ii| THE CHARLOTTE __ iii I
Charlotte’s Fastest Growing Community Weekly"
r PRICE 20Cv '
welfare
Rolls
Decline
The Nation’s welfare rolls
increase in February was
substantially less than the
January increase, Secretary
Caspar W. Weinberger re
ported last week.
The February increase was
84,789--or an .08 percent in
crease over January, the Se
cretary said. In January the
increase was 1.3 percent or
141,447 more than December.
The February total was
11,239,611.
The rolls have been rising
since August 1974, when they
turned upward after declining
almost steadily from the
March 1973 level.
The decline has been attri
buted in part to the continuing
Federal State "Quality Con
trol" effort aimed at reducing
the number of ineligibles on
the rolls and minimizing pay
ment errors.
The slow rise beginning in
August accelerated in De
cember and January as the
unemployment figures in
creased.
James S. Dwight Jr., Ad
ministrator of HEW's Social
and Rehabilitation Service,
said he found the reduced rate
of increase in February en
couraging. He added, "While
the rolls are still rising, the
smaller proportion of new
comers suggests that the ad
verse economic pressures on
low-income people are begin
n'V4° moderate.”
Unemployed AFDC fathers,
who make up a small propor
- tion of the QC caseload, total
led 114,431 in February 1975,
rising by 8,937 or 8.5 percent
more than in January, and
15.6' percent more than in
February 1974. The AFDC
rolls as a whole were 366,933 or
3.4 percent higher in February
1975 than in February 1974.
Total Federal State public
assistance expenditures, in
cluding Medicaid-were
$1,949,842,000 in February—
about $4.5 million over Jan
uary costs. Of this, AFDC
money payments totalled
$736,221,000 in February 1975,
.9 percent over January but
15.6 percent more than a year
ago. For the Nation a whole,
the average AFDC family
payment was $216 a month,
about the same as January but
$1*7 higher than in February
1974.
Total medical assistance
payments were $1,117,356,000
in February 1975, down 0.4
percent from January but up
31.4 percent from February
1974. Medicaid payments in
any given month do not neces
sarily correlate closely with
AFDC caseload in that month.
Mrs. Stephen
Won Fourth
Place
Charlotte's candidate ioi
the NAACP North Carolina
Mother of the Year came back
from the State Convention re
cently with a fourth place
prize.
Mrs. Willie Stephen, pro
prietor of the Trinity Beauty
Shop raised $1,000 in her pur
suit of the title and thanks
"everyone for helping me
out." _
Deborah Clark Is
“Beauty Of Week”
By Polly Manning
Post Staff Writer
The campus of Livingstone
College, Salisbury, will be
graced with a new face when
its fall semester begins in
August. The face will belong to
none other than our “Beauty
of the Week," Miss Deborah
Denise Clark.
“I have heard a lot about
Livingstone,” explained Deb
orah. “I was fortunate to visit
the campus earlier in the year
and I found it to be very
interesting. I especially enj
oyed the students there.
Everyone seemed so friendly,
almost as if they knew me all
along.”
At Livingstone our beauty
plans to major in Secretarial
Science. “I am interested in
becoming a secretary, or
maybe even a teacher. In any
case I feel that with this major
I Will be qualified to be eit
her.”
Deborah is the daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Lester Clark
who reside at 1524 Griers
Grove Road.
Miss Clark is presently a
senior at North Mecklenburg
High School. She is a member
of the Student Council, the
Decca Club, and President of
her homeroom class.
Her hobbies are singing.
Burn Center
Festival Set
For Saturday
The Mecklenburg County
Ladies Fire Auxiliary Assoc
iation will, sponsor a Burn
Center Festival at Freedom
Park Saturday, May 31, from
10 a m. to 7 p.m.
Proceeds from the Festival
will be used in the establish
ment of a Burn Center Hospi
tal in Chapel Hill.
There will be food, drinks,
handicrafts, clowns and
groups performing at the new
Alan Newcombe Park Shell,
plus an auction with a signa
ture pen from President Ger
ald Ford and a tie tack from
Governor James Holshouser
The festival will be coordi
nated by Mrs. Judy G. Cook,
president of the Auxiliary
Association is composed of
members of the auxiliaries to
Mecklenburg's 24 Volunteer
Fire Departments.
dancing, and karate. She
plans to start taking profes
sional lessons in karate_some
times this summer During
the time she isn’t singing
dancing, or practicing karate
she enjoys being with Asa.
