RALEIGH, N.C.,
THURSDAY,
MAY 16.1991
VOL. 50, NO. 50
N.C.'s Semi-Weekly
DEDICATED TO THE SPIRIT OF JESUS CHRIST
SINGLE COPY QC
IN RALEIGH
ELSEWHERE 300
Willie Jordan Uplifts N. C.
Inmates In Song
Page 5
National Association OfUniv.
Women Hold Meet Here
Page 12
Did Mrs. Mandela Get A Fair Trial?
Court, Without Jury, Gives 6-Year Sentence
The Rand Supreme Court in
Johannesburg has concluded a black
liberation leader ordered the
abduction of four black males from a
Soweta church house in 1968 and
later helped cover up their beatings,
which resulted in the death of a 14
year-old youth.
Winnie Mandela, wife of Nelson
Mandela, was found guilty on four
kidnapping charges and four counts
of accessory to assault after the fact
by Judge Michael S. Stegmann this
week who called Bis. Mandela a
“calm, composed, deliberate and
unblushing liar” and convicted her of
the charge.
Many supporters of Ms. Mandela
question whether she received a fair
trial, or whether there is such a thing
as a fair trial in aparthied South
Africa.
Her conviction comes at a time
when decisions are being made in
Luxembourg by western European
countries to lift the economic
sanctions imposed on South Africa. It
also appears as a betrayal to the
struggling oppressed and politically
deprived African people, especially
Nelson Mandela whose campaign for
ending apartheid was a great success ,
in America.
“Keep the pressure on apartheid,’’ ,
cried Mandela during that historic
tour and everywhere else. “Don’t lift
the economic sanctions against
apartheid, because it is they who led
to my release and that of other
political prisoners,’’ he added.
Mandela demanded that sanctions
should remain in place until there
was profound and irreversible
change and apartheid was a thing of
the past.
At that time the world was ready to
(o the whole way with Mandela to end
ipartheid, but the decisions to lift
tanctions and the conviction of Ms.
Mandela bring another element into
he struggle.
Ms. Mandela, 56, said she viewed
he verdict as a vindication. “You all
low know that I did not assault any
:hild. That is all that matters to me.
rhe rest I leave to my lawyers.”
Ms. Mandela’s attorneys appeared
stunned by the verdict and said any
(See WINNIE MANDELA, P. 2)
Crabtree Valley Signs
Youth & Mall Agree
Better Human
Relations Goal
Of Agreement
Fra* CA80UNIAN 8Uff Rcpwta
Crabtree Valley Mall has signed an
agreement with the Human
Resources and Human Relations
Advisory Commission of the City of
Raleigh and a youth task force for the
purpose of proposing strategies to
improve race relations stemming
from a protest in November, 1989.
As part of a series of events leading
up to a boycott of the mall, local
African-American youths and their
parents in 1989 began to picket the
hMMhlMUl) Kynvflinffitfkh ‘
Members of the Concerned citizens
for Equality during that time
protested a request from John
B.Grimaldi to Michael P. Halperin
and the City of Raleigh Transit
Administration to eliminate bus
service from downtown to the mall
between the hours of 2:30 and 6:30
p.m. on Saturdays.
Grimaldi’s actions came after
constant complaints by merchants
that African-American teenagers
were presenting problems, “such as
loitering, blocking traffic aisles,
using offensive language,
vandalism and harassing shoppers.”
Mrs. Margaret Rose Murray, who
helped organize the boycott said it
generated tremendous results in that
it was an economic boycott.
A ratification of commitment
between Crabtree Valley Mall and
(See CRABTREE MALL, P. 21
NEWS BRIEFS
i
i
AWARD
Lillian Gould, professor of
mathematics and Amanda
Mason, professor and chairman
of the Division of Education at
Shaw University, have received
the MM Distinguished Teaching
Award from the Alpha Kappa Mu
Honor Society, the award,
presented ana sally, recognises
excellence la teaching,
contributions to the University,
and high scholarly conduct. The
recipients each received a plaque
and a cash award.
CARRE1T SERVES AS
CHEF STUDENT
Charlene Garrett ef Raleigh, Is
serving as chief student officer of
the Society for Human Resources
Management at Backaell
University. A senior majoring In
psychology, Garrett Is the
daughter of JerroUiae and John
Garrett. MU Koupela Drive. She
la a 1M7 graduate of Lake Mary
High School. Lake Mary, Fla. A
member of Kappa Kappa
Gamma sorority, she served as a
Activities Council. Bnckaell.
University is a highly selective
liberal arts Institution with
professional programs la
edacattoal**
(See NEWS BRIEFS, P. 3)
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right Ron Moor*, Ways A Mains; Barbara WhMay,
reception; Norma Noland, gravy leader; and Nancy
Edwards, marriage and family therapist (Photo by James
files. Sr.)
