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Thursday, February 2, 1989
"T he Twin City's Award-Winning Weekly "
VOL. XV, No. 23
School board bumps Phillips as finalist for superintendent
Black community leaders express
disappointment but are not surprised
By TONYA V. SMITH
- ?
ynfonicit sun iwiw
Vv f * %
k
Six hours after Bond of Educa
tion chair Garlene Grogan announced
the finalists for the superintendent
post of the city-county schools, Dr.
_ -ParhataJL-Phillipt sat inheroffice
flipping through her portfolio and
asking herself what it-takes for an _
Afro-American woman to make the
cut.
Phillips, assistant superintendent
and one of 11 semi-finalists a week
ago, was not one of four finalists
selected by the Winston-Sal
em/Forsyth County board Tuesday
morning.
What remains of the field of 42
applicants vying for the position
vacated by Dr. Zane E. Eargle, who
resigned in June 1988 to become pres
ident of Pfeiffer College in Meisen
heimer, sre four white men: Dr. James of pink and green balloons adorned
A. Burns, superintendent, Indian the corner of Phillips' desk as she
River County Schools, Vtro Beach, tried to relate her feelings after the
R14 Dr. Larry D. Coble, superinten- board dismissed her candidacy,
dent, Durham County Schools, '> , "I would have to be very honest
Durham, N.C.; Dr. EmmeuM. Floyd, and say that when I applied I did it
"I'm disappointed, but not shocked. The reason I'm not
shocked is that we have not carried ourselves in such a way
to make people realize that when injustices are made against
us, we will meet it with retaliation. We have told them by our
tolerances that we will take it, mouth off a bit, and forget
about it."
f -- Former Alderman Larry Little
superintendent, Catawba County
Schools, Claremont, N.C.; and Dr.
Richard D. Trumble, superintendent,
Kanawha County Schools,
Charleston, W. Vl _
A "Have a Great Day" bouquet
Two blacks approved
contract to white
-who hired no minorities ? -
? T f - * '?{" vT '?? ' *1' T ++1 1 .aw'wr*^ JH?> * .? ~ ,f ?? . "V* V ? *? v _i_ ? ? ? v ; ?? . f r l
By TONYA V. MUVTH
Chronlel* Staff Writer
A white contractor making a "good-faith effort" to seek out bid* from
Afro-American subcontractors should have no problems identifying one minor
ity firm that can do the job at a low price, said James "Chico" Carter member
of the Minority-Women's Business Enterprise Advisory Committee (M/WBEV
But out of the 210 letters Chris D. Hilton sent to minority firms; out of the
11 bids submitted, he came up with zero. Still, the committee voted 3-2 to tell
city aldermen that the owner of Chris P. Hilton Construction Co. had made the ,
necessary good-faith effort to find Afro-American and female subcontractors
for a project to build the Little Creek Recreation Center, a $307,766 project
Joining committee member Clay V. Ring in supporting the reporttn the
city were Afro-Americans, James Mack and Michael A. Grace. Marie Rose
boro and Carter, also Afro-Americans said they could not approve such a rec
ommendation to thetoand because they didn't believe Hilton made a good-faith
effort
"Basically I don't think that Chris Hilton or any other general contractor
who says that they couldn't get a qualified minority is telling the truth,** said
Carter, who also works as a contractor as owner of Cartwood Construction
Company. "I don't think he exhausted all efforts. You don't get responses by
just sending out mailers because I get a lot of mailers that I don't respond to."
Pointing out that Hilton is building a fire station in Greensboro without
any minority subcontractors, Roseboro said if he had made a greater effort
Hilton would have hired some minority firms.
"1 think the Voluntary process works and it has worked because it seems as
Please see page A11
Derrlckson
with a surrender of my will to God's
will," Phillips said. "Consequently,
when I was not selected, I have not
felt any pain and no surprise."
