Newspapers / The Carolina Times (Durham, … / Nov. 14, 1981, edition 1 / Page 13
Part of The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Another . NORTH: By Laura Parks ' Prospects for a fruit i Bran, in West-Germany. ful outcome of the ore- i- It nas made the North sent.' series of North South . talks remains as ' distant as ever, ft is not i that the mn and women f at , the ' present con-? ferences are wicked or evil individuals, far from ; it it is simply that they j represent Western in-; dustrial states caught in a . savage economic killing t ground, from which there seems to be no escape. . - Simply stated the once proud and economically mighty North ;, has . become an economically , impotent colossus shorn : of its carelessly gathered ; possibility that potential; . wealth. over the genera-J, Third World social turpi tions and is now con- ; bulancc would lead toi bloody confrontations; between the North and : the South which in their ; wake- could have devastating conse-i . ' . . , . ,'vocatid by people like OAT TTHTJ tXI ATnrTTl?'8" ft'1; Minister O U U 1 11 j Ul ALlUXj U JEf Thatcher and President, ,. -, 1 '.u. m Ji, : : ' Reagan who seem willing fronv Washinjtpn toi .quences mNorth; to akc - extraordinary ) ". 1UG DIOUUl Jfcjyvill - , j . ',' .5 nnt ' a starrv eved An " ' ' ' gooders . document. . It was a document primari- . ly concerned - with the future good and, welfare of the West, but which reorganized that this could n6t be achieved ' without - massive aid 1 . from the North flowing domestic and foreign risks as they cut back on every conceivable for of government . spending, including international ,aid expenditures. They argue a version of the "trickle down" theory which in this case states that when the SAT., NOVEMBER 14, 1981 THE CAROLINA TIKES -13 North is prosperous this' prosperity will somehow 'trickle . down? South., At the moment then the Northern establishment is unwilling to make the t. ' 1 m. m the - South which the South wants. ' (Continued on PagVfS). South discourse.very dif-V ficult. 1 . . - - .r The demands of. the ' South are persistent,) make a lot of economic! sense, and in view of col-1 onial and neo-colonial practices by the North ; ;are morally just. The , Southern demands are echoed to a very large ex-t tent by the Brandt Com-i mission Report. When the Brandt report first, appeared the impression was v created that its ' members were deeply , , concerned ; with the, fronted with the greatest profit squeeze in its tur bulent history. This con dition has frightened the ! Ndrthern establishment Meeting Black Housing! Needs:; Harlem's Webb & Brooker, Inc. By William R.Morris, ASPC Washington Housing Consultant In 1975, Builders Magazine, in a feature article, called them "Masters of Management." Today; after, twelve years in the business, Webb & Brooktr, Inc., is the undisputed largest black owned property management company in the na tion with a $3.5 million annual payroll, collecting over $24 million a year for clients which include . some of the country's foremost financial institu tions. The firm currently manages apartments, of fice,, and commercial space nearly two million square feet of it. The first thing different one notices when visiting the firm's offices-at 2534 Adam ClaytOH Powell, Jr. . Boulevard in New York City's Harlem community, is that none of their large plate glass windows a , quarter block of frontage is broken. And there's not a sign of graffiti on the walls, nor are the win dows hung with iron gates at night as you would ex- i pect in this part of the city. One reason for this 1 phenomenon is that the firm, in many ways, serves ; as a role model for Harlem's youth, a community in m which there are not nearly enough black en- " trepreneurs. Another, in spite of their heavy schedule; is taking the honor class of a nearby school on an annual trip to Washington, with visits to the White House by invitation. And then there's their active participation in the business, civic and political life of Harlem. ' , In 1969, Gene Webb teamed up with George Brooker to establish Webb' &i Brooker, TbeUJdea, was worn 6 the idea paid off for them. They have never asked for a Small Business Administration loan, or any other kind of government assistance, making the distinction between government "business" and "assistance" The firm's continued success stems in part from their business philosophy: free enterprise. Long ago they decided they would not take the traditional black business course of depending on government assistance to succeed. The degree of professionalism expected by the firm is reflected in their "educational policy" for employees. Seminars and real estate conferences are attended by all employees, and those who want skills and professional training whether managerial or secretarial will see