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^l)t Cjjarlotte
The Voice Of The Block Community”
Thursday, May 12, 1988
Price: 50 Cents
Black Caucus Splinters,
New Black PACs Emerge
Black Citizens Agenda, Ministers Conference No. 2: PACs Formed This Month
By HERB WHITE
Post Staff Writer
Mecklenburg County's roster
of political action committees
grew last week with the forma
tion of two black-controlled
PACs.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Ministerial Conference No. 2
and the Black Citizens Agenda,
which have endorsed county
commissioner Bob Walton in
his reelection bid against chal
lenger Naslf Majeed, filed with
the Mecklenburg Board of Elec
tions as political action com
mittees.
According to state law, any or
ganization trying to affect the
outcome of a political race by
raising or spending money is
subject to filing as a PAC. Com
mittees or organizations that
don't transfer funds but uses
other methods, such as distrib
uting Information are liable as
well.
Bill Culp, the elections super
visor, said the organizations
filed as protests mounted over
the activities of some organiza
tions.
"This has been precipitated by
a series of complaints," he said.
"We don't go around trying to
make people file unless we get
complaints."
Majeed supporters have
charged that the Black Citizens
Agenda Is a splinter gi'oup of
Walton followers v'ho bolted the
Black Political Caucus, another
PAC, after It endorsed Majeed in
the Democratic primary.
The BCA endorsed Its own
slate of candidates. Including
Walton, In the primary election
and handed out flyers at some
polls.
Walton said In an Interview
Tuesday he has no knowledge of
the organization and blasted
Majeed for tiylng to link him to
It.
"If there were some citizens
passing out papers. Mr. Majeed
should have some type of docu
mentation." he said.
Walton said he has no Idea
Mm
ml
Jesse Jaekson
Record 15,000 Cheer
Jackson At N.C. A&T
'CALVIN FERGUSON
Special To The Post
By Richard E. Moore
GREENSBORO, N.C. - By die
time the Rev. Jesse Jackson
stepped briskly onto the stage
in the huge Greensboro Coli
seum last Sunday morning the
audience of 15,000 was ready
for him.
They cheered him upon his
entrance, and punctuated his
20-minute talk with constant
clapping as he lambasted hls
political opponents or anyone
else who would tend to keep
blacks down.
By the time he gave his famil
iar "thumbs up" sign, the 900
graduates, parents and friends
were standing and cheering
with unrestrained enthusiasm.
That was the scene at A&T
State University's 97th annual
commencement, and Jackson
was at his oratorical best.
"When I'm running for Presi
dent," he said, "I'm Just acting
out my lessons." That was a ref
erence to what Jackson said he
learned more than 20 years ago
as a student at A&T. He said his
candidacy should be an inspi
ration to other blacks to enter
the political process at the
highest levels.
"It's not enough to say 'run,
Jesse, run,"'he said. "Ificanrun
for President, surely you can
run for governor. If I can run for
President, surely you can run
for senator. If 1 can run for
President, surely you can run
for attorney general."
Jackson added that by his
candidacy, he is "taking the lid
off dreams. There are no more
See JACKSON on page 2A
Rev. James Palmer
...President of Ministers' PAC
who the members of BCA are but
supports their right to support
the candidates of their choice.
"I can't tell you that I know the
people who are responsible (for
handing out endorsements)," he
said. "I don't have any affilia
tions with that group...I assume
that there will be some account
ability."
In papers filed May 3, Clara
Williams, secretaiy of BCA, filed
organizational papers with the
elections board establishing the
organization as a political com
mittee.
'J'he written purpose of the
committee, the report stated, is
to "support black candidates in
elections."
"I was really quite concerned
that candidates were not being
endorsed," Williams said during
a brief interview Tuesday. She
declined to discuss the PAC fur
ther, ciUng the threat of a thun
derstorm that made it difficult
for her to go on.
"I'd love to talk to you, but 1
don't like to talk during a
storm," she said. "Let me have
your number and I'll call you to
morrow."
The call was not returned.
The Rev. James Palmer, pastor
Gantt Gives
Challenge
To Grads
ORANGEBURG. S.C. (AP) —
Former Charlotte Mayor Harvey
Gantt last Sunday told about 700
South Carolina State College
graduates that he had very high
expectations for them because of
their alma mater.
