cmm t coMcni).
The New Schbol Superintendent "r "
By Hoyle H. Martin Sr.
Post Staff Writer
As the newly elected Charlotte
Mecklenburg School Board mem
bers prepare to take their seats
along with incumbents Phil Berry;
Tom Harris and the three carry-over
members, it would appear that a
considerable amount of their imme
diate concern should relate to the
selection of a new school superinten
dent.
During the heat and drama of the
school board and run-off elections, a
great deal was said about the type of
man and the kind of qualificaton
.any proposed candidate should
have.
In our view the candidate should
be, first and formost, a good admi
nistrator. He or she should be
possessed with an educational phi
losophy that is consistent with what
national trends show is both good!
and workable in both traditional and
progressive education.
Furthermore, the new school lead
er should be able to apply his
philosophy to the Charlotte commu
nity in a manner that is consistent
with the changing social scene as
well as certain traditional values
that make Charlotte the unique
community that it is. Equally impor
tant too, should be the ability of the
new school leader, as out-going
school board chairman, Bill Poe,
reportedly said recently, to “articu
late a philosophy of education that
people all over the county can
understand and respond to...he’s got
to be a person who can communicate
...in a precise way.”
In addition, we believe that the
new superintendent must be able to
transmit, in a personal’yet profes-:
sional way, his ideas, program^
proposals and management style td
the business, civic and political
leadership of the community. Again,
from a personal yet professional
view, the new educational leader
should be compatable with and
sensitive to the viewpoints and
concerns of the school personnel.
Finally, we believe that if the new
superintendent has the kind of phi
losophy mentioned here and the
ability to communicate it to the
groups noted, he will have little
difficulty in communicating and
working with the school board.
Therefore, the first major step of
the newly formed school board
should be to begin to make peace
with itself. It was just such a failing
of the out-going school board that
contributed to Dr. Rolland Jone’s
inability to articulate his philosophy
and programs, if it can be said at all
that he failed.
Black African Rule Now
Secretary of State Henry Kissin
ger’s plan, worked out jointly with
Prime Minister Ian Smith of Rhode
sia, to end white rule in that country
within two years has brought loud
objection from the Congressional
Black Caucus and five “front-line”
African presidents.
In Rhodesia as well as South
Africa, where a small minority of
whites hold all political and econo
mic power, blacks are now demand
ing a right to determine their own
destiny. With some reluctance, and
out of fear of Russian and Chinese
influence in that part of the world,
the jLJnited States is following Mr.
Kissinger’s lead in the belief that
unless we encourage and assist in a
peaceful transfer of power from the
whites to the blacks there will be an
all-out racial war in Southern Afri
ca.
American black law makers and
black African national presidents
are objecting to the current planned
transfer of power because it will
take two years with whites retaining
ultimate power during this interim
period. Further objection arises
from the fact that it is beleived
Kissinger made promises to the
white that they would receive Ame
rican dollars in exchange for black
power. Black American tax payers
would certainly be opposed to pay
ing such black mail money to white
racists who have for too long oppres
I___■■
sed blacks in Southern Africa.
The Post applauds the expressed
concern of black Americans in this
matter because too often in the past
Americans of color have shown little
interest in African affairs.
The plight of black Americans and
black Africans is closely related.
The sooner we recognize this com
mon bond the sooner full equality
will be a reality for men of color
everywhere in the world.
Is There Something
On Your Mind?
Something on your mind is the
name of a column devoted to our
readers of this newspaper-as long
as it relates in some way to young
people, regardless of age.
t
It will be written by you and about
whatever is on your mind!
So, if you have something to
say...WRITE ON!
Some subjects that may be of
special interest to you are: Drugs,
Generation Gaps, Welfare, Gangs,
School, Going Steady, Police Revo
lution, Whites, Blacks, Integration,
Busing, Draft, God, Negro churches,
etc.
1 HE CHARLOTTE POST
“THE PEOPLES NEWSPAPER”
Established 1918
Published Every Thursday
By The Charlotte Post Publishing Co., Inc.
2606-B West Blvd.-Charlotte, N.C. 28208
Telephones (704 ) 392-1306, 392-1307
Circulation 11,000
57 YEARS OF CONTINUOUS SERVICE
Bill Johnson...Editor-Publisher
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Rex Hovey.Circulation Manager
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Second Class Postage Paid at
Charlotte, N.C. under the Act of March 3,1878
Member National Newspaper Publishers
Association
North Carolina Black Publishers Association
Deadline for all news copy and photos is 5 p.m.
