THURSDAY, JULY 11, 1991
NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE FESTIVAL AUG: 5-10, 1991
'1
30 PAGES THIS WEEK
School Board makes last ditch effort to amend bill
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Kennedy asKs:
where haveSiyou been?
V By SHERIDAN HILL ' t ?
- Chronicle correspondent / ' '
- ? Rep, Annie Kennedy had only one question for school board repre
sentatives who. showed, up, unannounced, at her Raleigh office Tuesday:
Where have you been?
Representatives came, at the eleventh hour, with the 2-4-3 multi
member plan which bears no resemblance to Kennedy's bill scheduled
for a vote Wednesday.
"They didn't present anything to me early enough, and we don't
know what the impact of their plan would be," said Kennedy. Her plan
was thoroughly researched, including a study conducted by her staff
attorney of the impact on the community.
"To consider their plan now would delay our bill to the extent that
we might not have a bill. The hour is late," said Kennedy, ? -
Initially, the school board would not consider the 2-4-3 plan they
now endorse, despite the fact that their own committee suggested it in
? February, and the NAACP endorsed it. Many members of the African
? American community find it hard to view the board's behavior with
compassion.
"If they had presented this 2-4-3 plan in the beginning, we'd never
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Difference in plans
more than political
What is the difference in the Kennedy/Oldham bill and the 2-4-3
plan the school board recently endorsed?
On the surface, both plans would afford the black community the
opportunity to elect two representatives, and both plans have three
members elected at-large.
But a crucial disparity has to do with how well each plan can pro
vide the opportunity for an African-American to actually be elected.
In the Kennedy/Oldham plan, two districts would be composed of
primarily black voters, thus affording a fair opportunity to elect two
black representatives. Under the 2-4-3 plan, two members would come
from one district which is approximately 60% black. The black vote
?would be^plit, making it possible for a white candidate to be elected in
the predominately black district
1 am astounded that the school board had the 2-4-3 plan suggested
to them by their committee in February, and wouldn't consider it then,"
said Rep. Kennedy.
She points out that no one from the school board contacted her until
Tuesday, the day before her bill was expected to come up for a vote.
"My plan was thoroughly researched and I know what its impact
will be," she said. "But this 2-4-3 plan, no one really knows how it will
impact the black vote and that is the key issue here."
N* A*T*l?0*N*A*L
NEWS
20th Reunion for busing grads
CHARLOTTE (AP) ? When the Class of
v 1971 began its senior year at West Mecklenburg
High School, Sandi Ridout couldn't understand why
some of her best friends had be6n bused to other
schools.
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Robert Leak was a new sti^dent at Wept
Mecklenburg, and he looked forwar^o the oppor
tunity. But some of his friends were qPgry that they
had to leave predominantly-black ^est Charlotte
High for the unfriendly turf of West ?feck, a long
time sports rival. M
*
Cross burned at black family's home
WINTER GARDEN, Fla. (AP) ? Three
days after Marquita Franklin and her family moved
into their house, their front window was smashed
and a cross was left smoldering on their lawn.
The window was shattered again in January.
And over the July Fourth holiday, the front wall of
the house was spray-painted with the misspelled
racial slur: "Niggee go home."
Orange County deputy sheriffs say they are
mystified since another black family lives in the
same neighborhood of this Orlando suburb, and
there has been no history of vandalism or violence.
Call for Police Chief to resign
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? The ^lice Depart
mem needs a new chief as part of overhaul to
curb brutality and racism and keep tht agency from
slipping into a "siege mentality," said areport Tues
day from a panel formed after the videotaped Rod
ney King betting.
The Independent Commission called for Chief
Daryl Gates to end his often stormy 13?year tenure,
possibly through retirement, and recommended
; reshaping his job with a 10-year limit and more
- accountability.
: IU Med study targets minorities
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? A new study of risk
factors causing Alzheimer's disease among minori
ties in Indianapolis and Nigeria is underway at Indi
ana University Medical Center.
Research&s at the medical center said Tuesday
' the cross-cultural investigation is the first epidemio
: logic study designed to determine the environment
; tal risk factors for Alzheimer's disease.
