ss“— CHAB A ITTE P( 1ST &
V i CALL 376-0496
■| Ihe Voice Of Tlic Hhiek Community"
Volume •, Number 2 -— _:_____
" -—— _ THE CHARLOTTE POST - Thursday. June 23 iQH't “ —
- . . '• -'■ _ ___Price: 40 Cents
Protest To
Stop Legal
Lynching
Special To The Post
..The National Alliance
Against Racist and Politic
al Repression (NAARPR)
called upon all civil rights,
labor and church organ
izations and individuals to
join a nationally coordin
ated Protest to Stop Legal
Lynching in the South. The
protest will focus on the
cases of Jchula, Mississip
pi Mayor Eddie Carthan
and Johnny Imani Harris
of Alabama.
The NAARPR organized
protest will include a dele
gation, led by Berkeley,
California Mayor Gus New
port, to observe the open
ing of Mayor Carthan's
trial on false statement
charges, in Mississippi on
July 11 1983. Angela Davis
and other activists will
speak at two Rallies To
Stop Legal Lynching in the
South; the first on June 25
in . Birmingham, Alabama
and the second in New
York City on July 8. The
Southern NAARPR
branches, including those
of Louisville, Kentucky;
Birmingham, Abalama;
and Oklahoma City, Okla
homa, are mobilizing to
pack Johnny Imani Harris’
courtroom with Harris sup
porters op the opening of
his retrial for murder, July
18,1983.
Frank Chapman,
NAARPR Executive Direc
tor, stated that, “Th* state
reserves the right tor mur
der and imprison i the
Carthan’s case is the right
to elect those who repre
sent our interests. In
Harris’ case, all the gross
injustice emanating from
the vicious, bruta}, corrupt
core of our erimiifBl' i
system is laid UAi i
Attorney General
United States add _t
bama must be and can be
stopped if we protest in one
voice, united Against in
justice and oppression, de
manding freedom.”
Hart’s Child
Care Bill
f' ' l y* f
Introduced
- Washington - Senator
Gary Hah, (D-Coio), hat
introduced legislation
which would help establish
networks through which
certraliZed and compre
hensive ' information on
child caZe services could be
made available.
Noting that the demand
for child care is increas
ing, but also diversifying,
Hart said, “New employ
ment patterns - more work
on split shifts, more em
ployees on flextime - are
creating a demand for non
traditions] dependent care
provisions. Locating com
patible child care facilities
for families with these un
usual needs can be a diffi
cult task. ;
Each year, more and
mors mothers, especially
those with young children,
Join the labor force. The
need for infant care is
climbing steadily.
- mr-i.. S
HKOMN«
DONNA EPPS
— To become a lawyer
Donna Epps Is
Beauty Of Week
By Teresa Simmons
Poet Managing Editor
Donna Epps, a rising
tenth grader at West Char
lotte Senior High School,
has already set her ambi
tions toward becoming a
lawyer.
“Presently my favorite
subject is English. It helps
me to speak well and I like
'OTettwaj:
lawyer," Ms. Epps com
mented.
She also enjoys creative
writing and composing
poems. She has had her
writings published in
“Elusions," a book at her
school. She also placed
second in the Charlotte
Mecklenburg writing con
test for junior high stu
dents for her creative
piece, “The Principal’s
Office.”
Becoming a lawyer will
fit perfectly into her cha
racteristic mold of lead
ership. She received a
plaque for being president
of the Student Council
during the past school
year. She also received the
athletic award for volley
ball participation and gave
the farewell speech to her
graduating ninth grade
class.
She is a member of Pro
ject Aries, the Pep Club,
Drama Club, volleyball
team and was the basket
ball manager. She also
plays the flute in the band.
Hartzell United Method
ist and Simpson-Gillespie
United Methodist are two
churches Ms. Epps enjoys
attei^ding. She is a mem
ber of the Youth Group at
Simpson and her father
pastors at Hartzell United
of Ms Epps in
clude swimming, drawing,
reading, dancing and writ
ing. The music of Michael
Jackson and Diana Ross
also inspire Ms. Epps. “I
like to hear Michael sing.
His entire style is pretty
chic. Diana Ross has real
talent, I like her style also
and her songs seem to
always make a lot of sense.
ine aaugnter of Kev.
John F. Epps and Mar
garet Epps, our beauty has
been spiritually advised
through the years. “My
mother is the person who
has had the most positive
influence on me. She is my
favorite person. She teach
es me a lot of things when I
go astray. She makes a lot
of sacrifices and has
helped me to grow.”
Tiffany, who is 10 years
old, is our beauty's only
sibling. Her grandparents
include Theo Hodge, Laura
McClain and Haven Mc
See BEAUTY Page 12
Teachers, Parents Caught In Web
Should Teachers Be Allowed To Spank Students?
ny i-on oner
Post Staff Writer
"It is written in the book
of famous quotations,
"Spare the rod and spoil
the child." Many contro
versial issues have oc
curred because of the rod
and its usage. Teachers,
their students, and the pa
rents have been caught in a
web called discipline, and
the rod is now the paddle.
