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Cljarlotte
Vol. 15, No. 26 Tuesday, November 21,1989
THE AWARD-WINNING "VOICE OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY"
50 Cents
Minority Affairs Office Reinstated
By HERB WHITE
Post Managing Editor
Mecklenburg County Commis
sioners voted Monday to revive
the Minority Affairs Office, two
years after it was scrapped. But
it will take more than the county
to make it a success, says the
head of the task force who rec
ommended the office be brought
back.
"Now it's our duty to make it
work," said Dr. Jewett Walker,
chairman of the 14-member mi
nority affairs task force. "It's not
going to mean anything until we
make it work.
The Republican-dominated
commissioners voted 5-2 to re
instate the office, with Barbara
Lockwood and George Higgins
dissenting. The lone Democrat
and black. Bob Walton, voted for
the office.
"I had no anticipations about
how It would turn out," said
Walker of the vote. "The county
commissioners sent out a task
force, and we did our job. The
community had a lot of expecta
tions and I believe we delivered."
Before approving the office.
Communities, First
Union Agree On
Neighborhood Pact
Bank To Spend $9 Million
By GWENDOLYN DANIELS
Post Staff Wrttcr
Charlotte-based First Union
National Bank and a grassroots
community group have reached
agreement on a plan to pump
millions of dollars into predom
inantly black neighborhoods.
The Charlotte Reinvestment
Alliance, a group made up of
neighborhood groups, success
fully negotiated a pact In which
First Union will put more than
$9 million into Charlotte's low-
income neighborhoods.
The alliance maintained the
Jank redlined, a practice of re
fusing to make loans and other
services available to non-white
and low-income communities.
As a condition of the settle
ment, the neighborhood groups
withdrew their regulatory chal
lenge to the proposed First Un-
lon-Florlda National Bank mer
ger. First Union still has to deal
with Florida community organi
zations who allege redlining of
their neighborhoods.
In a settlement signed Thurs
day, First Union agreed to:
•Provide $5 million in favora
bly-termed mortgage loans to
previously redlined neighbor
hoods
•Supply up to $4 million in
special commercial loans to
small an minority-owned busi
nesses in the same neighbor
hoods
•Finance the startup of a real
estate trust that will promote
affordable housing in targeted
Charlotte communities
•Provide funds to establish
community development corpo
rations In the Belmont and Reid
Park neighborhoods.
Emmanuel Allen, chairman of
the board of directors for the al
liance, said the group was
pleased with the outcome of the
deal.
"Negotiations went quite well,
he said. "We received most of
what we wanted."
commissioners accepted a mod
ified version of the minority af
fairs task force's recommenda
tion on the selection of an
executive director.
The task force proposed last
month that commissioners ap
point 15 people to a committee
that would select the director.
The compromise will allow
Coimty Manager deny Fox to fill
the p>osition. The task force rec
ommended that a director be
named by Feb. 1990.
"It'll be alright," Walker said of
the decision to let Fox name the
director. "We can monitor and
hopefully Interface with the
county manager as far as who's
hired."
Walker said the mininify affairs
office would be best served if
some members of the task force
are named to committee. Their
knowledge of Mecklenburg's
non-white communities could
provide direction in forging
county policy.
"It's my hope that some of
those people will be selected,"
he said. "There out to be some
continuity in our thoughts."
The minority affairs office will
be responsible for providing
county government with infor
mation about Mecklenburg's
ethnic communities, such as
their size, location and needs.
The office is seen by supporters
as a bridge between non-whites
and government-sponsored ser
vices.
According to the U.S. Census
Bureau, the combined popula
tion of various ethnic groups
amounted to 24 percent of
Mecklenburg's population, a fact
that was pointed out in the task
force's report.
Allen said the group's chal
lenge .to First Union has
prompted executives from First
Union and NCNB to visit the
Belmont neighborhood and see
first hand how banks deal with
black communities.
'This has increased their sen
sitivity to low-income neighbor
hoods," Allen said.
First Union was unable to
close the deal because it failed
to comply with the Community
Reinvestment Act., a 1977 feder
al law that compels regulated
depositories to meet the credit
needs of all communities in
their service area.
The Federal Reserve Board re
cently deferred approval of the
First Unlon-Florlda National
deal pending an Investigation of
First Union's compliance to the
Reinvestment Act.
