North Carolina Newspapers

MM. --- ’ AC £8202 CHARL< ITTE POST ini™ mm Ihe Voice Of I lie Block (ommunitv -- *““ -- - _ _ THE C HARLOTTE POST - Thursday. July 15. I9N2 - ~ ;——■■■ ■ ' — — -----Price: 35 C ents ~Community serrices director By Governor James Hunt Pitlye Hams Receives PoW Honor G>nferred On Qvilians By Mac Thrower Post Staff Writer Ms Bettye Harris, direc tor of community services for the Charlotte Housing Authority, has received the highest honor conferred on civilians in North Carolina: membership in the “Order of the Long Leaf Pine.” Jane Smith Patterson, secretary to Governor Hunt, recently announced ' "The award to Ms. Harris. Mrs. Patterson praised Ms. Harris for her “w’ork with the Charlotte Housing Au thority as a Community Services Advisor,” and for her "active participation in local women’s civil and -- -polil icalactiviUes.. "The City of Charlotte is fortun —tHf to huvo boon adopted' b\ such an active woman as 'Ms. Harris),” Mrs. Patterson added. Bettye Harris is indeed an active woman-a social, political and religious "ac tivist," who has made her presence felt in many ways since moving to Charlotte ■—frorf’^labama 17 years | agr Jfys too numerous to list entirely. In addition to her work wilh the Charlotte Housing Authority. Ms. Harris pre sently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Urban League. Charlotte chapter, and is chairman of the Board of Directors of the Metrolina Comprehen sive Health Center. In the pasi she has served on the boards of many civic and professional associations including the Drug Educa tion Center, the National Conference of Christians and Jews, the YWCA and the Hornets’ Nest Girl Scout Council. Prior to joining the Housing Authority, Ms Harris worked as a legal secretary, a criminal Justice planner in the fe deral Model Cities pro gram in Charlotte, and earned ‘‘Teacher of the Year honors in the Rock Hill. S.C school district (- during the time she taught English to junior high ; school students. She left ! utdiing reluctantly, she "J^y^Pafter the birth of her daughter, but teaching remains her “first love " TUKTLt-W* Learning makes a good man better and an ill man worse I f * All of her work has centered on one Interest: people. "I will always be about the business of help ing people,” she declares “1 just simply want to help.” Ms. Harris credits tho training she received in her undergraduate years at Tuskegee Institute with "awakening a conscious ness” in her of “human rights." She remembers well her 1965 commence ment speaker. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; she re members also the training in "social activism” at Tuskegee that inspired and prepared her to work to wards 4*e- goal she still pursues--"a productive, wlmli*. and tutdlly ime — grated society ” Besides her professional career, Ms. Harris feels that her work for the Drug Education Center and her involvement in local poli _ties have been her most important and personally satisfying activities. She laughs fondly now when recalling her early political efforts as a pre cinct chairman, “shoe leather" efforts that helped open the path to political power for local blacks: “Ron Leeper and I used to knock on doors to get people to vote. We went up each side of one street, and down each side of the next. That’s about the most “grassrootsJ level of pohtres there is.” As director of commun ity services for the Char lotte Housing Authority. Ms. Harris is striving, w ith hope and determination, to be “an influence.” she says, “in getting all our young people prepared through education and job training-to get out of public housing.” On Wednesday, July. 14, at the NCNB Penthouse, a special ceremony will be held in Bettye Harris' honor, featuring the formal presentation of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine to her. Many local civic leaders wifi attend the ceremony; including Mayor Eddie Knox. N.C Representative Louise Brennan, Dr. Bertha Maxwell, chairman of the Afro-American Stu dies Program at UNCC. and Bob Davis, Mecklen burg Democratic Party -Chairman. ~ Ben Tison, chairman of the Mecklenburg legisla tion delegation, will pre sent the award to Ms. Harris. Post Banquet Tickets are now avail able for the annual Char lotte Post Churchwoman of the Year banquet - to be held friday, July 23. Call 376-0496 for more informa tion. Gale Miller Is In Second Place Jessie McCombs Widens Lead As Giurchwoman Race Enters Final Week By I>oretta Manago Post Staff Writer With The Charlotte Post’s second annual "Churchwoman of the Year” contest entering its final days, many of the candidates are reviewing their strategies, crossing out unsuccessful game plans and preserving tried and true methods to pass on to next year’s candi dates. r In this contest, unlike most others, every contest ant is a winner They are winners because they saw h challenge, accepted it and refused to give up until the end. Although the church woman candidates will have another week to report their point values, their values will not be disclosed until the evening of1 the banquet, therefore, keeping the identify of the winner hidden Having retained the lead ing spot for the past four weeks, Mrs. Jessie - McCombs is still in first place with 2,275 points She Jessie McCombs Outdistances field is being pursued by Gale Miller of Gethsemane Bap tist who has 960 points. Letha Short of Grier Heights, has left fifth place with 650 points and is pre sently holding third place. Mayfield Memorial can didate Gladys Massey, is in fourth place and has 570 points. The remaining candi dates. the churches they represent and their point values are: Lula Watson. East Stonewall. 