LaFea
Leukemia Victim
Hopes For Bone
Marrow Transplant
Lifestyles/ Page IB
A Yes Vote For Road Bonds?
Editorials/ Page 6A
Eve Cornelious Debuts LP
Entertaininent/ Page 8A
Alliance
Larry Cory
First Black Joins Cleveland
County Economic Commission
Alliance/ Page 1C
®he Cljarlotte
Vol. 14, No. 19 Thursday, October 20,1988
THE AWARD-WINNING " VOICE OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY"
50 Cents
Anti-Road Bond
Forces To Merge
By HERB WHITE
Post Staff Writer
Opposition to Charlotte's $183
million bond referendum moves
ahead today with the formation
of a new group.
Franklin McCain, who will co-
chair Citizens Against the
Bonds with Marvin Smith, said
the organization will announce
its plans during a press confer
ence at Little Rock A.M.E. Zion
Church.
The bond package, the largest
in Charlotte history, consists of
about $100 million for road im
provements in the south and
east. Westslde leaders, however,
say the package neglects that
area's needs while putting the
city closer to raising taxes.
The Black Political Caucus, of
which McCain is a member, vot
ed Sunday to formally oppose
the bonds.
Despite predictions that the
bonds will pass handily, McCain
said the anti-referendum drive
can succeed.
"If 1 didn't feel it was possible, 1
wouldn't do it,” he said.
The organization plans to
raise "between $5,000 and
$6,000” to bring its anti-
referendum message to voters.
The group started primarily with
westslde residents, but now in
cludes organizations like the
Southern Christian Leadership
Conference and the Black Polit
ical Caucus, McCain said.
There's also growing support
from southeast residents who
fear a referendum now would in-
■
"’W£*W
i-
llj^
McCain: Anti-referendum drive can succeed.
crease taxes later.
The results of a poll published
in Monday's Charlotte Observer,
which reported 73 percent of
voters approved of the bonds,
doesn't bother McCain.
"If Harry Truman read polls, he
wouldn't have been president,"
he said, alluding to Tru-
man'sl948 upset win over
Thomas Dewey.
"If you were to do that survey
on the day it came out or yester
day, the results would be differ
ent."
Mayor Sue Myrlck isn't taking
See OPPOSITION On Page 2A
Photo/CALVIN FERGUSON
SHE SELLS SILK SCARVES AT CHARLOTTE'S
CITTEAIR. One of CityFalr'a black, businessper
sons is Marsha Livingston, owner of the Un-usual
pushcart where customers find wardrobe accents.
Black Business Goes Cityfair
N.C. Schools: Help Black Students
RALEIGH (AP) — North Caro
lina's 140 school districts
should improve their records on
black student achievement and
should be subject to state inter
vention if they don't.
That was just one of the state
ments coming from black lead
ers at the two-day North Caroli
na Conference for Educating
Black Children, held Friday and
Saturday in Raleigh.
The conference was an out
growth of the 1986 National
Conference for Educating Black
Children, which produced a doc
ument called "Blueprint for Ac
tion." The blueprint outlined
goals and specific actions to Im
prove education for black chil
dren, whose academic achieve
ment continues to lag behind
that of whites.
Participants said the confer
ence's main purpose was to stop
talking and start acting on the
solutions. Black leaders and ed
ucators from across the state
will work today to set priorities
and develop action plans.
"This (blueprint) was not pre
pared as a waste of paper," said
Pennle Battle, a Gates County
School Board member who mod
erated one of the panels. "We are
Just a tiny beginning, but we are
going to make a difference."
State Sen. William N. Martin,
D-Guilford, who spoke at a panel
session about setting policy, said
the 1989 legislative session
would be the year for legislation
to help black students.
Both Martin and state Rep.
Daniel T. Blue Jr., D-Wake, said
the state should require school
systems to meet specific goals in
improving the achievement of
minority children.
School systems that fall to
meet those goals. Blue said,
should be subject to some kind of
state intervention. "Now, we
really don't have any direct au
thority to say we don't think
you've performed," he said.
By M.L.LaNey
Post Staff Writer
With the opening of Charlotte's
uptown showcase, Cityfair,
there is a new look to central
city businesses.
Meanwhile, attention has been
focused on minority participa
tion lately because of all the
commercial growth that Char
lotte is undergoing.
For the black community,
there has been some consterna
tion about whether the prosperi
ty would be equitably shared.
Those questions have been an
swered in part by the black in
volvement in the realization of
Cityfair.
Jay Walton, director of Char
lotte's Community Development
Department says, "Minority
participation has exceeded city
goals. I'd have to characterize
this effort as very successful."
Quoting the city's directive
concerning minority participa
tion, it says specifically, 'The
City recognizes that the City has
a strong commitment to devel
opment of minority owned busi
nesses, both by means of an ar
ray of economic development
grant and loan programs and by
encouraging go^ faith efforts to
subcontract with ^d rent to
such businesses in projects in
volving City funds."
Presently, there are five black
owned businesses in the City-
fair. They are: Jaren's (sched
uled to open shortly). The Ice
Cream Stop, All That's Left, The
Un-usual and For Feet's Sake.
The Un-usual and For Feet's
Sake are pushcart vendors.
Dr. T.L. Foster, owner of The
Ice Cream Stop, seems delighted
at the prospects for his business
in this retail complex.
He provides insight into the
way the city has managed to
meet it's stated goals as far as
minorities are concerned.
Said Foster, "1 had been inter
ested in the ice cream business
for some time and I heard about
the availability of this space.
"So I went to the leasing office
and talked with them about the
possiblitles."
