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PUBL.3 LIBRARY OF '
MAY 191978
Hr I THE CHAB AITTE PI 1ST [Ii=
■ 376-0496 “Charlotte’s Fastest Growing Community Weekly” black consumers
Poor Academic Performance
Alarms Black And White Parents
33 States Have Adopted
Competency Standards
By Benjamin L. Hooks
NAACP Executive Director
Special To The Post
Perhaps, it was inevitable
that the plummeting acade
mic performance of American
Secondary school students
would arouse alarm among
both black and white parents.
Partly as a result of changing
social values and urban pres
sures, large proportions of
American children are gradu
ating from high school each
year as functional illiterates
Thus, increasingly diplomas
reveal not much more than
that a student has completed
12 years of schooling
In response to this mounting
problem. 33 states have
adopted "minimum compe
tency” standards Other
states are also considering
similar programs, and Con
gress is being asked to set
national standards and pro
vide Federal support for test
ina
For blacks, however, tests
have been anathema because
of the threat of built in bias
Having endured centuries of
racial discrimination, blacks
know all too well that tests
have been, and continue to be,
employed as another form of
racial barrier
Studies conducted by the
NAACP and other national or
ganizations. psychologists and
educators have proved that
tests can be structured so as to
exclude a given group The
racially exclusionary factor is
commonly called cultural
bias."
Due to the NAACP's histori
cal concern about all forms of
racial discrimination, it is
therefore not surprising that
the Florida Conference of
NAACP Branches now consi
ders as imminent a legal
challenge to that state's com
petency tests. The only quest
ion. for State NAACP ( hair
man Charles Cherry and Atly
Morris Milton is whether they
can afford the drawn-out and
costly battle
The problem arose when 77
percent of black ltth graders
(double the number of whitest
failed the functional literacy
tests that students must now
pass before they can gradu
ato
Those who fail are given two
more opportunities, after wh
ich the unsuceesslul students
receive a "Certificate of At
tendance" showing that they
have completed school As
one woman remarked, how
ever, if this ts the only reward
that a student will receive
after 12 years of study, "there
is no point in going to school
For a high school diploma is
needed even to sweep the
floor "
NAAC'P officials are parti
cularly troubled by the re
quiremenl because Florida
has no state wide tests Kach
school system creates its own
tests and is responsible for
providing remedial programs
Also, teacher performance
is not monitored, even in
remedial programs There
are no requirements for
schools to offer instruction
based on test material
Florida also has no state
curriculum And the NAACP
has found that much of the
material in the tests are not
taught in the schools
As an example of cultural
bias. State NAACP officials
note that one question uses
checking account termino
logy But since poor blacks
use money orders to pay bills
rather than personal checks
many of them fail simplt
mathematical questions tha
they would have passed if the5
understood the language
Despite these drawbacks,
there is little doubt that tests
do have a meaningful mea
surement role Blacks should
be careful, therefore, about
backing themselves into a
corner in which all tests are
regarded as discriminatory
Blacks must compete with
whites on a professional level
So it is incumbent on them to
master the basic academic
skills that will enable them to
be a good doctor, lawyer,
engineer or whatever.
Recognizing the complexity
of the issue, the NAACP will
continue to provide the neces
sary guidelines for spotting
"culturally biased" tests.
CD Files
Application
With HUD
The City of Charlotte has
filed its fourth year Commu
nity Development Block Grant
Application with the area of
fice of the Department of
Housing and Urban Develop
ment < H.U.D ) in Greensboro
A $7,435,000 grant was re
quested but H U.D. has in
formed the City that the a
mount will be reduced to
$7,374,000.
With the approval of the
fourth year application, Char
lotte will have received
$37,500,000 in Community De
velopment funds since June,
1975. These monies are being
used for physical, social and
economic development im
provements in 10 low and
moderate income areas
Copies of the application are
available for public inspection
at the Community Develop
ment, Cameron-Brown Build
ing. 301 South McDowell
Street, and at the Office of the
City Clerk and the Public
Service and Information De
partment located at City Hall.
600 East Trade Street.
The Community Develop
ment target areas include
Grier Heights, North Char
lotte. Cherry. Third Ward,
West Morehead, First Ward
-Expansion, Southside Park,
West Boulevard, Five Points
and Wilmore-Dilworth
Git> Government To
( Him ■rve Mecklenburg
Independence I)av
All offices of Charlotte City
Government will he closed
Monday, May 22 in obser
vance of Mecklenburg Inde
pendence Day There will be
no meeting of the Charlotte
City Council on Monday
Due to the four-day work
week, the City Sanitation Divi
sion will provide the following
collection service*:
There will be no residential
collection Monday Each resi
dence in the City will receive
two backyard garbage collect
ions on a Tuesday-Thumday
and Wednesday-Friday sche
dule
There will be NO curbside
trash collection during the
week All trash should be kept
off the curb until Tuesday,
May 30 for collection Wedne*
day. May 31.
The York Road landfill will
be open from 7 a m to 4 p m
Monday through Saturday
The Animal Control Depart
ment, 2700 Toomey Avenue,
will remain open Monday,
May 22 from 8 a m to 6 p.m.
