on se: AR SEE EN = _ a paths ra le i Mtn a end Me aR Pa satis taser sete > RNAP oan EASTERN 'NC' MINORITY THE M inci LisTeEn Ta&> WOEeOOW 13240 AA GREEMWYWILLE ofl Bo bn a te on he td Dein © FT | Vol I believe in gradualism, but 90-odd years is gradual enough. M@NORITY VOICE - SINCE 1981 Thurgood Marshali, 1956 eer 4 br ; & ATIIANSSAP “| ASNAO a1dgo1as Ava L -- “IN sw APRIL 16 - APRIL 23, 1997 New proposed bill could affect many’s lifestyles by Tony Jones The United States Congress is currently working on legislation every worker in America needs to be consistently informed about, business and labor interests say. Not yet law, it is known as the “Comp Time Bill,” the actual title of the legislation is “The Working Families Flexibility Act of 1997.” It is headed now for the Senate floor for final consideration, hav- ing passed scrutiny by the U. S. House of Representatives. Amending the 1938 Labor Stan- dards Act, the Comp Time Bill is the “most important legislation affecting the employer-employee relationship” of the modern era. The country’s largest labor union, the AFL-CIO and leading Democrats say if made into law, as is expected, the bill will rape worker’s paychecks. Its Republi- can sponsors say the bill repre- sents wise adjustment to the reali- ties of the modern business world. All sides agree that it will affect every paycheck in America. The pending legislation will al- low companies to make an agree- ment with employees to trade paid time for time off. As with cash overtime pay, compensatory time would accrue at a rate of one-and one-half times the employee’s regu- lar rate of pay for each hour worked over 40 hours within a seven day Dr. Ruth Peterson, Pastor, and co-Pastor, Helen Williams were honored recently as the Anointed Ones Church celebrated their “Annual Founders’ Day” observance. Shown above: (L-R), Co-Pastor Williams, Rev. Lilly of Chocowinity, Dr. Peterson, and Pastor Barbara Dellano of the Gateway Christian Center. God bless you sisters...Continue to spread God’s word. See “Faces & Places” Page for more. (Staff Photo: Jim Rouse) period. ' Comp time supporters say the bill falls directly in line with the concern of working mothers. Their information states, “A 1994 U.S. Department of labor report found that the number one concern for sixty-six percent of working women with children under the age of 18 is the difficulty of balancing work and family responsibilities”. The bill’s opponents feel that it will give too much leverage to employers, allowing them to pres sure employee to take time off in- stead of paying them for working overtime. Passed March 19, the Bill passed on a partisan vote of 222-210. Op- posing the bill were 191 Demo- crats, 18 Republicans and Inde- pendent; Bernie Sanders of Ver- mont. The United Auto Workers has Continued on page 2 A spectacular season Extraordinary lives often reveal ordinary truths. Jackie Robinson was born in 1919 and died in 1972. He crammed into his too few fifty- three years alegacy of accomplish- ment, acclaim, controversy, and influence matched by few Ameri- cans. Even before his historic base- ball breakthrough, he was an ath- lete of legendary proportions. He won fame and adulation as the first African-American to play in the major leagues in the twentieth century, launching an athletic revolution that transformed H American sports. He garnered f) baseball’s highest honors; Kookie of the Year, Most Valuabie Player, and election to the Hall of Fame the first year he was eligible. Even more significant, Robinson became a symbol of racial integration and a prominent leader in the civil rights struggle of the 1950s and 1960s. His half-century among us illuminates not only the contours of an exceptional life but also the broader African-American experi- ence of these years. Hospital's Privatization will limit health care for Elderly, Young, and poor by Cliff Hickman I am not a medical provider or employee of PCMH, but as a citi- zen, taxpayer, and part owner of PCMH, I am opposed to PCMH changing from its present status to a private non-profit institution because of the following reasons: 1. I strongly believe that the quality and cost of health care will be adversely impacted and access to adequate health care for the elderly, young, and poor will be very limited. These concerns of mine are supported in a recent study conducted by Drs. Steffie Woolhandler and _ David Himmelstein. The results of this study will be published in the next issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The results of this study also indicate that when hos- pitals change from public to pri- vate, upper hospital management are the ones who benefit‘most with more than 25% of revenues being budgeted in this area. 2.1 am also quite concerned with unfair labor practices at PCMH. While I was a member of the City of Greenville’s Human Relations Council, we received a number of complaints from PCMH’s employ- ees in this area. Another reason of concern is the re-organizing and downsizing that has been going on at PCMH in preparation for the move to privatization. I am personally aware of a recent situation where an emergency meeting was held with a certain department at PCMH. At this meeting, a section within this department was ad- vised that as of 10-1-97, they no Continued on page 2 National Infant Immunization Week Is April 20-26 People with questions about vac- cinations can call the National Immunization Information Hotline, a new toll-free service providing information about vac- cine preventable diseases and im- munizations to protect against them. The hotline is operated by the American Social Health Asso- ciation under contract with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Immuniza- tion Program. Hotline counselors, who began serving callers on March 17, are preparing for increased calls dur- ing National Infant Immunization Week, April 20-26. The hotline is expected to an- swer 52,000 calls each year on its English service (800/282-2522) and 5,200 calls annually on its Span- ish service (800/232-0233). Callers can receive information about 12 vaccine-preventable dis- eases: chicken pox (varicella), diph- theria, haemophilusinfluenza type B (Hib), hepatitis B, influenza, measles, mumps, pneumococcal disease, polio, rubella, tetanus and whooping cough (pertussis). The hotline gives information on whoshould beimmunized, when to be immunized and sites where 4 vaccines are available. It also of- fers free publications. Hotline hours are 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday. Mary Stuart, hotline director, said the service’s most vital role is encouraging par- ents to have their children vacci- nated on time. According to the CDC, one-fourth of children in the U.S. have not been fully immu- nized against childhood diseases. One of parents’ most common misconceptions is that vaccina- tions are necessary only when a child is old enough for school,” Stuart said. ‘In fact, children need 80 percent of their vaccinations before they are two years old. Most child care providers and schools will not accept children who have not completed the necessary vac- cinations. “Some parents assume that childhood vaccines are no longer important because diseases such as measles are not as common as they once were, “ Stuart contin- ued, “However, immunizations are responsible for the decline of these diseases. When parents stop hav- ing theirchildren immunized, new outbreaks occur.” For example, she said, a major / cause of the measles epidemic of 1989-91 was failure to vaccinate children against measles at 12 to 15 months of age. The epidemic infected more than 55,000 Ameri- cans, accounting for about 11,000 hospitalizations and 120 deaths. The immunization hotline also answers questions about recom- mended vaccinations for adoles- cents and adults. The new hotline joins the Na- tional AIDS Hotline (800/342- 2437) and National STD Hotline (800/227-8922) as toll-free services operated by ASHA under contract with CDC. These hotlines answer more than 1.2 million calls each year. Jackie Robinson, the grandson of aslave and the son of sharecrop- pers, was born in Georgia in the heart of the segregated South. When Jackie was an infant, his father, Jerry Robinson, abandoned the family. His mother, Mallie, seeking a better life for Jackie and his four older siblings, joined the post World War I Great Migration of African-Americans out of the South. Most blacks traveled to the Eastern metropolises or to Mid- western manufacturing centers like Chicago and Detroit. On the advice of a brother, Mallie Robinson headed West toCelifor nia. African-Americans were rela- tively rare in California in the 1920s. Although Mexican-born blacks had figured prominently in the settlement of the region, by the early twentieth century blacks ac counted for only around one percent of the state’s population. They confronted a pattern of dis- crimination common to the Ameri- can West Few hotels, restaurants, or recreational facilities accepted blacks, and restrictive covenants and other less formal practices barred them from living in most neighborhoods. Job discrimination impeded economic advancement. ertime pay could be at risk ACT’S PROVISIONS re just G few of the Osacd | a The Working Families Fiexibilit gives employers the opti ing their employee: the choice of paid time off in lieu of ccs for overtime ia] wages mThe Aci requires a written agree ; Ment Detween the employer and employees, entered into knowingly and voluntarily by the employee. mio be eligible, an employee must have worked at least 1,000 hours in C period of continuous employment with the employer in a 12-month perioc preceding the date the employee agrees to receive como Time off m As with Cash overtime pay, comp time would accrue at the rate of one-and-one-half times the employ- | ee’s regular rate of pay for each hour worked over 40 within a seven- day period. m Under the Act, employees could | accrue up to 160 hours of compen- satory time each year. Employers would be required to pay cash wages for any unused, accrued time at the end of the year. mw Employees who want to receive d 9) 5 < Q QO rt) wo =~ fo} ao Ps ® Q Fly at Hastings Ford! haat VAs we From Page One - PCMH | longer had ajob with PCMH. This announcement was a total shock to the affected staff. And this incident was an continues to be very traumatizing to these staff. The affected staff also asked about other available employment with PCMH and asked for information on PCMH’s reduction in force policy. They were told by their superiors that they needed to get with the personnel department with these concerns. I wonder why there was not a representa- tive from personnel at this meet- ing to address staff questions/con- cerns. I have been in management for more than 15 years, and this is no way to notify valued staff espey-7 cially when the decision will have’ ,.. such a long term impact on their ° livelihood. I also understand that. these positions are being phased out so that two upper |mapage ment positions can be fe, also understand that these’ deci. “4 sions were made with knowledge or approval of P g CEO. This is very scary, andit.,. seems like PCMH’s top manage- ment and hospital board is very trusting of its lower level manag- ers or very remiss in their duties. It has been reported that PCMH has spent more than $300,000.00 ofour money in advertisement try- ing to convince the public that privatization is the best way to go and it’s a shame that some of this money could have been used to establish job opportunities for some of these staff. 3. I am also quite concerned about African-American represen- tation within the top management group at PCMH. African-Ameri- cans represent over 30% of Pitt County’s population but we only represent some 7% of top adminis- trative positions at PCMH. Ifthese inequities exist under the public status, I foresee it worsening un- t the; der privatization. 4. The privatization of PCMH has been discussed for months in privacy without a lot of public knowledge or input. If privatization is truly a win-win situation for Pitt County, I cannot understand why a quick decision is needed without adequate public disclosure so that the majority of the citizens can gain a full under- standing of the pros as well as the cons of such an important decision as this one. The necessary time must be allotted for full disclosure to the owners of PCMH (Citizens) and allow for a more diverse input from the owners. We have mostly gard from the potential benefac- ivatization. “8. Lastly, it appears that PCMH “ig be een opérating like a private cor ion for some time without proper “oversight from its Board ‘and our elected officials. PCMH was paid for by the health care pers and the citizens of Pitt Bid n Xs We/the owners, are the “otieg ould decide its future and ? ypthy particular governing yard who has so much trust and confidence in PCHM’s manage- ment that allows for abuse of power and allocation of resources. This proposal should be placed on the ballot for approval/disap- proval by its owners just like the school funding issues were decided. I encourage all citizens regardless of their status to contact our com- missioners and just say no to privatization for PCMH. You can contact them at the followingnum- bers: Mark Owens, 749-4081; Edward Bright, 524-5253; Farney Moore, 758-1047, Thomas Johnson, Jr. 752-1796; Kenneth Dews, Jr., 355- 2276; Eugene James, 752-6336; Charles Gaskins, 758-3314; Jeff Savage, 758-5770; Edith Warren, 753-4198. From Page One - WAGES notified its members of the bill in scathing terms. “Although Repub- lican leaders have publicly por- trayed the measure as “pro fam- ily,” the New York Times (March 20) noted that “another political bonus of the bill, at least for re- venge- minded Republicans, was the sharp opposition of the AFL- CIO.” As the newsletter notes, Presi- Over 100 Trucks to Choose From! 7" on ra vile, Dealer retains $1000 rebate, Additional $1000 in cash or trade, Total due on inception: $2000 with ap YOUR KEY 10 GATISEACTION! COME TEST DRIVE THE ALL NEW 1998 The only minivan available with double five star crash test rating! dent Clinton also opposes the leg- islation. At press time, whether he plans to veto the bill if passed into law had not yet been released. Shelby County’s federal repre- sentatives split on the bill. Demo- crat Harold Ford, Jr. voted against it. Republican Ed Bryant sup- ported it. Ford wrote an amend- Continued on page 3 credit Tax ond tags otra. Soo denier for details.) 738-0114 SALES DEPARTMENT HOURS ‘ MONDAY - FRIDAY - 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM SATURDAY - 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM SERVICE, PARTS & BODY SHOP MONDAY - FRIDAY - 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM e MINORITY REPORT Fuhrman Puts On Halo But It Won’t Fit Him by James Alsbrook, Phd If black people don’t like M ark Fuhrman, they certainly do not understand him. Fuhrman him- self emphasized this idea repeat- edly on his book-selling tour and wrote it clearly in his book. He says he did not use the N word in real life. But he did use it, he says, only in a tape recorded, imagined dialogue to help a fe- male friend create an exciting po- lice drama for a proposed movie script.. While discussing her in his re- cent book, “Murder in Brentwood,” Fuhrman calls her name and says he had sex with her while they dated for a short time. Now she is married, with husband and two children. But if you like Johnny Cochran, according to Fuhrman, you are misled because “Johnny Cochran was going to get his client off no matter what it took, no matter who he hurt or even ruined,” Furhman writes, Cochran “was behind the entire use of race de- fense and responsible for turning the trial from an examination of O J.Simpson’s guilt or innocence into acampaign of slander against me.” Fuhrman names several of his black “friends” who he says would ! Get Your "M" Voice | > Y/ IN EY a he : _—— OV ANETL LN \ To get your "M" Voice by mail write to: The "M" Voice Newspaper PO Box 8361 Greenville, NC 27834 SUBSCRIPTION PAYMENT MUST BE INCLUDED WITH ORDER Yes, I'd like a 6 months subscription by mail $15 Yes, I'd like a 12 months subscription by mail $30 Name_ oe a — Address eCity _ State ple ’ ot we . 