Black MwdiiMds mmt
By Joseph E. Green
Two members of the,
Durham Black , Mer-.
chants Association, again
blasted local police this
week for. in their words,:
"...beine unwilling " to
help us with the crime
problems we face.
Tee and Ralph
Williams, two of the
organizers of the recently
frtritiwl '' erouo ; . and
owners of a retail.
business on Fayetteville
Street, said they have
been meeting with
Durham Public Safety.
Director Talmadge
Lassiter since. 1978 about
the problems of illegal;
drug sales, loitering and''
theft in and around the
business, but the "seems
not to he concerned."
"The only waytnai we
,are going to get any
.chanse in thisrity is if we
have a blaclc public safe
ty director," said Ralph;
Williams. "Lassiter
knows what's going on.
.but he is, simply not in
terested"' Williams add-,
ed. , ,
i Lassiter could not be
'reached for comment.
Rprpntlv. the director
- and two of his aides met
(with a group ot black
merchants. "He was
'supposed to have more
I police cars patrolling our
shopping area," Mrs.
Williams said, "but 1
have not seen a single
one since we last met
with him. I think that its
just a lot of talk."
"Lassiter knows that
we have problems in tnis
area," said Ralph
Williams, "but he is j
more concerned with the'
safety of white mer-,
chants than the satety of.
blacks in this area. Wei
have senior citizens who'
are afraid to walk on'
Fayetteville Street and
Lassiter tells, us. that hei
has been in the area and,
did not see any major
, problems L; ; '
Both of the Williamses
charged that there, are
local law enforcement
officials who stand out ,
, in front of public
establishments drinking
liquor with young men.
"They do not do it in
their uniforms, but
everybody knows who
"they are: "ft people see
' - 'f J v -.'3t-
that law entorcemem wi
"ficials are breakingjhc
law, then they liave np
respect ,forv ,jt
themselves." . '
J- Recently, the' black
merchants went before
the city council, asking
that an ordinance that
would prohibit loitering
in front of their places of
business be enfotecL
ine city council referred
Jhe ..merrhanls to ih
epartment of public
safety. - . ' ";V
! Public safety officials
gave the merchants a:.
;new set of forms to fiU
! out. "We are getting: the''
classic run-arotfnd front
ijthe city," Mrs. Williams
' said, and "quite frankly!
, we are getting very tired
of it-" -'
Central's Chancellor
Selection Process Moves Oiv
FMSce ooo Agaimi
'-')M " " 'j ' '
By Donald Alderman
i A small, but potential
ly divisive ' argument
ibrews on the campus of
NCCU over the way a
i new. chancellor is being
selected for the universi
ty. ''-'
( NCCU Chancellor;
Albert N. Whiting retires
iJune 30 as head of the
I nrrHrtminarrtlv hlaek
university that is part of
the statewide university
system. Centrar has
about 5,000 students. v
A' IZ-m'eriAei?
liiauiciiui otai 1,11 vuiii7
mittee has Interviewed
mdre than 100 can-!
didates for the job, and
has narrowed, the select
'tion down to fourj
finalisK.
The search Committee
is the focus of . the
arguments on camous.
A hnont1v th hoartl
1 of the argument is will
illV , t7.ir.nv. f ' v
result in a chancellor
who will be sensitive to
Central's traditional mis
sion as a black college,
or with an administrator
who will march blindly
!to the tune of the UNC
General Administration
state university system, j
i "You're, dealing withj
a statute," Friday said,j
i'the Reorganizatiortall
Act of 1972, and the IaW,
;says the board 0f trustees;
'(wilf submit two names to!
i my office and I can;
ichdose to. report that to,
i the board of governors
lThe board of governors!
then must select one of
those persons as(
chancellor."" ,
Friday further explain
ed that under the law;
Vfchly Tie tiaf the power to
reject candidates for .the.
chancellor's post; recam
; mended by the local
board of trustees. ,
, So the argument on
Central's campus ap
pears to serve little pur
pose because it will flot
affect the cnancenor
selection process.
The argument rages
nevertheless and it is
.producing some in
teresting sidelights. For
example:
v Last week in
Faculty Senate,
55-member body
(represents all of
the
a
that
the
.departments on campus.
'one representative pro
posed that the Senate go
on record requesting the
right to meet, interview,
accept or reject any of
I the four finalists for the
chancellor's job.
The same critics also
! proposed that the Senate i
i establish new criteria for
the chancellor finalists
'and examine them in the
light of the new stan-
. dards.
v ' According to Dr.
Sanders, those nrODOsaK
igot-onty-twootes eachis
. the person who'madt
j the motion and the per
il son who seconded it,'
But the anonymous
I, administrator . says the j
j motions passed.
11 Minutes of the
meeting could solve that
little disagreement, but I
Dr. Sanders . said they .
i couldn't be released:
publicly until they were !
released to faculty i
members, about three J
; weeks from now. j
The critics also say
that the chancellor pro-:
cess , has been tooj
secretive and that more
people should have had a
chance to question in
procedure.