See FOSTER On Page 2A
Chambers Urges Court To
Uphold Civil Rights Law
Independents Seek To Unite Power
BY JALTfNE STRONG
Post Editor
Independent
presidential
candidate Le-
nora Fulanl
contends that
people of color
are excluded
from the poli
tics of the Re
publican and
Democratic
parties.
Her cam
paign relies on
building a un
ion between these "excluded"
groups of Americans. Her objec
tive, ultimately, is to Include
them all in her New Alliance
Party.
Helping to build this alliance
are Fulanl's six Independent
vice presidential candidates,
representative of the various
Fulanl
constituencies Fulanl Intends to
reach, — African Americans,
native Americans, Aslan Amer
icans, Gays and Lesbians.
One such vice presidential can
didate is Wynonia Brewington
Burke, a native American from
Samson County, NC, working to
link Native Americans and Af
rican Americans to the indepen
dent ticket.
Burke is a member of the Co-
harle Tribe. In the Fulanl cam
paign she covers areas of the
country that boost high popula
tions of native Americans, such
as: North Carolina, Arizona,
Washington, Alaska and Minne
sota.
"I traveled to many reserva
tions and met with many
tribes," says Burke. "Upon hear
ing of Fulanl, a candidate who
has native American Issues
within her platform, many na
tive Americans went to register
Burke
to vote for the first time in their
lives.
"They're glad for the opportu
nity of inclusion."
Burke says native Americans
have been excluded and exclude
themselves from the country's
political process, traditionally.
This has led to the lack of repre
sentation of native Americans
in state legislature and congress.
"Native Americans have been
constantly excluded when need
assessments are made in this
country," says Burke.
"Furthermore some tribes are
recognized and some are not. To
not be recognized is infuriating.
"The American government
tries to pretend we don't exist,"
Burke complains. 'We must be
an embarrassment to the histo
ry of American government."
Without a voice in the Ameri
can political system, Burke says
native Americans continue to be
victims of this countiy's history
of oppression and genocide
See BURKE On Page 2A
Public Administrators To Hold Forum In Charlotte
By LORA VANDERHALL
Poet Staff Writer
The International City Man
agement Association (ICM^
will hold its national conference
at the Charlotte Convention
Center t>eginnlng October 23-
2a
The Charlotte Civic League
will sponsor a pre-conference
forum on Saturday, October 22,
at Best Western McDonald's Inn
from 9 a.m. until 11 p.m. Break
fast will be available.
The forum entitled "The Future
for Blacks In Public Adminis
tration," will feature a panel of
several nationally known black
public administrators.
The forum has a three-fold
purpose says Civic League
president. Chip Hammonds.
"The purposes are to (1) Allow
the community all avenues to
view any concerns with the ad
ministrators. (2) Orientate mi
nority students to careers in
public administration. (3) To
welcome ICMA members and
get support for a local chapter
of the National Forum for Black
Public Administrators
(NFBPA)."
Richard Knight, Jr., City Man
ager of Dallas, Texas, will be
among the featured speakers.
He is the first black city manag
er of Dallas.
Knight, a native of Peach
County, Ga., was the first black
city manager in North Carolina
12 years ago.
After graduating UNC-Chapel
Hill with a master's degree in
public administration, he be
came city manager of Carrboro,
a suburb of Chapel Hill.
After Vietnam he served in
Texas at Fort Hood and then
became a prison programs di
rector in North Carolina.
While in Vietnam, he and local
attorney, Llnwood Foust be
came friends.
"If anybody deserves to be city
See ICMA On Page 2A
•V'
I :
BY JAMES H. RUBIN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — The
Supreme Court was urged last
Wednesday to uphold a key 1976
civil rights decision and not re
treat in the fight to eliminate
"the badges of slavery" in Ameri
can society.
Julius Le-
Vonne Cham
bers of the
NAACP Legal
Defense and
Education
Fund said the
court's 12-
year-old rul
ing conforms
with a law
Congress
passed in 1866
to eradicate
racial discrimination
wake of emancipation.
"Congress had egregious con
duct to correct" after the Civil
War, Chambers said. And, he
continued, "Congress meant to
reach the type of conduct" at is
sue in the case.
Chambers, who is black, said,
'We're not working on the farms
now. We're working in credit un
ions. But the badges of slavery
were what Congress was trying
to reach."
Chambers
in the
The CivU Rights Act of 1866
was Intended to ensure recently
freed slaves all the rights of citi
zenship.
Chambers is representing a
North Carolina woman who ac
cused her former employer,
McLean Credit Union, of racial
harassment. The case has at
tracted as much attention as any
in the court's new term begun
last week.
Civil rights advocates say
they are concerned it might sig
nal a willingness by a newly so
lidified conservative court ma
jority to wipe out gains made by
minorities over the last 30
years.
The Justices are deciding
whether they mistakenly ruled
in 1976 that the 1866 law au
thorizes suits against private
citizens accused of discrimina
tion.
The court is expected to an
nounce its decision next year.
Roger S. Kaplan, a New York
lawyer representing McLean
Credit Union, said the 1866 law
"would not reach private acts of
discrimination" and the court in
1976 Interfered with the will of
Congress in extending the reach
of the old statute.
Knight
Inside This Week
Editorials Pg. 6A
Obituaries Pg. 4B
Entertainment Pg. 8A
Sports Pg. 8B
Lifestyles Pg. 1B
Classifieds Pg. 14B
Church News Pg. 3B
The Alliance Sec. C .
Subscribe to the Charlotte Post, call 376-0496.