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1'^'|:^CAR0L1NA COLLECTION
^fuSON LIBRARY UNC-CH
CB 3^P°hILL NC 27599-3930
(-hapel hill
USPS 091-380
VOLUME
71 - NUMBER 21
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA — SATURDAY, MAY 29,1993
TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913
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New CCC Could Help
W^^jifrican American History
■ Black Saturn Employee Says
Combat Poverty
1 This Week
1 Carmaker Denied Him Promotions
Page 10
■ Page 4
( Page 9
^used Again
Denny’s Manager Fired
After Race Bias Complaint
By Connie Cass
WASHINGTON (AP)
)j„ny’s Inc., after firing the man-
iccr of a Maryland restaurant
rtcrc six black Secret Service of-
kcrs say they were denied break-
jsl,'promises to investigate their
oniplaint of racial bias.
The manager was fired Monday,
he same day the black officers
iled a lawsuit against Denny’s in
JS. District Court in Baltimore,
rtie Spartanburg, S.C.-based,
estaurant chain already faces a
awsuit in California based on
iimilar complaints from 32 black
lustomers.
The manager of Denny’s in An-
lapolis was fired for failing to in-
;orm his bosses about the officers’
lomplaint, said Coleman Sullivan,
(ice president of communications
or Denny’s parent company, TW
iervices of Spartanburg, S.C.
There are almost 1,500 Denny’s
irtoss the country.
The Annapolis restaurant’s staff
lOld company investigators the
rroblem was slow service, not dis-
irimination, Sullivan said. But the
lompany will seek an independent
investigation, possibly by, "a
[espected civil rights organization,"
K said.
"This whole thing is very painful
ind embarrassing to us," Sullivan
aid.
The six officers told a news con-
’crence they are convinced they are
(iclims of racism. They said the
ame waitress who would not bring
heir orders quickly delivered food
to white Secret Service officers sit
ing at other tables.
"This should not happen to any-
me," said Officer Robin D.
Thompson, one of the six. ”It felt as
T1 was less than the (white) people
ivho 1 had come with." The incident
tccurred April 1 — the same day
Denny’s settled a separate Justice
Department bias complaint in Cali
fornia by promising to enforce
company policies requiring equal
treatment of all customers regard
less of race.
Justice Department officials said
they have asked the company for an
explanation of the Annapolis inci
dent. It appears "to violate the letter
and spirit of the understanding" be
tween Denny’s and the department.
Acting Assistant Attorney General
James P. Turner said.
The six black men were part of a
group of 21 Secret Service officers
who stopped for a one-hour break
fast on their way to the Naval
Academy to screen people attend
ing a speech by President Clinton.
The entire group, all wearing
black uniforms, badges and guns,
entered the Denny’s together and
were seated about 7:30 a.m. at
several different tables in the same
section of the restaurant, the law
suit said. The six black men who
were not served sat together at one
table.
The same waitress took orders
from all 2l consecutively, and all
but the six black men at one table
were served within 10 minutes of
ordering, the fawsiiif said.
The six blacks still had not been
served when the entire group began
to leave about 8:25 a.m., although
they had complained to the waitress
three times, the lawsuit said. The
waitress then brought meals to
some of the six, but they had no
time to eat and left after complain
ing to the manager.
Officer Alfonso M. Dyson, one of
the six, noted that his father had a
similar experience with discrimina
tion at a restaurant 30 years ago.
"Times have changed, but appar
ently some things haven’t changed
with the times," he said.
C.B, NIXON. FIRST PRINCIPAL OF LITTLE RIVER SCHOOL,
GREETED SUNDAY BY AREA CITIZENS
See Story on Page 2.
First Female and African American
Ola Lewis Sworn In To Sit In
13th Judicial District Seat
When Invitations Came,
Marshall Was a
Great Dissenter
By Mike Feinsilber
WASHINGTON (AP) — ’When
you are a public figure, everybody
wants a piece of you. Nothing
shows that as well as the papers
Thurgood Marshall gave the Li
brary of Congress when he retired
from the Supreme Court in 1991.
Marshall’s secretaries apparently
filed everything that passed under
his hand or before his eyes during
his 24 years on the court.
They kept the great dissents and
strong opinions. And they kept an
accumulation of handwritten or
typed slips of paper used to pass
along requests for a moment of the
justice’s time.
They are in the collection of
173,000 items in the library’s new
Marshall collection.
When it came to accepting invita
tions, Marshall was a great dis
senter. He didn’t always, but he al
most always, said no.
^ Sometimes, he scrawled back:
No can do." One folder contained
telephoned requests from 1975
through 1977.
Would Justice Marshall attend a
luncheon given by Vice President
and Mrs. Walter Mondale in honor
of the Shah of Iran and his wife?
No.
Would he preside over a moot
oourt at the University of San
Kego? No.
Five high school juniors from
Texas were visiting. The chief Jus-
hoe had arranged for them to attend
s court session. Could they stop by
®d shake hands with Marshall?
