REV. JESSE b. JACKSON
Jackson Plans
Commencement
Speech At A&T
GREENSBORO-The scheduled
1988 A&T State University com
mencement, with U.S. presidential
candidate the Rev. Jesse Jackson as
speaker, is expected to attract a
record crowd to the Greensboro Col
iseum.
Jackson, a 1964 A&T graduate and
one of its most distinguished alumni,
will speak at 11 a.m. to the nearly
1,000 graduating seniors, their
parents, the A&T faculty and staff
and friends.
“We are extremely fortunate and
grateful to have the Rev. Jackson, the
internationally prominent human
rights leader, to address our com
mencement,” A&T Chancellor Ed
ward B. Fort said. “The reality of the
situation is that he is very much en
route to becoming the next president
of the United States.”
The occasion will take on additional
meaning for Jackson as two of his
sons, Jonathan and Jesse Jr., will be
among those marching in the com
mencement exercise. Jackson’s wife,
Jacqueline, also attended A&T, and
will be present for the graduation.
Jackson is a native of Greenville,
S.C. His distinguished cateer in
public service began while he was an
AltT Student. He was a quarterback
on the football team and was elected
president of the Student Government
Association. While in Greensboro he
led student demonstrations against
segregated facilities. After gradua
tion from A&T, be moved to Chicago
where he attended Chicago
Theological Seminary.
In 1967, the late Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. appointed him director of
SCLC’s Operation Breadbasket. He
remained in that position until 1971
when he founded Operation PUSH.
Jackson has been much honored for
his humanitarian service to the na
tion. He has more than 17 honorary
degrees. He has received the Golden
(See JESSE JACKSON, P. 2)
Candidates Speak
RWCA Begins Selection Process
BY R.P. CORNWALL CHUNN
SUIT Writer
A political forum at St. Augustine’s
College sponsored by the Raleigh
Wake Citizens Association heard
statewide candidates making pro
mises ranging from putting the Bible
back in schools from a labor commis
sioner aspirant to giving Rev. Jesse
Jackson a campaign donation if he
should be the Democratic Party’s
presidential nominee.
A host of statewide office-seekers
led by gubernatorial candidates LL
Gov. Robert Jordan and Bruce A.
Friedman, and the candidate for the
Fourth District congressional seat,
faced questioning from a panel of ex
aminers and a fair-sized audience.
Edward T. Smith, chairman of the
RWCA political action committee,
was moderator for the event, with
Margaret Rose Murray, Oscar Smith
and attorney Geoffrey Simmons serv
ing as the questioning panel for the
2^-hour session on Wednesday even
ing.
A second political forum will be
sponsored by the RWCA on Thursday,
April 14, at 7:30 p.m. at St. Ambrose
Episcopal Church. The organization’s
endorsement meeting is scheduled
for Thursday, April 21, at7:30 p.m. at
the Hargett Street Branch of the
YWCA.
Democratic and Republican can
didates for Council of State positions,
lieutenant governor and governor at
Wednesday
most freqi I- C JI - I I .
their willin 1 p
top decisioi ~ _ r - -
state depan
respond to bwiiiiuiut; tumn us vm
drugs, black economic development,
education and consumer issues.
State Attorney General Lacy
Thornburg said combatting drugs'in
the state “seems to be a losing battle,
but nevertheless we’re contindTiig it.”
“The first thing we had to do was
get at the demand side... why and
how to say no... it’s working
beautifully,” said Thornburg, who is
seeking to return to office on the
Democratic ticket. “We’re working
on it at the international, national and
The Carolinian
RALEIGH, N.C.,
MONDAY
APRtL 11.1988
ATC's Semi-Weekly
DEDICATED TO THE SPIRIT OF JESUS CHRIST
SNULEi/urr rrjr
IN RALEIGH
ELSEWHERE 30*
VOL. 47. NO. 37
Assaulted After Jogging
Woman Raped In Home
Police
Look For
Suspect
Police were searching at press time
for a male suspect who reportedly
raped a Raleigh woman in her home
last week.
The woman was raped after she
returned to her East Raleigh home
after jogging, police say.