The Clark family attends
Clinton Chapel A.M E. Zior
Church where Rev. Morgan
W. Tann is the minister. Deb
orah attributes the fact thal
she belongs to an AME Zior
Church as another reason foi
her attending Livingstone.
At Clinton Chapel she sings
on the senior choir and is
director for the youth choir.
Miss Clark, who is 5 feet 1
inch tall and weighs 13(
pounds, is eagerly awaiting
her upcoming graduation.
“The seniors will be verj
busy during the next few
weeks,” smiled Deborah “Wt
will be practicing for gradu
ation exercises, sending oul
invitations, getting ready foi
awards day, and best of all
going to lots of parties."
Deborah is born under the
sign of Virgo. She considers
Virgos as nice, kind people
who can get along with any
one. “I don't feel as if Virgo’s
have any negative points,'
replied Deborah
Miss Clark's friends consi
der her something of a pro
blem solver. She enjoys mak
ing little kids happy and mosi
of all she loves clothes. "Wht
knows”, exclaimed Debora'n
“Someday I may become i
model,”
MEAC To
Pick Site
For Tourney
Durham, N. C.-- The Dele
gate Assembly of the Mid
Eastern Athletic Conference
(MEAC) which is composed of
Presidents Chancellors, Ath
letic Directors and Faculty
Representatives of the seven
member institutions, will de
cide the site for the conference
annual Basketball Tourna
ment during its annual Spring
Meeting which will be held
this weekend in Columbia,
South Carolina at the Sheraton
Inn.
In its four years of exist
ance. the MEAC has conduct
ed its annual basketball tour
nament in Durham for the
first two years and at Balti
more Civic Center for the last
two years.
Thus far, the Baltimore
Civic Center and the Greens
boro Coliseum have made
proposals to the MEAC to host
its 1975-76 basketball tourna
ment. The Delegate Assembly
will vote during the three-day
session on these proposals.
Oth.er important items on
the agenda for the meeting
include discussion and deci
sions concerning the proposed
economic cuts in intercolleg
• ait a nututa uy me nn.
The MEAC will take a look at
some of these proposals and
decide how the MEAC will go
about these issues. In addition
to studying the current NCAA
proposals, the MEAC will
adopt recent NCAA legisla
ture passed at the last NCAA
meeting held in Washington.
D. C. last January
The MEAC Delegate
Assembly will also consider
recommendations by the
MEAC baseball and track
coaches to decide the 1974-75
track and baseball champion
ship which were cancelled be
cause of inclement weather.
Following a meeting in
Dover, Delaware May 4 when
inclement weather forced
cancellation of the champion
ships, the track coaches voted
to recommend to the body that
the team champion be deter
mined on qualifying an semi
final times and distance in the
events held May 3. If the
Asembly accepts this recom
mendation, Delaware State
will be declared the track
champion.
All the Coaches Associations
will meet May 29th and they
are expected to recommend
some economic guidelines to
the body to cut back on cost.
Among the expected proposals
is compact scheduling of the
1 spring sports.
Mrs. Clawson Is
Vice Chairman
Mrs Betty R Clawson,
manager of Dudley's Beauty
Center. 2020 N. Graham St.,
has been named to serve with
a distinguished group of busi
ness people as vice-chairman
of a testimonial honoring S B
Fuller, a founder of Fuller
Products Co of Chicago,
manufacturer of cosmetics
and toiletries.
More than 2.000 persons will
attend the event which will
take place on Fuller's 70th
birthday. June 4. at the Con
rad Hilton Hotel. Dinner
committee members and
guests represent a cross sec
tion of the country's inter
racial business leadership.
Co-chairmen of the tribute
are two of America's most
outstanding Black entrepren
eurs. George E. Johnson,
president of Johnson Products
Co., Inc., and John H John
son, president of Johnson Pub
lishing Co. Both Johnsons,
who are unrelated, credit Ful
ler with having been a major
inspiration and success model
in their lives. Each is now a
millionaire in his own right.
