NBA Pro-Am Shines
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Black Male Extinction
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A Look At Past Year
Page llB
Cfje Cjiarlotte
Vol. 15, No. 9 Thursday, July 27,1989
THE AWARD-WINNING "VOICE OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY"
50 Cents
Some Blacks
Oppose Mayor’s
Drug March
others Believe Rally Will
Bring Needed Attention To
Problem Of Drug Abuse
By JALTNE STRONG
Po«t Editor
Fourteen-year-old Andre
Wright Isn't very happy with
Mayor Sue Myrlck's plan to lead
an anti-drug march through his
neighborhood Saturday.
"1 think It stinks," he said.
Andre’s feelings have been ech
oed this week by African-
Americans who say the proces
sion will unfairly stereotype
black neighborhoods as the cen
ter of Illegal drug activity.
Myrlck will begin RAAID (Ral
lying Americans Against Illegal
Drugs) at 10 a.m. from Green
ville Center, on Spring Street off
Oaklawn Avenue.
Andre's mother, Deborah
Wright, wasn't as condemning.
She beUeves the march Is not a
bad Idea In general, but ques
tions Its purpose. "Having them
just walking through here Isn't
going to do anything. What's be
hind It?" she asked.
Wright and her son live In a
public housing complex on
North Alexander St. Their
apartment faces Ninth St., one
of the streets on the march
route. "I'm going to be out there.
But she (M3rrlck) should be
marching up there," said Wright,
pointing towards Seventh St.
and Davidson, the heart of the
Earle Village public housing
complex. "That's where It's really
bad."
The march will follow a route
down Oaklawn through States
ville Road, Graham Street, and
down Ninth Street to Selgle Ave
nue. The route skirts three pre
dominately black public hous
ing developments (Falrvlew
Homes, Earle Village and Pied
mont Courts), avoiding the main
streets that lead Into the hous
ing complexes.
Earlier this week several Afri
can-American pastors £uid po-
lltlcans criticized Myrlck’s
plans. City council member
Charlie Dannelly said Tuesday,
The Fairview Homes public housing complex has received its share of attention in the Mayor's crusade against drugs.
; "••Wr-fe...
Mytfck
"It sends a message to the rest of
Charlotte that drug abuse is a
problem of the black communi
ty, particularly black projects."
Rev. Leon Riddick, pastor of
Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, Rev.
Phillip Davis, pastor of Nations
Ford Baptist Church, and coun
cil member Ella Scarborough
publicly voiced their opposition
A f ,
I
to the march. Tuesday, several
members of the Afrlcan-
See BLACK On Page 2A
Black Gains Are Eroding, Says SCLC
HIGH POINT (AP) — The civil
rights gains of recent years have
been quietly dismantled In re
cent years, and much work Is
needed to turn North Carolina
and the nation around, black
leaders said last Thursday.
"There's a complete reversal of
all the gains that have been
made by blacks In the most
subtle and most sophisticated
way," said the Rev. Reginald A.
Hawkins of Charlotte. "In North
Carolina, we have Ku Klux Klan
(members) who wear blue suits.
They do not wear the hoods."
Members of the Southern
Christian Leadership Confer
ence voiced their concerns dur
ing a news conference to open
the group's three-day North Car
olina conference.
"In North Carolina, there's so
much to be done, because North
Carolina, as the nation, has
gone back prior to civil rights
days. We must turn the total
state and nation around," said
the Rev. W.E. Banks ofThomas-
vllle, coordinator of the confer
ence.
"The Supreme Court decision of
the past couple of weeks, the re
versal of affirmative action. Is
indicative of what's happening,"
Hawkins said.
Hawkins urged blacks to be vig
ilant against any further losses.
"We have to be on the alert ...
that we don't see the gains that
we have made taken away from
us," he said.
"Some of us have become ap
peasers to the white community.
We gain positions and Immedi
ately we become white. This
weekend ... we will address the
whole structure of this state and
this nation as It pertains to
finding new frontiers and going
ahead and making sure that our
leaders who made these gains
will not be destroyed."