Rogers Seegars, president of
the Belmont Neighborhood
Strategy Force, said challenging
First Union was long overdue.
"We finally came up with some
guarantees for the neighbor
hoods that have been so ne
glected over the years," he said.
The agreement is the first cl-
tywlde CRA program that First
Union has undertaken.
Rickey Hall, president of the
Reid Park Association, said he
feels both parties should be
proud of the end product.
"The challenge now for the
neighborhoods is to take what
First Union has provided and
make a positive change," Rickey
Hall said,
Allen said the alliance's
present goals will focus on tar
geting other financial institu
tions and asking them to follow
First Union.
Allen said he believes commu
nities have to follow through on
their accomplishment.
"The challenge now is to make
sure funds are used effectively,"
he said, "Our work is not done.
It's just beginning,"
yamwfe;
Photo/CALVIN FERGUSON
IT'S CELEBRATION TIME!
Harding Rams football players rejoice after Fri
day's 35-0 win over westside rival West Mecklen
burg at Memorial Stadium in the second round
of the N.C. 4A playofb.
Leadership Class Focuses On '90
By MILLICENT LINK
Post Staff Writer
Focus on Leadership is only
looking for a certain type of per
son; a person with vested inter
est in the black community.
The program is designed to de
velop skills primarily among
black citizens in Charlotte-
Mecklenburg. The organiza
tion's sole purpose, say officials,
is to identify and groom future
leaders.
Focus on Leadership was ini
tiated in 1987 by Mayor Pro-
Tem Ron Leeper emd the Black
Political Caucus.
Joan Ross, recruit chairperson
and board member, said, "Both
Leeper and the caucus saw a need
to develop a group of pjeople with
a good mix of grass roo.s."
"We are looking for individu
als Interested in investing time
in the black community."
Alumni from the group consist
of leaders in government, busi
ness and Industry, non-profit
organizations and other leader
ship groups.
Alumni Include leaders such
as optometrist Paula Newsome,
Kevin Patterson, a manager at
IBM, and Hoyle Martin, District
2 city councilman-elect.
The 25 participants will be in
troduced to a series of seminars
that explore various community
Issues whUe offering challenges
in addressing those concerns.
"Our goal for 1990 will be to re
cruit 25 representatives as lead
ers that have an interest of com
munity growth and development
for the city of Charlotte," said
Ross.
Topics for the 1990 class will
Include the history of Charlotte,
government and politics In the
city of Charlotte and Mecklen
burg County, economic develop
ment, black family structure,
and personal development.
Candidates for selection must
be at least 21 years old and have
demonstrated community in
volvement.
The 1989 class was responsible
for presenting a forum on Eco
nomic Development in the
Black Community and the crea
tion of the Think Tank, "a group
of individuals whose common
purpose Is to come up with ideas
to improve the black communi
ty," said Ross,
The Focus on Leadership group
also hosts an annual awards
banquet that recognizes 10 hon-
orees for their service to the
community.
America Needs To Improve Learning Ability
By MILUCENT LINK
Post Staff Writer
America must produce life
long learners and convert to
technological advances, Char-
lotte-Mecklenburg School Su
perintendent Peter Relic told
members of the Gaston College
Advisory Council.
"Modern America is an eco
nomic society that calls for
higher education," he said. 'We
have to Impact these kids at an
early age and this means start
ing at the elementary level."
Relic said American schools
have abandoned the teaching of
values. He a|so expressed con
cern with increasing number of
dropouts in Mecklenburg and
Gaston counties.
"If we work together in close
consortium we can decrease the
dropout rate," said Relic.
To combat the dropout prob
lem, Gaston College has este-
bllshed an Adopt a Student Re
tention Program. The program
is designed to lower the dropout
rate of high risk students. Each
faculty member will be respon
sible for five high risk students.
Gaston has also established an
Adopt-A-School program.
East Gaston High School was
the first school to be adopted.
Holbrook Junior High will be
adopted for the 1990 school
year.
Relic said the poor perfor
mance of the Scholastic Attitude
Test (SAT) is a sad reflection of
how materialistic American
children are. He also blames the
poor test scores on the unvalld
comparison to other cities.
"Many cities only test a pxjrtlon
of their students," said Relic.
