Febraoy 21, 1976
Che Cam
Section B
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At Hit afternoon session of the Patricia Hearst trial, the prosecution caiieq two tsiacK woman ana
one Back man who Miss Hearst had testified prwiousr were brought m off tlw
where she was held shortly after the kidnaping and introduced to her by Donald DeFreeze. The three
witnesses - shown at their press conference with their lawyers, Jemella Muntaz, (T-L), Ronald Tate.
(C) and Retinah X, attorneys Ame Cumings, (L-U and Susan Jordan all refused to iBstify about the
4 meeting with Miss HearaCslaHning the Fifth Amendment UP1
100-Ycar-Old Spinning Wheel Hides Intriguing Slave Trade
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by Richard Moore
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GREENSBORO-If a
1 00-year-old spinning wheel
could talk, it would probably
tell a fascinating tale involving
some Greensboro residents.
The narrative, involving six
generations of blacks in North
Carolina, was uncovered this
week during a tour of the
AfriGan Heritage Center at A&T
State University.
The well-preserved spinning
wheel is on display in the center
for Black History Week, but its
story begins in 1876 when the
wheel was presented to Susan
Hall Bright, a 16-year-old
ex-slave bride.
"1 wanted the story told
because it seems like some
blacks don't know their families
have lived in America,
contributed much,' said Miss
Jean Bright, one of Susanjs
surviving grand -daughters. "1
want the world to know that we
helped to make America what it
THE OLD AND THE NEW- ,wjn Christina Smyre ot Greensboro pay mm mew
great great grandmother's spinning wheel . The wheel is 100 years old. (Photo by Dick Moore)
is.
Susan Hall had been born in
1860, one of the two daughters
of a slave woman who lived in
the area around Morganton, N.
C.
When the Civil War broke
out, Susan's master rode off to
battle on a fine horse and never
returned. The slave mistress then
decided to sell the two little
girls, but she kept the mother.
She also kept the names and
addresses of the children's
buyers, and gave this
information to her slave.
"As soon as word got around
that the slaves had been freed
after the war," said Miss Bright,
"the slave mother announced to
her mistress that she was going
to find her daughters.'
Miss Bright's grandmother
then began walking and showing
the names and addresses to all
she met. She accumulated more
information and directions, and
according to Miss Bright's father,
was given food, shelter and
sometimes a ride along the way.
Family members today aren't
sure how far the ex-slave's
journey took her, but many
believe it was as far away as the
Georgia or East Tennessee lines.
It was Susan herself who
recounted the reunion with her
mother many years later.
One day when 1 was five or
six years old, 1 was picking up
stovewood to carry into the
kitchen. That was one of my
jobs. 1 looked up to see a tall
woman looking at me and
smiling."
The woman volunteered to
assist her in carrying the wood
into the house, and later
revealed that she was Susan's
mother. She later found her other
daughter and returned home
with them.
Miss Bright remembers that
both her grandmothers and the
slave mistresses lived to be
among the oldest persons in the
community. Susan died in 1928
at the age of 65.
It was in 1876 when Susan
was 16 and just married, that her
mother presented her the
spinning wheel as a wedding
present.