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Vietnam: Facing The War Through Films
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"The'
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✓oice Of The Block Community"
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Volume 13, Number 3B
THE CHARLOTTE POST - Thursday, January 28, 1988
Price: 50 Cents
Majeed
Wcdton
Walton-Mgjeed Race:
By Herb White
Poet StidETWrlter
The year'# beet local race la
shaping up In Mecklenburg Dis
trict 2, where Democratic county
commissioner Bob Walton and
challenger Naslf Majeed are
running for their party's nomi
nation,
It should be some race, by all
accounts.
Walton, who made hla plans
public Sunday at University
Park Baptist Church, said he
made mistakes in the past, but It
shouldn't prevent him from be
ing returned to olllce.
Walton was convicted In 1986
of assaulting an 18-year old
man He told the crowd gathered
at University Park tlrat past
Is behind him and lU* time to get
on with the business at hand.
Right now, the business Is to
get past westslde businessman
Majeed, who filed for office ear
lier this month.
The race ,1s a first for Char
lotte, wtth two strong black can
didates running for the same of
fice.
"I’m happy there's more than
one candidate," said Jesse Dent,
a political sci
entist at John
son C. Smith
University.
"The black
community, as
well as other
communities,
are more cos
mopolitan
than other
people think."
"You're get
ting a healthy
dose of plural-
Dent
ism in the
black commu
nity, said
Schley Lyons,
a political sci
entist at UNC
Charlotte. "In
the past. If you
had an Incum
bent black,
you don't getiL
any competl-1
tlon. They Lyons
battle the white community po
litically."
The contest offers a study In
contrasts: Walton is a Prcsbj^ei-
lan minister with a lo-ycar
record on (he county commis
sion against Majeed. a political
newcomer with strong business
Sk * '
They're hriictty a
Lyons said.
'You've got a strange mix of
factors," with Walton’s convic
tion and Majeed'a religion just
two of several variables that
could decide the race. The candi
dates will likely try to downplay
those differences, at least In
public.
"Both of those Issues will be
conspicuously played down, but
those two issues will be central
In the vote," Lyons said. "1 think
Walton and Majeed will try very
hard to stay away from mud-
sllnglng. They resize that the
white community will be watch
ing. They don't want to be part of
a sideshpw for them."
Walton, an adept campaigner,
may use accounts of his trial
and sentencing as a tool to gath
er support among voters who
See Mgjeed On Fsge 2A
Georgia Marchers Blast
Police, Blacks In Parade
GUMMING, Ga. (AP) —Blacks
and police were vUUfled when
130 white supremacist demon
strators — 36 clad In Ku Klux
Klan robes --- staged a
“Resurrection March" from the
high school to the courthouse.
The march was in response to a
civil rights demonstration In
the county seven days earlier, as
well as two now-famous march
es last year.
There were no Incidents during
Saturday's 2 1/2 -hour march
and rally sponsored by the For
syth County Defense League, au
thorities said.
City officials had refused to
give the league a permit to block
a street for a rally. When when
organizer Richard Barrett, a
Mississippi segregationist, told
the demonstrators to block the
street, they were forced back by a
police cordon.
Many speakers verbally at
tacked the police.
David Craig, a state Klan offi
cial, vowed: “We're* coming back
up here, Walraven, ana we'll
have that street."
He referred to Sheriff Wesley
Walraven.
At Saturday's rally, a series of
speakers, Including various
Klan leaders and avowed racist
J.B. Stoner, vllllfied blacks and
“race-mixing fanatics and race
mixing lunatics."
The demonstrators, carrying
Confederate, U.S. and KKK flags,
walked the half mile from the
Forsyth County High School,
singing “Dixie" and chanting
The Rev. Hosea Williams, an
Atlanta city councilman, has
led three
marches In
the virtually
all-white
county Just
north of At
lanta, Includ
ing last week’s
march down a
county road.
That march
was Intended
as a symbolic
completion of
last year's ,
march by about 75 people, which
See MarcheiB On Page 2A
Williams
School Changes Ui^ed
By Heih White
Post Staff Writer
The perceived weaknesses In
Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools
has spawned a grass-roots effort
throughout the community, and
the black community could ben
efit from a more active role.
Enter Don Brown.
A 40-ye£U"-old Industrial engi
neer manager at Radiator Spe
cialty and parent of two Harding
High students, Brown has turned
his concern for education Into a
olitlcal career as a school
loard candidate.
