Hr 1 THE €HABL< 1TTE PI 1ST EiF
- “Charlotte’s Fastest Growing Community W eekly** BLAC K mers
_ CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAK0L1.VV282U8-Thursday. June 30. 1977 ' FRU F 25c
Berean To Break Ground For
Evangelistic Education Center
$325,000 Facility Will
Be Built In Two Stages
By Hoyle H Martin Sr
Post Executive Editor
Ground breaking ceremo
nies lor an evangelistic and
education center for the Bere
an Seventh-Day Adventist
Church will be held on Sunday.
July in at 3 p.m
The $325,000 facility, which
will also house a 300 student
State Patrol
Predicts Record
Volume For 4th
The State Highway Patrol is
preparing for a record volume
of traffic during the long July
4th weekend, according to
Patrol Commander John T
Jenkins He said that traffic
usually increases on any given
weekend, but with the activi
ties normally associated with
July 4th. the highways this
year are expected to be very
crowded. Traffic is expected
to be heaviest on Friday night
and the evening of the 4th,
lonWinv cuiH
The Patrol is not planning
any special programs to cope
with the traffic except that
every available man w ill be on
duty Jenkins said the Patrol
is going to make travel as safe
as possible during the holiday
by strictly enforcing all motor
vehicle laws. Special attention
will be given to speeding
motorists and drinking driv
ers
Awarding to J Phil < arlton.
Secretary of the Department
of ( rune Control and Public
Safety. 19 persons lost their
lives on the highways during
the July 4th weekend last
year I am confident the
Patrol will do every thing pos
slide lo make this a safer
holiday and that motorists will
assist the I'atrol by obeying
all traffic laws and driving as
safely as possible." he said
City Government
To Observe
Independence Da^
All offices of Charlotte City
government will be closed
Monday. July 4 for Indepen
dence Day There will be no
City Council meeting and sani
tat ion schedules w ill be af
(ecled
Sanitation crews will follow
a Tuesday Thursday. Wednes
day Friday schedule for back
yard and commercial collec
tion There will be NO curb
side collection during the
week Landfill operations will
observe an H a m 4 p.m
Tuesday Saturday schedule
because of the holiday Deac
animal collection servicr
will be suspended July 4
The Animal Control Depart
ment will also follow a holiday
schedule providing emergen
cy service only All City of
(ices will resume regular busi
ness hours at 8 a m Tuesday.
July .i The next meeting of the
City Council w ill be July 11 at 2
p m in the Council Chamber
at City Mall
body parocnial elementary
school, will be located on a
five acre tract of land located
at the end of Echo Glenn Road
near Tom Hunter Rd. in the
Hidden Valley Community
"The ground breaking cere
monies." the 800-member
church's pastor Dr Robert C
Connor said, "will be the first
step in a 12 year dream We
believe strongly in Christian
education and we have out
grown our current educational
facilities at the Church on
Double Oaks Rd."
County, city and public
school officials have been in
vited to attend the ground
breaking services. In addition,
R.L. Woodfolk, president of
the South Atlantic Conference
of theSDA Church, will head a
delegation of conference offi
cials from their Atlanta head
quarters to Charlotte to parti
cipate in the ceremonies
Pastor Connor pointed out
that ihe new facility will be
built in two stages in order to
Slav within the church's lone
range budget planning sys
tem The structure when com
pleted will have a very large
multi purpose gy mtorium
t\pe room for large gather
ings. six to eight classrooms, a
cafeteria, offices, a library
and a large parking lot
Connor, pastor of Berean
since January of 1975. said
that "raising funds and get
ting Conference approval for
the project has been my great
est challenge since coming to
Charlotte" from the Ephesus
SI)A Church in New York City
I)r Connor's reference to
his "greatest challenge" re
fers to his other accomplish
ments since accepting the Be
rean pastorship 21 * years ago
In that short period he has
increased the membership by
over 400, secured major chur
eh renovations, stabilized the
church's finances, purchased
land for more parking space
and is in constant demand as a
speaker throughout the na •
lion
I he day of the ground
breaking ceremonies will also
be the opening day of 1 Jr
Connor's third "Christ Is The
Answer Crusade" since com
ing to Charlotte
The 4week long Crusade.
July to August fi. will.be fea
tured with nightly preaching
' hy I>r Connor and music
provided by the Wray Sisters
of Italeigh. N C Connor's ser
mons as in the past, will be
short but dynamic and to the
point accompanied by slides
w ith printed Bible verses Ser
vices will begin each evening
except Thursdays at 7 Wpm.