555 points; Anne Herron, Metropoli Gale Miller . Regains second place tan, 500 points; Lois Pen dergrass, Antioch Baptist, 240 points; Della Kibler, Catawba Presbyterian, 215 points; Bonita Peay, Greater Galilee. 170 points; Viola Buyers, Pleasant ' Hill. 160 points; Josephine Morris, Walls Memorial. 140 points, Hattie Harris. Chappell Memorial, 125 points; Florence Gilchrist,' University Park, 100 points. Ella Miller, Great er Providence, 100 points; Elmira Polk, First United Church of Christ, 110 points; Patricia I>eak, Grace Memorial, 80 (joints: Cola Gilchrist, Pentecost al, 20 points; Carol Tate, Beulah Baptist (Concord), 20 points; and Shirley Harding. Shiloah Baptist (Concord), 10 points. COLA GILCHRIST Being a mother and stiving for the advance ment of God's kingdom are the enormous tasks Mrs Cola Gilchrist has set before herself A member of Pentecostal Temple where Bishop J. H Sherman is pastor, Mrs. Gilchrist participates on the Mother's Board Mrs Gilchrist is the mother of four children and in her spare time she enjoys sewing VIOLA BUYERS A devoted servant of the Ix>rd, Mrs. Viola Buyers is a member of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church where Rev Cuthbertson is pastor. There, she is a member of the Usher Board During her 20 years of marriage Mrs Buyers is the mother of three sons “Single-Shot” Voting Creates False Impression Senior Democrats To Gather Democratic leaders from the state and national level will be featured at the convention ut Senior Demo: crats of North Carolina in Raleigh Thursday and Fri day. July 22-23. Featured on the first day will be Governor James B. Hunt Jr.; Assistant Secre tary Ernest B. Messer, who heads the Department of Human Resources Division on AgTngrTJf: EJizabettr~ Welch, president of the Senior Democrats; and Dr. Ellen Black Winston, chair man of the N.C. Advisory Council on Aging Banquet speaker Thurs day night will be E Bentley Lipscomb, staff director of the U.S. Special Committee on Aging A highlight of the Frida., program will be brunch at the Governor's Mansion and a talk by a represent ative of the National Demo cratic Party. Headquarters for the convention will be N.C. Democratic Headquarters at 220 Hillsborough Street and the nearby Holiday Inn Downtown, which will be host to the banquet New officers will be elected and a platform adopted. The convention ers wall be welcomed by Democratic Chairman "Russell—(~r—Walker;—of Asheboro and Mrs. Janice Faulkner, executive direc tor of the Democratic Party. John Denning, chairman of the N.C. De mocrats Committee on the Aging, will also be featured on the program. The convention program begins at 1 p.m. Thurs day and concludes with brunch at the Governor's Mansion af midday Friday. sopnia nowze ...Rising 10th grader ■ Sophia Howze Is Beauty Of Week jusi inmK about all those days you didn't feel like getting up 'for "school”‘or —work often it took more than discipline to get up. make the bed, and dress for the day But for Sophia Howze. a rising 10th grader who will be attending Myers Park Senior High School this fall, —getting up in-the-morning is an action to which she looks —forward___ Ms. Howze has never missed a day from school in the nine years she has attended ‘•And my goat is to go 12 yeai ith~ per fect atlcndanii he stated At Sedgefield Junior High our beamy enjoyed studying i.anguage Arts and Social Studies She hasn t l •ii.isi ml what her ot-cupa l>e. tun it maybe- rf-ntterf -tn -ann-nr these ti< ' Swin... mg. skating dancing and reading good books are parts of our beauty’s life she enjoys extremely. She also enjoys the television programs "Gimme A Break," "The Jeffersous." and "W’hails_ Happening" for entertain ment. (>ne of tier favorite actors however is a person we don't often see on situation comedies Billy Dee Wil liams "But I did see him tin TV in the movie "Ma hogany" and I think he is talented,” Ms. Howze stated. In music, her taste turns to Kool and The Gang. Being a Leo Ms. Howze is friendly and enjoys meet ing people One way to meet others is through music and dance Kool and The Gang helps to give that special atmiispjiore at discos and the school parties our beauty enjoys. Rev. Sharps pastors the church our beauty attends Mt. Vernon AME Zion. She has become involved in ac tivities in the~community also, including the .Junior Leaders, a division of the Salvation Army. "In this club for teen agers." Ms Howze began, "we raise money for field trips and different active ties during the year " Among the awards Ms. Howze has received in clude the Salvation Army Award and the Perfect At