Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Dec. 4, 1997, edition 1 / Page 2
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2A NEWS / The Charlotte Post Thursday, December 4, 1997 Get your party on in ‘98...One of Fly’s spies into ran WCNC news maven Bea Thompson recently. Thompson, who celebrat ed 20 years as one of Charlotte’s premier reporters this Thompson • While Fly will miss First Night Charlotte and SpringFest, the city will have at least one festival: West Charlotte Fest. Organizers assure Fly’s spies that there are no plana to to cancel, delay or otherwise shut down the party that has been held downtown the last two years. Swats: In addition to the reg ular buzz around Charlotte, Fly is introducing a new feature, Swats, that points out less than exemplary behavior. • Swats to...The Public Library of Charlotte- Mecklenburg. Its new public service announcements feature prominent Charlotteans like Hugh McColl, Parks Helms and Mayor Pat McCrory extolling the virtues of the written word. Problem is, few of them are black or female. If you didn’t know better, folks might think the only people reading in Mecklenburg County are white guys. If the library is trying to increase the number of people checking out books, the least they could do is diversify the lineup. • Swats to...Charlotte Monopoly. The Charlotte ver sion of the popular Parker Brothers lists several promi nent locations and institutions of note. Instead of the Boardwalk and Park Place, there’s the Taj McColl, also known as NationsBank, Ericsson Stadium, better known as the place where the Carolina Panthers used to play good football and First Union. But there’s nothing of color on the board. No Johnson C. Smith University, AME Zion Publishing House, Afro- American Cultural Center or anything. According to press stuff that came with the game, the game was commissioned by the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, the people charged with selling all of Charlotte to the outside world. Or is that just everything east of Trade Street and 1-77? • Swats to...Time magazine, which has managed to upset some local activists by drawing parallels between the Million Woman March and a gathering of animals. UNC reviews diversity on campus Continued from page 1A The magazine, in its Nov. 10 edition, published a cartoon parody called the Million Pet March in which dogs, fish and cats descend on St. Louis, the home of Ralston-Purina. The pets promise to be more recep tive to their “family’s needs” by curbing their “incessant bark ing... furniture clawing...messy molting” and overeating. “What we’ve done has been compared to animals,” said one MWM participant from Charlotte. She called for the review of cam pus admissions and financial aid policies in response to court rul ings striking down racial prefer ences. She said she stands behind the centerpiece of UNC’s long-fought desegregation agreement with the federal government - scholar ships designed to bring more black students to historically white campuses and more white students to historically black campuses - but worries that some individual campus programs may 'oe vulnerable to lawsuits. Minority eiuollment at UNC’s 10 historically white campuses is 9.84 percent, and blacks make up nearly 22 percent of the overall state population. Broad said she wants to contin ue to improve the numbers, but not with policies that may be unconstitutional. “We have an enviable and proud record in equalizing educational opportunity in outreach and recruitment and student md,” she said. “Our goal will be to sustain that successful track record and indeed to expand it. But it is also om- responsibility to take this kind of review in light of so many challenges in the courts.” Federal courts have stricken a scholarship program for top black undergraduates at the Universify of Maryland, and race-based admissions and financial aid poli cies at the University of Tbxas. The rulings, along with Cahfomia’s 209, have prompted universities across the nation to review policies. Broad said. But some complain that Broad’s review is premature and that UNC should wait imtil the U.S. Supreme Court takes up affirma tive action before changing suc cessful programs. “The message it sends to stu dents of color and women is that UNC doesn’t care anymore - we’re not going to wait for it to come here, we’re just going to do it,” said Ali Fischer. Some faculty and administra tors have similar fears. “I am fearful that we will engage in wholesale retreat from actions designed to make society more equal and open without knowing what we re retreating to,” said Archie Ervin, the director of recruitment for UNC-CH. UNC-CH Chancellor Michael EZ Rider rolls through Charlotte year, was supposed to be feted at some star studded anniver sary shindig. But alas and alack. Fly didn’t get an invite and everybody we flew into was wondering what happened. But fear not, for the party is still on. Bea will be honored at a big function sometime in late April and proceeds will benefit Brisbane Academy. By John Minter THE CHARLOTTE POST A 25-cent per ride bus service for trips to shop, visit doctors or hos pitals and to jobs is available in many west and north Charlotte neighborhoods. Charlotte has expanded its EZ Rider transportation system, which provides hourly van service in City Within A City areas. The four EZ Rider routes are in addition to Charlotte Transit routes, which cost $1 per ride and generally operate between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays. Some Saturdav service is available. The service, begun in 1994, pro vides direct connections for north and west Charlotte residents to nearby work sites, shopping areas, human service agencies and recreation centers. It began after requests from organizations such as “Success by Six” and the Amay JamesAVest Boulevard Tbsk Force for low- cost, neighborhood-based bus ser vice in inner city communities. EZ Rider routes run through neighborhoods and then stop at specific locations. Three of four riders use the ser vice for shopping trips and over 50 percent use it to get medical care. Eighty-five percent used bus transportation before EZ Rider. The routes now serve Jackson Park, Revolution Park, Bancroft and Norris streets, and Beatties Ford Road, providing transporta tion to Carolinas Medical Center, Presbyterian Hospital, Midtown Square and Central Piedmont Community College. Other destinations include the Food Lion on Beatties Ford Road near LaSalle Street, the Northpark Mall on Eastway Drive and the Park “N Shop on North Tryon Street. EZ Rider has also provided free transportation to neighborhood groups, such as Project Hope and the