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Punger protests Presbyterian resolution backing NAACP ?
School attorney says recent court rulings bolster
school system's controversial school choice plan
BY PAUL COLLINS
THE CHRONICLE
In July and September, Dou
glas S. Punger, school attorney for
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County
Schools, wrote letters to the clerk
of the Presbyterian Church USA,
protesting the church's support of
a proposal lawsuit by the NAACP
against the school system.
In the letters, Punger protested
a resolution passed this summer
by the General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church USA sup
I
porting proposed litigation by the
NAACP against the Winston
Salem/Forsyth County Board of
Education's redistricting plan, and
he inquired about the procedure
for trying to get the resolution
rescinded.
Punger said Friday that he
found out that the resolution was
passed during a convention the
General Assembly of the Presby
terian Church and that the resolu
tion cannot be reconsidered until
a subsequent convention, which is
months away.
When asked if the school sys
tem plans to try to get the resolu
tion overturned or modified at the
convention, Punger said, "We've
not made a decision." He said
school officials are considering
their options.
"It may be somewhat moot,"
he said, because of two recent rul
ings by the U.S. 4th Circuit Court
of Appeals'. Eisenberg vs. Mont
gomery County (Md.) Public
Schools and Tuttle vs. Arlington
County (Va.) School Board.
In both cases, the court ruled
that policies by the school systems
involved racial balancing and
were uncon
stititutional
because they
were not
narrowly tai
lored.
In Eisen
berg vs.
Mont
gomery
County, the
court ruled
on Oct. 6,
Eversloy
"The issue is whether the Mont
gomery County Board of Educa
tion may deny a student's request
to transfer to a magnet school
because of his race. We hold that
it may not."
"It is undisputed that the
transfer policy considers race as
the sole determining factor, absent
a 'unique personal hardship,' if
the assigned (schools) are both
stable and their utilization/enroll
ment factor are acceptable for
transfers. While whites and non
See Court rulings on A11
Saving Prineeville
Photo by Bruce Chapman
A houso sits atop a truck in flood-ravagod Princevillo, N.C. Tho historically black town was dacimatod by floodwaters that crostod
_ at almost 40 foot. Winston-Sahm groups havo rushod to help rosidonts rocovor.
: Campaigning to help historic black town -
Trash can, relief accounts part of unique
drives for state's only black-chartered town
BY JER1 YOUNG
THE CHRONICLE
Over the past few days, Naasira
Muhammad has put her life on
hold to help rebuild flood-ravaged
Princeville, N.C.
Armed only with a green trash
can she's labeled "the trash can of
hope," Muhammad has hit the
streets to save North Carolina's
only historically black town.
One by one, she approached
passers-by, asking them to donate
their quarters, dimes nickels and
pennies.
"This isn't my idea," she said,
with a chuckle "This is God's idea.
If it would have been me I would
still be at home in bed with a
book."
Muhammad had worked on
few campaigns before. Two years
ago, she organized an effort to send
a giant get-well card to civil rights
leader Betty Shabazz.
That, she says, was the extent of
her fund-raising efforts, until this
past weekend. Her campaign
began during Winston-Salem State
University's homecoming game at
Bowman Gray Stadium. As thou
sands filed into the stadium to
watch the Rams defeat Johnson C.
Smith University's Golden Bulls
on the gridiron, Muhammad qui
etly - and efficiently - wotted the
lines. Before kickoff, she walked the
lines of people purchasing tickets.
After the game, she worked the
parking lot searching for stray tail
gaters.
"People were just so generous,"
she said. "I couldn't believe it."
Saturday, she raised almost
$800. Tuesday, she moved her
mobile fund-raising effort to the
corner of Martin Luther King
Drive and New Walkertown Road.
As cars stopped for traffic lights
and pedestrians, Muhammad
walked in and out of the lines of
traffic tapping on car windows and
holding up her bucket.
In less than three hours, she
raised more than $200 more, which
See Local* on A10
Relief efforts launched for eastern churches
Flood-damaged
churches adopted by
local congregation
BYT. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
Faith is plentiful in the eastern
part of the state, so abundant that
many people there have been living
on it for the past two months;
there's not much else left.
"There is such a resilience of
faith (in Eastern North Carolina).
The people there are not down,"
said the Rev. Seth O. Lartey, as he
envisions the faces of the hundreds
of people he's encountered since
the regions plight began. "People
of faith do not have a lot of prob
lems dealing with it when disasters
like this happen."
The lore of Hurricane Floyd
has reached epic proportions
around the country. Images of the
water, the damaged houses, the
uprooted caskets and the mounds
of decaying livestock have become
embedded in minds and hearts , and
spurred a movement of generosity
that the state has never seen before.
Donation drop sites have
sprung up all over North Carolina,
taking in everything from diapers
ana ciotn
ing to
canned
goods and
eating uten
sils. Several
organiza
tions set up
accounts at
banks to
help vic
tims.
Lartmy
in me
midst of all the donation drives,
Lartey and his Goler Memorial
A.M.E Zion Church congregation
1
came up with novel idea - ask the
people affected by Floyd what they
needed before collecting and send
ing items.
"It creates community," Lartey
said of the church's personal
approach. "It puts a face to those
who have been victimized and to
those who are expressing compas
sion and sympathy."
Relying on connections estab
lished years ago, Goler began using
various churches in Eastern North
Carolina as "middle men" in order
to fulfill the requests of hurricane
victims. Goler has "adopted" four
Sec Goler Memorial on A9
Setting an agenda
Local black leaders work with
Jackson on strategy for 2000
By PAUL COLLINS
THE CHRONICLE
Some black leaders are helping develop a national African American
agenda, in part, to give black voters more influence in the 2000 elections.
? On Oct. 25 representatives fronj about 10 states *?
I met witti Kev. Jesse Jackson in Atlanta to discuss
developing a national agenda. This was a regional
planning meeting with representatives from mostly
Southern and Southwestern states from Virginia to
Texas - states that have large African American pop
ulations. A larger, perhaps national meeting is being
planned later.
Representing North Carolina at the Oct. 25 meet
ing were N.C. Rep. Larry Wbmble, Alderwoman
Joycelyn Johnson, the Revs. Jimmie Lee Bonham
and James Linville, all from the Winston-Salem
area; and Rep. Mary McAllister of Fayetteville.
Jackson
womoie said naving a national African American agenda would give
predominantly black organizations more clout when political candidates
come asking for endorsements. Rather than the usual practice of black orga
nizations reacting to candidates' agendas, "they
(would) react to ours,"*Womble said. "(We can) ask
them (the candidates) what are their positions on
things that are germane and important to us as
African Americans so we will be at the table at full
partnership rather than (candidates) picking us off
one by one."
? Womble said these are some of the important
issues identified at the regional meeting for possible
inclusion in a national agenda:
EDUCATION
? "We were concerned ... (the) voucher system ...
would be detrimental to public schools." Womble said.
Womble
? we were very concerned aqout charter schools, womble said.
- See Block ogondo on A9
I . I
On parade
Photo by lYmiaha Bailey
Alumni Qween Most Be I ton-Brown waves at tho thousands who
lined tho streets of downtown for tho annual Winston-Salem
Statu University Homecoming Parade.
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