HE DOES WINDOWS
Kelvin Bratton cleans
some of the region’s
tallest buildings/8C
Entrepreneur
doesn’t throw
stones at work
Volume 29 No. 20
The Voice of the Black Community
AcOuisis
aimiosdfle
maiorliaiik
meraers
Reparations proponents
also target BofA/Fleet
By Karen Juanita Carillo
THE AMSTERDAM NEWS
NEW YORK — The recent announcement of a
potential merger between JPMorgan Chase and
Bank One has reparations activists gearing up for
a new battle in their campaign to win payment to
today’s African-Americans, heirs to the nation’s
legacy of African enslavement.
On Jan. 14 - the same day of the
JPMorgan Chase/Bank One
announcement - activists were
giving testimony in Boston at the
Federal Reserve Board’s hearing
on the potential $47 billion merg
er of FleetBoston Financial Corp.
and Charlotte-based Bank of
America.
Both JPMorgan Chase and
Fleet are being sued for repara
tions. And reparations activists
are now bringing the battle for reparations to the
very core of their opponents’ existence, by working
to prevent the possibility of their mergers with
other banks - mergers that could bring the banks
millions in profits.
‘We ask that the board consider the fact that the
Afidcan-American community has not forgotten
what [Fleet] did to our ancestors,” Rev. A1
Sampson, pastor of Chicago’s Femwood United
Methodist Church, told the Fed.
Please see BANK MERGERS/2A
Sampson
Joyner’s defection
leaves urban radio
in major upheaval
By Artellia Burch
artellia.bun:h@thecharlotteposi.com
Ibm Joyner’s climb to the top of Charlotte radio •
has caused a few scrapes for some folks here.
Last week Joyner jumped ship fi'om WBAV
(101.9 FM) to the re-formatted WQNC (Q92.7)
FM and created an instant ratings rivalry.
Jo5mer’s switch is a big deal around these parts
because he has the highest rated
morning show in the Charlotte.
WQNC’s acquisition opens an
, opportunity for the former hip-hop
oriented station to rise firom its No.
15 position in station ratings.
Joyner’s absence on WBAV’s air
didn’t go unnoticed. Last
Thursday morning the phones
were ringing off the hook at
Infinity Broadcasting, the owner
of WBAV fmm listeners asking
about the show.
That night, Wayne Brown, regional manager of
WQNC’s parent company Radio One and former
station manager of Infinity’s WPEG, WBAV and
the defunct WGIV made an official announcement
at the Charlotte Chamber during a lectiore by
FUBU co-founder Carl Brown.
Brown informed the audience that Joyner’s
nationally syndicated show would return on Q
92.7.
“I’m proud to bring Tbm back to this market,” he
Joyner
Please see JOYNER/3A
—
www.thecha^ttejij^j^a^
$1.00
Foi
L
Also serving Cabarrus, Chester, Mecklenburg, Rowan and York counties
WEEK OF JANUARY 29-FEBRUARY 4, 2004
CHARLOTTE S TURN ON INTERNATIONAL STAGE
PHOTOS/WADE NASH
Carolina Panthers fans turned out during a Sunday Ice storm to send the team off to Super Bowl
XXXVIll in Houston. With the Panthers playing on the biggest stage In U.S. sports, Charlotte is
cashing in on the attention of regional and national media.
A no-name no more,
thanks to Super Bowl
By Cheris F. Hodges
FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST
It isn’t the fact that some of
the largest banks in the coun
try call Charlotte home, or
that seven Fortune 500 compa
nies have headquarters here
that put the city on the map.
It took the Super Bowl to
make America take notice of
Charlotte.
On Simday, millions of televi
sion viewers will hear the city’s
name when the Carolina
Panthers take on the New
England Patriots.
Before the Panthers’ win
over the Philadelphia Eagles
in the NFC championship
game, Charlotte was known
for its pro-business environ
ment, according to the
Chamber of Commerce’s
Website. Now, will this Super
Bowl showing of the Panthers
change the image of the city?
Will a city known for
Mayberry and NASCAR
become more than joke on the
national scale?
That’s exactly what the
Chamber is counting on,
according to spokeswoman
Stacey EUis.
“Charlotte is a star on the
rise and this is the place to be,”
she said. Now, Ellis said, the
national media will help show
the world what Charlotte is all
about.
“Charlotte has a great stoiy
to tell,” she said. “This is a
tremendous opportunity for
us.”
And the city gets to do it for
free. An ad campaign of this
magnitude would cost millions
of dollars. But more than 150
national reporters have come
to Charlotte, imcovering that
the city is built on more than
banking and racing.
