To Aid Wilmington 10
. Black Cultural
/ 4
Festival Set Schedule
The N.C. Alliance Against
Racist & Political Repression
co-ordinator Anne Mitchell an
nounced today plans for a
Black Cultural Festival to be
held on the St. Augustine
campus in Raleigh on August
14.
300 Attend Disco
To Benefit
Wilmington 10
By Jacquie Levis ter
. Post Staff Writer
The Excelsior Club accom
modated over 300 disco goers
at a benefit for the Wilmington
10 defendants.
June C. Davenport, sister of
Rev. Ben Chavis, welcomed
the participators and inform
ed them of the progress of the
case. T.J. Reddy of the Char
lotte Three, gave an original
work on “political awareness”
and the CBS 60 minutes TV
Documentary on the Wilming
ton 10 was shown by Disco
Coordinator Robert Patton.
The Wilmington 10 include
the Rev. Ben Chavis, eight
black former Wilmington stu
dents and a white female
anti-poverty worker, who
were sentenced to serve a
total of 282 years in prison
following racial unrest over
desegregation of Wilmington
schools in 1971.
The 10 were recently denied
a new trial, after each of the
state’s 3 main witnesses char
gea uvat uiey were coerced
into lying against the Ten at
the 1072 trial by the prosecu
tion. A white minister and his
wife, Rev. and Mrs. Eugene
Templeton testified at the
hearing that Rev. Chavis and
several members of the Ten
were in his home at the time of
the a 11 edged burning.
Other activities for the Wil
mington 10 include: over two
thousand members of the Uni
ted Church of Christ’ General
Synod march in Washington
and rally held in front of the
White House, in support of the
10 in July.
Late in July, Golden Frinks
of the Southern Christian Lea
dership Conference led and
completed a 150 mile march
from Wilmington to the Ra
leigh Capitol grounds. The
culmination of this event was
a 15 minute conference of
, the mothers of the 10 with N.C.
Governor Jim Hunt.
Sunday, August 14, 1077 is
being recognized by support
ers as Wilmington 10 Sunday.
It is hoped that churches,
organizations and individuals
will help through special pra
yers and contributions. A Cul
tural Festival will be held on
the St. Augustine's College
Campus, in Raleigh also on
the 14th. '
For further information or
contributions please contact;
The Wilmington Ten Defense,
3234 Banbury Drive, Char
lotte, N.C. 28216.
Piedmont Gaa Files
Registration Statement
The University of North Ca
rolina at Charlotte will pre
sent a CPA review beginning
August 29 and covering audit
ing, accounting theory and
accounting practice
The festival, presenting var
ious forms of Black culture,
including jazz, art, dance,
drama and poetry reading, is
being held to demonstrate
North Carolina artists’ sup
port for the freedom of the
Wilmington 10 and the strug
gle to end racist and political
repression in North Carolina.
Donating their time and talent
free of charge, artists include
jazz musician Rachiium Au
sar-Sahu; Gospel singer Ed
Hall, and The Gospel Inspira
tions, founded and co-ordinat
ed by Mrs. Mamie Pope.
Ms. Mitchell, speaking of
the program, stated, “This
August will mark 1 Vi years
that Rev. Ben Chavis and the
Wilmington 10 have been re-_
incarcerated. Last August we
chose one Sunday to he called
Wilmington 10 Sunday. This
August we will do the same,
but this time we want to
express our support and con
tinued struggle through Black
culture. We want to show that
the struggle to end the supres
sion of the Black cultural
movement in this country has
been and is part of the strug
gle for liberation of Blacks,
other peoples of color, and for
all poor people, Black as well
as white.
Organizing the festival are
Rachiium Ausar-Sahu; Pat
Funderburk; Anne Mitchell;
Walter Norflett of WVSP-FM
radio; Skip Quick, Festival
Coordinator; and Dot Thomp
son.
The Black Cultural Festival
will be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
on Sunday, August 14, at St.
Augustine’s campus. A dollar
donation is asked to continue
the work of the Alliance to free
the Wilmington 10.
Gray Joins
Merrill Lynch
Walter C. Gray has joined
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner
& Smith Inc. as an account
executive in the local office
here at 1410 Jefferson First
Union Plaza. It was announc
ed this week by John C.
Engler, resident vice presi
dent of the world’s largest
securities company.
