Dept of Cultural
Resources, N.C. State Library
109 East Jones Street
□ olnmh MO 07CAH
RALEIGH, N.C.,
THURSDAY,
JULY 23,1992
VOL. 51, NO. 70
iV.C* *S SbTFII- rr
DEDICATED TO THE SPIRIT OF JESUS CHRIST
iCOPYQC
IN RALEIGH £O0
ELSEWHERE 300
“Twiggy”Sanders, the ‘Clown
Prince of Basketball* comes to
St. Augustine*s College
Page 21
Friends of Distinction celebrate
23rd Anniversary with awards
ceremony & community banquet.
Page 11
Third Annual Family Reunion Day To Chavis
BY CASH MICHAELS
Staff Writer
For the third time in as many
years, the people of Chavis
Heights and Raleigh’s African
American community are invited
to come together as “family” and
have fun, but also combat the
growing specter of drugs.
This Saturday, July 25, th
Friends Committee Against th
Spread of Drugs and AIDS, Inc
presents the third annual African
American Family Reunion, a da;
of events for the whole African
American family, and a celebra
tion of the positive aspects of the
5 black community,
s “We want to fight negativity by
. inviting the community to come
- out and spend the day with us,”
r said James Goode, one of the
- event’s coordinators.
The day begins with a march
and parade from Moore Square
downtown to Chavis Park, in
Chavis Heights, at 10 a.m. Once
there, the celebration and activi
ties begin, with programs, exhib
its, prizes and much, much more.
“At 11 a.m. well have our ath
letic events, with the 100-vard
dash and the 60-yard dash, as well
as other events that children can
enter,” Goode said. Throughout
the day, there will also be R&B,
gospel and rap music, along with
free refreshments.
This day of family fun most cer
tainlv has a Doint to it. and t.bnt
point will be crystallized when Ms.
Jessie Copeland, head of the Ten
ants Association in Chavis
Heights, is honored by the Friends
Committee at 1 p.m. with a plaque
for her leadership in trying to rid
(See CHAVIS HEIGHTS. P. 2)
Traffic Tkt.
Aftermath
May Prompt
Challenger
BY CASH MICHAELS
suer Writer
In the aftermath of his traffic
ticket controversy, state Sen. Jo
seph Johnson may now not only
face serious Republican opposition
to re-election, but the possibility of
a write-in Democratic challenger,
and observers say that challenger
could come from the African
American community.
Only now has the heat and con
troversy subsided from Sen.
Johnson’s attempt earlier this
month to have a traffic ticket for
an alleged seatbelt violation dis
missed on the grounds that he was
a member of the Legislature.
Johnson also tried unsuccessfully
to have the two Raleigh police offi
cers responsible for the ticket
fired.
Public outrage over the incident
was so intense that Johnson was
forced to apologize on the floor of
the state Senate last week, after
he went to the Wake County
Courthouse and paid the ticket.
With Johnson running for re
election in November, Republicans
right away saw him vulnerable,
and floated the prospect of Wake
County Commissioner Merrie
Hedrick, a Republican, running
against Johnson as a write-in can
didate. Hedrick has not confirmed
whether she will indeed run.
But while Hedrick is considering
the idea, some of Sen. Johnson’s
fellow Democrats who haven’t
been too fond of him for quite some
time are also pondering the possi
bilities of a Democratic write-in
challenger, and this one could be
African-American.
Though no names have been <■
mentioned yet, a former challenger
to Sen. Johnson, Harold Webb,
told The CAROLINIAN that be
cause of Johnson’s poor record on
important issues to the African
American community, now is the
time to challenge his seat.
“It is in fact possible to identify
a number of pieces of legislation of
unique interest to the black com
munity that he did not support,”
said Webb, formerly the director of
the state personnel office and a
(See JOHNSON MAY, 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 records and does not necessarily mean those
mentioned are guilty of crimes.
MAKES OFF WITH MOPED
Seventeen-year-old Frankie Williams of 514 Ashford street was
charged with larceny. Police say Williams allegedly stole a moped be
longing to Larry McCoy, Jr. of 2718 Milbumie Road. The location of the
crime was Williams’ address.
KNIFE ASSAULT
Ren6 Michelle Davis, 25, of 6708-A Glendover, was charged with
assault with a deadly weapon with intent to do bodily harm. Police say
Davis allegedly stabbed and cut 27-year-old Vincent Herbert Davis (be
lieved to be her husband) with a knife. Davis was taken to Wake Medical
Center for treatment of his wounds.
