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dtmknm?ii<iii A/SuT _ i ?rtr?n' rfr -rnXZ TrnT"
Roseboro ousted after split board vote
After it mt all ower? a room full of
grassroots supporters, words of praise from
elected officials oor a rousing sermon by the
Rev. Lac Faye Mack could save Marie Rose
boro's job
The executive director of the housing
authority was fired Tuesday night after a 3-2
vote by the HAWS board of commissioners.
The vote was split along racial lines with
white commissioners Ellen Hazzard and
William Benton voting to keep Roseboro at
the hefan and African American members
William Andrews, Ernie Pitt and Louise
Dim voting tor her diimussl
In ? statement, Andrews, the board's
chairman, said he ippwrihri the job Rose
boio did during her tenure, but that *1* booed
oeeded to ?cck an executive director Ifltff
?tffr end "training" Cof
the position.
The purpoee of thie booed action it to
immediately provide the expert management
??w< leadership thot 'i** agency rpnnirrf The
aeeas of financial management, HUD Con
tractual Relationships Buroiew and Commu
nity Relationship* and Human Resource
Management aee of particular locus and con
cern," tt?* statement read.
Roeeborosat beside Andrews through the
director, before the board treat into ? three
hour doted tettioa to ditcmt her futuae. She
told member* of the prat that the feh
"betrayed" by the vote.
Rotcboro- who often toad her goal wot
to stop families from making public housing a
generational cycle hat been ensued by
detractors, both in and out of the agency,
tince the took over the pott aimoet two yean
ago.
Moat recently, Roteboro hat come under
fire after a tenant went on a wild shopping
tpree after cashing a $23,054 check tent to her
foMMaiAII a
Winston-Salem Greensbobo High Point vol. xxv no. 7
The Chronicle
The Choice for African American News and Information ?-mail oddress: wschronOn?tunlimitad.n?t
Black lawmakers
demand apology for
bumper sticker
fHE ASSOCIATED PRESS
? RALEIGH - Some black lawmakers are demanding that a state
senator apologize for a bumper sticker he distributed this week
describing his sentiments on welfare.
* During the selection of 21 counties allowed to experiment with
their own welfare programs on Wednesday, Sen. Hugh Webster dis
Cributed bumper stickers proclaiming "Can't Feed 'Em, Don't Breed
fmr
? "I think that's the essence of welfare reform," said Webster, R
Caswell. "I want to help the unable, but damn the unwilling."
* Rep. Toby Fitch, D-Wilson, said Webster humiliated poor people.
? "What bothers me the most is that Senator Webster felt comfort
able enough to personally hand such garbage out to the press,"Fitch
feid Friday. -
* Rep. Mary McAllister, D-Cumberland, said the sticker was an
1 insult to women of all ethnic groups.
* Webster was traveling to Nevada to attend his ton's Wedding and
was hot available for comment Friday.
?The head of the Robeson County NAACP issued a statement say
ing the sticker "simply demonstrates the sickness in many Caucasian
conservatives regardless of party."
"After Africans in this country endured years of breeding by white
masters, we must now listen to Caucasian conservatives remind us of
the sting of slavery," said the Rev. Franklin Bowden Jr. "Though I
' - ? ,
See Bumper sticker on A11
SCLC founder vows
to continue mission
By DAMON FORD
THEpqtONKV!
The Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth has fond memories growing up on a
farm outside Birmingham, Ala. /
He and his two brothers and six sisters woke up early in the morning
to feed the chickens and milk the cows and later in the heat of the day
they would head out to the fields to pick peas and collards.
Life was filled with hard work but young Shuttlesworth enjoyed
?going "all the things a country boy does."
;? But there was always another desire to fulfill - a life in the ministry.
?I "Since my youth 1 have always wanted to be a preacher," Shut
?flesworth said.
J* And he's done just that for more than SO years as founder and pastor
>f the Greater New Light Baptist Church in Cincinnati. But at the ripe
old age of 76, some observers would call Shuttlesworth more than a
preacher, they would call him a legend in th$ civil rights struggle.
Shuttlesworth was in town last weekend to celebrate the 15 th anniver
sary of Emmanuel Baptist Church pastor John Mendez. -
?.' "I don't consider myself as a legend," he said. "I consider myself cho
? sen by God to fulfill a task such as Moses or Paul. God knew He would
Tneed a tough individual in Birmingham, Alabama."