"The name. South Carolina
State College, is revered because
much of the leadership cadre for
black South
Carolina
came from
this univer
sity," Gantt
said.
"You young
men and
women who
graduate to
day then Join
a line of spe
cial citizens,"
he said. "1 Gantt
hope your new status as State
graduates will generate pride for
you."
Gantt, who was the first black
to enroll at Clemson University,
said he saw in the graduates a vi
tal force ready to bring fresh ide
as to old problems.
"I see an educated gentiy that
can challenge age-old concepts,"
he said.
Gantt explained that though
many blacks are on the rise in
society, they are living in the
worst of times as well as the
best.
'There's a fire burning out of
control across America," he
said. People are becoming mired
in liopelessness. This is the sec
ond America, and unfortunately
it is proportionally black."
Following Gantt's speech, the
college confened honorary de
grees on Lt. Gen. Henry Doctor
Jr., Ruby Forsyth, U.S. Sen. Ern
est F. Holllngs, and M. Maceo
Nance Jr.
Sammy Davis Jr. and U.S. Sen.
Strom Thurmond were absent
from the commencement and
will receive honorary degrees
later.
Despite student protest during
the past two weeks about the
granting of honorary degrees to
Thurmond and Hollings, things
went smoothly Sunday during
commencement exercises as
Hollings received a Doctor of
Laws. Protesting students had
been expected to walk out of
Dawson Bulldog Stadium, but all
remained seated.
of University Park Baptist
Church, filed a report May 5 as
president of the ministerial con
ference and listed Wilch Cald
well of Faith Memorial Baptist
Church as treasurer.
Neither were available for
comment before press time.
Culp said there have been oth
er black-oriented PACs before,
notably the Black United Forum
and the Black Political Caucus.
BUF Is on file with the state
elections board in Raleigh as a
political committee, Culp said,
but the Black Political Caucus is
delinquent In filing with Meck
lenburg.
"They came down (May 2) to
pick up papers, but they didn't
file," he said.
As a result, the elections board
will report the committee to the
state for failing to file as a polit
ical committee, which can cany
a fine of up to $100.
Bob Davis, president of the
caucus, said the organization
may not fall under the guide
lines for PACs and will wait for
a ruling from the elections
board.
"We're not sure we're a PAC," he
said. 'We don't sponsor candi
dates, we Just endorse them. We
need a ruling from Bill Culp to
decide whether we are a PAC and
then we'll vote on whether we
want to go that route."
Nasif MBijnrd makes a point during last irr rlr'n prr iw
Candidates Trade Barbs
By HERB WHITE
Post Staff Writer
If this week's comments by
District 2 county commission
candidates Bob Walton and Nas-
if Majeed are an indication of
how the campaign will turn,
break out the foxholes and head
for shelter.
With less than three weeks to
go before tire May 31 runoff elec
tion, the campaign fires got a
couple of logs heaped on as Wal
ton and Majeed traded barbs.
Majeed ojx;ned with a scathing
attack of Walton's performance
-iiA ; ii.'.rv.l'i n, ‘.i'CiKk.y pi fss
conference, calling ihc lO-yeai
incumbent "morally bankrupt."
"Bob let me tell you one thing,"
Majeed said. "With almighty
God's help, I would rather be per
sonally bankrupt any day than
morally bankrupt as you arc."
Walton said he wouldn't re
spond to Majeed's statements In
a Tuesday interview, but retali
ated by saying the challenger is
being led by advisors who are us
ing "underhanded tactics" and
misinformation to oust him
from office.
In offering his harshest criti
cism of Walton to date, Majeed
said he had used a lot of disci
pline to stay away from nr-;' \Uw
caropaigumg before the M.il 3
primary. He said it would've
been easy enough to blast Wal
ton then, but he preferred to
stick to the high ground.
"If I were not concerned with
the long range well-being of the
citizens of Mecklenburg County,
I could have made many truthful
statements about my opponent
that could have personally sat
isfied me but it is out of my char
acter to make even those state
ments," Majeed said. "1 wanted
to win, hut not at that price."
The charges didn't stop there.
Majeed lit into Walton for alleg
edly endorsing county district
representation but going for a
"safe .seat" in District 2 seat in
stead oi P inning at-!argi,,
"Was Hob looking oul, for '.he
See WALTON on page 2A
Black Firms Face Restructuring
Mtrw VrUJK- T-U r, . . . .
