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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 Cont. Pg 6