8A STRICTLY BUSINESS/ The Charlotte Post January 25, 1996 Childcare center Continued frompage 6A lar knowledge. We have a pri vate school from 3-5 basical ly-” She said the curriculum is non-denominational. “We don’t teach doctrine; we just teach moral values and Christianity to them,” Green said. The construction of the new day care center was an inspi ration, Green said. She says she had a vision of What the center should look like and her husband, a lawyer, got a general contractors license and built the structures. “The Lord gave us a vision. We put it on paper and had it drawn up and my husband built it from the ground up. The only expereience he had was working with his grandfa ther, a carpenter, when he was a little boy.” The main building has an atrium in the middle of the floor with two fountains, including a waterfall. “The kids look out of their class rooms into a garden area,” Green said. There’s a cafeteria and chapel and the kids have their own bathroom in each classroom. Each classroom has a door to the playground area. The play area covers nearly an acre of the campus. The infant and toddler build ing has a diaper changing table in the middle of its floor so teachers can watch the other children while they are changing diapers. “The children are watched at all times; their (teachers) backs are never turned away from the children,” Green said. “The toddlers are potty training so they have their own restrooms, too, one per classroom, like the older chil dren.” The Greens got grants from the Smart Start program to buy furniture and playground equipment for the center. The state funds are available to help centers in low-income areas provide top quality care. The Green sons are now ages 17 and 12. The couple has been married 21 years. At Angels Christian Day Care, Roger Green, who left a private law practice, handles administrative work, and Connie Green directs the staff and works with the children. Resume must be timely Continued from page 6A 'What I recommend is stat ing your achievements strong ly, giving yourself full credit for your accomplishments. Many people find they have a hard time doing that for them selves; that's often why they choose a professional service," adds Katz. What should your resume do for you? According to resume writing experts, your resume should market you, your uniqueness and your strengths. The resume goes out on your behalf to repre sent you and open the doors to person-to-person discussions. As the old expression states, a good resume should "get your foot in the door." The rest is up to you. Reparations due for slavery continued from page 8A "On the local level you and others can begin lobbying city officials and organizations for resolutions in support of repa rations for black people," according to the group's mem bership recruitment litera ture. Reparation backers explain that the concept emerged during the Civil War when General William T. Sherman issued Special Field Order No. 15. It allocated abandoned rice fields for the use of freed slaves. Though vetoed by President Andrew Johnson, congression al passage of the Freedmen's bill is cited as another exam ple. Historically, the promise of this legislation produced a popular praise of that time, "forty acres and a mule," sug gesting a basic benefit for for mer slaves. Politicians of that time were responsible for pas sage of several homesteading laws. N'COBRA literature also mentions the National Ex- Slave Mutual Relief, Bounty and Pension Association, which existed from the late 1800s to about 1915, as a precedent. National Newspaper Publishers Association colum nist Wiliam Reed provided other examples in a national ly-distributed column written last month. "There is a precedent for an apology and compensation in U.S. history," he wrote. "The government has paid compen sation to some Indian nations, made formal apology to the indigenous people of Hawaii, and paid $20,000 to many Japanese people who were wrongfully incarcerated dur ing World War II." Afrik, a retired public school educator, is an instructor at Northeastern Illinois University, while Scott oper ates a child development cen ter. She is a certified teacher and accredited Christian edu cator. Charlotte chapter co-leaders are Russell Swilley and Radhia Jaaber. Computers a must to succeed Continued from page 1A dren with them, they will be left out and shut out of the mainstream of the 21st centu ry. • • • Shelia Funderburk, vice president of employment and training at the Charlotte- Mecklenburg Urban League, said that organization is focusing on computer training as the key to making sure African Americans prosper in the 21st century. “National and global employ ers are seeking employees who possess the technical skills necessary to operate in the new environment,” said Funderburk. Thanks to efforts such as Charlotte’s Web, computers are becoming more available, including at community cen ters, churches and other out lets where children, even poor children, can have access. The Public Library Main Branch uptown has two fully- staffed computer rooms, the Virtual Library for teenagers and adults and one in the chil- dren’s section. Computers are also available in most branch es. • • • But, the real power of the computer can be found in the home. Kathy Procope is national membership chair of the Black Data Processors Association. She works for Alltel Communications as a systems engineer at NationsBank. Her son, Andre, age 11, has access to her home computer, which has a full encyclopedia on CD-ROM and a connection to the Internet. “He just types in what he wants information about and it comes back with pictures and even sound,” Procope said. “He has heard Martin Luther King’s speeches on it.” “You can do so many things,” she said. “We do our banking, so we sign on and pay all our bills. I know up to the minute how much money is in my account. I do my taxes on it. I don’t go to H.R. Block.” But Procope worries about other African American chil dren who are limited to a few minutes of computer time in their classrooms on outdated Apple II and other first gener ation personal computers. Fewer still have access to the Internet, that loosely orga nized computer network tying together massive databases of information and millions of personal computers in homes and offices around the world. “Parents don’t see the need,” she said. “But there’s not a desk today in America that doesn’t have a PC on it. They are going to have to know what to do.” The job options are endless, from computer repair and installation, to programming new applications and games, to sales and distribution, to providing technical support by phone to home computer own ers. “It is so new, it changes every day,” Procope said. “You can become an expert on something overnight. All it takes is commitment and a lit tle bit of access.” Children aren’t being pushed to understand computers, or made aware of the new indus try as a viable career option. Procope said. “The reason behind it are like math and science in schools,” she said. “It is some thing we are not encouraged to do. There’s a fear. They think it is hard and it’s really not for our children. Frank Williams, a Charlotte photographer, has made the computer an intregal part of his business and personal life since his brother gave him an old computer three years ago. “The Internet is a global storehouse of knowledge for man, woman and child to access through their own homes,” said Williams, who began “cruising” the ‘net three' years ago and now advisesa local personal computer club. Williams is now an advocate for the purchase of home com puters and connecting to the Internet. “My first experience in com puters started in June of 1993,” Williams said. “My brother, Ron Williams, gave me an old hand-me-down com puter, an IBM dinosaur. He then got me online with Prodigy where the two of us would communicate via e- mail. He was in Hartford, Conn, and I in Charlotte. “We now have relatives online in Connecticut, Virginia, Washington, DC, California, and Jackson, Miss. To e-mail them is like picking up the phone and calling across town.” One of Williams’ most excit ing contacts on the Internet has been with Dudley Kenney, who works with NASA and helps launch space shuttle flights. Procope’s group, a 20-year- old organization with chapters in 44 cities and more than 1,600 members, has set up training programs for young African Americans. JINarris feeder Harris Teeter Fresh Ground Chuck IweeklyI Bunsize Or Lite Meat Certified Angus Beef ^UPark orp, MQ London Franks ' M Broil 2 Fresh Crisp Iceberg Lettuce Marzetti Salad Dressmg Head _12-15 oz. f Fresh QS Crisp Carabites * bag 2 49 IWEEKL^w From The D^ii-in Box 8 Pieces ied Chicken Super Bowl Special IweeklyI SKOAL! Selected Varieties Lay’s Potato Chips 89‘ 6 oz. Soft Drink Feature 2 Liter Coke Or Diet Coke 99 0 All Natural Selected Varieties Hunter 2/tZOO i^na Bites ice Cream_i/2 gal. 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