TUESDAY
FAST TRACK RESEARCH
Gordon Burkette Will Attend The Fast Track
Slimmer Research Program AT FSU.
Pago 8
OUTSTANDING TEACHER
Wanda Goins Brockington Was Recently
Named First Runner-Up For Outstanding
NSU Teacher Of The Year.
Page 5
This Week
! In July 1897, more than 130,000
1 blacks were registered to vote in Louisi
1 ana, against 164,000 whites. But by
early 1900, after the new Louisiana con
j stitution had instituted a “poll tax,” only
5,300 blacks in the entire state had the
I right to vote. The same poll tax was
I quickly instituted in other Southern
states.
RALEIGH, N.C.,
VOL. 51, NO. 63
TUESDAY, JUNE 30,1992
N.C. 's Semi-Weekly
DEDICATED TO THE SPIRIT OF JESUS CHRIST
SINGLE COPY |
IN RALEIGH
ELSEWHERE 30C
Residents Want Ministers In Crime Fight
BY CASH MICHAELS
Staff Writer
“I’m mad and I’m scared.”
The words were coming from a
woman who had all four of her
tires cut the morning after she
called police about four gunshots
in the hallway of her apartment
building. The drug dealers “own”
her building, the woman said, viv
idly describing how they boldly
block the entrance, forcing resi
dents to squeeze by, or literally
step over them.
Whether this beleaguered
woman knew it or not, she was
speaking for the whole group. For
the second time in a month, resi
dents of Downtown East neighbor
hoods came to the Wake County
Youth Services Building (formerly
the old Crosby-Garfield Elemen
tary School) Thursday night to dis
cuss how to save their community
from rising crime.
At the first meeting in May, offi
cers with the Raleigh Police
Deportment’s Project COPE (Citi
zen Oriented Police Enforcement)
offered concentrated services, gave
out officers’ beeper numbers, and
gave residents tips on how to help
them do their jobs better.
But residents said that wasn’t
enough. They wanted the City
Council to take stronger measures
and pass stifTer penalties for drug
dealers, prostitutes and muggers,
and they wanted city leaders to
come to them to hear their cry.
Thursday night, Mayor Avery
Upchurch, along with City Man
ager Dempsey Benton, Police Chief
Frederick Heineman and five City
Council members were there, and
they got an earful.
“We need to send a strong mes
sage that crime does not build
neighborhoods,” said Melvin
Whitley, chair and convenor for
the meeting. Whitley is the author
and proponent of three proposals
(See CRIME, P. 2)
i
BOOKER RICE. JR.
Prudential
To Attract
Minorities
BY SHEHETTIZI WOODLEY
Staff Writer
To attract more women and mi
norities as sales representatives, a
leading insurance company has
developed an aggressive market
ing and training program called
“Managing Diversity.”
According to Booker Rice Jr.,
vice president and career market
ing development officer for the
Prudential Insurance Co. of Amer
ica, 85 percent of the new entrants
(See BOOKER RICE, P. 2)
Clinton Clashes With
Blacks, Loses Support
BY CASH MICHAELS
Staff Writer
As an African-American sup
porter of Democratic presidential
candidate Bill Clinton, attorney
Abe Jones is finding out that it
may not be the most popular posi
tion to be in these days. In the af
termath of the Clinton-Jesse
Jackson-Sister Souljah flap, many
in the African-American commu
nity across the country have de
cided that Clinton will do anything
to win the presidency... even in
sult black folks just to attract piv
otal support from white Reagan
Bush Democrats.
So when Jones, a Wake County
commissioner, reiterated his sup
port for the Arkansas governor on
WLLE’s “Let’s Talk” program with
Frank Roberts last Wednesday
night, it was like waving the pro
verbial red flag in front of a be
yond-irritated bull.
“There are two states in the
country that do not have any state
civil rights laws, and Arkansas is
one of them. He insults black
folks. You want us to support
him... for what?” demanded one
irate caller, identified ominously
as “Mr. X.”
The caller noted the poverty in
Arkansas among poor blacks, and
the execution by electric chair of a
mentally disabled African-Ameri
can prisoner several months ago,
not to mention how Rev. Jackson
was embarrassed at the Rainbow
Coalition convention in Washing
ton when Clinton attacked alleged
comments made by rap star Sister
Souljah about “killing white folks.”
“I still support Bill Clinton be
cause he supported the Civil
Rights Act of 1991, and has done
more for black people in 12 years
than has been done in a long
time,” responded Jones. He de
fended Clinton’s record as gover
nor of Arkansas, but was not able
to buttress his position with statis
tics on improved employment op
portunities for Arkansas blacks.
“There you go misleading black
people again about his record. You
want folks to vote for a man that’s
mistreating black Arkansas folks
right now,” charged Mr. X. He said
that Clinton had been very suc
cessful at getting the legislation he
wanted passed, so he certainly
could have done something to help
poor Arkansas blacks.
Jones, now clearly upset with
the caller, pledged to come back
with more facts, and supported
Clinton’s criticism of Sister
Souljah. He agreed that Clinton
(See BILL CLINTON, P. 2)
Newcomer Blends Old & New
‘A touch of Donny Hathaway,
Teddy Pendergrass and Marvin
Gaye with a ’90s twist” is how
R&B newcomer Larry Springfield
describes his style. But listen
closely and you’re sure to hear the
full spectrum of R&B genius from
the Isleys to Parliament-Funk-A
Delic. He seems to have incorpo
rated it all into what he does while
forging his own distinctive flair.
Hie wide scope of his full-bodied
vocals incite a range of emotions
from the stone-cold funk of “PP8,”
to the gritty earthiness of “Don’t
Say No.” His love for spontaneity
shows in his style. So does his ver
satility, though he has a particular
fondness for ballads.