While Ellis isn’t claiming the
Panthers Super Bowl berth is
going to start a mass migration
to the Queen City, football has
already caused a few people to
give the city a second look.
After the NFC championship,
game against the Philadelphia
Eagles, Ellis said eight people
from the City of Brotherly
Love called to get relocation
information.
“Maybe some people had
Charlotte in the back of there
mind, and now this will bring
it to the forefront,” she said.
Charlotte has a national rep
utation as being the number
two banking center. But, she
added: “That isn’t sexy.
Making it to the Super Bowl is
sejty.”
For Stan Green, having the
Panthers in the Super Bowl is
a good thing, but he has one
hope.
“I don’t want Charlotte to
become the next Atlanta,” he
said. “The traffic isn’t that bad,
right now. You can get to
uptown fi'om the University
area in about 30 minutes.”
For the big game, fans are making
plans for ultimate football parties
By Cheris F. Hcxiges
FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST
Whether they are alone, hav
ing a party or sitting at a bar,
Panthers fans wiU be cheering
their team to what they hope is
victory in Houston.
For the first time ever,
Charlotte is caught up in
Super Bowl frenzy. Fans like
Myron Jones are looking for
ward to Sunday’s big game.
Jones said he plans to watch
the Cats play with some other
fans at Mingles on the Lake.
“I want to see the expressions
on the Panthers fans face as
they play in their first Super
Bowl,” he said. Jones went on
to say that last year he
watched one* of his other
favorite teams, the Oakland
Raiders, lose. In case the
Panthers lose, Jones wants to
see if other fans will share his
pain.
“I want the Panthers to win,”
he said. “This will put
Charlotte on the map. A lot of
people still don’t know what
part of the Carolinas the
Panthers are from. But they
win now because the Super
Bowl is the biggest stage in
sports.”
Jones said he’s going to
watch the game at Mingles
because the nightclub has a
nine-foot TV and is offering
free chicken wings.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Police are gearing up to control
the flow of traffic in the city if
the Panthers win, according to
department spokesman Keith
Bridges.
“We’re looking at what possi-
bflities might occur and mak
ing plans to responding what
ever we need responds to,” he
said. Bridges said some other
cities have experienced prob
lems after big wins by their
hometown teams, but’ police
aren’t expecting that to happen
in Charlotte if the Panthers
“We have a great communi
ty,” he said.
Some fans, like Demetric
Cowan, plan to celebrate the
Panthers’ Super Bowl appear
ance with friends at home.
“I don’t want to watch the
game with a big crowd,” said
Cowan, a former offensive
guard at Johnson C. Smith
University. “You can’t enjoy the
game that well.”
Cowan said he plans on hav
ing a spread of filed turkey
and chicken wings at his place
that wiU rival any restaurant
or bar’s football feast.
Hopefuls
aim for
southern
comfort
Democrats try to
navigate regional,
racial dynamic
By Cheris F. Hodges
FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST
The road to the White
House starts its southern
swing next
week.
The Feb. 3
South
Carolina pri
mary is the
first major
test for six.
Democratic
hopefuls in a
region
deemed criti
cal for suc-
Kerry
cess against President Bush
in November.
Massachusetts Sen. John
Kerry’s win
WSOCTV
news
connection
in Tuesday’s
New
Hampshire
primary
solidifies his
early lead in
the race for
the nomina
tion. But two southern can
didates U.S. Sen John
Edwards of North Carolina
and retired army general
Wesley Clark of Arkansas -
are expected to be major
players on their home turf
Democratic leaders hope to
see a nominee emerge some
time over the next few weeks
under this year’s compressed
primary schedule.
See SOUTHERN/2A
Protest
for school
equity at
exbibit
By Herbert L. White
herb. whiie@ihecharl()ttepost. com
A Charlotte exhibit chroni
cling the 1954 Supreme
Court decision outlawing
segregated public schools
will be the backdrop to a
protest.
The Coalition for Justice in
Education
will stage a
rally Friday
at 6:30 p.m.
in front of
Levine
Museum of
the New
South to
protest cele
bration of
Brown v.
Ibpeka, Kansas, Board of
Education. Activist Dwayne
See RALLY/3A
Collins
Inside
Editorials 4A
Life 4B
Religion 8B
Sports 1C
Real Estate 5C
Business 8C
A&E ID
Happenings 4D
Classifieds 5D
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© 2004 The Charlotte Post Publishing Co.
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