Jjjr ”TOE €HARLI fTTE PI 1ST “The Voice Of The Black Community" __CHARmm l»d KECKtEWO'JRG C2WN Volume 7, Number 52 WAlUllIU N. 1. 494U4 -- -- . , —■ —.— __ THE CHARLOTTE POST - Thursday, June 3, 1982— " " " — HiSSt*'- >- MB ' ■] ' --------.-Price: 35 Cents Participants in The Charlotte Post Churchwoman of the Year Contest from . Concord include: (front row, 1-r) Carol Tate, Betty Douglas and Shirley Hard ing. TSecohd Tow, 1-t> Bhnira Polk, Gtoffa-SSloh, James DougJaS.TJifila Jenkins, Concord Committee Chairper son, and Rev. Roseman, minister Beulah Baptist Church, Concord. Peeler Photo -- | r, | . _Tl1._**•» __ 11 1 * r- «-^i Often Sawed. Persons Who Dare To Convert System Meet Strong Opr Jtion oy Loretta Manago Post Staff Writer America in her outer —garb wears a shield of freedom, justice and equal ity, but underneath that shield lies a country that is rich in oppression and overflowing in racism. Persons who have dared to actively convert the sys ^ lemThto one that works for all and not just a select few ^ have met strong unrelent ing opposition and have often been silenced. Eddie James Carthan, former mayor of Tchula, Mississippi, is one such person. Active in politics for most of his life Carthan had served several years on the Holmes County Board of Education before deciding "I thought I could repre sent those who had come through slavery, knowing nothing about voting, abopt going to a motel, sittingin the front of the bus or eating in a restaurant.” To say the job Carthan had before him was tre mendous was a gross understatement. "Tchula, like many Southern towns, is divided down the middle by railroad tracks that separate the manicured lawns and colonial style homes of the white major ity from the roach-and-rat infested dwellings of the blacks. Ruled for over a century by white planters and their political lackeys, Tchula’s population-70 percent black-suffers an “official" unemployment rate of 30 percent. Two thirds of the population is on welfare, 81 percent of the housing units are classified as “deteriorat ing” and 47 percent of all family dwelling lack some or all plumbing facilities.” In 1977 Tchula was a town with no public recreational faeWttaSr one tractor, an j old fire engine and an 1 inoperable squad car. Carthan had plans for Tchula. "Under Ms admin' istration, over $3 million in - iadscal and private jaanteL. were channeled into Tchula in an attempt to create a modern Infraytructurc that WU-TAU — *' ’I'M trouble with some , roads Is that they don’t curve when some motorist* \ do I ■ would allow the town to enter the 20th century." Plans were drawn (many were instituted) for a modem water system^ a bus system, rehabilitation and weatherization of homes, a day care center, a medical-dental clinic, a library, a functional fire department and cars for Ihepol ice-department. — With the Institution of his plans, Carthan was literal ly taking the town of Tchula by storm. In doing so Carthan was disturbing the long-existing power structure of the white minority. This power structure and Carthan’s independence collided shortly after Carthan had been elected to office and was confront ed .wiUfc*410,000 bribe "if the nmyor would do things the..Way they have always ^>een done. ’ ’ Of course Car than refused. His refusal was the first signal of the trouble that would proceed to pjague Carthan. Realizing that Carthan could not be bought off with money, his opponents began to annihilate his ' political base, the Tchula Board of Aldermen. Con sisting of four blacks and one white, Carthan- usually held the majority. That was soon to change. When one black resigned due to pressure from the white power structure and was replaced by a hand-picked black, Carthan lost that majority that he needed to implement and execute his ~ program fully. As a result of this poli tical tactic an anti-Carthan administration was formed. It was this legis lation's goal to limit the mayor’s authority over fis - cad and personal matters City employees’ checks were stopped for two months; City Hall was locked for eight weeks, the mayor’s travel expens es were left unpaid; Car than’s salary was soon re duced from $600 to $60 a month; supporters of Carthan saw an increase in their property taxes and forced resignations by blacks come by the dozens With _sucb ^obstacles be fore him Carthan continued to reshape his administra tion. His unrelenting atti tude led to the resignation of several police officers and the chief of police. But Carthan continued for ward. In April, 1980 Carthan appointed Johnny Dale, a black, police chief and restored the police department. The anti-Carthan bloc was sorely displeased with Carthan’s action. Acting on their own authority they appointed their own police chief Jim Andrews, a white See