THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 30, 1996 TAG: 9601300294
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
If there is any white supremacist activity in the Pasquotank County area, nobody at a forum to address the issue Monday night wanted to talk about it.
About 35 people came to the forum at Mount Lebanon AME Zion Church, sponsored by a special task force of the North Carolina NAACP. A handful, including several prominent members of the black community, spoke about the need for vigilance and the importance of the ballot box.
But organizers, on a fact-finding tour of the state's military communities in response to the race-based shooting deaths of a black couple near Fort Bragg in Fayetteville last month, did not hear any tales of violence or discrimination.
That doesn't mean racist activities don't occur in the area, said Pasquotank County NAACP President Raymond Rivers Sr.
``We know it exists,'' Rivers said after the forum, noting that some people have raised concerns to himpersonally. ``People of that kind of mentality exist in this community.''
But too often, Rivers said, ``something drastic has to happen'' before people start talking openly about racism.
North Carolina NAACP Executive Director Mary L. Peeler, Fayetteville NAACP President James Florence, state District 16 NAACP Director Enoch Parker and local NAACP officials spent most of Monday afternoon touring the Coast Guard base in Elizabeth City to gather information for a report on white supremacist activity in the state's military installations.
Three white soldiers from Fort Bragg have been charged in the Dec. 7 shootings that gave rise to the NAACP task force. Two of those charged have been identified as associating with skinheads or holding extremist views, according to an army investigation.
The NAACP group met with the commanding officers of the five Coast Guard commands at the base and with several rank-and-file Coast Guard officials and employees, said James Whack, civil rights officer for the Coast Guard's Maintenance and Logistics Command in New York City.
NAACP officials did not discuss in detail the substance of their meeting Monday, saying the information will be provided in a report in February.
``We're looking at what processes they have in places, their policies . . . dealing with involvement in extremist groups,'' Peeler said.
In addition to Elizabeth City, task force members have visited military bases in Fayetteville, Jacksonville, Goldsboro and Cherry Point. Peeler said all had been cooperative.
``The Coast Guard, as well as all the other bases . . . . have been very receptive and very responsive to our visit,'' Peeler said. ``I have to commend all the people we have worked with thus far.''
Whack praised the NAACP officials for meeting with military leaders, but said he knew of no white supremacist activity or incidents associated with the Coast Guard base.
``We just don't tolerate that, from the commandant on down,'' Whack said.
Peeler said the forum was a chance for black community members to talk about racist activities in the community.
The only person who signed up to talk was Elizabeth City State University math and computer science professor Johnny L. Houston, who talked about the need for close monitoring of racist attitudes.
``The issue is wider than the military bases,'' Houston said. ``We cannot rest in thinking that this is an isolated incident that happened at Fort Bragg. . . . I think we need to keep check on the conscience of America every three to five years.''
Other well-known citizens attending the forum included state Personnel Director Ron Penny, a former president of the Pasquotank County NAACP; River City Community Development Corp. President Lenora Jarvis-Mackey; lawyer Wendell Spivey; and several NAACP officials from area counties.
Winfall Mayor Fred Yates, who heads the sate NAACP's 12th district, urged those at the forum to work for progress.
``Participation,'' he said. ``If you believe in something, and you participate in it with your heart, you can change it.'' by CNB