Dr Connor's initial sermon is
titled. The Man With Gray
Hair "
Dr. Room i.onnor
Greatest challenge
MISS JO LEATHA PRATT
...Well-rounded person
Jo Leatha Pratt
Is Beauty Of Week
By Jeri Harvey
Post Staff Writer
This Week’s Beauty of the
Week caught the eye of our
photographer recently as she
went about her duties as a
salesperson in Ivey’s Jr. De
partment. (Which Ivey’s is
our little secret.) Her bright
eyes and beautiful smile im
pressed him enough for him to
suggest her as a “beauty” and
the POST agreed with his
judgement.
A 1972 graduate of Olympic
High, Jo Leatha is currently
studying fashion merchandis
ing at Biscayne Southern Col
lege and has ambitions to be a
buyer some day and perhaps
to do some modeling in her
spare time. She said, "I enjoy
dressing well and I take a lot
f care with how I look every
day. I like pretty clothes but
don’t try to keep up with every
new fashion. I prefer to create
my own style by mixing the
new with things I'm already
comfortable with.”
An apparantly well-rounded
person, Jo Leatha says she
enjoys all kinds of sports
including tennis (which she
says she plays “pretty well”),
swimming, basketball and
bowling. She enjoys reading,
and sews many of her own
clothes. She also says she
"loves to cook, especially ca
kes and pies and other
sweets ”
The daughter of Mr. and
Mrs Joe Pratt, our beauty has
two sisters, four brothers and
a iwo year oia son oi ner own,
Jermaine. She commented,
“My son is one of the reasons I
am in school now. I want to be
sure he has every advantage
that money can buy and I want
to be prepared to earn that
kind of money.”
Jo Leatha’s mother is E
vangelist Letha Pratt and
when asked how being the
daughter of a minister has
affected her life she answered,
“Well, for one thing I was
raised to go to church every
Sunday and if I fail to go it gets
my whole week off to a bad
beginning and I feel as if
something is missing.” She
went on to say, “Of course my
mother expects us to live up to
her spiritual ideals and as long
as we live in her house she
demands that we conform to
certain standards of behavior.
On the other hand, she recog
nizes that we are individuals
and will one day choose the
life style we prefer. She says
all she can do is show us the
way and after that, it's up to
us and God. I haven't had any
particular problems as a re
suit of my upbringing If any
thing, life has been easier
because I have been taughl
certain values and can incor
porate them in my decision
making."
Jo Leatha says she enjoy:
people but doesn't have It
have a tot of friends She date:
occasionally but admit:
there is a certain marine wh<
is uppermost in her thoughts.
A Libra. Jo Leatha appear:
to have her life in perfee
balance, just as that zodiai
sign indicates. She combine:
work, play and religion in :
manner that might provide ai
example for all of us
Limited Spare Crowd:
Out Some Stories
Limited Space Crowds Out
Some Stories , ,
Limited newsprint spaci
and a special feature 01
"Charlotte's 10 Best, Dressei
Men" has forced the Post ti
re schedule the publishing o
some stories. We deeply re
grot that this has happened
however, the story you missei
in this issue will appear i:
next week's Post.
Dr. King
Drive Gains
Momentum
By Hoyle H. Martin Sr.
Post Executive Editor
Since the appearance of a
Charlotte Post article last
week questioning the possibili
ty of the Martin Luther King
Memorial Statue Fund-raising
drive failing, momentum for
the project has increased con
siderably, according to the
Rev. James Barnette, chair
man of the MLK Memorial
Committee.
Barnette said over $5,000
has been raised toward the
initial goal of $50,000 and three
times that amount has been
pledged by some of the 73
black churches that have beer
contacted by letter for sup
port. Support has also begur
to come from some of the 50(
black-owned businesses thal
Barnette has communicatee
with.
While showing considerably
more optimism than 10-days
ago. Barnette nevertheless in
dicated that much needs to be
done in order to meet the
minimum goal of $50,000 and
the statue unveiling date ol
January 14, one day before Dr
King's birthday.
Posters have been distribut
ed and placed throughout th<
city that say "Keep the dreair
alive. Your help is needed.”
Barnette will probably carrj
this same message to the Nev
Hope Baptist Church on Sun
day where he will be preach
ing at 6:30 p.m.
Rev. Barnette is also sche
duled to speak to a group o
white ministers who will tx
convened at Myers Park Bap
tist Church by host pastor Di
Eugene Owens on July I
Barnette is expected to as
them for a pledge of $15,00<
an amount equal to the pledg
- of the area black churches
Barnette noted that person:
desiring to contribute to th<
MLK Statue Project shoulc
send their contribution to th«
Dr. MLK Commission, P.0
Box 1895. Charlotte, N.C.
28233.
ONE PRESIDENT GREETS ANOTHER -
Dr. Thomas A. Kilgore, president of the
Progressive National Baptist Congress.
greets Dr. H.S. Diggs, center, and W..J
Hodge, president of Progressive National
Haptist Congress. More than .3.500 people
attended the • congress convention at the
Kadisson Hotel here last week.
