- rTTi ihrarv
Duke unwB.
Nespa
OCT 8
1981.',
' : Our Community ; . s
TAi uw we conclude our in-depth look at
the state of Durham s black community with an
analysis of our findings. Problems are many, .
but the situation is by no means hopeless.; If this,
treatise prompts actions to improve our condi
tion, then our efforts to put the problems in
perspective will bear positive fruit. ..ti v
Erf
finrjn nit ij
" - ' ' (USPS O91-380) s' '
' Words Of Wisdom (
We mart take lift t we find it tad Improve ,
it ts we cm. . " ' - v v
Lloyd GarrisoB
' '' i4AAA'':'
When you're through changing joo're,
through. v - '. ,'
diaries R. W iers
VOLUME 60 - NUMBER 40
Durham, north. Carolina Saturday, October 9, 1982
TELEPHONE. Is 1 9) 682-2913
PRICE: 33 CENTS
, Third Jssue In A Series of Three
The fiai Off Tie
Blaick CdDmmeiniity
A Change In Attitude Needed
For Success In Black Community
Analysis
ft
1 1
,;lV--,pcr category and then let's take a step-toy'-step look v
By Milton Jordan
Executive Editor
There's nothing wrong With, the Durham Black
Community that a change in attitude and approach
won't cure. , ; "
, Most of the prbbjerhs 'Uncovered in The Carolina
Times' exhaustive in-depth look at the state of the
black community 1982 fall in three basic categories.
The Categories are human' nature, background and
environment, and conditioned perspective, ,!
More than two months of research and interviews ,
with more than 100 local blacks revealed quite an
array of problems, ranging from ,a gigantic com
munications gap between young; and older blacks,
and philosophical ; differences between various .
black organizations, to ever-frequent clashes bet
ween the larger , black community and te
underground: segment. Other problems; include
those that crop up in personal relationships, the
breakdown." in the black familya.that mirror .a
similar breakdown, society-wide; "as well as crirjie
and prison, twin evils that often rob the black com
munity of some of its youngest and brightest ,
The first question, we all face is can these pro-;
blems be Overcomei and if they carl; how? r :
The answer is actually a yery .shaky 'maybe', not
because the problems ' haveino; solutions, but
primarily because the solutions jequire art incredi- '
ble amount of work', sacrifice and commitment .
But first, let's recite some of the major problems ;.
K pur research uncovered and put them in their pror
people from being selfish. A greedy person (and we
all are) cannot stop others from being grtedy- ; '
Thus, to create action in the black community,;
self-interest must' be pampered and preened. Pro-,
posals, ideas and projects must be couched in terms
and objectives that the individual can translate into
self-consumable, benefits.
For example, if residents of subsidized housing
wish ;to make any significant impact on the. pro
blems they're facing, they must solicit allies from a
perspective of the allies' self-interest, not the in
terest of the tenants onlv. i
Background and Environment
The second category is background and environ
ment. To a great extent, the problems that fall
naturally in this category also have little to do with
race.- '. - , .
Some of the clearest examples of the ravaging ef-
; fects of background and environment are found in
Durham's underground black . community, where
many blacks, Victimized by lousy backgrounds and
counterproductive environments!, languish with" a
completely negative outlook on life 4
Many of the interpersonal problems in the black
community also often grow from the individual's
backgrpund and environment.
For example, it is extremely difficult for black
men who did not grow up under the careful
guidance of a , strong, ; loving father o ; become
. strong, loving fathers. It is difficult for a black man
who has seen very few examples of good husbands ,
to be a good husband. And it is even more difficult
for blacks whose environment taught them negative
Four Left In
Search For
Chancellor
- - By Donald Alderman
,i Her chance of being
the,first woman to head
North Carolina Central
"f University was one in
five, but a source close to
, the- situation told The
- Carolina Times this week
that Dr. Gloria Randle
V Scott withdrew her'
name, leaving four black
' males in the race ; to
-f, beCome Central's fifth .
j chief administrator. '
I ' Dr. Scott, 44, was the
first black woman to
head Girl Scouts USA.
She couldn't be reached
for comment. '
The source also iden
tified the remaining four!
candidates under ' con
sideration to succeed Dr. 1
Albert N. Whiting when
. he retires June 30. 1983
after 1 6 years ai chief administrator-
of the
historically black institu-'
" tion.
-A search committee
appointed by Central's
Board of Trustees, had
earlier narrowed the list
to five out of about 150
who applied or were.
