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THE 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) 392-1308,392-1307
Circulation, 7,185
58 YEARS OF CONTINUOUS SERVICE
Bill Johnson........Edilor^Publisher
Hoyle H. Martin Sr.. Executive Editor
Bernard Reeves..General Manager
V.W. Pangburn..Circulation Director'
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I Charlotte, N.C. under the Act of March 3,1878
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MORE ENCOURAGED .
THAN I HAVE BEEN IN A LONO
TIME. DR. HAMILTON SAID HIS
ENCOURAGEMENT DU) NOT COME
FROM THE ENUOHTMENT OF
WHITE PEOPLE, BUT FROM THE
DETERMINATION OF BLACK
KPEOPLE TO DO FOR THEMSELVES.
DR.CHARLES VHAHLTVH
teamwork^)
SELF-HELP "
SELF-DETRMINATlOf^
Black’s Destiny In Own Hand
To Support WUminston 10
A boycott of white mer
chants in Wilmington, N.C.,
letter writing and petitioning
campaigns to Governor Jam
es B. Hunt, and demonstra
tions and marches have been
announced by supporters of
the Wilmington 10 to build the
pressure to free the Wilming
ton 10. The step up in activity
follows a denial of a new trial
for the Wilmington 10 by Spe
cial Superior Court Judge
George Fountain.
The Wilmington boycott, al
though eventually to Include
all white merchants in the
town is scheduled to begin
with relatives of former New
Hanover Prosecutor Jay
Stroud. Zora’s fish market,
located in the town’s Black
-ghetto 1s rushy Shroud's greet
aunt, who insists she is only a.
distant relative. Her business,
whfch has been operated for 22
years in the Black community
is one of the targets of the
boycott.
Kojo Natambu, a boycott
leader, said Stroud’s family
were chosen first to pressure
Stroud to confess be Induced
witnesses to lie against the
Wilmington 10 in their 1972
trial.
The purpose of the post
conviction hearing was for
Judge George Fountain to
consider the testimonies of the
State's witnesses who now say
they lied a gains the Wilming
ton io. Fountain was to consi
der if there were constitution
al violations of the civil rights
of the Wilmington 10 in the
convictions. Jay Stroud was
the prosecutor accused of per
juring witnesses.
Zora Singleton, Jay Stroud’s
great aunt, said to a reporter
that she can’t understand why
Blacks are going to boycott
her for “what they said Jay
did.”
One boycott leader said the
boycott would begin soon, but
did not specify when.
The town’s officials are very
sensitive to the fact that the
Black citizen's are now out
wardly organizing and may
use civil disobedience as a
tactic to increase pressure on
public officials. Typical of *
Wilmington’s leadership is
Mayor Ben Halterman, an
employee of JeffetWi Stand
ard Life Insurance Company.
Questioned how the city would
respond to demonstrations
and civil disobedience, Hal
terman said he would meet
demonstrators with force if
necessary, but he didn’t be
lieve civil disobedience would
occur. Asked if there was
much concern JTqr JJje,,WP*,,
mington 10 in the town, Halter-'
man said, “certainly everyone
is sympathetic for anyooe.who
has had problems, or ii in
trouble, but it has not created
an emotinal crisis in any way
- that I know of, nor is there that
great a concern ''
Another city official, Hu
man Relations Director Wil
liam Jessup, said the boycott
of Zora’s would probably not
get widespread support be
cause Zara hires three black
employees out of a total of
seven working there. Accord
ing to boycott supporters, the
market is patronized by “nine
ty-nine percent Black.”
Kojo Natambu said that the
patrons of Zora's would be
influenced to shop at Friendly
Fish Market on Queen Street
and others in the city. Friend
ly’s is Black owned.
Mrs. Delores Moore, mother
of Wilmington 10 defendant
Wayne Moore, said along with
the boycott of Zora’s, parents
and supporters would present
demands of students at New
Hanover High and Hoggard
High. Those schools were boy
cotted in 1971 by Black stu
dents for removal of police
officers from hallways, end of .
suspensions of Black students,
termination of racist teachers,
and implementation of a
Black Studies curriculum. The
school ^tdiuinistr a ters-did not
answer the students demands.
