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VOLUME 22 NO. 4
THE VOICE OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY
THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 10, 1996
75 CENTS
ALSO SERVING CABARRUS, ROWAN AND YORK COUNTIES
Marching
Orders
PHOTO/SUE ANN JOHNSON
Marvin Price (standing) and Kenneth
Merritt of Chariotte stiii carry the spirit of
the Miiiion Man March.
PHOTO^ANGELO DANTZLER
African Americans from across the country descended on Washington for the Miiiion Man March. Depending on the source
doing the counting, up to 1.2 miiiion peopie gathered for the raiiy.
One year later, rally still captures imagination
By Jeri Young
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Grier Heights Barber and Beauty Shop
owner Marvin Price knows why he went
to the Million Man March.
“Everybody figures that black people
can’t get together,” he said. “I knew that
we could prove that we can do something
and get it right. We heard about it. We
decided we would go.”
As the march’s Oct. 16 anniversary
draws near, Charlotte-area men who
made the trek to Washington, D.C., are
reflective. Their reasons for going are as
varied as the men themselves — doctors,
lawyers and ministers mingled and
prayed with former gang members and
prisoners.
They joined to pray for peace and most
important perhaps, to show that black
unity was not just a dream.
Among the multitude was Minister
Robert Muhammad of the Nation of Islam
and a member of the Charlotte organizing
committee.
“I didn’t know what to anticipate,” he
said. “It was the largest movement of
African Americans since we came over on
ships.”
“Awesome” was the only word that the
Rev. Kojo Nantambu could use to describe
his experience.
“I was overwhelmed,” he said. “It was
the greatest spiritual experience that I
have ever had. I will probably never expe
rience it in any capacity ever again.
“The inspiration, the motivation, the joy
and the peace and the hope,” Nantambu
said. “It proved what we could do if we set
our minds to it.”
Nantambu, along with other members of
the Local Organizing Committee, a group
formed to arrange transportation to the
march, chartered 24 buses.
His reason for going was simple - atone
ment.
“Regardless of what we thought about
individuals that organized it, that was
what it was about, atonement,” he said.
“It is going past differences. I appreciated
that part of it.”
Price and fellow entrepreneur Malcolm
Sanders also helped arrange transporta
tion .
“I do a lot of things in this town through
Buck Long Productions,” said Sanders. “I
thought it was something that every black
man should be part of”
“My thing was get on the bus,” said
Sanders with a laugh. “Some of us didn’t
even get to get on the bus. One of ours
didn’t show. You know what we did? We
carpooled. We piled into cars and just
left.”
While no one disputes the power of the
March, its legacy is difficult to measure.
The March, the brainchild of Nation of
Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, was billed
as a day of atonement, a day of recommit
ting oneself to family.
The media bombarded readers and lis
teners with negative images of the march,
which sought to bring at least 1 million
black men to Washington.
Black leaders where divided as well.
Many denominations and civil rights
organizations, including the NAACP,
refused to back the March.
“It was perception,” said Nantambu. “It
was social, political. It was a rehgious mis
conception. Many ministers and others
felt that Farrakhan was the enemy. They
would not have a thing to do with him.”
See MARCH on page 3A
Embezzler to
be resentenced
by U.S. court
AME Zion bishop
donated $100,000
to reduce sentence
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Federal court officials in
Charlotte are awaiting a writ
ten order from the appeals
court to arrange the resen
tencing of Delores Hairston to
as much as 18 months in
prison, despite Bishop George
Battle’s $100,000 contribution
to a deal last year gaining her
a much shorter prison terra.
Hairston has served six
month in prison on a convic
tion of bank fraud after admit
ting she embezzled $607,000
from First Union Bank, where
she worked.
She is currently under the
supervised release of the fed
eral probation office.
But Tuesday, the U.S.
Clerk’s office and 1st
Assistant U.S. Attorney
Kenneth Bell said the 4th
Circuit Court of Appeals re
sentence ruling has not been
received here. The appeals
court in Richmond ordered the
Battle
re-sentencing on Sept. 16.
