Kaleidoscope wants to know...
What do you think of Mayfair Mall’s new policy requiring adult supervision for youth, 17 and under, after 2 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays?

photos by Harry Kemp

Lamell Sloan: "It should be 16 and under, after 5 p.m. on any day."

Shirley Carter: "I think that it is unfair and that the rule should apply to children under the age of 16."

Monica Rodriguez: "The policy at Mayfair is another excuse to publicly profile youth, in particular Black youth. Does this policy take into consideration the youth who work at Mayfair? If an establishment doesn’t provide nametags, how are they to prove they work there if they have taken the bus without their parent?"

Dominic X: "I do not agree with this policy. This type of action taken by Mayfair Mall is invasive and provides a precedence for the acceptance of the U.S. Governments unfair monitoring and plotting against Black youth. Milwaukee is considered an experiment city by the U.S. Government and this new policy is just another one of Big Brother’s experiments on Blacks."

Blacks and Pollution ... How Can We Survive?

by Makeisha Lee
All around us we hear about how the toxins in the environment are affecting the general population’s health all over the world.

In fact in the UK, a study was conducted by the Environmental Pressure Group that measured the amount of chemical toxins found to be in the blood of its participants.

Chemical substances ranging from pesticides, fire retardants, and DDT; which has been associated with cancers and nervous and immune system disorders were present. While light is being shed on the matter of pollutants in that area. Pollution in the African American community is not being addressed appropriately.

We need to be aware of the increased risk within our community in respects to pollution so as to lessen the damaging effects in our lives and our offspring. According to the Washington-based Black Leadership forum, 68% of Blacks live within 30 miles of a coal-fired power plant as compared to 56% Whites. Thirty miles is the distance within where people experience maximum effects from smokestack emissions. Nationwide 71% Blacks live in areas that do not meet federal air and pollution standards as compared to only 58% Whites. There seems to be no rush to make it compliant either. Stricter testing should be enforced to assist in the detection and prevention of these harmful substances.

Another key factor as to why Blacks are harmed more is that Blacks are more likely to work in asbestos, textile, coal and silica mining industries. This is where they have over exposure to occupational respiratory ailments and these hazardous materials that contribute to chronic lung diseases. This explains the higher death rate from asthma in Blacks, being as high as 38.7% per one million deaths as compared to 14.2% per one million deaths in Whites.

People having contaminated blood is proof that that it is time for the government to address this pollution issue aggressively. It is absolutely vital that we get stricter laws on pollution in our areas to stop this ongoing contamination in everyday life. This is for the sake of our health, our children and future generations.

However, we should not wait until the government steps in. We can take immediate action to protect and fortify ourselves by cleansing our bodies now, thus providing our bodies with full ammunition to fight off its lingering effects from excessive build up of toxins. Don’t wait for disease to manifest before we decide to place adequate protection on ourselves and our loved ones!

Makeisha Lee is a health and nutrition consultant. For more information about cleansing and detoxifying your body, contact her at 614-595-1425 or makeisha@cleanseformula.com or learn more at www.CleanseFormula.com.
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Take 3

Lagoons to be dredged

The Milwaukee County Board’s Parks, Energy and Environment Committee voted unanimously to redirect $300,000 in general obligation bonds to dredge the lagoons at McGovern Park and Washington Park.

"While these lagoons may look shallow, they’re really quite deep in some sections," said Milwaukee County Supervisor Toni Clark, whose district includes McGovern Park.

Jobless Rate Up

The Milwaukee area added 10,500 jobs in the last 12 months, as its unemployment rate rose to 5.5% from 5.4% in February 2006, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development recently reported.

Anti-Crime Plan

A tough multifaceted crime-fighting plan--titled Enough is Enough! A Plan to Restore Order to the Streets of Milwaukee--was publicly released by Alderman Bob Donovan. The report, formulated with input from Sheriff David Clarke and retired Police Captain Glenn Frankovis, includes several "common sense" proposed strategies to empower police and law enforcement and to get tough on criminals who have taken over many areas of the city.