George Johnson as manu
facturer of Ultra Sheen and
Afro Sheen toiletries, and
John Johnson as publisher of
Ebony magazine
Like Fuller, the two John
sons were born in poverty in
the rural south and migrated
to Chicago while very young
Fuller s inspiration came
from his mother who believed
strongly that door-to-door sel
ling hold the key to success
She died when he was 17.
leaving him head of the family
of eight children He married
at age 1H. and eventually be
came the father of five child
ren
In 1935. with $25 in capital.
Fuller began Fuller Products
Co., rising from door-to-door
salesman to millionaire
manufacturer and civic sym
bol in the 194()'s. Within two
decades he built a national
network of distributors and
salesman and expanded into
other ventures, including
commercial real estate, farm
ing. beef cattle production and
publishing
Mrs Clawson is very active
in the Charlotte community
and has held several helping
sessions for home economic
classes in the public schools
On occasions when she has
free time she discusses the
secrets of beauty with the
neighborhood children
Recently, she was the guest
speaker at a Mother's Day
program in one of the local
churches
Ben Chavis Supporters Head
For Washington, D. C. Rally
By James Cuthbertson
Post Staff Writer
A bus trip to a Washington.
D.C. rally is to be held at 11
a m. on Saturday in front of
the Justice Department in
support of Rev. Ben Chavis
and the Wilmington Ten and
all other North Carolina Pol
itical Prisoners.
The chartered bus will leave
Charlotte Friday night at
12:30 a m from the admin
istration building parking lotf
of Johnson C. Smith Univer -
sity at 100 Beatties Ford Road
‘The bus will leave Wash
ington Saturday evening for
the return trifc to Charlotte"
said Dr Heleffothaw, who is
organizing the trip. For infor
mation call 394-6963
The trip is being held to
protest the treatment that
black political prisoners have
gotten in the State of North
Carolina,
According to the officials of
the National Alliance Against
Racist and Political Repres
sion. the Rev. Benjamin
Chavis Jr. and his co-defend
ants known as the "Wilming
ton 10”. were denied a hearing
on Wednesday, May 7, that
has not been announced pub
licly by the court
The veterans civil rights
activists, sentenced to a com
bined 262 years in prison for
defending a church in Wilm
ington's Black community
from a four-day siege by the
Ku Klux Klan. will now appeal
to the U. S. Supreme Court.
Defense Attorney James
Ferguson of Charlotte has
asked the North Carolina
court for a sta£ of executive
execution of sentence and a
continuance of the $400,000
bond pending the appeal to the
U S Supreme Court. Ordinar
ily such requests are granted
as a matter of course, but in
the Wilmington 10 case the
state court has not yet made a
decision
The National Alliance
See Chavis on page 10
Rev Ben Chavis
Civil Rights Activist
i
Forces Abound To Weaken
Civil Rights Movement
Atlanta, ua • Utticials from eleven southern State and
local human rights agencies were warned that without strong
support tor existing legislation on civil rights mav hard
earned gains mav be lost
Addressing a throng of about 150 officials gathered at the
third L\ S Commissin on Civ il Eights conference here in the
Atlanta Internaitonale Hotel, under the theme of Making
the Constitution Work for all Americans former HEW'
Secretarv Arthur Fleming declared that there are forces
abound whose aim is to weaken or destrov the civil rights
movement
Fleming, presently serving
as chairman of the Com mis
sion. said in the keynote
address delivered on the first
night of a three day confei
ence that, "there are still
people who believe that only
white people can render qual
ity service "
Thus, he said, we must not
let them dilute such programs
such as affirmative action be
cause any success by our op
ponents in any area of civil or
human rights will weaken the
foundation of all of other civil
rights
The Commission, establish
ed by Congress under the Civil
Rights Act of 1957. is author
ized to investigate complaints
alleging that citizens are be
ing deprived of their right t >
vote because ol racial or sex
discrimination
Governed by six commis
sionei s appointt-d by die
President and confirmed by
the Senate, the Commission
also studies legal development
constituting a denial of equal
protection of the laws under
the Constitution and submit
reports of us findings to the
President and the Congress
Elder Citizens
To Be Informed
Of SSI Rights
An attempt to reach 85.000
elderly citizens to inform
them about supplemental .se
curity income 'SSI' is in pro
gress.