Ironically, he tackles his first
single, “All the Way Love,* an up
tempo soul track, with the same
lustful and robust enthusiasm as
his ballads, capitalizing on his raw
sex appeal while transforming it
into a high-energy rhythmic explo
sion. Still, for the most part,
Springfield says, “I just want to
sing and croon and be mellow...
you know, the red light thing.*
That “red light thing” is what he
believes will ignite today’s audi
■
LARRY SPRINGFIELD
ences; fans that are into Johnny
Gill, Keith Sweat and Keith Wash
ington will also propel him to the
top of the R&B charts. Already , his
dynamic vocal ability has earned
him the 1990-91 male vocalist
semifinalist title on “Star Search.”
“I want to make love to women
with my songs,” Springfield says.
“That ‘I want to do you’ theme that
is prevalent today, I understand,
but it’s not me. My songs say I love
the reason you are you and not
just T just want to do you every
night.’ I try to sing about what 1
think ladies need,” says Spring
field, who admits to being some
what of a ladies’ man. “Sometimes
a man’s sensitivity is out of whack.
Men can be a little insensitive.
They need to go back and re-evalu
ate. That’s what I try to do. Some
times, women need to know that
men are listening. That’s what my
songs are all about. I hear what
women today are saying, and I’m
singing to their needs.”
In an inquiry whose trend is
slowly getting back to “real sing
ing,” Springfield is viewed as a
rarity. “The gimmick now,” he
says, “is really being able to sing.”
Springfield hopes to contribute
greatly to that trend while also
scoring as songwriter/producer/co
producer on his debut project
titled I'm Just a Man.
"And one of my favorites is
‘Stand By My Woman,’” he gra
ciously admits. Singing always
cams easy for Springfield, who
hails from a family with a long ap
preciation for it. He was one of
four children bom to a sewing ma
chine operator and office supervi
sor in Memphis, Tenn., just five
days after the assassination of Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
BLACK JULY FOURTH - African Americans are asked
to make a "Black Declaration of Economic Independence”
on July 4th weekend. The Business Building Society is
sponsoring a black business incubator radiothon to raise
seed money on Saturday, July 4 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon
on WLLE AM 570. Across the street from WLLE, on E.
Martin Street, the greenway park will hold a Mack July
4th celebration featuring the Black Business Business
Expo I. from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., where the public can
purchase items from Mack merchants.
Shaw Professors Returning From
Productive Computer “Boot Camp”
Professors Nadeem Iqbal, Lillian
Cummings, K.P. Satagopan and
Robert Hastings are returning to
Shaw. University after an experi
ence that some participants have
called a “computational boot
camp.” There is no doubt their
work during the Summer Institute
at the N.C. Supercomputing Cen
ter at MCNC was challenging, the
professors say, but it was also very
productive.
The Summer Institute was de
signed to teach computational sci
ence to undergraduate faculty par
ticipants from Shaw and five other
colleges aross the Carolinas. Com
putational science is an interdisci
plinary approach that focuses the
power of high-speed, high-perform
ance supercomputers on math and
science problems that cannot be
solved any other way.
Shaw’s Iqbal, Cummings,
Satagopan, Hastings and the other
faculty at the Summer Institute
learned some of the computational
skills that supercomputing re
quires. The three-week session in
cluded lectures, labs and long
hours as well as hands’ on experi
ence in turning computations into
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
ARMS PROTEST
'The monthly vigil to protest the arms race will be held on Wednes
day, July 1, from noon until 1 p.m. on the Fayetteville Street Mall in
front of the Post Office.
BABY PHOTO CONTEST
A baby photo contest will be sponsored by the Muscular Dystrophy
Association at Service Merchandise on 3117 Shannon Road in Durham
and Crossroads Plaza in Cary. Voting will be held July 4-25, but your
child must be registered before July 4.
Bring any 3x5-inch photo of your baby to the Customer Service desk
at your local Service Merchandise store. Include a $10 entry fee. Only
the first 50 entrants will be accepted. Pictures will be numbered and
displayed on a special contest voting board at Service Merchandise. Any
one may vote by making a donation to MDA and specifying the number
assigned to the child. The child who receives the most donations before
July 25 will win a $100 U.S. Savings Bond. Second place receives a $50
Savings Bond, as does third place. The grand prize winner firom 360
stores nationwide will be pictured in the Service Merchandise 1993
spring catalog.
SPIRIT OF RALEIGH CELEBRATION
Join the festivities on Saturday, July 4, as WTVD-TV 11 anchors
Monica Shuman and John Clark bring Raleigh’s 200th birthday bash
into living rooms across the Heart of Carolina.
The parade—which will be televised from 10 a.m. to noon on
WTVD—will showcase a potpourri of local talent. High-school marching
bands, local military units and clowns will be among the participants.
The celebration will also feature an array of antique cars and memorable
military re-enactments from Tar Heel history.
(Sea CALENDAR, P. 2)
vividly colored, real-life visualiza
tion images on a computer screen.
(See COMPUTER, P. 2)
R.E. JONES
I
Jones To
Be Honored
By State
RJ2. Jones, the late state
agent of the N.C. Agricul
tural Extension Service and
former chairman of the 4-H
foundation, will be perma
nently enshrined in a por
trait unveiling ceremony on
July 17 at 10 a on. in the old
state Capitol building in
Raleigh. Jones will be the
first blaok person so hon
ored by the State of North
Carolina.
Jim Graham, commis
sioner of agriculture, will
host the event. The featured
speaker will be Dr. George
Hyatt, Jr., former director
of the N.C. Agricultural Ex
tension Service, and the in
vocation and benediction
(See ROBERT JONE8, P. 8)