74, ( The ‘m’ Voice testify that he helped them and would say he is “clean” and with- out a prejudiced bone in his body. Fuhrman says of others in the Simpson trial: ¢ Nicole and Ron Goldman— One woman who knew Ron well asked Ron how things were going. Ron said he was seeing a 35-year old woman with a white Ferrari and two kids. Ron, 25, said sex was great with the older woman. Fuhrman added, “I always believed Ron and Nicole were lovers.” When he reached the death scene, Fuhrman said, he entered the house, saw “the atmosphere of Nicole’s home, the candles and the soft music seemed more than a coincidence.” ¢ Marcia Clark, lead prosecu- tor—Fuhrman writes that “Her case failed not because of anything I had said or did, but because of her own mistakes and those of her lead detectives” (Lang and Vannatter). Marcia Clark had called Fuhrman a racist and a liar. ° O. J. Simpson-After Clark The Minority Voice Inc. 310 Evans St. Mall, SOME ale) @siciod Greenville, NC 27835 § 919-757-0365/Fax: 919-757-1793 Joy 1340 AM COLO) S¥elelfome) tiile) a! Greenville, NC 27834 Joy 1320 AM WTOW Radio Station VEST ate) (ola Wm | Omyarastsis) Nancie oR RONEN rsx en Ese are Pictures received by The 'M' Voice Newspaper become the property of The 'M' Voice Newspaper and we are not responsible for lost pictures. All articles must be mailed to the above address. If you have a complaint, please address it tothe publisher, Mr. Jim Rouse, owner. Member of the NC Black Publishers, ASCAP, BMI, SEASAC, ASB, N.C. ASB called Fuhrman a racist and aliar, Fuhrman said “I’m guilty and so is OJ. The only difference is that Simpson had a trial and I was convicted (of being a racist and a liar) without a trial.” Fuhrman said Simpson is “absolutely guilty.” * Police Chief Willie Williams— Fuhrman said that Darryl Gates, the displaced white former chief of Los Angeles police, “spoke out more forcefully and more frequently than our missing-in-action chief, Willie Williams.” ¢ Christopher Darden, prosecu- tor—Fuhrman quotes Darden as saying, “I was torn. My responsi- bility as a prosecutor clearly told . [| me to take the case. But I had other responsibilities as a black man, and they were difficult to sort out. Fuhrman says “The pros- ecution lost the Simpson case for two reasons. The prosecution team did not argue all of the evidence it had. The other reason is that it did not have an effective strategy for countering the defense’s race card.” MEET NEW PEOPLE THE FUN WAY TODAY 1-900-787-4670 ext. 4033 $2.99 per min. Must be 18 yrs. Serv-U (619) 645-8434 i “ISN'T SHE LOVELY?”.....This young lady is Miss Derabia Matthews, a 6-year old first grader at the Sadie Saulter School who loves to read to her mom and loves to sing in the Young Peoples’ Choir at the Philippi Church of Christ. Keeping busy keeps her out of mischief. That’s our girl... Derabial. From Page Two - WAGES ment to the act, which its propo- nents objected. Co-written with two colleagues, Ford’s amendment would have made it unlawful to penalize an employee if an employee refused to accept comp time. Ford says, “The purpose of this amendment was to enhance em- ployee choice and prevent discrimi- natory treatment, of employees who seek overtime rather than comp time. Although the majority of employers are well intentioned, I am concerned this bill leaves open the possibility of abuse by less well meaning employers.” Ford is concerned that the Comp Time Bill will not promote “a worker friendly environment or to give ill- intentioned businesses an oppor- tunity to offset or cut their costs. The possibility exists that an em- ployer may not offer overtime to those employees choosing paid overtime. Employers will have the ability to dramatically lower their labor cost if overtime is only given to those who previously agreed to comp time.” Bryant disagrees. “With so many two-person incomes in families today, itisimportant that families have the chance to be together.” He says the opposing line that employer’s will be given the right to coerce savings is “simply dis- traction. The bill contains penal- ties for such behavior.” GOP spokesperson for the matter, Re- publican National Committee Co- Chairman Patricia S. Harrison presents the party’s view. “Repub- licans want to give working fami- lies more control over their lives. The Working Families Flexibility Act gives them the freedom to choose for themselves whether, in the circumstances for each of their families, more money or more time off makes sense for their family.” Celebrating A Decade Of Commitment To Our Community. I Greenville Its our 10th anniversuryv—and Hilton is proud to be celebrating ten years of successful relationships in Pitt County. For a decade we have welcomed new visitors to our city, making sure their stay here is relaxing and enjoyable. We've hosted countless special events for our friends and neighbors in the community, and have enjoyed a cooperative working environment with our fellow busi- nesses and local officials. Ten years is quite a milestone, one we could not have reached without you. Thank you for your continued support of the hotel and its services. We look forward to many more anniversaries in our hometown. ] 207 SW Greenville Blvd ¢ the Greenville A Step Abo 355-5000 Best Is ¢ The Rest. = The del To Hie rte We vor WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16 - APRIL 23, 1997 "ANOINTED ONES ANNUAL "FOUNDERS DAY": A SALUTE TO DR. RUTH PETERSON -& CO-PASTOR HELEN WILLIAMS AZALEA HOMES or GREENVILLE Why Buy from Azalea Homes? Real people, kind and considerate Great reputation Great service after sale Better than competitive prices Best used homes with warranties Awrwn = . Professionally trained finance managers and 1 more cat 919-756-7815. par pr Pipe ae Me Me ee ge ee eee Ae Te BL OFE a E) SERR *B URE yd IN JAIL!!! WE BAIL!!! IN JAIL!!! WE BAIL!!! Gardner's Bail Bonding, located at 1798 N. Greene Street in Greenville. In jail and need to get out in a hurry, Gardner's Bail Bonding is the one you need to call!! The Number Is 757-1421 Ask For Herb or one of his professionally trained bondsmen. They will come and rescue you!! That's Gardner's Bail Bonding! Call them at 757-1421 Remember! {in Jail, We Bail! From Page One - Jackie Robinson (,349) and runs scored(118).He most other places. The absence of quitted him of all charges, butthe face of local political pressure, “offensive to some white people.” tenements and the ance episode left its mark andintensi- never considered signing Rickey believed that Robinson’s finished second in stolen bases of single-family houses allowed fied his commitment to racialjus- Robinson. Shortly thereafter racial pride and combativeness, if and had the highest st Mallie Robinson to buy ahome for _ tice. Rickey quizzed Smith about po- consciously curbed, would not of- percentage of any secon _— her family. Thelackofrestrictions UponhisreleasefromtheArmy, tential players forthe Brown Dodg- fend whites but rather rally them baseman. Anchored by his in- African-Amer: on black participation in athletics Robinson faced a predicament fa- ers. Smith, who might have sus- to his cause. _ 8pirational play, Montreal won ir standar opened to her sons an avenue of miliar to African-Americans. Al- pected Rickey’s true in tentionns Other elements of Robinson's theleague pennant by nineteen- ught against success. First Jackie’s brother though at the peak of his athletic recommended Robinson. history and personality appealed and-a-halfgames.Theteamre- tion. Whites discovered in him Mack starred in track and field at talent and good enough tostarin | Branch Rickey offered various to Rickey. Robinson boastedacol- turned to the South to defeat individual who won their admiration s Pasadena Junior College andthe any major American team sport, reasons for his historic decision to lege education and had been an the Louisville Colonels in the not only as an athlete but as a man, 1936 Olympic games, where he he, like his brother Mack and desegregate baseball. Sometimes Army officer. He was in telligent, Little World Series, securing compelling them to reassess their won a silver medal; then Jackie Kenny Washington before him, hespokeofhisneedtomake peace articulate, and comfortable inthe the championship of the minor views both of African-Americansand himself won renown in four sports had few professional options. Nei- withthe memory ofablackcollege limelight. Unlike most Negro leagues. of American race relations. at Pasadena Junior College andat ther organized baseball nor the playerhehadcoachedin1904who Leagueplayers,hehadhadexten- | Although Robinson’s spec- Although few people realized it at the University of Californiaat Los National Football Leaguenormost had wept when barred from stay- sive experience in high-level in- tacular season at Montreal dis- the time, Robinson had launched a Angeles. major basketball teams accepted ing with his teammates at a Mid- _terracial competition. In addition, pelled doubts about his rightto revolution in American athletics. Robinson’s years at UCLA in- troduced him to high-level inter- racial competition. He was not the first African-American athlete at UCLA; he was preceded by the All- black players. Robinson’s best al- ternative was to cast his lot with baseball’s Negro Leagues, and in the spring of 1945 he signed with the Kansas City Monarchs. western hotel. At other times he expressed moral and religious con- cerns. Just as frequently he de- nied any noble intentions and in- voked his desire to field the best he had the athletic skills Rickey admired in aballplayer: speed (the only crucial skill that Rickey be- lieved could not be taught), dar- ing, and a fierce competitive drive. play in the major leagues, Branch Rickey kept him on the Royals’ roster throughout spring training in 1947. Rickey embarked on several strata- Only two other major-league teams signed African-American players in 1947, and the pace of integration seemed agonizingly slow. Yet within a decade blacks from the United American Kenny Washington— There can be little doubt that possible team. “The Negroes will Before signing him, however, gemsthathe hoped wouldease States and Caribbean countries had another extraordinary athlete, at their best the Negro Leagues makeuswinnersforyearstocome,” Rickey elicited a promise from Robinson’s way onto the Dodg- appeared on all but one team and who starred in football, baseball, played first-class baseball, featur- he accurately predicted. He also Robinson. Regardless of the sav- ers. He avoided the pitfalls of emerged as the stars of the game. and basketball— and the future ing some of the game’s greatest surely recognized that by attract- age insults he might face from Floridasegregationbydispatch- This pattern proved even more pro- movie actor Woody Strode. Robinson’s childhood friend Ray Bartlett was a fourth black starter on the 1939 UCLA football team. While most black athletes of the stars. In 1945 the Monarch’s ros- ter included two standout pitch- ers, Satchel Paige and Hilton Smith. On opposing teams were the future baseball Hall-of-Famers ing fans from New York City’s growing African-American popu- lation and by fielding winning teams he would boost Dodger at- era played for Negro colleges, in the Negro Leagues, or on clown teams like the Harlem Globetrotters, Robinson achieved his initial stardom on integrated playing fields. In his senior year at UCLA Robinson met his future wife, Rachel Isum. She was three years younger than Robinson and came from a more secure black middle class background. She was a third- generation Californian, a rare sta- tus among African-Americans, and she had earned an academic schol- arship to UCLA and maintained a straight-A average. Her calm, warm, thoughtful manner comple- mented Robinson’s fiery impetu- ousness. They formed an endur- ing bond of mutual love and sup- port that girded them for the chal- lenging years ahead. Robinson and Isum found their courtship interrupted by World War II. Robinson’s Army career typified the African-American mili- tary experience. Drafted in April 1942 and assigned to Fort Riley, Kansas, he ran an endless gaunt- let of racial discrimination. He was barred from Officer Candidate School, blocked from playing on the camp baseball team, and re- stricted to segregated facilities. But he used both his aggressive- ness and celebrity to demand bet- ter treatment. He rose to the rank of lieutenant and waged a cam- paign to improve conditions for black soldiers at Fort Riley. After his transfer to Fort Hood, in Texas, he refused to move to the back of a military bus and defied the offic- ers who tried to discipline him, precipitating a court-martial that might have led to dishonorable discharge. A military tribunal ac- ee FN Soe promise Leagues. BAN Buck Leonard, Josh Gibson, Roy Campanella, and Martin Dihigo. For Robinson, however, the Negro Leagues proved a distasteful ex- perience. Accustomed to the highly structured training of major col- lege sports and hostile to any com- with Robinson considered the Negro Leagues astep down rather thana leg up. The long, hot bus rides through the South, the degrading treatment at gas stations andother white-owned facilities, and the players’ informal approach to most nonleague contests frustrated him. An intensely private individual who neither smoked nor drank nor enjoyed what Paige called the “so- cial ramble,” Robinson never re- ally fit in among the Monarchs. Although he performed well with Kansas City and gained invalu- able training and exposure to top flight baseball competition, Robinson, unlike most of his team- mates and rivals, always dispar- aged his stint in the Negro Unbeknownst to Robinson, his performances with the Monarchs had attracted intense scrutiny. The Brooklyn Dodgers’ president, Branch Rickey, had secretly de- cided to bring blacks into the ma- jor leagues. With the pretext of forming a new black squad, the Brown Dodgers, he had assigned his top scouts to evaluate Negro League talent. From the start Robinson had been high on Rickey’s list of prospects. In April 1945 the Pittsburgh Courier sportswriter Wendell Smith ar- ranged a tryout with the Boston Red Sox for Robinson and two other Negro League stars. The Red Sox, who agreed to the audition in the kK | tendance. In the end it was prob- ably a combination of these fac- tors—and a desire to make a mark in history beyond the boundaries of baseball—that motivated Rickey. What is often forgotten in light of the success of the Rickey- Robinson alliance is the extraordi- nary risk Rickey assumed in sign- ing Robinson. Although Rickey correctly guessed that integration would bring profits, most major- league owners believed that lur- ing more blacks to the ballpark would, in the words of the New York Yankees head Larry MacPhail, result in lessening the value of several major league fran- chises.” Furthermore, although a sea- soned athlete, Robinson had had minimal baseball experience. Other than his one season serious competitive baseball since leaving UCLA five years earlier. Few con- sidered him the best player in the Negro Leagues. Even more omi- nous, Rickey, who had traveled to California and done research on Robinson’s background, was well aware of the athlete’s tempestu- ous nature and capacity for con- troversy. “Jackie had a genius for getting into extra curricular scrapes,” remembered one Los Angeles sportswriter. Robinson’s problems in the Army, also known to Rickey, reinforced this image. Rickey discounted many of these reports, noting that most of Robinson’s difficulties arose from asserting his nghts or responding to discrimination. If Robinson had been white, Rickey said, his ag- gressiveness both on and off the field would have been “praised to the skies.” This behavior in an African-American, however, was IC ES segregation, NG SER \ A one-room office, a personal computer, and a hard-working dream. That's often the modest beginnings for millions of men and women who are becoming their own bosses. 