nujrsd<iy July 8 1993 liiuston SoU'm ChronuU
National
Wilder Piqued by Clinton's Support For Challenger Robb
RICHMOND (AP) ? Presi
dent Clinton has sent a fund-raising
letter on behalf of U.S. Sen. Charles
S. Robb, prompting Virginia Gov.
L. Douglas Wilder to complain that*
Robb's vote can be bought
Clinton's letter reads, "You,
as a Virginian, will face a critical
choice next year. I hope you will
choose to re-elect Chuck Robb to
the United States Senate. And I.
hope you will contribute to his cam
paign."
The letter, sent out by the Robb
campaign last week, also said that
Robb, D-Va., has been a strong sup
porter of Clinton.
"He's helping to shape my
economic package and providing
valuable input on the health care
reform effort," the letter reads. "The
tough-minded reputation for fiscal
conservatism he built as governor in
the early 1980s continues in the
1990s in the votes he cast to control
federal spending."
"The political consequences
of standing by your convictions can
% be greau but 1 have never known
Chuck Robb to shrink from a fight.
He is a leader with the courage of
his convictions," the letter said.
Clinton said Robb worked hard
for him during the presidential cam
paign and has stood by Clinton in
the Senate. "I need Chuck there to
help me make the changes so critical
to our country . ' '
Wilder issued a statement last
Friday claiming that the letter is
proof that Robb "has failed Vir
ginia."
"He has traded his vote in the
Senate to support an anti-Virginia
federal budget in exchange for polit
ical help from the president,"
Wilder's statement said.
Wilder has said he will run
against Robb in the 1994 Senate
race. The two have been bitter polit
ical rivals through the years. Former
Marine officer and Iran-Contra fig
ure Oliver Nofth is expected to run
on the GOP ticket
j. >
Wilder said there is no telling
what other measures harmful to Vir
ginia that Robb might vote for in
order to win political or financial
support
"This helps explain why Mr.
Robb has supported the punitive and
unfair base closings here in Vir
ginia, why he supports a huge and
regressive tax on the middle class
and small businesses, and why he
has supported a budget which has
been opposed by other Democrats
on grounds it punishes our senior
citizens, our cities and our working
families to name only a few/*
Wilder said.
Wilder claimed that "Robb's
vote is now for sale; it is up to Vir
ginians to decide whether they can
afford the price."
Susan Piatt, a campaign
spokeswoman for Robb, said
Wilder's contention that Robb
traded his vote for Clinton's
endorsement is "categorically
untrue.*'
Robb's
campaign
office issued a
statement Fri
day about the
Clinton letter,
saying Robb
intends "to
hold back on a
full-court fund
raising effort
until after the
.November
statewide elec
tions."
Clinton
offered to send
the letter
"because he
recognizes the
important role
Senator Robb has played in state
and national Democratic politics,"
the statement said.
Former state Democratic
chairman Paul Goldman said he
received a copy of the letter, in the
mail Friday. Goldman, a Wilder
ally, called the letter "the great Inde
pendence Day sellout.** Instead of
keeping Virginia's interests in mind,
Goldman said, "Senator Robb has
just said 'Hey, there's a political
deal here.' They have his vote and
he's going to need theirs."
"Robb has basically said to
folks that he's become the senator
for Washington and not the senator
for Virginia. What we got here is
taxation without representation,'* he
said.
Robert A. Holsworth, a politi
cal science professor at Virginia
Commonwealth University, said it is
unusual for a president to enter a
primary battle between two elected
Douglas Wilder
Democrats so early.
Holsworth called the letter a
"first volley" by Robb, who "can't
simply be a punching bag for Wilder
in the next few months. Robb will
not only have to raise money but
defend his record."
Wilder could capitalize on
Clinton's letter, which provides
Wilder "a ready-made platform"
from which to attack Robb as a tax
and-spend Democrat, Holsworth
said. With Clinton supporting Robb,
Wilder could position himself to run
as an independent ? at the risk of
losing support from other Democ
rats, Holsworth said.
"The more difficult it is for
him to run within the party, the
more attractive an independent can
didacy seems," Holsworth said.
"But he'll have to consider where
his money's coming from and the
strain it places on his allies who
want to remain in the party."
NAACP Signs_"Fair Share" Agreement with Richardson
CHARLOTTE ( AP ) ? Richard
son Sports and the NAACP signed
an agreement last week that will
- provide opportunities for minorities
to participates* the operation of*
Charlotte's prospective professional
football franchise.