Ms. Moore said that pres
sure now to change those
conditions - at the schools
would increase the pressure
on Governor Hunt and state
officials to release the Wil
mington 10. The Klu Klux Klan
and other white supremacist
organizations retaliated to the
Black students with violence
and gunfire. A response to the
attacks on the" studentaby
Blacks resulted in night riders
and Blacks clashing around a
church that students were
using as a meeting place.
While the supporters of the
Wilmington 10 seek their re
lease through demonstrations
and boycotts many whites In
Wilmington think for the safe
ty of the town they should
remain in Jail. One former Klu
Klux Klan official Tex Gross
responded to a reporter saying
“If you want to get rid of any
buildings with fire insurance
then let them out.”
The Chief defense attorney,
James Ferguson of Charlotte,
has been investigating a par
don of innocense for the Wil
mington 10. Ferguson said
that before the post conviction
hearing he sent Governor
James Hunt a letter asking
clarification on Hunt’s posi
tion not to consider a pardon of
innocense for them until all
legal avenues are exhausted.
.. —
TO
BE
EQUAL
Vernon E. Jordan Jr.
•j.
Minimum Wage Hike Needed r;
If you are working full time at the national
minimum wage of $2.00 per hour, you’re making.;
less than the government itself says a family ^
needs to earn to keep out of poverty..
That’s the biggest argument for raising the.
minimum wage, but the idea is meeting plenty of
resistance. ;r,,~
It’s been argued that a hike in the minimum "•
wage would be inflationary, would discourage :
hiring of new workers, would lead to lay-offs, and:; j
would worsen the already serious problem of : n:
youth joblessness. - ' •
Now these are very dire predictions, but -,
fortunately, they're not likley outcomes. :
Take inflation, first. While it is entirely *
possible higher labor costs in the form of a/";;
higher national minimum wage might be infla-'i •
tionary, it is also possible that increased incomer u
J will be translated into higher spending and thus, ^
into expanded production. There’s enough slack
in the economy to accommodate increased
demand.
Besides, why should low wage workers bear :
the brunt of efforts to hold down inflation? Every :
timo ttM.ro'iin Aflnpm nf inrUHtwi frhn nntwpr fa {ft
encourage lay-offs, cut wages, or otherwise: -.
make the least favored in our society pay for.;
price stability for the most favored higher ;
income groups.
The effect of a higher minimum wage on the ..
job market is more difficult to determine. ■
Studies have been made attempting to measure 7
the effect of such raises, but those studies have {
been inconclusive. Thoy mnmUy provide th» ■
sharp edge to whatever axe is being sharpened,
but they don’t really give us the kind of objective .
guidance needed to frame social policy.
There’s little reason to assume that hikes in
the minimum wage will lead to lay-offs. Employ
ers hire workers when they’re needed, whatever.;
the minimum wage. If the minimum wage was
actually thb obstacle to hiring it’s supposed to be,
then we should expect to see expanded job ;
(ttmortunities in the labor sector not covered by .
tab minimum wage,; About at-.iquapter of all
non-supervisory jobs are in that category, but
unemployment is still high.
Some people think there ought to be a youth .
differential, a wage lower than the legal
minimum, for young people to help spur youth,
jobs. But that’s a dubious concept too, sines
iiiauj cuupiUJCIO, UJV4IIUiU0 3C1IUU13, 3UUC3, dIHg.
local governments are exempted from the
minimum wage law, or can apply for exemption, .
It's not a happy prospect for the world’s.*,
richest country to say that the minimum wage :
has to be held down to below-poverty levels. A
rise of about fifty cents par hour would just about :
make up for the effects at inflation and restore:
the buying power lost since 1974, when the
minimum wage was last raised.
Nationally, some ten million workers would be
immediately affected by a rise in the minimum "
wage to $3 per hour, and about two million of •
them are blacks and other minorities. ~ -
Typically, their jobs are the hardest, dirtiest,
and least rewarding. The mimimum wage has*
traditionally been a figure representing our
society’s consensus about the least anyone
groups or those who are in a position
to influence the policy-makers.
Therefore, a position of political
leadership may or may not be one of
real leadership.
Traditionally, policy-maker lead
ers came fft>m the upper level of the
corporate community. Hiey set the
pace with regard to jobs, political
contributions and the general wel
fare ofTBe community.