NEW YORK (AP) — The na-
: tion's largest black-owned com
panies are restructuring to face
competition and an uncertain
economy, according to a new
survey released Monday by
Black Enterprise magazine.
The magazine's latest annua]
survey of the top 100 black in-
■ dustrial and service companies
shows that, like many U.S. com
panies in general, leading black
businesses are exploring new ap
proaches In order to be competi
tive.
Many black companies have
; grown recently through mergers
and acquisitions. Joint ven
tures, new technology and mar-
; keting approaches, and branch
ing out into new industries, said
the survey In the magazine's
June Issue.
' Taken together, the top 100
companies ranked in the survey
. had gross revenues of $4.1 bil-
I lion in 1987. All but one of them
' are privately owned.
The competition was fierce
. enough last year to force into
! bankruptcy three companies
formerly on the list: United
Chem-Con, an electronics man-
I ufacturer and defense contrac-
: tor: hair-care products maker
American Beauty Products: and
, oil products distributor J.R. Son
' Inc.
The survey points to black-
owned computer and informa
tion services companies, con
struction firms, hair-care prod
ucts makers and car dealerships
as especially successful catego
ries.
The biggest and fastest-growing
black company is TLC Beatrice
International Holdings Inc., a
food manufacturer and distribu
tor formed from the $985 mil
lion leveraged buyout of Beatrice
International. In a leveraged
buyout, the acquirer finances
the purchase of the target com
pany with sales of its assets or
the cash flow of the target com
pany.
New York-based TLC Beatrice,
headed by Wall Street attorney
Reginald F. Lewis, was the first
black company to make more
than $1 billion in annual sales
and reported revenue of $1.8 bil
lion in 1987. The company's 61
businesses include Butterball'
turkeys and Good Humor Ice
cream.
The buyout of Beatrice "places
Lewis on the cutting edge of cor
porate finance and gives him ac-l
cess to Europe, Latin America^
and Asia, three of the world's
fastest-growing markets," the
Black Enterprise survey says.
Other black entrepreneurs - — :
such as Gaiy L. White of lYans
Jones Inc.-Jones Transfer Co.
and C. Everett Wallace of City &.
Suburban Distributors Inc. --
have used leveraged buyouts to;
propel their companies into the
top 100.
The second-ranked company!
See BLACK FIRMS on page 3A
Nation’s Top Black Firms
NEW YORK (AP) — Here are 25
of tlie too largest black-owned
companies in Uie United States,
based on 1987 revenue, as com-
I'iled by Black Enterprise maga
zine.
To qualify for the list, a com
pany must have been fully oper
ational in 1987 and must be at
least 51 percent black-owned. It
must manufacture or own the
product it sells or provide indus
trial or consumer services.
AU but one of the companies —
Joimson FYoducts Co. Inc. — are
Inside This Week
Editorials Pg. 6A
Is the power of the black
church being usmped?
Lifestyles Pg. 8 A
Church News Pg. 9A
Albert Outing Will Give
Trial Sermon at Second
Calvary Baptist
Entertainment....Pg. 1B
Jahruba Allsbrook
to host TROPICAL BEAT
on WFAE 2B
Sports Pg. 8B
The life of Jackie Robinson
goes on tour. The exhibit's
now in Atlanta
Classifieds Pg. 14B
Subscribe to the Charlotte Post, call 376-0496.
Salute To Local Grads
Don't Miss It!
Next Week In
The Charlotte Post
privately owned.
The list includes the company.
Us headquarters city, line of^
business and 1987 revenues:
1. 'ILC Beatrice International!
Holdings Inc., New York, pro
cessing and distribution of food
products, $1.8 billion.
2. Johnson Ikiblishing Co. Inc.,.
Chicago, publishing, broadcast-
ing, cosmetics and hair-carej
products, $201.6 million. j
3. Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bot-
See NATION'S on page 3A.
Urban League
Mobilization
Town Meeting
There have been four town
meetings scheduled geographi
cally around the city, as a result
of the Urban League's Education
Initiative Task Force Report.
These town meetings will he
coordinated by Ron Leeper.
They ar^ designed to get the
black community involved in
the education of black youth.
The ne.xt meeting is scheduled
for Thursday, May 12th, at Anti
och Baptist Church, 232 Sky-
land Avenue, 7:00 p.m.
For additional information
contact Ron Leeper at 525-
7926.