Eastern North Carolina'sMinority VoiceWhat You See Is What You Get, WhatYou Read Is What You Know & SaveTHE 'M' VOICENorth CarolinaEASTERN NORTH CAROLINA'S MINORITY VOICE - SINCE 1987Arrington named 1994 PresidentalAwards to bepresented at WhiteHouse CeremonyMarvin Arrington has beennamed one of 21 winners of thePresident Ts Volunteer ActionAwards. Chosen from more than5,000 nominations nationwide,Marvin Arrington will be honoredby President Clinton at a WhiteHouse ceremony.In 1987, Marvin Arrington andhis wife, restaurant owners in alow-income neighborhood knownfor substance abuse, crime andviolence, noticed that children of-ten wandered aimlessly afterschool cutside his business with-out supervision. Out of concern forthe children Ts safety, he beganinviting them into the restaurantfor help with homework. In 1986,he established the Little WillieCenter, a tutoring and mentoringprogram which provides an alter-native for children to being homeor on the streets alone. Approxi-mately 45 children ages 3 to 18participate daily in this programadministered by more than 60 vol-unteers who serve as tutors andsupervise educational and recre-ational activities.President Clinton firmly sup-ports volunteer community ser-vice as the promise of our Nationand the positive force that bindsus together: oToday we are takinga stand in this country for theproposition that if we challengepeople to serve and we give themachance to fulfill their abilities, moreand more and more we will allunderstand that we must go for-ward together. �The White House ceremony willtake place during National Volun-teer Week April 17-23. Since 1974,National Volunteer Week hasgiven nonprofit organizations, cor-porations and Volunteer Centersacross the country the opportu-nity to thank the 94 million peoplewho volunteer over $176 billionworth of time every year, address-ing serious social problems suchas homelessness, hunger, AIDSand child abuse.The awards program is co-spon-sored by The Points of Light Foun-dation and the Corporation forNational Service, which adminis-ters the President Ts national ser-Vice programs.The final judges include RobbieCallaway, assistant national di-The plight of FrazierThe North Carolina State Barhas declared him as perhaps theleading african-american trial law-yer in the state. Ironically, thissame man has been targeted fordisbarment which led to his finan-cial and professional downfall. Hisname "Reginald Frazier.Reginald oRex � Frazier, who haspracticed law for 30 years, is thefirst african-american to competeand contend for political power inrunning for Lt. Governor. Frazieralso made history as the firstafrican-american to seek to cam-paign statewide for the North Caro-lina Supreme Court. However, 3years ago, Frazier Ts law careercame to a halt.It began in the mid 1980 Ts, whenone of Frazier Ts clients filed a com-plaint against him. The client,described as an oelderly blackman �, claimed that Frazier failedto collect $750 for ajudgment wonagainst a neighbor who cut downthe client Ts collard plants with alawnmower. The client, who re-portedly paid Frazier a $300 fee torepresent him, took the complaintto another lawyer who then tookthis complaint to the North Caro-lina State Bar.Subsequently, the state bar tookthis complaint as one more markagainst Frazier Ts record. Frazieralso added that the bar initiated acomplaint against him whichcharged Frazier with attemptingto induce his client to sign a state-ment that was untrue. With thesecomplaints on Frazier Ts record, theNorth Carolina State Bar deemedit necessary to disbar him - leavinghim with no employment and ashattered reputation.Frazier, known as an advocatefor african-american civil rights,later explained that the $750 judg-ment was labeled as an ouncollectible judgement �. This isdue to the fact that the neighborcharged with destroying theclient Ts property could not be foundunder the name given by the cli-ent. According to Frazier, the cli-ent later confessed that someonewho is a member of the state barpaid him $300 for his testimonyagainst Frazier.The director of the state bar,who reportedly initiated this ac-tion against Frazier, was himselfdisbarred in 1993 for embezzling$1 million over a period of 16 years.Frazier said that he hopes to usethis evidence (bribery) to show thatthere was a personal vendetta in-volved and that the bar Ts decisionto disbar him was unconstitu-tional. currently, Frazier is wait-ing for a $3 million resolution out-side of Federal Court. He said that$3 million would cover the finan-cial losses he suffered while beingdisbarred.Surprisingly, this case is not anisolated one, Only 2 1/2 percent ofall lawyers in the state of NorthCarolina are Black. According toFrazier, fifty percent of all disbar-ments is suffered by black Law-yers.Frazier said, oIf they doit tome,they can do it to them. � He contin-ued to say that the african-american kids who attend lawschools will always suffer the bruntPICTURED HERE ARE Reginald Frazier, Jr. aand ReginaldFrazier, Sr.of racial prejudice "which is whatwe