North Carolina Now; North Carolina Now Episode from 07/02/1996

It's Tuesday July 2nd. Tonight the impact of an affirmative action decision on North Carolina now. Good evening I'm reading the tray of pleasant Tuesday evening to you on tonight's edition of North Carolina now we'll explore how a Supreme Court decision on affirmative action may impact universities here in our state. Also tonight Clint Johnson author of touring the Carolinas the Civil War sites will be our guest and will focus on a teenager who is having a positive effect on curbing violence in her community. Now to our first story. Will the Supreme Court decision regarding race based scholarships have an impact on the University of North Carolina system. Yesterday a High Court decision let stand a lower court ruling striking down on

affirmative action admissions plan at the University of Texas Law School. That decision only has an immediate impact on universities in Texas Louisiana and Mississippi. But legal experts speculate that the debate is far from over. University officials believe the U.N. see scholarships program will pass legal muster because it's intended to benefit both black and white students. White students can get grants by enrolling at one of the state's five public historically black campuses. So TONIGHT producer Anthony Scott brings us a report on how aggressive minority recruitment efforts are playing out at one you NC School. Christina Copeland narrates. For years North Carolina Central University has been running this advertisement in its alumni brochures in at the University calls on graduates to submit the names and addresses of any white students for possible recruitment to the school. It is the wording of the ad that has raised the ire of some students at Central who say they would be less upset if the ad called for recruiting Hispanics and other ethnic groups as well.

I think that students are opposed to having any major all out efforts let's get white students let's get white students. The word white in the advertisement is mandated by the University of North Carolina General Administration. As a result of a federal civil rights lawsuit in the 1970s traditionally white universities in the U.N. see system agreed to actively recruit black students and traditionally black universities agreed to advertise for white students. North Carolina Central University is director of alumni Affairs says the advertisement is nothing new. I was personally responsible for getting getting that into at least seven or eight previous edition of the alumni bulletin. Once again keeping up with the mandate of the consent decree that verbiage. It was part of the mandate that came about as part of this a consent degree. It had to be used that way. The word white was we were instructed to

use that word as opposed to a minority of some other race or ethnic group. In March of this year one student a freshman circulated a petition opposing the objective of white recruitment in favor of advocating the education and empowerment of African-Americans. Although the petition has not been formally submitted to the university his actions stirred a great deal of interest. We just had elections on campus that that was a major part of everybody's platform everyone wants to know what you're going to do and what these students were going to do to address the issue of minority presence. And the overriding voice that was coming out was that. We want things to stay the way they are the way things are right now it's sinful There are 5500 undergraduate and graduate students. Fourteen point eight percent are white. I figure that comes very close to meeting the 15 percent sought by UN see General Administration but the university faces a problem of low enrollment overall.

This year's freshman class numbers five hundred fifty three in 200 less than last year fewer students means hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost money that give central added incentive to recruit white students as well as African-Americans. But it frustrates some black students. It has struck a chord in students. Partially it relates to the students perception of inadequate financial support for this institution from the state and their perception is that we are inadequately funded and perhaps we're diverting too much to minority present students or white students. So it ties into some legitimate concerns about levels of support at the institution. Melissa Packard is a white senior who wrote an article for the school newspaper echo describing the minority presence Grant she received to attend classes. She says she understands why some black students are concerned. I think Central has a very strong black racial identity.

And I think for many of the students at Central that's extremely important. Students are concerned about losing that that family feeling that when that you get with a predominantly black institution I think there's a lot of fear in a way just because they they might be afraid or we might be afraid that we'll lose you know that sense of belonging that the organized family I guess. I think that but be behind the anger in were or behind the frustration. There's a little bit of fear along with a sense of belonging. There may also be an increased sense of accomplishment for some students. There is evidence to suggest that some African-Americans thrive academically in predominantly black schools. This is the first time that I've ever been immersed in black culture. And I hear people say so many times you know why are you going to blacks go when you get out. You're going to

