Ways To A
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Wedding
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Blues Exhibit At Afro Center
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King Holiday
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Page 12B
C()e Cljarlotte Bosit
Vol. 14, No. 44 Thursday, March 30,1989
THE AWARD-WINNING "VOICE OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY"
50 Cents
South Africa
Still 'A Nation
At War'
The Black Struggle Is On Everyone's Mind
V
Southern Afric
ANGOLA
ZAIRE
ZAMBIA
TANZANIA
iMALAWi
NAMIBIA
By HERB WHITE
Post Staff Writer
James Ferguson, a Charlotte
lawyer who has seen how South
Africa's apartheid system af
fects blacks, says he expects to
see worsening conditions when
he visits this summer.
"1 think I'll find what I find eve
ry time I go back," he said. "I ex
pect to find a more repressive
atmosphere. You don't get the
impression that South Africa is
a nation at war, but it is."
Despite the white-controlled
government's self-proclaimed
reforms, there has been little
change in South Africa, said
Ferguson, who has conducted
seminars with black lawyers for
the past three years. He plans to
return in July.
Ferguson, whose firm has
handled some of America's best-
known cMl-rlghts cases, includ
ing Swann vs. Mecklenburg
County Board of Education and
the Wilmington 10, said South
Africa's racial and f>olitical divi
sions haven't been dealt with.
The result is two cultures, one
white, the other non-white.
"That society is a racially sep
arated as it ever was. The two
societies in South Africa are to
tally separated. The reforms are
not really reforms at all."
South Africa has been under a
state of emergency for almost
three years, cutting off most me
dia reports in the process. Fer
guson said the declaration
makes it harder for Americans
to find out what is going on as
black South Africans try to dis
mantle apartheid. The govern
ment's press blackouts, howev
er, makes it difficult to keep up
with details.
'That's a method of control," he
said, "keeping people unin
formed."
However, the black struggle is
on everyone's mind, black and
white alike, Ferguson said.
'The whole topic of conversa
tion in South Africa is race,
apartheid and government rep
ression," he said.
Black South Africans and the
African National Congress, an
outlawed organization headed
by Jailed leader Nelson Mandela,
are pushing for a new nation
where majority rule and racial
cooperation are fact, Ferguson
said. Blacks seem resigned to
the bloodshed that will be re
quired to bring that day closer,
but are generally optimistic.
ZIMBABWE!
BOTSWANA':
SOUTH
AFRICA LESOTHO
SWAZILAND
Charlotte Attorney
James Ferguson has
found through his trips
to South Africa that the
country is becoming
more and more repres-
sive. He expects that
conditions for blacks
will be worse when he
returns to South AMca
in July.
Local Programs
Try To Break
Cycle Of Misery
"There is hope. There is no
hope that the government is go
ing to change," he said. "The
hope is that the African Nation
al Congress can build support
to wrest control for the black
people of South Africa."
The white government has
Photo/LaNEY
tightened its grip over the lives
of South Africa's black majority,
but blacks are growing less tol
erant, Ferguson said. Although
the 77-year-old ANC has been
labeled a terrorist organization
See STRIFE On Page 2A
By HERB WHITE
Post Staff Writer
Even as African-Americans
move into middle Income neigh
borhoods and more prosperous
lives, those in the lower finan
cial groups are struggling. And
it's taking a toll, with crumbling
families and shorter life spans.
"It's just stressfiil living in a so
ciety that's not totally open to
them," said Madlne Falls, Execu
tive Director of the Charlotte-
Mecklenburg Urban League. "For
most black people, life is still
the same...it's a struggle."
Finding A Good Job
African-Americans face an up
hill battle to secure meaningful
employment. Fails said, because
they often lack specialized skills
or education. The Urban
League's commitment is to help
people develop Independence.
"So many problems can be
traced to not having a job," she
said.
To combat the problem, the
Urban League offers job training
programs and emplo)rment ex
positions to help clients move
toward better-paying jobs. The
organization's four-year-old
word processing program has
trained over 200 participants.
Fails said. Once students finish
the course, they are placed with
private-sector companies. Nine
ty-one percent of the graduates
find jobs, with an average start
ing salary of $12,000 a year.
While there is help for the
poor. Falls said there is little for
the "working poor" who barely
get by with minimum-wage jobs.
"It's extremely difficult to do,"
she said. 'The working poor is
undercounted in employment
statistics and poverty statis
tics."