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Shortly thereafter they de- parted for spring training in Florida. The South that the young couple entered in 1946 was a land of rigid segregation, lynchings, and racial oppression; the dismantling of Jim Crow seemed a distant dream. Two years later President Harry S. Truman would order the desegregation of the armed forces. Kight years would pass before the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark Brown v. Board of Edu- cation decision. Seventeen-year- old Martin Luther King, Jr., was attending classes at Morehouse College. Robinson thus became what one writer has called “a one man civil rights movement.” From the moment of their ar- rival in Florida the Robinsons en- countered Jim Crow. In Sanford threats of violence forced the couple out of town. In Jacksonville and De Land public officials refused to let Robinson play. On one occasion a local sheriff marched onto the field and demanded his ouster in midgame. Yet Robinson, assigned to the Montreal Royals, of the In- ternational League—the Dodgers’ top farmclub—participated freely in games at the Dodgers’ base in Daytona Beach, and both black and white fans greeted his appear- ances enthusiastically. Local busi- ness leaders in many Florida com- munities, aware of the profits and publicity generated by baseball training camps, courted the inte- grated Dodgers for future seasons. Although Rickey did not bring Robinson and the Dodgers back to Florida in 1947, the team had es- tablished an important precedent. Within three years cities through- out Florida and the rest of the South would clamor to host the Jackie Robinson Dodgers. Throughout the 1946 season Robinson, in the words of the New York Amsterdam News columnist Joe Bostic, “ascended the heights of excellence to prove the right- ness of the experiment. And prove it in the only correct crucible for such an experiment—the crucible of white-hot competition.” During the Royals’ opening game, in Jer- sey City, New Jersey, Robinson unveiled his ability to convert chal- lenges into transcendent moments. The Montreal second baseman garnered four hits, including a three-run home run; scored four times; stole two bases; and twice scored from third by inducing the opposing pitcher to balk. This extraordinary debut proved a pro- logue to an equally remarkable season. Despite a rash of brushback pitches, spiking at- tempts, vile harassment by oppos- ing players, and threats of race riots in the league’s southernmost city, Baltimore, Robinson led the International League in batting ing the Dodgers and the Royals to Cuba and Panama, and he transformed Robinson into a first baseman, the Brooklyn nounced in other team sports. By the late 1960s African-Americans pre- dominated in the National Football League and National Basketball As- sociation. The black influx into col- club’s greatest need. Rickey believed that a demonstration of Robinson’s undeniable skills would generate a ground swell of support for his promotion among the Dodgers’ players. Robinson responded with a .429 spring batting tear, but rather than demand his ascen- sion, several Dodgers, led by the Southerners Dixie Walker, Kirby Higbe, and Bobby Bragan, circulated a petition to keep him off the team. Other key players, however, notably the Kentucky- born shortstop Pee Wee Reese, rebellion. On April 10, five days before the start of the season and with no groundswell yet in evidence, Rickey simply el- evated Robinson to the parent club as the Dodgers’ first baseman. Around the National League, Robinson’s arrival produced un- dercurrents of dismay. The Philadelphia Phillies, under the leadership of the manager Ben Chapman, subjected him to a stream of racist abuse. Oppos- ing pitchers regularly targeted him with brushback and bean ball pitches, hitting him seven times— a league record—in the first half of the season. Hotels in Philadelphia and St. Louis barred him; one in Cincinnati compelled him to take his meals in his room, fearing his pres- ence would offend other guests. Against this backdrop of pres- sure and challenge, Robinson carved out not just an extraor- dinary rookie season but a monument to courage and equal opportunity. After an early slump, he removed any remain- ing justifications for the exclu- sion of blacks from baseball. He batted above .300 for most of the season, led the league in stolen bases, and trailed just one other player in runs scored. He paced the Dodgers in home runs and led them to the pen- nant. Sporting News, which had consistently opposed the inclu- sion of blacks in organized base- ball, named him Rooke of the Year. Yet Robinson’s rookie-year statistics and honors, impres- sive as they are, fail to capture his achievement. By introduc- ing the more aggressive and flamboyant base-running and batting styles of the Negro Leagues, he transformed major league baseball. In the process he changed the nation’s outlook as well. Robinson began the 1947 sea- son as a curiosity; he emerged as a national phenomenon. Wherever the Dodgers played, fans turned out in record num- bers to witness the spectacle of integration. While he doubtless benefited from the more liberal racial attitudes that had lege football and basketball forced Southern Universities to abandon policies barring competition against integrated squads and ultimately to recruit African-Americans them- selves. Sports became the primary symbol of social mobility in the black community, eventually prompting concern about an overemphasis on athletics among young African- Americans. In the wake of his triumphant rookie season, Robinson transcended baseball and sports to become an American icon. Numerous articles refused to sign the protest,and showing Jackie and Rachel n Rickey and the manager Leo living in integrated nei, rhoods Durocher quickly quashed the and their children attending predomi- nantly white schools portrayed the - family as the vanguard of the new racial enlightenment. As the nation’s foremost representative of interra- cial improvement, Robinson found himself embroiled in 1949 in a Cold War confrontation with the singer and actor Paul Robeson, whose pessi- mistic assessment of American race relations had led him to a flirtation with Soviet communism. Robinson’s dynamic playing for the Dodgers reinforced his charismatic appeal. In 1949 he led the National League in batting, won the Most Valu- able Player Award, and began astring of six consecutive All-Star Game ap- pearances. With the addition of the catcher Roy Campanella, the pitcher Don Newcombe, and other former Negro League stars, the Dodgers con- tinued to showcase the benefits of integration. Equally important was the fact that Robinson, the African- American firebrand, was clearly the leader and dominant personality on the National League’s most-accom- plished and celebrated squad. Yet amid these growing achieve- ments, Robinson’s “genius for getting into extracurricular scrapes” reas- serted itself. In 1945 he had prom- ised Branch Rickey that he would ignore insults and assaults. By 1949 both men agreed that this chapter had ended; Robinson nolonger needed to restrain his instinctive responses to opposing players or anyone else. Thereafter Robinson seemed for- ever surrounded by controversy. He complained that some umpires had it in for him and warred with the Gi- ants’ manager, Leo Durocher. He objected to the Yankees’ failure to sign black players, protested the con- tinuing discrimination faced by black athletes during spring training, and demanded that blacks be considered as candidates for managers. His un- repentant outspokenness and civil rights militancy attracted criticism and acclaim both inside and outside baseball. In January 1957, after ten tempes- tuous seasons, Robinson retired. Itis fitting testimony to his baseball prow- ess that his career record alone, with- out any consideration of his pioneer- ing social role, merited his first-bal- lot election to the Hall of Fame five years later. His lifetime batting aver- Continued on page 6 Bencumarx MORTGAGE CORPORATION ¢ Home Improvements ¢ Cash Out Bill Consolidations Refinances or Purchases Credit History Not Important Ist or 2nd Mortgages ¢ Quick Approvals ¢ Programs for Self Employed Don't let past or present credit problems stand in your way. We pride ourselves in working one on one with our clients to insure you the savings you deserve. You could save yourself thousands of dollars by taking advantage of the current favorable interest rates. Call today and | JACQUES THIGPEN will gladly discuss your options to save . va money. ‘ Call Today for FREE Consultation! 12) coun rovsina iewoen You're Always First, * vente ro. Ph: 919-355-1177. Toll Free: 1-800-849-0580 | \ —_— ‘, er . - | ee verey ee sen + eee eo a gee ae ater Te Yapren, ohh Le gee : cananeindsiepet oh ub ‘\ i These raeeose CO Fe eS TE eB ee TB eT EH wee Te ee ~We"we vores - WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16 APRIL 23, 1997 BLACK HISTORY LOCAL AFRICAN- : AMERICAN HOLDS ACADEMIC HONORS SRTRUVECRT ERE RES TG Dr. West Shields The Education Department of Progressive Universal Life Church of Sacramento, California... In the fall semester 1996, bestowed upon Dr. West Shields, Jr., three Doctorate Degrees, for the Dissertation: “The History of the Black Churches in the United States: Dr. West Shields, local minister, has earned seven degrees in the past 25 years. These have included: 1 Bachelor, 1 Masters, 2 Honorary Doctorates, and 3 Academic Doctorates. One of the first Blacks to have been in business, 42 years, with the exception of his mentor—Brother D. D. Garrett, who has 50+ years. One of the first black ministers to teach Bible History ata Community College, Extension Services. The first Black resident Shelter Pastor of the Greenville Community shelter. Former Executive Board Member of Real Crisis Center in Greenville. Former member and Board of Director of O.1.C. in Greenville. First black insurance agent to walk three months for a major insur- ance company. Former Director of Christian Education of Hyde County Association. One of the first blacks to become an assistant manager of a major finance company. At the present, Dr. Shields is a preacher of the gospel, public accountant, Notary Public, Reading and Writing tutor, handwriting analyst. Dr. Shields is family and community-oriented. Arts Council presents.. Pitt County Arts Council’s Arts in the Schools Program presents the Rampant Theatrical Company Performance Troupe in Wiley and The Hairy Man. J.H. Rose Honors Theatre students produce, perform and direct Wiley and the Hairy Man for all Pitt County fourth graders. services.” Wiley and the Hairy Man willbe shown 9:45 A.M. at J.H. Rose Per- forming Arts Center April 23rd through the 25th for all Pitt County fourth graders. Pitt County Arts Council Artsin a the Schools program regularly funds cross curriculum produc- tions to insure all students have a chance to enjoy, learn and produce the arts. Greenville Flying Pirates The Greenville Flying Pirates will be presenting their Fifth An- nual Spring Fling R/C Fly-In on Saturday, May 17th., from 9:00 -a.m. to Sunset.. This will be Re- Below are the guidelines. 1996 FAMILY INCOME GUIDELINES FOR HEAD START PROGRAMS RICO. Size of Family Unit orNnmartrwnr . in your area; mote Controlled Model Aircraft {| Martin Co: North Everetts 792-5353 ‘flying at it’s finest. Admission is "Free to the Public. There are Pitt Co: St. Gabriel (752-9755) Ayden (746-4298 Restroom Facilities, plenty of park- Farmville (753-8036) ing spaces and concessions avail- able throughout the Fly-In. Beaufort Co: 264 Washington (946- The location is Frankie Coburn el Karora( on.ses epee res) : Memorial Field, Frankie Coburn Belhaven (943-3006) "Road, 8.R. 1539, Take 264 bypass “to the Fairgrounds, turn on Whichards voy 8.R. 1523 and For more a call Frank — (919) 758-9797. if 4 os ate > Babee ® By Enrollment Announcement - Head Start Program Martin County Community Action, Inc. Project Head Start is now accepting applications for the 1997 Fall Enrollment for children and includ ing children with disabilities. Eligibility is determined by HHS Income Guidelines, family needs, disabilities, and/or special conditions of the child. Children who will be enrolled will be exposed to a broad educational curriculum that will prepare them for preschool social and educational experiences. Health, nutrition and mental health are also important factors in the development of these children. These areas are also facilitated in the daily routines of the children. Parent Involvement and other program services as mandated are required and are fully utilized by the program. Ten percent (10%) of Head Start Enrollment is identified as: emotional/behavior disorders, speech/language impairments, mental retardation, hearing impairment/deafness, orthopedic impairment ,visual impairment/blind, learning disabilities, autism, traumatic brain injury, and other impairments for children who require special education and related Head Start is a comprehensive developmental program for children ages 3- 5 yeas old. This program is based on the premise that children share certain needs and that children from low-income families, in particular, can benefit from a program designed to meet those needs. Head Start operates nine (9) months of the year, - September through May. The centers are open Monday through Friday and the hours of operation are 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Head Start has been operating in the Martin County area since 1965, currently there are 192 children. Nine (9) classrooms are comprised 4-5 year old and one (1) classroom consists of three year old must become three by October 16th; Beaufort County has been operating since 1977 and presently serving 99 children. Five (5) classrooms of 4-5 year olds are accommodated in this Pitt County originated in 1985 and serving 222 children in twelve (12) classrooms accommodating 4-5 year olds. Funding for Martin County Community Action, Inc. Project Head Start is received from the Administration for Children, Youth and Families Unit, Department of Health and Human Services. In order for children to qualify, they must meet the family income guidelines. 