Now that the final public for
um on the pupil reassignment
E lan has been held, Brown said
lack participation was lacking,
even for meetings at West Char
lotte and West Mecklenburg.
"We're going to have to do
something to promote more
black parent participation," he
said. "I think we need to have
mini-school board meetings, es
pecially In areas where there's
low parent participation."
Brown argues that the lack of
competitive courses Is a cause of
Harding's 50 percent dropout
rate per class. Tfie state average
Is 28 percent and Mecklenburg's
Is 25.
An example Is this year's sen
ior class. There were 499 fresh
men In the 1984-85 school year.
Brown said. The class of 1988-
those freshmen four years ago-
has 218 members.
"That kind of upset me when I
found out," he said.
Although Charlotte-
Mecklenburg has been a model
of school lutegratton, Vhete
could be some fine-tuning In the
pupil assignment plan. Brown
believes the concept of mid
point schools should be looked
at as an alternative to long bus
rides In addition to a more equi
table division of the busing load.
Of the 12,000 students bused In
Mecklenburg, more than half
are black elementary children
In grades K-3. Brown advocates
that whites share more of the
burden among K-3 or shift the
priority .to busing to high school
students, Regardless of Its Ine
quities, busing is going to be
around for a while.
"Even If they put ft to a referen
dum (to eliminate busing) It
wouldn't pass," Brown said. "A
majority of Charlotteans have
gone through this for years and
Uiey know it's not perfect but It
has to be done."
Brown Is concerned about the
quality of education, especially
at Harding, a school with about
850 students and is 56 percent
black, the highest ratio In the
county.
The center of concern la Hard
ing's course offerings, which
Brown says Is not as challenging
as the bigger schools.
On the strength of courses of
fered by each high school, Hard
ing has 46 courses that aren't of
fered at East Mecklenburg, the
largest school In the system.
East has 52 courses that aren't
offered at Harding.
The difference Is small In
terms of numbers, but there la a
wide gulf when ft comes to the
types of courses offered. Brown
believes.
"I think It's been done that way
because we've been neglected. It
needs to be rectified. They have
taken vocational classes like
electrical wiring and auto me
chanics out and there's not
enough core curriculum."
The facts bear him out. Ac
cording to the Charlotte-
Mecklenburg course offerings
guide, Harding doesn't offer as
many advanced foreign lan
Haxding students walk to class.
guage or science courses as East
Mecklenburg, Harding offers
more Junior ROTC courses In
addition to several social
science electives.
'We have had a demand for
those courses (offered else
where)," Brawn said. "Our kids
want those classes also,"
Brown said the school system's
method for allocating curricu
lum and resources Is unfair in
Harding's case because it Judges
on the basis of enrollment In
grades 10-12. According to
school figures. Harding Is the
smallest high school In the sys
tem In terms ot total student en
rollment.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg
doesn't count Harding's 447
ninth-grade students In their
computation for high school
classes, which leaves non
freshmen out In the cold when It
comes to some advanced classes.
'That's a misnomer." Brown
said of the system’s offerings
based on the average dally mem
bership In each class, 'They
count 10th nth and 12th grad
ers, but they don't count ninth
graders, 'You're taking out about
500 students when you figure up
our average dally membership."
Brown said one way tp allevi
ate Harding's problem Is to offer
more challenging courses much
like at anotlier westslde school,
West Charlotte.
"They put the curriculum at
West Charlotte, they put the je^,
sources there a.*7d a tnagnS
school," he said. "I say they
should make Harding a tradi
tional school or have a tradi
tional arm and vocational
courses."
League’s Education Initiative
Paves The Way For Achievers
More than 26,000 parents and
students have been Involved In
the National Urban League’s Ed
ucation Initiative since Its In
ception more than a year ago.
In conjunction with the first
anniversary of the Initiative, the
Exxon Corporation has made a
$825,000 grant to the National
Urban League's Education Ini
tiative to Increase parental In
volvement In the schools and to
boost the achievement level'of
students.
The grant will allow the League
to Implement programs that will
help parents to take a greater
role In monitoring and assisting
their children with their school
work and In alleviating student
discipline problems.
The Initiative, which was offi
cially launched on September
30, 1986 Is designed to Improve
the educational achievement of
black students. It involves over
90 of the 112 NUL affiliates and
Is being assisted by such organ
izations as the National Educa
tion Association, the American
Federation of Teachers, the
Black Child Development Insti
tute, the Council of Great City
Schools, the American Associa
tion for the Advancement of
Science, the Educational Test
ing Service and The College
Board.