ATTEMPTED RAPE
Jesse Kornegay, 38, of “Anywhere Raleigh” was charged with at
tempted rape and assault with intent to do bodily injury. Police say
Kornegay allegedly attempted forcible rape on an unknown victim, who
reported the crime. The victim was taken to Wake Medical Center for
treatment.
ASSAULT ON A FEMALE
Thirty-year-old James Arthur Duncan of 1508 Poole Road was
charged with assault on a female. Police say Duncan allegedly struck 31
year-old Evonne Dunn of the same address with his fist.
(See CREME BEAT, P. 2)
EAGER PARTICIPANTS — For five weeks Gloria
Whitehurst, top photo, a sophomore at St'. Augustine’s
College, majoring in elementary education was a safe bus
driver and substitute parent for the school’s National
Youth Sports Program (NYSP). “The kids are always
ready and on time to attend the variety of recreational and
educational activities,” said Whitehurst, a native of
Greenville, while making one of her stops in southeast
Raleigh at Foxridge Manor. Pictured approaching the bus
are Sophia Douglas, Schquinta Patterson, Angela Taylor
and Brian Davis. Approximately 300 kids participated in
the NYSP. (Photo by James Giles)
African Americans Play Major
Role In Democratic Confab
BY VINCENT THOMPSON
NNPA News Service
The Democratic National Con
tention in New York City’s Madi
lon Square Garden was the place
vhere the party for a while put far
tut of sight all its squabbles from
the primaries and made it look—a
least on the surface—that every
one loves party presidential nomi
nee, Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton
and his vice -residential running
mate, Tennessee Sen. A1 Gore.
It took months of work and plan
ning behind the scenes to maki
everything go smoothly and t<
make things look just right for th<
40.000 visitors who descended or
the “Big Apple.”
Included in that 40,000 figure
were 15,000 members of the me
dia from around the world; almos
5.000 delegates and alternates
500 foreign dignitaries, and num
bers of specially invited guests, in
eluding South African leader Nel
son Mandela. African-American!
played key roles in this year’:
Democratic Convention and domi
nated the movers and shakers po
sitions at the convention.
Democratic National Committes
and Democratic National Conven
tion Committee chairman Ron
Brown, the first-ever black to leac
the party, had African-Americans
Alexis Herman as convention chiel
executive officer, Mario Cooper as
convention manager, and Frahk
William, Jr. as the convention
chief financial officer.
Brown, 50, was elected party
chairman in February 1989. He
leads the charge nationwide to
elect Democratic candidates to
various state and local offices, plus
raise the millions of dollars needed
to help the party win elections.
He also has gotten involved in
trying to settle squabbles between
the party’s past presidential candi
dates to minimize damage to the
Clinton-Gore ticket during and af
ter the convention.
The convention was a homecom
ing of sorts for Brown since he
grew up about 100 blocks from
Madison Square Garden, in Har
lem, where his father managed the
Theresa Hotel.
(See BLACKS LEAD, P. 2)
martin street Baptist
Observes 123rd Year
BY ALLIE M. PEEBLES
Contributing Writer
The members of Martin Street
Baptist Church celebrated the
church’s 123rd anniversary and
15th homecoming recently. The
celebration was held on three dif
ferent dates: July 8,11 and 12.
On Wednesday, July 8, at 7
p.m., the church held expanded
Bible study and prayer meeting.
Music was furnished by the Gospel
Choir.
On Saturday, July 11, the obser
vance began at 1 p.m. and ended
at 5 p.m. It included a celebration
of yesteryear, entertainment, rec
reation and a family picnic.
The “yesteryear” emphasis was
centered around videos, slides, and
pictures that portrayed the growth
of Martin Street Church. Artifacts
of the years 1869 and up were
shown. It was in 1869 that a small
group of citizens from Southeast
Raleigh gathered in private homes
and in the shoe shop of Mr. and
Tightening Of Child
Support Enforcement Makes
Unmarried Spouses Pay Up
BY ERIK ECKHOLM
Special to The CAROLINIAN
The goal is worthy: When a child
is born out of wedlock, establish
paternity and make sure the fa
ther helps support his offspring.
The record is sorry: as of 1989,
only one in four unwed mothers
had a child-support order in place
compared to three in four divorced
mothers, and even fewer actually
received payments.
