Newspapers / The AC Phoenix News … / April 1, 2004, edition 1 / Page 9
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The AC Phoenix April 2004 Page 9 DYNAMIC DUO CHANGES AGENTS Continued from Page 1 they had seen. “What I saw was kind of like a tooth ache. You’ve got to experience it to know what it’s like,” said Clyde Jones as he described where he and Robert A. Scales, a Printing Mechanic at Archer, had witnessed. “That’s right,” said Mrs. Miller. “Most of us have had a toothache at one time or another. But if it was a long time ago it’s hard to remember how much it really hurt.” Mark Freeman, who was Deputy Director in 1968, said, “ The $1 million from Reynolds, along with funds from other local businesses and citizens helped set up the Winston-Salem Urban Coalition. This new organization was now functioning and has just made its first grants—including one to improve and equip a number of recreation areas in the neighborhoods. Most of the grants from the Urban Coalition went for housing and job training. Opportunities for job training and made adequate housing available were two of the keys in the war on poverty. With proper training may of these people would get the jobs they so desperately need to support their fami lies.’’(Caravan R.J.Reynolds Tobacco Company November 1968,Vol 2 No.11). After Mark Freeman, it was just the beginning of what the “dynamic duo”, Mrs. Louise Wilson and Mrs. Florence Creque would do to develop programs designed to help poor people break through the prisons of poverty. They would go directly into the community. Both ladies were pas sionate about the community and its needs. They were confident women, who could get a job done, and done well. Both educated women, who were the wives of physicians, and could have found other things to do. In spite of their prominence in life, the war on poverty became a divine assignment for them; they became “change agents” who made a difference to the Winston-Salem community at large. These ladies wanted to see change, and were not afraid to get their hands dirty to rebuild the community. They were even know to invite the staff to social events that they hosted. This “dynam ic-duo” believed that it took the whole community to make a difference. Louise Wilson was the Deputy Director and Florence Crequea was her assis tant, directly responsible for daily operations. One of Wilson’s strengths was to assimilate a diversified staff who were multi-talented. A wise woman in that, she invited consultants from other states to develop innovative programs that would improve living conditions for poor people, especially in the black community—which had been ignored. Wilson had a muti-cultural staff of various backgrounds, and from various States. There was even a staff persons from other countries (Cuba, and Israel). Wilson was instrumental in inviting Preton Hill, a consultant on race relations, to Winston-Salem, so that he could help develop a local Human Relations Commission. She encouraged her staff to be a part of racial dialogues which took place at the YMCA with Marjorie Northrope and many other whites who wanted to improve race relations in Winston-Salem. Not only did she encourage local involvement, but she also encouraged staffers to go to Philadelphia to a National Meeting formed to organize and recognize Kwanza as a National Holiday, with Ron Kurema, its founder. Wilson was known to require team work from the entire staff. They were all asked to help deliver coal and wood to poor people when it was a snow storm, and to help renovate Community Houses. Working in just your area was unheard of; her passion was to have everyone become a part of the changes for poor people that she envisioned. Florence Creque, on the other hand, was on-hands more frequently with local staff. She managed the operations of each program site. Her office was in the middle of, what was called the Boston Area of Winston-Salem, her. Her office was housed in the apartments on Abitwa Street, near Kimberly Park Public Housing. She too was passionate, and wanted to see changes in the Black community. Under Wilson’s leadership. Community Houses were developed as one way to begin change on hands in the community. This program was designed to organize the community. Creque staffed and managed the operations of these houses. Creque was asked in an article contributed by Shederick Adams (Caravan) if there was a good response from young adults and teenagers in the community houses? She said, “We are fairly success ful with the teenagers, but it’s hard to reach the young adults.”(Caravan R.J.Reynolds Tobacco Company November 1968,Vol 2 No.11). Continued on Page 25 A Special Caravan Comment m Tte Poverty Prison ar« no iron bars ... no b.'irtHSd wirt* ... no ft A ptimff. I Ifs a in whiott bf InmaNNi have fnHM fio briftm. Many mm wm bmn there ar«J is F«r marry tanos & IMS *, . . fr«wi! birth to aaatts with iJffle tor ot paroia. Many osnMma to prisbh sthtn Hiialr |«st tegaj aniJ mofd ffghla. Pain, caW . faiur mm toeir Imqyant companions, TMr fmtratton 1$ high anrl hittor because iHa wadis and rules tost ormflne ttmm ^ vague s«d subtia. £ifhl Btfooids and two AwUm ■ ft day In poverty to see tto honr»(a fss^- They jjaw tsouses witosol water, ufsdansoiirtrtil, i^dlnitos ■ ^ in a backyard, eieven a I hoilie. They saw aii the artgirish imd can . pniiwri Ana worst ol ail, ih% iftwi to ; fndift, or Vietnsm or Hong iteig. Wit tvto* ^ Hme M^itotorlca oily ot ' , I beycmd Iho itoadew of the p Tliey nssreiy lookers r- ih@ AmoHcsn toeos I llrMS dto city’s inte^tatr and expresaemys They meney toriHsgh ttie invissbie cotrtftra thai Swap pos^erty btock ti-i ■ intones fre.m the X BdWty in m United Mat-s s a ntotorud oh onr o (ettoh piojtorttons that war ‘iss fc»«n dectared to ereee thl# tmm the midst ot a country that i« in fact toa most In the world ■ ghrt itot enough progress 1$ Mig iiWft to, toft «s8f, to s#to S3 iksme tegislellor}. the Inborn prtwte and public-“and ft ftwW'tortfe'jSl’toto' ’'ce«iftd todivsdyals, millions of to# id^rftvftttons ot poverty. The war against see many care , . rifthdtoey dtorTt Icftto bmemm they don’t kiiow, Th^ totot'toy "p«erty le and how dose it »i't that whito they felax to-toir h««ei dl'ji* '' lift toe tsim town can’t Wfvilfig the mm ugalrs^ i^wfty to a .jdli',; ''to# utofltod effort cd art the AtMicah manlfy. Tlta ^ort m 'juoderetehelfng the prdpkin^ ef poverty. The wito epeni a day l« toe prto>i«m. Some cd the ’things Vtwf tm shocked toem. Soiw «barf8»ftd tows. Some thir^ tofariatod toews. And Tbm) fsaoi^e mm pererty at Ito wsmt They Wked to £^-poverty. Utoy tatted to peoide frewf a^rsotos to do weietoiti^ porerty. And to^ talked fflwmg toemsaivee, problfig the cauas and toe cure df tfty in wm amt, toey underetood toft knew ^ft^e didn’t remi^n In potes% ^ toet gtoen an ei^rtottoy pscHSto Id dimb oirt of poverty. Ane when the poverty pnsofs ’ benehte. Tax ooltors and private giants pl(tes,ito^'pfts#& people gel out of poverty wilt
The AC Phoenix News (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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April 1, 2004, edition 1
9
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