TTirough parental Involvement
with the Initiative, parents and
other adults Involve themselves
in such areas as homework sup
port programs, mentoring and
guidance, test taking skills de
velopment and educational poli
cy.
Some NUL affiliates have en
couraged Increased parental In
volvement by training a core
group of parents In each of the
initiative schools, who In turn
train other parents. The train
ing Involves how to work with
teachers and principals to have
an effective school and how to
assess and Improve the school's
environment.
In some cases, student perfor
mance and achievement Im
proved through the Initiative,
affiliates have begun to report
such Improvements as better
standardize test scores, in
crease In attendance and reduc
tion In suspension and expul
sion among target students.
John E. Jacob, President and
Chief Executive Officer of the
National Urban League said,
"Through the Initiative, our affil
iates have been developing pro
grams suited to the needs of
black youngsters In their com
munities, using advocacy, coali
tion building, community mobil
ization. and direct services to
parents and students.
"We believe that the black
community must play a major
role in responding to the crisis
facing our children. We want to
Impact the Institutions that are
responsible for educating our
children," said Jacob.
Jacob added: 'We are encour
aged by the support we have re
ceived from the black communi
ty and from educators,
businessmen, church groups
and other Important constituen
cies, especisJly the school su
perintendents, over 70 of whom
have formally pledged to coop
erate with local Urban Leagues
In Implementing these pro
grams."
Other support has been re
ceived from Prlmerlca Corpora
tion and Readers Dlgest.The
major aim of the Initiative Is for
each affiliate to work with com
munity groups, parents, stu
dents and the public schools in
order to facilitate corrective and
progressive action needed to
bring about education reform.
The objectives are to work to
wards positive change which
will lead to Improved achieve
ment and Increased college at
tendance.
The Initiative was developed
after the National Urban
League's Delegate Assembly was
moved to act In 1985 by the con
tinuing underachlevcment of
black students In the nation's
public schools.
Inside This Week
Mecklenburg Committee Gears Up
For Black Voter Registration
There are 37,556 unregistered
voters In Mecklenburg County:
13,200 blacks were purged from
the voter registration list as of
the last Presidential election.
The Mecklenburg Voter Regis
tration Committee has geared up
for "Super Sunday." "Every relig
ious oganizatlon will be in
volved in a massive voter regis
tration drive, Sunday, January
31st," says Tawanna Wilson-
Alien, assistant staff facilitator
for the group.
The Mecklenburg Voter Regis
tration Committee (MVRC) has
set a goal of 2,400 new regls-
trered voters for "Super Sunday"
and the committee feels Us Is a
conceivable goal If ^veryone
participates.
For more Information, contact
Barbara Moore, Rosalyn Macon
or Tawanna Wllson-Allen at
372-0675.
Mecklenburg Voter Registra
tion Commltteee Is a non
partisan committee Involved In
voter registration/ Voter Issues/
Get Out to Vote Efforts In all low-
income communities through
out Mecklenburg County.
The Gospel of economics
by Rev. P. Davis Pg. 7A
Church News
W.D. Bailey Ensemble
Celebrate Pg. 9A
Lifestyles
AACC preserves
Black History Pg. 1 lA
Sports
Johnny Edwards Rebounds
In basketball career...Pg. SB
Editorials 14B
Jackson Opens
Southern Staff
Headquarters
ATLANTA (AP) — The Rev.
Jesse Jackson's staff officially
opened his Southern presiden
tial campaign headquarters Sat
urday with a reception for about
300 people.
“The shaping of a new South
requires the forging of a new co
alition, a coaltlon of people
from all walks of life who are
dedicated to the proposition that
racial prejudice will no longer
be used to blind the people of the
South to the glaring realities of
economic violence," said Ron
Daniels, the campaign's South
ern regional director.
He said the campaign had tar
geted congressional districts
across the South where support
ers are registering voters In
preparation for the March 8
presidential primaries and cau
cuses.
He would not specify how many
districts were Involved.
Black Mayors In
Philadelphia
After spuming Charlotte, the
National Conference of Black
Mayors will meet In Philadel
phia for their 1988 convention.
A press conference scheduled
for Jan. 28 at Philadelphia City
Hall formally announced the
convention will be held there In
stead of Charlotte, the orignlnal
host city.
Charlotte lost the convention
last year when former Mayor
Harvey Gantt lost his reelectlon
bid to Republican Sue Myrick.
A.