This does not mean that there are
no black leaders or persons with
influence in the community. How
ever, such leadership is largely
limited to the sub-structure of power
that comprises what is called the
black community. Furthermore,
Charlotte’s black leadership is as
varied as there are issues of ^concern
to specific groups of blacks. Socio
economic difference, values and life
styles make black as uniquely differ
ent among themselves as would be
any other ethnic group. Even on the
common problem of racism, blacks
have different views and approaches
to attacking such problem. Thus
while there is often strength in unity,
there is also strength in varying
approaches under different leaders
to attack a common problem.
B jt Leadership?
An article in a recent issue of the
CHARLOTTE magazine titled,
“Who Speaks For the Black Commu
nity?” or the nearly 90,000 black
citizens of Charlotte leaves much to
- * me uwJe, written in a business
oriented magazine that probably
few blacks read, mentions about 35
blacks by name and says "You’ll
find him (or her) among these
pages,” that is, the Mack(s) who
supposedly speak for the other 90,000
blacks.
The POST takes exception to the
article’s assumption that white folk
can necessarily locate the communi
ty’s black leaders from among a list
that they have compiled and to die
view that "blacks are showing lead
ership in areas other than politics.”
. The problem with these assumptions
is that they show a gross misunder
standing of what the term "leader
ship” means and appears to imply,
as whites have done in the past, that
if you want to know what blacks are
thinking just ask anyone of those
listed in the article.
Community leadership must be
thought of in terms of those people
_who are members of policy-making
coruuci or interest, ne exniDitea a
degree of integrity and a pledge to
fulfill a commitment that many a
lesser person of character would
have felt impossible to do.
Specifically, Gantt told his fellow
council members on Monday that he
did not want to put them in a
questionable position and that “the
way it stands now (the law forbid
ding public officials from buying
redevelopment property), I’m being
denied the right to live where I want
to live...” He added that he had no
prior knowledge of the law but that
he’d decided to sell the property “at
a great personal sacrifice to my
family” because he felt a strong
obligation to complete his term as an
elected council member. With re
gard to his firm’s contract with the
county, Gantt responded to Commis
sioner Booe’s criticism by saying, “I
don’t have any comment. If that’s
his feeling, all right. The commis
sion has the right to decide what to
do with (the possible contract).”
Again, this was an expression of
personal and financial sacrifice in
PTe interest uf being w public servant.
of the highest integrity.
The Post salutes Councilman
Gantt for his honesty, good charac
ter and his faithful commitment to
public service at a time when such
commitment is so desperately need
ed. The Post hopes that Councilman
Gantt’s degree of honesty and com
mitment will serve as a model for
others to follow.
tivjtv am* mcu uu u* .
Post Executive Editor
In the aftermath of Watergate, the
American people have become in
creasingly skeptical about integrity
in government at all levels and the
extend to which elected officials are
truly responding to public concerns.
.. It was undoubtedly becasue of such
skepticism that Harvey Gantt was
elected to a term on the City Council
after having admirably filled an
unexpected term by appointment.
Since first assuming a council
seat, Mr. Gantt has demonstrated an
ability to critically but objectively
analyze issues and make sound
judgments on behalf of the Charlotte
Community that the POST believes
most people find easy to support.
This, of course, is no more that the
citizenry should expect from any
elected officials.
However, what many may have
overlooked is the extend of Mr.
Gantt’s commitment to public ser
vice and the extraordinary personal
sacrifices that he and his family
have made in order for him to be a
public servant:
We are referring here to two
issues that bear directly on Gantt’s
personal and business life. These are
the land that he purchased in Four
th-Ward for the purpose of building a
home and the possibility of his
architectual firm contracting with
the county to draw plans for two new
-satellite ambulance stations. Since
both of these could have placed
Gantt in a situation of possible
*• * * •«.
By uiry or egg
Post Staff Writer
Who are Charlotte’s black
leaders?
As I’ve asked that question
in Charlotte, responses have
fallen into two broad catego
ries.
A lot of people snort indig
nantly that Charlotte has no
! real black leaders, then they
give me several examples
that they say prove titers Is a
leadership vacuum in this
community.
They mention the struggle
to raise 180,000 for a Dr.
Martin Luther King Memori
al. They cite the recent ab
sence of organised black rage
over the Civil War memorial
on the courthouse lawn. They
speak of what they term, “the
overall ineffectiveness of
black people here to solve
critical problems. ”
On the other hand, a signifi
cant number of people, in
response to my black leader
i ship question, name two or
three of their favorite persons,
saying they are local black
leaders
Mostly they name bldck
elected officials, or others wfco
are politically active. Almost
as often they name ministers,
and sometimes community
workers and persons involved
THE VIEW FROM HERE
Who Are Charlotte’s Black Leaden"
in civic work.
