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“The Voice Of The Black Community” Pfflflll! I IftDAf) 7—I"
Volume 7. Number .5 -----fy_
----_-1IIK CIIAKI.OTTK POST - Thursday. November 19. I9K1 Price- '(3 Cents
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LOCALITE HONORED Raleigh W.
Bynum, O.D. (left), of Charlotte. Past
President of the National Optometric
Association and Board Chairman of the
National Optometric Foundation, pre
sents the Optometric Student of the Year
Award to Paula R. Newsome, O.D., of
Wilmington, in recognition of her ex
emplary scholastic record while a stu
i i a
dent ot optometry. Observing the cere
mony is Melvin D. Wolfberg,' O.D.
isecond from right). President of the
Pennsylvania College of Optometry. Phi
ladelphia. Pa., where Dr. Newsome now
is serving as a Resident in The Eye
Institute; and Alvin J. Cuff, O.D.. Phila
delphia optometrist.
Economics And Racism
i.
_ /
Are Main Concerns
By Hat Bryant
Special To The Post
Economics and racism
were the most important
concerns of 10 blacks who
were asked, “What are the
most pressing concerns of
blacks in 1981?” The blacks
questioned, in the informal
survey, included a top of
ficial of a major black life
insurance company, three
,grassroot community or
ganisers, one minister, two
Politicians, two educators
(one educator doubles as a
politician), a social worker
and a black newspaper
publisher.
v Spiraling inflation, rising
Unemployment and human
service program budget
transfers to the defense
department have focused
widespread public concern
on economics. Six of the ten
respondents in the survey
said among pressing con
cerns is development of an
economic base withirT the
black community to pro
vide unmet needs of black
people cut from federal
programs.
Asked what the role of
the "national and state
governments should play in
eradicating poverty, dis
ease and illiteracy," seven
said jobs, health care,
housing and other services
should be administered
from the federal govern
ment in opposition to the
current trend to transfer
responsibility for pro
grams cut in the federal
budget to local and state
governments. Reagan
omics, the popular refer
ence to President Reagan's
economic program, none
agreed with, but four out of
the ten interviewed said
they thought the plan would
unify blacks in opposition
to it. The question asked
was, "Is Reaganomics a
cure or curse on black
Americans?" Two of the
people interviewed said it
was a curse, two said it was
neither a curse nor cure,
and four said it was both.
Surprisingly, nine of the
ten respondents said they
are not satisfied with black
leaders when questioned
“Are you satisfied with
leadershin at the
TURflMMK
^ *
Do not expect that
EVERYONE WILL
THINK YOU ARE PER
FECT Be SATISFIED if
you are able to fbol one or
two people.
mm—
Fourth in a Series
state, local and national
levels?" Many went into
great detail explaining
why. Some offered altern
ative definitions of "lead
ership,” pointing out that
current leaders are often
appointed from outside
black communities and are
not accountable to the com
munity they supposedly re
present. Class divisions
within the black commun
ity based on education,
jobs and status symbols
. were cited as obstacles to
economic progress.
Regarding leadership,
there were strong feelings
summed by one of the
interviewees when he said
“We have leadership for
the few in the name of the
masses.” Most said that
leadership in the eighties
. would be! best supplied by
men and women con
centrating in special areas
of interests and account
able to mass base organ
izations. Some felt that the
major civil rights organ
izations don't get enough
support from blacks, but
that was not a widely held
view.
All of the people inter
viewed agreed that the
state, federal and local go
vernments have a respons
ibility to stop violent white
racist attacks. Several
were critical of what has
apparently been the parti
cipation of government in'
or prior knowledge of
planned attacks upon black
people. While all said there
should be a push for go
vernmental infiltration of
white extremist groups like
the KKK and Nazis. Three
more went on to say that
blacks should organize for
their own self-defense
while asking protection of
government.
' Can the present politic
al-economic system satisfy
the needs and concerns of
black and poor people?"
Six ansered "no."
Six also said they felt the
masses of black people are
ready when asked "Are the
masses of black people
ready to organize and mo
bilize against economic
.and social injustice.” Four
of the six said black peo
ple are always ready to
^ organize against injustices
providing they have honest
and capable leadership.
One question related to
the federal charges that
Wilbur Hobby, president of
the N.C. AFL-CIO con
spired to defraud and mis
apply CETA funds
.. Fat Bryant is an editor at
"Southern Exposure" ma
gazine. F. O. Box 531,
Durham. N.C. 27702. lie is a
member of the Southern
Organizaing Committee for
Economic ‘ and Social
Justice.
According To Poll ^
North Carolinians
Approve Of Reagan
Small Busines
Getting More
Than They
Banked On
According to a survey
conducted by "Inc.'' maga
zine to bank officers of the
nation's 150 large and. re
gional banks responsible
for small business ac
counts. undercapitalization
and too much debt are the
major reasons cited for
rejecting small business
loan applications (32 per
cent of respondents). When
asked the major problems
in dealing with small busi
ness, the answer given
most was again, under
capitalization (19 percent
of respondents).
