4 THE CAROLINA TIMES SATURDAY, AUGUST 7, 1982
UAACP
JACKSON, MISS.
NAACP representatives
fronv across, the nation
went into the small town
of Port Gibson on
Thursday, July 29. to
celebrate a victory of
freedom. It was a victory
that came 14 years after
local white merchants fil
ed a $1.25 million suit
against the national
NAACP and more than
100 local residents who
had participated in a
boycott against their
stores.
Now, the weight of the
ominous judgment had
been lifted by the U.S.
Supreme Court freeing
the properties and bank
accounts of many of the
local defendants as well
as the national NAACP
of any responsibility for
conducting what was
allegedly an illegal
boycott. So. in a manner
befitting the historical
nature of the occasion,
the townsfolk
celebrated.
Named To
API Board
Of Visitors
The high point of the
day-long program . in
. Port Gibson was the
mass meeting that night
" in the First Baptist
Church, located at the
- entrance to the town
square. The First Baptist
Church was an ap
propriate place for the
program to end. for it
was there in 1969 that
local w"hite policemen
fired shots into the midst
of a packed protest
meeting, killing a black
resident.
The merchants filed
suit for $3.5 million in
damages as a result of a"
series of earlier boycotts
and the demonstrations
that resulted from the
killing.
The mass meeting in
the church became much
more than a celebration
of the Supreme Court's
judgment. jt mid-point
in the program, young
relatives and associates
of 34 deceased resident
who were leaders of the
civil, rights struggle in
Claiborne . County,
lighted candles in
- memory of .: those ' who
were no !'. longer alive.
Port Gibson is the coun
ty seat . of Claiborne
County. . .-
The program of
celebrat ion was led by
NAACP executive direc
. tor. Benjamin L) Hooks,
Mrs. Margaret . Bush
Wilson, chairman of the
NAACP national board
of the directors; Aaron
Henry, member of the
national board, and local
residents.
For Mrs. Wilson, who
launched the drive to
raise the $1.6 million
that was needed to post a
bond to protect the
association's assets after
the Mississippi chancery'
court handed down the
jdugment in August,
1976, the program was
especially poignant. She
recalled the massive na
tional drive th'at awaken
ed NAACP supporters'
and friends to the crisis.
Afi a result, the NAACP
raised the full amount
that was needed to cover
the bond.
vi NAACP associate
general counsel Charles
Carter, who led the
(association's defense
. during the nine-month
; trial, explained 1 that
because of the nature of
the case, he could not
help but become per
sonally involved with his
-clients. Such involve
ment was unavoidable,
he noted, when the cir
cumstances of the case
were considered' ; .
As an example,' he
read a portion of . the'
transcripts that were sub
mitted to the Supreme
Court. "This was "; the
testimony of Ms.;', Julia
Johnson. To S; Carter's
question, "How did you
observe the boycott,"
she responded: "I just
stayed out of the store
because I had , my own
personal reasons to stay
out of the stores. There
were some things I really
wanted. And things I
wanted were the right to
vote, the right to have a
title. Mr. and Mrs., or
whatever I am, and not
"uncle," pr "aunt or
"boy' or "girl."- Wo
that's what I wante I.
And if I wanted a jo ,
and qualified for the jo ,
i. I wanted to have the o -;
portunity to be hired" n t
, because I am black r
'white but just hired."
i'r Question: "And this
was . your . reason for
observing the boycott?"
"Answer: "Yes, it.
was. ) 7
Question: "You were
in favfor of the boycott?".;
Answer: "Yes, I was
in favor of the boycott,?
v Ms. Regina Duval, a
local, expert qn Port Gib
son history, rejoiced
that, as a result of the in
creased political
awareness of blacks who
represent 76 per cent of
the county population,
Black Theatre In Durham
Poses A "To Be Or Not To Be" Question
B Josephine Scarlett
" To bo or no! ; iV"
mas. not he a dilemma
cclusie io
Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Black dramatists in the
Durham area must also
ponder that question in
regard lo their careers.
"The only on-going
black theatre in this area
is at Central," said
Johnny Alston, assistant
professor of dramatic art
at North Carolina C en
tral University. Accor
ding to Alston, the
Durham area lacks a
theatre organization,
other than the program
at NC(T), that constant
ly produces plays written
by black playwrights that
have roles for black ac
tors. Alston attributes the
low production rate of
black plays in this area lo
the commercialization of
the theatre. Before a
theatre or organization
will produce a play, tfcere
must be evidence of au
dience interest to ensure
that the play will be pro
fitable. "Community
theatres too must con
sider what is successful,'.'
