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3A NEWS/ The Charlotte Post Thursday, June 5, 1997 NAACP taps Skip Alston Continued from page 1A as much as $585,000. Gina Pettis now heads the group’s scholarship committee, a; source of controversy as the Alexander family has with drawn its support, including use of Kelly M. Alexander Sr.’s rJ^me. iThe senior Alexander was chairman of the NAACP’s national board at his death 1985. Kelly Alexander Jr. had tried unsuccessfully to get the major donors for the scholarship fund, R.J. Reynolds Inc. in Winston-Salem and Sprint Communications, to donate funds to his recently-formed Kelly M. Alexander Sr. Leadership Institute. • In other NAACP news, the new election for the secretary’s Redistricting is at an impasse Continued from page 1A and Shannon Park, but also the fast-growing Ijniversity City area. JSources close to the negotiations say District 7 rfepresentative Mike Jackson, who owns a coffee shop in the University City area, would like to Efove closer to his business. If Republicans can i^ake enough changes in District 4 to insure a win for Jackson, they would likely keep the Republican-controlled District 7 and add District 4 to the Republican column. Jackson denied he planned to move into District 4. “I haven’t considered that,” he said. Jackson said he was willing to let a federal jifdge draw the districts rather than rely on the Democrats’ definition of District 4 as competi tive, though it has 50 percent minority popula- tipn and only 25 percent Republican registra- tipn. ff District 4 can be changed to include more wjiites, that could almost assure the election of Itepublicans in four districts. The Republican pfen would limit African American^ to just two Young Shabazz ‘in need of help’ Continued from page 1A sj^aker and another a singer. Malcolm Shabazz was trauma tized, Sutton said, by the 1995 charges against his mother, which led to his being removed from her custody for most of the last two years while she went through counseling and a proba tion period. The charges that she plotted to kill Farrakhan were oAcially dismissed last month. Sutton, who helped represent Qubilah Shabazz in , the Farrakhan case, said Malcolm Shabazz told him then that he blarfed himself for his mother’s arrest because he had begged her to many the man with whom she had allegedly plotted the murder- for-Kire. “Malcolm said he wanted her to marry [the man] so he could have a mother and a father and a room of hlb own,” Sutton said. “He felt he’d^hurt his mother.” Betty Slmbazz was made her grandson’s legal guardian as part of a 1995 plea agreement in which Qubilah Shabazz accepted responsibility for her actions but maintained her innocence and agreed to undergo psychological gnd isubstance abuse counseling. While Malcolm Shabazz lived with his grandmother and aimts, Qubilah became a producer at a San Antonio radio station ovzned by ; Sutton’s Inner City Broadcasting company. “She did all right. She came to work, did her job and went home,” said Charles Andrews, an executive of the San Antonio sta tion. “She would talk about the fact that when her son was hving with his grandmother, that she missed him.” About five months ago, Malcolm Shabazz went to live with his mother in San Antonio, where Andrews said he attended first a parochial school, where he was unhappy, and for his last tv/o weeks there, a public middle school. In February, according to the police reports quoted by the Associated Press, Qubilah Shabazz told pohce Malcolm had attacked her and that she wanted him Committed to a mental hospi tal. The son in turn told police he was “angry because (Qubilah) had been drinking again” and wouldn’t take him to school. The police report said officers took the boy to a psychiatric unit and that his mother was too drunk to drive him. ; Malcolm called police in April and Said he and his mother had an argument. Shabazz told the resptmding officer they were “not getting along” and that she was making arrangements with child protective services to move him out of the house. Sutton and otherifamily friends said Qubilah Shabfizz sent Malcolm to live with ^ her mother in Yonkers, north" of New York City, because she beared that Malcolm was becoming involved with a gang. Family acquaintances said they saw no sign of violent ten dencies by Malcolm Shabazz. Ernest Davis, mayor of nearby Mount Vernon where Betty Shabazz hved for most of the last 30 years, said he had been told by family members that Malcolm had become angry about being sent to New York and wanted to be with his friends. But Davis said he had seen Malcolm and Betty Shabazz together the day before the fire, and both seemed content and happy to be together. “I saw him as mannerly, mature beyond his years, very comfortable vrith older folks,” Davis said. Simmons has supporters Continued from page 1A West Charlotte reestablish itself as one of the premier schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg System,” he said. Smith said a survey of teachers and students has shown a sharp decline in favorable responses when asked about the operations of the school since former princi pal Barbara Ledford retired in 1994. Since then. West Charlotte has had two principals. Simmons replaced William