LOVELY TRINA ROLAND
...Believer in astrology
/Miss Trina Roland
• ■
Is Beauty Of Week
By Dianne Simpson
Post Staff Writer
“I'm not what one may call
head over heels for soap
operas, nonetheless I do watch
them occasionally, when the
T\jfltist happens to be on at
that particular time and I just
happen to walk by. Anyway,
as for the roles played by
blacks in soap opera there are
too few. I feel that Blacks
should play more roles, and I
fee) that those roles already
being played by blacks are a
bit to the extremes. I mean
let’s face it, you either see a
black that barely goes noticed
such as a nurse or waitress or
passerby in the background
who say nothing whatsoever.
Or you see this big executive
black doctor or lawyer who
does not associate with other
blacks but prefers to sit and
have tea with the bourgeois
whites. I feel that soap operas
would win more black TV fans
if they based their characteri
zation on realism-at least to
median qualities.”
These were the words that
were averred by the Past's
Beauty of the Week Ms. Trina
Roland of 2306 Palmer St.,
vAptB. This 5’5W” year old
beauty is a Cancer. She is a
strong believer in astrology
iand stated that she possesses
all of the true qualities that
Cancer women possess, with
greM reference of being very
senfinive.
Trina is a graduate of Olym
pic High School. After only a
couple of days after gradua
tion, she enrolled in the Barbi
zon Modeling School. After
completing her modeling edu
cation at Barbizon she enrol
led at Central Piedmont Com
munity College and now plans
to enroll at North Carolina
Central In Durham and pursue
her studies in fashion mer
chandising. She is presently
employed as a cashier at
Kichway in the Freedom Mall.
Trina hat done an extensive
amount of modeling. She has
done modallng at the Ameri
can l-egion in Gastonia and
will he involved in another
fashion show the latter part of
this month.
Although Trina enjoys
modeling, her main interests
are in the area of fashion
merchandising. “1 think
blacks wanting to become
models is great,” stated
Trina. “However,” she went
on to say, “I want to more or
less get my hands into the field
of management. I feel blacks
should get involved into more
areas of business manage
ment and by hopefully becom
ing a fashion merchant, I can
fulfill this wish.”
when 1 asked Trina if she
saw a future in modeling here
in the Charlotte area she
quickly stated, “No, most defi
nitely not. I don't mean to
knock Charlotte because I was
born and reared here, but it
lacks that type of atmosphere
that is necessary for the per
fect establishment of model
ing careers, especially for
blacks going into the career."
Trina feels that in the Uni
ted States, blacks in the field
of modeling would have a
better change in a northern
state such as New York and
out West such as California.
But, she feels that too much
prejudices are still ex
perienced in the southern cit
ies and the states within that
would definitely hinder the
popularity of black models "I
feel that black models have to
work twice as hard and twice
as long, not to be successful,
but to unnecessarily prove
themselves," Trina com
mented. "I believe in proving
yourself,” Trina Continued,
‘‘but why waste your energy
when you know you will serve
as a guinea pig or token
Besides modeling, Trina s
hobbies include riding bikes,
jogging, dancing and listening
to disco and jazz music with
her favorite jazz artist being
Al Jarreau. After finding out
that Trina also likes movies,
she was asked which of the
movies she had recently seen
and liked the mast "Saturday
Night Fever” won her highest
approval because it provided
great disco music and, “I love
disco,” Trina stated.
V
We A^: :,:c?jze
For The
Inconvenience
By Sidney Moore, Jr.
Post Staff Writer
Inconvenience has been the
result of a relocation of the
office of The Charlotte Post.
Although “better service"
was the intent of a decision by
Post publisher “Bill” John
son, problems in getting the
new office established have
terferred. The main pro
Dlem has been with tele
phones.
Southern Bell had promised
to have the telephone working
when the new office at 1524-26
West Boulevard at Remount
Road was scheduled to open
on Monday, May 15. But,
alleged problems with a cable
prevented the telephone com
pany from fulfilling its pro
mise.
The office is located in The
Westover Shopping Center
Mall, about midway of the
front view of the shopping
center and williin a center
mall section.
Johnson said a single tem
porary line will stand-in for
full service until the problem
is solved. Four lines will
eventually assist the weekly
newspaper to serve the com
munity.
In addition to more space
and more comfortable facili
ties, Johnson had hoped the
new office would make it
possible to expand photo
graphic services, provide
more accurate news coverage
and improve circulation of the
publication.
Carolina Action To
Oppose Airport
Bond Referendum
Carolina Action, the citizens
action group organized in
three Charlotte neighborhood
organizations and several
city-wide committees, an
nounced Monday that it was
opposed to the airport bond
referendum
The group said it wouli
contact other organizations in
teres ted in defeating the born
and mobilize its constituent
to go to the polls on June 20.
GRADUATES OF CFCC NURSES
Ai/lt> Training Program
Early Childhood Training
Program Graduates 13 Students
Before Christmas, Virginia
Lilly, Human Services Assi
stant in the city's Community
Development Department's
Economic Development Man
power section, and her staff
sensed a need for Early Child
hood Aids in Charlotte.
