
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 25, 1990                   TAG: 9004250188
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BRISTOL                                LENGTH: Medium

BRISTOL BLACKS SAY CONFLICT WAS INEVITABLE

A confrontation between angry blacks and police that was triggered by the weekend slaying of a black teen-ager had a deeper cause - long-ignored complaints from the black community, a local minister said.

"It's been brewing a long time, but it just took a violent act to make it surface," the Rev. W.A. Johnson, pastor of the Lee Street Baptist Church, said Monday.

Demonstrations erupted at one of Bristol's largest housing projects, Johnson Court, after Walter Gerroid Brown, 17, was fatally stabbed Sunday night.

Brown, a popular high school student who played on the football team, died several hours later at Bristol Regional Medical Center. Police arrested Steven Whitt, a white Johnson Court resident, and charged him with murder. Whitt was being held in jail in lieu of $250,000 bond.

Black leaders said the anger and frustration vented by a group of Johnson Court residents after the stabbing only punctuated the need for more cooperation between the black community and city leaders.

William Banks, first vice president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said he has been telling city officials about concerns of the black community for years.

Banks and Johnson said that among the leading concerns is the need for more blacks on city boards and committees.

Most appointments go to prominent whites, Banks said.

About 6 percent of Bristol's 17,500 residents are black. In neighboring Bristol, Tenn., about 3 percent of 25,000 residents are black.

Several residents of Johnson Court complained about the police response Sunday.

Police Chief Thomas W. Stone Jr. said there was "a lot of anxiety and some tense moments" as off-duty officers, state police and city Sheriff's Department deputies were called in.

Mayor James Rector said the appearance of a large contingent of officers probably headed off further violence. "I think the Police Department, Sheriff's Department and state police did an excellent job on a situation that was potentially explosive," he said.

by CNB