' nominated for the posi-
tion.
i Hilliary Holloway,
chairman of both the
search committee and
board of trustees, in an
earlier interview said two
names will be submitted ,
t ' y .jJIfl -ft,,, i -t-im ri L-
Married 64 Years
Mr. and Mrs. W.L. Watson of 411 West Cecil Street, Durham, have livec
their marriage vows for 64 years. Married October 6, 1918, they say their life
style has been that of trying to live by Christian principles. The Watsons are
members of Fisher Memorial United Holy Church where he serves as a deacon
and she servos as member of the Senior Choir.
Warren Massenburg Named
Times Advertising Director
r't
T" wnere ine i
, C. Warren ; Massen
burg, a well-known
young Durham resident
and businessman, has
been named to the post
of Advertising Director
of The Carolina Times.
He officially assumed
responsibility for adver
tising sales and promo
tions on Monday, Oc
tober 4.
"The position had
really been vacant since
the untimely death of
our veteran advertising,
manager, Mr. J. Elwood '
Carter on March 1 of
this year, and most ac
counts had been serviced
MASSKNBURd
His experiences also
include free lance writing
and (photography with
various newspapers in
cluding The Carolinian,
The Carolina Times, the"
News and Observer, Pitt
sburgh Courier, Knox
ville News Sentinel and
.he New York Times.
Massenburg has pro
vided public relations on
a consultant basis for
many national persons
including Alex Haley,
Muhammad ' Ali, Mrs.
Rosa Parks, Con
gresswoman , Shirley
Chisholm and others.
.The . recinient-, .-.-of-
!. - Human Nature t
The first Category is Human Nature.
In this category, we find greed,' irresponsibility,
selfishness, ego-tripping; prejudice, violence and in
fidelity. These are problems that Jave nothing to do
with race. They are endemic to human beings.
Generally speaking, neither background, environ-,
ment nor education have much, if any. significant
effect on the problems of human natures v ,
' In far too many instances, our research found
blacks unable to separate human 'nature problems
from the unique and often mind-boggling ex
periences of being black in America. .
i For example, almosf ail black leaders call for uni-'
ty among black people, but they seek a type of unity
that ignores the natural tendency jn human beings
to be irresponsible, selfish and greedy. ,
A good example of how ineffectively Durham's
black community ddals with, fhe.'fe human nature
issues is the argument between neighborhood level
leaders1 and so-called black' community leaders.
The neighborhood leaders some of whom live in
subsidized housing? 'say; the so-called black com
munitylcadcrship remains insensitive lo the day-today,
nitty gritty problems that plague the black
community at the neighborhood level.
: On the other hand, the so-called black communi
ty leaders contend jhat the neighborhood groups do
not operate .with the proper amount of. political
.sophHUcatior5:;;''' ;..:.,'." ;7V ,
But in a real way, both sides draw the wrong epji-'
elusions about each other, because they're discuss
ing the wrong problems. ? :
Self-interest motivates unity more than anything
else. That's human nature. That's the factor often
overlooked by local blacks in this discussion on how
to prioritize interests; and-concerns in the black
community, , - ' ' . ' " .
V We can't change human nature. In other words, a
selfish pefson (and we all arc) cannot stop other
will be made., :
He also saicf a can
didate, will be in Durham
October 15 to meet the
faculty,' students and
community citizens, and
each candidate will come
weekends
in-
Conditioned Perspective
And that brings us to the third category: Condi
tioned Perspective. Here race is the major issue.
Products of a racist society, with racism defined
as the systematic denial of basic human rights and
privileges, far too many blacks have internalized the
belief that nothing good can happen for blacks in
this community unless it comes throueh the
Yariiatna rtf uliie Sri rriie tftinmiinitv '. ,'.' Qti SUCCeSSIVe
While that is just so much poppycock iever1 i nfJ ,
tholocc thA narr-vntinn trim nnnA'ttinnfA nArenfV. ' Brief descriptions
LIIVVi1 llV pVIVVLllVII IIIV VVHVIIIVI1VW .pl ))'VV 4 ' j. .
tive, if you will short-circuits many of the black , J.cate that all of the can
community's progressive dreams. - - Spates are graduates of
; Consider, for example, success in biisinessWhy : noricaiiy black
; ran't w HdVotAn 'i fnr.ro maincfroam cniAccfill SCnOOlS, h3Ve eXtCnSlVC
Primarilv because we don't believe we can. a belief eacr"n?
produced by more than two centuries oft racism
which told us we couldn't. And because we don't
believe we can, we develop' logical sounding
justifications for why we don't set out with that in
tent. And when we don't! develop ' successful
businesses, we offer that as proof of (he original
premise that we couldn't. tf;','
But somehow, all of this has foBiahge. Change,
however, begins with individuals.
