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vJRime 9, Number 49 wiuni Ml OWWW ———— — ——-----__
r|.p.K1L 1 C. lUtt___THE CHARLOTTE POST - Thursday, May 17, 1984 Price: 40 Cents
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Thomas Believes Minorities
'V . i »
e Opporti: ’ties In FBI
Story On Page 5A
» 't •
JCSU To Host National
Youth Sports Program
Story On Page 8A
Our Lady Of Consolation
Provides Educational Choices
Story On Page 10A
MISS DIANE STRONG
JWeauty of the Week ”
Strong Reveals Her Ambition
TTo Become An Accountant
By Teresa Simmons
Post Managing Editor
Diane Strong, a rising
sophomore at the Univer
sity of North Carolina at
Charlotte, confidently re
veals that her ambition is
to become an accountant.
“In accounting I can com
bine my interest of deal
ing with people and love of
the challenge of mathe
matics. “
The determined 18 year
old has already made pro
gress on her aspirations.
She’s begun her second
year of summer employ
ment with the prestigious
accounting firm of Peat,
Marwick Mitchell k Co.
located in the First Union
Plan.
"After becoming a
CPA,” claims Diane, ”1
will pursue a position in
accounting Management.
Possibly,” the ambitious
^ffoung lady projects, "be
coming a partner in the
future ”
A IMS graduate of Olym
pic High School, Diane
asserts "You should al
ways be the best you can
be.” Bar long list of high
school accomplishments
and honors illuminates
VKUMAU
drawing old to a ques
tion of MIND over MAT
TER If 3x0a don’t mind. It
doesn’t matter.
her philosophy. She was
president of the Spanish
Honor Society; a member
of the National Honor So
ciety; and a member of the
Order of the Trojans Diane
received special recogni
tion from the National Con
ference of Christians and
Jews “as a builder of
brotherhood.” She ap
peared in The Charlotte
Post as pne of the Top Ten
Seniors of 1963 and also The
Charlotte News’ All Star
Scholars for 1963.
Diane is quick to credit
special people in her life
who have supported her
many endeavors. She men
tions an Olympic High
counselor, “Mrs. Sue John
son helped me realize that
on my own I can reach my
full potential. She also told
me that whatever school
(college) I ended up at, I
could make the best of it.
"My brother, Edward,
(28) and my sister,
Jalyne, (26) are the people
I moat admire,” Diane
maintains. “I’ve watched
them both achieve certain
goals that have allowed me
to know that I can suc
ceed also. They continue to
push me in my efforts and
tell me when I am dob*
well,” Diane confesses.
"They also tell me when I
may be wrong.”
"My parents, Mr. and
Mrs. Ron Henderson,"
adds Diane, "have always
stood behind me."
Bom under the sign of
Libra, Diane comments the
astrological trait of "being
able to keep things in ba
lance," applies to her. This
week’s beauty is a hard
working individual with a
keen eye on achievement.
But, points oat Diane, lor
fun she enjoys partying,
dancing and swimming. "I
dabble in singing." she
laughs.
Expressing enthusiasm
over being inThe Charlotte
Post, Diane states, “I
really like the idea of being
featured in the newspaper
that is representative of
Charlotte’s black com
munity.”
As a conscientious young
person, Diane voiced con
cern over the welfare of
children. “I would like to
see increased efforts made
to end child abuse and to
find missing children.”
SCLC Sets Hearings
On Healthcare Insurance
L3C Faring
To “Merely”
Exist
By Karen Parker
Post Staff Writer
If Terence Roche tad
been informed in 1980, that
Legal Services Corp. would
soon be fighting to merely
exist, his reply would have
been “Impossible."
Now the director of the
Legal Services of Southern
Piedmont, Inc. quickly
admits the federal oper
ation^ being “wadded to
death.” The Charlotte of
fice assists' low-income
people in civil suit cases in
five counties. According to
Roche, his establishment
operated at the height of its
funding in 1980. Now, four
years into the Reagan ad
ministration, Roche noted
Legal Services of Southern
Piedmont, Inc. is strug
gling to operate a $750,000
project with about $568,000.
