North Carolina Newspapers

in side . . . Anti-Klan Network r" ., i rarv response to KKK march In 0uke VJnwersnj t Dr. 5amie Proctono i Mpvwsoapef HP-Tr Pay speaker - nurharnNc,; Bush, Casey ' to AfUtTtn diplomatic blitz - Page IS .;, J.f V icto something aftow crm ; editorial , Page 14 Reggae: ... A "new" sounjl in the Triangle Entertainment Front (USPS 091-380) - 2 Words Of Wisdom A great deal of latest b lod in the world for want of a little coarafce. , Sydney Smith He who does notanish evil command it to be done. Leonardo da Vinci VOLUME 60 - NUMBER 4f DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY. OCTOBER 16. 1982 TELEPHONE (919) 682-2912 PRICE: 30 CENTS 1 ', By Donald Alderman For some folks in the largely rural 2nd Congres sional District, it's Michaux in Congress nothing. So )hey plan to take their pens to the polls in three weeks, and write in H.M. Michaux rather than pull the lever for LT. "Tim" Valentine or Jack Marin.- J' -. Michaux, a Durham attorney led the field of three Democrats for; the district nomination in June, but later lost a runoff race with Valentine. Marin is the Republican candidate. Almost all Of the district's white voters supported Valentine. . 1 To i , the surprise and chagrin, of many state Democratic Party leaders, the Michaux defeat brought -about a strange response in many black voters. Historically, black voters have accepted the defeat of black candidates philosophically: But this time, 'they bolted, saying in effect, "We want Michaux and Valentine won't doJ' V "No doubt, :we, will be accused of turning our back on the- Der6cratic Party and of being disloyal, however, we are not dissuaded from our course," said Frank Ballance, one of the leaders of the write-in. "We can only say that as good loyal Democrats, we have been more patient than Biblical Job and more loyal than the average canine that you can name anywhere. Yet, our distress signal has not been heard, and we have continued to receive only the crumbs from the Democratic table. The time has come for us to stand up and be men and women and stop being beggars and boys, so we urge the people of this District to join with us in the ef fort to elect' a man who will represent them and will not sell out to Ronald Reagan." At first, party leaders sort of chuckled, But the Second District Black Caucus, - the group spearheading the move, persisted. Then Michaux said he didn't support -the movement. Still the caucus persisted. Then Michaux endorsed Valen tine, and the caucus, through one of its spokesmen, Frank Ballance of Warrenton, said: "People are responding with what they, the masses, want, not wutu suuicuiic cisc wains mem iu mu.- -So the write-in, is ojny and now party pear- more tomuuwtx&smLSi: Brent Hackney, Hunt's deputy press reiterated the governor's position that blacks get behind Valentine. Wayne toftin of the state Democratic Party, headquartered in Raleigh, said it's "unfortunate" that blacks can't support Valentine, but conceded that relations between blacks and Democrats are ' strained. Proponents' of the write-in, on the other hand, say it's unfortunate that the Democratic Party didn't support Michaux and holds the concerns of blacks secondary. They argue that the black vote shouldn't be pro . stituted for the sake of party label, party unity and hollow promises. Party loyalists say- the write-in effort is treacherous, but supporters counter by saying that white Democrats often cross-over and vote for, Republicans when they consider that to be in their best interest. ' The evidence is obvious. North Carolina has two .Republican senators in a state where voter registra tion is predominantly Democratic, by an almost 2-1 margin. Therefore, write-in proponents say the movement represents an effort to champion the best interests r interests. sub-committee supports the write-in. Several weeks ago, the group sent the; question back to the sub committee, hoping to bury it there until after the -election. But just a few days ago, the sub-committee approved the movement again, and so the issue is back on the floor. , In other counties of the second district, there ap pears to be a lot of support for the effort, par ticularly in Warren, Vance and Granville. Butit is difficult to pinpoint an accurate assess ment of how theAbattle is shaping up in the hinterlands becausetapparently blacks who oppose the move either arfin't being vocal, or just don't have, access to a foAim. f ' s, Basically, the opponents who are talking fall into twd camps: those who say the effort is too complex, that time has defeated the effort and that it would be a losing, cause. Other opponents oppose the ef fort: because it cooflicts with their special political I? ) V i f.'f!:'- Co of black voters Write-in proponents, and even those in opposi- tion to it, note that the movement represents far( more than a political love affair with Michaux. Rather, it reveals a growing, almost virulent disenchantment with the Democratic Party, and its habit of taking black voters for granted, according to a caucus spokesman. . For example, say officials of the N.C.