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^ clouds future of
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magazine
Volume 29 No. 19
www.thecharlottepost.com
Clfie
The Voice of the Black Community
Oppoiliiiity
knocksfor
Edwards In
&C. primary
N.C. senator looks to attract
voters who supported Gephardt
By Jennifer Holland
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBIA, S.C. —John Edwards’ campaign to
help the middle class may put him in position to
pick up many of Dick Gephardt’s
supporters in South Carolina,
including labor groups and black
voters.
With many residents angry
about the loss of thousands of
manufacturing jobs, “Edwards
becomes the person now who is in
a position to speak to those,” said
Scott Huffman, a Winthrop
Edwards University political science profes
sor.
Rep. Gephardt, who withdrew
from the Democratic presidential
race TViesday, had highlighted his
promise of more new jobs and fair
er trade during his many cam
paign trips to the state.
Rep. Jim Clybum, who had
endorsed his longtime House col
league, predicted that Edwards
would get a boost from the
Missouri congressman’s depar
ture. “They both have the same
kind of resume,” Clybum said.
But while Clybum said he didn’t know whether
he would make another endorsement before the
state’s Feb. 3 Democratic primary, on which
Please see EDWARDS/2A
Support groups
help prospective
adoption families
By Marshall Reiffsteck
FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST
Adopting a child can be a complicated, difRcult
process, and it helps to know that others can
relate to your experiences.
Mecklenburg County offers a wide array of sup
port groups for adoptive families in every stage of
the process, from those just beginning to consider
adoption, all the way to parents helping their
adopted teenagers struggle
OPEN HEARTS, with their identity.
OPEN HOMES Some focus on navigating
the legal and financial issues
associated with adoptions, both domestic and
international.
Others emphasize parenting issues unique to
adoptive families.
Sandra Gittleman of HimtersviUe has been
involved with Grafted Families, a Christian adop
tion support group based at Grace Covenant
Church in ComeUus since its inception about four
years ago.
“It’s been such a great support group for me and
our family,” Gittleman said. “You get to listen to
other parents who have gone through challenges
with their teens. You benefit from hearing about
other people’s experiences, from learning about
the ages and the stages of challenges that adopt
ed children go through.”
Adoption has had its share of joys and tribula
tions for the Gittlemans, whose sons, ages 8 and
Please see HELP/3A
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WEEK OF JANUARY 22-28, 2004
Also serving Cabarrus, Chester, Mecklenburg, Rowan and York counties
50TH ANNIVERSARY
PHOTOS/WADE NASH
Sir Purr, the Carolina Panthers mascot, hams It up with fan John Jackson, aka “Redd Foxx,” at
a pep rally uptown before the NFC championship game. This week, the Panthers made the cover
of Sports Illustrated for the second time ever.
You better recognize:
We’ve gone cat-crazy
By Cheris Hodges
FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST
Mass mayhem, loud eupho
ria.
The Carolina
Panthers are
Super Bowl
bound and fans
of the big cats
rocked Uptown
Charlotte
Sunday to greet
the NFC cham
pions. Car
horns blared,
people danced
in the street,
hoping up on
the hoods of
cars. For two weeks, Charlotte
has only one thing on its collec
tive mind.
Strangers are bonded by
their love of the Panthers and
their excitement about the
team that no one figured
would accomplish much. But
after a 14-3 win over
Philadelphia Eagles Sunday,
the Panthers,
who were 1-15
two years ago,
are Houston-
bound to face
the New
England
Patriots. This is
Carolina’s first
trip to the
Super Bowl in
the franchise’s
nine-year histo
ry. But for some
fans, this isn’t a
surprise.
“I predicted this in August,”
former city council member
Ella Scarborough said as she
waited at newly-named Bank
Of America Stadium for the
Panthers to return from
Philadelphia after defeating
the Eagles. “I love it. This is an
affirmation.”
