UNI AN
■
RALEIGH, N.C.,
THURSDAY,
MARCH 14,1991
VOL. 50, NO. 32
N.C.’s Semi-Weekly
DEDICATED TO THE SPIRIT OF JESUS CHRIST
SINGLE COPY
IN RALEIGH
ELSEWHERE 300
Shannon Named New PBS
Producer, Host Of “African
American Journal”
See Page 8
NCCU Honors N.C. General
Assembly.
SeePage 13
Church Funds Missing
Rep. Flake Faces Charges
A congressman who is also a
clergyman was on trial this week in a
v case some African-Americans point
<>to as a continuation of harassment of
(v- black politicians.
^ Rep. Floyd H. Flake (D-N.Y.) and
^Ws wife were on trial for allegedly
^ taking money from his church,
depositing it in his own accounts and
failing to report it at tax time.
The case is being closely watched
by the minister’s congregation,
political supporters and blacks
across the country who are quetion
ing whether prosecutors would have
pursued Marion Barry, Harold White,
&
Julian Bond or other black leaders so
vigorously had any of them been
white.
There is a reason: some voters,
many of them black, say Barry and
other black elected officials are vic
tims of harassment, targeted by
white federal prosecutors because of
their race.
The same thing holds true for
Flake, who is on trial this week for
fraud.
The saga of District of Columbia
Mayor Marion Barry astonished the
country—not just because he had
been videotaped smoking crack co
caine but because he appeared
capable of winning a fourth term.
The same thing was true of Rep.
Johnny Ford of Memphis, Tenn., who
operated for %xk years under a cloud
of indictment, charged with having il
legally accepted a large payment
from Knoxville bankers Jake and
C.H. Butcher, Jr. in exchange for his
political influence. The suspected
deal was allegedly cut while Jake
Butcher was running for governor
and needed the support of the Ford
family political machine.
Ford’s jury remained unconvinced
of his guilt and his two-month trial
ended in a deadlock with U.S. At
torney John Gill of Knoxville re
questing a second one.
The federal government seemed
determined to unearth whatever it
could against Barry or
Ford—displaying an intensity, some
say, that would have been lacking
had either been white.
“This [Flake] case is about tax
evasion and fraud,” Assistant U.S.
Attorney Andrew M. Luger told the
jury in opening statements. “These
defendants accumulated almost a
quarter of a million dollars that they
(See REP. FLAKE, P. 2)
I
Farrell Shooting Cause
NAACP Asks I uiry
Police
Mistrust
Focus
Fran CAROLINIAN 8U(f Reports
The Raleigh-Apex Branch of the
NAACP continues to push for a
thorough investigation of the shooting
of a black man by a police officer and
has posed three questions to be
answered relating to the incident.
Following the shooting of Farrell,
32, by plainclothes Det. James Glover
on Jan. 24, meetings held by the
Raleigh City Council have d ’twn
residents who say the incident draws
racism thriving in Raleigh and a new
ly formed group bolding demonstra
tions snd demanding the removal of
the detective involved and others who
are attempting to minimize the issue.
“We’re concerned with the continu
ing pattern of pushing these kinds of
things under the carpet," said the
Rev. David Foy, one of the organizers
of the Raleigh Citizens for Justice
who are holding demonstrations in
front of the Municipal Building dur
ing council meetings.
The Rev. H.B. Pickett, president of
the Raleigh-Apex NAACP branch,
■aid, “The Tony Farrell case sits as
smoldering hot coal that must not be
permitted to simmer. The NAACP
strongly recommends that each
newspaper, radio and television sta
(See POLICE, P. 2)
I-*
SUPPORTING TONY FARRELL-WMam Parry at City
Council Chambers protasdng the shooting of his nephew.
Recently the Human Relations and Human Resources
advisory Commission voted to name a committee to look at
the training of officers, paying special attention to how
£—3*.
i
police are taught to deal with minorities and ether groups.
The review follows the shooting of Tony Farrell, an
unarmed black man by a white undercover police officer,'
who allegedly mistook him for a robbery suspect. (Photo by
James Giles)
SERCDC Joins Hands With
Masonic Temple In Local Project
BY DAVID SAWYER
Sun Writer
Greatness exists in the African past
and many African-Americans today
are destroying the psychological
chains of slavery which still linger in
the minds of those who are being
taught Europeans and their descen
dants discovered, invented, created
or otherwise fashioned everything of
value in the world, including art.
The forming of a partnership bet
ween the Southeast Raleigh Com
munity Development Corporation
and the trustees of the Historic
Masonic Temple in downtown
Raleigh will bring another dimension
of the greatness of Africa to the com
munity by displaying works of art.
More than 60 works of art from
Africa will be unveiled March IS at
Vanya’s Art and Accessories in
Cary's Chatham Square Mall to
launch the project Heritage House
building fund.