-Black Leadership Caucus, white Democrats did not sup port the Howard Lee bid for lieutenant governor in 1976, despite the fact that Lee led a field of eight, candidates in the primary. He lost to Jimmy Green . in a hotly contested runoff race. What this all means is that North Carolina" politics might not ever be the same after the, November 2 elections. Here are just a few of the k things that could happen: Democrats could lose their century-old lock on, the growing black vote that more often than notjt becomes the swing factor in many key elections. , The black political leadership picture could come out completely' different, - depending upoir Proponents of the movevconsider it the only sen sible movje for black voters in light of current political events. JThey also feel the write-in effort has a better than even' chance of sepding Michaux to Congress' Here's what they point to: . , In several Of the district's ten counties, there are highly charged Ujcal races that will get a higher than normal rjumber tof black voters to the polls. t ? Mo black voters agree that Valentine, cut from'jMsame political cloth as L.H. Fountain who held thexongressional seat for more than 30 years, is little flif ferent rtian Marin, the Republican. Many of the'-black aivdidatfes who are running either with nooppositi6ri' br'tojeen opposition owe their position largely to enthusiasm generated by Michaox's lively campaign earlier. ' J ) : y Governor Jim Hunt MICHAUX So supporters are optimistic. Ballance says that while the district black caucus will coordinate the write-in effort, leaders in each of the counties are responsible for getting out the vote in their areas. Proponents also say that since white voters will be split between Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians, the write-in effort should be in pretty good shape. And finally, if the write-in is successful, that is if Michaux gets as much as half of the votes he got in the runoff race, Democrats might be willing to sup port elimination of the second primary rather than risk losing all or most of their black voters to Republicans and Independents. So, in the 2nd District the stage is set, the actors are in place, and the curtain is about to rise on one of the fiercest political fights in recent memory. Fiafe Another Fight Before .-('. sateUiJii .11. II riiNNA irittjii-u" Reoub icans xouia onne meir nauunai ic-vei , wwAmmyi-v VkKv-ii.iLVjtJiMitv COUrilng Ol DiaCK voters iu inumidiuima, u r i'. ; ., likely find some willing ears. The battle lines have already been drawn. For example, in Durham, home of the powerful Durham Committee, the organization's political Durham City School Aides "Organizing For More Clout By Pam Banks Teacher aides in Durham's City schools want the right to vote in the local and v state educators association, and , they arc forming their own professional organization to fight for that, - .... The new organization, named the Durham City Support Personnel Association, wants fuM membership status with the Durham City Association of Educators (DCAF) and 'rhc N.C Association of Educators (NCAE). Currently teacher aides have an associate membership status in the two organizations: They pav $64 in annual dues, half of the $128 teachers pay, and' the aides can not vote. Organizing' efforts by the city's 200 or so teacher aides have spark ed some controversy, with both sides blaming the other. It is not clear , how many aides are in volved. Orcanizcri wouldn't release specific figures.' Mrs. Emma Bass, a teacher at F..K. Powc School and president of the Durham City Association of Educators (DCAE), says the state NCAE constitu tion has to be changed before, the local group can ; accept , the aides' association. However, Vernon Bridges, an aide at Y.E. Smith School, and the constitution committee chairman for the aides association, contends that if 75o of the DCAE would approve their membership in the local group; the state body .wouia recognize tne .aides group. As part of the organiz ing effort. Durham's aides arc being urged to join both DCAE and NCAE. But the real question is can this fight for full professional status by teacher aides be prevented from spilling over into "the classroom and creating ill will bet ween aides and teachers. Mrs. Mcrticc Monroe, one of the principal movers behind the organizing move, and an aide at C.C. Spaulding Elementary School, says she hopes so. . sionals," said Mrs. Monroe. "We care what happens to our