PUBLIC LIBRARY OF
[HEr 'SHIE CHARLOTTE POST p=l
- “Charlotte’s Fastest Growing Community Weekly" BLACK CONSUMERS
Priofe 30 Cents
Minority
Contractors
S#t Meeting
Minority contractors from
across the nation will join
government officials and
others at the Capital Hilton
Hotel in Washington, D.C.
this month for the first an
nual convention of the
Associated Minority Con
tractors of America.
‘The convention will offer
an opportunity, for the first
time, to bring together
minority contractors for the
purpose of discussing con
struction industry problems
and interfacing with
& members of the executive
and legislative branches of
.y government,” said AMC
/ president (Col.) Milton G.
Carey.
The three-day conference
ks off April 27 with a
eral session at the hotel,
owed by a visit to capitol
where the conven
eers will have a chance
to meet with the congres
sional black caucus, as well
as legislators from their
respective congressional
districts. Also, throughout
the day and on Saturday,
April 28, the contractors will
interact with several govern
ment and business represen
tatives manning business op
portunity booths set up to
provide information (on pro
curements, etc.) relevant to
minority entrepreneurs in
the construction industry.
May Is Senior
Citizen Month
May is National Senior Citi
zens Month, and theCharlotte
Mecklenburg Council on Aging
(COA) is planning and coordi
nating a wide range of events
for the observance in this area.
The theme for the month
long observance is “learning.
Living, Loving; Lifelong.”
A number of senior citizen
clubs and organizations have
joined the COA in plans for
events that include the follow
ing:
* A senior citizen camping
weekend at McDowell PorK
Mav 4-6.
* A free pre-retirement plan
ning session May 3 at the
Chamber of Commerce,
from 12 noon to 1 P.M.
* A Senior Citizens Speak-out
and Mini-conference with
Dr. E. Palmore, professor of
medical sociology for the
Duke University Center for
the Study of Aging and
Human Development. The
conference is May 9, begin
ning at 9:30 A.M., at Christ
Episcopal Church, 1412
Providence Rd.
* Girl (Scout visits to elderly
persons who are shut-in's.
* The selection and presenta
tion of the Outstanding
8enior Citizen Award at an
11:30 A.M. luncl on at the
Holiday Inn Noith on May
22. Nomination forms for
the Outstanding Senior Citi
zen Award are available at
all branches of the Public
Library and at the COA
Office, 316 E. Morehead St.
The deadline for submitting
applications is Thursday,
May 3.
Established by the Mecklen
burg Board of County Commis
sioners, the COA serves ns a
clearinghouse for information
about services to the elderly
and helps to coordinate those
services. It also serves us the
official advisory body to both
ttMWoard of County Commis
simEfers and the City Council.
4 For more informntion\con
tact the Council on Aging
Office at 374-3200.
trn - m
Photo by Jerry Curry
POPULAR CELESTE MARTIN
...Albemarle JHS student
Celeste Martin
Is Beauty Of Week
Our beauty for this week is 15
year old Celeste Martin, a ninth
grader at Albemarle Junior
High School.
Celeste’s hobbies are roller
skating, shopping and playing
tennis.
She considers herself to be a
friendly and conversi ve person.
Language arts, math and
social studies are Celeste’s
favorite Bchool subjects. Ce
leste said that the person she
most admires is her sister who
lives in Atlanta that she usual
ly ^visits every summer.
"She gets me almost any
thing I want,” Celeste said.
“She lets me go places and
takes me skating. She’s nice
and very easy to get along
with.”
Next year, Celeste will be
attending Independence Senior
High where she plans to try out
for cheerleading and take driv
er’s education. What she antici
pates most is getting out earlier
and having lewer classes.
When she finishes school.
Celeste said that she would like
to become a model, although
she has no definite plans now
as to how she will accomplish
her plan.
Among her future ventures.
Celeste expressed a desire to
meet some movie stars, namely
Prince, a singer.
"I would also like to go to
New York to visit Studio 54,”
she said.
This summer she plans to
travel to San Francisco with
her mother or to visit her sister
who lives in New Jersey.
