North Carolina Newspapers

YOUR BEST ADVERTISING MEDIA IN THE LUCRATIVE BLACK MARKET CALL 376-0496 , THE CHARLOTTE POST "Charlotte's Faetest Grooving Community Weekly" 'J *-I[!!lrtFi Ί ol BLACK newspapb:rs EFFECTIVELY RE ACH BY FAR, MORE LACK CONSUMERS 1 Vol. 5 No. 4 CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA 28208-THURSDAY, AUGUST 17 tor mtm ——— —— ν ~ I * W. W. TWITTY —/V. C. Mutual executive In Bridge Twitty Readies 1st Milestone η..«ι i. w. - "· —1 " Iliuu L· IVSâ v-wvv. Post Staff Writer A Charlotte native gave a fine showing in a national bridge tournament last week. W. W. Twitty, 63 of 1725 Madison Ave., brought home seven trophies from the Ame rican Bridge Association tournament which was held at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. The tourna ment was held from August 7 - 12. Twitty is the first member of the Metrolina branch of tin the ranks of life received its charier in Janu ary of this year and has a little more than 50 members. Twitty said he'd played rub ber bridge, the most common type of bridge for many years. But he credits George W. Johnson of 1128 Rocky Ridge Dr. with encoin aging him to learn duplicate bridge. Twitty said that duplicate bridge is more complicated than the regular bridge and involves more skill than luck. Johnson, who organized the local chapter of ABA, said that Twitty 'reached his first mile stone in bridge while attend ing the tournament in Chica "His next milestone will be to get 300 points," Johnson said. chapter of ABA MM ·> go. According to uie aba rules, Johnson explained that 50 points are required to obtain the junior life master. One hundred points are required to reach the level of life master. Three hundred points are re quired to reach the level of senior life master. The ruby level requires 600 points and the diamond level requires 1200 points. While at the tournament, Twitty received 150 points. Johnson, who's been at the game longer also teaches bridge at the Greenville Cent er on Thursday nights. (The next class will start the second Thursday in Sepember.) Johnson has more than 3,000 total points. Both Johnson and Twitty are also members of the Char lotte chapter of the American Contract Bridge League, a predominately white organi zation. The ABA is predomi nately black. Johnson said the ACBL has approximately 225,000 mem bers nationally; while the ABA has between 5,000 and 6,000 members nationally. Johnson is ranked 18th in the nation in the ABA. He said he's been playing bridge for the past 26 years. Johnson said he decided to organize a local chapter of ABA simply because there wasn't a chaDter here Wilmington 10 March Set For Sunday By Eileen Hanson Special to the Poet August 20 has been designa ted as "Wilmington Ten Sun day" across North Carolina. Ministers rabbis and con gregations are being asked by «! N.C. Alliance Against cist and Political Repres sion to Join in a "united demand for freedom, true human rights and Justice in North Carolina.1"' A march is planned for the afternoon in support of the Wilmington Ten, the Charlotte Three, and also David Miller. The 28-year old Charlotte resi dent is charged with first degree murder in a "murder for hire" case. The march will begin at 5 p.m. from the Main Post Growing old is a question of MIND over MATTER, if you don't mind, it doesn't MAT TER Office and continue to the Court House for a rally. Marchers will demand that charges against Miller be dropped, and that the "10" and "3" be granted a full pardon of innocence. The David Miller Defense Committee claims that there is no evidence against Miller in the murder case. "There are those of us that see this as another plot against another Black," said Rev. James Bar nett, chairman of the commit tee. The N.C. Alliance is asking that a prayer prepared by Rev. Ben Chavis, one of the "10," be read during church service· on Sunday, and that the families of these and other prisoners be remembered in prayers. Churches are also ssked to receive a special offering for tba work of the Alliance In the struggle for freedom end Just ice in North Carolina Petition· will be circulated calling an President Carter to free the N.C. civil rights acti vists. lite cases have gained international attention as a human ripts issue. In October the Alliance will pre sent the petitions to Carter at the United Nations Human Rights Session The goal is loo.ûôn signatures For more information con tact Rev. James Barnetl, People United for Justice, 332-930 1 CilJUJT UIC gallic. 1 1IIVC UIC challenge of trying to do more with the hand than the next person," Johnson said. "I'm not much of an athlete. 1 like most anything you can do sitting down," Johnson said. Though Johnson has only taught bridge class here for the past two years, he taught bridge in Atlanta, Ga. for six years before coming to Char lotte. In order to keep the game competitive, Twitty explained that each person much play in his or her own level. "A person can play up higher than his level, but you can't play or compete in a level that is below you," Twitty explain tu. Hie following is a list of Twitty's ranking in the compe tition in Chicago. In the Walter Talbot Open Pairs category under 100 points, there were 52 pairs playing. Twitty and his part ner came in first position over all In the President's Open Pairs, category of under 100 points, there were 66 pairs. He and partner came in seventh overall; the Andrew Mells - Player of the Year, 52 pairs, first in the section but fifth over all; F. Albert Peterson Scholarsip, 60 pairs, first in the section; John Steven's Open, 44 pairs, number one in the section and 4th over all; Jackye Sheppard Open, 38 pairs, number one over all; Mixed