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Charlotte Post
«*M(olBttr Of The Tear"
YWCA Speaker
Urges Blacks
To Own, Operate
Businesses
Story On Page SA
Sigma Pi Phi
Honors
Charlotte
Youths
Story On Page 4A
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uThe Voice Of The Black Community99
THE CHARLOTTE POST - Thursday, May 7, 1987 Price: 50$
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Dr. Lowery
SCLC National
Conference In
Charlotte
The SCLC (Southern Christian
Leadership Conference) State
Convention will be held in Char
lotte, Friday and Saturday, May
a 15-16, at the Radieeon Plaza Ho
tel-Charlotte, 2 NCNB Plaza.
Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, SCLC
/ National President, will be
present for much of the confer-'
■nee. He will hold a press confer
ence on Friday at 9 a.m. and par
ticipate in a "People to People
Tour" of tiie poverty areas in
Charlotte, beginning at 10 a.m.
Also scheduled for the first day
of the conference is a lunch with
the poor at a feeding shelter} a
ft»r People’s Crusade Hearing to
be held at Mt. Sinai Baptist
is Church; dinner with Dr. Lowitftr
\and a mass meeting, featuring
Dr. Lowery as speaker, at Uni
versity Park Baptist Church.
Friday's events will culminate
with SCLC Night at the Excelsior
Club on Beatties Ford Rd.
On Saturday, the convention
fwill continue at 9:30 a.m. with
Chapter Concerns. Areas to be
discussed include: chapter devel
opment, membership, the Poor
People's Crusade; and the Na
tional Convention.
Greenville Area
Public Meeting
A public meeting hae bean
scheduled by the City Engineering
Department at 7:80 p.m., Tuesday,
May 19, in the Oreenville Center
Gym, 1830 Spring Street, to die
cues the potential construction of a
new City facility in the Greenville
area for the relocation of several
City Divisions of the General Ser
vices, Transportation and Engi
neering Departments.
Development will require ap
proximately eight acres and is be
ing considered for undeveloped
property On Spratt Street.
The purpose of this meeting is
to discuss issues surrounding po
tential development of property
an Spratt 8tr*et and to solicit pub
lic input. A potential development
plan will be presented for discus
don.
Citizens interested in obtaining
further information about the pro
ject should contact Disk Williams,
City of Charlotte Engineering De
partment, 801 & McDowell Street,
8uite 400, Charlotte, NC 29204.
Hie department's phone number
is 888-2291.
| wumtbewpk
PAOI •
EDITORIALS 2A
LIFESTYLES 8A
CHURCH NEWS 13A
ENTERTAINMENT IB
SPORTS 7B
CLASSIFIEDS 14B
Domestic Violence Wrecks
* . . '* ■' ‘lip*
Thousands Of Homes
By Jaiyne strong
Post Managing Editor
The family ie considered to be
the "peacefill" unit on which our
society is bassd. Most people think
of their family members as being
loving and.caring. Yet there are
quite often differences between
what is idsal for a family and
what may occur in reality. Domes
tic Violence, spouse abuse and bat
tering, occur in thousands of
homes.
In Charlotte, between July 1984
and June of 1986, the Police De
partment investigated 2,380 of
fenses in which the offender was a
spouse, ex-spouse or other family
member.
In 1986, Charlotte's Shelter for
Battered Women served a total of
249 resident women, 296 resident
children, and 494 nonresidents.
Also in 1986, according to the
District Attorney, during an aver
age week in Courtroom 12B,
where criminal domestic cases are
heard, 225 cases were scheduled,
60 of which were assaults on fe
males.
Most victims of domestic vio
lence are women.
And there is no "typical woman"
who is • victim of domestic vio
lence. Catherine Reid who has
fcfen .volunteer working at Char
lotto's Shelter for Battered Women
since 197®k aeys, "It can happen to
any woman. It happens in all rac
es, all socioeconomic groups. It is
an across the board problem." Last
year, Reid adds, the 8helter served
1,000 women and children.
About four years ago, Fannie
Brown was one of the women
, who sought shelter from a violent
home. She had been a victim of
domestic violence for 13 years.
"The abuse commenced two
weeks into my marriage, lasting
two years after the marriage end
ed," Brown tells.
from ner nut band of 13 y*ars,
Brown took "ftill-fledged" beat
ings, precipitated by minor disa
greements they ha<L 8he recall* 10
such incidences occurring in the
first year of their marriage. “An
average of one per month,* she
says. “And, slapping or hitting at
any given point.*
Under such circumstances why
did Brown remain with her hus
band? “I thought if he knew that I
loved him, that he had someone he
could count on, things would
change," she confesses.