This Friday night. Celeste
will he going to a prom at
Northeast Junior High. When
asked if she thinks she. will
enjoy it, she responded, “I'll lx*
dancing — a live band will be
there.”
Celeste is the daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. John Martin. She has
four sisters and three brothers.
She is the seventh child.
Competency Test Will Be Given
The North Carolina Com
petency Test will be given on
Tuesday and Wednesday,
May 1 and 2 to those
students who failed the in
itial test in November. The
makeup test will be the same
one administered to over 81
thousand eleventh grade
students during the first test.
Ninety percent of the
students who took the
reading portion of the test in
November passed it, which
means over 8 thousand did
not. Over 11 thousand
students failed the math por
tion of the test. Since
November, those students
have been involved in
remediation programs in
their schools. The remedia
tion efforts are designed to
aid the students having pro
blems in some of the areas
covered by the test. Accor
ding to many teachers and
administrators, the tests
have already helped many
students identify trouble
areas, subjects in which they
need special help.
Every public school in the
state had students who failed
one or more of the tests.
Dare County had the fewest
number, only 2 of 139 who
took the test.
The Competency Testing
program was legislated by
the 1977 General Assembly.
The tests are basic skills tests
of reading and mathematics
designed to measure
minimum competency, not
ideal achievement. The law
provides that passing the
tests is a requirement for
receiving a high school
diploma.
Students who are unable
to take the makeup test dur
ing the first two days of May
' will be allowed to take it
May 7-9. Local school of
ficials are requried to pro
vide remediation to students
who fail beyond their junior
year in high school if that
becomes necessary. Every
attempt is being made to
assure the student ample op
portunities to obtain what
he or she has worked for
during 12 years of schooling,
a high school diploma.
New FMHA Program To Aid
Low Income, Minority People
Hunt To Sign
Fair Housing
Agreement,
Governor Jim Hunt will
sign an agreement on Thurs
day making North Carolina
the first state in the nation to
participate in the New
Horizons Fair Housing Pro
gram, sponsored by the U.S.
Department of Housing and
Urban Development’s Office
of Voluntary Compliance.
“The signing of this agree
ment shows our strong com
mitment to making fair
housing possible for all
North Carolinians,” said
Governor Hunt.
rvortn Carolina s volun
tary agreement with HUD is
an attempt to carry out the
Fair Housing Law of 1968
which states that persons
may not be denied freedom
of choice in housing because
of age, race, sex, national
origin, religion or handicap.
As part of the agreement, a
statewide Fair Housing Task
Force will look at the hous
ing patterns within the state
and plan ways to guarantee
fair housing opportunities
for all citizens. The Task
Force will be composed of
the N.C. Human Relations
Council, plus representatives
of various groups, such as
realtors, homeowners,
homebuilders, industry, legal
professions and business.
The Task Force will
develop plans which may in
clude educational activities,
such as workshops to in
crease the awareness of the
public and of the housing
related industry to the Fair
Housing L.aw.
The Fair Housing Task
Force will meet sometime
within the next three mon
ths.
('huru SaKit ^ members are planning
(''immunity Knrtim on Africa lor Tuck. May I.
ittla*N\\( A Row 1 Kan*n Moss(I Ii. Ht-dnna
I"dd (11». \\ itItite I humasiH). Row 'J Miranda
I launas • 41 Sharec Thoma*' |(h and Khadijah
17 r-1
***- 11 msm
Abdullah (7). The tfirls made their own uni
forms out of African cloth as part of their
African studies program, (photo by Kilcen
Hanson)
ioiimixroiip 10 sponsor
Community Forum On Africa"
|>\ hilern Hanson
Special to The Post
I - huru Sasa. a youth uroup
meaning: TVeeHom Now*' m
Swahili, will sponsor a com
munitv forum on \frica Tues.
M iv I n the YWCA. I!s K
Trade St The program of
speakers and_ entertainment
will he^in at 7 p in and costs
(K i
l'huru Sasa. a t'roup of t>
vouiu* ladies a^es 7 to I I. is
raising finals for a trip to
Washington. |)C on Mav I
*1 irkets are on sales from group
members at l)ar Ks Salaam
"tore <7th and Trvoni Afrp
Xmeriean Cultural Center, or
at the floor.
