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iiigrl the CHA1 LI ITTE Pi 1ST [US
■;: ::: ' -__ "The Vok;> Of Tl„> lilack Community- L^'' 3:
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__M IK ( II \IM.O I IK POST - Thursday, December III. 1981 " ’ -- - -
"• —- ■ --- Price: Xi Cents
Charlotte
Suffers
Great Loss
By Gayle Hinson
Special To The Post
. “I call him the "new
breed" of ministers," said
City Councilman Harvey
Gantt, a trustee at Friend
ship Baptist Church. Gantt
was referring to his min
ister, Rev. Coleman W.
Kerry Jr. who died last
week after a lengthy
illness.
"We all miss him tre
mendously. He was an out
standing spiritual leader.
He was also a civic leader
He was a leader in the
Baptist Church, statewide
and nationwide. He be
lieved in economic develop
ment, he taught us to apply
the Christian ethic to daily
livirig," commented Gantt.
It is a great loss for us
but we are a people of
vision," commented Ro
bert Person, another trust
ee and chairman of the
special committee for
church administration
after Rev. Kerry became
sick. "He has trained us
well. He taught us to care
about each other. We re
joice that we have been a
part of his life." added
Person.
,Rev. Kerry was born in
‘ jacksonville.HFlorida, and
was reared in Dallas and
Marshall. Texas. He at
tended Bishop College in
Dallas, Texas. Morehouse
(jMtiege in Atlanta Ameri
c3t» Baptist Theological
Seminary in Nashville,
Tennessee and Shaw Uni
versity in Raleigh.
'He-came lo Friendship,
which was located on S.
Brevard St., in 19411. He
spent the major part of his
adult life pastoring at the
church. In 1970 he led the
congregation into a fully
equipped new church situ
ated on 3.B acres of land at
3:101 Beatties Ford Rd,
valued at $1,200,000.
To say that there is now a
great loss and sadness in
the community is an under
statement. Rev Kerry was
both a church leader and a
community leader. He was
the first black chairman of
the board of directors of
Charlotte Area Fund, an
agency for poverty pro
grams in Mecklenburg
County. He was the first
black board member of
Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Board of Education. He
was the tounder and direc
tor of Careers Unlimited,
a'n organization of volun
teers who recruit, council,
aid and tutor students who
have a desire for a col
lege education. To date, 492
young men and women
have been placed in com
munity or senior colleges
on full scnoiarsmps He
Was appointed by the Pre
sident of the United States
to the North Carolina Task
Force for School Integra
tion. He was head of the
committee to establish the
statue of Martin Luther
Kinty-tw in Marshall Park
Mor**j(ft. January 3, 1981,
Sea CITY Page 8
TUKTlMN-K
A man who brags with
out shame will find great
difficulty in living up to his
lagging
STUDIOUS ROSLYN BLAIR
...UNCC freshman
Roslyn Blair Is
Beauty Of Week
By Teresa Burns
Postfitaff Writer
..Years ago Roslyn Blair
decided that there must be
something valuable to her
life. The value came not
from materialistic proper
ties or in fame.,.it had to
come from loving and help
ing children.
Now a freshman at the
University of North
Carolina at Charlotte, Ms.
Blair studies topics dealing
with human development
and learning.
“This deals with child
ren," she began, “my am
bition is to teach interme
diates - from grades four
through nine in English. By
being a teacher I can reach
a lot of people and help out
in a lot of ways...espe
cially with children. "
Ms. Blair attended Car6
lina Christian High School
where she was president of
the Honor Society, presi
dent of the Senior Class, in
addition to graduating first
in her class.
