Cowboys ride in to challenge Panthers’ perfect home record/Page IB
■ Cljarlotte ■
VOLUME 22 NO. 16
THE VOICE OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY
THE WEEK OF JANUARY 2,1997
75 CENTS
ALSO SERVING CABARRUS, CHESTER, ROWAN AND YORK COUNTIES
Call for Black Monday
By John Minter and
Jeri Young
THE CHARLOTTE POST
The Rev. Ben Chavis has
called for a Black Monday on
Jan. 27 as a community-wide
boycott to protest the deaths of
three unarmed African
Americans killed by Charlotte
pohce ofiBcers.
Chavis was keynote speaker
at a vigil sponsored by Citizens
for Justice and other grassroots
orgeinizations commemorating
African Americans urged to boycott
schools, businesses as shooting response
the deaths of James Willie
Cooper, Windy Gail Thompson
and Jake King.
“No school. No work. No play,”
Chavis said. “No one is going to
take us seriously imtU we take
ourselves seriously. We don’t
want to see a black face in a
maU anywhere in Charlotte.”
Chavis, national organizer of
the Million Man March, said he
win remain in Charlotte to help
organize the protest and may
seek help from Louis
Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam
leader who called for the march
as a Day of Atonement.
“I’m coming home,” said
Chavis, who attended UNC
Charlotte and once ran for
Charlotte City Council. “I am
going to become a resident of
Charlotte again.”
In a rousing speech drawing
shouts from the crowd packed
into Chnton Chapel AME 2ion
Church, Chavis said “It is time
for united action. We are declar
ing Monday, Jan. 27, 1997 as
Black Monday in Charlotte,
N.C. It’s OK to be black again.”
“We demand justice,” Chavis
shouted. “We cannot let Brother
See PROTEST on page 2A
Kwanzaa
founder
affirms
principles
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Maulana Karenga’s lecture
on the second day of Kwanzaa
Friday was a rousing reaffir
mation of the the Nguzo Saba
from its creator.
Karenga left no sin unpun
ished in calling on African
Americans to “speak truth, do
justice, walk in the way of
righteousness.”
“Don’t use the difficulty of the
struggle as an excuse not to
engage in it,” Karenga told the
nearly 500 people who turned
out at Ovens Auditorium and
greeted his lecture with cheers
and applause.
Noting the deaths of James
Willie Cooper, Windy Gail
Thompson and Jake King, all
shot by police officers while
unarmed, Karenga told the
audience, “The only thing that
saved you was your absence.”
“Whatever happens to one of
us will happen to all of us,” he
said. “Each of us is compelled
to enter the field of action.”
Asked about Oakland, Calif.’s
plems to teach Ebonics or Black
English in public schools,
Karenga praised the move as a
way to relate to African
American students and teach
them other languages, includ
ing proper Enghsh.
Karenga’s visit, marking the
30th anniversary of Kwanzaa,
was organized by the Kwanzaa
Task Force, headed by Ahmad
Daniels. The evening began
with a private reception at the
Afro-American Cultural
Center.
Karenga is professor and
chair of the Department of
Black Studies, Cahfomia State
University, Long Beach. He
helped write the mission state
ment for the Million Man
March and is founder of the US
organization, one of the few
remaining groups from the ‘60s
Black Power movement.
He founded Kwanzaa in 1966
as the only non-reUgious, non
heroic African American holi
day. Kwanzaa is celebrated
with daily rituals Dec. 26
through Jan. 1, ending with a
feast called the Karamu at
which gifts are given to chil-
See KARENGA on page 2A
PHOTO/SUE ANN JOHNSON
Maulana Karenga, the founder of Kwanzaa, was In Charlotte last week to talk about the holiday,
which is celebrated by an estimated 20 million people worldwide.
Kwanzaa’s getting too commercial,
much to holiday supporters’ chagrin
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - As
Kwanzaa grows, items used
to celebrate the holiday are
being offered by mednstream
retailers.
The candles, cups and other
items have customarily been
sold by black-owned business
es.
“It’s very disturbing,” said
Theman Taylor, a history
professor at University of
Central Arkanssis.
“Keep in mind, this is an
African American holiday to
the core and black people
must understand that the
meaning of the “kinara’ (can-
dleholder) and the meaning of
everything to do with
Kwanzaa benefits black peo
ple first,” Taylor said.
“To go and purchase these
things from these large corpo
rations is missing the whole
meaning. In fact, you’re
changing the meaning,” he
said.
Kwanzaa, which means
“first fruits,” began Dec. 26
and runs through Jan. 1. An
estimated 5 million black
famihes are expected to cele
brate this year. The hohday
began 30 years ago, created
by Maulana Karenga, with
whom Taylor is friends.