SERCDC has planned a series of
fundraising events to help finance,
restore and renovate the Masonic
Temple, a landmark in the once
thriving downtown black business
district, as a gallery to house the
works.
Proceeds from the benefit are be
ing donated by the gallery owners,
Kenneth and Vanya Elliott, to the
Heritage House Building Fund. The
Elliotts, members of the Arts Com
mittee of SRCDC, view the
establishing of Heritage House as an
extension of their efforts to provide
black art.
"Black art provides a visual
documentation of our history and a
link with our cultural heritage," the
Filiotts stated. "It is a powerful vehi
cle for instilling pride, raising our
consciousness and uplifting our self
image." > %
The Elliotts began their efforts at
the N.C. State Fairgrounds flea
market in 1065, where they still main
tain a weekend business. “We started
with the idea that quality African
American art and creative custom
framing could make a difference to
the people of the Triangle," Kenneth
said.
A testament to the success of this
idea was the expansion of their
business and a sound customer base
through the sale of African-American
art, prints, framing services and ac
cessories. They opened their gallery
in Cary in 1968.
Barbara Akinwole, coordinator of
the history task force of the arts com
mittee, said the planned Heritage
House “is an idea whose time is now.
The encouragement and support we
will be able to offer to visual and per
forming artists, the history and
heritage we can reclaim and display,
puts us on the cutting edge of the
Raleigh Renaissance.”
“Business has been good for us at
this location because by the time we
opened, we had an established
clientele,” Vanya said. The Elliotts
also work as consultants, organizing
such events as the United Negro Col
lege Fund art auction.
“We are especially pleased to par
ticipate in the establishment of a
museum and gallery in downtown
Raleigh. A solid African-American
presence in that areas, so important
in our history, gives us yet another
opportunity to seek out, cultivate and
(See MASONIC TEMPLE, P. 2)
VISIONS OF WAR: PART I
War la horrific. Its legacy consists of “smart bombs,” Scuds,
tanks, flags, patriotism, death and destruction, villains, victors and
yellow ribbons. The real victims of wars are often long-cherished
values, a way of Ufa, enduring political stabiUty, and sometimes a
civilisation, as bombs have no respect for heritage, or haUowed
ground.
Visions of reaUty slowly seep through In the aftermath of the Gulf
War: pictures of massive destruction of Iraq and Kuwait; the
throngs of destroyed vehicles, Inrgely civilian, leaving Kuwait en
tangled with thousands of mangled bodies of human beings; an Iraqi
child helping his grandfather gather undamaged bricks from a
bomb-ravaged building; an old man building an earthen oven In
testimony to the resourcefulness of people whose civilisation Is
thousands of years and who are no strangers to war; visions of
the Innocent, sheU-shocked. Iraqi chUdren playing games In the
streets Uttered with rubble from bombs and backed-up sewage
precariously poised to Infect the unsuspecting.
Expressions of the Gulf War and its aftermath are deafening:
assertions of the replicated “wide-eyed glee" of pilots that “It was
like shooting fish in'a barrel," describing their bombings of the
retreating Iraqis; the words of a distraught mother who cried out In
rage to onlooklng U.S. cameramen, “WhyT For petrol?”; resolute
expressions of the American generals that we must “cut them off
and kUl them;" the Kuwaiti cries of Joy at war’s end which for a
fleeting second seemed to justify the holocaust.
Tlie symbols, expressions, and visions are those of stork reality,
(See WAR VICTIMS, P. 2)
Nation's Black College
Enrollment Soars
To 180,000 Students
BY DR. RALPH LEWIS
An AnalyiU
Educational systems are designed
to control the thinking of people
through the control and manipulation
of images and information. Today,
many African-Americans have been
so mis-educated that they defy the
evidence of Africa’s past in the face
of overwhelming scientific and
historical data. Denied because it
was not taught in primary and secon
dary schools and because it is not a
serious requirement at the university
level.
Choosing the right school and
especially the right college or univer
sity can be a tough decision when
there are so many factors to consider.
But don’t take it lightly; this decision
will be one of the most important in
the life of an individual.
There are now 107 black colleges
and universities, if one is referring to
those institutions that are historically
black; 117, if referring to all institu
tions whose student populations are
predominantly black. The national
Association for Equal Opportunity in
Higher Education includes all 117 as
members. The United Negro College'.
Fund was founded to help raise funds
for private black colleges and univer
sities; it has 42 members.
The demise of black colleges has
been wrongly predicted. The forecast
for all higher education today seems
to make it a greater possibility, but
there is also a greater migration
toward black colleges and an
Afrocentric education that emphasize
a cross-cultural, multi-ethnic
perspective.
Howard University has taken the
lead under President Franklyn G.
Jenifer, who took over one year ago.
He assumed Howard’s chief ex
ecutive post following former presi
dent James E. Cheek’s resignation.