schools and we care what hap pens to the children." - But. the professional issues are also impor tant, according to the aides organizers. For ex ample, they say, aides have only year-by-year contracts, rather than multiple-year contracts, and training workshops arc held only once a year. Teachers, on the other hand, the aides contend, have periodic workshops throughout the vcar. It is not clear "What we arc trying how many teachers in the to gain is a better work- system has multiple-year Ing environment between , contracts. Bridges and Mrs. Monroe also sav teacher ' aides don't enjoy due process rights and don't have a grievance pro ' cedure that applies to dismissals and some con tested disciplinary, ac tions. But ; Howard i McAllister, assistant :. i V r.. : Mjpciuuciiuviir I'm 1'v.i- (o attract more sonnel in the city system, voters. The issue says tne same, que pro cess and grievance pro cedure that-applies for teachers is applicable to aides as well. Mrs. Monroe said her colleagues feel the aides association as a unit of the local, state and na tional NCAE would reap the same benefits as (Continued on Page 10) By Donald Alderman Many of , North Carolina's f , more than 40(t,000 black Democrats appear ready to jump out;, of the Democratic Parly's hip pocket, but it's not clear where they will land. " What is clear is that a smoldering black disen chantment with the Democratic Party, lurk ing under the surface for years, has exploded into the open. The fallout could have far-reaching repercus sions, not only for black voters and their rclation viip to the Democratic Parly, but lor the Republican Parly as well in its stepped up efforts black could also fuel interest in in dependent politics for blacks, a move that has loomed on ' the fringes for more than 20 years now. f But the leap's more immediate impact could be on ' the all -but -announced candidacy of Gov. Jim Hunt, for the U.S. Senate race in 1984 against Republican Senator Jesse Helms. 1 Everyone agrees that a Hunt-Helms Senate race will be a vicious political fight, with the financial and political armies already gathering. Everyone also agrees that black voters could play a pivotal role in that fight; "It's not enough to say he (Helms) is a bad guy." said Hunt's-dcpu-tv press secret arv. Brent Hackney. "He Hunt) can't take blacks for granted because you 'can't win a statewide election without the sup port of blacks." Willie l.ovett, chair man of the powerful Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black Peo ple, agrees: "Hunt needs a lot of work and en thusiastic support. The choice is not whether you're going to support Hunt or not. but how much are you going t put into it." At first glance. Hunt appears to be the ob vious choice for black voters mainly because Helms is perceived as be ing totallv auainst issues that blacks consider to be in their best interest. Additionally, large numbers of blacks have not voted Republican in this ' state since Reconstruction. But recently. Hunt's "black silver lining" developed a cloud. Neither the governor nor state Democrat it Party leaders activclv supported the 2nd District congressional candidacy of Durham at torney H.M. "Mickey" Michaux. In addition to that, the Hunt administration's decision to dump tons of toxic waste material in a Warren County landfill has angered many black' with significant politic;'! clout. The decision ap pears 10 many to be ' racist because ... the population of Warren County is about 60"'. black, and in the are;; immediately adjacent to teachers and paraprofes- City Officials Not Convinced Sexual Harassment Exists "l: By Isaiah Singlet ary Despite recent allega tions (hat women under arrest in Durham arc often propositioned for sexual favors by Durham police officers, city of ficials say they aren't convinced that the pro blem is as serious as many say. City officials even minimize comments front a veteran police of ficer, who asked to re main unidentified, who described the problem as serious and widespread. "If the problem is as widespread as the officer says it is, 1 would expect to sec a lot of complaints about it," said Durham Cky Manager Barry , Del Castilho. "The last one that I personally " remember was a .highly publicized one about six or seven years ago. But I'm just not aware of any .reccntcomplaints," However, ; "one recent situation that at least hints at the problem in volves a former magistrate and a former Sheriff's Department deputy who have been, charged with, illegally disposing of drunken driving charges against a woman in exchange for sexual favors. The case is still pen lig. ': It is difficult to assess the number i of com plaints because when a citizen files a Charge against a police off iecr with the department's iiir lernal affajrs division, the complaint is usually never discussed publicly, and there is no public report on cither the humbcr of citizen com plaints or the type of "hit. on police officers them." For example,, in its continuing investigation of sexual harassment by -local police officers, V77k'v Carolina Times learned of the case of Ms. Cyn thia Bynum, who ' said she was propositioned .in' an interrogation room in the sheriffs department area ot the county cour , (house. 