Dr. Abdul Muhammad:
On Problems Of
Black America
lifestyles/ Pa^e IB
Debbie Allen’s T.V. Success
Entertainment/ Page 7A
Herron Rediscovers Family Roots
Lifestyles/ Page IB
Inside The
Alliance
"Stick" Williams Manages
At Duke Power
Page IIB
Cljarlotte
VoL 14, No. 36 Thursday, March 2,1989
THE AWARD-WINNING "VOICE OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY"
so Cents
Blacks Seek New
Action From
Spiingfest, Inc.
Jones
By JALYNE STRONG
Post Editor
Last month, Springfest, Inc.,
In effect, closed the door of op
portunity for
possibly the
only black
vendor who
would partici
pate In the
1989 festival.
An alarmed
black commu
nity has begun
to discuss
ways to ad
dress the situ
ation.
Charlotte's African-
Americans are concerned about
their part In the downtown festi
val that annually brings hun
dreds of thousands of people to
the city. The fact that Carolyn
Mason, owner of Balloon-A-
Grams and four-year Springfest
vendor, would not be able to sell
at the festival this year because
of a new policy, compelled many
blacks to ask whether they
would only be able to participate
In Springfest as consumers -—
never pr^ucers? And If the an
swer Is yes, what should the
black community's response be?
At Friendship Baptist Church
last Sunday, SprlngFest was a
point of reference in Rev. Clif
ford Jones' sermon on the social
Issues that affect the African-
American community.
In a telephone interview Tues
day, Dr. Jones related,” 1 made
mention of Springfest and
pointed out If this event Is sup
posed to be wholletlc. Involving
Mills
Young
the entire community, then It
must represent till sectors of the
community. African-Americans
must be Involved not only as
purchasers but also as vendors.
And If this cannot occur, Afri
can-Americans should recon
sider whether they should be at
tending."
There has been talk of a black
boycott of this year's Springfest
and Or. Jones said that action
could be considered, but first, he
pointed out, "We need to talk to
the powers that be to let them
know we are part of the city.
'The African-American com
munity must look at the system
and how It operates. If the sys
tem Is not equitable. If a seg
ment of the community Is being
excluded, those who are exclud^
should reconsider whether they
want to take part In the system.
"Someone needs to ask the
hard questions, and the cor,mu-
nity Is deserving of an answer,"
said Dr. Jones.
See CITY On Page 2A
Drafting Jackson For D.C.
Mayor Draws Support
BY RICHARD KEIL
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — A mem-
ter of the city school board and
a leader of the
Statehood
Party of the
W District of Co
lumbia said
last Friday
they plan to
organize a
campaign
seeking to
draft civil
rights activist
Jackson
Jesse Jackson to run fi>r ma}ror
next year.
R. Calvin Lockrldge, a school
board member, and Tom Chorl-
ton, a Statehood Party leader,
told The Associated Press they
are planning to organize the
draft-Jackson drive, expected to
center on gathering petition sig
natures.
They said Jackson, who made
unsuccessful bids for the Demo
cratic presidential nomination
In 1984 and 1988 and recently
denied being Interested In seek
ing the mayor's ofUce, had no
knowledge of their plans.
Jackson, who has owned a
home In northwest Washington
since 1984, and embattled
Mayor Marion Barry Jr., a Dem
ocrat who was first elected In
1978 and has not announced
W
n
if.
oVi
oVe ^
Ihcj
f : Ban
y an
.k to/ ’i.'
UNC Cb volp'* Byron Dtakins (in white) drives ti
against^^ff^Mna-Birmingham's Larry Rembert f)
coup ,
lal status, ill a
located al
tin Luthe/
,o.
PhotiVCALVHI FEROUSON
Belt basketball game. Dinkins, a senior and Charlotte native,
played his last regular-season game for UNCC.
Scho*d'i'?‘C.“'3ncerns
!ore Vocal Response
whether he will seek a fourth
four-year term In 1990, were not
Immediately available for com
ment.
However, after leading an anti-
drug rally at a local hl^ school
two weeks ago. Jackson said:
"I've expressed no Interest In the
Job." He added that "under no
condition would I run against
Marlon Barry."