The number of lawyers in
the Charlotte office has
been cut from about 16 to
13. Without the Volunteer
Lawyer Program, many of*,
the civil cases would pro-j.
bably linger more than
they do at present,
When Roche first saw
the true signs given by an
administration trying to
wipe out Legal Services,
Inc. he “squirreled away
some money,” hoping to
stall a problem which he
knew would eventually
enter the doors of local.
Legal Services, just as it
has other offices across the
country.
"We've spent all that
money,” Roche com
See I .SC On Page 13A
DR. MATTHEW J. WHITEHEAD
—Distinguished JCSU alum nus
A. Leon Higginbotham Is
JCSU Commencement Speaker
The Honorable A. Leon
Higginbotham, Jr., Circuit
Judge, United States Court
of Appeals for the Third
Circuit, will address the 135
candidates for graduation
from Johnson C. Smith
University at the May 20
commencement ceremon
ies to be held at 2 p.m. in
, Ovens Auditorium.
Judge Higginbotham is a
noted jurist, educator and
author. Prior to his cur
rent appointment by Presi
dent Jimmy Carter in
1977, Judge ftigginbotham.
served as a United States
District Judge and visiting
lecturer at Yale Univer
sity, the University of
Hawaii and the Univer
sity of Michigan Law
School. Since 1970, he has
been an adjunct professor,
Wharton Graduate School's
Department of Sociology
for the University of Penn
sylvania and as a Lectur
er in Law at the Law
School. He is one of only six
black Americans ever to
reach the Federal Appel
ate bench.
In North Carolina
Voter Registration Drive
Targeted At Black Women
Atlanta, Ga. - Three
Southeastern states are the
focal points of an inten
sive drive to register black
women voters and increase
their awareness of poli
tics It is called the "Wo
men’s Vote Project" and it
is supported by the Nor
man Foundation, the
Muskiwinni Foundation
and an Anonymous Donor
on the recommendation of
Joint Foundation Sup
port.
Alabama. Georgia, and
North Carolina were
cboaen as sites for this one
year program. Ms. Eleatha
D. O’Neal, Project Direc
tor, says, "These states
were chosen because black
women have represented a
significantly higher per
centage of the black
voting population there."
Ms. O’Neal also sakl,
"Black women have long
been the backbone of com
munity activities and
political campaigns The
Women’s Vote Project
Eleatha O'Neal
.....WVP director
wants to tap those resourc
es and improve the parti
cipation of women in the
total electoral process,
from registration, to vot
ing, to office-seeking
The objectives of the
project are: 1. Register at
least 100,000 black women
voters; 2. Organise a net
work of black women vot
ers that wiH promote
greater involvement in
every aspect of the poti
tica) process through
political education; 3. Con
duct exit interviews at the
polls during elections to
ascertain what motivates
black female registration
and turn-out; 4. Develop
methodologies to transfer
to other segments of the
black community based on
what is learned from sur
veys and experiences
gained in the course of
conducting the program.
The project is currently
recruiting volunteers to
participate in the com
munity as county coordin
ators. Mini-workshops and
forums will also take
place for the enrichment of
black women.
Recent trends nation
wide show that voter re
gistration is on the up
swing among female
voters Black women, ac
cording to recent studies
have consistent high regis
tration and voter turn-out
levels In several states,
voter registration among
black women surpasses
that of black males
Ms Neal stated. “It's
time for black women to
become more visible in the
political system The Wo
men's Vote Project will
try to place these women
in leadership roles through
their voting power ”
Increased political sen
sitivity among black wo
men has been sharpened by
federal budget cuts which
have had a major impact
An education, employment,
health and welfare policies.