Clearly upset over.thaf '
charge, Holloway said: ,
; "We've leaned over
backwards to give
everyone a chance to .
have input into the pro
cess." He pointed to a public
hearing held in the Spr
ing, and other meetings
that the Search Commit
tee has had with in
terested i parties and
organizations. . .
And so while -the aR
...ment rages, the process
marches on. One of the
finalists for . the
: chancellor's .slot visited
the campus last week,
met with the faculty and
other officials.
The other finalists will
visit Central in coming
weeks. Sometime around
j December, the Search
Committee will send twe
'names, to Friday, a,n(
shortly after the first o
the year, Central shouh
ihave a new chancellc
(who will begin wor
'around July 1.
SISTFR "T WILLIAMS a local merchant, blasts Durham police for what she calls insufficient protection" in the
black community. us
County Commission Race:
An Opportunity or Bombshell
For The Black Community
that runs the statewide
University system?
Chief critics of the
process are a small group
of faculty members, in-
AArn rt'no hioh-rank ino
administration official
who asked not to be
, identified. He says eight
.out , of ten faculty
members on campus are
dissatisfied with the pro
cess. He, however, refus
ed t6pjvethefigures.
"me critics .seem to
think the present process
will not produce a
"chancellor sensitive to
the school's mission.
On the other side of
the argument is Hilliary '
Holloway, chairman of,
ithe Chancellor Search
Committee, as well as
ichairman of the universi
ty's board of trustees...
!He calls the critics
!"cheap talkers who want,
,to hold a candle on
knowledge." . ,
"The search commit
tee is capable of doing its
own' thinking-,""
Holloway said in
, response to , questions
about the, disgruntle
ment. "We're not going,
to be browbeaten into
selecting someone that
the committee doesn't
think is the best person !
to lead the school." ,
Caught somewhere in ,
' the middle of all this is
Dr. Authrell Sanders,
chairman of the Faculty;
Senate, where much of
this argument" surfaced
last week. :
But looming in the'
background of the, argu
ment, actually holding
,most of the cards, is ur
William Friday, presi
'dent of the 16-campus
Committee Closes Portion
Of Meeting To Reporter
By Donald Alderman ' -' -Durham's
oldest aftd
generally most respected,
black organization
The Durham Committee,
on the Affairs of Black,
People closed a por-
tion of ' its regular!
meeting last week to a.
reporter, . though the!
organization meets in aj.
public facility. i
A Durham City Coun-r
cilman, Maceo Sloanj
and an appointed public
official, John Edwards;
' both voted to dose that ;
portion of the meeting, a
clear violation of public!
policy.
The organization,
which holds its regular,)
twice monthly meetings:
in the basement of the;;
Stanford L. Warren'
Library, voted nearly!
unanimously to oust:
Donald Alderman from
the final portion of its ;
meeting.
- Alderman is a writer
for The Carolina Times. ,
1 1 According to Ms. Dale
Gaddis, director of the
' Durham County Library
system, this vote violates
the library's policy
governing , the use of its
meeting rooms. Stanford,,
L. Warren is a branch,
'library of the " county
'library system.
According to Willie .
Lovett, chairman of the:
Durham Committee, in
an interview Monday,;
the group's intent wasj
not necessarily to oust i
'Alderman from the
meeting; but to insure
that the issue about to be
discussed would not be;
reported in the
.newspaper.
i The issue coming up
"for discussion, according
to Lovett, was a pro-,
posal for the Committee"
to- endorse the write-in;
campaign . for H.M.
"Mickey" Michaux. The
: political sub-committee
f recently, voted for the se-.
cond time to recommend!
endorsement of the
write-in,. !
"At a previous
meeting where this issue
had been discussed, there;
was a feeling that some
things said there should;
not have been in the!
paper," Lovett said,
"and when it was time
for this issue to come up
again, some people
became very sensitive
about Mr. Alderman's
presence."
Here is how the ouster
developed.
; Fot.more than a hour
last Thursday night, the
: meeting proceeded as
usual, , with ? - sub
committee reports and.
nothing controversial be j
ing discussed. Reports -included""
discussions on
economics, "health,: civic
affairs- and so on. : '
Then, just before tne
Political Sub-Committee
made its report the
last report scheduled for
;!the meeting John ba
! wards, a state govern
ment employee, rose and
took exception to the
reporter's presence.
This sparked a 30- to
45-minute debate, en-
dihg in the vote to oust
the reporter.
I Here's how the debate
went.
Edwards said the
reporter should say he.
icame as a private citizen;,,.
!or as a reporter with the'
intentions of writing a
story. Edwards added;
3hat if ; the reporter .
! wouldn't state his pur-i
pose in attending the'
.meeting, then the com
imittee should vote to en-?