BY BEN HINTON, JK.
Special Talk*CAROLINIAN
Home ownership is an essential
ingredient for a thriving
neighborhood. It instills a sense of
community pride because the
responsibility for the condition of the
homes and the neighborhood rests
with those who live there.
Wachovia Bank’s Neighborhood
Revitalisation Program, which was
introduced in 1969 and expanded
statewide in 1990, is designed to
encourage home ownership and
housing renovation in this and other
communities across the state.
In the Raleigh area, 16 home loans
totaling more than $800,000 have been
made under the Neighborhood
Revitalization Program. Statewide,
tor ine purcnase or renovauon oi
owner-occupied, single-family
primary residences, including
townhouaes and condominiums.
How does the program make it
easier to own or renovate a home?
•Low Down Payment: The
minimum down payment is three
percent of the selling price. Under
traditional mortgage programs, the
required down payment could be five
percent, 10 percent or 20 percent.
•Favorable Interest Rates: Loans
will be available for up to 30-year
terms at lower rates than are
traditionally available. Also, higher
down payments result in additional
rate reductions.
•Reduced Closing Costs: Closing
costs should not exceed $2,000. No
Under the Neighborhood Revitalization
Program it is possible for more people to
qualify for a home loan by allowing a higher
percentage of monthly income to be devoted
to the house payment and a higher percentage
of income to be allocated to all monthly
payments.
more than 375 such home loans have
been provided totaling $15.5 million,
with an additional 90 loans totaling
$3.7 million either approved or in the
approval process.
By offering favorable interest
rates, low down-payment
requirements, reduced closing costs
and flexible credit guidelines, the
Neighborhood Revitalization
Program hopes to attract individuals
and families of low- to moderate
income, some of whom might think
that home ownership is beyond their
reach. Each component of the
program Is intended to make it easier
for people to buy a new or existing
home, or renovate their current
residence., The loans are available
discount points will be charged. This
is a potential savings of thousands of
dollars that otherwise would have to
be paid at the time the loan is made.
Also, the bank will not charge for a
credit report it must compile for
each loan.
•Eased Qualifying Debt Ratios: In
traditional mortgage financing,
lenders generally require that a
family’s house payment not exceed S8
percent of its gross monthly income,
and the total monthly payment debt
(house payment, car payments,
credit card and other loan payments)
not exceed SB percent of the total
monthly income.
Under the Neighborhood
Revitalisation Program, Wachovia
maxes it possioie ror more people to
quality for a home loan by allowing a
higher percentage of monthly income
to be devoted to the house payment
(up to 35 percent) and a higher
percentage of monthly income to be
allocated to all monthly payments
(up to 50 percent).
For example, if a family’s gross
(See HOME LOAN, P. 2)
From CAROLINIAN SUM Reporta
In this climate of increased local and national focns on the issue of
police abuse and other Issues, Raleigh's first forum attracted
various organisations from across the county last week in a spirit of
African-American unity.
The forum, held at Davie Street Presbyterian Church, allowed
organisations to discuss issues of mutual concern and to hear Dr.
Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., executive director of the United Church of
Christ’s Commission for Racial Justice, who received several
standing ovations for his message.
Rev. Leon White of Wake Forest was the presiding officer of the
forum, with Bruce E. Lightner, Raleigh civic worker, as the planner
of the event.
“I’m not an outsider,” Chavis said, making reference to years In
North Carolina and his involvement with the Wilmington M during
the height of the civil rights movement and his Incarceration at
Central Prison.
“When Clarence Lightner was mayor there was a decrease in
police brutality and someone needs to tell Mayor Avery Upchurch
and the police chief, God does not like ugliness,” Chavis said.
Participating in the forum were representatives of all major
civic, social and political organisations in Wake County, which he
urged to "build the bridges for a lasting unity, one which endures
beyond this forum, the next election, the next year, build a network
which thrives on community unity and cooperative spirit."
Chavis also focused on the increasing problems within the
African-American community: drugs, teenage pregnancy, violence,
economic stagnation and the crisis in health care. He stated, “There
is more than enough for each of us to do. We can Ul afford to cast
stones at one another, it serves no purpose beyond rhetorical
demagoguery.”
Lightner, one of the forum’s organisers, stated, “Open dialogue
among people who have honest intentions is so very important. This
unity forum started to address its basic question of how we can come
together around common concerns. I think it was an impressive
(See FORUM. P.2)
Rosa Parks Honored By
Rights Leaders, Entertainers
ATLANTA, Ga. (AP)—More than
1,000 civil rights leaders and
entertainers gathered to watch a
tribute to the black woman who
sparked the 1955 Montgomery bus
boycott when she refused to yield her
seat to a white man.
But the star of the show, 78-year-old
Rosa Parks, didn’t seem blinded
Tuesday .night by the glitz of another
screening of “America Salutes Rosa
Parks,” a television program taped
last year.
