ALAMERICA BANK TO SPONSOR SWAC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
By William Parker

Birmingham, AL -- Alamerica Bank will sponsor the 2002 Southwestern Athletic Conference championship football game on December 14, 2002 at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama.

The Bank is paying $100,000 to be the title sponsor of the fourth Annual SWAC championship game that will be nationally televised on BET.

"Our employees are excited about it," said Bob Nesbitt, President of Alamerica Bank. "We started looking for an opportunity for national exposure that would provide Alamerica a vehicle to gain national exposure. This event and Alamerica's goals presented the perfect marriage for both entities."

Alamerica Bank is planning to expand to New Orleans, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. The Bank has $45, million in assets, up from $36 million a year ago. Alamerica opened in January 2000 with $10 million and became profitable within five months of opening.



VNN CANDIDATES VICTORIOUS IN ALABAMA, NEW YORK AND GEORGIA GENERAL ELECTIONS
By: William Parker

Birmingham, AL - Voter News Network candidates in three states dominated victory lane after the November 5th general elections. In Alabama, VNN's bipartisan slate of statewide candidates won all nine statewide races, including Governor (Bob Riley-R), Lt. Governor (Lucy Baxley-D), Attorney General (Bill Pryor-R), U.S. Senator (Jeff Sessions-R), Secretary of State (Nancy Worley-D), Commissioner of Agriculture (Ron Sparks-D), State Treasurer (Kay Ivey-R), Associate Supreme Court Justice (Harold See-R) and State Auditor (Beth Chapman-R). VNN's congressional candidates won all seven of Alabama's congressional seats.

In New York, VNN's gubernatorial candidate, George Pataki, defeated seven other candidates to win his third term in office. Pataki, a Republican, garnered 49% of the votes cast. His nearest competitor was Democrat Carl McCall, who won 33% of the votes cast. VNN raised more than $65,000 for Pataki's reelection campaign.

In Georgia, VNN backed Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker's reelection bid. VNN also supported Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine's reelection campaign. Both men won by impressive margins. VNN's gubernatorial candidate in Georgia, Roy Barnes, lost to Republican challenger Sonny Perdue by a 52% to 46% margin. VNN raised more than $70,000 for its three Georgia-based candidates.

In other races in Alabama, candidates endorsed by VNN were victorious. All 140 of VNN's legislative candidates won their races, except for Senate District 26 candidate Beverly Love and Senate District 35 candidate George Callahan, who were defeated.

VNN raised and spent more than $1 million during the 2002 primary and general election cycle in Alabama, New York and Georgia. VNN is now implementing its expansion plans for California, Florida, Illinois, and several other key presidential states. VNN expects to be a national organization prior to the 2004 presidential election.

VNN has also formed a strategic political relationship with 11 Alabama-based political action committees. The political action committees alone distributed more than $170,000 during the 2002 election cycle. The remainder of VNN's financial assistance was provided through direct individual contributions to candidates.



DISCRIMINATION IN HOUSING MARKETS: BIRMINGHAM HIGH IN ADVERSE TREATMENT

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently released a report, Discrimination in Metropolitan Housing Markets: Phase I. The study, which was conducted nationwide, showed that discrimination against African-Americans and Hispanics looking to purchase a home is down more than 25 percent since 1989.

"The downward trend reflected in the study and a more targeted education and enforcement effort on our behalf will help us to achieve the President's goal of 5.5 million new minority homeowners by the end of the decade," stated HUD Secretary Mel Martinez. "The increased homeownership rates for African Americans and Hispanics in the third quarter of 2002 reflect that we are knocking down barriers and opening doors for more minorities."

The Housing Discrimination Study 2000 is the largest and most ambitious effort to date to quantify the level of housing discrimination in the United States against persons because of their race or color. It is the third nationwide study sponsored by HUD to evaluate the amount of discrimination faced by minority home seekers. Previous studies conducted in 1977 and 1989 found considerable levels of racial and ethnic discrimination in rental and sales markets of urban areas within the United States.

The study, conducted by the Urban Institute, used a technique called "paired testing" to measure the level of housing discrimination in 23 metropolitan areas nationwide during the summer and fall of 2000. Paired testing matches two individuals-one minority and one white. Both individuals were assigned income, assets, and debt levels to make them equally qualified to rent or buy an advertised home. Test partners were also assigned similar family circumstances, job characteristics, and education levels. They both responded to the same advertisement within a short time of one another and systematically recorded the information and assistance they received about the advertised unit. Test partners did not compare their experiences.