The survey, published in
the November issue of
“Inc.", is part of a special
report, "Banking in the
80’s." The 80's hold good
promise and good news for
small borrowers. Ameri
can banks want small busi
ness customers more than
ever.
For the first time, banks
are designing cash man
agement products and
other electronic services
specifically for small
firms. In fact many banks
are offering better rates
and extending longer term
commitments for their
effort to compete for small
business dollars. An ex
plosion in the variety of
services and products
available to the smaller
firm is well on the way and
may force small business
men to shop around for the
best deals their credit can
buy.
The.giant banking insti
tutions may pose a threat
to the small banks but
renewed completion is go
ing to give the small busi
nessman a choice.
DIANNE SULLIVAN
.JCSU freshman
Dianne Sullivan
Is Beauty Of Week
By Teresa Burns
I'osl Staff Writer
Elementary Education is
the path our beauty,
Dianne Sullivan. has
chosen to take _
As a freshman at John
son C. Smith University,
Ms. Sullivan enjoys work
ing with children and feels
she will be most effective
teaching them.
"One day I may offer
them the start they need in
order to build up their edu
cation."
A member of the Black
History Month Program
she is helping to plan se
veral activities that start in
December at JCSU
Most of the programs
will be held in February -
Black History Month - to
commemorate the many
achievements and contri
butions of the black race.
"I'm interested in black
history." our beauty be
gan. "because it helps me
find out about my back
ground where we have
come from and where we
can go."
Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Sul
livan of Greenville, S.C.,
are the parents of our V'irgo
beauty.
"My mother. Florida, is
my favorite person. She
has had the most influence
over me. If it wasn t for her
1 wouldn't be where I am
today. She has stood by me
and understood me."
Kichard Pryor, "...the
President’s Power Base
Largely Among Whites
Special To The Post
t IIAPKL Mil l. - North
Carolinians think Ronald
Keagan is doing his job all
right, according to a state
wide public opinion survey
conducted last month
Sixtv-two percent of
those polled gave the presi
dent a favorable job per
formance rating, a higher
mark than the 57 percent
he received in a nationwide
Louis Harris poll conduct
ed in August.
The Carolina Poll results
also suggested that the pro
sident had picked up some
support in the state, where
he won an electoral victory
last year with only 49 per
cent of the vote.
But Reagan's political
power base appeared to be
largely among whites. The
poll found 26 percent of the
wJiites questioned said
Keagan was doing an ex
cellent job, compared to
five percent of the blacks.
The random-sampling te
lephone poll was sponsored
by the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill
.School of Journalism and
the UNC Center for Public
Television.
Persons surveyed were
asked, "How would you
rate the job Ronald Rea
gan has been doing as
president - excellent,
pretty good, only fair or
poor?"
Twenty-two percent ol
the respondents rated Rea
gan's performance as ex
cellent, 40 percent as pretty
good, 23 percent as only
lair and 13 percent as poor
Among the complaints
about the president was his
budget-cutting drive aimed
at social programs A 26
.year-old black woman
from Durham County said
she favored Reagan's ef
forts to decrease inflation,
but. she added. "I don't
agree with cuts in federal
spending and welfare pro
grams." She said she felt
those were important in
keeping crime down
A white Chatham County
woman agreed.
“Carried to extremes,"
she said, "cutting social
programs can cause *
crime."
"I think it's very hard lor
a person who's poor a 27
year ofd Mecklenburg
County woman said, "es
pecially lor the elderly "
When asked if they fa
vored or opposed cuts in a
wide range of social pro
grams. 62 percent of the
whites polled approved,
compared to only 25 per
cent of the blacks
David F laherty, Republi
can state chairman, said
black support for Reagan
had increased some since
the president took office,
despite what he called a
liberal press' telling every
one that the president was
trying to balance the bud
get at their expense
"Mavbe some of them
believe it," F'laherty said
"Rut I frankly feel that
we're not going to try to
buy the black vote by try
ing to establish programs
to keep them on welfare.
"Our goal is going to be
to try to make the quality of
life better by reducing in
flation and providing equal
opportunity for everyone."
Reagan's proposals to in
crease defense spending
also received more support
from whites - B2 percent --
than blacks - 25 percent.'
A 21 year-old Watauga
County man had a good
reason for supporting the
president on defense
spending.
"Reagan's giving the mi
litary a pay raise. " he said,
‘‘and I'm going into the
military in three months."
When Reagan outlined a
spcond wave of budget
cuts, totaling $13 billion, at
the end of September.
NEWSWEEK magazine re
ported that a survey it
conducted showed a nine
point drop in Reagan's job
railing to 51 percent This
drop occurred in one
month.
An early October Gal
lup Poll showed that 44
percent of those surveyed
approved of the President's
handling ot the economy.
This w’as down from Au
gust when 53 percent ap
proved.
The UNC-CH survey,
conducted by more than 40
journalism students be
tween October 5-12,
reached North Carolinians
in 99 of the state's loo
counties. The students used
randomly selected tele
phone numbers provided
by computers to ensure a
fair representation of peo
ple in the state They fi
gured the sampling error to
be no more than four per
cent.
