Cbttortal*
Wanted: Housing For The Poor
me \siiy ui c-narioueis planning to host a
symposium on November 20 called “The
Housing Gap” at the Radisson Plaza Hotel.
The symposium will bring together housing
specialists from as far away as Seattle, .
Wash., St. Paul, Minn., Boston, Mass., and
Washington, D.C., to share ideas about
successful housing programs in their
respective communities that ifiay be
adopted to help Charlotte solve its low
income-housing problem.
The “Housing Gap/Mhe housing
problem, what is it, what does it piean? It Is
a growing social and economic issue which
shows tragically that an increasing number
of Charlotteans do not have decent, safe
sanitary, AND affordable housing. Stated
another way, studies by the City’s Corm
munity Development Department indicated %
that in 1984 there were 13,919 households in
need of affordable housing and that number
had grown to ever 15,000 by mid-1985. It
means too that with the very deep cuts in
federal funds for low income housing
beginning in i960, affordable bowing
opportunities for the poor have and will
, continue to diminish significantly
* Charlotte and other local governments find
t ways to fill the void created by the federal
• government.
necent published reports about the “glut"
or high vacancy rates in some rental
apartment complexes may undoubtedly
raise questions about housing needs for the
poor. City officials have responded to such
questions by noting that “the problem is
clearly affordability. In i960, for example,
Charlotte owners and renters making less
than $10,000 a year paid 45 percent and 59
percent of their incomes for housing,
respectively." By federal government
policy, the amount spent on housing costs
should not exceed 30 percent of a house
holds annual gross income
Therefore, “The Housing Gap” sym
posium is designed to help inform,
educate and create a greater sense of
awareness of such facts. It also seeks "to
raise the consciousness of the community
about this issue, an issue that if not
adequately responded lO may anect tne
quality of life of all of us. Finally, City
officials state that the symposium aims to
develop a series of recommendations gnrf
continuing research approaches for con
sideration by City Council.
1 “The Housing Gap” problem is probably
more evident by the 3,900 families on
Housing Authority’s public housing waiting
list, a number limited only by a mori
torium op accepting new applications. It is
evident too by the hundreds who seek help
at Crisis Assistance Ministry. Statistical
data (»r numbers don’t provide an upfront
sense of the human suffering that the
“Housing Gap” reflects.
A City publication refers to a grand
mother raising three teenagers in a three
room house. Her house is over-occupied, a
City code violation. Her bed is the living
room sofa. She works part-time for 33.45 per
hour for a weekly income of 309. Her
landlord recently raised the rent to 340 per
week, thus she is paying approximately 58
percent of her income for housing. Then,
mere is me recent unariotte UDserver story
about the “new homeless” that focuses on
27-year-old Chris Brown and his 29-year
old, pregnant girlfriend whose “home” ,fs
under a bridge over Independence Building,
at Eastway Drive. Just think, there are
thousands of Charlotte families and indivi
duals whose living conditions are like these
if not worse.
In summary, the Housing Gap sympo
sium seeks to bring together representa
tives of financial institutions, developers,
builders, owners of rental property, non
profit housing organizations, churches,
County and City elected officials and staff,
neighborhood organizations and individual
citizens to hear talks and panel discus
sions and then to participate in at least two
of four workshops to help develop recom
mendations designed to be an accelerated
start reducing the Housing Gap problem.
You can help. Simply call the City
Community Development Department,
336-9491, and request registration
'-information. i *
Reflection On The election
Now that the tical dust has settled,
_
simple language the elections did this:
-Returned the U.S. Senate to the
Democrats by giving them a 55 to 45 party
edge; • .
-Enabled the Democrats to retain
control of the U.S. House of
Representatives;
-Enabled the Republican Party to in
crease its governorship seats by eight
including neighboring South Carolina andin
Alabama for the first time;
-Enabled ex-mayors seeking governor
ships to achieve better success than at any
previous time in modern political history.
One major exception was in the 61 percent
to 41 percent voter margin loss by Los
Angeles Democrat Mayor Tom Bradley in
his second bid to unseat California’s
in.... .. ■■ ■ ■■■ i
Republican Gov. George Deukmejian;
match a similar narrow victory by the other
North Carolina Senator, Jesse Helms when
he defeated Jim Hunt.
-Kept the Democrats in continuing
control of the N.C. State Senate with a 112 to
12 margin and a 40 to 10 gap in the House;
-Allowed the Republican County Com
missioners three to two majority under the
old at-large system to enlarge to six to one
under Use new district Systran,
-Returned to the eight-year-old
bedroom commissioner” setting by elect
ing six commissioners, all Republicans,
who live in southeast Charlotte;
.
-In spite of serious administration
problems, allowed C.W. Kidd to retain his
position as Sheriff;
LEADERSHIP IN THE,
BLACK COMMUNITY/ >
CqOPERApON
mSSmmj
Aj££ee
Blac]
By Gerald O. Johnson
Special To The Post *
As more and more black
females strive to meet
career objectives and obtain
the American dream, the gap
continues to widen for these
women to secure male com
panionship. I wanted to
know, “To what degree does
this cause conflicts in black
relationships?”
Litida Spence, who was
isssa t?„TC.r,2n',the
panel but was unable to
attend, gave me a personal
interview. “The situation has
always existed,” Linda
commented./‘The difference
now is my generation mar
ries for companionship
whereas my parent* married
for security.” Linda went on
to say that women no longer
needed men for the neces
sities of life, hehce, they
could afford to play the,wait
ing game. But, finding the
right companion was- indeed
a problem.