Ms. Blair projects a style
unique to those gifted with
gentleness Even as she
speaks one can tell that she
truly cares about people
“1 get along with people
well and I make friends
easily,” she revealed about
herself. "If I could do
something for the world, I
would eliminate world hun
ger. It is pitiful to see
thousands of children and
people hungry ”
Her interests are broad
and range from music to
cooking. "I enjoy the music
of Peabo Bryson Actually I
like a little bit of every
thing and I like to be
Sanitation
Holiday
Schedules
During the New Year's
holiday week, citizens re
ceiving regular backyard
service on Monday-Thurs
day will receive service on
a Monday Wednesday
schedule, while those re
ceiving service on a regu
lar Tuesday-Friday sche
dule will receive garbage
pickup service on Tuesday
Thursday Curbside trash
and bagged leaves will be
picked up on the second
day of the special backyard
collection schedule, either
Wednesday or Thursday
Christmas trees on the
curb before 7 a m Mon
day. January 4, will be
collected dilring the week
of January 14 8
active.”
Our beauty's * interests
are well spent in serving
God. She is the church
clerk and ushers at the
Berean Seventh Day Ad
ventist Church.
The charismatic influ
ence on Ms. Blair's life has
been her mother. Bernice
L. Blair. "My mother
never lets anything get her
- down: -I—receive* .much en.
couragement from her be
cause she copes with pro
blems well There is also
another certain Capricorn
who has given me encour
agement."
Tomorrow is never pro
mised and Ms. Blair seems
to have carved her philo
sophy from this phrase's
clay. Taking her religious
beliefs into consideration
she feels that one should
“live everyday to the full
est and enjoy it. Live one
day at a time and don’t
worry about tomorrow."
The best consequence for
Ms. Blair as well as others
is that she will never plan
to help sometime tomorrow
...instead she completes
her heart-touched task that
moment.
Path Of Righteousness Is Not
Always An Easy One For Females
By Teresa Burns
Post Staff Writer
The path to righteous
ness is not always an easy
one. Females who have
endeavored to preach the
Words of the Bible have
found this out.
The previous series, part
one and two, revealed the
perils and rewards of Rev.
Linda Mclllwain, Gloria
McRae and Leatha Pratt
Within this frame the inner
thoughts of Rev. Annie Bell
Forrester, pastor of The
Church of God of Prophecy,
and Rev Grace Ridgeway,
an active community mis
sionary will be shared
Rev. Annie Bell For
rester: "I received a defi
nite call from the Lord 40
years ago. I didn’t give my
time right away, though
Then when I did I attended
a Bible institute, started an
orphanage in Durham and
pastored at a church
“I was sent to Charlotte
in 1966 and started preach
ing Now I’ve been preach
ing full-time for six or
seven years "
4
Rev. Grace Ridgeway
.. community missionary.
Whenever someone con
tributes the statement,
“But women aren’t sup
pose to be preachers, ' to
Rev. Forrester she simply
refers them to Joel 2:28 of
the Old Testament and to
Acts in the New Testament
"Both,' she continued
"refer to sons and daugh
tersas preaching the word,
not just man. Also in Acts
Phillip had four daughters
who prophesied ."
Rev Forrester is ap
pointed each year by the
State Overseer of North
Third in a series
Carolina of the church of
God of Prophecy When she
came to Charlotte in 1966 as
a licensed minister a small
congregation was meeting
in a store front Today the
membership of 79 worships
in their own church on
Kidge Avenue
i ne cnurcn that appoint
ed Rev. Forrester is a
worldwide denomination
with over AO,000 members
“It's hard for some peo
ple to believe in the simple
Gospel," Rev Forrester
stated concerned, "It's so
simple that they don't be
lieve ... it may be because
Of the lack of faith ”
If there is a church or
congregation that doesn't
agree with females preach
ing. Rev Forrester stated
simply that “I wouldn't go
there."
Her church services and
duties keep her busy
enough. She doesn't have to
worry about those who
don't believe that she was
i$
truly called
Her reward is seeing peo
ple come to the Lord Even
in the midst of ridicule
Rev Forrester believes
“You don't have tostruggle
if you believe in the Lord "
Rev. Grace Ridgeway
has been quite active in the
community Called by God
at the age of 18 Rev Ridge
way admits that she did not
heed to the command at
that moment
'ears passed and Rev
Ridgeway bore two sons.