One of the basic mistakes made by blacks in
Durham and' elsewhere in t-Ws Country is the belief
f that you can take-a group of blacks saddled with
problems of human nature background . and en
vironment, as well as conditioned perspectives, and
form an organization that will accomplish pro
gressive goals. ; , .
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Progressive action begins with the individual.
Contrary to popular opinion, success which is
really the bottom line goal inny discussion on the
state of the black community is determined by a
.set of irrevocable principles that work equally well
for anyone who uses them correctly.
(Continued on Page 7)
Av. Kenneths-EdmndsmiH.anv anH hew loait.: '-.."" rccipicnv. ..-ut
finaf 'decisr6n"enet anl$
Campus Hill Residents Say
Their Fight Isn't Over
By Isaiah Singletary council decided to rezonc
Residents of the Cam- the area to make this
pusHill community say possible. So now, we
they lost the battle to want Mr. Blackwood to
keep a store, from being feel the brunt of what the
built on the fringes of citv council did."
their community, but the
fight isn't over yet. They
decided at the September
meeting of the communi
ty council to launch a
selective buying cam
paign against the Buy
Quick Food . .Mart
located at the intersec
tion of Alston Avenue
' and N.C. 55.' Ht j
"We decided in a
unanimous vote," said
Thomas Davis, president
of, the . Campus Hill
Community Council,
'to launch a selective
The idea to construct
the store firet came up
about two years ago, and
was opposed from the
beginning, according to
residents of the area. At
two subsequent hearings
; held in at .City Hall,
residents of the Campus
Hill and Cecil Street
communities , 7 . 't and
members, of the NCCU
facultypacked the coun
yl chambers to ask the
council to deny v the
rezoning request. The
store, they said, would
cil did not buy their
arguments. And in a 7-6
vote, the entrepreneur,
John Blackwood, was
, given the O.K. to build
his store. ,
: So the store was built
and was opened for
business at the end of
August.
The community,
however, continued its
protests. Residents even
hinted, about a month
ago, that , they might
resort to a boycott. '
I The store owner who,
along with other
businessmen,1 ' operates
several other , conve
nience stores around the
city, said he was not wor-,
nea about the Drosncct
buying campaign against have' a negative impact of community boycott
ii. v o,v.v .-,, : uiuii 1 1 upon incir community, v ' wumnj,
want the area to become But when the vote was I "They can do what
commercialized in the called, it was evident that tr,ey want to, do"'
first place, but the city the majority of the coun- B,ackwod said of the
-:njmfpv y. vvi.a. ; ;-e'.w . ,V4,V' : ...f jv.'-V'1 ''''?'
suggested ' ' economic
sanctions, "but. as far as
" I'm concerned, there's
just a few hotheads who
want to boycott the
store. The people in the
area said they wanted a
store. And this store has
done- more business in
the first few days than
any store we've ever
opened." - '
But the residentssay
that, as an ' "absentee
landlord V Blackwood's
interest is to exploit the
people Of the area by br
; inging them higher pric
ed merchandiseHe, like
other,; Vprofiteers' they
say, care more about
financial gain than about
the welfare of the people
in the community. And
if they have anything to
do with it, he will not be
able to. drain the
(Continued On Page 3)
administrative and
experience at
black and white univer
sities, and range in age
from 38 to 51.
Efforts to reach the
candidates were unsuc
cessful, but brief infor7
matjon on the candidates
was gathered from the
source and Who 's Who
Among Black
Americans.
Wright I.. Lassiter,
Jr., 48, currently presi
dent of Schenectady
County Community Col
lege in Schenectady New
York. The community
college; is a part of the
statewide university
system and has about
3.000 full- and part-time
students, '
I. as4iter worked as an
accountant at Hampton
Institute , and Tuskcgcc
Institute in hc late 50's.
In 1962, he was a
research assikiatc at In
diana university and in
the late 70's was Morgan
Si at c's ( Ball imore, Md .)
vice ; prcsidenl for
business and finance. .
