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? Opinion
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Winston-Salem Chronicle
The Choice for African-American News and Information
l /v
THURSDAY, APFUL/14, 1994
l}o\\er concedes nothing without ci struggle
Frederick Douglass
VOL. XX. No. 32
F amily Upset After Slap-on- Wrist Sentence
A Woman left critically injured after struck by drunken driver, who will be out of jail in about 60 days
Loree D. Jackson
B
By RICHARD L. WILLIAMS
Chronicle Executive Editor
A Winston-Salem woman is upset that
she didn't have her day in court.
.J-orenda Jackson's grandmother, Lofee
D. Jackson, was critically, injured wherv she
was struck by a drunken driver last Septem
ber. From November to March, the court case
was postponed five times, including once
when the defendant, John Thomas Spease,
* did not show up in court and another time
because of inclement weather.
But when Jackson called the Forsyth
County District Court last Thursday to find
out which courtroom the case was to be tried
thf nexl morning, shewaslold that the case
had been tried April 5.JShe also learned that
the defendant had received a one-year sen
tence for driving while impaired, but is likely
to sen'e about two months.
Not only is Jackson angry at not being
there to testify on her grandmother s behalL
She also feels that the defendant, who has
never had a driver's license and has a long list
of arrests and convictions, got a slap on the
wrist for a sentence.
"That burns me alive, and it has my
grandmother upset, too," Jackson said. "1
would think that something can be done as
far as his incarceration is concerned ? a man
with a record as lengthy as his."
The saga began the evening of Sept. 2,
1993, when Loree Jacksofi. of 1223 N. High
of her late-model Lincoln Town Car in front
.. of her hair salon on Longview Drive. A
pickup, driven by Spease, careered out of
" control and pinned her against the car.
Since then, her life has not been the
same. , . , A
see FAMILY A3
Loree Jackson was pinned between two cars.
Mixed Marriages: Is it Blind Love or Simply Mystique?
By DAVID L. DILLARD
Chronicle Staff Writer
Lee Cox is very proud of his her
itage and Culture and said he didn't lose'
his identity when he married Martha.
"It was just the opposite," he said.
"Grow,ing up as a black person you
establish who you are and then begin to
expose yourself to other worlds. I have
been exposed to different people, groups,
cultures, worlds ? and Wit is fuller
because of that " ^
Lee is black; and Martha is white.
Cox said he married his wife 25
years ago not because she was white, but
because she met the Criteria he was look
ing for- in a wife.
"What attracts us is the same thing
that attracts anyone else to their wife ?
challenge, who will support you and you
for those qualities, you're not necessarily
looking at race."
Dr. Ed Dewindr:Robson, a white
, psychologist married to a black psychol
ogist, said that interracial dating is nor
mal, but too many times a person is
rejected by their family or friends and
they feel they are no longer accepted by
their own race.
"There could be a situation where
someone chooses to date, strictly lor neg^
ative reasons, such as they feel rejected
and have a low self-esteem," he said.
"They may feel another race is inferior,
and that's all they deserve. But I think
people are beginning to see that interra
cial marriages are as stable and success
?fulas intraracial."
Interracial marriage and interracial
dating hit the spotlight last month when a
white high-school principal in Wedowee,
Ala., was suspended and later reinstated
for trying to bar interracial couples from
the Randolph County High School prom.
Many in the town protested after he also
referred to racially mixed student 'as a
"mistake^"
According to 1992 figures from the
U.S. Census Bureau, out of 5X5 million
married couples, 1.5 million, or 2 percent,
are interracial. Of that figure, 246,000 or
.05 percent, are black and white couples.
Dr. Leanor Boulin-Johnson. a pro
fessor of family studies at Arizona State
University, said interracial marriages
don't appear to be a threat to the black
familv structure because the percentages
of interracial couples are so small.
"I don't know how it can destroy
(the black family) because it's a very
small percentage," she said. "I feel it's
more of an image threat than a reality,
but it is a clear threat to the black female
because of the difficulty in finding a
(black) mate."
wife met because they shared the same
~interesrand over the yearfv they devel
oped a good friendship. He said that's
how many successful marriages form,
regardless of race.
Frankie Vaughn, who is white, said
she met her husband Alexander while
both worked at AT&T. She said they
haven't had many problems as a couple
with three children because they remain
visible.
"One of the reasons we don't have
hide," she said. "We didn't go to church
for a long time because we wanted our
family to be accepted. In the beginning,
there were stares, but we haven't had
many problems."
Dewindt-Robson said some teen
appear to be experimenting, but he says
most interracial relationship are success
ful because they are sincere.
"In high school, it seems that a cer
tain amount of interracial relationships
are a way of expressing rebellion versus
being interested," he said. "If you
Alexander and Frankie Vaughn
encounter a person who dates exclu
sively out of their race, 1 think that prej
udice with a different twist. Overall,
interracial relationships on a whole are
successful and the support they have for
each other keeps them strong."
Vaughn, who was previously mar
ried to a white man. said that people can
find true love if they focus on the indi
vidual's character, instead of skin color.
"When you're in lovc-rtt-doexn'-t -lake -
anything else," she said. "1 think btind
people are the happiest people tin rela
tionships) because they knou the true
person. Blind people miss on seeing the
world, but they really get to see what's in
the heart, not what the skin looks like."
The black family must rely oh family tradi
tions and education ? :
Headlines
Urban
';r *^pesf'
By DAVID L. DILLARD
Chronicle Staff Writer
to remain Strong,
according to black?
famil' expert Dr.
Leaner Boulin
Johnson, a noted
psychologist.
Boulin-John
son, a professor of
family studies at
Arizona State Uni
versity, will be the
keynote speaker of
' the Urban Leagued
African- American
Family Summit Con
Dr. Leanor Boutin- Johnson
ference on April 21 at the Anderson Conference
Center. .
Boulin-Johnson started researching the black
family over 18 years ago because she was .dis
turbed after seeing only negative images of the
blackfamily in textbooks.
'There were no positive images of black fam
ilies in the empirical studies," she said. "It angered
me and 1 started my investigations to put the black
family in proper context." >
. see PSYCHOLOGIST A3
East Winston Could Get $3 Million Boost With HUD Grant
By DAVID L. DILLARD
Chronicle Staff Wnter
Residents of East Winston could get a $3
million federal grant to lower unemployment
rates and promote economic self-sufficiency.
The city recently nominated a 1 5-square
mile area to the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development as a federal enter
prise community. The purpose of the enter
prise community program is to empower peo
ple and communities and to revitalize
economically distressed areas.
Ellen Monahan, with Forsyth Common
Vision Council, said the designated area
includes almost the entire Eastern part of the
city, however, other neighborhoods such as
Holly Avenue, Washington Park and Old
Salem are also included.
"There is a big effort here to
talk directly to the problem . The
area has problems , but it has
incredible resources and that's
what we want to build on. "
"A lot of people think it's just over (High
way) 52, but it covers other areas." Monahan
said. "It would create jobs for the urban parts
of the city."
Monahan said more than 30.000 people
would be affected if the city gets the grant.
Nearly 80 percent of the residents in the
poverty-stricken area are black. The unem
ployment rate in Forsyth County, as of Febru
ary was 3.8 percent. East Winston alone, how
ever. has an unemployment rate of 13 percent.
Joseph Sauser. of the city's housing and
neighborhood development office, said that
the major benefit is creating jobs, developing
job-training programs and becoming privy to
other federal grants.
"The basic focus is on job creation and
economic opportunity." he said. "Job creation
could mean training people for good jobs.
inducing busmes* to come in the area, and
enticing them to hire people from the area.'
Sauser said there is no guarantee that
businesses will build inside th? designated
area, but tax breaks will be offered to employ
ers as encouragement to do so.
He said six focus groups have been
scheduled across the cit> to bring all segments
together and develop ar, economic strategy.
"Thev-are the ones getting killed ? they
are the ones unemployed and living in horrible
situations." he said. "There is a big effort here
to talk directly to the problem. The area has
problems, but it ha> incredible resources and
that's what we want to build on."
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