Monday. The Post is not responsible for any
photos or news copies submitted for publication.
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! ' i *
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NAACP Supports Mrs. Betty Reddick •
editor s Note - Gerald O.
Johnson’s As I See It Column
will not appear in the Post this
week. Mr. Johnson is ill. His
popular column will return
when he returns to work.
The assault with a deadly
weapon trial of Mrs. Betty
Reddick of Littleton, N.C. has
gained the support of the
Halifax County N.A.A.C.P.
and is being investigated by
the North Carolina Human
Relations Commission. Mrs.
Reddick's accuser, Frank
Warren of Halifax, is also
charged with breaking and
entering Mrs. Reddick's
home. Warren owns the (and
and double-wide trailer in
which Mrs. Reddick resjdes.
The trial, set for September
21, 1976 in Halifax County
District Court, was continued
until Novenmber 17, 1976 at 2
o'clock.
Mrs. Reddick is represented
by Attorney Charles Becton of
Chapel Hill, from the law firm
of Chambers. Stein and Fergu
son. Rev G.A. Gilchrist, Pre
sident of the Halifax County
N A.A.C.P., said the organiza
tion was going to help pay the
legal expenses of Mrs Red
dick and will provide other
support for the mother of six
children
Mrs. Reddick said to a
reporter that a shooting inci
dent grew out of her being
‘‘swindled out of $4300 paid for
the land and trailer." She said
in March, 1973 she bargained
with Warren, a wealthy land
owner, to purchase seven
acres of land and a trailer in
rural Halifax County for $15,
000; and that she was promis
ed a contract which she never
received. "Things got bad in
August, 1976 when Frank War
ren tried to charge me $150.00
for an electricity bill that was
only $17.65. When I refused to
pay he turned my lights off
and started coming in my
trailer with his key," Mrs.
Reddick said. She stated that
on the day the was accused of
assaulting Warren he had
come in her trailer without
knocking and walked through
her trailer with an unidenti
fied woman. Mrs. Reddick
said her son awakened her and
she ordered Warren out of the
trailer at gunpoint. She said
the gun discharged after War
ren got in the yard.
Warren, on the other hand,
gives a different, story. He
didn't dispute the purchase
price of the trailer but says he
agreed "to give Mrs Reddick
a deed after she had paid 25
percent of the price of the
Gerald 0. Johnson
trailer and lot.” Warren aaid
that everything waa alright
until she refused to pay the
electricity bill. Then, “all of a
sudden she started acting up. I
went to the door that day and
she pointed the gun in my face
and told me to get off her
property. I got in my truck
and that’s when she shot the
gun,” Warren said, adding
that he was unsure whether
she intended to shoot him or
not. He denied entering the
trailer.
Several other persons who
are supposed to be buying
trailers and lots from Warren
in Halifax County are also
upset because they have not
received contracts. Among
them are Martha Horne and
John Lynch of Littleton. Mrs
Horne said, "He is not going to
give anyone-around here a
deed or anything else.” She
produced a receipt that was
dated September 8,1876 which
indicated her account was
17400 with a credit of $100
being paid which left a bal
ance of $7300. Interest on the
unpaid balance was computed
monthly at the rate of 10
percent which was $74. She
was upset that only $28 went to
reduce the principal amount,
John Lynch also of Littleton
said that he agreed to pur
chase a trailer and lot in April
for $7363.24. He showed a
receipt similar to that of Mrs.
Horne, but his receipt indicat
ed that he was charged in
terest on his electricity bill by
Warren. Lynch said that War
ren was billed for the electrici
ty for all of the trailers and
that the only bill that a pur
chaser gets to see is a hand
written bill from Warren.
Lynch said that he has tried to
get the bill changed from
Warren s account to his by
giving Virginia Electric and
Power Company (VEPCO) a
$30 deposit, but still the ac
count has not been changed.
When asked about the interest
charges and the billing proce
dure, Warren stated, "It’s
perfectly normal for the elec
tricity to be in my name,
that's what they (the purchas
ers) wanted.” Warren said
that all of the persons buying
trailers from him have the
same billing procedure.
A.W Spence, customer ser
vice supervisor for VEPCO,
said that he had no complaints
from anyone concerning War
ren's billing. Spence refused
to discuss the individual ac
counts of Warren's prospec
tive purchasers nor any speci
fics of Warren's account with
the VEPCO. "That’s his pri
vate Information and I cannot
discuss it with anyone unless
he consents,” Spence said.
