Roundtable Gathering
Members and friends of the
Black Leadership Roundtable
gathered recently at a Christ
mas party. Above: guests pre
pare for an evening of food
and dancing. Right: Linda Sut
ton, from right, Ethel Evans
and Beverly Tucker pose for
the camera. The three women
were instrumental in organiz
ing the event.
I
Johnson
from page A3
her patrons and their oftentimes
engaging conversations. Her greatest
joy, however, was looking into
sparkling eyes of the children as
they checked out books or videos
with their parents. She said such
experiences are very special and ful
filling.
She said that she would certainly
miss the staff members that she has
worked with over the past 20 years.
She gave them love and respect, and
they gave her love and respect in
return.
Now she says she must spend
I
time traveling and volunteering with
Hospice and organizations that
advocate against child abuse. She
will also share time with the many
clubs and organizations with which
she is already involved. She said that
she is extremely excited about the
formal retirement dinner for her that
is scheduled in the very near future.
Freeman
from page A6
going forward. Make sure you give
each other words of encouragement
to stick with the program. Soon, ali
oi you will begin to experience the
power of accumulating wealth. Who
knows, maybe the next time some
one asks, "Who wants to be a mil
lionaire?", your final answer will be,
"I am a millionaire!"
Danny Freeman is a financial
adviser and general securities princi
pal with Raymond James Financial
Services Inc. His office is in Winston
Salem. For questions or comments, he
can he reached at 336-757-1222 or
dfreeman@rjfs.com.
Easley
from page A 7
ences.
Visitors can see the special trav
eling exhibit, "the Dinosaurs of
Jurassic Park," at no charge that day
in the Science Museum. The History
Museum will open its exhibit "First
Families of North Carolina," which
portrays how our former governors
and their families have lived since
the 1700s.
Entertainers, films and hands-on
activities for children can be found
throughout both museums on Sat
urday from I to 5 p.m.
Outside at the north end of the
Bicentennial Plaza, performers will
be on the main stage from 2 to 5
p.m. The line-up includes the Bailey
Mountain Cloggers. traditional
Hebrew music, bluegrass, steel
drums and more.
The celebration will conclude
with an open house from 3 to 5 p. m.
at the Executive Mansion, featuring
the beach music band "The
Embers" and authentic Down East
barbecue, favorites of the incoming
first family.
All the ceremonies and festivities
are free and open to the public.
North Carolina's public televi
sion station, UNC-TV, will telecast
the swearing-in ceremony and
parade live that day.
The Committee on Inaugural
Ceremonies' web site, www.ncinau
guration2001 .org. will also carry the
UNC-TY broadcast.
For more information before
Saturday, log on to www.ncinaugu
ration2001.org.
Atkinson
from page A5
early minority appointments. 1 wish
Powell and Rice all the best. But I'm
gonna be the last one surprised if
Powell or Rice doesn't like their
roles enough to serve the entire four
years with George W. Bush.
Val Atkinson's background:
retired military (20 years in the V. S.
Army); business officer, Dorothea
Dix Hospital: business officer, N. C.
School of the Arts; Office of State
Personnel; acting assistant secretary,
N.C. Dept. of Cultural Resources:
assistant director, NC DMV; radio
talk show host. Foxy 1071104 since
1989; columnist (N.C. African
American newspapers) since 1998;
B.A. degree, psychology. Columbia
College; M.A. degree, business man
agement. Central Michigan Universi
ty; M P. A. degree, public administra
tion. N. C. Central University. A tkin
son can be reached at
A tkinson@Africana. com
Powell
from page A2
music in the Pentagon's E-Ring."
Powell traveled to Jamaica in
1992 after the Persian Gulf War,
at the invitation of then-Prime
Minister Michael Manley, and
again in 1994 with TV interview
er Barbara Walters.
He walked down the narrow.
rutted trail and through fields of
knee-high guinea grass and stood
in the shade of a guongo tree in
the yard of his father's four-room
house.
He and his wife. Alma, paid
their respects to his grandparents,
who are buried on the property,
and met relatives whom he recog
nized because they resembled
him.
Among the newest generation
in Jamaica is 5-year-old Christo
pher Powell, whose creased eyes
and stern mouth make him look
like the general.
The boy has not met his
famous relative "our big man
up north," as Powell's cousin
Reuben Powell called him but
he has heard something about his
success in the United States.
"Auntie told me he run Amer
ica!" he said.
Moseley
from pa ffe A /
ley carried the pin around during
Kwanzaa events last week, telling
people her story, which she
believes is proof that God has a
plan for African Americans.
"It's just amazing that the fire
did not touch the word 'Unity' at
all." she said, holding the pin close
to her eyes. "It tells me that 'Unity'
is going to prevail for all of us
regardless of what happens."
Suggs and members of the
city's Kwanzaa Organizing Com
mittee honored Moseley during
one of the Kwanzaa events last*1
week. She was praised for her
strong will and her commitment to
the principles of Kwanzaa.