Reid maintains this is a com
mon thought shared by the wom
en she's seen at the Shelter. But
she warns, “Domestic violence is
an escalating crime. Early in rela
To be abused by a spouse...or to witness such abuse, carries with it a parti
cular agony. Victims wrestle with feelings of fear, loyalty, love, guilt and.
shame. Anyone who lives in a violent home experiences an essential loss.
The one place on earth where they should feel safe and secure has become
instead a place of danger.
tionahips: habits; She utter, he*
apologizes and aaya it will never
happen again. But, though it may
•tart with a slap, the violence be
comes more severe."
Such was the case for Brown, as
the beatings she was subjected to
by her husband became
"progressively worse."
The beatings increased in fre
quency and severity and, in rela
tion, Brown's emotional well
being deteriorated. She remem
bers, "I felt like I was about as
worthless as a twig. I had no self
concept." Brown was a profession
al working woman, she had been a
teacher for two years prior to get
ting married. "However, after
years of constant abuse" being told
that you're stupid and unattrac
tive, even the strongest person
breaks," she explains.
"I stayed in the marriage be
cause I thought, "Where can I go?"
'I can't do anything.' I had never
cashed my own check. My hus
band always did. The one time I
did go ahead and cash my own
check, he almost killed me," says
Brown.
This is an example of the type of -
control tactics that keep women in
abusive home situations. The ty
rannical behavior of the husband
results in a feeling of helplessness
on the part of the wife. And, as
pf Reid describes"it, the woman kfy
velops a certain fear that keeps
them from acting.
"In my opinion," claims Reid,
"fear of the unknown is the pri
mary motivation for women stay
ing in violent homes. They ask
themselves, 'How can I raise my
children alone?' 'How can I sup
port myself?' However bad their
situation may be they feel at least
they know what to expect. For
some women it’s more frightening
to face the unknown than to face
their husband's wrath."
Other factors also contribute to
a woman feeling "trapped" in an
abusive situation. There are the
feelings of embarrassment and
failure on the part of the woman.
Explains Reid, "Domestic violence
is not the kind of thing people
want to put up front. Most women
look to their spouses for support
and when it turns out not to be that
way, they feel they have failed."
There is also society's pressure
on the woman to "keep the marri
age together." Brown felt this pres
sure. She says it was a common
idea among women that "having
any type of man around was bet
ter than having no man around."
But for Brown eventually the
beatings became "unbearable" un
til she was ready to kill her hus
band, while he slept."
Fannie Brown
"I awoke one night, picked up a
.38, pointed it at him, squeezed the
trigger, but just couldn't do it. I
knew then I had to leave," Brown
relates.
She took her three children and
went to the Shelter for Battered
Women. There Brown received
advice and counseling as did her
two daughters who were ages
eight and 10 at the time. Her son
was only two. Eventually the Shel
ter helped Brown secure a deposit
for an apartment. For two years
after she had left her husband he
continued to harass and threaten
her but Brown persevered.
Today, Brown, age 40, has been
out of her abusive marriage for
four years. She says, “To borrow
Jesse Jackson's phrase, I've dis
covered 'I am somebody.' I have a
good position with the Charlotte
Mecklenburg School System. I'm
completing my master's degree.
I'm learning to manage and sur
vive for my family.
"Abused women do not feel they
have survival techniques," admits
Brown. But she has learned differ
ently. And she does not hesitate to
expose her hurtful experience if it
means other women in similar sit
uations will be helped.
Last year, Brown took the initia
tive to contact Jane Harper of the
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Domestic
Violence Task Force and she
obliged, at Harper's request, to tes
tify at a Task Force hearing on Do
mestic Violence. She has also ap
peared on WSOC's week-long
news series ort Domestic Violence.
She has" since been working with
the Citizen's Committee appointed
by the Domestic Violence Task
Force.
Brown 8 husband now lives and
works in another state. He has,
however, expressed to her his out
rage over her going public with
their story. But Brown takes what
ever protective steps she can and
goes on.
"It's frightening," she admits.
"But I feel good (telling her story)
because I want women in similar
situations to know they can come
out and survive. It's hard and it's
rough. But so is staying in the situ
ation."
