Newspapers / The Carolinian (Raleigh, N.C.) / Jan. 4, 1990, edition 1 / Page 1
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JANUARY 4, 1990 VOL. 49, NO. 12 Semi-Weekly DEDICATED TO THE SPIRIT OF JESUS CHRIST SINGLE COPY QP IN RALEIGH ELSEWHERE 300 Dr. Simmons Joins Spelman College Staff As Provost Page 11 UNC-Ch Dean Under Fire From Black Students Page 13 Official Dedication First N. C. King Statue Unveiled From (AKOI.INIAN Huff KrporU Many organizations and groups are busy making final preparations for the fifth national Martin Luther King holiday to be held on Monday, Jan. IS. This year, in addition to the ex pected holiday activities, the King Celebration Committee, a Raleigh based citizens’ group, will unveil the state’s first life-size bronze statue of the late civil rights leader. King's statue will be officially shown to the public at the Raleigh Civic and Con vention Center during the King Ecumenical Observance at noon. The six-foot replica was created by internationally acclaimed sculptor Abbe Godwin of Colfax. Ms. Godwin stated in an exclusive interview with The CAROLINIAN, “For many years I have dreamed about designing a statue figure of Dr. King. He was tru ly an American civic hero who helped us all understand and regard each other differently. I have tried to translate the power and spiritual nature of this man and I hope that the community will become a more peaceful place by its presence.*’ The King statue will be placed in the North Carolina Martin Luther King Memorial Gardens to be located on the corner of Hock Quarry Road and the new King Boulevard. The of ficial dedication of the gardens is scheduled for April 4, the 22nd an niversary of King’s death. The Kaleigh King Committee is chaired by Dr. W.B. Lewis, pastor of First Cosmopolitan Baptist Church, and Bruce Lightner, a longtime com (See KING STATUE, P. 2) Musical Program The unveiling of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. itatue will take place on Monday, Jan. 15. The ceremony will officially begin at 7:30 a.m. with a prayer breakfast to be held at Broughton High School. Then, at 11 a.m., there will be a march which will begin at the Highway Building located on the corner of Wilmington Street and New Bern Avenue. The march will proceed past the Capitol to the Civic Center, where the ceremony will kick off. Among the features, a prelude to the program will be presented by the Martin Luther King All-Children’s Choir. Greetings and introduction of the emcees, (See MUSICAL PROGRAM, P. 2) JV.C. Participants Marking Anniversary Of Historic Sit-Ins GREENSBORO (AP)-Part of David Richmond’s 1990 vacation will be spent drinking orange juice at a lunch counter . in downtown Greensboro. It should be a lot easier than it was 30 years ago. On Feb. 1,1960, Richmond was one of four black freshmen at North Carolina A&T State University who walked into the downtown Woolworth’s, sat down at the whites only lunch counter and demanded service. The lunch counter manager said no, and the store manager said no, but the students refused to leave. £ Thus began a movement. In the weeks ahead, sit-ins would spread to lunch counters in 54 cities across nine Southern states. They eventually shattered one of the more visible racial barriers of everyday life and achieved one of the earliest victories of the budding civil rights movement. , . “What happened in 1960 served to launch people of the city and nation on a relentless pursuit of human dignity,” said Claudette Burroughs White, co-chairperson of the Greensboro Sit-In 30th Anniversary Committee. The committee is leading several biracial groups in celebrating the ac tions of Richmond and fellow students Ezell Blair, Franklin Mc Cain and Joseph McNeil. The commemorative events from Jan. 31 to Feb. 3 include banquets, symposiums, a student march from the AAT campus and the unveiling of a plaque outside the store. The four former students will also have their bronzed footsteps set in the sidewalk. Richmond and his three sit-in col leagues once again will take seats at the lunch counter, as they have done at previous anniversary celebrations. “We didn’t do it for the glory or heroics,” Richmond said. “It was just something that was spontaneous, something we talked about collective ly. I don’t think any one of us singularly would have done it. The four of us were like a unit. We have NEWS BRIEFS TEACHER CHARGED FOR DRUGS Wake County school teacher Gary Stephen Davis, 22, who was charged last month with possess ing a small amount of marijuana after holding a party at an Apes hotel, has resigned from his Job. Davis, of MS Woodrow 8t„ Fuquay-Varina, taught 18th grade social studies at Enloe High School. He was charged Dec. 21 with simple possession of drug paraphernalia, and giving alcohol to underage people. ATTORNEY FILES FOR SEAT Raleigh attorney Abraham P. Jones filed for District 2—Western Wake—seat held by Robert B. Heater, who Is not seeking re-election. Jones finish ed third In the May 1288 Democratic primary for District 8 In northern Wake. COCAINEWlWAKE JAIL Wake County Sheriff John H. Baker. Jr., said ho intends to complete an Internal Investiga tion this month of how 2.1 ponnds of cocaine found