He received his
bachelor's degree, from
Alcorn State University
in 1955. -hi4;, master's in
business administration .
from Indiana University
in 1962. and his doc
torate in education from
Auburn University in
1975. .
I. assiter is married lo
the former Ms. Bessie
Ryan. They have two
children. Michcle and
Wright I. assiter. III.
' Carl Harris Mar
bury, 47. dean of faculty
and divisional vice presi
dent of the Garrcii
Evangelical Theological
Scminay in Evanston,
Illinois!' A school
spokesman said he is cur
rently on a one-year sab
batical leave.
Marbury served as an
(Continued On Page 3
sales representative of
the newspaper, on an in
terim basis," explained
Mrs. Vivian A. Ed
monds, editor and
, publisher. "We are
simply delighted to have
Mr. Massenburg join our
firm as we embark on
what we believe to be a
most exciting stage in the
growth and direction of
this newspaper. He br
ings to the position ex
perience, expertise, en-
iniiifi:,(:nn nooors. Mas sen Dure is
Massenburg was most ,'s,ed
recently Director of Among Black Americans
Operations " for ,' WSRH ?"!: Qutstandma. Young
Zadir, in niirham a nmi Men of America. He has
he had held since 1978.
He has served as afitcior
of public relations at
Shaw University, Knox
ville College and
Durham College. He has
also worked for WHNC
and - WLLE radio sta
tions in news and public
affai"
received awards from the
U.S. Department of
Agriculture, City of
Durham, Duke Universi
ty and others.
Massenburg and his
wife. Mrs. Kaihy M.
Massenburg, arc the
parents - ' of two
dauehters.
Robbed. . . Blemished. . . Embarrassed
...Facing Jail Terms
A Sad Situation
Everybody Lost
By Joseph K. (ireen
The young Winston boy had
come into McLaughlin's Medical
' Arts Pharmacy many times with his
mother to purchase medicine that he
needed for his sickle cell disease.
One day, not so long ago, he and
his mother walked into the drug
store on Fayetteville Street and ask
ed William McLaughlin, the owner,
to fill his prescription.
McLaughlin told them that he
could not fill it. Some burglars,
under the cover of darkness, had
broken into the store the week
before, taking nearly $4,000 in mer
chandise. Among the things they
took, was the "sickle cell drug.
. So, that day, young Winston and
his mother had to go to another
pharmacy to have the prescription
filled.
r ; The .next time that McLaughlin
saw young Winston was in Durham
County District Court where the
youngster and two other young men
are being tried for committing the
burglary.
Now young Winston, age 16, has
turned state's witness and has
agreed to testify against his two
older co-culprits. According to him,
he was just the lookout for the
others who entered the store.
."Here is a boy who lived in the
neighborhood," McLaughlin said,
as he talked about the burglary in
the living room of his home. "I fill
ed out his prescription and he
breaks into my place. I just don't
understand it.."
Young Winston may never have
been caught. During the burglary,
: two of his friends rushed through
the store, taking drugs, money,
. cigarettes and beer. One "unfor
tunate" burglar dropped a small
ug near, the rcgisier and aiu 1101
bother to pick it up or did not know
that he had dropped it.
"When the police came to in
vestigate1; the burglary,'! showed
them a b"ag that was laying on the
floor near the - cash register."
McLaughlin said. "Written on it
was the name 'Winston'."
Suspicious, the police went to ihc
home of some young boys and told
them. that they had found their bag
in a place that had been robbed.
Young Winston, who was question
ed by police, denied that he had
anything to do with the incident.
When told by the police that they
had taken finger prints and that
burelary was a serious crime, he
cracked. telling the . police '
everything that they wanted to
know. . " '
Once young Winston's mother
learned of her son's involvement,
she apologized to McLaughlin for
her son's behavior. Shortly
thereafter she and her son moved
out of the neighborhood where the
pharmacy is located.
"He never asked me for a job,"
said McLaughlin, who employs
numerous school age young people
at his business. If he had ever asked
me for one, 1 might have hired
" him." -
"Now took at the situation that
we hae. His life is blemished, his
mother is embarrassed and his
friends face possible jail terms. It
makes you sick to think abouf it,"
McLaughlin said.
' "It really is shame,' said Mrs.
Mozella McLaughlin ; William
McLaughlin's mother. "I don't,
think that the police would ever
- have caught them if someone had
not dropped that ba."