GRAPPLING
WITH FinilRE
West Charlotte
High building a
wrestling power
1C
189-pound standout
Brian Richardson
BANK ON HER
Donna Sylver
of Mutual
Community
Savings one of
most powerful
women in the
industry/8C
YOLANDA’S
WORLD
Gospel music star
Yolanda Adams
brings crossover
appeal to
Chariotte/8B
Volume 31 No. 18
SI .00
Ill
The Voice of the Black Community
WEEK OF JANUARY 19-25, 2006
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Alsoservm m BeHtiesFofdM^
-'larlotte NC 28216-5302
ties
Fallen Panther still with team he left behind
Sa/n Mills providing inspiration on eve of championship game
By C. Jemal Horton
FOR THE CHARimiE POST
Football has made these festive
times in Chariotte.
The Carolina Panthers play their
biggest game of the season in Seattle
on Sunday, and they’re within a game
of making their second trip to the
Super Bowl in three seasons.
People are downright giddy The
players are the talk of the region, the
Carolinas are their oyster.
And somewhere, the Panthers
believe, Sam Mills is smiling
“You know he’d love the fact that
we’ve come together and played so
well as a team,” Carolina safety Mike
Minter said. “We’re playing his style.”
Mills, a former Panthers linebacker
and coach, died at age 45 last April
after a vahant bout with intestinal
cancer.
Mills was the team’s linebackers
coach when the Panthers made the
Super Bowl at the end of the 2003
season. Having just imdergone
chemotherapy treatment. Mills
joined the Panthers in Houston the
Thursday before Super Bowl XXXDC
Not having Mills along for this ride
to the NFC Championship game —
and beyond? - cuts deep for the
Panthers.
‘We just wish he was here,” Minter
said sofUy ‘We wish he was here to
enjoy the moment with us.”
Minter paused.
“But his spirit is here. It will never
leave this stadium. And we definitely
take that very, very seriously”
Thoug^i he’s no longer on the side
lines giving instructions, nor in the
weight room lifting more than some of
his players. Mills still has a powerful
impact on the Panthers.
Players say a major reason there
has been no off-the-field controversy
Please see PANTHERS/7A
FILE PHOTO
Former Panthers linebacker and assistant coach Sam Mills still
provides inspiration for players and coaches as Carolina readies
for the NFC Championship game Sunday. Mills died in April.
1970s
R&B
star has
papers
Betty Wright
alleges WBAV
misrepresented
appearance
By Cheris F. Hodges
cheris hedges^ thecharlottepostrom
R&B singer Betty Wri^t
has filed a $10,000 lawsuit
against WBAV (101.9 FM)
and CBS radio alleging that
the station
damaged her
reputation
when they
said she didn’t
show up for a
concert perfor
mance.
According to
the suit, CBS
then Infinity
Broadcasting, advertised a
March 4 concert saying
Wright was scheduled to per
form Wrigjit says in the suit
that she had never signed a
contract and her likeness
was used without her per
mission.
Wright
Radio,
“Ms. Wri^t continues to
be extremely upset about the
situation,” attorney Ken
Harris, who is representing
Wri^t, said in a statement
“Many of Ms. Wrist’s fans
attended the concert expect
ing to see her and were sore
ly disappointed. These cir
cumstances make it
extremely difficult, if not
impossible for Ms. Wri^t to
return to this marketplace
and perform in a successful
manner.”
Wright, whose hits include
“Clean Up Woman,”
"Tbnighfs The Ni^t” and
“She’s Got Papers,” found
out that her name was being
used to promote the concert
when a relative called her
and told her about the event.
“Ms. Wii^t said a relative
asked her about her arrival
time to Chariotte because
she heard an advertisement
for the show,” Harris said.
Management at WBAV
See R&B/2A
CELEBRATIONS WORTHY OF KING LEGACY
PHOTOCURTIS WILSON
Tracy Moore, director of enrollment and student services at Central Piedmont Community College re-enacts
a sermon given by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during CPCC’s MLK Challenge. The event celebrated
King’s life by challenging students to complete service projects across Mecklenburg County.
Across Carolinas, a
dream is shared
PHOTO/HAHOLD TYSON
In Chester, S.C., children lined the street to catch a glimpse of the
annual MLK Day parade.
Americans gathered across the
nation this week to celebrate the life
and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr,
and the Chariotte region was no dif
ferent.
From a parade in uptown
Chariotte last Saturday to a day of
service at Central Piedmont
Community College and prayer
breakfasts, people of all colors, reli
gions and political leanings gathered
to pay homage to the slain civil
li^ts leader’s accomjiishments in
bringing a measure of equahty to all
Americans A jaevalent, yet simple
theme resonated There’s always
time to serve the cause of justice.
Herbert L. White
Life on
Black
WaU
Street
Durham boosters
want to revitalize
business district
By Sommer Brokaw
niE TRIANGLE TRIBUNE
DURHAM —At a recent city council
meeting, the Parrish Street Plan to
revitalize the area once known as
‘Black Wall Street” was approved
Will this spur black business
growth?
Bill Kalkhof, the president of
Downtown Durham, Inc., certainly
hopes so.
’T think it would be very cool if most
of the businesses located on Parrish
Street were the new wave of Afiican-
American entrepreneurs who would
stand on the shoulders of the African
Americans who came before them,” he
said “If a lot of properties on Parrish
Street are not owned by African
Americans, then that to me would be a
lost opportunity”
Developer Cari Webb agrees that
this is an opportunity to increase
Afiican- American enterprise.
“I think there’s a real opportunity for
black-owned firms, and in particular,
larger Afiican-American firms outside
Durham to look at Durham as a place
to relocate.”
Parrish Street established its reputa
tion as “Black Wall Street” because of
the success of black businesses there
during the Jim Crow era Among those
businesses were North Carolina
Mutual Life Insurance and Mechanics
and Farmers Bank Kelly Bryant, a
member of the Parrish Street
Advocacy group, said their focus is on
bringing back businesses into the area
in general, but Afiican Americans
should definitely be included in that
process.
Group Chairman Nathan Garrett
“We want to let the whole werid
know about capitalism Durham stjie,
which is an inclusive c*ie,” he said
Garrett added that the block known
as “Black Wall StreeU was bom out dC
the vision of Afiican-American entre
preneurs.
“It’s not that someone allowed us to
Please see BLACK/2A
Pregnancy issues are often
drtferent for black women A
book can help you oope 1C
Life IB
Religion 8B
Sports 1C
Business 8C
A&E1D
Happenings 6C
INSIDE
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