The following results, based on 4,600-paired tests, show the amount of "adverse treatment" encountered by African-Americans while attempting to rent or buy a home:

City - Rentals - Sales

Atlanta - 30.9 - 7.70
Austin, Texas - 27.5 - 25.3
Birmingham - 28.6 - 27.3
Chicago - 13.8 - 15.9
Denver - 19.4 - 19.7
Detroit - 13.6 - 16.9
Los Angeles - 21.7 - 14.7
New York - 20.0 - 23.5
Orlando - 26.4 - 17.1
National - 21.6 - 17.0

While discrimination against minorities may be down nationwide, for sales properties in the Birmingham area, blacks received adverse treatment 27.3 percent of the time, compared to the national average of 17.0 percent. This adverse treatment included, blacks being told the advertised house was unavailable, being shown less houses than whites with the same qualifications, and not being shown a house that was advertised.



IS THERE A LEADERSHIP CRISIS IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY?
By Stuart Pigler

There is a crisis of leadership in the black community. This crisis started years ago and it has come to fruition over the past two years particularly on Election Day, Nov. 5th.

Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and the Congressional Black Caucus failed in their efforts to get out the black vote to defeat Governor Jeb Bush of Florida. The Democrats' number one target was Gov. Bush, according to the Chairman of the National Democratic Party Terry McAuliffe. Futhermore, there were other efforts by so-called black leaders in Georgia, Missouri, and Maryland to get out the black vote to defeat Saxby Chambliss, Jim Talent for U.S. Senate, and Robert Ehrlich for governor respectively, to no avail. What happened? Clearly something has gone askew. The Democratic Party cannot count on blacks going to the polls in mass numbers and supporting Democratic candidates. There are ineffective leaders in the black communities and it's time for a change in direction. This election should serve as a wake-up call.

Are blacks beginning to realize that Messrs. Jackson and Sharpton are leading them down the path to destruction or has the black community realize that after all these years of supporting the Democratic Party blindly, that there is nothing to show for it? When was the last time you remember a black member of Congress in a leadership position of either party? If you answered J.C. Watts, Republican of Oklahoma, your correct. It was the Republican members of Congress that selected Rep. Watts to be their Chairman of the Republican Conference a position that placed him right behind Tom Delay, the House Republican Whip in terms of leadership.

It's time for blacks to be represented by leaders who have serious ideas and are committed to a set of principles that foster independence. However, if members of the so-called black leadership continue to exploit blacks by encouraging them to dwell on the past instead of looking forward, it will be difficult for blacks to make significant progress in this society.

Congressman Watts has articulated a set of ideals and principles that should guide our urban communities on how to promote economic growth and strengthen the marriage base of two-parent families. Unfortunately, the Congressional Black Caucus totally ignored Watts and his ideas. Watts believes in self-reliance and he actually did something in Congress to foster that idea when he co-authored and pass into law, the Community Renewal Act. Watts is planning to retire from the House of Representatives to spend more time with his family although he has left the door open for a future U.S. Senate bid.

I believe that black people in every urban center would like to see results from Congress that will improve their lives and communities. They want to be able to keep more of what they earn and they want the best education for their children. We need leaders in the black community who will appreciate and accept thoughtful and reasoned ideas that may be different from the status quo.

Next year, Congress will be controlled by Republicans. Will the members of the Congressional Black Caucus, who by the way, would never let Watts become a member of their organization, work with the Republicans to accomplish things of mutual interest? Or will they continue as Watts states in his new book, "Carry out their politics of personal destruction which replaces serious philosophical and political debate." Only time will tell.

Stuart Pigler is a member of the National Advisory Council of the African-American leadership network Project 21 and a former television commentator in Grand Rapids, Michigan.



DONALD V. WATKINS' STATEMENT CONCERNING HIS PURSUIT
OF A MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL FRANCHISE

Birmingham, AL -- In recent months, I have had several very positive discussions with individuals involved in Major League Baseball. They have shown me that my ambition to become an owner of a Major League Baseball team is a concept, which they look upon with favor as they continue to process my application. As we continue through that process, we will of course continue to assess with care the impact of the intense economic uncertainty confronting Major League Baseball over the next several months as the owners and players strive to reach an agreement on a satisfactory contract. I am most grateful for the support and advice I have received from Major League Baseball as I continue to seek the franchise which is right for me.

I have narrowed my options, and I am undertaking the requisite due-diligence with all deliberate speed. However, that speed is likely to be governed by overall developments in Major League Baseball economics over which I have no control. I am under several confidentiality agreements, which make any further public comment on my pursuit of a team inappropriate and impossible. For that reason, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the fans and others in the baseball community who have so earnestly supported me. When we finally complete the application process in the coming months, you will be the first to hear about it right here on the Voter News Network website.