.3A
NEWS/ The Charlotte Post
Thursday, October 30, 1997
On surface, something wasn’t quite right
f Continued from page 1A
(groups made up of family and
.’friends traveling together. But I
t don’t think this march gave black
; women the same feel that black
[men came away with at the
[Million Man March. Many of us
[brought our regular selves with
fus, attitudes and aU, even as we
[would express the inner spiritual
■desire to bond with our fellow sis-
(ters, show love and make commu-
inity.
; Don’t get me wrong. If you
[ showed love, you received love
[(deep structure). But there were
[tensions and sisters weren't gen
erally showing unsohcited love
■ (surface structure). Sister Souljah
broke it down, telhng them she
'didn't like phonies and intended
to “get personal” in her address.
[Souljah began with a definition of
what it means to be a “sista:” “You
[cannot be my sista if you sleepin’
wit’ my man.” The masses
responded loudly. The rapper-
activist told them that a sister is
a person that “wants the same
■thing for you as she wants for her
self.”
On many levels, 1 felt like the
call for a march was given, but
what we needed is a call for a
shift in consciousness, under
standing that it is what we do
beyond the march that will deter
mine the ultimate success of this
march. Black women (and men)
need heahng in order to do the
work that must now be done. We
are a wounded, invisible people,
yet unable to marshal our consid
erable resources to resurrect our
selves. As if to prove the point,
there was shockingly mmuscule
media coverage given to the
march. The faces of the women
who called and organized the
march, Plule Chionesu and Asia
Coney, were nearly invisible. My
television producer sister friend
pointed out, that no real news
was made. Yes, we were there, but
we didn’t do anything.
We didn’t have a clear strategy.
For example, why didn’t
Congresswoman Maxine Waters,
who ran down the 411 on all the
dire statistics from unemploy
ment and health to incarceration
and premature death, tell us to do
something concrete? Write a let
ter, make a call, vote for this or
that bin, -withhold our economic
dollars from a specific company,
etc. Why didn’t Winnie Mandela
give us a brief lesson in global pol
itics from a woman’s point of
■view? Why didn’t someone teU us
to read something? Had Waters
told the crowd to re-register as
independents and let some of
these pohticians come to us, that
would have made news.
Though beautiful, energetic and
uplifting, there was too much
entertainment. With some enter
tainment after nearly every
speaker, some speakers were cut.
As the advocate for rites of pas
sage programs, Divine interven
tion cleared a path for me to bring
my message, but I learned more
than I gave.
We all need a rites of passage
programs, children and adults, to
help us reclaim and heal our
selves and each other as beloved
partners in this protracted, his
torical drama subtitled, “Africans
in America.” We must be taught
that we have the education, skills,
business acumen, access to tech
nology, capital and resources to
recreate ourselves and our com
munities. A call to a shift in con
sciousness is about cultivating the
■wUl to raise ourselves up from the
near-dead. Tb re-bond and act out
of a caring spirit for our people,
knowing that we need each other
if we are going to make it as a
whole people in the next millenni
um.
We must study the one topic
which binds us, crossing all the
lines of gender, socioeconomic
class, religion, etc. We must study
our history and its lessons togeth
er, that we might recreate the
bonds of faith that brought us
thus far. Martin King -wrote, “We
have been oppressed as a group
and we must overcome that
oppression as a group.” A call to a
shift in consciousness requires
that we nurture each other so
that we might five the Seven
Principles of Blackness
(Kwanzaa) and give birth to a his
torical drama’s ■victorious conclu-
Wholesale Computers, Inc.
^
2 LOCATIONS TO SERME YOU
3633 E. Independence Blvd.
Behind Pizza Hut
704-567-6555
8324-511 Pineville Matthews Road
McMullen Creek Market
704-542-4655
featuring
N-Telipro Custom Computer System
Built exclusively by W.C.I. for your needs • 3 year warranty
Desktop Systems • NonsooKS
Multi-Media Syshms • Fuu Line of Accessories
FULL SERVICE DEPARTMENT
A-f
Authorized
Service Center
Ind. Store MON. - SAT. 10AM - 6PM
McMullen Store MON.-SAT. 10AM-7PM
Vote determines bonds’ fate
Continued from page 1A
[was located near SouthPark.
• The school bonds will be used to
build 10 new high, middle and
elementary schools ($223 million)
and renovate and repair 46 exist
ing schools ($185 million).
[ The $62 million in jail bonds
JviU be used to build 900 pre-trial
jjeds, while the $23 million in
PPCC bonds wifi, be used to add
flassrooms, labs and other facili
ties for four CPCC campuses
aroimd the county — northeast,
west, southwest and central.
’• The 1997 Mecklenburg Bond
fcampaign is co-chaired by former
state legislator and Mecklenburg
County commissioner Jim
Eichardson, Dilworth
Elementary PTA co-president
I&isten Henderson and Pat Riley,
vice president of Allen Tate
Realtors.
Mecklenburg commissioner
Becky Carney is coordinating the
l^ond drive.
