Virginia Democrat chairman rebuts
Wilder's Confederate flag claim
RICHMOND, Va. - The chairman of the state Democra
tic Party sent an open letter Friday to former Gov. L. Douglas
Wilder rebutting Wilder's public criticism of a Democratic
congressional candidate's campaign use of Confederate
imagery.
Party Chairman Lawrence H
Framme III said in his 1,020-word
response to Wilder that Ben Jones, whu
starred ircThe Dukes of Hazzard" telOf
vision cries, has. no racist motive in
using the show's taft;oils "General Leev
hot rod with a Confederate flag painted
on its ro<*.
Framme also noted that Wilder, a
Democrat and the nation's First elected
black governor, conspicuously sched
uled . ipaign ads to air during "The
Wildmr
uuk.es ot Hazzard ' reruns in his successful 1985 race for
lieutenant governor.
"Knowing your deep commitment to civil rights, I am
confident that you would not have placed paid advertising on
'Dukes of Hazzard' (reruns) if you believed its constant dis
play of the Confederate Battle Flag on an
auiomoDile was an affront to any voters,
particularly African-Americans,"
Framme wrote in the letter, which the
party provided to reporters.
Wilder, in his own open letter to
Framme last week, criticized Jones'si)se
of the Confederate flag to attract white
voters in the rural and suburban 7th Dis
trict - where he's challenging Republi
can incumbent Eric Cantor - and voiced
his dismay that the party was not
denouncing it.
mm
Jones
in an interview, wilder said the use of the flag was a slap
in the face to black voters, a vital Democratic constituency,
and said party leaders "can't be involved in kowtowing to
these subliminal messages."
Jones portrayed the genial, down-home mechanic Cooler
Davenport on "The Dukes of Hazzard." He won two terms in
Congress from Georgia a decade ago. He said that invoking
his background to appeal to rural voters is in no way racist.
"We're not trying to refight the war. We're just proud of
our Southern heritage. We're NASCAR Democrats." he said.
Black population continues to grow
The African-American population has grown 16 percent
over the last 10 years, according to a report from the U.S.
Census Bureau.
The report indicates that the number of African-Ameri
cans has grown three times as fast as the white population
between 1990 and 2000. The nation's white population
increased 6 percent over the last decade. Blacks still are 12
percent of the nation's residents.
While 3 million African-Americans live in New York City.
19 million of the nation's 35 million blacks live in the South's
10 states, which each have more than 1 million black resi
dents. The majority of whites live in the South and Midwest.
"We expected the numbers in the South to be high because
that has been a general trend over the years." Jesse McKinnon
of the Census Bureau told reporters. "Blacks tended to reside
in the South at least over the last 30 or 40 years."
Gary. Ind.. has the highest concentration of African-Amer
icans. with 85 percent, followed by Detroit with 83 percent.
The highest proportion of whites is in Livonia. Mich, where
. they are 97 percent of residents.
The Census Bureau has previously reported that the
nation's white majority will diminish in numbers, with whites
becoming a minority shortly after 2050.
Anonymous donor gives $5 million to
Muhammad Ali Center in Kentucky
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - An unidentified donor pledged $5
^million to the Muhammad Ali Center, matching the largest
."private gift awarded to the project.
The pledge "offers a tremendous boost to our campaign."
; said Ina Brown Bond, the center's governing board chair
__woman.
The Ali Center endowment fund will
receive the donation over 20 years start
ing in 2004. It will be paid in 20 yearly
payments of $250,000. The endowment
funds are invested, with the interest
helping underwrite operating costs.
As a condition, the donor stipulated
that he or she not be identified. The
donor "doesn't want the attention." said
center president Michael Fox.
Named for the Louisville-native and
former heavyweight boxing champion.
Ali
the center will honor Ali's humanitarian and peacemaking
efforts.
The six-level. 93.0(H). square feet center will include inter
active exhibits, an auditorium, classrooms and conference
space. It also will house the Muhammad Ali Institute for
Peacemaking and Conflict Resolution, a University of
Louisville program.
Groundbreaking is expected for next spring, with the cen
ter scheduled to open in fall 2004 near Sixth Street and River
Road.
The largest public contribution toward construction has
been $10 million from the state.
- Compiled from staff and wire reports
%
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INDEX
OPINION. ,A6
SPORTS. 87
RELIGION. 86
CLASSIFIEDS. 870
HEALTH. C3
ENTERTAINMENT. C7
CALENDAR. C9
inc v.n kum iv. le _
Justice comes back to haunt mayor
BY MARC LEVY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
YORK, Pa. - Jury selection
began Monday in the murder trial
of three white men. including the
city's former mayor, accused of
the fatal shooting of a black
woman during 10 days of paralyz
ing race riots in 1969.
Prosecutors say Charlie
. Robertson, a young police officer
who later became mayor, gave
ammunition to white gangs that
ambushed a car in which Lillie
Belle Allen was riding with rela
tives. The other two men are
accused of taking part in the
ambush.
The slayings of 27-year-old
Allen iuid a white rookie police
officer during the riots helped fuel
a subsequent effort to build
bridges between blacks and
whites, even as the truth of the
killings remained elusive.
"I think it's important for all
IOISCIS IU
know the
truth, to
know
what hap
pened in
1969,"
said John
Brenner,
York's
current
mayor,
who was
Robertson
just a year old when the riots
erupted. "I think we all want the
same thing: who did it. who's
responsible for both murders. And
we want them to be held account
able."
Allen's shooting remained
unsolved until late 1999, when
prosecutors say new information
surfaced and investigators
reopened the case.
Since then. 10 white men have
been charged in Allen's killing.