Crawford, who served 18 months. “It is not a matter of political pressure that is causing one reac tion or another,” Smith said. “I have met with a lot of folks regarding West Charlotte.” Smith said his main focus this week is making sure the school year ends on a positive note. Black parents were angry at reports that white teachers were leaving the school and criticizing Siimnons’ leadership. “If 44 white teachers want to leave West Charlotte — bye,” said parent Harriet Porter-Jinwright, wife of Salem Baptist Church pastor Anthony Jinwright. Jinwright, who said it appeared that white teachers did not want to take orders from a black man, wants Smith to sup port Simmons. She alleged that white parents from the Myers Park and Eastover communities and school board member John Tate, who represents their dis trict, was leading the effort to get rid of Siitunons because Sirrunons was doing more to help black students. “What empowers Tate and that community to direct the future of West Charlotte and over 2,000 students who will attend,” Jinwright wrote in a letter pre sented to Smith Monday morn ing and read at a Tuesday night rally at the Education Center. “He (Tate) has consistently and proactively fought to create a pri vate school within a school for his community. “Our fear is that this practice of allowing small factions of the community to dictate the opera tions of a school is systematic.” Some 600 people met at Salem Baptist on Sunday night, the day after a story appeared about the West Charlotte conflicts. More than a 100 showed up at the Education Center Monday to present Smith a letter expressing support for Simmons. At Tuesday’s meeting, several speakers supported Simmons, including West Charlotte senior Kanesha Williams. Williams said most of her teachers are white and they would stop class to complain when something they disagreed with was said over the public address system. Simmons was being criticized because he “demanded respect and gets respect,” she said. “They (white teachers) are mad because they have to respect him...because he brought order and discipline to West Charlotte,” Williams said. NAACP president Rev. Conrad Pridgen said the community must not let Smith oust Simmons. “With Kenneth Simmons we are going to draw a fine,” Pridgen said. “The black community is not divided on this. We want the mess^^ge to go back - we are ready to take a stand on this. We want the message to be clear. We don’t want to know whether or not Kenneth Simmons is going to stay. It is our choice that he stay. We want Kenneth Simmons peri od. We don’t want nobody else.” Simmons was not at Tbesday night’s meeting and could not be reached for comment, but his wife spoke on his behalf, saying that Simmons was very disap pointed to find such racism when he went to West Charlotte. “He saw that black children not being taught,” Simmons’ wife, said. “He asked teachers to be willing to teach all children. Some teachers said we don’t do that. We only teach children who at a certain level. He wanted them to know expectations was for them to teach all children. Some teachers don’t want to teach aU children. She said that Simmons is sad the dispute has become a racial issue. “He didn’t make it an issue, other people made it an issue,” his wife said. Geraldine Powe, president of the West Charlotte High School National Alumni Association, also voiced support for Simmons. “He needs a chance,” Powe said. “He has only been there a year.” She said some parents and teachers had presented a long fist of complaints earlier in the year and that Simmons had responded to those complaints at a meeting. post in the local NAACP chap ter will be held on June 28. That portion of the local elec tions had been overturned after complaints were filed charging the elections were improperly administered. Several other complaints, including one questioning the exclusion of treasurer candi date Andrea Huff, a former Charlotte police captain. o KINGSPARK APARTMEWTS Clean, safe, quiet community convenient^ located on bus line. AffordaWe 2 bedroom sarden and townhouses Refrigerator, range, AC and water irKluded m rent. Helpful resident manager and mainteriance staff. Call 333-2966 M-F 9:30-6:00 The ‘97 Charlotte Post Black Guide is coming... Get your ad in today district seats, districts 2 and 3. District 1 would also be a Democratic-controlled district. Four city council members are elected at- large. Republicans currently hold two of those seats. Black city council members accused the Republicans of racism during wrangling over the competing proposals Monday night. A 6-5 party line vote last month was overturned by Republican mayor Pat McCrary’s veto. If no agreement is reached, the matter could end up in court and cancel or delay at least part of this fall’s mimicipal elections. The Democratic-backed proposals would add 30,000 new residents to adjacent districts and make little changes to district lines. Fifing for city elections are scheduled to open July 4, though July 7 is the first business day. The primary is set for Sept. 23 and the generi election is Nov. 4. It is possible to hold the the mayoral and at- large council elections on schedule, if the dis tricts are not ready. 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