RALEIGH, N.C.,
THURSDAY
VOL. 48, NO. 70
AUGUST 3.1989
N.C/8 Semi-Weekly
DEDICATED TO THE SPIRIT OF JESUS CHRIST ^
SINGLE COPY Or
IN RALEIGH
ELSEWHERE 300
NAACP Gears Up For Silent
March Set For Nation's Capital.
Page 13
African-Americans Make
Presence Felt On Soccer Field.
Page 23
i
Ala. Senator Decides
Senate Kills Lucas’ Nomination
REV. FRANK B. WEAVER
Weaver Says
Black Church Is
Still Important
BY YVONNE CONWELL
Staff Writer
Rev. Frank B. Weaver, pastor of
Watts Chapel Baptist Church, says
the black church has not become
secondary, but is still one of the many
influential institutions that can help
blacks.
“As I see it, in my humble judg
the black church has great
it and prominence in the black
community, he said. “The major
is that biacta^tal^^Wfi,
i to tap for leadership other
i the church.
“We have professionals, fraternal
and political organizations in the
community now. We have more
sodal agencies than we once had to
help blacks.’’
Rev. Weaver has been in the
ministry and education arena for
more than 30 years. He commented,
“I support the doctrine that church
and schools should be separated. By
my understanding the Supreme Court
has not said that one could not pray in
public schools. The ruling forbids us
forcing children to say certain kinds
of prayers.
“I have never had a conflict as a
minister in a public school. When I
prayed publicly on stages, I prayed to
God for all His people and that will
leave none out,” he added.
Rev. Weaver has earned a master
of divinity degree from Shaw Divinity
School, a master of arts at Columbia
University, a bachelor of science
degree from Fayetteville State
University and a doctor of education
decree from Pennsylvania State
University.
Weaver has served as interim
. superintendent of Durham City
Schools, as the first black assistant
superintendent of Durham City
Schools, and has taught in the sum
mer at AAT State University and
Florida A&M’s graduate schools. He
also taught as a staff associate at
North Carolina State University and
as professor of practical preaching
(homiletics) at Shaw Divinity School.
“As a minister, I have always tried
to lead our churches with a focus on
the needs of youths. I say often that
the present church should have ac
tivities that should enrich the lives of
•U »«« levels. However, if we fail to
vdee rlEV. WEAVER, P. 2)
Votes Split
Along Party
Affiliation .
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP)-Ala
bama Sen. Howell Heflin cast the
decisive vote Tuesday as the Senate
Judiciary Committee defeated Presi
dent Bush’s nominee to head the
Justice Department’s Civil Rights
Division.
Heflin, the only committee member
i who had not revealed his position on
I the nomination of William Lucas
prior to the meeting, joined six other
Democrats on the panel in voting
against Lucas.
The seven Democrats also voted
against sending his nomination to the
Senate floor without a recommenda
tion. and the 7-7 tie vote on both mo
tions effectively killed the nomina
tion.
Heflin said Lucas is “lacking in ex
perience and qualifications. His
managerial accomplishments are
debatable. If he is not confirmed, the
president will nominate a better
qualified, more experienced lawyer
with proper sensitivities and dedica
tion.”
Heflin said he voted against sen
ding the nomination to the Senate
floor without a recommendation
because if Lucas had been defeated
there, the nation’s top civil rights en
forcement post probably would not be
filled until after the first of the year.
After Lucas was rejected by the
committee, Heflin said he disagreed
with the charges made by some
Republican senators that Lucas was
'^S^aTtTa^te nominee with
the same background and lack of
legal experience as Lucas “wouldn t
have gotten anywhere.” He said the
fact that Lucas was black caused the
committee to give him more con
sideration than it normally would
have given a nominee of his qualifica
tions.
Heflin had asked the committee
last week to delay the vote on Lucas
until Tuesday so he could have time
to check out some new information
(See SENATE KILLS. P *'
Back Of School
Scene Of Local
Shooting Case
In a weekend shooting case
involving Cindy Ann Gorman, 29 of
505 E. Davie Street the Raleigh Police
Department continues to follow up on
all possible leads and suspects. As
late as Wednesday evening detectives
were still interviewing in relations to
the Gorman case.
