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YOUR BEST ' 1
CHME >TTE PO-ST-lUli
Korth Carolina Tenants
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ATTRACTIVE SHEILA CHERRY
..^Takefe one day at a time
Sheila Cherry
Is Beauty Of Week
*
By Teresa Burns
Post Staff Writer
Some people feel that the
joy of life is living from day
to day, without worrying
about tomorrow. This is the
contention of our chosen
beauty. Sheila Cherry. She
belieres we should take one
day at a time.
Actually, this may have
some merit. Especially
when you receive a check
in^fce mail at the precise
tinre you neecj it. There is
even a television program
called “One Day At A
Time."
as tar as our beauty is
concerned, she just prefers
not to worry about tomor
row.
_‘J take life step by step. I
don’t plan things in ad
vance, and I don’t worry
about what tomorrow will
bring,” Mrs. Cherry began.
“If you don’t depend on
what will happen next week
then it won’t fall through
with disappointment.”
There is no disappoint
ment, however, about
maintaining one’s own
identity and not forgetting
where you came from, ac
cording to Mrs Cherry
In tact, Cycely Tyson is
one of her most favorite
people because of this rea
son. “I admire her . She
hasn't lost her identity as a
black," Mrs. Cherry com
mented.
Other favorite people in
Mrs. Cherry's life include
her mother, Bertha Hu
bert, her husband Curtis
JCSU Observes
Since the 1957-58 school
year, Johnson- C. Smith
University has held an An
nual Women’s Week during
the first week in March.
This year is no exception.
This year's observance will
be held March 2-8
The week is set aside to
promote educational, spi
ritual. vocational eeomv
Cherry and her daughter,
Timika Cherry.
“It's demanding and
challenging to be a mother
I am down to earth, but not
too strict. I like to disci
pline my child to let her
know what is right and
wrong. The most important
thing to teach a child is. to
respect their elders,” our
beauty noted. —
At age 23 Mrs. Cherry
has graduated from East
Mecklenburg, is a member
of Mount Moriah Baptist
Church and is employed at
NCNB Bank as a Proof
Operator. Her position al
lows her to experience
many aspects of the bank
ing field. “I'll try to main
tain a future in banking,”
she said. But she can also
envision herself as a pro
fessional model. One day
Mrs. Cherry could be bank
president and a high
fashion model, at the same
lime:
Her hobbies include
dancing, “...it gives me a
chance to loosen tensions,”
and sewing. She is a person
who likes to do a little of
everything and she enjoys
being a member of a close
knit family.
Close-knit is how she
wishes the entire world
would become. “I'd like to
see people’s attitudes to
ward one another change. I
wish we could get rid of all
the prejudices,” she stated
Step by step, day by day -
this is how our beauty, Mrs
Cherry, lives her life. And
who knows, she might have
a good point.
women 8 Week
bute to Black Women in
Poetry,” University
Church
Monday, March 3,
Careers of Women. 8 p.m
Wednesday, March 5,
film and history night on
'‘Women.”
Here March 6
Food Stamp
Benefits
May Be Cut
WASHINGTON -Food
stamp benefits for close to
20 million Americans may
be suspended June 1, Se
cretary of Agriculture Bob
Bergland said today.
In a letter to the 50
governors, the District of
Columbia, and the U.S.
territories, Bergland said
he has advised Congress
that funds for food stamp
benefits will be nearly gone
by the end of May.
“Unless Congress appro
priates additional funds by
May 15, I will be forced to
order a suspension of food
stamp benefits effective
June 1,” Bergland said.
The food stamp program
is running out of money,
according to Bergland, be
cause the legislative ceil
ing on expenditures" for
fiscal year 1980 was set at
$6,189 billion. That figure,
established by Congress in
1977, was based on predict
ions that unemployment
would average 5.7 percent
in fiscal year 1980 and that
food prices would increase
13 percent from fiscal year
1977 to 1980
isacn one percent in
crease in -unemployment
adds 750,000 to 1 million
people to the program,
while a one percent in
crease in inflation adds $58
million to food stamp costs,
Bergland said
An extremely tight Con
gressional schedule and re
quirements of the budget
ary process complicate the
food stamp situation, Ber
gland said Although the
Senate has approved legis
lation to remove the cap on
food stamp spending and
the House Agriculture
Committee completed its
work on the measure Wed
nesday, action will still be
'needed on the House floor
and in the Appropriations
Committees of both houses
But the actual appro
priation of more money for
food stamps may not be
possible unless and until
Congress passes a third
budget resolution for fiscal
year 1980, Bergland said A
second resolution approved
in November has no room
for additional appropriat
ions of any size, and pass
age of the third resolution
is not expected until at
least mid-May.
