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http://www.thepost.nnindspring.com
THE VOICE OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY
THE WEEK OF MAY 15 1997
VOLUME 22 NO. 35
75 CENTS
ALSO SERVING CABARRUS, CHESTER, ROWAN AND YORK COUNTIES
‘Everything’s cool’ after altercation
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Greene, Watson patch differences
All’s well now between city
council member Malachi Greene
and businessman Troy Watson.
The two traded public apolo
gies - complete with bear hugs
- this week for a confrontation
on May 6 which ended with
Watson filing criminal assault
charges against Greene.
“Everything’s cool,” Greene
said Tuesday.
Greene made a public apology
to Watson during Monday’s City
Council meeting.
Watson, who was present,
approached Greene and the two
embraced. Watson took the
podium before the council and
pronounced the incident over.
He said he dropped charges
against Greene, which included
assault and battery, affray and
aggressive physical force.
Greene faced up to 30 days in
jail and a $250 fine if convicted.
On Tuesday morning, they
returned to the scene of the inci
dent, playing out a similar apol
ogy during the Tuesday
Morning Breakfast Club meet
ing at McDonald’s Cafeteria.
Accounts differ as to the alter
cation’s origin, but during a dis
cussion about the future of the
troubled westside restaurant,
Watson called Greene a liar.
Greene says he grabbed Watson
from behind, but was restrained
by those around them.
Watson claims Greene put
him in a head lock, dragged him
to the floor and punched him
several times.
“I did not hit Mr. Watson,”
Greene told reporters last week.
“I did not put Mr. Watson in a
head lock or a half nelson.”
Greene and others have
worked to prevent McDonald's
Restaurant and the adjacent
hotel from closing. Founder
John McDonald died two years
ago and his widow, Eunice, has
operated the restaurant since.
Watson has pushed a competing
plan.
The restaurant faces foreclo
sure if a suitable, preferably
African American, buyer is not
found.
The community buzzed with
talk about what happened and
why.
Greene and Watson apparent
ly met Monday morning to dis
cuss the incident and a way out
of what had become a public
joke.
Editorialists and talk radio
hosts had a field day, as did
WPEG radio’s Breakfast
Brothas, who broadcast a spoof
of the incident with background
screams and crashing furniture.
Support for fallen leader
PHOTO/DIANNE V. CURTAIN
First Union National Bank executive and national N/VACP board member Lenny Springs (center) and other African Americans
voice support for former Transamerica Reinsurance President Bill Simms at a press conference Tuesday.
Despite lies, friends back
fonner exec Bill Simms
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Until this week. Bill Simms
was a shining example of busi-
ness savvy and community
leadership.
Now he’s a tragic hero -
beloved and reviled for an
apparent character flaw.
■rhe TransAmerica Insurance
executive revealed this week
that he lied about his education
and sports background.
Ironically, Simms achieved
more than most African
Americana in a corporate set
ting as the highest ranking
black person in Charlotte’s
business world, making him a
role model for many.
With affirmative action pro
grams under attack as never
before, Sinuns, 62, proved that
given the opportunity, some
Atrican Americans can perform
as well as, or better, than
whites.
"rhaCs the irony of America,”
said business consultant Bill
McCullough. “We are a country
more concerned about titles,
and diplomas and degrees and
we fail to look at individuals in
terms of how they can con
tribute to society.”
Simms resigned Monday
from his position with San
Frandsco-based TransAmerica,
where he was set to become
president of its insurance prod
ucts division in Los Angeles.
The news sent waves of shock
and dismay through the entire
community, but nowhere was
the revelations felt more deeply
than among African
Americans.
Recriminations were beard
from blacks and whites as the
news made the roimds of coffee
shops and talk radio: But many
supported the man who, upon
coming to Charlotte five years
ago, had become a role model of
how business executives could
give back to their communities.
Simms was everywhere, help
ing secure an NFL team for the
city, leading arts and sports
fund raising drives, chairing
the local Urban League and
working on behalf of young
black males and pregnant girls.
Simms’ name became synony
mous with action. He was
named The Post’s 1995 Man of
the Year, in part because of his
work with community organi
zations.
But amid the din of anger
and pain a few paused to
See SIMMS on page 2A
Former TVansamerlca Reinsurance executive Bill Simms, pho
tographed at the N.C. Blumenthal Performing Arts Center In
1995, admitted lying about his education and athletic back
ground.
PHOTO/DIANNE V. CURTAIN
Charlotte aty Council member Malachi Greene (left) and business
leader Troy Watson were all smiles at the Tuesday Morning
Breakfast Club’s weekly meeting.
Tuskegee syphilis
apology not enough
for some in Alabama
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
’TUSKEGEE, Ala. - President Clinton’s planned apology to the
living participants of the Tuskegee SyphiUs Study will be accept
ed but the university would like more.
Tuskegee University President Benjamin F.
Payton said Tuesday he applauds Clinton’s deci
sion to issue a formal apology on Friday to sur
vivors who were denied treatment for syphilis as
part of a government study.'^jut Payton also
wants the president to announce his support of
funding for a Center for Bioethics in Research
and Health Care.
The proposed center will be located at
'Tuskegee University and provide assurance that
similar studies would never happen again.
“The Bioethics Center would also help trans
form the legacy of the Tuskegee Study into a
Clinton
positive symbol for all Americans by demonstrating the impor
tance of acknowledging past wrongs, rebuilding trust, and help
ing to generate research in health care fields that is both scientif
ically solid and morally sound,” Payton said.
See APOLOGY on page 3A
ANC admits to
terrorist activities in
commission report
By Alexander Zavis
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CAPE TOWN, South Africa
- South Africa’s governing
African National Congress
admitted Monday that it com
mitted bombings, murders
and torture in its fight against
apartheid - sometimes killing
innocent civilians.
'The admissions were made
in a detailed, 139-page report
to South Africa’s Truth and
Reconciliation Commission,
which is offering amnesty to
people who confess to political
crimes of the apartheid era.
Most of the attention so far
has focused on allegations
against apartheid-era govern
ment officials.
Apartheid ended in 1994,
when ANC leader Nelson
Mandela was elected presi
dent in the country’s first all
race elections.
On Monday, Deputy
President Thabo Mbeki,
Defense Minister Joe Modise
and .lustice Minister Dullah
Omar went before the com
mission to answer questions
about the wrongs committed
by opponents of apartheid.
In one example, the ANC
said it ordered the bombing of
air force headquarters in
1983, in retaliation for a cross-
border raid into Lesotho by
South African security forces
that killed 42 ANC Support-
Nineteen people died in the
bombing, including 11 mili
tary officers.
For the ANC, that episode
symbolized its members’ belief
that they had been at war
against apartheid forces - and
See ANC on page 3A
Inside
Editorials 4A-5A
Strictly Business 8A
Lifestyles 10A
Healthy Body/
Healthy Mind 12A
Religion 13A
Sports 1B
A&E 5B
Regional News 10B
Classified 12B
Auto Showcase 14B
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© 1997 The Charlotte Post
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charpost@ctt.mindsprjng.com
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