RAJ
m Dept of Cultural
Ap: Resources, N.C. State Library
109 East Jones Street
VO] Raleigh NC 27601
's Semi-Weekly
ID TO THE SPIRIT OF JESUS CHRIST
SINGLE COPY Q|T
IN RALEIGH
ELSEWHERE 300
ER
essinq:
TO ALL OUR
GOOD FRIENDS
Carnage Parents To
School Bd. Showdown
BY CASH MICHAELS
Staff Writer
If several outraged African
American parents and community
leaders have their way, next
Monday’s meeting of the Wake
County School Board will be a show
down on several key issues, espe
cially a raging controversy over a
proposed academically gifted pro
gram at Southeast Raleigh’s Car
nage Middle School.
The school board says that gifted
children are served better when
enrolled in programs specially de
signed to challenge their talents, so
to answer the demand to expand the
AG programs currently at Hunter
and Fuller elementary schools and
J.W. Ligon Middle School, next year
Carnage Middle School will also
adopt the format.
But African-American parents
with children at Carnage say that
the AG program separates children,
benefits white children mostly, and
because of biased testing, perma
nently tracks black children who
don’t make it into lower achievers
classes. These parents argue that by
and large, black students are not
given the same opportunities to
enroll in the AG program, and be
cause of the way the system is set
up, will virtually never have the
chance. They want their children to
be exposed to the same AG curricu
lum with the AG students.
Yvonne Lewis Holly, spokesper
son for 60 black and white Carnage
parents, has been the most vocal
opponent of the proposed change.
“The issue is a school within a
school,” she told The CAROLIN
IAN. ‘These [AG] students do not
mix, do not mingle, do not have
anything to do with the other stu
dent body. They are told they are the
brightest of the world. [The school
system] brings these kids in and
CRiME
BEAT
Editor's Not*: This column, a
fixture of The CAROLINIAN in
years past, has returned to our
pages in hopes of deterring
crime in our community. The
information contained herein is
taken from public arrest rec
ords and does not necessarily
mean those mentioned are
guilty of crimes.
CAUGHT FOR
CONCEALMENT
Linda Delores Bennett, 601
Umstead St., Durham, has been
arrested and charged with
concealment of $268 of merchandise.
The reported incident took place
Friday between 4:39 and 4:45 p.m. at
a business located at 4217 Six Forks
Rd
BREAKS DRUG LAW
Fernado Roy Williams, 18, has been
arrested and charged with possession
with intent to sell drugs, delay and
obstruction of a law officer. Williams
allegedly had 1.8 grams of rock crack
cocaine valued at $200. The incident
occured Tuesday between l and 1:30
a.m. at a rooming house located at
327 N. Fisher St.
GETS IN FIGHT
William B. Yarborough, 1121 Kitt
PI. and Wilson Webb, 617 Hilltop
Drive., have been arrested and
charged with engaging in an affray.
The duo allegedly “squared off”
Sunday at 3:36 p.m. at the Hilltop
residence. No injuries were reported.
ATTEMPTSBURGLARY
Shelton Jones, 32, 101 Lee St.,
Wendell, has been arrested and
charged with disorderly conduct and
attempted first degree burglary.
Jones allegedly forcibly tried to
burglarize an apartment locates at
(See CRIME BEAT, P. 2)
recruits them from the white com
munity to come into our inner-city
black schools to balance the integra
tion, except that none of the classes
are integrated.”
Ms. Holly illustrated her point by
offering the following scenario: stu
dents are chosen for the AG program
by their teachers, and then are
tested. If they score in the top three
percent on a combination of stan
dardized tests, plus have high
grades, then by state definition they
are academically gifted. If a child
fails the tests, they can be re-tested
privately by a psychologist, and as
long as they pass per standard, they
can be admitted to the program.
The problem with that scenario,
according to Ms. Holly, is that
teachers rarely will consider black
children who are high achievers for
the AG program, which means that
a high number of potential candi
dates never even get the chance to
be tested. And if by some reason a
qualified black student is chosen,
but for some reason doesn’t pass the
(See CARNAGE AG, P. 2)
At Worship Services...
REJOICING - Hosannal Jesus Christ and (he Bible are
the greatest role models. Jesus came proclaiming love
and understanding said Rev. Howard Todd, pastor of
Zebulon First Baptist Church on Palm Sunday. The subject
of the morning was Seek Excellency from Matt. 25, and
Phil. 4:8-9. The choir Is shown singing Come To the
Waters, prior to Communion. (Photo by James Giles)
African American Business
Expo Set For Garner Rd. ‘YM’
The first phase of a m ulti-faceted
community consumer education
project will take place on Satudray,
May 9, at the Garner Road Family
YMCA, when the Raleigh Ministe
rial Alliance and the Business
Building Society, in association
with the Crabtree II Community
Task Force, presents‘Tour Commu
nity Business Expo ’92.” It is touted
to be the first African-American
business exposition of its kind any
where in the Triangle area.