Its way Into the eouaty Jail without being detected. The prehe has been (See NEWS BRIEFS. P. 2) remained close through the years.” Today, he quietly goes about his duties as housekeeping supervisor at a Greensboro health care center. The others have left the area. Mc Cain is an executive with the Celanese Corp. in Charlotte. Blair, who has changed his name to Jibreel Khazan, lives in New Bedford, Mass. McNeil is a stockbroker in New York. The re-enactments give Richmond a chance to chat with Ima Evans, the lunch counter manager who was working at the bakery counter the day the students came in. “We are very good friends,” Rich mond said. “We have appeared on a couple of programs together." Ms. Evans, who is white, sa|d the sit-ins put Woolworth employees in an awkward position. The black employees were sympathetic to the students, as were some of the wimS workers, but they weren’t allowed to serve blacks. “I felt they deserved to be served as much as anyone,” Ms. Evans said, “but it was policy all over.” The Greensboro sit-ins eventually involved hundreds of students. Each day, they showed up at Woolworth and at the Kress five-and-dime store down the street, causing an uproar at City Hall and in the business com munity. After months of sit-ins, meetings and negotiations, Woolworth relented. “This observance promises to be an event of historic and national significance,” said Claudette Burroughs-White, chairperson of the event. “What happened in 1960 served to launch people of the city and the (See SIT-INS, P. 2) Shinhoster Potential Target NAACP Disregarding Bomb Threats Tighter Security Expected ATLANTA, Ga. (AP)-Earl Shinhoster has never been more aware of the possible danger of his job. The guards, police and FBI agents meeting him wherever he goes have made sure of that. As Southeastern regional director of the NAACP, he has emerged as a key figure in a recent rash of mail bombs, two of which have already killed civil rights figures. And, like other NAACP workers, Shinhoster stands as a target for whoever it is that has an apparent grudge against his group and the 11th U.S, Circuit Court of Appeals. “I’ve always understood very clearly tte security implications of what I do,” Shinhoster said. “This has demonstrated moving beyond understanding something and doing something about it.” A recent letter from a group tlalm ing responsibility for the two fatal bombs also threatened to kill NAACP officials. Shinhoster said he became aware of police and FBI efforts to protect him Friday, when police officers met him at the airport in Savannah, where he went for a funeral. “When I got back on the plane, they put me on the plane,” he said. Shinhoster’s NAACP jurisdiction includes Georgia, Alabama and Florida, the three states making up the llth Circuit. A mailed tear-gas bomb went off in his office, injuring (See NAACP THREATS, P. 2) Erasing Racial Stereotypes Seen As Route To Understanding Races BY JAMES A. JUSErM An Aulynlii Two emerging trends are creating contradictory perceptions about the current status of African-Americans in our society. Black political can didates are winning increasing sup port from white Americans. Yet, on the other hand, there is an alarming surge in acts of racial violence and in tolerance. This same contradiction manifests itself in other areas as well. I long have been concerned, for example, with the public perception of African Americans as the recipients of chari ty rather than as a benevolent com munity in their own right. Like most labels and stereotypes, this one does not fare too well when facts are allowed to shine from clouds of ignorance. There is more than a 200-year-old tradition of organized charitable giving by blacks through institutions developed by blacks. Yet, long after blacks have struggled and died for equal access to public facilities, housing and voting rights, American society is not fully aware of the highly-developed giving tradi tions and practices of African Americans. Although these giving traditions are played out every day in the black community, now is the time to celebrate these traditions by UMCF TELETHON—Area heslnessmen and poWWaos wen an hand tar the Unttad Nagro Calaga Fund’* telethon, “Panda at Stars" recently and raised aver $170,000 hi the Mangle campaign with meney stH (Photo bv Tsllb Sabir-CaUoway) tJNCF Telethon Surpassing Goals While Fulfilling Young Dreams BY TRACEY HALL Staff Writer The success of this year’s “Lou Rawls Parade of Stars’’ telethon can be measured with the sum of $170,000, which is the amount raised to date by the Triangle area campaign. The telethon, which benefitted the United Negro College Fund, aired live on WTVD-TV 11 from the NCAE Building in Raleigh. Among the many spreading the word. The history of black philanthropy is the history of being black in America. In response to discrimination and the ambivalence of mainstream, majori ty and governmental institutions, black Americans over the years have forged a tradition of communal self help practices to address their most critical problems. The primary example is the black church—an institution which has been the cornerstone of black economic, philanthropic and political initiative