1996 FAMILY INCOME GUIDELINES FOR ALL STATES (EXCEPT ALASKA AND HAWAII), THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND PUERTO For Family Units with more than 8 members, add $2,560 for each additional member. Please contact the Family Service Worker at the Head Start center For more information or to enroll a child, please call Ms. Teresa Greene, Social Services Coordinator or Ms. Gloristeen Matthewson, Disability Services Coordinator at (919) 792-7141 or come by the Martin County Community Action Head Start Administrative Office at 106 South Watts Street in Williamston, North Carolina. From Page Five - Jackie Robinson age was .311, and his .410 on-base percentage puts him among the top twenty-five players of all time. In addition, the Dodg- ers won pennants during six of Robinson’s ten years with the club and finished second three times. Moreover, he accomplished all that he did after discrimination had robbed him of at least five years of prime productivity, for he was al- ready twenty-eight years old when he joined the Dodgers. Unlike most athletes, Robinson did not retreat from the public eye after his retirement. He accepted a job as vice president of Chock Full O’ Nuts, a chain of New York City fast food restaurants thatem- ployed many African-Americans. He chaired the NAACP Freedom Fund Drive and became one of the organization’s primary spokesper- sons and fundraisers. He im- mersed himself in the civil rights movement as an ardent supporter of Martin Luther King, Jr., raised funds for the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and marched in many of the major demonstrations of the 1960s. Yet he also became engulfed in the shifting racial and generational tides of that decade. Always defi- antly independent, he forged his own distinctive path in politics and protest. In 1960 he endorsed Rich- ard Nixon for President over John F. Kennedy, the favorite of most civil rights activists. Although the majority of African-Americans supported the Democrats, Robinson allied himself with New York’s governor, Nelson Rockefeller, and became the nation’s most prominent black Re- publican. As white and black radi- cals increasingly attacked the American economic and political system, Robinson reaffirmed his faith in “black capitalism” as the vehicle for African-American progress, establishing the Free- dom National Bank and investing in other black owned enterprises. In 1960 young SNCC activists successfully approached Robinson for assistance, seeing him as a kindred spirit. By the late 1960s, however, he had publicly feuded with Malcolm X and other Black Power advocates and split with King over the latter's opposition to the Vietnam War. Indeed Robinson, who came to be regarded by many militants asa pillar of the mainstream establishment, was even called an Uncle Tom. Ironi- cally, these attacks coincided with his resignation from the NAACP because, he said, it was dominated by a “clique of the Old Guard” and had failed to incorporate “younger, more progressive voices. “ Accustomed to contention, Robinson confidently navigated these controversies. Personal trag- edy, however, took a far greater “health impairment, Income $7,470 $10,030 $12,590 $15,150 $17,710 $20,270 $22,830 $25,390 toll. Twenty-one-year-old Jackie Robinson Jr., wounded in action in Vietnam, had returned addicted to heroin and turned to life of crime. On June 4, 1968, police ar- rested him for possession of drugs and a firearm. Where Jackie Sr. had been a herald of the “new Negro” of the civil rights move- ment, his son became a harbinger of the devastation that awaited many African-American males in the 1980s and 1990s. After a stay at Daytop Village, a drug rehabilitation center, Jackie Jr. emerged cured of his addiction and devoted to helping others af- flicted by drugs. Fate allowed him little time to savor his triumph. In the early morning hours of June 17, 1971, the sports car he was driving veered out of control and crashed on the Merritt Parkway, near the Robinson home in Con- necticut. J ackie Robin son, Jr., was dead at twenty-four. His son’s ordeal and death trans- formed Robinson. The tragedy had been played out, as had so much for the family, in public view. “I guess I had more of an effect on other people’s kids than I had on my own,” he remarked, after Jackie Jr.'s arrest, as unsparing in self- criticism as in his attacks on oth- ers. Around this time Robinson’s physical condition declined pre- cipitously. Plagued for several years with diabetes, he found his eyesight fading. He suffered a heart attack, and poor circulation made walking difficult. He was told that one of his legs would have to be amputated. After King’s as- sassination, in 1968, and the elec- tion of Richard Nixon, with whom he had long since parted company, the troubles of Jackie Jr. led Robinson—like many other Afri- can-Americans—to re-evaluate his faith in America’s ability to over- come its history of racism. This reassessment culminated in the publication, in 1972, of Robinson’s remarkable final tes- tament, his bluntly titled autobi- ography, I Never Had It Made. Characteristically frank and out spoken, he expressed pride in his accomplishments but acknowl- - edged his errors: his castigation of Robeson, his endorsement of Nixon, his split with King over Vietnam, and other episodes. He wrote honestly and movingly about Jackie Jr. Having for a quarter of a century symbolized the possibil- ity of integration in America, he now sounded a profoundly pessi- mistic note. “There was a time I believed deeply in America. I have become bitterly disillusioned, he wrote. “Personally, I have been very fortunate [but] I cannot say I have it made while our country . . . speeds along a course toward more and more racism.” Yet the image of Robinson in his final years as broken and dispir- ited belies the reality of his in- domitable personality. The publi- cation of Roger Kahn’s book about the Brooklyn Dodgers, The Boys of Summer, in 1971, awakened anew generation to the power and the glory of the Robinson saga. Those who saw and spoke to Robinson in 1972 describe him as ebullient despite his personal grief and physical difficulties. Ina final tele- phone conversation Kahn found him “as enthusiastic as a twenty- year-old” while discussing his lat- est business venture. When, dur- ing the 1972 World Series, Major League Baseball celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of Robinson’s debut, he joked with his former teammates about his impending amputation, needling Pee Wee Reese by saying that he would return to best him on the golfcourse. Then, before a national television audience, Robinson of- fered America one final, enduring memory. After accepting the acco- lades of the dignitaries, he chal- THE SHOE OUTLET THE BUDGET STORE WITH TRUE DISCOUNT PRICES We have a large selection of all-leather Name-Brand shoes, priced $3.00 to $19.00... Men's and Ladies shoes...work/dress/ and casual shoes. You can choose from Easy Spirit, Hush Puppies, Revelations, Soft Spot, Nurse Mate, Timberland, Stacy Adams, Bostonian, Dexter, Bally Cole Haan, (Just to name a few). We also have Stride Rite shoes for children. Use our convenient layaway plan. Shop the Budet-priced store and save BIG!!! That's the Shoe Outlet, located on the corner of Ninth and Washingion Streets in Greenville. vesucy AqaH The Word is Out! The Word is Out!!! lenged organized baseball to fulfill his legacy by hiring black manag- ers. Nine days later, on October 24, 1972, Robinson died of a heart, attack. He was only fifty-three’ years old. To deliver the eulogy Rachel Robinson, who had shared her husband’s triumphs and heart breaks, chose not someone from Robinson’s baseball past nor one of his long-standing allies from earlier civil rights struggles but the thirty-one-year-old Rev. Jesse Jackson, an African-American leader who embodied the hopes of the future rather than the disap- pointments of the past. Jackson, like Rachel Robinson, understood Robinson’s final testa- ment. Robinson, preached Jack- son, had “created ripples of possi- bility,” “turned stumbling block into stepping stone,” and be- queathed the “gift of new expecta- tions.” In his autobiography Robinson vented his disappointment with the state of race relations in the 1970s, but he also reaffirmed the message that has made him an enduring figure: that individuals of courage and commitment can confront bigotry and create change. He tempered his disillusionment with an uplifting epitaph: “A life is not important except in the im- pact it has on other lives.” By that measure, a quarter-century after his death and half a century after his historic feat, the import of Jackie Robinson’s life continues to resound. Jules Tygiel is a professor of his- tory at San Francisco State Uni- versity. He is the author of Baseball’s Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy (to be reissued this year by Oxford University Press) and The Jackie Robinson Reader (Dutton / Signet, 1997), for which this article is the introduction. The House with Flava! Vibe Sportswear located at Cantina East Center!! (Beside Mo's Barber Shop) For further info call: 355-2688 All the latest in unisex fashions! STRANGE ' THINGS Obsessions ‘Larry Bottone, a coavii, teacher, and pri- vate tutor of kids for almost 20 years in Norwalk, Connecticut, pleaded guilty to a charge of child pornography based on a videotape of himself with a teenage boy. According to police, other videos showed Bottone whipping nude boys, sticking objects under their fingernails, and rubbing their bodies with hot olive oil. Bottone said that he was conducting serious research on how much punishment one child could endure when requested to do so by an authority figure. Hey man, not me! In Wausau, Wisconsin, Kurt Iron, 28, was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide. Reportedly, Iron was drinking heavily and crashed into another truck, killing a 37-year-old woman. According to the Marathon County Sheriff’s report, Iron was surprised that he was arrested, saying, “Dudes, it’s just a girl, man, nothing but a girl.” Not my fault Credit union manager Cathleen Byers, charged with 83 counts of embezzling a total of $630,000, told a Eygene, Oregon, jury that her hands may have taken the money but that her “heart, mind and spirit” were innocent because another personality within her did it. According to the prosecu- tor, only a handful of multiple-personality cases has ever been diagnosed in Europe, as Opposed to “tens of thousands” in the United States.” Not very dignified Police in Dahlonega, Georgia, said ROTC cadet Nick Berrena, 20, was stabbed to death by fellow cadet Jeffrey Hoffman, 23, he was trying to prove that a knife could not penetrate the flak vest Berrena was wearing. Sore head In Burney, California, Jeremy Dean and his parents, filed a lawsuit against Shasta County for at least $700,000 for Dean’s total disability that resulted from a car crash. Dean and some friends had been out drinking. He was in the back seat of a car and had stuck his head out the window to vomit just as the driver veered off the road, ramming Dean’s head into the tree. The lawsuit claims that it was the county’s fault that the tree was so close to the road. Loves his name In Fremont, California, Jason Christopher Zepeda, 19, i a holding tank following his arrest for graffiti vandalism, was booked on new charges when sheriff’s deputies noticed that he was wnting his name all over the cell. Bad eating habit A mother in London, England said treat- ment at a children’s hospital had finally cured her seven-year-old son of her three- year habit of eating nothing but jam sand- wiches (strawberry or raspberry on white bread). His fear of other foods was such that he would tremble, sweat, and become nauseated at the mere sight. Underwear fetish Carlton Bradley, 56, was indicted in Pittsburgh and New York for stealing Underwear from a woman. Stealing one item at a time over a three-year period, he amassed 42 bras, 41 pairs of underpants, and 14 negligees. Bad TV shows The New York Times reported on a recent spate of what it called really bad Japanese television shows, among them one in which bikini-clad young women attempted to crush aluminum cans by squeezing them between their breasts, and another in which a young child was brought on-stage and told that his mother had just been shot to death - the producers wanted to see how many seconds would elapse before he start- ed crying. Said a leading TV critics: “The more nonsensical the programs are, the more interesting | find them.” Tough luck In New York, a 14-year-old would-be thief thought he was escaping a raving 60- year-old woman whose purse he had just snatched, when he ran attempted to beat traffic across a busy intersection. He didn’t make it. He was struck by a speeding cab, and was thrown nearly 60 feet. Police said the youth suffered several broken bones and bruises, but survived. Now he’s going to stand trial for theft and possibly face a two-year jail term. Non-driver yIn Hollywood, Florida, a 78-year-old woman drove her car accidently off a rais- ing bridge. Fortunately she was rescued. Police said the woman who stands five-feet even and drives a 1978 Cadillac, was sitting (60 low in her car seat to see the flashing lights warning drivers that the bridge is lift- ing. She apparently drove through the warn- ing signal and reached the bridged as the Opposite side had lifted just enough for her Car to crash down into the Intracoastal Waterway, “Hell, | doubt if the poor woman Could even see over her steering wheel,” Qne officer reported. “It’s common trait among the elderly here. They drive cars big- ger than they are and get into accidents.” Compiled by Real Times Communications, Ihe., 401 North Michigan Avenue, Suite #5, Chicago, Illinois 60611. The 1997 Greenville-Pitt County Special Olympics Spring Games were held on April 17 at the Minges- Farley Athletic Complex. Congratulations to all who participated: the medal THE “M" VOICE - WEDNESDAY, APRIL Special Olympics — ay us fe Mobutu fires new PM In an attempt to reassert his control over! his crumbling country, 3 President Mobutu Sese “ Seko fires hisnew. #2 prime minister after sol-. * diers seized him during * a protest march. Mobutu immediately named an army general to replace him. Defense Ministry spokesman Leon Kalina 3 said the charges were ordered because of “the . gravity of the situation.” Soldiers fired tear gas to break up a march by thousands of Prime Minister Itienne Tshisekedi’s supporters: and there were reports that rebels had entered-: and possibly captured Zaire’s second-largest city. Meanwhile, the White House increased pressure on Mobutu to leave office. ““Mobutuism is about to’become a creature of - history,” White House spokesman Mike McClurry said this week. ANGOLA i eS a 9 cae ba hea bad SeERS “. a eee ee i***e & 2 & &e Rebel leader gets powers Jonas Savimbi, the former rebel leader who; agreed to share power °. with the Angolan gov- <: ernment, was given ae cial powers this week by Parliament. He will also be provided with ° bodyguards, all paid for by the state. ‘ Lawmakers hope the moves, which also +} include and undisclosed salary for Savimbi, ‘ will pave the way for a functioning coalition ;* government that formally ends two decades of, + civil war. The joint government of officials ‘a from the current administration and Savimbi’ si! UNITA would not join the government unless +4 Parliament approved a special role for him as opposition leader. Parliament agreed - 120 votes in favor, none against and six absten- tions - to give Savimbi the status “leader of the largest opposition party.” SOMALIA Opposition to meet President Hussein Mohamed Aidid’s opposi- tion factions have agreed to get together in June to plan a coalition government for Somalia. Ending a five-day congress this week, alii man Adan Abdullahi Gabyow said there Gi would be another meeting in the capital city of Mogadishu this weekend to put finishing touches on a national conference scheduled for June 10 in Basasso, a north-eastern port, town on the Horn of Africa. Participants in the congress, some of whom came from Canada and the United States, drew up a-proposal for -, a national parliament of 151 seats. They didn’t decide, however, whether constituencies would be drawn up along regional or clan lines. RWANDA Aid groups rap genocide trials * An international aid ° . organization this week « criticized Rwanda’s genocide trials, saying the judges and prosecu-7 tors are ill-trained and < defense lawyers overburdened. “The fact that trials are being held at all rep resents a significant step towards restoring justice in Rwanda, but the serious flaws put at risk the lives of those charged and the attempts at rebuilding the Rwandan justice system.” Amnesty International said. In addi- ' tion, they add, the judges ignore defendants’ claims that confessions were tortured out of them and suspects have little or no opportuni- ty to prepare their defense - overall, a situa- tion that makes fair trials impossible. Rwanda has about 100,000 people in crowded prisons awaiting trial in the 1994 government-spon- sored slaughter of a half-million Tutsis. Since the trial started Dec. 27, courts have sentenced at least 13 people to death. SUDAN winners, the volunteers, coaches, and sponsors. After all... with Special Olympics... we’re ALL part of the WINNING TEAM!!! (Staff Photos: Haywood Johnson, Jr.) ‘Magic’ is-Still Not AIDS Free, Doctors Warn Magic Johnson says his faith in God and the prayers of friends and family have helped his body push back the AIDS virus to undetect able levels. “If it wasn’t for the Lord’s blessing, I wouldn’t be as healthy as I am now,” Johnson told KCBS-TV’s Jim Hill in an interview broad- cast Friday. Earlier in the day, his doc- tors credited powerful drugs with reducing the virus in the former Los Angeles Lak- ers star’s body—but they added that he is not cured. “Karvin is doing very well,” Dr. David Ho and Dr. Michael Mellman, physi- | cians for Johnson, said in a joint statement. “However, we must emphasize that ‘undetectable’ doesn’t equal ‘absent. ‘ It would be premature and incorrect to say Earvin is ‘vi- rus free.’ We are very pleased he has adhered to his daily drug regi- men, and that is reflected in his good health.” “His viral activity is infinitesi- mal,” Johnson agent Lon Rosen said. But he acknowledged that did not mean the virus was gone. Johngon’s comments were in re- sponse to his wife’s comments to an Ebony magazine article that she believes low viral activity in Johnson’s bloodstream means he has been healed by God. “This is the First time we ‘ve ever said anything about the viral activity within my own system,” he said. “... So when she came out and said, because there’s no viral ac- tivity within my body, she feels, and we both believe, that we've been healed, by our faith in God and by his blessing,” Johnson said during a break in a practice with his touring basketball team. Johnson, who played for the Lakers from 1979 to 1992, dis- closed in November 1991 that he was HIV positive. He coached the team for the final 16 games of the 1993-94 season and came out of retirement to play the second half of last season before retiring for good. He now owns a small portion of we Lakers, At 37, Johnson maintains a strenuous exercise pro- gram and plays basketball with the Magic Johnson All- Stars, a touring team that competes in exhibition games, mostly in Europe. Johnson was not taking calls about his condition, Rosen said. Just as Johnson’s an- nouncement that he was HIV-positive catapulted the issue of AIDS into main- stream social discussions, activists hope that his progress encourages people to get tested and take ad- vantage of improved treat- Continued on page 8 \ Rebel leader says war is over Sudan’s leading rebel leader, John Garang, stood outside in the failing light and pointed at a map of southern Sudan hanging beside him. He smiled broadly. “I can, for all practical purposes, declare the war in the south is over,” Garang said this week. But Garang has been in this position before and let success slip through his grasp. In an earlier attempt to win autonomy from the Islamic government in Khartoum, he nearly succeeded in taking Juba, the regional capital in 1992. But he lost ground because of poor planning and divisions in the rebel leadership, The southerners are largely African, Christians or animists. They resent their Arab rulers and * the increasing Islamization of Sudan since it won independence from joint British and Egyptian rule in 1956. This time, the rebels have tanks - some of them captured from the ; Sudanese army - and surface-to-air missiles. As Garang spoke, soldiers of his Sudan People’s Liberation Army + most of them teenagers - milled about, wearing new looking uniforms and carrying AK-47 rifles. Garang won't say how he pays for these things, The government accuses Sudan’s neighbors - Eritrea, Kenya and Uganda - of supporting the rebels, But they and Garang deny it. Since the rebellion first began in 1983, an estimated 1,3; ° million people have died in fighting. or % . ; GREENVILLE—Though springtime can be unpredictable, one thing certain: The Children’s Miracle Net- ork will benefit from a bachelor auction be held April 22 at Champagne’s at the = Greenville Hilton. pach or auction April 22 to Denefit Children's Hospital CMN funds benefit the Children’s Hos- pital of Eastern North Carolina, a divi- sion of Pitt County Memorial Hospital. A date with some of the community's most eligible single men will be available for cash, check or credit card. Local busi- URBAN PERSPECTIVE % : by Larry Aubry : The perception many Americans have ef the nation’s health care system has been heavily influenced over the last forty years by popular television programs de- picting overworked, compassionate phy- bicians applying heroic measures to save the lives of their patients. However, the truer picture of how health care is admin- istered would include far more nurses’ assistants and home care aides changing the bedpans of home-bound cancer pa- tients. Changes in how and where health care is provided has had a significant impact on the type of jobs being created by the health care industry. The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies held a forum late last year which focused on job creation within health-care industries. It emphasized the health care in dustry as a major generator of new jobs. The growth in health care jobs is espe- cially meaningful for African Americans, New Health Jobs Pay Mostly since the proportion of black workers in health care is much higher than in the overall workforce . However, and this is critical, we must recognize that many of the new positions generated by the health care industry will be at the lower end of the wage scale. The healthcare industry employs roughly one of every eleven workers in the country, more people than the construc- tion industry, the auto industry, the steel industry or the transportation sector. With the disappearance of manufacturing from most urban communities, health care has become a major source of entry-level em- ployment for workers without college de- grees. For example, the health sciences field accounts for 9.9 percent of total em- ployment in St. Louis, 9.1 percent in De- troit, and 7.1 percent in Los Angeles. In Brooklyn, New York, the two largest em- ployers are Kings County Hospital, witha workforce of 6,800 and Brookdale Hospi- tal, with 4,500. nesses are supplying the couples with “dream date” packages. Hors d’oeuvres and drink specials start at S p.m., with the bidding at 7 p.m. No minimum bid. The event is sponsored by the WNCT-FM 107.9 Door prizes will be awarded. Low Salaries The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the total number of health jobs will continue to increase . This means new employment opportunities in a broad range of occupations, from high-skilled, high wage professionals, to low-skilled, low-wage jobs. Most of these jobs will occur among the lower-wage categories. Currently, the Service Employees Union reports that the average health-care worker earns about $22,000 a year, and many are under stressful and hazardous conditions. Apart from the division of labor, an- other change has been in the types of institutions that provide care. Twenty years ago, two-thirds of all health care jobs were in hospitals. Today, just under half are located in hospitals, and by the year 2005 hospital jobs are expected to drop to little over one-third. Care today is provided at an array of sites, including nursing homes, community-based clinics, group homes, and home-care agencies. From Page One - Wachovia Mortgage Loan cess, Wachovia Mortgage loan consult- ants will guarantee applicants one of two decisions: aloan commitment or a request for additional information to process the application. Desktop Underwriter is a component of Fannie Mae’s MORNETPlus streamlined loan decision system. “The home buyer desires and deserves quick, hassle-free service” said Glenn T. Austin Jr. 7 senior vice president of Fannie Mae’ s Southeastern regional of fice in Atlanta. “Wachovia’s Decision Now loan approval process, which uses Fannie Mae’s Desk- top Underwriter, enables mortgage loan consultants to take information and use their laptop capability anywhere, any- time to approve the application while with the customer. This means home buyers can get loan commitments faster and more efficiently than ever before.” Applicants are advised to call a Wachovia Mortgage From Page Six - Magic Johnson Ebony magazine in an interview published this month. Doctors “think it’s the medicine. We claim it in the name of Jesus,” Cookie Johnson said. “T honestly feel that the Lord is going to heal him and that we are going to live together forever and have more children and be happy.” ments. Thousands of HIV patients also have seen their infections recede to undetectable levels after taking drugs called protease inhibitors, approved last year by the Food and Drug Administration. “I speak on behalf of David Ho when I say one of the drugs in the combination (used by Johnson) is a protease inhibitor. I cannot say anything beyond that,” Ho’s brother and spokesman, Sidney Ho, confirmed Friday. “My concern is that people are going to think that Magic Johnson is the only person this is happen- ing to... that he’s cured .. . that there ‘s acure for AIDS, therefore, I don’t have to worry about being infected,” Lee Klosinski, director of educa tion at AIDS Project Los Angeles, said. A patient with undetectable vi- rus levels can still infect others and even if the virus is undetected in blood or semen, it can be present in other areas such as the intes- tines. “I hope people get the message about how important treatment is, Klosinski said. Protease in- hibitors reduce illnesses in infected patients. The drugs are taken with at least two other AIDS drugs on a strict schedule. The regimen some- times requires meticulous tim- ing—some drugs must be taken an hour before eating or two hours after. Side effects include nausea, vomiting, headaches, backaches and gastrointestinal problems. As many as 40 percent of pa- tients who take the potent “cock- tail of drugs eventually develop a resistance, either because the vi- rus becomes resistant after years on other AIDS drugs, or because patients don’t or are unable to take the drugs as ordered. The drugs ‘are expensive, costing between $12 ,000 and $15,000 a year. ' Nearly 90 percent of the people whotake the powerful drugs within 1a few months of being diagnosed ‘HIV-positive have undetectable ‘levels similar to Johnson, said Dr. ‘Jeffrey Laurence, a lead AIDS re- ‘searcher at Cornell Medical Cen- ‘ter and scientific consultant to the ‘American Foundation for AIDS ‘Research. | “People are living longer, but jwe're measuring it in months,” Laurence said. | The basketball star's wife in- sists it was God who intervened. ‘ “The Lord has definitely healed ,” Cookie Johnson told eo ta oe loan consultant prior to submitting a loan application to determine required docu- mentation. Fannie Mae is a congressionally char- tered, share-holder-owned company and the nation’s largest source of home mort- gages. It has committed to provide $1 trillion in targeted lending for 10 million homes by the end of the decade. The tar- geted lending will serve both low- and moderate-income families, minorities, new immigrants, residents of central cities and other underserved areas, and people who have special housing needs. More infor- mation about Fannie Mae can be found on the Internet at www.fanniemae.com. Desktop Underwriter is a registered trademark of Fannie Mae. Wachovia Mortgage Co.,a wholly owned subsidiary of Wachovia Corp., provides residential mortgage services through 93 locations in North Carolina, South Caro- lina, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, and *Please consult a tax advisor regarding the deductibility of interest. **Offer subject to credit approval an may vary. Introductory APR equal to Prime Rate, as quoted in The Wall Street Journal 1997 APR will equal Prime plus 1% (if this formula were in effect on February 20, 1997, the APR woulc costs when borrower takes an immediate advance of $5,000 or more at closing, Otherwise, borrower is responsible Property insurance required, a (ENDER Please visit us at our Internet web site at http://www.ucb-bank.com © 1997 United Carolina Bank Member FDIC Wachovia On-Call (1-800 WACHOVIA Wachovia.. Corp. is an interstate bank holding company with dual headquarters in Atlanta and Winston-Salem, N.C. As of Dec.. 31, 1996, Wachovia was the 20th. largest bank holding company in the United State with assets totaling $46.9 billion. More information about Wachovia can be found on the internet of www.wachovia.com... Wachovia Decision Now is a service mark of Wachovia. Another =o USI 5) service from SA tee gt ae Ses teal ete a ee ae “SISTER’-TO-”SIS TER”...Jackie Davis, her mother, Julia Davis, and a friend of the family...Dorothy Davis, share a brief moment to reflect on the blessings of this wonderful spring weather. (Staff photo: Jim Rouse) ' JOLLY’S © PAWN SHOP BUY — SELL — TRADE + ty, 3 * * i * * e ALMOST ANYTHING iNstanT PAWN CASH LOANS ON OF VALUE ez MON. — FRI.9-6 SAT. 9-5 Ss) . ar (TT < \- 7352-5759 CORNER NORTH GREEN ST & PACTOLUS HWY 3 | e 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! Instant approval, then just pick up your new car! No obligation to buy! WASHINGTON @PTOVOTA All the pieces fall into place with an Equity BuyLine from UCB. With Equity BuyLine, the moneys there whenever you need it, for whatever you need - a special occasion, or any major expense. And you pay interest only on the amount you use. And because this credit line is secured by the equity in your home, the interest may be tax-deductible: By establishing a UCB Equity BuyLine now, you can take advantage of our special introductory offer — an APR equal to Prime** and no closing costs when you borrow $5,000 or more at closing! To find out how Equity BuyLine can help you complete your financial picture, stop by any UCB office or call 551-1400. d available to those who apply by May 30, 1997. Annual Percentage Rate (APR) al, is available through November 30, 1997, APR on February 20, 1997 was 8.25%. Effective December 1, equal 9.25%), Maximum APR is 18%, minimum APR is 8%. UCB will waive closing for closing costs which typically range from $200 to $500. 8 home improvement, tuition, 1208 W. [5th St. Washington, NC 27889 UNITED CAROLINA BANK + + + + 4 + + + + * HOF Si a, oe aap ae eed so eed i MAGE LET Fa] a) ma Sy Pa ie i '' Raleigh - Joseph Arnold Bryant, one of the founding fathers of the Caledonia volunteer movement, has been named volunteer of the Year- by the Department of Cor- rection. “I commend Mr. Bryant for his unselfish support and tremendous dedication which spans three de- cades,” said Correction Secretary Mack Jarvis at a Wednesday lun- cheon honoring prison volunteers. Bryant, who teaches Sunday School and leads Bible study at Caledonia Correctional Institution in Tillery. also volunteers at Odom Correctional Institution in Jack- son. When an inmate raises a per- sonal concern, Bryant listens and quickly finds the link between the inmate’s concern and the scrip- ture under discussion. He then shows the whole group their stake in that concern and skillfully If you miss the warning signs of abrain attack, you may be putting your senses, speech and memory in danger in a matter of minutes. Brain attacks, commonly known 4 as strokes, affect different people @ in different ways. When a brain @ attack occurs, severe injuries in 7 mental andbodily functions—even | death—can result. Knowing the 7) warning signs of stroke and seek- @ ingimmediate medical treatment + if you notice any signals are criti- @ cal in avoiding the No. 3 killer in @ the United States, according to + the American Heart Association. American Heart Association vol- * unteers work year-round, particu- ‘larly during Stroke Awareness + Month in May, to reduce the inci- brings the conversation back to the scripture lesson. Bryant, from Roanoke Rapids, is a mentor for several rookie vol- unteers. His presence takes the edge off their initial concerns about being in a prison. “Bryant’s guid- ance and assistance with new vol- unteers is like sowing seeds that will bear fruit for many years to come,” said Henry G-regory, a chaplain at Caledonia. Bryant was one of eighteen volunteers nominated for Volunteer of the Year in the Division of Prisons. Others recognized during the lun- cheon’ included: Harvey Duningham Barron, Foothills Cor- rectional Institution; Virginia Wright Buchanan, Black Moun- tain Correctional Center for Women; Karen Campbell, NC Cor- rectional Institution for Women; dence of brain attack. The theme for this special month is “Stroke Is a Brain Attack. Know the Warn- ing Signs.” AHA volunteers nationwide are pooling their efforts ~o conduct awareness campaigns about brain attack—the leading cause of seri- ous disability in the United States. Stroke Awareness Month is de- signed to alert the public about stroke’s warning signs, how it might be prevented and resources available through the American Heart Association. Stroke killed 154,350 people in 1994 and accounted for about one of every 15 U.S. deaths. It’s the third largest cause Or death rank- ing behind diseases of the heart " HOME GIN 44 ‘IT’S SIMPLE Let us show you how simple it is to become a home owner and start to enjoy the American Dream. - Over 45 houses to choose from flexible financing and 3% down | payments. iq Give me a call or come see our fine sales staff. f Mitchell Cannavino | General Manager “Selling Near Cost” Jim Dudley Purchase a new home and say you saw this ad in The “M” Voice, and receive a $500.00 shopping spree. Store of your choice. 