Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Oct. 27, 1983, edition 1 / Page 3
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The Chronicle, Thursday, October 27, 1983-Pafle A3 Black Leadership Roundtable Says It Will Oppose Bond Package From Page A1 iiiiiiiiiHiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiMliiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiniiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiniiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiniiiniiiiiiHiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliH and drainage systems. $900,000 to prepare eight acres of land across from Ci ty Hall for development. $800,000 to upgrade downtown storefronts. Though the Roundtable opposes the bonds, its Tiembers say, it is not against economic development or increased educational opportunities. It is, they say, jgainst proposals for such improvements that won’t tangibly benefit the entire community. The black and poor communities deserve more than trickle-down” returns from the package, they say, and they will use whatever leverage they have to defeat it. We understand the the city’s concern,” said Mel White, a member of the Roundtable, “but we also understand that blacks can make or break the bond referendum.” White pointed out that blacks initially re quested that $10 million be included in the bond package 10 rehabilitate housing andgenerate housing starts in the black community. “All we were offered was $200,000,” he said. Alderman Larry Little, another Roundtable member, laid the bond referendum is “not for jobs and education but for continued oppression.” Pat Hairston, a Roundtable member and president of the NAACP, which announced that it opposes the total package last week, said he is against the bond package because “it demeans black citizens of Forsyth County and the city of Winston-Salem inasmuch as no blacks were consulted when the package was put together. “We are citizens in the community. We pay taxes and we deserve full citizens’ rights — the same as anyone else,” he said. County Commissioner Mazie Woodruff, who attended Tuesday’s meeting, said that, contrary to a headline in a daily newspaper this week, she has not taken sides on the bond issue. However, she did commend the Roundtable on its efforts and said blacks will have to start pulling together more to accomplish common goals. “I com mend you all for what you’re doing and your stick-to- itiveness,” she told the group. “I’ve been through a lot of bond referendums and little has come back to us (blacks). We’ve got to start working together to get things for us.” Which means, said White, that blacks must demand a “measure of respect — for ours is a precious vote. We ought to stop selling our vote for what I call 30 pieces of silver.” But Dr. Manson Meads, co-chairman of the mayor’s Citizens’ Committee For Jobs and Education Referen dum, in a meeting last week with Chronicle publisher Ernest Pitt and Executive Editor Allen Johnson, said the bond referendum will bring progress for everyone. “You’ve got to have faith, I say,” said Meads, “you’ve got to have faith.” Louise Wilson, the other committee co-chairman, also attended that meeting. The Roundtable questions having “faith” and points to what it calls a history of discrimination against blacks by the city. “Why is it,” asked Little, “that black folk are always at the bottom of everything? Why is it that we are always the doormat for everyone elseto step on to get what they want? “They (whites) don’t realize that blacks are not satisfied with the way things have been and are tired of being doormats,” he said. . Little called the bond referendum “inadequate in that we (blacks) don’t have anything to put our hands on. “The essence of the whole thing is trickle-down economics,” he said. “If we let the big boys get what they want, some will trickle down to our tables.” In response to the Roundtable’s position on the For syth Tech and school system bonds and the NAACP’s opposition to the total package. Mayor Corpening said last week in a telephone interview, “We’re going to try to push the whole package.” Corpening said he agrees that there are problems with the school reorganization plan, “but we have to have education.” When asked if he was worried about the strong opposi tion from the black community, Corpening said, “1 always stay worried until the election is over. It just means we have to work harder. I’m for the recommenda tions (of CBT-Crane and Associates, a consulting firm hired by the city which proposed many of the items in the package. Its report is due Nov. 1) and will do everything to get them (bonds) passed.” But Roundtable member Walter Marshall said whites know what they will get from the bonds, such as a white director of the new Winston Plaza Hotel -- which will receive a financial boost if money is approved for the ex pansion of the Convention Center - while blacks don’t. “We (blacks) are only guaranteed that ESR (the Experi ment in Self-Reliance Inc.) will hire the janitors and that the Urban League will hire the maids,” he said Added Little: “What we’re saying is that you (whites and big business) aren’t going to get your show on the road if we can’t get our show on the road.” iiioiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiMiMiiiiiiMiiniiiniiiiMiiiiiiiMnMiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiMMiiiiMiiiiniinniiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiniiiitiiiMniiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii F^ofessional, College-Educated Black Women Have A Difficult Time Finding Eligible Men From page ai mil iiiiiimiiiiiii IS a greater risk of injury or death. More black males are likely to die at a younger age due [0 the lack of or an inability to pay for proper health care. Drug abuse and alcoholism among black males, as well as other segments of the population, have increased. The life expectancy of black males is at a high of 64 years, but is still nine years less than that of black females, five years less than that of white males and 13 years less than that of white females. Black males have slim chances of reaching adulthood, UNC’s Hawkins, himself a black man, says, but “I ques tion extinction. Black males have been an endangered species for 200 years or more.... But the population has survived despite the odds.” Still, Hawkins’ viewpoint does little to comfort unmar ried black women in Winston-Salem. Says one college- educated woman: “I don’t think I look that bad, but it’s getting more and more difficult to find a date. Lately, I have been going out with guys who I know are losers and some even married, just so I don’t have to sit at home.” Although professional, college-educated