, ■ ^ ‘
RALEIGH, N.C.,
THURSDAY,
APRIL 11,1991
VOL. 50, NO. 40
X
N.C.'a
DEDICATED TOTHts x kt'%
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to
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Weekly
•SUS CHRIST
SINGLE COPY ORm
IN RALEIGH
ELSEWHERE 300
First Baptist Gears To
Celebrate “Shaw Day” Meet
Seepage 11
City Changes Bus Service On
Several Routes.
Set Page 7
Controversial Leader To Triangle* V\_, , ■ u
A1 Sharpton Tells Justice, Rights Goals
BY JAMES MUHAMMAD
Special To Ita CAROLINIAN
Editor’s Note: The Rev. Al Sharp
ton has arrived on the American
scene speaking out on racial justice
issues. Most notably, he led a fight fOr
justice in the Howard Beach, Ben
sonhurst and Tawana Brawley (now
Maryam Muhammad) cases. Recent
ly, Sharpton, 36, was In Raleigh and
addressed the issue concerning the
shooting of an unarmed black man by
a white police officer. This interview
with Sharpton was conducted by
Jams* Muhammad, assistant editor
of the Final Call, organ of the Nation
of Ialam.
Q. What motivates Rev. A1 Sharp
ton?
A. My calling is to be a minister.
When God calls one to the ministry
He does not call one just to be an
orator on Sunday. He calls one to
minister to the needs of Hta people.
I’ve been teaching a lot longer than
the white media has been aware of
me. Unfortunately, our people let
white people define who peoiple are.
So they will assume I was born at
Howard Beach.
Q. How do you respond to those
who say you’re just out for publicity?
A. Most of the cases we’ve handled
don’t get publicity. Secondly, our peo
ple don’t realize that the cases that
did get publicity, we built the publici
ty. Howard Beach and Bensonhurst
were not well-known; we made them
well-known. When a black child is
killed, the media doesn’t say, “It’s a
shame a black child was killed.” So
it’s not that we are there seeking
publicity for us personally. It’s that
we are skilled at generating publicity
by dramatic action to get the atten
tion of our people and the nation as a
whole.
Also, we live in a media age. For
leadership to be able to use the media
to highlight the ills of our people
means that we’re competent. The on
ly time somebody sees me on TV is
when I’m raising hell and raising
issues. And that’s the only time they
ever will.
Q. What role will the black
minister play in our final thrust for
liberation?
A. There will be two types of black
ministers. One will become the
backbone and bedrock of the move
ment. The other will be the ones that
God will use as an open example to
shame—the ones that have pimped
off of our people. Either way, the
preacher will be very important.
Q. What do you think was the
ultimate media case?
A. i defended Maryam Muham
mad (Tawana) because I believed
her and there was no iet of cir
cumstantial manipulated evidence
that would lessen my belief once I sat
down soul to soul and heard her story
and felt the truth of her story. No one
will ever convince me that she could
have imagined the right license plate
number or the right names of
policemen who aamiuea they worked
together those days. How could she
just know all of this?
The other thing that is so absurd is
(See REV. SHARPTON, P. 3)
NCAE Convention Convenes
Teachers Protest Cuts
Lawmakers
Asked To
Reconsider
Stance
Educators are beginning to express
their opposition to the cuts that are
being made in the education budget
as part of a $400 million package of
reductions that legislators are trying
to piece together to help bridge a
revenue shortfall that could reach $1
billion next year.
Thousands of jobs in local schools,
including administrators, teachers
and custodians, could be lost If
legislators cut $170 million from
North Carolina’s education budget as
proposed.
“Stop the budget outs. They’re kitt,
ing us,” will be the message on the
signs of more than 3,000 educators
planning to march to the General
Assembly to protest the cuts on Fri
day.
The rally is part of NCAE’s state
convention. The annual meeting is be
ing held this year at the Raleigh Civic
and Convention Center on April 11-13.
“It’s time for educators to
demonstrate their feelings for the
cuts being made in the education
budget,” said NCAE President Julia
Kron. “We want the governor and the
General Assembly to know the
drastic effects these cuts will have on
the children of this state.” Kron will
deliver a short message in front of the
Legislative Building on Jones Street.
Educators marching to the
Legislative Building want to show
their support for generating new
revenues and preserving contribu
tions to the retirement system. They
(See TEACHERS, P. 2)
NEWS BRIEFS
KAYE TO DIRECT
WAKE HOSPICE
Karolvn Kaye, coordinator-of
Volunteer Services for Hospice of
Wake County for the past nine
yean, became executive director
of the agency last month. The ap
pointment was made at the
March meeting of the Hespice
Board of Directors. Ms. Kaye )mx
consistently demonstrated
dedication and commitment to
• Hospice, and has developed a
highly successful volunteer pro
gram In her yean with the agen
cy- _
JUDGE OFTHE YEAR
A Wake County Judge who has
helped improve the way abused
children are treated In the state
court system has been selected
Juvenile Court Judge of the Year
by a leading national organisa
tion of child advocates. Judge
George F. Bason, chief District
Court judge of the N.C. 14th
Judicial District In Raleigh, will
be honored for “outstanding ser
vice to children” In national
ceremonies on Sunday, April IS,
at the 1441 National CASA Con
ference in Boston. Mass.