PERSONS on Page 13 Excitement In Post’s IRA Will Not Magically Make You A Millionaire 9 -aymstc Throw or_ Post Staff.Writer ..IRA...that acronym has acquired magical connota tions in recent months as tfii mylKical brdfnary^ ** American seeks a way out of his-her present inflation squeezed misery into a re ttirement future "paved with gold”-or at least de corated with a million or so dollars. An Individual Retire ■ ment Account (IRA), however, will not magical ly make you a million aire; IRA’s do represent,' though, a way for the average working person to obtain a tax shelter simi lar to those available in the past only to the rich. According to Investment Company Institution of Washington, D.C., the bar rage of ads announcing the new $2,000 IRA^s has created some misconcep tions. Some people, the Institute says, believe that they can't afford to invest in an IRA-due mainly to the mistaken idea that $2,000 is the mandatory amount to be invested each year. In fact, $2,000 is the maximum you can put into an IRA each year. This upper limit sometimes, un fortunately, scares people away who may need help ‘.he most during retirement years..."the not-so-rich American." All you need, the Insti tute advises, to take ad vantage of “one of the best tax shelters available" is a paycheck, no matter how large or small. With that paycheck you can invest in an IRA which can provide you with both present tax relief and future retire ment aid. Of course, the Institute admits, its’s a lot easier for someone to give you good advice about saving than it is for you, still shell first In a series shocked from last month's bills, to give up any of your paycheck lorarewardthat may be far in the future. But, they basically say, hang-in there and use “a bit of creativity" and do a little bit of sacrificing of the less-important things in orders to achieve your retirement goals. The Institute concludes that "most people work all of their lives with an eye on retirement If that retire ment is spent in worry and concern over keeping your heaeary plans to accomplish the goal of excellency. “I believe in planning ahead and living the days ac cording to what you plan " Ms Leary enjoys skating and the music of Cameo "I don't watch television that much " Instead Ms. Leary listens to music And Cameo sends off one of the styles she enjoys moat. There is so much good in store for Ms Leary I 86 Churches By Loretta Manago ^ Post Staff Writer ~’rSV‘''thdFd'"a"ftd - fhbfe "" churches express their interest in joining the second annual "Church woman of the Year” con test the excitment of the next pending weeks con tinues to surmount. Emphasizing this feeling was the Charlotte Post editor Bill Johnson who commented. "This is going to be the greatest contest of its kind known to weekly newspapers." —To this dale a total num-— ber of 86 churches are com petively figuring out their strategies in order that they can be the church who walks away with the win ning prize Careful selection* 61 “ churchwoman contestant* has delayed many partici-': pating churches from naming their contestants. The following churches have named their contest ants East Stonewall AME Zion Church-Lula Watson; University Park Baptist Church - Florence Gillis; Penecostal Temple - Cola Gilchrist; Shiloh Baptist Church (Concord) - Shirley HafdrngTMacMonlaBap tist Church (Concord) - Gloria Staton; Beulah Bap tist Church - Carol Tate; Bethesda AME Church 'Concord) - Beatrice Holand; Greater Galilee - Bonita Peay; Greater Pro vidence Baptist Church - Eleanor Miller; Gethse mane Baptist Church - Gail Miller, Huntersville Pres byterian - Sandra Potts; Memorial United Presby terian Church - Annie Herron; Grier Heights Presbyterian Church - Leatha Short: Antioch Bap tist Church - Lois Pender grass; Metropolitan United Presbyterian Church - Anne Hill: Chappell Memorial Baptist Church - Hattie Harris; Wilson Heights- Omega Audrey, Pleasant Hill Baptist Church Viola Byers; and Mt. Olive Christian Church Priscilla Kiser Two additional churches in Concord have joined the Churchwoman campaign They are: Chapel Hill Bap tist Church - Rev Charles Gray and First United Church of Christ - Rev Clawson John Medlin Elected To ' HnroYwi Tam~ John G. Medlin Jr., chief executive officer of Wacho via Bank and Trust Com pany, has been elected to a • three-year term on the ! board of directors of the International Monetary Conference (IMC). The election and installation of officers was held Thursday at the conclusion of the 1982 IMC meeting in Van couver, British Columbia The IMC, which was or- ; • ganized in 1964, provides a forum for discussion of sig nificant international bank ; ing, economic, monetary • and fiscal issues. It:' includes 54 major United > States banks and 66 banks from 21 other nations