BLUES, BREWS
AND BARBECUE
Charlotte blues legend
Nappy Brown throw;
down at home/1 D
Life is art
Review of Sonia
Handleman Myers
photographic exhibit
at Hodges Taylor
Gallery/ID
$1.00
The Voice of the Black Community
Also serving Cab;
JAMES B. DUKE LIBRARY
100 BEATTIES FORD RD
CHARLOTTE NC 26216-5302
*CAR-RT LOT**C-001
Who
loves
ya,’
voter?
Do Democrats
take blacks for
granted? Party
leaders bristle
By Hazei Trice Edney
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER
PUSUSHERS ASSOC/ATJON
WASHINGTON, D.C. -
Congressional Democrats,
now nine months into their
ruling majority, boast
proudly of their key legisla
tion affecting African-
Americans.
New acts of Congress
include long-awaited fetes,
such as the increase in the
minimum wage, relief for
Black farmers and last
week’s increase in the Pell
Grant for college tuition.
Yet, some seasoned politi
cal observers all but yawn as
they point out that mostly
tepid issues are being
addressed by Democratic
presidential candidates.
Their criticism raises the
question, Do Democrats
really love Black people?
“Of course not,” scoffs a
chuckling Kathie Stromile
Golden, executive director
of the National Conference
of Black Political Scientists.
"They love them to the
extent that [blacks] can help
them get elected.
Historically they are better.
Certainly we’ve been more
hopeful. But that’s not
because they actually love
Black folks. It's politics,"
says Golden, professor of
political science and, direc
tor of international pro
grams at Mississippi Valley
State University.
Ron Walters, former
strategist in the presidential
campaigns of the Rev. Jesse
Jackson, echoes Golden.
"Basically, what they want
to do is to get in the White
House. They want to win."
says Walters, a political sci
entist at the University of
Maryland. "And that means
if they have to overthrow
the. civil rights agenda,
they'll do it. And that is
essentially what they've
been trying to do. So, no,
they don't love black people.
It's just that they love win
ning."
The danger is that the
party shifts with political
winds, Walters explains.
In 1984, after Jackson's
first presidential run and
second term Republican
President Ronald Reagan
defeated Democratic nomi
nee former Vice President
Walter Mondale, there were
a series of meetings among
the Democratic Party leader
ship, Walters recalls.
"One of those meetings
was very hot because some
of the younger leaders of
the party were arguing that
they had to reconfigure the
role of the civil rights move
ment in the party's profile,
in the party’s image. In other
words, the Democratic Party
Please see DEMOCRATIC/2A
First responder
helped spark change
PHOTO/PAUL WILLIAMS III
Undo Lockhart, who retires today after 25 years with the Chartotte Fire Department, was the first
African American woman to join the service and second woman overall.
City’s first black woman firefighter retiring after 25 years
By Herbert L. White
hert).wh'tei®fhechOfioffeposf.C(
When Linda Lockhart joined
• the Charlotte Fire Department
in 1982, she was leaping into a
decidedly macho - and over
whelmingly white - world.
On Thursday, she’s retiring
from a more diverse service.
Lockhart, Charlotte's first
African American woman fire
fighter, is leaving after 25
years that brought changes in
the workplace and the role of
women.
“I can’t wait to get out. It’s
been an interesting 25 years,"
she said. “We’ve been through
a lot, but I made it through.”
From the start, Lockhart
stood out. At 4-feet, 11 inches
tall, she was much smaller
* ‘ I can't wait to get out. It's been an
interesting 25 years. We've been
through a lot, but I made it through.’ ’
Linda Lockhart Charlotte s first biack woman firefighter who
retires Thursday after 25 years of service.
than her colleagues. Then
there was Lockhart’s gender,
which didn’t endear her to her
new colleagues. There were no
gender-specific accomoda
tions at fire stations, where
women had to use the same
restrooms and dormitories as
the men.
"Linda came in when it was
rare for women to be in the
service, much less black
women,” said Deputy Chief
Howard Key. “Just her tenure
is something to be praised.”
• Firehouse oversights paled
in comparison to the hositility
Lockhart and other women
see CITY S/2A
ABC scores better, with reservations
By Herbert L. White
herb.white@thechariottepott.com
Charlotte-Mecklenburg public
school students are performing
much better according to stan
dardized test results.
More than two-thirds of the dis
trict’s schools (67.3 percent)
showed expected or high growth
in student achievement during
the 2006-07 school year com
pared to 54 percent a year earlier
as measured by
North Carolina’s
Accountability,
Basics and Local
Control rankings.
“This is very
good news. Many
of our schools are
showing growth in
student learning,”
CMS Superintendent Peter
Gorman said in a statement. "But
Gorman
GRAND OPENING
PHOTO/CALVIN FERGUSON
The Sfrafford Richardson YMCA on Wesf Boulevard celebrated ifs opening last week with a rope-cuf
fing ceremony. Community and civic leaders, YMCA officials and West Boulevard neighbors partici
pated in the opening ceremonies.
appreciation: dr. Reginald hawkins
we want to see even better news -
we want student achievement to
increase at all schools, not just
most of them.”
In North Carolina, 71.8 percent
of public schools made expected
or high growth, a 17.5 percentage
points improvement over the
previous year.
CMS high schools showed dra
matic improvement overall, with
See CHALLENGE/6A
PHOTO/CALVIN FERGUSON
Dr. Reginald Hawkins, a mainstay of
Charlotte’s cMI rights, faith and medical
communities for tour decades, died
Monday.
Avocal
leader
ferciuil
lights
Dentist/minister was at the
forefront of movement
By Herbert L. White
herb.white@thecharibttepost.com
Dr. Reginald Armistice Hawkins was never
one to hold his tongue when it came to black
self-determination.
A polarizing figure in Charlotte’s civil rights
community in the 1960s and 70s, Dr.
Hawkins, who died Monday in Charlotte at
age 83, was one of the most vocal advocates
for equality. He led during a time of sit-ins
and firebombings, yet never lost his verve.
“His legacy will be as a pit bull gnawing at
every vestige of segregation,” said Charles
Jones, a leader of Charlotte’s student sit-ins
during the 1960s. “He would not be denied.”
Dr. Hawkins, a dentist and minister, was
bom in Beaufort, N.C., on Nov. 11, 1923 - .
Armistice Day - to Lorena Smith and Charles
C. Hawkins. He graduated Johnson C. Smith
University in 1948 and earned a doctorate of
dental surgery from Howard University in
1948 before returning to Charlotte to start his
practice.
Please see REGINALD HAWKINS/3A
Entrepreneur
rallies support
for Jena 6
By Cheris F. Hodges
chem.hodges@fhecharioffeposf,com
For Darren Vincent, the case of the Jena Six
is almost like looking in the mirror.
Vincent has chartered a van to take a group
of Charlotte residents down to Jena, La., next
week when Mychal Bell, one of
six black high school students
charged with aggravated sec
ond degree battery, is sched
uled to be sentenced.
The story' of the Jena Six
affected Vincent two-fold. He
has a son dose to Bell's age.
Vincent’s son, like Bell, is an
honors student, never been in
trouble and is into sports.
And then there’s Vincent’s past.
"I’ve been in a lot of fights,” he said, his
voice low and wistful.
Please see LOCAL/6A
Vincent
Biography captures
what it s iike to grow up
Muslim axl convert to
Christianity/SB
LifelB
Religion 5B
Sports 1C
Business 5C
A&E1D
Classified 4D
Please
Recycle
INSIDE
To subsoibe: (704) 3760496 FAX (704) 342-2160.© 2007 The Chartotte Post Publishing Co. o
0«0E