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‘. :■ ' • I-. :| “The Voice Of The Black Community "
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_ Volume 10, Number 13 THE CHARLOTTE POST - Thursday, September 6. 1984 --
Price: 40 Cents
Homecoming Celebration
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Story On Page 8A
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Story On Page 16A
Motivate Our Youth To Think!
Story On Page 8B
Murphy I
toy Of Concord
Is Celebrating
BSC Week
For the first time in its 117 year
history, Barber-Seotia College has
been formally recognized for its
contributions to the community of
Concord.
Speaking to a group of students
and faculty on the college campus
recently, Alderman Robert Manthis
presented Concord Mayor Bernie
Edwards’ proclamation of Septem
ber 2-8 as “Barber-Seotia Week.”
The proclamation • read in part
“...higher education plays a very
important part in the growth and
development of our community and
nation; and...the students at
Barber-Seotia College offer a great
contribution to Concord and Ca
barrus County by being informed
and responsible citizens.”
“This is a beginning and a great
beginning lor all of us,” said Dr.
Sammie Potts, vice president for -
institutional development, repre
senting the college.
Concord Mayor Bernie Edwards
indicated that Concord is fortunate
to have a college in town. Through
books and individuals, the school .
points out Concord to many people
otherwise would not know the
It has an exciting tuiskctbdll t6^cn •
entertainment for the community.
The approximately 100 college em
ployees are mostly Concordians -
and local folk are also encou
raged to utilize campus facilities
and attend campus events.
The school brings students to
Concord from all over the country
and world, points out the mayor, and
this enriches the cultural at
mosphere. These students also make
known their buying power, '
especially in downtown Concord,
which, according to the mayor,
enhances the economy. \
In recognition of the special week,
downtown merchants will be dis
playing placards welcoming back
BSC students and holding special
sales.
Grave Warns: Blacks
Must Prepare For ~
Renewed Struggle l
Black people have endured many
terrible timfes in America, but the
moat difficult may be yet to coroe
warns Earl G. Graves, publisher of
Black Enterprise magazine in an
editartal in the September issue.
Responding to two recent
Supreme Court cases, Grove City
College v. Bell, which found that
nondlscrimlnatory policies need only
apply to specific federally-funded
departments or programs, and Fire
fighters v. Stott*, which opens the
door to restitution of last hired, first
fired status for blacks and other
minorities, Graves warned those
who would disregard set-aside pro
grams and affirmative action agree
ments “when they find it politically
expedient" that “we are not willing
to accept exclusion from the Ame
rican dream.”
"Black JUHWWI iium rwurn to
the institutions that have become the
backbone of our struggle," urges
Graves. If fains made by blacks hi
the lest two decades are to be pre
served and new goals are to be
reached Black families must be
Sec GRAVEi On P.gc 2A
To make dreams come
'true - don't oversleep
Anita McAfee
. ....Urban League counselor
Anita McAfee Likes
Working With People
By Jalyne Strong
Post Staff Writer
“The sacrifice is great but the
reward is greater,” admits Anita
McAfee about certain aspects of her
life. .. .
Beginning with her work, the 23
year old Urban League placement
counselor explains that her job is
challenging and often difficult. She
is responsible for finding employ
ment for 18-21 year olds. “It can be
hard. Sometimes the kids don’t want
help.” tells McAfee.
“But I like working with people.
Everyday I learn something new,”
she relates. And other rewards
McAfee cites, “Out of all the kids
who’ve been placed three have
called offering thanks for the
opportunity. It’s nice knowing that
someone appreciates what you are
trying to de. ”— — --
McAfee is a 1883 graduate of
Johnson C. Smith University. She
majored in Social Work. She is a
Delta Sigma Theta, and has
received the honor of Academic
Acmevement ror Exceptional
Standard of Scholarship. McAfee is
listed as an Outstanding Young
Woman of Artierica
She claims that her life has been
leading up to a career of helping
people. ‘‘Friends have arways come
to me for counseling. When I was a
Girl Scout I was involved in human
services working in convalescent
homes. The public services of the
Della’s Have also allotted me the
opportunity to aid people.” points
out McAfee.