Giles Knox and Eugene
Irby. "I had all the pretty
things in life, but I was still
empty on the inside Today
God is my source, not man
Tradition kept me in bond
age a home, a career It
took .. while to be obedient
to the Lord.”
Experiences in Rev
Ridgeway's life led her to
minister drug addicts She
ministered also at Camp
Green and volunteered at
the North Carolina Correc
tional Center Training Pro
gram from which she re
See PATH on Page 3
Are Black Contractors
Getting Their Fair Share?
Youth Jobs
Crusade
Launched
Special To The Post
“The end is not yet"
declared Rev. Leon Sulli
van, the fiery outspoken
Pastor of Zion Baptist
Church, Philadelphia, as
he prepared for a nation
wide swing from coast to
coast appealing to 5,000
business leaders to make
youth job pledges
Referring to the Biblical
expression that tells be
lievers “to endure to the
end," Rev. Sullivan, found
er and chairman of the
Opportunities Industrializ
ation Centers of America
(OIC-A) job training net
work, announced to his
National Industrial Advis
ors his Youth Jobs Cru
sades plan. He asked his
business advisors to meet
and mobilize small and me
dium-sized businesses to
join in a private sector
initiative that-wilt-bring
some hope to the unem
ployed youth of America.
"We must invest in Arne
rica's future, even while we
endure the pain of the
present economic reces
sion." Rev. Sullivan said.
Outlining a six-month plan
that will involve the Indus
trial Advisory Councils of
the local OIC affiliates as
well as OIC volunteer lead
ers in more than 100 com
munities. Rev Sullivan
spoke with deep feeling
about the crisis in federal
funding and the need to
have private sector initia
tives move as quickly as
possible to bridge the gap
Rev. Sullivan said:
"The business leaders
who put President Reagan
in office have been saying,
let's have less govern
ment; the private sector
can do.it better.' W/ell,
here's their chance "
tmmmi I ... ■.. iMHwrin r !<■' ^ - *** •
LITTLE ROCK AME ZION CHURCH
....(.out on estunated SI.5 million
Poll Says
Blacks Distrust U.S. Press?
A- sweeping ma jority of
high ranking blacks feel
the American news media
is biased. and they support
'the corttentibrr in the Third
World that the Western
press is unfair, according
to a national survey by the
. Black Opinion Poll < BOP >
Some 540 (juesfionnafres
resulted in responses from
77 percent of those contact
ed. "Which best describes
the general press coverage
of stories important to the
black community?" was
one probe The answers:
86 4 percent said biased
and narrow coverage. 6.8
percent said unbiased but
narrow coverage; 3.4 per
cent said b iased but wide
coverage: and 3.4 percent
has no opinion.
Belatedly 89.3 percent
said they support the
UNESCO drive for a "New
World Information Order"
due to Third World In
formation Order" due to
Third World dissatisfaction
with new coverage by the
Western press In addition.
85 9 percent agreed with
some black journalists who
contend the general < white
controlledi press , is "too
crisis oriented in -its Third
World news coverage, and
positive accomplishments
in the Third World go
unnoticed."
The ranking black* were-_
also asked: "what about
news-worthy information
you generate? Are you suc
cessful in getting the
General Press to print it? "
Some 37 percent said "no
I was unsuccessful in get
ting them to print it;" 29
percent said “Yes trhey
printed it but only after
much resistance;" 12 per
cent said "Yes qyitc syc
cessful They printed it
with ease;" while 22 per
cent had no response. The
BOP survey was conducted
for the Black Press Insti
tute. a national news ga
theringand media monitor
ing organization Those
polled were readers of the
Black Press Review, a bi
monthly news and com
mentary report highlight
ing key events and trends
in the black community
and published by the In
-stitute—Thus ereaders in
elude b lacks in i ongress,
presidents of black col
leges and a host of edu
cators. administrators, pu
Wishers lawyers and other
"black influcntials
Thomas Mitchell, execu
live director ol lit >P noted
"It's clear, these leading
blacks leel blacks and third
world peoples are being
ignored by the general
press."