“From the highest level of
government down to toe home, there
is a lack of giving to our children all
toe care they need,” Ms. Parks said,
shaking her head gently at toe work
to be done.
Ms. Parks made civil rights history
in Alabama on Dec. 1, 1955, when she
refused to give up her bus seat. Her
actions not only sparked the bus
boycott, but also ignited a fire under a
young Baptist preacher named
Martin Luther King, Jr.
“You are so special to us,” Atlanta
Life Insurance Co. executive Jesse
Hill told Ms. Parks Tuesday. “What
you helped to launch has had its
impact around the globe.”
But Ms. Paries Is matter-of-fact
about her contributions.
“I didn’t think in terms of being
unusually courageous that day,” she
said in an interview. "And it wasn’t
that I was particularly tired. But I
had for a long time, all my life really,
protested against being mistreated
and abused.
“It didn’t enter my mind how
people would react... I was grateful
that people were willing to take a
stand and not ride the bus.’’
Ms. Parks, a widow who now lives
in Detroit, works to help children
through the Rosa and Raymond
Parks Institute for Self-Development.
She is writing her autobiography for
children.
She also travels the country,
raising funds for her institute and
attending screenings of the television
tribute, taped last year at
Washington’s Kennedy Center to
mark her 77th birthday.
Civil rights leaders attending
Tuesday’s Georgia premiere of the
tribute included Southern Christian
Leadership Council President Joseph
Lowery and King’s son, Fulton
County Commissioner Martin King,
III. Singer Melba Moore entertained
the crowd.
Ms. Parks said she sometimes
visits friends in Montgomery, the city
she left in 1957. She said she doesn’t
dwell on her arrest or the subsequent
harassment and unemployment she
endured in Alabama.
“I try not to let bitterness enter my
life,” she said. “I’m happy some
things have changed.”
JVC Community Colleges Take
Differences Before Lawmakers
More man 400 community college
leaders from across North Carolina
came to Raleigh to impress upon
legislators the urgency of increased
funding for the system’s 58
community colleges.
Representatives from most of the
colleges—including trustees,
presidents, members of North
Carolinians for Community Colleges,
students and state board members—
joined forces for a meeting at the
Raleigh Civic Center before meeting
with individual legislators and
legislative delegations throughout the
day.
When the group convened, system
president Robert W. Scott urged them
to “tell legislators how community
colleges affect the lives and
livelihoods of their fellow citizens in
every county in North Carolina.
"Community colleges have been
called ‘the people’s colleges,”’ Scott
said, “and you should tell our
legislators what community colleges
mean to your people back home.”
Scott also praised Rep. Dennis A.
Wicker (D-Lee) for introducing
House Bill 1178 that would increase
community college funding by $135
million a year, the amount
recommended by the Commission on
the Future of the North Carolina
Community College System. The
commission, which was composed ol
legislators, business leaders and
others, said increased funding was
essential if the community college
system were to meet the needs of the
state.
Scott went on to say that the Wicker
bill is consistent with the
recommendations of the Governor’s
Commission on Workforce
Preparedness, which cited a vital
role of community colleges in
meeting the needs of a changing
workforce.
Talmage Penland, an attorney
from Asheville and president of the
North Carolina Association of
Community College Trustees, told the
group, “We must prevail in on our
legislators to realize the seriousness
of our dilemma. We must tell them
that, in spite of the serious obstacles
facing this state, we must go
forward.”
Penland, who is also a trustee of
Asheville-Buncombe Technical
Community College, said that the
near-term and long-term economic
well-being of North Carolina
depended on healthy and well-funded
community colleges across the state.
The president of the State Board of
Community Colleges, William F.
Simpson of Reids ville, also spoke
briefly to the group before
refJ wentatives visited with their
legislators.
Emphasizing the singleness of
purpose, he said he hoped legislators
would take notice of the fact that the
state board and local trustees were
working together to convince the
General Assembly of the critical need
for increased funding.
He also said he hoped legislators
would respect the “positive,
constructive approach” taken by the
community college coalition in their
efforts to get their message across to
the General Assembly.
“For example,” he said, “our
students channeled their energy into
a contest of writing poignant and
convincing essays on how community
colleges have changed their lives,
and we believe their stories are bound
to have an effect on legislators as
they decide how to appropriate tax
revenues most effectively.
“Our community colleges receive
only about six cents of every dollar
8pent on education in North Carolina,
and yet we are serving more than
741,000 citizens this year-including
training the vast majority of our
nurses, law enforcement officers, and
firefighters,” Simpson said.
“And with that small fraction of the
education dollar in North Carolina,
we also grant one out of five high
school diplomas,” Simpson pointed
out. “That is the kind of information
we need to get to our legislators.”