New York Daily News, Jan. 11, 2005
To the Editor:
In calling Lenora Fulani "leader" of the Independence Party, you miss the real story. Fulani is but a figurehead for a secretive, authoritarian, cult-like group led by amateur psychotherapy guru Fred Newman, who has a bent for amassing political grants and favors.
Here's how it works: Promised performance training, young people--as well as youth in Atlanta, L.A., San Francisco and other cities--are lured by Newman's "talent search," the All-Stars Project. Sadly, the only performance for these All-Stars is the art of panhandling. They join countless adults who have been indoctrinated by Newman's "social therapy centers" and now run the phone banks at the Castillo Cultural Center or beg on streetcorners, shilling for Newman's cultish endeavors or raising money and/or petition signatures for pols who buy their services.
Unfortunately, while the Daily News chases the wrong story, Newman's strategy works like clockwork (orange).
--James Retherford, Austin, Tex.
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Mr. Retherford is a former member of Centers for Change (CFC), Newman's original organization in the early 1970s. He broke with Newman when the latter led CFC into an alliance with Lyndon LaRouche.