FINDING HOMES FOR KIDS /PAGE 7B TOMMY DAVIDSON IS STRICTLY BUSINESS/pageib Cljarlotte Vol. 17, No. 11 The Week Of Nov. 7-Nov. 13 1991 THE AWARD-WINNING VOICE OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY COLUMN ONE 50 Cents Numbers Favored Majeed %, News And Notes From Charlotte And The Rest Of The World. A Candlelight Prayer Vigil Charlotte's murder rate Is rising, and so is a grass roots effort to curb It. A cltywlde candlelight prayer vigil will be held Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. in the parking lot of the Char- lotte-Mecklenburg Educa tion Center at 701 East Sec ond St. Adams Outdoor Advertis ing will donate signs to the "Stop The Killing" drive sponsored by The Crusade and will unveil the first of them at 6:15 p.m. Names of Charlotte's homicide victims will be listed on a special memori al board at the park. Leadership Award Frank Edward Emory Jr., a graduate of Leadership Charlotte, has received the 1991 Distinguished Leader ship Award from the Na tional Association for Community Leadership. Community Leadership presents awards annually to honor graduates of its member programs who in the estimation of their lo cal community leadership organization, exemplify the spirit, goals and highest standards of civic commltme nt. Commun Ity Leader ship is made up of 370 leader ship devel opment or ganizations in 47 states, Washington, D.C., Great Britain and Australia. Colleges Hold Meetings A couple of N.C. colleges will sponsor meetings next week. The Johnson C. Smith University Charlotte Alumni Chapter will hold its monthly meeting Nov. 13 at 6:30 p.m. in confer ence rooms B&C In the Unl- veslty Union. The undergraduate admis sions office of N.C. Central Univeslty will host a re cruitment reception the same night from 7 p.m.-9 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Center at 230 College St. Topics to be discussed in clude student aid. scholar ships, academic programs and athletics. Students and parents are invited, as are NCCU alum ni. For more Information, call Sylvia Casey at 549- 1531. Muslim Sisterhood The Dept, of Women's Af fairs of the Institute for Is lamic Involvement will host its annual women's conference Nov. 16 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Carl Russell Recreation Center in Winston-Salem. The conference's theme is "The Muslim Sisterhood: Assessing Our Roles and Re alizing Our Potential." The conference fee for adult women is $20 and $12 for girls. Non-Muslims are welcome to attend. For information, call (919) 748-0756. Emory INDEX By Winfred B. Cross THE CHARLOTTE POST This year's election pulled an average turnout but few surprises. Republican Richard Vln- root became Charlotte's new mayor by defeating friend and Democrat A1 Rousso. Naslf Majeed became the first councilman from new- I ly-redrawn City Council District 4 by defeating Re publican 1 Darryl I Broome. About 35 I percent of the I registered voters turned Vinroot out city-wide. It was Majeed's third at tempt at public office. It was Broome's second attempt at office. "We were doing some posi tive things. We had gotten our message out there to let the people know what we were doing more so than the last time," Majeed said shortly after his victory. "We had some strong supporters in the new District 4 and we See NASIF On Page 2A -■J ■ » — Photo/FRANK WILLIAMS District 4 opponents Naslf Majeed (left) and Darryl Broome shake hands after Mi^eed was declared the wlimer. ^JLL Link Between Corporations And Vendors PROFILE BUSINESS MALCOLM GRAHAM By Herbert L. White THE CHARLOTTE POST M:.- i/CAUra PEROUBON Malcolm Graham, executive director of the Carolinas Minority Suppliers Development Cotmcils, remembers having no staff when he took the job three years ago. 'It was just me and an answering machine." he said. Three years ago, the Carolinas Minority Suppliers Development Councils were at a crossroads. The organization, made up of corpora tions and minority vendors in both states, was in debt and the corporate community was losing interest. The death knell to some was the promotion of 25-year-old Malcolm Graham to executive director after Cecil Brandon was fired. They were wrong. Graham turned CMSDC around, bringing In new members and erasing the organiza tion's debt. His efforts haven't gone unno ticed, with the National Minority Supplier Development Council citing the local group as the organization of the year. Now 28. Graham remembers the doubters circled Ifke buzzards ready for his tenure to die. 'When I first started. I was the youngest executive director of all the 47 councils na tionwide and...the organization had just fired my predecessor," he said. "So I really inherited the whole bag of worms, being 25 and head of an organization that wasn’t liv ing up to its mission statement." With the challenge firmly In place, Gra ham set about rebuilding confidence In CMSDC. The non-profit organization ag gressively recruited large companies and encouraged them to contribute money to programs. Minority vendors were encour aged to join and additional staff were hired to implement programs, including the an nual minority trade expo, one of the largest hi the U.S. "At first It was just me and an answering machine," Graham said. CMSDC coordinates activities between 515 minority-owned businesses and 151 See(aAHAMCkiFl^2A Retired Court Justice Wins NCCJ Award ^ Vv : Ambassador To Visit Charlotte Namimbia's Kalomoh By Herbert L. White THE CHARLOTTE POST FROM STAFF REPORTS WASHINGTON-The accolades keep rolling In for retired Su preme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. The 83-year-old Marshall received the Charles Evans Hughes Gold Medal from the National Conference of Christians and Jews In a private ceremony Wednesday at the Supreme Court. Ira A. Llpman, chairman of the NCCJ National Executive Board and Gillian Martin, president of the Conference, made the presentation, which Is given for "courageous leadership In govern mental, civic and humanitarian af fairs." Marshall, appointed to the nation's highest court In 1967 by former presi dent Lyndon B. Johnson, was the first African American to serve on the body. Another Black, Clarence Thom as, succeeded him this month. Mar- Marshall in the 19608 shall is considered the foremost civil rights lawyer in the U.S. Scenes from Namibia's independence celebration will be part of an exhibit next week at the Afro American Cultural Center. The country's ambassador, Tuliamenl Kalomoh, will be a special guest at the exhibit, the first time an offi cial from an African nation will visit a Black community in Charlotte. It’s a rarity to find ambas sadors from foreign coun tries In Charlotte, but one will be here next week for the opening of an art exhibit, Namibian Ambassador Tuliamenl Kalomoh will help open "Faces Of Change" Nov, 11 at the Afro- American Cultural Cen ter. The cen ter Is located at 401 N. Myers St. "Faces Of Change" Is a pho tographic look at the nation during Its Independence last See NAMIBIA On Page 3A Kalomoh Editorials/Pages 4A-5A Lifestyles/Page 7A EntertainmentBage IB Sports/Page 7B Classified Advertising^ Page lOB For Subscription Information Or Story Ideas, Call The Post At (704) 376-0496.