Buffalo Criterion, 1987-09-03

              the buffalo criterion niagara region wny's necessary minority newspaper — featuring paid legitimate circulation vol 62 — no 36 established in 1925 thursday september 3-9 1987 rochester j jackson to attend bapt convention s africa social programs black education among topics of discussion the national baptist convention u.s.a inc will hold its 107 th annual session in houston texas sept 7-13 at the albert thomas convention center the convention is expected to attract over 40,000 people created in 1880 after the emancipation of the slaves and growing tension in the new southern baptist convention the nation baptist convention u.s.a inc has set the standard for black bap tists in worship doctrine and social action for over a century the leadership of the national baptist conven tion u.s.a inc is headed by dr t j jemison of baton rouge louisiana dr jemison will welcome to the con vention stage front-run ning presidential candi date rev jessie jackson along with other presiden tial hopefuls and social ac tivist and nutrionist dick gregory some of the issues of the session will be the direc tion of black christians regarding south africa emphasizing the lack of adequate funding of social programs and the impor tance of black educational institutions especially church funded schools such as bishop college morehouse and virginia union because of the diversity of the group there will be mini-conferences during the convention the national baptist conven tion usa inc is composed of three bodies ministers laymen and women and is sub-divid ed into ushers musicians youth moderators and missions and christian education one of the highlights of the convention is the gathering of all the groups for the massive musical of 1,000 voices on tues . sept bth at the sam houston colliseum the local planning for the convention in houston is chaired by rev a c mccraw pastor of the mount pleasant baptist church 4819 hersche lo cated in houston's fifth ward for further information regarding the convention contact 672-6822 dr t j jemison blue cross to sue nys insurance dept blue cross of western new york inc has announced that it plans to sue the new york state insurance depart ment the proposed lawsuit stems from the insurance department's action in cutting the health insurer's july 1 1987 rate increase from the requested 20.6 to an overall 9.7 charles e rath president of the blue cross plan characterized the de partment's decision as irresponsible and highly detrimental to the plan's finan cial stability and the comfort and security of the covered subscribers of the plan this most recent action was the final straw mr rath said they denied our two previous applications for rate increases we requested an overall increase of 6.5 to be effective january 1,1986 the department turned it down in its entirety our next request was for a 12.5 increase to be effective jan 1 1987 this also was completely denied the effect he continued is like a snowball rolling downhill by denying our modest request for 1986 they forced us to ask for a higher percentage for 1987 when that too was denied we had to apply for the 6 increase for july first of this year they chopped that to a totally inadequate 9.7 leaving us in a difficult financial position now we have to play catch up by going for an even greater increase - 27.3 overall - 1988 a rate application for that amount was mailed to the insurance department monday for an effective date of january 1 1988 blue cross reported an underwrit ing loss of 22,300,000 in 1986 the projected loss for 1987 is approximately 34,000,000 these losses mr rath said will bring our reserves down to an unacceptable level at year end they will represent only 12 days of claims lia bility and administrative expense the pending application if approv ed by the insurance department will affect all classes of coverage issued by the insurer except the contracts of community blue the hmo of blue cross of western new york inc the health maintenance organization re ceived an approval of a requested 12.4 increase effective july ist the plan nticipates that the resulting rates will ue adequate to carry the hmo for a 12-month period in its application for the rate increase blue cross cited a number of factors that have contributed to its rising costs and underwriting shortfalls an anticipated 5.8 increase in hospital per diem costs for 1987 and an additional 8 union group chooses howe the united auto work ers cap council for region 9 of uaw has announced their unani mous endorsement of bar bara howe in her candi dacy for the democratic nomination of one of two openings for associate judge of buffalo city court in the upcoming democratic primary the announcement was made by james a dun can jr director of the new york state cap council thomas f o'donnell chairperson of the wester cap council and thomas j monaghan area director for region 9 of the united auto work ers jerry mcgrier sr president of the minority bar associate of western new york has also an nounced that barbara howe has been rated b — well qualified by his group the rating was forward ed from the judiciary committee of the minority bar association to its executive committee which reviewed and approved howe's qualifi ciations and rating barbara howe rev mcashan backs howe sconiers for associate judgeships rev eugene e mc ashan pastor of the bethel ame church has announced his endorse ment of barbara howe and rose sconiers for the two associate judge openings in the upcoming democra tic primary speaking at the conclu sion of his sunday service and on the eve of bethel's homecoming weekend rev mcashan urged his followers to support both howe and sconiers in the september 15th primary rev mcashan is him self a candidate for office he has been chosen as a candidate for the bishopric of the ame church in 1988 c.a.a.p selects officiers makes endorsements concerned african americans for progress has selected its officers for 1987 they are naima porter chairman and robert wilson treasurer the organization has also chosen byron brown and robert funderburg as its spokes people in addition to articulat ing and advocating the concerns of buffalo's afri can-american communi ty c.a.a.p will work to develop prepare and pro mote its members and other young people to assume leadership posi tions in the community one way c.a.a.p will enhance the development of its members is by establishing a three-month term of office for its chairperson this will give four people the experience of chairing the organiza tion per year and also will allow for greater participa tion of the membership c.a.a.p has announ ced that it is endorsing judge wilbur p trammell for chief judge of city court rose sconiers and barbara howe for