Newspaper Page Text
December 1981
Spelman Spotlight
Page 4
Black Businesses Places To Holiday Shop
By Karen Burroughs
News Editor
Each year, during the Christ
mas season, Blacks frequent
white department stores and
other white - owned businesses
to do their shopping. By doing
this, they often ignore Black -
owned businesses in their own
community. Although there are
over 200 Black - owned
businesses in the Atlanta area,
many of these businesses are all
but forgotten when the Christ
mas season is here.
“I don’t feel good about it,”
says Terry Donawa, one of the
managers of Donawa’s of New
York, a clothing store at 1386
Gordon St. 'T think we should
support our own people. The
more Black businesses are sup
ported, the more money there is
to spend in the Black communi
ty.”
Myte Makeda, one of the
managers of the Shrine of the
Black Madonna Bookstore,
which also sells imported hand
crafted African jewelry, agrees.
“It would be better if Blacks felt
allegiance to community stores.
This would in turn allow Black
businesses to strive to give
something back to the com
munity.”
Although white owned stores
are often chosen over Black
owned community businesses,
one can usually find the same
item at a Black - owned store,
and often at a lower price. Many
Black - owned businesses offer
specials during the Christmas
season and for college students.
“We have special discounts
during the Christmas season,”
says Myte Makeda. “These are
advertised in the West End
merchant’s paper, The In-Town
Extra. We also run specials
throughout the year.”
One of the major reasons that
college students do not often
shop at Black - owned stores is
that they do not know of their
existence. There are several
publications devoted to infor
mation on Black businesses. One
of them, The Black Pages, is a
telephone directory devoted
entirely to Black - owned
businesses. Maynard Jackson
calls it "an important publication
that makes a vital contribution to
the economic growth of Black
business, as well as for our entire
city "
“If minority businesses are to
survive the '80’s, it will take a
collective effort,” says Kenneth
Reid, publisher of the Black
Pages. "We must try to purchase
each other’s goods and services
whenever and wherever possi
ble.”
Another reason for lack of
patronage at Black - owned
businesses is transportation.
However, there are several Black
- owned businesses in the west
Phase Four Enrichment
Program A Success
By Karen Burrough
and
Dawn Dickerson
At the beginning of the 1981-
82 academic school year,
Spelman College introduced the
Phase 4 Enrichment and Support
Program. This program is design
ed to provide Spelman College
students with co-curricular and
non - classroom experiences,
opportunities that promote self -
awareness and self - understan
ding, and enables the Spelman
student to clarify her values,
make sound future life plans,
and establish personal develop
ment goals.
The Phase 4 program is divided
into four modules: The
Freshman Awareness Module,
the Sophomore Exploration
Module, the Junior Formation
Module, and the Senior Integra
tion Module. Each module has a
specific purpose and certain
activities and workshops are
scheduled for each module to
promote independence,
tolerance, and other
developmental needs.
The freshman module is
designed to promote awareness.
"Each year freshmen enter
Spelman needing guidance, as
this is often their first experience
away from home,” says Dr. Joy
O’Shields, Associate Dean for
Life Planning Programs. “They
have to cope with such problems
as homesickness, selection of a
major, and other personal con
cerns. The Awareness module
attempts to help the freshman
make the transition from high
school to college.”
The sophomore module
enables students to explore
options and develop leadership
qualities. According to Dr. O’S
hields, the sophomore year is a
time for exploration and dis
covery and investigating career
options. “The sophomore
module offers students ample
opportunities to explore these
options. Experiences are
available to the student for
working closely with Spelman
alumnae and other Black
professional women.”
By a student’s junior year, she
should be prepared to make
long - term decisions and com
mitments about the way she
plans to spend her life. The
junior module, entitled the
formation module, is designed
to help the student develop the
many skills required to be a
successful adult. It provides the
student with alternativeplansfor
achieveing her goals, guidance
for entry into graduate and
professional school, and allows
opportunities for interactions
with professionals in a variety of
realted fields, according to Dr.