Even so, the 30-year city-county
system veteran could not deny that in
her own mind she was the best candi
Ate for the position.
v NI gave them an outstanding
application," yhc referring to the
about 15 pages of additional informa
tion she included in her applicant
packet *rve worked in this system 30
well. I don't know what they're saying
la. rin.nra tkia *? ^
oy ooing tms.
Obviously, she said, tlx; superin
tendent position in the Winston
Salem/Forsyth County system is one
she'll never get
"I don't have any expectations of
getting it now."
Since the appointment of Nelson
Jessup as acting superintendent in
June, members of the Afro- American
community have rallied behind
Phillips in her quest for superinten
dent Leaden throughout the commu
nity delivered public addresses to
^pppp?? P? ? I? ? ? y? ?
"77T ? . , > _.-- Photo by Chaman* Oatowanon
Nlcolett* Miller look* m though ehe can hardly wait to reteeee
her balloon in celepratton of Catholic Schools week.
?* ? ' ? ? , ? ; .... ...... t_ .3 .
Balloon release marks ' *
Catholic Schools Week
By TONYA V.8MTTH
Chronleto Staff Wrtor
Up, up and away went almost
300 balloons Monday at Our Lady of
Mercy Catholic School in a celebrato
ry kickoff of Catholic Schools Week.
?< Girls clad in plaid jumpers and
boys in navy trousers and "Our Lady
of Mercy" sweatshirts released helium
filled red, yellow, pink, blue and
green balloons into the air. "
Please see page A2
tion-holder. Phillips said she
remained quiet and professional She
said she didn't want to help foster
public sentiroent her way, and that's a
decision she doesn't regret
"I really sort of kept a closed
mouth and remained professional
throughout," Phillips said. "LwanfCd
to maintain my professionalism."
Phillips will not apply for a
superintendent position outside of the
city-county system, she said.
This is my home," she said. "I
do believe there's something belter
out there for me. I'm going to take it
day bv day, that's all I can do. HI con- _
tinue to work. I have a contract that's
current (it expires June 30,1991) and 1
expect as long as I work to get anoth
er (contract renewal). I can't put my
feelings up on my shoulders and go
around frowning."
Please see page A 10
Phillips
botrd members urging them to select
Phillips, first as interim superinten
dent and later as the permanent posi
Black aldermen respond to
NAACP position on billboards
sss^asak? ? - ?
? While NAACP officials and some community leaders are claiming
Afro-Americans will lose jobs because of the dty Boird of Aldermen's deci
sion to ban billboards along the new Interstate 40 bypass, no factual evi
! dence has been presented to support that claim, said Alderman Larry W.
( Womble. ^
"I don't have any facts or figures and no one has presented me any or
given me any basis for that kind of rationale," Womble said. There's been a
lot of emotion and rhetoric, but where are the facts?"
By a 5-3 vote, on Jan. 17, aldermen approved banning new billboards
along 11 miles of the new 1-40. However, seven existing billboards located
near the interstate will be allowed to remain.
Alderman Frank Frye griginallysuggested the poposal and Aldermen
Womble, Lynne S. Harpe, Martha S. Wood and Virginia K. Newell supported
.^l_ ?
Aldermen Vivian H. Burke, Patrick T. Hairston and Robert S. Northing*
ton supported the Greater Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce's plan that
would have allowed billboards near six nuyor interchanges along the road.
The meeting drew more than 150 people, including Walter Marshall,
president of the local branch of the NAACP, and Dennis Schatzman, state
executive director of the organization. Both men were there to voice opposi
tion to a total ban on billboards.
"... I urge the Board of Aldermen to vote against the City-County Plan
ning Board recommendation to prohibit billboards along the Interstate 40
Bypass for three reasons," Marshall told the board. "Removing the present
signs and prohibiting the placement of new ones will directly impact nega
Please see page A 1 1
Blacks lose oufon federal programs when they ignore census
I By TONYA V. SMITH
Chronleto Staff Writer
About 2.2 million Americans, or
I one percent of the country's popula
I tion, were not counted in the 1980
census. Among minority populations,
that percentage climbed to six percent
I or one out of 20 who went uncounted.
