No Super Bowl Here

On Nov. 6, the voters of Arizona voted down two propositions to honor the Nobel Peace Prize winner and civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The initiatives, if approved, would have allowed the holiday to be celebrated as a paid holiday.

Today, Arizonans are faced with the possibility of losing the opportunity to host the Super Bowl in 1993. National Football League Commissioner Paul Tagliabue recommended that Super Bowl XXVII be shifted to another state, as a result of the vote.

Mayor Maureen O’Connor immediately petitioned the NFL to allow San Diego to once again host the Super Bowl.

The African American Organizing Project (AAOP) supports the recommendation of Commissioner Tagliabue to move the game from Arizona. The NFL is a business. The decision makes good business sense. In a democracy, the most effective action an individual, corporation or organization can take is the withdrawal of support and resources from that which does not support the interests of that same individual, corporation or organization. Dr. King demonstrated the effective use of economic boycotts throughout his civil rights career.

Is San Diego the proper host city?

America’s Finest City has seen a violent hate-letter-writing campaign effectively engaged to prevent the San Diego Unified Port District from naming the Convention Center after Dr. King and a vote turning down the renaming of Market Street.

Racism is racism . . . the only difference from the voters in Arizona versus San Diego voters is the mere fact we are in different states.

The AAOP seeks to actively dissuade the NFL from allowing the city of San Diego to host Super Bowl XXVII in 1993.

MYRA JACKSON, African American Organizing Project