Vernon Jarrett, Will arabs back ties to blacks with cash, November 6, 1979 article, St. Petersburg Evening Independent, Dr. Khalid al-Mansour, Percy Sutton corroboration
“Why has Obama, since taking the White House, used Justice Department Attorneys, at taxpayer expense, to avoid presenting a legitimate birth certificate and college records?”…Citizen Wells
“Khalid Al-Mansour was “raising money” for Obama.”
“Khalid Al-Mansour was trying to help Obama get into Harvard Law School.”…Percy Sutton
“Al Mansour said that he was determined to keep a low profile to avoid embarrassing Obama.”…NewsMax September 23, 2008
From the St. Petersburg Evening Independent November 6, 1979.
“WILL ARABS BACK TIES TO BLACKS WITH CASH?
Vernon Jarrett
What about those rumored billions of dollars the oil rich Arab nations are
supposed to unload on American black leaders and minority institutions?
“It’s not just a rumor. Aid will come from some of the Arab states,”
predicted a black San Francisco lawyer who has close ties to officials of
the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
“The first indications of Arab help to American blacks may be announced in
December.” said Khalid Abdullah Tariq Al-Mansour, formerly known as Donald
Warden, of the Holmes and Warden law firm.
Al-Mansour is the lawyer who filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support
of OPEC last winter when the International Association of Machinists and
Aerospace Workers (IAM) filed an antitrust suit against the 13 OPEC
countries in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
The OPEC countries did not answer the price-fixing charges on the grounds
that a U.S. court did not have jurisdiction over a foreign country.
However, Al-Mansour argued for OPEC as chairman of the Concerned Black
Americans in Suppport of Africa and the Middle East. The suit was dismissed
on Aug. 22.
Al-Mansour, 39, for several years has urged the rich Arab kingdoms to
cultivate stronger ties to America’s blacks by supporting black businesses
and black colleges and giving financial help to disadvantaged students.
In September, Al-Mansour said, he presented a proposed special aid program
to OPEC Secretary-General Rene Ortiz when he visited OPEC headquarters in
Vienna. Al-Mansour urged the establishment of a fund that would provide
$20-million per year for 10 years to aid 10,000 minority students each
year, including blacks, Arabs, Hispanics, Asians, and native Americans.
“The idea was fully endorsed by Ortiz and other OPEC administrators,” Al-
Mansour said by telephone from San Francisco last week. He said the
decision on his educational fund will be made by the OPEC ministers when
they meet in Caracas, Venezuela, in December.
I also spoke with a representative of the information center for the League
of Arab Nations in Chicago concerning rumors of “heavy Arab contributions
and investments” in black communities in the wake of Andrew Young’s
resignation as United Nations ambassador this summer.
“It is quite possible,” an Arab spokesman said. “However, I don’t think any
money will be given to individuals.” But he said he had also heard that
Moammar Khadafy, the leader of Libya, is planning to support black
organizations “or institutions.” The spokesman did not name any individuals
or institutions.
The question of financial aid from the Arabs could raise a few extremely
interesting questions both inside and outside the black community. If such
contributions are large and sustained, the money angle may become secondary
to the sociology and politics of such an occurrence.
What will be the response in white America to the recognition that American
blacks have influential supporters in foreign lands?
Several of my media colleagues argue that such massive support will not
come from the Arabs. But suppose it does? How many black colleges could
afford to announce they are rejecting several million dollars annually in
aid not only to their students but to the tottering colleges themselves?
And what will happen if those college boards that do accept Arab aid are
threatened with a loss of domestic support?
Of course, there is another question that focuses on how the black citizen
is viewed by the American majority. Can the average American live with the
thought of blacks being anything other than helpless — a people without
any other resources than domestic “tolerance” and charity and their own
bootstraps?
I’m not about to hazzard a guess as to what the Arabs are going to do now
that they have discovered that blacks do have an interest in the Middle
East. But I strongly suspect their advisors have made it clear that they
must do something to support those rumors.
The new black advocacy of a homeland for the Palestinians and recognition
of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), has put the Arabs as well
as certain black leaders on the spot. Suppose those black leaders who
openly embraced Yasser Arafat suffer extreme shortages in financial
contributions because of their pro-Arab stands. And suppose the Arabs do
not come to their rescue.
Such a failure could cause American blacks to adopt a slogan made famous by
the Jews: “Never Again.”
Vernon Jarrett is a distinguished journalist, historian, sociologist,
television producer and host of a TV talk show.”