"We want to show Jackson that
he should express Interest In the
job," said Lockrldge. "Barry has
not decided what he will do, but I
think this movement will help
him come to the right decision.
For now, we're just asking Jesse
to listen to what the voters will
have to say."
"The district Is suffering a cri
sis In spirit," Chorlton said. "We
need a leader — Jesse Jackson —
- who can pull people together
toward something positive."
Barry has been trying to deal
with a drug-related crime wave
In the city, and has appeared be
fore a federal grand jury investi
gating his ties to a drug suspect.
He has repeatedly denied using
drugs or knowingly being asso
ciated with drug dealers or us
ers.
Under city law, Jackson could
qualify for the 1990 election by
switching his voter registration
from Chicago to the district by
November 1989.
By HERB WHITE
Post Staff Writer
Ashley Hogewood, chairman of
the ChaTJotte.-Meckles4)urg
School Board, was feeling ^little
stressed Tuesday.
As the board faced another
series of long debates over pupil
assignments, midway schools
and the capital Improvement
plan to build new schools. Hoge
wood took a little test.
After pressing his finger on a
heat-sensltlve stress card, he
proclaimed to feel a little
peaked.
"It went right through the top,"
Hogewood said to the laughter
of file audience.
But for the most part, the
meeting was very serious as
parents and supporters pleaded
with the board to reconsider
some of Its proposals.
The panel, going through the
yearly ritual of assigning stu
dents, heard from several
speakers, both black and white,
as part of Its public discussion
of the reassignment plan. The
current proposal, which would
shift about 1,345 students next
school year, will be voted on lat
er this month.
Many speakers lined up to tell
the board that they support In
tegrated schools, realizing that
Busing Is the only means to ac
complish It. Libby Randolph, a
former teacher, said Integration
is the best way to preserve "the
subtle humanity of our commu
nity, regardless of race."
Acknowledging that schools
are asked to bring together peo
ple who live apart because of
housing patterns, Randolph
urged the board to remain com
mitted to Integrated schools.
"Busing will remain the only
consideration of desegregating
our schools as long as our
neighborhoods are segregated,"
she said.
The school system's five-year
capital plan for building new
schools also came under public
scrutiny. The proposal would
build new schools In mostly
white southeast Mecklenburg
County to accommodate that
area's growing population.
Madlne Falls, Director of the
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Urban
League, said that policy should
be reexamined because It sig
nals a shift away from Inner city
schools located close to black
neighborhoods.
"I don't believe a conscious ef
fort has been made" to study al
ternatives to building suburban
schools, she said.
Parents from the Chantilly
community, an Integrated
neighborhood, took up the
cause for their school, which the
board Is considering turning
into the county's first midway
school. Chantilly Elementary,
they said, should be spared that
designation because It meets
the system's standards for natu
ral Integration.
"I believe our school and our
neighborhood should be recog
nized as the Ideal and our chil
dren should be allowed to attend
school together," said Carol
York, a white parent who
brought her two sons and three
black classmates.
"We have earned the privilege
of attending a neighborhood
school by choosing to live In an '
integrated neighborhood. We
believe the Ideal situation Is a
neighborhood K-6 Integrated
school."
Robert Baxley, a south Meck
lenburg resident and Clear
Creek Elementary parent, op
posed midway schools as well.
"The definition of a midpoint
school Is a neighborhood school
where neighborhood students
don't attend," he said.
Ron Leeper, a former city
council member, said the debate
over busing to achieve racial
balance shouldn't even occur.
Charlotte's busing plan, held as
a national model since It was
Implemented In 1971, should re
main.
'This community Is going in
such a way that there is a seri
ous concern," he said. "This Is
one clock we can't afford to turn
back."
The GOP To Blacks: We Want Your Vote
By HERB WHITE
Post Staff Writer
The Republican Party realizes
blacks aren't going to flock to It
In the next election, says N.C.
Sen. Larry Cobb, but It could
happen In the future.
Cobb, a Mecklenburg Republi
can who Is a member of the N.C.