Ms. Gorman was found shot in the
neck behind Emma Conn Elementary
School in the East Section of Raleigh
No apparent motive has yet surfaced
for the shooting. „
Police have found in checking Ms.
Gorman’s background that she has
had a number of brushes with the
law." Since 1982 she has been
arrested 20 times on an assortment of
offenses ranging from prostitution to
crimes committed against nature.
At press time Ms. Gorman was
listed in critical but somewhat stable
condition at Wake Medical Center. A
victim of a senseless shooting, she
struggles to survive the gunshot
would she sustained from her
attacker.
EASTERN FLIES AGAIN-August 1st markad the first
day since the Eastern Machinist Union and Pfief s Union
strike that commercial flights for the air carrion departed
Raleigh-Durham International Airport These striking
Eastern employees were on hand outside the Eastern
Terminal to call attention to their strike and demands. On
hand were, from left, Linda Smith, Betty Hilliard, Don Tickle
and Cindy Bames.
rigm 1 o ourviue
U1AKLU1 It, Iflrl “ijIBCR
farmers, shut out of a farm
expansion trend in past decades,
have switched from corn and soy
beans to fruits and vegetables to in
crease profits on their small plots.
Along with these changes comes
hope for the first time in 70 years to
black farmers across North Carolina
and South Carolina. That hope is be
ing linked to better marketing
strategy and organization.
Black agriculture advocates hope
federal credit laws and smart
marketing will help.
“So much of it has been dependent
on thel aw, and the law up until the
last year was a complete shambles,”
said David Harris, Jr. of Durham,
who directs the N.C. Association of
Black Lawyers Land Loss Prevention
Project.
The two-attorney agency has
represented 1,000 farmers since 1982.
worked with 300 last year and is work
ing with 70 now.
Changes late last year in Farmers
Home Administration debt policy
give some hope for saving farms,
Harris said.
The 1987 Agriculture Credit Act set
aside money in each state for poor
minorities to buy land. The S.C.
FmHA had nearly $1 million and has
lent all but $88,300. The N.C. FmHA
has lent $200,000 to five farmers and
has eight applications for its remain
ing $316,000.
"Federal and state agricultural
policy has got to be improved so it can
farmers survive,” Harris told the
Charlotte Observer. “Small and
medium-sized farmers have got to
become more businesslike.”
Harris and others say black
farmers must turn to crops like peas
and peanuts that yield more dollars
JJVt UVI V, UVVUUQV UIVJ VUU V Will.
growing corn and soybeans on their
small fields.
One example is Aug. 5, when 10 tons
of South Carolina watermelons, can
taloupes, beans, cucumbers, squash,
peppers, com, okra was. onions,
(See BLACK FARMERS, P. ?'
CHARLOTE (AP)— Jesse JacKson
says he has already started moving to
Washington, where he plans to focus
on urban issues—day care, affor
dable housing, health care and drug
prevention.
But during his trip to Charlotte on
Saturday, he wouldn’t say whether he
would run for mayor of Washington.
Tired of speculation over the issue,
Jackson said, “It’s a lot of hype that’s
hfromea diversion-”
Jackson, a former presidential can
didate, said his family began moving
from Chicago on Friday. He already
had announced that his National
Rainbow Coalition would relocate
from Chicago next week.
“We have moved to Washington as
a family and as one rainbow coali
tion,” Jackson said. “We’re moving
to Washington... under the presump
tion that Washingon requires that
kind of time, that kind of focus.”
About 250 people, including
Conyers Adda Excitement
To Detroit Mayoral Contest
utL i nui i, Mien. (Ar) —coieman
Young’s campaign for a fifth mayoral
term was considered a breeze until
U.S. Rep. John Conyers unexpectedly
entered the race last week.
ine 13-term congressman iacKt> cne
local political organization and
estimated $5 million in campaign
funds that Young has, but Conyers is
well known and liked in Detroit. Ear
ly polls show him running tight with
Young, and the two dominating the
Sept. 12 non-partisan primary in
which 13 candidates will be winnowed
to two.
