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VOLUME 22 NO. 19
THE VOICE OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY
THE WEEK OF JANUARY 23,1997
75 CENTS
ALSO SERVING CABARRUS, CHESTER, ROWAN AND YORK COUNTIES
Reid’s words stir resignation demands
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Charlotte City Council mem
ber Don Reid says he fears
young black teenagers more
than whites.
Some African Americans say
he should fear fallout from that
statement.
Some black leaders are calling
Black
Monday
set to go
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Despite resistance from
some members of the African
American community, orga
nizers of Black Monday are
proceeding with plans, which
include a march and rally at
The Square.
Seeking to please some early
critics and include as many
people possible, Black Monday
has taken on a new look.
Organizers say those who can
not miss work or school to
attend the rally can show sup
port by turning on headlights
and wearing black arm bands
and black-on-white Black
Monday buttons.
The Rev. Ben Chavis, who
called for Black Monday dur
ing a speech sponsored by
Citizens for Justice, will
appear on the WPEG
“Breakfast Brothas” show
Friday morning to answer
questions about the event.
Chavis, head of the National
African American Leadership
Summit, was national orga
nizer of the Million Man
March.
The demonstration was
called in response to the
shooting by a Charlotte police
officer of an unarmed black
motorist - James Willie
Cooper - in November, three
years after the shooting death
of an unarmed black woman -
Windy Gail Thompson - by
another police officer.
Both officers were cleared by
District Attorney Peter
Gilchrist and internal police
department Investigations.
Citizens for Justice, which is
spearheading Black Monday,
formed after the Thompson
shooting.
Both deaths have sparked
calls for an independent citi-
See NORTHWEST on page 3A
for his resignation and plan to
appear at Monday’s council
meeting to make their point.
Reid, who was endorsed by the
Black Political Caucus in the
1995 elections, made the
remarks at a Leadership
Charlotte seminar two weeks
ago. Reid and other public offi
cials at the meeting were asked
about race relations in But Reid
Charlotte. told Bush he
Mecklenburg County commis- should not feel
sioner Tom Bush opened the it’s racist to
discussion by noting that he fear young
locked his car doors when young blacks,
blacks cross the street near him. “If you are in
Bush said it was wrong to do so the streets of
and cited that as an example of Charlotte at
the race problems in Charlotte. night and
Reid
you’re approaching two black
teenagers and two white
teenagers, Td be more afraid of
the black teenagers,” Reid said.
“Anybody that isn’t more afraid
of young black men than any
other group in the city just does
not know the score.”
The remark drew angry
responses at the Leadership
PHOTO/PAUL WILLIAMS III
Agibike Nrobia shows students from Sedgefield Elementary School a pair of shackles used to keep slaves immobile on the
Henrietta Marie. The exhibit is in its final week at Spirit Square in Charlotte before packing up for Florida.
Setting sail
Henrietta Marie exhibit attracts
big crowds in final days
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE PRESS
After a two-month visit,
Charlotte bids the Henrietta
Marie bon voyage this week.
Artifacts from the slave ship
have been on display at Spirit
Square since Nov. 8. Charlotte
was the fourth stop on the
exhibit’s national tom-.
The accompanying lectures
and seminars organized by
Spirit Square -vice president
Dawn Womack helped boost
participation and attendance to
more than 60,000.
“From what I have heard, we
Civil rights veterans wonder where
and when new leaders will emerge
have not seen as much traffic
for any single program or
exhibit at Spirit Square,”
Womack said Tuesday. “This
is history for us.”
On weekends, patrons have
stood in long lines to see the
exhibit, which includes a repli
ca of the ship’s hold where
Africans were kept during the
voyage from west Africa to the
Americas. Also shown are
shackles, some small enough
for children.
Parade marshals
“The momentum is build
ing,” Womack said. “We are
seeing more and more coming
during the day. We are near
the end and spaces are friU.”
The past three weekends
have seen up to 10,000 visitors
jam the exhibit. The weekend
average attendance has been
about 2,000, Womack said.
“We have seen all along the
way high attendance in the
evening lecture series,”
See SHIP on page 2A
By Jay Reeves
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The
Rev. Abraham Woods gets a
little more worried each time
he hears of the death of anoth
er civil rights leader who
helped pull Alabama through
its darkest days of racial con
flict.
That’s because Woods, 68,
sees no one waiting to take
the place of those pioneers.
“I’m frightened by this gen
eration coming in behind us,”
Woods, active in the move
ment in the 1950s, said. “I
■ don’t see the commitment.”
Last week, the day after the
nation observed what would
have been the 68th birthday of
Martin Luther King Jr. if hot
for an assassin’s bullet, voting
rights pioneer W.C. Patton
died after a long illness. He
was a founder of the National
Association for the
Advancement of Colored
People in Alabama.
Weeks earlier, civil rights
lawyer Arthur Shores died.
Before that, moderate white
businessman Emil Hess
passed away. Last January,
black millionaire A.G. Gaston
died.
Each man played a vital role
in keeping a lid on
Birmingham in those violent
days of the early 1960s, when
black churches were being
bombed and Bull Connor was
unleashing police dogs and
fire hoses on marchers.
“We are losing a lot of histo
ry, a lot of understanding, a
lot of even-tempered individu
als who would rather sit down
at the negotiating table than
riot,” said Ron Truss, presi
dent of the Birmingham-area
NAACP.
Shores represented King and
other demonstrators in court
when no one else would, and
Hess quietly supported the
movement by hiring blacks to
work in his Parisian depart
ment store.
Gaston, for years Alabama’s
pre-eminent black business
man, served as a buffer with
See WHO’LL on page 3A
:X
55%
Charlotte meeting and the com
munity when it was reported
last week.
This week, African Americans
reacted with the Black Political
Caucus deciding Sunday to
invite Reid to its next meeting
to discuss his remarks.
Caucus chairman Bob Davis,
See REID on page 2A
County
takes a
look at
cruising
By Herbert L. White
THE CHARLOTTE POST
It’s still winter, but
Mecklenburg County parks offi
cials are already thinking about
spring and one of its controver
sial activities.
The Parks and Recreation
department will hold the first of
three workshops Thursday to
inform residents living near
three west Charlotte parks of
what to expect during cruising
season.
’The first session is Thursday
at 7 p.m at Hornets Nest
Elementary School near
Hornets Nest Park, the county’s
busiest cruising site. Others ses
sions will be held Jan. 30 at
Goodwill Industries, 2122
Freedom Drive near Camp
Greene Park and Jan. 31 at St.
Mark’s United Methodist
Church, 917 Clanton Road near
Clanton Park.
Cruising has been a thorny
issue for the parks department
for years. Thousands of young
people annually descend on
Charlotte parks to participate in
the warm-weather ritual, which
at times infuriates neighbors.
Freedom Park, the cruisers’
original locale of choice, became
a battleground on the issue, pit
ting mostly-black cruisers
against mostly-white homeown
ers who complained about noise
and unruly behavior. Three
years ago, county officials shut
off cruisers’ access to Freedom,
forcing them to scatter to other
locations. Hornets Nest Park,
located on Beatties Ford Road,
See CRUISING on page 3A
Inside
Editorials 4A-5A
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Lifestyles 10A
Religion 12A
Sports 1B
A&E 4B
Regional News 8B
Classified 10B
Auto Showcase 11B
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) 1996 The Charlotte Post
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PHOTO/SUE ANN JOHNSON
N.C. Rep. Beverly Earle and Bell South executive Bob Freeman
lead Monday’s Martin Luther King Day parade. The event was
sponsored by the West Charlotte Merchants Association.