NEW PURCHASES
Larry Addleton of Kaightdale
Bar-B-Q and Seafood has pur
chased the Creekslde Restaurant
(See NEWS BRIEFS, P. 2)
p .«***.. . ■ I . II U II ! .1,1.1
IN PROTEST—Recently Rev. Al Sharpton, president of
the United African Movement, spoke at a rally In front of
tho Municipal Budding to support Tony FarreH and other
alleged injustices in the Judicial system. A Wake County
Brand Jury recently declined to pursue criminal charges
against a Raleigh Polce Officer, who shot an unarmed
Black motorist. According to Rev. David Foy, on Tuesday
April 16, the City Council wiB receive SBI, FBI reports and
also review the personnel file of Officer James Blover. Rev.
Foy Also told of a demonstration of concerned citizens to
take place Tuesday at Noon at the Municipal Building.
Pictured left to right are (Front) V. Simpson, Rev. Al
Sharpton, T. Peebles and Rev. David Fey. (Rear) Rev.
Anthony Charles. (Photo by James Giles, Sr.)
in a few weeks a historic event will
take place when the Raleigh/Wake
Martin Luther King Celebration Com
mittee, Inc., and the City of Raleigh
Parks and Recreation Department
sponsor an official ribbon-cutting and
formal dedication ceremony at the
site of the N.C. Martin Luther King
Memorial Gardens on Rock Quarry
Road in Southeast Raleigh.
While tlus event will hold mass
community appeal, the six-foot Mar
tin Luther King statue, located in the
center of the gardens, being the only
statue in the world depicting Dr. King
in his clerical attire, has received na
tional attention.
The formal ceremony will be held
April IB at noon with a ribbon-cutting
Manned by Dr. Paul F. Vandergrift,
Jr., chairperson of the dedication
subcommittee along with Ms. Portia
The idea ivas con
ceived by the Martin
Luther King Celebra
tion Committee under
the leadership of Or.
W.B. Lewis an i Bruce
E. Lightner a d mov
ed to ensure the pro
per planning and
desirable location for
the memorial.
Branoon, Ms. Bettye Hargrove, Ms. ,
Joyce Kelly, Ms. alary Perry, John
nie B. Burke; Mayor Pro Tern Ralph
Campbell, Jr., County Commissioner
Vernon Malone, the Rev. Hardy R.
Watkins, William R. Windley and Ed
win L. Worth, Sr.
The development and construction
of the Martin Luther King Memorial
Gardens has been an Impressive
display of cooperation between city
and county governments, businesses,
corporations, foundations, churches,
civic organizations and hundreds of
individuals throughout North
Carolina.
(See DEDICATION, P. 2)
CALL TO ACTION
Part II
la the lHOs, with formidable challenge* before the African*
American community, there I* a need for every sector of our com
munity to he called to action. Flret, we muit aueee the paet.
A* a college student during the 1M0*. I can recall some turbulent
tlmedi riots In the cities, brutality In the South, marches and
ho* fill ties and racism at Its senlth In America. Those were violent
times—times of struggle.
The desegregation of schools was a hard-won battle. We risk our
children's mental and physical health willingly to overcome the bar
riers of the separate but equal doctrine In public schools. As adults,
some have yet to recover from their traumatic experiences.
In the past M years, several generations of African-American
students have passed through a desegregated system, largely con
trolled, managed and designed by whites.
Our children have learned to be smart Is tantamount to “acting
white;’’ that to study Is not “cool;” that taking easy courses is the
futMt route out of hiffh school.
We have come to realise, rather belatedly, that we Innocently en
trusted our children to Institutions where racism was still alive and
well.
We blindly followed the desegregation model; we failed to
monitor the outcome.
As a community we now understand that school* were an exten
sion of our homes. Values stressed In the homes were reinforced In
(See MIND’S BYE, P. I)
DURHAM—North Carolina Central
University’s chancellor has been
wrestling recently with complaints
from student-athletes that the univer
sity has failed to live up to promises
of financial aid.