It is obvious that none of
these respondents are totally
wrong. But neither are they
totally right.
My view is that the so-called
black community leadership
crisis is not a problem of
identifying leaders, but rathor
is a problem of the definition
of the word “leader."
For long years a Mack
leader was defined as: a cha
rismatic individual, usually a
man, who speaks eloquently
against discrimination and op
pression. He must be able to
gain the confidence of the
masses of black people and
unite them under a common
desire for freedom and equali
ty. This man whom we crown
leader must undauntedly and
sometimes single-handedly
take on the system, challeng
ing it on every turn. Astride
his Mack stallion of righteous,
armed with his club of histori
cal indignation, this leader
must gallop unafraid into the
varied bastions of racism and
single-handedly wipe out eve
ry vestige of that cancerous
evil.
But this definition of leader
doesn't allow for human frail
ty. because we do not allow
our black leaders to be hu
man They must be paragons
black face who wui appear in
the clouds of Mack power to
deliver us from the living hell
of racism and carry us whole
body and soul into the heaven
ly promised land of 40 acres
and a mule, or a ranch style
and an Eldorado, or a dosen
foxy sisters and unlimited
stamina
dual vision of this black mes
aiah and our own idea of the
heavenly freedom he should
-a_ si_
OWlVW.
But most proponents of the
meesiah syndrone cry, "Not I
Lard,” when asked to become
a leader.
We want to leave the fight
ing to others and slink in
afterwards and reap, the
spoils.
I propose we change this
idea.
Every individual black per
son, male and female should
be black leaders.
Leadership, like charity, be
gins at home.
So it is time for black men to
grow up and for black women
to grow up with them. ■
This goes, back t0 a point I
made in dlls' clour.n last
week, that we must psy for
our development. That price
isn’t always money. Some
times it means SACRIFICING
a cherished fault for personal
improvement.
So es cool as it might be, all
black man have got to get off
the corner and go to work.
Surely, I know about sky
rocketing unemployment. 1
know that about IS percent of
all black people are out of
work and that about 40 percent
of all young Macks, particu
larly teenagers, cant find
jobs.
But I also knew that hanging
on the corner, waiting for a
change of heart in Washington
isn't going to solve the pro
blem.
Black Alabama millionaire,
A.G. Gaston has an interesting
success formula. One point he
makes is, “find a need and fill
it." That la Uw first step to
success and it is the first step
to race-wide black leadership,
the crucifixion of the messiah
There are many nssds in our
community. Here's just a few
suggestions right off the top of
my hood.
What about a delivery ser
vice that caters to Urn elderly
end the handicapped? What
about a small company, con
tracting with local govern
ment to stockpile wood during
the summer for the poor for
next winter"’ What about a
24-hour nursery for working
couplet who work odd hours,
or who travel a lot or who Just
want to go out at night?
The list could go on ad
infinitum. All we have to do is
think, bocouee In our growing,
complex society, there at*
hundreds of needs.
What about a black think
tank tojdentlfy the netifc,
the reeoureee np with the
Ulent te perform?
Doss all this sound idealis
tic? Sure it is. but why not?
Why can't we turn the idea)
into the real?
What does all this have to do
with developing individual
blach leadership? Everx
thing!
in my opinion the first step
in developing individual black
leaders is to take control ;pf
dne’s seif Develop the disci
piine necessary to became
successful and the desire to
Next week. I’ll i tM*
idea of
showing how i_
definite leadership role in
leap your out-of-town
Wends informed cm whit's
happening in Charlotte ft?
sending them a copy of the
Charlotte Post each week, fbe
coot is only M per year.
Harvey Gantt
...Political I radar
of moral virtue, uncompro
mising in principle, perfect in
deed and image, always
straightforward, ever vigi
lant, and on 24-hour call to
fight for us battles we're
content to ignore.
Our definition of "leader,"
asks too much of a mere
mortal.
Therefore, I propose a new
approach to leadership, some
thing different from the mes
siah syndrone we've labored
under for many generations.
The messiah syndrone. ac
cording to a very good friend
of mine, is that ardent desire
by black people for a Christ in