Open, 38 pairs, second over all. Twitty said there were more than 2,000 people participating in the tournament. Partici pants could play two or three sessions per day . Twitty and his wife, Samella have two grown children. He said his entire family enjoyp card games Willie Stratford Named Chairman Of Little Theatre Membership Drive By Linda Florence Post Staff Writer Public participation of the Charlotte Little Theatre mem bership campaign will peak on August 27, theatre manager Suzanne RlckeUon said. The theme of this year's campaign is "Put a Little Theatre in Your Life." For the second year in a row, Willie J. Stratford Sr. of 3126 Park Rd has been named chairman of the membership drive. Under his leadership last year, the membership increased approximately 56 percent Last year's membership went from about 700 people to more than 1,500, Ms. Ricket son said. "With and increase like that we figured he really knew what he was doing," Ms. Ricketson said This year, Stratford said he hopes to increase the over all membership to between 2,300 and 3,000 people. ι uimn me inreaire is gixxi for the community and should be supported by the commun ity because it mirrows our society and our history," Stratford said. Stratford said the theatre is older than many other forms of art in our community. He said it is also good for the children in the community because "children should be exposed to aO facts of cultural interpretation." This is the 54th season of the CLT. Ms. Ricketson said the CLT is self supporting and is the oldest community theatre in the state. The theatre is located at 500 Queer* Rd Last year was the first year that the CLT received any type of grant to back a public membership campaign. The theatre received a $3,000 grant from the N.C Arts Council in Raleigh. "This money helped the visability and the viability of mm \ W 4 Vfc une j Stratford Sr. ...Post Office official the theatre," Ms Ricketson said Paula Emerson a postal service official has been named chairman of a Lime light Committee which will be in charge of a silver dollar hot cake lunch on August 27 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The other two members of this committee are Mary Hod per. a punnc relations person with the county library system and Bettye Harris, who works with public relations with the Housing Authority. The purpose of the luncheon is to emphasize the new sea son and call attention to the membership drive itself, Ms Emerson explained Celebrities and non celebri ties will be on hand to flip pancakes and greet the public, she said Ms. Emerson said the group is expecting about 500 people to attend the special lunch There will be door prizes and numerous souvenirs Champaign will be served There will be door prizes and other forms of live entertain ment "We have a good many things to offer the public if they come out. I think they will enjoy it," Ms Emerson said Thouflh membership to the See Stratford on Page 4 Activist Says: Minorities Can Provide Service Τ ο Communities Rent Party Stays Off Conviction By Eileen Hanson Special to the Post Facing eviction is a frighte ning experience, especially if you're living on a fixed in come, have five kids, and the landlord is the Public Housing ' Authority. You know there is no where else to go. But friends of Carrie and Lonnie Graves turned a gloomy situation into an even ing of disco fun August 10 af the Excelsior Club. Billed as a "rent party," the evening was a benefit to help the Graves pay $500 in utility and repair bills the Housing Authority claims they owe. Earlier this month the Authority threate ned to evict the family be cause of the back bills. Between records spun by Robert Patton, Dr. Helen Othow, a member of People unueu iur jusnce, inoueraieu a brief program "Rent parties are part of our heritage," she said. "Dur ing the Depression, in Harlem and other poor communities, people would often throw part ies to help out neighbors about to be evicted." The eviction threat against the Graves stems from Ms. Graves' part in a 1976 law suit filed by the Resident's Advi sory Council against the Hous ing Authority. They charged that tenants were not allowed enough for utilities, thus many were paying more than 25 percent of their incomes for rent and utilities, as required by Federal guidelines. When the suit was settled, the Graves still faced the back bills Ms. Graves claims the repair bills are the responsibi lity of the Authority. "We had a broken comode, then a window, and bad wiring," she said. "They construct public housing in the cheapest possible way and then expect the tenants to pay the repairs." As a member of Dalton Village and West Boulevard Coalitions, and the Resident's Advisory Council, Ms Graves is active in trying to get more of a voice for public housing .See RENT on Page 4 LOVELY GLORIA BLACKWELL ...Rising UNCC freshman Gloria Blackwell Is Beauty Of Week By Monica Brown Post Staff Writer "Confidence is the key to success" says 18 year old Gloria Blackwell, the Post's Beauty for this week Gloria, was a recent partici pant in the Miss Black Ameri ca pageant, which was held in Winston Salem. Although she was not a winner she said her experiences there were worth while. The most rewarding experience she noted was the charm school where she was taught the fundamentals of poise and the importance of "confidence in ones self." While a student at West Charlotte High School Gloria was a majorette and for the past year has taught baton twirling. More recently Glor ia was crowned "Miss Park and Recreation." It was during this pageant that she presented an original baton twirling routine, which won her the coveted title This fall Gloria will be a