According to Ms. Margaret Rose
Murray, president of BBS, African
Americans will now have a place to
go where 50 or more black vendors
will offer fine selections of of top
quality merchandise and special
services.
“This will be an opportunity to
meet and greet African-American
entrepreneurs who will save you sc
much money at this pre-Mother’s
Day sales spectacular. It’s some
thing we’ve always dreamed was
possible, and now we’re doing it for
the community to show that it can
happen, and the price will be right,
too.”
Ms. Murray told The CAROLIN
IAN that the Black Business Expo
will be more than just a shopper’s
opportunity to get good buys, but a
learning experience for the commu
nity by participating in the eco
nomic empowerment of our commu
nity. Wise shopping techniques will
be offered to show African-Ameri
cans the true value of their dollars
and what they should expect by way
of price, service and respect.
Rev. David Dolby, president of the
Raleigh Ministerial Alliance, told
The CAROLINIAN that in most
ethnic communities, a dollar turns
over five to six times before it leaves
that community. But in the African
American community, the dollar
goes out without turnover (with the
exception of the barber shop or
beauty parlor). "The need for black
economic developmentisapparent,”
says Rev. Dolby.
In a recent Ministerial Alliance
meeting, this issue became a focal
paint, with the general conclusion
that black churches must work to
change the perception of our com
munity about businesses. Rev.
Dolby said, "We must encourage the
African-American community to
break out of the traditional mold
and to think of self-employment 1*0
ensure the success of black busi
nesses, we must shed our Victims’
mentality. We need to break the
shackles of not trusting each other,
and feeling that black people offer
inferior goods and services."
Rev. Dolby said that the alliance
knows that African-Americans are
“a God-blessed and talented
people,” and that we come from a
people who built civilizations. Our
proud heritage, crafts and skills, in
thie face of low wages, is clearly
documented. "The curse must be
reversed,” demands Rev. Dolby, and
he sees the May 9 Black Business
Expo as the beginning to this end.
“This concept of self-help is the
economic imperative for changing
our course in history,” he says.
“Your Community Business Expo
’92” will be the first of a planned
series in the near future. Licensed
African-American vendors of all
types are encouraged to contact Ms.
(See BLACK EXPO, P. 2)
« Enloe P«ncltcLe
for Son s f*
BY CASH MICHAELS
StaffWritor
Is there a connection between the
sudden departure of Enloe High
School Principal Howard Coleman
and the case of Willie Barnes, the
16-year-old African-American sen
tenced to a controversial two years
in the Youth Correctional Center for
bringing a broken BB gun to Enloe
last fall?
Dr. Coleman, Enloe’s principal
since 1990, left the Wake County
Public Schools this week to take a
still undisclosed post with the Char
lotte-Mecklenburg School System.
Some observers say the handling
of the Barnes case by Coleman and
three of his assistant principals may
have been the final straw in a long
series of racial controversies that
plagued the state’s largest high
school. Mattie Barnes, the mother of
Willie Barnes, contends that if Dr.
Coleman had made better efforts to
contact her when Willie was first
pulled out of class, her son would
never have been put into a position
of being charged with assault and
making verbal threats.
Willie Barnes has appealed his
conviction on three counts of assault
and two verbal-threat charges stem
ming from when he allegedly
brought a broken BB gun to Enloe
High last Nov. 15. Though both evi
dence and testimony against Willie
were inconclusive, District Court
Judge Anne B. Salisbury told Willie
that she “was making an example of
him’ for bringing the BB gun to
school,a nd found him guilty on all
five counts. That decision is sched
uled to be appealed in Wake Supe
rior Court on Monday, April 27.
In an interview with The CARO
LINIAN, Ms. Barnes recounted that
Principal Coleman had failed to
notify her until well into the after
noon about her son’s plight
“I had come back from lunch, and
my boss told me thast I received a
phone call from the principal. The
phone call came in around 1:30
p.m.," Ms. Barnes remembered. She
said she works for the N.C. Depart
ment of Revenue, so every phone call
that comes in is logged for
recordkeeping purposes.
When die returned the call and
spoke to Dr. Coleman, he told her
that Willie had been arrested ror
bringing a “pelvic BB gun” to school,
and that three administrators had
pressed charges against him. Ms.
Barnes recalls that when she asked
whether her son was at the Raleigh
police station, Dr. Coleman gave her
a terse, “I don’t know where he’s at,"
and the conversation ended.
When she finally found Willie in
the magistrate’s lockup, Ms. Barnes
discovered that he was being held
under a $3,000 cash bond (money
she didn’t have), she would not bo
allowed to see him until the next day
at the Wake County Jail, and Willie
would have to spend the weekend
behind bars. Because it was late
Friday afternoon, no one was avail
able to tell her what happened at the
school, and her husband was sta
tioned in Goldsboro for Air Force
Reserve duty for the weekend.
“I felt so helpless for my son... I
had nowhere to turn.”
