Barber-Scotia College on solid footing, offprobation/Page 5B
I ®I)c CIjarlottE I
VOLUME 22 NO. 13
THE VOICE OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY
THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 12,1996
75 CENTS
ALSO SERVING CABARRUS, CHESTER, ROWAN AND YORK COUNTIES
Tears, fears and anger
Exoneration
of officer has
city on edge
By Herbert L. White
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Dianne Cooper just couldn’t
hold back the tears.
As Mecklenburg County
District Attorney Peter Gilchrist
explained Monday why he
wouldn’t prosecute Charlotte-
Mecklenburg Police Officer
Michael Marlow for the Nov. 19
shooting death of her brother
Willie James Cooper, Dianne
Cooper wept throughout a
packed press conference.
Afterwards, she expressed dis
appointment at what many
African Americans say is a law
enforcement community that
turns a blind eye toward police
brutahly against blacks.
“We are deeply saddened by
the decision of the district attor
ney not to prosecute the officer
who shot and killed our loved
one, James Willie Cooper,”
Dianne Cooper sobbed as she
read a prepared statement after
Gilchrist’s announcement. “We
will never be able to explain this
to his 4-year-old daughter,
Shaquetta Digsby. How is it
that her 19-year-old father,
imarmed and helpless, was shot
down before her bright and
innocent eyes by a police officer
who shot five times even though
James Willie never made any
offer of violence to him?”
WUlie Cooper was killed by a
single bullet that entered his
right side and traveled an
upward path through his heart
and lungs before lodging in his
right arm, autopsy reports
show. According to Marlow,
Cooper was ordered back to his
car during a routine traffic stop
on Commercial Avenue off The
Plaza, but didn’t obey the com
mand. Marlow, a two-year
police veteran who is on admin-
See DECISION on page 2A
mM
J
PHOTOS/CALVIN FERGUSON
Dianne Cooper, sister of slain motorist James Willie Cooper, weeps during a press conference called by Mecklenburg County
District Attorney Peter GilchrisL The man who shot James Cooper, police Officer Michael Marlow, won’t be prosecuted.
Decisioii underscores
Charlotte’s racial split
By Herbert L. White
THE CHARLOTTE POST
There is no unanimous reaction to Mecklenbxirg District
Attorney Peter Gilchrist’s decision not to prosecute Charlotte
Police Officer Michael Marlow for the fatal shooting of James
Willie Cooper.
But there’s no denying the incident has rubbed already raw
emotions that has Charlotte split along racial lines.
Most of the anger in the black community, though, was
directed at Gilchrist, who said N.C. law allows police to use
See REACTION on page 2A
District Attorney Peter Gilchrist shows where a bullet fired by
Officer Michael Marlow passed through James Willie Cooper’s car.
AIDS should have blacks’ attention
5|KX)0
r"20000
10000
Reported JiDS caseMof bl
femaksM the US thix>v
Wo
31,102
32,876
19,:
.a
5,216
iwoa
'tom In 5 yd
By Jeri Young
THE CHARLOTTE POST
One woman shares her story on page 10 A
ILLUSTRATION/W. MICHAEL HARRIS
A black AIDS activist says
African Americans need to
take the disease as a serious
health threat and work to
check its spread.
“Except for slavery,” con
tends Mario Cooper, “nothing
in our history will have killed
so many black people in such
a short time as AIDS.”
Cooper who is HIV positive,
has been at the forefront of
the African American AIDS
crisis. In October, Cooper and
members of Harvard
University’s “Black Think
Tank,” which includes psychi
atrist Alvin Pouissant and
Cornel West, called a one-day
consortium on AIDS, the No. 1
killer of African Americans
age 25-44.
One of the first national
symposiums to be held on
AIDS and African Americans,
the apathy of African
American leaders left Cooper
surprised.
Cooper has been critical of
the African American commu
nity for its lack of a clear cut
plan to eradicate AIDS.
Although leaders from the
NAACP and the Urban
League lent support to the
summit, none were present for
the meeting, which featured a
cross section of black AIDS
activists and researchers. No
members of the Congressional
Black Caucus were present
and few church leaders
attended the summit, which
drew some of African
America’s foremost AIDS
researchers, including Centers
for Disease Control director
See AIDS on page 6 A
Charlotte convenience
store owner awaits word
on fatal shooting
Black soldiers in scandal
By Askia Muhammad
THE WASHINGTON INFORMER
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Convenience store owner
Willie Waddell was awaiting
word Wednesday on whether he
will face criminal charges in the
shooting death of an unarmed
man who caused a disturbance
at his store Tuesday.