The ►'iris arc planning the
program as part of their study
of African life and culture.
According to Khadijah Abdul
lalt. the ttruup's leader who
started the prnuram in Kehru
arv the purposeof Uhuru Sasa
is "to regain the knowledge of
African and Afro-American
culture and history, in order to
ui\c youths in Charlotte a
pi-itive foundation.'
Oswald Ndanca of Zim
hahvvi will lit* the special truest
speaker. He is a member of the
Zimbabwe African National
Cnion iZANI't which is tipht
illU lor the Uldeliei-uii-ni-e nfliiu
Southern African country also
known as Rhodesia.
Other speakers will he T.J.
RerlHv. a member of the Char
lotte •! and artistic coordinator
of the Afro-American Cultural
Center Barbara Harris uf Cen
tral Piedmont Community
t allege, andSbaril Aboulian. a
lawyer for I.egal Services.
Dance Africa will perform a
Ghanaian "Welcome Dance"
from West Africa Demetrius
Vegan Parker and Manualyn
•lacci l.ewis, members of the
Performing Arts Guild Knsem
hletPAGhl. will present origi
nal iioetrv
Cnuru Sasa members will
receive trophies and certifi
cates for successful completion
of the first phase of their study
program The one-vear pro
gram includes African history.
Slavery and Reconstruction,
and the present existence of
black Americans
"Africa* is a continent three
times as big as the USA." said
11 -year old Karen Moss, presi
dent of I 'huru Sasa. “It has Ml
countries."
“It’s a continent with fish. oil.
copper, diamonds and gold.'
added Hedona Todd, also II
and the group’s treasurer “But
the whites control the resources
and the Africans are poor."
The girls have also studied
African religions, music, and
folklore In March they visited
the Ovotungi Village in Shel
don, S (’ where they met Chief
•lomo and his three wives, and
learned about African customs
and beliefs
fin Mav I they will learn
about a current liberation
struggle in Africa when Ndan
go speaks about the wur in
Zimbabwe
I n a recent interview with ”60
Minutes" on CBS TV. ZANll
head Robert Mugabe snid that
Ian Smith's government in
Rhodesia had massacred thou
sands of people
"But we are not fighting a
racial war We are fighting
against racialism.” said Mu
gahe
Johnson (.. Dmitri
Choir To Prwtent
Spring Concert
The Johnson C. Smith Uni
versity Choir will present its
Spring Concert on Sunday,
May n at 5 p m. in the Univer
sity Church, located on the
campus A varied program of
choral literature will be offered.
You and your frienda are
cordially invited to attend this
concert.
Program Gete
$2.5 Million
From Congress
WASHING l UN, DU.-De
tails of a new program to
make housing more easily
available to low-income and
minority people and to reduce
delinquency among borrowers
were announced today by Alex
Mercure, Assistant Secretary
of Agriculture for Rural Deve
lopment.
Known as the technical and
supervisory assistance pro
gram. it is designed to:
-Help low-income and
minority borrowers who may
be behind on payments plan
and manage family Finances
in such a way as to catch up
and stay current.
-Help new borrowers set up
plans to avoid falling behind
on payments.
-Locate people who are eli
gible for the agency's various
housing programs but who
may not be aware of their
eligibility.
-rtaaisi uiem in applying ior
loans or grants.
The assistance will be pro
vided through grants to
community-based organiza
tions and other local nonprofit
groups. Under the law author
izing the program, preference
will go to private nonprofit
groups that are sponsored by
public organizations.
The Farmers Home
Administration will work with
these groups as they counsel
and assist the low-income and
minority families for whom
the program was created. It
was authorized several years
ago, but was not funded by
Congress until this year when
$2.5 million was appropriated
“Now our state directors
can use this technical and
supervisory assistance to
more effectively deliver our
housing resources to the
places where they have found
the greatest need," Mercure
said. “This complements our
existing programs and will
make them available to more
needy people “
Flan Progreswig
To Convert
Barringer Hotel
On Thursday, April 19,Char
lotte Mayor Kenneth R. Harris
signed papers transferring
ownership of the Barringer
Hotel (also known as the Cava
lier Inn) to the City of Char
lotte. The building and land
was purchased from CB Hold
ing Corporation for >860,000.