'Ms. Bynum filed- a complaint ; with the police, andf it is unknown if any action has been ; taken on the complaint. Their. ln;.ihe heal? of the recent sheriff's, race, District Attorney Dan Edwards filed charges against a dcrfut.v and a magistrate, alleging that they both had sexual relation with a woman complaints madi against ; , who had been arrested police officers. i But many women in Durham have told The Carolina Times that on drunken ddnving charges. Thcmen, later, according to the charges, arranged for the charges against the woman to be dropped without her having to go to court. One woman, who ask ed not to be identified, said these cases show what's really happening in Durham's v law j en forcement agencies. "I don't think they would have tried it," she said, "unless they were sure they'd get away with it. And for them to think they could get away with it, it's got to be happen ing all the time." But complaints .not withstanding, - city of- , ficials aren't convinced that the problem is real, or at least not to the ex tent that many citizens think i is. : Del Castilho said, for example, that a two year summary of complaints against police " officers shows only 'one com .plaint where sexual harassment was alleged. ( Complaints -v. which dominated the summary, he said, fell into one of four categories. They arc: unprofessional con duct, excessive force, operational, and other a not so' clearly defin ed category. It is not clear if actual sexual pro-' positions could fall under the "unprofes sional conduct" or "ex cessive force" categories. Of the allegations made by the veteran police officer public safety chief Talmadge' I.assitcr said, "1 don't sec that there's anything there. What you have is an officer making ac cusations too general to check out. But if that of ficer would call me and give us 'more informa tion, I'd be "happy to pursue it. But without more concrete informa tion, I couldn't justify the use of time and man- disprove those allega tions." So, without more for mat complaints or more concrete evidence from those officers who think there's a real problem of sexual harassment in the police department, of ficials arc stilt unwilling to investigate these claims of police miscon duct. It is even unlikely that they are willing to review police com munications tapes to determine if they show patterns which may sug gest a misuse of police equipment. "Reviewing the tapes," said ' Chief Lassiter, "is such a lengthy and in-depth process, that I'm not too optimistic that it would prove anything. But if we had more specific in formation, I'd be more apt to think about doing iti It would .be a ine landfill site, the population is about 73 black. So, all of a sudden. Hunt is not quite so ob vious a choice, but Hackney doesn't seem worried. In a recent in terview, Hackney hinted that the recent Hunt de sions that have en, aged blacks were made with the thinking that Hunt's generally good relationship with Blacks wouldn't be seriously hurt, or that blacks would forgot these decisions by 1984. "I think there's a trust between Hunt and blacks," he said, "that was built . over a long time.. And 'I don't think fhat one or two issues will tear that down." Whether the relation ship between blacks and Hunt can withstand the decisions plus the grow ing disenchantment with Democratic Party politics is certainly open to conjecture. Floyd McKissick thinks now is the time to do something about that. "I don't think either party has the best in terest of- blacks at heart," McKissick said. "I think both need to change their policies. , McKissick. uce chaii man of the N.C. Black leadership ("aucu., a statewide black political organization, also a black voters have -not us ed their political strength effectively. Said McKissick an Oxford attorney, who has been a member of both political parties in 1984. blacks should be in a position to "...have the parties come to us instead of go ing to them begging..." "Blacks should .nillinc some concrete and practical objectives," McKissick continued, "things that outline progress for the whole race. Thai's how 'you play the game. You say what you want, you don't ask what you can get. It's a power game and if you're not going to play the game, you ought to get out of it." Neither Helms nor his power to prove or Continued on Page 4) (Continued On Page 7)