everybody thought they
could not make money in
urban America, and that is
AUGUSTA FOCUS
prior criminal convictions.
Actvists say the fact that the
same judge sentenced a white
14-year-old girl to probation
for bumning down her own
house signaled evidence of
racial bias.
Her release was approved by
Jay Kimbrough, the conserva
tor appointed by Gov. Rick
Perry to lead the state’s embat
tled juvenile justce agency,
which* has been wracked by
allegations of sexual abuse.
Kimbrough has said he will
assemble a panel to review
records of all youth inmates to
make sure their records hadn't
Several representatives of
the teleccommunications
industry also joined the two
community advocates 1n
nppusitinn to the lcgisla—
tion. One of the most force
ful and articulate was Pete
Rose of WRNB cable music
channel.
Rose and his wife Kim
have been in the industry
for 22 years and are the
only licensed African Amer
ican operatives in the state.
Rose argued that his station
represented the rapidly
increasing numbers of non-
White consumers that do
not necessarily identify with
mainstream video.
He suggested that
alth()ugh pcnplc ()fcnl()r, ()f
late, are being utilized more
frequently, they are not
always scripted to represent
the true multicultural
dimensions of the diverse
community. He, too, sup
ported the contention that
the new bill presented an
opening for diminished
access for minority commu
nities.
wrong,” Johnson said. “You
just have to know how to speak
to that customer.”
Johnson must realize that the
cruise industry is a growth
industry. Only 16 percent of
Americans have taken a cruise,
according to an industry study,
and with 33 ships being added
in the next four years, the
industry needs to spur demand
to keep up with the increased
capadity of some 80,000 berths
by 2011.
Ships have grown in size and
are offering more diverse on
board activities such as rock
climbing and surfing, and
more unique destinations,
from Rio de Janeiro to Shang
hai, China.
Richard Fain, chairman and
CEO of Royal Caribbean
Cruises, said earlier this month
that cruise lines must find a
broader base of travel cus
tomers by targeting spedfic
groups such as minorities in
marketing efforts.
“When 1 look at some of
these ships and some of these
trips, and the ships keep getting
longer and bigger and taller,
this is what minorities want
- a chance for a trip of a
lifetime,” Johnson said.
“You just have to take it to
them and explain to them
how wonderful a time they
are going to have.”
been extended unfairly.
Cotton was among about
4,700 offenders ages 10 to 21
in TYC faalites who are con
sidered the most dangerous,
incorrigible or chronic.
Prasecutors in Cottons case
have maintained they tried to
keep Cotton out of juvenile
prison but say the judge in the
case had no other options.
“Were happy shes home,”
said Allan Hubbard, a
.gokcsman for the Lamar
unty District - Attorney’s
Office. “We hope we never see
her in the juvenile justice sys
tem again.”
Other representatives of
the telecommunications
industry presenting testi
mony against the legisla-
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Photo by BET
Shaquanda Cotton (right) pictured with her mother Creola Cotton.
video bill
tion included Randy
Young, Minn. Associa
tion for Rural Telecom
munications; Greg
Moore, NW Suburban
Cable Communications
See Billy page 8A