the cost match ed by the firm. And, even though the money they collect in rents isn't their own, it is leveraged well. Reaching beyond the deposit of funds in black banks, they have set up in business all the vendors supplying the properties they manage, from fuel oil carriers to carpenters turning over each dollar many times in the community before spinning them away. While still maintaining an impressive list of apartment buildings that they turned into profitable operations, Webb & Brooker also manages Triple A office buildings for companies like Prudential In surance Company and Manufacturers Hanover Bank. One of their most intriguing challenges today is a modern fifteen-story steel and glass office building with-23TT000 square feet of luxury office space Jmi 125th Street in the heart of Harlem. . Another big challenge is the historical Dunbar Apartment complex, 536 apartments built for blacks in 1929 by John D. Rockefeller and named for black poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar. Today, in an advanced stage of deterioration, the Dunbar is undergoing a major rehovatiorrand conversion to a ; resident-owned cooperative as part of Harlem's rennaissance, and to prevent the displacement oft existing residents. "We intend to make this a' showcase residence irvflarlem," says Brooker. Gene Webb, a young looking but tough talking 62, started out in life as a poor boy from Alabama who just barely finished high school. Today he is a trustee of two colleges, Miles and Stillman, in his native state. He is chairman of the firm and also United Mutual Insurance Co.; a director of Freedom National Bank; and a Federal National 'Mortgage Association Advisory Committee member. His partner and the firm's president,' . George Brooker, 35, was reared in South Carolina and serves on New York City's Big MAC Board and on the Board of Governors of the prestigious Real Estate Board of New York. He is a past chairman of New York's Urban League, holds the respected C.P M. designation of Certified Property Manager ' from the Institute of Real Estate Management, and is active in many other professional and civic associations. Both men are active in the Realtors and Realtists, the major black and White real estate trade organizations. ' Featured again, this year, as the cover story of Builders Magazine, Webb & Brooker is truly a model of what black businesses should be. They have successfully demonstrated what whites, and other blacks, thought could not be done. They are' doing their thing. . . .and doing it well. They learn ed that while it is nice to talk idealism, money talks, louder and makes people equal. Not one to abandon Harlem as many blacks had ' done, the firm decided sometime ago to remain in! tlie black community and to help with its revitaliza-. tion, a change that is now beginning to take place. Webb says of Harlem's future: "Its not going to be cast either black or White. Its going to be determin 5 ed by whomever can afford to live there,' and that's the way it should be." to the South in the form of industrial know-how, technology, capital- and scientific knowledge ' in all areas of its varieties. In recent months a noticeable change has been taking place. Now there is much less em phasis on potential mass turbulence in the Third World at some future and unknown time. Sud denly the source of tur bulence is seen to be within the North as it grapples with insur mountable economic,: problems, here and now. The social peace of the North is now seen ttS de- -pend on establishing , wide ranging economic' ties with the South. But important obstacles lie in the way., A new North inspired' concept is being put for ward by the Northern establishments, namely that the South must rely on self help rather than on the generosity of the West. This idea i ad- 36 W Hwy. Est EPA Est mpg . 1982 Olds Tcronado Brougham Diesel Eventoday, therds still room to do it with style. Use estimated mpg for comparison. Your mileage may differ depending on speed, distance, weather. Actual highway mileage lower. Some Oldsmobiles are equipped with engines produced byother GM divisions, subsidiaries or affiliated companies worldwide. See your dealer for details. Vn C 1MO R.J. MCVNOLOS TO.ACCO CO. (o A"-i5''3j i , mmM .iniimwiiir r '"f ' MENTHOL FRESH '' " ' .x- ml Salem : LIGHTS 1 1 1 ii m.T m .... 4rru y i LOW TAH ANO NICOTINE Solem Lights brings smooth, easy menthol refreshment to low tor smoking. Do it smooth with Solem lights. LIGHTS-. 9 mg. "tar". 0.7 mg. nicotine. LIGHTS 100'$: 10 mg. "lar". 0.8 mg. nicotine, sv. per cigarette by FTC method. Warning: The Surgeon General tias Determined That Cigarette Smoking Is Dangerous to Your Health. ..
The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Nov. 14, 1981, edition 1
13
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75