Both undercounts resulted in
project curtailing and caused lower
funding for community programs and
I services, said Hurley W. Derrickson,
I census community awareness special
I ist for the U.S. Department of Com
merce Bureau of the Census.
The federal government has
established t special outreach pro
gram to better educate minorities on
the process and importance of census
taking, Derrickson said, pinpointing
reasons for low minority participa
tion.
"It's usually low-income blacks
who are not turning the information
in/ he said. "The outreach is to
inform the public as to the need to fill
out the census forms and its impact
on lives in two areas: government
funding ind voting."
Billions of dollars in federal
funds are returned to states, local
governments and American Indian
and Alaska Native villages. State
funds are returned to cities and coun
ties. The amounts of these monies are
based in part on population or hous
ing data
The more knowledge the gov
ernment has of an area, then, the gov
ernment can better deal with its
needs," Derrickson said. The second
area is voting. There's a normal asso
ciation of voting with the census. In
addition, the population counts for
areas is used to determine Dow many
seats a state will have in the state
House of Representatives.
"When blacks don't count them
selves in the census, they may be
eliminating themselves from partici
pating in city politics."
April 1, 1990 is Census Day and
officials expect to count more than
250 million people and 106 million
housing units, Derrickson said.
The census-taking tradition arose
out of Article I, Section 2 of the U.S.
Constitution which says, "Representa
tives . . . shall be apportioned among
the several States . . . according to
their respeftive numbers. . . . The
actual enumeration shall be made
within three years after the first meet
ing of the Congress of United States,
and within every subsequent term of
ten years. .
On April 17 1990 most house
holds will receive a questionnaire by
mail. Others, depending on their loca
tion, will have forms delivered to
them by census enumerators. There is
a short form and a longer form.
Questions about race, origin, age,
marital status, whether you rent or
own your own residence and the num
ber of rooms it has, may be asked on
the short form, Derrickson said. Add
Please see paoe A11
Gerald Long to Reynolds High students: 'It's a matter of commitment'
By TONYA V. SMfTH
Chronicle Staff Wrltar
- ? ? ? . .
The hustle and bustle made by 1,400 Reynolds High
School students readying for an assembly came to an
abrupt end when Commissioner Gerald R Long laid, "No
matter how well you are doing, you can always do better.
It's a matter of commitment"
Long^yice chair of the county Board of Commission
ers and former chairman of RJ. Reynolds Tobacco Com
pany, was the first lecturer in a series sponsored by
Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice law firm, the high
school's corporate partner in education.
Relaying his progression from a high school dropout
to head of RJ. Reynolds, Long told the students that their
successes or failures in life was a decision left up to them.
The future is the most important thing in your Ufe,"
Long said. "You've got to learn from the past because it
gives you experience."
I came from a poor family and neither of my parents
had a high school diploma. Long told the students. Deter
mined to do better for himself, Long got off to a great start
excelling in his elementary studies. He later advanced to a
7,000-member all boys high school, But, like m*nv high
school students, his interests slightly waned from aca
demics.
"I went from bid to worse/ he told the students. "I
didn't have the commitment I hid a C average my senior
year and was a long way from success. I was going
nowhere and I was going nowhere fast"
Anybody can be a failure and give up, Long said, "but
it takes someone a little special to succeed and commit"
Although determined to go to college, Long didn't
have the grades for a scholarship and only $250 to his
name. A counselor advised him to drop out of school and
join the U.S. Army, saying that the military could help pay
for his future college expenses.
After two years in the Army, which included a tew b
Japan, the then 19-year-old Long entered engineering
school at Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y. But like
many youth, NI ran across girls, beer and messing around,"
he said drawing laughter and empathebc nods from some
students. .
Nevertheless, Long buckled down and maintained an
MA" average at Adelphi while working three jobs. -
He told students about his fust job with a large adver
tising firm and his quick ascension to president of the
? -r Please see page A11