"Every year at every event Ms.
Moseley is there...She is an inspi
ration to many of us," Suggs said.
Moseley, who is also well
known for her hosting duties on
WSNC 90.5 FM, attended her first
Kwanzaa event in the mid-'80's
while living in Texas. She has been
participating in the holiday ever
since.
"I come because it's the gather
ing of family," she said. "They are
not my biological family, but 1 feel
they are still my family....And
sometimes 1 only get to see them
once a year, at Kwanzaa."
Moseley said the spiritual ener
gy of Kwanzaa also keeps her
coming back year after year.
Moseley, who is a grandmother,
often performs poems and high
energy dances at events. Kwanzaa
puts things in perspective for her,
she said.
"It's a time to reflect....It's a
time to look back at what you did
over the last year ...It rejuvenates
my spirit," she said, searching to
put her feelings about Kwanzaa
into words.
The Afternoon Jazz Jam, one
of Moseley's shows on WSNC
903 FM, airs Monday through
Friday from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
She also anchors the biweekly
show Blues Dues from 4 p.m. to 7
p.m. on Saturdays.
Project
from page A /
used for everything from decorat
ing homes to sprucing up outfits,
Suggs said.
The ribbon will be sold for $7,
with the seller (the children) get
ting $2, the after-school program
getting $2 and Suggs' company
getting $3.
"We just felt that it was good
all the way around," Suggs said,
"because it teaches self-esteem,
responsibility and entrepreneur1
ship. That's how it started with
me (wanting to be an entrepre
neur). When I was young I used
to sell seeds, cards everything."
The children kicked off their
selling at last week's Kwanzaa
celebration at the Sims Center.
The principle the night of the
kickoff was appropriately "Uja
maa," or Cooperative Econom
ics.
Piggott said he approached
Suggs with the idea because he
was tired of seeing kids in the
neighborhood selling things that
were either illegal or not directly
beneficial to them or their neigh
borhood.
"We are trying to tell them
that there are better things they
can do than selling drugs on the
corner. We want to show the kids
that there are African Americans
like Mrs. Dana Suggs who have
products that they sell and have
successful businesses of their
own," he said.
David Fields was excited last
week as he waited for the Sims
Center Kwanzaa program to end.
He then expected to try to sell his
very first ribbon. He worked out
several sales strategies aloW but
then decided to use a tried and
true approach.
"I'm just going to ask them if
they want to buy a ribbon that
represents African pride," he said
with a smile.
Fiejds was pleased with the
opportunity to make a few dol
lars of his own, but he said that
was not his primary reason for
selling the ribbons.
"I'm just trying to do some
thing to help the rec." he said.
Selflessness, a sense of giving
back and working together are
the ultimate goals Piggott and
Suggs say they want the children
to achieve through the project.
Cooperative Economics for
African Americans must start
with a strong sense of communi
ty and a connection to the people
that live around you. they agreed.
"African Americans need to
support one another's organiza
tions and businesses," Suggs said.
"There is so much that can be
gained if we did that. It would
make for better communities and
better people."
McClennahan
from page AI
one of those people who give guid
ance and direction. He left a suc
cessful stage design career in New
York four years ago to teach here.
McClennahan designed the set
for August Wilson's "Ma Rainey's
Black Bottom," which featured a
then unknown Charles S. Dutton.
He did film work and music videos
with Spike Lee. Many Big Apple
directors had him on speed dial.
But McClennahan said he rarely
looks back.
"1 feel that coming here to
North Carolina has helped me
complete myself...."I don't think
your life is full until you are able to
complete a cycle of taking what
you have learned and giving it back
so that it will help someone else,"
he said.
During his days at NCSA,
McClennahan was the only
African American studying set
design at the school. He was the
first black to receive a degree in the
field from the school. His unique
ness, he said, caused some nervous
ness near graduation.
"(School officials) didn't know
what to do with me," he laughed.
"They didn't have the contacts they
needed to have in the black theater
world."
McClennahan credits, and
praises, NCSA for giving top
notch training, but when it came
time for him to make a name for
himself in the theater world, he
was left to his own devices.
Now as a teacher at the school,
McClennahan prides himself on
giving students the direction he
never had. He has personally
recruited all of the African Ameri
cans in the school's set design pro
gram. Even black students who do
not attend the school often e-mail
him for advice and guidance.
"I sometimes feel that I'm a
teacher online....Every time 1 check
my e-mail, I have one from a stu
dent somewhere," he said.
McClennahan said he does not
believe that it, necessarily, takes an
African American to guide
African-American students, but
often, he added, African Ameri
cans in a field like set design look
to schools with black faculty mem
bers that they think will be able to
guide them.
He also doesn't believe that
only African Americans can design
sets for black productions and vice
versa. Most of his credits are
black productions with companies
like the Negro Ensemble, but
McClennahan said that wasn't by
choice.