Six pleaded guilty to shooting at
0 the car or being gang lookouts.
Some may testify. A 10th man is
to be tried separately. One former
white gang member killed himself
in April 2000 after talking to pros
ecutors.
Associated Press Photo
The children of the late Lillie Belle Allen, Michael Allen and Debra Taylor, walk in York, Pa.,
on Sept. 23. Their mother was allegedly killed by three white men in 1969.
Two black men await trial in
the killing of the white rookie offi
cer, 22-year-old Henry Schaad.
Years of tension found a spark
on July 17, 1969, when a black
youth said he had been set on fire
by whites, a story he later recant
ed. The same day, white gang
member Robert Messersmith shot
two black youths. Rumors spread
that a white police officer was
responsible for the shootings and
rioting broke out.
The next day, Schaad was
killed. Allen was killed three days
later.
During the rioting, whole city
blocks were burned, police barri
caded black neighborhoods and
enforced curfews. 60 people were
injured, and 100 were arrested
before National Guard tanks
rolled into town.
At the time, little national
attention was focused on the vio
lence in York, then a manufactur
ing town of 50.000 in Pennsylva
nia dairy country. Earlier rioting
had scarred cities, including Los
Angeles and Detroit. And it was
the same week that a woman
drowned when Sen. Edward
Kennedy drove his car off a bridge
at Chappaquiddick, Mass.. and
Neil Armstrong walked on the
moon.
During the riots. Robertson
was a seven-year veteran of the
sity police force. He gave up his
pursuit of a third term as mayor
last year after he was charged with
inciting white gang members to
violence against blacks and hand
ing out ammunition to at least one
of the shooters.
Robertson. 68. has admitted
shouting "white power" at a rally
the day before Allen's killing, but
he has denied the other accusa
tions.
Messersmith is accused of fir
ing the shot that killed Allen.
Another former gang member.
Greg Neff. is accused of shooting
at the car in which Allen, her sis
ter. brother-in-law and parents
were riding when they took a
wrong turn into a white neighbor
hood.
Over the last dozen years or
so, prosecutors have reached back
to investigate 22 civil rights-era
murders, according to the South
em Poverty Law Center, a Mont
gomery. Ala., nonprofit group that
monitors extremist groups.
"There have been 13 years of
careful looking back at these
cases, and it could be soon that
this era will come to a close," said
Mark Potok, who edits the law
center's newsletter, the Intelli
gence Report.
York today is a city of 41,000.
Some 19,000 whites have left
while the black population has
risen from 12 percent to 20 per
cent.
The slain officer's brother,
Barry Schaad. speaks of better
race relations, of people who "are
more aware of the things they say
and do, and how it affects other
people."
Former senator may run for White House
BY HAZEL TRICE F.DNEY
NNPA CORRESPONDENT
WASHINGTON - Former
U.S. Sen. Carol Mosely
Braun. having concluded an
ambassadorship to New
Zealand, is thinking about run
ning again for a public office,
including the Democratic
nomination for president in
2004.
"1 have been honored and
delighted that now that I have
returned to the United States
from New Zealand, my sup
porters are encouraging me to
advance to public office again,
and the suggestions range
from running for re-election to
the United States Senate in
'04. to running for the mayor
ship of Chicago in '03, to run
ning for president of the Unit
ed States in '04," Mosely
Braun told NNPA.
"I'm having listening ses
sions right now and consider
ing getting a sense of all the
issues." she said. "Frankly,
every other day, something
compelling happens to encour
age me to get back into elec
tive office... Which office
depends on where I can be the
most service to the people, I
think. 1 mean it could be just
as easy for the Senate or the
mayorship or the presidency,
frankly."
Mosely-Braun. who in
1992, became the first and
only black woman to serve in
the U.S. Senate, lost her re
election bid in 1998 to a
Republican. Peter Fitzgerald.
But Mosely-Braun and her
supporters say political losses
have never precluded future
victories.
"Why shouldn't Carol
Mosely-Braun. who has
national name recognition.
...who lost an election just
like everybody else loses an
election, like Bill Clinton lost
the governorship and went on
to become president?" asked
Yvonne Scruggs-Leftwich. a
personal friend of Mosely
Braun. "So. there is no reason
that there cannot be a conflu
ence of elements and of issues
and of time and of events, so
this would be a good time for
her."
Scruggs-Leftwich is per
haps best known as executive
director and chief operating
officer of the Black Leader
ship Forum, a nonpartisan
coalition of 22 black organiza
tions. She is also privately a
charter member of Future
Political Action Committee, a
PAC established Sept. 12 at
the Washington headquarters
of the National Council of
Negro Women for the purpose
of advancing black women in
politics.
Mosely-Braun confirms
she was among the more than
250 women who became
members of the PAC during
the luncheon meeting, which
was held during the Congres
sional Black Caucus annual
legislative conference. Other
members of the PAC include
Susan Taylor, senior vice pres
ident and editorial director of
Essence Communications Inc.;
Regina Thomas, N.J. secretary
of state; and C. Delores Tuck
er, chair of the National Con
gress of Black Women.
f ? ?="
File Photo
In the marly
1990s, Carol
Mosely-Braun
became the first
black woman
elected to the
U.S. Senate. She
represented Illi
nois for one six
year term.
Take PART
in the Triad.
GREENSBORO 9 WINSTON-SALEM ? HIGH POINT
Regional Bus Servite starts September 30th!
Buses will connect Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High Point with
affordable, comfortable transportation. Ride from one city to the other :
for $2.00 to go to work, shop or just for a visit.
Visit our website
to learn more about
the future of
i transportation in the
Piedmont Triad.
www.PARTnc.org
m
I