the two associate judge seats for seventh district legislator the organiza tion has endorsed majority leader roger i blackwell for re-election in the district council races c.a.a.p has en dorsed the re-elections of ellicott district council man james w pitts masten district council member david collins and university district councilmember archie amos at this time no en dorsements have been made for the offices of county executive third district legislator or the third at-large seat on the buffalo common council c.a.a.p previously en dorsed the re-election efforts of council presi dent george k arthur t and councilmembers-at * large clifford bell and herbert bellamy gillette supports local law to aid employment opportunities erie county legislature candidate minnie gillette has announced her sup port for a measure which would establish the divi sion of equal employment opportunity in the office of the erie county executive i am in full support of a local law introduced ear lier this month in the county—legislature that will amend the erie county charter to create a division of equal employ ment opportunity within the office of the county executive said gillette gillette added the local law if approved will be headed by a director who will establish a county affirmative action plan investigate employ ment discrimination com plaints administer the county minority business and women-owned busi ness utilization programs and collect data and complile statistics con cerning minority employ ment in county govern ment ms gillette indicated that the division of equal employment opportunity currently exists in the personnel department and the shift to the county executive's office would require no additional staff ing the purpose of moving the division of equal em ployment opportunity into the office of the county executive is to establish a permanent charter posi tion said gillette this is not an uncommon practice as demonstrated by the creation of the office for the disabled and senior services gillette who will be running in the democratic primary on sept 15th pointed out that the division of equal employ ment opportunity has been vital in enabling in dividuals to pursue the work of their choice and advance themselves based solely on their qualified tions and performance as a charter position the division will be able to . more effectively and effi | ciently carry out the duties and responsibilities of the office as a result of having its own identity and budget the division of equal employment opportunity has proven to be an important role within county government and by the introduction of this local law we have recog nized that face conclud ed gillette i am optimistic that the full legislature will recog nize the importance of the division of equal employ ment opportunity and that we will see a speedy passage of this measure minnie gillette afro-american police assn held awards dinner the afro-american police association held its annual officers installation and awards dinner recently at the buffalo hyatt regency the guest speaker was imam abdel j nurridin officers installed for 87 are president john story vice president e abrams recording secretary barbara miller corresponding secretary marjorie morris treasurer nadine wilson ser geant-at-arms danny williams and trustees john dublin and john eberhart awards were presented from mocha a.a p.a and community awards were given to judge wilbur ' trammell harry pinkerton james jackson and chris fuller this photo shows patrick curry left iman , nurridin speaker and judge wilbur trammell gov cuomo makes statement on baynard rustin's death new york state and the nation has lost one of its outstanding civil rights leaders and activists of more than 40 years with the passing of bayard rustin his strong belief in human rights equal jus tice for all and the principles of non-violence expounded by the late dr martin luther king jr provided the philosophical underpinning for numer ous civil rights organiza tions such as the congress of racial equality the southern christian lead ership conference and the a randolph institute mr rustin will be mourned by his many friends in the labor and civil rights movement who have grown to know him and to respect him as a thoughtful and coura geous leader particularly ' in the past 25 years when he was a central figure in the march on washing ton in 1963 the poor people's campaign in 1969 and aid for striking garbage collectors in memphis tennessee the site of dr king's last campaign with the shortage of exper tise and the liability imposed by the law managers who use consulting firms may have better quality workers and greater peace of mind arthur gains union support the afl-cio recently announced its overwhelm ing support of george k arthur for re-election as buffalo common council president councilman president arthur the endorsed democrat has also been endorsed by the buffalo teachers federation and the united auto workers of america mr arthur character ized his broad-based union support as very signifi cant and a clear indicator that he is a true friend of education and labor who serves the interests of all the residents of the city of buffalo citing his solid record of accomplishments in the areas of education and labor mr arthur express ed his gratitude for the acknowledgement by the unions and pledged to continue his efforts to improve the education system and labor market in the city of buffalo it is not enough to just provide jobs stated mr arthur we must provide lobs that pay more than minimum wage jobs that will offer stability and a future for the residents of this city likewise concluded mr arthur it is not enough to just provide an education for our youth we must provide the kind of quality education which will enable and prepare our youth to compete in the job market courton family thanks supporters by abdullah luqman ' ms mary frances cour ton of 304 watson st speaking for the family of joe louis courton would like to thank the many ministers and friends who have been standing by her brother during this family crisis joe has been charged as a hit and run driver he has been released without bail until septem ber 15th when a prelimin ary hearing will be held to see if there is enough evidence to hold htm for the grand jury among their many sup porters are bishops leroy anderson and charles h mccoy ministers glenn harvey dußois arthur cunningham william and mother davis brother ted johnson and leon dupree madams mother ussury barbara sims ruth harris and mamie smith c long john lee chappell frank e merri weather jessie pompey smiley ted mitchell ab dullah luqman and many others blue cross — continued on page 7 serving working leading in wny inner cities since 1923 price only 20 c per copy