Hialeah leader asked to apologize

 BY SANDRA MARQUEZ GARCIA

 Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez said Friday that he did not mean to offend the black
 community when he went on Cuban radio this week to decry what he described
 as an anti-Cuban backlash.

 Martinez said he ``was pointing the finger'' at black leaders for allegedly
 mishandling government aid. In fact, he said Friday that he could do a better job
 providing services in the black neighborhoods that border Hialeah and suggested
 including the Brownsville neighborhood in his proposed Hialeah County.

 Black leaders responded with mixed emotions. Miami Commissioner Arthur Teele
 said Martinez's statements ``put the skunk on the table,'' forcing Miami-Dade
 residents to confront their own prejudices. Nonetheless, he said Martinez owed
 ``the black masses'' an apology.

 ``I think Raul Martinez's comment is very, very helpful,'' Teele said. ``Although I
 totally disagree with him, I think he is saying a lot of things that a lot of folks are
 whispering. Until you put the skunk on the table, the odor is not going to go
 away.''

 In an interview Tuesday on WWFE (670 AM) La Poderosa, Martinez weighed in
 on the ethnic tensions that surfaced after the Elian Gonzalez saga -- voicing his
 frustration over those who blamed Cuban Americans for the dismissal of Miami
 City Manager Donald Warshaw and Police Chief William O'Brien.

 During the interview, Martinez called on Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas to
 challenge the black community.

 ``The time has come to say: It's like this. How many federal programs have been
 put in place, how many state programs have been put in place, to help the blacks
 and the blacks haven't done anything,'' Martinez said. ``And the so-called black
 leaders have taken the money.''

 On Friday, Martinez said his comments were intended to make the point that
 Cubans have worked hard for their stature in the community and not taken
 anything from anyone.

 ``Don't blame us. Blame the leaders,'' he said. ``They have never delivered on the
 promise of the Model City.''

 As he drives through the black neighborhood of Brownsville on Hialeah's eastern
 fringe, Martinez said he sees an opportunity to bring parks and roads, and to
 attract new businesses. He said he has met with County Manager Merrett
 Stierheim to discuss including the area from 37th to 32nd avenues in the
 boundaries for his proposed Hialeah County. Stierheim did not return a call
 seeking comment.

 ``I want to go in there and clean it up. I want to go in there and bring appropriate
 housing,'' Martinez said. ``I want everyone to have ownership.''
 INSENSITIVE TONE

 Teele said there was some truth in Martinez's statements, but he believed the
 tone was insensitive.

 ``The black community, not withstanding the millions of dollars that have been
 spent, is not where it should be today,'' Teele said. ``I think, unfortunately, Raul is
 more right than wrong on that.''

 Nonetheless, he said Martinez ``owes the black masses an apology because 99
 percent of the black community in this town are not leaders, the vast majority are
 hard-working people . . . who just want to be part of the American dream.''

 Of Martinez's plan to incorporate Brownsville, Teele said: ``It makes no political
 sense, no economic sense, it makes no social sense. There is nothing in
 Hialeah's history that would suggest that Hialeah would do anything more than
 exploit, manipulate and use the blacks of Brownsville for anything more than
 short-term political advantage.''
 PULSE RESPONDS

 Civil-rights activist Nathaniel Wilcox, the executive director of PULSE, a
 civil-rights group representing African Americans, expressed anger at Martinez's
 idea:

 ``He was crying in the newspaper how Cubans are being treated,'' he said. ``But
 at the end of the day, they are treating African Americans twice as bad.

 ``The PULSE organization had to take the city of Hialeah to federal court to
 ensure that the African Americans who work for Hialeah receive fair
 compensation.''