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THE CHARLOTTE POST
SALUTES
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SEE SECTION C
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FLORISTS,ALEXANDER
AT ODDS OVER
NEW POLICY
story on Page 4 a
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Black Second”
By Jalyne . Strong
Post Staff Writer
Contributed to by
Coule Watkins
The Charlotte-MecUenburg Urban
League brought ABC television talk
show host Oprah Winfrey to Char
lotte as the guest speaker for its
eighth Annual Equal Opportunity
Day Dinner, January 9, and the re
sponse was a sold-out event with
approximately 800 persons in at
tendance.
Winfrey, host of The Oprah Win
frey Show" was undoubtedly the
main attraction of the evening.
Quite a national celebrity, as of late
she has the number one talk show
program in the nation and her rat
ings reflect that she certainly has a
knack for pulling in an audience.
The Urban-League of course had
its own attractions including having
toastmaster of the event and the
presentation ^^prestigious swards
program and also hiring a number
of persons from the league's pro
grams. . • • •
Retired Charlotte educator Kath
leen Crosby also earned one of the
league's honors when she was given
the Urban League's Community Ser
vice Awatd for "her years in educa
tion.” Adding to her superlative ca
reer with the Char.-Meek. School
System is the fact that Crosby was
a founder of the Char.-Mecklenburg
Urban League, Inc. The award was in
praise of her "vision, creative pow
er and rare understanding of human
and Social values.”
In the third and final award of the
evening. Senator Jim Richardson re
ceived the Leagues' Equal Opportu
nity Award. Richardson's long and
illustrious career in human services
wss lauded with this honor.
Guest of honor. Winfrey, also re
ceived her share of awards during
the banquet. Prom Gov. Jim Mar
tin's office, she was bequeathed with
the state's coveted Long Leaf Pine
award, presented by Emery Rann
■i Jr., Director of Minority Affairs.
Not to be left out, Lt. Gov. Bob
Jordan also had representative
Wayne Lofton present Winfrey with
an honor.
The awards, speech and introduc
tion segments of the dinner went
well. Beth Bettye J. Harris, chair
man, and Madina Hester Pail, presi
Oprah Winfrey
...Addresses Urban Leafue audience
dent-CEO, of the Char.-Mepk. Urban
League, Inc. addressed the audience
and Bill Walker did s fine job or
chestrating from the podium. Then
came the time for words from the
veritable crowd-pleaser.
"I am a black woman, black wom
an I am," began Winfrey. "The
drums of Africa still beat in my
heart and I will not rest until every
black boy and every black girl is
given s chance to prove their
worth..."
This opening remark was met by a
loud ovation from the predominant
ly black audience at the dinner.
And from then on, the audience
seemed impressed with Winfrey's
anecdotes about her childhood and
her dramatic renditions of famous
blacks including Fanny Lou Hamer,
Sojourner Truth and others. She
rounded out her speech with talk
about her television show and her
thoughts on God plus her feelings
on whet.it takes to be successful.
Then She beguiled the audience with
■ recitation of a poem by Maya An*
gelou about being a "phenomenal
woman."
Most would agree Winfrey fits the
description of a phenomenal wom
an. She has certain proven that with
her current success. "The Oprah
Winfrey Show" is the highest rated
talk show on national syndication
(Winfrey announced at the dinner
she had finally beat Donahue.) Her
success is owed to drive, talent and
her own winning personality. It is
her conviction, as sb stated, "It is
possible for everyone to achieve
the greatest in life, by being your
self. You can be yourself better than
• * /
anyone can."
Many people were awed by Win
frey's inspirational talk at the Ur
ban League dinner but it is not fair
to say that all were. There were
some black people who earlier had
been turned off by remarks Winfrey
had made about blacks and her atti
tude about being black in the latest
issue of People magazine. (Oprah
Winfrey is the cover story for Janu
ary 12.)
In the article Winfrey stated she
"hated" her college days at an all
black university as she was
"uninterested in the compelling
black issues of the day" and she
"never felt the, kind of repression
other black people are exposed to."
Winfrey also stated in People, she
identified herself as "a woman, next
as a black woman” and "not at all
as a black spokesperson."
In Charlotte at the press confer
ence held before the dinner, Winfrey
further stated, "I am a person first
and a black person second and I
don’t wear my blackness as a ban
ner." It seemed incongruent, then,
that Winfrey opened her speech at
the dinner with the statement, "I am
a black woman, black woman I am."
