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75 cents winston-salem Greensboro High Point Vol. XXVIII No. 5
T IRON in F
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The Choice for African-American News o
What you
are saying
Since the terrorist attacks an the WorkI
Trade Center and the Pentagon, a lot of
talk has centered around a possible war,
pitting the U.S. against covert enemies in
many places, mainly Afghanistan. We
asked local people to give their thoughts
about a possible war. Here is what some of
them had to say.
Jim Andrews
"I just think we
don't have a choice.
With terrorists attacking
our homeland we have
to defend our national
rights. We've found out
that freedom is not free'
As Americans, we have
to stand and fight. I sup
port the president. Con
gress, the senators and
all the people who died
on the planes and in the
buildings."
Steve Davis
"I think it's a good
idea. A lot of it is long
overdue. I think George
Bush has surrounded
himself with good peo
ple, and my only hope
is that he goes after the
right people and the
people of Afghanistan
don't get hurt. 1 do have
an 18-year-old son. and
that's something that's I
preying on my mind. I
The terrorists have a
way of thinking thai I don't understand."
Laronda Mosley
"I feel like we
should go to war
because this man has
come over here a killed
all of these innocent
people. If he had a
problem with our presi
dent or our govern
ment. he should have
taken it out on them,
not on innocent people
who had nothing to do
with it."
Robert Mortis
"I don't-* know. I
Something should be P
done, but I don't know I
if war is going to solve [
it. This is not the type of
war where you know
the enemy. This is a
needle in the haystack
type of thing when it
comes to finding
(Osama) bin Laden."
Renee While
"I think we should
try to make peace while
standing behind our
government 100 per
cent. I think we should
all be praying because
... leaving it in God's
hand will help the situa
tion."
Nathan Burton
"I think we should
make an attack. But we
need to make sure the
war is not against
Afghanistan and the
people of Afghanistan.
We have to be careful
not to kill innocent
civilians."
Business as usual for local Arabs
Around the country some Muslim and Arab-owned
o businesses have suffered as a result of Sept. 11 attacks
BY T KEVIN WALKER
llll CHRONICLE
Soon after the Sept. I I
terrorist attacks, signs were
placed in the windows of
Bon Appetit Cafe and Deli,
the eatery that serves every
thing from pizza to burgers
to downtown's work force.
The signs, which were
placed in every window of
the restaurant, condemned
the attacks and told cus
tomers that a large portion
of the restaurant's proceeds
would go toward relief,
efforts.
Dal Othman, a Muslim
r Arab American who opened
Bon Appetit five years agof
insists that he was not com
pelled to put the signs up
because of his religion or
ethnicity. Instead, he said,
he put up the signs because
he. like many in this coun
try, merely wants to extend
a helping hand.
"I'm American." he said
last week from his restau
rant as the hectic lunch hour
was winding down. "What
ever harms this country,
harms me."
Othman, who often
takes orders from behind
the register, said he has
received no negative feed
back from customers since
th? Sept. 1 1 attacks, which
were allegedly perpetrated
by Arab Muslims. But out
side of work, away from the
often well-educated clients
he serves. Othman says he
and his family have noticed
a definite change.
"We do recognize some
people look at us. We feel
people are pointing at us,
either with a look or a fin
ger." he said.
At Bon Appetit. Othman
says customers have shown
him even more kindness
since the attacks.
"1 receive a lot of sup
port from (customers). They
ask me to be cautious when
I am out," he said.
Caution seems to be a
S,r Businesses on A10
I -it ih rn ? BE i I
Photo by Kevin Walkei
Azzat Amer arranges items at AZ Patterson Grocery.
I
Drumming Up Interest
Some students at Carver
High School found African
drums in front of them last
week instead of books.
The school invited Bill
Scheidt, a local African
drumming instructor, to
give'more than 70 10th
grade students at the school
a crash course in African
drumming.
It's a relevant topic for
the students these days.
Many are reading a novel
by a West African author.
Teachers thought the drum
ming instruction would
bring the continent of
Africa a little closer to the
student.
Scheidt, a Wake Forest
University graduate who
lived in Africa for a year,
brought a drum for each
student and then showed
them how to maneuver the
instruments to create a
wide range of sounds.
During much of the day ?
last Thursday, Scheidt led
several classes of Carver
students in a drumming cir
cle. In addition to Carver,
Scheidt has led similar
workshops at schools
throughout Forsyth County.
?> Photo b> Kev in Walker
ill Scheidt leads a drumming circle at Carver High School.
Board
spars
about
race
> ROM STAFF REPORTS
Applicants to city commis
sions. boards and committees
will be able to decide whether
or not
t h e y |
want to 1
list their
race on
applica
tions.
T h c
decision
was
reached g
after the
topic
sparked a partisan battle at
Monday's Board of Aldermen
meeting.
The longest debate of tfcrg
night came as aldermen
weighed the pros and eons of
asking applicants for city
commissions and committees
their race on applications.
The city has several volun
teer. nonpoliey-making boards
on which everyday residents
sit. They include everything
See Aldermen <m A3
Burke
Sturdivant departs to train for Secret Service
Winston-Salem State University graduate is fulfilling lifelong dream
BY FELECIA P. MCMILLAN
COMMl NTH CORR1 SPONDi \l
On the outside, he appears as a man of
small stature, but inside, he is undoubtedly
a giant. William L. Sturdivant is 25 years
old. He is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 140
pounds. For the past year, he has undergone
many tests to determine whether he is up to
snuff for the training and the assignment as
a uniformed officer in the U.S. Secret Ser
vice.
He left on Saturday, Sept. 20. headed for
Maryland, where he began six months of
intensive training on Monday. Oct. 1. from
6 a.m. until 6. p.m. He joins a class of 24
candidates who seek this employment
opportunity. Only 50 percent of the class is
expected to complete the training. Sturdi
vant has the faith that he will prevail and
accept his assignment in Washington. D.C.
His original plan was to work in the
field of forensic science. For this reason, he
acquired a biology degree with a minor in
chemistry from Winston-Salem State Uni
versity in 1999.
"Law enforcement is a field I have
always been fascinated with. I wanted to
work with law enforcement to figure out
how people died at the crime scene." Sturdi
vant said. "I wanted to explain the crime
scene, to figure out what happened."
In order to get to this point in the
process. Sturdivant has already passed a
three-hour written test, on which he scored
93 out of KM) points, the highest in his class.
He has received a clean bill of health based
on a three-hour physical exam at Moses
Cone Hospital in Greensboro. Based on his
vision screening, his vision uncorrected had
to be 20/60 in each eye. correctable to 20/20
in each eye. In addition, he completed a
three-hour panel interview, during which he
was grilled about his own life and career
See Sturdivant on A9
Photo hv Felecia McMillan
Sturdivant stands in front of a city recreation center. He's volun
teered for parks and recreation department since an early age.
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