tendance Award for nine years. She was also select ed to the Varsity Cheer leading squad at Sedgefield during the last school year and sung with the chorus from the seventh through ninth grades Growing up with two sisters. Rrenda and Elgin, our beauty received much advice from them, as well as her mother, Virginia Howze One such piece of advice is "treat people as you want to be treated ." With this meek beginning/ coupled w ith her discipline our beauty is bound tc become perfect in more ways than one a “Bloc” Voting Practiced By “Almost-All %Groups” By .Mac Thrower Post Staff Writer Whenever there is an election in Charlotte that involves black candidates, local political, comment —ators will—invariably - trot out that time-honored phrase-' 'single-shot voting"--to describe the results in black precincts. "Single-shot voting is a term applied to the prac tice of groups of voters, such as blacks or women, voting for only one tor any number less than the total number you can vote for) candidate out of a slate of candidates in order to in crease the strength of the vote for that candidate. This method of voting has enabled blacks in Charlotte in the past to elect black candidates, even though the white voting majority in cnariotte rarely sup ports black candidates in significant numbers. There is some question though, whether or not the inevitable linking of blacks to such phrases as "single shot" or “bloc" voting creates a false general im pression that blacks get involved politically only on behalf of members of their "nun race There is another question too: Do whites ever "single-shot" for white candidates? And if so. why is it that only blacks are consistently identified with voting along group or racial lines? The Post questioned se veral local political figures to obtain their opinions about the issue of blacks and singleshot voting Here are some of their comments: Tom Kay 'Mecklenburg County Commissioner): "I don't agree at all with the perception that blacks only vote or work for black candidates “I have been well received in black political meetings, including caucus meetings; I’ve been well received in black church es; I have had a very successful political and professional relationship with blacks for many years. “I don't know any suc cessful black leaders. Jim Richardson. Jim Polk. Phil Berry, George Battle. Bob Walton . who works exclus ively among blacKs Things just don’t work that way. “I suspect that if you examine the voting pat terns in southeast Char lotte. in the area between SouthPark and Pineville, an area that is predomin antly occupied by white Republicans, you'll find a greater pattern of single shot voting-for white Re publican candidates-than you'll find in any other area by any other group in the county ” Rep Ben Tison (Demo cratic state senate nominee and chairman of the Meck lenburg legislative delega tion): ’“I think it's only natural when a number of black candidates are run ning in various races for more blacks to turn out and vote for them. “I think there is a sig nificant part of the black community that supports me I’m grateful for that support. -"But I wish that when candidate slates -are se , lected and sheets distribut ~ed“ttr-voters m- the black_ communities, they wouldn't just choose black -candidates-t-'rn-afr-aid lhaU _ progressive white candi continued on Page 14 Clifton Johnson Superior Court judge Johnson Named To N.G Court Of Appeals Governor Jim Hunt re cent I \ announced the point merit of .Meck lenburg ' ouiilv Uesidcnt Superior Court Judge Judge Clifton E. Johnson to the \ . Court of Appeals, filling the seat soon to be vacated by Judge Harry Martin, who has been appointed to the Supreme Court Judge Johnson. 40. is a native of Williamson. wJiere Ills father p_ police officer. He received his law degrees from North Carolina Central I'nivers-' ity in 1967 He was in the pri\ate practice of law in Durham for 18 months be fore becoming an assistant distrie- iiiornc. in Char \ugust lor. i Judge v was appointed to a >•’ 'tie ' riel „rt ii ri.nie i.i No < .'i74. then Supreme Court Chief Justice Wil ham Bobbitt, appointed Judge Johnson as chief uisirict t ourt Junge for Mecklenburg County In November 1977 Go vernor Hunt appointed Johnson as resident Super ior Court Judge in Meck lenburg County With that appointment he became the first black resident Superior Court Judge in the state in the 20th century "Judge Johnsorttias been an outstanding Trial Court Judge and will be a tre mendous addition to the Court of Appeals. " the Governor said “With his broad base of experience in private practice as a prose cutor and as a trial court judge he understands the role our courts play in fighting crime and serving the needs of the people He is destined to become one of North Carolina's most outstanding jurists." Judge Johnson is a mem ber of the North Carolina Association of Black law yers and in 1975 he was elected to the Mecklenburg County NAACf* Hall of fame Judge Johnson’s appoint ment is for a term which expires December 31. 1982 He will be up for election for an eight-year term in the general election this November.