SAVING GRACE Grace AME Zion Church sold to preservation society/SB Volume 31 No. 38 BELLY UP TO THE RHYTHM Belly dancing goes from exotic past to hot ^ of exercise/ffe, 3 Mint exhibit goes to the dogs, cats and other limals Clhaitrlot I,Hi..,11 Ill \ $1.00 28216 S13 PI Jasies B. Duke Library 100 Beatties Ford fid Charlotte NC 28216-6302 The Voice of the Black Community Bobcats will miss security blanket Fly on the Walt is a satirical look at Charlotte, chock full of mischief, mayhem and a splash of malfeasance to get the juices flow ing. Long-time readers know this, but if you're neophyte, these are the rules, so don’t be a player- hater. This disclaimer is provided courtesy of the legal beagles at our crack law firm,. Dewey Cheatham and Howe, attorneys to wanna-be stars. • Ed Tapscott’s resigna tion. isn’t help ing the Charlotte Bobcats’ repu tation around these parts. Everybody knows about Mr. Ed’s deci sion to quit his job as president of the NBA franchise last month after a disagreement over his role with the team. The ownership group thought it was helping the brother out by reducing his workload. Mr. Ed took it as a dis. Some of Fly’s most loyal low-flying spies say Mr. T has privately groused about working extra hard at gettii^ owner Bob Johnson up to speed on how professional' sports is supposed to work in building up goodwill. Apparently it didn’t work very well, considering the stumbling (C-SET shuttered after a year) fumbling (over priced tickets) and bumbling (reversal on high school grad uation at the arena). Mr. Ed smoothed those wrinkles. Man, the Bobcats are gonna miss this guy • The Itiesday Morning Breakfast Forum, one of this burg’s hvehest debate and- See IMMIGRATION/2A Tapscott PHOTOCALVIN FERGUSON Rashad Dykes (left) and his wife Misha Wallace help build their new home in Charlotte’s Druid Hills neighborhood. Despite gains in recent years, black homeownership still lags behind whites At home, at last Building blitz puts families on track for ownership By Herbert L White herb. wh/te®fiechortoffeposf com Nail by nail, Rashad Djdms and his wife Misha ^^^ace are building a piece of their American dream They’re building a home in the Druid Hflis neighborhood as part of Habitat For Humanity’s Home Builders Blitz. The week-long campaign will build 400 homes across the U.S. Djhes and Wallace are first-time homebuyers, and the experience of building their own place makes it worth the effort. “We helped put up the frame, the roof,” said Djdses. ‘Tn a cou ple of weeks we’ll be moving in. It’s a dream come true. I really can’t believe it yet.” Watt co-sponsors anti predatory lending bill U.S. Rep. Mel Watt is co sponsoring a bill that woxfld crack down on discriminato ry mortg'age lending. Watt, a Charlotte Democrat and chairman of the Congi'essional Black Caucus, wiU hold a news conference today at 10 a.m. to discuss the bill, which is co-sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. Other African Am^can and Latino members of the house wfll discuss the prob lems ethnic minorities face in obtaining loans for mort gages. Ihe Watt-Frank bfll isn’t the only one expect ed to be debated tn the House. A competing bUl backed by Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) has also been drafted. Both sides have been negotiating to build a compromise. Herbert L. White At legislative caucus, unity is main topic ' By Cynthia Dean THE TRIANGLE TRIBUNE RALEIGH - Why African- American organiza tions are not able to unify dominated discussions at the annual N.C. Black Legislative Caucus conference. N.C. Rep. Larry Womble, D- Forsyth, initiated the, conversation on why blacks have a hard time getting together Womble to support issues that affect them all. The recent protest of thousands of Hispanics across the nation for immigration reform sparked his interest. ‘Tve worked here a long time and I’ve never seen so many peo ple turn out like those Hispanics,” Womble said, referring to their recent strike for fair immigration laws. “The Hispanics put on-a hell of a show, and they’ve only been here a few yeare. We’ve been here for'over 200 years.” JU" 1 2 ; i Also serving Cabarrus, Chester, Mecklenburg, Rowan