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Volume 12. Number SO | ^ THE CHARLOTTE POST ■ Thursday, May 14. 1987 Price. 50c
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McKey's Controversial M T l Llfestyles/7A
... .I ■ ■ II.. I .. I I
Critique Of Black Male Images story page 4A
______
Joseph E. Lowery
SCLC North Carolina
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Focuses On Poverty
Actions will speak louder than
words as the North Carolina divi
sion of Southern Christian Leader
ship Conference begins its state
convention in Charlotte in protest
of poverty on Friday, May 15, and
Saturday, May 16.
Internationally known civil
rights leader and national SCLC
President Dr. Joseph Lowery, will
join forces with local leaders; Rev.
Rudolph Seth, SCLC state presi
dent; James Palmer, who former
iy nein inai po
sition; Black
Elected Munici
pal Officials
Chairman Lar
ry Wombls; la
bor loader,
James Andrew;
public housing
spokesman,
Daisy Alexan
Seth aer> dentist/
activist Dr. Re
ginald Hawkins and others to put
the elimination of poverty on the
state agenda in North Carolina.
The action officially begins with
breakfast the morning of the 16th.
Convention participant* will hear
from senior citizens at Charlotte's
Belvedere Hornet. At ten that
morning, Lowery end 8CLC state
leaders will hold a press confer
ence at Earle Village, a predomi
nantly black housing project. Dr.
Lowery believes poverty has been
put on the back burner of the na
tion's agenda for too long. Ha says
under the Reagan administration
somaona has turned off the fire.
To dramatise the plight of the
poor...the SCLC has started hold
imr M MHas rJt Viaorlnora as navi
its crusade Against Poverty. The
fourth hearing in this series takes
place in Charlotte Friday after
noon.
But Dr. Lowery is doing more
than holding hearings to talk
about poverty. He and other staff
members are spending time in the
homes of the poor. In Prince
George County, Virginia last week
he spent the night with a family of
10 living in a two-room shack. The
night of May 14 he and other
SCLC leaders will do the same
thing in Charlotte. At least five
members of the SCLC national
staff will spend the night in one of
the city's poorest houses or shel
ters.
Friday, North Carolina state
leaders will give Lowery and staff
a tour of some of the poorer areas
in Charlotte, such as the Piedmont
Court housing project. For lunch
the Atlanta group and their hosts
will share food with those in the
soup line of St. Peter's Episcopal
Church.
ine actual l oor People • Cru
sade Against Poverty hearing
starts at two Friday afternoon at
the Greater Mount Sinai Baptist
Church in Charlotte. It's then rep
resentatives from other parts of
the state such as Vance/Warren
County SCLC leader Dollie Bur
well; Pitt County SCLC activist
Ben Roundtree; Charlotte relig
ious leader, Rev. J. T. White and
Dr. Jared M. Schwarts will join
some of the others already me
tloned to testify against poverty.
8imilar hearings have taken
place already in Atlanta, Kansas
City, and Prince George County,
Virginia. At least 11 more are
scheduled around the country.
During the testimonies partici
pants will explain how poverty
has caused extffeme pain and suf
fering in the areas of health, wel
ters, housing and they'll also dis
cuss ways to combat homeless
nsas.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
founding president of SCLC, died
while trying to organise a Poor
People's Campaign in IMS. Dr.
Lowery says the plight of the poor
is so bad that something must be
done to make the country notice
and 8CLC leaders have taken ac
tion against the problem.
While cftisetis and dvte leaders
learn abort the conditions of pov
8ee SCLC On Page 4A
Special To The Post
Edited By Russell Clark
By the year 2000, it is estimat
ed that 70 percent of all Black
men will be in jail, on drugs or in
the throes of alcoholism," states
an explosive article that came to
the attention of The Post from the
African Scientific Institute of
Oakland, CA. Though we have
received many disturbing arti
cles regarding the plight of Black
Americans, this study was espe
cially unsettling. This article,
which originated from the New
York Times, discussed how more
blacks are slipping into poverty
while the black male is being de
stroyed. With data to back up his
position, the author of this report
caused the African Scientific In
stitute to cry out- "Unless we
change in America, every urban
area will witness SOWETO IN
AMERICA".
Black American Men are be
yond the crisis stage of existence
in the United States. These men
have stepped beyond the critical
indexes which indicate genocidal
conspiracy by various elements
in the most "free" country in the
world. Black American men
represents a time bomb, which is
ticking the article continues. All
concerned Americans should de
clare a state of emergency.
fhft elements causing
tragedy among Black American
Men are accidental or by design
is debatable by some, but the re
sulting condition could not have
been designed better by those
wishing to destroy Black Ameri
cans (both men and women).
Some misconceptions which have
contributed to the horifying plight
of Black Americans include A)
Black Americans' primarily
Christian religion states that peo
ple of African descent have been
cursed by God. Black people pri
Concerned Black Men Respond To Unsettling Article. See more reactions on page 4A.
t—
Jimmy Clinton
Mecklenburg County Felony Investigator
I see a lot of good-looking healthy young men go
ing in a cycle of crime and drug abuse everyday.
