6A
NEWS/ The Charlotte Post
Thursday, February 6,1997
S. Africa has temporary power shift
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DURBAN, South Africa - In
an apparent goodwill gesture,
President Nelson Mandela
turned over his office to his
main rival — but only for a
day.
Home Affairs Minister
Mangosuthu Buthelezi, leader
of the Zulu nationalist
Inkatha Freedom Party, filled
in for Mandela Saturday while
the president attends the
World Economic Forum in
Davos, Switzerland.
“I thank President Mandela
for the trust and confidence he
has shown in me, even though
it is well known that our orga
nizations are in opposition to
each other,” Buthelezi said
after his swearing-in at gov
ernment offices in Durban.
The move, announced by
Mandela last week, appeared
to be a conciliatory gesture.
Buthelezi has accused
Mandela’s governing African
National Congress of arro
gance and autocratic tactics.
Asked if he planned to make
any changes while in office, he
said he “would be mad” to do
so, the South African Press
Association reported.
Buthelezi, who advocates
strong powers for provincial
governments, will head the
country for little more than a
day.
Mandela’s deputy president,
Thabo Mbeki, was due back
Monday, when he will take
over from Buthelezi. Mandela,
who was to leave early
Sunday, planned to return
Tuesday.
Inkatha and the ANC fought
for control of the traditional
Zulu homeland for more than
a decade, leaving thousands
dead.
The fighting has decreased,
but tensions in some areas
remeiin high and Inkatha con
tinues to push for autonomous
powers for the region.
- In Memory Of -
Patricia Horace
Happy Birthday
to
a mother who was
always there for us
-Love-
Your Daughter,
NAKIESHA
&
Your Son,
Corey
(1-1-57 to 3-16-96)
Slave descendants prevent mine opening
By Bert Wilkinson
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
GEORGETOWN, Guyana -
A small community of African
slave descendants is about the
only thing keeping one of the
biggest gold mines in South
America from opening.
Cambior Inc. of Montreal,
Canada and Golden Star
Resources of Denver, Colo,
want to open the mine in the
western part of Suriname by
mid-year.
Preliminary studies show
more than 2 million ounces of
gold could be extracted during
the life of the mine, a compa
ny official said in an interview
this week.
However, some 400 tribal
Maroons who live near the
mine, about 65 miles west of
Paramaribo, fear they’ll be
forced-out. In the 1970s, the
government forced the com
munity to leave its home
region of 300 years to make
way for the Afobakka hydro
electric dam on the Suriname
River.
Maroons are descendants of
African slaves who rebelled
against their Dutch masters
in the 17th century and found
ed their own communities.
They comprise about 10 per
cent of the South American
country’s population of
423,000.
Cambior and Golden Star
are also major shareholders in
Omai Gold Mines Ltd. of
Guyana, which operates a
highly productive mine in
western Guyana.
On Monday, Omai officials
will give seven tribal elders
and five representatives of
Suriname’s government a tour
of the company’s Guyana min
ing operation to try and allay
their fears.
“They don’t really have to
move because they won’t be
harmed, but we are bringing
them to Guyana to see our
operations,” said Omai human
resources manager Norman
McLean, who is also Guyana’s
former army chief of staff.
The company gave several
senior tribesman a similar
tour last year, but the skepti
cism remains.
In August 1995, a waste
pond at the Omai mine over
flowed spilling more than 3.8
million cubic yards of cyanide-
tainted mining waste into two
rivers.
River drinking water was
polluted for several weeks.
Dozens of lawsuits by inde
pendent miners and river resi
dents are still pending against
the company.
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By Pamela Berry
THE CLARION-LEDGER
JACKSON, Miss. - When
Arthur James worked at the
Mississippi Research and
Development Center years ago,
he discovered a lot about the
state’s history.
One of his discoveries inspired
James, 57, and his brothers,
Robert and Jimmie, all
Hattiesburg natives, to write a
book called “The Mississippi
Black Bankers and Their
Institutions.”