REV. BEN ('ll A VIS CHATS WITH
itY t.iHinnlman Hun l.rr/irr
Chavis Realizes
Victories Won; But Storm
Of Controversy Remains
n> r.neen Hanson
Special To The Post
Rev. Ben Chavis left
Charlotte in 1970, amid a
storm ot controversy about
a black studies department
at UNCC, the rights of city
sanitation workers to have
a union, the counseling of
black teen-agers against
the Vietnam War draft, and
representation of black and
poor communities on City
Council
wnen Chavis returned a
decade later to celebrate
his release from prison and
to salute Black History
Month, many of the things
he had fought for in the
I960's have been realized,
but the storm of contro
versy remains
At the homecoming cele
bration. Feb 17 at Uni
versity Park Baptist
Church, City Councilman
Ron Leeper < District 3)
presented Chavis with the
key to thecity saying. "If it
hadn't been for Ben. I
wouldn't be in posit on to
give mis Key todav I give- it
in recognition to Ben as a
Freedom Fighter lor a long
time, struggling ior equal
ity and justice, a struggle
that is never end ig "
But the fnllov ing Day
Mayor Eddie K ox critic
ized Deeper > a< •ion, say
ing he wouldn't l ave given
the key to Chav s because
he was only p cently re
leased from pri-on
v i>avis aim i iners were
convicted of burning a gro
cery in Wilmington in 1971
during racial turmoil in the
port city. The case of the
Wilmington 10 received in
ternational attention when
Amnesty International do
dared them "prisoners of
conscience."
If the key to the city
means anything at all and
if the taxpayers are going
to pay for it. then there
ought to *x* some judge
ment used in who gets
them," said Knox
Outraged local black
leaders called a press con
lerence at University Park
Baptist Church on Friday.
February 22 in support of
Beeper's action. They were
also inad that the mayor's
statement ignored blacks
as taxpayers.
On Monday. February 2">.
Rev. James Barnett. Car
rie Graves, Lucille
McNeil and Rev Lorenzo
Seegars went to City Coun
cil with a speech and a
check for i MU the cost of
a key plus sales tax.
we minx me mayor s
statement is a slap in the
face to the black commun
ity." said Barnett. “We
don't like whites picking
our leaders for us We have
the right to decide who get*
keys, just as whites do. We
shouldn't have to remind
the mayor that he is an
elected official and he
should keep his private
opinions to himself ."
Ms Graves reminded the
Council that blacks and
poor whites were also tax
see Victories Page 4
mical and cultural enlight
enment of campus and
community women.
Tfie program is asTor
lows: March 2, Breakfast
for Campus Women, 9:30
a.r|j, Student Union Main
Lounge; ll a.m., worship
service, University
Church; 6:30 p.m., "Tri
The HEIR as well as the
HAIR can often be trained
properly through the use of
a^tOW. |
“Religious Activities Day” Will Open
28th NAACP Southeast Conference
By Busan Kill worth
Post StaH Writer
The National Association
for the' Advancement of
Colored People will hold its
28th Annual Southeast Re
gion Conference March 6-8
at the Radisson Plaza Hotel
in Charlotte. All meetings
will be open to the public
Activities will get under
way Thursday, March 6
with Religious Activities
Day “In Search of World
Peace” will be the theme
Whereas, most of the Con
ference will concentrate on
blacks in the U S
T
n imui'n will niSCUSS
“Citizen Participation in
Foreign Affairs" to high
light Thursday Activities at
4:30 p.m.
Participating will be
Randell Robinson, Execut
ive Director of the Trans
Africa Organization, and
Kelly Alexander Jr., mem
ber of the NAACP Board of
Directors
The public meeting held
at Friendship Baptist
Church in Charlotte, will
feature Dr Richard Ar
rington. mayor of Birming
ham, Alabama as the guest
speaker.
Kelly Alexander Jr
. Board Member
Following the 7:30 p m
V
meeting a reception will be
held at the Kadisson Plaza
Motel for Dr Arrington,
delegates and friends
About 500 delegates from
the Southest region are
expected to attend
Registration will take
place Friday and Saturday
between 8-5 p m
Friday morning at 11 30,
a panel will discuss "Build
ing Better Branches " Pre
sidents and Vice Presi- '
dents, Secretaries and
Treasurers, and Standing
Committees and Member
ship will make present
at ions
Alter a membership
luncheon the NAACP Task
Force from 2:30-5:30 pm
will examine education,
employment, civil rights,
and political legislature
As an added attraction a
performance of "Sizwe
Banzi is Dead" will be
presented at the Civic Cen
ter at 7 30 p m
Based in South Africa
this Athol Fugard play re
veals the plight of a poor
worker who has been ex
polled from New Brighton
and the authorities must
take the identity and pass
see NAACP Page ■*
t
NTO Plans AU-Day
Conference In Durham
Tenants in North Caro
lina may soon have a
neans of communicating
with each other Plans for
establishing a state chap
ter of the National Tenants
Organization (NTO) will be
presented by Jessie M
Gray executive director of
the NTO, at an all-day
North Carolina conference
in Durham on Saturday.