Principals for both sides gath
ered at the Greater Charlotte Cham
ber of Commerce offices, and in
summit-like surroundings signed a
"Fair Share" agreement. It will
commit Richardson Sports to
achieving levels of representation
for blacks and other minorities in
the proposed franchise. V
The signing followed a similar
ceremony in Baltimore where the
NAACP reached an agreement with
Flagstar Corp., owned by Spartan
burg, S.C., businessman Jerry
Richardson. The $1.01 billion deal
_ covers seven years and is to provide
an avenue for minorities to own and
operate restaurants in the corpora
tion's stable.
It is Richardson's group that is
Charlotte.
"I hope this agreement today
will serve as a model for all of pro
fessional sports," said Benjamin
Chavis, executive director of the
NAACP. "I hope that the agreement
we signed earlier today in Baltimore
will serve as a model for all of cor
porate America."
Under terms of the agreement,
Richardson Sports and the Carolinas
Stadium Corp. will place special
emphasis on providing opportunities
to minorities in management, adver
tising and marketing, concessions,
purchasing and stadium construc
tion.
The two entities also will work
toward a level of between 1 5 per
cent and 25 percent minority repre
sentation in management and 20
percent in non-management cate
gories.
TlWPJroups will review their
progress periodically with the
NAACP.
Among other goals in the
agreement:
? Identify African-American
and other minority vendors- suppli
Jerry Richardson , left, of Richardson Sports and Dr. WJ 7. Gibson , Chairman of the NAACP National Board of
Directors , embrace after signing a fair share agreement for minority partiic patio n in the Carolinas NFL
restaurant chaint is bidding for a NFL team.
ers and maintain a directory.
? Make efforts to do business
with African-American and other
minority vendors in areas such as
security, floral services,
groundskeeping and placement ser
vices.
i
? Provide a hotline for compa
nies seeking vendor status.
Further, Chavis committed the
association to helping Charlotte
secure the franchise. The NFL's
expansion committee is expected to
make a decision in late October,
picking two cities from among five
candidates.
"The national NAACP is going
to work hard throughout this state,
throughout South Carolina, where
we have branches in the United
States, to send a clcar signal to the
NFL that we want the franchise here
in Charlotte, we want it under Jerry
Richardson," he said.
William Gibson, chairman of
the NAACP's board of directors,
said none of the 28 NFL teams, nor
the other four cities seeking a fran
chise, have talked to the NAACP
regarding the agreement The cities
of Jacksonville, Fla., Memphis,
Tenn., Baltimore and St Louis are
also seeking franchises, but Gibson
said it is Charlotte that will get the
association's attention.
"Yes, we will work because of
the fact that it has an opportunity for
black Americans," Gibson said.
Richardson said there have
been a number of Fair Share agree
ments signed across the country,
although Gibson noted that three of
them, with the Atlanta Hawks and
Braves, and the Kansas City Chiefs,
had hardly been enforced.
"They were weak agree
ments," Gibson said. "They're on
the books, but that's about all."
Richardson said the agreement
with his operation will be different.
"Ours is going to work," he
said. "We're going to over-deliver."
Kelly Alexander, executive
director of the Charlotte- Mecklen
burg County NAACP, said talks
leading to the agreement have been
under way since 1991, when
Richardson Sports was first intro
duced to Fair Share.
"Fair Share is civil rights with
its face toward the future/' Alexan
der said. "Working with the busi
ness community, the NAACP can
and will help to deliver material
advancement to our constituency in
the here and now."
He discounted the idea that the
agreement was the result of troubles
surrounding Denny's restaurants.
Recent federal lawsuits alleged that
Denny's indulged in practices that
discriminate against blacks. Those
allegations included turning away
black customers, serving them more
slowly than white customers or
sometimes requesting payment in
advance.
"The Fair Share program is 14
years old, and this is a natural exten
sion of what we have been doing for
the last 14 years in economic and
community development," Alexan
der said.
"This is a process, not a
response."
Black Queen Left out
Of Yearbook Files Claim
SAN LEANDRO, Calif. ( AP )
? For the first time, San Leandro
High School has a black home
coming queen. But the yearbook
failed to carry her homecoming
photo, leading to a $250,000
claim and allegations of racial
bias.
In addition to the money,
January Cooper, 18, wants the
school to reissue the yearbook to
include the omitted photo.
"I didn't want to believe it,"
she said Monday.
Cooper said she "was about
to stan crying" when she first
saw the publication in mid-June.
