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Cljarlotte
VOLUME 22 NO. 20
THE VOICE OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY
THE WEEK OF JANUARY 30 1997
75 CENTS
ALSO SERVING CABARRUS, CHESTER, ROWAN AND YORK COUNTIES
Wallace’s
sentence:
Death
By Herbert L. White
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Henry Louis Wallace was sen
tenced to death Wednesday for
the murder of
Wallace
nine Charlotte
women, clos
ing another
chapter in the
city’s most
notorious
mystery.
Wallace,
who was con
victed earlier
last month in
Mecklenburg
County District Court after
pleading guilty to all counts,
could’ve been spared a death
sentence if the jury had voted to
recommend he serve Ufe due to
his diminished psychological
capacity. Wallace’s defense
attorney contended that he suf
fered verbal and physical abtrse
as a child, contributing to his
hatred of women as an adrrlt.
Wallace’s arrest sparked
intense debate, particularly
regarding police resporrse. Some
African Americans and forensics
experts said Wallace left obvi
ous clues that cotrld’ve led to an
earher arrest. All of the victims
were black and either worked
with Wallace or knew friends of
his from work.
Under North Carolina law,
Wallace will have an automatic
appeal of his sentence.
OJ. Simpson
disappointing
to some
By Julia Prodis
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES - In the
months after O.J. Simpson
was acquitted of murder, some
black
Simpson
activists say
he appeared
to care more
about his golf
game than
the black
community
that believed
in him and
asked for his
aid.
But the man who challenged
him to either help his fellow
blacks or prove himself to be
the “No. 1 ingrate in
America,” isn’t holding it
against him.
“1 did expect more of him
than he did,” said Celes King
111, who leads the Congress for
Racial Equality from his bail
bonds office in South Central
Los Angeles. “But no one can
really blame him for using up
all of his time toward trying to
See SIMPSON on page 2A
PHOTOS/CALVIN FERGUSON
Demonstrators strike African drums Monday during a rally at The Square as part of Black
Monday.
Time to unite
Black Monday’s message: Get involved
ByJohnMinter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Despite charges of racial divisiveness and
social irrelevance. Black Monday got its mes
sage of racial solidarity across to Charlotte.
Nearly 600 African Americans rallied at 'The
Square in uptown Charlotte. About 250 people
marched from Mt. Moriah Primitive Baptist
Church chanting “No justice, no peace” and
“Black Monday.”
Men carried three cofBns at the head of the
procession. The cofBns, draped with red, black
and green cloth, represented three imarmed
African Americans shot and killed by
Charlotte pohce ofBcers.
Hundreds more gathered for the noontime
rally, which featured speeches and African
drumming and dancing.
The day-long protest, including an appear
ance by dozens of protesters at Monday’s
Charlotte City Council meeting, was called last
month by the Rev. Ben Chavis, leader of the
National African American Leadership
Suimnit and co-convener of 1995’s Million Man
March.
Chavis called for a Black Monday, which
included a call to boycott white businesses,
during a speech before Citizens for Justice and
other grassroots organizations angered by the
Nov. 19 shooting of an unarmed black motorist
— James Willie Cooper — by a Charlotte police
officer.
Citizens for Justice formed after the
See SHOOTING on page 2A
Minister
Robert
Muhammad
addresses
demonstra
tors at The
Square as
the Revs.
Kojo
Nantambu
and Ben
Chavis lis
ten.
Reid blasts
opponents on
race statement
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Charlotte City Council mem
ber Don Reid lashed out at his
critics Monday following a rau
cous exchange among support
ers and detractors of his “I’m
afraid of young black males”
statement two weeks ago.
Reid mentioned by name three
prominent African American
critics - TransAmerica
Reinsurance President Bill
Simms, Black Pohtical Caucus
chairman Bob Davis and con
struction company ovraer Ron
Leeper, who Reid said wrote him
a “mean-spirited” letter.
“1 was ready for them,” Reid
said Tuesday.
In his statement, which was
made available to 'The Post, Reid
said he was disappointed in
Simms. “How could you lower
yourself and participate in this
lynching attempt,” Reid said.
“You, certainly don’t need the '
sword of racism to gain power,
prestige or money.”
He said Simms’ opposition
could be because Reid opposes
PHOTO/SUE ANN JOHNSON
Signs like this were abundant
at Monday’s City Council meet
ing supporting - and blasting -
Don Reid.
use of tax money to build an
entertairanent complex, a pro
posal of a group of businessmen
of which Simms is a member.
“Whatever, Bill, you have tar-
See REID on page 3A
1,000-man
march planned
for Saturday
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
A 1,000 Man March is
planned for Saturday.
Marchers will gather at 11
a.m. at First Mayfield Memorial
Baptist Church at Statesville
Avenue and Oaklawn Avenue.
The group, led by the Rev.
James Barnett, founder of 'The
Crusade against drugs and vio
lence, will march down
Oaklawn to Beatties Ford Road,
then to West Charlotte High
School, where a rally will be
held.
In a prepared statement,
Barnett notes the march kicks
off Black History Month.
“The goals of the marchers are
to have zero black-on-black
murders in the city during the
month of February and a 21
percent decrease for the year
1997,” Barnett said. “Should
there be a murder in our com
munity during the month of
February the community will be
asked to give the same kind of
outcry as it did in the Cooper
shooting.”
James Willie Cooper, a 19-
year-old black youth was
unarmed when he was shot and
killed in November by Charlotte
police officer Michael Marlow.
’The black community has pub-
hcly complained since the shoot
ing, demanding an independent
citizen’s review board and
laimching efforts to raise money
for video cameras in police cars.
A grassroots effort resulted in
the Black Monday protest Jan.
27.
Barnett did not support Black
Monday protest and has called
on the black community to use
its energy to reduce all violence.
He said that while black men
will lead Saturday’s march.
See 1,000 on page 6A
Child poverty becoming more prevalent
among Americans below 6 years of age
By Vladimire Herard
THE CHICAGO DEFENDER
Swelling the ranks of the
neediest children below age 6,
African American youngsters
endure the greatest incidence of
poverty of any ethnic group
nationally, a Columbia
University study revealed.
The study, “One in Four:
America’s Youngest Poor,” by
the National Center for
Children in Poverty at
Columbia University School of
Public Health, found that the
number of impoverished chil
dren under age 6 nearly doubled
nationally from 3.5 million to
6.1 million between 1979 and
1994.
A corresponding 39 percent
increase occmred for children of
families who fell below the
poverty line by 18 to 25 percent.
At the same time, however, the
rate of indigent white children
rose by twice as much as
African Americans: 38 percent
against 19 percent.
White children, the study
cited, are the largest single eth
nic group of poor young chil
dren.
Inside
Editorials 4A-5A
Strictly Business 8A
Lifestyles 10A
Religion 12A
Sports 1B
A&E 4B
Regional News 8B
Classified 10B
Auto Showcase 13B
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