March 1
The National Tenant Or
ganization works for both
public-funded tenants and
those renting from land
lords on the private mar
ket It has affiliate groups
all over the country NTO
keeps a lobby going in
Washington, D.C. and has
four representatives on the
Housing Task Force with
HUD The NTO brings in
proposals from its affili
ated groups in different
States. It can also mobilize
id w'orkTFor Tocal strategies
or state projects affecting
tenants.
in the morning session
workshops will be pre
sented on North Carolina
tenant-landlord law and
community development
are these federal funds
being used to benefit low
income tenants in th;s
stale? i Workshop leaders
"wllT mclucfe attorney > Don
ald Saunders of Legal Ser
vices of the Blue Kidge in
Boone and Benjamin Krlitz
of the Legal Aid Society of
Northwest North Carolina.
Inc in Winston-Salem Or
ganizer Pat Bryant of Dur
ham will deliver the open
ing address.
The conference is a joint
project of two Durham
based tenant groups West
Knd Community Action
Group, which deals mainly
with private nousing ten
ants, and The Durham Ten
ant Steering Committee,
which is composed of pu
blic housing tenants
Elizabeth Terrell of the
W est End commented on .
the meeting. "I think it's
wonderful: I hope it will do
some good I've been wait
ing tor this for a year" As
/.eirr.a Mnnn, also ot the
West End. remarked.
North Carolina needs
something like this - ten
ant rights are not looked to
much around here by land
lords ”
Durham tenant Steering
Committee member Nor
ma Burton felt the attempt
to combine public, private,
and subsidized tenant in
terests to be an important
feature of the March 1
event l think that this
state needs a private and
public: housing mobilization
committee for tenants
There should be better
communication between
public and private housing
residents. 1 think the re
source people coming in
will be able to help us
accomplish this It will be
very educational for ten
ants in public and private
housing on conditions-, po
licies. and guidelines local
ly and nationally "
Neighborhood groups,
experienced tenant organ
izers, legal advisors, and
private citizens from Wil
mington to Asheville have
indic ated plans to attend on
March 1 The conference
will last from 9::io a m
until j; to p m at McDou
gald Terrace on Lawson St
in Durham
Food Stamp Shoppers
Pack Economic Punch
ny .susan l-.llsunrth
Post-Staff \\ riler
Food stamp shoppers
pack an economic punch
despite their modest buy
ing habits, according to
findings of the L’S Depart
ment of Agriculture
While most Americans
spend only 60 percent of
their income on necessities
such as food, shelter, me
dical care and utilities, the
poor spend fto percent of
their cash on necessities.
FSDA research shows
With pressures imposed
by poverty and inflation,
money is spent immediate
ly and quickly returns to
the economy
In 1979 (he poor spent $3
billion more on food than
they would have without
the food stamp program
Farmers received a $1 hi I
lipn share of the spending
increase
Greater food purchases
by the poor increased the
incomes of food processors
and distributors by $14
billion
Use of food stamps has
increased purchases $481
million for meat, $167 mil
lion for dairy products. $87
million for fruits and ve
getables. $46 million for
eggs. $4.3 million cereal and
bakerv products and two
million for other farm pro
duced foods
Results of a recent study
Third In S-rio
by 1‘SDA economists show
food stamps have the
strongest economic impact
in the most disadvantaged
counties The majority of
rural counties with the
highest infant mortality
rates are located in the
South and Southeast
Between 1967 and 1976
grocers in these counties
saw their average food
sales pet person grow by 12
percent over other
counties
rood stamps accounted
for nearly 16 percent of
"every dollar increase Tfi
these sales Most other
counties registered little or
no increase in per capita
retail food sales over the
decade
Economists say that if
the program were cut,
farmers would lose about
*140 million for every $1
billion reduction in food
stamp spending
Food distributors, includ
ing processors, packers,
wholesalers and retailers
would lose about $210 mil
lion annually
Money spent on food
would decrease by $350
million, even though food
stamp users would substi
tute some of their own
money for the stamps that
were cut