A recent graduate of the
intensive training program at
Merrill Lynch's New York
headquarters, Gray has pass
ed the rigorous registra
tion examinations of the New
York Stock Exchange
Gray was graduated from
North Carolina A&T State Uni
versity in Greensboro in 1972
with a B.S. degree in Business
Administration. He and his
wife, Patricia, live with their
one child at 2107 Canterwood
Drive in Charlotte.
June C. Davenport, sister of Rev. Ben
Chavis, talks about the Wilmington Ten Case,
as Disc Jockey Andy Wallace and group
■PH pBH. 'PRHPi
assist at a Disco Benefit for the Ten in
Charlotte, recently.
James r erguson i
Wilmington 10 Counsel To
Meet With Governor Jim Hunt
ay Jacquie Levis ter
Post Staff Writer
James Ferguson, chief
counsel for the Wilmington 10,
and Governor James Hunt
were scheduled to meet and
discuss the fate of the Wil
mington 10 defendants on
.Wednesday, August 10 at 4
p.m.
Hunt will be asked to grant the
10 pardons of innocence. A
statement made by E.B. Tur
ner, a top official of the N.C.
Democratic Party said Hunt
would most likley respond to a
petition for pardoning the Wil
mington 10 if legal appeals
were dropped.
‘‘I would make a recom
mendation at this point. I
think that the attorneys for
the Wilmington 10 ought to
seek a conference with the
governor and say to him, Mr.\
Governor, now you have said
that because of the litigation
of the Wilmington 10 you
would not act until that is
over, how about if we decide
as representatives of the de
fense that we will cease and
end the litigation. Would you
act and if so how would you
act? Turner stated.
Turner continued, “That
would give the governor a
chance to respond and they
would pull him off the seat and
they would end the litigation
and let him act. It would be
appropriate now, they need to
say that and they could put
him on the spot and let him
know that a decision on his
part might end litigation.”
Hunt’s response to reporters
_ and to mothers at the WU
mington 10 who met with him
on July 20 has been that it
would not be appropriate for
him to intervene in the case as
long as it is in the courts.
Ferguson said that what the
defense will do depends large
ly upon Hunt’s actions. “Num
ber one we have got to know
whether he’s willing to do
anything at all and we don’t
know that yet.”
Mrs. Delores Moore, mother
of Wilmington 10 defendant
Wayne Moore, told a reporter
that Ferguson advised them
that final action in the case
might take as long as four to
five years. Already the case
has been on appeal in the N.C.
Court of Appeals, the N.C.
Supreme Court and the U.S.
Supreme Court. All have de
nied relief from the 282 year
combined sentence imposed
upon the 10 for their 1972
conviction of fire bombing a
white-owned grocery store in
Wilmington in 1971. The char
ges grew out of K1 Klux Klan
and Rights of White People (a
paramilitary organization) at
tacks on school children who
were boycotting classes in the
Wilmington-New Hanover
school system.
Rev. Leon White, director of
the N.C.-Va. Commission for
Racial Justice has suggested
that the North Carolina Hu
man Relations Commission
serve as a "mediator” be
tween Hunt and the attorneys.
Ferguson said he doesn’t need
a mediator because he has
open lines of communication
with Hunt The Commission
ot a mediator in most dis
putes. The Commission serves
at Hunt’s pleasure and its
staff is Hunt’s staff.
Hunt could exercise several
options in response to the
pardon request, including (1)
commuting sentences to time
already served in prison; (2)
pardoning the Wilmington 10
on either arson charges or'
conspiracy to assault emer
gency officials charges; (3)
granting pardons of innocence
(meaning the Wilmington 10
were not guilty of charges);
(4) granting pardons of for
giveness (which means Hunt
believes they were guilty but
for other reasons believes they
should be released from pri
son) ; or take no action at all.
According to Ferguson,
“anything other than a pardon
of innocence would be present
ed to the defendants ang their
families antia decision at that
time will have to be made as to
either drop litigation or conti
nue in the court of appeals.”
Delta Sigma Theta
Sorority Will Hold
Planning Session
The 5-Point Project Com
mittee of the Charlotte Alum
nae Chapter of Delta Sigma
Theta Sorority will hold a
planning session on Monday,
August 15, at the Greenville
Neighborhood Center. At the
7:30 meeting, there will be
representatives from various
agencies presenting their
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