black women are complaining about finding eligible men, Hawkins imiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiMii says conditions for non-professional women are worse. “Black men who are non-professional,” Hawkins says, “tend to die earlier than the average life expectancy for black males and are the ones in jail. Most of the black men in jail are not professional — which leaves only a few men for non-professional women to choose from.” Just where can the available black men, who are not in jail, be found? Although black women complain about them not being at the local nightclubs, the nightclub owners and their employees disagree. “On heavy nights, the crowd is sort of even (males to females),” says David Cato of Rolls Royce Lounge. “On some nights, you have a slightly unbalanced ratio of two men to three women, but most of the time it’s pretty even.” Cato says the young women who usually come to Rolls Royce are between the ages of 21 and 30, but that the males are slightly older. Gregory Glenn, assistant manager at Papiyon’s, says he sometimes wonders where the black women are. “We have a problem with females showing up,” he says. “Most of the time the women don’t come unless we are having ladies’ night or some kind of contest. And males will not spend money in a club unless women are there. Grenada Invasion We need more ladies to start coming out.” “The differences between the men and women are beginning to equalize,” says Cathy Jones, co-manager at Illusions. “On most nights, the crowd is kind of quiet and slightly male, but on special nights, the crowd sort of balances out.” Jones says she notices that women usually come to clubs in groups of three or more, but that men come either by themselves, with one other man or with a woman. Black males appear to be scarcer in the churches. Although most churches are headed by men, women usually make up the largest percentage of the congrega tions. “I bet we have 90 women for every 10 men,” says Dr. Jerry Drayton, pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church. “Out of a congregation of over 1,000 members, 1 bet we only have 300 men. But this is not only true of our church; that’s true of any congregation. The women usually outnumber the men five to one. “It’s not that women are more likely to be affiliated with the church, because men are just as religious,” Drayton says. “If it were not for the women, there is not a church in North Carolina that could last a month. We would go out of business if we depended on the men.” Winston’s apparent shortage of black men is not uni que. “This is nothing new,” says Dr. Jacquelyne Johnson Jackson, a sociology professor at Duke Univer sity who is black. “This has been recognized for over a century. “But there are black men out there. Different areas at tract males in terms of where the jobs are. In Forsyth County, where 1 was born, there has always been a shor tage of men.” Both Hawkins, Jackson and most females agree that something needs to be done about the male shortage, but nobody seems to have a solution. “We either need to increase the number of males being born,” Jackson says, “or there will be more interracial marriages between black women and non-black men.” Says Hawkins: “The major thing is to reduce the homicide rate. With homicide as the leading cause of death, beyond accidents and disease, we need to do something about that rate. Even with the men in prison, they are only removed from the population for a short period of time.” From Page A1 .iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifii nhe Reagan administration claims, the safety of the iAmericans was not at stake. Further, we reject the ar- irogant, jingoistic notion of ‘restoring democracy’ to the island nation. “Again, we oppose this manifest denial of self- determination of the Grenadian people, and strongly urge our fellow citizens of all races to petition our con gressman, Steve Neal, to oppose this international ter rorism on the floor of the Congress. “Finally, we put the community on notice that we will conduct information sessions in the near future on the re cent events in the black-run nation of Grenada.” Several U.S. allies, including France and Sweden, have formally denounced the invasion. London newspapers say the takeover has strained U.S.-British relations, and Pope John Paul II said yesterday, “I cannot hide that the ;international situation causes me anguish and concern.” ; Little said the Roundtable will call a press conference Thursday afternoon concerning the matter. iiHiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiniiiiiiiMiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHii Crime Prevention j From Page A2 |ll]|||iiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiililiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilililiilllllliiliiiiiiiil>iii» A house was ransacked, but nothing was taken. •4200 block. Grove Avenue The suspect was seen taking a Magnavox television set. The witness called police, and then confronted the suspect, who put the television down and walked away. The television was returned to its owner. Larceny •1400 block, Thurmond Street A German shepherd puppy was taken. •1200 block, Waughtown Street A cassette tape player was taken. One arrest was made. •1900 block, Dunleith Avenue A dog was taken. •600 block, Akron Drive Gas was taken. Rural Crime \ Criminals like country living, too. More than eight ? million crimes occur each year in rural areas and small towns. Eventually, every rural dweller pays — in the form of higher insurance rates — for the millions lost as a result of larcenies, vehicle thefts and burglaries. Protect your equipment and supplies by doing the following: •Light it up (thieves and vandals don’t want to be seen). : ‘Lock it up (never leave tools or guns in an open vehicle or building). : •Bring it in (it’s not wise to leave valuable items outside). . •Disable it (remove essential parts ffom equipment to prevent removal). •Identify it (use Operation I.D. to mark your belong ings). Also, help yourself and your neighbors by becoming part of a Neighborhood Watch program. If your neighborhood doesn’t have a such a program, help organize one. For additional information, contact the Police Crime Prevention Unit at 727-2688, or the Sheriff’s Crime Prevention Unit at 727-2479. This information is brought to you weekly as a public service of the Chronicle and the Winston-Salem Police Department. 'SMAMffSriiURS totmi K.^'-tiO PROOHKSTRLEO DRV GIN DiSTitLED FROM GRAIN
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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Oct. 27, 1983, edition 1
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