Who is allowed to disci
(dine a child? Usually it is
theparent(s), and it begins
in the home. What happens
if a child doesn’t receive
the discipline they need at
home? They usually be
come a major problem to
their teachers and a nui
sance in the classrooms.
One means of ridding this
disciplinary problem which
has been a controversy
throughout the years is
spanking Should teachers
be allowed to spank their
students? The Past inter
viewed Dr. Jay Robinson,
Mrs. Kathleen Crosby,
Charlotte-Mecklenburg
School teachers, and pa
rents about this issue.
According to Dr. Jay
Robinson, Superintendent
o( Charlotte-Mecklenburg
School System, North
Bob Walton
»....duty COmmfoiioner
I Mn. Kathleen Crosby
.Area superintendent
Carolina laws permit
teachers to use reasonable
means to maintain disci
pline Teachers may use
corporal punishment when
a serious offense is com
mitted. The offense must
be recorded in the school
file, reported to the pa
rents, and a witness must
be present when the
punishment is issued “It is
not wise to have corporal
punishment, because the
school gets In more trou
ble by using it. In many
cases we have court de
cisions being made against
the teachers when corporal
punishment is used.” said
Dr. Robinson
Mrs. Kathleen Crosby,
Area Superintendent of
Charlotte-Meckleburg
School System, confirmed
that each school system
has a Student Services Spe
cialist (specialists work un
der the principal to help
teachers with any student
exhibiting an atypical be
havior) and a Teacher Ef
fective Trainer (teacher
receives training to learn
how to handle children's
behavior). ‘‘If a child does
i
something that is aggres
sive and you use paddling,
that’s aggressive behavior.
When you use force against
force you’re wasting your
time,” she stated
Some of our teachers
agreed to spankings while
others disagreed, but all
gave alternative means of
punishment.
i go oy me rules and
regulations of the Superin
tendent for discipline We
usually notify the parents
and have conferences with
them, inform students to
give up their lunch period
to do class work, keep them
after school to work on a
lesson or pick up paper
around the school.” admit
ted Lawrence Brown, As
sistant Principal at Ranson
Junior High School
"Yes, but it shouldn't be
the first alternative, be
cause some children don’t
respond positively to a
spanking. I have a reward
system at school in which I
give them a longer time to
play a gafne and the pa
rents have a reward sys
tem at home in which they
allow their child to go to the
movies, play with the video
games, etc ,” suggested
Mrs. Carietta Freeman,
third grade teacher at
Beverly Woods Elemen
tary School
Barbara Elam, fifth grade
teacher at Sedgefield Ele
mentary School, confessed,
“I have never spanked a
child in my 20 years of
teaching, and I’d rather
take him to the principal
than spank him I also take
away his physical educa
tion period, isolate him for
a period of time in the
classroom, and exclude
him from extra-curricular
activities "
Lloyd Davis, an eleventh
and twelfth grade history,
sociology and psychology
teacher at Harding High
School, replied, "Yes,
teachers are substitute pa
rents for children and re
sponsible for their be
havior. Alternatives de
pend upon the teacher and
the lesson that the teacher
wants the students to
learn."
"I wouldn't want to
spank children, because
some of them are larger
than I am. t usually see
what I can do to solve the
problem,” noted Dorothy
Long, fifth grade teacher at
Sedgefield Elementary
School.
Surprising enough, most
of the parents interviewed
agreed that the teachers
should be allowed to spank,
and they gave various rea
sons.
Andrew Grier said,
“Yes, because you can't
control some of them.
When we went to school we
got spankings, and if our
parents found out we got
another spanking at
home.'’ Andrew and Carrie
are the parents of Brid
gett, 23, Mrs Angela Craig,
20, and Jewel, 19.
Rev. Bob Walton con
fessed, “Discipline if child
ren lies with the parents. If
parents were to do their job
of disciplining the child,
teachers would less need to
spank their students.” Rev
Walton and Thelma are the
parents of one daughter,
Karen, 7.
"I surely do If it’s super
vised by another teacher
and the principal Some
children don't understand
verbal communication,*’
admitted Mrs. Johnnie B.
Caldwell, who is the
mother of one son - Erik,
18
"No, you don’t know
what’s on a teacher's mind
See SPANKING Page 14
Power In Black Vote!
30,000 Blacks F ailed
To Exercise Authority
Community
Watch Day
Proclaimed
Special To The Post
..Raleigh - Governor Jim
Hunt has proclaimed June
25 as Community Watch
Day in North Carolina.
Hunt said, “Every citi
zen in our state ought to be
proud of the tremendous
job we are doing to pre
vent crime through the
Community Watch pro
gram. I believe one of the
best ways we can show sup
port for that program is by
attending our state’s se
cond annual Community
Watch Day. The North
Carolina Community
Watch Association is spon
soring the meeting, and I
commend the great pro
gress they are making to
teach people the value of
this vital program.”
crime Control and Public
Safety Secretary Heman R.