treshman at UNCC, she plans to major in social sciences and hopes to become a juvenile social worker. When asked about her feelings about enter ing college this fall, she said, "I like new and different experiences and that I feel a college education is essential in our ever changing world." Aside from baton twirling, Gloria enjoys bike riding, but says most of her time is spent on the job. She is employed in guest relations at Carowinds. The youngest of three child: ren, Gloria is the daughter of Mr and Mrs. I>eroy BlackwelT and resides at 2513 Kendell Drive. She is a member Greater Bethel ΑΜΕ Church. Precinct Meeting Precinct 27 will sponsor a public precinct meeting at the Simpson-Gillespie United , Methodist Church at .">40 Win ston Street on August 22 at 7:30 ρ m Blacks Free To Provide Service To Own Communities «jdiiis indue uy minorities in the South over the past 15 years mean that more blacks and others are now free to provide service to their own communities and communi ties elsewhere. This was the opinion of civil rights activist John R. Lewis, now director of domestic ope rations for ACTION, the fede ral agency for volunteer ser vice, given in an interview at City Hall Monday. He was welcomed there by Council man Sidney Barthélémy Airo (.enter Plans Fund Raising Disco The Afro-American Cultural Center will sponsor a pre-festi val fund raising disco at the Excelsior Club located at 921 i3eattie& Ford Road on Thur.s day, August 24 from 9 p.m. ui itil. The disco will officialh kirk off this year's festival activities. The festival in the park will be held in Marshall Park on Saturday, August 26 from 12 to 7 p.m. The theme of this year's festival will be "Ujima 78-Colk'ctive Work and Res ponsibil.'ty Admis.sion to the disco is (1 50 and tickets are on sale at the Afro-American Cultural Center on the third floor of Spirit Square. Further in formation can be obtained by contacting the Center at 374 1565 or 110 East Seventh Street. UNCC To Offer Shoit (Bourses In Speedreadirig Short courses in speedread ing will be offered at the University of North Carolina at Charotte on Thursdays in September or on Oct 19 and 26 and Nov 29 and 9. The classes are designed to increase speed in reading while maintaining or improv ing comprehension Each course will consist of four, three hour sessions tailored for the business or profession al person The instructor will be Dr Evelyn C. Davis of UNCC's I .earning Assistance I^ahora tory For information call Dorothea I .akin at UNCC, 597 2424 between Sam and 5pm weekdays (.Mb Seta Registration For New Student# Parents of beginning stu dents and students new to Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools who have not yet registered their children for school this fall are urged to call or visit the child's school weekdays between 9 a m - 3 ρ m to fill out necessary (tapers an<l receive informa tion about the school year Registering now will help the schools work out student sche dules before school begins ΐΛτν»ΐ3 satu iica in tu ·"» »' ιυ take advantage of thi:> new human resource by laun ching the first black recruiting drive in the five-state region for more Volunteers in Servie e to America (VISTAι peopie In 1965, he helped to organ ize the famous march from Selma to Montgomery, Alaba ma, which brought nai iona 1 attention to the need for the Voting Rights Acts of 1965. A native of that state, he said blacks now hold high political office in areas where 15 y sars ago, they couldn't even vote Blacks used to be less than enthusiastic about joining vol unteer organizations such as the Peace Corps (one of many agencies under the umbrella ACTION program), Lewis said, "because they thought, "Why go to Africa or else where when there are pro blems right here in Louisiana or in Georgia?" But in the last decade, there have been "unbelievable" civil rights gaira in thr Souh, Lewis said, and he predicted this region, where people shou a special "caring" toward one another, will be the next lead er in human relations, a sort of national model. Asked about recent activism of the Ku Klux KJan in the South. Lewis said, "I (hink these are isolated incidents There will always be people who want to revive the pas', but I think most Southerners, black and *hite. do not want to go back to that period." Blacks and whites are not "working together" in much of the South, he said. Though Lewis is here pri marily to recruit volunteers for VISTA, he is also interest ed in getting people to serve in other programs such as the foster grandparent plan Me wants Dotn people willing to serve their own hometown and those wanting to go else where. ACTION, though it is a small agency compared to the Health, Education and Wel fare Department, is important he said, because it tells people. "Use what you have; pool your resources to make something better." Councilman Barthélémy said the VISTA program would help remedy some of the unemployment found in the city Particularly among Macks wty 1 /Hindi Ιο (hnwfa* Snrtk*i 8 lloiiNin^ Sl«t The Charlotte City Council will consider eight proposals for Section 8 housing sites at its meeting on Monday, Aug ust 21 starting at 12 noon in the Council Chamber at City Hall Following an informational briefing and public comments and suggestions, the City Council is expected to develop an official response for the area office of the Department of Housing and Urban Devel opment (HUD). The eight Charlotte pro posals were submitted by local sponsors In response to a statewide advertisement made by HUD announcing the availability of funding for 350 housing units in North Caro lina metropolitan areas. To date HUD has received B7 proposais for a total of 7,000 units.