Bp. TTE
The Voice Of The Black Community"
F ff11”18 13> NUmber 9 THE CHARLOTTE POST - Thursday, July 30, 1987 Price: 50 Cents
A Hero's Tribute
Navy Ship Named In Honor Of
Black Marine
The Advantage of Specialty Placement
Buainesa'Page 4A
Bob Moore Explains New Job Change
Sporta'ftige 7B
* t
3 lack Political Candidates
By Jalyne Strong
Poet Managing Editor
the August 7 deadline for
te filing for Charlotte lo
tions drawing closed-eeri^
litical contenders have
parated from the not-so
s and rumors concerning
'll run for what are dying
1987 fall elections in Char
are expected to be exciting for
j community with sever
k citizens running for of
a few running against each
for Pistrict seats tradition
id by blacks; black candi
campaigning to get a good
of both black and white
and two black Republicans
ng office.
few Charlotte blacks on the
paign trail this year include
honorable Mayor Harvey
who is seeking a third term
ffice; City Councilman Ron
A',*
*> J- ‘I
•: I
trict 2 council seat in 1977 and has
been an incumbent since that
time.
Robert "Bob" Davis has re
entered the political arena run
, ning for the city council District 1
seat. Davis had previously run
for city council at-large in 1984.
At that time, he led in the primar
ies but was defeated in the gener
al election. This time, Davis says
he's "assured to win provided the
members of the community come
out to vote."
"He who gets out the vote will be
the winner," states Davis. "And I
intend to do that."
But all in all, it seems the pri
mary for city council District 3
will be the most heated race with
three black candidates racing to
be the Democratic candidate for
the November elections. So far
three blacks have filed to run in
the Democratic primaries: Paul
Recard, Samuel Carr and Ella
Scarborough.
Then too, the fall election in
District 3 will have the Democrat
ic frontrunner in a contest
against Roosevelt Gardner, a
black Republican who has filed to
run in District 3.
Blade GOP Member Runs
Gardner, a registered Republi
can since 1985, is making his
first bid for elected office in this
year's city council election. In
spite of the fact that District 3 is a
cnrerwhelipiugly.. Democratic dis- .
_ -_^
* ■ . . i I
Roosevelt Gardner
trict that has elected the same
black Democratic candidate to
city council for the last five
terms, Gardner says," I'm going
to win. The time is right for Dis
trict 3 to have a different sort of
representation."
He joined the Republican Party
because, says Gardner, "for
young blacks there are better op
portunities in the Republican
Party than in the traditional
Democratic Party. Black Repub
licans is a growing group, at
tracting a lot of professionals and
business people and blacks need
to be involved in both parties.
There is a two party system. If
blacks are involved in both par
ties neither party can take their
_ _ _ * Li _
vot^for granted." Gardner has
beep a member of the Mecklen
burg Black Republican Council
for one and one half years.
He says his participation as a
Republican in the District 3 race
widens the choice of representa
tion for the people of the district.
The issues of concern Gardner
has recognized in District 3 are
the revitalization of the Wilkin
son Boulevard throughfare and
noise levels in the area associat
ed with the nearby Charlotte/
Douglas International Airport.
A native of Mt. Holly, NC,
Gardner has lived in Charlotte 13
years and has resided in the
Westerly Hills neighborhood for
ten years.
Claiming he's been involved
in "some form of politics" since
he was a teenager, Gardner, age
34, is now Republican Precinct 53
chairman and he was a delegate
to the GOP state convention in
Asheville. He says he has been
planning on becoming a Republi
can city council candidate in
District 3 for two years and Meck
lenburg GOP chairman Barbara
Boye has said Gardner has the
party's full backing.
An agent for United Insurance
Co. of America, Gardner is a vet
eran who served in the Navy dur
ing the Viet Nam War. He was
honorably discharged in 1974.
Gardner is married to Ernes
tine and they have three children.
-’ r - ,
Ella Scarborough
Until the fall election, this can
didate will be raising funds for
his campaign and awaiting the
outcome of the primaries.
Primary- Competition
Ella Scarborough, however, has
her work cut out for her now, ns
she is competing for the Demo
cratic slot in the District 3 city
council primary. Scarborough is
facing some formidable competi
tion from two other Democrat con
tenders.
Scarborough has lived in Mt.
Claire-South a neighborhood of
located within District 3 for over
eight years. About her political
involvement, she says, ''I've
done many things informally as
far as addressing issues in Dis
trict 3." She has served as chair
man of the District 3 committee, a
group that worked through Coun
cilman Ron Leeper, since 1980
and she elaborates, "This process
worked very well. Plus, I’m
pleased with the experience I
gained through it."
In seeking the city council seat
in District 3, Scarborough says
she is now ready for "more for
mul wnys of serving the people of
the district."
As for issues she's concerned
with, Scarborough says that City
Council is already working on
many important points of interest
of the district and she would see to
it that these issues continued to lie
addressed; such as, she relates,
the Wilkinson Boulevard
facelift, diminishing crime in
the area and making sure the city
staff enforces the codes of housing
to upgrade the neighborhoods."
Moreover, Scarborough claims
one important function she will
bring to the office is "staying in
touch with the people."
'The people of the district make
the issues," she contends. "And
with so many issues out there, It
will he important for me to beftW
ible, able to listen and be accessi
ble to talk with people and the
neighborhood groups. These
things are very important espe
cially in a district structure."
However, Sncrborough also
See Black Candidates on Pago 5A
.. Celebration
^- } n ■-%
Berlinda Tolbert
’4 fe 4 iau&ii v4 ' 4 jr*
When a family has a reunion,
everybody comeB home.
