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V”" --“The Voice Of The Black Community”_ I BLACK C0NSLJMERS
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Pli KIT Y BLaKE
...Enjoys “Muppet Show”
Purity Blake Is
Beauty Of Week
ny i oresa Burns -
Post Staff Writer
Season's Greetings! It's
that time of year for cheer,
the exciting gazes of young
sters waiting for Santa
Claus, and. of course, the
celebration of the birth of
Jesus Christ.
Purity Blake, a first
grader at Steele Creek
Elementary School, is
ready for the special holi
days. “I’m going to be good
so Santa Claus can bring
"ne a training wheel bike,”
she announced
Actually six year-old
Purity has been good all
year Her grades in school
reflect the highest achieve
ment with most marks
racing "very good "
"1 like math the best - I
like take-a-way and I like to
work,” she remarked.
Miss Blake is a Brownie
and attends meetings at
her church, East Stonewall
Planning
Workshop Set
What is expected of an
ihdividual should they be
named executor or execu
trix of an estate? How does
one go about letting some
one know about specific
wishes regarding personal
funeral arrangements or
the donation of organs?
What is probating a will?
How much of an estate is
taxable? Can a person
write their own will? Is it
valid? What is a trust? A
guardianship0 A power of
attorney?
Approximately twenty
five people learned the an
swers to these and many
more questions at a work
shop given at the YWCA on
Park Road on Tuesday
night The workshop was
conducted by Jon J Mar
tindale, Sales Represent
ative, Metropolitan Life In
surance Company, P. Pey
AME Zion Curch. She
earns her .25 cents weekly
dues by helping around the
house.
"Sometimes I empty the
trash can, make up my bed
and clean the ash trays,”
she said with a smile. “And
I received a Brownie badge
for bringing a friend to the
scout meeting.” Miss
Blake is also a member of
the Angelic Choir at East
Stonewall.
Acting, reading and gym
nastics are a few of Miss
Blake's pasttimes. She also
enjoys the “Muppet Show"
and "Wonder Woman" on
television.
Next year she plans to
begin ballet lessons and
eventually become a pro
fessional ballerina. She al
ready is experienced in
dance. Recently she and
her mother choreographed
a creative spiritual dance
to Shirley Caesar’s “Don’t
Be Afraid." She captured
the hearts of all who wit
nessed her performance in
this Children’s Day church
program.
Our beauty is the daugh
ter of Mr. and Mrs.
Armester Blake, Sr. She
has one brother Armester
It* ic ft un
Miss Blake enjoys her
family especially sitting on
her father’s lap and talking
to him. "I also like to ready
to my daddy,” she said.
She admires her mother
extremely. “She cooks din
ner and she gets up in the
morning and cooks break
fast for us. She also lays out
our clothes for us to wear.”
Aquarians are know to be
humanitarians, and it
seems Miss Blake possess
es this quality. She enjoys
visiting and simply talking
to her grandparents, Mrs.
Corine Weathers and
James Weathers of Char
lotte.
Santa Claus can’t miss
this 50 pounds of joy, for
Miss Blake has certainly
proven to be the ideal
model of a good little girl.
totw^arley, Attorney, and
Donald J Hodgehs, Vice
President, Trust Depart
ment, 1st Union National
Bank.
According to Martindale,
one of the most important
aspects of pre-planning an
estate settlement is getting
all financial information
together in one place and
see ESTATE on Page 5
wntpcwr
We are so busy running
around to buy gifts that we
forget the gift has already
been given - Jesus Christ.
-T
ny nusan r.usworth
Post Staff Writer
June Davenport is not
surprised that it took al
most a decade to reverse
the 1972 firebombing con
viction against the Wil
mington 10, of which her
brother Rev. Benjamin .
Chavis is a member
An Appeals Court in
Richmond, Va. recently
ruled the defendants' con
stitutional rights had been
violated during the 1972
trial held in North Caro
lina.
While the Commission
for Racial Justice fought
the case at an expense of (2
million, nine black men
(including Chavis) and one
FROM all of us
TO EACH OF YOU
BEST WISHES FOR A
Bill Johnson
Kwanzaa
To Be
Celebrated
You may have heard of
Kwanzaa, but you may not
know exactly what the
word represents. What it is
not is an African holiday -
what it is is an African
American holiday cele
brated December 26 -
January 1.
Kwanzaa was created in
1966 by M. Ron Karenga
—Ihfi reality that Kwanzaa
is an African-American
holiday exemplifies the
double role, identity and
experience of the very
people it was created for •
the American Blacks
Its creator, Karenga,
places emphasis upon the
African roots rather than
the African-American
ones Why? According to a
pamphlet entitled "Kwan
zaa9 First Fruits" the fol
lowing are the basic rea
sons Karenga concentrated
mainly on African roots.
