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VOLUME 21 NO. 20
FEBRUARY 1,1996
75 CENTS
Children’s advocates announce Stand for Children in Washington
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
A national Stand for
Children, a la Million Man
March, was to be announced
today by the Children’s
Defense Fund and other spon
soring agencies, in the Girl
Scouts, the YWCA and the
NAACP.
No date had been released at
presstime,
but the event
would be held
at the Lincoln
Memorial in
Washington,
D.C.
“Stand for
Children is
being
launched to
draw a line in
the sand of
Edelman
doing no harm to children that
no political, corporate, or cul
tural leader dare cross,” said
Marian Wright Edelman,
president of the Children’s
Defense Fund.
“It will be a day to affirm our
nation’s commitment as indi
viduals, families, communi
ties, and as a national commu
nity to improving children’s
quality of life,” said Edelman,
who will be in Charlotte next
week for the Children’s
Defense Fund’s national con
ference.
Edelman also planned to
release the organization’s
annual “The State of
America’s Children Yearbook
1996,” a chronicle of the cur
rent condition of American
children with state and
national data.
Children’s advocates from
around the country will be in
Charlotte next week for the
Children’s Defense Fund con-
Essential personnel
BttSSSiS
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PHOTO/CALVIN FERGUSON
Myrick: No more furloughs, still pushes for less government
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Eric Harrell has worked for
the federal government for 25
years and for the past four
months he has been air traffic
manager at Charlotte-Douglas
International Airport.
But since Harrell works for
the Federal Aviation
Administration, which comes
under the Department of
Transportation, there’s been
little impact on his and other
FAA operations.
And though another possible
government shutdown looms
March 15, Harrell’s critical
operation won’t likely be
affected.
The DOT budget was passed
on Nov. 18, two days into the
first of two furloughs of “non-
essential” government
employees caused by the polit
ical conflict between President
Clinton and the Congressional
Republicans.
But even during the first
furlough, Harrell and his
crews came to work. “They
said ‘we need you to come to
work, just like any other day,’
” said Harrell.
Congresswoman Sue Myrick,
a Republican freshman, said
this week she doubts there
will be another government
Mandela lectures Farrakhan on
racial, sexual tolerance on visit
By Donna Bryson
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JOHANNESBURG, South
Africa - President Nelson
Mandela told controversial
U.S. black Muslim leader
Louis Farrakhan last week
that South Africa rejects
racism and sexism and
reveres all religions.
The leader of the Nation of
Islam, known for making
statements considered anti
white, anti-Jewish or demean
ing to women, was conciliato
ry.
“All of the principles that
President Mandela has out
lined we agree with totally,"
he told reporters after his 30-
minute meeting with
Mandela. “Islam is a religion
which, if practiced, disallows
shutdown. The Republican
freshman have been among
the most determined advo
cates of shutdowns rather
than “business as usual.”
Myrick has appeared on sever
al national news programs to
speak for the group.
“The bottomline is that after
the president’s State of the
Union address, he said there
were specific points we could
See BUDGET page 8A
racialism, racism, injustice,
tyranny and
oppression."
Mandela
said he out
lined “the
fundamental
principles on
which our
policies are
, based and on
which we are
trying to
build a new
South Africa" during the pri-
Mandela
Pupil assignment plan doesn’t please all
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg
School board made some
adjustments to its pupil
assignment plan, but every
one’s not happy with the
board’s final work.
Major changes include re
assigning students in the
Newell Elementary School
attendance zone to the new
middle school on Plaza Road,
west of Harris Boulevard. But
that means students from
Clear Creek Elementary will
remain assigned to Northeast
Middle School, which is over
crowded.
Cochrane Middle and
Devonshire Elementary both
become increasingly African
American, but it will be at
least a year before efforts at
racial balance are attempted
by turning the two schools off
The Plaza east of Harris
Boulevard into magnets.
Bob Davis, a former
Charlotte-Mecklenburg mid
dle school principal, criticized
the board action. Davis chairs
the education committee of
the Black Political Caucus.