The Cherry Community Or
ganization Inc. considers itself a
family and this weekend the or
ganization will be celebrating its
10th anniversary.
In honor of the special occa
sion, one of Cherry's own, Ber
linda Tolbert, the actress most
noted for her role as "Jenny" in
"The Jeffersons”, will share in
the celebration.
The Cherry Community Or
ganization, Inc plans to pick up
Berlinda and her husband, Bob
Reid in a limo at the airport.
Stopping at the Park Center, the
merriment will begin. Various
booth* from local businesses will
be on display. Hors d'oeuvres
will be provided and the Naughty
Boys, a band from Gastonia will
be performing.
The highlight of this evening
will come when Berlinda Tolbert
establishes the Berlinda Tolbert
Scholarship, to be given to a de
serving student in the communi
ty each year.
After the announcement of the
Berlinda Tolbert Scholarship,
Vivian Nivens, director of the
Afro-American Cultural Center
JWalton Fights For Minority Affairs Office
be a "Massing in dieguisa."
"I fsal that soma times wo as
blacks can be complacent with tha
minimal. And I'm of tha mind
that tha larger society will not
support an agency that helps mi
norities."
Asserting that tha black com
munity needs to develop itself po
litically, Walton compared the
possibilities of the proposed Mi
nority Affairs Office to that of the
Women's Commission. "8ince
tha formation of tha Women's
Vacant School Board
Seat Up For Election
On Tuesday, July 21, the Meck
lenburg County Board of Elec
tions voted unanimously to place
the vacant School Board seat
(Harvey SadofTs) on the Novem
ber 3, 1987 ballot. This wiR be a
plurality election which means
the top vote getter will be elected to
fill the unexpired term. The term
expires in May 1988.
Candidate filing will open 12
noon, Monday, August 8 and will
close at 12 noon, Tuesday, Sep
8« ^ -
Commission, women as a group
have been able to make a large
dent into the political scenario."
Walton projects that an indepen
dent Minority Affairs Office
could be as powerful.
"We need an office that deals
with the issues in the black com
munity-economic development.
will be presented a plaque bear
ing the scholarship's name that
will be placed on display at the
center.
On Saturday, August 1 at the
block of 1500 Baxter Street, the
Cherry reunion will start up with
the famous fish fry. Rides,
games, balloons, other foods, as
well as music spun by dj Don
Cody is on the agenda. The fun
will last from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Berlinda will be on hand to meet
the community.
For more information call Cla
ra Williams at 375-2435.
ABOUT BERLINDA
Prepared and persistent, that's
Berlinda Tolbert to a "T" and "T"
stands for tenacity, the word that
describes her best.
It could also stnnd for training
because Berlinda is the kind of ac
tress who is constantly taking les
sons and coaching to improve her
craft. She feels it's all very well to
be in the right place at the right
time, but without the necessary
skills, what could have been one's
big break can become an embar
rassing pitfall.
Fortunately, Berlinda has been
in the right place at the right time
and not once has this talented ac
tress fallen on her face, or any
where else. To the contrary, her
face was seen for 10 years on the
CBS hit series, "The Jeffersons,”
on which she played Jenny Willis
Jefferson, daughter of an interra
cial marriage and wife to the Jef
ferson's son, Lionel.
In a professional acting career
spanning 15 years, Berlinda has
made guest appearances in count
less comedy and dramatic shows
on television, starred in a made for
television movie and acted on
stages from England to Broad
way.
Born in Charlotte, N.C., Berlin
da is the oldest of three children.
Her father, Sonny, was a house
painter and her mother, Cornne,
nn ardent PTA mother. Berlinda's
family continues to be very close.
Berlinda's introduction to per
forming came in elementary
school, where she enrolled in a
special speech class to help over
come a stammer. She developed
See Berlinda On Page 5A
Myers Gives Entrepreneurial Leads
A group of approximately 30
CABWE (Carolina Association
of Black Women Entrepreneurs)
members and guests were in at
tendance at the recent CABWE
meeting where Lewis H. Myers,
Assistant Secretary in the North
Carolina Department of Com
merce, was guest speaker.
Myers is responsible for opera
tions of the Small Business Divi
sion of the Department of Com
merce, the division that formu
lates policies on state programs
that support small business devel
opment.
For the CABWE meeting,
Myers spoke about several pro
grams and agencies that function
aa assistance to beginnining en
trepreneurs.
He mentioned the community
colleges' Small Business Cen
ters, stating that these centers pro
vide a wide variety of workshops
and seminars for small business
owners. In addition to this fact,
Myers also pointed out that these
business centers have established
networks with business leaders
in the community who volunteer
to advise and consult on a refer
ral basis.
Hs went on to mention the busi
ness counseling provided by the
North Carolina 8mall Business
and Technology Development
Center which is operated by the
University of North Carolina at
six locations in the state. These
centers, stated Myers, primarily
help with business management
and financial plans.
Myers also informed the audi
ence of the existence of the Invest
ment Contacts Network, a compu
At ImI week's CABWE masting, guest speaker Lewie H. Myers revealed
several sources of information available to email business ownare. Lewis
(canter) is obaarvad by CABWE member Gloria Campbell (r) and the organ
isation's President, Laura MoClettie 0).
tented program that matches en
trsprsneurs with investors. This
program was just recently begun
in Charlotte, he revealed.
In conclusion, the Commerce
Secretary told the group of several
upcoming events that should be of
interest to the business communi
ty. Specifically the Governor's
Conference on Small Business to
* r
be held September *29 in Raleigh
and the Ruver/Sunnlier Exchange