Police say the man grabbed the
woman as she was getting her house
kee out.
The man forced the woman into her
East Cabarrus Street home and lock
ed the screen door behind them.
The woman said the man indicated
he had a knife and pushed something
against her side.
Police describe the suspect as a
black male, about 5’7”, 180 pounds,
chubby, with a medium complexion
and a medium Afro. He was last seen
wearing a burgundy Shirt, blue jeans,
a blue jacket and a red cap.
In related events: Army Spec. 4
Ronald Adrin Gray may face a death
sentence after he was found guilty of
all 14 rape, robbery, attempted
murder and murder charges leveled
against him by the Army.
Unanimous guilty verdicts by the
general court-martial panel on the
murder counts make it possible for
the Army to sentence him to death.
He has already been sentenced to
eight life terms by the state after he
confessed to raping and killing two
Fayetteville women.
(See POLICE, P. 2)
NAACP fltoN «|RI to Ms. family Banks m
itMACP.
Ligon Middle School
Observes Career Day
The members of the eighth grade at
Ligon Middle School celebrated the
coming of spring recently by par
ticipating in Career Day. The purpose
of Career Day was to introduce the
members of the class to a variety of
occupations by those who know them
bn an intimate and practical basis,
who are actively participating in
those fields or who train people who
Minority Economic Development
Center Opens In Eastern N.C.
The Eastern N. C. Center (or
Minority Economic Development
opened here Saturday, as Ted
Hooker, project coordinator, and a
boat of well-wishers watched Mayor
Ralph Elramey cut the ribbon of
ficially opening the center at 305 East
Nash St. In downtown Wilson. The
center has as a goal to assist
municipalities, community organiza
tions and businesses in economic
development planning and im
plementation.
The organisers and the initial sup
porters of the Center were concerned
about the lack of day care facilities
for moderate and low-income
families, a laek of affordable housing,
an incoherent development strategy
for the economic involvement of
minorities, crime and the effect of
rapid development outside the urban
areas of cities and towns in Eastern
North Carolina.
The project coordinator stressed
the' points of the minority
'community’s need to raise its stan
dard of living by attacking the con
tinual drawbacks of teenage pregnan
cy, drugs and crime, plus the dire
need to pull its small, independent
contractors together so that as one
they would be able to secure a greater
percentage of the area’s construction
dollar.
The Center and its coordinator look
forward to developing a close work
ing relationship with developers, real
estate brokers and representatives of
banking and lending institutions as
partners in developing and im
plementing acceptable strategies for
the revitalization of targeted
neighborhoods. The programs
envisioned will utilize the resources
and technical expertise of the
National Neighborhood
Reinvestment Corporation.
M. L. Banner, compliance
specialist with the Economic
Development Administration of the
U. S. Department of Commerce in
Washington, D.C„ was in attendance
(See MINORITY, P. XI
■: . '
„_____ 'fli
El Ramey (3rd M* m wti »f.
opening ttw Entarn North Carolina Cantor lor
Economic Dirilipnmr* it 305 East Noth St. in WHsoo. On
ImmI tar tho occasion won (I. - r.) MaMo Fork*. Tod Hooker,
wore in tnose areas.
Acting as presenters for the activi
ty and their areas of expertise were:
George Smart, architecture; Capt.
Tyree Jones and his sister flight at
tendant Michelle Jones, aviation; Ms.
Jane Richardson, banking; Ms. Judy
Cross, careers in fashion design and
modeling; Dallas Foster, Wake
Technical College; Dr. Shrikant
Kulkarne, chemistry; Dr. Reda
Vilner, chiropractic medicine;
Wilbert Williams, computer science.
Also, Ms. Montina Lee, counseling;
Ms. Lois Staton, museum curator;
Ms. Darlene Sams, dental science;
Dr. David Fowle, elementary educa
tion; Bob McCollum, mechanical
engineering; attorney Larry Height,
law (ABC commission); attorney
Susan Iddings, law (General
Assembly and private practice); Dr.