She subsequently found out that
the incident actually took place at
8:46 a.m. but no call reached her
until 1:30 that afternoon. There
were no calls from the school re
corded on the home answering
servcie, either. When she finally
asked Dr. Coleman why there was
no evidence of the school ever trying
to reach her at work or home, he
replied that he had two "wrong
numbers,” and then that "the phone
kept ringing for two whole hours,
but there was no answer.” Ms. Bar
nes knew that that couldn’t be true
if indeed he had the correct number
to the N.C. Department of Revenue.
And since she had been in constant
contact with the Enloe guidance
departments the weeks prior to the
incident, Ms. Barnes knew that the
school knew how to reach her.
“In my opinion they did not try to
reach me, and I told them I did not
believe they tried hard enough,”
says Ms. Barnes.
She is also quick to point out that
when Willie was originally pulled
from class by the three assistant
principals, and taken to an office to
be questioned and then searched,
the youth asked them to call both his
mother and the police, but they re
fused. Mattie Barnes says if Dr.
Coleman and his staff had done
things differently, young Willie
Barnes would never have been
placed in the position he’s in now.
Man Questions Citation,
Lie Detector Test Given!
BY CASH MICHAELS
StaffWrltor
A community activist who com
plained about an alleged racial
slight by a Raleigh police officer says
he was made to take a lie detector
test to confirm his story.
Johnny Blaylock, founder of the
Friends Committee Against Drugs
and AIDS, says Capt Otis Hinton of
the Raloigh Police Internal Affairs
Division contacted him to come
down to headquarters last month,
but didn’t say what for. When Blay
lock got down there, he says Capt.
Hinton then proceeded to read a
version of a Christmas Day incident
that allegedly occurred between
Blaylock and a white Raleigh police
officer. Blaylock says he was sur
prised that Hinton knew anything
because he’d never filed a formal
complaint about it.
What Capt Hinton waa reading
from was a report on the status of
Raleigh police community relations
issued by the Raleigh Human Re
sources/Human Relations Advisory
Committee. 1)10 study, requested by
the Raleigh City Council last year
after the police shooting of citizen
Tony Farrell, recounted several
instances of' what it said were bad
police relations with citizens in
varying capacities. Blaylock had
spoken with one of the investigating
commission members in passing
about a run-in he had had with a
white police officer on Christmas
Day last year.
Blaylock told of being stopped by
the officer while driving because
(See LIE DETECTOR, P. 2)
Higher Education:
Act Backed By ;;
U. S. Lawmakers
BY LARRY A. STILL
NNPA New* Service
WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Rep.
William Jefferson (D-New Orleans)
is credited with leading the success
ful effort to win increased federal
financial assistance for Ameria’s
historically black colleges and uni
versities and minority students in
tthe 1992 Higher Education Reau
thorization Act passed recently by
the House of Representatives. '
Last August, Rep. Jefferson intro
duced the “College Opportunity Act
of 1992” which contained mqjor
provisions for HBCUs now adopted
in the Higher Education Act. “Inclu
sion of these new provisions recog
nizes the outstanding job done by
historically black colleges in produc
ing undergraduates who move on”
to higher degrees and other levels df
achievement, the congressman said
last week.
He cited the following measures
that benefit HBCUs and minority
students:
•Raising the eligibility ceiling for
student (tuition) Pell Grants to
$49,000 for family income and in
creasing maximum student Pell
Grants to $4,500;
•Making post-graduate pro
grams at 11 new HBCUs eligible to
share in at least $20 million of spe
cial federal grants to improve aca
demic, scientific and professional
programs.
Recent statistics underscore the
importance of strengthening post
graduate programs at HBCUs, par
ticularly in scientific fields, Jeffer
son said. The 11 new institutions
now eligible for special grants to
strengthen post-graduate programs
are:
Southern University School of
Law (La.); Xavier University School
jf Pharmacy (La.); Jackson State
(See EDUCATION ACT, P. 2)
NEWS BRIEFS
HAMLET WORKERS
ANNOUNCE MARCH
The Black Worker* for Jus
tice, along with several survi
vors of the Hamlet chicken
processing plant fire that
killed 25 last September,
came to Raleigh Monday to
announce a march in Hamlet
scheduled for May 2. The
group also called for Emmett
Roe, the owner of the plant, to
be indicted for murder. Many
former employees of the
plant are still unemployed
and are seeking assistance to
care for their families.
RWCA SETS FORUM
FOR CANDIDATES
The Raleigh-Wake Citizens
Association will offer I
candidate’s forum Thursday,
starting at 7 p.m. at St. Am
brose Episcopal Church, SIS
Darby St. in Raleigh. This
event is free and open to all
citizens.
TOPLESS CLUB GETS
OKAY FROM CITY
Against the wishes oflood
anti-pornography forces, the
Raleighi Board of Adjust
ment gave the green light to
another red light district
business: a topless dub. Op
ponents are upset that this
will be the fourth such busi
ness to locate on Capital
Boulevard. The board also
okayed an adult bookstore,
which will join another adult
bookstore and the Fozy Lady
topless bar.
“BRENDLEVILLE”
NO MORE
For four years, property
owned by the Norfolk and
(SeeNEWS BRIEFS,P.2)