Crowning glory: History, custom make hats top accessory/Page 9A
Wt)t Cljarlotte
VOLUME 22 NO. 5
THE VOICE OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY
THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 17,1996
75 CENTS
ALSO SERVING CABARRUS, ROWAN AND YORK COUNTIES
ILLUSTRATION/CITY OF CHARLOTTE
This artists’ rendetlon of First Ward includes a downsized Earie Village. About $40 million is being spent to reduce the size
of Earie Village uptown and Dalton Village in west Charlotte.
Urban Renewal
How secure is low-
income housing in
uptown Charlotte?
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Low income familie.s in
Charlottx? have fewer housing
options, in a market already
short of decent housing for its
poorest families, as a result of
renovation projects underway.
Two of the city’s largest pub
lic housing complexes are
being downsized in renovation
projects as part of a national
strategy begun during tbe
Reagan/Bush administrations
and adopted by President
Clinton.
About $40 million is being
spent to reduce the size of Earle
Village in uptown Charlotte and
another $24 million will be
spent to do the same in Dalton
Village in west Charlotte.
In all the city will lose nearly
10 percent of its 3,900 public
housing units, for which hun
dreds of families are waiting.
Y\'t,nne Scruggs, head of the
Black Leadership Forum and a
former national housing official,
said the national effort could
result in an increase in home
lessness. Reducing housing for
low income families, coupled
with the cut off of federal wel
fare assistance, will force many
families into the street or dilapi
dated housing, she said.
“We are going to have people
sleeping on the street like we
never saw before,” said Scruggs,
a deputy assistant secretary of
the Housing and Urban
Development department.
“There is no way to expect any
thing less than cataclisms in the
social fabric.”
The basic federal housing the
ory is to raze aging and deterio
rating housing complexes and
find alternative ways to fill the
need for low income units,
including use of vouchers and
encouraging home ownership.
Nationwide at least $2.5 bil
lion has been spent over the
past three years to demolish
23,000 housing units. Another
17,000 are scheduled for demoh-
tion - 4,000 to be replaced with
new units — with $716 million in
grants announced last week by
HUD officials. Another 63,000
units may be tom down by the
year 2000. at a cost of abou;$2.8
bilHon.
But advocates for the poor are
predicting disaster, especially as
'veUare aid reductions begin.
“We are just beginning to see
the effects of it,” said Laura
Weir, of the National Law
Center on Homelessness and
Poverty. “We will probably see
more in the next couple of
yoar.s.”
“What has been happening
with public housing is a reduc
tion in the overall units avail
able. Even when they are con
structing new units, they are
fewer than what was demol
ished. And for families receiving
vouchers, often they are unable
to use the vouchers.
'Those who really are suffering
are those waiting to get into
pubUc housing, a group likely to
See HOUSING on page 3A
Day of
atonement
inspires
By Jeri Young
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Chavis
Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Rev. Ben Chavis brought
tens of thousands to their feet during inspiring and uplifting
messages during Wednesday’s World Day of Atonement cere
monies held at United Nations Plaza in New York.
Although New York City Police official refused to release an
official count by press time, media observers estimate that
between 50,000 and 100,000 heard speakers
that ranged from former Black Panther leader
Kwame Toure to Archbishop George Stallings of
Washington’s Imani Temple.
Approximately 100 people gathered at Walls
Memorial AME Zion Church in Charlotte to
watch the rally via satellite. Walls pastor the
Rev. Sheldon Shipman was glad to open his
doors to the Nation of Islam and its supporters.
“Being a witness to the Million Man March in
person in 1995, I am a supporter of its ideals,”
Shipman said. “What the movement is about is
building bridges of unity between different faith.
I couldn’t disagree with that.”
William Mustafa, 39, brought his son Lindsey Clark, 15, to the
service which featured a lively question and answer segment.
“I didn’t get to take him to the Million Man March,” Mustafa
said. “I brought him here because if affects him. He is the next
person that will have the to carry the church.”
“1 want to hear what people are saying,” said Clark. “I liked
what (the Rev. A1 Sharpton) said about education. He said even if
you don’t bave education you can still get on board.”
Sbarpton, a Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City,
and activist Dick Gregory also received cheers from both crowds
for their politically-tinged speeches. Like the most of the speak
ers, they touched on the possible link between the CIA and crack
cocaine and the questionable estimates of the number of
marchers at the Million Man March.
“The government can send up a .satellite then declare they have
found another planet.” Gregory said to thunderous applause.
“They can take a picture of the hair on a gnat’s leg, but they
couldn't give us a fair accounting of how many were there.”