have to deal with the real world you're going to have to deal with you know Americans as Article occasions in the workplace everything. And I ask that that's a value bet. We do that on a daily basis I've done that all my life. I need to learn how to live with it with my own eyes to you know I need to learn how to appreciate my own people. I think that the administration is genuinely concerned about the schools welfare and keeping the family feeling here until you know for somebody that's reassuring the students. You know we realize that the predominantly black institution has a place in America and we're not trying to prove it when that's when students will stop feeling like they're under attack. Students and administrators have been attending a series of town meetings on campus to discuss the issue and to try to find some common ground. I am not wavered a great deal about this university. Evolution is

heard it has 86 years in the making. And what we have to do is to continue to do what we have done historically which is to support and affirm African-American students. But we think we can do that as well as to support and to invite others to the campus Latino students white students and add to the culture and diversity and not necessary take away from the African-American culture. It's the U.N. see systems method of awarding minority scholarships to white and black students equally that makes North Carolina's Minority Recruitment Program unique. However the central question of whether universities can continue to use race as a condition for admissions has yet to be answered. Coming up teenagers take a stand against violence in their communities. But right now it's time to check in with Michel Louis to get an update on today's statewide news. Hello Mitch. Hi there Maria. Good evening everyone. Authorities are urging North Carolinians to adapt the community watch concept to protect their religious sanctuaries

at a seminar on church safety today in Durham. State Attorney General Mike Easley and other officials kicked off the program they hope will help quell the rash of recent recent church burnings. Authorities hope the knowledge that churches are being closely watched will deter any would be arsonists. But Easley acknowledged part of the problem is a far greater issue. It is designed to treat the symptoms of the problem. It is not intended to be a cure for a much bigger problem the problem of religious and racial hatred. We have a lot of work to do on there when we leave here today. Church watch signs are available through the North Carolina crime prevention division at 1 800 990 crime and Governor Jim Hunt is offering a reward of up to $10000 for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the weekend arson blaze which caused an estimated fifty five thousand dollars in damage to the St. James and the Zion Church in Jones County.

And more news coming out of the attorney general's office today. Criminal charges have been filed against a McGovern County hog farmer and an agricultural inspection agent. The farmer David Purvis runs a 3000 ahead swine operation and Robins Purvis and the agent are both charged with giving a false statement on a waste certification form. According to the attorney general's office the farmer had no waste management plan in place for his three point nine million gallon weight's lagoon. When he signed the form easily as Office reports the same farm spilled waste into a nearby tributary running to the Yadkin P.T. River back in 1994. This is the second set of criminal charges brought against a hog operation in North Carolina this year. Fathers and mothers who fail to pay child support in North Carolina will find state authorities now have tough new powers to impact their earnings. The new law allows the state to revoke the business and professional licenses of nonpaying parents. The law also permits lanes to be placed on certain insurance settlements. The state can also revoke driver's licenses.

BLOCK vehicle registration and take away hunting and fishing licenses. Now for a look at tomorrow's weather. Cooler temperatures are expected for Wednesday. Only Fayetteville Wilmington and Greenville will reach above the 90 degree mark. Most of us will fall between the mid to high 80s partly cloudy skies and a chance of showers or thunderstorms across the state. Late into the July 4th holiday. And today's business news fallout from a recent Supreme Court decision involving the nation's savings and loans is hitting North Carolina more than 100 investors in the failed first home federal of Greensboro may now have grounds to sue the government for damages. This week the Supreme Court decided a change made and an accounting rule in 1909 broke the government's contract with a number of SNL So the Clinton administration estimates the U.S. Treasury could be liable for 10 billion dollars in damages through lawsuits. And now for a look at what happened on Wall Street today. North Carolina has a proud and distinguished Civil War history. The tenth state to

succeed from the union but the second state to be invaded by the Union Army. Eleven battles in approximately seventy four skirmishes were fought here. More than 40000 North Carolinians lost their lives in the war. The pain and the glory of the victories and the defeat are documented in a book written by this evening's guest. The book is called touring the Carolinas the Civil War sides its author is Clint Johnson. Mr. Johnson thanks for being here tonight thank you for having me. What is this fascination that we tend to have with the civil war it seems to be so well Manta sized more than any other period in our history. Well it was the first war that was photographed so our great great grandfathers were pictures were taken and passed down to us through our ancestors and through our great grandparents where our storytelling culture my grandmother told me stories about her grandfather. It's lived through word of mouth and we're so close here. We're within eight hours of just about all of the major battlefields in the eastern theater so we can go there and see them we can go and see where our ancestors fought and died.