Bills that are pending in Con
gress would raise basic pay
would help borderline income-
earners, Fails said. The last
mlnumum wage Increase was
enacted in 1981.
"For eight years, we've been
looking at a minimum wage of
$3.35 an hour," she said. With
Mecklenburg County's unem
ployment rate at 2.5 percent,
"you would tend to think that
most people are working at min
imum wage."
Attracting labor-intensive
businesses, which requires
large numbers of workers, could
reduce the number of ranks of
unemployed and underem
ployed in the area. Fails said.
Emphasize Education
Education, once seen as a bea-
See BOOSTING On Page 2A
Charlotte Entrepreneur John McDonald Feted In April
By EVALYN CARRINGTON
Special To The Post
A Tribute to John McDonald
banquet will be held Friday,
April 28 to honor a long-time
entrepreneur who employs 150
blacks and has big plans to
create jobs and opportunities for
many more.
McDonald and his first wife,
Annie Lou Hill McDonald, oper
ated McDonald's Dining Room, a
popular spot in Brooklyn, NY,
for 21 years. They moved to
Charlotte to retire in 1970.
Mrs. McDonald died shortly
after the move and McDonald
plunged into another round of
entrepreneurship. He opened his
first cafeteria on Beatties Ford
Rd. and LaSalle St. in 1971 and
the one he still operates at 1-85
and Beatties Ford Rd in 1981.
McDonald points to develop
ment projects in other parts of
Charlotte and insists that other
blacks must do the same in their
communities.
He has envisioned a major cen
ter of urban development around
the cafeteria for a long time and
the first part of the dream be
came a reality last year when the
Best Western McDonald's Inn
opened next to the restaurant.
McDonald owns 12 acres of
land east of Beatties Ford Road
and north of 1-85. He plans an
expansion of the hotel and the
development of a shopping cen
ter, office center and retirement
center.
His past and present ventures
point to success. The cafeteria
serves 1,500 meals on an average
weekend and has three of four
banquets a day during the busy
Christmas season, according to
Margaret Epps. McDonald's sis
ter who works at the cafeteria.
McDonald's second wife, Eunice,
and his daughter, Brenda, are
also supervisors in the family-
run business.
McDonald was born in Paw
Creek in 1921 and moved to
Charlotte in search of opportu
nity at age 16. He worked as a
welder and a cook in a plant pro
ducing war materials in World
Warn.
Afterwards, he moved to New
York where he worked as a dish
washer and a cook before he
opened his own restaurant. As a
business sideline, he operated
Brenda's Hair Weaving Compa
ny.
McDonald left school after the
eighth grade but completed high
school and business courses
through correspondence study.
He is an advocate of modem
management practices and
points with pride to the generous
fringe benefits his employees re
ceive -— something uncommon
for restaurant workers.
He also supervises a lot of the
food preparation personally, his
sister notes. "He's still a worker,"
she says to which McDonald
adds, "I can cook."
To judge from the long lines
formed at the cafeteria, Charlot-
teans like McDonald's cooking.
What do they enjoy best? "Roast
chicken is the biggest seller,"
says Mrs. Epps, "and croaker is
second."
Proceeds Endow J.C. Smith Scholarship
By EVALYN CARRINGTON
Special To The Post
The Tribute to John McDo
nald banquet to be held April
28 will feature community
leaders who will speak on the
accomplishments of the re-
stauranteur and hotel builder.
Proceeds from the banquet
will go towards the John
McDonald Scholarship en
dowment at Johnson C. Smith
University. Scholarships
from the fund will go to stu
dents in the management and
public relations programs pre
paring to work in the hospital
ity Industry. Faculty members
will work to establish intern
ships to complement courses.
"A number of our students
work in hotels and restau
rants, and some have decided
to remain and succeed in the
field after graduation." JCSU
President Robert Albright
said. "As Charlotte expands as
a commercial and convention
center the number of such stu
dents will Increase, creating a
growing pool of worthy recip
ients for the John McDonald
Scholarship."
The Tribute to John McDo
nald banquet will begin at 7
p.m. April 28 at McDonald's
Cafeteria, 1-85 and Beatties
Ford Rd. Tickets are $35. To
order tickets, to place ads in
the program or to become a pa
tron, sponsor or benefactor,
call EXalyn Carrington at 377-
0242 or 535-1899.