Spence also said VEPCO could
not enter into any relationship
between Warren and his ten
ants, ‘‘and if his tennants feel
they are getting ripped off,
they should move somewhere
else,"
Herman Aldridge, specialist
for the North Carolina Human
Relations Commission said
that a complaint had been
made to that agency and has
been forwarded to Leonard
Wiggins who investigates for
the commission in the Rocky
Mount area He did not know
when the investigation would
be completed.
N.C A&T State
Mideast Region
To Meet Here
The Mideast Region of N.C.
A&T State University Alumni
Association will hold its West
ern District Conference at the
Heart of Charlotte Holiday
Inn. 3815 N. Tryon Street on
Friday and Saturday, October
1 and 2.
An Aggie Round-up Recep
tion will take palce on Friday
evening from 8 to 11. Satu
day’s Business Session wl,
bSfcln at 9 am , followed by th>
Alumni Recognition Luncheon
at 1 p.m., with Dr. Lewis C.
Dowdy, Chancellor of N.C.
A&T State University, speak
ing.
Following the J.C. Smith
A&T State football game, the
Aggies Scholarship Ball will
be held at the Heart of Char
lotte Holiday Inn.
Matthew Wingaic is
District Coordinator.
ms UP TO US: BLACKS
AHO CARE ABOUT THE t\£«
SLACK FUTURE, TO IMPOSE' Tf,
ORDER WHERE HONE EXIST A-^
TO DAY. AND WE HAVE TOPOJfr
IT; FOR OUR LIVES HAVE ^
ALWAYS BEEN WORTH
LESS THAH WHITE ONES IN
THE EYES OF OUR COUNTRY,
AND OUR COUNTRY DOES
NOT REALLY CARE ABOUT .
THE CHAOS IN OUR NEIGHBOR
HOODS AS LONG AS THAT
ANARCHY DOES NOT SPILL
OVER THE LINES OF DEMAR
CATION.
WE HAVE TO DO IT
BECJWSE WE CANNOT ASK
OUR OLD PEOPLE TO
SPEND THE REST OF THEIR
LIVES PASSING THROUGH A
GAUNTLET OF MUGGERS.
The Level Of Fear Is Shocking
BLACK EMPOWERMENT
The Quiet Passing Of Dr. Mordecai Johnson
By. Dr. Nathaniel Wright, Jr.
Human Rights Activist
The quiet passing from a
mong us at the goodly age of 86
of Dr. Mordecai Johnson, the
fiery, flamboyant, brilliant
and always eloquent former
president of Howard Univer
sity, comes as the reminder of
a bygone age. Of Mordecai
Johnson's era, of which he was
a sterling exemplar, it might
be said truly: “In those days
there were giants in the
earth.’’
Like the late Rev. Dr. Mar
tin Luther King, Jr., he was
the son of a Baptist Minister
and he followed his father’s
footsteps into the Baptist mi
nistry. Educated at. More
house College, the University
of Chicago, and the Rochester
Theoloeical Seminnrv ho ho.
came in 1926 the first black
president of Howard Univer
sity.
A fair-shinned black man, in
what was then the long-esta
blished Howard University
tradition, he never denied his
color, but rather capitalized
upon it. On one occasion, when
being introduced to speak to
the Chicago Chamber of Com-.
merce, his presentor spoke of
Dr. Johnson as "the first
colored this” and “the first
colored that” to such an extent
that Dr. Johnson was visibly
annoyed. When he finally got
to the podium, Dr. Johnson
looked dramatically at his
all-white audience in all direc
tions. Then after a moment or
two of silent scrutiny, he ad
dressed his audience as fol
lows: "My color-less
friends!”
This picture changed dra
matically in what some called
the Nabrit-Lyndon Johnson
era. While Dr. Mordecai John
son was a statesman-and had
to be-his immediate succes
sor was an astute politician...
and had to be. Dr. James
Cheek has been permitted
the privilege of resuming the
building which Dr. Johnson
earlier had advanced.
Leaders of the nation ga
thered at Howard University’s
Rankin Chapel on Monday,
September 13th, to pay their
last respects to a great, noble
and truly gracious man. But in
their paying of respects to Dr.
Johnson, they paid tribute also
to an era.