You quickly get typecast based
on the work that you do, he said.
Although he was classically trained
at Yale, he doesn't mind being
branded as^a black theater set
designer.
"You go with what works for
you," he said.
He has found different ways to
break out of the mold. He has
written a series of short stories
over the years, stories that he's now
computer animating.
McClennahan has also devel
oped a love for puppetry. He and
his wife, Janeen, often do puppet
shows at local schools. The show
they currently perform revolves
around honey bees.
McClennahan is a self-pro
claimed bee fanatic. He raises bees
in his back yard and displays
stuffed bees in various places
throughout his house.
He believes humans can learn a
lot from the unity seen in bee com
munities. That's the message of the
puppet show. A replica of a huge
tree used in the show is assembled
near his living room. McClenna
han keeps it up for inspiration.
There are signs of his past, present
and future in his house.
Sketches he did for a jazz club
scene from the movie "Mo' Better
Blues" sit against a wall; still
frames for the computer animation
story he hopes to submit to film
festivals one day line the walls of
his office.
A computer rendering of St.
Philips Moravian Church is also
displayed. He did the computer
rendering back in 1998 after Mel
White of Old Salem gave him a
guided tour of the historic
African-American church.
McClennahan look pictures
inside the church and electronical
ly re-created images and lighting to
create what may be how the church
looked in its heyday.
"When I was in the church, I
felt an usual feeling." McClenna
han said, giving the reason he
decided to do the computer ren
dering. "It was like whatever hap
pened in that church was so power
ful that it spoke to me."
McClennahan did not know at
the time that anjeffort was under
way to refurbish the church and
convert it into a museum. McClen
nahan also did not know that
Larry Leon Hamlin, founder of
the N.C. Black Repertory Compa
ny, had seen his rendering. Hamlin
called McClennahan last year and
asked him if he would do the set
for "Papa C-W- Brown and the
Black Moravians." the one-man
play Hamlin plans to debut here in
February and then take on the
road.
Hamlin and McClennahan first
met when Hamlin was just starting
the Black Rep and McClennahan
was a new student at NCSA.
McClennahan designed a few sets
for Hamlin's early productions and
is looking forward to re-creating
St. Phillips for the stage.
The chain of events that led
him to working with Hamlin again
is yet another one of those coinci
dences that have been so prevalent
in his life, McClennahan said.
McClennahan takes his art
very seriously,\but for the most
part, he says, wryjt he does is not
about him or his art.
"I don't want to get bogged
down in the art stuff....This stuff
could burn down," he said,
motioning his hand around his
house. "But it's the message that
I'm trying to send with the art
that's important....! did the com
puter visualization because I want
ed to bring life to that African
American congregation. If you
don't get that message, then I have
failed. If those kids don't get the
message with the puppet show,
then I have failed. It's not about
the actual art as much as it is about
the message."
Alston
from page AS
a green salad, and keeping a reso
lution this long (one week).
Day 7: A new magazine
(CODE - The Style Magazine for
Men of Color), toasting marsh
mallows in the fireplace, neck
? ~
rubs, four-movement symphonies
and a sense of place (that ranks up
there with knowing what you
want).
Now that you have a head start
on things to be happy about this
year, I'll stop or I will not have
anything to be happy about the
rest of the year. Make happiness a
reality this year. It's a journey, not
a destination. Enjoy the trip.
Today is a good day to get
started, unless you have other
plans.
Happy New Year!
Nigel Alston is a radio talk
show host, columnist and motiva
tional speaker. Visit his web site at
www.motivationalnumienls.com.
The IN or tli Carolina Black Repertory Company
Larry Leon Hamlin
Executive & Artistic Director
?*e$entt t/ie
16th Annual
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Birthday Celebration
Produced By
John Poindexter, IV
7:00 P.M. Monday, January 15,.2001
Arts Council Theatre j
610 Coliseum Drive, Winston-Salem
V3
.V^Vm'Ay/ /fry '//Irstt/tf . |
Anchor of WXII News Channel 12
Featuring
Joe Robinson Randy Johnson
Ret. John Heath Sharon Frazier
y Charles Greene Cle Thompson
Janice Price Carlotta Samuels-Clemming
Nathan Ross Freeman Melanie Maxwell
Ambassadors for Freedom Bill Jackson
Hodari Turner Kenneth Mallette
Sandra Kay Lawson Dr. Sir Walter Mack
youth Performers
Glorious Sounds Jazz Ensemble Ciara Mixon
A.W. McCloud Ensemble Bethany Heath
Admission is FREE but RESERVATIONS are recommended.
CALL (336) 723-2266
Between 9:00 A.M. & 5:00 P.M. for reservations
and information.
NCBRC is a funded member of the Arts Council of
Winsion-Salem & Forsyth County and receives support from the
North Carolina Am Council, an agency funded by the State of North
Carolina and the National Endowment for the Am.