PLAYOFF FEVER
Charlotte Christian
primed for state
hoops title run/1 C
Knights’ stars
Stephen Curry, Omar
Carter and Ben
Walton
i! I
END OF
SERVICE
''The Rev. thomas
muel retires as
Mount Moriah
Primitive Baptist
Church pastor/5B
AGE IS BUT A
NUMBER
Even time
stands still for
couples with
differences/1 B
Volume 31 No. 23
510 P,
OOBEJIUESm^
UPhe Charlotte
The Voice of the Black Community
Renick
School’s out
for A&T’s
chancellor
Jcunes Renick boosted
school’s profile as well
as jiaid raising totals
By Sandra Isley
'niE\\iSi>Tos-s.MiM) aiROMcu:
GREENSBORO - Hearts are heavy on the
campus of N.C. A&T State University this
week. James Carmichael Renick, the
school’s beloved chancellor, announced that
he will step down June 1 to
accept a position with the
Anierican Council on
Education in Washington,
D.C.
Renick has been the
school’s leader for the last
seven years. Over that time,
A&Ts campus has exploded
and its reputation as one of
the nation’s foiemost histori
cally Black colleges has been cemented.
School officials ho^ that whoever suc
ceeds Renick will continue moving the
school forward and fulfill a strategic vision
for the campus of which Renick was the
architect.
“Chancellor Renick has provided us with
exemplary leadership. We’re really, really
pleased, and he will be missed,” said Velma
Spei^t- Buford, chairperson of A&Ts board
of trustees.
Renick announced his decision in the
school’s administrative building among
members of his staff and other school offi
cials. Under Renick’s guidance, the universi
ty has seen record-breaking student enroll
ment. He helped to establish a middle col
lege for at-risk male high school students in
Guilford County In 2005, the school named
its new School of Education Building in his
honor.
“It was a highlight for all of us,” Renids
said about the honor. “It’s very special when
the trustees decide to name a building after
you while you’re still walking around.”
Sitting alongside A&Ts first lady, Peggy
Renick, the chancellor described their posi
tions as being stewards. He wanted to make
sure that the public understood that the uni
versity was not in any kind of jeopardy dt-
See A&T/7A
BLACK HISTORY MONTH CREATOR
Feds acquire
Woodson’s
D.C. home
By Sheryl P. Sinxins
\:\nos.\i. xtM 'sp\FhJi
PL BUSHtJiS .ASSOC’I.WOS
The creator of Black History Month
made history himself this year — albdt
posthumously
In ceremonies held at Washington, D.C.’s
Shiloh Baptist Church, on January 28,
Carter G. Woodson’s home became a part
of the National Park Services’ treasury of
registered historic sites.
The Shaw neighborhood where Woodson
lived and worked for 35 years had faced
decades of ne^ect and decline after a hey
day where notables such as Duke
Ellington and Chita Rivera once called
home. Offices for the Assodation for the
Study of African American Life and
History, founded by Woodson, were located
at 1538 - 9th Street, NW. Washington, DC.
on the first two floors while Woodson main
tained living quarters on the third floor.
If the entertainment is adult,
why can't women check out
a show more often?1 D
Dl
Also serving Cabarrus, Chester, Mecklenburg, Rowan and York counties
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 23-MARCH 1, 2006
The CIAA is a sniall-college athletics conference.
But it’s major league in drawing corporate support.
PHOTO/WADE NASH
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, anchored by its basketball tournament, is
attractive to regional and national corporations like Bank of America and Food Lion.
Sold on the brand
By Herbert L. White
herb.white^ ihecharloOeposteom
The Central Intercollegiate
i^thletic Assodation has big
time written all over it
It’s basketball tournament
moves to Charlotte for the
first time with competition
at the brand-new, NBA-qual-
ity Chariotte Bobcats Ar^a.
It has nationally-recognized
programs in basketball and
football.
There’s the national televi
sion contract with ESPN.
And corporate America
notices.
The CIAA, made up of 12
historically black colleges
and universities, won’t be
mistaken for more glam
ourous leagues like the
Atlantic Coast Conference or
Southeastern Conference.
But it has an all-star roster
of sponsors who pump mil
lions of dollars into its pro
grams, placing it among the
nation’s elite sports leagues.
The only thing small about
the Cl, is its Division n clas
sification.
“We don’t look at oxirselves
that way,” said Jeffrey
McLeod, the CIAA’s assis
tant commissioner and
director of football and bas
ketball championships. “We
See CIAA/3A
Charlotte ready for tournament
By Cheri.s F. Hodges
cherisJiodges^ ihecharlottepostrom
Nestled in the shadow of
uptown Charlotte, The
Coffee Cup restaurant plans
to make sure CIAA tovuna-
ment visitors don’t go hun
gry
The soul food joint will be
open around the clock to
cash in on some of the mil
lions that will be generated
during the week-long event.
“We made the decision to
open for 24 hours because
this is Chariotte’s historical
home stop,” said owner
Gardine Wilson. “Basically,
we have so many visitors
that come throu^ here any
way We always wanted peo
ple to have a home base they
could come to and get a good
hug and get a good smile and
the best the Chariotte has to
offer”
Center City is ready too,
with banners hung, hotel
rooms are sold out and the
welcome mat rolled out, said
Center City Partners
spokeswoman Moira Quinn
Visitors to Chariotte are
expected to drop at least $12
million, the amoimt fans left
See CHARLOTTE/2A
Robinson
WMthas
House
rival tom
therigM
Former Wimton-Salem
alderman running for
Republican nomination
By Herbert L. While
herb.whUe^.thecharlotiepostjccfn
Vernon Robinson believes U.S. Rep.
Mel Watt is too soft on immigration,
gay rights and abortion.
Robinson, a former Wmston-Salem
alderman, is campaigning for Watt’s
job in Congress. The
Republican wiU square
off against Dr. Ada
Fisher of Salisbury in
the party primary
“I’m running because
our country is under
attack fixim homosexu
al activists who would
redefine marriage as
any grouping of individuals, fix>m
radical federal judges who are rip
ping the constitution to shreds and
fium an illegal immigration inva
sion,” he said in armouncing his cam
paign last week.
Watt, a Charlotte Democrat, was
first elected to Congress in 1992 as
one of the first two blacks to served in
Please see BIG/7A
the box
NEWS, NOTES & TRENDS
Tobacco
money fights
N.C. health
disparities
By Sommer Brokaw
THE m.A.\'OU: TRIBUSE
Dr. Karen Smith, who works in
a medical office in an impover
ished area in Hope County wants
to improve the care her patients
are receiving.
She is one of several applicants
for a statewide grant to eliminate
health disparities.
“We continue to see a replication
of diseases going fiom generation
to generation in terms of health
disparities,” Smith said. “We
know they can be controlled, but
we allow them to prcgress to the
point of complication. We really
have to stop this cycle.”
The NC Health and Wellness
frust Fund, a benefactor of the
state’s tobacco settlement funds,
will award a total of $8.9 million
to organizations that are working
to eliminate health disparities.
Smith, who is also board chair
and immediate past president of
the N.C. Academy of Family
Physicians, said the main reason
Please see TOBACCO/8A
LrfelB
Religion 56
Sports 1C
Business 7C
A&E1D
Happenings 6C
INSIDE
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