We must learn to work for ourselves and change
our value sytem because discrimination is shift
uig from racial to economical.
Carl McLean i
WSQC-TV News Photographer
For no other reason, we as black men shouldn't
have to wait Cor a report like this to come out before
we start teaching our youth how to achieve. There
is definitely a need for more news personalities
in the local media because we are role models and
onr kids need someone to look up to.
uiumy worsnip images oi white
people portraying to be Christ and
those of "great Christians."
B) Quest for education is a dis
atlbwr. • Public schools seem to be
silting cein-ets, itil young
people are too old to stay. How
else can we explain such deplora
ble literacy rates at various
school grade levels among black
youth? What few black youth are
doing excellent in schools, the
majority are performed by the
young black females. Just look at
the youth graduating from uni
versities and colleges— you will
find the same ratio. If females
are getting the low paying jobs,
and the minority of the middle
paying jobs are also going to the
Black young temale, what s left
for the Black male youth?
To help turn the tide of Black
Americana' impending tragedy,
the African Scientific Institute
recommends the-following
Solutions
Every leader and those who be
lieve they are leaders of Black
Americans should declare a state
of emergency. All possible sourc
es of remedies should be tapped
and thrown into a pool of solu
tions. As many elements of the
problems facing Black Ameri
cans must clearly be identified,
then these elements must be prio
ritized for solutions. Black peo
ple have only so many resources.
Such precious resources must be
used wisely until they are
stretched almost to their limits,
then the remaining problems are
to go unsolved until additional ,
resources are identified and be i
come a- ail able to 6'jive vT|
remaining problems.
Positive Role'Model
Private and electronic media
need to do a better job of balancing
negative portrayals of Black peo
ple with positive role models.
Though some people commit atro
cious acts, 90 percent perform
good deeds. The African Scien
tific Institute is assisting in this
area by producing its Blacks In
Science Calendar ’. Everyday a
See Black Men On Page IA
Riddick To Speak At JCSU Commencement
It* late spring and for some stu
dents that means prom time and
exams. But for other students it
signals an end to college life. For
93 seniors at Johnson C. Smith
University, this is that time.
Graduation exercises will be
held May 17, 1987 May 2 p.m., in
Ovens Auditorium.
Dr. Robert L. Albright, president
of JCSU, will preside over this
year's exercises. In addition to the
formal degrees which will be pre
sented that day, three honorary
degrees will also be presented.
The Baccalaureate speaker this
120th year observance will be
Rev. Dr. Leon Riddick, pastor of
Mt. Carmel Baptist Church. Rev.
Riddick has served as pastor of
the historic church since 1965.
He also serves or has served as
Chairman of the Charlotte
Mecklenburg Community Rela
tions Committee, President of the
Biddleville Housing Corporation,
The Mecklenburg General Asso
ciation and Crisis Assistance Mini
stry.
In addition to his community
work, Dr. Riddick has been recog
nized for his outstanding leader
ship and ministry. Perhaps one of
his greatest rewards is seeing the
development of a school and nu
tritional center in Haiti.
' ''
Dr. Leon Riddick
McDonald's Hotel Groundbreaking
Charlotte restauranteur John
McDonald had a Divine vision
more than 10 years ago telling
him to build a hotel and restaurant
complex at the intersection ffTn
terstate 85 and Beatties Ford Rd.
Six years ago he realised part of
that vision when he opened the
now-popular McDonald's Cafete
ria.
<Jonn McDo
nald will realize
the other half
of that vieion at
11 o'clock on
Monday morn
ing, May 18,
when Charlotte
Mayor Harvey
Gantt and a
hoet of other
I _w louainoee, com
McDonald n,unity and po
litical laadara converge on the roar
parking lot at McDonald a Cafete
ria for groundbreaking ceremo
niee to atert eonetruction of hia
Beet Waetern McDonald’* Inn.
Conatruction of the 106-room,
mld-riee hotel ie scheduled for
completion in February, 1968. The
63 million McDonald'e Inn will op
erate aa a franchise of the national
Best Western Hotel chain and un
der the management of the Max
im Management Corporation of
r w
Artist's Rendition Of Hie New Best Western McDonald's Inn
To Be Built Behind The McDonald e Cafeteria
Charlotte, which alao manages
several other hotel properties
across the country.
"We have talked about this pro
ject for a long time," says McDo
nald, "and now I am glad that the
planning and talking ara now all
ovar and wa can gat on with tha
actual building.'*
Tha hotal ax pacta to hira about
28 ftill-tima paraona and yiald an
aatimatad 10 othar Joba for tha caf
•taria, which will adjoin tha hotel.
Tha groundbraaking caramo- ,
niaa ara opan to tha public. For i m
mora information about tha hotel, I
call Barry Harpar, praaidant, Max
im Managamont, at TOt-m-OWT- vj
I 1