Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Feb. 22, 1996, edition 1 / Page 2
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NEWS/ The Charlotte Post February 22, 1996 Rose Love’s Brooklyn A view Continued from page 1A library’s Carolina Room collec tion. “It was presented to us after her death. It is published as she put it together.” Adams said the library decided to publish the book because of the interest by stu dents and members of the community. “It has been so useful,” Adams said. “The manuscript has been consulted by people who have used it as a resource, by people who have written dissertations, but stu dents and others. A large audience of people have found it useful. And since the neigh borhood has disappeared, we thought it would be a good idea to publish it now. It describes the neighborhood.” Love dedicated her book “To all who loved Brooklyn and to George, who asked me to write down my memories.” George was her son, George Leary Love, a photographer, last known to live in Brazil. “The Brooklyn that we loved will soon be no more,” Love wrote. “Men and machines have erased the old churches, the ancient trees, the homes (whether loved or unloved), the multihued flowers, even many boundary lines. “But as I look at this open land which will one day be rebuilt with new buildings, SECOND WARD ALUMNI ASSOCIATION/AN AFRICAN AMERICAN ALBUM of homes along East 8th Street in Brooklyn. laced with new roads, and peopled with new faces, I remember honeysuckle vines that climbed over fences and purple lilacs in an old-fash ioned flower garden. “Brooklyn, my home, can never be erased from my memory or the memory of many others who once called this section home as long as we remember trailing honey suckle vines and lilacs in early spring.” Playwright Ruth Sloan based her play about Brooklyn, in part on Love’s work, including Love’s delightful account of the antics of a goat named Billy whose escape and capture by Brooklyn children and adults is part of community’s lore. Brooklyn sprang up and thrived south of Trade Street and east of Tryon as African American established them selves in one of the south’s new cities. United by Jim Crow and eco nomic interdependence, it became a community whose artistic, entertainment, educa tional and business achieve ments rivaled such areas as New York’s Harlem. Many believe its Brooklyn name was established when the AME Zion Church moved its publishing house from New York to Brooklyn and pro duced The Star of Zion newsletter there. 'The publishing is one of the few remaining business opera tions from the Brooklyn still discussed affectionately by those who lived there. Other remaining structures include the MIC building and Grace AME Zion Church at the corner of Third and Brevard streets. The MIC building was built by a group of African American profes sionals, who designed and erected it. A portion of the Second Ward High School gym is used now by the Metro School, on Second Street, across from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Education Center. But, in the ‘60s and early ‘70s, urban renewal led to the total destruction of Brooklyn, some 1,500 homes and dozens of businesses were relocated and replaced by government offices, the Adam’s Mark Hotel and First Baptist Church. But the spirit of the commu nity lives on. In her play, Sloan says of Love’s writings, which includ ed poetry, books and stories, “She wanted (children and their parents) to be able to claim a heritage they could be proud of — a southern renais sance that could walk and talk and stand on its own.” She writes poignantly, in a simple lyrical style. Describing the escape by a group of boys from police raid on an afternoon skinny dip in a local swimming hole. Love writes: “Several of the boys man aged to get out in a mad scramble, grab a piece of clothing and get away, but one small boy was so frightened that he forgot to try for a sin gle piece of clothing. He departed for home in his birthday suit. He ran down the road as if every demon in the world was after him. He did not stop until he was safe ly in the confines of his moth er’s house. Other boys report ed that he ended up under his mother’s bed where he remained for what he thought was a sufficient period of time to ensure his safety before he dared come out to face the world again,” And, her memoirs ended: “My hope is that in our memories, we, who experi enced a happy home life in this section, will always keep alive the memory of a Brooklyn which once was blessed with shade trees, red roses and lilacs that bloomed in early spring. To all who might inquire about the sec tion’s past, we can proudly and truthfully say, ‘There once was a wholesome, happy spot called Brooklyn.’ ” Second Ward high school basketball team In the 1940s. SECOND WARD ALUMNI ASSOCIATION/AN AFRICAN AMERICAN ALBUM The sacred wisdom of ancient Egypt MELODYE MICERE STEWART "Follow in the footsteps of your ancestors, for the mind is trained through knowledge. Behold, their words endure in books. Open and read them and follow ;heir wise counsel... Multiply the people whom the city shelters, then God will be praised for your donations. And the people will... give thanks for your goodness and pray for your health." This passage from "THE HUSIA - The Sacred Wisdom of Ancient Egypt," aptly demonstrates and underscores that the intersection of our spirituality and our heritage is the sacred thread of our existence. African people, as God's first people, have always been a spiritual people. Our rela tionship with the Creator begins with our beginning and is evident in every episode of our history, from the creation of civilization and the building of the pyramids to the concept of Ma'at, the highest expres sion of excellence from the people of ancient Kemet/Egypt. As an expres sion of the divine, as well as a reflection of the heritage of African people, Ma'at means truth, justice, righteousness. harmony and balance. Ma'at is a foundational value system for correct living and remains a guidepost for African Americans to internalize and actualize in everyday life. The spirit of Ma'at rose up to stand on the world's center stage on October 16, 1995. The Million Man March/Day of Atonement was an event which captured the intersec tion of faith and history. For those of us who know, its advent not only signaled the opening of the millennium window, but the beginning of an intense period of prepara tion, through study of the his tory in combination with care ful strategic planning for the future. "The Husia" says we must become "the vanguard and rearguard of the people. One who finds the solution where it is lacking... A leader of the land through active assertion.” Before we can cre ate solutions and actively assert them, a critical under standing of our historical lessons is absolutely required. Every African American man, woman and child must be about the business of absorb ing the knowledge. Read Lerone Beimett's "Before The Mayflower: The History of Black Americans.” Begin, renew and/or continue the journey into the history, cul ture, struggles and achieve ments of our ancestors by first reading the history. The future of our people is at stake. IBM grant value is questionable Continued from page 1A ships without demanding spe cial treatment for their chil dren. “What’s to say some other corporation won’t come into the area and want to buy into public education. What do you say to them? Do you say no? I don’t think so.” Dunlap said the $2 million grant involves no direct exchange of money and is much more favorable to IBM than to county taxpayers who are paying $84 million for the schools and have already paid IBM $6 million for the land on which the Education Village is being built. “The $2 million equals $500,000 for each school,” Dunlap said. “Only 25 per cent, or $125,000 per school was to be in cash. The rest of the money is in-kind services valued at what IBM says its valued at. And, if IBM devel ops something they can mar ket, tThe school system doesn’t get anything from that.” Burgess said she IBM insist ed in January it didn’t care how the students were assigned to the school, but then made an issue of the revised assignments. “After a period of public com ment, the board realized the community did not want to give preferential treatment to this $84 million school com plex to select companies,” Burgess said. And school board member Arthur Griffin said he sees no reason to change the assign ment plan to please IBM since other businesses, large and small, have formed partner ships with schools without making demands. “Specifics of this “agree ment” were never voted on by the previous board of educa tion,” Griffin said. “There was no formal agreement. That’s how business was handled under the previous board.” PUT YOUR BUSEVESS IN THE STREETS Cl^arlotte $os;t! 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