William D. Lee, medicine; Sgt. Jim
Beck, Army; Sgt. James Utley, Air
Force; Petty Officer Penny Briley,
Navy; Frank Derrickson, real
estate; Ms. Sue Woodling, social
work; Gerhardt Zimmerman, sym
phony music; and Dr. Ethelbert
Chukwu, college education.
The participants met in the
cafeteria at 7:90a.m. for hot buns and
coffee. They were welcomed to Ligon
(See LIGON. P. 2)
iBRAPY
- -
- - - - p
>f
fUlUVIia (UVW *»V» til VUt UIXiU S
farmlands each year, acknowledged
also the decrease of black-owned
farms. “I’ve been very conscious of
the problem in this area... We’ve lost
200,000 family farms in the last 20
years. It’s a new ballgame in growing
food,” he said.
Retiublican candidate for in
surance commissioner H.L.
Redenhour and a representative of
current commissioner, Democrat
Jim Long, agreed to the need to
relieve the difficulties on female
heads of households in obtaining in
surance.
Fourth District congressional can
(See RWCA, P. 2)
Senator Hand Calls
For Stronger Laws
On Drug Trafficking
Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand has called for tightening drug traf
ficking laws and restricting the driving privileges of DWI offenders.
“We have to shut down the drug thvgr," declared Rand, D-Cumberland,
“and we have to tighten up on drunk drivers.”
Rand, 48, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant
governor in the May 3 primary, is the principal sponsor of legislation that has
given law enforcement officials more authority to fight increasingly
sophisticated drug trafficking rings.
“We must extend the use of the investigative grand jury in drug traffick
ing cases,” said the Fayetteville attorney. “We also must give our law en
forcement agenies the authority to use electronic surveillance.” Rand’s bill
on electronic surveillance was adopted by the Senate in 1987 but has yet to be
approved by the House.
The senator rnade his comments in a press conference on law enforce
ment. He was on a campaign tour in which he met with the state’s sheriffs’
| association in Monroe. A large number of law enforcement officials have en
i dorsed Rand.
Michael F. Easley, president of the state’s District Attorneys Associa
tion, said, “Many politicians have declared war on drugs, but Tony Rand is
the only one to equip law enforcement with the tools to fight the battle.”
Cumberland County District Attorney Edward W. Grannis, Jr., added, “If
Tony Rand never gets another vote, he has made one of the most significant
contributions against drugs of all North Carolinians.”
In his law enforcement position paper, Rand called for tighter restric
tions on allowing DWI offenders back on the highways. He said that under
current laws, many DWI offenders are allowed to return to the road with little
or no driving restrictions.
Rand urged the legislature to extend efforts in the public schools to
educate elementary school-age children about the dangers of drugs. He cited
the success of two pilot programs in Mecklenburg and Wake counties that
concentrated on elementary students and said, “The legislature should ex
amine these programs and expand them to other school systems, especially
for those systems that have serious drug problems.”
NCSU Black Students
Honored At Banquet
North Carolina State University’s
sixth annual African-American
Awards Banquet recognized top
graduate and undergraduate black
students for academic achievement
in a ceremony last week at the Jane
S. McKimmon Center.
Jacqueline Hughes-Oliver of 5014
Fort Sumter Road, Raleigh, received
the Graduate Dean’s African
Amt ican Achievement Award,
given to the most academically
outstanding African-American
graduate student. She is a master’s
student in statistics in the College of
Physical and Mathematical Sciences.
Seniors Sheryl D. Brown of
Kinston, Pamela S. Gilyard of
Raleigh and Donnell T. Walton of
Charlotte each received a certificate
and a cash award as the black
students with the highest
undergraduate grade-point average
based on more than 30 credit hours.
Both Brown and Gilyard received
academic awards last year for being
among the top three black students.
Brown, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
' Robert L. Brown of 803 Arrow Drive,
Kinston, holds the highest average.
She is majoring in biochemistry.
Gilyard, of 2800 Sanderford Road,
Raleigh, and Walton, of 800 Walnut
Street, Charlotte, are both majoring
in electrical engineering.
Margaret Evans Goodson of 6405
Dixon Drive, Raleigh, received a
cash award for holding a 4.0, or
straight A, average. She is a
freshman majoring in health occupa
tions teacher education.