“Sentencing may not come
up until January,” said Bell.
He said the current court term
has already started and the
docket is set.
The appeals
court ordered
Hairston re-
sentenced
after finding
that her
$250,000
restitution
payment to
First Union
Bank was not
“extraordi
nary” and, since it was based
on loans and gifts from
friends, did not warrant a
departure from federal sen
tencing guidelines.
When she appeared in court
on the bank fraud charge,
Hairston had already worked
out a civil lawsuit agreement
-on Feb. 28, 1995 with First
Union in which in return for
$250,000 repayment of the
embezzled funds the bank
would testify on her behalf.
Battle’s contribution was
part of $250,000 Hairston
paid back to First Union as
See NEW on page 2A
Veterans’ lawsuit
results in search for
wrongly discharged
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Time was, veterans on inactive reserve status could be discharged -
with less than honorable status - without a hearing, if they were con
victed of civilian crimes.
No court-martial and no discharge review board hearing.
After a 1980 federal court order, about 300 of such discharges were
upgraded to honorable. But, now the Department of Defense is
renewing efforts to locate the thousands of ex-serVicemen who may be
eligible for upgraded discharges.
Letters were even mailed this summer to corrections officials
because, as the letter stated, “your profession may come in contact
with these individuals.”
The class affected by the lawsuit, which was filed in 1977, are those
who:
l.Received less than fully honorable discharges administratively. 2.
Were discharged while in the inactive reserves. 3. Were discharged
after April 19,1971 or had a discharge review after that date. 4. Have
not had the discharge upgraded to fully honorable.
Thousands of veterans are possibly eligible, according to David
Addlestone of the National Veterans Legal Services Program, which
is handhng the lawsuit for the plaintiffs.
Addlestone said the April 19, 1971 date is used because it is within
the six-year statute of limitations before the lawsuit was filed.
Anyone possibly affected by the practice of all the major services
should contact the Defense Department about upgrading their dis
charge, he said.
See VETERANS on page 2A
Genealogists preserve history at Pinewood cemetery
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
The Pinewood Cemetery
gravcsites of two prominent
African American Charlotteans
were spruced up recently,
thanks to some civic minded vol
unteers.
Members of the Afro-
American Genealogical Interest
Group cleaned the mausoleum
and surroundings of William W.
Smith and the Jones family,
according to member Frank
Coley.
Coley, an Charlotte arson
investigator and avid genealo
gist, said members of the
genealogical group met on Sept.
21 and went to the cemetery
intending to clean Smith mau
soleum.
“But turn out was so good, we
split into two groups and
cleaned the Jones mausoleum
as well,” Coley said. “It w,as good
fellowship and very uplifting.”
Smith, a mason, contractor
and building designer built both
of the mausoleums.
Among his outstanding struc
tures are the Grace AME Zion
Church at 219 S. Brevard St.,
and the Mecklenburg
Investment Company building
at the corner of Third and
Brevard.
The latter structure, known as
the MIC building, is the last
known design by Smith.
It and Grace AME Zion, com
pleted in 1902, are two of the
few remaining structures from
the former Brooklyn community
in Charlotte’s Second Ward,
which was razed in the urban
renewal era of the 1960s.
Hundreds of families and
dozens of businesses and
churches were relocated from
the area which now contains
several governmental structures
and the First Baptist Church on
South Davidson Street.
Smith also did several projects
at Livingstone College in
Salisbury.
His mausoleum holds his
remains and those of his family.
He was buried in 1937.
Joining Coley on the cleanup
effort were Sandra Blackman,
Vivian Doby, Jean Frye, Helen
See GENEALOGY on page 6A
PHOTO/FRANK COLEY
The Afro-American Genealogical Interest Group helped spruce up
the Jones family mausoleum in Pinewood Cemetery.
Inside
Editorials 4A-5A
Strictly Business 7A
Lifestyles 9A
Religion 11A
Umoja 14A
A&E IB
Regional News 6B
Sports SB
Classified 13B
Auto Showcase 14B
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© 1996 The Chariotte Post
Publishing Company.
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