for two centuries. Churches and church-related organizations in the black community have raised charitable funds to provide for basic needs, and they have served as catalysts for political endeavor and the guarantee of civil liberties. Moreover, they have helped but tress long-term economic health by providing funds for the first black schools, banks and insurance com panies. Other strong philanthropic institu tions have developed throughout history in response to changing socio economic conditions. These include mutual aid societies; anti-slavery funds; the African Union society which helpled ease the transition of blacks from slavery to freedom; and black fraternal and social organiza tions. More recently, the civil rights movement heralded greater black empowerment and led to the founding of large-scale black fundraising organizations like the Black United Fund and the Associated Black Charities. Despite the perception of some that affluent Macks in the IMOs are more interested in the personal accumula tion of wealth than in philanthropy, a burgeoning movement among them (bee PHILANTHROPY, P. J> supporters of the telethon this year were members of the N.C. Beauti cians Association, the Masons, Harr ingtcjn’s Hair Salon, Harris Wholesale, and a $300 check from IBM. According to Kenneth Wilkins, chairman of the Raleigh-Wake cam paign, their intended goal was met and surpassed and even after the telethon, money is still being pledged. About $80,000 of the $170,000 raised this year came from Triangle-area supporters. As always, Harris Wholesale, Inc. of Raleigh played a big part in the success of the telethon with its active involvement. With Raleigh housing two of the 42 UNCF member institutions, St. Augustine’s College and Shaw University, the schools' pledges of $13,000-$15,000 were welcomed and added a huge plus to the night’s total. Seventy-five percent of the $170,000 raised this year will be presented to the two colleges. Among the attractions that kept the audience well entertained was a star panel which consisted of Raleigh Mayor Avery Upchurch, Charles Meeker, Ms. Mary Nooe, Lee Monroe, Marc Johnson, Ed Jackson, Robert Hensley, Ray Mays, J.K. Shearon, Jr., Vernon Malone and re elected City Council member from Durham County Howard Clement. Wilkins said that there were many volunteers for the telethon and their support was greatly appreciated. To thank everyone affiliated with the telethon, there will be a thank-you reception which will take place at the end of January. An official date has not yet been set. “It is our sincere appreciation for the strong support from this com munity," said Wilkins. Blacks Oppose Theory About "Happy Slavery" BY JOHN THOMPSON MOORE. JR. An AnalvMlH It is amazing to note that some whites in America have stereotyped their black counterparts as being the happiest race on earth. Probably they got some of those views from their ancestors that were handed down to them from generation to generation. Many anthropologists and travelers to Africa during the 14th and 15th cen turies observed the black tribesmen going around dancing and singing in a circle in their villages and were amused. Whereas, the whites were deeply concerned about “exploring” and 'colonizing” the world. Professor Leo Hansberry of Howard University, an authority on African culture, stated that “The Africans had rich natural resources there and therefore they were con tented with their status there and not elsewhere.” Then, on the other hand, when the slaveholders brought these Africans to their Southern plantations in the 17th century to the colonies of Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia, most plantation-owners wrote In their books, diaries, newspapers that the Afro-Americans were very happy on their plantations. Remember, the slaveholders had to worry about depletion of their soil, marketing of their cotton, tobacco, etc., with other countries of the world, etc. Can’t one see why the whites were saying that the blacks were happy because they do not have to worry about those risks? Then in the 18th century, the whites had to worry about the various Indian wars out in the “Great Plains.” Every student of history remember the Sioux beaded by Chief Sitting Bull and Col. Custer. In some cases, the blacks assisted the whites in fighting those Indians. Whkt a day! What a time! ‘ Imagine, as late as 1944, many Southern whites told professor Gun ner Myrdal, the Swedish sociologist who came to America to make a study of black and white relationships in the United States, that the Afro Americans were happy people. One said to him, “Just look at them, they just laugh and praise the Lord," We wonder, did Myrdal believe that? Most blacks of today would agree that many African-Americans ra tionalised their socioeconomic pro blems on this earth. In fact, Professor Rayford W. Logan, an eminent black historian, stated in his book, “What the Negro Wants,” that the American Negro wants the same things Oat whites want—"politically, (See HAPPIEST PEOPLE?, P. 1)
The Carolinian (Raleigh, N.C.)
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Jan. 4, 1990, edition 1
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