The inconsistencies found in Win
frey has led some to question the
costs of the high level of success
she has achieved. But a success
Winfrey certainly is and she made a
success of the Charlotte
Mecklenburg Urban League's Equal
Opportunity Day Dinner.
£1 ervances
I
Dr. DiLtnt Teckar
Uona of King's birthday art varied
throughout the country and too
Dr. Bgrbara Slaeaers
throughout the city of Charlotte But
it ii the substance of each obacr
' f>'3- V' V *• ' ‘ w’ * • • ’ * a*
‘vane* dedicated to King that high
lights the magnitude of the man.
The Chariot te-Mecklen burg Com
munity Relations Committee is plan
ning three events In observance of
the birthday of Dr. King. This ninth
annual celebration will be held on
two days, Thursday, January IS and
Monday, January IS.
At noon on the ISth, the Charlotte
Area Clergy Association and the
Christian Ministers Fellowship will
hold a brief Interdenominational
memorial service at the King Statue
In Marshal) Park. The memorial
service will include prayers of peace
and unity, a wreath faying ceremony
and brief statements by Mokubung
Nkomo, representing Charlotte*ns
for a Free South Africa and Father
John C. Haughey of St. Peter’s
Catholic Church. '
The January IS celebration will be
held at Mayfield Memorial Baptist
Church, TOO W. Sugar Creek Rd It
will begin with a S:90p.m. exhibit of
art work and essays by Charlotte
Mecklenburg School students and a
hot soup service.
The celebration continues when at
7 pm, Dr. C. DeLores Tucker,
founder and president of the Martin
Luther King Jr.Asaociation, is pre
sented as the keynote speaker for
the observance. ■
A highly qualified speaker on the
subject of Dr. King, Dr. Tucker
participated with the civil rights
leader In the Selma to Montgomery
March of IMS. Since that time, her
career has centered around the
principles established by King. She
is currently serving as chairperson
of the Democratic National Black
Caucus and la a former Secretary of
State, Commonwealth of Pennsyl
vania.
The Community Relations Com
mittee has chosen the theme “Living
the Dream: Let freedom ring f<*j
universal peace with justice, hun^j
See King On Page *A ;
. . ;s ... • v--a • 'vsr.- -
Carmen Webber
...Loves to dance
Carmen Webber Takes
Everything In Stride
Hy Kussell Clark
Post Staff Writer
Pinpointing a successful modeling
career is certainly not easy. If you
finger through the pages of any top
fashion magazine, you will see tal
ents that have paved their way to a
solid career choice.
As a 16-year-old sophmore at East
Mecklenburg High School where she
makes A's and B’s, Carmen Webber
has her sights on a modeling career.
"My goal is to become one of the
top models in Charlotte," projects
Webber, who studies at The Model
Shop on East Boulevard. She has
done primp photographs and run
away shows for local retailers for
more than six months according to
Rita Parks, owner of the agency.
"We have high hopes for her and
she has the potential to be a top
model. She's a rising star and cur
rently, she is one of the top black
models in Charlotte," Parks con
firmed.
An avid student of ballet, jazz, and
tap dance, Carmen's first love was
dancing. "She first came to me
when she was about nine years old,"
remembers Paula Mann, owner of
the Fancy Feet Dance Studio in Mat
thews, "I knew she was special
when she first came in and she ad
vanced rapidly from year to year.
Her strongest asset as a dancer is •
her lyrical performances and her at
titude. Most people of her age and !
her talent and her age are stuck on '
themselves, but Carmen gets along'
well with her class mates and is • •
. • *;
joy to teach," says Mann, who has
instructed Carmen for seven years. •
"I really enjoy dancing and I get!
along well with the other dancers at^
Fancy Feet. We pep each other up * • '
and it helps us to get motivated for •
our performances," realtes Carmen •
who also gets support from her fam- ! »
"y
The daughter of Libbie Webber, * • '
the hat two brothers, Cherod and •
Maurice and a adopted sister Stepha- •
nie. "My mother motivates me!
when I get depressed and I’m ,
ful to her because she is
take the time to
my career,
when I
cause I have
exams
balloons home
on Your
thoughtful
cheer us
Webbers