North Carolina Newspapers

The Carolinian RALEIGH, N.C., THURSDAY, JUNE 25,1992 VOL. 51, NO. 62 N.C.’s Semi-Weekl DEDICATED TO THE SPIRIT OF JESUS CHRIST Dept of Cultural Resources, N.C. State Library 109 East Jones Street Raleigh NC 27601 I Hampton Jazz Fest To Celebrate Silver Anniversary Page 6 Child Watch Asks Question What’s Beyond Medicaid? Page 10 1 ransafnca Calls For Action As Haitian Crisis Deepens BY LARRY A. STILL Capitol News Service Calling for direct-action picket ing and boycotts which led t( worldwide anti-apartheid mobili zation against South Africa TransAfrica officials in Washing ton, D.C. urged all Americans t< support an effective national lobb; for a more positive U.S. policy to ward the Republic of Haiti as wel as other oppressed peoples ant governments. The same intensity and commit ment that African-Americans fos 1 tered to end the separatist govern ments in South Africa must now be brought to the broader concerns affecting the political and eco nomic empowerment of all Afri ’ cans, Randall Robinson, Trans Africa executive director, declared at the opening of ths organ ization’s 1992 conference recently. “As the Rodney King verdict showed, the struggles waged by Africans and African-Americans are not divergent. The quest for freedom, justice, self-determina tion, human rights and economic empowerment [are the same]... the marginalization of Africa has coincided with the marginalization of blacks in America,” Robinson said in his report. “Black organizations—churches, social groups, schools, trade un ions, professionals and others— must now step up efforts to inform and instruct their constituents about events in Africa. The Con gressional Black Caucus is pivotal in ensuring that the African American voice is heard in the cor ridors of power. Africare’s Con stituency for Africa project will do much to bolster grassroots interest in Africa. The black media have an even greater task in ensuring the Africa and its multitude of issue are not forgotten,” he emphasized Speaking at TransAfrica’s 15t annua] dinner, Robinson and othe officials paid tribute to depose Haitian President Jean Bertram Aristide and thousands of refugee seeking relocation in the US unti the first democratic government i restored in the Caribbean island Human rights advocates Alio t Walker, author of The Color s Purple-, union leader William Lucy and Rev. Charles Cobb, retired i minister and civil rights activist, r were also honored at the dinner 1 which highlighted TransAfrica’s 1 annual foreign policy conference. ; President Aristide also told the | black-tie guests, “In one sense, you t already know what I have to say because my history is your history, * (See HAITI, P. 2) violence Prevention Seminar Turnout Low BY CASH MICHAELS Staff Writer Maybe it’s because it’s some thing the African-American com munity isn't proud of that few people came out to learn how to deal with it. Or maybe so many people are so afraid that they feel nothing can be done. Whichever it is, the fact re mains: Our young black men are increasingly becoming the victims of violence their own commu nity, and something must be done to turn the trend around. So imagine the shock when the Fine Arts Theater at St. Augustine’s College last Saturday wasn’t even 10 Dercent full for Dart one of “Stop the Madness/End the Sadness,” a symposium on vio lence prevention among African American teenage males. Pre sented by the Male Alliance for Life Extension, the program brought community activists, pro fessional counselors, and black teenagers together to explore the problem of rising black teen vio lence, and what some solutions should be. There were panel discussions, keynote addresses, even a dra matic presentation that graphi cally portrayed the need for Afri can-American males to reclaim their rightful leadership role in (See VIOLENCE, P. 2) CRIME BEAT Editor’s Note: 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. ATTEMPTED ARMED ROBBERY Nineteen-year-old Daryl Glass, listed by Raleigh police as living at 7007 Apt. 3-C Raleigh Blvd., was arrested and charged with at tempted armed robbery. Police say he attempted to rob David Brickie of Durham on the 6700 block of Six Forks Road with a knife. ASSAULT ON A POLICE OFFICER Michael J. Reilly, 25, of 673-3 Horton’s Camping, Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, was charged with as sault on a law enforcement officer, resisting and delaying arrest, and drunk and disorderly. The alleged victim was Officer S.M. Utley. Po lice say Officer Utley received a bruised hand. burglary Police arrested Clarence Wayne Bass (no address) and charged him with burglary at a carburetor and tune-up clinic at 5409-101 Oak Forest Drive. Police say there was damage to a window in the rear door and a soft drink machine to taling $700. Two motor vehicle in spection stickers were taken, as well as coins and currency valued at $16.90. (See CRIME BEAT, P.2) r ■mm m HOMELESS RESCUE MAN-James Baglay points to location whore toonago assailants Hod after attacking an elderly man in Moore Park recently. Sixty-seven-year-old