Now, enforcement is tightening
up. If mothers apply for welfare
they are pressured to name the fa
ther. Increasingly, for divorced
and never-married fathers alike,
support payments are deducted
from paychecks right along with
taxes.
But the child support system,
well suited for collecting from
middle-class divorced parents,
runs into special problems when
poor, unmarried parents and wel
fare are involved.
The way the welfare system
handles support payments can re
duce the incentive for some moth
ers to name fathers, or for fathers
to pay. By federal law, when the
mother is on welfare, support
money goes to the state and fed
eral governments. Only an extra
$50 a month is added to her wel
fare payment. Therefore, many
parents prefer that the father con
tribute money on the side so the
family will get it all.
The inflexibility of child-support
laws also causes problems for fa
thers who work only sporadically.
With a support order in place, a
father must pay whether he is
working or not. Some fall far be
hind, end up owing the state tens
of thousands of dollars and face
jail for nonpayment.
In experiments around the coun
try, fathers have had support obli
gations suspended while they
train for better-paying jobs, and
the mother receives her welfare
grant in any case.
Even better, some experts say,
would be a new approach to the
setting of obligations. Courts usu
ally set support levels at a fixed
amount per week, reflecting the
father’s present income. When the
father is poor the amount may be
as low as $10, and adjusting it of
ten requires cumbersome legal
procedures.
It would make more sense to set
Mrs. Virgil Anderson, and formed
the Baptist Interest Group.
The following were the founders
of Martin Street Church: Mr. and
Mrs. Anderson, Ms. Betsy Ander
son, Edmund Hill, Leonard Mor
gan, Weldon Redric, Edward
Smith, and Eaton Williams, Sr.
‘Talents on Display” was the
theme of the second component of
the Saturday celebration. The
theme for the entire celebration
was “Continuing the Dream: Fresh
Endeavors—Greater Accomplish
ments—New Victories.” Mildred
Love gave a reading titled “Thanks
for Our Children,” after which
Juanda Holley performed an Afri
can dance.
Following the “dream” theme, a
participant recited quotes from
Harriet Tubman portraying efforts
toward freedom. Next was the reci
tation of Langston Hughes’ poem,
“A Dream Deferred.” A piano se
(See MARTIN STREET, P. 2)
obligations as a percentage of the
father’s income that would auto
matically change with his earnings
over time, says Dr. Irwin Gar
finkel of Columbia University, an
authority on child support.
This, he said, could reap more
money in the future, as the
father’s income rises, as it usually •
does even in welfare cases. On the
other side, when the father’s in
come drops, large, uncollectable
arrears would not pile up.
For true “deadbeat dads” this
might eliminate some of the pres
sure to find a job and pay support.
But Dr. Garfinkel contends that
any losses would be more than off
set by more frequent declarations
of paternity, the crucial basis of all
future collections.
NEWS BRIEFS
OPTIMIST
FUNDRAISER
The Optimist Club of
Southeast Raleigh will hold
its annual Great Raleigh
Fish Fry fundraiser dinner
on the corner of Tarboro
Road and Martin Street on
Aug. 8 from 11 a.m. until 6
p.m. Andre L. Tiller, public
relations director, said the
club has received great sup
port from the community
and now “invites the whole
family to come and dine
under the shade of our new
tent, with available seat
ing.”
PENNEY WINS SUIT
DISMISSAL
Wake Superior Court
Judge Donald Stephens
threw out a lawsuit against
J.C. Penney’s jewelry adver
tising Monday, ruling that
the state’s unusual prosecu
tion singled out one store
for a practice that is com
mon throughout the state.
Prosecutors, who had
studied Penney’s jewelry
pricing for more than a
year at North Hills Mall,
complained that the retail
giant inflated its regular
prices with markups as
high as five to six times
cost, then advertised dis
counts of up to 60 percent
off regular prices.
ADMINISTRATIVE
APPOINTMENT
Pryce Baldwin, Jr.,, a
teacher at Carnage GT
Middle School, has been
appointed manager of the
Helping Hands Project, ef
fective Aug. 1.
FRAUD UNIT
RECOVERS $600,000
Ann Q. Duncan, chair
man of the Employment Se
curity Commission, an
nounced that $594,836 was
recovered during the sec
ond quarter when 407 pe
ople were tried and 406 con
victed of filing false unem
ployment insurance claims.
More than 1,600 cases
were examined during the
second quarter by 90 fraud
investigators who are sta
tioned across North Caro
lina.
T