Ninety-four certificates were
awarded to students who had com
pleted a minimum of 30 hours with a
grade-point average of 3.0 or higher
on a 4.0 scale.
The Graduate Research Award,
presented to the African-American
graduate student who best ex
emplifies research through publica
tion and experimental design, was
presented to Ralph Fielder of 517-A
N. Bloodworth St., Raleigh. He is a
master’s student in product design in
the School of Design.
The Chancellor’s African
American Leadership Award was
presented to Richard B. Wright, 1S31
Bellwood Drive. Wright is a master’s
student in psychology in the College
of Educations nd Psychology.
An outstanding Mack graduate stu
dent from each NCSU’s colleges and
the School of Design received an
African-American Achievement
(See NCSU BLACK, P. 2)
Black Family
Conference To
Look At Health
The steering committee of
Strengthening the Black Family,
Inc., announces its eighth conference,
scheduled for April 23, from 8:30 a.m.
to 5:30 p.m. at the Boyer Building, St.
Augustine’s College.
Strengthening the Black Family,
Inc., t iablished in 1987, is a
community-based coordination and
dissemination system chartered to
support the implementation of black
family enhancement programs in
Wake County. Beginning in 1M1, an
nual conferences have been con
ducted through the networking of
organizations which comprise the
membership of the present-day
Strengthening the Black Family, Inc.
The 1988 confernce will focus on
“Strengthening the Black Family:
Mobilizing Its Resources in Pursuit of
(See BLACK FAMILY, P. 2)
Activist Julian Pierce
Assassination Of Leader
BY BENJAMIN r. CHAVIS. JK.
M|H«lal I* Th» l'«roH»i»n
A* Aiialynta
An assassination is always painful.
It is particularly painful when it takes
from us a leader who was beloved by
his people and whose potential was so
vibrant. Julian Pierce, a Lumbee In
dian attorney and activist in Robeson
County, was just such a man. He was
killed on March 96 of this year.
Attorney Pierce had decided to run
for a newly-created Superior Court
judgeship in the May primary. It was
a dangerous decsion. For this is a
county in which drug corruption
reputedly reaches even into the of
fices of the sheriff and other local of
ficials.
In addition, Pierce’s opponent was
Joe Freeman Britt, an established
member of the power structure that
runs the county. Britt is the current
district attorney and holds the
world’s record for sending more peo
ple to death row—primarily Native
American and African-American,
than anyone else. In fact, he’s in the
“Guiness Book of World Records” for
this dubious distinction.
Together, the Native American and
African-American populations make
up 58 percent of Robeson County.
Dexter Locklear, finance committee
chairman for Pierce’s campaign,
noted that the passage of a recent
school referendum showed the poten
tial of the combined strength of the
Native American and African
American votes. Through Julian
Pierce’s candidacy, that coalition
would have been strengthened even
more.
Who was this man and why did so
meone feel be was so dangerous that
he was shotgunned to death in his
own home? Pierce was born and rais
ed in neighboring Hoke County,
graduated from college to become a
chemist and then returned for his law
degree. After receiving his master’s
degree in tax law from Georgetown
University, he worked with the
Securities and Exchange Commis
sion in Washington, D.C.
Attorney Pierce could have stayed
in Washington, earning a comfortable
living and working decant hours. In
stead, he made the decision to return
home and help empower his people.
In 1878 he became the first director of
Lumbee River Legal Sendees, form
ed to provide legal aid to die poor of
the area.
Attorney Pierce prepared the peti
tion for official federal recognition of
the Lumbee Nation which would give
them control over their community
and its economic development.
Pierce was also called upon to aaeiet
with numerous cases of unsolved
murders of native Americans end
African Americans, some even in
volving the local police.
However, Julian Pierce wee net on
ly involved in the law ; rather, ha par
ticipated in the entire life of his com
munity. Hr was instrumental in
the Robeson County Health Corpora
tion which operated medical dinks in
three Robspm County towns. He also
served as chairman and chief fund
raiser for an ongoing outdoor play
(See ASSASSINATION, P. *)