To launch the Women's
Vote Project, a series of
statewide conferences for
black women will be con
ducted on: June 23 in Ra
leigh, NC; July 14 in Ma
con, GA, and August 4 in
Selma, AL
The Women's Vote Pro
ject is a program of the
Atlanta-baaed Voter Edu
cation Project, Inc. (VEP).
Higginbotham's nomin
ation as a Commissioner
for the Federal Trade
Commission by President
John F. Kennedy in 1962
established him as the first
black to serve at the
commission level of any
Federal Regulatory Agen
cy. Honors received in
clude: Ten Most Outstand
ing Men in America
(1964, U.S. Chamber of
Commerce); National Hu
man Relations Awards
(1968, National Conference
of Christians and Jews);
The Russwurm Awards
(1969, National Newspaper
Publishers Association);
Citation of Merit Award
(1975, Yale University Law
School); and the Martin
Luther King Award (1976,
The Educator's Round
table)
Boards and associations
include vice chairman,
National Commission on ,
the Causes and Preven
tion of Violence (appoint
ed by President Lyndon B
Johnson); Commission on
Reform of Federal Crimin
al Laws (by appointment of
Chief Justice Warren
Burger) Commission of
Correctional Facilities and
Services (by appointment
of Benard G. Segal, presi
dent of the American Bar
Association); and the Com
mittee of the Judicial
Conference of the United
States to Consider Stan
dards for Admission to
Practice in the Federal
Courts. Judge Higginbo
tham has served on the
Board of Trustees at Yale
University, Thomas Jef
ferson University and the
University of Pennsyl
vania
Publications include "In
The Matter of Color: Race
and the American Legal
Process; the Colonial
Period” (1978) which won
the Silver Gavel Award of
See JC8U On Page 12A
Healthcare
For Blacks
Program Set
By Karen Parker
Post Staff Writer
Rev. Timothy MdOonald
of the national Southern
Christian Leadership Con
ference recently reported
23 million blacks and poor
Americans don’t have hosi
pital insurance.
Timothy is conducting
hearings in 11 cities to
present testimonies about
healthcare' insurance. Af
ter visiting Kansas City,
“Washington, D.C., Atlanta,
Detroit and Philadelphia,
Timothy stated he’s dis
covering “people are ac
tually dying because they
can’t afford to go to the
hospital."
The program known as
"Healthcare for Black and
Poor Americans" will be
held in Charlotte. Tuesday,
IF a m. until~6 p.m. in the
Metro Center, 700 E. 2nd St.
According to Timothy, doc
tors and other healthcare
personnel will meet with
Charlotte citizens and
SCLC members to discuss
what Timothy terms a
"serious problem.’’ He de
clared. "health insurance
should be a right; not just
for those who can afford
it."
Rev. Dr Joseph Lowery
will be the convener for the
hearings which are open to
the public at no charge.
Among the panelists will be
Dr. Alvin Poussaint, a well
known psychologist and co
lumnist The hearing is co
sponsored by the Tarheel
Council of Senior Citizens
Timothy didn't indicate
what he expects the testi
monies to be like in Char
lotte However, he pointed
out in the five cities which
have already been visited,
it wasn't until the hearings
were held that many people
realized their case was not
an isolated one
"In Kansas City, a young
woman died because the
medical staff wouldn't
issue her any medication.
She didn’t have money for
insurance to cover the ex
pense." Timothy illustrat
ed Through the hearings,
it was also discovered
three or four million peo
ple are without insurance
because they have been
laid off from their jobs
"When these people lost
their jobs, they lost their
insurance benefits," Timo
thy stressed “Now many
of them won't have a place
to go if they get sick,
because hospitals won't
admit them."
After Tuesday’s hearing,
it may be easier to deter
mine if Charlotte hospitals,
like some in the other
cities, are closing their
doors in the faces of non
insured people who need
medical attention
A spokesman insisted
that’s not the case at
Charlotte Memorial Hos
pital “We will admit any
one who needs to he ad
mil ed," she commented
See SCLC On Page ISA