Scarborough says she has
been a fan from the beginning
and why not? She was part of
the city council that brought
the Panthers to Charlotte nine
years ago.
No one but the die-hard
Panther faithful gave the Cats
a chance at the Super Bowl.
Fans like Beverly McDuffie,
braved the cold uptown wind
to scream for her favorite foot
ball team. “The Panthers are a
good team and they are often
overlooked,” she said.
It was hard to overlook what
the team did this season.
Winning seven games by three
points or less and going to
overtime five times this year,
the Panthers earned the nick
name “Cardiac Cats.”
See FACE IT/2A
Who you representin’?
Panthers like Greg Favors (left) and
Ricky Manning may be unknown
nationally, but team-first attitude has
them in Super Bowl. Page 1C.
WINSTON-SALEM COUNCILMAN INSTALLED MARKER ON MLK HOLIDAY
Commandments monument removed
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WINSTON-SALEM - A one-
ton granite monmnent to the
Thn Commandments placed in
front of Winston-Salem’s City
Hall by a lone council member
was swiftly removed Thesday.
The monument violated a poli
cy that councilmari Vernon
Robinson - who installed the
monument Monday — had voted
for in September, said city
spokeswoman Carrie Collins.
The policy bans pubhc displays
or plaques on city-owned facih-
ties without permission of the
city council or manager.
“It had noth
ing to do -with
what was on the
plaque,” Collins
said. “It was just
that it was in
violation of city
pohcy.”
Collins also
cited safety con
cerns. “The
plaque is in two
pieces ...and we didn’t want
somebody to push it over and
hurt somebody.”
Robinson
No protesters were present
when the monument was lifted
with a backhoe and taken to a
Department of Transportation
warehouse, Collins said.
'The monument was returned
to Robinson later in the day, and
it turned up Tuesday evening
near City Hall, where about 25
people held a candlehght prayer
vigil.
The group, including
Robinson, marched to a nearby
street where the monument sat
on a flatbed truck. Participants
See 10 COMMANDMENTS/7A
LEVINE MUSEUM OF
THE NEW SOUTH
African American parents in
Clarendon County, S.C.,
sued the state to improve
education opportunities for
black students. That suit led
to what became Brown v.
Board of Education.
Exhibit
highlights
Brown
decision
By Herbert L. White
herb.\vhite@thecharlotteposi.com
Fifty years ago, legally-seg
regated schools was a fact of
Hfe in the U.S.
Next week, the Carolinians
who started its transforma
tion wfil be
remembered
in a
Charlotte
exhibit.
From Jan.
31 through
Aug. 15,
Levine
Museum of
the New
South will
commemorate the 50th
anniversary of the decision
with the exhibit, “Courage:
The Carolina Story That
Changed America.
The celebration starts with
National Pubhc Radio corre
spondent Juan Wilhams at a
Jan. 30 forum. On Jan. 31, a
symposium on Brovm will be
held with historian John
Hope Franklin. Tickets for
the Williams forum are $20.
More than half a century
ago, families in Clarendon
County, S.C., launched the
first of five national lawsuits
challenging the legality of
racially segregated public
schools. The lawsuits were
combined into what became
known as Brown v. Tbpeka,
Kansas Board Education
and in 1954, the U.S.
Supreme Court declared seg
regated schools unconstitu
tional.
Although Brown is remem
bered as a Kansas case, the
original lawsuit was filed in
South Carolina by a country
preacher named Rev. J.A. De
Laine and his neighbors in
Clarendon County.
“Courage” tolls their story
as poor people outside the
political mainstream and ht-
See EXHIBIT/2A
Franklin
Inside
Editorials 4A
Life 4B
Religion 8B
Sports 1C
Real Estate 5C
Business 8C
A&E ID
Happenings 4D
Classifieds 5D
To subscribe, call (704) 376-0496 or FAX (704) 342-2160.
© 2004 The Charlotte Post Publishing Co.
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