have been trying to eliminatefrom the political structure.Frazier has filed a petition toenlarge a record on federal districtcourt (Eastern District) to showthe federal court that this is anaction of racial prejudice. also,Frazier stated that he wants toshow that racism should have noplace in the justice process. oWe the black community can-not allow racism to exist because itwill stop us as a group and indi-vidually, � said Frazier. He con-cluded by issuing a challengeafrican-americans. The challenge ~is this "that we participate in theelectoral process and become en-trepreneurs because it is our re-sponsibility and our duty to takeadvantage of our rightsWatt says new districtvital to electionBy Estes ThompsonAssociated Press WriterRep. Mel Watt, one of NorthCarolina Ts two black representa-tives in Congress, testified hecouldn Tt have gotten elected with-out a new district that favoredminorities.Watt, who represents the 12thDistrict, testified before a three-judge federal panel hearing achal-lenge to the state Ts redistricting,which created two districts inwhich blacks are the majoritypopulation. Watt is one of thestate Ts first two black congressionalrepresentatives elected this cen-tury.*I really never contemplated(running) until the districts as theyare currently configured were cre-ated, � said Watt, a lawyer whomanaged local and state cam-paigns before running for officehimself. oThis is clearly North Carolina Tsurban district, � he added. Wattsaid the urban communities in thedistrict that snakes from Gastoniato Durham share many intereststo be addressed in Congress, suchas housing, affordable credit, jobs,transportation and banking.The trial adjourned after finalrebuttal witnesses, including aformer Republican legislator whotried to influence redistricting.Closing arguments are scheduledto begin at 9 a.m. April 18 and thejudges will rule later.Watt testified that he has officesin Durham, Greensboro and Char-lotte that are staffed by local resi-dents and that he has roving rep-resentatives that visit constituentsin other towns. oMy thinking was this was a_ congressional district of people whofeel like they have not had good(Continued on page two) fTe ee eee ne eerector of Boys and Girls Clubs ofAmerica; Lin Dawson, Center forStudy of Sport in Society; JamesJoseph, president of Council ofFoundations; Leroy Keith, presi-dent of Morehouse College; ZoeMikva, Advocacy Institute; FrankPearl, chairman of RappahannockInvestment Company; LyndaJohnson Robb; Beatriz Salazar,director of Bea Ts Kids and 1993President Ts Volunteer ActionAwards winner; Deborah Szekely;Rolette Thomas, SEA fellow.The awards are presented in fourcategories: Human Services; Edu-cation; Environment; PublicSafety.Funders for the President Ts Vol-unteer Action Awards programinclude: Ford Motor Company;W.K. Kellogg Foundation; Aid As-sociation for Lutherans (AAL);Avon Products Inc.; GTE Founda-tion; Knights of Columbus Su-preme Council; Ryder System, Inc.Founded in 1990, The Points ofLight Foundation is a nonparti-_ an, nonprofit organization dedi-cated to motivating leaders tomobilize others for community ser-vice directed at solving the mostserious social problems facing so-ciety today.The Corporation for Nationaland Community Service, estab-lished by the National and Com-"APRIL S 9- 15,15 1994Award Honoree.munity Service Trust Act of 1993,combines two independent federalagencies, the Commission on na-tional and Community Service andACTION, the federal domestic vol-unteer agency.In 1987, Marvin Arrington andhis wife, restaurant owners in alow-income neighborhood knownfor substance abuse, crime andviolence, noticed that children of-ten wandered aimlessly afterschool outside the restaurant.many were unsupervised becausetheir parents had low-paying jobsthat did not allow for the expenseof child care. Out of concern fortheir safety, he began invitingthem into the restaurant to gethelp with their homework, playvideo games and receive personalguidance when needed.Mr. Arrington formalized hisefforts to care for these latch-keychildren by establishing the LittleWillie Center, a tutoring andmentoring program. Located in abuilding near the restaurant, theLittle Willie Center, a tutoring andmentoring program. Located in abuilding near the restaurant, theLittle Willie Center is open Mon-day through Friday from 2:30 p.m.to 6:30 p.m. eighty percent of the45 children are from single-parentfamilies; nearly all the familiesare low-income.The Center is run by volunteers;parents are asked to volunteer twohours per week in lieu of paying afee for their child Ts care. More than60 volunteers including parents,teachers, local church membersand students form East CarolinaUniversity, work with the children,who range in age from 3-18.Each afternoon, groups of threeto five students work with tutorson their homework. If the studentdo not have homework, the tutorsmake assignments in their areasof academic weakness. The young-sters are also encouraged to readat least 15 minutes each day. Afteran hour of tutoring, they