Summer Jobs Create New
Atmosphere Of Cooperation
By Jacquie Levister
Post Staff Writer
A congenial atmosphere
of cooperation abounds
between the Tenant’s Associa
tion of Earle Village and the
Charlotte Housing Authority.
’ The reason for this new
attitude can be attributed to
'■ a new summer jobs project.
The Housing Authority sanc
'• tioned the project after hear
ing a proposal authored and
* presented by D. Joseph Hall, a
*• former resident of Earle Vil
6 lage.
Approximately 100 Earle
Village students between the
ages of 14 and 18 have been
1 hired with the assistance of
the local CETA program The
Housing Authority granted
$10,000 to the project which
hired 10 local college students
to directly supervise the work
ing students.
According to Hall, an archi
tect with Gantt-Huberman As
sociates. “The proposal was
originally written as an Earle
Village project. Too many of
these kids need desperately tc
work. They either can't find
employment in the summer or
are assigned to desk jobs as
secretarial assistants with no
thing to do. When placed in
those situations the kids deve
lop work habits that are void
of any respect for the ethics of
working '
The program will be sending
clean up crews to several o
ther local housing projects
Other communities that stand
to benefit from the work of this
group are boulevard Homes.
Piedmont Courts. Dalton Vil
lage. iveyway Apariments ana
Fairview Homes
We, the Karle Village Te
nants Association and the He
sident Advisory Council, are
treating this project as a pilot
program. ' said Hall. “It is
mandatory that we perforin at
a standard of excellence so
that next year perhaps be
tween the 15 public housing
projects in the city we can
assist in the hiring of 500-700
kids This is not an unreal
figure once vou consider the
number of people housed in
the projects." he continued
The crew of students spent
their time last week in Karle
Village The residents of the
area were so enthused by their
efforts that they too joined in
the campaign, with brooms in
See SL’MMKK on Page 4B
nev. It \gg* Says:
^mm
Baptists Enioy “Finest Session”
By Jeri Harvey
Post Staff Writer
"The 15th Annual Session of
• the Progressive National Bap
1 tist Congress of Christian Edu
cation closed with resounding
' success." according to Rev
H .S. Diggs, pastor of Mayfield
Memorial Baptist Church and
> host pastor for the Congress
i The Kadisson Plaza. Char
i lotte's newest and most luxu
rious .Hotel, served as head
quarters for the Congress
* which /an June 20-24. Regis
tration'bnd all General Ses
sions were held at the Char
lotte Civic Center and classes
were conducted at First Bap
tist Church bn Davidson St
( The Congress began on Mon
i day with registration and a
I Pre-Congress Musical which
> was presented in the Civic
f Center at eight p.m that
evening The Musical, under
the direction of Mrs. Rosenfe
I Nichols, well-known musician
t and teacher of Charlotte, wfas
the culimnation of months
•r v
preparation The program in
cluded hymns, anthems, spiri
tuals and gospel songs Seve
ral area artists were featured
on instruments or as vocal
solists.
At the Pre-Musical, greet
ings were brought to the Con
gress by Harvey Gantt.
Charlotte City Councilman;
Rev Preston Pendergrass,
Pastor of Antioch Baptist
Church; Dr. J.J, Johnson,
President. General Baptist
State Convention of N.C , Dr.
Carl Bates. Pastor of First
Baptist Church on Davidson
St.; Mrs Elizabeth Hair.
Chairperson. Mecklenburg
County Commissioners. Dr
Lawrence Childs. Director of
Missions. Mecklenburg Rap
list Association; and Dr W J.
Hodge. President. Progres
sive National Baptist Con
gress
The Congress, which ac
cording to a spokesman, drew
more than 3.flou registered
.
Rev H S Diggs
Convenlion spokesman
S. Hallol Philadelphia Pa as
the new president at the
Thursday evening session Dr
Hall also gave the closing
address on Friday evening
A major resolution passed
by the Congress dealt with the
Wilmington Ten situation
and read, in part
We. the Resolution Commit
tee resolve
The National Progressive
Baptist Congress of Christian
Eduoal ion's position on '.he
Wilmington Ten in North Ca
rolina is that there should be a
swift execution of justice It
is obvious that there has been
a miscarriage of justice The
key witness that enabled the
Wilmington Ten to be incarce
rated behind prison walls now
readily admits his testimony
for the prosecution was false
Other witnesses of the prose
cution are willing to rescind
their testimonies because they
were coached to give prejudi
cial statements
We believe that while Presi
dent Carter has relentlessly
made his views known on the
human injustices of other na
tions. he should not overlook
the dehumanization in his own
back yard He should answer
the question. What about the
W ilmington Ten'1' Therefore,
we hope the Wilmington Ten
will be granted a new trial
tkimfc’XMX
Nothing makes some people
go into debt like trying to keep
up with people who already
Ui_.