Ticker tape

Jet, May 12, 2003 by Simeon Booker

CONFIDENTIAL: Next year's headline-grabbing Black Congressional races may be centered in New York City where three incumbent members reportedly are considering retirement--Charles Rangel, 72, Edolphus Towns, 68, and Major Owens, 66. Assemblyman Darryl Towns, 34, and former school board member Chris Owens may try to succeed their fathers.

Councilman Bill Perkins is considered Rangers choice for his seat, but Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV waits for a chance to follow his famous fathers footsteps ... Not one but two seek to become the first Black mayor of Alexandria, VA, in 253 years. GOP Vice Mayor William C. Cleveland and Democrat Councilman William C. Euille compete for the post along with Townsend A. Van Fleet, a White candidate ... A federal courthouse in his hometown of Youngstown, OH, will be dedicated on May 5 in honor of Judge Nathaniel R. Jones, an ex-NAACP general counsel ... The Congressional Black Caucus quietly moved into its $3.3 million building in D.C.'s Embassy Row area. Broadcast mogul Robert Johnson spearheads the effort to retire the mortgage ... At last, Smithsonian Institution has recognized chitterlings, once a significant staple in African-American cuisine, as a national delicacy. An upcoming exhibition will feature Shauna Anderson, CEO of the Chitlin Market, highlighting the preparation of the dish which started during the slavery era ... Philadelphia minister Joseph Watkins served at the White House under President George Bush as associate director of public liaison. Today, his daughter, Tiffany Watkins, is President George W. Bush's deputy associate director of public liaison at the White House.