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75 cents WlNSTON-SALEM GrEENSBOKO HlGH POINT Vol. XXVIII No. 7
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WIHSTON SALEM NC 27101-2755 - M. XX V X ^ M V_ > 1 to t)e *aKet,
The Choice for African-American News ,,
Library
dedicates
new lab
Officials hope computer
center will help to
narrow digital divide
BY PAUL COLLINS
THE CHRONICLE
The Forsyth County Public
Library held a formal dedica
tion, and ribbon cutting, last
Thursday at its new Computer
Learning
Center at
Central
Library.
Officials
hope the
center
will help
close a
growing
"digital
divide"
by pro
Dwiggins
v i d i n g
access to computer technology
to those without access to com
puter technology, said Don
Dwiggins. public information
for the Forsyth County Public
Library.
The county manager and
representatives of the Winston
Salem Foundation were among
the VIPs on hand for the dedica
tion of the Computer Learning
Center. Dwiggins said.
The center was made possi
ble with a grant valued at
$43,257 from the Bill & Melin
da Gates Foundation, a $35,000
grant from the Lucy Hanes
Chatham fund of the Winston
Salem Foundation and a $4,5(X)
grant from the State Library of
North Carolina. Dwiggins said.
The Computer Lea'rning
Center consists of 12 state-of
the-art workstations located
within a l.(XK)-square-foot com
puter lab at Central Library. The
center is available to the public
for training classes conducted
by library staff and other
groups. When not in use for
training, library customers will
be able to use the machines for
Internet access or software
applications (people can sign up
for a one-hour session, first
come, first served).
One of the computer work
stations is adapted for Spanish
language, which will be conven
ient for the community's grow
ing Hispanic population. Dwig
gins said.
The center is open Mondays,
noon until 8 p.m.; Tuesdays, 5-8
p.m.: Wednesdays, noon until 8
p.nii Thursdays. 5-8 p.m.; Fri
days, 2-5 p.m.: Saturdays, 1-4
p.m.: and Sundays (September
through May). 1:30-4:30 p.m.
There are no fees to use the
computers.
See Library on A4
American
Spirit
Photos b\ Resin Walker
Top: Matfie Beck works on the stars for her flag quilt. She considers the stars the most challenging aspect.
Above: Chase admires his grandmother's work.
Woman expresses patriotism by knitting flag
BYT. KEVIN WALKER
llll CHRONIC! 1
Mattie Beck has not let
age slow her down. A proud
74 years old. Beck is a pop
ular beautician, an active
grandmother and even
works part time at a local
department store.
An accident a few
weeks ago, though, has
sidelined Beck, at least for
the time being.
"I was putting up a win
dow in my kitchen and I fell
off the stool and broke my
leg in three places." Beck
said last week from her
house, her right leg in a
well-autographed cast that
runs from her thigh down to
her ankle.
These days, Beck
spends her days shrouded
in red, white and blue. She
is in the final stages of knit
ting an American flag. After
already painstakingly
assembling the red and
white strips. Beck is now
working on what she con
siders the hardest part of the
project - the 50 stars.
"I am making the stars
through trial and error." she
said with a hig smile, "more
error than trial."
Like many Americans.
Beck is in an especially
patriotic state of mind. She
has watched the devastation
of the Sept. 11 attacks and
seen the nation become a
sea of red. white and blue as
everything featuring the
flag has become all the
rage.
"My friend Shelma
Brown was going shop
ping. so I asked her to bring
me back some red. white
and blue yarn because I
wanted to start working on
See Flag on A5
'If life gives you scraps, make quilts.'
- Mattie Beck
FTCC stepping up bond efforts
Green
BY T KEVIN WALKER
IHI CHRONICLE
Hard work and challenges
begin for Cory Dollin at
Forsyth Technical Communi
ty College even before he sets
foot in a classroom.
Dollin, like thousands of
students enrolled at the
school, must First pass the
dreaded parking test, a gruel
ing exercise in which drivers
cruise FTCC's campus for a
place to park their vehicles
while they receive instruction.
"There are hardly ever
any spaces anywhere close to
the buildings." Dollin said last
week. "Most of the time we
have to park far aw ay, and it's
a good 10-minute walk to
class."