"I left school and came
home," she said.
Photographs of homecoming
queens have been a standard fea
ture of the <4Spirit Week" section
of the school annual for at least
the past six years. The current
publication carried photos of the
homecoming king, who was
white, and other nominees for
queen.
School officials declined
comment, saying the matter has
been turned over to school district
attorneys. Cooper's claim is a
legal precursor to a lawsuit.
However, yearbook staff
member Lisa Armstrong said
Cooper's picture wasn't the only
one that didn't make it into the
yearbook's pages. Photos of some
faculty members and a group shoe
of the varsity football team were
also left out.
"It could have happened to
anyone," she said. She said that
for the first time in recen^ mem
ory the yearbook had no editor
in-chief to take care of production
and proofread page layouts
before publication.
"Sometimes , things get
messed up and there'r nothing
you can do about it," she said.
Optimism High About Agreement
To Restore Democracy in Haiti
NASSAU , Bahamas (AP) ?
Caribbean Community and Com
mon Market leaders say they are
optimistic about a United Nations
brokered agreement to restore
democracy in Haiti.
"We are cautiously optimistic.
We are counting the days between
now and Oct. 30. We are hoping
thai everything will be done to
ensure that this agreement is not
derailed," Secretary General Edwin
^Carrington told reporters Sunday
night
After weeklong negotiations at
the U.N. in New York. Haiti's Lt
Geif. Raoul an agree>'
ment Friday to resign and to allow
the return on Oct. 30 of Jean
Bertrand Aristide, who was over
thrown in a Sept. 1991 military
coup.
Aristide signed the U.N. plan
Saturday after receiving assurances
that his safety would be guaranteed
in Haiti and that the U. N. would lift
its embargo only after his prime
Money Coughed
HONOLULU (AP) ? A 33
year-old woman literally "coughed
up" the evidence when a police
officer tried to save her life with a
Heimlich Maneuver.
Investigators said the woman
was taken into custody after a
Waikiki man accused her of taking
$235 from his apartment While at
Jean-Bertrand Aristide
* aio ?
CARICOM leaden have been
asked to participate in an interna
tional mission in Haiti, as the strug
gle to return the island to democ
racy continues.
"The region waits for the
implementation of the agreement
and is readying itself to participate
in a post-agreement Haiti;*' Car
rington said.
Up ? Literally
The Queen's Medical Center for
treatment of injuries suffered in the
dispute, the woman began choking
and an officer squeezed her body to
clear her windpipe.
~ Out popped the $235.
"And," one detective said,
"I'll bet some lawyer is going to say
it was an illegal search.
"Laurel Avenue" to Debut
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? To
direct a realistic mini series about an
African-American family, it helps
to have the right script and actors
and to be an accomplished film
maker.
It also helps if you're a father.
"Being a father is part of it,"
said Carl Franklin, who directed
the two-part HBO production of
"Laurel Avenue," the story of an
extended working class family in
Minneapolis-St Paul. "Directing is
a very paternal -maternal process."
Having two teen-age children
affected the way he visualized the
younger characters, Franklin said,
and also made him a better director.
"There was a time when 1
would have insisted everything
conform to what was in my mind at
the beginning," he said of his evo
lution as a director, following a
long acting career. "Directing, like
fatherhood, is taking the best of
things and allowing them to run and
grow."
"Laurel Avenue," a slice-of
life story that takes place during
one weekend, premieres July 10-1 1
on HBO. It stars Mary Alice,
Juanita Jennings, Rhonda Stubbins,
Vonte Sweet and Mel Winkler.
Franklin cast his son, Marcus,
17, and daughter, Caira, 15, in
small roles after auditioning them.
Marcus plays a young man named
Lamar, and Caira is a cheerleader at
a basketball game.
"I decided that the premise of
the film is that family love leads to
survival,** he said. "Then, you can
set up your opposition ? drugs,
sibling rivalry, adolescent rebel
liousness, sexuality, responsibility
vs. desire, expecting love vs. want
ing respect**
"Little things that go on in our
own personal lives that are not nec
essarily headline news are still big
to us, and that, I think, is the vein
that we*re trying to tap Hito,"
Franklin said.
"It deals with such a broad
spectrum of conditions within one
family. Most of the time, in depict
ing a black family, we generally see
them either depicted in a very stark
urban environment where condi
tions are abjectly horrible ~ or it's
the Cosby show, everything's very
pristine. We*re hoping to tap into
something that has not been mined
yet, and that is the universal values
of black life.**