STERLING JOINS PILOT FEDERAL PROGRAM TO DETECT TENSIONS THAT LEAD TO UNREST

The president of the Cape Girardeau chapter of the NAACP will participate in a federal pilot program designed to provide an "early warning system" regarding civil unrest.

The NAACP president, Michael Sterling, said, "This all came about after the Rodney King (riot) incident last year."

He said civil unrest doesn't just occur in urban areas. "We are not immune to civil unrest, and civil unrest is really brewing in this city right now," said Sterling.

Atkins W. Warren, regional director of the Justice Department's Community Relations Service (CRS) in Kansas City, discussed the pilot program in a March 26 letter to Sterling.

"In light of last year's civil disruptions in Los Angeles and other parts of the country, it is anticipated that this system could prevent similar occurrences in Missouri and metropolitan Kansas City," Warren said.

"After seeing Los Angeles, I am convinced that no amount of riot-prepared law enforcement or military personnel will be successful in putting down a full scale riot," he said.

"CRS as an agency, working with you and other concerned citizens and organizations, must move proactively to encourage citizens to identify those conditions that are likely to catapult their communities into chaos and mass destruction of life and property. Together, we can act as a barometer to measure the pressure in our communities," Warren wrote.

Sterling is scheduled to attend a training session for the "Distant Early Warning System" in Kansas City Wednesday.