. “We are living in a new
generation and material
things dominate this genera
tion,” Linda said. “Conse
Gerald ' r
quenuy, we expect a
relationship to support the
material things we can’t
obtain on our own,” she
continued.
The j fact that more and
more black women are"
gettingdegrees and relative
ly Iqptative careers, puts
pressure cm black men.
Egotistically, we cannot
accept women outpacing us
• in careers. “Black men still
have the mama syndrome.”
■ 'THE VHAKLUTTE POST
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Do 1_;Dignity In AH Work?
4> By Sherman N. Miller
fe ! the
civil rights era, it was not
uncommon to hear blacks
railing out, 'I’m not taking
no menial job,” referring to
jobs tainted by the conno
tations of servitude. Yet,
today, I bear blacks la
menting the loss of those jobs
to other ethnic minority
groups or whites/
J gained an appreciation
for the long-term deleterious
impact of blacks’ ego blind
ness through conversations
with a young Charlotte, NC
map who was forced to make
a living on one of these
stereotyped jobs. This fellow
was forced to drop out of
Johnson C. Smith University
for reasons he claimed were
underpinned by a lack of
finance. After leaving col
lege his situation dete
riorated to where he found
himself without a home,
clothes, and a job.
This young chap says he
pulled himself up to dignity
by shining shoes at the
Adam’s Mark Hotel in
Charlotte. He displayed a
good understanding of what
attracts customers. His
ahoes were excellent and he
ran over you with manners
’ Miller
It was difficult for me to
comprehend a young black
chap readily saying "Yes,
sir,” and "No sir,” to cus
tomers in 1906. Yet he
pointed out how important
manners are in being able to
get customers to stop and in
holding a dialogue with
them.
This small businessman
spoke with pride when he told
me that shoe shine money
paid back a significant por
tion of the money he bor
rowed to go to collage. He
also spoke of being able to
make rent payments on time
and earning $90,600 in 1965.
Nonetheless, this business
4
man was hurt because his job
did not command dignity in
the eyes of his peers. He says
he did not tell hia mother
what he was doing for a
considerable period of time.
He also spoke of the con
descending vibrations he felt
from some friends.
When I consider the
amount of money this
businessman purportedly
made in 1965, I ask myself
how many 19fh comparable
salary blue color jobs will
becofhe the victims of world
. market forces? * ;'
While touring the City of
Wilmington, DE, with Police
Captain Preston Hickman, I
got some inkling on the
negative impact of the ton of
high paying, low skill blue
collar jobs. Metropolitan
industries are disappearing
and the new jobs in the
banking industry require
skills, v ’' ,
The real tragedy for
Wilmington’s black com
munity is that everyone
knows that many blacks lack
the necessary skills to land
the banking industry jobs.
Furthermore, I have been
told that the regen Unification
is forcing a poor blatk
exodus out of the city.
Consequently, former
blighted areas have now
become Yuppie havens. *'
If blacks refuse to see
dignity in all work and the
skill requirements for good
paying jobs continues to rise,
what does this portend for
Black America’s socio
economic future? Will re
gentrification continue to
force poor blacks out of their
rental homes because they
will never be able to afford to
buy them? Will services in
the black community further
erode because Black Ameri
ca’s Gross National Product
is stagnated by a skill chasm
with mainstream American
industry?
Let us hope the new board
game for the late 1900s does
not become, “Find the new
black ghetto
Linda stated. “They want us
to cook, clean house, have
kids, and get a job for a side
line. Those days are gone
forever.”
This relationship dUemma
is leading and will continue
to lead to the erosion of the
blade family. More and more
black women will have to
choose white male com
panions, or stay single, or opt
to become a single family
sel?? ism.
grow up in female-dominated
homes. This can lead to
catch-22 situation.
Linda feels that until we as
black men and women start
viewing each other as indi
viduals and get beyond the
status symbols, the situation
will not improve. “We must
start viewing each other as to
who we are and not where we
are,” she added. This means
that we must start from a
common base and build from
that. Men must stop being
intimidated by a woman's
position and deal with her as
an individual. * ^ 4r
in uie meantime we need
to concentrate our Efforts on
stressing education to our
young black males. Civic
groups, churches, schools,
and the media, need to
structure programs centered
around careers and secon
dary education. With the
government cutting back on
financing special programs
it becomes a project that the
community has to sponsor.
Moreover, volunteering time
is probably more important
than the money. Optimist
clubs, fraternities, Lions
Clubs, and other male
organizations need to
devote time to projects that
will promote a positive black
ipale image. A lot of kids
today do not have a male
image in the household.
Our involvement in such
projects may help save the
black family structure. God
knows it won’t hurt. Our
community deserves it. Our
young black sisters need it. '
Laura, Cynthia, Evelyn, and
Christy are shining exam
ples of what awaits those who
are led in the right direc
tion from our efforts.
NCBST Supports Martini Recommendations
Raleigh - The N.C. Board of
Science and Technology In toning a
resolution supporting Governor
Martin’s recommendations to the
General Assembly concerning the
state’s designation as the ’’host’’ for
a low-level radioactive waste
disposal site by the Southeast
Compact Commission
Tho resolution states the Board’s
support for the governor's re
commendations to the General
tamnrtlr that North Carolina
accept designation by the Bmth
eaat Compact Commission as the
2! *Ut* ,0T * »ow-level radio
active waste disposal site
in 1998 and ending In 2ni2 under
certain condition*