No,
"A friend of Goody’s" (Mar
shall's son) would like to come by
®d say hello on Thursday.
No.
Joseph Albritton, then publisher
of the now defunct Washington
Star, sent word he "wants to meet
you and he thinks you will enjoy
knowing him." Marshall’s scrawled
reply: "Sorry, no can do." Would
Ntoshall wik across the street to
the Capitol for a reception by the
Botswana Embassy for Botswana’s
deputy speaker? No.
Would he give a radio interview
on the anniversary of the Brown vs.
Board of Education decision, the
case he argued as an NAACP law
yer, the case that ruled school
segregation unconstitutional? No.
Would he deliver the eulogy at
the memorial service for the late
liberal chief justice, Earl Warren?
No.
Would he preside over the induc
tion of a new judge and make a few
remarks? Marshall’s handwritten
reply: "No can do. No speeches,
etc." Even name dropping didn’t
help. A professor from the Univer
sity of France doing research on the
civil rights movement wanted to
come by . and "is making this re
quest at the encouragement of.
professor William Taylor of Catho
lic University." Marshall said no.
The outcome of some requests
was not indicated, and occasionally
Marshall did accept an invitation.
Three times, when the law clerks of
Justices William Brennan, Lewis
Powell and Harry Blackmun in
vited him to lunch, Marshall ac
cepted.
Marshall’s left-behind telephone
messages demonstrate the ” ume
of the demands that are put on pub
lic figures.
FAYETTEVILLE (AP) — Ola
Lewis always achieved early.
She graduated from high school
in Fayetteville at 16, and received
three promotions in less than three
months at her first job after college.
Now, Lewis, at the age of 27, is
the youngest sitting district judge in
North Carolina.
'Work hard, and be fair," Gov.
Jim Hunt told Lewis two weeks ago
when he summoned her to his
Raleigh office and appointed her to
the S63,864-a-year post.
Lewis was scheduled to take the
Lawyer Urges
Halt To
Disclosure of
Marshall’s Papers
By Harry F. Rosenthal
WASHINGTON (AP) — A law
yer for the widow of Supreme
Court Justice Thurgood Marshall
wants the Library of Congress to
halt public access to the late jurist's
papers, it was reported Tuesday.
William T. Coleman Jr. was
quoted in The Washington Post as
saying he was certain that Marshall,
who died last Jan. 24, would not
want his papers made public so
soon after his death and that the de
cision to do so was "irresponsible."
Library officials rejected that stand,
saying in a statement that Marshall
"clearly communicated to library
staff members on Oct. 7, 1991 his
intention that the papers be open
upon his death and confirmed this
intention in the instrument of gift
signed Oct. 24, 1991." Library
spokeswoman Jill Brett told the
Post there was no intention to close
to public view the 173,000 docu
ments Marshall amassed during his
24 years on the Supreme Court.
She said the staff was compiling all
of its documentation on the gift for
review by Librarian of Congress
James H. Billington, who had met
with Marshall in 1991.
The Post first reported on
materials in Marshall’s file in Sun
day editions.
Coleman contended that opening
Marshall’s files, which included
documents on internal court
deliberations as recently as 1991,
"is hurting the justice, hurting the
judicial system and hurting the
Supreme Court.”
judicial oath Monday, May 24, at
the Bladen County Courthouse in
Elizabethtown, The Charlotte Ob
server reported.
She will be the 13th District’s
only female judge, and only black
judge.
"Ola is dedicated to her profes
sion. She’s dependable. She’s a
champion of justice," said Jerry
Dove, a Brunswick County state
trooper who worked often with
Lewis in her former job as an as
sistant district attorney. "She is an
honest and fair person." Lewis en
visions herself with an opportunity
for greater impact on drunken
drivers and abusers of women and
children.
"By my verdicts, by my actions
or even through a, speech I may
make at a high school, if I can
make a difference in one person’s
life, then I can say, ‘Job well done.’
"Ola Mose-El Lewis grew up the
fifth and youngest child of Doris
and Mose Ixwis in Spring Lake, a
Fayetteville suburb. Her father was
a career soldier in the 82nd Air
borne at Fort Bragg and now is an
assistant Brunswick County
Schools superintendent; her mother
is the principal at South Harnett
Elementary.
An effervescent woman, slender,
with glasses trimmed in lavender,
Lewis formed her strong opinions
and confidence through prayer and
family, expecting as much of her
self as they did of her.
She graduated from high school
young, and after one miserable,
homesick semester at UNC-Chapel
Hill, she transferred home, to study
accounting at Fayetteville State
University.
"It was the greatest thing I ever
did," she said. "One thing black
colleges offer black students is that
they tell you how it is, how to get
along in this society, how to prog
ress in this society." While working
at NationsBank in Fayetteville after
college, she decided to get a
master’s degree. Her father and her
uncle, Jason Parker, a Hickory as
sistant district attorney, suggested
law school.