Shuttlesworth was thrown in the fire in the 60s when members of the
; Klu Klux Klansmen bombed his home. Fear never entered his heart
' though he knew his wife and five children could have been hurt. Instead
.of running away, Shuttlesworth joined with the Rev. Martin Luther
See lhuttl*?werth mAII
j
The long way to school
4 [* ? Photo by Bivm Chapman
CUMaff d IHah tor* (h* * Hgh0 Imm ml km?<yiOrf(bm Norlh fonylh Ugh School. Th? youfh and their pmnnti
-r??ryO^p ywxOi *awlhaQ?yPwww luhdhHeion. *f tOfctinh tinyaim, >)w>a^ 0t& couid go to North," White
Parents up in arms over suspensions
By KEVIN WALKER
THBCWPNIPl
Finding a leat on a but pulling out of
the Georgetown community bound for
North Forsyth High School isn't much of
a chore.
Over the years, a large number of
African American male students in the
middle-class community adjacent to Old
Town have been booted out of the school,
with at least six Georgetown students
expelled already this school year.
Under school system policy, students
who commit serious offenses can be
expelled from one school and reassigned
to another.
According to Georgetown residents,
officials at North Forsyth know the rule
well. In fact, only a handful of black males
in the neighborhood still attend the school,
residents say.
"Education is supposed to be free, but '
I'm paying for it. I nave to come up with
gas money every week so my >on can go
to achool at Glenn (High School)," said
Gloria-Jean Freeman, whose son Russell
was kicked out of North after a fight last
month.
Last weekend ? during an event to
address problems within Georgetown and
the neighboring community of Stonewall
?parents, students and city leaders ques
tioned the growing trend.
Among those raising their voices the
loudest were Katie and Johnny Forte.
The couple has been on a crusade ever
since their son Erich was suspended from
North Forsyth early last month, after they
said school officials accused him of being a
"gang leader."
"I can't let it die...I refuse to just give it
up," Katie Forte said.
True to her word, Forte has rallied sup
port from community leaders and
Georgetown parents, many of whom are
in the same boat.
While Erich Forte and two of his
friends continue to make the 45-minute ?
trip to Glenn High School, his parents are
fighting his yearlong suspension on
charges the grounds that North Forsyth
officials have not substantiated the
charges.
On Sept. 1, according to a school docu
ment seen by The Chronicle, Erich Forte
was seen by a North Forsyth employee
"standing over" a fight between a group of
students before school.
The document confirms that Erich
"was not involved" in the altercation.
The following day, Erich Forte was seen
on the school's surveillance camera leading
"a group to confront another group in the
hallway before school. Again, Erich was
not involved in a physical fight, but school
officials said they believed he would have
been if an assistant principal had not
stepped in.
Katie Forte charges that the video of
See Taani on A10
? T m ^ i
Usj
Judge rules disrimination suit class action
By DAMON FORD
?nfffflRPWtf
Last Friday thousands of black farm
ers who have filed a S3 billion discrimi
nation suit against the Department of
Agriculture got a shot in the arm when
U.S. District Court Judge Paul Friedman
ruled it as a class action suit.
The 26-page ruling by Friedman
allows black farmers who filed discrimi
nation complaints against USDA
between Jan. 1983 and Feb. 21, 1997 to
do so as a group thereby bettering
chances farmers will receive the compen
sation they desire.
"The court concludes that the class
action vehicle is the most appropriate
mechanism for resolving the issue of lia
bility in this case," Friedman wrote.
The suit claims discrimination
through denial of farm loans, crop subsi
dies and other ben
efits. The trial is
scheduled for Feb.
1,1999.
"Our prayers
have been
answered," said
Tim Pigford, a
black farmer in
Riegelford, who is
lead plaintiff in the
case. '"This ruling is
very encouraging Clayton
to a lot of families
in the South. We hope the government
will go ahead and settle this case with
dignity and pay us the compensation we
justly deserve."
Alexander Pires, the lead attorney for
the black farmers, estimated the class
could be as large as 4,000, almost 10 per
cent of the 50,000 black farmers in the
country in 1983.
"It is a significant step for black
farmers," said U.S. Rep. Mel Watt, D
N.C. "We have worked very hard in writ
ing the bill to prevent the statute of limi
tations from expiring. Hopefully these
farmers will receive their correct com
pensation."
The judge's ruling comes as a provi
sion waiving the statute of limitations for
black farmers, makes its way through
Congress. The waiver is attached to the
Agriculture Spending Bill, which is
expected to be passed in the next few
days.
U.S. Rep. Eva Clayton, D-N.C., who
has championed the farmers' cause,
hailed the ruling.
"It will give
farmers the right as
a class to expand
and settle quickly,"
Clayton said. "A
large number of
farmers will get
relief earlier, rather
than just one by
one. This is good
news."
Clayton helped
arrange a White MM
House meeting of
black and other minority farmers with
President Clinton in December. She abo
Srt Parmart <?i A10