TICKERTAPE

Jet, June 7, 1999 by Simeon Booker

Confidential: From July 18 to October 17 the National Museum of African Art in Washington will present the exclusive "Hats off, A Salute to African Headwear." Thousands are expected to crowd the exhibit of the most beautiful and creative objects of personal attire worn by African people today ... Insiders at the State Department are waiting for the next crucial assignment in Africa--the naming of Delano Lewis to replace James A. Joseph as the U.S. Ambassador to South Africa. Joseph, a former Interior official, has earned respect but little notoriety as the first Black in the continent's most powerful diplomatic slot ... With more than 100 patents, including components of the new telephones, Dr. James E. West is expected to be named the fifth Black in America's Inventor Hall of Fame. Nominated by Patricia Sluby, a former patent examiner, West has written scores of major papers on acoustics, solid state physics and material science and is considered one of the country's experts in the field ... Texas Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson has one of the most effective communication systems. She appears weekly on a half-hour cable program on 10 stations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area ... Last Chance: Capitol Hill-backers have their fingers crossed that the Democrats will gain control of Congress next year and Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel will become the first Black chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and Detroit Rep. John Conyers will take over the Judiciary committee ... No sooner had St. Louis Rep. William Clay mentioned retirement after 32 years than cries arose whether his 42-year-old son, Lacy, a state legislator, could retain his seat ... Another mayoral possibility: the Rev. Floyd Flake in New York, where a few years ago he quit Congress to devote more time to his church.

Simeon Booker, Washington Bureau Chief