In order to maintain a work
ing relationship with the public
school system, the Libert Arts
and Sciences division has esta
blished a number of other pro
grams.
The Advisory Council's pri
mary purpose is to serve as a
support group to ensure that all
segments of the community are
aware of and familiar with pur
pose and programs of the divi
sion and Vic versa.
The 60-member council is the
brainchild of Dr. Willie Kim-
mons. Dean of Liberal Arts and
Sciences at Gaston College.
"The council will continue to
play a significant role in the
continuous process of increas
ing enrollment, visibility, and
positive image," said Kimmons.
In addition, the council serves
to Improve the relationship and
cooperation between the Divi
sion of Liberal Arts and Scienc
es, the college and its constituen
cies and supporters.
Boycott Leader Is Suspended
The Associated Press
CONWAY, S.C, (AP) — The Hor
ry County School Board on Sat
urday voted to fire a teacher sus
pended for helping organize a
boycott of the Conway High
School football team after the
coach replaced a black quarter
back with a less-exp>erlenced,
white teammate.
Meanwhile, the State Law En
forcement Division estimated
some 1,200 protesters took part
in an NAACP march and rally
Saturday in Myrtle Beach in
support of the Rev. H.H. Single-
ton and the boycott.
The board, in a 5-1 vote with
one abstention, agreed with Su
perintendent John Dawsey's rul
ing that actions by Singleton
had disrupted the learning pro
cess, school district attorney
Bruce Davis said.
"I think it's an appropriate de
cision," Davis said in a tele
phone interview from his Cam
den office. "I thought we had a
strong case going in. I think his
conduct caused about as much
disruption as one could imagine.
"I think the evidence showed
that his presence as a teacher at
the middle school made it im
possible to conduct school
there."
Singleton, a Conway Middle
School science teacher and pres
ident of the local branch of the
See CONWAY On Page 3A
"At times, this fact causes
problems for county govern
ment, especially when members
of Charlotte-Mecldcnburg's mi
nority communities feel slighted
by certain county policies or ac
tions that, in effect. Ignore mil-
norlty concerns and Issues," it
read.
Walker said the commission
ers' vote showed the county is
committed fair treatment of
non-whites.
"You look on hindsight, and
you don't like to say people were
wrong," he said. "But to rectify it
shows they are committed."
Oprah's
Up By 17
Pounds
The Associated Press
CHICAGO (AP) — Oprah Win
frey told her talk-show viewers
today that she has regained 17
pounds of the 67 she lost in a
diet a year ago.
'We all know ... that the battle
only begins with losing the
weight," Winfrey said,
"I did not add 67 pounds of fat
back," said Winfrey, who made
headlines a year ago with the
announcement of her successful
weight loss on a liquid protein
diet over a four-month p>erlod.
She said the worst part of the
past year has been trying to lose
while in the public eye.
'You order a side dish ,f*d shey
call 911 on you," .she quipped.
She recounted ordering apple
pancakes in a restaurant, saying
she "read about it in two newspa
pers the next day."
Winfrey said her "body is most
comfortable about 10 pounds
lower than it is now," and that
she is aiming for that with an
exercise routine and a diet low
in fat and low in sugar.
Relic
NAACP
Events
Scheduled
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg
County Branch - NAACP will
hold its' Executive Board meet
ing tonight at Alexander Funeral
Home, 112 North Irwin Ave.,
Charlotte, in the Conference
Room.
Branch meeting Is November
30 7PM at Greater Bethel.'..M E.
Church, 201 Grandln Road,
Charlotte. The Pastor is Rev.
Conrad Pridgen.
The WIN (Women In NAACP)
wUl sponsor a Baby Contest and
Christmas Party December 3,
1989, (Ages 1-12). Location:
Greenville Community Center,
1330 Spring St. at: 3:30 Chair;
Mrs. Ruby McCathorine.
For additional Information
contact: Mrs. Ruby McCathorine
- 537-6617 or 333-0231 or Mary
E. Clarke, President, Charlotte-
Mecklenburg County Branch,
NAACP - 334-0207.
INSIDE THIS WEEK
Editorials
4 A.
Lifestyles
6 A
Church Page
8A
Entertainment
IB
Sports
6B
Classifieds
9B
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