"And there Is an attempt. In
this state and across the nation,
to destroy black leadership who
were very active In the civil
rights struggle and they are com
ing forth with their leaders who
they parade to us as civil rights
leaders with no track record," he
said.
Banks and Hawkins both said
education and banking posed
two areas where progress has
not met their hopes.
The two said the ratio of black
teachers and principals has not
kept pace with the ratio of black
students to the overall student
population.
Both also pointed out the low
numbers of blacks on bank
boards of directors and what
they considered Insufficient In
vestment by banks In the black
community.
Jackson Moves To
'Free* Washington
Klansmen Must Attend
Race Relations Course
Special To The Post
By Larry A. Still
(WASHINGTON. DC-NNPA) -
Although Jesse Jackson specifi
cally outlined his reasons for
moving to the nation's capital in
an unusual closed door session
with representatives of black-
owned media only, the former
(Democratic) presidential can
didate's action's are still being
challenged by apparently out
raged reporters and politicians
here. Reverend aind Mrs. Jack-
son are moving Into an uptown
apartment pending renovation
of a home purchased near Ho
ward University. By moving Into
the District In August, he quali
fies to run for mayor or congress
In the 1990 elections.
Emphasizing that he Is locat
ing In the District of Columbia
to help "free the citizens" by
working to get complete Home
Rule, Jackson declared "I have
no plans to run for Mayor... The
debate (over whether he should
seek to succeed Mayor Marlon
Barry) is paralyzing the city,"
Jackson told all-black journal
ists In a luncheon session where
reporters from dally newspa
pers and radlo-tv stations were
barred from entering by D. C.
police. 'We don't have to be de
fensive about a closed meeting.
I meet with all-white media or
ganizations all the time," he
said.
Speeiklng at the session ar
ranged by Calvin Rolark, the
Washington Infonner newspa
per publisher and WYCB-AM ra
dio commentator, Jackson pa
tiently explained that he Is mov
ing his home to D. C. and the
National Rainbow Coalition
headquarters "back to Washing
ton" because the Capital Is the
center of activity In the nation
and the world. "It Is an effective
location for me to operate In and
meet people" he added.
The decision on whether he
should run for mayor Is prema
ture and "who Is going to be
mayoirls not the Issue now" the
Democratic party's major vote
getter said In Indicating he Is
keeping his options open. "We
still have the baseb^l season
this 5rear, the National Football
League playoffs (this winter) and
the National Basketball Associ
ation season next year," the po
tential candidate quipped at one
point In referring to the 1990
mayoral campaign beginning In
about 13 months.
However, Jackson emphasized
that "D. C. Is under Congression
al occupation .. . We need to free
the city from the plight of being
occupied by officials who are
not accountable to the people . ..
This Is the only Capital among
democracies In the world where
Its citizens do not have the right
of self determination."
Jackson
Noting that Mayor Barry was
originally elected on a "Free D.
C." campaign, Jackson ssild he
will aid the city's home rule drive
to get more elected representa
tives and senators In the United
States Congress. Rep. Walter E.
Fauntroy (D. C. Delegate), the
city's only member of Congress
without a full vote, accompanied
Jackson to the media session,
but the mayor \Vas not present.
Barry and Jackson reportedly
met later after the District of Co
lumbia city council passed leg
islation viewed as restricting the
new resident's ability to raise
campaign funds by limiting the
amount of speaker's fees for
public officials. When barred
reporters persisted In asking
Jackson about his campaign
plans after the meeting, he re
plied that their questions were
"irrelevant".
BY PAUL NEWBERRY
Associated Press Writer
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Ku
Klux Klansmen who clashed
with black marchers In 1979
must attend a course on race re
lations taught by civil rights
leaders as part of a settlement of
a civil lawsuit.
The settlement was to be filed
Tuesday In U.S. District Court In
Huntsville, but
had not
reached the
court by mld-
mornlng, a
clerk said. In
addition to
mandating the
I il civil rights
course. It re
quires Roger
Loweiy Handley, for
mer grand
dragon of the Knights of the Ku
Klux Klan, and nine other Ala
bama Klansmen to pay $11,500
In damages to the marchers.