partici-pate in recreational activities orcrafts projects and receive a nutri-tious meal. The volunteers whoserve as mentors, working andplaying with the children, are re-quired to adhere to strict rules ofconduct. Several of the childrenhaveimproved their school grades;most are at least maintaining theirgrade point average.Mr. Arrington, whom many ofthe children look to as a fatherfigure, helps with the youngstersbasketball team each Monday.Because many of the children haveasked to attend the Little WillieCenter of the weekends and holi-days, he has organized weekendrecreational and educational ac-tivities. ~Stop the Violence �: Theblack family conferenceBy Jackie RuffinHampton University held it Ts16th annual Black Family Confer-ence March 23-25, 1994. The key-note speaker for March 23 was theReverend Jessie Jackson. Themeeting was held in HamptonUniversity Ts Convention Centerfrom 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. with thetopic being oA Call to Disarm. �Many schools came to participatein the conference. The conferenceheld special attention on the issueof oSustaining and EnhancingMinority Communities: A Chal-lenge to Eliminate Handguns. �Dr. William Harvey, Presidentof Hampton University said, oThere should be concrete actionof developing a strategy to defecthandguns. � oI look forward to theday when we can all say, the mad-ness has seized, � pronouncedHarvey. oReverend Jackson is arole model for justice, a role modelfor movement, � complimentedHarvey.Reverend Jackson began hisspeech with emphasis on the vot-ing rights issue. oFor the right tovote two Jews were bull-dozed todeath, for the right to vote a mannamed Jimmy Jackson was shotand killed in cold blood, for theright to vote a white woman wascalled a nigger lover, for the rightto vote Medgar Evers was killed,for the right to vote four babieswere killed in a church, exclaimedJackson.Jackson affirmed, oThe youthshould put hope over dope, givelife and peace a chance, exalt val-ues, turn pain into power and moveon tohigherground. � Jackson said. oSo much bleeding, suffering anddying, self inflicted wounds, self-ish behavior has caused man tobecome sick.The majority of the studentsstood when Jackson asked, oWhoknows of someone at school whosells drugs? How many of you knowsomebody on drugs? How many ofyou know someone witharms? How _many of you know someone whohas killed someone? � Few studentsstood when Jackson questioned, oHow many of you have told orwould tell on a drug dealer? oYour silence is a covenant withdeath, your silence allows drugs toincubate, mature and explode inyour face, put your life in death, �exclaimed Jackson. oToday we killmore than the lynching in our coun-try, � pronounced Jackson. oBlackskill Blacks, Whites kill Whites,the poor kill the poor, � state Jack-son. oPut down the guns, � repre-hended Jackson. oWe are condi-tioned to except violence as a wayof life, it Ts time for re-examina-tion, � declared Jackson.Jackson explained, oThreestrikes and you re out is a quick fixbut not a solution. � oThe solutionsare in programs dealing with pre-natal care, headstart and access tocollege, early intervention, notdelayed reaction, � expoundedJackson. oWe shall be transformed by therenewal of our minds, � stated Jack-son. The Shadow Senator (Jack-son) of Washington, DC said therewas a need for more recreation forthe youth in Washington, DC andthroughout America. He also be-lieves that recreation can enhancethe attitudes of the youth. oThereis nothing more powerful in theworld than amade up mind, � statedJackson. oPut the weight on you tostop the violence, because slavemasters do not retire, those whomanufacture drugs will not giveup, we must have the power todismiss them, power in the mind, �said Jackson. oAs long as the media can focuson the police, there is no space todiscuss health care, scholarshipsand jobs, � claimed Jackson. TheCivic Activist said that African-Americans should register to votebecause they will have more powerin the legal system.Jackson explained how there isan existing fallacy in reachinggoalsin Amenica, oAt Risk, Clintonwas at risk, now he Ts in the WhiteHouse. � oUse what you got andmove on to higher heights, reiter-ated Jackson. Social influencessuch as, Gangster Rap, has be-come a part of the senatorialagenda. The Shadow Senator wasin disagreement with the socialcommunication in the lyrics ofGangster Rap, othose who makebabies have an obligation to. raisebabies. We must raise the babiesthat we make! � oI leave these challenges withyou: A. Take your child to school,B. Meet your child Ts teacher, C.Exchange phone numbers of par-ent and teacher, D. Turn off your(Continued on page three)rhe} ro ¥ ei: . rysister Chreky A White and fer rhonand at a i for blackprofessionals, Sister White who is running for re-election inMay 3 Primary urges everyone to go out and cast their votesfor the candidate of your choice. Utilize your rights to promotea better Edgecombe County. The ~M T voice Newspaper salutesthe Clerk of Cotrt - Mrs. Carolyn A. White.