GOP Voter Outreach Task Force,
said the party can form a work
ing relationship with African-
Americans. The 35-member
board Is charged with encourag
ing blacks to join the party.
'The Republican Party needs
to go Into the black community
to explain the position of the
Repulsllcan Party,” he said.
"Especially in the South, the Re
publican Party Is seen as racist
when that's not true.”
The GOP, Cobb said, has
helped Americans of all colors
during the Reagan-Bush years
by providing millions of new
jobs. That economic prosperity
has helped African-Americans.
"There have been many blacks
who have prospered In the last
eight years and have gotten Into
mainstream America," he said.
The task force met last month
with Jack Hawke, chairman of
the N.C. Republican Party, Gov.
Jim Martin and Lt. Gov. Jim
Gardner to map a strategy for
attracting black voters, who
make up about 20 percent of the
state electorate.
'The Republican Party can't af
ford to continue to automatical
ly discount 20 percent of the
vote In North Carolina," said Da
vid Stlth, chairman of the task
force. "Our challenge Is to help
See GOP On Page 2A
Bodies Of Black Civil War Soldiers Discovered On S.C. Islands
By Cheater A. Higgins Sr.
NNPA News Editor
WASHINGTON, DC - A large
construction firm excavating on
Folly Island, S.C., in 1987, acci
dentally dug into graves, of 19
black. Civil War soldiers, NNPA
has learned.
The accident not only has held
up construction since that time,
but It has triggered a hurried up
visit by a University of South
Carolina team of archeologists
. and anthropologists headed
Steven D. Smith who quickly
petitioned the State Historic
Preservation Commission to
lhalt development until the site
could be thoroughly Investlgat-
ed and the soldiers identified.
Memorabilia including uniform
buttons and Insignia have pin
pointed soldiers' unit Identities.
It launched a brief tug of war
between the cities of Florence
and Beaufort over which would
receive the signal honor of re
burying the soldiers. Each city
has a national cemetery. Beau
fort has won, and Its citizens,
black and white, are working to
gether to raise money to pay for
the re-burial.
Folly Island, one of the famous
coastal sea Islands, Is situated
just south of Charleston. Wil
liam Grant, veterans affairs offi
cer at Beaufort, a sea coast
town, said Folly Island "was
used as staging area by troops
of the 55th Massachusetts Regi
ment In the winter of 1864."
Grant said that the 55th and the
54th as well as units of the First
South Carolina and First North
Carolina artlUeiy and Infantry
operated during that time "fiorn
Hilton Head to Charleston."
Black troops were a prominent
part of the engagement called
"the Battle of Honey Hill."
Re-burlal is set for May 29, Me
morial Day, Grant said. Cost of
soldier re-burlal is about $500-
$600 each. Grant said. Pentagon
officials reportedly told volun
teer officials that It could not by
law provide funds for the project.
Full military honors and a color
ful parade are planned. 55th Massachusetts, and that
Grant said the recently dlscov- each soldier was burled Indlvid-
ered soldiers belonged to the ually.
Inside This Week
Editorials Pg. 4A
Obituaries.... Pg- 4B
Entertainment... Pg. 7A
Sports Pg. 7B
Lifestyles Pg. 1B
Classifieds... Pg. 10B
Church News.... Pg. 3B
Alliance Pg. 11B
Subscribe To The Charlotte Post, Call 376-0496
Gov. Martin To
Speak At
U. L. Banquet
N.C. Governor Jim Martin will
speak when the Charlotte-
Mecklenburg Urban League, Inc.
hold Its 10th anniversary ban
quet on March 30.
Madlne Hester Falls, president
and chief executive officer of the
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Urban
League, said the banquet will be
at the Marriott City Center In
uptown Charlotte.
"The mission of the Charlotte-
Mecklenburg Urban League Is to
enable blacks and other minori
ty group members to cultivate
and exercise their full human
potential on par with other
Americans," Ms. Falls said.
In conjunction with that mis
sion, the celebration also will
serve as the Urban League's an
nual equal opportunity banquet
There will be awards for people
In the community who have con
tributed significantly to equal
opportunity efforts, she said.