Alston said. F.specially
organizations that use
professional people."
Bud D. Winter, presi
dent of the Theatre
Guild, says that his
organization uses a for
mula to determine
whether they will pro
duce a play or not. "We
have a play reading com
mittee that helps decide
oif the plays, we accept,
suggestions from out
side," he said, "and we
pass out questionnaires
lo the audience that ask
which plavs thev want to
see."
The Theatre Guild,
which is financed in part
by the Durham Arts
Council, produces one
play of four yearly by a
"minority" playwright.
ST. MARK'S NURSERY
SCHOOL "
Registration
August 9-20, 1982
FALL SESSION BEGINS -
August 23, 1982
Age 2 Years
NURSERY
Qualified Teachers
State Licensed
Participant In The
Child Food Program ,
6 Years
KINDERGARTEN 1 ST GRADE
t Hot Balanced Meals
At No Cost I
Transportation
Available
688-2092 531 S. Roxboro Street 682-7881
Open 6:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Monday Friday
Noa-INwrimtailory Oa Ran. Color, Nttloul (klllii. Ait. Sn or Haadirap
MOM
PLEASE
Lett Us Km w
At LEAST 3 weeks in ADVANCE!
Then we can keep your copy coming without interrup
tion. '
When you don't let us know and we have to wait for the
Post Office to notify us, you miss your copies and we
have to pay 25 C for every copy the Post Office returns to
us. .
Quite often the Post Office will not notify us. im
mediately that you have even filed an address change
with them. Sometimes it is four months before they will
notify us and then they will send a big stack of returned
papers for the same person - costing us 25C each. This
drives up operating costs. We're asking you to help us
Hold costs down and serve you better at the same time.
We need your old address AND your new address. We
need the name that appears on your label. If you want
that changed too. give us the old name AND the new
name. Don't forget Zip Codes.
; In Advance and well keep up w&h you!
meaning
Hisnanics.
and other
Minority
blacks-women
groups.
Since audience interest
is a factor that theatres
consider before produc
ing a play, there must be
an audience in order to
measure audience in
terest. But if there arc
only a few black plays
produced in the area
.each year, how can in
terest develop enough vn
the black community to
create "an interested
black audience?"",
Alston contends that
the "black audience" in
the Durham area must be
built . "The 'companies
that work out of recrca-'
lion centers build the au
dience and we can start
from there." he says.
Step two, aflcrHbcau-,
dience is establishedor
growing, would be the
creation of the com
munity theatre which
Alston says is hard lo
form because of
finances.
"You'll have to have
people who arc dedicated
lo the arts. But even to
soph i st cat ed com mim i t y ,
finances are important,"
he said. "The dramatic
arts program at NCCO
docs not share that pro
blem because of its sup
port from the state."
There is no lack of
talent in the Durham
area, but playwrights
have a hard time getting
the exposure necessary to
develop a career. While
theatre groups and
organizations in this area
lean toward popular
plays and those that
create a busy box office.
pose some of the rich
material of black life
that exists in the fields of
drama, dance and music.
Alston sees the educa
tional advantage of
black theatre. He inter
prets education in the
theatre as an opportunity
to learn from the life ex
periences of other peo
ple. "When people are in
a situation to experience
things they don't or
dinarily experience, to
have the interaction with
other people," he said,
t hey-come out to be well
rounded individuals."
'Whatever 'the
playwright suffers, so
docs the actor. Alston
'i says'", that students in
terested in the technical
aspects of theatre, such
as lighting and sound,
have more opportunities
than the students of ac
ting and directing. He
recommends that aspir
ing actorsactresses leave
this area" arid go on to
' Broadway or graduate
school.
"Alston suggests that
playwrights in this area
bring their work to the
university which could
prove as an avenue of ex
P o s u r e .
The fact is that
English society, in the
17th and 18th centuries,
refused to bury dead ar
tists and today black ar
tists in the Durham area
have only a slim chance
of seeing their works
borne onto the stage. As
for those who wish "to
be" actorsactresses,
they could be better off
going somewhere else to
make a living.
I 1 111 I1lllri orlii-l nil
but left out in the cold. MltCnGll
"Occasionally we pro- , . '
ducc local playwrights."' (Continued from page 3) ;
said Winter, "but we. artificial when these in
tend to use popular creases are attributable
plays.'
The cycle continues
while there arc, not only
black playwrights, but
actors actresses, . and
technicians in the
Durham area who arc
capable of producing;
black theatre produc
tions and have
something to say as well.
