European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 20, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page g the stars and stripes . Monday june 20,1994slave ship holocaust remembered by Michel Marriott new York times new York a More than 1,500 Blacks Many dressed in traditional african dress and jewelry gathered on the unbaked planks of the Coney Island Boardwalk on saturday and looked into the Atlantic Ocean. With prayers speeches and song they searched the hazy Blue expanse for genetic memory of africans engulfed by a sea voyage into slavery known As the Middle passage. A a. Quot this is not about worshipping the dead but paying tribute to our ancestors a said Tony Akeem an organizer of the fifth annual tribute to the ancestors of the Middle passage. Quot we Are Here to remember and to know our history and know our  Akeem a visual artist and an educator at Medgar Evers College of the City University of new York in Brooklyn designed and wore a special to shirt for the Day. It depicts captive africans crammed into the bowels of a slave ship with the words Quot african holocaust never  in recent years increasing numbers of Blacks a some inspired by a growing popularity of afrocentric study fashion and music a have been re examining slavery. Two Black authors Charles Johnson and Caryl Phillips have made slavery the Centrepieces of recent works. And Sankova a new feature film about a Black woman a ultimately defiant slave experience has been showing to enthusiastic audiences. It was written and directed by Haile Germima a film professor at Howard University in Washington , a the Issue of slavery has been presented to Black people in such a Way As to give them the impression that they were helpless people a Germima said in a Telephone interview from his Washington Home. Quot but there was a Strong resistance element to slavery a he said noting that As More Blacks come to realize that More Are Able to draw strength from How ancestral Blacks endured seemingly impossible hardships. Estimates of How Many Blacks were lost at sea in the roughly 400 years of the slave Trade in the americas vary wildly. Some people place the figure at 14 million. Others like Akeem say perhaps 10 times that number perished. Many historians note that the number of enslaved africans who died at sea was so great that Sharks Learned to follow the slave routes because they fed on the bodies thrown overboard. Zala Chandler another organizer of the commemoration stirred the audience to applause and yells of approval when she told them that Quot no matter How hard things get these Days it is not As bad As what they faced on the slave  in words whispered and shouted Chandler painted a vivid scene of anguish fear and confusion in the slave ship hold. Some africans communicated with Little More than their tears she said. In the stars and stripes 10 year Sago june 20,1984 a the Senate debated whether to order major withdrawals of . Troops from Europe unless its nato allies do More to bolster their own conventional forces. 20 years ago a june 20, 1974 a the United states and its nato allies initiated a 14-Point declaration of cooperation laying to rest a dispute that endangered the Alliance in the aftermath of last october s War in the Middle East. 30 years ago june 20,1964 a a flare of Sharp words punctuated debate As the Senate moved toward passage of the most sweeping civil rights Bill since reconstruction Days. 40 years ago june 20,1954 a anti communist invaders captured two vital port cities on opposite coasts of Guatemala As a Quot liberation army battled Inland in efforts to smash the communist backed government of president a cob Arbenz Guzman. 50 years ago june 20,1944 a . Heavy bombers made two More raids on the Calais France coastal area As military sources acknowledged for the first time that they were targeting Quot German  launching  world War ii 1 50 years ago today june 20 19 -4-4 . Navy plane attack the japanese Fleet West of Saipan sinking another aircraft Carrier and damaging two carriers a battleship and a Cruiser. Heavy fighting continues on. Saipan and Biak islands. American soldiers move within five Miles of Cherbourg during the fierce fighting in Normandy. British tank units capture Perugia in Italy. The red army lakes a spurt from the finns source 2194 Days of War a h. Smith publishers inc. The world almanac of world War ii Bison books corp. 1901 a Clinton slips in a Gay poll says new York a seven in 10 homosexuals responding to a Newsweek poll approve of president Clinton a Job performance Down significantly from a comparable poll in March 1993, the Magazine said. The poll included 504 lesbians and Gay men randomly chosen from a marketing company a extensive lists of americans who associate themselves with homosexual interests. Among the group a 62 percent done to think Clinton is taking issues of concern to Gays seriously enough. A 64 percent disapprove of his handling of the Issue of Gays in the military. A 72 percent approve of his Overall Job performance Down from 88 percent last year. The Telephone poll which was to appear in Newsweek a june 20 Issue was taken june 9-15, and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage Points. Pollsters familiar with How the poll was conducted caution that it cannot reflect All . Homosexuals because the majority of the Sample was made up of Gays who arc open about their sexuality. Of the women in the poll 64 percent said they Are open with co workers and 82 percent with family members. The men Are less Likely to be open about their sexuality 55 percent with co workers and 68 percent with family members. Accord reached in . Rail strike new York apr a nearly 2-Day-old strike at the nations largest commuter Railroad was settled late saturday night. Long Island rail Road trains Are expected to be running on time for this mornings Rush hour the metropolitan transportation authority said. The United transportation Union had demanded a a percent raise Over four years. Management offered a 12 percent wage increase Over four years. They settled on a three year contract that will expire at the end of 1994. It provides for retroactive raises of 2.5 percent 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent per year with no w Ork Rule changes. The raises will be compounded so that the total pay increase for workers will be 8.7 percent for the three year period ending in december. Site of tragedy a Jet takes Oft saturday from duties International Airport near Washington ., Over the site of a plane crash that killed All 12 mexicans aboard six adults and six children. The passengers were in route from Mexico City to see Mexico s soccer team face Norway on sunday in the world cup in Washington. Although at least one Diplomat was aboard an official of the mexican commercial airline Tasesa which owned the Lear Jet said the passengers had chartered the plane As private citizens. Sex Exxon of being a by newday new York a Joseph Hazelwood has been Quot in the Beach a As they say in merchant Marine jargon since the Exxon Valdez crunched up on Bligh reef in Alaska five years ago. But the Captain blamed again last w Eek for americans worst maritime environmental disaster still harbours dreams of commanding a ship again. Quot if someone offered id jump at it a the Huntington Bay resident told news Day in his first interview since his virtual exoneration in a criminal trial four years Captain dreams on Bridge ago. No matter How the Legal maelstrom that has surrounded Hazelwood plays out to Many it would seem highly unlikely that a shipping company would place a Captain found to have been drunk Back on the Bridge. His Odds appear even Slimmer after a civil jury in Alaska branded him a reckless and negligent skipper and made the company that fired him Exxon corp., liable Tor billions in compensatory and punitive damages. Lawyers for 14,000 fishermen and Alaska natives convinced the jury that the Exxon Valdez went aground in Prince William sound because Hazelwood was drunk and left the Bridge at a critical Point and that Exxon was at fault because it had done nothing about Hazelwoods drinking problem. After the ii million gallon spill coated 1,500 Miles Hazelwood of coast Hazelwood was cleared of All criminal charges except for a Misdemeanour charge of negligent discharge of Oil. The coast guard exonerated him on intoxication charges and suspended his masters License for less than a year. So the Mariner said he was surprised and disappointed at the civil trial Juty a findings Quot i thought we put on a pretty Good Case a Hazelwood 47, said before heading Back to Anchorage for the damages setting phase of the trial