And it was a war that had a lot of Honor to it these men and women believed in honor they believed in doing what was right. Whether the question was of slavery or not slavery was simply not thought of by them. They believed if someone's invading you then you fight back. And then on the north they believed in going down and preserving the Union. And it seems to take on a particular importance here in the south as opposed to the north. Right. The North does not have the storytelling culture that the South has had. And if you're in Maine you're a long way away from a Civil War battlefields so they don't think about it as much as we do. And what is your particular involvement in civil war history how did you get started in it. At a fourth grade teacher that told a story in class about the battle of Natural Bridge Florida and I'm Flora native and it was about a battle where old men and young boys came together to repel like the Union force and as a nine year old I immediately identified with the idea of boys

being real soldiers rather than playing soldiers. So from that moment on I started reading about it. Twenty years ago I started reenacting the Civil War both Union and Confederate and continue to do it today. Your book touring the Carolinas Civil War sites is this a history book or a travel brochure. It's really a combination of 19 to worst 12 in North Carolina and seven in South Carolina. Each chapter starts with a history of what was going on either at that place now writing about or at that time. And then the second part of it gives you step by step directions of how to see the battlefields storehouses generals graves the graves of two females that posed as men to fight in the wars female spies that sort of thing anything that has a tie to the war. I tried to go there and see it and tell the story of what happened there or that the story that person. What I found very interesting about the book is you could look at a particular chapter and that individual chapter would be one complete tour that you could spend a weekend going through all the various sites there were out there. So is it set up geographically or set up

chronologically. Well it's first chronologically starts off the first chapter is the outer banks because that was invaded in August of 1861 by the Federals and then it goes through in with the surrender tour here in Raleigh which ends at the Bennett place in stagnant plantation. So it's the first Chronicle chronologically and then geographically it doesn't only focus on battlefields but it focuses on maybe some lesser known areas that have very significant roles in the war. Right there's a place for instances where the Emancipation Proclamation was first read this is on the side of the naval hospital south of Buford South Carolina. As for the slaves first heard the proclamation read and after a moment of silence it was read by the federal commander. One slave started singing My country tis of thee sweet land of liberty. And all of the slaves that knew it joined in and after they finished singing says you know I've never wanted to sing that song before I've never been a free man. So it's. Greatly historic site as a doubly historic site because that was also the training ground for the first and

second South Carolina Volunteers with first two black regiments raised at least six months for the 54 Massachusetts race. And probably most people from A with 54 Massachusetts from the movie Glory came out several years ago. Your book has very intricate details that maybe aren't so well known how difficult was it for you to dig out some of these tidbits but took five months true to research and to visit the sites I grew 13000 miles in five months and researched probably about 30 different books some of them had been out of print. I researched a book that was written in 1890 by a Union soldier who fought in the battle of Kinston and Goldsboro. So it was a matter of going to these places finding a local historian to show me around which are generally found by contacting the Chamber of Commerce and said Who's your Civil War buff. And every town has one and the Chamber of Commerce generally knows who it is. They would put me in touch with that person we'd get in my car they drive me around and say This house was a hospital this mound of dirt over here was a Confederate fort you know and they showed me places

that most people even in that tale might drive by every day and not think about it but something significant happened there. Was it difficult to weed through the fact from the fiction I imagine some of mine intend to embellish some of the stories how did you document that what they were telling you actually took place. Well I can't be positive that all of it took place but some of it. It has been documented through the years and if it was written at the time that I generally considered it true in some cases I found documentation from two different sources such as the battle of Goldsboro they talked about an armored car that shoal the Federals. It's really talking about one of the first uses of a tank. It was armored artillery on a railroad car. I found it in 1890 Federal soldiers account and also found it in some letters of a soldier that died in Newbern writing home to his parents he wrote about the car I was what was unusual was he described it as a monitor car. Another Union soldier described it as a car.