"There arc people who
havc.thc expertise, said
only to the performance '
of 8(a) contracts which
are by n,p means perma
nent sources of income,
as this latest maneuver
demonstrates."
Mitchell stated, "I
have . received over 200
telegrams, letters and
telephone calls in less
than three days pro
testing this unreasonable
and inequitable situa-
Alston. "Some of them ) lion. As a result of this
aren't involved at this massive community out
lime, most arc cry, I have initiated
teachers." discussions with the
Why all the fuss about White House, SBA,
black theatre? Since Members of Congress
William Wells Brown l and the minority
published "The Escape: business community."
or, A Leap for
Freedom" in 1858, black
artists have attempted to
express" their experience
in America. Langston
Hughes, in his essay
"The Need for an Afro
American Theatre,"
contends that black
theatre must exist for
two reasons: to open up
avenues of expression
"for us all," and to ex-
SCNTRri
Flea A Tick Collar
To date, neither the
White House nor Ad-
minis! rator Sanders has
responded in a positive
fashion.
SBA is consistently ac
ting to deny economic
parity for minority
businesses. Programs for
economic advancement
are being sabotaged by
those very persons who,
by law, are directed and
charged with respon
sibility for their proper
implementation. SBA's
failure to stop these
kinds of , abuses is
testimony enough to its
lack of commitment to
the economic revitaliza-
tion or this nation in
2$ tf- -32 countywide
positions are now held
by members of the race.
When ; the boycotts
began, blacks were com
pletely locked out of
those positions. ,
"Thanks to the
perseverance . ' of
volunteers among us,";
she said, "me .have' con-
sistently progressed v to
political parity." 'y
l v Earlier in the .day,
Hooks led a rousing rally
and march? in the town
' before returning to
Jackson to join a small
group - of - NAACP
leaders in' having lunch
with Mississippi Gover-!
nor William Winter in
the governor's mansion
Making the Most of Leftovers
; If
SIMMONS
. Dont throw away that
extra cornbread. Or thoie
biacuita. Crumble them mix
in a bowl and cover aecarely
with plastic wrap. Uae tpiem
aa a basis for poultry stuf
fing. Your family wQl love
the taste and you 11 enjoy
the savings on your food
budget.
-
Leftover vegetables, wise
ly saved, can combine to be
come part of a nutritious
meal. Refrigerate, covered
with plastic wrap, and add
to a basic beef stew. It's al
most like getting a meal
"on the house."
' Smart homemakers are
praising the anti-fog feature
of Reynolds Plastic Wrap,
newly introduced by Rey
nolds Aluminum. It removes
the mystery from covered
bowls in the refrigerator.
Reynolds has been making
the same wrap for the food
service industry for the past
20 years.
BLACKSBURG, VA.
Dr. S. Dallas Sim
mons, president of Saint
Paul's College in
Lawrenceville, Virginia,
has been appointed to
the board of visitors of
The Virginia Polytechnic
Institute and State
University (VPIJ. The
4-year appointment was
announced by Gov.
Charles. Robb. .
The I4-member board '
of visitors is the govern
ing body bf VPI whiph
was founded in 1872 and
now has an enrolment
of 21,000 students.
Black Business Must Go
After Mainstream Money
By Donald Alderman
RALIEGH Reflec
ting the sluggish
American economy,
black business owners
watch the bottom line a
lot more closely today.
Many of them have
put expansion plans on a
back shelf, halted new
hiring for the moment
and some are even, laying'
people off. Most of them
also say they are; wat
ching costs a lot,, more
closely, and trimming
wherever they can.
In other words, black
businesses are being
rocked with the same
mainstream business
problems that other
firms are suffering.
Blacks who want to go
into business must have
an equally tough row!
Borrowing ' money
from banks and other
lending institutions is
often like trying to pull
hen's teeth. Investors are
scarce. But even when
these entreprenuers get
the start up capital they
need, they then must bat
tle with tradition to con
vince black arid white
consumers that the pro
ducts and services
marketed by black
business operators are of
high quality and com
petitively priced.
But that's not all.
Market development is
a rigorous task, and do
ing business with govern
ment and large corpora
tions is even harder.
In other words, black
businesses today suffer
with .
business
whether they operate in
: the mainstream or not.
And since that is true,
the question becomes
why not operate in the
mainstream. The pro
blem is how to best do
that?
About 300 black
business ' owners began
sorting through that
maze of problems and
questions last week, dur
ing a daylong confab at
: Raleigh's McKimmon
Center on the campus of
N.C. State University.
'The meeting was spon
sored by the N.C.