Waddell told police the man,
identified as Rodney Eugene
Johnson, 31, had been in the
Mighty Midget at 2201 Beatties
Ford Road for several minutes
and had asked how much
money Waddell had. When
Waddell asked Johnson to
leave, they began arguing Etnd
Johnson said he would kill
Waddell, according to Waddell’s
statement to police.
When Johnson reached into
his jacket pocket, Waddell
See WADDELL on pageSA
At the Aberdeen Army
Proving Ground north of
Baltimore and at the Ft.
Leonard Wood Base in
Missouri, several commissioned
and non-commissioned officers
have been placed on leave while
they are investigated in a
national probe of sexual miscon
duct in the military.
The scandal threatens to
become worse than the Navy’s
Tailhook incident, a widening
investigation of abuse of author
ity by all-powerful army drill
sergeants and recruit company
commanders forcing female
trainees to have sex with them.
In miUtaiy fife, unlike civilian
life, soldiers can still be prose
cuted for sex crimes like adul
tery and “conduct unbecoming
an officer.” So far, all three men
who have been brought up on
charges at Aberdeen are black.
At Ft. Leonard Wood, as many
as eight African American drill
sergeants are imder investiga
tion. 'Therein lies the rub.
While Pentagon spokeswoman
Maj. Natalie Perkins said: “As
far as the Army is concerned,
this is not a racial issue,” the
circumstances point to the oppo
site.
At least one drill sergeant at
Ft. Leonard Wood told The
Washington Informer that he
was suspended while the Army
investigates 10 charges against
him, all brought by white
females. The sergeant, who
requested anonymity, insists
that at least seven other col
leagues are in the same situa-
See ARMY on page 3A
Board
considers
proposals
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
The cry of “neighborhood
schools” ffils the air each time
Charlotte-Mecklenburg school
officials reassign students.
The school board is set to con
sider yet another plan Tuesday,
the self-imposed deadline for
adopting an assignment plan for
the 1997-98 school year. A pub
lic hearing was set for today at 6
p.m. at West Charlotte High
School.
Parents are expected again to
argue for neig^iborhood schools,
but few look at the billion dollar
cost of providing a true neigh
borhood school system.
Building such a system would
require both the construction of
new schools and the complete
renovation of older inner city
schools, such as Briarwood,
Druid Hills, Lincoln Heights,
even Hidden Valley, where
some renovation has already
taken place.
“It is an expensive proposition,
if you give the same amenities
to the inner city as you give the
southeast,” said school board
member Arthur Griffin. “That’s
why it is so expensive. New
schools don’t have asbestos, for
example.
To bring older inner city
schools up to the standards of
the newer schools in the south
east “you’d have to gut them,”
Griffin said.
“We Mve had promises for so
many years that they are going
to fix them. The suburbs say
they are going to give inner city
schools what they need. But
they then vote in the most con
servative pohticians. They don’t
wEmt to raise taxes.
“That makes me very con
cerned as to how truthfiil these
folks are,” Griffin said. “Can I
trust them. Now, I don’t think
so.”
Griffin’s reference to conserva
tive politicians probably applies
to people like Bill James, who
just joined the Mecklenburg
Coumty board of commissioners,
and created a stir at last week’s
swearing-in ceremony with a
promise to cheunpion neighbor
hood schools.
That brought a sharp response
from District 2 commissioner
Hoyle Martin, who said James
is “blowing out of his mouth.”
Martin put the cost of a true
neighborhood school system at
as much as $1.5-2 billion. “If you
have neighborhood schools tiiey
are not only going to be segre
gated, but unequal, and I am
not going to support that,”
Martin said.
“No matter how much reno
vating you do to West Charlotte
or West Mecklenburg (high
schools), it’s not going to be up
to the same standards to
See PUPIL on page 3A
Inside
Editorials 4A-5A
Strictly Business 8A
Lifestyles 10A
Religion 13A
Umoja 17A
Sports 7B
A&E1B
Regional News 5B
Classified 10B
Auto Showcase 11B
To subscribe, call (704) 376-
0496 or FAX (704) 342-2160.
© 1996 The Charlotte Post
Publishing Company.
Comments? Our e-metil address Is;
charpost @ cit. mindspring.com
World Wide Web page address;
http://www.thepost.mindspring.com
T