He has re-evaluated Howard’s mis
sion, released a detailed preliminary
report calling for substantial restruc
turing of the university’s academic
approach to maintain its visibility
and competitiveness in the 21st cen
tury. •'
Emerge magazine, touted as “our
voice in today’s world,” has issued a
positive statement on the future of
(See COLLEGES, P. 2)
The Supreme Court heard
arguments recently in a case testing
the constitutionality of an increasing
ly popular police strategy in the war
on drugs: the boarding of long
distance buses to question passengers
at random and to seek permission to
search their luggage for narcotics
and weapons.
The case is an appeal by the State
of Florida, with the support of the
Bush Adipinigtration, from a ruling
by the Florida Supreme Court that in
validated a search that was typical of
the state’s program to halt the flow of
drugs.
Two Broward County sheriffs
deputies had boarded a Greyhound
bus traveling from Miami to Atlanta
when it made a brief stop in Fort
Lauderdale. Without suspecting any
individual passenger of carrying
drugs, the deputies approached one
man, Terrance Bostick, who was ly
ing across the rear seat. He answered
their questions and ap
parently—although the facts were not
clearly established in lower
courts—agreed to a search of his suit
case, in which the deputies found
about a pound of cocaine.
In ruling last year that the incident
violated the Fourth Amendment’s
prohibition against unreasonable
search and seizure, the Florida
Supreme Court said that “The intru
sion upon privacy rights” was “too
great for a democracy to sustain.”
Even if the policy of boarding buses is
an effective technique against drug
trafficking, the state court said, “We
are not a state that subscribes to the
Under the Fourth
Amendment, a
seizure requires some
basis for suspecting
wrongdoing. In a
court ruling the
Fourth Amendment
prohibited
unreasonable search
and seizure, calling
that it was against
“privacy rights.'*
notion that ends justify the means.”
By contrast, federal appeals courts
in Atlanta, Richmond and the District
of Columbia have upheld similar pro
grams, which Solicitor Genera] Ken
neth W. Starr told the court are being
used “increasingly across the coun
try." Arguing in support of the state,
Starr said the tactic was a “natural
outgrowth” of programs involving
the questioning of possible drug
couriers at airports.
The constitutional question for the
court in the case is whether sheriff’s
deputies “seized” Bostick within the
meaning of the Fourth Amendment,
or whether his cooperation was volun
tary. Under the Fourth Amendment,
a seizure requires some bads for
suspecting wrongdoing.
Since the deputies selected Bostick
at random, without suspecting that he
was carrying drugs, the search was
valid only if there was no seizure in
the first place.
The court’s Fourth Amendment
precedents differentiate between a
seizure and a voluntary encounter
depending on whether a reasonable
person would have believed that he
was free to refuse to cooperate.
Starr said that the deputies had ap
proached Bostick in a ‘‘reasonable,
professional and nonintimidating
way” and that Bostick had been
“physically free to get up and absent
himself.’’
“The point is that this is a free
society, and you have the right to say
no,” Starr said, adding, “We believe
there was not a Fourth Amendment
event here.”
But Donald B. Ayer, arguing for
Bostick, called the situation on the
bus intimidating and inherently coer
cive. He said that the fact that armed
(See BUS CHECKS, P. 2)
economic
Initiative
Launched
By T. Brown
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (API-Nor
thwest Indiana may be the launching
pad for a new economic initiative
spearheaded by television commen
tator and syndicated columnist Tony
Brown.
The nationwide strategic economic
development plan, “Buy Freedom
Plan for the ’90s,” is a self-help net
work scheduled to begin In mid- to
late-May. According to Brown, the
plan aims at re-energizing the
economies of many black com
munities by starting and expanding
small businesses through the recycl
ing of money already in the communi
ty
“This is a high*tech, self-help pro
gram for the ’90s, utilizing
marketplace incentives specifically
designed to break the poverty cycle
by helping targeted groups become
business people," Brown stated.
The plan will give an entrepren
eurial boost to welfare recipients,
persons under 30, new entrepreneurs,
the working poor, black males, ex
isting small businesses and veterans.
Designed to link 30 million or so
African-Aemrican consumers, chur
ches and organizations and an
estimated $30 billion in “black
dollars,” Brown’s innovative “1-900"
national telecommunications service
will act as a oneetapahopping for
black businesses and consumers.
The Buy Freedom Network will of
fer discounts of up to 85 percent from
self-help businesses; allow owners to
list their businesses on the shopper's
directory or advertise on the talking
business hotline; allow the public to
apply for loans to start or expand
business or find money for college;
give information on how to buy
directly from black farmers to save
the land and among other offerings
provide a black history quiz and
award cash prises for members of the
shopper’s club.
A Buy Freedom TV Network, a
home shopping service on cable TV,
(See TONY BROWN, P. 2)