, Association of Minority
Business, an organiza
tion that has both
business memebers and
members that are
business organizations.
According to most of
the conferees, one of the
biggest problems plagu
ing black businesses is
mismanagement stemm
ing from a lack of ex
perience. The ,; conference's
primary focus was to
develop strategies
designed to alleviate
most business problems
and to draw closer ties
between the state's eight
black business leagues.
The delegates decided
that - the individual
leagues could best tackle
, business problems on the
association think they're
in a good position to
make state government
work better for black
businesses, especially
small contfactors. The
association attracted the
attention of Gov. Jim
Hunt and Secretary of
Commerce D.M.
Faircloth, both of whom
said they would support
the group's efforts.
But even with that
potential help, the
association must work to
get the house of black
business in order. .
Black business needs a
stronger capital base, ac
cording to Donald
Baker, art official with
the state's Minority
Business Development
Agency, which helped
tie' association get
started' about 18 months
ago. He says black
businesses need to pool
resources to start joint
ventures.
It is clear that better
communication and trust
between the state's black
businesses is necessary to
do that, but getting the
money poses another
problem.
Baker says black
business operators
should reorder- their
priorities.
"You know, hold off .
on the Mercedes and put ;
the money in a money
market," he suggests for
example. Most ways sug
gested were simple, but
conference organizers
conceded that a careless,
spendthrift attitude
mainstream represents a major
nrnhlems obstacle to black capital
, ... .
ucveiupiiiciii.
They pointed to the
$150 billion gross na
tional income of blacks,
noting that about $2
billion can be attributed
to black business
receipts.
economic concerns. But
many contend that the
perceived inferiority of
black businesses again
leads back to a lack of
experience and is a
perception that can be
corrected.
"All we're saying is
give us a chance," said
Larry Shaw of the
Fayetteville-based Shaw
Food Services. "We
have the ability and its a
matter of time now,"
suggesting that the black
entrepreneur is about to
enter a new booming era.
Julian Brown, a state
procurement specialist,
sees better communica
tion and information
sharing as the beginning
of that boom. In the con
struction industry, where
competition for large
government contracts is
heavy, he says, black
sub-contractors have
made gains.
Though bonding small
firms remains difficult,
he says small bonding
firms are cropping up
now making it less dif
ficult for small blact
sub-contractors to ge
more business.
A welcomed changi
from the past, Browi
says, black firms are get
ting more professional,
keeping up-to-date
iinancial and personnel
records, which is impor
tant for bonding, and us
ing information such as
market studies more.
"Its all about sharing
information, Brown
says. "You have to
throw yourself in that
environment. You have
to make contacts, par
ticipate in . social,
political and civic affairs."
And,
plied,
business
Speaker
as Brown, im
blacks need
exposure,
after sneaker
I he country is cased isaid it's incumbent upon
on money," Baker says, business oeprators to
"As long as blacks don't help young dreamers get
accumulate money, we started as well as
don't have a base." established businesses
But lack of capital banding together to spur
doesn't carry all the more economic develop
blame. ment in the black corn-
Off the record, some munity.
businessmen talked can- Mrs. Eva Clayton,
' didly about perc ,)tion who ' directs a Raleigh
.that black bus tesses consultant firm, agrees,
'market poor qual .y pro- "I think entrepreneurs
-ducts and servi es, the, banding together is going
poor competiti nature, to be the only vehicle to
of the business s and the allow us to accumulate
mixing of social and I capital."
Physical Fitness:
Profile Of Youth
American youngsters are the Amateur Athletic Un-
not as fit as they should be. Ion. is based on an analysis
flat tlta UAvrl iaI ama "
or exercise tests conducted
general and the minority local level, with the state
bus ness commun tv n w'ii
narticular.,raccordina to '. n advisory role.
Conaressman Mitchell. V .But
But
49ken,
this same i
That's the verdict of one
recent physical fitness study,
which reveals that only 43
percent of young people in
the United States can achieve
the physical fitness standards
that should be met by ..the
average healthy youngster.
, Happily, the study also
reveals what the average
youngster ; can do to. be
come more physically fit,
through basic exercising. ; '
The Fitness Profile of
American Youth, from Na
members
of the ' Br,nd, Inc-. "d
from 1979 to 198) among
more . than four million
Americans aged six through
17, as part of an ongoing
Physical Fitness Program.
; Each year, some four
. million boys and girls in
-more than 10,000. public
and private achoola take
part in the Program by per-1
forming a series of exercises
that includes distance runs,
sprints, long Jumps, high'
jumps, situpa, pushups and
pullups. , .