Kenneth Harris was rescued by a group of homeless men from a nearby shelter who saw him being chased by two assailants into the Moore Square bus station, where they held them at bay until police arrived. (Photo by James GUes) Homeless Hero Saves Man, Urges Others ‘Get Involved’ BY CASH MICHAELS SUff Writer It is going to take some getting used to, but James Bagley has a new last name now: Hero. It is not the name his mother gave him, it is one that James wears proudly. It was Tuesday, June 16, when James and three of his friends forgot their troubles of being homeless and got involved when they saw two white teen agers violently assaulting an eld erly African-American man in Moore Square with a pipe. Thanks to James and his friends, 67-year-old Kenneth Har ris is alive today, and the two al leged attackers, 19-year-old John Rera and 15-year-old Michael Wrenn, were arrested and charged with assault with intent to kill. Publishers Hold 52nd Annual Meef BY MALIK SHABAZZ Washington Afro Staff Prom near and far, members of the African-American press made their way to Baltimore, commonly called “The City That Reads,” for the 52nd annual National News paper Publishers Convention, from June 10-14, at the Hyatt Regency Inner Harbor Hotel. Several hundred participants gathered for the NNPA event to celebrate this year’s theme of “Building a Stronger Foundation.” Activities began with a publish ers’ orientation and subsequent reception at the Harbor View Ma rina, facing Baltimore’s Inner Har bor. In the midst of music and merri ment, the NNPA honored Daniel T. Blue, Jr., the first African American to be elected North Carolina’s speaker of the House of Representatives. While commending the black press on supporting legislators such as himself, Blue remarked, “As we have marched through the last 12 years trying to figure out (See PUBLISHERS, P. 2) Reportedly, the two drove all the way from Louisburg in Franklin County to Raleigh that night, just to find a black, and in the wt'rds of the assistant district attorney dur ing their arraignment, “beat him to death.* While both were jailed under $100,000 bond each, the youngest, Michael Wrenn, was bailed out last Thursday by his family. To Bagley, the attack that night was something he couldn’t just sit by and let happen. “I come to Raleigh to kill a nigger in Moore Square Park,* is what James claims he heard one of the teens say that caught his at tention. James and his friends were sitting on the benches on the Person Street side of the park. As one of the teens began beating on Harris with a pipe, the other, James believes it may have been Wrenn, seemed to have a change of heart and wanted to go. “He tried to get [the other youth] to leave, but he wouldn’t leave,” remembers James. By this time, • Harris was pleading for help. “The * guy commenced in beating him on the back of the neck. [Harris] didn’t see him coming iip behind him. He kept hitting him a couple of blows, and [Harris] fell. When he fell, blood was shooting from his body.” James and his friends began yelling at the pair to leave Harris alone, and ran to the spot. The teens fled. Harris was on the ground, his left arm broken, blood gushing out of his head. While someone was getting help for Harris, James and others chased the teens into the Moore Square bus station. Once trapped, they were held there until the po lice came and arrested them. James Bagley has since been featured on television and radio for his deeds that night. People are openly calling him a hero and sa luting him for getting involved in something that most people would have run from. When you hear James talk about why he got involved, it is clear he has an abiding love for his fellow man. “Thank the Lord we were able to get in there and stop this before something really serious hap (See HOMELESS, P. 2) N. C. Laws Still Ban Cross burning Despite Supreme Court BY CASH MICHAELS Staff Writer What the U.S. Supreme Court won’t do, burning permits and trespass laws will. Citizens in Raleigh’s African American community are still shaking their heads over Monday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision de claring a St. Paul, Minn, ordinance against burning crosses unconsti tutional. In a unanimous decision, the nine justices said that no mat ter how reprehensible the act asso ciated with hate groups is, it is still an expression of free speech, and must be protected by the U.S. Constitution. But here in North Carolina, the hate crime law on the books is in good shape. Even after the high court ruling, according to John Simmons of the N.C. attorney general's office, our law is more narrowly defined, going beyond whnt is expressed. “The person or persons must also intrude on someone else’s property for the purpose of intimi dation. Unless you have permis sion to do so from that property owner, which is highly unlikely, then you break the law when you burn a cross on someone’s lawn here in North Carolina,’’ said Sim mons. Beyond state law, there are local burning ordinances that St. Paul could have used to buttress their law. In 