The S. C Council of
Churches, which sponsors the
project called "Operation
Shepherd, has distributed
SSI screening forms to over
11.000 churches across Ihe
state Ministers of churches
will distribute the forms and
will return those completed to
local social security offices
Appointments will then be
made for applicants
Of the estimated 160 000
persons 65 years of age and
over who are below poverty
level in North Carolina, only
75,429 were receiving SSI in
December 1974
w e it-ci inai operation
Shepherd is one of the best
ways to contact people who
need these benefits and are
not getting them.' said Robert
Q Beard, director of the
Governor's Coordinating
Council on Aging, which is
providing a $7,700 grant for
the project
The project will help us
find isolated people who are
eligible for SSI and will help
the religious segment of the
:ommunity minister to the
leeds of the elderly,-' Beard
stated
In recent months state,
federal and private organiza
tions have made a major
effort to reach persons who
should receive supplemental
security income North Caro
lina ranks fourth in the nation
in the number of new persons
filing and receiving SSI bene
fits
SSI is a national program
for citizens over fif years old
and the blind or disabled, who
have little or no income and
limited resnureres
There have been twenty
three of the Commission's
reports cited in Supreme
Court decisions, although >• is
not an enforcement agency ■
and has not power to apply
specific remedies in incite id
ual cases Complaints of den
ial of rights are referred to tr.e
appropriate Federal ager.c • ,
for action
After the chairman's up
mg address, conferees fro.',
agencies in the fields of
rights, women's rights sr.c
human relations in Alabama
Arkansas. Florida. Georgia
Kentucky. Loutsana. Missiv.,
ppt North Carolina, Souti
Carolina. Tennessee and W
gima engaged in open debate
with Mr Fleming and the
Commission's Staff Dire<t
John Buggs
The debate often healed .-.t
times centered around tr.«
controversial and emotion*!
issue ot a sun,u - ■ igai .c
a hurt ion
When asked the Comm:'
sion's stand on abortion
Chairman Fleming replied
we take the no moral or
theological position on the
issue of abortion. We only take
the position of following the
Supreme Court 's IttT.'i decision
of the woman hav ing the right
to abortion as guaranteed
under the constitution "
unifi mg on ine
Commission's stand, a physi
cian from Mississippi Dr
Gilbert Mason, said that the
human ictus have the same
constitutional right as the
mother
W hen reminded by Chair
man Fleming that the
Supreme Court does not re
cognize the tetus as an in
dividual. Dr Mason answer
ed "There was a time when
the Supreme Court did not
recognize Black people as in
dividuals
A female delegate ended the
debate, asking the males in
the audience not to waste too
much time on right to "forced
pregnancy."
A stalemate was also reach
ed on the question of how to
deal with state employ merit
agencies who take requests
from employers who desig
nates the race and sex re
quirements of potentials em
ployees
»» v 11ri > t urnimn'*u idsrs
where the unemployers will
stipulate the requirements in
advance knowing fully well
that he is exempting possible
qualified candidates. " said
Ms Tommiee .Jean Hagood.
director of the Greenville
County Human Relations
Commission in South Caro
lina
The question drew no suit
able solution and ended with a
promise by the Commission to
seek some avenues to clear it
up
Chairman Fleming, who
serves as HEW Secretary
under the Eisenhower Admin
istrations in differing capaci
ties. drew warm praise from
Staff Director Buggs
We were extremely sur
prised when the President
chose Dr Fleming We
thought he had made a mis
take. mused Mr Buggs.
"really. I don't think he real
ized what he did when he
picked him
See Rights on page 3
I
TUETLt-WA
0
I
V Getting your head together
in your OLD AGE could sim
ply mean ASSEMBLING
. TEETH, GLASSES AND A
TOUPEE
MISS DEBORAH CLARK
...Livingstone Bound
-— - - —
Commission Recommends
Strong Civil Rights Support
MRS. BETTY CLAWSON
...Charlotte Area Manager