"I didn’t realize the power law
has," Lewis said. "Law changes
history. Someone said separate but
equal is not equal, and that’s why I
can be where I am today." During
law school, Lewis worked as a
clerk in House Speaker Dan Blue’s
Raleigh law firm. When she told
him she wanted to be an assistant
district attorney, he sent her off
with blessings, and recommenda
tions.
In Eastern North Carolina’s 13th
District — Bladen, Brunswick and
Columbus counties — Lewis for
two years prosecuted drunken
drivers, thieves, men who battered
women, mothers who abused their
children.
She was the only black practicing
lawyer in the district and, for a
while, the sole woman in the dis
trict attorney’s office.
"It was a lot of experience in a
very short period of time," she said.
She learned impromptu case
evaluation, how to interview wit
nesses and came to adore talking to
juries, keeping them involved
through body antics and the rise
and fall of her clear voice.
It was experience she’d need.
With three years Icii his term.
District Judge Jack Hooks was
leaving to replace a retiring supe
rior court judge. The district Bar
Association gathered to nominate
three candidates for Hunt to consid
er.
Of 82 votes cast in the Brunswick
County Courthouse on April 16,
Lewis won 77.
On May 6, Lewis interviewed
with the governor’s general
counsel, and, four days later, with
the governor himself.
Their meeting lasted 20 minutes.
Hunt asked for her views on crime
control, women and children issues.
Then he asked her to become a
judge.
Lewis wanted to shout. Instead,
she told the governor: "I’ve got a
grandmother who’s 102. She’s seen
a lot of things in her life, but this is
the first time she’s seen a judge in
her family." "Well, call your grand
mother first, then," Hunt said.
To take the bench immediately,
she was sworn in the next day with
little fanfare, in blue jeans. When
she ordered her robe — a 52-inch
crepe drape for $152.40 at S&J
Gospel Shop in downtown Fayet
teville — she couldn’t resist confid
ing to the salesclerks, "I am a
judge!" Although her official
swearing-in was scheduled Monday
morning, I-ewis took the bench last
Monday [May 17].
Federal
Prosecutor
Decides St^
Augustine’s
Did Not
Retaliate;
Will Appeal
Suit
RALEIGH (AP) — A federal
prosecutor has decided that Si,
Augustine’s College did not
retaliate against two students who
supported a white professor’s :Sue-
cessful race discrimination case
against the historically black
school.
Acting U.S. Attorney James Rq: s
Dedrick sent letters lo the schcxil
and the students saying tlje. evi
dence did not back up the allega
tions. The allegations were that stu
dents’ grades were lowered to pre
vent them from graduating dr ih.nt
senior Leslie Ross’ phone was
tapped by administrators. . -
"We’ve concluded that the allega
tions that were made were not sub
stantiated and we’re not going to
comment further about that,'
Dcdrick said. "There won’t be any
further investigation into the mat
ter." An attorney for St.
Augustine’s said the school ex
pected the decision.
"Wc arc not surprised with tiic
result of this investigation, but wc
are delighted with the .speed at
which the U.S. attorney reached
this conclusion," said Charles Fran
cis, the school’s new attorney. "*Vc
are confident we will be vindicated
in our other legal matters as well."
The school still faces a federal law
suit from a white professor, Tony
Solari. A political science profes
sor, Solari says he was fired be
cause of his race and because he'
supported another white, Allan
Cooper, in his successful d s-
crimination suit against the his’..Hi-
cally black school.
School officials also said last
Wednesday that they plan to^ppsal
the 5362,558 verdict UiafCOiTpcr
won in federal court. "
The U.S. attorney’s investigaiion
was prompted by RosiiS^ig-com
plained that her grade point average
fell from 3.9 to 2.2 shortly aftcoshc
testified on behalf of Cooper,
political science professor and-her
former faculty adviser.
Cooper sued the college for racial
discrimination after he was denied
tenure and later demoted.
According to a letter from
Dedrick, the investigation wa.s
called by U.S. Distfict Judge James
Fox, the presiding jutige in the
Cooper case. The probe began May
6, when FBI agents interviewed
Ross, fellow student Carlos Bates
and two others. -3 ^3
Chuck Richards, an FBI agent in
Charlotte, said everything the FBI
gathered was turned over lo the
U.S. Attorney’s Office.
"To my knowledge, as of Fridtty
of last week (May 14) there was no
federal violation," he said."To my
knowledge there was nothing of
prosecutive merit. That’s not to say
there couldn’t be in the future if
new information comes up.” Ross,
21, who hoped to go on to law
school after St. Augustine’s, cric4
when she heard the news.
"Oh, my God," she said in a
phone interview from her Hen
rietta, N.Y., home. "Ther6’'s no way
I’m going to accept this. I will Fight
them with my last breath." Rojs,
who expected to graduate at the (op
of her class, said the school acted
against its own policies when it
changed some of her grades from
incompletes to failing grades!
School officials said that Ross
and Bates failed to take final'exams
for unfinished course work ■within
deadlines, so the grades were auto
matically changed to failures;;