It was an era of hope and of
• vvwuvvuuil, OJIIIIAIU4.CU
well by the Howard Univer
sity-produced words of James
Weldon Johnson in what
quickly came to be called
‘‘The Negro National An
them.” “We have come,” says
the anthem, “filled yith the
hope which the dark past has
taught us.” Then, in words,
which Mordecai Johnson said
repeatedly to distraught black
Americans in his own way, the
hymn ends with a confident
note of impending victory:
“Facing the rising sun of our
new day begun, let us march
on till victory is won!”
Such was the determined
spirit of the age which Morde
cai Johnson represented.
When we look at the Howard
University of today...and that
which is emerging for the
black youth of tomorrow.. .one
sees a monument, a living
testimonial to a peerless edu
cator, preacher of the Word of
God and statesman for the
survival and freedom of his
race, Dr. Mordecai Wyatt
Johnson.
As we look back upon his
era, >ve may rest as confident
as those in the Genesis period
who could say with singular
pride: “In those days, there
were giants in the earth."
Dr. Johnson had the rare
knack of making the most of
any potentially bad situation.
Appointed president of Ho
ward in an era of the nation's
highest rate of lynchings. Dr.
Johnson went to a Washing
ton, D.C., of recently desegre
gated public toilets and of
gross indifference to the needs
of black Americans. But much
in the same fashion as Dr.
Booker T. Washington, he
lurnea adversity to nis advan
tage. White schools did not
want black students or profes
sors, so he persuaded the
Congress to appropriate the
monies to take this potential
grief off the backs of white
colleges by enabling these
black men and women to have
a chance at Howard..
Under Dr. Johnson's admi
nistration, all of the universi
ties, schools and colleges be
came accredited and 20 cam
pus buildings were construc
ted. The university's budget
grew from $700,000 to $8 mil
lion and student enrollment
increased by 250 percent.
A gifted orator, he held
audiences spellbound in much
the spirit of a William Jen
nings Bryant and a Frederick
Douglass. Not until the advent
of Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr., has America experienced
such combined charismatic
finH nralftriol ruM.iAHn
TO
BE
EQUAL
1 •
• •*
y • -
-V V '«
■jIli . » - _ _
Vernon E. Jordan Jr. j
Busing And 1 tie Election t campaign
It remains to be seen whether political
candidates in this year’s election will restrain
themselves from using busing, a tool to desegre
gate the schools, as a political football to win
votes.
The only role busing should play in the
Presidential campaign is for all candidates to
agree to support the Constitutional mandate to
desegregate the schools and to pledge their
support to the courts and to communities
engaged in desegregating.
The sooner this is done the better tbe country,
and for its children who are all too often made
pawns in the ugly battle against desegregation
waged by their elders. ^
The candidates niiPhf to he honest In feUtmrthe
country that there’s no constitutional way to
avoid dismantling segregated school systems.
The courts have ruled definitively that districts
where segregation survives due, to official
actions, including such dodges as gerrymander
ed school districts and racially-inspired pupil
assignment plans, have to desegregate.
Where those districts refuse to do it voluntari
ly, the courts must step in and order it. That’s the
'origin of the so-called “forced busing.” It’s
“forced” only to the extent that communities in
violation of the law are forced to comply with the
law. No one complains he’s “forced” not to
commit a robbery or otherwise to obey laws.
And courts aren’t frivolous in ordering busing
as a remedy. It’s often the absolute last resort
and busing plans invariably bus the minimum
numbers of children to effect desegregation. In
some cases, implementation of busing orders
meant fewer children bused than before those
orders were formulated.
All of this makes various legislative proposals
to restrain busing less than honest. For example,
one DrODOSal linHpr rnn«irinratinn ic a loin
mandating the courts to use busing only as a tool
of last resort if all else fails. But that is exactly
how the courts now handle busing - it’s ordered
as the last, not the first, of possible remedies.
The Administration has proposed a limit of
five years of busing orders, and limitations on
how and when courts may order busing. But
putting a time limit on court orders is only a
promise of resegregation when they expire and
will clearly tell a community they just have to go
through the motions until the time limitls up.
Further, everyone knows that legislative at
tempts to limit court jurisdiction or restrictions
on remedies for illegal situations are doomed to
be ruled unconstitutional in and of themselves.
For too long political leaders have been
manipulating fears and emotions instead of
coming right out and supporting desegregated
schools as a vital building block for a racially
just society. Because of their failure to lead the
nation in this effort to overcome the racism of
the past, busing and desegregation have had a
rocky road.
But a recent report by the U S. Commission on
Civil Rights indicates that desegregation of the
schools is proceeding, and that for every
publicized case of illegal resistance, such as in
Boston, there are dozens of communities that
desegregate their schools without tension and