The poll also revealed
that most blacks 152 per
epnt > feel mostly “neglect"
is killing key black insti
tut ions Another 25 percent
leel “inflation" is the vil
lain Some 5t) percent con
lend a black think tank is
needed for black survival
and the money is available
tor such a project
On another economic not
.Vi.7 percent said Japan
should aid in the develop
men! of the U S. black com
mumty because of the tact
that blacks are large con
sumers of Japanese-made
products When asked a
follow up question "Should
blacks boycott the Japan
ese il they are unw illing to
aid black development'1"
some (17 percent said the
boycott was a good idea
Some ti7 percent also
agreed that a conference of
black journalists, acade
micians and black studies
administrators is needed to
lorge a black survival
strategy
Help In Avuiluhle
For Smull
ItuNineNN Owners
If you re an owner oi a
small business or are plan
ning to start your own
small business, help is
available through the
Small Business Center lo
cated on the second floor of
the Citizen's Center on the
CPCC campus
Call the center for in
formation on workshops
and courses to be offered
such as: Export Aware
ness; Kecord Keeping for
Small Business. Marketing
& Advertising. Women
Business Owners; and
Business Basics all are
non-credit courses co-spon
sored with the Small Busi
ness Administration
*
Construction
Dollars
Elide Hacks
By (»ay It* Hinson
Post Staff Writer
Black America it looked
at as a nation1 would be,
considered the eighth
largest nation in the world.
Blacks in the C S earn
more money than the gross
national product of
Canada, according to one
source
Nationwide. $180 to $19o
billion is reportedly spent
by blacks annually Last
year $27'i million was spent
in Charlotte-Mecklenburg
by black citizens.
Where is all this money
going? Certainly not back
into the hands of Mack
businesses One reputable
source stolen the following
statistics On the average,
the* dollars w<* earn are
turned over only once in
our Community before go
ing into the white man’s
hand In the Jewish com
munity the dollar is to; ned
over nine times before
leaving the community and
in the Chinese and Japan
esc communities even
more thai chat:_
One of the major stabiliz
ing institutions in the black
community is the church
The building of churches
constitute a major capital
investment for blacks The
question now is who is re
sponsible for the construe
tion of these churches
whose cost sometimes ex
ceeds a million dollars-’
Are black contractors get
ting a fair share of these
construction dollars’’
Iattle Book AME Zion
Church on North McDowell
St., is being constructed for
an estimated $15 million.
University Park Baptist
Church 2156 Senior Drive,
was reportedly built for
$1 3 million Our sources
learned that both of these
churches were bbilt by
white construction worn
panies Rev Milton White
pastor of Little Bock AME
Zion Church, could not l«e
reached lor comments,
neither could Ke\ James
Palmer, pastor ot Univers
ity Park Baptist < horch
But what about othei
churches that have been
built recently Pleasant
Hill Baptist Church, .">17
Baldwin Avenue, is adding
in educational department
into the church for a cost of
$200.00(1 Bev Cuthbertson,
the pastor, said that a
w hite contractor Irom Ker
riersville was used Why
wasn't a black constructor
employed lor the work"
Rev. Cuthbertson said the
spiritual inclinations of the
businessman had a lot to do
with their decision to give
the job to the man
Rev Cuthbertson re
plied. "For what was re
quired I'm not certain he (a
black builder’ would have
had the money We did not
particularly look for a
black company but who
ever had the lowest bid In
this case the lowest bidder
happened to be a Christian
Had he not been a Christian
it would have been a differ
ent story ''
However, they did use
See ARK on Page 4