THE 'M' VOICEEASTERN NORTH CAROLINA'S MINORITY VOICE - SINCE 1987Five Human Service OrganizatUnited Way of Pitt County Venture GrantsThe United Way of Pitt Countywill not only benefit and supportits 33 local member-agencies inPitt County, the organization willalso be helping five additionalagencies in 1994. These five agen-cies will be receiving oventuregrants? this year to assist them inserving the needs of their clients.The venture grant funds are one-time start-up money totalling$33,810.oThis money will go to agenciesthat are addressing emerging anddiverse needs and that have im-mediate and significant impact inPitt County and to try to help morethis community, said BernitaDemery, Venture Grant Commit-tee Chair.Mrs. Demery said that themoney is given to enhance theorganizationTs long-term plan tobe acommunity problem-solver inKenyetta SharpecrownedoMiss Martin Luther King, Jr.?In a beauty pageant sponsoredby the Men of Juday as a tribute toDr. Martin Luther King, Jr., heldon Saturday, January 15, MissKenyatta Sharpe, daughter of Mr.and Mrs. David Langley ofGreenville, was crowned Queen.Miss Sharpe, who was crownedQueen on the eve ofher thirteenthbirthday is a seventh grader atWellcome Middle School. She wascrowned Queen by Keshia Rodgersof Williamston, Miss MartinLuther King, Jr., 1993.First place runner-up was MissRenee Bell of Williamston. Renee,daughter of Mrs. Alfreda Bell, is asixteen year old sophomore atWilliamston High School.Second place runner-up wasMiss Tenesha Davette ofGreenville, daughter of Mrs.Brenda Coggins. She is a sixteenyear old sophomore at J.H. RoseHigh School.Third place runner-up was MissApril Michelle Sutton, daughter ofMr. and Mrs. Jimmy Sutton ofGreenville. She is aseventeen yearoldsenior atJ.H. Rose High School.Fourth place runner-up wasMiss Kerketia Quinerly of Ayden,daughter of Mrs. Janice Quinerlyand Mr.Clarence Dixon. Kerketiais a seventeen year old senior atJ.H. Rose High School.Other contestants were:Miss Artisha Harris, sixteenyear old daughter of Mr. and Mrs.Nathaniel Powell of Greenville, isajunior at North Pitt High School.Miss Quameerah Rogers, elevenyear old daughter of Mr. and Mrs.Michael Rogers of Greenville, is afourth grader at Elmhurst School.Miss Victoria Rhinehart, fifteenyear old daughter of Mrs. UvernaJordan of Greenville, is a fresh-man of North Pitt High School.These beautiful young ladies areall winners as was displayed onJanuary 15, before all present, andwe encourage them and otheryoung women and men to pursuethe God given talents that havebeen instilled in each of them.Essay: Finding A Space For MyselfIn A QuestionBy Kathe SandlerI am a Black American womanfrom an interracial background.In most, of the world, someone _who looks like me, with sandyblonde hair, green eyes " a personwho looks White " would not beconsidered Black. And yet becauseI am an American, raised in asociety with a legacy of slavery,apartheid and the oone-drop?theory of Blackness, I was raised asaBlack person and identify myself as Black.Color consciousness has left alingering imprint on Black Ameri-can life. During the early days ofslavery, a caste system emerged inour community which valued lightskin color, straight hair texture,and oEuropean? features as aphysical ideal. oMulatto? childrenof White masters were limited op-portunities. Ingrainedin the multi-hued and ethnically varied Afri-can-American population, theseWhite racist values continue toaffect us today, despite the impactof the oBlack is Beautiful? move-ment of the 1960s and 70s andtodayTs resurgence of Afrocentrism.Ihave spent the last eight yearsexploring this lingering internal-ized racism for my documentary,A Question of Color (airing onvePBS), but, in many ways, I hafg a this film all ofOf Colorofhoto of newly freed slaves is featured in A Questioncolor, Kathe Sandler's documentary about color=consciousness in the African American communitypeople I talked to and worked with.People shared hidden, painfulstories with me about tensionsbetween best friends, family mem-bers, lovers, spouses and commu-nity leaders. The young womenwhose boyfriend wouldnTt bring herhome to meet his mother becauseshe was otoo dark,? and the firstBlack mayor of a Southern citywho had to overcome not onlyWhite segregation but color andclass discrimination in the Blackcommunity as well. There wasWiley, a