“I think the school board
vacated its plans to be fair,”
Davis said. “This is simply a
plan to placate the ‘haves’ at
the expense of the ‘have nots.’
“I appreciate the difficulty of
their jobs, but 1 thought they
allowed the deadline of Jan.
31 to push them into some
decisions that are not in the
best interests of all children.
“Poor black children are still
going to have to ride buses
further and further to accom
modate the new changes,”
Davis said. “I wish I could
organize to bus poor black
children into Universtiy City.
The school board said it will
allow anyone with their own
transportation to enroll in its
“workplace” magnets in the
new high-tech Education
Village schools. An elemen
tary school opens in August
and a middle school the fol
lowing year. A high school and
another elementary are
See COMPUTER page 8A
ference.
Activities kick off Tuesday
with pre-sessions focused on
the Black Community
Crusade for Children. The full
conference runs Thursday
through Saturday at the
Charlotte Convention Center.
Pre-conference sessions will
be Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Black Community
Crusade for Children was
formed by the Childrens
Defense Fund. The group’s
motto is “Leave No Child
Behind.”
In 1994, it purchased Alex
Haley’s 127-acre Tennessee
farm as a site for community
and leadership development.
Marian Wright Edelman,
executive director of the
Children’s Defense Fund, said
this week that the Black
Community Crusade has been
five years in the making and
See CHILDREN page 2A
N.C. NAACP
leadership still
in limbo state
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
With its winter meeting approaching this weekend, N.C.
NAACP members still don’t know who will form the next leader
ship team for the state organization.
Complaints about the November election has delayed the seat
ing of a new board of directors. • '
Although sources say a national official has rec
ommended that officers elected at the state con
vention be allowed to take office. Final approval
had not come from a National Board committee
at press time, but was expected by today or
Friday.
' If that is the case, the new board members ■
would take office in time foi the winter meeting
of the state NAACP. That meeting begins Friday
night with a dinner honoring outstanding
African Americans, including U.S. Senate candi
date Harvey Gantt and Julius Chambers, chancellor of N.C.
Central University.
A major item on the agenda is review by the membership of the
proposed state NAACP budget, which was approved in December
by the 1994-95 board members.
This weekend’s meeting would be the first opportunity for the
board elected in November to formally review the $514,000 bud
get.
National committee members were reportedly scrambling to
complete action on NAACP branches director Melvin Penn’s rec
ommendation as soon as possible.
“I’ve talked to Mr. Penn, but no official action has been taken,”
said Valerie Woodard, who was elected state second vice presi
dent in the November balloting.
Kelly Alexander Jr., president of the N.C. NAACP, could not be
reached for comment this week.
Woodard, long a critic of Alexander, defeated incumbent Kermit
Waddell of Charlotte in November. Several other new officers
were elected, including a third vice president, treasurer and
youth director.
Alexander and first vice president Melvin Alston of Greensboro
See NAACP page 2A
Alexander
vate meeting at his
Johannesburg home.
The lecture came after the
white-led National Party and
white extremists here
expressed concern that
Farrakhan, who arrived
Sunday for a three-day visit,
could set back efforts at racial
reconciliation in South Africa.
Even Mandela's African
National Congress had said
Farrakhan could learn about
tolerance during his visit.
Mandela has called on
blacks and whites to come
together since white minority
rule ended with his election
two years ago. Farrakhan,
. asked if racial divisions also
could be bridged in the United
States, said the key in South
Africa was Mandela's leader
ship.
Farrakhan was on a 27-day
fact-finding tour of Africa that
also has taken him to Nigeria,
where he met with military
See FARRAKHAN page 2A
Inside
Kid of the Month
Hampton Harrison is
aspiring artist.
Editorials 4A-5A
Community News 3A
Lifestyles 9A
Religion 12A
Kids Page 14A
Arts/Entertainment 1B
What's Up 5B
Sports 8B
Classified 12B
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© 1995 The Charlotte Post
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