While reviewing these complaints,
Chancellor Tyropxa R. Richmond has
yet another obstacle to overcome, a
Texas prosecutor who stopped just
short of asking for criminal charges
against Herbert N. Watkins, an
NCCU vice chancellor for financial
affairs and former vice president of
Prairie View A&M University in
Texas. Watkins was one of three top
Prairie View administrators pro
secutor A.N. “Buddy” McCraig, Jr.
wanted to charge with misapplication
of fiduciary funds after an investiga
tion concluded that $8.5 million of a
construction fund for Prairie View
had been misspent. McCraig was
allegedly barred by Texas law from
bringing charges because the statute
of limitations bad expired.
Dr. Watkins came to NCCU in lWi
following the construction fund in
development at NCCU, in a statement
on athletic scholarships, said the
university has honored and will con
tinue to honor its written athletic
grants-in-aid to every student-athlete
who has one.
In addition, he said the Faculty
Athletic Council has been asked to in
vestigate student allegations concer
ning scholarships. The review should
be completed by the 1991 commence
ment with recommendations made to
Dr. Richmond.
“The circumstances indicate a
need for a formal review process
before scholarship commitments are
made,” Poole said. “The school wig
examine the merits of each case and
will always presume the student's
good faith whenever there is a dispute
with regard to his or her under*tan
iw»g q( g scholarship promise.”
State auditors in 1988 and MSSnoted
deficiencies in athletic scholarships
while peforming full-scale audits that
criticized the school'* entire record
Auditors were at the school recent
(See NCCU. P. X) ;
**«*-n<*„ CoTolE
The nation’s leading ticketing com
pany has expanded into the state of
North Carolina and will leave its im
print on Research Triangle and
Southeast Raleigh where a 20,000-seat
amphitheatre is currently under con
struction.
Officials of Hardee’s Walnut Creek
Amphitheatre said that Ticketmaster
will handle all ticketing services.
Ticketmaster is the largest ticket
company in the country with the in
dustry’s most extensive mass
distribution network. In addition,
most North Carolina Tracks and
Record Bar stores will serve as
Ticketmaster outlets for Hardee’s
Walnut Creek events.
“North Carolina music lovers have
never had such easy access to
tickets,” exclaimed G. Wilson
Rogers, general manager of the $13.5
million amphitheatre. Tickets for the
1991 season are expected to go on sale
in early May.
Concertgoers will be able to pur
chase tickets in advance at Tracks
and Record Bar stores and through
Ticketmaster's charge-by-phone ser
vice. When available, tickets will also
be sold on the day of the show at
Hardee’s Walnut Creek box office.
“We are delighted to be working
with Ticketmaster, and with Record
Bar and Tracks,” said Rogers.
“Research has shown that most peo
ple like to walk into a ticket outlet,
Scheduled to open in
July, Hardee's Walnut
Creek will offer a
broad musical fare
from country to
classical, jazz to
gospel, pop to rhythm
and blues. The am
phitheatre will have
7,000 permanent seats
in an open-air
pavilion, with space
for 13,000 on the gently
sloping festival lawn
under the stars.
buy their tickets and have them u
hand." The arrangement with Track
and Record Bar doubles the numbe
of locations where North Carolinian
can purchase tickets, and, for tb
first time, creates outlets in Greer
viile, Rocky Mount and Jacksonville.
For those who prefer to order
tickets by phone, Ticketmaster's
computerized ordering system is
available. From Raleigh (834-4000)
and Charlotte (1-704-622-6500),
customers may call in to order for ad
ded convenience.
John Williams, general manager of
Ticketmaster’s Southeast regional of
fice, said his company looks forward
to bringing state-of-the-art ticketing
services to North Carolina. “Our vast
ticket distribution network will add a
new level of convenience for
customers, and we are proud to be a
part of the growing entertainment
business in this region."
Scheduled to open in July, Hardee s
Walnut Creek will offer a broad
musical fare from country to
(See AMPHITHEATRE, P. 2)
YMCA 46th
Awards Fete
Cites Leaders
The Garner Koad YMCA celebrates
its 46th annual meeting and awards
banquet this week as it reaches out to
recognize leaders in the community
The speaker for the banquet is Rev
Dr. Charles Bullock. Rev. Bullock, a
native of Oxford, has passionately
■ought to convoy to the world God’s
good news. His ministry has taken
him across the countryside in an ef
fort to improve every individual’s
relationship with God and to counsel
the burdened.
Dr. Bullock believes that “Chris
tian education is important to know in
order to understand the relationship
we have with God, our fellow men and
the doctrine.” Dr. Bullock received
his license to preach the gospel in
1966. He obtained his bachelor of arts
from Shaw University and master of
divinity from Shaw Divi^ty School.
Later, he acquired a doctorate of
ministry from Howard University.
In addition to his scholarship, Dr.
Bullock has served as pastor of
Nashville Baptist, Mount Vernon
Baptist, Snow Hill Baptist, St. James
1 Baptist and Martin St. Baptist. He
! has stood as a disciple of Christ for
, more than 36 years and is still going
, strong.
(See YMCA BANQUET, P. i)