The City purchased thestruc
ture at the request of the Char
lotte Housing Authority and
will hold the building in reserve
for up to 18 months while
federal funding is arranged.
The Authority, which will buy
the hotel from the City, plans to
convert it into housing for the
elderly and handicapped
Present plans call for 190
unitg 140 one-bedroom units
and SO efficiencies. The project
will be developed similar to the
Strawn and Edwin Towers
sites with the Housing Authori
ty providing management and
maintenance services Once
funding is secured, 18-20
months will be needed for
architectural and construction
activities
The first two floors of the
Barringer will be renovated to
the original style and elegance
of ths building. Tha furniture
on thasa floors has '
t slued by
will be used
and will pro'
agencies i
sons.
SRC Report Reviews
Few Blacks In Southern Governments
by Sherleen McKoy
Poet Staff Writer
In a report released recently
by the Southern Regional
Council (SRC) in Atlanta, it
was discovered that fifteen
years after the passage of the
civil rights acts, most deci
sion-making boards in 10
Southern states remain segre
gated with no black members
and half with no women
members.
In a study entitled, “The
Segregated Governments of
the South," the civil rights
research organization
examined 146 appointive
boards and commissions with
more than 1,100 members and
found that three out of five
boards in the South have no
Blacks. Only twelve percent
of all board members survey
ed are female and 51 percent
of all of the boards in the
region have no female
members.
"As in the past," noted
Steve Suitts, SRC executive
director and author of the
report, "it remains a Southern
fact of life that the color of
skin and gender tell more
about who is exercising the
decision-making powers in
Southern governments than do
any other factors."
The report surveyed commi
FredAlexander
...State Senator
gsion8 in Alabama, Arkansas,
Florida, Georgia, Louisiana,
Mississippi, North Carolina,
South Carolina, Tennessee
and Virginia.
Alabama has the worst
record in excluding Blacks
only two there serve on
boards. Thirteen of the 15
boards surveyed in Alabama
have no Black members
Mississippi and Arkansas
have only six percent Black
membership on state boards
and nine of the boards have no
Blacks Black population in
each of the three states
exceeds 20 percent.
Louisiana, North Carolina,
South Carolina, and Tennes
see scored little better in the
survey Only Florida has a
majority of the surveyed
boards integrated
“Yet, the fact that 43 per
cent of the commissions
surveyed in Florida have no
Black members,” commented
Suitt, “certainly constitutes
no monument to progress and
is only an embarrassing state
ment of just how few decision
making boards in the region
are integrated
In North Carolina, Blacks
were not on 56 percent of the
boards surveyed and constitu
ted only 11 percent of the 159
positions surveyed Women
were not on 38 percent of the
boards and represented only
23 percent of all board
members. While the state's
record was not impressive.
North Carolina's state boards
and commissions had more
females than any other
Southern state
The survey does not include
many advisory boards which
make up the largest number of
boards and commissions in
Southern states; nor does it
include boards of trustees of
colleges and universities. It
does examine commissions
that “require the appointment
of citizens who will hold the
public trust and exercise inde
pendent, statutory authority ”
1 he agencies surveyed
carry on much of the daily
operation of state govern
ments Blacks and females
are found largely on boards in
only two fields, criminal
justice and human services.
Blacks are found least and
excluded most on boards regu
lating private enterprise such
as pollution control boards
and dairy commissions
The Southern Regional
Council is asking Southern
governors to make an imme
diate inventory of all
vacancies on state boards,
establish advisory boards to
assist in identifying potential
Black and female appointees,
and appoint Blacks and
women in large numbers.
Other state groups throughout
the South are also asking
Southern governors to fill
more decision-making
positions with Blacks and
women
Boards and Commissions
could be the best opportuni
ties for involvement of Blacks
in state government, the SRC
report noted
A 35-year-old, non profit
organization, the Southern
Regional Council promotes
equal opportunity in the South
Its members reside through
out the region and its offices
are located in Atlanta
m
A GOSSIPER: On who can
give you all the details without
Vnowtna airv of the facte