A New Season Begins For
The NBA
Special Section/ Page 1C
John Johnson Hosts Luncheon At Radisson
Lifestyles/ Page 7A
"HAIRDO" Challenges African Americans
Entertainment/ Page IB
ce
Gaston's Concerned
Citizens Group Meets
Page 14B
C|)e Cljarlotte
Vol. 15, No. 21 Thursday, October 19,1989
THE AWARD-Vv^INNING "VOICE OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY"
50 Cents
Upset Brings Plans
By WINFRED CROSS
Post Staff Writer
Less than a day after his his
toric win over city councilman
Charlie Dannelly, Democratic
nominee Hoyle Martin was
making plans on how he will
better serve the district.
"The groups and organizations
In the district will receive some
type of written communication
from me quarterly. I've already
let It be known that my phone
and answering service will be
available 24 hours a day," he
said.
"1 will be able to attend com
munity meeting as they relate to
city business and other wise If
need be. And 1 will give a lot of
attention to the needs of the dis
trict as expressed by the people
In the community. This will In
fluence many of my actions as a
councilman."
To become District 2's coun
cilman, Martin must first face
Republican Ed Gormley. It Is not
expected to be much of a contest
because most of the registered
voters are black Democrats.
Martin, however. Is not taking
him lightly.
"I view any race as a real chal
lenge," Martin said. "While we're
not going to be complacent we
see It as less difficult than Mr.
Dannelly. But we are going to put
forth the necessary effort. We've
already begun maldng plans."
Martin Is also making plans to
be much more vocal on the coun
cil than the person he would re
place.
"I've said In my campaign all
along that there needs to be
someone who Is more vocal and
out spoken on council. 1 do plan
to be a good listener and be as
outspoken as necessary. As a
new council person obviously I
will have a lot to learn, but I wUl
aggressive In getting up to speed
so that I can do that."
Martin defeated Dannelly, the
longest serving member of coun-
. s ^ ^
IPDTIONS
tV
☆1
Jf^
19
89
cll and the only councilman
District 2 has ever had, 1,338 to
1,035 In Tuesday's runoff elec
tion.
Dannelly, who represented the
20,287
Tuesday's Primary
Results
FOR DISTRICT 2
■D
c
O
Votes
For
Martin
1,035
Votes
For
Dannelly
1
2,373
Registered
Democrats
Voted
District 2 Registered Democrate voted Tuesday.
district since Its creation In
1977, said Tuesday night: "I only
hope Hoyle serves with the dig
nity that I served with."
Council member Ella Scarbo
rough, who was reelected as Dis
trict 3 council member last week
and Is a friend of Dannelly, said:
"The constituency In Charlie’s
district must have felt they
needed a change. I guess they
voted their conscience."
Martin was able to defeat Dan
nelly with the help of white can
didate Steve Barker, who sup
ported and campaigned for
Martin after placing third In the
primary the week before.
Only 11 percent of the regis
tered voters turned out. That's 2
percent less than the turnout In
the Democratic primary held
the week before. Martin said pri
maries and runoff elections usu
ally have low turnouts but he did
express concern about the low
numbers.
"What I'm concerned about Is
that high voter turnout signals
to other council members that
this Is a district that Is con
cerned and that when their rep
resentative speaks, he repre
sents an active and concerned
constituency," Martin said.
, .*
•r
it..- , -
t.
•/CALVm PERQUSON
Nice Day For A Parade
Hundreds of spectators lined the streets of uptown Charlotte to
watch Johnson C. Smith's homecoming parade last week. The pro
cession started imder cloudy skies, but cleared in time for the foot
ball game between Smith and Livingstone, the oldest rivalry be
tween historically black colleges.
Task Force Goes Public
RALEIGH - Human Resources
Secretary David T. Flaherty an
nounced that as many as
166,000 low-income families In
North Carolina may be eligible
for special financial assistance
through a federal energy assis
tance program.
"The purpose of this program
Is to provide families with some
relief from high energy costs
during the winter," Flaherty ex
plained. "Priority will be given to
the elderly, disabled citizens
and families with young chil
dren." Fleiherty emphasized that
the program provides a one
time payment to help persons
pay heating bills.
To be eligible for the Low-
Income Energy Asslstamce Pro
gram, families must have In
comes at or below 110 percent
of the 1989 federal poverty level
which Is $735 per month for a
family of two, and $1,109 for a
family of four. In addition to
these Income limits, a house
hold's financial assets cannot
exceed a value of $2,200.
The size of pajnnents families
receive will depend upon the
number of people in the house
hold, their combined Incomes,
where they live, and the type of
heating fuel they use. Last year,
more than 160,000 families In
the state received this federal
assistance with payments aver
aging $112.56 per household.
This year. North Carolina's ex
penditure for the Low Income
Energy Assistance Program Is
expected to be about $17.9 mil
lion.
The N.C. Department of Hu
man Resources' Division of So
cial Services has been designat
ed as the state agency
responsible for administration
of the program with county so
cial services departments deter-
,See ASSISTANCE On Page 2A
By HERB WHITE
Post Managing Editor
A minority affairs task force
has recommended that Meck
lenburg County commissioners
create a citizens committee to
Implement an office.
In a report submitted to com
missioners Monday, the 14-
person task force proposes that
the county set aside $30,301 for
the remainder of fiscal year
1989-90 to fund the minority af
fairs office, which was shelved
by commissioners In 1987.
A year later, after charges of
racism were leveled at commis
sioners, the task force was
formed, charged with finding If a
minority affairs office Is needed
and how far-reaching would Its
scope be.