“I like to know I can help someone
who’s strayed along the way to get
their life back in order
The ordering of her own life
involves, among other things, an
interest in politics McAfee has been
Involved with the Gantt and the
Edminsten campaigns.
Justly her interest in politics
stems front her overall desire to help
people. Says McAfee, there is a new)
for blacks to become mere political
ly orientated. “Everyone (politi
dans) is looking toward us to get
someone into office,” cites McAfee.
"Blacks need to know what a person
has dona. For example Reagan has
cut out many human service
programs with a lack of understand
ing of our needs. I think we need to
be aware of such things Ignorance
causes us to miss out. We need to
stress our opinions through the
political process.”
When she is not helping others or
politicking for a cause McAfee
prefers a quiet evening at home as
relaxation. She admits she is
somewhat quiet though this
demeanor does not hinder her from
being outgoing. She says her zodiac
sign of Taurus marks her as a leader
and she readily agrees, “I am a
leader or I want to be. I don’t want to
be a follower.”
The idea of sacrifice yielding
rewards is a philosophy McAfee has
deemed from her own experience.
She warns that people especially
young people should not look for
Golden opportunities to come gift
wrapped at their door. “When I
received my degree I thought
everything would be laid out,”
remembers McAfed. It was hard and
depressing, she relates, when she
See ANITA OnPgge 4A
Downtown Progress
j*-Could Have Been_
Handled Differently
By Audrey C. Lodato
Post Staff Writer
The inconvenience of downtown
construction is not unique to Char
lotte. Other major cities - Atlanta,
for. oner are constantly in the process
of construction and reconstruction.
Indeed, construction is a part of
growth.
Just because it is common, how
ever, does not make it easy to live
with - or easy to swallow for those
—who are unrooted in the namf of
progress.
The present transit mall con
struction in downtown Charlotte is
only the most recent phase of re
development in the Queen City that
began over a decade ago. Among
those groups most affected by the
construction then and now are the
independent merchants and their
clientele. Some email businesses'
survived relocation and changes in
traffic patterns in center city;
others did not.
une of the establishments that did
not survive was Hope's Hallmark
Shop located at 4th and Tryon from
1965 to 1968. When the building
where Hope’s Hallmark was situated
was torn down to make way for the
NCNB building, the card shop
moved to Trade and Tryon. That
move, according to owners Millie
and Hanley Green, was fatal to the
business.
The Greens sold out the following
year because they lost trade. Cus
tomers, the couple said, “wouldn’t
cross Trade St. The bus stops had
people standing on the corner and it
was hard to get through. The lo
cation was only one block different,
but we lost 90 percent of our trade
when we moved,” they insisted.
In addition to fewer customers,
rent at the new location was 63
percent higher than they had been
paying - a jump of $250, from $400 to
$650 a month.
Despite the intervening years, it’s
hard for the Greens not to sound
bitter. “It’s politics,” Mr. Green
maintained. “I’m not against pro
gress, but the way they treated
people was ridiculous.” According
to Green, the city found the relo
First In Series
cation site for them and then
threatened them into moving there.
Those who hung on - to their old
locations fared better financially,
Green said. The city, he continued,
had promised to help them rebuild
their business, but all they got was
moving costs. In the end, the
Greens, who had hoped to be able to
use the store for their retirement,
lost $22,000.
The now-retired couple admits the
downtown area looks better than it
did 25 years ago. “In 50 years it may
look beautiful,” said Green, “but all
the small people have been forced
out. Mom and Pop places are going
by the wayside. They can’t afford
shopping center rents."
Green believes tjharlotte should
take a lesson from Atlanta "They
'developed their downtown instead of
destroying it,” he said.
Home Furniture, which had been
in the Pliner family about 30 years,
was another business affected by
downtown construction. In
1972, the business was forced to
move from its E. Trade St. loca
tion to make room for the Civic
Center. “Fifty-eight businesses
were displaced on that block,"
remarked David Pliner. Many, he
said, did not relocate. “A busi
ness community is like an ecolo
gical system, he explained. ‘ When
you upset the balance, all suffer.”