We have just a very little time left tell me the one favorite spot in the book that you think everybody should see. I would think that Wilmington would be the best place for your time and your money you have Fort Fisher There you have for Anderson you had the bellman mansion which is problem is beautiful house in North Carolina built entirely with black labor and slave labor. Mr. Johnson thank you so much for being here thank you. Fascinating. Yeah. Tonight we continue our series focusing on young people around our state who have been recognized by local community foundations for their efforts and bringing an end to

violence in their communities. Eighteen year old Jennifer Eaton has been chosen by the triangle Community Foundation because her priorities are focused on positive social change. Producer Maurice Talbot brings us the story narrated by Jennifer Eaton president of the student body and the driving force behind the Students Against Violence Everywhere club at Garner High School in Raleigh is on the cutting edge of the anti-violence movement in North Carolina. I've been raised to believe that anyone can make a difference. If I want to you know one takes one person to influence other people in that. Anyone can do anything if they set their mind to it and work hard. Jennifer has shown me so many characteristics that are rare. She wants to make a difference. She's committed to what we call school community. She's committed to a larger community. There is a sense in her that is that put service above self in the sense that

she's had to maintain the excellent grades that she has. She said to maintain a role a senior class president but at the same time she has traveled it seems all around the world on a mission to try to improve the situation that she considers worthy. Jennifer's tireless efforts toward the cause of nonviolence have earned her a three year appointment to the governor's Crime Commission. She was one of three people in the state under the age of 18 to hold this position Committee on the governor's Crime Commission has called the Juvenile Justice Committee. And there's a national coalition for Juvenile Justice that. Each state is a part of that coalition we advise Congress on youth rights and juvenile rights. Now I was elected to a one year term as the southern regional representative for the to the National Coalition and I represent the 12 southern states in two territories and give the youth voice and youth and use perspective on the national level the intensity of Jennifer's commitment to social change is the driving force behind many of her actions and has

motivated others to follow her lead. When she was a sophomore she attended the state SADD convention and at that convention she attended a workshop by Mr Gary Ward of West Charlotte High School teacher and he dramatically tell the students how he had buried 11 of his students who had been violently murdered and Jennifer walked out of that workshop and had this look on her face I was the sad sponsor and and was just said we have got to do something about this violence in the very next day. She asked her principal if she could start the save crowded in White County and that's how it it all started. I think within her senior high school our efforts have been very productive. We've seen a dramatic decrease in the amount of salt on school property and no fire no firearms have been brought to the school property since the set up was food. Jennifer along with other students decided that situations related to violence or in another

situation she's in related to drinking and driving or other problems we've talked about such as the problems of racism or other problems such as the horrors related to some of the rituals of daily they have decided that some messages need to be communicated. I think laterally and they do that quietly day to day in the lunch room at a school event. They're very committed to the school. And in a significant way they accomplish some of the goals that we might have as adults for them. One of our projects we were sort of called pray with is called the VIP project and that stands for violence injury prevention. And the students who are involved in that project we have an all day training session dealing with race relations substance abuse domestic violence. Right along with her work on nonviolence she is involved in social causes ranging from the concerns of retirement communities to working with Riley's

soup kitchen to building houses for Habitat for Humanity to local recycling and cleanup activities. She is honestly concern are about the people around her and their safety. She's definitely concerned about I think her society and what takes place on a day to day basis. The students of course your high school are quite receptive to the programs here started by the same club. In fact I think they appreciate they can they can take refuge in our programs people that are easily influenced can now be influenced in a positive way. They can now believe that school that guns in school are not good and that peace is cool instead of killing each other. We are profiling six teenagers in all the series continues next Tuesday. Well that's our program for tonight. Thanks for tuning in on tomorrow night's edition of North Carolina now we'll examine the work first welfare reform program. It's in

its early stages is it proving new Williams will take a look and will start gearing up for the Fourth of July holiday. A representative from the state highway patrol will be here with tips on what we all can do to make the roads safer over the holiday. And someone from the American Red Cross will be here as well to talk about the dire need for blood this time of the year. And Billy Barnes will share with us the unique courage possessed by the North Carolinians who signed the Declaration of Independence. That's all tomorrow so make sure to join us. Good night everyone. Let let it get.