Newspapers / The Carolina Times (Durham, … / Jan. 29, 1994, edition 1 / Page 19
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Blacks Criticize White Leadership Of Excavation CHA^OTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - Black archaeologists and historians are criti cizing plans by the University of Virginia to allow white archaeologists to excavate the 19th-century property of a free black family. Drake Patten, a doctoral candidate and archaeologist who is white, hopes to in volve students and local residents in a field study and class at the Foster family property this summer. ^ The class would focus on basic archaeology, identification and research of the Foster family and property, which was purchased in 1833 by family matriarch Catherine Foster. Researchers have agreed not to disturb 12 graves uncovered last summer on the one-acre site as the university prepared the land for a parking lot Although acknowledging that there are few blacks in the field of archaeology Michael L. Blakey, director of the African burial ground project at Howard Univer sity, said he has misgivings about the proposed field study and the so-far all-white team that would conduct it. The study, he said, needs a black perspective. "It sounds like a superficial offering," said Blakey, who is doing research on remains from a burial ground discovered in New York in 1991. "They need a broader historic context to understand the woman and her family." Ms. Patten said she is saddened, but not surprised, by the negative reaction. "It reflects the very divisions we think we’re trying to deal with here," she said, Barbara Walker, president of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical As sociation in Washington, agreed that the project needs more black participation "It would be good if an African-American did it because he or she could bring to the project a little better knowledge. A lot of it comes from our traditions that are not written down," Ms. Walker said. Jeffrey Hantman, head of the university’s anthropology department, said Ms. Pat ten is "uniquely qualified" to head the dig, although he said he has sought input from several black faculty members in other aspects of the project. ' Ms. Patten holds two master s degrees, has worked as an artifact researcher at Monticello and specializes in black history. Hantman said historians so far have been unsuccessful in tracking down descen dants of Catherine Foster, a mulatto woman who apparently worked at the univer sity as a seamstress or laundress. Researchers believe the Foster property lies in what may have been a neighbor hood of skilled free black workers, but they say little is known about the pre-Civil War community. Site of Civil Rights Sit-In, Greensboro Woolworth’s Closes GREENSBORO (AP) - All sales were final on the final day of selling at the his toric Woolworth store in downtown Greensboro. The site of a civil rights sit-in by four black college students in 1960 was scheduled to close its doors to business last Saturday at 5 p.m. On Friday, however, very few items were left to sell. There were rolls of fac simile paper, costume jewelry, Hal loween costumes for children, T-shirts and lots of greeting cards. The store is one of more than 700 in the United States and Canada that F.W. Woolworth Corp. is closing as a cost cutting measure. The Greensboro lunch counter sit-in spawned other such nonviolent demonstrations at counters throughout the country. The Greensboro lunch counter closed for seivice late last year. Unlike other stores set for closing, however, the Greensboro location has a future. The store will be renovated and turned into a civil-rights museum that will include a working lunch counter and a bookstore. A group heading the project says it needs to raise at least $3 millior to open and run the museum. Bill Cosby Pledges To Do Benefit Concert For Bennett College GREENSBORO (AP) - Bennett Col lege President Gloria Scott had been trying to reach Bill Cosby for seven years, hoping to persilaae the comedian to donate money to her school. Friday night at Greensboro Coliseum, Scott had a captive audience. Scott was among the first of about 30 dignitaries who visited the 56-year-old entertainer in his dressing room before his performance. By the time she left, she had secured Cosby’s promise to do a benefit concert to raise money for a literacy-and-educationi program at Ben SATURDAY, JANUARY 29, 1994-THE CAROLINA TIMES-3 African American History January 29 1926 - Violette Neatly Anderson became the first African American woman lawyer to practice before the United States Supreme Court. U S^slnate"*^'^ Young’s appointment to the United Nations confirmed by the January 30 1797 - Earliest African American petition to the U.S. Congress 1979 - Franklin Thomas named president of the Ford Foundation. January 31 1986 - August Wilson’s Fences, starring James Earl Jones, opened at Goodman Theatre in Chicago. February 1 Court^ ^ American to practice before the U.S. Supreme 1902 - Langston Hughes born. Playwright, poet, author. February 2 1776 - George Washington answered letter from Phillis Wheatley 1807 - Congress banned foreign slave trade. February 3 1868 - John Mercer Langston spoke at Alabama capitol. 1956 - Autherine Lucy enrolled as the first African American student at the Uni versity of Alabama. February 4 tJ867 - Peabody Fund established to aid African Americans in pursuing educa- 1913 - Rosa Parks bom. Civil rights pioneer whose refusal to give up her seat to toycott ^ Alabama bus sparked the 1955 Montgomery bus Michael And Accuser Said Near Settlement LOS ANGELES (AP) - Lawyers for Michael Jackson and a 14-year-old boy who claims the pop star sexually molested him were close to settling a civil lawsuit the Los Angeles Times reported today. ’ Attorneys hoped to announce the settlement Tuesday, a deal that could be between $10 million and $100 million, said the newspaper, citing unnamed sources it de scribed as familiar with negotiations. Michael Jackson has denied wrongdoing. No criminal charges have been filed. Two criminal investigations into the boy’s molestation allegations are ongoing, and it is unclear how they would be influenced by a civil settlement. Legal experts told the Times that no written agreement could prevent the 14-year- old from testifying at a criminal trial. Meanwhile, New York Post columnist Cindy Adams said today that the supposed settlement would be for $5 million, with an initial cash payment of $1 million going to the boy’s father and the remainder channeled into a trust fund for the boy. She also cited unnamed sources. Time magazine also reported the figure as $5 million, in an agreement in which Jackson would maintain his innocence and the boy would not talk about the case. Rumors of a settlement also surfaced in London, where a tabloid reported Jackson had agreed to pay $40 million to the boy. Phone messages left Sunday night for Larry Feldman, the boy’s lawyer, and Howard Weitzman, an attorney representing Jackson, were not returned. The civil trial was set to begin March 21. nett for single mothers and their chil dren. Bennett is a predominantly black women’s college in Greensboro. It was the first time Scott had met Cosby. "He laughed when I told him I’d been pursuing him for seven years," she said. Scott said the Challenge Opportunity Project is a four^year program designed to teach single mothers in areas such as parenting, nutrition and child develop ment. Cosby asked about the cost oi the project - $2.75 million for a classroom building and $125,000 a year for maintenance. "You could set up a benefit, and I won’t charge you for coming down," Cosby said. Cosby was paid $100,000 for Friday’s show. Coliseum marketing director Linda, McCarthy . said ticket sales cov ered theentertairier’s fee. ■
The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
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Jan. 29, 1994, edition 1
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