The task force recommends
that a 15-person committee,
which would be named by com
missioners, begin operation by
Nov. 15 and for an executive di
rector to be named by Feb. 1990.
Dr. Jewett Walker, chairman of
the task force, recommended In
a letter to the commissioners
"seriously consider" naming task
force members to any commit
tee.
"Their experience, knowledge,
and ability would provide a
foundation essential to the suc
cess of any ongoing effort," he
said.
The minority affairs office
would be responsible for provid
ing county government with In
formation about various ethnic
communities, such as their size,
location and needs.
'There ought to be an Indepen
dent body for this that kind of
thing," W^ker said.
A minority affairs office could
offset some of the gaps In ser
vices to nonwhites, the task
force concluded In Its report.
"It is the conclusion of the task
force that few services fully meet
the wide-ranging and extensive
needs of minorities in Mecklen
burg County. These gaps are
rooted in the nature of those
needs and the inherent limita
tions on any public effort to
meet those needs: the problems
are profound, the resources are
limited," the report said. "While
there exists a multitude of agen
cies and organizations to pro
vide services, the gaps remain;
individuals go unserved and un
derserved."
Walker said that a minority af
fairs effort would bring "a little
duplication" In services now
provided by some agencies, but
not enough to warrant not hav
ing It.
With Mecklenburg's growth In
overall population, so does Its
racial makeup, the report said.
According to the U.S. Census
Bureau, the combined popula
tion of various ethnic groups
amounted to 24 percent of the
county's population. That trend
may be lost at times on govern
ment officials, who In most cas
es are white.
"At times, this fact causes
problems for county govern
ment, especially when members
of Charlotte-Mecklenburg's mi
nority communities feel slighted
by certain county policies or ac
tions that. In effect. Ignore mi
nority concerns and Issues," the
report said.
In Its Initial stage, the minority
affairs office would consist of an
executive director, who would be
paid $30,872 annually, and a
secretary at $15,726.
The task force Initially con
cluded that Mecklenburg fund
the minority affairs effort, but
changed Its mind.
"As the proposed program
grows and Its credibility devel
ops, other governmental and
private sector entitles would be
expected to take up their share
of the responsibility," the report
said.
Wilkinson Public
Hearing
A public meeting has been
scheduled by the Charlotte-
Mecklenburg Planning Commis
sion for Thursday, November 2,
at 7:30 p.m. In the multipurpose
room at Spaugh Middle School.
1901 Herbert Spaugh Lane.
The purpose of this meeting is
to update the Wilkinson Boule
vard area businesses and resi
dents on the City's plans to
beautify a three-mile stretch of
the Wilkinson Boulevard Corri
dor (from Morehead Street to
Billy Graham Parkway) with
landscape Improvements. This
meeting Is " “ first scheduled
for this proj: ct and will be open
for public Input.
King Book Stirs New Controversy Among Allies
BY ROBERT BYRD
Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA (AP) — The Rev.
Ralph David Abernathy on
Monday defended his controver
sial autobiography, which In
cludes details of Martin Luther
King Jr.'s Infidelity, saying he
would never hurt his "dearest
friend" but felt he had to tell the
truth.
Abernathy said he had little
choice but to write an honest ac
count of what he knew because
previous King histories have de
tailed the slain civil rights lead
er's private life.
"I knew that If I Ignored the
subject, then reviewers and
readers would say, 'He's not tell
ing the truth,"' Abernathy said
In a statement to reporters. "In
writing one's autobiography, the
Implication Is that It Is a true
story."
Fielding questions at Atlanta's
West Hunter Street Baptist
Church, where he Is pastor,
Abernathy said he has always
held King In "the highest regard"
and meant no harm.
"He was my buddy and my
friend," he said. "I would never
do anything to hurt my friend."
In "And The Walls Came Tum
bling Down," Abernathy writes
of King's "difficult time" resist
ing sexual temptation and says
that on the night before his
April 4, 1968, assassination in
Memphis, King spent the night
with two different women and
brawled physically with a third
who had been unable to find
him.
King "was not a Jesus, he was
not a saint, he was not an Infal
lible person," Abernathy said. "I
have told no lies."
Abernathy said he had "spoken
with Dr. King concerning some
of these activities " during their
years together, but he did not
elaborate.
About 200 people lined up at
Oxford Book Store In midtown
Atlanta on Monday night for
Abernathy to autograph their
copies of his book. Some cus-
Leaders Hit
Abernathy Book
BY SONYA ROSS
Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA (AP) — Civil rights
leaders are demanding that the
Rev. Ralph David Abernathy re
tract Implications In his new
book that the Rev. Martin Luther
See WRITER On Page 2A
tomers said Abernathy's revela
tions about King didn't bother
them.
"I just want to read what he has
to say," said Robert Moore, 33, of
Atlanta. "I'm not picking sides."
A coalition of civil rights lead
ers, Including former King col
leagues Jesse Jackson, Andrew
Young and John Lewis, de
nounced the book last week,
calling for Abernathy to repudi
ate It. Some critics, citing his
two strokes In recent years, have
even doubted that he wrote It.
But Abernathy said Monday,
"Make no mistake: I am In my
See DID On Page 2A
Inside This Week
Editorials
Pq.
4A
Entertainment
Pg. 1B
Lifestyles
. Pq.
7A
Spo rts
Pg. 7B
Health Pages..
■ Pg.
9A
Classifieds
Pg. 11B
Church News. Pg.
10A
Alliance
. Pg. 12B
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