919-321-1553 Fax 919-321-1335 ® 1105Greenville Blvd. * Greenville, NC 27836 New Location: Lee R. Trent, III M.D. 801 S. Evans St. Greenville, NC 27835 Services: Family & General Medical Practice | Limited to Office Practice 1+ Active Weight Loss Program ¢ Male Impotence ¢ Preventive Care Volunteer of Year by Department of Corrections | Daniel H. Cottrell, Haywood Cor- rectional Center; Belmy M. Church, Forsyth Correctional Cen- ter; Ernest Dansby, Craggy Cor- rectional Center; Dexter Patrick Gibson, Sr:, Southern Correctional Institution; Douglas W. Goforth, Iredell Correctional Center; Ken- neth H. Griffith, Jr., Cabarrus Correctional Center; Simeon Khan Heninger, Orange Correctional Center; Maryella Ward Leigh, Currituck Correctional Center; Thomas E. Olliff Jr., Alamance Correctional Center; Joyce A. Schaub, Goldsboro Correctional Center; Pannie Smith, Harnett Correctional Istitution; Robert Edwin Smith, Morrison Youth In- stitution; Mack Junior Sowell, Johnston Correctional Center; Fran Sholar Wheeler, Columbus Correctional Institution. and cancer, according to the Na- tional Center for Health Statis- tics. A brain attack occurs when the blood supply to the brain is cut off. Both brain attack and heart at- tack are diseases of the circulatory system caused by rupturing or blocking of arteries. Duringa brain attack, the brain is starved for oxygen and brain cells begin to die within minutes. That is why im- mediate medical attention is cru- cial. “Much of the general public is unfamiliar with the warning signs of a stroke,” said I)r. James R, Harper, Jr. MD, president of the American Heart Association North Carolina Affiliate, “Stroke must be treated with the same sense of urgency asa heart attack. In order to receive immediate treatment, people must be able to recognize the warning signs of stroke.” The warning signs associated with stroke are: ¢ Sudden weakness or numb- ness of the face, arm or leg on one side of the body. ¢ Sudden dimness of loss of vi- BREAKTHROUGH YOUTH REVIVAL with Famed Recording Artist Dr. Rance Allen of Toledo, Ohio April 28-30, 1997 at 7:30 pm At Victory Christian Assembly 4748 Stantonburg Road (Corner of Stantonsturg & Mozingo Road) Greenville, NC 27834 Dr. Paul A. Thomas, Sr. Pastor For more information, Call (919) 752-PRAY /830-1442 Come and be blessed of the Lord Today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders...Pictured above are four of tomorrow’s leaders, From left to right, Joey, Cammie, Halissha, and Haywood, III. (Staff Photo: Haywood Johnson, Jr. Brain Attack Warning Signs Need Emergency Care sion, particularly ill one eye. * Loss of speech, or trouble talk- ing or understanding speech. ¢ Sudden, severe headaches with no apparent cause. * Unexplained dizziness, un- steadiness or sudden falls, espe- cially along with any of the previ- ous symptoms . If you experience one or more of the warning signs of brain attack, get medical help immediately. Karly intervention can minimize brain injury, and preventive care may reduce the risk of stroke, ac- cording to the American Heart Association. “About 10 percent of brain at- tacks are preceded by ‘temporary strokes’,” said Dr. Harper, “These can occur days, weeks or even months before a major stroke.” Temporary strokes, also known as transient ischemic attacks or TIAs, result when a blood clot tem- porarily clogs an artery and part of the brain doesn’t get the supply of blood it needs. “The symptoms are like those of a full-fledged brain attack. They occur rapidly and last a relatively short time, usually from afew min- utes to several hours,” Dr. Harper said. High blood pressure is one of the risk factors of stroke. The higher your blood pressure. the greater your risk of stroke. Some groups are more prone to developing high blood pressure than others. In this country, African-Americans, Mexi- can-Americans, Cuban-Ameri- cans, Puerto Ricans, and Asian- Americans often have higher blood pressure than other groups. Com- pared to whites, young African- Americans have a two-to-three- fold greater risk of cerebral infarc- tion, and African American men and women are 2.5 times more likely to die of stroke. Millions of people arechallenged by the devastating aftermath of stroke. Until recently, no formal, national network linking members of the stroke community existed to aid in their emotional and physi- cal recovery. The American Heart Association’s Stroke Connection is a grass roots network of alliances, coalitions, outreach programs and more than 1,000 stroke support groups dedicated to improving the quality of life for survivors and caregivers. If you or someone you know has had a stroke, you can reach the Stroke Connection at 1- 800-553-6321. For more information on brain attack prevention and Stroke Awareness Month activities call your nearest American Heart As- — sociation at (919) 968-4453 or 1- 800-AHA-USA-lor online at http:/ /www.amhn.org New Century Sax Quartet performs free concert in Tarboro The Edgecombe County Arts Council-is pleased to announce a free afternoon of great music on the beautiful and historic Tarboro Town Common. The New Century Saxophone Quartet, based in Win- ston-Salem, NC is the only en- semble of its kind to in First Prize at the Concert Artists Guild New York Competition. They play ev- erything from Mozart to Gershwin, “Tackling brave new territory...with a unique blend of conviction, refined talent and...ambition” (I,~ Times). The group’s engagements have been many and impressive, including a Command Performance at the White House, the Ambassador Auditorium in Los Angeles, the Gardner Museum in Boston, and international performances in Holland and the Republic of Panama. The Quartet is currently under- taking a projectin their home state, playing for North Carolinians in seven communities along U.S. Highway 64 “from the mountains to the coast,” made possible through the Project Support Grant Meet Singles Warting to Meet You! Program of the North Carolina Arts Council, a state agency. On Sunday, April 27, the group will be giving one‘of these performances on the Town Common in ‘Tarboro. “The recital, which is free of charge and open to the public, will begin at 3 :00 pm. Everyone is encour- aged to bring a blanket or lawn chair and a picnic basket to this unique event, which is sponsored in part by Tarboro Savings Bank, SSB. The program will include a Pavanne by Morton Gould, selec- tions from West Side Story, Saxophone Quartet No. 2 by Lenny Pickett, works by Arthur Frackenpohl and Russell Peck, and Porgy and Bess Suite by George Gershwin. The following day (Monday the 28th) the group will share their time and talents with Edgecombe County music students at North Edgecombe High School, and at Philips Middle School. For more information about this or other upcoming events, please call the Arts Council at 641-ARTS. Listen to messages from, 4 single guys and gals ‘ and leave your own! ic , $2.99 per min. Must be 18 years or older. Serve-U 619- 645-8434 | | Carpet R Vinyl ROG, ‘vag Wallpaper Draperless ‘f Bedspreads Blinds Wood Rugs Remnants CARPET & RUGS “Prices rere Gorn Here... and Raised Elsewhere” A Company Committed To Quality, Excellence, and Customer Satisfaction. ALL EYES ON CRIME. It takes two sets of eyes to help prevent crime: yours and the police Office Hours: Mon - Wed - Fri: 9am - Spm Tue - Thu: 9am - 3pm Saturday: 10am - 3pm department's. Keep your eyes open. Be aware of your surroundings. There are many simple things you can do to keep yourself and your EQUALEYES' property safer. Your actions send a message. Call the Greenville Police Informed public and police against crime P ; Department's EqualEyes program 830-EYES Your Complete Home Interior Design Center Calls $30-0468 for crime prevention information. Greenville Police Department | for a ppointm ent This project wos supported by Grant No, 96:1B-VX-1982 awarded by the Bureau of Jastice Assistonce, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice 2808 East Tenth Street, Greenville 75 2.7000 | Points of view in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily ti 1} the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice i ©1907 CITY OF GREENVILLE, NC By Staff Writer é: Freedom from "slavery." To be . counted as first class not second class citizens. To be counted as citizen's period. Equal represen- tation in goyernment and foreign policy. Fair and equal distribution of wealth. Acknowledgment of ~ contributions and achievements. “ Fair and equal opportunities to , pursue the American dream - not a hand out but a hand. A chance to , speak for ourselves instead of .. allowing others to speak for us. A ~ chance to be heard... Are these the goals of Black “Americans in 1827 or 4997. ~ Sometimes, given the slant of mainstream media and mainstream _ American, it can be difficult to tell. _ Leveling the playing field and championing the cause however, is the collective voice of the Black Press of Amerita. This year commemorates the 170 anniversary of the Black Press of America with Freedom's Journal, published by Samuel Cornish and John B. Russwurm, was the first African- American owned and edited newspaper to be published in the United States. This editorial, printed here in its entirety, illustrate the Journal's aim at bringing an end to slavery and discrimination. To Our Patrons In presenting our first number to our Patrons, we feel all the difference of persons entering upon a new and untried line of business. But a moment's reflection upon the noble objects, which we have in view by the publication of this Journal; the expediency of its appearance at this time, when so many schemes are in action concerning our people -- encourages us to come boldly before an enlightened public. For we believe, that a paper devoted to the dissemination of useful knowledge among our brethren, and to their moral and religious improvement, must meet with the cordial approbation of every friend to humanity. The peculiarities of this Journal, renders it important that we should advertise to the world our motives by which we are actuated, and the objects which we contemplate. We wish to plead our own cause. Too long have others spoken for us. Too long has the public been deceived by misrepresentations, in things which concern us dearly, though in the estimation of some mere trifles; for though there are many in society who exercise towards us benevolent feelings; still (with sorrow we confess it) there are others who make it their business to enlarge upon the least trifle, which tends to the discredit of any person of colour; and pronounced anathemas and denounce our whole body for the misconduct of this guilty one. We are aware that there are many instances of vice among us, but we avow that it is because no one has taught its subjects to be virtuous; many instances of poverty, because no sufficient efforts accommodated to minds contracted by slavery, and deprived of early education have been made, to teach them how to, husband have been made, to teach them how to husband their hard earnings, and to secure to themselves comfort. Education being an object of the highest importance to the welfare of society, we shall endeavor to present just and adequate views of it, and to urge upon our brethren the necessity and expediency of training their children, while young, to habits of industry, and thus forming them for becoming useful members of society. It is surely time that we should awake from this lethargy of years, and make a concentrated effort for the education of our youth. We form a spoke in the human wheel, and it is necessary that we should understand our pendency on the different parts, and theirs on us, in order to perform our part with propriety. xy Rerch 7 1997 Black Press, peakie up for the people the observance of Black Press Week, which took place March 19 - 22nd. The Freedom's Journal, the pioneer of this distinguished tradi- tion of protest and empowerment was launched on March 30, 1827. by John Russwurm and Rev. Samuel Cornish. Its aim was to put the plight bf Black Americans before the public. Circulated on the streets of New York City, the paper called for freedom and equal rights for Black Americans and demanded an end to slavery and injustice.. It emphasized education, self-im- provement and industry. The first front page editorial read, ‘We wish to plead our own cause. Too long have others spoken for us." The editors of the paper, John Russwurm and Samuel Cornish were both young educated black men born to free parents. Russwurm, who served as editor from 1827-1829 was born in Jamaica, West Indies and was the ‘first black person to graduate from Bowdoin college in Maine. Samuel Cornish born in Delaware in 1795, established the first black Presbyterian church in New York City before starting the Freedom's Journal with Russwurm. Following the success of the Freedom's Journal, hundreds of other black newspaper began to spring up all over the country. Including, the Christian Recorder, in Philadelphia, PA, in 1852 (which is still in print today). These newspapers, addressing some of the same issues that we face today as a people, became not only a viable source of protest but also commerce. Known - as the first means of black enterprise in America, these papers created an economic base that wielded power all the way to the White House. During the 1940's over a century after the first black newspaper was started, black newspaper publishers. recognizing the power in unity, came together as a conglomerate, forming the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA). “A meeting of eleven publishers of the most prominent black newspapers of the day, headed by Robert Abbott Sengstake (publisher of the Chicago Defender, the most widely circulated black weekly), came to order. The group committed to the traditions began by publishers a century before, called for an end to segregation in the military. The group (NNPA) took their cause to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and eight years after that initial meeting, President Harry Truman formed a comynittee on which Robert Sengstake served, that drew up guidelines that eventually led to an end of written segregation in the military. - Today, the black press contihues to carry on the traditions started by. black publishers over a century ago; reporting from a cultural perspective and providing a voice , that presents both sides of the issues. This year the annual meeting between the NNPA and President Bill Clinton met on behalf of the National Coalition for Fairness to Nigeria to address the issue of foreign policy and economic sanctions imposed upon Nigeria. Recent statistics from the NNPA report that afro centric newspapers are read by 10 million people of color annually. However, the challenges facing these papers are surviving the onset of attacks by white owned publications that are "skillfully" competing and eating up market shares that rightfully belong to the black press. In some cases for instance, magazines like "Heart and Soul", Vibe and Legacy, (publications that are white owned) are marketing to the black consumer under the illusion of being a black publication. ‘So reader be ware." Unlike mainstream media, the Freedom’s Journal 1827 FREEDOMS JOURNAL. sheen | RBWe FORK, FRIDAY, BARC &6, 1080, | veL. WO 2. NY Wh nt! hl 2g . ie | ih a Ni aft 7 ha During the long and bitter period of slavery, many free Negroes turned to their own churches and publications to provide them with a sense of community and a measure of hope. Black-owned newspapers and magazines like the one above were filled with news about slave conditions and the fight for abolition. Many of the active leaders in the struggle against slavery came from the ranks of Negro clergymen. Free blacks, who were often required to sit in segregated pews in white churches, had long since organized their own congregations — like the African Methodist Episcopal Church of Cincinnati, at left. Such churches, said a Negro leader, offered each member the “opportunity to be himself, to | think his own thoughts . . . in the exercise of the faculties of his own soul, trust and achieve.”’ and thus, We wish to plead our cause. Too long, have others spoken for us.—Samuel Cornish and John Russworm, Founders, Freedom Journal Though not desiring of dictating, we shall feel it our incumbent duty to dwell occasionally upon the general principles and ruled of economy. The world has grown too enlightened, to estimate any man's character by his _ personal appearance. Though all men acknowledge the excellency of Franklin's maxims, yet comparatively few practice upon them. We may deplore when it is too late, the neglect of these self- evident truths, but it avails little to mourn. Ours will be the task of admonishing our brethren on these points. The civil rights of a people being of the greatest value, it shall ever be our duty to vindicate our brethren, when oppressed; and to lay the case before the public. We shall also urge upon our brethren, (who are qualified by the laws of the different states) the expediency of using their elective franchise; and of making an independent use of the same, We wish them not to become the tools of party. And as much time is frequently —#f lost, and wrong principles instilled, by the perusal of works of trivial importance, we shall consider it a part of our duty to recommend to our young readers, such authors as will not only enlarge their stock of useful knowledge, but such as will also serve to stimulate them to higher attainments in science, We trust also, that through the columns of the Freedom's Journal, many practical pieces, having for their bases, the improvement of our brethren, will be presented to them, from the pens of many of our respected friends, who have kindly promised their assistance. _ It is our earnest wish to make our Journal a medium of intercourse between our brethren in the different states of this great confederacy; that through its columns an expression of our sentiments, On many interesting subjects which concerns us, may be offered to the public; that plans which apparently are beneficial may be candidly discussed and properly weighed; if worth, receive our cordial approbation; if not, our marked disapprobation. Useful knowledge of every ied and everything that relates to Africa, shall find a ready admission into our columns; and as that vast continent becomes daily more known, we trust that many things will come to light, proving that the natives of it are neither so ignorant nor stupid as they have generally been supposed to be. And while these important subjects shall occupy the columns of the Freedom's Journal, we would not be unmindful of our brethren who are still in the iron fetters of bondage. They are our kindred by all the ties of nature; and though but little can be effected to us, still let our sympathies be poured forth _and our prayers in their behalf, ascend to Him who is able to succor them. From the press and the pulpit we have suffered much by being incorrectly represented, Men whom we equally love and admire have not hesitated, to represent us disadvantageously, without becoming personally acquainted CELEBRATING 70 YEARS OF SERVICE TO YOU ~ 1927-1997 with the true state of things, nor discerning between virtue and vice among us. The virtuous part of our people feel themselves sorely aggrieved under the existing state of things -- they are not appreciated. Our vices and our degradation are ever arrayed against us, but our virtues are passed by unnoticed. ~ And what is still more lamentable, our friends, to whom we concede all the principles of humanity and religion, from these very causes seem to have fallen into the current of popular feeling and are imperceptibly floating on the stream-actually living in the practice of prejudice, while they abjure it in theory, and feel it not in their hearts, Is it not very desirable that such should know more of our actual condition; and of our efforts and feelings, that in forming or advocating plans for our amelioration, they may do it more understanding? In the spirit of candor and humility we intend by a simple representation of facts to lay our case before the public, with a view to arrest the progress of black press focuses on the hopes, dreams and achievements of Black Americans, speaking for the people _ without fear or favor.... The survival of the black’ press is in the hands of Black. Americans. Our growth as“ a people and our economic survival depends on how well we support our own endeavors. Our challenge is to be responsible for what we read and report and to know the source of our news. To challenge the things we disagree and demand that the news medium we choose is fair and “down the middle." Any thing less would be a great social injustice. The Black Press believes that Americans can best lead the world away from racial and national antagonisms when it accords to every man, regardless of race, color or creed, his human and legal tights. Hating no man, fearing no man, the Black Press strives to help every man in the firm belief that all are hurt as long as anyone is held back..." Creed of the Black Press. Editorial from the first edition of prejudice, and to shield ourselves against the consequent evils. We wish to conciliate all and to irritate none, yet we must be firm and unwavering in our principles, and persevering in our efforts. If ignorance, poverty and degradation have hitherto been our unhappy lot; has the Eternal decree gone forth, that our race alone are to remain in this state, while knowledge and civilization are shedding their enlivening rays over the rest of the human family? The recent travels of Denham and Clapperton in the interior of Africa, and the interesting narrative which they have published; the establishment of the republic of Haiti after years of sanguinary warfare; its subsequent progress in all the arts of civilization; and the advancement of liberal ideas in South America, where despotism has given place to free governments, and where many of our brethren now fill important civil and military stations, prove | the contrary. The interesting fact that there.are 5,000 free persons of color, one , half of whom might peruse, and the whole be benefitted by the publication of the Journal; that no publication, as yet, has been devoted exclusively to their improvement -- that many selections from approved standard authors, which are within the reach of few, may occasionally be made -- and more important still, that this large body of our citizens have no public channel -- all serve to prove the real-necessity, at present, for the appearance of the Freedom's Journal. It shall ever be our desire so to conduct the editorial department of our paper as to give offence to none of our patrons; as nothing i§ farther from us than to make it the advocate of any partial views, either in politics or religion. What few days we can number, have been devoted to the improvement of our brethren; and it is our earnest wish that the remainder may be spent in the same delightful service. In conclusion, whatever concerns us as a people, will ever find a ready admission into the Freedom's Journal, interwoven with all the principal news of the day. And while every thing in our power shall be performed to support the character of our Journal, we would respectfully invite our numerous friends to assist by their communications, and our coloured brethren to strengthen our hands by their subscriptions, as our labour is one of common cause, and worthy of their cohsideration and,support. And we most eargestly solicit the latter, that if at any time we should seem to be zealous, or too pointed in the inculcation of any important lesson, they will remember, that they are equally Ynterested in the _ cause in which we are engaged, and ‘attributed our zeal to the peculiarities of our situation; and our earnest engagedness in their well- being, ‘ss. * «= Wy we - — —| on Oo mo fhe OO OC ODO fF LS oo oO x _—— Gis ergs i eee The University of North Caro- lina Board of Governors has ap- proved a pilot off-campus p to offer Registered Nurses in Wake County an opportunity to work toward the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree through the de- partmentofnursing at North Caro- lina Central University. Classes are expected to begin in August, 1998, at Wake Technical Community College and the neigh- boring Wake Area Health Educa- tion Center facility. The proposal approved by the Board of Gover- nors Friday (April 11) anticipates the use of“distance learning” tech- nology, primarily computer net- Dr. Lana Henderson, Associ- ate Dean of the North Carolina Central University College of Arts and Sciences, and Dr. Fran Jackson, Associate Professor of Education at NCCU, have been awarded a $47,000 grant from the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Program of the U.S. Department of Education. They will use the grant to con- duct a four-week study program in three Caribbean countries for 12 North Carolina arts teachers. The grant will take the two NCCU professors and the 12 teachers to the Leeward and Windward Islands of the West Indies, and the Dominican Re- public from June 29 through July 28. They will visit Guadeloupe in the Leeward Islands, and Martinique in the Windward Is- lands. The program will focus on Af- rican-Spanish and African- French traditions in the cultural arts of the Caribbean. The Universite des Antilles and dela Guyane will provide lecturers and assistance with field studies at Guadeloupe and Martinique, and the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Urena will pro- vide similar assistance in the Dominican Republic. The schedule will include guided study tours of museums, as well as productions in dance, theatre, and music. Eligible to participate are full- time teachers of the cultural arts in North Carolina, as well as NCCU Faculty members receive Fulbright funds college and university students who will engage in practice teach- ing in 1997-98 in art, music, the- atre, or dance. The Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Program grant of $47,000 will cover a part of the costs of the four week seminar Each participant will be asked to pay $800 as a registration fee. Costs covered by the fee and the grant include scheduled confer- ences and cultural activites as well as the costs of international travel, room, and board. Partici- pants will be expected to attend, at their own expense, a two-day orientation and a one-day post- seminar session at NCCU. Applications should be made to Dr. Lana Henderson, Associ- ate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, PO Box 19467, N.C. Central University, Durham NC 27707, and should include a let- ter expressing interest in the program, acopy of the candidate’s resume, a statement of the applicant’s beliefs about multi- cultural education in his or her field of study and work, a de- scription of the benefits the ap- plicant expects to derive from the experience, and a one-page proposal for the development of a curriculum module at the applicant’s institution. (Joint Proposals are encouraged) These materials should be received at NCCU by April 30, and may be sent by facsimile transmission to 919 560-5361. -—9 PRIMERICA Financial Services Dr. Patricia G. Brewer For Your Insurance Needs 1530 S. Evans Street, Greenville (919) 355-2363 Representing Primerica Life Insurance Company Travelers Insurance THE INC, retirement, etc. NORITY VOICE, WOOW Radio WTOW Radio The “M” Voice Newspapet... Presents 1997 Black Leadership Summit Wednesday & Thursday June 18 & 19 at 7:30 pm DuBois Center 200 Hooker Rd. Greenville, N.C. theme "Bringing People Together .Be a part of the Discussion on issues affecting your ‘community - economics, crime & violence, education, health, teen pregnancy, socialsecurity, Food and beverage, Networking, fellowship Don't Miss It! For more information: Call: 919-757-0365 « Fax: 919-757-1793 working and video conferencing, to reduce travel time for the Wake County nurses and NCCU faculty members. Appropriations of approximately $23,000 for fiscal year 1996-97 and $92,000 in 1997-98 are expected to be provided by the UNC system to support curriculum development Dr. Beverly Washington Jones, professor of history at North Caro- lina Central University, has been invited by retired General Colin L. Powell to be a delegate to the Presi- dents’ Summit for America’s Fu- ture, to be held in Philadelphia, April 27-29. President William J. Clinton and his immediate predecessor, Presi- dent George H.W. Bush., are the honorary co-chairs of the event, of which Powell is general chairman. Powell served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under both. Dr. Jones is one of ten delegates to the convention from the Re- search Triangle area. She is a The deaths of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls, and the fear of re- taliation on other “gangsta rap- pers” that have caused many of the “big names” to go into hiding, have caused many of us to stop and reflect on the dilemmas facing the rap industry. This is not a discussion to be rushed into be- cause it requires some serious con- templation, not a bunch of “drive- by” discussion—lip service that you flip off after the song has played. It’s more serious than that. We Mean a Great DEAL To Your business Ofice Cente. - Letter Size (Box of 109) Office Equipment Company 569 S. Evans Street*Greenville. NC 919-752-2175*800-682-8233 \ A h line ot credit just for you. Apply today @: “We reserve the right to limit quantities. No sales to dealers.” and associated costs. The new program will serve working nurses. Because of. the video conferencing and computer technology to be usedin the project, course scheduling is expected to be flexible. Registered nurses without bachelor’s degrees are still the larg- member of the Durham Public School Board and directs two pro- grams at NCCU, the Institute for the Study of Minority Issues and the Community Service Program. Other delegates to the April 27- 29 meeting from this area are Joe Capowski, a member of the Chapel Hill Town Council who represents Chapel Hill Mayor Rosemary Waldorf; Tom Dugard, president of the Triangle United Way; Tom Fetzer, Mayor of Raleigh; Scott Gardner, District Manager of Duke Power Co. in Chapel Hill; Carl Kenney, minister of Orange Grove Missionary Baptist Church and chair of Durham Congregations in I’ve received over 100 calls to write about this issue. In one of the most insincere (and hypocriti- cal) acts in recent history, I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing my a** off as one of the biggest exploiters of gangsta rap, Los An- geles’ KKBT, decided it was going to have one morning of dialogue, talking about “rap music is out of control.” The entity that drove this madness into the airwaves still wants to maintain it’s about “personal responsibility” of the Pitice Centre ort ce Cong Pretiun, brig OFFICE” CENTRE ROCK’S Lounge Whst Fifth Greenuille, N.C. Open Monday thru Sunday ROOCK BROWN, Owner/Operator Street ee Cash for any wee | Bd reenville, Homeowners Call now ¢ Purchase or refinance up to 125% ¢ Doublewides (up to 100%) Modular & Conventional Home Improvements Singlewides (up to 95%) Foreclosures & Bankruptcies Good or limited to Bad Credit Save Money thru consolidating debts in with your monthly payment. VIP Mortgage & Financial Services (New Management) 1530 S. Evans St NI ¢ Sutte 106 2/7834 Kimberly Best Be Pah j 91 j Yee eae aes e NCCU approved to offer 'Distance Learning’ Nursin 7 est single group of nurses in prac tice in North Carolina. The plan- ners of the new program told the Board of Governors