For 1989:
=• Firm Up Your
Finances
Special Business Section/4&SA
NAACP Upset Over Arsenic Show
Entertainment/Page lOB
Clinton Chapel Aids Seversville
Lifestyles/Page IB
Alliance
The Black Teacher
Shortage
Page 1C
®ht Cljariotte
Vol. 14, No. 30 Thursday, January 5,1988
THE AWARD-WINNING "VOICE OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY"
50 Cents
Mecklenburg’s Top Lawmaker
Jim Eichardson Stresses Hard Work, Cooperation For County Delegation
By HERB WHITE
Post Staff Writer
When the Mecklenburg County
legislative delegation returns to
R^elgh next week, there will be
more cooperation among Its
members, said the chairman,
Sen. Jim Richardson.
Despite well-documented re
ports of a partisan spilt In the
delegation, Richardson, a Demo
crat said the 12-member group
worked well last year.
"I don't think we were as far
apart as reported In the media,"
he said. "Sure, we had our philo
sophical differences, but we
worked well together."
Richardson, 62, said the dele
gation, which Democrats out
number Republicans 7-5, ap
pears to be a close-knit group
that has been mapping out
plans for the legislative session
In advance.
"I characterize the delegation
as one that's going to work very
hard to cooperate with each
other," he said.
The first black legislator to
lead the delegation, Richardson
Is responsible for setting Its
agenda for meetings with con
stituents. The Job Is high-profile,
but Richardson said he plans to
use It to help the delegation
push Its proposals.
"I try to m^e It a low-key posi
tion." he said. "It's not a matter of
clout for me, but of clout for the
delegation."
Richardson's selection to the
post last month Is a sign that
Mecklenburg politics Is evolving
toward full Inclusion. The Demo
cratic majority gave Its vote of
confidence and the Republicans
concurred.
"I complement the delegation
on my nomination and election,"
he said. "I see It as progress. 1
think It was a complement to
the delegation that it was a
unanimous vote and that race
wasn't a factor."
The delegation returns nine
legislators along with three
newcomers, but unlike last
year's group, this one is more
experienced, especially with for
mer Mecklenburg commissioner
Fountain Odom In the Senate.
Richardson said that experience
will help draw the body together
In worldng for the county's Inter
ests.
"Last year, we had people who
weren't as experienced," he said.
"When you have that, you don't
seem to be as together as It
seems."
The 1988 legislative session
was a good one for the delega-
See RICHARDSON On Page 2A
Richardson
Plans For 2nd King Parade Are Bigger
Robinson
Robinson Made A
Last ’Confession’
By Chester A. Higgins 8r.
NNPA News Editor
Washington, DC - A year be
fore he died of deadly AIDS com
plications, pioneer black TV
network anchorman Max Robin
son confessed to the Rev. Jesse
Jackson In Chicago that he
didn't acquire the disease
through homosexuad activity but
"from promiscuity."
Rev. Jackson eloquently relat
ed Robinson's statement— a
testimony that amounted to a
"death bed confession" — at a
huge memorial service held for
the immensely popular Robin
son at Washington, D.C.'s Shiloh
Baptist Church. Robinson, 49,
died at Howard University Hos
pital of complications from the
dreaded disease.
In a moving memorial. Rev.
Jackson talked about the trou
bled life of Max Robinson, a
handsome, smooth, dashing fig
ure who rose from performing as
a disk jockey in his native Rich
mond, VA, to become the na
tion's first, black network an
chor. In 1978, Robinson, In
Chicago, Peter Jennings In Lon
don and the late Frank Reynolds
In Washington, formed a three-
man anchor for network ABC.
Rev. Jackson told the huge au
dience that he visited Max often
during his hospitalization last
year In Chicago. "Max and I dis
cussed In detail AIDS...," Jack-
son said. "He said, 'Jesse, on this
bed and on this Bible It Is not
homosexuality but It was pro
miscuity. I'm not sure and know
not where, not when even on my
dying bed— If It Is my dying bed.
Let my predicament be a source
of education for my people."'
Jackson said Robinson ob
tained a measure of peace and
serenity In the year preceding
his death.
Robinson's path to the top was
not easy, his grasp always tenu
ous, and his fall Inevitable.
Competitive tension at the an
chor level Is fierce. Add racism-
institutional or personal— and
It is deadly. James Baldwin said
ft: 'To be black and aware In
America Is to be in a constant
state of rage." Max was In a con
stant state of rage. Jackson
weaved the theme throughout
his moving testament. "Max," he
cried, "would not adjust. He Is a
veteran and a casualty In the
war to make America better!"
Throughout his brilliant ca
reer, Robinson's on-camera per
formances were marred by un
explained absences. He
reportedly drank heavily at
times and had bouts with drugs.
But he was never dissipated In
appearance. He worked as a re
porter with local Washington
station Channel 4 In 1968, and
joined Channel 9 when Channel
4 refused to promote him to an
anchor role. At ABC. Robinson
reportedly was upset when the
David Brinkley Show" used onty
white pundits and guests.
For nearly a decade, he co
anchored with Gordon Peterson,
the 6 and 11 p.m. news, making
these the top news programs In
the market. Jackson said:
"Max wanted network bureaus In
Africa. He drank deep from the
cup of Afro-American history
and culture because he felt a
rootless people were a fruitless
people." He described Robinson
See HUNDREDS On Page 2A
Special To The Post
Across the country, the month
of January ushers In an impor
tant national event: Martin Lu
ther King Jr.'s birthday, cele
brated by thousands.
The late civil rights leader was
bom on Janu
ary 15, 1929,
and 1989
marks the
fourth nation
al holiday
commemora
tion of Martin
Luther King
Day on Mon
day, January
16.
In Charlotte,
Young this year will
bring the second annual Martin
Luther King Jr. Parade spon
sored by WestFest, the NAACP,
the Afro-American Cultural
Center and The Charlotte Post.
The first Charlotte-based King
parade by WestFest debuted last
year. This year, with the aid of
additional sponsors Including
The North Carolina Humanities
Endowment, KISS 102, 'WPEG
FM 98. Food Lion, Coca-Cola
and Pepsi, the King parade, to be
held Monday, January 16, will
be preceded by a full-slate of ac
tivities beginning Saturday,
January 14.
A seminar entitled, "Reflection
on The Dream fWhere Is the
Dream - 1989?) will be held from
2-4 p.m. Friday, January 14, at
the Afro-American Cultural
Center. The seminar will fea
ture several speakera. Including
Dr. Iris Carlton-LaNey of UNCC;
Dr. Clark White, Director of
Black Studies at Temple Univer
sity; and Jerry Shinn of The
Charlotte Observer. It will be
followed by a reception at 4:30
p.m. and an evening activity Is
still to be announced.
Also at the Afro Center, a Spir
itual Singing program will be
held on Saturday, January 15,
from 3:30 - 6:30 p.m.
North Carolina Senator Jim
Richardson will be the Grand
Marshal for the Martin Luther
King Celebration Parade that
will begin 11 a.m. on Monday,
January 16. Deputy Marshal for
the parade will by Charles An
derson, Executive Director of the
Detroit Urban League: and Ja-
lyne Strong, Editor of The Char
lotte Post.
Line up for the parade will take
place at 9:30 a.m. at Northwest
Junior High School on Beatties
Ford Rd. The Parade will pro
ceed down Beatties Ford Road to
Trade Street, down Trade Street,
left on Davidson, right on Sev
enth Street, and will end at
Little Rock AME Zion Church on
McDowell.
The parade will be followed by
a rally from 2 - 3:15 p.m. at
Little Rock Church.
Sam Young, chairman of West
Fest Inc., says the organization
expanded the King celebration
activities because many asked
that it be done. "At the ffrst King
parade, people were asking to do
more," says Young. 'We tiy to do
the things people ask us to do
and keep them at quality levels.
We also wanted to get children
actively Involved. They may be
In the parade or watch It from
the sidewalks. These are the type
of things children remember."
The Idea of a Martin Luther
King celebration parade In
Charlotte originated with Young
and Cal Thorton, botli of whom
are Morehouse College gradu
ates. King was also a graduate of
Morehouse.
The parade Is a direct com
memoration of the marches led
by the late clvU rights leader In
the 1960's.
Last year Charlotte's King pa
rade featured the marching
bands of West Charlotte, Myers
Park and Harding. Young says
there's hope to enlist more
bands this year.
Charlotte Mayor Sue M}n:lck
led the parade last year as the
Grand Marshal. Myrlck was un
available at press time to say
whether she would participate
In the parade this year.
Anyone Interested In partici
pating in the 1989 Martin Lu
ther King Jr. Celebration parade
or the other King celebration ac
tivities may call the following
numbers for more Information:
NAACP. 376-6909; Afro-
American Cultural Center, 374-
1565; and WestFest, 568-5440.
Muslims Close N.G. Building
ROCKY
MOUNT, N.C.
(AP) — Louis
Farra khan's
Nation of Is
lam closed Us
building In
Rocky Mount
last 'Thursday
after one of
the group's
members was
arrested on
charges of _
selling drugs. Farrakhan
'We want to take very clear de
cisive action because we don't
want the public to get a false Im
pression of the Nation of Islam,"
Abdul Alim Muhammad, a
spokesman for Farrakhan, said
at a news conference.
Muhammad leads the
"Dopebusters," a group of Mus
lims who patrol public housing
projects in Washington, D.C., to
keep drug dealers ouL
"We have zero tolerance for
drug activity, any kind of illegal
activity at all," Muhammad
said.
Betty R. Jenkins, a local mem
ber of the Nation of Islam, was
arrested Sept. 28 by Rocky
Mount police on charges of pos
session of marijuana and co
caine and maintaining a dwell
ing for the purpose of selling
drugs. She has b^n arrested two
more times since then on simi
lar charges.
"Our own Investigation leads us
to believe that there Is some
thing to these allegations," Mu
hammad said.