Brown's primary message is"
"These things don't get better un
less you stop and get treatment for
what's wrong."
To that, Reid agrees. At the Shel
ter, she has seen all degrees of
abuse ranging from slaps to mur
der.
"In a very short time frame last
year, about a month's time," tells
Reid, "there were three murders
resulting from domestic violence:
Two men killed their spouses and
one woman killed her spouse."
Reid concludes Domestic Vio
lence "can be very dangerous."
Next week: What help is availa
ble for victims and perpetrators of
Domestic Violence in Charlotte
Domestic Violence Conference
Held In Raleigh May 27-29
Professionals and volunteers
who assist victims of domestic vio
lence serose the state are encour
aged to attend a conference on do
mestic violence at Peace College in
Raleigh, May 27-29.
’ Featured leakers will include
Sister Elaine Roulet, known An
ker ministry to women In prison;
Rep. Margaret Kasaee Forrester
of Oreensbero; Beth Richie, oo
chair of the Women of Color Task
Force of the National Coalition
Against Domestic Violence; and
Catherine A. Jour dan, a clinical
counselor with the Stress Manage
ment and Counseling Center in
Winston-Salem.
Participants will attend work
shops covering topics such as
grant writing, rural program
needs, legal issues, education in
the schools end in the community,
child sexual abuse and many oth
ers.
The fee for conference regie tra
Won is $30, covering workshops,
materials and breaks. For those
who register by may 15, the fee
will be $35.
For information and registra
tion, contact Julia Reeves, direc
tor, N.C. Domestic Violence Pro
ject, 528 N. Wilmington St., Ra
leigh, NC 27804, or call 919-733
2465.
The conference is being spon
sored by the Governor's Task
Fores on Domestic Violence and
the N. C. Council on the Status of
Women in cooperation with about
16 other agencies.
"Each month, programs and
shelters across this state are easing
an average of a 1,000 women who
are victims at domestic violence
and are seeking help far the first
time," said Anna Mills Wagoner of
Salisbury, chairman of the Gov
ernor's Task Fores on Domestic
Violence. 1
Senate Bill To Fund Crittenton Home
naieign - a«n. Harold Wash
ington, D-Lenoir, has introduced
Senate Bill 523 for the appropria
tion of $2 million for Charlotte's
Florence Crittenton Home, which
serves unwed mothers, to be used
in'the construction of a new facili
I-i*y
8«n. Rlohardaon
Mecklenburg
County co
sponsors of the
bill include Sen.
James D.
McDuffie and
Sen. James F.
Richardson.
Florence
Crittenton Ser
vices is a pri
vate, nonprofit
United Way agency where resi
dential and non-residential pro
grams are offered to young wom
en experiencing problems with
single pregnancy, single parent
ing, and releasing a child for adop
tion. Previously housed near
Charlotte Memorial Hospital facil
ities, the heme is now using tem
porary accommodations until a
new home can be constructed.
Charlotte Memorial's need to
expand its facilities made it neces
sary for the Crittenton Home to be
moved.
Citing the fact that North Caro
lina has no state supported beds
available for unwed mothers or
their babies, Sen. Hardison said
the home was "too valuable a ser
vice to North Carolina for it not to
be funded."
Considering the alarming in
crease in the number of teenage
pregnancies," Hardison said, "this
is the most compassionate and ec
onomic service the state can ren
der.”
Florence Crittenton Services is
the largest comprehensive resi
dential problem pregnancy pro
gram in the US. Funded through
private grants, donations, and Ms
dicaid or AFDC monies, the $2
million capital funding is the first
money the home has requested
from the state.
C. W. Williams Health Center
Offers Free Checkups
The C. W. Williams Health Cen
ter, located at 3333 Wilkinson
Blvd., will offer free cholesterol
and blood pressure checkups
throughout May to residents of
Mecklenburg County. The medi
cal staff is offering these services
to increase awareness about Car
viovaseular Risk Factors.
Staff doctors will provide
screening on heart attack risk fac
tors and also give free in trod uc
tiona to the Center's Smoke Cessa
tion Program.
Those interested in obtaining
these services should call 704-393
7720 to schedule an appointment.
Hours are 8:30 -6:30 Mondays and
Fridays, 10 t 5:30 Wednesdays,
and 8:80 • 8:30 Tuesdays and
Thursdays.
Please contact Doris Stith if you
have questions or need additional
information, 393-7720.
I ,t -