mTirsBMF^n'
madea’s maniacs
Tyler Perry’s sassy
alter ego morphs into
a cottage industry/1 D
JUST THE
FORMALITIES
Old-school
tuxes are in for
prom wear/1 B
NO APRIL FOOLS
New-look Charlotte
Knights on an April
tear/I C
Jerry Owens helps
Charlotte to best record
in International League.
Volume 31 No. 32
$1.00
m
The Voice of the Black Community
Lockman- Bryant
Brooks
Honoring
women’s
corporate
success
Post sponsors
May 4 People of
Prominence
By Angela Lindsay
FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST
A finance expert. A commu
nity relations professional. A
senior vice president. A mar
keting guru. Amajor business
executive.
These titles represent just
some of the accomplishments
achieved by recipients of the
2006 Charlotte Post
Foundation’s People of
Prominence Award. The foun
dation, the philanthropic arm
of the Charlotte Post
Publishing Company, hosts
the networking celebration
May 4 to honor African
Americans for their profes
sional accomplishments and
community involvement.
While each of this year’s
honorees has a different story
of success, they all share
something specific-they are
women.
‘With each celebration we
attempt to develop a theme,”
said Gerald Johnson, pub
lisher of The Charlotte Post
See PROMINENT/3A
Also serving (iba^ '&itS4tH»«»5-DIfiIT 23216 Sll
• Library
Ford Rd
28216-5302
PHOTO/CALVIN FERGUSON
James Steele and Blandina M. Gray talk on the patio of the Anita Stroud Seniors apartment last week.
Construction was a joint venture between public, non-profit and corporate partners.
Goal: home-grown
housing solutions
Public, private agencies partnering to serve residential needs
By Herbert L. White
herb.\vhite@!hecharlortepost.com
The old-school public
housing project is but a
memory in Charlotte.
The latest steps away
from barracks-style, pub
licly-financed communities
took place last week when
Charlotte City Council
approved the rezoning of
Live Oak public housing for
conversion into mixed-
income apartments.
Then there was the com
pletion of The Park at
Oaklawn and the Anita
Stroud Seniors apartments.
The neighborhood, formerly
known as Fairview Homes,
includes 178 apartments, 71
single-fanuly homes and 83
apartments for the elderly.
“Revitalization and supply
are totally different, and
they run together,” said
David Howard, vice presi
dent of community affairs at
The Housing Partnership, a
nonprofit developing agency
that collaborated with CHA
on The Park. “We’re doing
things to keep homes afford
able, but there’s a big push
to revitalize.”
With fewer federal dollars
going to housing for low-
income Americans,
Charlotte is looking at new
ways of raising money. Non
profit agencies like CHA
Please see H01\/IE/2A
HOPE VI
isn’t dead,
but it’s on
its iast
iegs.
Charlotte Housing
Authority director
Charles Woodyard,
on the public housing
revitalization program.
Voting an honor, passion for precinct judge
By Gregory Phillips
THE (DURHAM) HERALD-SUN
DURHAM - When KeUy
Bryant tells you to vote,
you ought to listen. At 88
years old, Bryant has been
working the polls in
Dm'ham for 53 years and
knows what he’s talking
about.
“Voting is a privilege as
well as a right,” he said.
“You can’t complain about
what happens to you politi
cally if you don’t vote.”
Bryant took that privi
lege a significant step far
ther when he became one of
the first two black precinct
judges in Durham County,
along with Bernice Ingram,
in 1953. Before then, he
said, blacks only worked as
ballot-counters in some
precincts and still felt
largely excluded from the
electoral process.
“Blacks didn’t feel they
were received as voters at
that time,” Bryant remem
bered. A groundswell of
support among the black
community led to Bryant’s
appointment. He first
worked the polls at Bradys
Store on the corner of
Ramseur and Grant
streets, when most black
voters cast ballots at the
Please see FOR/7A
Poverty fake, but impact is real at United Way simulation
PHOTO/CURTIS WILSON
Ronnie Devine takes part in a poverty simulation Wednesday at Dowd YMCA. The
exercise, sponsored by United Way of Central Carolinas, was designed to expose
corporate leaders to the stresses of poverty.
By Eric Bozeman
FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST
Charlotte’s corporate leaders'
got a taste of poverty
Wednesday.
United Way of Central
Carolinas held a poverty simu
lation to show its Young
Leaders group what coping
with poverty is like.
The simulation was held at
the Dowd YMCA, and about 40
members of corporate and non
profit communities participated
in role playing as families who
had to deal with the stresses of
four 15 minutes per week exer
cises.
Natalie Burnham, senior
relationship manager with
United Way of Central
Carolinas, said the simulation
is geared to raise awareness
about those who struggle vrith
poverty.
“We are hoping to raise
awareness about what it might
be like to live in poverty. We are
very quick to judge and you
hear people say, “Well if theyd
just get a job,’ and it’s not that
simple,” Burnham said. “We
are hoping to raise their aware
ness about how exhausting it is
to try to survive month to
month.”
Sitting in groups of three to
See POVERTY’/7A
tikes
defense
posture
Officials try to protect
city’s image during
Duke lacrosse case
By Tim Whitmire
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DURHAM — Wherever reporters
gariier to cover the Duke lacrosse case,
it’s a good bet Rosemarie Kitchin is
nearby.
In the past two weeks, the director of
media relations and outreach for the
Durham Convention & Visitors
Bureau showed up at a prayer service
in front of Duke Chapel; on the
Durham County courthouse steps as
defense lawyers criticized District
Attorney Mike Nifong; and inside the
courtroom where an indicted player
made his first appearance before a
judge.
Celebrated two decades ago for its
run-down Southern charm in the
baseball movie “Bull Durham,”
Durham has become something of a
chew toy since allegations surfaced
last month that members of Duke
University’s lacrosse team raped a
stripper at a team party.
Race relations, income levels, eco
nomic development, the interaction
between Duke and the city - all have
been thrown into the mix in a- search
for an explanation for the scandal. It’s
Kitchin’s job to stick up for the Bull
City in that debate.
And so, outgoing and persistent,
Kitchin follows the reporters, armed
Please see DURHAM/3A
the box
NEWS, NOTES & TRENDS
Conference
on vendor
procurement
By Cynthia Dean
THE TRIANGLE TRIBUNE
Looking to do business with gov
ernment agencies?
Access 2006: Gateway to
Government Procurement
Opportunities will be held
Saturday at 8:30 a.m. at E.E.
Waddell High School, 7030
Nations Ford Road.
Local and state government
representatives will be on hand
and sessions will be held on devel
oping business, financing and
bonding. Among the agencies rep
resented are Charlotte Area
Transit System, city of Charlotte,
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools,
Mecklenburg County and
Carolina Association of General
Contractors.
A federal tax identification
number is required. 'lb register,
call (980) 343-0677 or e-mail gov-
access@cms.kl2.nc.us..
“Akeelah and the Bee” spells
^ winning combination/1 D
in
INSIDE
LIfelB
Religion 5B
Sporte 1C
Business 7C
A&E1D
Happenings 6C
To subscribe, call (704) 376-0496 or FAX (704) 342-2160.© 2006 The Charlotte Post Publishing Co.
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