and York counties Banking onnmim ofpayday lending Bill criticized as attempt to bring back banned industry By Chens F. Hodges cheris./Todges@hechorfotteposf.conT If N.C. Rep. Beverly Earle has her way pay day lending will make a comeback in North Carolina. Sort of Earle, a Charlotte Democrat, is the' sponsor of a bfil that would create a new type of loan, which would allow consumers to borrow up to $3,000 and repair credit as they repay Unlike payday loans, these loans don’t involve checks and have terms no less than 120 days. With payday loans, a bor rower writes a personal check to cover the loan amormt and interest tiiat is debited fi-om a checking account on their next payday , Earle did not return repeated calls fi-om The Post. Payday lending opponents say the bill allows many of the same pitfalls the industry posed when it was ushered out of the state earlier ibis year. “This bfil is not the answer,” said Keith Corbett, executive vice president of the Center for Responsible Lending. Corbett said that since Earle has two of the nation’s largest banks headquartered in her • district, she and other legislatoi-s should work with financial institutions to come up with loans for people that don’t have such high interest rates. “This bill doesn’t hdp people in need, ‘wheai you have one community payir^ interest rates as high as pay day lending APR and another community paying lower interest rates, they will never get into the mainstream,” Corbett said. Please see N.C. LENDING/2A Dykes, Wallace, their son Latwan, 10 and dog Yayo are"' looking foi"ward to moving in- Dykes and Wallace are helping with construction of their Justice Avenue home, and Wallace is shopping for appli ances and furniture. “Washer and dryer, microwave, dishes, pots and Please see HOME/2A Earle ■ Womble wonders why blacks can’t do the same thing to makn a big impact on lawmakers. He has noticed that different groups, such as the NAACP, fraternities, sororities and other advocacy groups have their own set of leg islative days. ‘Ts it because everyone is pro tecting their turf?” he asked. For too long, we’ve been fragmented.” Courtney Crowder said the first People of Color Legislative Day held May 23, was a step in the Please see UNITY/3A Charlotte Juneteenth festival combines heritage and culture PHOTO/PAPA NDIAYE Since its inception nine years ago, drumming exhibitions have been part of the Juneteenth celebration in Charlotte. Carolina Panthers receiver Keary Colbert looks to bounce back from injury/1 C By Erica Singleton FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST Few places put on a Juneteenth cele bration like Charlotte. The ninth annual Juneteenth Festival of the Carolinas begins on June 15 with a celebration of history Founder Papa S. Ndiaye, owner of The House of Africa on Central Avenue, enjoyed Juneteenth cel ebrations when he Hved in New York, and saw festivities tn Atlanta and 'Ibxas. Upon moving to Charlotte, he was astounded that no such activities were held here. “Everyone looked at me, asking What’s Jiuieteenth?’ No one knew any- thir^,” said Ndiaye. “Chflture and her itage is the only direction to help you move forward.” Cn Jime 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger read the Emancipation Proclamation in Galveston, Ibxas, belat.- edly initiating the freeing of 250,000 Please see CAROLINAS/2A the box NEWS, NOTES & TRENDS Fomm aims to help poor with civil lawsuits A Charlotte group is advocatir^ ade quate legal representation for the indi gent in civil cases. Citizens Coimcil for Equal Opportunity will host a foruiij. Saturday at 2 p.m. at Friendship- Missionary Baptist Chmxdi, 3301 Beatties Ford Road. The council is looking for public input for an action plan. The council was foimded by Howard McClure, a longtime advocate for legal represCTLtation for the indigent. Last year the group formed a board to press for adequate funding for some civil tri als. For information on the fonim or coim- cil, call.(704) 531-3543. Life IB Religion 5B Sports 1C Business 6C A&E1D Classified 4D INSIDf To subscribe, call (704) 376-0496 or FAX (704) 342-2160.© 2006 The Charlotte Post Publishing Co. o©0[: Recycle