"First, we, African-Ame
ricans, are an African peo
ple and thus, our creations
are African both in terms
of our racial type and hi
storical and cultural con
tinuity. ...It is essentially a
product of the particular
social conditions and self
determined needs of the
African-American people "
"Secondly, the concept of
Kwanzaa as a holiday of
the “first fruits” comes
directly out of the tradition
of agricultural peoples in
Africa, who celebrated and
gave thanks for harvests at
designated times during
the year. Thus, Kwanzaa is
a time for the gathering in
of our people, celebration
of ourselves and our
-achievements and rede
dication to greater achieve
ments and fuller more
meaningful lives in the
future."
The name Kwanzaa is
derived from the Swahili
word. Kwanza Kwanza
means first and is a por
tion of the phraise “Ma
tunda ya Kwanza” (first
fruits) Karenga added an
other “a” to the end pro
ducing Kwanzaa. Kwanzaa
in the text of the holiday
means "first fruits” (cele
brating the harvest of the
first crops or first fruits is
traditional in Africa)
There are four symbols
used during Kwanzaa in
cluding Mshumaa-the
seven candles that repre
sent the seven principles of
Kwanzaa They are Um<5ja
'Unity), Kujichagulia
(Self Determination);
Ujima (Collective Workd
and Responsibility); Uja
maa (Cooperative Econo
mics); Nia (Purpose),
Kuumba (Creativity); and
Imarii (Faith)
Kwanzaa is not only a
holiday, but according to
the pamphlet "Kwanzaa:
First Fruits," it is “ the
dedication period in which
we commit ourselves to
work and study for the
World Liberation of Afri
can People now and for
ever, for as long as the
moon follows the sun."
a
Mrs, Davenport Says Of Wilmington 10 Struggle
society’s Climate Was Resisting The Desegregation Process”
u.. mi .« Lu. i a ■ ...
wnne woman remained im
prisoned.
Chavis was released last
December after serving
four years of a 25-29 year
sentence.
Mrs. Davenport, a Char
lotte resident, said emo
tional and racial conflicts
existed at the time of the
trial and convictions.
"Society s climate was
resisting the desegregation
process,” she emphasized.
"A long cooling off period
was needed in which a
return from fear of the
unknown to a gradual ac
ceptance of fellow human
beings occurred to some
extent
“I knew we were in for
the fight of our lives.”
_
Sne was right.
The Wilmington 10 con
troversy began in 1970
when a group of black stu
dents felt they were being
discriminated against.
Rev. Chavis, a member of
the United Church of Christ
Commission for Racial
Justice, was asked to quell
interracial violence in Wil
mington during 1971.
Shortly after his arrival
violence errupted between
black and white communi
ties. Two people were
killed. A white-owned gro
cery store burned to the
ground
The National Guard was
called in and a curfew was
imposed. Allen Davis later
was charged with arson.
months later a new jury
was selected which con
sisted of ten whites and two
blacks
One month later all ten
defendants were convicted
and sentenced to 10 29
years each. Their bail
ranged from $20,000 to
$50,000
“All types of adverse
publicity went out fra med
testimony was secured,"
according to Mrs Daven
port This was an attempt
“to destroy the civil rights
movement and its leader
ship." she said
Setbacks plagued the
case in 1974 when the North
Carolina Court of Appeals
affirmed the convictions
In May '75 the State Su
preme Court refused t
hear the case The defenc
ants were jailed and bai
was denied
Althought the case wa
tried in this state, Mn
Davenport said the verdic
would probably have bee
the same even outside th
South
“This unjust punishmen
could happen wherever th
so-called leadership ha
made personal profits o
gains directly or indirect!
as a result of those wh
have struggled for equal
ity, abandoned the caus
and remained silent," sh
explained.
Mrs. Davenport furths
emphasized that blacks'
constitutional ri*M« rAn b
1
j denied “in any society
wherein power figures and
] pressure groups selfishly
and greedily seek to ac
5 quire political favors and
clout at the expense of
1 human lives who dared to
’ awaken the society’s con
'■ scious to human suffer
ing”
Then in 1977, the con
5 spiracy began crumbling.
* A witness admitted he lied
in implicating the 10. A
1 second prosecution witness
> confessed he was bribed to
li«. And a third witness had
'■ irregular testimony.
Despite their recanta
tions and new defense tea
r timony, Superior Court
Judge. George Fountain
s see “SOCIETY" on Page &
Rev. Ben Chavis
but he implicated Rev
Chavis and nine others
Ten blacks and two
whites filled the 1972 jury
The case was declared a
mistrial after the prosecu
tors became ill. That jury
was dismissed Three
V