6A
NEWS/ The Charlotte Post
Thursday, May 1,1997
Fannie Mae celebrates success
PHOTO/CALVIN FERGUSON
Jacqueline Lampkins receives a housewarming gift Saturday during ceremonies spon
sored by Fannie Mae and the city of Charlotte.
Continued from page 1A
financing that traditional
loan sources are less likely to
approve, said Rep. Mel Watt
of Charlotte.
“The results of
HouseCharlotte’s efforts
speak strongly about Fannie
Mae’s commitment to our
city,” he said. “Fannie Mae’s
investment in minority-
owned banks, like Mechanics
& Farmers Bank, will help
expand local community
development efforts.”
Although more Charlotte
families are moving into
homes, the overall percentage
of owners lags behind the
national average. Fifty-five
percent of Charlotte residents
own homes, compared to 66
percent nationally. Among
African Americans in the city,
38 percent own homes, com
pared to the national average
of 44 percent.
Redistricting vote delayed again
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Charlotte City Council still
has not redrawn its election
districts and, despite attempts
at compromise, neither politi
cal party has the votes to pass
a new plan.
Monday, it took a vote by
Democrat A1 Rousso for the
five Republicans on the 11-
member council to kill a
Democratic-backed plan.
All Democratic-supported
proposals would add recently-
annexed voters to current dis
tricts and make little changes
to district lines.
Republicans are pushing for
a plan which would give
Democrats the option of
accepting a safe white
Democratic seat or a safe
black Democratic seat, leaving
the two westside majority-
black districts untouched.
Time may be running out for
a decision.
“The reality is the districts
ought to be in place by early
May, so maps can be pre
pared, voters can be assigned
to districts and preparation
for the election can begin,”
said Mecklenburg Elections
Supervisor Bill Culp.
Culp said this is the first
difficult city redistricting
since district elections begun
in 1977.
“We have never had this
problem before,” Culp said.
“Traditionally, redistricting
has involved minimum
changes to districts. This year,
tradition is out of the window.
The minimum change map
was voted down 6-5 with A1
Rousso voting with the
Republicans.”
The vote symbolizes how dif
ficult it will be to select a plan
and how close the city may be
to putting district elections in
the hands of federal judges.
Any plan must have at least
seven votes to be veto-proof,
assuming the Democrats get a
plan passed. Republicans
would need at least two
Democrats to vote their way.
The two most current com
promise plans involve changes
to District 1, currently held by
Democrat Sara Spencer.
Spencer has proposed adding
more Republicans to the dis
trict, making it more competi
tive. However, council mem
ber Don Reid wants even more
Republicans added to that dis
trict.
“Until they get somebody to
cross party lines and support
a map, they are deadlocked,”
Culp said. “I don’t know how
it is going to play out, we are
in unchartered waters.”
Filing for city elections
opens July 4. The primary is
currently set for Sept. 23 and
the general election is Nov. 4.
Culp said it is possible, even
if new districts are not
approved in time, the mayoral
and at-large council elections
could be held on schedule.
Since more whites than
African American were added
in the annexation of several
suburban areas, including the
University City area. District
4, the northeast district repre
sented by Nasif Majeed, was a
prime target to become more
white.
Current compromise plans
would maintain the likelihood
that an African American
would be elected in District 4,
which includes Hidden Valley
and Hampshire Hills.
Ambassador at JCSU graduation
The U.S. Ambassador to
Jamaica will be Johnson C.
Smith University’s commence
ment speaker May 11.
Gary Cooper, named
Ambassador to Jamaica by
President CUnton, will address
JCSlTs Class of‘97 at 2 p.m. at
Ovens Auditorimn. A native of
Mobile, Ala., Cooper is a
founder of the first African
American-owned and operated
national bank in that state. In
1973, he was the first African
American since reconstruction
elected to Alabama’s state legis
lature and m 1978 was appointe
to serve as the state’s commis
sioner of human resources.
In 1989, Cooper was appomt-
ed by President George Bush as
assistant secretary of the Air
Force for manpower, reserve
affairs, installations and the
environment. In that civilian
position, Cooper assisted in
preparations for Operation
Desert Storm. He is senior vice
president of David Volkert and
Associates, a regional engmeer-
ing and architectural firm.
Commencement is free and
open to the pubhc.
Herbert L. White
Hundreds die in Zairian camp
By Hrvoje Hranjski
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KISANGANI, Zaire -
Rwandan Hutus who survived
the latest exodus from refugee
camps in eastern Zaire said
Saturday that Zairian vil
lagers killed hundreds at one
camp, where rebel troops also
opened fire.
Rebel leader Laurent Desire
Kabila, meanwhile, arrived
six hours late for a meeting
with a European diplomat and
aid workers. The officials were
demanding that Kabila to tell
them the whereabouts of
100,000 missing Rwandan
Hutu refugees.
Aid workers have found only
a few hundred of the refugees
who have vanished since rebel
troops sealed off the area
south of Kisangani on
Monday. They want access to
the camps.
Since October, Kabila’s
forces have seized much of the
eastern half of Zaire and have
vowed to oust President
Mobutu Sese Seko.
Mobutu and Kabila are
expected to hold peace talks
early in the coming week.
South African Deputy
President Thabo Mbeki
announced Saturday night.
Mbeki said a problem over
the site of the talks had been
resolved, but declined to say
where they would be held, the
South African Press
Association said.
In Zaire, aid workers who
flew over refugee camps
Friday and Saturday, briefly
visiting the largest, said they
were disturbingly empty -
considering they held thou
sands of refugees who had
been too weak to walk and
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were dying at a rate of 60 a
day.
The refugees are the last of
the 1 million Hutus who fled
Rwanda in 1994 while ethnic
Tutsis were assuming power.
They feared retaliation for the
Hutu massacre of a half-mil
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Most have since returned to
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As international pressure
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how Zairian villagers attacked
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more witness accounts
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Faustin Nkizinkiko, a 28-
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in the biggest camp at Kasese,
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