light-skinned young manwho admitted to preferring lightskinned women withlong hair andayin, a young dark-| who wantedworking-class woman whose toughgirl image was designed to keep otherBlack people from. messing with her.At every turn I was confrontingmy own existential pain aroundcolor. This became particularlyevident during the segment con-cerning two teenage boys"Keithand Keyonn. Keithislightskinned,Keyonn is darker. While these bestfriends acknowledged that eachwas treated differently in the Blackcommunity, they had never dis-cussed the reason for this differ-ence. Ironically, Keith andKeyonnTs experiences were analo-gous to the ways in which my 818-oter (and associate producer) Eveand were treated, something thatown family was not immuneissue of color and prefer-4 *people in Pitt County.The agencies selected range fromthose helping at-risk children toadults who are unemployed.The largest grant of $8,610 wasawarded to Florence CrittentonServices (formerly Eastern NorthCarolina Maternity Home). Ven-ture grant funds will serve as amatch of other grant money andpermit the home to operationalizea kitchen to serve the nutritionalneeds of their clients. These fundsare contingent upon the success-ful merger of ENCMH and Flo-rence Crittenton Services.Foundation for the Future, anafter-school enrichment programadministered through theGreenville Police Department re-ceived $8,310. This program tar-gets youth from low-income com-munities for character-building,monitoring, and participatory ac-tivities. The funds will support theoDiscipline Equals Growth? com-ponent of the program that in-volves students in martial arts,drama, dance, and visual arts.A $7,000 venture grant wasawarded to Opportunities Indus-trialization Center/O.1.C.Thispro- _Beatrice Maye ColumnTo the Editor:oWould America have beenAmerica without her Negropeople?? said Dr.W.E.B. DuBois.Dr. Carter G. Woodson, thefounder of Negro History Week in1926, later becoming African-~American (Black) History Monthin 1976, had as its purpose to helppeople reflect upon and celebratethe outstanding tradition of edu-cational, cultural, and spiritualexcellence among blacks; forBlacks have contributed to thevery building of this country withtrue blood, sweat and tears. EachteacherTs lesson plans, regardlessof grade level, could and shouldreflect, it,This is the 69th observance ofthis remarkable celebration whichhas for its theme - 1994 -oEmpow-ering African-American Organi-zations: Past, Present and Fu-ture.?1-Has the observance become asymbol or a burden?2 - Do setting aside one monthin the year invite people to forgetabout Black accomplishments,achievements and recognitions therest of the year?3- Does the observance appeasewhite guilt or is it a means toexploit Blacks?4 - Does knowledge not lessenprejudice and racial barriers?5 - Do books and curricula up-grade so schools can teach Afri-can-American history the entireyear rather than one month?6 - Is education complete with-out Black culture? Africa and Af-rican-Americans are an indispens-able part of American culture.7 - Does any instructor bar hisstudents from wanting to be awareof African-Americans?8- Do history books equally dis-cuss BlacksT contributions to in-FEBRUARY 17-23, 1994gram provides counseling, moti-vational, and support services forunemployed and underemployedpeople. The funds would providesupport for job development andmotivational training. The orga-nization currently serves 31 cli-ents.Communities in Schools/C.1.S.received a $5,000 venture grantfrom the United Way. This pro-gram works with 63 at-risk stu-dents at D.H. Conley through thePitt County Education Founda-tion in an effort to keep them inschool. The funds will allow a spe-cial parental component to be ini-tiated.For the $4,890 venture grant,the Pitt County Coalition on Ado-lescent Pregnancy will develop apilot program in the Ayden schooldistrict called T.E.A.M. (TeensEmpowering And Making a differ-ence). This program will involve aminimum of 30 at-risk studentsfrom grades six through eight tobe able to utilize teen fathers andmothers as young adult resources.Each of these venture grant re-cipients was required to experi-ions Receivecommittee. Ten applications to-from the United WayTs VentureGrant committee that required anapplication and presentation to thetaling $107,837 in requests