Local participants and New York participants booed when told
that South African dissident Winnie Mandela would not be
allowed to speak. Mandela stood silently as an aid read a pre
pared speech that emphasized the need for whites to atone for
their treatment of the African Diaspora internationally.
According to Chavis, Mandela was not grated permission by the
U.S. government or South African officials to address the crowd.
Chavis encouraged the crowd to call the White House to seek
answers and protest.
“I am calling on the attorneys to take action,” Chavis said. “We
can not let this go by.”
Mandela left the stage with fist upraised to chants of “We want
Winnie.”
Scarborough takes reigns of N.C. League of Municipalities
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Charlotte City Council mem
ber Ella Scarborough took
over the helm of the N.C.
League of Municipalities
Monday at one of its most crit
ical times.
Her first priority as league
president will be hiring a
replacement for longtime
executive director Dave
Reynolds, who died Sept. 24.
For the past 15 years,
Reynolds had been the organi
zation’s top employee, acting
as lead lobbyist with the N.C.
General Assembly.
Scarborough, a member of
the league board for five
years, will head the search
process, which begins immedi
ately, she said.
“The process was set up. The
executive board met on that
and developed a search com
mittee,” said Scarborough, a
five-term Charlotte council
member. “Our second priority
is to continue the lobbying
effort witb the N.C. General
Assembly on issues such as
annexation and unfunded
mandates to keep our cities
strong and healthy.”
Scarborough is the first
African American woman to
head the League of
Municipalities, which has had
two black male presidents.
She’s the first Charlottean to
head the group since Jim
Whittington in 1974.
Her one-year term ends with
the league’s next annual con
ference in October 1997 in
Raleigh.
Scarborough gave the
keynote address Tuesday at
this year’s conference at the
Renaissance Center in
Winston Salem.
Her fellow city council mem
ber, Nasif Majeed, a member
of the group’s nominating
committee,,
praised
Scarborough
and said he
anticipated
her strong
leadership. “I
think Ella is
in a very
strategic
position,”
Majeed said.
“I think it is positive for the
whole state.”
Scarborough
executive director Dave ann uevelopea a searen com- two DiacK male presiaents. oer, ivasii Majeea, a memner i ininK. u. is pusiuiv
Reynolds, who died Sept. 24. mittee,” said Scarborough, a She’s the first Charlottean to of the group’s nominating whole state.”
Adolescent pregnancy down among 15-19 year-olds
By Herbert L. White 95.4 pregnancies per 1,000 the Mecklenburg Coucil on “TwA- *
“She will help our relation
ship with other cities.
Certainly when we have some
one from the largest urban
core in the state working with
other municipalities and help
ing them solve their problems,
it helps people see our prob
lems.”
Scarborough said the new
position will be a challenge,
but one she’s anxious to
accept.
By Herbert L. White
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Teen pregnancy in
Mecklenburg County declined
among girls 15-19 years old last
year.
But more younger girls are
getting pregnant, according to a
study.
The N.C. Center for Health
Statistics released statistics last
week that inidcate the pregnan
cy rate for females 15-19 went
down for the fifth straight year,
while girls 10-14 went up. In
1995, adolescent pregnancy in
Mecklenburg dipped to a rate of
82.3 pregnancies per 1,000
females ages 15-19, a decrease
of 9.3 percent from 1994’s 90.7
percent. In North Carolina, the
rate also decreased, sliding from
95.4 pregnancies per 1,000
females in 1994 to 91.4 last
year.
“While the five-year trend for
15-19 year-olds is encouraging,
the lack of a sustained reduction
of the rates for 10-14 year-olds
indicates the need for more
work with this younger group of
adolescents,” said Dr. Stephen
Keener, medical director of the
Mecklenburg County Health
Dept.
In Mecklenburg, 75 pregnan
cies to girls aged 10-14 were
reported, for a rate of 4 for per
1,000 females in 1995. 'That rate
is an 8.1 percent increase from
3.2 pregnancies per 1,000 the
year before. The N.C. rate fell
from 3.5 per 1,000 10-14 year-
olds in *94 to 3.2 per 1,000 in “95.
Thereasea Elder, a member of
the Mecklenburg Coucil on
Adolescent Pregnancy, said edu
cating older teens is at least
partially responsible for the
reduction among 15-19 year-
olds. In Mecklenburg, more
emphasis has been placed on
educating not only girls, but
boys on the consequences of pre
marital sex in terms of pregnan
cy and sexually-transmitted dis
ease.
“I think it’s a combination of a
lot of things,” she said. “The
programs have been geared for
girls 15 to 19 years old and the
men impregnating these girls
are also getting this message.”
The increase in 10-14 preg
nancies is exacerbated by sever
al factors, including older men
establishing sexual relation
ships with girls. Elder said.
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