1987, former Grand Dragon of the Christian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Carroll Crawford was arrested by a black Charlotte po lice officer when he burned a cross on property he owned. When Crawford was taken in, he was charged with “burning without a permit* within the city limits. Raleigh has the same ordinance. No one is permitted to bum any thing within the city limits with out a permit from the City Fire Department. And most legal ex perts agree that it is highly un likely that the fire chief will issue a permit to someone looking to burn a cross in your front yard. Then there is the issue of tres pass. In order for someone to intimi date you with a burning cross, or swastikas spray-painted on your home or car, they must first tres pass on your property. Once the act is complete, it is also consid ered vandalism, another unlawful offense. These legal protections aren’t real protections if someone really wants to intimidate a citizen with a hate act, but unlike the Supreme Court’s verdict of earlier this week, at least our local laws offer legal recourse in the event. First-time Home Buyers Program/Housing Income Tax Program To Expire BY SHEHETTIZI WOODLEY Staff Writer The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program and the Mortgage Revenue Bond Program, designed to enable first-time home buyers to obtain fixed-rate mortgages at 7.4 percent will expire June 30. According to Gov. James G. Martin, the N.C. Housing Finance Agency has used the MRBP since 1976 to help thousands of lower income families buy homes. The MRBP allows sate housing finance agencies to sell tax-exempt revenue bonds to investors, with out any state obligation. Gov. Martin said that unless the U.S. Congress and the president extend the expiration date, $51.1 million in 30-year, fixed-rate mort gages will not be available to as sist appropriately 925 home buy ers with low and moderate in comes. “By helping working families af ford homes, these mortgages sup port North Carolina's housing in dustry and continuing economic growth for our state,” Gov. Martin said. “New residential construction showed a heartening recovery in the fi st quarter of 1992, compared with a year ago. We need to en courage that excellent trend,” Martin said. More than 47,000 North Caro lina families own homes or live in affordable apartments because of MRBP and the Tax Credit Pro gram. To urge that the programs not be allowed to expire, Gov. Martin last month wrote President Bush’s chief of staff, Samuel Skinner, and members of a committee drafting the administration’s urban relief plan, urging that the extension of to housing programs be included in the plan. “The two programs have proven themselves to be cost-effective in providing housing opportunities for working families who are the backbone of our communities,” Gov. Martin said. “The programs encourage private investment in economically disadvantaged areas, create jobs, and stimulate eco nomic development.” In North Carolina, the two pro grams have supported more than $2 billion in real estate develop ment, generating 16,000 jobs and $150 million in local and state revenues through 1991. NEWS BRIEFS OPERATION BUCKLE DOWN Three Raleigh police offi cers will receive a special “Saved by the Belt” award. All three officers were in volved in serious on-the-job traffic accidents where the use of their seatbelts helped keep them from more seri ous injury or even death. Det. D. Brown and offi cers G.E. Teachey and R-A McLeod received the award at a special press confer ence Wednesday. WAKE HEALTH DEPT. IS “OUTSTANDING” The Wake County De partment of Health has been designated Outstand ing Public Health Depart ment for the Eastern Dis trict North Carolina Public Health Association for 1991. The award recognizes the county for its leadership and innovation in such ar eas as AIDS management, the homeless, the Women, Infants and Children's Pro gram, and the environment. This designation distin guishes the Wake County Health Department from all others in the eastern half of North Carolina as provid ing the most outstanding overall service in the area of public health. WAKE EMS HONORED Wake County Emergency Medical Services has been honored with four of nine annual awards given by the Triangle J Council of Gov ernments EMS Council, which represents Chatham, Durham, Johnston, Orange, Lee and Wake counties. Among the awards re ceived by the county was the Outstanding EMS Pro vider Award for best overall EMS department. Two Wake County EMS employ ees won other awards for individual achievements. GOV. APPOINTS TWO Gov. Jim Martin has ap pointed Sylvester A. White, Jr. of Raleigh and Larry R. Pierce of Wilson to the State Board of Barber Ex aminers. Both will serve until June 30,1993. White is the owner of wniie i oaroer snop in Raleigh. He is the associate pastor at First Baptist Church, vice president of the Capital City Master Barbers Association and a member of the NAACP. Pierce is owner and man ager of Larry and Co. of Wilson. He received his bar ber degree from the Dur (See NEWS BRIEFS, P. 2)