“It could very well be” a close
race, Young said late last week. “I
don’t expect any race to be easy.”
That was a sharp contrast to
Young’s earlier statement about Con
yers. “Now that he’s in, I will shoot at
him like he’s a rabbit.”
Wilbur Rich, a political science pro
fessor at Wayne State University and
author of a biography on Young,
played down the significance of the
MU (Conyers] survives the
primary, then I think there will be a
very tight and very bitter race. I
think Conyers probably thinks Col
eman has something about his per
sonality people don’t like and will try
to build on that."
Young, 71, defeated Detroit accoun
tant Tom Parrow with 61 percent of
the vote in 1M5. Before Conyers, 60,
entered the race, Barrow was the
favorite to meet Young in November.
Jackson’s mother and grandmother,
crowded into a banquet room to hear
his speech to the North Carolina
Black Leadership Caucus of
Charlotte.
Jackson also confirmed that
Charlotte will host this year’s PUSH
EXCEL Pro Basketball Classic.
Organizers are still trying to arrange
which NBA stars will play in the Sept.
23 game.
Jackson said the game, along with
10 scholarships awarded to local
college-bound students, is intended to
promote education. And he encourag
ed parents to help their children
study at home.
“Our youth practice basketball on
an average of four hours a day,”
Jackson said. “My friends, if we
spent four hours a night working on
reading, writing, and problem-,
solving, we’ll be able to slam-dunk
thoughts just like we slam-dunk
basketballs.”
Jackson kept returning to the
Washington issue
i See JACKSON MOVES, P. 2)
NEWS BRIEFS
LA TOYA JACKSON TO
SING IN MOSCOW
NEW YORK, N.Y.
(AP)—Singer La Toya Jackson
will be the only American to per
form at the Moscow Music
Festival next week, her manager
said Saturday. Ms. Jackson will
sing five songs at the Aug. 5-6
festival, which will be filmed for
Japanese television, said
manager Jack Gordon.
The singer will be backed by 36
Soviet dancers and two American
dancers. “I’m flattered. I think
it’s an honor to be asked to per
form for the Russian people,”
Ms. Jackson said. “The people
are very much like the
Americans, I’ve been told. But I
don’t expect a lot of smiling faces
for some odd reason,” she said.
Ms. Jackson recently com
pleted a 21-day tour of Germany,
Italy, Turkey and Spain.
BLACKS SEEKING
TREATMENT FACE JAIL
JOHANNESBURG, South
Africa (AP)—Blacks who seek
treatment at whites-only
hospitals in a mass defiance cam
paign may be imprisoned for two
years, authorities said Friday.
In the tiny black homeland of
Venda,. thousands of students
boycotted classes in protest of
what they say is a coverup by of
ficials investigating recent kill
ings.
Adriaan Vlok, the law and
order minister,, contends the ef
fort to seek treatment at white
hospitals will include acts of
violence Intended to disrupt
segregated national elections
scheduled for Sept. 6.
A militant balck labor federa
tion accused Vlok an Friday of
deliberately misinterpreting the
plans for peaceful acts of de
fiance before the election.
In the first phase of the de
fiance campaign, which began
Wednesday, anti-apartheid
groups have asked blacks and
people of mixed race to seek
medical treatment at eight
whites-only hospitals.
Authorities in Transvaal pro
vince, where four of the hospitals
are located, issued a directive
saying no one could enter public
hospitals without official
authorisation. A violator can be
imprisoned for up to two years
and fined $740.
MINORITY BUSINESSES
CREATE JOBS
More than 1,100 new jobs have
been created by minority-owned
companies that received loans
through the Business Consortium
Fund. The fund is an expansion
capital loan program of the Na
tional Minority Supplier Develop
ment Council. Twenty-six For
tune 500 corporations have in
vested nearly $11 million in the
BCF thus far. Funds are used to
provide loans to minority vendors
who have contracts with member
(See NEWS BRIEFS, P. 2)