that 533 nurses in Wake Coun ty requested courses leading to the gona ce ina 1997 AHEC survey. The county has no baccalaureate nursing pro- grams. The NCCU department and Action; Mayor Sylvia Kerckhoff of Durham; Wake County Commis- sioner Vernon Malone, represent- ing Cary Mayor Koka Booth; Eric Pristell, Director of the Youth Credit Union Development Project in Raleigh; Waltye Rasulala, Pub- lic Affairs Director for Capitol Broadcasting Co. of Raleigh; Julia Scatliff, director of Southern Com- munity Partners in Durham; Bill Shore, Director of Community Af- fairs, Glaxo-Wellcome, Inc. , Re- search Triangle Park; and Lucille Webb, Chairman of the Manage- ment Team of Strengthening the Black Family, Inc., of Raleigh. rappers, and not the music. Rap radio’s hands are as dirty as the triggermen that killed Tupac and Biggie. It’s like giving a child poison, they take it and die, then saying the child should have known bet- ter. There has been an abdication of personal (and public) responsi- bility in FCC-regulated public ra- dio when it comes to these rap radio stations. It seems like there’s almost some “exemption” given to those who play more filth. This is nolaughing matter, but sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying when you see the level of insensitivity some of these sta- tions demonstratein the aftermath of these tragedies. Everybody that appeared on “the Beat’s” little peace talk, promised to bring the peace. But “the Beat,” which is a major outlet for this music, a lit- eral 24 hour forum for filth, never promised to stop playing the mu- sic, which is the drumbeat for the violence gangsta’ rap propagates. After the show, (not fifteen min- utes later) it was back to paying the bills and raking in the cash, playing the next generation of “rap madness.” Fast-tracking the next “Tupac” or the next “Notorious B.I.G. down the same path of de- struction. As a vehement critic of “the Beat,” this could be a chance to slam them, but this is bigger than my “beef” with “the Beat” because every major city now has “a BEAT” station, that propagates filth for profit. If rappers and their music are sion program, without the distance : learning component, through — Vance-Granville Community Col- lege. ‘ Dr. Jones named to Presidential Summit delegation Powell’s letter of invitation de- scribed the Presidents’ Summit as an effort to create a national part- nership to improve the lives of children and youth. Gov. Jim Hunt invited the North Carolina delegates to the summit to an April 8 meeting in Raleigh as a preliminary to the Philadelphia meeting. The Raleigh meeting was chaired by Robin Britt and Les Boney of the Governor’s staff. The three other North Carolina areas from which delegates to the Philadelphia meeting were invited are Asheville, Charlotte, and Pitt County. out of control, they’re only the pas- sengers in a gangstermobile gone awry. Greedy, urban-targeted “gangsta rap radiois definitely the driver. The most serious conflict facing youth and young adultsin America (not black America, but America) today is discerning the difference between self-destructive music that promotes self-destructive be- haviors and reality-based themes that manifest themselves in a self- destructive culture. They may seem like the same, both are highly negative and have questionable benefit to the society at large, and the differences are minor in scope. However, the differences are major in impact and the finality that results from the lack of re- straint these activities bring about. And for the past few years, we’ve allowed the “commoditizers of this filth,” record companies distribu- tors going after big profits) and radio stations (going after ratings and ad revenues) to deny respon- sibility by saying, “it’s not the - music.” “These artist have first amend- ment rights to express them- selves.” That’s partially true. They do have a right to express them- selves, but their music promotes mayhem and destruction that is not socially appropriate for public consumption. Gangsta rap is more than mu- sic, it’s a culture now, a part of the way this society has chosen to ac- cept how our youth view them- selves. Ike and Tina’s Son Arrested for Fraud The ex-convict son of Tina and Ike Turner is accused of using a stolen credit card to buy orange juice and condoms from a drug store and faces a criminal trial. Ricky Turner, 41, was scheduled for a preliminary hearing this week in Los Angeles Superior Court and is expected to be charged with burglaryandcreditcardfraud,pros ecutors said. He was arrested March 20 outside a Thrifty’s drug store in Los Angeles after using a credit card that did not belong to him, said Deputy Tiiatriet Attarnev David A. Augh. Turner was on parole for a 1995 car theft conviction he had already served 18 months in jail for when he was arrested. He has remained at Men’s Central Jail with bail set at $80,000 since his recent arrest. Turner's lawyer said his cocaine addiction is the basis for his unlawful ways, which includes a 1988 conviction for receiving stolen property, two burglary convictions in 1990 and the 1995 car theft. Prosecutors will bring him to trial instead of granting him admission to a drug diversion program because of his past record. His musical parents, Ike and Tina, have both written books about their tumultuous relationship with each other. Tina Turner’s book, “I, Tina,” was made into the movie “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” and portrayed a marriage of drugs and sexual abuse. S , 4 Beauty Supply Gis ROB 562 Pamlico Plaza, Washington, NC 27889 (WalMart helt sal Call for Delivery (Limited Area) Open Hours: 9 AM till 6 PM - 9 AM till 6:30 PM - Fri. 8:30 AM till 6:30 PM on Sat. Call 975-2665 Friday from Mon. - Thurs. BRAIDS Sep BRAIDS We cater ta all hatr shin types + The Latest Styles and Trends in Braiding | » Tor All eee of Hair | ’ By Keith W. Cooper 7, four survivors of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study asked the honorable President Clinton for an official apology because black men in Tuskegee, Alabama were used by the Federal government as guinea pigs in a syphilis experi- ment decades ago. The men, who had syphilis, were denied treat- ment for many years as the Fed- eral government was studying the disease and its implications. Peni- cillin, a drug discovered by Alexander Fleming, could have been used to treat the disease at ~V~ THE"M" VOICE - WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16 - APRIL 23, 197 -African-Americans Used As Guinea Pigs the time thé men needlessly suf- fered from the dreaded illness. Dr. Marcellus Barksdale, a dis- tinguished professor in the Afri- can-American Studies Depart- ment at Morehouse College in At- lanta, Georgia, offered some can- did, insightful comments on the infamous syphilis study: “It was one of the tragedies of African- American history. The men were allowed to live with syphilis all that time. The men who were part of the experiment were all Afri- can-American.” The professor con- tinued, “This really highlights rac- ASK THE DOCTOR To Salt or Not to Salt, That Is the Question (NU) - Question: Dear Dr. Neutel, [have high blood pressure and am confused about all the dif- ferent opinions I read on salt use. What advice should I follow? Answer: This is an interesting question because it addresses the salt controversy, a topic of discus- sion in the medical community. Doctors have increasingly voiced their concern for Americans’ salt intake. Sodium, one of the main ingredients in salt, is an impor- tant mineral that helps maintain a proper fluid balance in the body. Americans on average consume about three teaspoons of table salt each day, about twice the amount recommended by the National In- stitutes of Health (NIH). But the question remains, how much salt is too much? Answering this question has re- sulted in studies attempting to determine the effect of sodium on people who have, or are at risk for, heart disease and hypertension (high blood pressure). Most stud- ies have shown that a diet high in salt correlates with a rise in blood pressure and may counteract the effects of blood pressure lowering medicines. About 50 million Ameri- cans, 25 percent of the U.S. adult population, have high blood pres- sure, In an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, some scientists questioned the long-held belief that sodium-re- stricted diets are an essential part of high blood pressure manage- ment. Their report indicated that salt-restricted diets helped older hypertensive patients, whileit was difficult to determine the effect on other patient populations. On the other hand, NIH contin- ues to recommend that all patients with high blood pressure cut back on salt. The NIH says that despite the studies that question the need for salt-restricted diets in people with high blood pressure, most scientific evidence still points to the fact that at least moderate reduction in sodium would improve the public health. The NIH and the American Heart Association recommend no more than 2.3 grams of sodium, or about 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, per day. The bottom line is that the bal- ance of evidence suggests that in people with a family history of hypertension or a blood pressure above 140/90 mm Hg, reducing salt intake is most likely to be “ beneficial. In a survey of physi- cians, 99.5 percent said that so- dium reduction is important to the dietary management of high blood - ism that was involved. It also speaks to how some of us would just buy into asystem that fraudu- lently and falsely presents itself as something legitimate.” When I asked about the related litigation of the 1970s, the professor sug- gested, “I assume that people thought that the experiment would be detrimental to those involved. The settlement reached could not compensate for the suffering.” The educator mentioned the movie, “Rosewood,” as another example ofhow African-Americans have been used, abused, accused, pressure. As the saying goes, “all things in moderation.” People have been trying for years to find an alternative to salt that actually tastes like salt. A new product called Cardia™ Salt Al- ternative fits the bill. In fact, 99 percent who tested Cardia agree that it tastes just like salt. Be- cause it has 54 percent less so- dium, plus the essential minerals potassium and magnesium, Car- dia helped lower blood pressure when used instead of salt in a clinical study. Both reduced so- dium and adequate intake of these two minerals are recommended by the NIH as part of a heart-healthy diet. Cardia can be found in your local drug store. My advice to people with high blood pressure is drop the heavy hand on the salt shaker, limit the ,use of processed foods with high sodium levels, try a salt alterna- tive, and eat foods high in potas- sium and magnesium. If you have high blood pressure, always con- sult your doctor to see what’s right Score! , 1-900-388-5900 ba NHL \Y ext. 7485 Scores, highlights, spreads and more!!! r THE ANOINTED ONES CHURCH PRESENTS ’. Yolauda 4¢dame MEMORIAL DAY Monday, May 26, 1997 The Anointed Ones Church 600 S. Edge Road Ayden, NC 28513 One Night and One Night Only! Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. Concert will begin at 7:00 p.m. Dr. Ruth Peterson invites the public. and confused for centuries. More- over, the professor gave the fol- lowing closing remarks: “The Tuskegee experiment shows our victimization and more than that, it speaks to a deep-rooted racism visible in the American fabric.” Nevertheless, though Clinton’s apology will not right the wrongs of the despicable syphilis experi- ment, it will be a major step in the right direction. I wish former presi- dents had offered an apology. Afri- can-Americans, through vigilance, should insure that similar experi- ments do not become future reali- ties. , for you. Joel M. Neutel, M.D., is chief of the Hypertension Center, Veter- ans Administration Hospital, Long Beach, Calif., and director of research,Orange County Heart Institute. ie PROPERTY IDENTIFICATION PROGRAM Engrave your identification number on your property, own personal making it easy to identify if stolen. You can borrow an engraver from the police department Take photographs of your jewelry and other valuables Make a list of your personal property with mode! descriptions and serial numbers Chances ot recovering stolen f a yperty greatly increase if you provide your list to the police Call for more security tips. EQUALEYES Informed public and police against crime 830-EYES Greenville Police Department Community Christian Church William Becton Enrollment Announcement - Head Start Program Martin County Community Action, Inc, Project Head Start is now atcepting applications for the 1997 Fall Enrollment for children and includ. ing children with disabilities. Eligibility is determined by HHS Income Guidelines, family needs, disabilities, and/or special conditions of the child. Children who will be enrolled will be exposed to a broad educational curriculum that will prepare them for preschool social and educational experiences. Health, nutrition and mental health are also important factors in the development of these children. These areas are also facilitated in the daily routines of the children. Parent Involvement and other program services as mandated are required and are fully utilized by the program. Ten percent (10%) of Head Start Enrollment is identified as: "health impairment emotional/behavior disorders, speech/language impairments, mental retardation, hearing impairment/deafness, orthopedic impairment , visual impairment/blind, learning disabilities, autism, traumatic brain injury, and other impairments for children who require special education and related services. Head Start is a comprehensive developmental program for children ages 3. 5 yeas old. This program is based on the premise that children share certain needs and that children from low-income families, in particular, can benefit from a program designed to meet those needs, Head Start operates nine (9) months of the year, - September through May. The centers are open Monday through Friday and the hours of operation are 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Head Start has been operating in the Martin County area since 1965, currently there are 192 children. Nine (9) classrooms are comprised 4-5 year old and one (1) classroom consists of three year old must become three by October 16th; Beaufort County has been operating since 1977 and presently serving 99 children. Five (5) classrooms of 4-5 year olds are accommodated in this county. Pitt County originated in 1985 and serving 222 children in twelve (12) classrooms accommodating 4-5 year olds. Funding for Martin County Community Action, Inc. Project Head Start is received from the Administration for Children, Youth and Families Unit, Department of Health and Human Services. In order for children to qualify, they must meet the family income guidelines. Below are the guidelines. 1996 FAMILY INCOME GUIDELINES FOR HEAD START PROGRAMS 1996 FAMILY INCOME GUIDELINES FOR ALL STATES (EXCEPT Reo AND HAWAI]), THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND PUERTO Size of Family Unit Income 1 $7,470 2 $10,030 3 $12,590 a $15,150 3 17,710 ° $20,270 7 $22,830 8 $25,390 For Family Units with more than 8 members, add $2,560 for each additional member. Please contact the Family Service Worker at the Head Start center in your area: Martin Co: North Everetts 792-5353 Pitt Co: St. Gabriel (752-9755) Ayden (746-4298 Farmville (753-8036) Beaufort Co: 264 Washington (946-5632) Aurora ( 322-5543 Beihaven (943-3006) For more information or to enroll a child, please call Ms. Teresa Greene, Social Services Coordinator or Ms. Gloristeen Matthewson, Disability Services Coordinator at (919) 792-7141 or come by the Martin County Community Action Head Start Administrative Office at 106 South Watts Street in Williamston, North Carolina. RRA COSTS Presents WILLIAM BECTON & FRIENDS William Becton, Jr. & Friends Friday, April 25, 1997 Community Christian Church 1104 N. Memorial Drive Greenville, NC 27834 7:30 p.m. Hosted by: