Consequences
Of Losing
Choice
Editorials/ Page 7A
Black Family Seminar Planned
Lifestyles/ Page IB
In The
NFL Expansion Drive Heats Up
Sports/Pages SB
Alliance
New Library
Rec Center
Page 12B
Cljarlotte
Vol. 14, No. 46 Thursday, April 13,1989
THE AWARD-WINNING "VOICE OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY"
50 Cents
Police Shooting Is
Called Act Of Murder
ByJALYNESTRONQ
Post Editor
In a letter to Charlotte Prose
cutor Peter Gilchrist, William
Dean , president of the Charlotte
Elqual Rights Congress, called
the shooting of Jake King by
Charlotte Police officer Scott
Pope an act of murder.
Wng, a black male resident of
the Cherry community was shot
twice Saturday, April 8 by Pope
who was responding to call at
King's home at 1509 Luther
Street.
Witnesses have said that King
was shot as he walked down the
front steps of his home with his
hands above his head. No weap
on was found on King.
'This action by Officer Pope Is
emblematical of an officer with
a hidden agenda upon his arri
val to the scene," wrote Dean.
"We (Charlotte ERC) see this
needless death of Mr. King as an
act of murder since (King) had
his hands up and made no at
tempt to reach for any weapon,
such as a gun."
The shooting of King has
touched off a rash of concern
among African-Americans in
Charlotte. Mary Clarke, presi
dent of the Charlotte-
Mecklenburg NAACP branch,
last week expressed the branch's
desire to have the N.C. and the
U.S. attorney general investi
gate the shooting of King and an
other black man, Louis Colum
bus Helford III, who was shot by
Charlotte police officer Barry
Goodson in January of this
year.
Last Thursday, the Charlotte-
Mecklenburg Community Rela
tions Committee (CRC) held a
press conference to announce Its
intentions of following closely
the police Investigation Into the
King shooting. We have met
with several Cherry residents
this afternoon who have shared
with us their concerns," said
Hi
CRC executive director Jack Bul
lard.
'We have also met with Assist
ant Chief Laney of the Charlotte
Police Department to discuss the
concerns of the Cherry residents
and to discuss the process being
used to Investigate the Incident."
said Bullard, who called for eve
ryone to "reserve Judgement and
exercise restraint until the offi
cial review is completed,"
Bullard admitted that he did
not know how long the process
would lake.
According to Bullard the CRC
regularly participates in the
Charlotte Police Department's
process of reviewing allegations
of misconduct made against po
lice officers.
The CRC reported Thursday
See CRC On Page 2A
"... the restaurant
will have to institute
and cany out
policies, practices
and programs vi^ich
pro>^ equal
opportunities for
track applicants for
employment.."
■""■"••III '
The Appellate Court upheld discrimination In hlr- at 1617 Elizabeth Are.
Ing chides against Anderson's Restaurant, located
Phclo/CALVIN FERGUSON
Anderson's Appeal Is Rejected
By HERB WHITE
Post Staff Writer
The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court
of Appeals recently agreed that
Anderson's Restaurant of Char
lotte discriminated against Afri
can-Americans in its hiring
practices, but both sides are
claiming victory.
Judge William Wilkins, writing
the Court of Appeal's decision In
Richmond March 24, upheld
District Court Judge Robert Pot
ter's 1987 ruling that Anderson's
refused to hire blacks as cash
iers or waitresses while filling
the positions of bus helpers and
cooks predominantly with
blacks.
As a result, the restaurant will
have to "institute and cany out
policies, practices and pro
grams which provide equal op
portunities for black applicants
for employment as waitress or
cashier" as ordered by Potter.
The suit was referred back to
District Court, where Potter will
decide If two of the 16 plalntllTs
are entitled to compensation,
Anderson's won't have to com-
Shuttle Begins Service To Independence Boulevard
By HERB WHITE
PiMt Staff Writer
Charlotte commuters won't
have to fight Independence
Boulevard's traffic or Inconven
ience after a new shuttle service
started Monday.
The shuttle, an 18-seat mini
bus, replaced the Charlotte
Transit System's No. 2 bus be
tween Independence amd Tryon
Street. Executive Transporta
tion. Inc., a black-owned com*
pany that operates the $18,749
shuttle, reached an agreement
with the city last month to fund
the service.
John Clifton, chief executive
officer of Executive TTansporta-
Uon, said the service is Intended
to accomodate shoppers and
workers who were stranded on
Independence when the clly dis
continued regular bus stops due
to construction.
"We're going to have trouble
with Independence" because of
the state's widening of the thor
oughfare. he said. "A city bus
can't go down Independence
and turn around."
The smaller shuttle can. how
ever, and Clifton expects more
riders as word spreads. The re
sponse from riders and busi
nesses along Independence has
been good, he said.
♦
M-
Phsts/CALVM rCNOUtON
John Clifton (1) and his partner Gregory Camp are owners of Exec
utive Transportation, Inc., the company that will operate an Inde
pendence Blvd. shuttle.
"People are riding the bus.
We re having a big demand and
It's definitely having a big effect
on business."
Clifton declined to say how
much it will cost Executive
Transportation to operate the
shuttle, but said it should be
able to pay for Itself.
"We wanted to work with the
city,' he said. 'We'll make a profit.
a small profit."
Executive Transportation,
founded four years ago, dealt al
most exclusively with automo
bile transportation through
three subsidiaries. But with the
demand for service to and from
Independence growing, the
company saw another avenue
for expansion.
'We’ve been real aggressive in
this market," Clifton said. "What
we're doing is concentrating on
Eireas that need help."
Executive Transportation has
moved riders around with
shuttle services for local busi
nesses, Clifton said. During the
recent Ramesses exhibit in
Charlotte, nearly 145,000 peo
ple rode Executive Transporta
tion's shuttle over a four-month
period.
"We're the only ones around
here with that type of experi
ence," he said.
Fare for the Independence
shuttle Is the same as Charlotte
Transit's other routes, 70 cents
each way. Passengers are
picked up at four locations dur
ing the 13 scheduled round
trips, Clifton said: The Square at
Tryon and Coliseum Inn, Coli
seum Shopping Center and Col
iseum Apartments on Indepen
dence,
In addition to seating for 18,
the shuttle also has four wheel
chair lifts for the disabled. The
lifts weren't required, but Clifton
said the service should be ex
tended to people who can't use
conventional transportation.
'We also try to accomodate the
handicapped. It's a nice addi
tion," he said.
Southern Thrifts Have Few Blacks On Boards
The chief policy makers of the
South's largest savings and loan
associations form "an exclusive
club limited almost entirely to
white men,:" according to a re
port released by the nonprofit
Institute for Southern Studies of
Durham, North Carolina.
Of the 1,270 members who sit
on the boards of the 10 largest
S&Ls In each of the region's 13
states, all but 12 are white. Nine
are black, and three are Hispan
ic, In Tennessee, Arkansas, Mis
sissippi, West 'Virginia, Ken
tucky, and North Carolina, there
are no minority members at all.
Georgia, Alabama, Texas, South
Carolina and Louisiana have
one each.
Overall, whites hold 99.055
percent of the seats on the
boards of the states' top S&Ls.
White men hold 1,219 -- 96 98
percent -- of the 1,270 board po
sitions, Women hold 42 seats ,
3.3 percent of the total. In Ten
nessee and South Carolina,
there are no women of any race
on the policy-making boards.
On 89 of the region's 130 top
boards, there are no women or
minorities. Just white males.
The analysis of these institu
tion's 1988-89 boards of direc
tors was part of a larger report
on the S&L crisis published this
week In the Institute's quarterly
Journal Southern Exposure. The
Institute is a 198-year-old re
search and education organiza
tion that monitors social and
economic trends in the region.
The report in Southern Expo
sure, entitled "Redlining Black
Faces," says that "race and sex --
not income or ability -- general
ly determine who makes policy
decisions at S&Ls, who takes
the good Jobs, and who gets
loans. The data also reveals that
redlining - the jjractlce of deny
ing loans to blacks and low-
income communities - contin
ues unabated, and may have
grown worse In recent years," as
a result of federal deregulation
and budget cutbacks.
See SOUTH'S On Page 3A
pensate the other 14 plaintiffs
because the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission
(EEOC) couldn't prove they were
entitled.
Philip Van Hoy, Anderson's at
torney, said that while a final
decision is pending, the restau
rant has won its case.
"We're sorry it's not completely
over, but we consider it a victo
ry," he said, "EEOC couldn't
prove they were discriminated
against. We won 14 cases and
the other two we'll see about."
Ronald Arrington, EEOC's re
gional attorney, said that while
the decision may not result in
compensation, the government
proved Its contention.
"Doth courts held that Ander
son's had Indeed discriminated
against blacks," he said.
Statistical evidence EEOC pre
sented before the court showed
that Anderson's hired only one
black waitress prior to the gov
ernment's complaint In 1983,
even though 22 positions were
available from January 1982 to
October 1983,
During that period no black
cashiers were hired although
there were seven openings and
10 of 48 applicants were Afri
can-Americans. Thirty-seven
cooks and bus helpers, all black,
were hired.
See EEOC On Page 2A
Madans Hammers City
Leaders, Pledges Change
By HERB WHITE
Post Staff Writer
Saying that Charlotte's leader
ship leaves much to be desired,
Craig Madans announced Wed
nesday that he Is a candidate for
the Democratic mayoral nomi
nation.
Madans. a 46-year-old textile
executive, made his announce
ment at Democratic Party head
quarters, where supporters and
media gathered to hear Madans
blast Mayor Sue Myrick and
mayor pro tern A1 Rousso, Ma
dans' likely opponent. Madans is
Rousso's ex-nephew-ln-law.
The current city leadership,
Madans said, is more Interested
In serving Its own Interests than
lighting crime and traffic
problems.
"Tm frustrated and angry about
what's happening to this city af
ter two years of ineffective lead
ership," he said. "New solutions
and new approaches are des
perately needed."
Rousso was the target of
pointed criticism, with Madans
alleging that he has done little
despite being the top vote-getter
in two city council races. As a
self-proclaimed champion of
the underdog, Rousso should
have shown more sensitivity to
his constituency.
"If he had fought our battles as
well as he's fought his own, I
wouldn't be running now," Ma
dans said. "When somebody has
that much authority from the
voters, something should get
done, but it doesn't."
Although he is a political un
known, Madans has been run
ning unofficially since Decem
ber, putting together a steering
committee of community lead
ers. African-Americans on the
% 44
Pholo/CALVIN FCRQUSON
Craig Madans is running for
Mayor of Chariotte.
nine-member panel Include
state NAACP president Kelly Al
exander, activist James Foxx
and WestFest coordinators Sam
Young and State Alexander.
Madans said that although
voters have different interests,
there is enough disaffection for
the current leadership for a coa
lition.
"The hard-core reality is that
there's no law that you have to
have exp>erlence to run," he said.
"One of my strongest assets is to
bring people together."
Building roads in southeast
Charlotte, the foundation of My-
rlck's campaign when she beat
See MADANS On Page 3A
Inside This Week
Editorials
. Pq.
6A
Education..,.
.. Pg. 4A
Entertainment.
. Pg.
8A
Sports
... Pg. 8B
Lifestyles
. Pq.
IB
Classifieds..
.. Pg. 11B
Church News.
.. Pg.
3B
Alliance
... Pg. 12B
Subscribe To
The
Charh
rite Post, Call
376-0496