One of the major problems,
according to Pliner, was limited
space downtown and the city offer
ing only minimal relocation assist
ance. “We had a thriving down
town," said Pliner. “It was always
busy. Maybe it wasn’t the type of
business that bankers and execu
tives wanted, but it was bustling
Bankers don't understand retailers -
and don’t care,” he added Pliner
admits some buildings may have
needed renovation but thinks the
city fathers want a “high class
shopping area or another Wall St
with beautiful concrete buildings "
According to Pliner, a number of
merchants wanted to develop, but
the city had already negotiated with
others before official notice was
given that land was for sale. "We
were supposedly an area of declin
ing property values, yet some
politicians and corporations got
huge amounts for property We who
were downtown knew the true
values.” said Pliner. "This made me
see how corrupt government is at all
levels," he continued. "There were
all sorts of violations of HUD re
gulalions^ndno one was ever really
held accountable. HUD said they
couldn't help because of the po
litical atmosphere in Charlotte.
You’ll always have problems as long
as people can hide behind govern
ment and no one is accountable. The
point is, the people in power - when
they want something, they get U in
this town.”
he sSys happened to his family’s
business. “They flooded our ware
house," he said, “and split the
building while we still occupied it.
We got a court injunction until the
city came up with a feasible plan to
help merchants, but we never re
covered the damages we sustained.
We had tremendous legal fees," he
added. The company's business de
clined because of the demolition
while awaiting the court order
Although Home Furniture did re
locate to Statesville Avenue, the
business never fully recovered
After 65 unresolved break-ins in
eight years, Pliner decided it was
time to quit. He blames the problem
on the city. “I couldn't get police
protection," he declared “T believe
this was retaliation for not co
operating downtown."
Another independent to lose out
was Mr. High Style. “We were
forced out in the name of pro
gress," said Ron Liss, who now
operates Great American Fashions
in North Park Mall. "Mr High Style
was the original young men’s shop in
Charlotte The business was 53 years
old when we were put out in 1981,"
Liss explained He described what
happened "The city gave them a
permit to tear the building down
See DOWNTOWN On Page 1HA
FOCUS Performers Portray Life Experiences
By Karen Parker
- Post staff Writer
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
just opened, and students can be
heard everywhere talking about
how much tougher school life
seems.
, Coping with school, peers, and
family can sometimes be difficult
for teenagers. Physicians and school
counselors all agree if a teenager
can trust in someone and have good
communication habiU. he or she is
usually able to confront problems
and live happy lives.
On September 15, a volunteer
troupe of Charlotte teenagers,
known as FOCUS, will come to life
for the third season to help teens and
parents discover answers to typical
problems. The opening perfor
mance begins at 7:30 pm In
Charlotte Country Day School’s
auditorium.
FOCUS performers portray life
experiences at seen from their own
points of view. When a vignette ends,
the performers remain In charac
ter and have an open discussion
with the audience
FOCUS director, Phil Hines, em
phasizes “there is no script." He
noted the students select a situation
and from there act from their heart
hot words on paper.
The improvisation adds realism to
the vignettes, but for teens it seems
it'd be more difficult to compose an
act in the mind Well, we have the
main points of the situation we’re
FOCUS performer*, l-r ((landing): Terr e** a Smith. Fertfunon
Tnetday William*. Lem Hame* and (aeated) Jay
acting out," stated 13-year-old Jay
Ferguson. "From there we Just have
to trust each other."
Tuesday Williams. M, and en
tering her second season with
FOCUS, noted maintaining the
realism on stage -requires con
centration "I mean a lot of con
centration," she stressed According
to Tuesday, she sometimes does
research on the subject she portrays
to make the scene even more
twngiblp
"When you’re on stage, and you
become a character, you know that
character better than anyone else,”
Jay added. His roles are mostly of
people who display an “overflow" of
emotions "Whether it's exploding
with anger or an equal amount of
happiness, my character is usually
someone who is extremely ex
citing, stated the ninth grader at
Piedmont Middle School.
Tuesday, Joins performers Lem
Hames and Terressa Smith in a
vignette that focuses on a number of
Issues teens are bound to face at
some point if their life
In IS minutes or less the actors
give a vivid illustration of young
adult frustration. It ranges from
See FOCUS On Page 11A