Their survey of local agenc
ies turned up a real lack of
such personnel. In coopera
tion with Lois Petrovsky of
CPCC’s Early Childhood De
velopment Program, they de
signed a special course for
Charlotte women, none of
whom had achieved beyond a
high school education who
were seeking new opportuni
ties.
The first class of 13 gradu
ates completed 11 weeks of
clinical and classroom train
ing and received certificates
as Early Childhood Aids to
become teacher’s aids in day
‘ care centers.
1 In attendance at the inform
1 al ceremonies were A C.
Schull. supervisor of the Eco
nomic Development Man
power Section, and Marion
Miller, a counselor on his staff
who worked very closely with
the students.
The city’s Economic Deve
lopment and Manpower sect
ion, and CPCC are working
with the city's Employment
and Training Department to
locate jobs for the applicants
Several job interviews have
already been arranged.
Alicia Martin, a graduate
who is expecting her 3rd child,
typifies the enthusiastic stu
dent response: “I learned a
lot in this class that will help
me with my own children "
Fran Boyd, who taught the
class along with Sonia Woods,
feels that the lives of her
students have been enriched
by their experience. She
believes that some have gone
from negative attitudes of
child raising which involve
punishment to more positive
attitudes of "guiding" child
ren's growth It is her belief
that whole attitudes toward
fellow human beings have
changed as students have be
come more aware of the uni
queness of each child.
Due to the success of this
class, another is being consi
dered. Persons interested
should call Virginia Lilly of
the Economic Development
Manpower section at 374-3242
Gray Loop
Road Glo«ed To
Through Traffic'
North Carolina Department
of Transportation i NCDOT)
officials will close to through
traffic a portion of Gray Loop
Road (Second Road 2417) in
Mecklenburg County. Wednes
day, May 17
The temporary closing will
allow NCDOT maintenance
crews to replace pipe on Gray
Ivoop Road.
Charlotte LBDO Sets Second
Annual Minority Business Banquet
By Hoyle H. Martin Sr
Post Editorial Writer
Charlotte Local Business
Development Organization
(LBDO), in cooperation with
Radio Station WGIV, will hold
its Second Annua) Minority
Buisness Awards Banquet on
Friday, May 28 in the Imperial
Ballroom of the Duality Inn
Motel. Charles F. McMillan,
Atlanta Regional Director of
the U.S. Department of Com
merce, office of Minority Busi
ness Enterprise, will deliver
the keynote address
Thomas Staton, executive
director of the Charlotte
LBDO, said, "the banquet has
been designed to give recogni
tion and encouragement to a
number of business people
that LBDO has given assi
stance to over the past year.
Specifically, he continued, 11
minority enterpreneures that
have received certificates as
minority business people o<
the month will be recognized
with one from that group
being named “Minority Busi
nessperson of the Year!"
Staton added, “the event
will offer corporations in the
Charlotte area the opportunity
to become better acquainted
with the growing number of
minority-largely black
business firms that they might
desire to carry on trade or
business with."
LBDO board chairman,
Hoyle Martin, told the Post,
“we are pleased to announce
that Charles F McMillan will
be our keynote speaker be
cause of his extensive commit
ment to and long record of
work in and on behalf of small
and minority business.” Mc
Millan work experience in
cludes service as a Job Corps
and community action agency
administrator. Since 1973 he.
has served as director of the
OMBE Regional office in At
lanta, Georgia
During the fiscal year,
March 1, 1977-Feb 28, 1978,
the Charlotte LBDO assisted
approximately 180 minority
%
businesses and “packaged"
over 14 2 million in business
loans and procurements. To
achieve these results, LBDO
has worked closely with busi
ness and trade associations,
the small business admini
stration < SBA), commercial
banks, loan associations and
local colleges and universi
ties
Among these 180 firms that
I.BDO has assisted are the
eleven to be recognized at the
banquet These are:
Charles Grainger of C and M
Air Conditioning, Julia Guerra
of Guerra Signs, James Hollo
way Men's Shop, Ben Howy of
Howey's Paving and Trucking
Company. Rogers Keller of
Keller Printing, Bobie Lowery
of Better Cleaning Mainle
nance Supply Co , John Phil
lips of M It P Auto parts,
James Rushing of Marco Jani
torial Service, Inc., Willis
Sturdivant of Quality Clea
ners, Sailor Tyson of Tyson
Charles McMillan
Regional director
Grocery Store and Jean vvebb
of Amico, Inc
An estimated «X) business,
civic and minority business
people are expected to attend
the banquet Charlotte City
Mayor Ken Harris will head
the list of dignitaries at the
headtable
Tickets and other informa
tion about the banquet may be
obtained by calling 334 7691
4 *
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' A, . ..a ■ t .
-W; ■ *.*4«
WE'VE
MOVED
■ has moved to 1S24-26
I 'West Blvd.
I ’ We invite our readers
1 to visit our new facilities
■ 'from which we hope to
I’provide greater and
^better service. _