[“How we deal with these bonds
■wifi define what kind of commu
nity Charlotte-Mecklenburg
becomes in the next five years,”
damey said. “Failure to act
means we wfil fail to deal with
the education of our children, the
ability to prepare a work force for
tomorrow’s business needs and
the crime problem. There is no
choice. These bonds must be
passed.”
Culp is predicting an overall
turnout of about 23 percent coun
tywide and 27 percent inside
Charlotte. A black turnout of
more than 25 percent is needed
for the Democrats to retain con
trol of the city coimcil by electing
Democrats to two of the four at-
large seats and perhaps knocking
Republican conservative Don
Reid out.
Some observers think
Democrats A1 Rousso and per
haps Joe White or Steve Kearney
could win at-large seats, along
with Republicans Lynn Wheeler,
a possible mayoral candidate in
1999, and former Mecklenburg
commissioner Rod Autrey.
" ^ Heafaen ^cent jflortgt
$1000 Wedding Package Booking Now For 97 & 98
• Alter Vase • 8 Boutonnieres • 4 Attendants Bouquets
• (2) 7 Branch Candelabras ♦ 100 Thank You Notes • 4 Pew Bows
• Bridal Bonquet • 2 Mother’s Corsages • Ring Pillow
♦ 100 Invitations • 2 Grandmother’s Corsages
» 100 Napkins • 50 Bridal ShowerThank You Notes
• Throw-Away Bouquet • (1) Flower Girl’s Basket w/Petals
(P)704-375-8074 B12 W. Morehead St
(F)704-37S-8077 * Set Vp Pick-Up Included
Charlotte, NC 28208
DENTAL PLAN
$9
Per Individual
Complete Details
(704)596-1552
MO.
'
A TI
Jk
Pr ofe ssional
African Hair
Braiding
and Weaving
ALL STYLES OF BRAIDS
official Braider for Andrea Stinson
^>uiide>id ^e*tt
'P’tee Synthetic • '?tee Maintenance
4801 N. Tryon St. • Suite M • Beside PEP BOYS
OPEN 6 Days A Week 9:30 - until (704)599-9200
School Board District 2
November 4th
‘It’s All About The Cbildien’
Join Us As We Support Vilma Leake For
School Board District 2
Rev. Conrad Pridgon
Estelle Friday
Sandra Williams
Claude Alexander
Beverly Foster
Cora C. Howard
Restoy Gaston
Mozella Neely
Geraldine McClelland
Cecil Bishop
Brldgette Clark
Leslie Hughes
Hiwather Foster
Marcie Chisholm
Ann Hughes
Jackie Cox
Shirley Hood
Cecelia Williams
Dee Williams
Eleanor Mills
Janie Peters
Helen Kirk
Laura McCaskill
Patricia Mazyck
Elizabeth Randolph
Elsie Adams
Doris Lewis
Clara Jones
James McKee
Hattie W. Clark
Leroy Miller
Margaret Fulwood
Gloria Duncan
Rudolph Worsley
Charles Cathy
Lucille Batts
Jean Worsley
Yvonziner Luthberston
LaFreda Choate
Rev. Anthony Jin'wright
Rev. Thomasena Wilson
Jerry Robinson
Bettye Clark
Annette L. Mason
Shirley Witherspoon
Catherine Wilson
Jeanne Holtzclaw
Maxine Hedgepeth
Mrs. C.D. Rippey
Lisa M. Curry
Louise Hedgepeth
Rev. Smoak
Lynette Love
Louise Land
Mrs. Anna Hood
Louise Hamilton Lewis
Mable Latimer
Mrs. Hattie Harris
Peggy Johnson
Mary Barringer
Mrs. Geneal Gregory
Vandelia Dorest
Mr. Sam Dillard
Idelrie Harper
Mr. James Ross
Jean Chisholm
Ms. Jean Ross
Cynthia W. Long
Mrs. Louise Sellars
ALice Tinsley
Dr. Baxter Davis
Hattie Walker
Sonya McRoberts
Jean Davis
Margaret Carothers
Giovanni Lockhart
//
Leake Will Speak
Paid for by the Committee to Elect Vilma Leake
//
VAichmia is a metribsr FDtC.
©1W7 Wachovia Cotporation
O
KINGSI^
A P A R T M £ K-'-'T S
' CIcain, safe, quiet community
Conveniently hxa ted on bus line.
Affordable 2 bedroom sarden
and townhouses. Refri^rator,
rans'e, AC and water IrKluded in
rent. Helpful resident manascr
and maintenance staff.
Call
333-2966
M-F 9:30-6:00
PAPERTOWN
-Since 1980-
"The Party
Specialists"
Birthdays • Weddings
•Graduations*
Anniversaries • Baby
Showers* Reunions
See Us For All Of Yottr
Party Needs
4420 Monroe Rd.
704-342-5815
Are others depending on you to build the future?
Are you confident that you’ve got the right tools?
Have you realized the power of your
money? We are here. To show you how to make
the most of your money today and to help you plan for
tomorrow. Because the future is closer than you think.
*'Hfere.
\yACHOVU
LeU
Mtted: