?
ON THE
AVANT GARDE
BY JTANG NIVBI
You Should Have Seen Her!
\Vhen 1 first laid eyes on her, I thought she was as beautiful as
any movie star Hollywood could everhope to produce.
She was tall, slender, had beautiful brown hair, deep brown
eyes, pecan tan complexion, sleek tender hands, and a kiss of. a smile.
I remember thinking as I slobbered all over myself, "Wow, look at
this woman! She is definitely a knock out ? a 10+! Where has she
been all of my life, and why didn't somebody tell me? Who is her
man anyway?"
1 babbled aloud like some little fool.
She was as brilliant as she was beautiful ? barely 18 years of
age ? having already mastered the essentials necessary to travel
life's most complex journey. The woman had it all and she knew it.
People used to compare her virtue to rubies, sapphires, diamonds,
gold and fine wine.
One Baptist preacher, overcome by her presence, went so far as
to swear on a stack of Bibles in church (of all places) that she walked
like the Queen of Sheba, spoke with the wisdom of Ruth, and pos
sessed the stature of Cleopatra. Queen, princess. Your Highness ?
royalty or not ? there was no question this woman was somebody
God made special.
When We First Met
We first met each other on a late evening in August just a few
years ago. I was so exhausted from having traveled what seemed like
light-years that I really didn't have the energy fo say hello, much less
see who she really was. It wasn't until the next morning after 1 had
rested a bit and gotten cleaned up that I came to see her beauty.
she had the voice of an angel, so wonderful, so clear, so soft, so
tender and so reassuring. It was a voice that I had known from some
where before, having heard it intone the old hymns often sung in the
black Baptist church. Now, I #as actually seeing her sing those
sweet melodies. as I lay in her ims, drifting in and out of sleep. It
was heaven on earth.
The long journey had stripped me of much nutrients and water. 1
was famished and needed to regain my strength. My first meal
reminded me of the food of the gods ? nectar ? flowing as sweet as
honey. This was going to be okay," I thought to myself. "I can live
with this woman for the rest of my life."
All day long she rubbed my head, saying how much she really
loved my hair. We would be great friends.
Our Relationship Blossomed!
Our relationship blossomed into something no man could have
every dreamed of ? certainly not me. Every day. 1 was the apple of
her eye. Even the man who had publicly sworn his love for her on a
stack of Bibles could not take my place. He was left on the outside
looking in. 1 was the center of her attention, the axis of her universe.
Everyday, she would take me places where I had never dreamed
of. She would feed me all kinds of wonderful things to eat such as
mustard greens and collard greens that she would first chew, then
give to me. She stuffed me with all kinds of wonderful cereals and
gave me lots of fruit juices to drink ? but my favorite was the nectar
which she saved for late-night snacks.
She washed me whenever I got dirty. Then she'd take me outside
where 1 could play again, get sand in my toes, and even eat spoonfuls
of dirt if I wanted. For two years, life was wonderful.
Something Happened
Then something strange began to happen. There was something,
troubling her. It started around the month of February. There were
moments when she appeared to be preoccupied with something or .
perhaps someone else. I wasn't sure. 1 guess I always suspected that
there would be others who would seek her care, but as of yet. I had
seen none.
Then one day, without warning, she left. It was sometime in the
evening during the latter days of the month of September. There was
n't much time to say goodbye, no time for her to explain when or if
she would be back. Wrhere was she going and why didn't she take me
with her? I tried not to worry but I did. I was left to the care of oth
ers.
Days later she returned. It was an evening in early October.
Then I saw him. It was someone who looked just like me who had
comp just as I had. to be with her. I would have to move immediately
and from then on. sleep in a new bed.
I was not happy, so I found my set of wooden blocks to hurl at
the stranger, the intruder. It was useless. My arms were too short. But
who could blame him? She was such a beautiful woman.
Two years later, in the middle of September, a new stranger
moved into our lives. She, too, wanted the same thing: to be in the
care ot this beautiful lady.
I saw that beautiful lady the other day, and my. my. my, what a
sight to see. Nothing has really changed except the brown hair now
has a gorgeous streak of grey. The brown eyes still, sparkle with
brightness, and the smile is still as alluring as ever. The skin is ever
so soft and hands ever so warm.
This same wonderful lady is now a grandmother to my three
children, and for them she is just like she was for me and my brother
and sister ? the same.
Happy Mother's Day. mother, and to all mothers from all of us
children.
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Mail to: Winston Salem Chronicle
PO Box 1636
Winston-Salem. N C 27102
a
The Wln*ton-S*htn Chronicle is
published every Thursday by the
Winston-Salem Chronicle Publishing
Co Inc , 617 N Liberty St
Mailing address: PO Box 1636
Winston-Salem,
NC 27102
Phone: (919) 722-8624
FAX: (919)723-9173
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Winston-Salem, NC 27102
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Employees Air Grievances
Against Local Cor
By MARK R MOSS
Chrnmclc Staff Writer
Several employees of a food
and cleaning service, which has a
contract with R.J. Reynolds
Tobacco Company, have accused
their employer of a wide_range of
discriminatory; practices.
About a dozen employees of
ARA/ES1 Services, a Philadelphia
based company, held a news confer
ence Monday morning at Emmanuel
Baptist Church to air their com
plaints against Reynolds and their
employer.
"We re prepared, to boycott and
do whatever has to be done ... to
ensure that their grievances are
addressed," said the Rev. John
Mendez, a Citizens United for Jus
tice leader, the pastor of Emmanuel;
Mendez said the employees
asked CUJ, an activist group, and
the NAACP to represent them in
their cause. A statement issued by
the employees demands, among
other things, that ARA/ESI Service
"be investigated for discriminatory
practices." It also claims that a com
Opportunity Commission will be
filed.
ARA/ESI officials in Philadel
phia said they became aware of the
allegations this week after being
contacted by the media.
, "At this point we haven't
received any formakiotice of any of
these allegations." said David Fla
herty, the company's director of
public affairs. "At this particular
time it is difficult to for us to com
ment on material we have not seen. I
can Wll you that ARA has an exten
si\e set of policies that ?e follow to
help protect our employees and pro
mote a good working environment."
There were about a dozen cur
rent and former employees at Mon
day's press conference, but the ini
tial meeting last Saturday brought
out about 35 employees. Mendez
said. An employee said the com
_pany^ employe 3D0 people, 98 per
cent of whom are African Ameri
can. Most of those at the news
conference were vociferous in their
complaints about the company's
management They told stories
about being terminated for no rea
son. 3-cent-an-hour raises, insurance
benefits that are too costly, being
overlooked tor promotions, raises
that are given and then taken away a
week later and racist remarks made
to them.
"We will not work in a place
where darkness surrounds our peo
ple." Patricia Phillips, an ARA/ESI
employee, said in a prepared state
ment. in which she cited verbal and
physical abuses.
Phillips said that ARA stands
-for "aggravation, racism and angerr
She said a few of the employees
have been called nigger. " "stupid."
and told that this is a white man's
world."
Phillips, who once worked in
Atlanta for the same company, said
everything from benefits _to
employee/management relations
were exemplary compared to what
she has found in Winston-Salem.
Most employees are afraid to
speak out for fear of losing their
ARA/ESI employees at a news conference at Emmanuel Baptist Church.
jobs, Phillips said. Elderly employ
ees are especially fearful of being
fired and one was rudely told by a
manager "to shut up," she said.
Valerie Miller, another
employee who is a supervisor, said
that during one disagreement with a
manager, he caught himself in the
midst of calling her "nigger" in time
to stop saying the complete word.
Other black employees told her he
has used the racial epithet, she said.
Miller said management
approached her about transferring to
another office; but she said she
wouldn't do it without a guarantee
that she would maintain her current
position and salary. She said that
the source of the problem she has
had with management is that she
can do her supervisor's job as well
as he can. She said she had filed a
complaint with the EEOC.
Donald Moore, a former
employee who was one of three
black salaried managers, told a com
plicated story of being terminated.
He said he tried in vain several
times to contact the company's
human resources department to find
out why he had been fired. He had
put off filing a complaint with
EEOC, but he is willing to join with
the others in filing a collective com
plaint, he said.
Marvin Pettigrew, another for
mer employee, said that when he
found out he had been fired, the
company told him the reason was
because "he had walked off the job."
"We're giving the company
every opportunity .now to address
these grievances." he said.
Spry to Replace Bighouse Gaines at WSSU
By MARK R MOSS
Chronicle Staff Writer
Ronnie O'Neil Spry, the new
head basketball coach at Winston
Salem State University. snid_he_Li
more concerned with what the stu
dent/athlete does off the court than
on it. ,
"Your behavior off the court
determines your behavior on the
court," he said during a telephone
interview from his Augusta. Ga.,
home.
How a person dresses and how
he carries himself is a reflection of
how an athlete handles himself on
the court, he said. Recent fads, such
as wearing pants beneath the waist
line. i* -something-he's- not very -to J - .
erant of. he said.
"One of my strongest suits is
? that I'm very disciplined." he said.
Does that mean he's a' disciplinar
ian? "Let's just say I'm very disci
plined.' he said, laughing.
Spry, who has resigned as head
coach and athletic director at Paine
College, was named last Friday to
replace Clarence Bighouse"
Gaines. Gaines will retire when he
turns 70 this month. He is the coun
Burglary
? House ransacked
and items missing
B> RICHARD I. W U.I IAMS
Chronnlc Managing F.ditor
Winston-Salem police are look
ing at burglary as a motive in the
gruesome neck-slashing slaying of a
Winston-Salem man three weeks
ago.
According to a Crime Stoppers
report issued last week, there were
clear signs that a burglary had taken
Burke to Serve as
Aldermen Vivian H. Burke, of
the Northeast ward and mayor pio
tempore, has been invited to servo
' as consultant for a workshop of
Alpha Kappa Alpha Soronts in
Atlanta in July.
The workshop. Impacting the
Political Process, will be presented
as part of the sorority's New Dimcn
sions in Leadership workshops
scheduled for July 22-24 at the
Peachtree Plaza Hotel. Extending
the invitation to Burke was Soror
Mary Shy Scott, supreme basileus.
try's winningest active basketball
coach with 828 victories during 30
plus years as the Ram head coach.
"I think his resume really tells
the story ." said Gaines, when asked
-hrn^tre thinks his successor will do.
He's been successful at Paine,
there's no reason why he won't be
successful here. Gaines said.
Spry said the school is one of
the finer institutions of higher learn
ing in the country and there appears
to be a commitment fronTthe
administration in developing the
potential of the student/athlete,
"I've accomplished all that can
be accomplished at a school of this
size." he said. Paine has about 700
students, he said.
During his f 5-year career as -
head basketball coach ? first at St.
Catherine's Junior College then at
? Paine ? Spry has racked up 285
victories, with a career average of
19 wins per year.
A 1975 graduate of Camp
bellsville College in Campbellsville,
Ky.. Spry earned a bachelor of sci
ence degree in social work. He
received a master's degree in col- ?
lege teaching from Murray State
University in 1977. He is currently
Is Motive
place in the Manchester Avenue
house where 57-year-old Ulysses A.
Morrison was found slain on April
13.
"The room in which the victim
was found had been ransacked and
several items were missing," the
release stated in part.
Police Lt. Larry Rcavis said:
There are some details about the
investigation that would indicate a
burglary. Far as' 1 can determine
there were no signs of forcible entry
into the house. It's still an on-going
investigation and we re still pursuing
AKA Consultant
in Janitor's Killing
pursuing a doctorate from the Uni
versity of South Carolina.
His first task as WSSU's
newest coach - the school chose a
new football coach earlier this year
- is tu "meet with the playcis suthat
they can get a concept of me." And
it will give him the chance to see
how each of them "contributes to
the overall institution."
|1e will then, assemble a new
coaching staff. He refused to say
who wirTbe part of that team.
"Until 1 make a decision, I'm
not saying anything," he said.
He said he is "defensive ori
ented."
"One of the key things is being
able to stop somebody," he said.
"You've got to play defense."
The key to his success, how
ever, has been his ability to "coach
around your talent."
Spry, a native of Princeton,
Ky., is from the same part of the
state that spawned Gaines, who is
from Paducah. Spry said he had
heard of Gaines but didn't know him
until their teams played each other.
Does he feel intimidated by the
big shoes he has to fill?
"I don't feel I have any big
t i* *
?
Ronnie O 'Neil Spry '
shoes to fill," he said. "Anyone with
common sense knows that you don't
replace someone like Gaines. The
only thing a person can do is
enhance and re-establish some of
the things he has done."
Spry will move to' Winston
Salem this summer with this wife,
Audrey Frazier-Spry and their
seven-year-old daughter, ShaRon
Elizabeth.
anything we can develop in it.
There's more work to be done."
Morrison, a custodian at Hanes
Lowrance Middle School, was
found at 2814 Manchester Ave. with
his neck slashed. It had heen partly
severed with a sharp instrument and
he bled to death, according to Dr.
Donald Jason, a forensic patholo
gist, who performed the autopsy.
The house belonged to Melvin
Williams, who was away on
National Guard duty when the
killing occurred.
According to friends and family
members, Williams and Morrison,
who lived less than ti mile -w ..w .it
2315 Manchester Ave.," wero very
good friends. Morrison was watch
ing the house for the weekend while
Williams was away. There were
reports that the house had been bro
ken into on several other occasions,
but police could not confirm that.
Reavis would not reveal what
items had been taken from the
home.
CORRECTION
-J A headline on a story and infor- ^aid th <t an informant bought |
njation in the story wete inconv; ' fir ?rn- ?' <>t 1 1
in last week's issue. I he Chronicle regrets this
The information should have error.
? ? 1
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