Clark Joined the Governor
I
Association. “We have
come a long way since we
started Community Watch
in North Carolina. Today,
people in more than 12,000
communities throughout
the state are involved. I
join with Governor Hunt in
commending all citizens
and members of the Com
munity Watch Association
who are working hard to
make our state a safer
place to live,” Clark said.
L. D. Hyde, Director of
the N.C. Crime Prevention
Division, stated that more
than half of the total num
ber of Community Watch
programs in the country
are located in North Carol
ina.
Information about Com
munity Watch Day and the
Community Watch Asso
ciation may be obtained by
calling your local enforce
ment agency or the N.C.
Crime Prevention Division
at 919-733-4342.
DR. JOSEPH LOWERY
—SCLC national president
At SCLC Celebration
Festive Mood Prevails
By Angela Chambers
Special To The Post
The bold red, black and
green colors of the Afro
American flag led the way
of the Freedom Marchers.
The words from the song,
“Ain’t gonna let nobody
turn me ’round,” floated
through the air as the
procession filed into Mor
gan Park.
Greeting the marchers
were approximately 100
people already assembled
at the park Some joined in
the singing while others
sipped cool drinks in the
June sun.
The marchers had come
from nearby Marshall
Park. They were marching
for the freedom of former
mayor of Tchula, Missis
sippi, Eddie Carthan. Car
than is jailed in Mississip
pi on fraudulent charges.
The parade also marked
the beginning of the “June
teenth” celebration
A festive mood prevailed
as the start of the celebra
tion was awaited. This ce
lebration was bringing to a
close a two-day meeting of
the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference.
The SCLC conference,
geared mainly toward
voter registration, includ
ed many other events. It
covered a successful voter
registration drive and a
rally at Little Rock AME
Zion Church. There were
breakfast and workshops
at the Radisson Plaza
Hotel. Finalizing the con
ference was the Juneteenth
celebration.
riev. AiDert Love, admin
istrative assistant to SCLC
said the purpose of the
meeting was reflected in
part in the speech given by
Dr. Joseph Lowery.
Lowery is the president of
the national SCLC.
“Dr. Lowery talked of
the necessity of Black
people to concentrate on
jobs, justice and peace.”
Love started, “He stressed
that these three areas were
important. And to be suc
cessful in any of them, we
have to first come together
in love and respect for one
another."
Pointing out that love
and respect ware not
enough. Love continued,
"He wanted to impress
upon us the need for im
proved voter power and the
need for political educa
tion. This education is to be
aimed especially at our
younger people.”
Love said besides stress
ing voter registration and
education, Lowery stressed
the need for action. “He
felt that we need to teach
the people the 'whys' of
voting. We need to know
how to use our voting
strength...know the politic
al process. Apathy is so
rampant simply because
the need for organization is
not understood.”
Lowery’s speech bespake
mainly of voter registra
tion and political aware
ness. SCLC also had other
purposes in mind for that
weekend. Motivation and
organization were also fo
cal points
"We have six SCLC
See FESTIVAL Page 12
Rallies To
Boost Black
Voting Power
By Karen Parker
Post Staff Writer
If there's power in the
Black vote, then nearly
30,000 Black citizens in
Mecklenburg County are
failing to exercise their
authority.
According to Bill Culp,
supervisor of elections,
36,235 Black citizens in the
county are registered
voters; however, 65,000
Blacks comprise the voting
age population. Many or
ganizations in the county
have become concerned
about the high number of
unregistered Black voters
and are diminishing the
statistics through voter
registration rallies.
A few of those organ
izations are the local chap
ter of the NAACP, SCLC
and many churches. Rich
ard Ellis, chairman for the
Southern ChrWhan Leader
ship Conference fSCLC'
voter registration com
mittee, stated nearly 50
people registered to vote
last Saturday when the
local chapter had a kick
off voting rally for its two
day conference.
Ms. Maxie Granger
chaired a two-hour voter
registration rally at New
Hampton Presbyterian
Church. "We had six peo
ple to register and five
people to update their ad
dresses," noted Ms. Gran
ger. She emphasized a
small number of people to
register does not mean the
rally was unsuccessful.
‘‘We gained six more peo
ple than were registered to
vote for the last elections,"
she stated.
Probably one of the lar
gest voter registration
rallies to take place in
Mecklenburg County was
conducted by the local
National Association for
the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP)
chapter
President Kelly M Alex
ander Jr reported the or
ganization has held several
campaigns The latest one
he recalled attracting
nearly 100 newly registered
people in a duration of two
days and only a few hours
each day
Coordinators in voter re
gistration campaigns seem
to note one similarity:
Getting an individual to
register is important, but
making sure they get to the
polls is even more signi
ficant People who register
for the first time receive
rides to the polls from the
SC'LC and New Hampton
Presbyterian Church
All of the organizations
sponsor educational semin
ars which allow the regis
tered voter to meet can
didates, discuss issues and
discover viewpoints which
the candidates hold
Alexander stated that
NAACP usually doesn't
appeal to only first-time
registered people but to the
entire membership SCLC
will be reaching more
people since it began a
three-month registration
drive to be conducted in
churches throughout the
county.
The heightened energies
to boost the number of
Black registered voters has
been the result of national
leaders.