Building economic indepen
dence is among the seven
principles that Kwanzaa sym
bolizes. The holiday has
grown to the point where
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and
Avon are selling Kwanzaa
materials.
“We’re raising the aware
ness about Kwanzaa, and
we’re helping people under
stand the importance of this
holiday,” said Paulette
Brown, Avon spokeswoman
in New York.
Patrick Oliver, owner of
Kuumba Cafe emd Images of
Africa gift shop in Little Rock,
said the corporate involve
ment takes away from the
holiday.
PHOTO/SUE ANN JOHNSON
Marches like this one protesting the fatal shooting of James Willie
Cooper could be repeated on Jan. 27, proclaimed Black Monday.
Funds raised to
put cameras in
police vehicles
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Simms
A group of African Americans plan to announce
Thursday that they have already reused $25,000
toward the purchase of video cameras for Charlotte
pohce cars. The Post has learned.
A press conference has been called for 11:30 a.m.
'Thursday to annoimce the group’s initial efforts to
outfit pohce with cameras. The funds raised would
go to the installation of video equipment in 25 cars.
The group includes Charlotte City Council mem
ber Ella Scarborough and TransAmerica
Peipsuri nc' President Pill Simms, F rst Union
Bank vice president Lenny Springs and Ron
Leeper, a former city council member who owns a
construction firm.
A cah for video cameras in pohce cars arose in the wake of the
killing of an unarmed black motorist by a Charlotte-Mecklenburg
pohce oflBcer in November.
James Willie Cooper, 19, was shot in the side
after a traffic stop in east Charlotte by officer
Michael Marlow.
Community leaders have renewed a caU for a citi
zens review board to investigate such incidents.
The use of video cameras, used by several pohce
agencies, including highway patrol troopers, was
proposed as a solution to determining whether
deadly force and other pohce acts are justified.
Pohce officials and city council members have
said mounting cameras in cruisers is a good idea.
See GROUP on page 2A
Task force to
study schools
Scarborough
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
A diverse group of local citi
zens wiU help plan future school
constmction needs, focusing on
equity in the siting of buildings
and in student assignments.
The group, caUed the Citizens’
Task Force for Future School
Planning, will report to
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
Supt. Eric Smith and the school
board.
Smith, noting that Charlotte-
Mecklenburg is the fourth-
fastest growing large system in
the nation, said “we wiU contin
ue to face two major issues relat
ed to that growth: providing
enough classroom seats for our
students and deciding which
students whl fiU those seats.”
“The Citizens’ Task Force will
play a vital role in helping us
meet the challenges of our grow
ing community in a pro-active,
forward-thinking way,” Smith
said.
'The appointment of the task
force comes as the community
ends another fight over pupil
assignments, a fight which left
bitter feelings on eJI sides, espe
cially Matthews area parents
who want their children to
attend the new southeast high
See TASK on page 2A
Rebel flag’s appearance on Md. tags stirs controversy
By Tom Stuckey
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The bat
tle over the Confederate flag has
moved into Union territory.
Maryland’s motor-vehicle
department has issued special
license plates with the flag to
about 70 members of the Sons of
Confederate Veterans, offending
black leaders.
“Marylemd doesn’t need to go
backwards with this Jim Crow
mess,” said state Sen. Larry
Young, a Baltimore Democrat
and chairman of the Legislative
Black Caucus.
Young and Hanley Norment,
president of the state chapter of
the NAACP, said they will ask
the state Motor Vehicle
Administration to stop issuing
the special plates.
“We in the NAACP are sur
prised and disappointed that a
state agency would cooperate in
perpetuating such symbols as
this one,” Norment said.
Patrick J. Griffin HI, a
Maryland member of the Sons
of the Confederacy, said his
organization is not racist and
abhors the activities of groups
such as the Ku Klux Klan.
“There is no intention whatso
ever to offend anyone,” he said.
Griffin, whose great-great
grandfather fought in the
Confederate Army, said the
Ucense plates are “a symbol of
pride in our heritage.”
The plates display a small
Confederate battle flag on the
left side and “Sons of
Confederate Veterans” written
under the license numbers.
Sons of Confederate Veterans is
among about 170 nonprofit
orgeinizations that have gotten
special plates.
The plates were approved two
years ago and the agency
received no complaints until
this week, perhaps because only
70 sets of plates out of 3.7 mil
lion issued in Maryland carry
the battle flag logo, said Motor
See REBEL FLAG on page 3A
Inside
Editorials 4A-5A
Strictly Business 6A
Lifestyles 8A
Religion 10A
Sports 1B
A&E 4B
Regional News 8B
Classified 10B
Auto Showcase 11B
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