Communication
Society Plans
Meeting Here
The Charlotte segment ol
the Piedmont Chapter of
the Society for Technical
Communication will hold
an informal meeting on
Tuesday. November 24.
5:30 p m at Steak and Ale
Restaurant. Sharon Road
oil Kairvtew Techmral
communicators v\ riters
and wilt or s are invited to
attend
Freelancing foi the tech
nical communicator will he
the topic at the regular '
meeting ol the Piedmont
Chapter of the Society for
Technical Communication
on Wednesday. December
2. at Slug s Choice Res
taurant at SouthPark. 7:30
p m.
Black Political
Caucus To
Sponsor Disco
The Black Political Cau
cus is sponsoring a disco on
Friday, November 20, at
the Beacon Club. 3029 Beat
ties Ford Road Donation is
$2
"Come out and support
the Caucus in its efforts to
foster progress in Charlotte
and surrounding areas."
president Rebecca Taylor
urges
For further details, con
tact Rebecca Taylor. 399
5265 or Lugene Prince at
393-2315.
r 1 ■ '■■ ■ -—.
Special Football
Edition In
Section B
--
Industrious Developer Is
Achieving Life Long Goal
By l/oretta Manago
Post Staff Writer
Quite like the structures
he builds Sterling Chavis,
president of Chavis Pro
perties, Inc. has construct
ed a solid and properous
business based on the
foundation of hard work,
resourcefulIness and deter
mination.
To become a builder had
always been a dream for
Chavis and a dream it
remained until Chavis de
cided that the time had
arrived for him to make his
dream come true.
Once an instrumental
employee of the John
Crosland Company,
Chavis at the time was a
residential draftsman who
played an active role in
many of John Crosland's
single family and patio
homes.
But for Chavis there was
more to do. Realizing this
Chavis returned to Howard
University to obtain his
degree in architecture,
Chavis graduated in 1977.
Already a licensed con
tractor in North Carolina,
Chavis was nearing his life
time achievement. .
Sterling Chavis
...Local contractor
When Sterling Chavis re
turned to Charlotte he be
gan working for the firms
of O'Dell and Associates
and Little and Associates.
After three years Chavis
terminated his association
with Little and Associates
to achieve his personal am
bition and life long goal of
being a builder and devel
per of single and multi
family residences ,
Chavis was soon joined in
business with Timothy Mc
Mullen. McMullen, a native
Charlottean, serves as vice
president of Chavis Proper
ties. He is a graduate of
N.C. A4T State University
A registered architect,
McMullen assists in archi
tectual and design applica
tion as well as all-business
affairs
Chavis Properties quick
ly escalated from a mere
beginning ot a $20,000 room
addition in Kaintree. Two
single family homes were
constructed for Drs Tolly
Kennon and Wesley Cle
ment in the Pouth W'ard
market They contracted
with I^af-Trent Develop^
ers to construct the Poplar
Place Condominiums and
Seventh Street Commons, a
nine-unit condominium
Presently Chavis Proper
ties is the owner, builder,
developer and designer of
Graham Court Town
homes. a 16-unit project
located at Ninth and Gra
ham Streets
Chavis Properties con
tinues to make its mark on
and in Charlotte's urban
development representing
Chavis' realization of a
lifetime aspiration
Public Hearing Set
The Corps of Engineers
will hold a public hearing
on November 24 to discuss
flood control alternatives
for the Sugar Creek Basin.
The meeting will be held at
7:30 pm. in the County
Commissioners Board
Room on the fourth floor of
the Mecklenburg County
Office Building. 720 East
Fourth Street
Flood control measures
that will be discussed in
clude the possibility of en
larging the channel capa-.
city of portions of Briar and
Sugar Creek, and removing
flood-prone structures
from the flood plain Per
sons attending the meeting
will have an opportunity
to sign up to express their
views concerning the pro
posals and any others they
leel appropriate.
Public inspection copies
of the Corps of Engineers
draft report. “Sugar Creek
Basin • North and South
Carolina" are available for
review at the City Engin
eering Department. .101 S
McDowell St.; City Public
Service and Information
Dept., 600 East Trade St.
man mat gets nis point
across,' as Ms. Sullivan
describes him. is to her the
most intriguing enter
tainer
Easy going, determined
and friendly are the ad
jectives Ms. Sullivan uses
to describe herself
She enjoys meeting new
people, reading and bike
riding She was chosen
"Ms. Valentine" at her
high school. Hillcrcst
Senior High, and was
honored in "Who’s Who
Among American High
Sclmol Students" two con
secutive years.
In her hometown she was
a mem tier of the Cedar
Grove baptist Church She
has held office of president
of the Youth Choir, pre
sident of the Youth in
Action and assistant secre
tary to the young people
"lave for today because
tomorrow is not promised"
is a thought cherished by
Ms Sullivan She takes this
motto seriously and strives
to do her best with each
challenge.
One of her dreams is to
see a black man fill the seat
of president of the United
States.
Following her heart is
what Ms Sullivan Intends
to do. Her concern and love
for children and people in
general has taught her not
to wait until tomorrow to
accomplish what she can
complete today. -