Muhammad said Farrakhan
has Instructed that the opera
tions of the Rocky Mount group
be suspended until the matter Is
cleared. If Ms. Jenkins Is found
guilty, he said, the Nation of Is
lam will expel her for life.
'We have a good reputation
among the people of Rocky
Mount, and we want to keep It
that way," Muhammad said. "I
think that they should know
that we regret any unseemly or
inappproprlate activity by any
member of the Nation of Islam."
UNC Desegregation Plan Spurs Mixed Results
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) —
More than a decade of wrangling
with federal officials over how
to desegregate the University of
North (Molina system ended re
cently, but the dispute over the
success of those efforts may go
on.
While black enrollment at the
University of North Carolina
system's traditionally white
campuses never has met a target
of 10.6 percent, UNC officials
say they have made great strides
In diversifying the schools' stu
dent bodies.
This year, black students ac
count for 8.3 percent of the
118,960 students enrolled at
UNO's mostfy white schools, up
from 3.1 percent In 1972.
But Reginald WUson, director
of the American Cotmcll on Edu
cation's Office of Minority Con
cerns In Washington, said the
state still had a long way to go in
desegregating Its universities
and should be more aggressive
In working to diversify the cam
puses' racial mixture.
"If you have a (desegregation)
plan which has not achieved the
success that It ought to have
achieved, then It should be re
viewed for changes," Wilson told
The News and Observer.
WUson served on a panel ap
pointed by federal officials in
1986 to review the Southern
states' efforts to desegregate
their systems of higher educa
tion.
In 1981, UNC system officials
entered an agreement with the
U.S. District Court In Raleigh to
Increase black enrollment at the
predomlnantfy white schools to
10.6 percent.
Known as a consent decree,
that agreement represented a
compromise In a bitter legal
battle between UNC system and
federal officials over how to de
segregate what was described at
the time as North Carolina’s
"dual system of higher educa
tion," five schools that blacks
were routed Into and 11 schools
that attracted whites.
The terms of that agreement
expired Dec. 31, 1986, with the
■ court continuing to monitor the
UNC system's efforts for two
more years.
With the last vestige of federal
oversight of the desegregation
efforts ending, WUson said there
was some concern that the uni
versity system may grow com
placent about the Issue.
"North Carolina did not eager
ly move Into this arena of deseg
regating Its system of higher ed
ucation and had a history of
being one of the most resistant
states." WUson said.
But Ra5nmond Dawson, senior
vice president for academic af
fairs for the UNC system, said
that boosting black enrollment
would remain a top priority.
"The reason we made the
progress we made is not because
we were imder the jurisdiction of
the court," Dawson said.
"The reason Is each of our cam
puses, chanceUors and our pres
idents are personally, genuinely
committed to those go^s. That's
why they work at It. Not because
they're out there visiting kids
because the judge said they had
to."
The consent decree was one of
10 agreements made with state
university systems In the South,
2ill of which expired some time
In 1986. Like North Carolina,
none of those states has met Its
target of black enrollment.
Increasing black enrollment
significantly has proved an elu
sive goal for many colleges
across the country for a number
of reasons. The number of black
high school graduates national
ly has declined, dropping 9.3
percent from 1980 to 1984. Also,
the shift In federal financial aid
from grants to loans has discou
raged many black students form
going to coUege.
The consent decree grew out of
a 1970 suit that the NAACP Le
gal Defense and Elducatlon Fund
had filed, charging the U.S. gov
ernment with violating the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 by funding
several Southern university sys
tems It claimed were Insuffi
ciently desegregated.
Under the decree, UNC system
officials promised to Increase
white enrollment at the five his
torically black campuses to 15
percent, a goal that has been ac
complished. White enrollment
at the schools Is 16.5 percent.
And they agreed to upgrade the
See UNC On Page 2A
Queen City News
EEOC Files
Action Against
Graphics Co.
The U.S. Equal Emplo)rment
Opportunity Commission re
cently filed an action in the U.S.
District Court for the Western
District of North Carolina,
Charlotte Division, seeking to
enforce subpoenas against Jor
dan Graphics. Inc. for access to
records and Information and for
testimony.
R. Edison Elkins, Director of
the Charlotte District Office,
stated that the proceeding
against Jordan Graphics, Inc.
originally began when a Charg
ing Party filed a charge of dis
crimination with the EEOC's
Charlotte District Office against
Jordan Graphics, Inc. on Octo
ber 5. 1987.
The Charging Party alleged
that Jordan Graphics. Inc. de
nied him promotions because of
his race (black) and discharged
him because of his race (black)
and In retaliation for his partic
ipating in another charge of dis
crimination. He also alleged
that Jordan Graphics, Inc. dis
criminates against blacks as a
class with respect to promo
tions, job assignments and dis
charge.
The EEOC Issued the subpoe-
See JORDAN On Page 2A
Inside This Week
Editorials Pg. 6A
Obituaries Pg. 4B
Entertainment Pg. 8A
Sports Pg. 6B
Lifestyles Pg. 1B
Classifieds Pg. 10B
Church News Pg. 3B
The Alliance Sec. C
Subscribe to the Charlotte Post, call 376-0496.