Investigators at the medical center and the Uni
! versity of Ibadan in Nigeria, Africa, were awarded
I about $2.7 million.
NAACP weighs
Thomas' race
vs. his politics
By SUSAN FAHLGREN
Associated Press Writer
HOUSTON (AP) ? The NAACP today said it
would make no immediate decision on endorsing or
opposing the Supreme Court nomination of black con
servative Judge Clarence Thomas.
The civil rights group said it wanted to meet with
Thomas and conduct a review of Thomas' record in
public office. Thomas has been harshly criticized by the
NAACP in the past.
"We're not going to be stampeded into mass hyste
ria just because someone says we're waffling," said
Benjamin Hooks, NAACP executive director. "What
we're doing is what we've always done. We're not waf
fling."
The decision to withhold an endorsement or oppo
sition was announced today by Hooks and William Gib
son, chairman of the board of directors, at the group's
annual convention being held in Houston.
President Bush nominated Thomas, 43, last week
to succeed Thurgood Marshall, who is retiring at the
age of 83. Thomas easily won Senate confirmation in
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Photo by Mike Cunningham
Teketia Thompson looks on as Edwin
Rodriguez uses the computer at WSSU's Futur
istic Math/Computer Science Institute.
Photo by Mike Cunningham
Clarence and Jaenae Wilder enjoyed a
cool treat on a hot summer day recently
at a carnival held at the Lawrence Joel
Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Smith, League
agree on terms
of settlement
By Yvette N. Freeman
Chronicle Staff Writer
The attorneys for the Winston-Salem Urban
League and former league Executive Director Delores
Smith have reached a settlement agreement, and are
currently working out the details in their negotiations
resulting from the November dismissal of Ms. Smith by
the Urban League Board of Directors.
According to Ms. Smith in a recent telephone inter
view from her home, although the negotiations arc not
over, "We're hopeful that within the next couple of
weeks, things will be settled in some shape, form or
fashion."
Ms. Smith says one of the main reasons for the ^
negotiations is to clear the air about her dismissal.
"Reasons for my dismissal were never made clear even
up to today's date," she stated.
However, current board chairman, Nat Irvin, says
that the board will not focus on the reasons for Ms.
Smith's termination. "We're concerned more with due
process," he said.
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Futuristic math concept
Program geared to middle school kids
By Yvette N. Freeman
Chronicle Staff Writer
A program at Winston-Salem State University is
helping some middle school kids learn more about
math and to develop an interest in higher mathemat
ics, such as calculus and trigonometry.
The program is the Futuristic Math/Computer
Science Institute, which ran from June 3 to June 28,
8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., in the RJ Reynolds Business
Center on the university campus. It was the idea of
Alderman Virginia Newell who served as a math
instructor for the program.
The institute was funded by the Winston
Salem/Forsyth County Schools and Mrs. Geneva
Brown, program manager with the school system
says its purpose "was to teach these kids some math
and make them begin to think higher math; coming
out thinking about being engineers."
The four-week program was aimed at rising
sixth, seventh and eighth graders from various parts
of the community, who were chosen by Mrs. Brown
based on their test scores in math and their IQ scores.
She said, "I tried to choose a cross-section of
kids who are high in potential. Some of them live in
at-risk neighborhoods. But not all of them. We tried
to have some smart kids in here; kids from good
neighborhoods, some from at-risk neighborhoods. "
Many of the kids in the program either attend or will
be attending schools such as Philo, Mineral Springs*
Kennedy, and Atkins Middle Schools. Overall, seven
area middle schools are represented in the program.
The program participants learn more than math
though. They are also taught language and life sci
cncc skills. Dr. Ernie Wade, head master of the insti
tute and the life skills instructor, says "Wc examine
peer pressure and how that impacts on a student's
aspirations; their achievement level.
Usually as a black student, especially or often for
all students, when you achieve, you get better grades.
It's like each 'A* you get tends to move you a step
away from, very often, from the crowd.
And so we sort of talk to them about how it's
okay to do well. It's okay to make A's.and then we
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