'force its policy of "not; '
allowing reporters ; (i n
Durham Committee
meetings who write
what is going on down1
here in the paper." 1
; "I've been reading too
much of what goes on
down here in The
Carolina Times, Ed
Awards saidj and, we;
; need to decide whether
'we're going to enforce
.the policy." ,
. The reporter attemp
ted to make it clear tnat
his purpose in attending
the meeting would de
! pend on what is about to
rbe discussed, noting that
Cup to that point, nothing;
newsworthy had been
discussed.
! But Edwards, joined
by City Councilman
"(Continued On P.age 3),
t , . y Joseph K. CJreen
iThe Durham Committee faces a golden oppor
tunity or a political bombshell next, week when it
meets to endorse candidates for the coming general
election.
The question is simple: Should the Committee en-
lui.-'.' i .' r-i c.rt14;ft AVllliam XXfW otH Mrs
r Becky , Berorv for: seats on' the " Dtfrham County
Commission t
Mrs. Spaulding and Bell are black and in
cumbents.: Mrs. Heron is white, making her second
id for a seat on the county board.
. The answer to that question, though, is anything
1 but simple.,
i If the Committee that routinely delivers 95 per
cent or more, of the black vote to endorsed can
didates, doeV not endorse Mrs. Heron, they risk ,
losing a candidate perceived to be favorable to
issues of vital importance to the black community.
Mrs. Heron has said, for example, that she favors a
county; government affirmative action plan, an
issue that has always been defeated by the Commis
sion. However, if the Committee endorses Mrs.
Heron, along with Mrs. Spaulding and Bell, they
risk losing a sure champion Bell and winding
up with a probable one Mrs. Heron.
Here's the problem.
There are six candidates running for five seats on
, the County commission in the November 2 elections.
In addition to Mrs. Spaulding, Mrs. Heron and
Belt, the candidates are incumbents Dillard Teer
and Edwin Clements and newcomer Paul T. Nance.
'Nance is the only Republican among the pack. The
five top vote getters will get the seats.
The Committee will endorse Mrs. Spaulding and
Bell, largely because they usually endorse black can
didates, and because both commissioners have serv
ed the community well, at least in principle.
But, on many issues of importance to the black
community specifically, Mrs. Spaulding and Bell
have been less than effective because Clement, Teer
and th,e' retiring Howard Easley usually voted
together, pounding these issues into defeat.
Thus the black community has grown tired of a
string of 3-2 votes, with the black community
always on me mioii cnu oi me mick.
Mrs. Heron is seen as a way to correct that im
balance, even giving the black community an edge, .
with Mrs. Heron voting more often with Mrs.
Spaulding and Bell than with Teer ahd Clement.
At least that's the way many people in the black
' . community see the scenario.
.. i' -i,., W'lwi. Mkc Heron ,
But tne prooiciii i i ev
elected.
The fear is that if the Committee does not en
dorse Mrs. Heron, Nance could be elected, because
apparently many whites don't want the voting
balance to change. , ,
But by the same token, if the Committee endorses
Mrs. Heron, an unprecedented triple endorsement,
then Bell, according to several Committee insiders, j
becomes vulnerable to the vote count.
"It's going to be kind of tough," said one source
close to the Committee who asked not to be iden
tified. "We have not made such an endorsement,
and it is for obvious reasons." f .
But there is sentiment on the Committee for the
triple endorsement. . , .
"I think that it is time that we take the risk and
make a triple endorsement," said another Commit
tee member who, too, asked for anonymity. We
cannot afford to play it coy forever." j
None of the oldtimers can remember the Com- ,
mittee making a triple endorsement. It was heavily
considered during the primary, election, but the;
traditionalists argued that only Mrs, Spaulding and .
Belt should be endorsed, while others wanted a
break with tradition.
The traditionalists won. ,
Again the real fear is about Bell's seat. Mrs.
Spaulding, who has strong support in the white and ;
black community, will probably lead the ticket, as
she did in the June primary. The two white can
didates, Teer and Clement, will probably come in
second and third, with strong white support. And
the real fight will be between Bell, Mrs. Heron and
Thus, the Committee's dilemma. Endorse Mrs.
Heron with a possibility of losing Belt. It is a black
politiciars nightmare. Jhe numbers game at its
very best .
L4
Today's Woman Awardees
In lhB cancludina activity of its Second Annual Meeting and Anniversary here Sunday, .tin Today's Woman Qrganlza
- in tne conciua nj aivny m tne Year" citations. The presentations were made following wor-
tion pram ed rtr J?K ChS. Photos show Ms. Pat Rogers (left), community
Lh?rM?.St f3rs J B iffi StSI t SJuffivim presenting citation to Mrs" Vivian A. Edmonds
SASILS SXX!l3ifc m -Mrt-ConstanM Sartor w w mmb'
I ship spans allege, professional and social levels. ;