Parking is one the issues
FTCC wants to address with
money it is expecting from a
$7 million bond referendum
that county residents will vote
up or down Nov. 6.
The college also wants to
build a new 80,(XX)-square
foot building that Will be visi
ble from Silas Creek Park
way. The building will house
classrooms, labs, student
activity areas and an informa
tion technology center.
"The college now is at a
point where we are getting
crowded in our facilities."
said Gary Green, the school's
newly installed president.
"Every classroom and lab
(are) nearly full. Our parking
See FTCC ?? A5
Locals plant azaleas at
historic one-room school
I?& JHKMHL. I i.
Photo b> Fctecia McMill.in
Board members of Washington Town Community Association.
BY FELECIA P. MCMILLAN
COMMUNITY CORRESPONDENT
Oak Grove School, located on Oak
Grove Circle , off Shattalon Drive and
Bethabara Road, is the only known one
room schoolhouse built for African
Americans still standing in Forsyth
, County. On Saturday, the board members
and residents of this Old Tow n neighbor
hood gathered at the school to plant four
varieties of azaleas to enhance the
grounds of the school. For the past four
years, the Washington Town Community
Association has been working to restore
and beautify this community landmark
with the help of various individual, cor
porale, fraternal and faith contributors.
This month. N.C. Clean & Beautiful
awarded the Washington Town Commu
nity Association a special beautification
prize of 86 azaleas as a part of its Azalea
Celebration, an annual, statewide pro
gram that rewards N.C. community
groups for improving the landscape of
our state. Nancy Collins, a board mem
ber and a resident of the Old Tow n area,
wrote the grant for N.C. Clean & Beauti
ful.
Board member Bllie Collins, also
secretary, expressed great urgency about
the need to preserve this cultural land
SV( Schoolhouse A10
Professor
says blacks
must battle
new issues
History of oppression can be used
as ammunition in new fights
*
BY T KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
There is a line used
often in the classic film
"The Godfather" "It's
not personal; it's busi
ness."
Manning Marable
borrowed the line for
his address yesterday at
Winston-Salem State
University and related
the line to his own life
and history.
He talked about his
Marable
gicui-giunuiuuier oeing
sold at auction as a slave. He recalled his
father's discouragement at being denied the
right to vote. And he talked about his son
being racially profiled by police officers
while driving to the mall.
Referring to all the incidents. Marable
said. "It may be just business, but I take it
very personal."
Marable. a renowned professor of histo
ry at Columbia University and an accom
plished author, told the hundreds of people
in the audience that they should take such
things personally as well. Marable lashed
out at African Americans including
National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice
- who advocate that blacks move on. forget
ting about the wrongs suffered in the past.
History should stay fresh in the minds of
all blacks, young and old. Marable said, and
be used to buoy African Americans for the
next challenges that await them.
s, Marable on A9
Johnson: term
'alderman'
is confusing
Board member may lead effort to
change name to City Council
FROM STAFF REPORTS
As a member of the board of directors of the
National League of Cities. Winston-Salem
Alderwoman Joycelyn Johnson travels frequent
ly for meetings and Conventions. She has found
that before people ask her about the happenings
in Winston-Salem, many qui/ her about her title.
*A lot of people have
U) tigu^ what an alder
man is and what we do."
Johnson said last week.
Johnson says she is
one of a very few people
at conferences that have
the title. Most other local
elected officials are
councilmen or council
women.
Johnson has asked
City Manager Bill Stuart
Johnson
to examine the possibili
ty of the Board of Aldermen changing its name
to a title that would be more recognizable. The
city attorney has already given each board
member a packet detailing the steps that must be
taken before the name can be changed.
Local government bodies have the leew ay to
change their names to one of three things t board
of commissioners, board of aldermen or town or
city council) by merely changing the city or
town charter. However, any other names would
have to be OK'd by the General Assembly.
The tow n of Carrboro. just outside of Chapel
Hill, got permission from the General Assembly
in 1999 to change its name from the Cartt>oro
Board of Aldermen to the Carrboro Board of
Councilors. The progressive town felt the title
Board of Aldermen w as sexist because several
V. Johnson <>n A9
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