The brothers say they wanted
to fill a void left by other books
on banking that failed to recog
nize the contributions of Afncan
Americans.
“I was intrigued that there has
always been an effort since
Reconstruction in trying to get
blacks to be a part of the eco
nomic process,” he said. “I want
people to understand more
about our past than what some
body else tells us. We need to
research for ourselves.”
Sidney King, president of
black-owned First American
Bank in Jackson, agrees.
“I think from a community
standpoint we need to know,”
King said. “We need to know
some of the challenges that
we’ve faced in the past and
understand that those things
can resurface unless we in the
community come together and
support the bank we have.”
The Jameses examine the
financial structure of black
banks and some of the entrepre
neurs. Some facts covered in the
book:
• Black banking can be traced
to General Ulysses Grant
appointing his chaplain to take
care of former slaves.
• The Knights of Honor
Savings Bank, established at
Vicksburg in 1892 with the help
of a black teen-ager, was the
first black-owned and operated
bank in Mississippi.
• Many of the black banking
entrepreneurs were leaders in
numerous civic and professional
organizations. They were busi
nessmen, physicians, educators,
lawyers, politicians and a minis
ters.
For example. Dr. Sidney D.
Redmond, a successful physician
and lawyer, served as president
of the American Trust and
Savings Bank, which operated
in Jackson fiom 1904-11.
Arthur James, executive direc
tor of Yazoo Community Action,
Inc., said getting the book com
pleted was a lengthy and diffi
cult process.
“I’ve always wanted to do
something like this with my
brothers, but we are all very
busy,” he said.
One of his brothers, Robert
James, 50, is president of black-
owned and operated Carver
State Bank in Savannah, Ga.
The other, Jimmie James, 58, is
chair of the department of music
at Jackson State University.
Arthur James said most of
their correspondence was done
by “phone, faxes or sending stuff
overnight... in some cases entire
drafts,” he said.
However, Robert James said
the end product made the time
crunches and his frequent trips
to Mississippi worthwhile.
“We have a part of lost histo
ry,” Robert James said. “It’s
something for us to be proud of
and document so younger chil
dren can be proud of and appre
ciate those efforts as well.”
Robert James said he’d like to
see the 114-page book used as a
reference tool for students.
“I often receive surveys from
graduate students attempting to
do research on the African
American owned banks in the
U.S. Except for going directly to
the institutions, it is difficult to
get this information,” he said.
Jimmie James recalled the
moment he fully understood the
importance of the book.
“We were at one of our book
signings in Hattiesbmg and one
of the persons in the audience
stood up and said he had posses
sion of the cornerstones from one
of the banks we wrote about.
“I was absolutely astonished
that someone felt it was impor
tant enough to preserve that
piece of history,” Jimmie James
said.
Jimmie James, who has writ
ten three books about music,
said people’s responses to the
banking book has been so good
that they are planning to write
another book.
“We’re probably going to
expand this project and go
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Video campaign swings into gear
Cassandra Sanders, Charlotte City Council member Ella Scarborough and Save The Seed
Founder Ron keeper met with Lakewood community members recently to show thier support
for a campaign to raise money for video camera equipment for the neighborhood’s police
patrol car. A citywide effort to buy camera equipment for police started last month, led by a
coalition of African Americans.
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Nominate Your Favorite Teacher/Professor/Administrator!
Who Qualifies: An individual who has touched your life, made an
impact on the direction your career has taken, or someone who has
enhanced the destiny of your life.
Think of someone who has gone above and beyond the obligation of
the classroom time and assisted you academically or socially.
Then, simply complete the form below, and return to:
tKlie Cliarlotte ^ost
P.O. Box 30144, Charlotte, NC 28230
Attention: Fran Farrer or Fax (704)342-2160
By February 28th 1997
Name of Nominee
Street Address
/
City
State
Zip
/
/
Phone Day
Evening
School University
Nominated by_
Phone Day,
.Evening-