"Our goal has always been to
try and change the hearts and
minds of those whose racial be
liefs lead to violence against us,"
said the Rev. Joseph Lowery,
president of the Atlanta-based
Southern Christian Leadership
Conference.
Klanwatch, a group operated by
the Southern Poverty Law Cen
ter In Montgomery, filed the civ
il lawsuit In 1980 on behalf of
the SCLC, which had organized
the 1979 march In Decatur.
"It Is an historic moment when
the president of the group found
ed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
an ardent practitioner of nonvi
olence. stands before the grand
dragon of the Alabama Ku Klux
Klan and expresses Dr. King's
message of love," Loweiy said In
a statement released Monday by
Klanwatch.
The settlement also requires
several Klansmen to perform
community service and refrain
from harassing blacks or join
ing any Klan or white suprema
cist group for periods of up to
five years.
"Probably the most unique as
pect of this case Is that seven of
the defendants have to attend a
race relations course," said Pat
Clark, director of Klanwatch.
'We must find a way to change
atUtudes and give people an op
portunity to assess their wrong
doings."
She said details of the two-
hour course, which probably
will be taught In Birmingham
next spring, have yet to be
worked out.
The suit was filed In 1980 after
Klanwatch Investigators uncov-
See KLAN On Page 2A
Where To
Put The
Waste?
County Moves
Recycling Center
To Dalton Ave.
By HERB WHITE
Post Staff Writer
Mecklenburg County won't put
a recycling center on LaSalle
Street, but one is planned to go
Into a black nelghtorhood.
Fairfield County Redemption,
a Stratford, Conn.-based com
pany, plans to operate a 33,150-
foot facility at Dalton Avenue
and North Graham Street In the
Lockwood community.
The center, which would pro
cess 75 tons of newspaper and
25 tons of glass, alumlniun and
plastic bottles each day. Is ex
pected to begin operations Jan.
1. 1990.
Although contracts have yet to
be signed, the final agreement
calls for the county to pay at
least $120,000 to the company
to operate the center Its first
year.
The recycled materials would
be sold to various markets, said
Keith Mlers, president of FCR,
who was In Charlotte this week
to talk to local residents about
the facility.
Dalton Avenue's selection will
be a positive addition to the
neighborhood, said Fred Rem
ington, Mecklenburg's recycling
coordinator.
Although neighborhood lead
ers and the Westslde Coalition
Against the Garbage Dump have
a lawsuit In federal court to stop
the LaSalle site. Remington said
the proposed facility Isn't a
dump.
"No trash will enter this facili
ty," he said. 'You can't sell trash."
Leroy "Pop" Miller, head of the
westslde coalition, said the
change In location still sends a
negative signal to African-
Americans.
Black neighborhoods have
See CENTER'S On Page 2A
Jesse Jackson
In Charlotte
The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson,
president of the National Rain
bow Coalition and former Dem
ocratic presidential candidate,
will deliver a major speech to
the North Carolina Black
Leadership Caucus on Saturday,
July 29, at 7 p.m. In Charlotte.
The 13th Annual Conference
of the statewide leadership
group will set the stage for Rev.
Jackson's visit and address.
Just returning from Europe and
Africa, Jackson Is expected to
reveal his Initiatives and visions
for a broader economic and po
litical alliance between African
Americans and leaders of Euro
pean and Third World nations.
The N. C. Leadership Caucus is
expected to welcome over 3,000
of the state's most active leaders
In education, business, civic and
political life. The conference will
be held July 28-30 at the Best
Western McDonald's Inn In
Charlotte. A reception with
Jackson will be held prior to his
keynote address.
inside This Week
Editorials
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Obituaries...
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Entertainment.
. Pg.
7A
Sports
Lifestyles
• Pq.
1B
Classifieds..
.. Pg. 10B
Church News.
.. Pg.
3B
Alliance
... Pg. 11B
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