O’Shields.
The senior module, known as
the Integration Module, is
designed to help students ex
amine their functional skills,
strengthen their ability to cope
and survive in the working
world. “Since many seniors
become anxious about gaining
self - confidence and work
experience, there are programs
and activities scheduled to help
students make realistic plans to
meet their many life style
needs,” says Dr. O’Shields.
In order to obtain more infor
mation about the Phase 4
program, students are en
couraged to visit the Life Plan
ning Office to discuss the
program further with Dr. O’S
hields.
End area, including, The Shrine
of the Black Madonna
Bookstore, Bronner Brothers
Beauty Supply, Donawa’sof New
York, and Odyssey Records.
"People will often jump on a
bus and ride past stores in their
own community to go to
Davison’s or Rich’s,” says Terry
Donawa. “Even if the Black -
owned store is some distance
away, people would ride the bus
to a large, white department
store, rather than ride the same
distance to a Black - owned shop.
People think they need to be'in
with what’s happening’, so they
ride all the way out to Buckhead.
This is very frustrating to Black
businesses.
To entice more customers
from the Black community, Black
businesses, in addition to offer
ing specials, perform other tasks
to bring in more business. “We
offer top quality merchandise,
suggest purchases to the
customer, and maintain a clean,
efficient store,” says Mildred
Jones, of Milly’s Fashion Nook.
"We offer the customers the
best merchandise at the least
cost,” says Myte Makeda. "We
make our business as
professional as possible and our
store as clean as possible.”
“Many Black businesses have
let people down because of lack
of communiction. We try to keep
in touch with our customers,”
savs Terry Donawa.
Beauty Supply. "The products
should be the best, because
many Blacks don’t have much
money. We have to improve the
quality of our merchandise even
more, to assure our customers
that they are receiving the best
for their money.”
Shopping at Black businesses
would benefit more than justthe
individual business. "Employ
ment, which is a serious problem
for Blacks, would be improved as
an outcome of developing
businesses in the Black commun-
tiy,” says James Hefner, Chair
man of the Department of
economics and Business Ad
ministration at Morehouse
College. “Black businesses aid
the Black community by helping
Blacks to overcome their
powerlessness and to gain con
trol of public and private in
stitutions governing their lives.”
“Blacks must begin to support
Blacks,” says Kenneth Reid.
“More dollars spent within the
Black community will strengthen
and contribute to building the
Black economy. Consequently,
the success and stability of
minority businesses ultimately
contribute to the overall
economic growth of the entire
city.”
“The attitudes of the clerks
should be friendly, helpful, and
courteous," says Anne Hudson,
manager of Bronner Brothers
Politician In Residence Speaks
In Sisters Chapel
By Angela Jackson
Mrs. Geraldine H. Elder spoke
at Sisters Chapel on November
19, 1981. Mrs. Elder is currently
the Politician - In - Residence at
Spelman College and the Com
missioner for the Department of
Parks and Recreation in the city
of Atlanta.
She has held many other
positions. In 1973, she was the
Executive Secretary to Mayor
Maynard Jackson. Later she was
promoted to the Chief of Staff
for the mayor. She attended
Morris Brown College, Loyala
University, Emory University,
and is presently a student at
Georgia State University.
Her speech was entitled "The
Political Woman”. Mrs. Elder
stated that women have con
tributed a great deal to society.
She wondered where Christiani
ty would be if it weren’t for all
the women that keep the church
doors open. She, also, wondered
what the literacy rate would be in
this country if it weren’t for all
the women teachers. Mrs. Elder
constituted that the women that
work as sales clerks and cashiers
contribute a lot of labor to the
business world.
She stated that women are
really moving up in society. Mrs.
Elder said that this is revealed in
many ways. Commercials are
now portraying women as doc
tors and politicians. Women are
advancing in the political world.
Sandra Day O’Conner is nowthe
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