___ GHctMSBOrtO FJJULIC UBRABJ
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VOL. 28, NO. 40 GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLII Citv 27^.02 1969 PRICE 10 CENTS
CHAVIS NAMED SECOND NEGRO COUNCILMAN
Vance H. Chavis, 63, retired,
principal of Lincoln Junior High
School and a city school teach
er for 40 years, was named to i
the Greensboro City Council
Tuesday to fill out the unexpir
ed term of the late councilman
William Folk, Jr.
Chavis' appointment means
that Greensboro is the only city
of the state's five largest which
has Negro representation on the
city council that is above the
population ratio of whites and
Negroes.
The seven-member city coun
cil now has two Negroes (28.5
per cent). Of the city's estimat
ed 149,000 persons, 35,000 (or 23
per cent) are Negroes.
Charlotte's 250,000 population
Is 23 per cent Negro. The sev
en-member council has one Ne
gro, 14.2 per cent. Winston-Sa
lem's 149,000 population is ap
proximately one-third Negro
The eight-member board of ald
ermen has two Negroes, 25 per
cent. Raleigh's 110,000 popula
tion is 25 per cent Negro. The
?even-member city council has
one Negro, 14 per cent. Dur
ham's 78,302 (I960) population
la 32 per cent Negro. The 13
m ember city council has two
Negroes, 15 per cent.
Informed of his appointment,
Chavis at first said, "I'm over
whelmed, pleased that they (the
council members) have this con
fidence in me."
Then, Chavis paused and said,
i "I am sorry that the appoint
ment had to come from a va
cancy caused by Mr. Folk's
death, for he was a good friend ?
and invariably wrote me a note i
of congratulation when I re
ceived some honor.
"I appreciate those who sup
ported me in the election (hav
ing run eighth in the May elec- '?
tion) and those who gave me (
their financial and moral sup- .
port."
Chavis, a Wadesboro native, '
retired from his education post
June 30.
He joined the city schools in
1929 as a physics instructor at I
Dudley High School and taught 1
there until 1955, when he be
came assistant principal at Lin
coln Junior High. He became
principal there two years later.
He has served as a circulation
district manager for the Greens- i
boro News-Record.
Chavis is a graduate of John- j
son C. Smith University In
Charlotte, received his master's
degree from North Carolina Col
lege In Durham and took spe
cial work at Chapel Hill and
Greensboro branches of the Uni- '
versity of North Carolina and
A&T State University and the
University of Wisconsin.
He was nominated By Coun
cilman Jimmie L. Barber, the
other Negro member of the
council, and the nomination was
seconded by William Trotter Jr.,
a former mayor. The selection
was unanimous.
He will be sworn into office
at 2:30 p.m. next Monday and
was invited to attend the coun
cil committee session at 2:30
p.m. today.
Chavis' selection followed the
adoption by the council of a
resolution in memory of Folk.
Greensboro Approves
Selection Of Chavis
The City Council appointment
of Vance H. Chavis, a runner-up
in the recent city election, to
fill the council seat left vacant
by the death of William Folk
Jr., brought wide approval
Tuesday in the Greensboro area.
Former Mayor Carson Bain
?aid, "The choice was a good
one. Chavis has already made a
worthy contribution to our city.
He is an able, person with a
deep sense of welfare for
Greensboro citizens."
William J. Beaman Jr., who
took ninth place in the recent
selection of the seven council
( Continued on Pag* 8)
Black Mother Of Five Children
Harrassed By Klan
New York, New York ? The
Justice Department was asked
to protect a South Carolina
mother of five whose children
have been beaten and whose
house has been shot up and
burned.
Jack Greenberg Director
Counsel of the NAACP Legal
Defense and Educational Fund,
Inc. (LDF), sent a telegram to
Attorney General John R. Mit
chell in which he asked federal
protection for Mrs. Victoria De
Lee who has been fighting for
school desegregation in Dor
chester County, South Carolina
since 1965.
Ridgeville is a small town
northwest of Charleston in Dor
chester County, South Carolina.
There are four roads leading
into Ridgeville, and on all four
of these roads is written in big
red painted letters "Kill Tory,
Kill Tory."
Tory refers .to Mrs. Victoria
DeLee, a black resident of Dor
chester County who has been
leading a school integration
fight, almost by herself, since
1964.
Mrs. DeLee and her husband
have five children. Mr. DeLee
works for a Federal Arsenal in
Dorchester County. Boi? par
ents are determined that their
children will receive a decent
education, but their struggle
hasn't been easy and very often
its been dangerous.
On November 13, 1966, Mrs.
DeLee's house and all her be
longings were burned by the
Klan. In fact, the Klan con
tinues to harrass the DeLee's
family without let-up. Two
weeks ago, Mrs. DeLee received
a threatening letter from the
Klan and two days ago a Klan
rally was held in s field next
to her house and a five car
motorcade drove slowly past her
house so she could see the might
of the Dorchester Klan.
In an affidavit, Mrs. DeLee
states: "Since enrolling my chil
dren into previous all-white
schools in Dorchester County
Harleyville - Ridgeville High
School District No. 3, I have
encountered a number of critical
problems, abuse, harrassments;
including firing of guns into my
house by white agitators, beat
ing of my children and children
of other Negroes while school
officials stood by without giv
ing them any aid." These inci
dents have occurred between
1964 and 1967.
Mr. Greenberg's telegram said
in part, "I urge that you order
an immediate investigation of
these blatant violations of the
civil rights of this family before
it is subjected to serious harm.*
FOLK FUNERAL FILLS
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
The First Baptist Church was
filled Sunday with friends and
admirers of William Folk Jr.,
Greensboro's senior city council
man who died Friday at age 64.
More than 1,000 persons at
tended the short ceremony con
(Cotitinued nn Page 8)