forventure grant funding were re-ceived by the committee.The committee that made theseventure grant recommendationsfor the United Way of Pitt Countywas comprised of local volunteers.The chair of the committee wasBernita Demery of the City ofGreenville. Other members were:Cherie Evans, The Daily Reflec-tor, Mike Barrett, Proter & GamblePaper Products Co., Inc., JohnBulow, County of Pitt, and MiltonCarney, City of Greenville.The United Way of Pitt Countyhas been awarding venture grantsyearly since 1992 when a total of$70,000 was awarded to seven lo-cal programs. In 1993 funds total-ing $83,532 were awarded to tenhuman-service programs.The United Way of Pitt Countyis a non-profit organization thatsupports 33 member agencies dedi-cated to serving the human healthcare needs of people of all ages andwalks of life.ence an in-depth review processventions, writing or heroic women(as well as other disciplines) in thesame breath with non-minorities?It is unfortunate that Dr. Mar-tin Luther King, Jr., the secondAmerican to be honored with anational holiday, is not given anequal placein our hearts and mindsas the first American, GeorgeWashington. Rarely do we hearabout Dr. King on or around hisbirthday, January 15 or the thirdMonday annually in January.Prejudice is essentially an out-growth of ignorance. The effect ofprejudice is devastating.Benjamin Banneker, the math-ematical genius said, oThe color ofthe skin is in no way connectedwith strength of the mind or intel-lectual powers.?LetTs give African-American His-tory Month its rightful place.Beatrice MayeThe BeTs For 19941 - Be understanding to yourenemies. |2 - Be loyal to your friends.3 - Be strong enough to face theworld each day.4 - Be weak enough to know thatyou cannot do everything alone.5 - Be generous to those whoneed your help.6 - Be wise enough to know thatyou do not know everything.7 - Be foolish enough to believein miracles.8 - Be willing to share your joys.9 - Be willing to share the joys ofothers.10 - Be a leader when you see apath others have missed.11 - Be a follower when you areshrouded by the mists of uncer-tainty.12 - Be the last to criticize acolleague who fails.13 - Be sure where your nextstep will fall, so that you will notstumble.14 - Be loving to those who loveyou.15 - Be loving to those who do notlove you and they may change.16 - Above all be YOURSELF.From: Dr. C.C. CraigAre You Practicing Good Char-acter?Then you should:Be a good friend.Desire to do the right thing andao it.Every deed should be a gooddeed.Be responsible, kind, fair, pa-tient, honest, control self, love, careand share.Work hard toward your goal.Show school spirit.Smile.DonTt talk about school, yourteachers, your classmates.Spend time with an older person.Finish your homework and doyour best.Cheer up a sick friend.Compliment your teachers, par-ents and classmates.Crime, Violence,Misbehavior ...We will never solve our crimeand drug problems simply by hav-ing more police, more prisons, morejudges and more juries. We willsolve our problems only when allparents are held responsible fortheir children. This statement hasbeen repeated so many times. It istime for us to hear it now.Parents who attend parent/teacher conferences, provide aquiet place to study, read withtheir children, participate in schoolactivities, screen TV programs,limiting its viewing; in fact, par-ents who are involved with theirchildren do better in school and inlife. Think of the impact this couldhave on promoting education andreducing crime.Teenagers, how much enjoy-ment/satisfaction is there our ofsex, wallowing around in the backseat of acar with a boy who zips uphis pants and goes home? Are yourespecting yourselves, are they notirresponsible males having fun atyour expense? How much assis-tance do you get from these boyswhen you are pregnant or evensupporting them after birth? Dothey stick with you, marry you ordo they jump on another girl, re-leasing their passion? Grow up,girls. Senseless sex is sickening.Teenagers should be concentrat-ing on their books/studies insteadof concentrating on sex. IfyoudonTtstart it, you'll have noting to worryabout,Mothers, grandmothers, if youlet these teenagers be solely re-sponsible for theirchildren/babies,you would help instead of encour-aging. Oh, yes, these are challeng-ing, self-examination statements.Note: Excerpts from AnnLanders