Johnston Memorial ''MCA, and for special events sponsored city and county departments. The bus service is run by the Race summit tries to start dialogue Continued from page 1A have all the answers. I’ve had to become willing to work with other people with different points of view to try to find solutions.” Ferguson hopes that others of the 550 people expected to attend the race conference Sunday and Monday at the Charlotte Convention Center will come away with similar feelings. Named “Building Community: Something Has Begun,” the con ference will feature speeches by national figures, but about half the time will be spent in conver sation at tables of about 10 peo ple. Members of as several racial, ethnic and economic groups have been invited to make the gather ing as diverse as possible. Tb attend, participants had to fill out an application and be accepted. Organizers sought diversity in making selections. Efforts were made to include members of the meia, identified as a key influence in race matters during more than a dozen focus groups held over the past six months. The conference, for which more than $380,000 was raised and spent, began early this year with a call from Parks Helms, chair man of the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners, and for mer TVansAmerica Reinsurance Co. president Bill Simms. Helms called for a race confer ence in his 1997 State of the County address. Simms did so after angry blacks spoke out at a Charlotte City Council meeting. The calls were spurred at least partly by tensions in the wake of a fatal police shooting of WUie James Cooper, an unarmed motorist, in November 1996. The shooting unveiled lingering racial tension and misunderstanding. As the nation grappled with issues such as busing and affir mative action, whites and blacks often found themselves on oppo site sides. Other ethnic groups often find themselves in the mid dle or on the bottom. Charlotte’s increasing diversity has heightened some of those concerns at schools, in neighbor hoods and the workplace. President Clinton has appoint ed a racial advisory board, includ ing noted black historian and Duke University prpfessor John Hope Franklin as chairman. Gov. Jim Hunt sponsored a race con ference in Charlotte in the wake of black church burnings and other hate crimes. Dozens of other cities have sponsored community confer ences on race, but Charlotte’s unique approach sparked an arti cle in Monday’s USA Tbday by White House correspondent Bill Nichols. The Charlotte conference was organized by the Foundation For The Carolinas, with Dianne English of Mecklenburg Ministries as executive director. Family counselor Don "Taylor is her assistant. Taylor said about 80 percent of those attending will be black or white, about 40 percent each. The remainder will be a mix of Native American, Asian and Hispanic, he said. About half the participants will be women. “There’s a long waiting list,” Taylor said. “That’s gratifying. There are a lot of people out there that want an opportunity to talk and a lot of people who want things to be different.” Charlotte’s summit will begin Sunday afternoon with an intro duction by Ferguson and an interactive presentation by national diversity consultant Elsie Cross. Cross heads an organizational development consulting firm headquartered in Philadelphia and is recognized for her work in managing diversity. recorded. People on the waiting list can attend the general sessions, though they will not participate in the conversations, according to Taylor. Ferguson said the goal is not to solve race issues, but to perhaps develop strategies for attacking the problem. “I hope everybody comes away from the conference imderstand- ing what has to be done,” he said. “More importantly, I hope every body comes from the conference with renewed commitment to solve the problem of race. Solutions are there, but they are not quick and easy.” Ferguson said it’s possible another conference will be neces- "The conference will also receive a detailed look at just how diverse Charlotte is and some of the issues within the community. On Monday, Hugh Price, chair man of the National Urban League, will speak. Also address ing the group will be NationsBank executive Joe Martin, winner of several local humanitarian awards. Between the speeches and pre sentations, participants will share their views on race among those at their table. Such conver sations will consume about half of their time. A facilitator will make sure the conversations are sary. “It’s too soon to say whether it will become annual or regular ized, but recognizing that we can’t solve the problem in one sit ting, it will be necessary to have more conversations and to involve more people in conversa tions about race. Just how often we have to have a community wide dialogue I can’t say right now.” The conference has its skeptics and Ferguson and other organiz ers realize the event will be close ly watched and perhaps criticized if it does not meet community expectations. Ferguson said dealing with the problem is a step which must be taken. “I feel like we have already had some success because we have moved the whole issue of race to the front burner. The people involved thus far are all commit ted to seeing it go forward. We are over subscribed for the confer ence.” “I think Charlotte can be a leader in this effort...and create a model for how a community can come together and talk about race and out of that dialogue develop some actions plans,” Ferguson said. “The conference will produce the direction and plan of action. We don’t have any predetermined outcomes.” For more information about the race conference contact the Community Building Task Force at 333-2595. Hooker, however, said he agrees with Broad's review of programs, and he believes Connerly's visit can only help the discussion. “There needs to be a public debate so there will be a public imderstanding of the arguments pro and con,” Hooker said. “I wel come anything that heightens the intellectual climate on campus, and any kind of debate does - as long as its done with civility.” o KINGSR^ Clean, safe, ^ict community Conveniently located on bus line. Affordable 2 bedroom sarden and townhouses Refrigerator, range, AC and water irKluded in rent. Helpful resident manager arxj maintenance staff. Cali 333-2966 M-F 9:30-6:00 ^.r'^BEST PROFESSIONAL. Africam Hair Braiding HOLIDAY SPECIAL ^ Brm§^3 ^customers ajid 50%^^ (Nov. & Dec. Only) SPECIALIZING IN: All Styles of Braids & Heave FREE Synthetic Hair “THE BEST IN TOWN” and more... More... MORE... FOR LESS The Satisfaction of the customer is my priority! 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