McDonald stands at the !4>by desk of his hotel.
SCLC’s Joseph Lowery To
Speak In Kannapolis
Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, Presi
dent of the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference (SCLC),
will speak in Kannapolis at an
event honoring Dr. Martin Lu
ther King. The program will be
gin at 5 p.m. on Sunday, April 2
at the A.L. Brown High School
Auditorium on East First St.
April 4th marks the anniver
sary of three Important events.
Twenty-two years ago. Dr. Mar
tin Luther King made a speech
about peace at the Riverside
Church in New York. Twenty-
one years ago. King was assassi
nated. People in Kannapolis are
gathering on April 2 to honor
King and his message of peace
which focused on the military
budget and the funding of hu
man needs.
The event is sponsored by the
Piedmont Peace Project, a mul
ti-racial organization that
works for peace by linklne local
justice issues to the military
budget and building power for
change through voter registra
tion and electoral work. 'We be
lieve that our government
should put more funding toward
human needs by cutting mili
tary spending," says Grace Joan
Bryant, the group's organizer.
The Cabarrus County Black
Political Caucus and the Kan
napolis Evening Optimist Club
have joined Piedmont Peace
project in sponsoring this event.
April 4th is also NATO's 40th
birthday. This celebration is
one of the hundreds of commem
orations of the NATO anniver
sary to be held across the coun
try organized by a coalition of
national and local organiza
tions including SANE/FREEZE,
Women's Action for Nuclear Dis
armament, and the Professional
Coalition for Nuclear Arms
Control.
The organizations Involved
claim that the 40th anniversary
project signifies the beginning
of a continued effort to educate
the public and representatives
in Congress to the need for cuts
in the military budget and more
funding of human needs.
Crack Use Linked To Atlanta Syphilis
Lowery
An unusual birthday cake will
be cut and distributed at a recep
tion after the program. The cake
will show how federal tax dol
lars are spent by the government
(over half for military spending,
two cents for education, two
cents for housing, etc.).
Grace Joan Bryant, a retired
school teacher and the groups'
organizer, will make a state
ment to show how the military
budget affects Kannapolis and
North Carolina citizens. Lowery
will symbolically "cut" the mili
tary budget.
ATLANTA (AP) — Casework
ers are blaming the Increasing
syphilis rate in Georgia on the
growing practice of buying crack
cocaine with sex.
There have been 3,630 cases re
ported since July 1, and health
officials estimate the number of
cases for the fiscal year, which
ends June 30, will nearly double
the 2,953 cases reported two
years ago.
'The Increase is almost entire
ly in the heterosexual black
community," said Dr. Joseph
Wilbur, medical director of AIDS
programs at the state's Depart
ment of Human Resources.
"We believe the majority of the
Increase is due to the use of
crack."
Dr. Ted Holloway, district di
rector of health in Waycross,
said crack cocaine is readily
available in $5 or $10 amounts
in many small Georgia towns.
"Many of the women are addict
ed to crack and are offering sex
in exchange for smoking crack, "
Wilbur said. He said that many
exchange sex for crack -— or for
the money to buy it -- so often
that "they don't know the names
of their sex partners."
He said some women develop
clienteles of 30 or 40 people with
whom they have sex to support
their habit.
"Some of these women use as
many as 10 to 15 of $5 dollar
rocks a day," Holloway said.
Field epidemiologists say they
are convinced of the link be
tween sex and drugs from inter
views they conduct to gather the
names of patients' sexual con
tacts so that they can be treated
for the disease.
"We've had several cases with
contacts who we've believed are
dealing drugs," Holloway said.
Severad outbreaks of syphilis in
the Waycross area, he said, have
been linked to suspected drug
dealers from out of state.
Wilbur said the state's syphilis
epidemic could be an early warn
ing of an increase in the number
of AIDS cases in rural Georgia.
"Many scientific studies show
that people with a medical histo
ry of syphilis are three to five
times more likely to get AIDS, "
he said.
One reason is that promiscuous
people are more likely to have
syphilis and other sexually
transmitted diseases.
Inside This Week
Editorials
.. Pq.
4A
Obituaries...
.. Pg. 6B
Entertainment
.. Pg.
7A
Sports
... Pg. 8B
Lifestyles
.. Pq.
1B
Classifieds..
.. Pg. 11B
Church News
.. Pg.
SB
Alliance
... Pg. 12B
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