p
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7A
NEWS/ The Charlotte Post
Thursday, February 13,1997
NAACP decisions to be made Saturday
Continued from page 1A
cemed, they can start working
tomorrow.”
Other election results are:
Vice presidents elected unop
posed were Mary Clarke,
Geneal Frazier Gregory and
Melvin B. Lowery. Clarke and
Gregory remain as first and sec
ond vice president, respectively.
Lowery, a former executive
board member, moves up to
third vice president.
David Howard was elected
treasurer. Andrea Huff, a possi
ble Howard opponent, had been
declared ineligible after a mix-
up in the reporting of her mem
bership. Howard handled local
branch pubUdty and was on the
staff of the N.C. State branch
during Kelly Alexander’s
tenure.
Twenty-four executive board
members were also elected.
The election was viewed as a
chance to settle some of the
recurring strife characteristic of
the local branch in recent years
and end control by the
Alexander family.
An agreement to install a slate
of uncontested candidates was
worked out between Woodard
and Pridgen. Under the agree
ment, Pridgen would not be
opposed for president, while
Woodard supporters Huff and
Grier would also be unopposed.
However, the agreement fell
apart when Huffs membership
could not be found in time to
qualify her as a candidate. Hers
was among several missing
memberships, but in the end
only Huffs was not found on the
chapter’s membership roster,
kept by Robbie Banks, who
acted unofficially as assistant
branch secretary.
Huffs missing membership
and the addition of three names
after the deadline to the list of
executive board candidates were
included in Woodard’s com
plaint to national NAACP offi
cials.
However, national branch
director William Penn ruled
that only the Davis election was
improper because of an inappro-
priate endorsement by
Alexander.
Another complaint had ques
tioned whether members were
properly notified of the elections
at least 10 days before election
day.
“I am pleased and glad the
other situation was verified by
the national,” Alfred Alexander
said. “The reason they gave me
was that the newsletter I put
out, had an editorial where I
supposedly endorsed John
Davis and gave him unfair
advantage in election. I don’t
agree. I think John Davis stood
on his own. I think Davis will
win in this election.”
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Plush/
Textured
Plush/
10?
12?
L.A. inner city
buses were
substandard
By April Smith
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER
PUBLISHER ASSOCIATION
improve access for those depen
dent on public transit. The pro
visions also insured that month
ly passes will be continued for
the next three years, and prices
will decrease.
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Sponsored by Countryside All-Stars
*Prizc: 1997 Harley Davidson*
Heritage Springer Motorcycle (Of Boy)
Drawing: March 1, 1997
Place: Carolina Wholesale Associates
Fayetteville, NC (off 301 and Middle Rd.)
Donation: $10 - Need not be present to win
Tickets Available, call: Day- (910) 488-5662
Night- (910) 323-3483 or (910) 323-5525
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LOS ANGELES - A landmark
settlement between the NAACP
Legal Defense and Educational
Fund and the Los Angeles
Metropolitan Transportation
Authority will remedy differ
ences in public transportation in
the inner city of Los Angeles
and its suburbs.
In the city, typically only the
poor, the disabled and the elder
ly ride buses. Most of them are
minorities. Without access to
automobiles, they are depen
dent upon pubUc transportation.
It is their only means of getting
to work, medical facilities, and
to school. 'The buses are over
crowded and ill maintained.
Suburban ridership, mostly
white professionals, comprise a
small percentage of MTA's
users, yet their facilities are
newer and cleaner.
In 1994, MTA, which receives
both federal and state subsidies,
tried to raise fares and elimi
nate discount monthly passes.
At the request of minority bus
riders, LDF filed a lawsuit, cit
ing Title VI of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, which prohibits
racial discrimination by recipi
ents of federal fimding.
Connie Rice, OIF’s lead attor
ney, asserts that the signifi
cance of the settlement goes far
beyond the parameters of Los
Angeles. “Unfortunately, dispar
ities in allocations and subsidies
between suburban and inner
diy transportation systems, and
the denial of adequate bus ser
vice to the minority poor have
emerged as a problem of nation
al scope.”
Rather than following official
recommendations to improve
bus service in the city, MTA
embarked on an ambitious pro
gram of rail construction and
developing express bus service
for the benefit of its subrurban
passengers. While increasing
bus service in the suburbs, MTA
reduced its bus fleet in the city,
in spite of the numbers of riders.
Despite the fact that 94 percent
of MTA’s passengers ride buses,
nearly 70 percent of its annual
budget was spent on programs
that serve only six percent of its
rail passengers. Additionally,
while spending only three cents
for security per bus passenger,
MTA spends over $1.20 on secu
rity for each rail passenger.
LDF’s settlement, approved
last fall, requires substantial
improvements in the system
over the course of the next six
months. According to Rice,
“MTA is now required to make
bus service its number one pri-
oriiy.”
MTA must add 102 buses by
the end of June 1997. Fifty addi
tional buses will be added to the
most heavily used lines to
Dance my babies.
Dance.
No work for you.
No fear.
Laugh and shimmy.
From your twiriing feet
to the tickied fancy of
the sweet trusting dreams
you keep.
No pain.
No grown-up rain.
Know it not.
Dance long. Dance free.
As you should.
As it should be.
This Is Your Time To Dance.
As the African proverb goes, no tree can flourish
without roots. And as AT&T celebrates Black History
Month, we continue to support organizations that
work on behalf of children, like The Children's
Defense Fund and California's Children Now. By
giving our children a good foundation, we re helping
to give them the freedom to discover and enjoy the
rich cultural legacies that strengthen for life.